Leftist Values vs. Judeo-Christian Values

I posted this meme on social media recently:

Then an acquaintance of mine (a fellow Christian) replied in the comments section with:

“Let’s quit comparing our political beliefs and our faith. Ok??”

Here is how I responded

First off, I want to say that our shared identities as children of the Living God, and therefore members of God’s household (Ephesians 2:19-20), is much more important than the topic I am about to discuss with you.  So, while I am a firm believer that debate and exchange of ideas is very healthy, in fact, a foundation of our free and open society, I would not want to divide with you over this.  It is for this very reason that I would like to give a thorough response – more thorough than is allowed via social media.

First, I should say that I am of the opinion that there is a difference between these 3 terms:

1. Leftist
2. Liberal
3. Democrat

I don’t think they are all equal.  So, when referring to leftist, I wasn’t referring to all liberals or all democrats.  Leftists are a subset of liberals, who are a subset of Democrats.

Here are some of the values that have emanated from leftist ideology:

1. Same-sex marriage. Flowing from that Supreme Court decision (Obergefell v. Hodges June 26^th, 2015) are the following consequences:
   1. Christian bakers who can’t in good conscience design and create wedding cakes that celebrate same-sex marriages taken to court (e.g. Jack Phillips, 2017)
   2. Christian photographers who won’t take photos at a same-sex wedding based on conscience objections and are sued for discrimination (e.g. Elane Photography 2013/2014)
   3. Sexual indoctrination of school children such that (in California) starting from kindergarten children are taught that LGBT life-style is “normal”
   4. Drag queen story hour for children, drag queens reading stories to children in libraries, schools, and bookstores.
   5. The city of Houston has issued subpoenas demanding a group of pastors turn over any sermons dealing with homosexuality, gender identity or Annise Parker, the city’s first openly lesbian mayor. And those ministers who fail to comply could be held in contempt of court.
   6. Making sexual orientation and gender identity “protected class” infringes on religious freedom.
2. Elective Abortion on-demand (up to the point of birth and sometimes, during or after birth). Flowing from this “value” are policy decisions such as:
   1. Teen age girls can get abortion inducing drugs without their parent’s consent.
   2. Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the U.S. (over 300,000 in 2018), receives roughly ½ billion dollars from the federal government
   3. The Affordable Care Act which required companies with more than 50 employees to provide health care insurance. In implementing the law, HHS named 20 kinds of contraception that needed to be covered by employers (some of which were abortifacients). Hobby Lobby was ultimately sued for not complying with this.  Thankfully, the Supreme Court ruled in their favor.
   4. A decision by Chick-fil-A to donate food to a pro-biblical marriage seminar caused a university to pull the franchise’s food
   5. Little Sisters of the Poor taken to court
   6. Leftists are no longer content with abortion being “safe, legal and rare”
3. Gender “non-binary” –the idea that there are more than 2 genders. Biden says there are at least 3 genders.
4. Gender “fluidity” – the idea that a person’s view of their own gender can change many times and must be adhered to and respected by society
5. Flowing from the redefinition of gender in the 2 points above are policy decisions such as:
   1. Biological males can use female bathrooms if they decide they feel like a female
   2. Biological males can sign up for female sports teams and compete against biological females in sports where strength or speed is important (note – 17 states allow this)
   3. Biological Males can use female locker-rooms if they “identify as” female.
   4. Children can be given puberty suppressing drugs.
6. Famous voices on the left accuse Christians of being narrow minded and arrogant for proclaiming that Jesus is the only way of salvation (e.g. Oprah Winfrey)

The above are just a few examples, I could go on and on.

In my opinion, the above values are not “Judeo-Christian” values.  I strive to live my life according to the Bible, and when anti-biblical values are promoted, I want to call attention to those who may not be aware of it, since these types of issues tend not to be reported in main stream media outlets (Washington Post, New York Times, MSNBC, CNN, ABC, CBS and many others).

What are “Judeo-Christian values”?

I would not characterize my faith as Judeo-Christian, but rather Christian. I’m a born-again, Bible-believing, committed follower of Jesus Christ.  That being said, part of a “biblical worldview” is in fact “Judeo-Christian” values or ethics. Judeo-Christian values are those values which are drawn from the Bible.  The term first appeared in a book review by George Orwell in 1939, with the phrase “Judeo-Christian scheme of morals.”  Judeo-Christian values consist of those beliefs and mores which Christianity derives from and shares with Judaism, including a belief in God as a benevolent, omnipotent creator, and the Ten Commandments. The United States certainly has a Judeo-Christian heritage.  If you doubt this at all, I highly recommend that you watch David Barton’s excellent “American Heritage Series” or America’s Godly Heritage.  Moses holding the Ten Commandments is built into the United States Supreme Court building:

I greatly value free-speech and freedom of religion, both of which are enshrined in the Bill of Rights.  I’m very disappointed about the trend of conservative speakers being shouted down on college campuses all over the US.

So, by posting this, I was attempting to draw attention to leftist values that many may not be aware of.  I’m not saying that everyone who is a liberal or a democrat supports these values, but I do not want to support those espousing those values mentioned above.

I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on this and would like to emphasize that my intent in making the post was not to offend, but to draw attention to the issue and invite courteous discussion.

Thanks for engaging with me on this topic!