There is a line of argument that has been circulating for decades but seems to have found a new life in hundreds of poorly-written letters to the editor and blogs across the internet recently. There are variations on the theme, of course, but the general argument goes something like this:
- Republicans pretend to be Godly, but they’re not. My Bible says that you should help the poor. Republicans all hate the poor. Therefore, you cannot be Republican and be a good Christian.
It is pretty hard to offend me. I take most everything in stride. But, loathe as I am to admit any political rhetoric can get under my skin, this comes pretty close to that “offensive” threshold. And we’ll even put aside for the moment the fact that most of the people who make this argument don’t own a Bible, much less ever crack the cover.
There is so much wrong with this line of reasoning that it should go without refutation — except for the fact that it seems to be gaining more and more momentum in the buildup to the 2012 election between lover of the poor and downtrodden, Barack Obama, and the eventual Republican nominee.
Among the troublesome holes in the “logic” of this argument is the fact that this is stereotyping at its most blatant. Assuming that you can generalize to a whole group the characteristics of a few is supposed to be anathema to the progressive,tolerant individuals on the Left.
More troubling, however, is the basic failure to appreciate the difference between caring for the poor and thinking that the best way to help the poor is to create massive, inefficient government systems. It is completely compatible with both the Bible and Conservative doctrine to think that people need to help people and the government needs to focus on what it does best. Not to go all Libertarian on you, but in our case the government is good at providing for the common defense and bad at most everything else.
It is true that there are fiscal conservatives who are not social conservatives, which is to say that there are Republicans who are not Christians. I’m sure if you look hard enough, you could find a tiny minority of Republicans who really don’t care about the impoverished. The Republican Party is a large and diverse group. There’s room for more than one type within the party. But don’t make the mistake of thinking that overall people who vote Republican somehow care less about the needy than the Democrats do.
We care. We strive to live up to the commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves. We give of our own time and income to help the less fortunate. We just want to do it ourselves, without the “help” of the federal government.
I agree with much of what you say, but I take issue with your assumption that those who don’t care about the poor are not Christians.
There are plenty of power brokers that keep a Bible under their arm and hobnob with the big money preachers like Jerry Falwell, who won’t do anything for the poor.
“I take issue with your assumption that those who don’t care about the poor are not Christians.”
He said no such thing.
Mr. Rowe, an excellent article, as always. Severe is the issue which would cause you to take a break from the “Winners & Losers” series–and it’s an important issue.
I wonder if these smug Leftists would be so high-minded were they to read the parable of the workers in the vinyard. Jesus told the tale of a rich vinyard-owner who hired different sets of workers at different points of the day. At the end of the day, he pays them all the same–in other words, he pays the guys he hired later at a higher rate than those he highered earlier.
His reasons? “You agreed to work for a denarius. Take your pay and go. How I pay the others is my business–don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money?”
There’s also the passage, “If a man does not work, neither should he eat.”
And then…”Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman. That is detestable.”
Bet the Left would LOVE quoting that!
You say the government’s good at providing for our common defense but not much else. We pay more for defense than every other country. So if we put that much money into programs for the poor, wouldn’t we also be good at helping the poor?
If your ideological argument in favor of Republicans is that they love the assistance for the poor, they just don’t want a big costly government bureaucracy to provide it. I guess not offering to replace that structure with anything is an acceptable answer. There is a great track record of Republicans cutting programs that negatively effect children, the poor and elderly while fighting for tax breaks that further enrich the top percentage of our economy. “They’re the job creators” is the familiar chant. We’ll we’ve had the Bush tax breaks in place for 10 years, where are all the jobs that they’re creating? When you fight for the rich and not the poor, you commit class warfare. The Republicans have shown what side they are on. The cuts to programs that serve children and the poor while handing the rich more of their income to keep than the average person gets is immoral. If you believe that committing immoral acts are consistent with the Judo-Christian values in the bible, they you are right to be offended. However if you don’t believe that, you should be offended that he income of the richest 1 percent in the U.S. soared 275 percent from 1979 to 2007, but the bottom 20 percent grew by just 18 percent, most of that coming in the last decade. Letting the rich pay less in taxes it is hurting basic services such as infrastructure, schools are in disrepair and having last decades technology but expecting next decade results, the poor are more and have less places to turn and all I hear is that government is too big. When a big corporate entity such as BP should get Billions in tax credits and government subsidies then children and the poor live in squalor and poverty most times without hope of escape that should be what offends you. By the way, I am an independent. I voted for Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter. However as the Republican party has drifted farther and farther to the right, I have not been able to find a candidate that I feel can balance the need for fiscal responsibility and the need to help the less fortunate of our own. Freedom isn’t free and until we ALL pay our fair share to support our country and the liberty it provides, non of us are truly free.
I love that you berate this logic as wholly and exceptionally silly because it engages in stereotyping in its most basic form. However – you engage similar statements yourself that are deeply disturbing in their own right.
You state, :
“It is true that there are fiscal conservatives who are not social conservatives, which is to say that there are Republicans who are not Christians.”
which is another way to say if one doesn’t fall into lockstep with the Conservative, some would say Tea Party, style of conservative social values, then one cannot and is not Christian.
Really? I thought people held various views on various Biblical topics and that is why Protestantism is so hair-splintered in the US today – and all of them claim to be Christian. So in your opinion I must assume, more “liberal” religious circles like Lutherans, Methodists, or Episcopalians would fail your test on true Christianity?
I look forward to you explaining this point more clearly.
Randy M –
You raise a fair question. I did not mean to imply that all Christians hold exactly the same values. The point, rather, is that you cannot rightfully claim to be a Christian if you have no concern for the poor. I am actually agreeing with the Liberal argument on that point. Where they go off the rails (and I see it over and over and over) is when they then generalize that all Republicans are actually adversarial toward the poor, as if by putting a little (R) next to our name we are openly stating that we couldn’t care a whit about the plight of the less fortunate.
I am flatly embarrassed by the small but loud minority within the party who truly favor the rich at the expense of the poor. But for the most part, we simply hold that there is an approach to increasing prosperity for all that is superior to direct handouts. Let’s be honest here, each party has had their turns in power and regardless the rich keep getting richer and the poor get poorer. The Democrats really cannot claim the high ground based on results.
Not all Christians are Conservative. Not all Republicans are Christian. In general, however, Christians fall on the socially conservative side. In order to survive as a viable political entity they are forced to commingle with Fiscal Conservatives with whom they may not agree on many issues.
One cannot discuss political ideology without some degree of generalization. It is unavoidable. The point that you missed (or that I failed to make clearly) is that it is wildly hypocritical to at once preach tolerance for all while being stoutly intolerant of any who would dare to disagree with you on certain ‘litmus test’ issues.
Thanks for reading and for giving me the opportunity to clarify, Randy. I hope that helps.
Mitt Marcos Romney,has said he was worried about the poor,the next day he said “there are safety nets for them!Thsi so called patriotic guy,keeping millions of money in 3 European banks and the Bermuda…have no HEART!He is only after cashing in millions and hide it far away from teh reach of America,to avoid the IRS!What a selfish,self serving unpatriotic Mitt Romeny.He is a tiny Marcos indeed….enriching themselves while selling and stripping companies of their assets while he likes to fire workers!he has said this!Republicans are greedy!Mitt Marcos is one….
Ron I thought you said you don’t answer these folks.
Carol Dijkhuyzen, a little fact-check:
Mitt Romney donates 15% of his money to charity.
Obama? 1%
Interesting….
I cannot understand Great nation like USA falling short of Idears?.Is it the end of American power?.A man who work for IBM or Apple computer firma can berely pay his rent,while IBM and Apple CEO buys a bottle of win for 7000$.,A CEO makes 144$ a minuit while a folk lift oparators in the same company earns 7$ an hour. Obama for saw this injustic and alarmed this great nation,some of this Republicans benificary of this injustic are calling it a class war.
So my Qust: to the ordinary Americans,is this really a Class war?.
I think these Current Republica Leaders are good for Arabs and African Presdents.
Just watch their Idears: Rike Santorum said that french Revolution of Liberty and Fraternity faild beacuse they, the French have no God,Mitt Rom.,said that Obame care of the poor to at least have a primary health care services is nothing but European social systems.Mr Gin.said that Obama!s is against Christainity,and here is man who is changing women like he dose with his under-wears.
If USA want to still keep her respect around the Globe,they must keep these bunches of republican kampf hunds out.
What do you think the Europeans would think about such an insult.
If any one of these kampf hunds make it to White Hause,it is over with US.
If you doubt me,take my Blog name and address and give me yours so that in 2014 dec.we can talk about the end.
To Worren
Hard to know where to start with your ignorance. These GOP leaders will not be good for the Arab and African presidents cause they’ll drill for oil in America – where we have just as much as in the middle east – the national incomes of these nations will fall dramatically. Nor will the new US prez bow to them, beg for more oil, or for them to invest some of the money we gave them back into America to keep us from going bankrupt.
Santorum was exactly right about the French revolution, if you’d take the time to educate yourself instead of simply parroting what you heard someone else say. The British were in the same situation as the French – it was the Revivals in Britain that made the difference. You don’t have to be religious to know or understand that – just informed. Compare the TEA party to the Occupy movement – at the tea party events the grounds were neat and tidy, no one was raped or murdered, no one was threatened – there you have the comparison in this country of two philosophies, so you don’t have to go to France to see the evidence.
You could also study the Nazi regime, the Bolshevik revolution and China to see that Santorum is exactly right.
Again Santorum is totally accurate in stating that the health care bill is not about health care but about social engineering – the creation of a Socialist state. And virtually every Socialist/Marxist state still in existence is broke or bankrupt. Human nature being what it is, the poor will bleed the system dry. Churchill was right when he said that there is no point in making the poor comfortable – if they are uncomfortable they may exert the effort to get out of their poverty. The entitlement state is more of a punishment that a blessing for the poor.
And don’t worry about those socialist countries being insulted – they’re too broke to care. And hey’re to busy trying to borrow more money from the non-socialist countries to be insulted.
If ne of these intelligent and self reliant people donm’t make it to the Whitehouse, there will be no US as we know it to be able to afford our safety nets – the country cannot continue to borrow 40 cents of every dollar it gives to useless social causes. Who is going to continue to loan it to us?
You really need to think thru some of your rants before you make a fool out of yourself. Get out of your mothers basememt, and when you’re thru mopping the floors at McDonalds, go to the library and read some good books – not the socialist trash I assume you are getting your ideas from.
Read Liberty and Tyrany. Read Dr. Zhivago. Read about Wilberforce, and Charles Finney. Read anything but the claptrap you appear to be brainwashed with, if you read at all.
Their is an argument that goes and which is still common currency in the so called civillized world that communists were heartless souless atheists that deserved to die horrible deaths. That is why the poor have been used as mercenaries for the benefit of the corrupt. Long before Lenin set up the USSR the Rich used the KKK to keep order in the provinces. Today they use the Tea Party to attack the gays, muslims, women and government which is the biggest hypocracy since they own the government with their own money.
The Bible makes no mention of a social safety net. Social Security is a scam by godless liberal lesbians to trade food and our tax dollars to the poor in exchange for their votes whenever the legalization of gay marriage is on the ballot.
I for one am also skeptical of the so-called CFPB (Communism Financial Protection Bureau) because god fearing people who understand that you should treat others as you want to be treated are generally offered prime rates and generous repayment schedules on their loans and credit cards.
I am a Christian, I am Republican, I was born with an able body and a mind. I worked for a living. We need less government control and more individual responsibility. Our problems in this country are of our own making. Of course the illegals are comming here to work. They will accept the jobs that many of you will not. We the people are this country. Take responsibility for yourselves. As John F. Kennedy said “ask not what your Country can do for you; ask what you can do for your Country.”
After reading these posts, it has occurred to me that we need to educate ourselves a little more. Regardless of how much we rant about republicans or democrats, we need to realize that the common household runs on a budget. My wife is a real stickler on that. If I want to buy a new car, we have to sit down and discus where the money is going to come from to make those payments.One of the things that really gripes me about our current situation, is that no one in the past administrations have really put that into play, whether republican OR democrat. BASIC MATH! If you don’t have it, you can’t spend it! What are we going to do when we can’t pay China the money we have borrowed? Wait for them to foreclose? What we need is a president that will work within the REAL budget, and if we don’t have the cash to buy that new car, then we don’t! Japan borrowed money for rebuilding after WW2 for rebuilding, so did Germany, Russia and several others. What did we say about those funds? Buy war bonds, savings bonds, recycle all that metal, ration gas, oil, etc. ,and do it because it was our patriotic duty! We listened to our leaders that we had to do without for the war effort because it was our duty as Americans to support our troops. I don’t know about everyone else, but I’m tired of living hand to mouth while our leaders are driven around in limos and having fundraisers for their campaigns! Even when they get in office, they seem to think they have the right to live in luxury, while the little guy gets the crumbs! Want to balance the budget? Reduce THEIR pay, and let them live within their means!Find a candidate that pushes that issue and I’ll vote for him!
Go to your local gov. websites and check out your state official’s pay scale and see what they get paid for the “Service” they provide, and see for yourself what kind of tax they levy on things like fuel, tobacco, alcohol, precooked foods, and you will see that they are not concerned with the public wellbeing they so fondly espouse. In Washington state, Christine Gregoire has placed so many taxes on these things that we have to schedule all work related fuel use related to our pay. As a caregiver for developmentally disabled adults, I need to plan every DR. appointment according to whether or not I have the gas to get there and back,and if I have the fuel to meet family obligations. She has taxed us to the point that we have the fourth highest fuel tax in the nation. She initiated the Northwest Forest adventure pass that funds the state parks, when the majority of purchasers are hunters and fishermen that DO NOT use state parks. 80% goes to those parks! Not Dept of fish and wildlife or Dept. of natural resources. By the way, she is a democrat.
O.K., so we all agree to disagree. This is healthy if we are all to get along on this old ball of dirt. I would ask all Americans that post on this site to do us all a favor. The world is watching us and they respect a post that is intelligent, concise, and PROPERLY SPELLED! Anyone is entitled to their opinion, as it is a constitutional right, but to display an ignorant front that can be misconstrued as a bunch of stupid hillbillies hurts our credibility. Also, bigotry does NOT help the issues. (Rusty) We need to join together and fight to get this country back on track! Not insult groups of people that we don’t understand, no matter if we believe in their lifestyle or not. My favorite saying from my Grandfather was “If you don’t vote, don’t complain” So vote, stop complaining if you didn’t! Nobama will still be here if you don’t! And for goodness sake USE SPELLCHECK!