What's the Christian Right?

[Not David]

Is about Christians who are conservatives or does it have a certain theology they must follow? It has to do more with politics or religion?

 

[SolomonVII]

Moe about politics than religion. Generally speaking is a voting bloc, and not a denomination or a church in any sense.

 

[Dave L]

Is about Christians who are conservatives or does it have a certain theology they must follow? It has to do more with politics or religion?

I think we should remain neutral because taking up sides alienates the other side and misrepresents Christ.

 

[drjean]

(excerpt from a 20th century perspective) It is NOT a political faction...but a belief, as a conservative to CONSERVE the rights and mores set forth in the US CONSTITUTION....and GOD'S WORD,,,

the world-view of the Christian Right, which rests upon four cornerstones.

• The assumption that moral absolutes exist as surely as mathematical or geological absolutes constitutes the first. These moral absolutes include many of the oldest and deepest assumptions of Western culture, including the fixity of sexual identities and gender roles, the preferability of capitalism, the importance of hard work, and the sanctity of unborn life. More importantly, not only do moral absolutes exist, they are clearly discernible to any who wish honestly to see them.
• The assumption that metaphysics, morals, politics, and mundane customs stand on a continuum constitutes the second cornerstone of the Christian Right's world-view. Specifically, ideas about big things like the nature of the universe inevitably affect little things, such as how individuals choose to act in the details of daily life. And the reverse. What one thinks about the nature of God, for example, inevitably influences one's decision to feed—or not to feed—the parking meter after the cops have gone home. Contrary to the facile assumption of mainline Protestants, influenced by the Enlightenment, it is not possible for the Christian Right to draw easy lines between the public and the private spheres of life. (There is evidence that the Christian Right abandoned Jimmy Carter at precisely this point—when he announced that abortion should be legally protected in the public sphere, although he would not countenance it in the private sphere of his own family.)
• The Christian Right further assumes—this is the third cornerstone—that government's proper role is to cultivate virtue, not to interfere with the natural operations of the marketplace or the workplace. The Christian Right remains baffled by the secular culture's apparent unwillingness, on one hand, to offer schoolchildren firm moral guidance in matters of sexuality, truthfulness, honesty, and patriotism while, on the other hand, proving ever-so-eager to engineer the smallest details of the economy. Why should conscientious, hardworking law-abiding citizens be penalized by mazes of government regulations? Why should the irresponsible, the lazy, and the unpatriotic be rewarded by those same public institutions?
• Finally, the assumption that all successful societies need to operate within a framework of common assumptions constitutes the fourth cornerstone. Since the Western Jewish-Christian tradition has provided an eminently workable premise for the United States for the better part of four centuries, it makes no sense to undermine these premises by legitimating alien ones. The key issue is not so much what would be permitted as what would be legitimated. Many, perhaps most members of the Christian Right feel that it is one thing to permit dissidents to live in peace, quite another to say that any set of values is just as good, or just as functional, as any other set.

To outline the world-view of the Christian Right in terms of these four cornerstones is not enough, however. We must also take note of the Christian Right's sense that traditional Christians find themselves under siege. Simply stated, Christian civilization has to be defended against outside attack. Many perils loom, but those posed by the secular media, the public schools, and the enemies of the traditional family seem especially sinister. The Christian Right bitterly complains about the way that traditional Christians are overlooked, if not caricatured, in network newscasts, situation comedies, and mass circulation periodicals. They note, for example, that nearly half of the American families routinely bow their heads to offer thanks before eating, yet such simple rituals of traditional piety almost never show up on TV, except in contexts of ridicule. Moreover, the Christian Right objects to the way that their children are manipulated in the public schools. Some of the Christian Right's objections center upon the watering-down of old-fashioned academic standards, but the heart of its concern lies in the "values clarification movement." To the Christian Right, the movement does not simply "clarify values," it leads children and teenagers to believe that their parents' ideals are ephemeral constructions of time and place, and thus replaceable at will. Finally and perhaps most importantly, the traditional family finds itself besieged on all fronts. The media and the schools do their part, but the most pernicious assault stems from government policies that encourage abortion, divorce, and fatherless families. If millions saw the Equal Rights Amendment as a threat, not a boon, to the security of ordinary women, it was because the ERA promised to corrode the only tethers that kept men firmly bound to the responsibilities of home and hearth.

http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/twenty/tkeyinfo/chr_rght.htm

 

[joinfree]

Is about Christians who are conservatives or does it have a certain theology they must follow? It has to do more with politics or religion?

The two Theologies means two Gods. That is not possible, so there is only one Theology.
Two Physics means two Realities. That is not possible, so there is only one Physics.

 

[Dave-W]

The two Theologies means two Gods. That is not possible, so there is only one Theology.
Two Physics means two Realities. That is not possible, so there is only one Physics.

That is a product of western scientific (aka Greek pagan) thought. A more eastern Jewish mindset and logic framework can easily fit both theologies and multiple sets of physics.

Fortunately, the Bible was written from the later, not the former.

 

[Shempster]

What bugs me is that in the Christian circles I am around, it is expected that you be a conservative Republican. I see the good side but what about the bad side? Must I accept that?
A couple being that it is good to exploit the earth's resources unregulated, to kill our enemies before they kill us and to worship the almighty dollar. What if I don't want to follow those things?

 

[joinfree]

That is a product of western scientific (aka Greek pagan) thought. A more eastern Jewish mindset and logic framework can easily fit both theologies and multiple sets of physics.

Fortunately, the Bible was written from the later, not the former.

Is the church of satan in USA a True Religion?!

 

[Paidiske]

I'd just note that there is a Christian right beyond America, and that in different countries and cultures it takes on different flavours.

The Australian Christian Lobby would be a good example from a context with which I'm more familiar.

 

[mark kennedy]

Is about Christians who are conservatives or does it have a certain theology they must follow? It has to do more with politics or religion?

The Christian right tends to be white evangelicals and fundamentalists. They are strictly pro-life but that does not represent the extent of their political agenda. They tend to be more protectionist then most Republicans and determined to stop illegal immigration. I'm not convinced religious convictions are the driving force behind their political predilections, black evangelicals are more often Democrat.

I think they emerged as a voting block with the Pat Robertson 1988 Presidential bid. The Democrat party wanted nothing to do with them but they found a home in conservative GOP politics.

 

[thecolorsblend]

I think we should remain neutral because taking up sides alienates the other side and misrepresents Christ.

If all Christians stayed out of politics, the electorate would be made up of probably less than 10% of America’s total population. In theory, it would leave almost nobody to vote for.

Whatever you people do, ignore Dave’s advice here.

 

[RDKirk]

(excerpt from a 20th century perspective) It is NOT a political faction...but a belief, as a conservative to CONSERVE the rights and mores set forth in the US CONSTITUTION....and GOD'S WORD,,,

This isn't the 20th century anymore.

A lot has changed on the political landscape since the 20th century.

 

[RDKirk]

If all Christians stayed out of politics, the electorate would be made up of probably less than 10% of America’s total population. In theory, it would leave almost nobody to vote for.

Whatever you people do, ignore Dave’s advice here.

That's not what Dave said. Although he said "neutral," I suspect he meant independent of party affiliations.

As Christians, we should not obligate ourselves--especially morally--to anyone but Jesus, including political parties and political office-holders.

 

[Dave L]

If all Christians stayed out of politics, the electorate would be made up of probably less than 10% of America’s total population. In theory, it would leave almost nobody to vote for.

Whatever you people do, ignore Dave’s advice here.

How do you witness to people you alienate? What's the priority? Time or eternity?

 

[Albion]

Is about Christians who are conservatives or does it have a certain theology they must follow? It has to do more with politics or religion?

It is probably correct to say that it is more about politics than religion but does refers to both to some degree.

In practice, the term means whatever the speaker wants it to mean. Whatever that may be, it is normally used as an insult.

 

[Not David]

It is probably correct to say that it is more about politics than religion but does refers to both to some degree.

In practice, the term means whatever the speaker wants it to mean. Whatever that may be, it is normally used as an insult.

So it doesn't have a define definition?

 

[Albion]

I would say no. At one time in the past, the term, as it was used, probably could be said to have had a particular meaning. Today, however, it is used in a variety of ways to mean whatever the speaker has in mind. To that extent, it is like a number of other such terms that someone or other coined in the past that other people picked up. Look, for example, at the terms alt-right and alt-left for a more recent parallel.

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

Is the church of satan in USA a True Religion?!

They do have churches (or meeting halls) in every state. Does that matter though ?
What do you mean by "true religion" , or does that matter ?

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

What bugs me is that in the Christian circles I am around, it is expected that you be a conservative Republican. I see the good side but what about the bad side? Must I accept that?
A couple being that it is good to exploit the earth's resources unregulated, to kill our enemies before they kill us and to worship the almighty dollar. What if I don't want to follow those things?

Seek the truth, and keep seeking the truth,
Seek Yahweh's Kingdom, His Way (as written in His Word and led by His Spirit),
and eventually they (whatever group you were in) will kick you out (as written).
And, hopefully, prayerfully, you will be placed by Yahweh with other "living stones" in His Body, part of His Temple that He Dwells in,
with none of the polluting aspects (of sin or of flesh),
as Yahweh directs or permits and accomplishes His Will.

 

[Albion]

What bugs me is that in the Christian circles I am around, it is expected that you be a conservative Republican. I see the good side but what about the bad side? Must I accept that?
A couple being that it is good to exploit the earth's resources unregulated, to kill our enemies before they kill us and to worship the almighty dollar. What if I don't want to follow those things?

I cant imagine what kind of "Conservatives" you are hanging around with. There must be a more accurate term for them.