Five Key Christian Values and How Republicans Don’t Represent Any of Them
Anyone who follows politics is well aware of the fact that conservatives try to paint themselves as people who represent the “moral majority.” And even though our First Amendment clearly forbids it, Republican politicians often do their best to interject their religious beliefs into public policy.
Which is really ironic when you consider these are the people who seem to never shut up about “Constitutional values.” Our First Amendment is pretty direct. ”Freedom of religion” which is also means freedom from religion. It’s also fairly evident, by the lack of the word “Christianity” appearing even once in our Constitution, that our Founding Fathers didn’t want religion playing a part in our government.
Still, that doesn’t stop Republicans from constantly trying to force their warped view of “Christianity” into much of the legislation they attempt to force on the American people.
But I’ve never quite understood where Republicans get off claiming Christianity. Why, because many of them go to church? Because many of them read the Bible? The policies they support sure as heck don’t represent real Christian values.
I guess their opposition to abortion and homosexuality is where they stake their biggest claim to following “Christianity.”
However, I’m not sure that many Republicans know what being a Christian actually means. Being a Christian does not simply mean going to church and following the Bible. Christianity is defined by believing in, and following the Word, of Jesus Christ.
And guess what? He never once spoke about homosexuality or abortion. To judge your conviction to Christianity based on either of those issues means you’re assuming what Jesus would believe. And isn’t it quite arrogant for anyone to assume they would know what the son of God would believe on two issues he never even spoke once about?
Good news though — Jesus did openly speak about many of the values which he did, in fact, support. However, many of those aren’t reflected in the way many conservatives act and they’re damn sure not found in the policies supported by the GOP.
To showcase this hypocrisy I thought I’d run through five of the key traits which I’ve come to understand that Jesus Christ strongly supported and how Republicans simply don’t represent any of them.
So in no particular order, here we go.
1) Helping the poor
Talk about supporting policies that basically do the opposite. Right now, thanks to extra funding the 2009 stimulus had given our SNAP program (aka “food stamps”) running out, millions of Americans are set to have their benefits cut this month—right before the holidays. Republicans could have extended them, but they chose not to. Not only that, but they’re pushing for an additional $39 billion in cuts to the program.
All while pushing for more tax breaks for the rich and big corporations.
Add this on top of many Republican-controlled states refusing to expand Medicaid under “Obamacare” — denying the expansion of health care to millions of poor Americans — and they’re not only cutting food benefits for the poor, but health care benefits as well.
This list could honestly keep going on and on. It seems that whenever Republicans need to make cuts, the first people they go after are the poorest among us.
2) Not judging others
Another big swing and a miss for Republicans on this one. There’s the famous example of Jesus Christ defending a woman set to be stoned to death for committing adultery by asking those who were there if any of them were free of sin, let them cast the first stone. I summarized the quote of course, but the general point behind it is that we’re all sinners and it’s not our place to judge someone else for their indiscretions because we’re all flawed.
Well, Republicans judge everyone. Basically, if you’re not a straight, white, church going male—you’re judged. Hell, some of the most vile, hateful, ignorant judgement I’ve ever witnessed came from those who attended church frequently. It seems high church attendance gives these people the feeling that they’re superior to others because they sit in a building and listen to someone tell them what is and isn’t acceptable.
I’m sure you know these types of people. The alcoholic, been divorced three times with four kids by three different partners, angry, hateful, judgmental individual who goes around telling others what is morally right and wrong while making excuses for their own indiscretions in life.
The Republican party seemingly builds their entire social platform based on judging anyone and everyone who isn’t just like they are.
3) Being hopeful
Honestly, Republicans are some of the most paranoid, fearful, angry people I run across. Liberals might really dislike certain politicians (such as my disdain for Ted Cruz), but conservatives hate President Obama. It’s a deep-seated, vile hatred the likes of which I’ve rarely seen.
Their entire party predicates itself on this perpetual notion that their values are constantly under attack and that at any moment everything they care about in life can be gone.
But then isn’t that the best way to keep people in check—through fear? Fear can be paralyzing. Honestly, fear is probably the most powerful emotion. It can render people to such a state of mental instability that all rational thought and logic fly right out the window. Which, for Republicans, is a great thing.
Conservatives are almost constantly fearful of the future. As long as I’ve been alive, it seems they’re always in this state of mind that someone, or something, is out to get them. Liberals are evil. The government is evil. Muslims are evil. Homosexuals are evil. President Obama is evil.
You get the picture.
4) Acceptance
This one kind of ties into the whole “not judging” thing Republicans constantly fail at. But it’s one thing to not judge someone — it’s quite another to actually accept someone who’s very different from yourself.
This is why I dismiss much of the “giving at church” that conservatives often use as evidence of their generosity and giving. Sure, many conservatives give a great deal of money to their churches. But guess what? Many of them do so because they’re told that’s what they need to do to stay in the good graces of God. Then when you look at the churches these people attend, they’re simply filled with people just like them. It’s a lot easier to give your money to people who reflect exactly who you are. But that doesn’t mean you’re being generous or giving. Especially when you’re giving out of obligation to your religion, not an unwavering generosity and willingness to help.
But conservatives rarely accept anyone different from themselves. Take President Obama for example. We elected our first black president in 2008. But, for many conservatives, we elected a foreign born, Muslim brotherhood supporting antichrist. And don’t tell me his race has nothing to do with it. If President Obama were white, Republicans still probably wouldn’t like him, but the blind hatred wouldn’t be near as intense.
One almost constant calling card of conservatives is resistance to change, not the acceptance of it. Their social ideology seems decades behind most of the civilized world. Doubt me? Feel free to head to any small town in rural Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Louisiana or Georgia. You’d think you were back in the 1950s the way many of these people think.
5) Helping those who can’t help themselves
This one kind of ties together all four of the previous. Jesus Christ didn’t ask those who sought his help why they needed help, he just helped them.
Republicans build an ideology that’s essentially based on “survival of the fittest.” Get as much as you can, nearly any way you can, and if others can’t keep up—that’s their problem.
The way they build their system of beliefs is completely contradictory to Jesus Christ. If someone fell down, before they lent a hand, they’d ask why they were on the ground instead of just helping them up. To them, helping that person out equates to “socialism.” Even though its readily apparent that the vast majority of conservatives don’t even know the definition of “socialism,” though they love to use the word frequently.
Republicans seem to make it a mission to vilify those who need help, while championing those who live a life of greed. Now, I’m not one to begrudge anyone’s success or wealth. Nor should people envy the rich. However, we have a massive problem of the hoarding of wealth in this country by the top 1-2% of the population. People whose entire purpose in life seems to be finding ways to be richer than they were last year.
While they seem to always want to cut funding for education, clear air, food for the needy and health care for the poor—they support massive tax breaks for the rich, oppose closing loopholes that allow wealthy Americans to pay lower taxes than those much poorer than they are and almost always staunchly oppose any legislation that doesn’t directly benefit the wealthiest among us.
Mind you, their contradiction towards all five of these beliefs is pulled off under the guise of being the “party for Christian values.”
The only problem is, almost nothing the Republican party stands for reflects the values for which Jesus Christ lived and died for.
So, how exactly are these people Christians?
Well, that answer’s simple—they’re not. They follow Republicanity, not Christianity.
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