This is the third installment in The Western Journal’s series “Biden Breaking the Ten Commandments.” Click on the following links to read the series introduction, Part 1 and Part 2.
Calling out Christian hypocrisy is about as American as apple pie.
Hollywood movies and television shows depicting Christians often do so uncharitably. Either they’re shown to be crazed fundamentalists or repressed sexual degenerates. News media seems much quicker to call out controversy and abuse if it takes place at a Christian organization versus a secular one. And those are just a few of countless examples.
At a glance, one might assume that this criticism stems from an anti-Christian ethos the West inherited from the Enlightenment.
That couldn’t be further from the truth.
In fact, criticism of Christian hypocrisy is something the West inherited from Christianity itself.
Moses, Jesus and Paul were some of the harshest critics of religious hypocrisy. All three men were well-known for their fervent repudiation of false and dishonest teachers.
This kind of critique of religious leaders wasn’t found in ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome or any other early society. And it didn’t all of a sudden burst forth out of the blue with the anti-religious materialism of the Enlightenment.
It came from Scripture.
More specifically, from the Third Commandment: “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.”
More Than Cursing
The First Commandment establishes who we worship, the Second Commandment tells us how to worship and the Third Commandment regulates our worship.
Many believe that the Third Commandment simply prohibits cursing in God’s name (e.g., exclaiming “Jesus Christ!” when you stub your toe). While that can certainly qualify, the third law extends far beyond this one act.
To take the Lord’s name in vain means to carry his name for worthless or empty means.
As Ligonier Ministries explains, “If we were to translate the Hebrew of this passage most literally, we would see that this law is telling us that we ‘shall not lift up the name of God to emptiness/worthlessness/vanity.’ Often in Scripture, the same Hebrew term translated as ‘in vain’ means ‘wickedness’ or ‘evil.’”
The Third Commandment calls for us not to treat God’s name trivially or use it for evil purposes. It tells us in no uncertain terms that grave punishment awaits those who do.
As mentioned above, atheists and other Christian critics may think they’re the ones who take Christian hypocrisy the most seriously, but in reality, there is no one who hates it more than God himself.
After all, he made a point to establish that “the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.”
We’ve all seen our fair share of violators of this commandment — those who use God’s name to line their own pockets, those who slaughter innocents because they claim God told them to, etc.
Insincere prayer or worship, swearing a false oath before God, and twisting God’s Word to further one’s wicked and worldly purposes are also violations of the Third Commandment.
And the last of these is something our nation’s leaders are most certainly guilty of.
Using God’s Name to Defend Perversion
Social media was abuzz in the days before Easter this year thanks to an official proclamation issued by President Joe Biden on Good Friday.
The president designated March 31, Easter Sunday, “Transgender Day of Visibility.” On the day that Christians around the world gathered to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Biden chose to honor sexual depravity and perversion.
Biden posted a defense of the new holiday on X.
“Today, on Transgender Day of Visibility, I have a simple message to all trans Americans: I see you,” the president wrote. “You are made in the image of God, and you’re worthy of respect and dignity.”
Today, on Transgender Day of Visibility, I have a simple message to all trans Americans:
I see you.
You are made in the image of God, and you’re worthy of respect and dignity. pic.twitter.com/ihvsJrXEyd
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 31, 2024
Now, it’s one thing to establish a celebration of transgenderism on the holiest of Christian holidays. That’s bad enough. But Biden didn’t stop there.
He invoked the words of Genesis 1:27 to suggest that transgender identity reflects God’s design and purpose for the sexes. The implication is that denying someone’s trans identity is akin to denying God. The manipulation of Scripture at play here reaches a whole new level of wickedness.
Of course, Biden conveniently left out the next phrase from Genesis, which proclaims, “Male and female he created them.”
That’s a perfect example of invoking God’s authority to suit your own purposes — in other words, taking the Lord’s name in vain.
Using God’s Name to Push Leftist Policies
Easter 2024 was far from the first time Biden has done this. Throughout his presidency, the supposed Roman Catholic has manipulated Scripture to promote his politics. Here are just a few more examples.
During his 2021 inaugural address, Biden called for an end to the “civil war” dividing the American right and left amid the COVID pandemic.
“We must set aside the politics and finally face this pandemic as one nation. … As the Bible says, ‘Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning,’” he said, quoting Psalm 30:5. “We will get through this together.”
Biden’s actions regarding the pandemic let us know exactly what he meant by “face this … as one nation.”
His administration mandated vaccines for all businesses with over 100 employees and imposed serious financial penalties on those who failed to comply. Apparently, “face this pandemic as one nation” meant “obey my dictates or face punishment.”
Even more egregiously, the Biden administration only deepened the national divide when it promised to prioritize “equity” — i.e., skin color — over the lives of the most high-risk individuals in its distribution of vaccines.
In his very first speech as president, Biden used Scripture to try to create a sense of unity that he wasn’t willing to partake in.
Two years later, during a 2023 Martin Luther King Jr. Day speech, Biden said the following: “Let’s be guided by Dr. King’s light and by the charge of Scripture, which is: ‘Let us never grow weary in doing what is right, for if we do not give up, we will reap our harvest in due time.’”
The president also spoke that day at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where King served as pastor.
He said, “My message to the nation on this day is: We go forward, we go together when we choose democracy over autocracy, a beloved community over chaos, when we choose believers and the dreams, to be doers, to be unafraid, always keeping the faith.”
That all sounds well and good, but what does it mean to “be doers” who are “keeping the faith”?
Well, Biden explained exactly what he thinks it means — following his view of “economic justice.” That is to say, if you’re a good believer, according to Biden, you’ll fall in line with the equity agenda.
The president knows that God’s Word holds a unique moral authority. So he twists and contorts that Word to push his politics whenever convenient.
He carries God’s name in vain, and all who do so will face judgment.
