The WidelyDivergent Blog

I call myself a Judeo-Christian because I believe the God of the Israellites was the Creator, that Jesus was divine, that the Holy Spirit communicates with us today and that the Holy Bible is inspired by God. To make sense of these truths, it is necessary to embrace the whole history of the Church, including the Jewish roots of it and to study the whole Scripture, including the Hebrew Bible, otherwise known as the Old Testament. Thus, the label ‘Christian’ is too limited for my taste.

Libertarian is an accurate description of some of the views I hold because freedom is precious. I want the default relationship with the government to be none. While both my conservative and progressive values lead to certain government intervention, I believe that should be kept to the minimum possible interference. If free will is good enough for God, then it is good enough for me and I don’t need the government legislating all my moral beliefs. I also don’t need the government picking my charities for me or funding unnecessary programs.

I am progressive because I believe that as well developed and advantaged a society as ours is should help the least among us. Those held back by socio-economic disadvantage or social bias should be given a leg up. Those hit by catastrophic economic or personal disasters should find help from the rest of us. The struggle to do better for yourself is something we each should take responsibility for, but being set back by life is something we can all help others overcome. So, if that means I endorse certain progressive ideals, there it is. But, that doesn’t mean I’m a Democrat.

I describe my views as conservative because things, generally, are arranged pretty well in life and they ought to be as they traditionally have been. There was a time when “old” was good and “change” was bad. While I wouldn’t erect a cathedral around the old, neither would I around the new. Generally, change should be slow and gradual; the risk is greater changing too fast than it is too slow. More specifically, I also believe we should pay as we go, so government deficits are not good. I believe strong defense is essential, but one moderated by common sense, not bravado. I believe the government ought to minimize its intrusion into our lives, but maintain law and order. All these are usually described as conservative views, so I guess I’m conservative. By the way, that does not mean Republican.

This blog presents the occasional social, moral, political and theological musings of a conservative, progressive, libertarian Judeo-Christian.

In the superheated politically-correct, partisan environment that smothers our government, churches, schools and press, there is little room for well-founded public debate based on widely divergent personal beliefs. That’s a problem, because such debate is the basis of democracy. It keeps churches true to what they say they believe. It challenges our schools to teach only the truth. It limits the press to the relevant. We each bring our reasons why to bear on what we believe our public institutions should stand for. When we eventually agree, it’s on the what, not the why.

So let’s debate the ‘whats’ and share our widely divergent ‘whys’ without rancor and name calling, with dignity and respect.