Will... of God
Friday, July 29, 2005
I Am A Conservative
Written in the December 2000
I am a conservative.
Much has been said about me (as a conservative) overthe past few years. I have read where I am a racist homophobic woman hating Neanderthal bigot marching in lockstep with the "leaders" of conservatismand the Republican party.
I want to poison the water, destroy the environment, favor the rich and disfavor the poor. I want to starve children, deprive the elderly and balance the budget on the backs of the disenfranchised in our country.
These things are not true.
One of the disadvantages of being conservativeis that you often need more room than can be found on a bumper sticker toexpress your arguments. Conservative arguments are often burdened with things such as truth, justice and empathy; where liberal positions often substitute the cheaper lighter weight imitations of populism, "fairness" and pity. Often the ability of liberal leaders to effectively practice rabble-rousing and divisiveness drowns out, for a time, the steady, balanced positions that are conservatism. Cries of "Keep Hope Alive" often mask the fact that the blood trail left by many liberal programs is steeped in hopelessness. Pleas to allow a woman to do as she pleases with her body ignore the fact that half of aborted babies would have grown up to be women if they had had the opportunity do what they wanted to do with their bodies-simply be born.
As a conservative, I believe in personal responsibility for actions. This is the underlying tenet of conservatism in my opinion. From this point hang many of conservatism's positions.
- Healthy able bodied individuals should work when able.
- With few exceptions, power is better denied to a centralized federalgovernment and left to the states. There are several reasons for this but the two most important are these:
1. The US Constitution says so
2. State and local officials are more directly responsible (and recallable) than are federal officials, and therefore more likely to do the will of thepeople.
- Ending a life is not a valid form of birth control, or lifestyle management.
- Ending a life is a valid form of punishment for crimes that strike at thevery fabric of society.
As a conservative, I believe some things are black and white. Not everything is a closet gray area crying out to be discovered by the next great liberal rationalist.
- There is such a thing as truth; and it will always be the truth whether you choose to believe it or not.
- There is such a thing as right and wrong and no amount of trial attorneys can change that.
- A person's inability to always live up to a standard is not an excuse to quit trying. It is better to fail at trying to do something right than to succeed at achieving a lower standard.
- Self esteem is a poor substitute for self respect. Self esteem, if not based on reality is nothing more than self-delusion.
- Everyone won't be good at everything. This is not a valid reason to believe that you are being unfairly singled out to fail at things your are not good at. It is also not a valid reason to believe the achievements of others must have come at the expense of someone else.
- The economy is not a zero sum game. If one person makes a dollar, it does not mean he took it from someone else. Money can be "made", otherwise we would still be trading the original amount of money our forefathers used when they started this economy.
- Even if the economy was a zero sum game, it is unlikely that people who wanted to get rich would do so by trying to take money from the poor. That's like looking for water in the desert.
- "Populism" and "Wisdom" rarely come near each other, and never stay together long.
Many will say that conservatives are heartless and mean spirited. This is not true. The underlying assumption of conservatism is that there is absolute good, and man will never be successful in achieving it. We understand that anyone who tries things will eventually fail at least once. We recognize that there must be a safety net to under gird people during these times. But we also understand that in practice, far too many people have confused a safety net with a hammock. The purpose of a safety net isto provide a safe landing, not a place to sleep. I realize my statements don't share the rhyme and alliteration of a Jesse Jackson sound byte. I understand that these positions will not likely bequoted by a high priced defense attorney on Court TV. I am aware that my assertions do not have the novelty of asking for a definition of "is". I recognize that I do believe in an ultimate controlling legal authority. I know I leave myself open to charges of hypocrisy because I cannot achieve that to which I aspire. But I take comfort in this; these positions are wise, these positions are just, these positions are true. I am a conservative, but not the one described on TV. ¶ 7:13 PM 0 comments
Written in the December 2000
I am a conservative.
Much has been said about me (as a conservative) overthe past few years. I have read where I am a racist homophobic woman hating Neanderthal bigot marching in lockstep with the "leaders" of conservatismand the Republican party.
I want to poison the water, destroy the environment, favor the rich and disfavor the poor. I want to starve children, deprive the elderly and balance the budget on the backs of the disenfranchised in our country.
These things are not true.
One of the disadvantages of being conservativeis that you often need more room than can be found on a bumper sticker toexpress your arguments. Conservative arguments are often burdened with things such as truth, justice and empathy; where liberal positions often substitute the cheaper lighter weight imitations of populism, "fairness" and pity. Often the ability of liberal leaders to effectively practice rabble-rousing and divisiveness drowns out, for a time, the steady, balanced positions that are conservatism. Cries of "Keep Hope Alive" often mask the fact that the blood trail left by many liberal programs is steeped in hopelessness. Pleas to allow a woman to do as she pleases with her body ignore the fact that half of aborted babies would have grown up to be women if they had had the opportunity do what they wanted to do with their bodies-simply be born.
As a conservative, I believe in personal responsibility for actions. This is the underlying tenet of conservatism in my opinion. From this point hang many of conservatism's positions.
- Healthy able bodied individuals should work when able.
- With few exceptions, power is better denied to a centralized federalgovernment and left to the states. There are several reasons for this but the two most important are these:
1. The US Constitution says so
2. State and local officials are more directly responsible (and recallable) than are federal officials, and therefore more likely to do the will of thepeople.
- Ending a life is not a valid form of birth control, or lifestyle management.
- Ending a life is a valid form of punishment for crimes that strike at thevery fabric of society.
As a conservative, I believe some things are black and white. Not everything is a closet gray area crying out to be discovered by the next great liberal rationalist.
- There is such a thing as truth; and it will always be the truth whether you choose to believe it or not.
- There is such a thing as right and wrong and no amount of trial attorneys can change that.
- A person's inability to always live up to a standard is not an excuse to quit trying. It is better to fail at trying to do something right than to succeed at achieving a lower standard.
- Self esteem is a poor substitute for self respect. Self esteem, if not based on reality is nothing more than self-delusion.
- Everyone won't be good at everything. This is not a valid reason to believe that you are being unfairly singled out to fail at things your are not good at. It is also not a valid reason to believe the achievements of others must have come at the expense of someone else.
- The economy is not a zero sum game. If one person makes a dollar, it does not mean he took it from someone else. Money can be "made", otherwise we would still be trading the original amount of money our forefathers used when they started this economy.
- Even if the economy was a zero sum game, it is unlikely that people who wanted to get rich would do so by trying to take money from the poor. That's like looking for water in the desert.
- "Populism" and "Wisdom" rarely come near each other, and never stay together long.
Many will say that conservatives are heartless and mean spirited. This is not true. The underlying assumption of conservatism is that there is absolute good, and man will never be successful in achieving it. We understand that anyone who tries things will eventually fail at least once. We recognize that there must be a safety net to under gird people during these times. But we also understand that in practice, far too many people have confused a safety net with a hammock. The purpose of a safety net isto provide a safe landing, not a place to sleep. I realize my statements don't share the rhyme and alliteration of a Jesse Jackson sound byte. I understand that these positions will not likely bequoted by a high priced defense attorney on Court TV. I am aware that my assertions do not have the novelty of asking for a definition of "is". I recognize that I do believe in an ultimate controlling legal authority. I know I leave myself open to charges of hypocrisy because I cannot achieve that to which I aspire. But I take comfort in this; these positions are wise, these positions are just, these positions are true. I am a conservative, but not the one described on TV. ¶ 7:13 PM 0 comments
Nuggets of Truth From the Trenches of Church Leadership
As soon as it is feasible start attacking tradition.
If you’ve read number one and decided it’s not yet feasible; it’s feasible.
Everybody hates change; change anyway.
If someone’s been in a position over 5 years, change the person in that position at the next available time.
Tell people what the general vision is. Lead them in the general direction and flesh out the details along the way.
The Good shepherd went back for the sheep that got lost along the way, but not until he got the other 99 safely in the pen.
Not everyone is coming along.
The more you wait for people to come along the longer they will wait to do so.
Jesus NEVER appeased
Jesus NEVER appeased
If people quit following Jesus, they’ll probably leave your church as well.
Given a choice between moving slowly and cautiously, and fast; (almost) always choose fast.
The kingdom of God suffers violence and the violent take it by force.
Until you’ve called some religious person a “son of their father the devil”, you have not done greater works than Christ.
You can’t leap a wide chasm in two short jumps.
When people say, “it’s not about the money”, it’s about the money.
Unless you’ve been transformed into the image of Christ, resisting change is sin.
Legalism restricts the move of the Spirit.
Jesus said, “Come and follow me”, not “Come and follow my rules”.
Things don’t have to make sense, they just need to make God happy.
There is no substitute for vision.
Vision only comes from God
Seek God; Find Vision; Seek Vision, Find a program
In the seven letters to the seven churches in Revelation, Jesus never told any of the churches to follow the instructions he had given to another church.
Jesus NEVER appeased
There is no substitute for blood, sweat and tears; as long as they come from Christ and not you.
Be careful who is whispering in your ear.
The Biblical model for growing a church quickly is to make people think you’re drunk and quote from a minor prophet. Don’t try anybody else’s plan until this one has failed.
There is no substitute for love when dealing with the unsaved.
There is no substitute for indignation when dealing with religious nay-sayers.
Jesus NEVER appeased
Find one positive reference in the Bible for compromising. Go ahead, find it.
No matter what happens, God is not likely to say, “Gee I didn’t see that coming!”
Vision never looks good in an accounting ledger.
Vision is not birthed from the accounting ledger.
Jesus NEVER appeased ¶ 7:06 PM 0 comments
As soon as it is feasible start attacking tradition.
If you’ve read number one and decided it’s not yet feasible; it’s feasible.
Everybody hates change; change anyway.
If someone’s been in a position over 5 years, change the person in that position at the next available time.
Tell people what the general vision is. Lead them in the general direction and flesh out the details along the way.
The Good shepherd went back for the sheep that got lost along the way, but not until he got the other 99 safely in the pen.
Not everyone is coming along.
The more you wait for people to come along the longer they will wait to do so.
Jesus NEVER appeased
Jesus NEVER appeased
If people quit following Jesus, they’ll probably leave your church as well.
Given a choice between moving slowly and cautiously, and fast; (almost) always choose fast.
The kingdom of God suffers violence and the violent take it by force.
Until you’ve called some religious person a “son of their father the devil”, you have not done greater works than Christ.
You can’t leap a wide chasm in two short jumps.
When people say, “it’s not about the money”, it’s about the money.
Unless you’ve been transformed into the image of Christ, resisting change is sin.
Legalism restricts the move of the Spirit.
Jesus said, “Come and follow me”, not “Come and follow my rules”.
Things don’t have to make sense, they just need to make God happy.
There is no substitute for vision.
Vision only comes from God
Seek God; Find Vision; Seek Vision, Find a program
In the seven letters to the seven churches in Revelation, Jesus never told any of the churches to follow the instructions he had given to another church.
Jesus NEVER appeased
There is no substitute for blood, sweat and tears; as long as they come from Christ and not you.
Be careful who is whispering in your ear.
The Biblical model for growing a church quickly is to make people think you’re drunk and quote from a minor prophet. Don’t try anybody else’s plan until this one has failed.
There is no substitute for love when dealing with the unsaved.
There is no substitute for indignation when dealing with religious nay-sayers.
Jesus NEVER appeased
Find one positive reference in the Bible for compromising. Go ahead, find it.
No matter what happens, God is not likely to say, “Gee I didn’t see that coming!”
Vision never looks good in an accounting ledger.
Vision is not birthed from the accounting ledger.
Jesus NEVER appeased ¶ 7:06 PM 0 comments
