Posted by
Rich from NW Indiana on Sunday, November 05, 2006 5:04:48 PM
I was reading The
Secular Conservative blog entry a minute or so ago and I needed to respond to his or her post.
I would like to know why Christians must leave their beliefs at the door of public life. Nobody else does, nor are they asked to do so. None of the reasons that the writer are new to me. They are the same old tired things Christian hear each day at school, work, and many other places as well. I think that non-Christians don't seem to know or ignore that Christians cannot do so. Christianity cannot be boxed up and used only on Sunday at church, and it would be wrong to do so. Many Christians feel alienated by public service today because their beliefs are not given their due. They cannot give their true opinion on problems of society because it includes things that come with Christian faith. I think it does a great disservice to everyone involved.
I also disagree that being Christian only brings emotion to the table. That logic is only for those with no faith is also incorrect. Some of most emotional people that I know are people with no faith, it common because logic doesn't fill all needs. Christians know of real life and its consequences, they serve on the "frontlines" all around the world. Its those that don't think of the consequences are the ones making more problems in the world. That probably why you are conservative today, because liberals are the ones using knee-jerk "solutions" to problems without thinking of the consequences.
I do know that many conservative are not Christians. A person doesn't have to be a Christian to be a conservative. I hope you feel welcome in the conservative movement, but you will have to make sure that Christians are too. Many conservative are people of faith, and that faith will not be left behind, and it will influence the movement. Christians feel uncomfortable at many times, so you are not the only one thats uncomfortable. Its life, people have different opinions and others don't like and feel uncomfortable because of it. It a liberal lie that everyone needs to be comfortable all the time, its imposable to do. The conservative "tent" is much larger then the liberal one today. Thats why many Christian people are there today because the liberal one rejects Christianity in all its forms. Sure there are Christian Democrats but the number gets smaller as time goes on.
Many Christians are for many of the "other" conservative ideas like smaller government etc. Yes, abortion is the top issue for many Christians but that because it is a very important issue to this nation.
What you are asking for cannot be, that's why the public square is vacant of any ideals today. Its because Christians have been evicted from the public discourse of life. Christians have been part of everything good that has happened to this country. From the ending of slavery, the civil rights movement, the free enterprise system and the freedom of religion just to note a few. Even the idea of tolerance is a Christian idea, although not in the form that many think it is today. If it wasn't for the Christians these things would have been even thought off let alone done.