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-- GideonHart - 29 Mar 2008 | |
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- I just went through this as I wish someone would go through mine. Thanks for making me think. -- AdamCarlis 1 Apr 2008
| | | | | | Moral conservatism is largely about morality, ethics, and values. It is completely valid to have ones personal values shaped or prescribed by the Bible, the Koran, or something else. Christianity generally is, and probably should be, morally conservative. The moral positions of the Christian faith are set out in the Gospels, largely in the Sermons on the Mount and on the Plain; these sermons repeat the moral and ethical positions of the Old Testament, and reemphasize existing religious laws. Christians are unequivocally instructed to follow the instructions of Jesus, and many Christians' opposition to morally liberal practices that conflict with these rules is understandable. Without delving into a theological analysis (dozens of which can be easily found), it will be granted that it is not a stretch of Christian rules to oppose abortion, and possibly gay marriage, on biblical grounds. | |
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- I am worried that you are making statements of fact "Christianity generally is, and probably should be, morally conservative" and "It is completely valid to have ones personal values shpaed or prescribed by the bible" that many people (including many Christians) would strongly disagree with. I think that you need to either change them from fact to opinion or back them up, otherwise you run the risk of losing your readers from paragraph one. -- AdamCarlis 01 Apr 2008
| | | Political Conservatism
Political conservatism, although sharing the “conservative” label, is an entirely different creature. Although a generalization, political conservatism has been dedicated to maintaining the status quo and to preserving the wealth and power of the elite. | |
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- Doesn't moral conservativism do this as well? Moral conservatives privilege heterosexuals, men, etc. at the expense of women and the homosexual community. -- AdamCarlis 1 Apr 2008
| | | The world described in the Gospels is one in which there is a clear division between rich and poor, with Romans, priests, urban aristocrats, and landowners possessing most available wealth. The rural masses were left horribly destitute through a combination of Roman and religious taxes, and widespread land seizures. The terrible poverty of the many played a major part in the message of Jesus. Jesus was at his most scathing and critical when considering the disparity between the wealthy and the poor. Further, Jesus elevated the poor, oppressed, and suffering – he freely offered them salvation and was most concerned with their plight. Jesus squarely stood against the self-serving rhetoric of the wealthy elites and their manipulations of the poor. It follows that an individual today attempting to follow the teachings of Jesus would be very concerned with the fate of the poor and the growing inequality of wealth and power in America. | | | Republicans have succeeded in capturing the Evangelical vote by placing several morally conservative positions at the center of their platform. This strategy deflects attention away from their disregard for other, arguably more important, Christian positions. The Republican Party’s outspoken and vehement opposition to abortion, gay marriage, and euthanasia have turned those issues into effective rallying points for the Evangelical vote. Although these positions may arguably be correct in terms of Christian theology, the Republican Party’s advocacy for them seems to be little more than Christian adornment in light of their other policies favoring war, torture, the death penalty, and abandonment of the poor. By fervently and very publicly supporting morally conservative positions, Republicans have succeeded in giving many Christians the impression that the Republican Party is a Christian party, and that a handful of highly publicized moral positions should trump all others at the polls. The support of the Christian Coalition and prominent ministers has lent this position even more credibility in the eyes of Evangelicals. The Evangelical support for these morally conservative positions has been so strong that they have been willing to ignore the un-Christian politically conservative policies advocated by many of the Republicans they vote into office. | |
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- There is also the movement to justify neo-liberal economics as maximizing liberty and freedom which many preachers have lached onto as a type of justice. The result is, I think, very relavent to how the Republican party is able to manufacture support from social conservatives for their economic policies. -- AdamCarlis 1 Apr 2008
| | | The Future of the Religious Right
If the Evangelical Christian community is to truly vote in-line with the teachings of Jesus they must abandon their support for politically conservative candidates. Evangelicals, justifiably, could continue to support morally conservative policies, and lend support to candidates advocating those positions. However, Evangelical voters must also stop supporting politically conservative policies that conflict with Jesus’ teaching. Recently some cracks have appeared, as some Evangelical ministers have spoken out against the Bush administration’s fiscal policies and positions on poverty. This movement may possibly be the beginning of the end for the religious right. These leaders are beginning to instruct Evangelical voters to support candidates that reflect the values of Jesus overall, rather than allow their voting to be swayed by a single issue. | |
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- I wonder how Huckabee fits into this equation? -- AdamCarlis 01 Apr 2008
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Note: The choice of this topic, and the essay itself, is not in any way an espousal of or an attack on Christianity, political or moral conservatism, political or moral liberalism, or a claim to factual accuracy of any information in the Bible. However, it is undoubted that the teachings ascribed to Jesus and the rest of the Bible have greatly impacted American politics. Individuals who are Christian profess belief in the words and actions of Jesus, regardless of their factual accuracy. This is especially true among Evangelical Christians who tend to interpret the Bible literally. Accordingly, a study of how an Evangelical Christians should vote must accept as true the teachings of Jesus because those voters regard the teachings to be true. This paper is an attempt to focus attention on the way that Christianity has been used recently to support political conservatism, even though many of the initiatives advanced by political conservatives seem to conflict with the most basic teachings of Jesus. |
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