Why do Christians tend to be conservatives?

[SoldierOfTheKing]

Social Democracy was invented by a conservative (Bismarck) to preempt socialism.

In the 19th century it was liberals who were doctrinaire supporters of the free market. Conservatives were much less reluctant to support state intervention in the economy.

 

[FaithfulPilgrim]

Conservative and Liiberal are empty terms. One nation's conserbative is another nation's liberal.

The meanings of the words have also changed.

I think the biggest reason many American Christians support a free market is because of the nation's reaction against Comunism and the Republican Party has been traditionally the supporter of big business.

I think a Christian should be conservative on things like abortion and same sex marriage, but not necessarily on economic issues.

Let's face it. Greed is evil, and big business is a manifestation of greed.

Now that is not to say I oppose the free market or capitalism, but rather I see corporations and big business and the American society's obsession with materialism as an abuse of capitalism.

I usually side with Republicans since I am pro life, anti gun control, and oppose same sex marriage, but I consider myself a centrist economically. I don't like that the G.O.P. is friendly towards corporations and free trade, but I feel that the party allows for more diversity in opinion than the Democratic Party.

I think both parties are Christian in different areas. I think Republicans are right on social issues while Democrats are right on immigration and the environment.

 

[jgarden]

Why do Christians tend to be conservatives?

American conservatives have recreated God in their own image!

 

[His Disciple]

It seems that the large majority of Christians are conservative. What is it about free markets, low taxes, minimal welfare, lax gun control, and strong crime policies that appeals so strongly to Christians? I'm not saying that Christians should be liberal– I'm only asking why those opinions are so specifically attractive to Christians.

There is only one issue: Slavery vs. Freedom.

Free markets, low taxes, etc. is the side of freedom. Christians don't want to enslave others. Liberalism is nothing but a pro-slavery movement.

 

[AceHero]

It seems that the large majority of Christians are conservative. What is it about free markets, low taxes, minimal welfare, lax gun control, and strong crime policies that appeals so strongly to Christians? I'm not saying that Christians should be liberal– I'm only asking why those opinions are so specifically attractive to Christians.

There is only one issue: Slavery vs. Freedom.

Free markets, low taxes, etc. is the side of freedom. Christians don't want to enslave others. Liberalism is nothing but a pro-slavery movement.

There are Christians who are liberal, and nonbelievers who are conservative...

 

[His Disciple]

There are Christians who are liberal, and nonbelievers who are conservative...

I agree that there are some nonbelievers who are conservative. But, your other assertion doesn't compute.

Being an enslaver is a deal breaker. People can call themselves whatever they want, but if you love your neighbor, you'll set your neighbor free.

 

[AceHero]

There are Christians who are liberal, and nonbelievers who are conservative...

I agree that there are some nonbelievers who are conservative. But, your other assertion doesn't compute.

Being an enslaver is a deal breaker. People can call themselves whatever they want, but if you love your neighbor, you'll set your neighbor free.

I would suggest you not tell people who is and who isn't a Christian. It tends to be frowned upon here at CF.

 

[ALoveDivine]

Christians tend to be socially conservative, for obvious reasons. However a lot of Christians are not fiscally conservative, especially in the American sense of the phrase. Christian Democracy, for example, tends to emphasize more social democratic economic forms while retaining social conservatism. This is the model I personally prefer.

I agree with liberals that Christian values do not lend themselves well to unrestrained markets. The economy needs to be regulated to ensure a dignified standard of living for all. There should be no such thing as the "working poor". That said I also believe in a strong military and in defending the traditional family, as well as protecting the unborn from the holocaust of abortion. Hence, here in America, I don't fit in at all within the accepted political spectrum.

 

[His Disciple]

I agree with liberals that Christian values do not lend themselves well to unrestrained markets.

So, the US should seek to follow the economic modals of predominately Catholic countries, such as Mexico? If we do that, where will Hispanics fleeing Catholic countries for economic reasons go?

I can imagine how socialism seems like a good idea to people who don't understand economics (socialism: punishing producers, rewarding non-producers), nor appreciates freedom (economic freedom, in this case). "Sharing is caring", right, even if the sharing is at the end of the barrel of a government gun? But, educated socialists aren't interested in the "sharing is caring" aspect except as a sales pitch. They're all about enslavement, controlling others. Obama wants us to pay for the next person's birth control and abortion. Hillary Clinton wants to buy your vote.

Why aren't Catholics satisfied with a basic economic safety net? I don't want to do away with social security or food stamps. Instead, they want an unworkable and oppressive economic system.

I'm not a defender or Republican pro-rich policies, the kind that give capitalism a bad name, but have nothing to do with free markets. But, the mountain of regulation that the Democrats have backed has made it harder for individuals to complete with corporations, and harder for small companies to compete with bigger companies. Big companies hate regulation like Br'er rabbit doesn't want to be thrown into the brier patch.

 

[ALoveDivine]

Why aren't Catholics satisfied with a basic economic safety net?

Economically I defend one contention; there should be no such thing as the working poor. Any person who works a full-time job, meaning 40 hours a week, should be able to live a dignified life and have their needs met. We can debate all day about how this could be done, but one thing is for sure, the status quo won't do. Neither will completely unregulated markets.

Practically I support;
Universal single-payer healthcare
Universal single-payer education up to graduate level
A federal living minimum wage adjusted to inflation and the cost of living
Paid maternity leave
The elimination of unemployment

In my mind these proposals are essential to promoting and protecting the dignity of human life. I don't care at all about any kind of "economic freedom" if it means impoverishing people. Every citizen of this country should have the right to a full-time job and should be able to meet their needs off said job and live a dignified life. I don't get what's so tyrannical about that, it seems like common sense. Are we to just not care about our people, and let a minority horde the wealth while others live in squalor?

socialism: punishing producers, rewarding non-producers

That sounds like capitalism to me. Those who produce (workers) are the worst off, while those who merely coordinate production, but don't produce themselves, get obscenely wealthy. It's very hard to be a working-class person and believe in the mythology of American capitalism.

 

[His Disciple]

Practically I support;
Universal single-payer healthcare
Universal single-payer education up to graduate level
A federal living minimum wage adjusted to inflation and the cost of living
Paid maternity leave
The elimination of unemployment

We have single-payer education in America. The result is a very expensive educational system that does a very poor job educating students. On top of that, it's militantly, even if subtly, anti-Christian. And, you want to expand the government's role in education.

Single-payer healthcare would be expensive and do a poor job, too. We'd have doctors milking the system and government rationing health care. And, we'd have the government freely using our money to fund for abortions, sex changes, b00b jobs, and other things that have nothing to do with treating disease. This is your ideal system, all that you aspire too?

On top of that, you want the government to shoot me in the head if I refuse to be robbed by the government to pay for it. Government power is ultimately through a gun. That's why police carry guns, in case lessor efforts to force compliance fail.

How would you achieve 100% employment? By creating do-nothing jobs? What happen when an employer with a real job needs to hire someone, but there are no applicants because everyone is employed? And, how would you get people to take these do-nothing jobs, or any job, when you'll have the government take care of them even if they stay home and drink all day?

No, not all people deserve dignity. If someone raped and killed your mother, would that person deserve dignity? How dare we put that person in a humiliating prison jumpsuit and make him sleep in a cell, like a caged dog? Why does an able-bodied man who refuses to work deserve "dignity"? Why does a woman who behaves without dignity deserve dignity?

Yes, what we have no is a mess, but you have no solution. You just want another mess, and a worse mess. where would you dignity be if you were dependent on the government? If you love your neighbor, set him free. Don't nanny him to death.

 

[ALoveDivine]

The alternative to socialized education is stratified education. Meaning some could afford it, others would go without because of lack of means. The alternative to socialized healthcare is the same. Except in that case we don't allow refusal of service in emergencies (which would otherwise happen) due to inability to pay, so we load a chunk of our population with crippling debt instead. Your criticisms may be valid, but there is no better alternative than socialized healthcare and education. Both healthcare and education are needs and we cannot allow the poor to go without them due to inability to pay their outrageous costs.

On top of that, you want the government to shoot me in the head if I refuse to be robbed by the government to pay for it.

The bible itself tells you to pay your taxes. Is it too much to ask that instead of paying for corporate welfare, those taxes would go to public welfare?

Government power is ultimately through a gun. That's why police carry guns, in case lessor efforts to force compliance fail.

And government is established and sanctioned by God. Libertarian philosophy is incompatible with Christianity, the underlying principles of the two systems of thought are entirely contradictory.

How would you achieve 100% employment?

Public works projects and job placement assistance to find people job slots in the private sector.

And, how would you get people to take these do-nothing jobs, or any job, when you'll have the government take care of them even if they stay home and drink all day?

If employment is made a social right, then no one will have an excuse to be unemployed except legitimate inability to work. One who is able to work, and chooses not to, would receive no social benefits.

How dare we put that person in a humiliating prison jumpsuit and make him sleep in a cell, like a caged dog?

Funny you mention that, I do believe prisons should be made more humane.

Why does an able-bodied man who refuses to work deserve "dignity"? Why does a woman who behaves without dignity deserve dignity?

Are not all of us sinners? Do we not deserve dignity?

where would you dignity be if you were dependent on the government?

Well I'd actually be able to have healthcare, unlike now, and I'd actually be able to go to college, again, unlike now. In one year from now, if I get sick, I'm sol. I'd love to go to school, but I can't because I can't afford it. Where is my dignity under this system? A social market economy will resolve the grave ills of capitalist market economies.

If you love your neighbor, set him free.

What a wonderful piece of rhetoric, sounds great on paper. Much like communism....oh wait...reality doesn't exactly conform to our theories does it?

 

[His Disciple]

The alternative to socialized education is stratified education. Meaning some could afford it, others would go without because of lack of means.

I accept some level of government, beyond policing, as a reasonable compromise. And, making dignity something that can be grasped of everyone is a worthy goal.

If I ran the country, tax credits, would be available to everyone to cover the cost of a reasonable education at the school the parent's choice. This would improve education and save money over what taxpayers spend now.

I'm not against the idea behind the Affordable Care Act, tax credits to buy health insurance. But, I'd compliment it with massive deregulation of the medical and insurance industries, rather than Obama's increased regulation. The idea is to increase competition to lower costs, raise quality, and increase choices.

I'd replace welfare with workfare. It would be public works, but it wouldn't pay well. The idea is to allow people to sustain themselves until they can get another job, not to pay them enough to pass up job opportunities.

As for dignity, none of these government services would require any proof of need nor cause anyone with sufficient income to receive government money. I'd keep the progressive tax system, and the credits are the same regardless of income. If your taxes are greater than the credits, you're essentially paying for insurance and education out of your own money. If you're taxes are low, you're getting a subsidy through the credits.

If you're idly rich and you want to do a little labor without the hassle of convincing someone to hire you, just show up for workfare (but, we'd have another name for it). I'd also deregulate businesses, so there would be more competition for employees, meaning better pay.

The bible itself tells you to pay your taxes. Is it too much to ask that instead of paying for corporate welfare, those taxes would go to public welfare?

When the Israelites wanted a king, they were warned against it for several reasons, including the reason of taxes. 1 Samuel 8:10-18. When Jesus told us to pay our taxes, it was't support of taxes, but support of compliance with government demands.

 

[AceHero]

We have single-payer education in America. The result is a very expensive educational system that does a very poor job educating students. On top of that, it's militantly, even if subtly, anti-Christian. And, you want to expand the government's role in education.

Oh please. Just because it's secular doesn't make it anti-Christian.

Single-payer healthcare would be expensive and do a poor job, too. We'd have doctors milking the system and government rationing health care. And, we'd have the government freely using our money to fund for abortions, sex changes, b00b jobs, and other things that have nothing to do with treating disease. This is your ideal system, all that you aspire too?

Why does it work in the rest of the developed world, then?

On top of that, you want the government to shoot me in the head if I refuse to be robbed by the government to pay for it. Government power is ultimately through a gun. That's why police carry guns, in case lessor efforts to force compliance fail.

The government will murder you if you don't pay your taxes?

 

[ALoveDivine]

I'm not against the idea behind the Affordable Care Act, tax credits to buy health insurance.

That doesn't go far enough. Health insurance is terrible. You have to pay monthly, and then when you need it you still have to pay copays, deductibles, etc. This is of no help to working people. I work full time and, even with Obamacare, I still can't afford healthcare. I simply don't have $200 a month plus extra expenses to pay for healthcare. For me, and millions of other working Americans, its either universal FREE healthcare or we go into debt. The entire health insurance industry should be abolished, we need universal single-payer healthcare for all, no exceptions no compromise.

Jobs don't pay enough, and costs of living are too high. There is the fundamental problem, and it is utterly irreconcilable with a capitalist market economy. Only a social-democratic system, such as exists in the Nordic and many European countries, can solve these problems. Never let ideology (ie libertarianism) get in the way of reality.

 

[His Disciple]

Oh please. Just because it's secular doesn't make it anti-Christian.

I get it, you've never attended a public school.

Why does it work in the rest of the developed world, then?

Does single-payer healthcare work well in the rest of the world? Most medical breakthroughs happen in America and I understand other developed countries often have long wait times for medical treatment (an onerous method of rationing). And, medical care is still expensive other developed countries (even if not as expensive as in the US). One way Canada and the UK save money is by not paying out the billions in malpractice as the US does, which is another change I'd make. You don't get to be a millionaire because a doctor left a sponge in you, or you had a bad reaction to medicine.

The US has a more burdensome demographic problem (yes, that's a racial comment, but true) compared to countries like Canada and the UK, meaning the same thing there won't nearly as well here. I'm certain my approach would work far better than what exists in any country of the world.

The government will murder you if you don't pay your taxes?

If you don't pay your taxes, you don't get the credits.

But, yes, the government will shoot you in the head <pow .... splat>, if that's what it takes. The idea is to minimize the impact of the government while still providing a wide access to education and medical care. If you control how the money is spent, you'll have a lot less objection to paying it. And, because there's still accountability through competition and personal choice, the financial burden will be much less than with socialism.

 

[AceHero]

Oh please. Just because it's secular doesn't make it anti-Christian.

I get it, you've never attended a public school.

Actually, I did. Preschool through 12th grade.

Why does it work in the rest of the developed world, then?

Does single-payer healthcare work well in the rest of the world? Most medical breakthroughs happen in America and I understand other developed countries often have long wait times for medical treatment (an onerous method of rationing). And, medical care is still expensive other developed countries (even if not as expensive as in the US). One way Canada and the UK save money is by not paying out the billions in malpractice as the US does, which is another change I'd make. You don't get to be a millionaire because a doctor left a sponge in you, or you had a bad reaction to medicine.

The US has a more burdensome demographic problem (yes, that's a racial comment, but true) compared to countries like Canada and the UK, meaning the same thing there won't nearly as well here. I'm certain my approach would work far better than what exists in any country of the world.

No system is perfect, but no one is trying to emulate the pay-or-die system we have.

The government will murder you if you don't pay your taxes?

If you don't pay your taxes, you don't get the credits.

But, yes, the government will shoot you in the head <pow .... splat>, if that's what it takes.

But that obviously doesn't happen, so...

The idea is to minimize the impact of the government while still providing a wide access to education and medical care. If you control how the money is spent, you'll have a lot less objection to paying it. And, because there's still accountability through competition and personal choice, the financial burden will be much less than with socialism.

You won't have a functioning government if you're free to decide what you want your taxes to go to. If taxes were optional, people wouldn't pay.

 

[aieyiamfu]

It seems that the large majority of Christians are conservative. What is it about free markets, low taxes, minimal welfare, lax gun control, and strong crime policies that appeals so strongly to Christians? I'm not saying that Christians should be liberal– I'm only asking why those opinions are so specifically attractive to Christians.

I think a lot of Christian conservative are just about not being libreal (as I am, of course i am not conservative either, I mean that in regard to part platforms not so much my political beliefs). Free markets are a lie I don't care which party you are from they both prop up big corporations at the expense of small businesses and the american taxpayer. Taxes are theft so I can easily see why someone would want less stolen from them. Welfare is an evil neccessary because of a flawed economic system, I would love to see it abolished, but because it is not needed, not to spite the poor as conservatives like to do. Lax gun control is bad only no gun control is acceptable in a "free" society (I know we aren't free). Yes the conservatives love crimes, war crimes, financial crimes, crimes against humanity and yet they put people in prison for growing a plant (liberals too btw). I think if people really sat around and thought about stuff a bit maybe read a little they would be screaming about this scam we call a government.

 

[civilwarbuff]

It seems that the large majority of Christians are conservative. What is it about free markets, low taxes, minimal welfare, lax gun control, and strong crime policies that appeals so strongly to Christians? I'm not saying that Christians should be liberal– I'm only asking why those opinions are so specifically attractive to Christians.

Because we are right on all counts?

 

[aieyiamfu]

Actually, I did. Preschool through 12th grade.



No system is perfect, but no one is trying to emulate the pay-or-die system we have.



But that obviously doesn't happen, so...



You won't have a functioning government if you're free to decide what you want your taxes to go to. If taxes were optional, people wouldn't pay.

Our government may function, but its kind of like a smartphone you drop facedown on the concrete. people shouldn't want to pay taxes they are theft and they prop up a currupt system the fact that we are forced to pay for our own opression is sad, but you saw what happened to those guys in P.A. when George and Alex had to protect their business from the common folk, they bet a bad precedent. Bad precedent by a bad President, I like it.