Why This College Educated Black Man Became a Republican

A better title for this post could be Why this College Educated Black Man Came Out of the Closet and Stopped Being Ashamed of His Conservatism. That's just too long though... I want to try and make this as concise as possible. Many of my friends and many new adversaries have not been shy about giving me their opinion as to why I am suddenly so "political" and pro GOP.

~"You just like going against the grain."

~"You're brainwashed."

~"You better stop tryin' to impress those white folks at your church."

I'd like to make it clear for those who are truly wondering what is wrong with me and I would like to set other closet conservatives free to express and be what they believe. I'm still the same nice guy that most of my Facebook friends have come to know and love I've just realized something with age. Are you ready for the single biggest factor in kicking me out of my conservative closet? Here it is.

I AM A CHRISTIAN

Yup, that's it. I can practically hear heads exploding already. When I say I am a Christian I don't mean I am one of these folks that attends church sporadically as a duty to help me be a better person. I believe every word of the Bible. I believe that Jesus Christ was dead, buried and risen on the third day.  I believe that Jesus Christ my King is coming and is coming soon. I also believe that He is the ONLY way to heaven PERIOD. We need Him because mankind is fatally flawed and marred by sin and is in desperate need of a Savior.

SO if you believe these things as well, please read on, if not, the rest of this post will just frustrate and quite possibly infuriate you and make you like me less so please stop.

I'm not even referring to abortion or traditional marriage right now. As a matter of fact, when I was still in the closet I would actually tell people that "you can't let those two factors alone dictate your vote." I won't even say that you can't be a Christian and Democrat/Liberal the way some of my friends do. (Though I will say you have some praying to do) I do believe however that if you allow your faith to fully inform your politics you will also come to the conclusion that progressive liberalism and Christianity are wholly incompatible. I have found the intersection of my faith and my politics.

I've had liberal pastors lecture me on how their faith compels them to vote Democrat. They tout that Jesus would have us to care for the poor. They lament that Jesus doesn't want us going to war. They are right. Where they are wrong is how the poor should be helped and who should do it. They are also wrong in their understanding of evil. A fundamental flaw in progressive thought is the notion that mankind is inherently good and somehow can be perfected through the effort, innovation and ingenuity of mankind. They believe that if the right people are in charge they can fix everything. They think that man's flaws are due to flaws in his environment and it is their mandate to perfect everyone's environment. Progressives say things like:

-When someone is poor it is because they weren't afforded the right opportunities.
-If someone is a criminal it is because they lacked proper education.
-If one is a TERRORIST it is because his people were oppressed by greedy imperialistic societies.
-All cultures, societies, religions etc. are equal and of equal good and importance and we are all connected. There is no place for nationalism or individualism. They just breed resentment.

All of this sounds great and noble. The problem is that my Bible and history have taught me that man is perfectly incapable of solving his problems. There are some hard truths that are true as a result of the fall of man in the Garden of Eden-

-People will always die
-Everyone will not make it.
-People will always lie.
-People will always steal.
-People will always disagree. There will be wars
-There will always be poor people.
-People will almost always ultimately work in and for their self interests even to the detriment of others.

Most Conservatives understand that mankind is fundamentally flawed and fatally limited by these flaws. Thomas Sowell calls this a constrained view of mankind in his book Intellectuals and Society. These flaws will not be fixed no matter how well meaning and smart we are. Many children, most adolescents and Liberals have an unconstrained view of mankind. They think that they are perfectly capable and are generally incredulously willing to try anything their whimsical little hearts can cook up when they are striving for world peace or trying to eradicate hunger... or childhood obesity.

As I stated, these are often noble aims that are undertaken by truly noble and benevolent people. I have just come to realize that much of their ideas are simply misguided and therefore ill fated. They may show up front success and effectiveness but the inevitable unintended consequences often leave things worse than they started. Welfare, Democratic Socialism and Pacifism are all seemingly harmless and beneficial ideas that come to mind that have had as much or more catastrophic long term side effects than whatever the immediate benefits have been.

Please understand, It's not that I don't care about issues such as poverty, hunger, oppression the environment etc. Most true Christians care about these issues. I fundamentally disagree with most progressive ideas for solving them. I find that too many offer a quick band-aid but fail to address or even understand the fundamental causes of calamity in the world. I care deeply about these issues but I have grown to realize that they need a far more holistic and fundamental approach than many Progressives and Liberals have the stomach for...

If You Really, Really Want It…

If You Really, Really Want It…

John 5:1-9 NKJV

A Man Healed at the Pool of Bethesda

¹ After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ² Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches. ³In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water. ⁴ For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had. ⁵ Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. ⁶ When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”
⁷ The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”
⁸ Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” ⁹ And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked…

I remember the early part of my college career. I was a young, green, and a little bit silly. I was into a lot of things that I knew deep down, I shouldn’t have been in involved in. I was doing what I felt was my right at that age. I was born and raised in Springfield, Illinois where I led a pretty straight-laced, church going life. When I hit the ground in Atlanta, Georgia and the campus of Clark Atlanta University, WHOOOA NELLY!!!! I had never seen so many beautiful women! I quickly found my place in that brave new world. I began to use poor language, chase women, drink a little bit and many participate in other behaviors that you probably wouldn’t want to tell your mother about. But hey, I was in college having my fun!

From time to time I would visit church or talk to believers. (For the first time in my life I wasn’t mandated to go to church) Like I said before, deep down, I knew I was into some things that God wasn’t pleased with. From time to time I would be convicted. Every now and then I would say I wanted to do better, but you want to know the truth? I really didn’t want to do anything different. I didn’t want anyone to change the life I was enjoying. I couldn’t imagine anything different.

I think we can learn a few things through this incident at the pool of Bethesda. This man was afflicted by his affliction for 38 years. I can’t be sure, but I’d surmise that whatever was wrong with him gradually and unstoppably got worse. Look at the way Jesus responds in verse 6:

When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”

Why would the Lord ask such a question? Isn’t the answer obvious? I’ve heard it said that the Lord wanted the man to ask for help. While that may be true, I think the answer is a little deeper. Jesus noticed that the man had been lying there a long time with his healing clearly within reach. Now this man indeed had a legitimate problem getting to the pool. However, I wonder if his condition had always hindered his entering the pool. I wonder if in the early days of his affliction, he could have jumped in that water and received his healing. I wonder if he thought he had time to get it right later but alas, he waited too late.

Sometimes we get too comfortable in our affliction. The affliction may be associations; it may be behaviors; it may be habits. Sometimes we get so used to living the way that we live. I think we stay comfortable until it becomes almost too late. I think that the Lord sees us and asks the same question, “Do you want to be made well.” The answer seems obvious on the surface, but sometimes our limited understanding of the grace, provision and goodness of the Lord cause us to doubt that there could truly be something different, something better for us.

I once heard it said that some will not change until the pain of staying the same exceeds the pain of change. (Somebody please email me and tell me who said that.) Are you going to wait that long?

Do you (really) want to be made well?

WE WILL WIN IN 2010!!!

We will win in 2010!

Things were supposed to be fine in 2009!

All was to be great in 2008!

I’m sure you’ve heard statements like these at length around this time of year every year. Anybody ever wonder why we keep declaring these positive affirmations year after year? What are we going to win? What is going to be so great? What are we really looking so forward to? What is really our expectation?

I got good news for you. Thanks to Jesus Christ, we are definitely going to win in 2010! We won in 2009, 1999, 1989 and every other year withwhich you can rhyme something or say something cool about! If you are a blood washed, born again believer in Jesus Christ I have news for you…

WE WIN

I challenge you this year to embrace your true victory. I’m not merely talking about the way the Lord is going to meet your physical needs as promised. I’m talking about the ultimate victory that was wrought through the advent, death, burial and resurrection of our Lord.

I invite you to study Philippians 3 sometime around the beginning of this New Year. Know that this world is not our home. We are sojourners in this strange land. Verse 19 says:

For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: KJV

Depending on your translation, the word conversation may be, and could more accurately be rendered citizenship. It seems as though all too often, our “New Years resolutions” and things we “are believing” God for in the next year have to do with our wants on this plane of existence. If we are honest about it, most of us would admit that we enjoy the creature comforts of this life. It is ok for us to want them and the Lord understands our feelings towards them. However I challenge you to make sure that as we go into 2010, you are not allowing your appetite (v. 19) for this world’s goods shape your outlook and your focus.

I challenge you in 2010 to lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. (Matthew 6:20) Happy New Year!!!

We Win

We Have Already Won in 2010!!!