English Conservatism is a rare scholar on the island, so when I bump into a blog that declares itself “A Young Conservative,” I get excited. Lord knows they need more of those. Unfortunately, what we get from the young conservative is only the lesson of what one becomes when they have no idea what conservatism stands for. As an example, here is a recent post of William’s, titled “America’s Religious Right Is Barking Up The Wrong Burning Bush.”

I never thought I’d seriously agree with a US democrat until today. The democrat? Barack Obama . The topic? The American religious right. He today accused the evangelicals across the pond of politicising religious beliefs, and he’s dead right. I think, for far too long. the evangelical movement in America has misrepresented the faith and it’s people and forced issues that really shouldn’t be a problem if one looks at scripture.

Lets take an ever popular topic for the religious right… abortion. Alright, we’d all like to see a reduction in abortions, but at the same time we don’t want it to become a total social taboo, we don’t want it to be illegal, as it was some 40 years ago, and end up with women aborting in dangerous conditions. If we look at the gospel, it’s teachings where not to vilify people, to attack abortion clinics, to preach that God hates abortion and such. In reality, what it teaches is simple, forgiving love. “Love thy neighbour as thy self”. It is obvious that it is a more loving action to allow an ill mother-to-be to abort than force her to go ahead with the child and perhaps die as a result, killing both the mother and the child and leaving the father heart broken. It could be argued that also, for both society and for a young working class mother-to-be, that it would be more loving to allow her to abort to prevent her from having to give up the dream of a University degree and a good lifestyle and having to go onto state benefits at 17 or 18 because her parents simply couldn’t afford to support her.

Lets move onto another topic they love, the church and the state. Always you hear them talk about ‘one nation under God’ and how it’s part of the American way to have the church as effectively part of the state. Now, forget about the fact that ‘one nation under God’ was only added to America’s pledge of allegiance some 50 years ago, what they need to remember is Matthew 22:21. “Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.” This also applies for the calls for the rich to have generous tax cuts, “Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s”, in other words, it is good, right and appropriate to submit to the State when asked. Furthermore paying appropriate amounts of tax is a matter of citizenship, and 1 Peter 2 13 states quite clearly, for all those who have forgotten, that Christians must take their responsibilities to society seriously. “Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake whether it be to the king as supreme or unto governors.”

I could go on in a similar vein as above all night, but I won’t, I’ll simply say this, It is highly arguable, as I have proved, that it is the evangelical religious right who is in fact unbiblical in it’s approach to the world. Obama went on today to make an excellent point on what Christians in the USA should really be worrying about and getting involved with. And it’s not the war against evolution, or prayers in schools, it’s activism on issues like poverty, healthcare and I’d add, to the list, climate change. Instead of seeking the benefits of greed, the adrenalin rush of hate, Christians in the USA should be striving for action on climate change, based on their belief in man being the stewards of the earth and should be striving for an end to poverty, based on the bedrock of Jesus’ teachings, agape. Hate shouldn’t be allowed to rule our hearts.

I couldn’t resist a rebuttal:

You’d never thought you’d seriously agree with an American Democrat? YOU ARE A “AMERICAN DEMOCRAT!” for all the ignorance you display here. I’m sorry to be so angry, but it irks the hell out of me when people don’t understand the tenets of the philosophy they claim to represent. You’ve done this too many times - do us all a favor - call yourself a moderate, or a green, or an independent - whatever - but just stop it with the ‘conservative’ charade! Conservatism is for people who think beyond the platitudes - you have shown you’re incapable of doing that!

It is no wonder the Church of England is as lonely as it is with a ‘conservative’ like you making abortion into a utilitarian decision. You ignore that abortion is overwhelmingly an elective procedure by women - if it were done principally for the health of the mother, you’d find a lot more conservatives supporting it. But you haven’t even studied the issue - just like a liberal you argue as if every abortion is done to save the life of the mother. This kind of laziness makes me skeptical of everything you write hereafter. To claim that no one wants to make abortion a social taboo is to succumb to the most selfish and destructive impulses of liberal society - where sex has no consequences and children are killed on the whim of the woman with career goals! Do you think any God would support abortions for a college degree? Only the most corrupted moral compass allows for a trade like that!

Next - this whopper: “Always you hear them talk about ‘one nation under God’ and how it’s part of the American way to have the church as effectively part of the state.” Church part of the state? Are you high? Put down the bong and show me the religious leaders in America that want to make the church part of the state. You can’t, because your inspired more from animus than from a position of knowledge about our reason for the separation between church and state. Foremost - no church wants to be part of the state because then the state would have the power to change the church, you nitwit! This sloppy charge makes me wonder if you have ever met a religious American in your life!

But you’re not done libeling those you know nothing about - next it’s the tired charge that hate equals religion in America. I understand you admit to being young, but you’re practically infantile in your understanding of what you write - you’re like Andrew Sullivan without the high school diploma. To deny rampant abortions, sky high taxes and secular extremism equals hate? But through this stunted vision of conservatism and religion, you lecture us that the faithful should be supporting the government assault on individual liberties through global warming! What kind of conservative hands government the manacles to chain us with? Edmund Burke is rolling in his grave!

William, this article reflects so poorly on your critical thinking skills that I worry for the damage you do to Conservatism. Since you know so little about the political philosophy - I’ll leave you with this: Conservatism is first and foremost concerned about the protection of individual rights - it looks with a jaundiced eye at government and it treats with disdain those who try to seduce our rights from us in the guise of glittering hand outs and looming doomsday threats. It does not fear religion as competition (like you and your liberal friends do), but as an institution that offers what the bureaucrat cannot.

Call yourself anything you want - but until you come to understand how taxes affect freedoms, abortion affects social policy, and government encroachment into the private sphere affects the long term health of a civilization - don’t call yourself a conservative.

Evrviglnt: Political Vindication