The three faces of conservatism

It has now been almost an entire year since America last went to the polls and, as we begin to look forward to the next election cycle, it would behoove conservatives to look within and do a little self-examination. While there have been many who have been proffering theories as to conservative losses, I have yet to hear any do so from a biblical perspective. True, we have heard of candidates uttering bits of scripture as they head into the fray, but using scripture to rally one group around a banner and the scrutiny of that banner by the scriptures are two different things. And just because a candidate or a cause seems spiritual, that doesn’t make it scriptural.

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.

The next face of conservatism is that of fiscal conservatism, which is guided by the singular reference point of the accountant’s ledger. Fiscal conservatives are known for living within their means, which means spending based on what you have, not on what you wish you had or what you might have based on inflated projections. It’s a mindset that takes care of what is entrusted to it as though it was its own. And taxation is held as a last resort because the less that is required by the government, the more that is retained by the people. But, again, with liberalism, this is not so.

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.