Conservatism needs to hear from God, and if they would listen, he would say, “You are a house divided.” In Matthew 12 Jesus said, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand.” Surely you can see this. Generally speaking, though not exclusively, the Republican Party is associated with conservative ideologies, yet I recall that in the ‘90s there were two presidential and gubernatorial elections in which the Republican Party essentially split, thus allowing Democratic victories. And why did they split? Because they weren’t really conservative and were honest enough to call themselves moderates. Today though, we have folks running around who through either ignorance or deception call themselves conservative over one issue when on all the rest they show themselves to be liberal. Worse yet is for conservatives to embrace them.
Folks, what needs to be gotten a hold of here is that conservatism and liberalism are positional and directional ideologies. Positionally, conservatism takes a cautious posture while liberalism yearns to be liberated from restraint. Directionally, conservatism is guided by fixed reference points where liberalism floats free as a rudderless ship. And this is important because the first face of conservatism is that of political conservatism, and the points by which this face is guided are the founding documents of our country. The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are precious documents, and the spirit and letter of these would no more be trampled under foot than our country’s flag. It is for the love of these documents that a man is called into question as to his fitness to hold the office of the presidency. But with liberalism, this is not so.
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The third face of conservatism is that of religious conservatism. While many might call this moral conservatism, it is only because they have something to hide. While it is relatively easy to pass one’s self off as being morally conservative and espouse a pro-life position, religious conservatism is guided by God’s word. To these conservatives, each word is important, not just the thoughts, so they choose the King James Bible. To these, salvation is but one important doctrine among many others. To these, even their music must be God-honoring rather than an illicit partnership with the world. But for religious liberalism, morality is a cloak to cover looseness elsewhere.
The trouble with conservatism nowadays is that it is fashionable to take a smorgasbord approach and pick and choose what’s comfortable and discard the rest. The truth is that to change any of these three faces is to introduce liberalism into the equation and you end up with something less than conservatism. And whether you call it moderate or liberal at that point makes no difference — it is a step down, and that liberalism will spread to other areas as well.
Folks, I am conservative politically, fiscally and religiously. I am not talking about being perfect, neither do I pretend to be, but I am talking about sticking close to foundational documents bequeathed to us by our forefathers without which we cannot long survive as a country.
Ron Hamman is pastor of Independent Baptist Church of Wasilla. Contact him at 357-4229 or rghamman@mtaonline.net.
Comments
26 comment(s)watcher wrote on Nov 15, 2009 9:40 AM:
Interesting to see that you're "proud" to be a part of the group that thinks spending this country into the ground, on the backs of future generations, is a smart move. Or that you're "proud" to adopt the idea of 'its either this or that' regarding health reform that the current administration peddles on the country (heaven forbid we pursue any alternatives!)
Yeah, thanks. The rest of us are SO thankful for Pelosi, Reid, Obama and all the other monstrosities that you're so "proud" of! "
to a proud liberal wrote on Nov 15, 2009 12:18 AM:
wandering in wilderness wrote on Nov 12, 2009 10:47 AM:
You can do better than Bush, Palin and Fox News.
Remember Reagan? Come on, give us your best stuff. We need it. "
A proud liberal wrote on Nov 10, 2009 7:36 PM:
On the other hand wrote on Nov 10, 2009 3:20 PM:
Just sayin wrote on Nov 10, 2009 12:39 PM:
ingrid olsen wrote on Nov 9, 2009 7:34 PM:
MAXKATT from NY wrote on Nov 9, 2009 12:24 PM:
Why wrote on Nov 9, 2009 9:09 AM:
Hybrid wrote on Nov 8, 2009 5:10 PM:
Please read my words more CAREFULLY. I did not say I would "LIKE" a bigger government! I only made the point that it seems to be inevitable with a large population.
You owe me an apology. "
David wrote on Nov 8, 2009 11:39 AM:
Hybrid wrote on Nov 7, 2009 10:50 PM:
Like? What's it got to do with what I like? I'm only pointing out the obvious facts that an enormous population requires a different type of government than a very small population. Of course I'd like a smaller government and low taxes, but it doesn't work that way. If people want a limited government, etc., then they should stop breeding. Can you imagine the problems that will ensue when there are twice as many people here as there are now? You conservatives need to get your heads out of the sand and stop being political Luddites. "
David wrote on Nov 7, 2009 2:17 PM:
Chloe, people shouldn't blindly follow political figures or hang on their every word like many did with Obama.
Hybrid, I guess you would like for government to control every aspect of our lives and have higher taxes. That makes no sense to me. "
Oh my wrote on Nov 6, 2009 11:15 AM:
DiANE wrote on Nov 6, 2009 11:13 AM:
Ian wrote on Nov 5, 2009 10:30 PM:
My Christian faith has taught me to love, respect and honor my God and my neighbor.
Due to this, my faith is what makes me a political independent who has voted for the Democrats since 2000.
Biblical scripture doesn't point toward one party's platform of ideologies-- and don't try to argue otherwise. You're just using "sound byte" theology.
This article is rubbish from the very first sentence. "
Lincolns Party wrote on Nov 5, 2009 5:44 PM:
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Guess Mr. Hamman needs to educate himself on our country's history, it's forefathers, and second generation of forefathers--and their true intent imposed within this country's foundational documents, which promote freedom. They certainly wouldn't be in agreement with Hamman's rambling, illogical, incoherent rhetoric or his extremism.
Bet it won't be long before Mr. Hamman starts juxtaposing the term 'liberals'... with 'infidels'. "
Chloe wrote on Nov 4, 2009 1:03 PM:
Christ didn't have a flag of any one country, he didn't profess to any one kind of political party and he certainly never taught his followers to hate but to love and tolerate those who live, love and believe differently from you.
Peace be with you. "
Amen. wrote on Nov 4, 2009 9:46 AM:
fiberfinn wrote on Nov 4, 2009 7:00 AM:
Cortez wrote on Nov 3, 2009 1:04 PM:
Drivel describes this article perfectly. Hamman preaches intolerance, self righteousness, and compassion only for those who believe exactly as he does. He wraps himself in the American flag...but beware the wolf in sheeps clothing. "
Hybrid wrote on Nov 3, 2009 8:18 AM:
Politics From The Pulpit wrote on Nov 3, 2009 7:29 AM:
valley wrote on Nov 3, 2009 6:02 AM:
Edge of Winter wrote on Nov 3, 2009 5:09 AM:
Patsy C wrote on Nov 3, 2009 3:43 AM:
God Bless- I wish I knew how to get this out to my friends here in Alabama. "