I grumbled when George Will 'came out' against a Federal Marriage Amendment. I think a lot of us have been annoyed by some conservatives' support for gay marriage as a supposedly stabilizing influence. We talked here about the dividing line between Christianity and conservatism -- that while they might share some founding presuppositions, there is nothing inherently Christian in conservatism.
I wonder if that won't become increasingly true as time goes on. Conservatism isn't a stable ideology with a codified set of beliefs. It's more a set of principles and a disposition of the mind. So the liberal ideas of the past century are defended by conservatives of today. Christians were prominent in the formation of these classically liberal ideas -- everything from racial justice to free markets. But as our culture continues its glide-path into a post-Christian morass, the things conservatism will be conserving will range farther and farther afield from our Christian roots.
Which is why it isn't surprising when secular conservatives stake out positions that seem strange to us. They share many conclusions with us, but their thoughts are animated by a different principle of life. I imagine I'll be a conservative 'til I die, but I hold the label more loosely than I once did. I'm a Christian first, a conservative only a distant second.
Posted by Discoshaman at avril 21, 2004 02:48 AM | TrackBack
I'm lazy tonight, so I'll ask you to inform me. Aside from prohibition (and we know how wildly successful that was), are Constitutional amendments generally used to define/allow moral behavior, or deal with governmental constructs, such as voting rights?
And don't you find it odd just how many conservatives, even Christians, who were dead set against any legal recognition of gay couples (i.e. civil unions) are now embracing them with open arms, as an alternative to gay marriage, which they never thought they'd live to see the day of?
Why I don't call myself a conservative or Dabney Said It Best:
"What was the resisted novelty of yesterday is today one of the accepted principles of conservatism; it is now conservative only in affecting to resist the next innovation, which will tomorrow be forced upon its timidity and will be succeeded by some third revolution, to be denounced and then adopted in its turn. American conservatism is merely the shadow that follows Radicalism as it moves forward towards perdition. It remains behind it, but never retards it, and always advances near its leader. " -- R.L. Dabney
Posted by: Rob Huffstedtler at avril 21, 2004 06:41 PMThe Amendments to end slavery were strongly moral. However, it dealt with them as governmental constructs (crime/punishment, and human rights).
The comparison with Prohibition scares me--Prohibition was a moral crusade enacted through civil law. Worse, the subject of the crusade (alcohol) was known to produce evil, but it was not inherently evil. Prohibition seems (in hindsight) destined to fail, especially considering the shift in social demographics from the beginning of Prohibition (mid-1800's?) to its enacted constitutional status (1919? 1920?)
We may categorize homosexual activity in the same way we characterize abortion--inherently abominable in God's eyes. Others have (incorrectly, in my view) previously characterized alcohol use that way.
However, in order to enact a law about it, we have to convince the lawmakers that the law is needed on a civil level. That's the tricky bit, and that is where this amendment may falter--or be repealed later.
It seems important to me to make the distinction between Christianity and conservatism. For too long, the two have been equated, or at least the line between them has been fuzzy. Your comments are right on!
Posted by: FLGrandma at avril 21, 2004 08:25 PMCollege student friend of mine published something on that just a bit ago. http://www.californiarepublic.org/archives/Columns/Robinson/20040420RobinsonVirtue.html
Posted by: GE at avril 23, 2004 12:21 AMI'm convinced that part of the reason that the world is so messed up is that too many Christians are trying to change things through the political process, and forgetting the spiritual process. We can impact people far more effectively if we stay faithful to our calling from God.
Posted by: Warren at avril 24, 2004 12:26 AM