Dear fellow Christians: can we please stop the liberal-bashing?

Question

A born-again Christian since 1979, I've heard plenty of blanket liberal-bashing on "Christian" radio and TV since the 1980s. "It's almost impossible for a liberal to be saved." "I don't know why any decent person would call themselves a liberal." Even last night I heard about "liberal mainline apostasy" over homosexuality. IMHO, libs are mainly wrong about abortion and gay sex, but mainly right about racism, helping the poor, economic justice, the environment, stopping war, sexism, immigration, and so forth. IMHO, we Christians have been duped into supporting many unbiblical "conservative" stands of the extreme right and the GOP, resulting in the current disastrous Bush administration. We've married our church to the GOP instead of Jesus Christ! Matthew 24:24 talks about false prophets deceiving the elect.

Equating "liberal" with "bad" breaks the commandment against "bearing false witness". "Liberal" in almost all Bible translations is a good word!

What do you think?

Addendum: fortunately, some evangelicals are waking up, throwing off shackles, and supporting causes like anti-racism and protecting God's creation from pollution and harmful exploitation. Protecting the earth doesn't mean you're worshipping the creation rather than the Creator! And accepting diversity, as Revelation 7:9 does, as 1 Corinthians 12 does, as Mark 9 and Luke 9 do, is not anti-Christian.

Again, what do you think?

Answer 1

This is an excellent post, thank you.

If those conservative "Christians" actually looked into Jesus, they'd find out that he himself angered the conservatives of his day. He was waaaay too liberal...

Answer 2

I never knew I was liberal until I became a Christian. I started sharing ideas that I learned from Bible reading and people started (very rudely) telling me how liberal I was.

There's new movement being started called "Red Letter Christians." Christians that follow the words and actions of Jesus instead of church or "Christian" traditions.

I was watching television a few weeks back. They were airing an argument about whether Obama should speak at a Christian AIDs conference. One conservative Christian group actually stated that they didn't "necessarily buy into all of the more liberal teachings of Jesus." I about passed out. Since when can you claim to be Christian if you don't love and follow all that Jesus had to say?

Answer 3

I said before, in another post, that everyone including the fool has a right to his or her own opinion. It does not come with the guarantee that I will agree with what they say but I will give anyone benefit of the doubt. I think it is silly to claim to be be totally liberal or totally conservative. There is too much black and white and many issues are sheer comon sense and have nothing to do with either political sideline. Everyone should support racial relations and ending a war we should probably never have been involved in is really a given. We have outstayed what was prudent and should allow our troops to come home. We cannot even effectively police our own nation, much less take on the job of policing the world.

Answer 4

Jesus for sure did no longer lead you a strategies adequate from this land as you're nonetheless around to place in writing you stupid question. you're saying that folk bash Christians. nicely, it relatively is been that way for 2000 years. Why ought to now be any diverse? i understand a number of the statements made by making use of anybody is outrageous yet they are expressing their opinion, which they have the main suitable to do. You and that i will disagree with them yet they do have the main suitable. additionally remember what one guy or woman calls bashing is probably no longer what yet another calls bashing. lots of those items one ought to take into perespective and notice that if peope are making such statements they are doing so previously thousands and thousands of individuals who may be on YA on the time. All those human beings ought to work out how stupid they are. So who reward from such statements? the single that makes them or the single that ignores them by using fact they don't have faith the statements to be actual. offering "information" may be nicely worth a attention of what they are asserting yet once you're reliable on your faith there will be no longer something which will substitute it. while you're uncertain than you would be able to desire to do some soul looking.

Answer 5

I think you should be commended! As a liberal, non-religious person, I've always said that I have no problem with Christians who actually model themselves on Christ in seeking peace and social justice. You sound like one of those Christians. Thank you for providing balance to the often divisive Christian vs. liberal rhetoric.

Answer 6

I agree. It is like people actually believe that because I'm a Christian that I'm full of condemnation ect.. I'm not and really have no desire to judge anyone. My yardstick might be faulty and then I'll be judged myself by the way I judged others. I don't know maybe some of the bashers of people without faith within our ranks is just pure evil. Our weapon is love.
It is like these bashers have forgotten what it was like before they were born again of spirit and fire. I mean with me I came to God as I realized He loved me. He changed me a lot but is still dealing with me. No amount of people preaching at me can change me or even make me want to change but God's loving patience and it is a process. I don't know if a life as long as Methusula's would be long enough to get the task of changing me to be like Him. I didn't change for fear of hell as a matter of fact it would make me angry when I was confronted that way. God's love saved me. Maybe if we can show more of it, we will help to let other people be saved by God's loving grace.

Answer 7

I agree. Jesus was a liberal-he hung out with all the people that no one else wanted to.

Perhaps liberal-bashing is because being liberal is equated with being tolerant of anything instead of understanding.

Answer 8

God isnt a republican or democrat. People seem to forget that. I agree with you people know in days seem to think they have to bash others to make a point. It's rather sad, especially that the christians can't set a good example for everyone else.

Answer 9

I applaud your ability to think for yourself instead of just blindly following what everyone else in the church does. If there were only more Christains like you maybe mainstream religion wouldn't be such a threat to our liberty.

Answer 10

If you add to or take away anything from the gospel message of Jesus Christ, then you are condemned. Labels mean nothing. What counts is your opinion about Jesus.