President Barack Obama's use of Scripture in his Nov. 21 speech on immigration did not sit well with many Conservatives, who say his tactics were "manipulative" and "repugnant."
In a televised address highlighting his executive order to exempt family members of U.S. citizens and permanent residents from deportation, the president stated, "Scripture tells us that we shall not oppress a stranger, for we know the heart of a stranger - we were strangers once, too," he said, alluding to the Old Testament law that required Israelites to look after foreigners among them.
Although many Christian and Conservative groups applauded the President's "compassionate" speech, others were upset that Obama would quote the Bible to support his executive order while defending late-term abortion.
On Fox and Friends Friday morning, Daily Caller founder Tucker Carlson called Obama's choice of words "repugnant."
"For this guy specifically - the president who spent his career defending late-term abortion, among other things - lecturing us on Christian faith?" he said. "That's too much. That is too much. This is the Christian Left at work, and it's repugnant."
He also called the President's use of Scripture to promote "left-wing policies" "out-of-bounds."
"He's using it [the bible] to guilt someone into" supporting his policy," added co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck."That's not what the scholars behind the bible would interpret as proper use."
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee also expressed his disapproval, comparing the President's fickle view of Scripture to "the way that his Biblical beliefs led him to oppose same-sex marriage as a candidate for election. Then when he needed big campaign donations from gay liberals for his reelection, the Bible suddenly got rewritten."
"I always thought that Scripture was eternal and unchanging," Huckabee added, "but apparently, now that Obama is President, Scripture gets rewritten more often than Bill Cosby's Wikipedia entry."
President Obama has previously referred to Scripture when promoting his policies: in 2012, he announced his support for gay marriage due to his belief in the "Golden Rule."
"[Michelle and I] are both practicing Christians and obviously this position may be considered to put us at odds with the views of others," Obama stated at the time, "but, you know, when we think about our faith, the thing at root that we think about is, not only Christ sacrificing Himself on our behalf, but it's also the Golden Rule."
According to political science professor John Green of the University of Akron, the President's use of Scripture is "a strategic emphasis on his part. He didn't speak this way when he was at 60 percent public approval."
However, Father Peter Erind of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Nashville, TN encourages Christians to set criticism aside on the issue of immigration and instead unite support of the President.
"While I don't agree with many of Obama's policies, I believe this issue is moral rather than political. Therefore, the President was not amiss in quoting Scripture. The Bible clearly teaches that if a stranger dwells with you in your land, you shall not mistreat him, but rather love him as yourself. The Church must set aside criticism and unite on this issue."
