Although the media is quick to label various individuals as “liberal”
or “conservative,” “right wing” or “left wing,” and likes to use those
terms to stereotype the people and issues associated with them, those
terms are never properly defined, and the people who hold conservative
views are generally misrepresented. For that reason, I would like to
outline what I believe, and thus how I define the term “conservative
Christian.”
First of all, I am a conservative Christian because
I believe that the Bible is God's Word, from Genesis to Revelation, and
that the fundamental division in our society is between those who
believe the Bible and those who do not. I also believe in traditional
Christian morality coupled with freedom under law, and, thus, in the
principles that this nation was founded on, as well as the limitations
that the Constitution originally placed on our government. At the same
time, I oppose racism, welcome true progress, and regard all attempts
to stereotype conservative Christians as racist, anti-progressive, or
mean-spirited as both false and cruel.
Since I believe that God created all things in six
days, I also believe that all men are descended from Adam and Eve, and
that differences in skin color are no more significant than differences
in hair color or eye color. On the other hand, since the theory of
evolution leads logically to the conclusion that different races of
people represent different levels of evolution, I regard Darwinian
evolution as a racist philosophy. [Darwin, regarded primitive people as
apelike.]
Because I believe in the Ten Commandments, I believe
that it is wrong to kill babies in the womb, engage in sexual
intercourse outside of marriage, and practice homosexuality.
I also believe that God created men and women for
different roles, and intended for a husband and wife to work together
as a team. While the husband is to lead the home, he is also to care
for his wife and children, protect them, and provide for them. As the
husband cares for his wife and helps her, so she according to her role
is to care for him and help him. Therefore, I regard those who would
abolish this team, forcing women to care for themselves and their
children alone, as the real enemies of women.
Biblical freedom is not the freedom to do wrong, but
the freedom to do right. It is the freedom to worship the true God, run
an honest business without government interference, keep what you have
earned, and pass on your property to your children. In short it is the
freedom to “live quiet and peaceable lives in all godliness and
honesty” (1Timothy 2:2). In contrast, the enemies of freedom would
confiscate what we have earned, confiscate most of every inheritance,
and promote abortion and immorality in the name of increasing freedom.
I believe that God has given every man the fruit of
his labor, and that the commandment, “Thou shalt not steal” gives to us
the right to keep what we have earned (Genesis 3:19, Exodus 20:15).
Therefore, I do not believe that any ruler has the authority to simply
rob his subjects. It makes no difference whether he robs them to make
himself rich or to buy votes with some “welfare” scheme, theft is still
theft. God has given rulers authority so that they might be a terror to
evildoers, not to the law-abiding (Romans 13:4). When they do that job
well they deserve their salaries, and have expenses that must be met.
However, the power to tax should never be perverted into some sort of
scheme for redistributing the wealth.
I believe that law should rest on unchanging
principles of right and wrong, not on the evolving opinions of judges.
For that reason, I am opposed to judicial activism and to every attempt
on the part of rulers to redefine and get around the Constitution. The
words of the Constitution have only one valid meaning, and that is the
meaning that the men who drafted the Constitution intended for them to
have. Furthermore, that meaning was clearly explained and written down
at each of the state conventions that were called to ratify the
original Constitution. Since that is the only meaning approved and
adopted by the founding fathers, “liberals” who seek to redefine the
Constitution to suit their whims, are subverting the Constitution and
placing our freedom in jeopardy.
Since I believe that men are by nature sinners, I
believe that Constitutional limitations on the power of government are
essential to freedom. In the words of Thomas Jefferson, “Let us hear no
more about trust in men, but let us bind them down from mischief by the
chains of a Constitution.”
Because I believe that the government best able to
keep the peace is one that is prepared for war, I believe in military
preparedness (Luke 11:21). Moreover, one of the best ways for any
nation to prepare to repel aggression, without becoming aggressors, is
by having an armed citizenry rather than a large standing military
(Luke 22:36, Genesis 14:14). For that reason, I oppose gun control.
Since I believe that it is not the job of rulers to
restrict and regulate law-abiding citizens, I believe in freedom of
enterprise (1Timothy 1:9). I believe that individuals should be free to
start a company and run an honest business without government
interference. As long a business is being conducted in accord with the
Ten Commandments, I believe that government should leave it alone.
Therefore, I am opposed to all unnecessary regulations on business.
While no company should be allowed to rob the people of clean air or
water by polluting, no law aimed at helping one company beat out its
competition should ever be passed, and many environmental regulations
are aimed at doing just that.
Because the Bible prescribes capital punishment for
certain crimes, I believe that capital punishment is just, and that God
intended for government to carry out such punishment (Romans 13:4).
When those who reject the Christian worldview choose
to demonize us while closing the door to dialogue, we can only conclude
that they would rather spread hatred than make the effort to understand
our point of view. Of course, the fact that those who hate Christ hate
us should not surprise us, for the Bible predicts it (John 15:18, 1John
3:13)