Christianity and Liberalism:

Straight AheadChristianity and political liberalism are logically incompatible. To those who don't know me, this may seem like a shocking statement, but this conclusion seems inevitable for several reasons. Political liberalism fails in the very area of accountability. Political liberalism fails to allow a person to face the consequences of his own actions. It assumes an attitude of victimization. If somebody doesn't have enough to eat, it must be the fault of the rich, the evil businessman, or bad parents. Even when, in rare instances, the political liberal does allow the individual to assume responsibility for his own mistakes, it's the job of the rest of us to see that the person doesn't really have to face the full consequences of these actions. That's what the welfare state has largely come to symbolize today. The Protestant Reformation, on the other hand, emphasized a strong work ethic, and based that emphasis on a biblical worldview. Political liberalism is incompatible with Christianity for another reason. It lauds "Big Government." The Christian, on the other hand, knows that man is sinful. It is dangerous to concentrate too much power in the hands of government because there is no check on that power. While the Christian realizes that it is not good for too much power to reside in any one area of society, he would far prefer business to become big and government small. At least, that way, the government can serve as a check on the abuses by business whereas there is no outside power to serve as a check on abuses by government. This is also why Christians should much prefer more power to reside in state or provincial government and less in the national capital; and more power to reside in legislatures who are accountable to the electorate, and less in the hands of regulatory agencies who are not accountable to the voters. (See 2 Samuel 8. I preach a sermon entitled, "Big God or Big Government.") In our modern obsession with an ever-increasing role for government, we have largely substituted an over-reaching central government for the honor and worship of God. The third reason that I say Christianity and political liberalism are incompatible is that while Christianity recognizes our responsibility to provide for the needs of those who cannot provide for themselves, it also understands and upholds private property rights. The political liberal thinks he's being very compassionate when he sponsors or supports legislation to take money away from one group, filter it through various agencies, and give part of it to another group. This attempt at providing a "level playing field," also known as the redistribution of wealth, is not true Christian compassion. It is simply confiscation by the government, a legalized form of theft. How am I displaying compassion when I simply force one person or group to give part of their wealth to another--especially when I take it from them by coersion, using various forms of taxation? No, if I am truly compassionate along the lines of the biblical model and the example of Christ, I give of my own substance without inflicting my brand of compassion on someone else. I could give more reasons why political liberalism and Christianity are not good mates, and you can probably add more to this list. I am what I am politically because I am what I am theologically. Does this mean that I don't care about the needs of what we used to call the "worthy poor?" Not at all. Does this mean that I feel no discomfort with the present identification of evangelicals with the Republican Party? No. In fact, I am quite uncomfortable with this alliance. I will have more to say about these and other issues in later entries.