3. I Am Pro- life but . . .

Abstract

This chapter focuses on issues of discrepancy between progressive and conservative Christians to political positions associated with the larger political affiliated group. The chapter looks at blogs from each group of Christians that disagree with an issue in their respective political parties. It examines progressive Christians defining themselves as pro-life and conservative Christians who support immigration reform. Content analysis of these blogs indicates that progressive Christians challenge the ethics of other progressives to live up to their political values, and they appeal to the ideals for compassion and justice. However, they do not tend to advocate legislative changes to support their pro-life values. Progressive Christians appear to prioritize caring for the marginalized more than raw political victories for their concern about abortion. Conservative Christians approach issues of immigration by using biblical legitimization to argue for legislative changes. They also do not hesitate to call for legislative reform. Ultimately, they do not perceive it to be important to placate their political peers, but rather they make demands based on their theological concerns. This chapter discusses not only the reverence conservative Christians have for their theological values but also some of the larger social justice values of progressive Christians.