Tea Party historian says Bible commands humans to work until death: 'God did not design us for retirement'

Another conservative has pushed the idea that retirement went against biblical teachings.

David Barton, a Tea Party activist and Oral Roberts University-educated history author who promotes the idea that the United States was founded by evangelical Christians, told a religious right broadcaster that God opposed retirement, reported Right Wing Watch.

"Retirement is not a biblical concept," Barton said during an appearance Monday on Kenneth Copeland's "Believer's Voice of Victory" television program.

"That is a pagan concept that comes from the Babylonian system,” Barton continued. “If you want to live in Egypt, you want to live in Babylon, great -- retire. (For) God’s people that is not a model."

Barton – lauded by Glenn Beck and GOP lawmakers such as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and former Rep. Michele Bachman (R-MN) – echoed similar claims about the Bible and retirement made by right-wing Rabbi Daniel Lapin, Pastor Rick Warren, and Greg Gianforte -- a Koch-backed likely candidate for Montana governor.

"One of the great indications that something is not part of what God wants is the fruit that accompanies it, and one of the things that I’ve always believed is Deuteronomy 6:24," Barton said. “He says, 'Everything I tell you is for your benefit, that you can enjoy a long life, that you can prosper,' and so if we see something in the way of statistics or science that shows that we don’t have a long life, that will diminish our life, then we know that’s not part of what God wanted us to do."

Barton, like Lapin, said retirees often die shortly after they stop working, citing statistics that he claimed show that people die an average of three years after retirement.

“Your body says, 'Oh, you want to do nothing? Great. Let’s just shut down,'" Barton said.

"God did not design us for retirement," Barton continued. "He did not design us to quit being productive, and when you start doing things that go contrary to what He designed us for, it always gets bad results -- and so the statistics are there that God did not design us for retirement."

Watch Barton's comments posted online by RWW Blog: