Conservative Values

I've heard a lot of talk about values from Republicans. Many love to speak of how America is a "Christian" nation, or that their values are "Bible based". I've spent a good deal of my life espousing "Bible" morality. We hear a lot about the "moral decline" of our country, the "decline of the family", the "culture war".

I have yet to see churches living to the "values" that they teach, or politicians that do anything more than pander to the established middle class. When someone says "Christian" values, this is what I hear:

• I will not listen or consider the viewpoints of other Christians. They are "false" or mislead. My viewpoints on Christianity are the only ones that are "right".

• I will not consider the plight of the poor. However, I will argue for the destruction of welfare programs, as welfare is so often "abused". Despite repeatedly saying that we Christians do so much, I won't donate time or money to any social cause

• I will hold dogmatically to only the teachings on sexual morality in the Bible, and ignore those on greed, sloth, and gluttony.
  

• I will argue from ignorance instead of learning about the larger world around me.

• I will ignore reality for the sake of my own interpretation of a book. I will ignore fossil records, years of research, scientific advances, palaeontological and archaeological discoveries, and history books of other civilizations. I will actively deny these things exist. However, if my life is in danger or it's immediately useful to me, I'll help myself to the results.

• I will ignore the harm I do to the environment, to animals, and to other people.
  

• I will teach my children to love and respect others, but only provided that those others are in the same or a compatible branch of "Christianity"

• I will state "love the sinner, hate the sin", yet demonstrate a hate the sinner mentality.
  

• I will continue to espouse education techniques and views, despite demonstration after demonstration of failure. I will continue even if I see these same failures personally in my family.

• I wil never accept my capacity to be wrong at any time. No matter how much evidence stacks against me, I will always consider my viewpoint to be the correct one.
  

• I will do all of these things and know that I am better than other heathens who are not Christian. I will be thankful that my "God" has chosen me to be better than them.

• Every religious act I do will demonstrate that I have stronger faith and am a better person than other Christians and especially the non-religious.

"Christian" values are a joke, no matter who is espousing them. Some groups like to claim that they are true Christians becausetheir "Christian values" have "better" results. You might here this claim from a Jehovah's Witness who's "Christian values" result in mistreatment of rape victims, sexual exploitation of children, thousands of deaths from refusal of medical treatment, and broken families.

As a group, Christians make me want to vomit. Repeaters of nothing more than "us versus them" mentality. A "me first neighbor second" attitude that stands directly in contrast with the "new commandment" Jesus gave.

Perhaps there are Christians out there that really do care about values, such basic things as caring for others. Still, the complete failure of any group to separate themselves from the hateful rhetoric of so many speaks volumes to me. It illustrates the moral bankrupcy that comes from gathering an entire ethical system from a single book instead of asking oneself tough questions.

And then, while espousing these moralities, "Christians" have no issue violating them in their private lives.