I’ve done a bit of Christian apologetics here and there, although I’d call my interest in the matter dilettantish at best. Similarly, I enjoy theology — I’m working my way through Calvin and Kierkegaard as part of my summer reading — but I wouldn’t call myself an expert.
However, I consider myself well-read enough in the Bible and its commentators, as well as the arguments for and against various theological positions, to posit this much as a bedrock foundation of any reasonable understanding of the Christian faith: Jesus Christ’s healing of the sick in no way constituted, and I quote, “healthcare for free.”
And that’s not just facile atheist blowhards Richard Dawkins or Sam Harris going off on MAGA Christians during a podcast interview, that’s a Christian preacher.
Rev. Dr. Caleb J. Lines (that’s how he repeatedly describes himself; one doth get very significant “Dr. Jill Biden” vibes here) is the senior minister of the University Christian Church in San Diego, California. He describes himself on his Facebook page as a “progressive Christian leader.” I’d take out one word there, and it is neither “progressive” nor “leader,” but I digress.
Rev. Dr. Lines has established something of a small but dedicated following on social media, and not because he’s deep or anything. Far from it. If anything, this recent Instagram video of him that went mega-viral basically sums up what he’s all about, for worse or for much worse.
Let’s first watch it, and then deal with his claims seriatim.
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Claim: “You know, I’ve been called an anti-MAGA preacher, and it’s true. I am anti-MAGA. In fact, anyone who claims to be a Christian has to be anti-MAGA or else you’re not truly following the teachings of Jesus Christ.”
Fact: I cannot be sure which translation of the Bible that Rev. Dr. Lines’ church uses, but I can assure you no English translation of the Good Book, to my knowledge, contains the acronym “MAGA” or the phrase “Make America Great Again.” In fact, given that the man who the American continents and the United States of America is named after was not born for another 1400-plus years after Jesus’ death, this would be rather difficult. But maybe he has a wider point to make about the conservative Christian agenda. Or not. (Spoiler alert: not.)
Claim: “You cannot follow Jesus, who told us to welcome the stranger, while also advocating to close our borders to immigrants and refugees.”
Fact: It’s worth noting here, first, that the Bible generally does not touch on wise public policy very often, especially not wise public policy in the era of Westphalian Democracy. It’s worth pointing out when it does touch upon those issues, he seems to ignore that policy; for instance, while the Bible very clearly touches upon what a man and a woman is and what marriage is, one of his most recent videos is titled “Pride is Resistance!” (It’s also one of the deadly sins, and LGBT relations and transgenderism — forget the very idea of gay marriage — are proscribed in the Old and New Testaments.)
However, one of the most famous passages of the apostle Paul is from the beginning of Romans 13, verses 1-3:
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval.
Since at least the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, borders and who may cross them are, to use the words of the apostle, “subject to the governing authorities.” Crossing those borders illegally — for this is what Rev. Dr. Lines is really talking about here — is obviously breaking those laws. Jesus told us to welcome the stranger, but this was meant at a more human level; this was not intended to be a warning against Westphalian sovereignty or enforcing immigration laws as they pertain to human traffickers and specious asylum seekers.
Claim: “You cannot follow Jesus, who told us to feed those who are hungry and give drink to those who are thirsty, while also advocating to cut programs that give food and drink to those who are hungry and thirsty.”
Fact: If those programs are inefficient, ineffective, counterproductive, or could be better taken care of at a local level in the United States, you very well could. In fact, you would be advised to. Also, I’d love to see these people starving in America because certain programs have seen their budgets cut — not just experiencing what we now call “food anxiety,” but literally starving for lack of government intervention.
If it is abroad that we are talking about — Rev. Dr. Lines is not very specific, but I gather he’s probably talking about the shuttering of USAID, inter alia — perhaps he should be asking the people at USAID why they were spending massive sums of money on bunkum that did nothing to “give food and drink to those who are hungry and thirsty.” But it’s easier to make Instagram screeds that last a minute and a half, no?
Claim: “You cannot claim to follow Jesus, who went around and provided healthcare for free, while also advocating for cuts to healthcare.”
Fact: At the risk of blasphemy, please identify where the actual Bible verse stops and the fake part I have written begins:
When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” And then Jesus turned to his disciples and said, “When I am gone, make sure that you establish a form of single-payer healthcare, so that men like this can be treated by a bureaucracy that’s neither good at healing — miraculously or otherwise — nor at spending the money you render unto Caesar.”
If you guessed that I have appended the fake last sentence onto Matthew 8:1-4, congratulations: You aren’t stupid. I don’t know that, for all his titles, Rev. Dr. Lines got that far; I get the impression the entirety of his experience with the Bible comes from the first two words of the previous chapter — “Judge not” — and he’s not even particularly good at that when it comes to MAGA folk.
Jesus’ healing miracles had nothing to do with free healthcare, for Pete’s sake, the same way that him turning huge jars of water into wine was not an endorsement of inebriation: These were miracles meant for a specific covenantal purpose when read hermeneutically, not a promise of free medical treatment for anyone.
Claim: “You cannot claim to follow Jesus, who spent his entire life going around and teaching people, while also cutting education. You cannot claim to follow Jesus, who spent his entire ministry giving hope to the poor, while also advocating for an economic system that takes money from the poor and gives it to billionaires. Yes, I’m an anti-MAGA preacher, because everything that claims to ‘make America great again’ is bad for the kingdom of God, the reign of God on this earth.”
Fact: At this point, it has just become a word salad of bromides about vague kinda-sorta-Christian-ish principles applied wrongheadedly to public policy; it’s difficult to say that someone actually ran out of ideas from Scripture itself to defend these bullet points in less than two minutes, except that he had none in the first place.
It’s worth closing with one of William F. Buckley’s favorite slogans here, one which he borrowed from the political philosopher Eric Voegelin: “Don’t immanentize the eschaton.” Meaning, don’t try to bring God’s utopia down to earth through earthly means; you’ll end up failing every time.
It’s worth noting that the very few times that Rev. Dr. Lines could stand up for God’s edicts in the Bible as a matter of sound public policy — the sanctity of marriage, protection of Israel, protection of unborn lives — he’s actively chosen to advocate for the ungodly path. Yet, when it comes to issues where immanentizing the eschaton isn’t just impossible but suicidal public policy, he takes up that banner under the aegis of condemning MAGA voters as anti-Christian. There is no shaming or obloquy I could heap upon this man that he himself cannot somehow outdo — or that he will be able to outrun at the end of his days, should he continue down this line.
I have spent plenty of time here in Matthew 7 and 8, so it’s only fitting that I finish with what Jesus said in Matthew 6:
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
“Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.”
I’m sure Rev. Dr. Lines is quite pleased he has received his reward for his many words. Perhaps he ought to have listened to Jesus and realized God doesn’t care how viral you go if your moral compass is this skewed. It’s hard to tell whether this is arrogance or ignorance, or whether those two are even mutually exclusive in his case — but one way or another, he needs our prayers, not our clicks.
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