The Democrat Party Platform is Not Christian

Intro

I once responded to an article posted by a friend on Facebook in which he lamented the fact that too many people live in poverty. I responded back by asking him how he would solve the poverty problem – as identifying a problem is quite different from solving it. Following is the concluding part of that discussion.

G.H.

... There are a great many legal ways to make life less oppressive for the poor. Min. wage laws, for one thing. A society in which the legal and medical systems are fully available to the poor, as well as the rich. And I know for facts, many facts, because I worked in the system for 15 years that the legal system does not work for the poor. In this country only the rich have full access to the system and it is, not just slanted, it is leaning over precariously, to the benefit of the wealthy. I have seen it, I’ve been in the middle of a legal system that is a disgrace for a country that claims it stands for the equality of all citizens. The needed changes are not limited to merely economic needs (such as wage laws, etc.) but also the institutions of the country that should be for all citizens equally. Ask any lawyer if they think the legal system is equitable,. Only the blind could think so. I worked for 15 years as an attorney for the indigent and I know that the system is a disgrace--a lie. I've seen what the poverty in this country has done to people, I saw them everyday in court, fighting for fair treatment for people who cannot afford to pay for the ever increasing expensive of lawyers. It isn't merely the economic system, it is all through the society, How much time have you spent in jails? How much time have you spent in homeless shelters, juvenile detention halls, and shelters for battered women? How much time have you spent in juvenile court to see what poverty does in this country? the view from such places is not a pretty picture and the church ought to be ashamed that such conditions exist in this country, but for the most part they continue to support the oppressors who keep it that way.

Freddy Davis

... It is not a matter of "not doing anything," but the specific actions taken do matter. Again, all you have done is identify a problem. What is your specific proposal to fix it? Minimum wage laws? Seriously? The more these are implemented, the more jobs are killed off. They are forcing businesses out of business or forcing them to move. And it will only get worse. You have not been willing to say it overtly, but the implication of all you are saying is to implement a socialist society - one that legally robs those who work in order to transfer the wealth to those who don't. To quote Margaret Thatcher, “The problem with Socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.” I fully believe in a safety net for those who are completely indigent, and I believe in equal justice "under the law" for all. But a Socialist system does neither. It traps people in poverty and forces injustice throughout the entire society. I lived for 5 years in a country that was just emerging out of Communism. I visited the collective farms. I had long conversations with the people who had to live under that kind of system. The expressed ideal in that system was exactly what you are saying. The reality, though, is poverty and oppression. Everyone had free medical care, but it was so bad people died from the smallest things. Everyone had free education, but the government controlled the content of the education. Everyone had a guaranteed wage, and everyone was equally poor - that is except those who controlled the system. And anyone who didn't tow the party line was persecuted or thrown in jail – a justice system that makes American justice (even what you have described) look like a literal utopia. And who is "the church" you speak of? I know many churches that are doing wonderful ministry with the homeless, those in prison, prostitutes, and others on the fringes of society. It’s not churches that are creating these problems. In fact, much of the problem is being caused by the very government that you seem to be looking to for a solution. I see many churches doing all they can to help people in these situations. As a pastor, I have spent a lot of time in jails, homeless shelters, and working with people who are down and out. And as I see it, the problems most of these people have are personal spiritual problems. And the solution for most of them is a changed heart. With that, motivations change. And with changed motivations, most of them up their station in life. You keep describing problems, but I do not see in anything you have proposed a solution which will actually eliminate the problems you have described without creating even more injustice. What, exactly, do you have in mind to solve the problems you have described? Simply listing problems does not provide a solution.

With that, the conversation ended. There was no further response.

The Problem

Much of what many people consider political is actually not political at all. For instance, I will state unequivocally that the 2020 Democrat Party platform is full of evil policy positions. They are not, however, evil because of their political content. Rather, they are evil because the basis of their moral stances is anti-God – and they are completely established upon the foundation of naturalistic Socialism.

It is interesting to note, though, that those who approve of these policy positions do not see a problem with them – which is not surprising since their entire basis for evaluating morality comes from a place that allows them to determine what is moral and what is not based on their own personal opinions. They don’t have an objective basis for deciding morality, they simply decide what policies they prefer, then declare them moral. The fact that their moral declarations are completely contrary to the teachings of the Bible means nothing to them, since they do not recognize the God of the Bible to even exist (or at the very least do not recognize the Bible to be a propositional revelation from Him). They see their preferred moral beliefs to be true, and feel free to use any means available to impose them on society.

The people responsible for creating the Democrat Party platform are Naturalists. Naturalists believe that the natural universe is all that exists – that there is no God or any kind of transcendent reality. In other words, they are Atheists. With that, the fulfillment of temporal political matters becomes their ultimate purpose, not the eternal salvation that is taught in the Bible.

So for Naturalists (of whatever stripe), there is, ultimately, no such thing as “spiritual.” For them, EVERYTHING is focused on a temporal result, and the means for achieving their temporal goals is inevitably political. Thus, when we, as Christians, push back against such policies as abortion on demand, homosexual marriage, or various efforts to restrict religious liberty, they do not see the spiritual implications of the various policy positions. All they see is a political fight, and the only possible response they know how to make is to attempt to use political power to destroy those who disagree with them.

So with that, we come to the basic platform positions advocated by the Democrat Party. These positions fit into a number of different categories.

Life

The Democrat Party policy priority as it relates to the topic of life is abortion (euphemistically referred to as reproductive health care). Abortion is promoted in numerous places, particularly as it relates to healthcare, women’s rights, and foreign affairs. This very strong advocacy for abortion aligns closely with the naturalistic belief that human beings are merely animal creatures with no significance beyond this temporal existence.

Liberty

In general, the Democrat Party platform is premised on collectivist ideology, with policies that limit individual freedom emerging in numerous places. Some of the more prominent expressions of this include: forcing people into government healthcare and retirement programs, prioritizing gay rights over freedom of conscience, using tax money to fund programs and services that many consider immoral (ex. Planned Parenthood), favoring particular groups over other groups in law and funding (ex. gay rights groups or women’s groups), not fully protecting the nation’s citizens (ex. defund police departments), regulating the free press, regulating what kind of housing is available and where, implementing strict gun regulation, restricting free speech (ex. what statues can and cannot be on public property and regulations regarding the use of the internet), and restricting religious expression in the public square.

Economics

The Democrat Party platform has a very strong Socialist (collectivist) bent and promotes a system of high taxes to fund a whole range of social welfare programs. Their methodology is to redistribute wealth in an attempt to create equality of outcome in society – regardless of an individual’s contribution to society. Some of the more prominent policy expressions of this in the Party platform include: guaranteed minimum wage, guaranteed sick and family leave, subsidized or free child care, guaranteed affordable housing, high taxes on the rich, federal grants to poor areas, guaranteed retirement income, free college tuition, single payer government healthcare, free contraception, and loan forgiveness for college students.

Healthcare

The Democrat Party has bought in completely to the notion that it is the government’s responsibility to provide healthcare to the entire U.S. population via a socialized approach. They believe that the federal government ought to implement a system where the taxes of all citizens are redistributed to provide for the basic healthcare needs of the entire population. Abortion is also an integral part of their approach (see “Life” above).

Criminal Justice

Rather than actual or equal justice, the Democrat Party promotes the concept of “social justice” as its foundational approach to criminal justice. Social justice is a concept that picks winners and losers, based on the views of those in power, regarding what groups in society should be favored and what ones should be disfavored. The particular policies advocated by the Democrat Party that express this point of view include: emptying jails of those they deem to be part of groups that they consider to be oppressed and decriminalizing drug use.

Additionally, they believe that the police are a source of injustice to minority communities and should be defunded, and that strict gun control should be implemented.

As for carrying out the legal process itself, they look to appoint judges that hold to their relativistic view of justice. Specifically, they believe that it is appropriate for judges to interpret the law based on their own personal and political preferences – rather than on the intent of the ones who wrote the law.

Environmental Justice

The particular focus of the Democrat Party’s emphasis on environmental justice relates primarily to global climate change. Their solution to what they consider to be an existential threat to the survival of humanity (and all other life forms on earth) is to redistribute wealth in ways that fund their environmental policies. The particular policies that they wish to fund include expansion of the use of clean energy, support of national and international organizations that fight against global climate change, the elimination of carbon based fuels, and the expansion and protection of public lands in ways that do not allow them to be developed.

Immigration

The Democrat Party seeks to use political policy regarding immigration to promote its collectivist principles. In promoting those principles, they advocate for open borders. In cases where that is not possible, they press for amnesty for the illegal aliens that are already in the country, and for the establishment of sanctuary cities to prevent illegals from being apprehended and prosecuted for their illegal status.

National Defense

In its attempt to balance the desire to foster a worldwide collective, yet still be able to maintain societal order, the Democrat Party platform attempts to maintain a military capable of protecting the homeland, but at a lower level. Thus, it seeks to reduce defense spending and redistribute the funds previously directed toward the military to other causes. Rather than depending on military strength to ensure national security, the Democrat Party platform proposes focusing more attention to international diplomacy and on spending more on foreign aid.

Family

The Democrat Party platform strongly advocates for the acceptance of non-traditional family units, with a particular focus on promoting gay and transgender rights – both regarding domestic and foreign policy.

Abortion is another important policy position that fits into the Party platform regarding family. Democrats believe that in order for people to create the kind of family they wish to have, it may be necessary for abortion to be legal.

Other Party platform policies that relate to family include: promotion of LGBTQ+ rights, support for gay rights in the military, promotion of gender equality, and promotion of gay rights in other countries as a matter of foreign policy.

The Solution

While those who hold a naturalistic worldview generally don’t recognize it, their foundational worldview beliefs are religious in nature. That being the case, the only real solution for dealing with people who hold these beliefs is for them to have a change of heart and mind – it requires a spiritual solution.

For Christians who wish to take on the challenge of sharing Christ with people like this, it will often be necessary to begin conversations by talking about these hot-topic issues. But simply talking about them in general will not do. It is necessary, at some point, come to a place in the conversation where that will help them see the false beliefs that their point of view is based upon. This requires that Christians get up to speed not only on the issues that are in dispute, but also come to an understanding as to why the naturalistic approach to dealing with those issues is wrong. Only then is it possible to confront them in ways that help them recognize the false nature of their own beliefs.

It is a fact, that the policy positions promoted by the Democrat Party are established upon naturalistic beliefs. They don’t acknowledge the existence of the God of the Bible, they view man as nothing more than a natural animal, and they consider man’s ultimate outcome on earth to be physical survival and personal satisfaction in this world. This leads to policies that promote collectivism, moral relativism, loss of individual liberty, social justice (as opposed to actual justice), and equality of outcome (as opposed to equality of opportunity). Every one of these is contrary to the priorities and values revealed in the Bible.

Conclusion

Christians ought to push back against the false priorities of the Democrat Party – they are anti-God, anti-Christian, anti-life, and anti-liberty. But doing this will require a certain amount of sacrifice. First, it will require a sacrifice of time and effort. The knowledge needed to be able to effectively engage the false beliefs promoted by the Democrat party will have to be mastered. Second, it will require a sacrifice of ego. I promise that if you take up this effort, you will be bashed mercilessly by those who hold naturalistic beliefs. And finally, it will require a sacrifice of self-interest. Gaining even the whole world is useless if you are not in a personal relationship with God and working toward accomplishing His purposes for your life. A Christian approach to life begins with promoting God’s priorities.

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Freddy Davis is the president of MarketFaith Ministries. He is the author of numerous books and has a background as an international missionary, pastor, radio host, worldview trainer, and entrepreneur. Freddy is a graduate of Florida State University with a BS in Communication, and holds MDiv and DMin degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is a popular speaker, particularly on the topic of worldview and its practical implications for the Christian life. He lives in Tallahassee, FL, with his wife Deborah.

You may also contact Freddy at Leadership Speakers Bureau to schedule him for speaking or leadership engagements.

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