--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Political freedom, as the Western world…" description: "\"Political freedom, as the Western world has known it, is only a political reading of the Bible.\" — Whittaker Chambers" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b6/whittaker-chambers-13841_bible_political-freedom-as-the-western-world-h_2805274.png" --- # Political freedom, as the Western world has known it, is… ![“Political freedom, as the Western world has known it, is only a political reading of the Bible.” quote by Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b6/whittaker-chambers-13841_bible_political-freedom-as-the-western-world-h_2805274.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b6/whittaker-chambers-13841_bible_political-freedom-as-the-western-world-h_2805274.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b6/whittaker-chambers-13841_bible_political-freedom-as-the-western-world-h_2805274.png) > “Political freedom, as the Western world has known it, is only a political reading of the Bible.” [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Western political freedom is a limited interpretation of biblical teachings. **In simple terms:** Freedom is a narrow biblical reading. Key Takeaway Question assumptions about freedom. Themes politics religion interpretation freedom Mood critical thoughtful Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - debate - education - public discourse Key Concepts theology political science Questions to Reflect On - How do religious texts influence modern politics? - What alternative interpretations exist? A Different Perspective Freedom can be broader than religious texts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bible/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Political freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-freedom/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Resurrection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resurrection/) [Western world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/western-world/) ## Related quotes > [Political freedom is a political reading of the Bible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/political-freedom-is-a-political-reading-of-the-bible/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) > [In the West, people pride themselves on being the defenders of democratic rights and the champions of freedom. But if the Western world really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/in-the-west-people-pride-themselves-on-being-the-defenders-of/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) > [Freedom is a need of the soul, and nothing else. It is in striving toward God that the soul strives continually after a condition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/freedom-is-a-need-of-the-soul-and-nothing-else-it-is-in-striving/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) > [If Jesus remained dead, how can you explain the reality of the Christian church and its phenomenal growth in the first three centuries of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-f-schaefer-iii/if-jesus-remained-dead-how-can-you-explain-the-reality-of-the/) Henry F. Schaefer, III > [The crisis of the Western world exists to the degree in which it is indifferent to God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/the-crisis-of-the-western-world-exists-to-the-degree-in-which-it-is/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) > [It is popular to call it a crisis of the Western world. It is in fact a crisis of the whole world. Communism, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/it-is-popular-to-call-it-a-crisis-of-the-western-world-it-is-in-fact/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) > [Political freedom is neither easy nor automatic, neither pleasant nor secure. It is the responsibility of the individual for the decisions of society as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/political-freedom-is-neither-easy-nor-automatic-neither-pleasant-nor/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [Privacy is absolutely essential to maintaining a free society. The idea that is at the foundation of the notion of privacy is that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benno-c-schmidt-jr/privacy-is-absolutely-essential-to-maintaining-a-free-society-the/) [Benno C. Schmidt, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benno-c-schmidt-jr/) > [“The principle of equality, which makes men independent of each other, gives them a habit and a taste for following, in their private actions,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/the-principle-of-equality-which-makes-men-independent-of-each-other/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Forced to choose, the poor, like the rich, love money more than political liberty; and the only political freedom capable of enduring is one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/forced-to-choose-the-poor-like-the-rich-love-money-more-than/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [the greater the bureaucratization of public life, the greater will be the attraction of violence. In a fully developed bureaucracy there is nobody left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/the-greater-the-bureaucratization-of-public-life-the-greater-will-be/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [Labor Day symbolizes our determination to achieve an economic freedom for the average man which will give his political freedom realty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/labor-day-symbolizes-our-determination-to-achieve-an-economic-freedom/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [Political freedom is to be cherished indeed. But there is no political freedom that is not indissolubly bound to the inner personal freedom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/political-freedom-is-to-be-cherished-indeed-but-there-is-no-political/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Economic freedom is an essential requisite for political freedom. By enabling people to cooperate with one another without coercion or central direction, it reduces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/economic-freedom-is-an-essential-requisite-for-political-freedom-by/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) > [Like wealth, or health, political freedom may simply be something that people don't value if they've always had it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/like-wealth-or-health-political-freedom-may-simply-be-something-that/) [Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/) ## More by Whittaker Chambers > [It is popular to call it a crisis of the Western world. It is in fact a crisis of the whole world. Communism, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/it-is-popular-to-call-it-a-crisis-of-the-western-world-it-is-in-fact/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) > [In 1937, I began, like Lazarus, the impossible return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/in-1937-i-began-like-lazarus-the-impossible-return/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) > [On a scale personal enough to be felt by all, but big enough to be symbolic, the two irreconcilable faiths of our time -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/on-a-scale-personal-enough-to-be-felt-by-all-but-big-enough-to-be/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) > [When you understand what you see, you will no longer be children. You will know that life is pain, that each of us hangs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/when-you-understand-what-you-see-you-will-no-longer-be-children-you/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) > [ “It \[Communism\] is not new. It is, in fact, man's second oldest faith. Its promise was whispered in the first days of the Creation… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/it-communism-is-not-new-it-is-in-fact-man-s-second-oldest-faith-its/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) > [In the United States, the working class are Democrats. The middle class are Republicans. The upper class are Communists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/in-the-united-states-the-working-class-are-democrats-the-middle-class/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) > [A nation's life is about as long as its reverential memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/a-nation-s-life-is-about-as-long-as-its-reverential-memory/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) > [A man is not primarily a witness against something. That is only incidental to the fact that he is a witness for something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/a-man-is-not-primarily-a-witness-against-something-that-is-only/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) > [It is in fact no exaggeration to say that we live in terror that Senator McCarthy will one day make some irreparable blunder that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/it-is-in-fact-no-exaggeration-to-say-that-we-live-in-terror-that/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) > [The rub is that the pursuit of happiness, as an end in itself, tends automatically, and widely, to be replaced by the pursuit of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/the-rub-is-that-the-pursuit-of-happiness-as-an-end-in-itself-tends/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) > [Every man is crucified upon the cross of himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/every-man-is-crucified-upon-the-cross-of-himself/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) > [Freedom is a need of the soul, and nothing else. It is in striving toward God that the soul strives continually after a condition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/freedom-is-a-need-of-the-soul-and-nothing-else-it-is-in-striving/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) > [“be realized when, in 1937, I introduced him in New York City, to Colonel Boris Bykov. At St. Matthews Court, Collins lived alone. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/be-realized-when-in-1937-i-introduced-him-in-new-york-city-to-colonel/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) > [My children, as long as you live, the shadow of the Hiss Case will brush you. In every pair of eyes that rests on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/my-children-as-long-as-you-live-the-shadow-of-the-hiss-case-will/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) > [“The reality cuts across our minds like a wound whose edges crave to heal, but cannot. Thus, one of the great sins, perhaps the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/the-reality-cuts-across-our-minds-like-a-wound-whose-edges-crave-to/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) [Explore all 49 Whittaker Chambers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) ## More Bible quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [“God hates Hell. He hates the idea of people going there. He hates it so much that He was willing to take on human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-minton/god-hates-hell-he-hates-the-idea-of-people-going-there-he-hates-it-so/) [Evan Minton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-minton/) > [“The Devil can cite Scripture for his purpose, Sergeant,’ Anthony Payne replied. ‘That is from The Merchant of Venice, but it holds great truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arnold/the-devil-can-cite-scripture-for-his-purpose-sergeant-anthony-payne/) Michael Arnold > [When you put your hand on the Bible, you are saying something much stronger than just telling your peers that you're going to tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-greenwood/when-you-put-your-hand-on-the-bible-you-are-saying-something-much/) [Lee Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-greenwood/) > [“Scripture also teaches that human beings are morally responsible creatures”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-peterson/scripture-also-teaches-that-human-beings-are-morally-responsible/) Robert A. Peterson > [“The wife of a junior officer cooped up in a horrible canvas partition in steerage for five months wrote: "I had enjoyed much peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-taylor/the-wife-of-a-junior-officer-cooped-up-in-a-horrible-canvas-partition/) Stephen Taylor > [O Word of God incarnate . . . It is the golden casket Where gems of truth are stored; It is the heaven-drawn picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walsham-how/o-word-of-god-incarnate-it-is-the-golden-casket-where-gems-of-truth/) Walsham How > [How can I trust that the Bible is reliable?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-horton/how-can-i-trust-that-the-bible-is-reliable/) [Michael Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-horton/) > [Every plant which my heavenly father has not planted with be uprooted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesus-christ/every-plant-which-my-heavenly-father-has-not-planted-with-be-uprooted/) [Jesus Christ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesus-christ/) > [Where I come from you're not raised to think on your own. It's not that you're pushed to read the Bible. The Bible is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abel-ferrara/where-i-come-from-you-re-not-raised-to-think-on-your-own-it-s-not/) [Abel Ferrara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abel-ferrara/) > [“I felt like praying or something, when I was in bed, but I couldn't do it. I can't always pray when I feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/i-felt-like-praying-or-something-when-i-was-in-bed-but-i-couldn-t-do/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [What comes to mind when you think of heaven? Heaven is referred to in fifty-four of the Bible's sixty-six books, and the final two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-jeremiah/what-comes-to-mind-when-you-think-of-heaven-heaven-is-referred-to-in/) [David Jeremiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-jeremiah/) > [“While it is in one sense a result of God’s presence within us, the New Testament also describes a process involved in our “putting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/while-it-is-in-one-sense-a-result-of-god-s-presence-within-us-the-new/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > [The definition of a Church is crystal clear in the New Testament. We see the picture of it. They came together the first day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-macarthur/the-definition-of-a-church-is-crystal-clear-in-the-new-testament-we/) [John MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-macarthur/) [Browse all 8,465 Bible quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bible/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Political freedom, as the Western world has known it, is only a political reading of the Bible.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Whittaker Chambers" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/political-freedom-as-the-western-world-has-known-it-is-only-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bible" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/political-freedom-as-the-western-world-has-known-it-is-only-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b6/whittaker-chambers-13841_bible_political-freedom-as-the-western-world-h_2805274.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b6/whittaker-chambers-13841_bible_political-freedom-as-the-western-world-h_2805274.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b6/whittaker-chambers-13841_bible_political-freedom-as-the-western-world-h_2805274.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Political freedom, as the Western world has known it, is only a political reading of the Bible.” — Whittaker Chambers", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Whittaker Chambers", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Political freedom, as the Western world...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/political-freedom-as-the-western-world-has-known-it-is-only-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/political-freedom-as-the-western-world-has-known-it-is-only-a/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```