Love of God and neighbors: "You shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might", an excerpt from the Shema Deut.6:5. This is the first half of the statement and the second half, given equal weight, is "love your neighbor as yourself" upon which hang all the Law and all the prophets.
Fidelity in marriage: "Whom God has joined together let no man put asunder"
Renunciation of worldly goods: "Gather not your riches up upon this earth, for there your heart will be also".
Renunciation of vengeance: "If a man strikes you on one cheek, turn the other cheek".
Forgiveness of sins: "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us".
Unconditional love: " and pray for those who persecute you".
Explicit directions in the New Testament text include:
Jesus' enumeration of the intention of the Ten Commandments contained in the Sermon on the Mount is considered a key component of Christian ethics and a fundamental recipe for Christian conduct for centuries. This large unified text was meant as a counter to the practices of the day that followed the letter of the law but denied the spirit of the law.
One of the characteristic contrasts between Christianity and its Jewish roots occurs along the axis of the Law. The Christian holds that for un-redeemed mankind it is impossible to follow any holy law at all and further holds that only regeneration makes it possible for an individual to start and persist not breaking at least some of the body of holy law. Within this context falls the only letter from the totality of New Testament authorship to the totality of the Christian church on that topic. It is also profoundly important to recognize that these are placeholders that refer to Old Testament texts which more completely elaborate what each means. Acts 15:20 enumerates the four things that Christianity requires abstinence from: 1) food sacrificed to idols; 2) blood; 3) meat of strangled animals; and 4) sexual immorality. These all were part of the practices included in the polytheism of Greek and Roman civilizations.
Modern use in worldwide conservative or right-wing politics
In the 21st century United States, Australia, United Kingdom and other countries, the phrases Christian values and family values are used by Christian right and conservative parties to describe some or all of the following political stances:
Modern use in worldwide liberal, radical left or center-left politics
In the 21st century United States, Australia, United Kingdom and other countries, the phrases Christian values and family values are used by some liberal or social democratic political groups to describe some or all of the following political stances:
Support for a culture of empathy and compassion, seen as central to Christianity among a diverse range of religions and worldviews; favoring individuals, families and small communities' interests over the interests of large corporations and the powerful.
Protection of the environment as the product of a deep reverence for God's creation.
The undesirability of war other than as a last resort and a respect for diplomacy.
Promoting "Render unto Caesar" as an endorsement of secular governance separation of church and state and religious tolerance, consistent with the concept of Christ's kingdom not being "of this world" and warnings against the hunger for potentially corrupting temporal power throughout the Bible.
