By Mel Ingram
"The
Left must learn the differences between Secular, Biblical and Moral Values if
they wish to grasp the reasons for their defeat at the polls in 2004!"
Article
MV-2 in a series to be presented on the
FEATURE
PAGE OF
THE
HERRICKREPORT.COM
Vol 1, Vol 2, Vol 3, Vol 4 Vol 5 Vol 6
ELECTION 2004 - DEFINING
MORAL VALUES
Roland Hill responds to
Feature Writer's Article "MV-1", published 11/21/04:
"Mel
- I think you might be getting so wrapped up in Christian fundamentalism that
you are missing what I am talking about, not that I have anything against what
you say. You say, "the trouble about 'The Left' trying to
educate the Conservative element".
I
didn't mean to say the Libs should try to educate Conservatives. Most
centrists and conservatives do not need to be told that abortion is murder.
Most people in general do not need to be told that a steady, well-paid and
productive job is the best welfare program there is. Who wants to argue that
we should not feed the hungry, or educate the illiterate, or shelter the
homeless?
I
was, am, have been, will be talking about the gulf in understanding between
liberal Democrats, who failed to get their points across to the electorate in
the last two elections, and the more centrist, conservative Republicans (and
conservative Democrats, there are a lot) who prevailed in these elections. I
don't care whether those people believe in a strict and literal word for word
acceptance of the Bible, or whether they believe that the Church should
interpret the scriptures. There is and should be middle ground that we, as
citizens of the U.S. and those
who we elect to represent us in government can work and agree on.
I
think the Libs are messing up in not doing more item by item education of the
electorate, (not just the conservative element) rather than spending all their
time railing and complaining and protesting about the many and various points
of difference in the respective approaches to governance. Likewise the
conservatives and centrists spend too much energy attacking liberal ideas,
rather than as you suggest, showing, educating, people as to where their ideas
are based.
Seems
to me that the real differences, except for those on the extreme left and
right, are only in approach and degree of involvement. The Libs have failed to
educate folks as to why their approach of more entitlements and negative
income taxes, and less military spending, etc, is better than the
Conservatives genuine tax cuts, measurable basic education improvements, and a
strong defense capability.
If the Libs can get their education of the electorate done, there may be another 6 or 8 million voters out there for them next time. Maybe I'm all wrong about the whole thing and the difference is only whether one is for Peter or Paul, as in robbing one to pay the other. " Roland Hill
Feature Writer's Response:
Let's set
the record straight concerning what it is we are focusing on -- Apparently
I've allowed my point to stray as manifested in your lead-in remark:
"I
think you might be getting so wrapped up in Christian fundamentalism that you
are missing what I am talking about, not that I have anything against what you
say." R.H.
The question
is: "What does the Progressive
Democrat 'Left' perceive and
understand about so-called, Moral Values?"
Most probably you will agree that in my previous article (MV-1), I
tenaciously outlined what reasonably may be called, 'Biblical
Values'.
Anyone would have to concur that Biblical Values begin by acknowledging
the 'Authority of the Bible', and
the basic moral values stated in the Decalogue
(the Ten Commandments handed from God's on hand to Moses).
Coupled with Christ's Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes
found in Matthew 5, a very comprehensive set of Biblical Values can be
discerned by one and all. The Evangelicals, the 'Born Again' Christians, the
Bible Fundamentalists; most of the Mainline denominations, the Catholics, even
the Unitarians would probably agree that I have successfully outlined the Worldview
of Biblical Values.
But, a lot
of folks might not be comfortable with affiliating with the Biblical part.
Everyone understands and acknowledges that other sets of principles and
values exist in this world. Chief
among them is the Worldview of Secular
Values. Perhaps we can
agree that this term could loosely include any set of moral values formulated
by people who completely exclude and deny the Authority of the Bible
(Atheists, etc.), or who do not agree that morals should be primarily
based Biblical principles and ethics.
Then there
are those who hold to the "in between" sets of values that are
inclusive of opinions not generally seen as strictly Biblical. An example might be 'Family
Values'. Some folks may
feel more at ease with that term, but I won't even attempt to define what that
means. Except, perhaps to venture
that those who hold to such nebulous values would probably not discount or
reject-in-hand the thought that such values are not foreign to those set forth
in the Ten Commandments. I
contend that in the 2004 election, these folks joined with those who hold to Biblical Morals, forming a formidable coalition of
'Values' voters who so
handily defeated the Democrat ticket.
The three
major 'hot button' issues that currently divide our nation comprise only a
part of Biblical Values: abortion,
same-sex 'marriage' and embryonic stem cell research. Of course, there are
others, but these divisive issues cover only a segment of Biblical Values. I
certainly agree with Roland Hill when he said,
"Most centrists and conservatives do not need
to be told that abortion is murder. Most people in general do not need to be
told that a steady, well-paid and productive job is the best welfare program
there is. Who wants to argue that we should not feed the hungry, or educate
the illiterate, or shelter the homeless?" R.H.
Just like
most Americans of either the Right or the Left, Christian conservatives also
care about a whole host of other social issues.
Most every American is concerned about jobs, health care, good schools,
social security, national defense and security, poverty, etc.
But these are not the principle hot-button issues that decided the
outcome of Election 2004.
Let's
refocus on the question at hand: "What
does the Progressive Democrat Left
perceive and understand about so-called, Moral
Values?" For
"beginners", if they think they can promulgate inclusive language to
render themselves more acceptable to those folks who hold with the basic
tenants and essentials of Biblical
Values, they would be well advised to not waste their time.
As the man said, "Either you believe or you don't
-- their ain't no Mister in-between!"
And it's not only distasteful to the Progressive liberals to try such a
deception; it is also impossible to hoodwink the Biblically 'Faithful'.
That leaves
the ballgame to be played on the field of those who hold 'Family Values' or other
'Secular Values'. But
before we examine these other values, a word of advice to our friends who are
non-believers: I maintain that they would be well advised to actually listen
to what Christian say regarding the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
These folks are the ones who hold the Bible as the
defining authority over all of 'Existence'.
Some people who claim the name of Jesus only talk-the-walk -- they make
only a superficial claim to 'religion', without ever making a real commitment
to allowing Jesus Christ to become Lord
of their life. So you must watch
out to whom you listen, being careful to seek out only to those who
demonstrate the authenticity of their Christian credentials by first observing
their walk with Jesus.
But don't be
surprised that once you begin to actually listen and weigh the validity of
Biblical Authority and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, you find yourself compelled
to further examine and seek out the Christ Messiah of the Bible.
If you want to delve further, my recommendation is to check out Billy
Graham at www.billygraham.org. It is
unfortunate for the many, but it is a doubtful expectation that my exegesis
will influence more than just a few. Consequently,
I'll admit that it is just as fruitless to press the Biblical solution for
most non-believers as it is to expect them to understand the political
quandary in which they find themselves.
Since it is
illogical to expect that large numbers of the political Left shall be converted, we must accept the reality that it is not a
tenable position to further explore Biblical
Values. We Christians will
never give up hope for Gospel revival throughout out land, but we, too, must
deal with political realities. The
most we can hope for is that the Left will,
as they search for solutions to their political quagmire, decide to help us
make a degree of progress between the parties in the way our nation deals with
key value issues without compromising the ethics held by the opposition.
At the end
of my first article of this series, Article MV-1, I mentioned that in this
article (Article MV-2), I intended to discuss the various moral issues that
seem to cause so much consternation among non-believers (non-Christians) of
both political parties. Obviously,
I never got around to even starting such an examination of the issues.
So, in my next article, we'll attempt to discuss the pros and cons that
separate the way both political parties treat these hot-button issues.
See Mr. Ingram's
First Article in this MV series Volume 1
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