I recently started a poll here at JREF about politics and god-related non/beliefs and based on the posts in that thread, people felt the categories were too limited and didn’t represent their positions. I therefore am starting a new thread that will allow people to express their positions exactly.
I'd like you to somewhat briefly express your political leanings and then express your god-related non/beliefs. Then if you have found within yourself a correlation or influence between these two areas, express that connection or influence or express that there is none.
I'll start. Remember, this isn't a debate thread; it's a place for people to express their positions on these topics so we can all understand each other better. I want to learn more about how these two areas affect each other (or not) and I need to look outside myself for this learning. Thanks in advance for participating and helping us to understand each other better. I've been here for a while and have seen and been involved in arguments for and against many of my beliefs described below and I thank the people of this forum for helping me to see things from a different perspective. I have grown as a person through our discourse which is why I want more discourse.
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Politics: I'm a (social and fiscal) conservative free market capitalist (maybe leaning a little libertarian). I believe government should provide for national defense, basic infrastructure (roads, police, fire protection, etc.), and protect people's freedoms (speech, assembly, property ownership, etc.) from being infringed upon by other people or by the government itself. I believe people should have the right to succeed or fail based on their choices rather than having a government bail them out. This allows people to learn to be self sufficient and learn what works and what doesn't. It also allows people to be motivated toward the most efficient use of their time and efforts. I think that forced wealth redistribution is not only immoral, but it disincentivizes behavior that works by motivating the "giver" to be more selfish and resentful and the receiver doesn't feel as much motivation to work hard if they can since it’s just a free check from the government. If it were their neighbor who was voluntarily, out of love and concern for them, helping them out when they were down (and I've seen a lot of this from both sides and it works very well), they would return the favor by working hard to become independent and less of a burden upon this person who has voluntarily sacrificed for them.
a/theism: Theist Christian. I'm a Mormon. I believe we are all children of God who came to earth out of necessity as part of our eternal progression. I believe that an important part of this plan is to have doubts about God so that I will do what I want to do instead of what God wants me to do – like children behaving when their parents are around, but doing what they want to do when the parents are not around. I think God lets us fail and succeed and thereby we can learn what works (good, right, etc.) and what doesn't (wrong, evil, etc.). I was raised Mormon, then became a weak atheist/agnostic (if that's the right term) for about 6 years and after some life changing events, I investigated and visited many religious groups before returning to Mormonism.
Correlations: I think my beliefs about God affect the way I look at politics. I tend to trust in God, church, charities, and family and therefore I don't feel as much of a need to depend upon the government for my needs. I have noticed that when I do things for my kids, they become weak in that area, but when I teach them to do things for themselves, they become strong and stand on their own, which is one of my main goals of child-rearing. I think this way of thinking matches how I think God deals with me and how it works in my family, and how I think it should work with government. I also believe in free will and that free will was given to me by God. I believe that the more power and choice I give to government, the less free will and choice I have.
I'd like you to somewhat briefly express your political leanings and then express your god-related non/beliefs. Then if you have found within yourself a correlation or influence between these two areas, express that connection or influence or express that there is none.
I'll start. Remember, this isn't a debate thread; it's a place for people to express their positions on these topics so we can all understand each other better. I want to learn more about how these two areas affect each other (or not) and I need to look outside myself for this learning. Thanks in advance for participating and helping us to understand each other better. I've been here for a while and have seen and been involved in arguments for and against many of my beliefs described below and I thank the people of this forum for helping me to see things from a different perspective. I have grown as a person through our discourse which is why I want more discourse.
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Politics: I'm a (social and fiscal) conservative free market capitalist (maybe leaning a little libertarian). I believe government should provide for national defense, basic infrastructure (roads, police, fire protection, etc.), and protect people's freedoms (speech, assembly, property ownership, etc.) from being infringed upon by other people or by the government itself. I believe people should have the right to succeed or fail based on their choices rather than having a government bail them out. This allows people to learn to be self sufficient and learn what works and what doesn't. It also allows people to be motivated toward the most efficient use of their time and efforts. I think that forced wealth redistribution is not only immoral, but it disincentivizes behavior that works by motivating the "giver" to be more selfish and resentful and the receiver doesn't feel as much motivation to work hard if they can since it’s just a free check from the government. If it were their neighbor who was voluntarily, out of love and concern for them, helping them out when they were down (and I've seen a lot of this from both sides and it works very well), they would return the favor by working hard to become independent and less of a burden upon this person who has voluntarily sacrificed for them.
a/theism: Theist Christian. I'm a Mormon. I believe we are all children of God who came to earth out of necessity as part of our eternal progression. I believe that an important part of this plan is to have doubts about God so that I will do what I want to do instead of what God wants me to do – like children behaving when their parents are around, but doing what they want to do when the parents are not around. I think God lets us fail and succeed and thereby we can learn what works (good, right, etc.) and what doesn't (wrong, evil, etc.). I was raised Mormon, then became a weak atheist/agnostic (if that's the right term) for about 6 years and after some life changing events, I investigated and visited many religious groups before returning to Mormonism.
Correlations: I think my beliefs about God affect the way I look at politics. I tend to trust in God, church, charities, and family and therefore I don't feel as much of a need to depend upon the government for my needs. I have noticed that when I do things for my kids, they become weak in that area, but when I teach them to do things for themselves, they become strong and stand on their own, which is one of my main goals of child-rearing. I think this way of thinking matches how I think God deals with me and how it works in my family, and how I think it should work with government. I also believe in free will and that free will was given to me by God. I believe that the more power and choice I give to government, the less free will and choice I have.
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