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I saw a thread on the ED that made some points that a Christian can't reasonably be politically conservative because it contradicts the message of the Bible. He makes his arguments here, which I won't post directly to keep my topic on track.

However I realized after reading that, he never defined what a conservative is, or what they believe. Apparently conservatism is defined elsewhere as "A political philosophy or attitude emphasizing respect for traditional institutions, distrust of government activism, and opposition to sudden change in the established order."

However, alot of people in America call themselves "Conservative Christians" and promote things like personal responsibility in economics; that people should be responsible for themselves and not rely on others. Also, they tend to look down on people they see as being "Lower" than them.

Christ calls us to give openly to the poor, giving as much as we can to their benefit, and to love everyone regardless of who they are or what they do. So obviously Christian values conflict with modern, American "conservative" values. But, are they really conservative?

So, I wonder; is conservatism really in conflict with Christian values, or is it simply the modern understanding of conservatism that is in conflict with Christian values?

So you don't think that Conservatism is contradictory to Christian values then?

I think I should go on ahead and make my peace known. I don't see a problem with a Christian following conservative values. But American Conservatism is an entirely different story.

I don't believe that to solve poverty we need a government program that taxes people who have and gives it to people who don't. I do believe that people should be expected to be more generous with their money and time, and if everyone gave to charity and volunteered like they should, poverty wouldn't be as much of a problem. I don't believe the government should legislate that certain things are inappropriate to say or do. I think people should just be taught common courtesy and treat people with love and respect.

`Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou,' I said, `art sure no craven.
Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the nightly shore -

Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!'
Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'

Sounds more libertarian too me personally. Not a bad thing, I would describe myself as a libertarian with social justice leanings (democrat? idk XD)

Ideally I would love the scenario you are describing but concerning poverty I honestly think we are too selfish for something like that to work (on any end of the socio-political spectrum). Churches and the Christian community aren't filling that role that it had as a source of charity and those Churches that are filling that role are wanting to pull out of those roles since laws are being passed that they morally opposed to. Are they wrong for doing this? No, why support something that you are morally against. Is our legislature wrong for trying to pass laws that Churches are morally against? No because the laws being passed should reflect what is just regardless of anyone's religious affiliation and not oppress recognized minorities.

The US government is basically trying to do what it can to fill that role so it does not need to be reliant on any religious affiliation. This would be a big first step toward improving separation of Church and State.

I think it depends. I've met some kind, great conservative Christians.

So yeah, just depends. I think politics are pretty yucky to begin with, but Christians can have whatever values, morals, opinions, and views they want. Neither political party is better for that.

I would say that "Moderate Independent with Libertarian leanings" would describe me.

The original meaning for "Conservative" in America just define those who wanted minimalistic government interference in their lives. They would adhere to the traditional interpretations of the Constitution, and generally believe that the majority of issues are covered by it.

"Liberal" was basically the description for people who felt that the government should do anything it could to protect the public from whatever popped up. They didn't believe government was intrusive, but it was necessary to preserve the order of the country and it's people.

Over the years, Conservative and Liberal have been turned into terms to describe the caliber of people's morals. It's funny to me that both sides would describe each other as immoral. Liberal still seems to think that there needs to be a law on the books for every single issue that arises, and Conservatives still basically feel that every amendment added since 1787 could be abolished and we would be the better for it... Ok, that may be stretching it... but I think I've made my point.

The majority of the world is moderate, it's the few people who who are extreme that scream the loudest and give their sides the reputation of insane. I could go on a rant about government right now, but I am going to stop myself.

I concur! 4laugh How many stories are there in the bible about kings, tax collectors, whole countries, and people in power mismanaging said power and resources. I think politics doesn't mix with Christianity because of the proposed separation of Church and state, which not only prevents there from being a uniform religious identity, but also insures that any and all laws passed aren't based on religious affiliation. And the abundant hypocrisy among American politicians and civilians alike, using Christianity to promote or prevent certain laws, or vilifying and slandering one another on religious affiliation! Such an atmosphere is a petri dish for agnosticism and vague morality.