I thought that title would get your attention. Your resident theologically conservative Christian “socialist” (per my critics on the right) is back from a mission trip in Africa. I have some musings as to what is going on back here at home.

I remind you that I am Christian social worker who adheres to a traditional, historical, Biblically-based, orthodox theology. I stand against modernism and relativism. Yet, economic issues are separate from moral issues and so many people with a lack of understanding on my rationale for the policies I support, write me off as a “socialist.” With the talk I get from conservative Republicans, you would think that Republicans value capitalism more than they value Christianity and have been more than willing to search for and reinterpret Sacred Scripture to be a subordinate mouthpiece for capitalism. In fact, secularism is rapidly creeping up on the Republicans as the younger generation tends to be atheist/agnostic/secularist Ayn Rand acolytes and older conservative Christians seek cultural accommodationist strategies out of a fear of jeopardizing their free market goals by holding fast to the traditional tenets of Christianity against the rapid advance of secularism among the voters. But I digress. This is what is on my mind in stream of consciousness fashion.

Gay Marriage

It seems like these days, one cannot oppose gay marriage without being criticized as being against gay rights. This demonization is mostly unwarranted. It is sad that our discourse has fallen into this state.

Just because a person is against gay marriage does not mean the person is against allowing gays to go to school, get a job, start a business, and be free from harassment. I support gay rights and I also support traditional marriage. I have ministered to gay people and I respect them as human beings and find many of them to be pleasant, hard-working people. However, if you believe the Bible to be the inspired, infallible Word of God that possesses incredible continuity across time and a diverse array of writers, the Bible is clear on what is inappropriate behavior and marriage is not a man-made construct. Marriage is a matter of natural law that can only be changed by man at great peril to society.

Still, man has always messed around with the natural law of marriage. The fallen state of man since Adam and Eve led to polygamy and other marriage laws we would consider bizarre today (see the weird laws in Deuteronomy and Leviticus). However, with Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection, humanity was washed clean and we began anew. From the “reset” button forward, the concept of a “traditional marriage” was actually a radical idea in the 1st century A.D. that influenced the entire Western World at a time when Romans were living libertine lifestyles.

Still, man had to find a way to mess this all up. Here in America, we banned interracial marriage for a long time. That was despicable and went against Natural Law, God-made law. It was a great thing to overturn those laws banning interracial marriage. However, some people have decided to use that landmark Supreme Court decision to justify all sorts of things beyond that realm.

If this debate is about “love” and being able to marry the person you love and have that recognized and respected by society, I ask politely, why are incest laws still supported on a bipartisan basis by the overwhelming majority of the population? Why are two consenting adults who are a first cousins unable to marry? If not for the Bible and Natural Law, what is the rationale to keep laws banning incest in the books?

I don’t believe that homosexuality is a choice. I don’t see why people would choose a lifestyle that invites ostracism from a significant, but declining number of people in society. The large amount of research available today point to an unchangeable orientation. Like handedness, people can choose to write with their non-dominant hand, but that does not change the fact that one of their hands is more dominant than the other.

Should society do its best to accommodate the needs of homosexuals like any other human being? Absolutely, YES. Everyone deserves an opportunity to pursue careers and set up living arrangements free from harassment.

Should religion do its best to accommodate the needs of homosexuals like any other human being? Some may be surprised by the answer, but in short, yes. All human beings are created by God. However, we are all sinners, whether we are straight or gay. Among law abiding citizens, no one’s sins are better or worse than others and we all need salvation offered to us through the grace of Jesus Christ.

Should religion accommodate the needs of homosexuals by revising theology to satisfy the current needs of mankind, Thomas Jefferson style? Respectfully, no. This is where it gets nuanced.

I find it strange that overly patriotic conservatives have historically done revisionist history on our nation’s founding. America is NOT a “Christian Nation.” The founders like Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Ben Franklin, et al, held personal views that, if they were not American and instrumental in the founding, would be considered by Evangelicals and conservative Catholics as raging secularists today.

By my faith and profession, I pledge allegiance to God. Forgive me if I do not pledge fervent allegiance to America.

The moment religion bends to accommodate society, no matter how good the intentions, a watered-down Christian faith loses its value. Liberal mainline Protestantism (Episcopalians, Presbyterians, United Church of Christ, Lutherans, some Methodists) has seen a sharp, unstoppable decline since they have decided that conforming the Bible to society in the 1920s and 1960s would attract more adherents. It has been the opposite.

Surprisingly, conservative Evangelicals and conservative Roman Catholics are starting to waver as well when it comes to watering down the Christian faith to make secularists happy. Some who are wavering are strictly clergy who are concerned about the future of the church in the face of the challenges of secularism. Some in the flock don’t know their theology well enough to make an intellectual defense. Still, others who are wavering are conservative Republican politicians who fear losing elected office and losing the opportunity to advance free market principles because their personal religious values are not embraced by the public.

This gives me legitimate reason to believe that conservatives are not who they claim to be in matters of faith and morals. Republicans only care about the Christian faith in so far as it advances their priority of greedy corporatist capitalism. Now that secularism has taken over America, a new generation of Republicans are quickly gaining credibility among conservative Christians and non-Christian conservatives because of their promise to save free market principles by deemphasizing or discarding traditional notions of morality (the Libertarians).

To that, I say, “down with the bourgeoisie!”

I have spoken to theologically-conservative Episcopalians (Republican and Democratic) who left the Episcopal church and were looking for a new home. Most non-religious observers think it was all about not accepting a gay bishop and gay marriages in the church. While that was true, it was not the overarching issue.

The real reason Episcopalians are leaving the church is because of its accommodations to secularism. Blessing gay marriage in the church was the minor result of denying the reality of the Resurrection, denying the miracles, and denying the God-inspired authorship of the books of the Bible (paging Thomas Jefferson…). When there is a belief that there is no infallible God-ordained Natural Law, human beings are left to their own devices and “reason” to make laws that intrude upon Natural Law as they see fit.

If you believe that human beings are ultimately good, you will be apt to put your faith in humanity and human reason to chart a path for society. However, studying history, we learn that great atrocities have been committed by humans since the dawn of humanity. Nothing in humanity’s track record gives me reason to believe that anything is going to get better by human effort.

That is why I place my faith in God, regardless of what laws humans make. Humans are sinners who do not possess the capacity to save themselves. That is why God came down to Earth in the person of Jesus Christ to show us the Way, the Truth, and the Life, suffered death, and rose again on the Third Day to atone for our sins and prove that in the end, God is real and seeks a relationship with us.

So after all that nuance and side-tripping, do I support legalizing same-sex marriage? I really don’t care honestly. The church has bigger issues to deal from within. Did you know that African churches have sent missionaries to the First World in recent years? Yes, a lot has changed in the last 100 years in the Christian church in America.

The easiest solution is to revoke the entitlements offered to heterosexual marriages. When these entitlements are revoked, the gay marriage debate will end because everyone will be equal.

Abortion

After all that Theology 101, I will say this about abortion. I respect life from natural conception through natural death. I am against abortion, anti-war, anti-euthanasia, and anti-death penalty. Only God can take away a life.

Proponents of gay marriage say that it is the biggest civil rights issue of our time and they compare it to the civil rights struggle of the 1960s.

Well, I say that ending abortion is the biggest civil rights issue of our time. Marjorie Dannenfelser of the pro-life feminist organization Susan B. Anthony List compared the struggle to end abortion with the struggle to end slavery. I agree. Children in the womb are the most helpless, voiceless people in our society today and abortion is a threat to their life and liberty. In fact, abortion hurts minority communities the worst. This is unacceptable.

Yet, I see few Republicans coming to Marjorie Dannenfelser’s defense. They would rather safely win elected office to advance anti-tax agendas than put it all on the line to educate the public about a civil rights issue.

Republicans from 1854 to 1876 did not care if it was unpopular; they were going to stand for the civil rights of blacks come hell or high water. “Electability” be darned. Republicans today are all to eager to capitulate in order to be “electable.” Imagine if Republicans capitulated from 1854 to 1876. I shudder the thought.

If I was a Republican politician (I am not. I am a Democrat.), I would not give into gay marriage so easily even if I support it. I would play hardball with the Democrats. Here is a compromise. We will pass gay marriage if you will end abortion.

Of course, that will never work for reasons I won’t get into here, but the fact that Republicans are not trying to broker a compromise on some hot button social issues tells us exactly where they stand.

Republicans don’t care about ending abortion. They only care about keeping their base perpetually agitated so they can raise money and recruit volunteers for get-out-the-vote operations. Therefore, they will tease the base with legislation against abortion on the margins, but ultimately do nothing about it.

Now that Republicans are caving in to the reality of a secularized nation and a secular conservative, Ayn Rand takeover of the GOP by the up and coming new generation, they are ready to cast aside abortion to the periphery. Chances are that if the GOP goes pro-choice, they could win some new voters and regain some power as the old voters lose their numbers and the young voters stay secular throughout their lifetimes. (Newsflash: America already is Europe in terms of secularization. The kids won’t find religion after they get married and have kids like previous generations.)

However, I have no use for a GOP that is pro-choice. I do not agree with the GOP on economic issues. Their stance on defending the rights of the unborn is all they got. If they discard this, they lose my consideration.

I work plenty of political and non-political events across DC, Maryland, and Virginia for my business. I was photographing staff and volunteers with an elected official at an event somewhere in the DMV when the elected official said in self-deprecating fashion, “Why does everyone want a photo with me? You should get your photo with someone important like [the featured celebrity in attendance].”

Here is the reality of the situation. The people who want their picture taken with you when you are “not important” are the people who will be with you for the long haul. You should welcome it. You don’t have to be a high ranking government official, sports star, or entertainment personality on television to win the loyalty of these people. These people are your real friends. Your real friends like you because of who you are regardless of your current status in life. You may have done good in this world, but when the world eventually moves on to find someone else to capture their fancy and advance their own self interest, your real friends will be the last ones standing by your side. There is nothing more you can humanly do to justify that type of loyalty and dedication from your real friends. You have already won.

For Christians who believe, profess, and live the faith, we already have at least one cheerleader in our corner regardless of our stature or status in life. We are God’s creation and He stays true to us even when we are not acting right toward Him and others. We have already won.

This Christmas season, and every season, our challenge is to be more proactive and intentional in our interaction with others. With whom are you willing to stand and walk beside? We desire to walk with those who live in the public limelight, but are we willing to walk with those who are down and out?

Here is one easy action item. We all know a friend close to us or an acquaintance out in the periphery who is struggling with unemployment. Many of these people continue to look for jobs and can’t find any. What you can do is to be a close advisor and mentor to your unemployed friends and acquaintances. I am helping one of my long lost buddies from college here in DC who just got unexpectedly laid off before Christmas as we speak.

Pick up the phone and schedule a meeting with your unemployed friends to let them talk and vent about their situation. Listen to their concerns, motivations, and ambitions. Lead them in the right direction so that they can find gainful employment on their own AND actively go to bat for them by calling potential employers to inquire of openings on their behalf. You have connections. Use them for your friend’s benefit, not just for yourself. Be your friend’s best advocate and I guarantee you that the rewards will be tremendous. Don’t ask for anything in return. Give joyfully. Just tell them to pay it forward and let society reap the benefit. It all comes back to you eventually anyway.

Maybe you don’t know anyone who is unemployed and needs help. Perhaps you know some people who could use some extra motivation and encouragement. Don’t we all need that? A buddy of mine who is an educator mentored a college student whose graduation was delayed seven months due to disciplinary infractions. He helped the student stay on the right path and the student graduated last week.

On a more somber note, depression is a serious condition that we have all suffered in mild to severe form at some point in our lives if we are totally honest with ourselves. Identify someone in your network who could be at risk for the type of depression that is debilitating like those who are unemployed, who are dissatisfied with their current condition, who are injured, who are struggling in school, who are lonely, who are having family problems, or who are having relationship problems and reach out to motivate and encourage.

Depression has been a proximate and direct cause of many suicides. Six suicides happened in the National Football League in the past two years. Two of my college football teammates committed suicide in the past three years. Preventing this needless loss of life is personal issue for me. We say we are good friends to one another, but we must do better. Collective action begins with individual action.

Let us resolve to be more open and honest with each other. Let us resolve not to hide behind shame. If you see a friend struggling or sending questionable or cryptic messages, taking the initiative to save a life is worth the risk of an awkward situation. If you are experiencing overwhelming challenges and difficulties in your own life, don’t let a sense of shame or pride prevent you from asking for help. In the end, the best present we can offer to one another is our presence. Our presence is a gift we all possess and are all ready to give. Our presence is a gift that lasts.

If we all went the extra mile for one another, the road we all have to travel individually would be much shorter and smoother.

I don’t think it equals socialism either, but check this out.

“Here is what is peculiar. Many conservative Christians, mostly Protestant but also a number of Catholics, have come to believe and proudly proclaim that the creator of the universe favors free wheeling, deregulated, union busting, minimal taxes especially for wealthy investors, plutocrat-boosting capitalism as the ideal earthly scheme for his human creations. And many of these Christian capitalists are ardent followers of Ayn Rand, who was one of – and many of whose followers are — the most hard-line anti-Christian atheists you can get. Meanwhile many Christians who support the capitalist policies associated with social Darwinistic strenuously denounce Darwin’s evolutionary science because it supposedly leads to, well, social Darwinism!” – Gregory Paul

I believe in God. Gregory Paul does not. Nevertheless, he presents some very accurate observations about how prosperity and politics have weakened religion. It is an observation that believers and non-believers alike can see. Read more of this thought-provoking article on the Washington Post.