I’m a conservative, but as a Christian, I have problems with Glenn Beck. First of all, Glenn, we do not worship the same God. You keep mentioning God like we worship the same God. Second, progressives are not necessarily villains. Let me explain why I have these objections and my opinions on progressivism.
Glenn, you are a Mormon and Mormons are not Christians. There are differences between the god of Mormonism and the God of Christianity. That is not the main point of this post. The main point is that Glenn Beck villainizes progressives.
Wrong ideology does not make a person evil. I’ve talked to progressives. I’ve met progressives who honestly believe in caring for the poor and the environment. Everyone should care for the poor and the environment. They have good intentions. I believe that they take environmentalism to an extreme, global warming is not real and that some progressives don’t understand the economics consequences of their ideas.
As a Christian, I have one major problem with progressivism. They believe that we can progress to a great society through political policy. We can never have a great society on Earth because man kind has fallen into sin. I don’t have a problem with reform through political policy, but we should put our faith in God, not a political or economic system.
I do believe that our longing for God appears in progressive ideas. Progressives believe that in a great society, nobody has needs. That is True. In every society on Earth, there is some group of people who are in need In Heaven, there will be no needs. We will have our most important need fulfilled, a perfect relationship with God. There will also neither emotional nor physical pain.
I should address my views on the environment, because it is an important part of progressive ideas. We need to take care of the environment. We should not help the environment to the point that people are negatively effected. God created the environment and nature so that we can see how great He is. We cannot make it our biggest concern. It’s another attempt to make a great society. Some progressives love the environment, but ignore the Creator of the environment.
I do have a problem with people who want government to help the poor with other people’s tax dollars, but don’t donate their own money. There are people on both ends of the political spectrum who donate their own time and money. I do have a respect for Jimmy Carter for helping Habitat for Humanity, even though he had different political ideology.
Our most important concern should be our relationship with God. You need to enter a personal relationship with God. After that, it’s your job to build that relationship and lead other people into that relationship.
Progressives are correct to say that we should help the poor and the environment. The purpose of this post is not to discuss the role that government should play in these two causes. The point is that we cannot achieve a perfect society and should be more concerned with spiritual matters.
In Christ,
James Tuttle
