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.
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.
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
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
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).
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