Philosophy of Science, Religion, Politics, and Ethics with Soul

I will open this post with the following quote:

“Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.” – Benjamin Franklin

This is a follow up to my previous post about Christians and liberal dogma. To begin, I want to point out something a liberal Christian friend of mine noted with disgust about conservatives. His contention was that conservatives are hypocrites because they talk so much about family values, and next thing you know, they get caught in an affair or some other reputation damaging (or career limiting) situation. My response to this was that any conservative will tell you to look at the Judeo-Christian principles themselves, which are timeless and eternal, and not to look at the person, because persons, at least in their present form, are ephemeral and flawed. Even the apostle Paul said to follow his example as he followed the example of Christ (see 1 Corinthians 11:1). So even if a conservative is a hypocrite, that doesn’t excuse him/her of the standard they were attempting to follow in the first place, and that doesn’t excuse my friend either. In fact, because there is a standard, we have an objective measure. For liberals, there is no objective measure, but a relative measure based solely on how society has evolved over time. If the liberal is correct (which I don’t think they are), then in the absence of an objective standard, it is questionable if we can have any standard at all. Such is the logical outcome of this view.

Now what is critical to this discussion is that in my view, Democrats have positions, and not standards. So I can’t imagine why a Christian would vote Democratic unless it is as a check on Republicans, specifically because their is a decided mismatch in core values. My first argument against Democrats is that they don’t require personal responsibility from their constituents, under the camouflage of tolerance and choice against traditional values, and this is intentional. They will fight for their constituents’ “rights” to eschew personal responsibility and self-determination in exchange for votes, but the cost is dependence. If they get your vote, then they will attempt to resolve bad outcomes from poor decisions that you make by taxing the public (i.e., socialization of loss). Thereby, you can live your life as you want with no moral restrictions, and that is fine by Democrats because they’re fighting for your freedom, supposedly. But is this freedom? I think not. It is slavery to the Democratic party and slavery to every desire you might have that the Democrats say you have a right to act upon without consequence (as long as you don’t physically harm anyone). Why any Christian would be on board with that philosophy is beyond me, as this position is inimical to Christianity.

My second argument is in regard to the issue of abortion. Except for a small group of pro-life Democrats, the vast majority of Democrats argue the “pro-choice” position, and attack Republicans as being against women having “choice.” Never was there a bigger red herring than this. The fact is that in the vast majority of cases, the woman (and the man) has a choice to use protection or abstain from sexual activity until married or in a position to raise a child. Again, this is a matter of personal responsibility. Even our president argues that if his daughter makes a mistake, then “she shouldn’t be punished with a baby.” Is life of so little value to the president and his Democratic colleagues? This is not simply “a mistake.” So I am amazed that some Christians seem to take no issue with Obama in this regard. Further, using the term “pro-choice” is only a euphemism for “pro-abortion” because it sounds better and is more socially acceptable. The truth is the pro-abortion position absolves a woman of personal responsibility, and encourages her use of abortion as a legitimate form of birth control. In so doing, a human life is taken with that life having no choice in the matter. The Democrats are playing word games at the expense of human life, and again, it amazes me that Christians can support those who advocate such modern-day barbarism.

My third argument is regarding illegal immigration. Democrats give the appearance of compassion, citing illegal immigrants as an oppressed people (even though they came willingly) who deserve a path to citizenship. As it turns out, statistics demonstrate that immigrants lean decidedly towards voting Democratic, and in this particular group, it will lean even more Democratic because Democrats are pushing for a path to citizenship while most Republicans oppose it. Clearly, this has not escaped the political calculations of Democrats, who would usurp rule of law in order to garner votes. As a Christian, I do believe we should demonstrate compassion towards any and all humans, but I do not believe we should reward those who have violated our laws to come to this country, and moreover, I believe we should enact tough laws that prevent employers from exploiting these low wage workers. And as to how we should deal with illegal immigrants, I believe we should make it easier for legal temporary workers to come to this country with the potential for citizenship, and we should make it hard for illegal workers to gain citizenship unless they return to their country of origin and legally apply, but I would make some allowances for working families. And of course, there should be no government benefits of any kind for non-citizens.

My fourth argument is the indifference (and often hostility) of the Democratic Party towards the Christian worldview, unless there is a position the church takes (typically, a liberal one) that is consistent with their purposes. When Christians speak out on a moral issue, they are told by Democrats that there is a separation of church and state, as if Christian citizens have no right to make their voices known since their motivation is the Judeo-Christian ethic. So if a Christian can’t have a voice based on this, on what basis should they make their voice known? Is a Christian to adopt a secular worldview, and only then will they be allowed to make their voice known in a secular manner? It is obvious that this is a ridiculous standard. While arguing for choice and tolerance in every other arena, the one thing Democrats won’t tolerate is the Christian worldview and this worldview having a voice in society. Yet if a Christian is in agreement with a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, the Democrats are the first to say that the church supports their position, and in that case, should be heard.

My last (and certainly not final) argument is the notion of equal economic outcome versus equal opportunity, where promotion of the former is used to entrap and enslave at the expense of the latter, which encourages liberty. Equal outcome sounds magnanimous, but it is nothing new, has never worked, and is always implemented using other people’s money. The problem is if you look deeper into this idea, common sense shows that individual people are different, so attempting to equalize economic outcomes (usually through redistributive tax policies) is perverse in three ways: 1) it tells people that they can’t succeed through their own determination and creativity, 2) promotes economic activity as a “zero-sum game” where the rich necessarily profit at the expense of the poor (which is false), and 3) presumes government is necessarily more virtuous than individuals with the wisdom and foresight to pick winners and losers through economic policies and redistributive taxation. What Christians should understand is that the role of government is to provide and enforce a level playing field for all in accordance with the Constitution, while the role of Christians (and all other citizens) is to promote virtue and compassion in society. Government simply cannot make up for the absence of these two key pillars of society, as our founding fathers warned:

“Neither the wisest constitution nor the wisest laws will secure the liberty and happiness of a people whose manners are universally corrupt. He therefore is the truest friend to the liberty of his country who tries most to promote its virtue, and who … will not suffer a man to be chosen into any office of power and trust who is not a wise and virtuous man.” – Samuel Adams [emphasis mine]

With that, I rest my case, arguing for Judeo-Christian virtue in society and in government as the answer to our problems. Democrats cannot deliver with oppressive, secular, liberty robbing methods. And unfortunately, the Republican Party needs a revitalization of conservative principles.

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