I think you are correct, about cases being made either way. Depends on your mind set when you read the bible, for me and others it is hard to read with the wording, seems to make a lot of self interpretation possible. Never mind all of those people that will quote things out of text.
On the modesty thing. I had a Sunday school teacher, when asked about that, He said "Dress modestly or not at all like Adam and Eve". He said, as many here have said in the past, scantly clad is much more exciting than completely nude. And leads to temptation.
I put this as a side note in a reply to another topic, but to avoid hijacking that topic Im posting it here as a new topic..Im interested to see others thoughts and arguments this.The term Conservative Christian has always bothered me as being an oxymoron. The reason I say that is that Jesus taught us to care for the poor, sick, elderly, downtrodden etc. and raise people up, even to give away our worldly possessions. Conservatives typically want less government programs especially social programs and caring for the poor instead believing fully in the free market and few regulations. The problem there is the free market is entirely in the hands of humans (sinners) and greed drives a lot of it leading to things like the Great Recession in 2008 The greed also leads to the extreme income inequality we have now. Whats Christian about that? I also see Democrats pushing policies that generally are working to allow people to have opportunities and help them live the way they want following their beliefs, cultures, dreams, etc. The Republican view at least at this time is to deregulate, remove government programs etc with the concept that it gets government out of the way while in reality it is removing support for the poor, elderly, etc and supporting the rich. Again, not very Christian. Relating to this site, Conservative Christians are also the ones typically horrified by nudity and want to shut it down while liberals tend to be more you do you as long as it doesnt affect me. You find examples in large cities ( ble areas) where top-free is legal (New York but not the Midwest - red area), nudity is more accepted (San Francisco, Seattle, etc but not in places like Arkansas ) So to me at this time the conservatives are pushing freedom, but only if it looks like their own views of living free.I know there are a lot of arguments to this, these are my thoughts and I am interested to hear other views.
A few things I want to point out. As a group, Conservative Christians are the most charitable when you look at what they give their money to. That is completely consistent with what Jesus said. He never said you should give your money to the government and let them worry about it. As for the great recession of 2008 that was not the fault of the free market, oh no it was things like the auto bailouts, and ultimately similar issues as the great depression, giving out bad credit and banks. I do agree with some of your other points although interestingly enough, it seems the majority of nudists I have found at least where I live tend to be more conservative, a lot of Trump supporters in the resort I go to. I think some of it is that they are in fact actually more libertarian .
"As a group, Conservative Christians are the most charitable when you look at what they give their money to. That is completely consistent with what Jesus said. He never said you should give your money to the government and let them worry about it."
My opinion also.
Manufacturers such as Boeing or others will tell you that if they were to develop something on their own to sell to the general public it would cost $x to produce. If its a government contract or they have government requirements for bidding, specifications or whatever it will cost $x+y to produce because of the documentation, inspections etc that are required to meet transparency, fair bidding requirements etc..
Having worked for a US company that did a lot of government and defence work both in the US and here in the UK that doesnt totally match my experience. I actually worked for a division that did work in the private sector but sat in on all the management business reviews.
The company expected government/defence contracts to generate far more revenue on a like for like basis for two main reasons. Firstly there would be numerous specification changes that could all be charged for on a time and material basis. Secondly it was always relatively easy to find reasons to bill additional hours. Yes the additional documentation etc was a factor but not major.
The government divisions couldnt understand why I couldnt price my private industry contracts in the same way as they could and generate the budgeted up sell post contract, often in the 20-50% region, in the same way I couldnt quite believe what they got away with.
Sorry off topic.
Having done lots of consulting work for government agencies Ive discovered a major reason for the bureaucracy that makes a lot of government programs inefficient. Believe it or not, its generally the public. How so? Well the public and media for the public want complete transparency and excruciating detail, on exactly how every dollar is spent, decisions are made, and whether or not the right things are being done or need justification for any or all of whatever the department, program, project or whatever is doing. The required documentation, processes that must be followed for transparency etc make it so they practically are required to spend two dollars for every one that is needed to be spent. There were many times I would recommend something be done and the response would be we cant because of these rules or these laws for transparency and accountability. Or they would have me Work on something but then have to document, how why, when, where to the nth degree.So essentially you cant have your cake and eat it too. If you want It to be efficient and cost effective then dont expect much transparency or detail on how and why things get done or be able to verify that the best decision on a procurement was made. But, if you want to be able to second guess things or have excruciating detail then expect inefficiency.Manufacturers such as Boeing or others will tell you that if they were to develop something on their own to sell to the general public it would cost $x to produce. If its a government contract or they have government requirements for bidding, specifications or whatever it will cost $x+y to produce because of the documentation, inspections etc that are required to meet transparency, fair bidding requirements etc.People blame the government when they often should be blaming themselves. Ive seen some amazing work done by government agencies but the required documentation and hoops to jump through were ridiculous compared to similar private sector projects. I will admit Ive seen some idiotic moves in government projects but not really any more than I saw in private sector projects.
I agree with much of what you said, but Charities are still more effective in helping the people in need than government.
Having done lots of consulting work for government agencies Ive discovered a major reason for the bureaucracy that makes a lot of government programs inefficient. Believe it or not, its generally the public. How so? Well the public and media for the public want complete transparency and excruciating detail, on exactly how every dollar is spent, decisions are made, and whether or not the right things are being done or need justification for any or all of whatever the department, program, project or whatever is doing. The required documentation, processes that must be followed for transparency etc make it so they practically are required to spend two dollars for every one that is needed to be spent. There were many times I would recommend something be done and the response would be we cant because of these rules or these laws for transparency and accountability. Or they would have me Work on something but then have to document, how why, when, where to the nth degree.So essentially you cant have your cake and eat it too. If you want It to be efficient and cost effective then dont expect much transparency or detail on how and why things get done or be able to verify that the best decision on a procurement was made. But, if you want to be able to second guess things or have excruciating detail then expect inefficiency.Manufacturers such as Boeing or others will tell you that if they were to develop something on their own to sell to the general public it would cost $x to produce. If its a government contract or they have government requirements for bidding, specifications or whatever it will cost $x+y to produce because of the documentation, inspections etc that are required to meet transparency, fair bidding requirements etc.People blame the government when they often should be blaming themselves. Ive seen some amazing work done by government agencies but the required documentation and hoops to jump through were ridiculous compared to similar private sector projects. I will admit Ive seen some idiotic moves in government projects but not really any more than I saw in private sector projects.
I agree with much of what you said, but Charities are still more effective in helping the people in need than government.
"As a group, Conservative Christians are the most charitable when you look at what they give their money to. That is completely consistent with what Jesus said. He never said you should give your money to the government and let them worry about it."My opinion also.
I be curious if thats accurate. Not that Christians are more charitable, but *conservative* Christians. I am and know many Christians that are charitable but would never consider ourselves as conservative Christians. We might say centrist or something like that. I do know some liberal Christians as well and know they are very charitable.
"As a group, Conservative Christians are the most charitable when you look at what they give their money to. That is completely consistent with what Jesus said. He never said you should give your money to the government and let them worry about it."My opinion also.I be curious if thats accurate. Not that Christians are more charitable, but *conservative* Christians. I am and know many Christians that are charitable but would never consider ourselves as conservative Christians. We might say centrist or something like that. I do know some liberal Christians as well and know they are very charitable.
If you include contributions to their own churches, members of conservative churches are far more charitable than mailine or Catholic Christians.
If you include contributions to their own churches, members of conservative churches are far more charitable than mailine or Catholic Christians.
Do you have a source reference for that? It may be true but I have a hard time believing it being part of a large church or a mainline church as you might call it and the giving is huge. Hundreds of thousands of dollars in a single service second offering for a special cause is not uncommon. This is not the only church of this type I have experienced with.
One comment I would make on Conservative Christians , having visited, lived and worked in the US for a number of years, is that they seem quite intolerant.
We lived in an area that had a number of more conservative churches. When people found out that we werent church goers, then those who were Conservative christians at best just dropped any attempt at being friends. At worst were quite condemning if our lack of religion.
Those would were catholic or attended mor evangelical churches were far more welcoming and tolerant of our non attendance at church.
You give even see the disapproval of meme era if different churches.
Struck me as not very Christian. Having said that they seemed very could at supporting their own. Community when anyone got into difficulties.
Not saying all Conservative Christians are like that, but it was certainly our personal experience in one part of the US.