Are You A Conservative Christian?

A site called the “Internet Monk” raises some thought provoking questions on the faith-political merger that is a “Conservative Christian.” In particular he wonders if we spend more time listening, reading and watching conservative news and opinion sources than we do studying and applying Scripture. OK, I'll admit it, I've definitely been guilty of that sometimes!

This guy hits the nail on the head concerning a number of issues, I think. First, while we should be interested in politics, they aren't the end all be all or shouldn't be (and while he doesn't say this, the question I have asked myself — especially since the Iraqi conflict started this spring — is, am I more worried about my particular political ideology being spread or the Gospel being spread?). In many cases politics are essential and we should deal with them to keep our freedoms (which in turn allow us to spread the Gospel), but we should also make sure they don't become our “Ultimate Reality,” in other words, we don't want them to become an idol.

Secondly, its nice to see someone speak out against Bill O'Reilly. Here's a guy who has called pro-family and pro-life advocates “fanatics.” He's compared these people, such as former homosexual Stephen Bennett of Stephen Bennett Ministries, to the radical fringes of Islam. He got upset with one interviewee, I think it was Jerry Falwell, for insisting that Christ is the only way to receive salvation. This guy might be a fiscal conservative, but he is very liberal on many social issues, and it is sad to see Christians endorsing the guy as he rips apart Evangelical Christianity.

My only big beef with the article was on his comments about Rush's theological views. I could be off base, but from what I've read in his books and elsewhere, I think Rush is a Christian. The cows will still probably come home before Rush starts having a Bible verse of the day on the EIB Network, however.

Anyway, I thought this article was interesting. I'm not going to drop politics. I'm still going to listen to Rush Limbaugh when I can (I haven't be able to lately). However, I thought it was a thought provoking article and well worth a few minutes to ponder.

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Read My Lips: No Taxes?

Another fellow Missouri blog, Sophoristically Speaking, has an interesting entry. According to this entry, a Tennessee court has decided that there may not be a requirement to pay federal taxes. Interesting…

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Mr. Former President: Thanks.

Well, I never expected to say it, but former President Clinton has just earned a hearty thanks in my books. According to CNN, Clinton called in to honor Larry King's guest — Bob Dole — on Dole's 80th birthday. During the conversation, he talked about the current controversy concerning President Bush's State of the Union address. Of course we know what he said. He talked about how terrible the president was and what a bad job he'd done — err, wait a second, actually that wasn't anything like what he said.

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Rant: Has the GOP Outlived Its Usefulness?

Based on recent political events, I think the Republican party has been pulling away from the conservatives, and in particular, Christian conservatives, leaving us slowly behind without the majority of Christians even noticing. It would seem to me that we are seeing the Republicans become increasingly centrist and, for some odd reason, even bowing to Democratic pressure during a time of a Republican majority. What is wrong with this party?

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Patriotism At the Peril of the Nation

The USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 was created to protect our country from terrorism, instead many from both sides of the aisle have realized it really could be used to dismantle that which we aim to protect. With new threats that expand on the USA PATRIOT Act being considered right now, everyone should consider the serious nature of the USAPA. As such I have spent some time over the past few months assembling the key facts that should provide a cursory consideration of this serious threat. This post is kind of long, but please find the time to read this piece and consider it.

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Syria and the Pax Americana

I don't know if its the ever sensational media wondering what to put in the primetime spot after Operation Iraqi Freedom winds down, or if it really is as it appears, but it would appear that there is a movement within the Bush Administration to move to a “regime change” in Syria next. I really hope not.

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Mr. Hatch: Stop it!

I'm about to go into a very political, controversial rant. You have been warned. [RANT MODE]Well, I've never been all that fond of Sen. Hatch. I feel like I disagree with him almost as much as Sen. McCain, only Sen. McCain is more likable. Before 9/11, when the big concern of the day was stem cell research, Sen. Hatch was for the embryonic testing, while I — if you didn't guess — was strongly opposed to the destruction of embryos for testing (thus siding with the smart thinkers, err, I mean conservatives). Now Sen. Hatch is back at it again with his absolutely idiotic push concerning modifying the USA PATRIOT ACT of 2001.

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Media and the War: Who's Fair, Who Reports What We Want?

Many of the people I talk to on a day-to-day basis are conservative Evangelical Christians. Being one myself, I guess that shouldn't be a suprise. For instance, I read several fine blogs you can find in my blog roll (see right column, if your on the main journal or article pages) and I'm in the ChristianSource Free Software and Linux Users Group on the computer, not to mention real world contact with people. Nine out of ten conservatives agree: CNN is biased and one should flip over to Fox News. So, I decided to analyze CNN's coverage and, in brief, my thoughts on Fox News coverage of the war too.

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Uhhhh, so that's the choice?

This just in from the folks at National Public Radio: Saddam is either alive or… in hiding! Yes, that's right. Apparently, if you are hiding, you are not alive. You heard it first on NPR and asisaid.com. Maybe this explains why we have so many embedded reporters — if our troops appeared to be hiding, we would know they weren't alive, right?

Now, remember folks: if you are ever thinking about hiding — don't! If you do, you won't be alive any more.

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American Flag...

How sad. I just had CNN Headline News on, and some student (and star sports player at some college) who disagrees with current government policy felt a good way to express this way to face away from the flag during the Pledge of Allegiance. How sad that someone would think that rejecting our flag, in essence, our country is the right way to disagree with certain policies. Apparently the student is at the college only has the opportunity to be the star there because the government is giving her a scholarship…

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