3 August 2009

Prominent Republican Allegedly Scratches out Passages of

Bible, Claims Jesus Would Deny Health Care to Poor/Sick
Copyright Daily Express (UK);2009
Baton Rouge, Louisiana USA

Members of Lowpoint Baptist Church in Louisiana, home church of

Republican Governor Bobby Jindal, are upset over something they allegedly
saw in his Bible.

Witnesses say after the service last Sunday, they found a Bible on a
pew near where Jindal and his family had been sitting. After inspection
they discovered it belonged to the Governor. But the members became upset
when they saw dozens of passages crossed out of the Jindal Bible.

William "Billy" Johnson was able to take a picture of the Bible with
his cell phone camera before it was allegedly returned to Jindal. The
photo shows a page from the Gospel of Mark, with several passages crossed
out. The passages all refer to Jesus healing the sick.

Upon returning the Bible, Johnson and other Lowpoint members

allegedly confronted Jindal about the markings. According to witnesses,
Jindal claims to believe the Bible is literally true, but never understood
why Jesus would heal the sick for free.

According to church members, Jindal has often said that if Jesus were
alive today, he would be against health care reform, and most likely
support the pharmaceutical companies and HMOs. Johnson suspects that
Jindal was attempting to alter his Bible to better reflect a more
Republican reading of Jesus.

One Bible heading seen in the alleged photo reads, "Jesus Heals Many
People", and a handwritten comment next to it reads, "NO HE DIDN'T!".
Another heading which read, "Jesus Makes a Leper Clean" was changed to
"Jesus Makes a Leper Beg".

Religion scholar Dr. Karen Armstrong noted that it is quite common in

the United States for conservative evangelicals to change Jesus's words to
fit a right-wing political agenda. "Studies show that when right-leaning
politicians from the States quote the Bible, most of the time it is taken
out of context, or just completely made up."

Armstrong also pointed out similarities between the Jindal Bible and
the Thomas Jefferson Bible.

"But Thomas Jefferson was engaged in an intellectual exercise,

attempting to harmonize the Gospels through the eyes of a deist or secular
humanist," says Dr. Armstrong. "Jindal is apparently just marking out
passages he doesn't agree with."

According to the Governor's chief of staff Timmy Teepell, Jindal is

apparently so disgusted with the idea of government-run health care that
he considered rescinding his own medical plan. Roughly 200,000 Louisiana
state employees, elected officials, and their families receive free health
care through the LHP, or the Louisiana Health Plan.

Jindal decided against rescinding his personal insurance when he

learned that certain pre-existing conditions would prevent his family from
finding an HMO. Teepell expressed a similar concern, saying that he would
never be able to find a cost-effective alternative to the LHP.

The United States is one of the few industrialized nations in the

world which does not have a single-payer health care system, such as the
British system. Medical bills are the number one cause of bankruptcy in
the States, affecting 2 million Americans annually according to the
journal Health Affairs.

The GOP continually struggles to reconcile its support of corporate

profit-driven health care with the ethics of Christianity. Many Christian
critics say Jesus would not support exploitation of the sick, uninsured,
and underinsured.

Prior to 1980, 90% of the health insurance companies in the States

were nonprofit. President Ronald Reagan deregulated the laws governing the
health insurance industry, and today there are almost no nonprofit
insurers remaining in the US. Subsequently, medical costs have increased
over 1,000% for most Americans.

The alleged Jindal Bible also contains several campaign slogans in

the margins, such as "President Bobby J", and "Jindal: Stop The Socialists
2012".

Jindal, who converted to Christianity shortly before running for

public office, is a vocal opponent to health care reform, and a front
runner for the GOP presidential ticket in 2012. Jindal has accepted nearly
$100 million from HMOs and pharmaceutical companies over his political
career.

Daily Express (UK)

S. Clemens
3 August, 2009

###