THE NEW FOUR-LETTER WORD…

So when did ideologue become a four letter word? If you listened carefully to the recent debt debate in Congress you heard this word bandied about frequently…and never in a positive way. He’s a leftwing ideologue. She’s a right wing ideologue. They’re Tea Party ideologues. The implication is that this ideologue, whoever he or she might be, is an ignorant, uncompromising, on-the-fringe loon who’s only looking out for his or her own left or right wing interests. I suppose in some cases this might be true, but here’s what’s troubling me. Labeling someone an ideologue has become, in current culture, an easy, acceptable and yet destructively flippant way of dismissing his or her opinion. How do you defeat someone with whom you sharply disagree? Slap the ideologue label on them. That’s the surest way to run their views off the road of honest dialogue.

But aren’t we all ideologues? Don’t we all have an ideology by which we live, a system of ideas and ideals that shape our values and mold our choices? I sure hope so. And if so, then why is ideologue such a dirty word? As I see it, being an ideologue is only bad when someone tries to force, by abuse of power, his or her ideology onto someone else. Quite frankly, I like persons who have a strong set of convictions and who strive, to the best of their ability, to look after them responsibly, which is what an ideologue does.

For anyone who knows me or reads my blogs it would come as no surprise that I consider myself to be an evangelical Christian ideologue. Should I hide this? Of course not, and neither should anyone whose ideology sharply disagrees with mine. I might believe their ideology to be painfully misguided, even ruinous, so much so that I feel compelled to fight against it with every ounce of my being, but the last thing I should do is dismiss the person who holds it by pinning a pejorative label on them.

I believe, as the Bible expressly states, that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6) and I’ve given my life to defining and defending the ideology that attaches itself to this conviction. Am I right? With all my heart I believe I am, but I’m painfully aware of the many who sharply disagree with me. So how should I respond to these persons? With a derogatory label or with a compassionate yet robust challenge to their convictions? Based on the example of Jesus, I think the latter is most often the preferred course.

Love and blessings,

David