Eight Questions for Conservative Christians
by Questions asked not as attacks, but as queries from someone who is genuinely puzzled.
Question the Fourth
If Jesus communicated what he thought was important in the gospels, why no mention of abortion, sexual immorality, the use of mind-altering substances and other issues that conservative Christians seem to think define what it means to be a good person?
Question the Fifth
Jesus does say that God hates divorce. I think it’s the only thing he ever said that God hates. Yet conservatives look to leaders like John McCain, Rush Limbaugh, Ronald Reagan, Newt Gingrich, and others who did exactly what God supposedly hates – and most of them did it multiple times and cheated on their wives while married to them. Then of course there are conservative husbands like Ted Haggard, Mark Sanford, Larry Craig, etc. Why support leaders who do exactly what God hates and hold them up as moral role models? Why demonize President Obama who by all accounts is a loving, caring, and faithful husband and father?
Question the Sixth
When asked a direct question by a rich young man about what he must do to be saved, Jesus says “Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.” Then when pressed, he adds that the guy should give away all his possessions and give everything to the poor. He never says “believe in me, and you will be saved.” In fact, in three of the four gospels, his explanation of how to be saved, to inherit eternal life, to get to heaven, doesn’t include cognitive belief. Why do conservative Christians insist so strongly that anyone who doesn’t believe his story will be tortured for eternity? Was he deliberately deceiving the rich young man about the path to salvation? Or did the authors of the gospels not record it right? If the first, then Christ wouldn’t be perfect. If the second, the Bible wouldn’t be perfect.
Question the Seventh
As the son of God, Jesus could have thrown mountains into the ocean to prove who he was. Yet his most common miracle was healing the sick without putting conditions on the gift of health. Yet conservative Christians fight so hard to make sure we don’t provide health care to every American. If Jesus gave so much of his precious time and energy improving people’s physical health, why be so bitter about a small portion of one’s tax money going to the same thing?
Question the Eighth
While conservative Christians try to find lots of ways to say that Jesus didn’t actually mean what he said in the verses above (that we should judge not, love our enemies, turn the other cheek, etc.), they insist that there is no room for interpretation about the seven-day creation, 900 year old men, giants, burning bushes, etc. But even that adherence to the Old Testament is inconsistently applied by conservatives – the Old Testament commands in no uncertain language that adulterers (like McCain, Gingrich etc.) rebellious sons (like George W.), and others be executed; it commands that we not wear blended fabrics, that we make animal sacrifices, that we not eat shellfish because it’s an abomination (same word used for homosexuality), etc. What authority has been give to conservative Christians to pick and choose what’s still valid, by whom was that authority given, and when?
I look forward to your kind responses.
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Post CommentTheDragon319
On July 29, 2009 at 6:59 pm
Very good questions, I have thought a lot about some of these.
sheema
On August 3, 2009 at 2:11 am
i dont know what religion u follow but if u want all your answers, u should study islam. people today are offended by the name islam due to all the negative propaganda against it after the 9/11 tragedy but believe me if u believe in GOD that islam is really a peacefull religeon. the GOD of muslims is the same as the GOD of the christians as well as that of the jews. we all believe in the same books and the same prophets that all the christians and jews believe in but the fact is that christianity and jewism were only meant for a limited period of time, for those particular eras respectively. as the times progressed there was a need for more explanation , more discipline and more areas of life to be guided, that was when GOD sent MOHAMMAD (peace be upon him) alon with QURAN the new guiding book to be followed till the end of this world. if u read the Quran , its translation and explanation u will know that it surely was sent by GOD because of the things in it that are now being scientifically proven , which is a proof in itself that QURAN is not a creation of some mortal being but of some GREATER POWER than a human being. its a vast topic , u gotta find it out yourself. do your research not on the net but go to libraries and book stores. on the net u may find stuff written by amatures and people with little knowledge who are just trying to justify their beliefs.the truth is out there , u take a step towards the truth , the truth will come to u double-paced.
Eliot Rosewater y The Velvet Edge
On August 6, 2009 at 11:15 am
If Jesus were alive today, it seems the right wing would likely crucify him.
His emphasis on making peace and loving our enemies would make him soft on defense. His commandments on judging not, not casting the first stone, etc. would mean that he’s against protecting “the traditional family”. His emphasis on treating the poor and outcast with love, food, clothing and healing would make him a “socialist”.
Focusing on the Old Testament, and perhaps on Paul, might lead one to political conservatism. But listening to Jesus alone would send someone running away from that ideology.
Ewan
On August 6, 2009 at 7:03 pm
Sorry Tommy, but i feel like this argument has been very poorly put together and written.
Putting aside your political and religous beliefs for the time being also leaving the issue of ‘conservative Christians’ , the Christian faith that you have shown in these ‘eight questions’ has very little to do with the teachings in the bible, you have taken single verses in the bible and not bothered to find the meaning of these teachings, which has obvioulsy resulted in placing them into an improper context .This has over all shown very little understanding and would strongly suggest that this article is based on an agenda rather then a transparent issue.
Sheema, your claims that muslims believe that christian and jews worship the same god, would be eagerly debated by most non-liberal Muslim scholars and imams. They would claim that they both had once been given a revelation from allah but it has become corrupted over time.
To give an example to my claim, Christians claim Christ is God, Muslims and Jews would both disagree with this statement ( i.e a different definition of god ) . Muslims would claim mohammed revealed gods nature and character to man , a claim both Christians and Jews would disagree with. purely because all 3 religions claim they submit to ‘god’ does not mean that all 3 worship the same god specially since all 3 religions claim and exclusiveness to there faith. Just because you name a horse a goat, doesn’t make it a goat.
If anyone would like a more reliable interpretation of the Bible or has an honest question for a Christian , please reply to this thread and i will try my best to get back to you.
E
Skeptic
On August 18, 2009 at 5:16 pm
Ewan, it seems you have evaded all eight questions. Why are these not “honest questions”? Jesus said all these things about peace, forgiveness, wealth, poverty etc.that directly contradict conservatism. Can you answer any of the author’s questions or just disparage him/her?
ChristianLeft
On August 24, 2009 at 12:36 am
You forgot one question. Jesus says specifically not to go out and pray in public, but to pray in private. Why do conservative Christians fight so hard to get public prayers at football games etc. when Jesus said specifically not to do that?
Ben Steinke
On September 3, 2009 at 3:28 am
Ewan, do not go into the “context, context, context” argument—it is a waste of time. All of the Gospel writers quoted the Old Testament apart from any so-called “context” many times. The “Context Times Three” argument isn’t really an argument, but an evasion tactic. The whole context argument comes not from an honest-hearted and spirit-led study of the Scriptures, but from evangelical institutions like Dallas Theological Seminary. Having degrees in theology does not an expert in the Bible make.
Ewan
On October 5, 2009 at 5:30 pm
Skeptic- Since I am not living in North American (which I presume this debating is centered around ), I cannot defend or attack the claims that have been made against the ‘conservative christian’. My reply was purely against what I saw as a set of 8 ignorant based question with a lazy knowledge of scripture. Though these 8 questions might be honest questions ( also be very relevant ) they are poorly backed by the use of the bible.
. I am not stating a ‘context context context’ argument but purely ‘context’. That we can not take a single verse and grow out our own meaning from this, instead have a understanding of the passages before and after .
Christian Left- please read Matthew 6 , if you still feel your claim is relevant i will make a fuller comment on it.
Ben Steinke- Glad to see someone is thinking
ChristianLeft
On October 8, 2009 at 6:37 pm
Hi Ewan,
I read Matthew 6, and my question remains. Jesus says not to make a public display of prayer, not to make a public display of fasting, giving etc. In other words, spiritual practice is a private matter. Praying in front of a couple thousand football fans goes directly against what Jesus says.
And Skeptic is right – now you have resorted to insulting the author, calling him or her lazy and ignorant, but still haven’t addressed any of the questions. You also haven’t demonstrated that the author has taken anything out of context….
Ewan
On October 9, 2009 at 1:29 pm
ChristianLeft-
Matthew6:1 – Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them.
Matthew6:17 – But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face,
Jesus is not arguing against praying in public because it is inherently wrong he is arguing about those who use it ‘to be seen by man’ , for there own glory . Furthermore he is saying to ‘close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen.’ because it should be a relational experience and from the heart.
But saying this, Jesus himself would often pray in groups, he would pray infront of and with his disciples, so praying with others is not an issue.
My biggest question regarding prayer in public is, the reasons why. Is it what a genuine on heart plea to God or just for self righteousness something like the ancient Pharisees.
As i said before, since im not from America, i can’t relate this to the ‘conservative christian’ discussion.