Roughly 2,000 years ago, Paul wrote to Timothy, not only suggesting or requiring that the Christians he led pray for their leaders, but urging it.
“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way,” he wrote. “This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
Tuesday was a pretty good example of why this is so important.
President Joe Biden was attending a campaign organizing event in Florida when Nikki Fried, the head of the state’s Democratic Party, complained about Florida’s new ban on abortions after six weeks, due to take effect at the beginning of May.
“And then, we come back here to the sate of Florida, where [Gov.] Ron DeSantis felt like he needed to run for president and so 15 weeks wasn’t good enough,” she said. “We had to go to six weeks.”
At the mention of DeSantis, Biden made the sign of the cross, infuriating some Christians, who saw the move as an attempt to invoke the divine Trinity in support of greater access to baby murder.
This. Is. VILE!
President Biden makes the Sign of the Cross at an abortion rally in Florida!
You cannot be Catholic and support abortion!
You cannot invoke GOD and promote Death! pic.twitter.com/aG4P542EM0
— CatholicVote (@CatholicVote) April 23, 2024
In reality, given the timing of the gesture and the small smirk on the president’s face, it appears to me that Biden’s movement was more a tongue-in-cheek warding off of a DeSantis presidency, the way it might done in “all exorcisms and conjurations against the spirits of darkness,” as the Catholic New Advent website describes.
Do you support a total abortion ban?
The scattered laughter from the audience would appear to reinforce that idea, but you can obviously watch the clip and decide for yourself.
Whatever Biden meant by it, the motion obviously angered many who saw it.
“This. Is. VILE!” the CatholicVote X account exclaimed (emphasis original throughout). “You cannot be Catholic and promote abortion! You cannot invoke GOD and promote Death!”
Republic Sentinel editor Ben Zeisloft made a similar point, though with fewer exclamation points.
“Biden makes the sign of the cross on himself as he hears that DeSantis signed a marginally more strict abortion regulation,” he wrote in his own X post. “This is Biden heaping eternal judgment upon himself.”
(It should be noted that the change in Florida will prohibit most abortions after six weeks, bringing the limit down from 15 weeks — making the time frame 60 percent shorter than it has been. I’m all for abortion limits — I think they should be illegal under any conditions — but I don’t find this kind of wordsmithing helpful. I praise God that this will be a much more than “marginal” change once in effect.)
Biden makes the sign of the cross on himself as he hears that DeSantis signed a marginally more strict abortion regulation.
This is Biden heaping eternal judgment upon himself. May he repent swiftly. Pray for him.pic.twitter.com/iQRVN3K3kJ
— Ben Zeisloft (@BenZeisloft) April 24, 2024
I did very much approve of how Zeisloft ended his post, however: “May he repent swiftly. Pray for him.”
I obviously can’t speak for him, but I’m pretty sure St. Paul would endorse those words as well.
