Delusions of the 'Christian Right'
It's downright remarkable that so many in America who profess Jesus as their Lord can simultaneously display a measure of indifference (bordering on contempt) for the truth, to whatever extent that it doesn't fit their political ideology. Instead, these believers practice a brand of politics largely rooted in political and historical illiteracy at best, and baldfaced revisionism at worst.
At its core, the traditional Christian faith has historically held the truth in high esteem. He who is worshipped as Savior and Son of God identified Himself as truth incarnate (John 14:6).
Christians are instructed by Scripture to lay aside falsehood and tell truth (Ephesians 4:15, 25) and to rejoice in the truth (I Corinthians 13:6). They are warned that it is the wicked who won't love or believe the truth (II Thessalonians 2:10,12), that failing to embrace truth renders one vulnerable to myths (II Timothy 4:4), and that it is the noble-minded who study to verify what they hear (Acts 17:10-11).
The Savior Himself said "Take care what you listen to. By your standard of measure it will be measured to you..." (Mark 4:24), and warned that "every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment" (Matthew 12:36).
Yet each day, professing Christians can be observed unquestioningly embracing — in casual conversation, in print, and on the airwaves — an entire framework of political beliefs based largely on highly questionable (often downright false) statements originally spawned by one 'conservative' pundit or another.
Unwittingly compartmentalizing their professed love for the truth, and spurning subjective critical analysis, these 'Christians' champion the tenets of a political ideology having little more basis in truth than the 'godless Communism' once targeted as the nemesis of the 'Christian Right.'
Among those tenets (but seldom advertised as such) are...
Statism (at home) & Imperialism (abroad)
How exactly is a 'conservative' or 'christian' version of bloated, expansive, fiscally bankrupt, power-hungry, unaccountable government somehow better than a 'liberal' or 'godless' version of bloated, expansive, fiscally bankrupt, power-hungry, unaccountable government?
(Hint: It's not.)
It boggles the mind that the Founders, amidst a culture heavily influenced by Christian principles, had the wisdom to call for severely limited government, especially on the national level, while today's professing Christians glibly acquiesce to the ever expansive federal leviathan, on the grounds that a professing Christian is supposedly at the helm.
Roman worship of both the State and its Caesars was rejected by the early Christians, and they were persecuted as non-conformist rebels. In stark contrast to this, many American Christians today idolize the State and its Caesar, mislabeling it 'patriotism' -- and are quick to unleash a rather unchristian brand of venom on any who disagree.
Christian 'conservatives' once called for government that was fiscally responsible, less intrusive, and (therefore) generally smaller. Today they mindlessly beat the drums of war on terrorism, war on drugs, etc., oblivious to the truth that most of what the federal government is doing (including every 'war' [all of them being lost, incidentally]) plunges ALL Americans further into debt for the sake of a corporate and/or political agenda that has nothing to do with the actual, genuine interests, security, or liberty of the American People or the Constitution.
History and current events only corroborate the truisms that 'power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely' (Acton), and 'that government is best which governs least' (Paine? Jefferson?), yet such truth seems lost on today's Christian 'conservatives' who all but demand that the federal government become bigger and more powerful, both at home and abroad.
The Welfare State
Professing to despise the government-enforced redistribution of their plundered wealth to the poor, minorities, and 'illegal' aliens, American Christians by and large turn a blind eye to the wholesale channeling of the State's booty to huge agricultural and manufacturing corporations in the form of subsidies, government contracts, and import tariffs.
Having recently controlled both the White House and both Houses of Congress for four full years, 'conservative' Christians' party of choice conspicuously failed to enact even a scrap of legislation deconstructing any significant part of the very same socialist welfare system they're unwilling to share with society's dregs. Socialized education, healthcare, and food stamps remained unaffected amidst a cacophony of dissent over hungry (but mostly hard-working) 'invaders' from abroad and a perpetual class of sluggards from within.
(Jesus said, 'You always have the poor with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them' [Mark 14:7], but today's 'conservative' Christians, by and large, appear content to accept wasteful, inept, and heavily corrupted government 'charity' at the barrel of a gun as a substitute for personally doing good.)
The Warfare State
With a mere shadow of an understanding of the 'just war' concept, most American Christians seem convinced that it's 'just' (not to mention downright normal) to send and expend military hardware and lives throughout the globe for everything BUT defending the country or its Constitution. Whether due to willful ignorance or abject denial, they don't seem to recognize that such activity as the very essence of imperialism — the mere mention of which truth is often rewarded with jerk-o-the-knee derisive epithets like 'unpatriotic,' 'unamerican,' and 'leftist.'
The Founders laid down strict limitations on the use of military force, and plainly advocated a live-and-let-live policy of friendly, free trade made possible by our peacefully minding our own business. Republican presidents have a history of abandoning that policy — to the detriment of The People they presume to govern — beginning as far back as Lincoln himself. The questionable sloganeering traditions of 'support the president!' and 'support the troops!' regardless of the mission is standard fare among American Christians today, much as it was in vogue among the faithful worshippers at Rome's statist altar.
[It's noteworthy, as the 2008 presidential election primaries are ramping up, that among both Democrats and Republicans only a couple of candidates unequivocally advocate a policy of peace and the withdrawal of American military from their present quagmires in the Middle East. Equally noteworthy is the fact that one of them — a professing Christian (with a solid, corroborating track record) — has received more financial contributions from U.S. military personnel than any other candidate.]
At its core, the traditional Christian faith has historically held the truth in high esteem. He who is worshipped as Savior and Son of God identified Himself as truth incarnate (John 14:6).
Christians are instructed by Scripture to lay aside falsehood and tell truth (Ephesians 4:15, 25) and to rejoice in the truth (I Corinthians 13:6). They are warned that it is the wicked who won't love or believe the truth (II Thessalonians 2:10,12), that failing to embrace truth renders one vulnerable to myths (II Timothy 4:4), and that it is the noble-minded who study to verify what they hear (Acts 17:10-11).
The Savior Himself said "Take care what you listen to. By your standard of measure it will be measured to you..." (Mark 4:24), and warned that "every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment" (Matthew 12:36).
Yet each day, professing Christians can be observed unquestioningly embracing — in casual conversation, in print, and on the airwaves — an entire framework of political beliefs based largely on highly questionable (often downright false) statements originally spawned by one 'conservative' pundit or another.
Unwittingly compartmentalizing their professed love for the truth, and spurning subjective critical analysis, these 'Christians' champion the tenets of a political ideology having little more basis in truth than the 'godless Communism' once targeted as the nemesis of the 'Christian Right.'
Among those tenets (but seldom advertised as such) are...
Statism (at home) & Imperialism (abroad)
How exactly is a 'conservative' or 'christian' version of bloated, expansive, fiscally bankrupt, power-hungry, unaccountable government somehow better than a 'liberal' or 'godless' version of bloated, expansive, fiscally bankrupt, power-hungry, unaccountable government?
(Hint: It's not.)
It boggles the mind that the Founders, amidst a culture heavily influenced by Christian principles, had the wisdom to call for severely limited government, especially on the national level, while today's professing Christians glibly acquiesce to the ever expansive federal leviathan, on the grounds that a professing Christian is supposedly at the helm.
Roman worship of both the State and its Caesars was rejected by the early Christians, and they were persecuted as non-conformist rebels. In stark contrast to this, many American Christians today idolize the State and its Caesar, mislabeling it 'patriotism' -- and are quick to unleash a rather unchristian brand of venom on any who disagree.
Christian 'conservatives' once called for government that was fiscally responsible, less intrusive, and (therefore) generally smaller. Today they mindlessly beat the drums of war on terrorism, war on drugs, etc., oblivious to the truth that most of what the federal government is doing (including every 'war' [all of them being lost, incidentally]) plunges ALL Americans further into debt for the sake of a corporate and/or political agenda that has nothing to do with the actual, genuine interests, security, or liberty of the American People or the Constitution.
History and current events only corroborate the truisms that 'power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely' (Acton), and 'that government is best which governs least' (Paine? Jefferson?), yet such truth seems lost on today's Christian 'conservatives' who all but demand that the federal government become bigger and more powerful, both at home and abroad.
The Welfare State
Professing to despise the government-enforced redistribution of their plundered wealth to the poor, minorities, and 'illegal' aliens, American Christians by and large turn a blind eye to the wholesale channeling of the State's booty to huge agricultural and manufacturing corporations in the form of subsidies, government contracts, and import tariffs.
Having recently controlled both the White House and both Houses of Congress for four full years, 'conservative' Christians' party of choice conspicuously failed to enact even a scrap of legislation deconstructing any significant part of the very same socialist welfare system they're unwilling to share with society's dregs. Socialized education, healthcare, and food stamps remained unaffected amidst a cacophony of dissent over hungry (but mostly hard-working) 'invaders' from abroad and a perpetual class of sluggards from within.
(Jesus said, 'You always have the poor with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them' [Mark 14:7], but today's 'conservative' Christians, by and large, appear content to accept wasteful, inept, and heavily corrupted government 'charity' at the barrel of a gun as a substitute for personally doing good.)
The Warfare State
With a mere shadow of an understanding of the 'just war' concept, most American Christians seem convinced that it's 'just' (not to mention downright normal) to send and expend military hardware and lives throughout the globe for everything BUT defending the country or its Constitution. Whether due to willful ignorance or abject denial, they don't seem to recognize that such activity as the very essence of imperialism — the mere mention of which truth is often rewarded with jerk-o-the-knee derisive epithets like 'unpatriotic,' 'unamerican,' and 'leftist.'
The Founders laid down strict limitations on the use of military force, and plainly advocated a live-and-let-live policy of friendly, free trade made possible by our peacefully minding our own business. Republican presidents have a history of abandoning that policy — to the detriment of The People they presume to govern — beginning as far back as Lincoln himself. The questionable sloganeering traditions of 'support the president!' and 'support the troops!' regardless of the mission is standard fare among American Christians today, much as it was in vogue among the faithful worshippers at Rome's statist altar.
[It's noteworthy, as the 2008 presidential election primaries are ramping up, that among both Democrats and Republicans only a couple of candidates unequivocally advocate a policy of peace and the withdrawal of American military from their present quagmires in the Middle East. Equally noteworthy is the fact that one of them — a professing Christian (with a solid, corroborating track record) — has received more financial contributions from U.S. military personnel than any other candidate.]
posted by Mudrostovich | 7:15 AM
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