Statement of Faith
By: BJ Lawson
It appears there are some people who think a Constitutional federal government is a threat to Christian conservatives. I disagree, and published the following comment in response to Chuck Campbell’s post:
Chuck - As you know, I am personally quite conservative. My wife and I have been married for eleven years, have three children, and are Christians who seek to live by example and service to others. Furthermore, Christianity has been a lifelong journey as we seek and follow God’s plan for our lives.
I have been blessed to experience much on my journey, starting with my medical training in the late nineties. One of my favorite books is Fearfully and Wonderfully Made, by Phillip Yancey and Paul Brand, a Christian physician. This book looks at the miraculous creation that is humanity, and also acknowledges the challenges of working in medicine, which is literally God’s “complaint department”.
As a physician, I saw and treated the ravages caused by poor lifestyle choices. The devastation caused by smoking and alcohol abuse cannot be overstated, nor the devastation caused by abusing one’s body through excess refined carbohydrates and insufficient exercise leading to obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes, and a slow, painful decline as one’s body can no longer circulate life-giving nutrients to critical organs. Infections, amputations, blindness, heart attacks… in many cases caused by diet and lifestyle choices.
For many people, adult onset diabetes, lung cancer, and liver failure due to alcohol abuse are consequences of abusing our bodies and not honoring them as God’s magnificent creation. But what about the child with leukemia? How about the 41 year old father of three with a newly-diagnosed glioblastoma (brain cancer) with one year to live?
Medicine really gave me a sense of perspective. Should I not treat patients whose behavior clearly brought on their illness? Of course not. That’s not how God calls us to serve. How about acknowledging Romans 3:23-24, “There is no difference, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came through Christ Jesus.”
I am also quite cognizant of Matthew 7:5: “You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” I offer my candidacy humbly, with the knowledge that I am an imperfect person who seeks God’s guidance in trying to do His will. I believe I am called to live my faith through example, and remember Jesus’ words in Matthew 9:11-13:
“When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ’sinners’?” On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
So how do I threaten Christian conservatives? As you know from the state fair, I am strongly pro-life, and view protection of life as the primary role of government. Outside of abortion, I am strongly “pro-choice” — especially with regards to education. What better way to prevent government from sanctioning destructive lifestyles then breaking the government’s monopoly on education?
I do not encourage or embrace destructive lifestyle choices, but I question how government can “punish” them. Should we punish those who eat too much, and exercise too little? Or should we use our limited prison capacity to permanently incarcerate violent criminals who are a threat to others?
With regard to the federal government’s involvement in social issues, I think the Constitution is a great start to defining how our government in Washington should behave. You’re right, I do not support the federal government “defining” marriage in any sense. Why should Washington care? That’s clearly something that can, and should, be left to the states. Likewise for the federal “war on drugs”. The states should retain the right to determine how drug use is controlled. At least when we enacted prohibition, we had the intellectual honesty to amend the Constitution.
When I answer questions about supporting social legislation, please understand that I’m not running for office in Raleigh, but in Washington. I think Washington needs to respect the rule of law, and remember the 10th Amendment. These are good discussions to be having at the state and local level, but we need to return the focus in Washington to things it should be doing: secure borders, eliminating the income tax, inflation and rising grocery bills, and national security. (No, not steroids in baseball either.)
Finally, your perspective on my foreign policy beliefs is incorrect. I am not at all isolationist, but simply believe we must be more judicious in our use of deadly force and seek to follow the Augustinian principle of Just War. As a nation, we cannot unilaterally force our will on the rest of the world indefinitely. Right now, we police the world at China’s pleasure with our massive debt and current account deficit. Instead, we must get back into the business of inspiring multinational cooperation to deal with criminals and terrorists that threaten civilized society.
Please visit www.lawsonforcongress.com to learn more about our campaign to restore a Constitutional federal government. A Constitutional federal government is not a threat to Christian conservatives. It will protect life, restore free speech, provide free choice and local control in education, secure our borders, rebuild a strong military defense, encourage peace and understanding through diplomatic and economic engagement, and enable Christians to lead by example.
What do you think?
March 20th, 2008 at 11:38 am
BJ:
Wow. Thanks for sharing that. I am glad that you are so open about your beliefs, that you don’t shy away from them and that you have based your congressional run on sound principles such as the Bible. This post clearly shows the people of the 4th district who the best candidate for our congressional seat is, and also clearly expresses why I support you and your campaign.
Best,
Justin
March 20th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
Great reply to Chuck who seems to be either very misinformed or completely deceitful about both Ron Paul and BJ Lawson.
Libertarians still have their own party… Ron Paul was only a member of it temporarily and, as far as I know, BJ has never been a member of it. I have purposely chosen not to be a member of it, though I do think they should have access to the ballot without having to gather 100,000 signatures. Skip Stam gave a speech at the Wake County GOP Convention about the Magna Carta and pointed out that no elected official should be above the rule of law. So, why are the rules different for the Dems and Republicans? Because they make laws to keep themselves in power, something Skip Stam and others railed against at the convention. I’m not exactly sure why people like Chuck Campbell don’t see how we are really trying to stick to the party platform that explicitly says in the preamble: “We honor the original meaning of our Constitutions and the inalienable rights of the American people as recognized in the Bill of Rights and the North Carolina Declaration of Rights.”. Perhaps he should read the party platform (http://www.ncgop.org/gopinformation/platform.asp) and figure out exactly what points he and you disagree on and whether he is actually a Republican… His comments like a Democrat who wants government to continue to have its hands in more and more, with the exception that he uses God’s name.
I am not a Libertarian, and I support BJ Lawson for Congress.
I am a bible-believing, born-again, evangelical Christian, who believes that “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. “. Every good work includes speaking out for and voting for good candidates that will govern God’s creation well… and I support BJ Lawson for Congress.
Chuck and Augustus Cho who is campaigning on an “I am not a Ron Paul candidate” platform need to think a little bit harder of what is best for our posterity. The ever increasing size and the even more increasing spending of our children’s future income is staring you right in the face. People like this talk about smaller government but when you look at what they are willing to cut, the list is almost nil (except perhaps a little pork and funding of Planned Parenthood). WHen you look at what they want to increase, it is the influence and power of federal government… but don’t worry it will be under “Republican control” rather than “Democratic control”. For some reason, that doesn’t make me feel that much better. When someone starts really cutting the size and influence of federal government (and REALLY securing our borders) instead of just giving it lip service, they will be a Republican worth voting for.
BJ Lawson is that man.
March 20th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
If you haven’t already done so I encourage you to post this on Chuck’s website.
March 21st, 2008 at 7:30 am
Great answer. All the better for being truthful, not just spin.
March 21st, 2008 at 4:29 pm
This is typical of the Ron Paul, BJ Lawson, Libertarians’ vicious attacks on thinking Christians!
Posted at:
http://blog.lawsonforcongress.com/2008/03/20/statement-of-faith/#comments
Searching the internet I found how the Libertarians call the dogs out on their opponents, in this case me. Interesting that BJ Lawson denies being a Libertarian, yet his call for bloggers to respond is posted by his Facebook Coordinator on a Ron Paul, Libertarian site! Hey, if you’re afraid to say who you really are, then maybe there’s a good reason for the deception?
“Mavtek” seems to be fairly representative of their disdain for orthodox Christians and our Biblical perspective on homosexuality, or what God in Leviticus 18:22 “a detestable sin”.
I am not afraid of nor will I retreat from the fight. Neither do I loose sleep worrying about gays like Mavtek.
In the words of that great Navy sailor and patriot, John Paul Jones “I have not yet begun to fight!”
*** Quote from the Ron Paul Forum by Lawson’s Facebook Coordinator
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?p=1362049
Feel free to share your thoughts with Chuck. Remember to be polite and thoughtful, not rude and immature.
*** End quote
*** Quote from someone named Mavtek
# chuckcampbell
March 20th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
BJ, would you then be in favor of a Constitutional Amendment to eliminate so-called “anchor babies” as Ron Paul has advocated? …
…
The Marriage Amendment is the benchmark for a social conservative! Are you with us or against us?
Chuck Campbell
…
Finally a proud Republican…
when we defend our Judeo-Christian values
Chuck is an idiot. Does he really believe that “gay people” are attempting to grow their ranks through public schools? If this is the case why are so few of them becoming teachers? Does Chuck actually believe that someone can become homosexual by choice? One wonders if Chuck feels as though he maybe susceptible to having sexual relations with another man. If he doesn’t then surely he can’t possibly believe that homosexuality is by choice.
http://mavtek.townhall.com
*** End quote
Will any conservative Christians respond to this tripe? Hope so, but if not, I will stand for truth alone.
March 21st, 2008 at 5:15 pm
They’re really running scared, aren’t they?
I find it hard to believe that someone would openly admit to not wanting to follow the Constitution. Isn’t it the basis of our country? If you love America, wouldn’t you want to follow it?
What are these other Republicans admitting to when they’re objecting to BJ’s following the Constitution?
March 21st, 2008 at 5:32 pm
One can indeed be an evangelical Christian and also reject the use of the federal government as a vehicle to legislate the moral restraint that many of us believe that we are called to personally represent . There are grave cultural threats at home and abroad that threaten our childrens’ future (and threaten the international moral leadership and credibility of the United States to the watching world), but this is a call to personal action and responsibility on the part of a Christian, not a retreat into the identity politics that has co-opted and mis-directed much of the original passion that motivated “conservative christian” political activism.
Chuck Campbell’s use of the Edmund Burke quote: “All that is necessary for evil to prevail, is for good men to do nothing” is wonderful, but his application is misguided. The individual actions of Christians and the corporate actions of the church are what is crucial, not the outsourcing of this job to the federal and state government.
Historically, Christian community has thrived best in the context of adversity. In fact, a governmental institutionalization of Christian goals and aims severely undermines the missional and revolutionary core of Christian faith by replacing it with a religious structure that saps its vitality and effectiveness. The experience of the early church and the explosion of the gospel in China under communism are both wonderful examples of this dynamic.
As Christians, some of our greatest failures have occured when we abandon our individual responsibilities and are lulled into thinking that a governmental or political faction will do the heavy lifting for us. We can’t fall asleep in the light, it is up to us to be the hands and feet that create the impact we hope to see around us.
I know BJ and his family and I have the utmost respect for his authenticity and his faith. He is a pragmatic and thoughtful man who wants to see change in the world, not in any way, shape or form an idealogue that would threaten it. I am NOT interested in politicians that define themselves by hurdling meaningless litmus tests erected by the architects of the reactionary politics (on the left or the right) of the 80s and the 90s - I AM interested in leaders that act on their own principles of right and wrong and refuse to insult the intelligence of the men and women they seek to represent.
March 23rd, 2008 at 2:02 am
I was pretty disappointed at the false characterization of my post on Ron Paul Forums as “calling the dogs out” and “sick ‘em boys” on Mr. Campbell’s blog. Anyone who reads the thread I posted can clearly see that is not the intent. I even reminded people to be polite and thoughtful, which is more than I can say for the way I was treated or my actions characterized in the entry about me on Chuck Campbell’s blog, and with the exception of “Mavtek’s” comments )which I don’t condone) everyone was just that — polite and thoughtful. Both on Chuck Campbell’s blog and in my thread on RPFs.
So here’s my questions: Why would anyone be afraid of a few comments from a few people expressing their opinions on their blog? What’s the point of having a blog with the comment feature enabled if not to create discussion? Personally, I’d be thrilled to have anyone advertise my blog for me and encourage people to discuss something I wrote on it because, from my perspective, that’s the entire point of having a blog — to have a public place to express your views and have those views discussed by others. I certainly wouldn’t bash that person for it, especially in such a distorted way.
Oh well.
On the bright side, despite all this, some healthy discussion has been generated on the relationship between religion and government and related topics, which is exactly what I was hoping would happen. So, in that sense, mission accomplished.
Hope everyone has a Happy Easter!
You too, Chuck 
March 23rd, 2008 at 9:48 pm
Grant Hoffman offers us an oxy-moron in a Christian wrapper. While protesting too much my disagreement over the licentious libertarian views of his candidate, BJ Lawson, he questions whether Christians should be involved in politics. I would question whether nominal Christians who can not even detect the self-contradictory logic of their vehemently injecting their own opinions into politics, or at least the ones pertaining to the 10th Amendment and the spending of federal money, while attempting to justify non-involvement by other Christians with whom he would politically disagree!
If this were not so sad, it would indeed be laughable.
BTW, Grant, I am taking my personal responsibility for Jesus said “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. .. Go and teach them to obey all that I have taught you.” It’s in Luke. Open your Bible before you cast stones at me.
Here’s another obscure passage from the man who wrote two-third of the New Testament “Know you not that you are to judge angels and things if Heaven, how much more the things of this world.” You’re beginning to sound like Obama’s former pastor Jeremiah Wright when you worship at the alter of the 10 Amendment (NOT Commandment) and allow that object to be the device by which the pedophiles prey upon your very own children in the government schools. But then BJ will abolish the Dept. of Educ. …and then we’ll all wake up.
My name is Chuck Campbell and I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
You nominal Christians, or are you Liberals pretending to be Christians, are going to have a lot of explaining to do on the day of Judgment at the Great White Thrown.
March 23rd, 2008 at 10:04 pm
Brother Ken Auer,
How’s life in Holly Springs? Maybe we’ll meet up at Java Divine one afternoon and I can disciple you? You should pray that the Holy Spirit will open your eyes to your accessory to the moral decay of our great Republic.
I have been a Republican since 1980 and I have helped elect many pro-family conservatives and defeat a few liberals. Back in the mid-nineties I helped write the party platform and I have read the Constitution where it delineated the qualifications for President, Senator and Representative by stating that they should be a “Citizen”. It was another of those “self-evident” truths to them that if you were born here you are an American.
Now you speak of limited government, at least limiting your white-middle-class tax burden, as if Jesus cared how big your government gets. Here’s what he said “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and unto God what is God’s”.
Now I’m about as democrat as Jessee Helms. Just as feisty too.
Think hard about this: You are an accessory to moral anarchy, licentiousness, and the moral decay of our society if you vote for someone who believes that personal liberty in morality is more important than God’s law. BTW, Jesus said “I did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. Not the least stroke of the law will pass away. Woe unto those who call good what God calls evil.” Leviticus 18:22 “Man shall not lie with a man as you lie with a woman, for it is a detestable sin.” There’s nothing in there about if you have a Constitution or not.
My name is Chuck Campbell and I am defending my children from the onslaught of the pedophiles while you libertarians are rolling out the red carpet and looking the other way. It’s called complicity by acquiescence.
March 24th, 2008 at 8:20 am
“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”—2 Corinthians 3:17.
Jesus does not care about money, but he does care about the government trampling our God-given rights.
If God, the one being in the universe that can claim not only a right but an ability to run our lives, gave us free will, then why should we let the government run our lives?
Chuck Campbell, you are interested in having the government enforce morality on the American people. What will happen if Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama wins in November? I think the values their government would promote are completely differnet from the ones you preach. I am a social conservative. I am terrified at the prospect of letting liberals legislate morality. Washington has shown time and time again that it has no idea what morality is.
Do you know that part of the New Deal was an intentional attempt to reduce to number of people that go to church? It used to be that churches provided all sorts of services like hospitals and family support. When people relied on their churches for these services, they were closer to God. They were confronted by the fact that they relied directly upon God for their lives. After the New Deal, people relied on the government. It is no accident that church attendance decreased.
I believe that we need to be a moral people to remain a free people. The government cannot enforce morality. Morality is choosing to do the right thing without coercion. Even if by some miracle the government stumbled upon a moral compass, it could not enforce morality. Without choice, the American people would suffer from immorality all the same.
March 29th, 2008 at 8:59 am
@Bold Evangelical/Chuck Campbell
So, I read your spiel against libertarians, Ron Paul, BJ Lawson, etc on your show’s blog site, and then I came here and read BJ Lawson’s response, and I have to tell you Chuck, I can’t figure out if you’re incapable of responding to specific arguments or if you realize that in doing so, you would have to change your positions to not look completely hypocritical.
First of all, let’s get the term government out of the way. You keep using the word as if there were only one government in existence and as if it were one big homogeneous thing, when if you’ve read the Constitution you know that’s not the case. There is the Federal Government, which was created by the States, and then there are the many State Governments. Beneath this, there are County, city, and a myriad other local governments operating under their respective State’s Constitution. BJ Lawson makes a clear distinction when discussing these separate governments and he does so along Constitutional lines.
Regarding your use of Scripture, I agree almost completely with all of the verses you cite and even the gist of your exegesis. The issue that I have with your use of the Scripture is that you cannot apply these verses and ignore the Constitutional separation of powers (see previous paragraph). In other words, as long as you treat all issues as a Federal issue, you are in direct violation of Scripture, in that you are ignoring the law of the land to do so.
In many ways, you sound like a Unitarian, denying the complexity of the Trinitarian Godhead and demanding that government be representative of your solely unified God.
I think that’s it for me. It makes me sad in many ways to realize that in order to remain in step with the Republican party, Christians are willing to so greatly simplify the God of Heaven. In doing so, they also simplify His Gospel.