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By Chuck Baldwin

NewsWithViews.com

A reader from California recently took me to task for one of my columns. She said, "Not every liberal is non-religious. Many are very good Christians." She went on to say, "[Homosexuality] is a state of being - not necessarily a behavior. Many homosexuals are very religious and spiritual people." Obviously, there is nothing particularly revealing about those sentiments; I hear them all the time. What is noteworthy is the way she concluded her letter. After her name and city, she signed off with a P.S. It said, "I am a thinking, independent CONSERVATIVE." (Emphasis added.)

Now let me get this straight. A conservative today is one who believes that people who think it is alright to kill innocent, unborn babies and who want to take away my Second Amendment right to own and carry a firearm (liberals, in other words) are "very good Christians." Furthermore, conservatives today believe that people who think sexual perversion is normal and healthy (liberals, in other words) are "very good Christians." Did somebody change the dictionary when I was not looking?

It seems that to be identified as a "conservative" today means something very contrary to what it used to mean. Consider the fact that President Bush can submit a budget that escalates federal spending to record levels (including an education budget that expands federal encroachment into education in ways Bill Clinton could only dream about). He can support limited stem cell research (which turns human embryos into guinea pigs) and can even promote activist homosexuals to high positions of government and still be called a "conservative."

Then again, perhaps by today's definition, both Bush and my California reader ARE conservatives. My Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary defines a conservative as: "1. conserving or tending to conserve; preservative. 2. tending to preserve old institutions, methods, customs, and the like; adhering to what is old or established; opposing or resisting change."

Consider with me now what are the "old institutions, methods, and customs." What is the "established" order that "conservatives" resist changing? For one thing, the institution of abortion is firmly established, and, yes, "conservatives" resist changing it. The social and political acceptance of sodomy is firmly established, and, again, "conservatives" resist changing it. A political course heading directly toward internationalism is also firmly established, and, once more, "conservatives" resist changing it. It appears that "resisting change" is the perfect description of "conservatives" today. Yes, it would seem that both Bush and my California reader are "conservatives," at least by the new definition.

That leads to the question, "What are people called who believe in limited government, the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, individual liberty, and state sovereignty?" What does one call people who believe that the federal government has no business in education or law enforcement? What do we call people who believe abortion-on-demand is premeditated murder and that sodomy is fornication squared?

When we are able to properly identify and organize those people, we can begin the process of setting America's house in order. Until then, modern "conservatives" and liberals alike will continue to run the ship of state into the ground.

Chuck Baldwin is Founder-Pastor of Crossroads Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida. In 1985 the church was recognized by President Ronald Reagan for its unusual growth and influence.