"For the congregation of hypocrites shall be desolate, and fire shall consume the tabernacles of their bribery." — Job 15:34



It ought to be reassuring to most people in the Second Congressional District that Rep. Sanford Bishop is invoking the name of the Lord with great frequency. Instead, his recent religious fervor is baffling to many of them, including us.

Bishop said the following to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Friday while explaining his unpopular decision — at least around these parts — to vote for President Obama’s health care overhaul today:

“Unfortunately, I think my constituents are split right down the middle, so in a sense I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t. If I’m going to be damned, I want to be damned on the side of the angels, on the side of what I think will be an obligation as a Christian to take care of the least of (us) and to make sure people are treated fairly.”

We appreciate Bishop’s Christian obligation and urge him to use his money and time to meet it. That’s because it is not the government’s responsibility to do so. It is individuals and churches that are charged in the Bible to take care of the poor, and they could do a lot better job of fulfilling their mission without a heavy burden of taxation and the government’s consistently unsuccessful attempts at social engineering.

Since Bishop brought it up, however, we encourage him to continue to be a strong voice for Christians. Surely he will become the staunchest congressional proponent of the sanctity of life? After all, the Bible says, “Thou shalt not kill.” It seems a good Christian has no choice but to condemn the killing of innocents, right?

It ought to be a given that he will work feverishly to return prayer to our schools. Certainly, a good Christian would support something that was a staple of American classrooms before our society devolved to its current state?

Obviously, Bishop will defend the placement of the Ten Commandments in our courthouses and work to keep “In God We Trust” on our currency, won't he?

Bishop’s greatest Christian move would to push for each member of Congress to be subject to the same health insurance rules the House of Representatives is set to pass today.

If he doesn’t do all these things, then we will have to wonder if his reason for voting for the health reform bill has anything to do with Christianity. It will lead us to believe that he is a deacon in the Church of Big Government, whose god is an unwieldy beast that has an insatiable appetite for tax revenue.

Actually, we already suspect this to be the case. How else can one explain Bishop’s reasoning for siding with “angels” like Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Louise Slaughter, who will do or say anything and bend or break any rule to force costly health care reform legislation through Congress.

Christians are supposed to lead by example, so we hope Bishop understands that his constituents will be watching him closer than ever in the coming months. We hope he won't prove to be just another hypocritical politician using religion to justify his actions.

And, of course, we all know one of those Ten Commandments, the cornerstones of Christianity, clearly states "Thou shalt not lie." On second thought, maybe it's very easy to figure out why the career politicians want those words removed from their sight. It's hard being constantly reminded of your own sins.

Judgement day is coming on Nov. 2. Unfortunately, Bishop will still enjoy a handsome pension and medical benefits that most of us can only imagine — even if he is relegated to political purgatory — thanks to the “tithes” of taxpayers.