WHAT IS A CHRISTIAN CONSERVATIVE?

A DEFINITION BY

GARY RAY BRANSCOME


    Although the media is quick to label various individuals as “liberal” or “conservative,” “right wing” or “left wing,” and likes to use those terms to stereotype the people, and the issues associated with them, those terms are never properly defined, and the people who hold conservative views are generally misrepresented. For that reason, I would like to outline what I believe, and thus how I define the term “conservative Christian.”

    First of all, I am a conservative Christian because I believe that the Bible is God's Word, from Genesis to Revelation, and that the fundamental division in our society is between those who believe the Bible and those who do not. I also believe in traditional Christian morality coupled with freedom under law, and thus in the principles that this nation was founded on, as well as the limitations that the Constitution originally placed on our government. At the same time, I oppose racism, welcome true progress, and regard all attempts to stereotype conservative Christians as racist, anti-progressive, or mean-spirited as both false and cruel.

BELIEF IN THE BIBLE

    Since I believe that God created all things in six days, I also believe that all men are descended from Adam and Eve, and that differences in skin color are no more significant than differences in hair color or eye color. On the other hand, since the theory of evolution leads logically to the conclusion that different races of people represent different levels of evolution, I regard Darwinian evolution as a racist philosophy. [Darwin, regarded primitive people as apelike.]

    Because I believe in the Ten Commandments, I believe that it is wrong to kill babies in the womb, engage in sexual intercourse outside of marriage, and practice homosexuality.

    I also believe that God created men and women for different roles, and intended for a husband and wife to work together as a team. While the husband is to lead the home, he is also to care for his wife and children, protect them, and provide for them. As the husband cares for his wife and helps her, so she according to her role is to care for him and help him. Therefore, I regard those who would abolish this team, forcing women to care for themselves and their children alone, as the real enemies of women.

FREEDOM UNDER LAW

    Biblical freedom is not the freedom to do wrong, but the freedom to do right. It is the freedom to worship the true God, run an honest business without government interference, keep what you have earned, and pass on your property to your children. In short it is the freedom to “live quiet and peaceable lives in all godliness and honesty” (1Timothy 2:2). In contrast, the enemies of freedom would confiscate what we have earned, confiscate most of every inheritance, and promote abortion and immorality in the name of increasing freedom.

    I believe that God has given every man the fruit of his labor, and that the commandment, “Thou shalt not steal” gives to us the right to keep what we have earned (Genesis 3:19, Exodus 20:15). Therefore, I do not believe that any ruler has the authority to simply rob his subjects. It makes no difference whether he robs them to make himself rich or to buy votes with some “welfare” scheme, theft is still theft. God has given rulers authority so that they might be a terror to evildoers, not to the law-abiding (Romans 13:4). When they do that job well they deserve their salaries, and have expenses that must be met. However, the power to tax should never be perverted into some sort of scheme for redistributing the wealth.

    I believe that law should rest on unchanging principles of right and wrong, not on the evolving opinions of judges. For that reason, I am opposed to judicial activism and to every attempt on the part of rulers to redefine and get around the Constitution. The words of the Constitution have only one valid meaning, and that is the meaning that the men who drafted the Constitution intended for them to have. Furthermore, that meaning was clearly explained and written down at each of the state conventions that were called to ratify the original Constitution. Since that is the only meaning approved and adopted by the founding fathers, “liberals” who seek to redefine the Constitution to suit their whims, are subverting the Constitution and placing our freedom in jeopardy.

    Since I believe that men are by nature sinners, I believe that Constitutional limitations on the power of government are essential to freedom. In the words of Thomas Jefferson, “Let us hear no more about trust in men, but let us bind them down from mischief by the chains of a Constitution.”

    Because I believe that the government best able to keep the peace is one that is prepared for war, I believe in military preparedness (Luke 11:21). Moreover, one of the best ways for any nation to prepare to repel aggression, without becoming aggressors, is by having an armed citizenry rather than a large standing military (Luke 22:36, Genesis 14:14). For that reason, I oppose gun control.

    Since I believe that it is not the job of rulers to restrict and regulate law-abiding citizens, I believe in freedom of enterprise (1Timothy 1:9). I believe that individuals should be free to start a company and run an honest business without government interference. As long a business is being conducted in accord with the Ten Commandments, I believe that government should leave it alone. Therefore, I am opposed to all unnecessary regulations on business. While no company should be allowed to rob the people of clean air or water by polluting, no law aimed at helping one company beat out its competition should ever be passed, and many environmental regulations are aimed at doing just that.  

    Because the Bible prescribes capital punishment for certain crimes, I believe that capital punishment is just, and that God intended for government to carry out such punishment (Romans 13:4).

CONCLUSION

    When those who reject the Christian worldview choose to demonize us while closing the door to dialogue, we can only conclude that they would rather spread hatred than make the effort to understand our point of view. Of course, the fact that those who hate Christ hate us should not surprise us, for the Bible predicts it (John 15:18, 1John 3:13)