The News #1

Have you ever wondered why most (but not all) Bible believing people are politically conservative and most theologically liberal/atheist types (but not all) are politically liberal? I would suggest three reasons why this might be so.

The Bible teaches personal responsibility. I can’t blame anyone else for my sins. I may have come from a very bad background but it doesn’t excuse me. And if I am held responsible for my moral life it just seems natural to assume that I am also responsible for the practical affairs of life. The Bible instructs us to be charitable, but if a brother is able to work and refuses, we are instructed not to feed him.

The Bible also teaches personal morality. While no political movement is a pure expression of the will of God it’s pretty clear that conservatives are more in tune with abstinence before marriage and sexual fidelity thereafter (even if all of the conservative politicians don’t manage to live up to that standard).

The Bible also teaches that all humanity is tainted by sin. This means that we must never allow the accumulation of too much power in any one place. No one can be trusted with too much power. A government that can do anything for you can also take anything from you. At the end of the age we will be facing a government who tells us who and what we have to worship and if we do not worship as they decree we shall be unable to buy or sell.

Last but not least, to a Bible believing Christian, while the universe can seem to be a scary place, there is a God in heaven who listens and cares. I had a dear friend, a long time, faithful member of a liberal church once share with me his conviction that there was absolutely no chance that God would overrule the natural laws of the universe in answer to prayer. Such people are feel totally unprotected in a universe that is cold, unfeeling ,and vastly bigger than they are. Human beings are naturally religious. If we don’t know the true God, then we must have an idol. We must have a higher power that we can appeal to in times of crises and disaster. And if we are too sophisticated to worship trees and rocks, then we will be more than happy to give more and more power to the state. The government will be there. The government will help us.

Please don’t misunderstand me. You don’t have to be a political conservative to be saved. If you have a genuine faith in Christ you are on the road to heaven. But because of the before mentioned reasons, most Bible believing people are more conservative then liberal. And that is why we are filled with anxiety when we listen to the news. The liberals are winning, and what they take they keep. All conservatives can do is to slow the growth of government, they can never actually roll it back. And so we worry. And this is sin.

Meanwhile the demons are perfectly happy with either political alignment. The liberals want to deify the state. The conservatives are filled with worry. Either way the powers of darkness are winning. But this need not be so.