President Cites Bible to Support Defense Budget

Beginning a campaign to sell his new budget proposal, President Reagan Monday invoked the Scriptures in his struggle with Congress to continue the U.S. defense buildup.

In two separate speeches, the President quoted from the New Testament Book of Luke--citing Jesus talking to his disciples--to make the point that “the defense of our nation is the one budget item which cannot be dictated by domestic considerations,” even the huge federal deficit.

And, in a third speech, Reagan insisted to congressional leaders that raising taxes to reduce the ballooning deficit--as many of them might prefer--would not lighten the nation’s economic burden. “All we would be doing is shifting the load from one saddlebag to another,” the President said.

Presents Budget Copies

He ceremoniously presented copies of his $973.7-billion fiscal 1986 budget proposal to congressional leaders, then addressed a larger group containing all the chairmen and ranking members of committees.

“Ultimately, our security and our hopes for success at the arms reduction talks hinge on the determination that we show here to continue our program to rebuild and refortify our defenses,” he said, lobbying for a $313.7-billion Pentagon budget that amounts to an increase of 5.9% over current spending.

By contrast, Reagan’s budget would reduce spending by 10.1%, after inflation, for all non-defense programs except Social Security and interest on the national debt.

“In all my years of public office, both as governor of California and now as President, I don’t think I’ve ever submitted a budget that wasn’t controversial,” Reagan said, adding in a conciliatory tone: “Nevertheless, I believe it’s possible, working together in a spirit of compromise and cooperation, that we can bring our budget under control without damaging our economy or endangering our national security.”

“You might be interested to know that the Scriptures are on our side in this,” Reagan told 250 business and trade representatives at the White House in arguing for his military buildup. The President cited Luke 14:31-32, paraphrasing it in this speech and later actually reading the text during an address to the annual National Religious Broadcasters Conference.

President Quotes Christ

The President told the approximately 4,000 religious broadcasters convened at a Washington hotel that he wanted to “remind” them “of what Jesus said in Luke 14:31: ‘Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and take counsel whether he is strong enough with 10,000 men to encounter the one coming against him with 20,000? Or else, while the other is still far away, sends a delegation and asks the terms of peace.’ ”

Reagan added: “I don’t think the Lord that blessed this country as no other country has ever been blessed intends for us to have to some day negotiate because of our weakness.”

In his earlier address to the business representatives, the President directly brought Moscow into the Scripture parable, saying: “Well, I don’t think we ever want to be in a position of only being half as strong and having to send a delegation to negotiate under those circumstances, peace terms, with the Soviet Union.”

‘Driven to My Knees’

The President told the religious broadcasters that, as he approaches “the great work ahead” on spending and taxes, “I have been thinking very much about divine providence, and turning to our Lord and asking for his guidance. I have found myself, as Abraham Lincoln did once, driven to my knees more than ever because there was no place else to go.”

Reagan got his religious holidays mixed up at one point in the speech when, reading from a text, he recalled looking north from the White House during the Christmas season and seeing “the huge menorah celebrating the Passover season in Lafayette Park.” It was Jewish Hanukkah being observed then; Passover is celebrated closer to the Christian Easter.