There are many objections to the alliance of Christians and conservatives. Indeed, we see growing movements to sever the links between faithful Christians and the political right in America. Some proponents of the “Benedict Option” advise conservative Christians to stop “voting Republican.” (Its leaders say little about liberal Christians ceasing to vote Democrat.). In certain Evangelical circles, a generic humanitarian “Bono politics” urges tattooed young hipster Christians to soft-peddle “divisive” issues such as the sanctity of life and marriage, in favor of fighting inequality and preserving the environment. (Because, you know, that’s so brave and countercultural.) Then there are those Catholics who wrap themselves in the “seamless garment,” implying that abortion and euthanasia are no greater threats to human life and dignity than trims to Medicaid budgets or immigration totals.

It would take a full-length book to refute all the objections. Happily, such books already exist. For Protestants puzzling over these issues, the best single source is M. Stanton Evans’ The Theme is Freedom. Catholics should study Samuel Gregg’s Tea Party Catholic. And everyone should read Leftism Revisited, by Erik von Kuenhelt-Leddihn, who traces the history of the Left from “the Marquis de Sade to Hitler.” Maybe cap off your reading with a stiff dose of Pope Leo XIII.

Since I lack the space here to do justice to those authors’ learned arguments, instead let me offer a brief “listicle” of five of the worst reasons that Christians commonly spurn conservatism, in favor of alternatives that are fundamentally incompatible with the Gospel.

1. They think that people won’t see them as being “compassionate.”

This is misguided because in many situations the only kind of real love is tough love. That’s why God judges souls, instead of waving us all indiscriminately into heaven like hogs to a trough. It’s why His Son had to die for our sins, instead of just stubbing His toe. It’s why we can’t buy a drink for an alcoholic, or let shiftless friends “crash” indefinitely at our homes. And tough love describes most of what is demanded by an honest Christian politics informed by respect for human dignity and the fact of original sin. But if you secretly care more about being seen as a sweetheart than you do about the outcome of your actions, then by all means, preach open borders and lavish public assistance, then drop by that AA meeting and leave those thirsty folks a case of Lone Star.

2. They believe that God demands material (not just moral) equality.

The Old and New Testament are full of demands that the well-off help those trapped in poverty and need. But nowhere does it suggest that everyone needs to end up with equal material outcomes in this world. In fact, Jesus said there won’t even be equality in the next one: Some will be “first” and others “last.” If God had really wanted us to be equal, He would have made us all equally smart, attractive, industrious and imaginative. He would have created each of us with the same level of ambition, the same priorities regarding leisure times versus financial security, and the same levels of confidence/anxiety. None of these things is true, and we cannot trace that fact to the fall of man, since there’s no evidence that such diversity is evil. Try to eliminate it, and your efforts are likely to produce a hell on earth; if you don’t believe me, pay a visit to North Korea, Cuba, or Venezuela.

3. They fear that “culture war” baggage will alienate potential converts.

Believers trying to share Christ’s message often are told the church’s rejection of extramarital sex is the product of an impulse to control people, to suppress the wild energy of human desire into a narrow, life-denying mold. That gets things exactly backwards. In fact, Christians want to teach people how to control themselves, how to harness and ride the wild stallion of their passions, instead of falling prone on the ground and getting trampled. Who gets trampled the worst? The most vulnerable in our society: young women impregnated and abandoned, unborn children callously aborted, and fatherless children growing up in a culture of welfare dependency and crime. When we fight the culture war, those are the innocent civilians we are defending.

4. They are eager to be seen as sophisticated, and accepted by cultural “elites.”

You know the type: Young, ambitious, insecure. They fear that when a potential employer, friend or mate learns that they are one of “those Christians” that they will think of old episodes of “Hee Haw.” Instead, these “crunchy” Christians want to be associated with … cool things like Whole Foods, “world music,” and NPR. So they start to shun their “stodgy” friends and subtly shift what they say, then what they think, to fit the new crowd they’ve chosen. Pretty soon, they’re ransacking the New Testament or G.K. Chesterton to find arguments for voting for Bernie Sanders. …

5. They try to be so unworldly they think it’s sinful to consider the real-world effects of “compassionate” policies.

I’ve actually heard a prominent priest at a free-market conference articulate this as a virtue, when we were arguing about Muslim immigration into Europe. I pointed out the dangers of inviting in millions of people who hold to a religion that is compatible with terrorism, slavery and religious persecution. He responded that I had no right to consider such things when faced with a suffering refugee — in other words, that it was my duty as a Christian to stop thinking, to ignore the predictable, provable consequences of open-borders policies, and instead to simply wallow in the emotion of compassion. This priest’s reaction was what author Flannery O’Connor had in mind when she said that sentimentality had a lot in common with pornography, and that “tenderness leads to the gas chamber.” In fact, it is our duty to use our baptized human reason, and summon up the difficult compassion for the person we do not see — the person who would be injured by sentimental, self-congratulatory politics.

When someone tells you to stop thinking, the answer is to stop listening — to him.