Twice in the past 24 hours I have had conversations that sparked my defense of conservative Christians. This installment of Mouthing Off isn't directed at either of those people specifically, should they read this. This is a much larger issue for me, something that I hold with deep passion and conviction.
First, I will say that I am not a conservative Christian. Nor am I a liberal Christian. I'm a passionate moderate. My beef with both sides of the camp is that they are arrogant and one-sided (even for talk of open-mindedness or of love the sinner, hate the sin), refusing to see WHO the people are on the other side of their agenda for fear of WHAT they are or what they might represent. We are intolerant in our tolerance and unloving in our love. Our gospels are empty.
Here's why the conservative agenda, which I will describe as wanting to change the condition of our culture through political (rather than personal, moral, individual) means is good. It recognizes that sin is a powerfully destructive force that impacts not only the sinner, but also the sinned-against, sometimes for several degrees of separation, and it is not afraid to stand up and identify what sin is. An example: The sinner molests a young girl, who has her sense of healthy love and sex stripped from her, and then loses her ability growing up to adequately convey these ideas to her own children. In this mindset, the prevention of sinful acts is an act of protection. Neither being a Christian nor being a fan of Barbasol shaving cream prevent the affects that sins have on the lives of humans. It's the way we're built. In turn, sin affects our culture. And our culture affects us. So, when conservatives want to lobby against "progressivism," I don't think that's a bad thing at all. I think it is the only reasonable thing to do, because it provides a check & balance for our own self-gratifying nature, and it (ideally) forces us to examine issues that we otherwise ignore or neglect in favor of personal convenience (like the value of true community, or healthy family relationships, or the effects of multiple sexual partners on a person's capacity for intimacy.)
The main argument against this logic is that by legislating morality, you are not actually causing people to become moral. Only Jesus can do that. Granted. But the point isn't that people are becoming more moral, it's that the innocent are being protected from the immorality of others. Our nation is increasingly turning towards a philosophy that it is okay to be immoral, as long as it doesn't bother anyone else, particularly me. This is the thrust of the sexual revolution--if you say it's okay, then it's okay, just do it behind closed doors. Similar thing with American capitalistic materialism--you can have as much excess and wealth as you please, just don't mention what wage the worker was paid who made it for you.
All this begs the question: what is "morality", and who gets to define it? What are your thoughts on that question? I personally have little trouble identifying and describing the consequences and damage of sin and immorality, even the sins that we really don't like to call sin, like greed, lust, gluttony. The things most of us are guilty of. ("But not as guilty as they are! Just look at them!") Sin has damaged our ability to see sin as sin--in some ways, that is the entire human condition. Can you see ways that is true in your own life?
Again, I'm not a conservative, and I'm not voting for Bush. And I certainly do not think that all, or even most, conservative Christians are on the right track (including and especially the Christian Coalition).To the contrary, I believe most of them have little idea why they believe what they believe, other than the parrot answers they were given by people they foggily trust to lead them. They are prudish and fearful of getting other people's sin on them--too busy trying to keep themselves looking holy. They don't understand the completeness of their fallen condition nor the completeness of Jesus' love, mercy, compassion, and forgiveness. They are trapped in a system of fear of failure to live up to their perception of God's mandates to be holy.
But true Christian conservatives are not prudish, they are protectors. They feel the weight of sin and the enormity of its destructive power. They are different from liberal thinking in their ideology: they do not have a mindset that values the wants of an individual, they have a mindset that values an entire culture. I value their place in our culture, next to Christian liberals.
Just for equal time and space, I'd like to rant about the virtues of liberalism, but because I get the sense most of this audience is already mostly there, I'll save it. One of these Mouthing Off's is going to be a rail against Christian conservativism, so you can be on the lookout for that... Post what is on your heart and mind.
6 comments:
Moderation.Something that always seems to be lacking..Couldnt read the whole thing but i think a similar situation exists in our democracy as well.The right wing and leftist positions in the Indian situation are two extremes,yet most people are always branded as being either to the left or right.
Jessi says...Ok, Here's my thing...part of why I'm more liberal than convervative is this: I don't think I or "we" stand a chance at trying to make the world any more or any less personally moral. I'm not interested in what consenting adults do in their bedrooms or whatever. I am, however, interested in issues of JUSTICE and for fighting for the rights of the underprivledged, the marginalized, the discriinated against, and the voiceless. Outside of justice issues, primarily concerning people's rights and safety and access to the stuff we white middle class American folk take for granted. I don't care how much our society tailspins into moral depravity...that little book that God wrote says it will anyway. I see the bible as telling US how to live moral lives that are pleasing to God, and how to take care of people who can't take care of themselves. I don't see it instructing us to push non believers into being more like us. I often see conservative Christians making statements, that essentially to me are like "I don't want to have to explain to my kids why the people next door are gay." Or "I don't want to be disgusted by walking down the street seeing (enter offensive behavior, language, dress code etc.)" God calls us to be like a candle light in darkness. He doesn't instruct us to turn on the house lights everywhere. We are different because we behave differently. We draw people to God when we resist sin and grapple with our sinful natures before people. This is what alerts them to their sin (that, and the holy spirit, of course.) I like this stuff Patch-rick. Keep it up.
I think, as far as individuals go, both camps do a pretty poor job of addressing the hurt people experience and instead focus too much on touting their agenda. (I'm not excluded from this accusation.) Ever see "Citizen Ruth"? If not, you should, because it defines preety much what I'm talking about. It's a very uncomfortable movie to watch, no matter what your position on the subject (in this case, abortion), because it requires you to face Ruth's suffering and everyone's prejudice. You see this over and over again in the gospels, as Jesus is constantly exhorting both the people and the disciples to focus on God, not ideas.
I just came from the link you provided to Rob's latest blog and I think he brings up a really interesting point: How is having a president that is pro-life or pro-choice going to have any significant impact on the abortion issue? (Answer: It's not.) This is a widely debated subject that is unlikely to be resolved any time soon, especially not within the next presidential term, so why is it such an important issue in this election? I was just talking to a Christian friend of mine the other day who said he was voting for Bush. My response was simply, "WHY?" And I think the first thing out of his mouth was Bush's stance on abortion. (Or it might have been stem cell research.) At any rate, I can be a terrific moral person but that's not necessarily going to make me an effective leader. That's not going to get out troops home. That's not going to create jobs and keep others from going overseas. Instead of worrying about which candidate is the most moral (and I'm still waiting to see Bush bear fruit, if you'll pardon the double entendre), let's pick a candidate who is going to address the important issues. Like the ones listed here: http://go.sojo.net/campaign/takebackourfaith (this is the page Rob was quoting/paraphrasing). Huzzah!
Now for something completely similar:
It strikes me that your (debate/discussion/vocal)persona is completely reflected in the songs you write.
See, it starts slow and allows others to draw their own inferences about what's happening before building towards its threshold with increasing tenacity, where, once there, it snaps and kicks everyones' ass(es).
Chris says:
First, I haven't read Rob's post, but I plan on it. But Seth, abortion might be an important issue in this election because the next President will probably have the chance to appoint 3 or possibly 4 new Justices to the Supreme court, which would possibly be enough, if they were conservative, to overturn Roe v. Wade.
But, a question regarding conservative Christianity: How are liberal, or moderate possibly, Christians supposed to stand on abortion? Let's say for the moment that all Christians are against the notion of aborting a fetus. The liberal Christian would lean toward personal, individual counseling to keep a woman from a procedure that would destroy her fetus and most likely scar her physically and emotionally. While the conservative Christian would outlaw all abortions so that the sinful practice could not happen unless it was happening illegally. Is this correct? If so, am I supposed to be pro-abortion to: A) have the chance to personally counsel expectant mothers on the dangers and damages of abortion, and B) to keep people from being seriously hurt or killed in "backdoor abortions."? Or am I supposed to be pro-life to: A) keep a sinful and dangerous practice from women and their children? Both my heart and my head are torn on the issue, but I have already come to the conclusion that no matter the outside conditions, my belief in Christ and living fetuses make me anti-abortion for sure.
Does anyone have any thoughts/insight on this? I am certainly not looking for a fight.
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