The strange thing about growing up in conservative Christianity and then leaving it behind is that there are a lot of secular/progressive spaces that engage in similar thinking while sincerely believing their ideas are counter to conservative ones. So I thought I would just make a list of things I was taught within conservative Christianity, the stuff that was either the core of our beliefs, or the social dynamics that we created. Some of the language I use is specifically either scriptural, or Christian-speak.
This list isnât to say âstop thinking this way.â This is actually intended to simply be informative because sometimes social justice spaces assume, âwe are crafting our ideals in opposition to conservative ideals therefore whatever we think surely must be the opposite of whatever they think,â without ever seeming to know that their language and ideals look and sound the same.
Sin-leveling: x is bad, and y is bad, and all bad things deserve an equal reaction
Sin-leveling part 2: because all things are equally bad, thereâs nothing wrong with inverting the consequences. Hurting others becomes acceptable (because itâs no different than doing something distasteful), doing something distasteful is unforgivable (because itâs no different than doing something harmful)
Avoid all appearance of evil: if I assume that your behavior looks wrong, then you are wrong, even if further context would say otherwise. You should avoid doing anything that others would see as wrong because you are not allowed the benefit of the doubt or to defend yourself.
Sin by association: x company contracted with y company. Y company engages in something sinful, which means x company approves of said sinful thing which means if you purchase from x company, you are condoning, supporting, and have actually committed the sin.
Think only on what is good: or as the pastor of my old church liked to call it, âgarbage in, garbage out.â Whatever ideas, thoughts, words, arguments, stories, pictures, books, movies, songs, friends, love you put in your head will create the desire to become that. If you want to be good, you must avoid any bad thought because you will âslipâ into wanting it and then be unable to stop yourself from being it. (For example, type into google âis secular musicâ and click on the autocomplete of âa sinâ)
Language as an in-group test: if you do not describe your life, experiences, and beliefs with the exact same vocabulary and in-group speak, you are either not really one of us, or youâre someone who hasnât thought through their ideas as deeply as I have.
By any means necessary: Also known in the ex-Evangelical world as âlying for Jesus.â If my words create the necessary beliefs and actions in others, then it doesnât matter if I am exaggerating, saying half-truths, or using manipulative language, because Iâm saving others and helping them do whatâs right.
Touch not Godâs anointed: any critiques of those our community trusts, critiques of those weâve deemed âthe good ones,â are actually people trying to sow discord and disunity to destroy our community and their voice should be silenced because they must be lying.
Judge not lest ye be judged: A scripture that we throw at people when someone says our leadership is abusive, a scripture we cry is being taken out of context when we want to harshly critique someone ourselves.Â
Thereâs more, lots more, but this post is already fairly long. Once again, though, this isnât intended to be combative. I just want people to know the actual social dynamics that a lot of us grew up with in conservative Christianity communities, so they know when sometimes theyâre sharing those social dynamics, not countering them.
