I believe that my Christian faith and the set of ideas that naturally flow from it are vital to how I approach foreign policy questions. Are humans fundamentally flawed with hope towards redemption in a well-ordered civil society or are we basically good with flaws stemming from corrupt societal structures? Our answers to questions like this color how we view every fundamental policy question.
My faith also teaches me that all people are image-bearers with equal value and equal capacity for good or evil. Therefore, when I view a hostile regime like Iran, I do so with a sober mind, aware of the real potential for evil in the human heart, and not a naive Eurocentric view that bad actors on the world stage are merely the result of Western Imperialism. There is no “noble savage” existing in a state of grace prior to contact with civilization. This means we must give evil its due and not underestimate the power of its influence in foreign affairs.
