The president's 'other gospel'

President Barack Obama cited the "Golden Rule" about treating others as you would like to be treated, but in doing so he ignored the totality of Scripture and the Lord himself, who alone gets to set the rules for human behavior.

The president says he is a "practicing Christian." It is difficult to be one while simultaneously holding a low view of the Bible, which his position on several social issues might suggest.

The same book that informs him about the person he told Pastor Rick Warren in 2008 is his "savior," also speaks to the beginning of human life (he has done nothing to limit abortions), fornication between adults of the opposite sex (no word yet on his position on that subject), marriage, and adultery (which the Seventh Commandment and New Testament passages condemn).

I recently wrote that it is becoming increasingly difficult for people who believe the Bible is God's word to impose their beliefs on those who disagree with them. But it is something altogether different for those who disagree to claim the Bible doesn't say what it says, in effect calling God a liar. President Obama apparently hopes there are sufficient numbers of biblical illiterates -- and he could be right about this -- who either won't notice his sleight of hand, or don't care.

Thousands of years of human history have sustained marriage between one man and one woman. Even human biology testifies to a natural order.

Genesis 2:24 says "...a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife. The two shall become one flesh." Jesus, whom President Obama likes to selectively quote when it suits his earthly political agenda, honored traditional marriage at a wedding feast in Cana (John 2:1). He also reaffirmed the Genesis passage in Matthew 19:5.

Paul, the Apostle of Jesus, wrote in Ephesians 5 about husbands and wives, male and female.

Scripture teaches that the marriage union between a man and woman is an illustration of how Christ and the church are one (Ephesians 5:32). It also teaches that since God made us, conceived of marriage and created sex to be enjoyed within the marital bond, he gets to set the rules and establish the boundaries for human behavior, not because he is a curmudgeon who wants to deny us pleasure, but because he knows what is best for us.

Liberal theologians have tried to modify, or even change, what is contained in the Bible, and there are those in our time who are following their example with the issue of same-sex marriage. People are free to accept or reject what Scripture says. What they are not free to do is to claim it says something it does not. In modern times that's called "spin." In an earlier time it was called heresy.

The Apostle John warns in Revelation 22:18-19 about the punishment awaiting anyone who adds to, or subtracts from Scripture. Deuteronomy 4:1-2 has a similar warning. The consequences aren't pretty. There are also warnings not to preach "another Gospel" (Galatians 1:8, 2 Corinthians 11:4, among others).

As he seeks to justify his position on same-sex marriage and other issues that are either questionable at best, or deny Scripture at worst, President Obama might be said to be preaching another gospel. This could possibly lead to a fissure in his solid support among African-Americans, costing the president votes in November. It will also likely galvanize the culture warriors. Minorities mostly vote for Democrats, but they don't like their faith denied. That could cause some of them to stay home on Election Day, or even vote for Mitt Romney.

The negative reaction the president received from some of the African-American ministers he called last week after declaring his support for same-sex marriage should serve as a prophetic warning.

Cal Thomas may be contacted at tmseditors@tribune.com.