Friday, May 20, 2005
Conservative not always synonymous with Christian
Hello everyone this is my first blog. I recently found out about blogs when I was at a World Journalism Institute conference. The World Journalism Institute encourages Christians who desire to be journalists to let their lights shine through the media. Anyway, one of the speakers there was LaShawn Barber, a very well known, well respected blogger (lashawnbarber.com) and she spoke primarily on being conservative and how she basically uses her blogs to stamp out liberals. She pretty much assumed that we were all conservative because we were at a christian conference. After her speech, a few other christian journalists there spoke to me about how they weren't conservative or in favor of President Bush and that they didn't agree with her. I certainly am not. I believe that someone can be Christian and not be conservative. I think that being a Christian is simply believing in Christ and the principles in the Bible. I can't say that I am in favor of everything liberal either. I think Christians should be somewhere in between. I am against Homosexual marriage and abortion but I am also for helping the poor and peace. I don't think God is in favor of this long drawn out pointless war. We are to love those in spite of their beliefs and culture not force others to be like us. America and Americans aren't perfect and neither is anyone else in this world. We should let God do our judging and punishing. Jesus also reached out and helped the poor and sacrificed for those who were need. I named my blog site Matthew 1236 because of the scripture that basically states that we will be held accountable for our words. I will use this blog to share my opinions with a christian world view and occasionally publish some articles I write. Please feel free to respond but no negativity or harsh words allowed.
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2 comments:
Thanks for letting me know about your blog, Telika. I'm so glad you decided to blog.
Now about being a conservative, I was well aware that even among Christians at that conference, I was in the minority. I made no assumptions about the students or the journalists being politically conservative. In fact, the only person who told me he was also conservative was Lawrence Smith, the one who did the presentation that included passages from Luke.
Perhaps I sounded as though I thought everyone was conservative, and for that, I apologize. I truly wish one of you had said something so we could talk about it. I hate to leave everyone with that impression.
I blog for many reasons, and this is one: to dispel myths about conservatives. Democrats like to accuse conservatives of being against the "poor" and “for war.” One of the many differences between liberals and conservative is our approach to problem-solving. Liberals believe in spending more of your money on big, bloated programs on various services that may not actually help the poor. Conservative believe in empowering the individual – poor or not – to take control of their own lives and become less dependent on government hand-outs.
Unfortunately, we’ve allowed liberals to define the rules. Existing on government welfare is an unbiblical way to live. Work and responsible are stressed in the Bible, and any Christian living on the government dole is not being obedient. Unless someone is gravely sick or terminally ill, he can work, even if he can’t walk. For years liberals have painted conservatives and white, rich, racists, but with black conservatives like me, that’s getting harder and harder for them to do.
Keep in mind that most of God’s commands are to individual believers, not to the government. I got on John Kerry last year for misapplying James 2. He said Bush was not being faithful in the “works” department because he wasn’t taking more of your money and giving to “the poor.” I corrected him and explained who that passage was directed to and why his own words proved that he was biblically illiterate. Check the “Faith” category on my blog.
About peace, conservatives also want peace. The question Christians need to ask is whether defending one’s country is biblical. As you recall, throughout the OT, Israel was commanded to defend herself. Now God’s commands were also designed to punish errant nations and even Israel herself. In the NT, particularly in Romans, Paul lays out the function and role of the government, and governments and their leaders are appointed by God. One of the functions of government is to defend citizens against evil, and people who do no evil have no need to fear the government. Now what did God mean by “evil?” Surely blowing up buildings and killing thousands is considered evil in his eyes. How does a government defend its citizens against future attacks? One of the ways is to go after the perpetrators. Another is to beef up security. Many, many factors are involved here, and any Democrat, believe me Telika, would’ve done the exact same thing as Bush.
Before this post turns into 20,000 words, let me just say two more things: 1) Peace is not free nor is it a God-given right. It is entirely biblical for Christians to support their government’s decision to go to war and even fight to defend their country; 2) I have written about these and MANY other issues on my blog, and I encourage you to please read the “Faith” category for an idea where I stand on these tough issues.
Welcome to the blogosphere!
Thank you Lashawn for responding to my blog. Although I do disagree. Jesus helped beggers and continue to help those who need, and all we have to do is ask. He doesn't require us to be anything but believers. Also, I don't see how invading Iraq is punishing those responsible for 911. I also don't see why so many young men have to die just so we can seek out revenge. We are still at war, how many people have to die before the Government is satisfied? When someone sins or does evil do you think God no longer loves him? Do you think that God wouldn't want them to live to be saved? Why would killing people who had nothing to do with 911 or was no where near the planes or apart of the plan be justified?
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