Love him or hate him, Christian conservatives have a lot of reasons to be thankful for Ron Paul. When I first came up with the idea for this article, I thought I might write about how remarkable it has been that an old guy in his late 70’s could connect so well with the younger generations, then I started to think about how that has played into our cultural significance and I realized that Christians have a lot to be thankful for with the Congressman, and there is so much more that they can learn from him.
First of all, what we can learn from Ron Paul about reaching the next generation.
This whole train of thought came out of three things. First of all, Ron Paul has actually surprised me, and everyone in media for that matter, with a seriously successful run for the presidential nomination. Secondly, my boss and many other older Christians I spend my time with seem to be baffled by Ron Paul being taken seriously (Yes, they all watch Fox News and listen to Rush Limbaugh). The third thing hit me after reading UnChristian, which I reviewed last week. This all culminated in a thought, “What is Ron Paul doing right that is winning over a generation that has completely abandoned the Church?”
The answer to that question is very complex, but a simple way to explain it is this: Ron Paul is speaks with authority and has risen above the messing debating over preferences and prejudices, he has been consistent without hypocrisy, and he is actually teaching his followers how to think and not simply opening a can of political rhetoric. This doesn’t mean that everything he believes is right, but it does say a lot about how he has been able to connect to the majority of young voters.
Young adults today have a lot of questions. They want straight answers that are unbiased. Who better to give them those answers than Christians. The only problem is, most Christians that I know can’t give a definitive answer for some of the most basic doctrines in Scripture, but they are more than willing to tell you their opinion. My generation has learned that wisdom is invaluable, but opinions costs two cents. The world is a lot smaller due to the Internet and smart phones, and if you don’t give us a definitive reason to believe you, your word is no better than any other person with a YouTube page.
One of the heaviest attacks levied against Christians is their hypocrisy. Let’s face it, Christians are much better at talking than walking. The problem is that where they are talking is not where they should be walking. Years back I was with a preacher who was bashing any new forms of music other than hymns for worship services. Years later, he’s got a band on the platform. If we aren’t building our platform on truth, we will eventually look back on our lives and realize how foolish we must have looked to outsiders.
What the next generations of Christians want and need is to be taught the truths of Scripture. When the Word of God is purely and vibrantly taught, you will find a lively bunch of young believers. If the preaching is boring, dry, inauthentic, and judgmental, chances are you won’t have many young adults in the crowd.
Secondly, Christian conservatives have a lot to be thankful for with Ron Paul’s ability to promote conservative values to a liberal audience.
I don’t want to overlook the values of my Christian liberal friends, but I am speaking directly to the Christian conservatives who want to make moral issues the primary focus of their campaigning. I can’t think of any liberals who would support Rick Santorum, who has been claimed by many Church leaders as the social conservative of choice. Yet, I can name a lot of democrats, and people who previously voted for Obama, who are in the Ron Paul camp.
One of the amazing things about Ron Paul is his ability to influence people from both liberal and conservative persuasions. Pro-lifer’s have much to thank Ron Paul for because his Pro-life views are not immediately shot down by pro-choice liberals. He is accepted because he is consistent. I understand that most conservatives tend to think anyone to the left of them is liberal, but how far has that gotten us since Roe V. Wade?
Who knows what the future may hold? I for one, think that Ron Paul’s perspective lends itself to a lot of possibilities. Everything that the social conservatives care about could be influenced for the better if his plans were implemented: prayer in public schools, the right to life, Christian liberty, and the moral standard. As far as the other candidates and their positions go, I just see the divide being widened, people’s prejudices being cemented, and fuel being given to anti-Christian humanists.
But these are just my thoughts – my soapbox. I’d love to hear your thoughts. What can we learn from Ron Paul or any of the other candidates, good or bad? What do we have to be thankful or worried about in the future election?
Brent Sears
Micah Lovell
Adam Miller
Worthy of the Gospel 
I like this article, especially your take on how Ron Paul is succeeding in connecting intergenerationally in a time when there is a lot of schism between generations. I think the Church could learn a lot from his honesty and use of technology to connect to young people through this campaign. I voted for Paul in the primary in my state, and hope his most serious bid for the nomination yet is honored, at least with more coverage by the media.
Thanks Gen. I hope you enjoyed the Image of God EP.
Thanks for your seemingly well thought out article. The only factual thing you got wrong is that Ron Paul is in his 80s. He’s actually 76. The one thing you didn’t touch on was actually the biggest hurdle for Ron when it comes to most people who identify as Christians. And that’s foreign policy. It personally saddens and sometimes angers me how my fellow so-called Christians think pre-emptive wars of aggression are something Jesus would condone. Two debates ago Paul said we need to consider the ‘golden rule’ and ‘do unto others’ before we bomb people and the crowd booed!
Jesus said “blessed are the peace makers, for they will be called sons of God. I really believe the majority of these people turn on Fox news, Cnn or Limbaugh and believe whatever they are told without actually researching our nations history over the last 60 years or so. None of the wars we have been in since WW11 have been JUST wars. Millions of people have died in these wars and that is on our hands. There is a time for war, but only in self defense. It’s kind of like saying you have the right to beat up the 8 year old next door because he doesn’t like you. You don’t have that right. Any politician that is willing to go to war should also honestly be willing to sacrifice his or her own son or daughter for the cause. That’s the litmus test and if they don’t pass there’s NO war! I guarantee you we would have avoided every war since WW11.
Andrea,
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your faults. I meant to fact check his age before I posted it, but I must have forgotten in my edit. You’re right, he’s not in his 80s.
I agree that his foreign policy is one that needs to be addressed and I have addressed it before on WOTG. However, I was speaking directly to the values of many Christian conservatives, which, as you know, don’t value a non-interventionist theology. I more or less addressed this topic in my Sunday:Sermonette from a few weeks back. The problem with most Christian conservative’s foreign policy is that they believe it is closely tied to their religious convictions. Personally, as a solid, conservative, Christian theologian, I’m surprised by how many of my peers can justify their foreign policy with Scripture. It is definitely taking a stretch. But that is the major problem with Christianity today: we’ve allowed our personal beliefs to be read back into the Scripture and it is suffocating the Church and anyone who wants to diligently seek God but doesn’t share the same values. It’s definitely doing more to divide the Church than unite it.
Thanks again for stopping by. Your comments were well received.
Christians can’t promote the killing of children and women across the world in agressive wars. Blessed are the peace makers. Jesus came to establish a heavenly kingdom, not an earthly empire. He could have called legions of angels, but instead fought evil by being the light of the world. Ron Paul has brought this to our attention. Do unto others what you want them to do to you.
Thanks Aaron. I’m glad you appreciated the post. Stick around, you might see some more things that you like. I’d love to hear more of your thoughts on future posts.
“However, I was speaking directly to the values of many Christian conservatives, which, as you know, don’t value a non-interventionist theology.”
True Christianity and aggressive wars don’t mix.
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