Question for Christian conservatives

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I don't think the average conservative believes in or obeys the Golden Rule or loves his neighbor as himself. Giving tax cuts to the rich and turning the poor and immigrants away isn't very Christian in my book.

"Your book" is the liberal playbook, and you're bringing religion into the debate to try to undercut our message.

The answer is, everything is subjective. While you may not believe that conservative tax policies are very Christian, many of us do.

We don't give tax breaks to the rich because we love rich people more than our neighbors. We give tax cuts to the rich because we believe it's a good way to lift up our neighbours along with the whole of society. And in that sense, you might see we are actively fighting for our neighbours. I think it's absurd to suggest that conservatives, in particular, aren't neghbourly or charitable.

"It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." -- Matthew 19:24

I don't think taking away the safety net to pay for tax cuts for the rich is in line with what Jesus actually taught.

I think you have taken one of the most important lines in the Bible and twisted it very far from its context. It means that you should not let your wealth make you feel like God is not important. Sadly, people do not realize that. It has nothing to do with taxes, the safety net, or poverty.

Jesus said that we should help each other. If the government gave social aid, nobody would be helping each other-the government would. In a world where every single need was taken care of by the government, private charity and sacrifice-the altruism that Ayn Rand hated-would not exist.

Is the government not a body of people? If people are being helped, then it doesn't really matter. If you're trying to encourage people to be nice and charitable, that's great, but that's not an excuse for removing the government.

But government forces people to help one another through Progressive taxation does it not? I can't claim to speak for Jesus-in fact, if I could, I would argue that Jesus was a Libertarian Socialist when it came to economics-voluntary spreading of wealth. Of course, Jesus being born without original sin makes it alot easier for him to hold these views

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Is the government not a body of people? If people are being helped, then it doesn't really matter. If you're trying to encourage people to be nice and charitable, that's great, but that's not an excuse for removing the government.

Of course it matters. It matters whether it is the most effective, whether people's deepest needs are really being met, and whether the means are just.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

I don't think the average conservative believes in or obeys the Golden Rule or loves his neighbor as himself. Giving tax cuts to the rich and turning the poor and immigrants away isn't very Christian in my book.

"Your book" is the liberal playbook, and you're bringing religion into the debate to try to undercut our message.

The answer is, everything is subjective. While you may not believe that conservative tax policies are very Christian, many of us do.

We don't give tax breaks to the rich because we love rich people more than our neighbors. We give tax cuts to the rich because we believe it's a good way to lift up our neighbours along with the whole of society. And in that sense, you might see we are actively fighting for our neighbours. I think it's absurd to suggest that conservatives, in particular, aren't neghbourly or charitable.

"It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." -- Matthew 19:24

I don't think taking away the safety net to pay for tax cuts for the rich is in line with what Jesus actually taught.

I think you have taken one of the most important lines in the Bible and twisted it very far from its context. It means that you should not let your wealth make you feel like God is not important. Sadly, people do not realize that. It has nothing to do with taxes, the safety net, or poverty.

Jesus said that we should help each other. If the government gave social aid, nobody would be helping each other-the government would. In a world where every single need was taken care of by the government, private charity and sacrifice-the altruism that Ayn Rand hated-would not exist.

Is the government not a body of people? If people are being helped, then it doesn't really matter. If you're trying to encourage people to be nice and charitable, that's great, but that's not an excuse for removing the government.

But government forces people to help one another through Progressive taxation does it not? I can't claim to speak for Jesus-in fact, if I could, I would argue that Jesus was a Libertarian Socialist when it came to economics-voluntary spreading of wealth. Of course, Jesus being born without original sin makes it alot easier for him to hold these views

Taxation is arguably something other than entirely coercive in a system in which one has the opportunity to vote against those proposing or instituting the taxes.

Agreed that voluntary redistribution of wealth is the Christian ideal; it's a question of how to deal with the fact that most people's lives and worldviews don't work that way without intermediary factors or so-called social contracts.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Is the government not a body of people? If people are being helped, then it doesn't really matter. If you're trying to encourage people to be nice and charitable, that's great, but that's not an excuse for removing the government.

Of course it matters. It matters whether it is the most effective, whether people's deepest needs are really being met, and whether the means are just.

From a Christian perspective one's deepest needs are not physical, but spiritual.  Forced redistribution discourages voluntary redistribution that can be helpful to the soul.

[BritishDixie]

As I see it, the Church is not about social justice (in the way of wealth redistribution), but spiritual uplift. Capitalism gives us wealth, but Christianity gives us a conscience. It tells us what is right and wrong.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

I am a Christian and a conservative and very much believe in following the Golden Rule and loving your neighbor.  I don't think we should necessarily turn the poor and immigrants away.  Conservatives do care about the poor; they just believe that private charity is more effective than government social programs.  I have no problem myself with government social programs as long as they make people independent rather than dependent.  Futhermore, I don't think most conservatives want to cut taxes only for the rich.  I personally believe that we need to cut taxes for all incomes (the poor and middle class to reduce their tax burden and the rich to stimulate economic growth.)  Conservatives aren't anti-immigration, we are anti-illegal immigration.  I believe that if you are going to come to live in America, you should at least do it legally.  Illegal immigration basically sets people up for a lifetime of exploitation by employers, the government, and border security agents.  Jesus may have been considered a liberal in His day, but I don't think He would approve of contemporary liberalism's embrace of abortion and homosexual marriage.  He wouldn't condemn homosexuals or women who have abortions, but He would certainly not condone those actions, either.