McLean County Times

Almost every Sunday morning, in the parking lot outside of my church, I see bumper stickers supporting candidates or policies of the progressive Left. I know that the traditional Christian Faith strongly opposes many of the Left's progressive policies. Don't those Christians sporting the bumper stickers and attending my church understand this? Aren't they ashamed of what their bumper stickers say or imply? I should think so, but evidently not.

How can supposedly faithful Christians support Democrats – the party representative of the progressive Left? This is a paradox to those of us who see an obvious contradiction between traditional Christian values and much of what the Democrat Party favor – abortion, gay marriage, transgenderism, PRIDE, the gay lifestyle, cohabitation, contraception, gun control, open borders, social welfare, and more.

While my traditional Christian values oppose racism, I cannot support the BLM movement. While my conventional Christian values favor stewardship of the environment, I cannot support the Green New Deal. While my orthodox Christian values favor equality for all people, I cannot support the LGBT movement. While I support freedom of choice, I cannot support abortion. These statements might seem confusing to some, and even I have had to reflect carefully on my position concerning these issues.

Having questioned many such matters over the years, I recently decided to investigate the original question about why some Christians feel they can support the Democrat Party in apparent contradiction to the traditional moral and social teachings of much of Christianity. In doing so, I have found that many answers provided by the progressive Left that initially seem justifiable, even laudable, have considerable problems upon further reflection. Here are six hot-button contradictions I have studied recently:

Social Justice: Many Christians resonate with the Democratic Party's focus on poverty eradication, healthcare accessibility, and immigration reform, viewing these policies as in line with the teachings of Jesus advocating for the care of the marginalized and vulnerable in society. However, there are counterarguments that welfare programs inadvertently foster dependency and deter individuals from seeking employment or taking ownership of their lives. Critics of liberal welfare policies argue that poorly administered welfare can incentivize behaviors like having children out of wedlock to increase benefits rather than fostering self-sufficiency and personal responsibility. This can perpetuate a cycle of poverty by offering temporary relief without addressing underlying economic challenges. Instead of promoting lasting solutions, welfare may inadvertently contribute to generational poverty by discouraging the pursuit of education, job training, hard work, stable marriages, and other avenues of advancement.

Open Borders: Some Christians are drawn to the Democratic Party's perceived compassion for foreign nationals, advocating for unrestricted immigration to protect undocumented individuals from hardship and poverty in their home countries while also offering them freedom and opportunities. However, unrestricted immigration often exposes immigrants to exploitation by unscrupulous employers who may exploit them with low wages, hazardous working conditions, or lack of job security. This burdens American taxpayers, who must bear the costs of housing, feeding, educating, and providing healthcare for immigrants. Open borders raise concerns about national security, as they allow for unimpeded movement of people across borders, facilitating the entry of criminals, terrorists, and other malicious actors into the country undetected. Additionally, human traffickers and drug dealers exploit the lack of border security, resulting in a significant human toll that is difficult to quantify. None of this says anything about problems that result from population loss in the countries where immigrants originate.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Some Christians find resonance with the Democratic Party's dedication to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion, seeing these values as aligning with the biblical notion of universal love and acceptance. Opponents of such initiatives as PRIDE observe that certain behaviors endorsed or condoned by the Democratic Party directly oppose traditional Christian teachings. Furthermore, they criticize the progressive Left for promoting these behaviors within the public school system, potentially at the expense of fundamental education. They argue that such educational approaches may contribute to cultivating a generation of individuals disconnected from traditional moral values, leading to polarization, guilt, and self-doubt—outcomes far from Christian ideals.

Reproductive Rights: Democrats prioritize women's reproductive rights and autonomy, advocating for affirmative stances on reproductive healthcare access, including abortion rights, in the name of individual freedom and bodily autonomy. They believe that a mother's rights take precedence over those of her unborn child. However, this perspective clashes with the traditional Christian belief that all human life is sacred and seen as a divine gift from God. According to this viewpoint, life begins at conception, making abortion equivalent to the taking of an innocent human life, contrary to deeply held moral principles. Specific biblical passages reinforce the notion that life begins at conception and emphasize God's value for human life, urging believers to protect it from the moment of conception until natural death.

Stewardship of Creation: Worries regarding environmental preservation and climate change occasionally prompt some Christians to endorse Democrat policies aimed at safeguarding the environment and preventing ecological deterioration. They perceive these endeavors as aligning with their faith in caring for God's creation. Regrettably, these same Christians sometimes prioritize environmental concerns over human well-being, diverting efforts and resources away from human problems like poverty, hunger, and healthcare. Conservative Christians often harbor skepticism toward secular environmental movements, perceiving them as advancing ideologies or agendas that clash with their religious convictions or as overly focused on worldly matters rather than spiritual ones.

Gun Control: It's clear that many traditional Christians cling to their guns while many progressives want to ban them. While wanting to protect people from armed violence is a laudable goal, progressive gun control advocates don't seem to be aware that people also need guns for self-defense against others and from a potentially tyrannical government – the very reason the Second Amendment was included in the Bill of Rights in the first place. Like all the other issues, there are two sides to every coin. When evil comes with good, one must use prudential judgment to deal with contradictory consequences.

-----

In general, most Christians are not bitter and don't have an antipathy to people who aren't like them, as President Obama claimed in his 2008 statement about Christians "clinging to their guns and religion" statement. Neither do they hold anti-immigrant or anti-trade sentiments out of frustration; instead, it's because they are fully aware of the problems radical Left policies regarding gun control, socialism, secularism, the New World Order, the Great Reset, and similar progressive policies.

That many Christians support certain aspects of the Democrat Party that contradict traditional teachings is clear. Why they do so is still a paradox. So, where does that leave us? Obviously, it is at the word limit for Part 1 of this essay. In Part 2, I'll address why I believe it is that some Christians support certain aspects of the Democrat Party that oppose their traditional Christian beliefs on many issues.