WASHINGTON (ABP) — A battle over the Bible is brewing in the halls of Congress, and political blogs are buzzing about a Southern Baptist congressman’s desire to designate 2010 as “The National Year of the Bible.”
Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.), a medical doctor and member of Prince Avenue Baptist Church in Athens, Ga., introduced a resolution May 7 urging President Obama to issue a proclamation “calling upon citizens of all faiths to rediscover and apply the priceless, timeless message of the Holy Scripture.”
Broun’s resolution, which has 15 co-sponsors, says the Bible “has profoundly influenced and shaped the United States and its great democratic form of government, as well as its rich spiritual heritage” and “unified, healed and strengthened” America’s people.
The resolution says “the Bible has had a profound impact in shaping America into a great nation.” It also states that “shared biblical beliefs” are what influenced the colonists to write about individual worth and inalienable rights in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution.
When he introduced a similar resolution on “National Bible Appreciation Week” in 2007, Broun said in remarks on the House floor that he believes in the Constitution “as James Madison and company meant it to be.”
Madison, the fourth U.S. president, was nicknamed “father of the Constitution” for his efforts to get the document ratified. As a member of the first House of Representatives in 1789, Madison introduced the first 10 amendments to the Constitution, now known as the Bill of Rights.
“God ordained three social entities,” Broun said. “He ordained the family. He ordained the church, and he ordained government. Romans 13:1 is very clear about that.”
Broun said God gave each of those entities “its area of responsibility” and authority.
“Unfortunately in our nation, because of this mistaken idea that we are supposed to have a separation of church and state, the family and the church have abdicated a lot of its duties over to government,” he said. “What we are doing in our society is not according to God’s instructions.”
Broun said he accepted Christ as an adult, after looking up John 3:16 — a reference that he saw on a banner while watching a football game on television — in a Gideons Bible.
“I have learned over the years that the Holy Bible is true,” Braun said. “It’s literal and it’s God's direction to us. I call it the manufacturer’s handbook. It directs every aspect of life.”
Broun said in today’s society, “we are trying to do things against God’s inerrant word.”
“We’re trying to live our lives according to what seems right in the eyes of man, but Scripture is very clear about that,” he said. “In Proverbs we read that there is a way that seems right in the eyes of man, but its path is the way of death. And it’s going to be the death of freedom. It’s going to be the death of our society. It’s going to be the death of our republic, unless we return back to what our founding fathers very firmly believed.”
Broun’s introduction of the resolution coincided with this year’s National Day of Prayer. That same day he joined other social conservatives in a press conference to criticize President Obama for not having a day-of-prayer service in the White House. They also promoted legislation that would designate “America’s Spiritual Heritage Week” in May.
“We can heal our land by turning from our wicked ways and turning back to this foundation of principles this country was founded upon,” Broun said, quoted in the Cleveland Plain Dealer. He said returning to biblical principles would solve the nation’s education, crime and drug problems.
Introducing the Year of the Bible resolution on his congressional website, Broun said, “The National Year of the Bible resolution reminds us that our great nation was founded upon biblical principles and that religious freedom is guaranteed by the Bill of Rights.”
“I encourage [House] Speaker Nancy Pelosi to bring this resolution to the floor so President Barack Obama has the opportunity to designate an appropriate year as ‘The National Year of the Bible,’ ” he said.
Civil-liberties and Jewish groups said Broun’s bill is both unconstitutional and unnecessary.
“Does that mean 2009 is not the year of the Bible?” asked Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who is Jewish. Referring to the Islamic holy book, he added, “What is 2012 the year of — the Quran?”
Braun told the Washington newspaper and website Politico his resolution does not promote Christianity, but rather recognizes the role the Bible played in establishing freedom in the United States, including the right of people of all faiths to speak about their beliefs.
According to his website, Braun is a former AWANA children’s ministry leader in his church. He is active in the Gideon ministry and in 2004 participated in a mission trip to Iraq.
The resolution has been referred to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
Bob Allen is senior writer for Associated Baptist Press.