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October 25, 2004
Liberal Christians -- An Oxymoron?
La Shawn is back, and she's got an interesting post up titled: "A Christian or a Liberal?". It's a response to Doug Giles' article A Christian Can Be a Christian or a Liberal, But He Can’t Be Both.
Mr. Giles' article seems to focus mainly on the idea that the Left is waging a war on Christianity, slowly relegating our faith to a "behind closed doors" type of thing. It seems funny to me that, while the Left would have us believe that homosexuality is something that's neither sinful nor private (Witness Gay Pride parades and the like), they believe that Faith is something that we should hide, as though we're ashamed of it.
La Shawn's response is fairly short, but the comments section seems to be worried less about the liberal tendency to support "religious tolerance except for Christians" and more about the ethical dilemmas faced by a Christian who supports a party that advocates sin. When an openly gay feminist calls you out for assaulting our culture and our values, something is wrong.
I think both criticisms of the obvious discordance involved in being a "Liberal Christian" are valid. Because of the current interpretation of the word "liberal," I can't see a way to be a liberal and be true to your faith.
That doesn't mean that I don't believe a Christian can never register or vote Democrat. Both parties have their issues, and there are going to be situations where both candidates are the wrong choice (many people think that's the case this year, in fact), and we, as citizens of the United States, must do the best we can with the choices we're given.
If you're reading this and you identify as both are a Christian and a Liberal, please take a few minutes to think about your faith and what it means in your life. Sit down with a Bible, study God's Word, and pray about it. Consider what God would think about abortion, barring those instances where the mother's life is in danger. Consider what God says about homosexuality, and what He says about, well, everything.
The world tells us that Tolerance is key to everything, and in fact, the Christian faith does demand that we love our fellow man. But, exortations to give to the needy don't mean that we should steal from the rich to do so -- we should give freely from our own pockets. Similarly, commandments to love our brethren don't extend to walking along side them as they brag about their sins. As long as their sexual choices don't interfere in the job (as they would, in my opinion, in the case of a Boy Scout Troop Leader), I see no problem with guaranteeing that we don't discriminate against someone based on that choice. I do see a problem with trying to force society as a whole to embrace their choices.
There are things in my life that I struggle with daily. As much as I would love to be perfect, as much as I try to be perfect, I know that I'm not. I can't be. If I leaned on the Holy Spirit all the time, I could be, but even with him right beside me, I sometimes get sidetracked. I know I'm not perfect, and I wouldn't dare condemn someone else for their mistakes. However, as a Christian, I'm obligated not to help them wallow in their sins, but to encourage them to look to Christ for guidance and strength as they try to lead a godly life.
The Liberal agenda centers around moral relativism, and as Christians, we need to see relativism for the sinful belief that it is. As I sometimes fall into that trap myself, thanks to the bombardment that our culture gives us to accept people for their own beliefs and their choices, I ask that you pray for me, and I'll do the same for you.
[Note: The good thing about having no readers is that I could've made the changes above without showing them, but I prefer to be honest about it. I realize that, whether you're liberal or conservative, you should be praying about your beliefs, and changed the text to match that.]
Posted by Robin S. at October 25, 2004 10:25 PM
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Comments
I wish they all could be as reasonable as you are. No matter how I wouldn't have written that post, the wolves would still be circling.
Posted by: La_Shawn ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.onestackmind.com/mt/nav-commenters.gif)
at October 26, 2004 05:43 PM
Reasonable. Wow. No one has ever called me reasonable before.
The wolves will always be circling. I'm sorry to say that I don't know the Bible as well as many of your readers, but didn't Christ say that we would be hounded by the people in this world, just as he was? Don't let them get you down. Many of us really appreciate your strong Biblical perspective on contemporary issues.
Posted by: Robin Sizemore at October 26, 2004 05:57 PM