Today’s tweet comes from @SgBz
“The letter of the law (Conservatism) kills while the spirit of the law (Liberalism) brings life”
This is such a great example of ripping a Bible verse from its context and stuffing it into a political argument that I couldn’t pass it up. The Scripture verse here is II Corinthians 3:6 which says:
Who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
So where exactly is “conservatism” or “liberalism” in this passage? Well…it’s not. The context is about the new spiritual covenant of God to His people in contrast with with the Law of Moses. You have to do quite a bit of violence to the text to shoehorn modern political thought in there.
But let’s assume that this isn’t really an attempt at proof from the text but merely using it as a literary device. Conservatism is held up as the deadly letter of the law while Liberalism is held up as the life giving spirit. We’re left to wonder exactly how does one run an orderly society based on the “spirit” of a law system?
“Yes officer, I was going 100 mph in a school zone but this car is really safe and I’m a good driver so I was keeping the spirit of the law.”
“Yes, Your Honor, I paid as much of my taxes as I thought was fair given how much I estimate I actually use public facilities. I was well within the spirit of the tax code.”
“Sure, I broke into your house and stole your television but since it’s one you weren’t using anyway I think I’m within the spirit of the law.”
While the spirit of the law is an important concept as an internal motivation for the Christan Life, it’s hardly one I’d recommend to use as the basis for a civil society.