{"id":1623322,"date":"2022-08-26T13:17:47","date_gmt":"2022-08-26T17:17:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1623322"},"modified":"2022-08-26T13:18:32","modified_gmt":"2022-08-26T17:18:32","slug":"no-joe-biden-canceling-student-debt-isnt-like-jesus-forgiving-sins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/no-joe-biden-canceling-student-debt-isnt-like-jesus-forgiving-sins\/","title":{"rendered":"No, Joe Biden \u2018Canceling\u2019 Student Debt Isn\u2019t Like Jesus Forgiving Sins"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fno-joe-biden-canceling-student-debt-isnt-like-jesus-forgiving-sins%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1623322&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>There\u2019s a fun new heresy circulating on social media, and it goes a little something like <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/aprilajoyr\/status\/1562586695450898434\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">this<\/a>: \u201cBold of Christians to be mad about student debt forgiveness while professing a faith that is literally based on forgiving debts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This, of course, is in response to President Joe Biden\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/08\/24\/bidens-student-loan-forgiveness-is-an-unjust-cynical-abuse-of-power\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">announcement<\/a> this week that he would \u201ccancel\u201d $10,000 to $20,000 of student loans per debtor, and variations of the debt hermeneutic have been cropping up ever since.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not Christian, but with all the teachings about giving, I\u2019m pretty sure Jesus would be cool with President Biden\u2019s decision on cancelling student debt,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/davidmweissman\/status\/1562966430882361344\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">spouted<\/a> anti-Trump antagonist David Weissman on Twitter. \u201cA whole lot of folks who supposedly pray, \u2018Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors\u2019 don\u2019t see debt forgiveness as an answer to prayer,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/wilsonhartgrove\/status\/1562546114619879425\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">added<\/a> preacher Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove. And <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PRandallcares\/status\/1562571349708914689\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here\u2019s<\/a> the chairwoman of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors:<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"593\" height=\"617\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Screen-Shot-2022-08-26-at-9.41.10-AM.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-278218\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Screen-Shot-2022-08-26-at-9.41.10-AM.png 593w, https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Screen-Shot-2022-08-26-at-9.41.10-AM-288x300.png 288w\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>First, Biden was the <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2021\/01\/21\/bidens-lackluster-unity-speech-cant-outshine-his-continued-contempt-for-maga-americans\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">unifier-in-chief<\/a>. Then he was the ice cream-loving cool guy in aviator shades who\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/08\/16\/style\/joe-biden-aviators.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">back<\/a>,\u201d baby. Now he\u2019s Jesus? Hold the phone.<\/p>\n<p>Before even cracking the Scriptural can of worms, there\u2019s a whole host of other issues with so-called loan forgiveness that shouldn\u2019t need to be repeated but apparently do. For instance, the Constitution <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/08\/24\/bidens-student-loan-forgiveness-is-an-unjust-cynical-abuse-of-power\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">doesn\u2019t give<\/a> the president authority to wipe out debts. And there\u2019s the whole business of Biden simply empowering universities to raise tuition costs even higher, inevitably kicking off this whole wretched cycle again. <\/p>\n<p>But the biblical issues stemming from equating the leader of the free world with the Creator of the universe are even more problematic. Not only do they represent bad-faith attempts to trip up Christians in manufactured hypocrisy (or perhaps prompt them to reject their faith in favor of Marxism), but they\u2019re also blatant rejections of Scripture wrapped in a veneer of moralism, with no regard for those who get harmed in the process.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Mischaracterization of Biblical Commands<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>When people liken Biden\u2019s style of \u201cforgiveness\u201d to Jesus\u2019s, they lose sight of what the former really entails. For the federal government, there\u2019s really no such thing as debt \u201ccancellation,\u201d just <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/08\/25\/after-destroying-your-livelihood-with-covid-mandates-biden-wants-you-subsidizing-rich-college-grads\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">redistribution<\/a>. Loans don\u2019t just evaporate; somebody has to pay for them. In this case, that somebody is you, and the price tag is <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/08\/24\/studies-show-bidens-illegal-student-debt-scheme-is-welfare-for-the-rich\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">hundreds of billions of dollars<\/a>, maybe upwards of a trillion.<\/p>\n<p>Thus Biden\u2019s plan could more accurately be described as welfare for the college-educated at the expense of taxpayers who either didn\u2019t indulge in higher education or who already paid their debts. Where exactly is the biblical justification for this? <\/p>\n<p>Nowhere does Jesus say that a group of con artists, feeling sorry for somebody they have conned, should steal from an innocent bystander to subsidize the con and thus <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/08\/24\/bidens-plan-to-dump-student-loan-debt-onto-taxpayers-is-blatant-vote-buying\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">gain the favor<\/a> of the conned person.<\/p>\n<p>Instead Scripture <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Psalm%2037%3A21&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">says<\/a>, \u201cThe wicked borrow and do not repay,\u201d with God <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Leviticus+19%3A15&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">telling<\/a> Moses, \u201cDo not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s a word for taking someone else\u2019s money to buy stuff for your friends, and it\u2019s called stealing. There\u2019s even a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Exodus+20%3A15&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">commandment<\/a> against it.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Misunderstanding of Biblical Forgiveness<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>That brings us back to this argument:<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Beyond the fact that student debt \u201cforgiveness\u201d is actually stealing in disguise, this tweet\u2019s argument represents a fundamental misunderstanding of what Christians believe. The Gospel isn\u2019t \u201cliterally based on forgiving debts.\u201d On the contrary, it\u2019s actually based on the fact that those debts have been <em>completely paid<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Theologians call it \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ligonier.org\/learn\/devotionals\/penal-substitution\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">penal substitutionary atonement<\/a>,\u201d but it describes a simple enough message that even children can understand: Because of our sin <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Romans%206%3A23&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">we are debtors<\/a> to holy God. The payment for that debt is eternal death, a recompense we cannot possibly satisfy in our lives. But God\u2019s divine forgiveness does not occur at the expense of divine justice, meaning a just God cannot and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Hebrews+9%3A22&amp;version=ESV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">will not \u201ccancel\u201d sin without a payment<\/a> being made for it. <\/p>\n<p>Jesus \u2014 and specifically <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=ephesians+1%3A7&amp;version=ESV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">his shed blood<\/a> \u2014 is that divine substitutionary atonement. Thus, one of the most glorious truths of the Gospel is not that God has just chosen to ignore or \u201ccancel\u201d or \u201cforgive\u201d our debts. It\u2019s that Jesus <em>paid them in full<\/em> for us at the cross and then rose again to defeat death. It\u2019s only <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=romans+5%3A8-10&amp;version=ESV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">on that basis that we can stand forgiven<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t let fans of student loan \u201cforgiveness\u201d distort the Gospel to absolve their politics of thievery.  No, Jesus was pretty clear that he isn\u2019t \u201ccool\u201d with stealing, and Christians shouldn\u2019t be either.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">\n  Kylee Griswold is an assistant editor at The Federalist. She previously worked as the copy editor for the Washington Examiner magazine and as an editor and producer at National Geographic. She holds a B.S. in Communication Arts\/Speech and an A.S. in Criminal Justice and writes on topics including feminism and gender issues, religion, and the media. Follow her on Twitter <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/kyleezempel\">@kyleezempel<\/a>.<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-comments mt-30 mt-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-comments-container d-flex flex-column align-items-center py-30\">\n    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"110\" height=\"106\" src=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/fdrlst-mark.svg\" class=\"img-fluid mb-20\" alt=\"The Federalist logo eagle mark\" \/>    <\/p>\n<p>Unlock commenting by joining the Federalist Community.<\/p>\n<p>    <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/plans\/pricing\/\" class=\"btn btn-on-white\">Subscribe<\/a>  <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There\u2019s a fun new heresy circulating on social media, and it goes a little something like this: \u201cBold of Christians to be mad about student debt forgiveness while professing a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":994,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1623322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1623322","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/994"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1623322"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1623322\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1623322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1623322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1623322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}