If You Are A Conservative, You Are Probably Not Christian, Part II

To conserve means basically to protect the status quo, to defend against change.  The dictionary defines Conservative as "holding to traditional attitudes and values and cautious about change or innovation, typically in relation to politics or religion." In our political world today, Conservatives vehemently oppose change and denounce any questioning of conservative traditions and authority as evil.

Many American Conservatives, unlike their liberal counterparts, also self identify as Christians, meaning they claim to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. However, one has to wonder if any of these Conservative Christians have actually read the New Testament, because the Gospel stories make it very clear that if He walked the earth today, Jesus Christ, as I will show, would completely disavow all political movements and parties, including the Conservative movement.

Conservatives, as stated above, are very proud and protective of their world, and will vociferously fight to preserve it.  They lash out with a vengeance against anyone who threatens their world.  Conservatives are very political, believing that the answer to almost everything can be found in politics. They look to politicians to legislate morality and solve everything from school prayer to abortion to same sex marriage to saying Merry Christmas. They want politicians who will basically roll over their enemies and shape society into their own image.

Conservatives never question the rightness of their positions. They are not the least interested in trying to relate to others who think differently because in their eyes, anyone who disagrees with them is evil and must be defeated, no matter what it takes.  Although many American Conservatives claim to be Christian, they have no problem with demonizing, ridiculing and condemning those whom they consider to be enemies.  I have personally been the target of their hate on more than one occasion.

In contrast to modern Conservative belief, Jesus Christ made it very clear that it was not His goal to preserve any part of the world created by man.  Jesus made a very clear delineation between the governments of this world and the Kingdom of God, showing there was no overlap between the two:"Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s." (Mark 12:17).  What belongs to Ceasar is of Ceasar, and what belongs to God is of God, with nothing in common.

When Our Lord was being sentenced to death by Pontius Pilate, He said plainly, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place."  (Jn 18:36).  This statement tells us that there are no answers in the political systems of this world, and therefore followers of Jesus are not a part of this world's political system.

In the Book of Acts, the disciples asked, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" (Acts 1:6).  Even after the resurrection, the disciples were still looking for a physical political system.  Jesus left no doubt that this would not be the case;

It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.  (Acts 1:7-8)

Jesus explains here that our goal as His followers is not to set up a political system but to be witnesses to the Kingdom of God, which will come from God and not from any man.  In fact, a true follower of Christ is already a member of the Kingdom of God in the midst of the world:

One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will the Kingdom of God come?” 

Jesus replied, “The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs. You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already among you.

St. Paul expounded on this theme further in the book of Philippians:

For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:18-20)

Of course, that does not mean that Christians should not oppose injustices and evils in this world.  Preaching the Good News of the Kingdom of God is all about speaking out against the evil systems of this world, and showing there is a different and better way apart from man's way.

Jesus Christ gave us the example of standing up to evil when He called out the Pharisees for their hypocrisy and when He overturned the tables of the money changers in the Temple.  Although Our Lord rejected both worldly politics and false religious teachers, His bigger concern seemed to be with the false religious leaders.  Someone claiming to speak for God is much more dangerous than a secular politician because while the politician poses a threat to your physical life as Pilate did to Jesus, a false religious leader endangers your eternal life by leading you away from the True God.

Money and power are always prime motivations in man's political systems, and this is completely antithetical to the Kingdom of God.  There will be no banking system in God's Kingdom.  There will be no corporations whose main goals are to enrich their shareholders.  There will not be the division of wealth.   And there will be no borders because the world will be one.

Everything in the Kingdom of God is based on love of God and love of neighbor.  There is no political system in this world, including the United States, that is founded on love.  Therefore, no Christian should be actively working to preserve the political systems of this world.

The Kingdom of God is going to completely destroy and replace the kingdoms of this world.  You cannot serve God and mammon.

However, despite the fact that Christians are citizens of a system which will one day replace all of the world's kingdoms, a Christian, even while opposing the evil in the world, should never be in the role of anarchist or rebel because no government exists without the permission of God Himself:

Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 

. . . 

This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

Christians should always oppose evil, but like Jesus Christ, be ready to pay the price for their opposition.

Maximilian Kolbe is an excellent example of a holy man living under a most unholy government.  Maximilian Kolbe lived under Nazi rule, and was acutely aware of the evil that surrounded him.  He peacefully worked against the Nazi regime through his monastery founded near Warsaw that included housing, seminar space, workshops, a printing and publishing house, and its own broadcaster.  He also used his monastery to hide 2,000 to 3,000 Polish refugees from the Nazis.  Most of those hiding in the monastery were Jews.

Of course, Maximilian Kolbe is best known for offering his life in Auschwitz to save a Jewish prisoner.

St. Maximilian Kolbe did not identify either as a Conservative or a Liberal, but as one who opposed evil.  He was not trying to take Germany and Poland back to another time or to maintain the status quo, but to defeat evil in the present time, and he did not do this through politics but by preaching the Kingdom of God.

St. Maximilian Kolbe wrote firmly against Communism and Freemasonry and rightfully so because these systems are inherently anti Christian.  He opposed evil, and he did so in a totally apolitical way.  Everything he did was based on love of God and love of neighbor.  St. Maximilian Kolbe loved his country, but this did not blind him to the evils which existed at that time, and it was these evils that he fought against.

The Guardian stated it very well:

At Father Maximilian's canonisation, Pope John Paul II said: "Maximilian did not die but gave his life … for his brother." In that death, terrible from the human point of view, there was the whole definitive greatness of the human act and of the human choice. He spontaneously offered himself up to death out of love. He went to Japan not because it would benefit himself in any way at all but because he believed, rightly or wrongly, that proclaiming the good news about Jesus and about the devotion to Mary Immaculate (the great love of Maximilian's life) would be of immense service to the Japanese people. He and his colleagues offered shelter to Polish Jews not because this would bring some benefit, on earth or in heaven, to the Franciscans but because it was the right thing to do. And he offered himself in exchange for a married man and a father because dying for love that life may be more abundant is the Christian way.

American Conservatives believe in "My country, right or wrong."  Conservatives are the ones who coined the phrase, "America, love it or leave it."  Conservatives love authoritarianism and "law and order" because that is how the status quo is maintained.  Conservatives never question the military or the police because of the strong unyielding authority these organizations represent.  Conservatives love guns because guns keep people in their place.

Conservatives refuse to believe anything that might change their world.  They refuse to accept climate change because it means they have to change their life style.  They refuse to accept the danger of COVID-19 because it means changing their lives, even temporarily, for the good of others.  My "good friend", Mary Ann Kreitzer, displayed this thinking in a recent post on her blog.  It was a "guest post" but of course, Mary Ann would not print it if she didn't agree.  She only prints posts and comments with which she agrees.

The post is entitled, "The Face Mask Delusion Unmasked."  The author of this post actually makes the argument that face masks increase the risk of COVID-19.  The seriously deluded author would have us believe that governments use COVID-19 as a political weapon and are telling people to wear masks so that the virus will spread much easier:

It is no secret that the COVID-19 scare was politically motivated to empower government elites and restrict our liberties. Many state "authorities" have been spreading COVID-19 under the guise of preventing it.

COVID-19 has been responsible for almost completely destroying world economies and killing hundreds of thousands of people, and we have only just begun.  Yet, this author thinks the real reason for COVD-19 is to "restrict our liberties."  Wow.  Conservatives always make everything about themselves.

The author does admit that face masks help heath care workers but

The reason face masks are effective in protecting doctors and nurses from infectious disease is because they use the right kind and they are properly trained on how to use and dispose of them, but by impulsively wearing the same germ-saturated mask 12-hours a day, people are doing themselves more harm than good.

This truly ignorant author attacks his enemies - those who threaten his world - as follows:

The reason global elites have needlessly maintained a sense of urgency over COVID-19 is to "justify" their continued lockdown of society and church. How often have we heard foreboding threats from people like Bill Gates or governors Cuomo and Newsom that 'stage-two of the "pandemic" is on the way and we better get ready for another 18 months of lockdown.' This is nothing more than socialist mind-manipulation through fear—the same fear that has driven people to the local Walmart to get their face masks.

The mere fact that the infamous World Health Organization has stressed the wearing of face masks is every reason not to wear them. The WHO is all about murder and crime (esp. abortion) under the guise of health, which is why President Trump finally broke it clean with them. 

Do you notice that the real reason the author rejects face masks is because it inconveniences him, and so he tries to make it as a conspiracy to control and eventually kill him.

The author then says we shouldn't wear face masks because they are ugly and concludes by blaming Muslims:

The foregoing is not to mention that face masks look hideous and bandit like. Wearing face masks give society the image of being Jihad like and could give Jihads a chance to camouflage themselves when committing their crimes.

The author truly doesn't realize how transparent he is.  He completely ignores all the science behind face masks and uses emotionally charged arguments that face masks are nothing more than a method to control him, which he firmly rejects.  He is so blind that he willingly puts himself and everyone else who listens to him at great risk just to preserve his world. Ironically, his refusal to change could very well lead to the total destruction of his world from which there is no return.

The author of that unbelievably stupid post rejects face masks because he doesn't want to be manipulated, and yet Conservatives are the most easily manipulated group in our society.

If a politician so much as gives lip service to the demands of the Conservatives, they will support that politician in every way possible.  We have seen this in their support of Donald Trump.  Trump's entire life has been all about amassing money and power.  He has rolled over people and caused much suffering in his business dealings.  He bought buildings here in New York and made living conditions completely intolerable for the residents of the buildings, forcing them to move out.  He built a casino in New Jersey, which was a total financial disaster and financially devastated those who invested with him.  He created a completely phony "university" which conned thousands of people into giving him money for basically nothing.

He is a known womanizer, having been married three times, engaged in multiple affairs and has been credibly accused of sexual assault.  For most of his life  he supported the right to abortion, but miraculously changed his public opinion when he ran for president in 2016.  He is crass, crude and profane.  Donald Trump is the personification of the evils of capitalism.

But Donald Trump was smart enough to appeal to the Conservatives, knowing that if he said the right words, "I am pro life", they would do anything for him.  As Trump said, "You know what else they say about my people? The polls, they say I have the most loyal people. Did you ever see that? Where I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters, okay? It’s like incredible,"  This is one time Trump told the absolute truth.

The reason Conservatives are so easily taken in by a con man like Donald Trump is because their self righteous views completely blind them to everything else.  As much as they would like to think otherwise, their views are not based on love of God and love of neighbor, but on love of the world.  They like the world and they don't want it to change.  If a politician or any leader promises to keep the status quo, the Conservatives are all in.

Conservatives really are no different from the liberals whom they view as their enemies.  Both sides are equally invested in the politics of this world.  They are merely opposite sides of the same coin.  As quoted from Ambrose Bierce above, Conservatives want the existing evils, and liberals want to replace them with different evils.

A true follower of Jesus Christ will not fit into either the Conservative or the Liberal camps.

Jesus Christ cared nothing about maintaining the status quo of society.  In fact, His mission was to give the world an entirely new philosophy and an entirely new way to live.  In John 13:34, Our Lord told us, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another."

And how did Jesus love humanity?  He literally died for us so that we might be saved.  As recorded in John 15:13, Our Lord explained just how far this new command goes:  "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends."  Conservatives won't even put on a face mask for their neighbors, much less lay down their lives.

As St. Paul told us, Jesus did not wait for us to accept Him before dying.  In fact, the entire world had rejected Him and still He gave His Precious Life on the cross so that we, completely undeserving of anything but death, might live.

Romans 5:8:

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Conservative Christians do not want to die for their enemies.  They want to destroy them.

Jesus said He did not come to judge anyone but to save them:  "For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world." (John 12:47).  Conservative Christians say they want to "save" the world, but they confuse "saving" the world with judging and condemning.  The Conservatives always paint themselves as victims of their opponents, which they use to justify their condemnation of those who oppose them.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gave a series of "You have heard . . . but I tell you" about such topics as anger, lust, marriage.  In direct contrast to today's Conservatives, who view everyone who opposes them as an enemy to be crushed, Our Lord gave the following "You have heard. . . but I tell you":

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? (Mt 5:43-47)

Jesus' message to His followers was that, even as they lived in the world, they were to be completely separate from it as He Himself was:  "They do not belong to this world any more than I do." (John 17:16).

Instead of trying to work through politics, Our Lord went directly to the people.  He never judged others, as He told us, "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." (John 3:17).  He reached out to people and offered them acceptance, as He quoted from the Book of Isaiah in one of the first messages of His public ministry:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; he has appointed me to preach Good News to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted and to announce that captives shall be released and the blind shall see, that the downtrodden shall be freed from their oppressors, and that God is ready to give blessings to all who come to him.”

Conservatives do not seem the least interested in "healing the brokenhearted."  They are strongly against social programs that help the poor.  They have no problem with social programs such as social security, Medicare and unemployment because they benefit from these programs.  But they hate programs that benefit the poorest of our society such as welfare, food stamps and national medical care.

Conservatives fight passionately against allowing refugees and others into our country who are fleeing from oppression and wars.  We have even seen them callously and heartlessly separate children from their parents in their quest to rid the nation of refugees, all the while maintaining they are pro family.

Conservatives seem to forget the message of Jesus Christ:

Whatsoever you do to the least of these my brethren, you do to me. (Mt. 25:40)

Jesus Christ's entire life was about resisting human traditions and changing the world.  Our Lord surrounded Himself with the rejects and dregs of society: the sinners, prostitutes, uneducated, the sick and infirmed.  He gravitated to the lowly of society while warning His followers that they would be in conflict with the powerful of this world.  In fact, Jesus warned that the world will always reject those who follow Him:

16 “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. 17 Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. 18 On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. 19 But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, 20 for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

21 “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. 22 You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved

If you are a true disciple of Jesus Christ, both Conservatives and Liberals will hate and reject you.  Why?  Simply because even though they may not be able to put it into words, your life will convict them, just as Jesus Christ did to the people in His time.  Your weapon is not hate, as they use, but love.  You reject sin, but you never, never reject the sinner.

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Conservatives will be the first to tell you that they are guided by the principles of the Bible, but I feel I have seen mostly anger, bitterness, name calling, accusations and complete intolerance. I never see love and acceptance.  It is a rare thing to see the fruits of the Holy Spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control - when interacting with them.  I speak from first hand experience as well as listening to them and reading their blogs and websites.

As Christians, it is vital that we separate ourselves from the world now, so that Jesus Christ does not separate from us when He returns.

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