Skip to main content

Some Thoughts On Christianity and Politics

As I observe humanity, I see that most people by their mid 20's have made up their mind about certain spiritual things and political things. So, my point in this short blog post is not to try and change your mind about anything, but just to mention some things I've observed and hopefully spark some thought. I've been thinking a lot lately about what makes people believe what they believe. I know that much of what we believe (our worldview) comes from our experiences in life. Specifically, the people that we've grown to trust. Our parents, our church, and our friends. So, the question... what causes perfectly reasonable and rational people to believe so differently about things?

I've been thinking about politics and how divided our country seems to be.  I've been trying to figure out the core differences between the various political parties. I'm not talking about the current issues, so much as I mean the deeper differences. The issue that has me most interested, is the fact that people can say they belong to the same religion, and be on opposite sides of the political spectrum. 

So, what is the fundamental difference that divides us?

As I've been reading and thinking this through, I've come to some conclusions that I think help explain this. As I read about the differences between conservative and liberal political philosophy, I noticed one thing that was consistent. Both want to do the right thing to help people and to facilitate peace and prosperity in this country and around the world. These are shared core values for everyone (except the truly evil among us, I suppose). It's when we go deeper that I find the differences. After pondering on this for some time, I've concluded that our political philosophy is directly tied to our personal values and our theological values. 

Questions like, "What is the role of government?" which is the question that differentiates the political parties, are answered by what we value most? If you value individual responsibility and limited government, then you are considered more conservative. If you value equal opportunity and equality for all through government programs then you would be more liberal. The differences lie in the methods of achieving the common values of peace and prosperity. Who is right? That's a complicated question that isn't going to be solved in this post, but I'm of the opinion that conservative values are the most consistent with the values that are to be found in the only source of truth that we have. The Bible. Properly interpreted as divine truth, and with a view that the bible is a book from God and not just about God, the moral principles found in the scripture align consistently with conservative views on issues.  This explains why most Christians are politically conservative. Yes, some Christians are liberal politically, but what I've found is that most are also liberal theologically as well. This liberal theology is at best is a servant to a progressive, post-modern culture, at worst is functionally non-existent. 

I understand that people disagree on just about everything, and I also understand that we all think we're right. I'm honest enough to admit that I don't know for sure that everything I believe is correct. However, certain things must be held as truth. I'm just doing the best I can to understand things, and I'm sure that I've got a lot to learn. I hope my readers will consider my opinions and at least think about why we believe what we believe.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards In Plain English. (#1-10)

Jonathan Edwards is known as one of the greatest and most profound of American theologians. His writings have benefited many Christians throughout the years. I was impressed with these resolutions and so I have attempted to translate them into the language of the day. I understand that I may have missed Edward’s full meaning at some level, but I made every attempt to capture the essence of the original author and summarize in such a way as to benefit the modern reader. There are 70 resolutions in all. I have summarized the first ten here. I hope you enjoy these. ________________________________ 1. Resolved, that I will do whatsoever I think to be most to God's glory, and my own good, profit and pleasure, in the whole of my duration, without any consideration of the time, whether now, or never so many myriad's of ages hence. Resolved to do whatever I think to be my duty and most for the good and advantage of mankind in general. Resolved to do this, whatever difficulties I mee...
4 comments
Read entire article

Removing Planks and Seeing Clearly

Is it ever appropriate to speak out about sin even though we all have sinned? Worded this way most of us would say, "sure!, of course. Especially if the Bible calls it sin."  And I would agree. What if I worded the question like this? "Since we have all sinned, and many of us sin terribly in secret, is it hypocritical to condemn the sin of someone else?" This one should make us all think a little more before answering.  I think Jesus spoke to this matter. In his famous Sermon on the Mount, Jesus spoke these words in Matthew 7:1 ff “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?  How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?    You hy...
Post a Comment
Read entire article

My Chiropractic Dilemma

So, I've had this back/neck/shoulder pain for two weeks now. It was getting so bad that I was really at the point of doing anything to get rid of the pain. Everybody kept telling me to go to the Chiropractor. I've actually only spoken to one person who has ever told me anything negative about their experience with Chiropractic treatment. Most people are convinced that it is helpful. A little history. About a year ago, I went to a Chiropractor here in town who was recommended by a friend. She told me that I could get a free exam and x-rays with a referral. Well, I figured if it was free how bad could it be. I was skeptical at that point. I do not like to be deceived, and from the things I was reading, Chiropractic treatment was pseudo-science and mostly "smoke and mirrors." I was in pretty severe lower-back pain at that time and figured I'd go ahead and give 'em a try and see what it was all about. I won't go into the whole story, but to sum it up, I was ...
2 comments
Read entire article