Many people who I either know personally, or people with whom I interact online, often wonder why Christian conservatives, or "evangelicals" as we're now called, vote a certain way or align themselves with certain candidates. In fact, many feel as though certain positions by the Christian right are hypocritical. For instance, I saw a sign a few days ago that read "WWJB Who Would Jesus Bomb?" Many self-identified "liberals" often feel as though Christians only use scripture to justify the formation of a voting block only when it's convenient to their conservative world view.On some levels, that is a fair assessment. Without naming names, I know of several groups that formed under the guise of protecting religious values only to then begin campaigning on issues which seem to be outside of the realm of morality or religious freedom. The leaders of these groups now clamor for political recognition by promising to deliver votes for candidates and publicly endorse candidates each year.
Ultimately, how we participate in the political process comes down to worldview. One's worldview is the filter through wich he views the world. It is comprised of his most deeply held beliefs and reflects his faith in God or lack thereof. This blog is an attempt to explain how a conservative Christian worldview translates into voting habits and political party support.
We will attempt to identify news stories that transcend normal political discourse and move into the arena of hills on which one might stake his life. These are the issues that drive us and define us. If we are ever to come together again as a nation, we must seek to identify the motivating factors behind the new American worldview.
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2 comments:
Ray, You make several excellent points about fundamental positions of the Biblical World View and how it plays out within the current political stage. You appear to be doing this without attacking secular or polytheistic world views. I commend you for this, as I find many of our fellow conservative Christians believe they must judge others in order to defend their position. Certainly Jesus did not give us this example. Regardless of what one believes in this world, it is clear that human dignity demands that we respect the "free will" that God gives each and every human being. Tolerance is not about accepting or condoning other world views, it is about showing everyone the love of Christ, and living our lives as examples of God's mercy, grace, forgiveness, and love. It is not about telling people they are wrong, but about telling people that Jesus is right.
We must express our political convictions in a manner that liberals understand that we hate the sin and not the sinner. Sadly many of us do not get this message out, thus driving a bigger wedge between us.
When it comes specifically to the environment, you are correct, here is a place where both CC and Liberals should share the same agenda. Yes our motivations and theology are different, but the end result is essentially the same. We should focus on the solutions, and not the motivations, in the end does this not honor God the most? After all is it not God's righteousness that really counts anyway?
My question is what is the ultimate purpose of this blog and your thesis? Are you seeking to educate Conservative Christians, their left wing counterparts, both or neither?
I pray God's richest blessings on your work. I too am in Graduate School, working towards my Masters in Christian Counseling at Philadelphia Biblical University. The harvest is great, but the laborers are few...
YBIC
David Gullotti
David, Thanks for the remarks and your kind words. To answer your question, the purpose is mostly scholastic. This is just a topic that interests me, and I think it is interesting and important for one to identify the world view that shapes his political activism.
On a broader scale, I hope political liberals will seek to understand the perspective of the Christian right, an in seeking understanding, they will also examine the internal motivation for their own activism.
God Bless
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