Last month, David Barton spoke at the First Baptist Church in Eastland, Texas, where he added a new wrinkle to his claim that the Bible dictates how the government is to operate by declaring that the Bible explicitly prohibits governments from taking on debt.
As “proof” of this, Barton cited Deuteronomy 15:6-8:
For the Lord your God will bless you, as he promised you, and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow, and you shall rule over many nations, but they shall not rule over you.
“The Bible tells us, Proverbs 22:7, that the borrower is servant to the lender,” Barton said. “See, the Bible is real clear: stay out of debt. You lose your freedom when you get into debt. Well, that applies for individuals, it applies for families, it applies for churches, it applies for states, it applies for the nation. God doesn’t want you in debt, which is why Deuteronomy 15:6 says your nation is not to go into debt. Here we are. That’s not a political issue, that’s a biblical issue. God spoke about that a long time before America ever existed”:
Apparently, the Founding Father never got the message.
Barton then went on to repeat his absurd claims that “the Bible absolutely condemns the estate tax,” that Jesus hates the capital gains tax, and that the Bible prohibits the use of progressive taxation.
