Theological Liberalism

[Bible Highlighter]

To some, the ability to think for one's self about how to interpret the Bible makes one a liberal.

I disagree with that line of thinking. While I am not a liberal and nor am I in support of them, some of my best studies from God's Word were found by not following what everyone else was saying what a particular text means. I believe God is our ultimate teacher and not men. So I seek out the Lord for any understanding on Scripture and not by any man.


...

 

[Ronald]

What makes a person theologically liberal?

Compromising with what is good, right and godly. The scripture is truth, distort it or disregard it because it doesn't fit into your lifestyle; and remove the constraints, boundaries and standards that God gave us. People get liberal when they want freedom to sin, so they pick and chose the scriptures that fit in and refute and deny the rest.

 

[Bible Highlighter]

Compromising with what is good, right and godly. The scripture is truth, distort it or disregard it because it doesn't fit into your lifestyle; and remove the constraints, boundaries and standards that God gave us. People get liberal when they want freedom to sin, so they pick and chose the scriptures that fit in and refute and deny the rest.

I think many who think they are in the "Conservative Camp" and who say they are against "Liberalism" ("Liberalism" as in saying certain biblical stories are fairy tales, etc. or sin is not real, or we are all saved) do not realize that they themselves are being liberal in the area of true holiness that you have mentioned.


...

 

[dqhall]

Well i think we should take most of things in Bible literally as it's written , just as Jesus said Matthew 5:18

For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

I take this verse to mean that Deuteronomy will not cease to exist. After reading Deuteronomy I was less likely to be perverted. I do not always rest from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, the Hebrew Shabaht, even though it is recommended in the Torah. I do not sacrifice bulls as sin offerings in Jerusalem as the laws of Moses required. To commit murder is forbidden by the law. I do not stone the adulterer or the adulteress, nor do I commit adultery. By not committing adultery, I am observing the law.

During Jesus' day on earth there were worse legal codes than what is found in the Torah. Jesus came as a reformer offering a new covenant.

 

[lesliedellow]

What makes a person theologically liberal?

Reading and listening to fundamentalists.

 

[WonderingStranger]

I would say I fall in that category being liberal on theology. I don't believe scripture interprets scripture. I think Jesus was clear the Holy Spirit interprets scripture. I don't believe theology needs to be dogmatic because we are all on a journey of getting to know Jesus more, what that looks like varies from person to person. Your experiences with Christ are not the same as mine, so to better understand God we should be open to listening to others experiences without judging them. I think God would rather have us keep our unity then get all the answers right. I just read today a verse that said God will teach us and we don't need teachers to unveil secrets. Much of what I see in America are gnostic fellowships disguised as Christianity. What I mean is that instead of just comping to Jesus and asking him what something means, we go to Dr. Theology, who studied scripture years and years, that people rely on for scripture understanding. You can have a theology degree and still not know Christ, thats what the Pharisees were, Godless bible scholars. So I don't think theology is as important as revelation to who Christ is. Once you have revelation into who Christ is and what he is like, who needs theology, you have the real thing.

 

[WonderingStranger]

A person who does not believe in the Word of God, and does not want to live by God's Word.
A person who want to pick and choose what they believe, and create a god of their own design.
The want to live and reap the benefits of a sinful world but does not want to suffer the consequences of loving that world.

Well what do you mean by "believe in the Word of God?" How many times have I been told to reread scripture because I didn't agree with someones theology, so many I lost count. I finally stopped arguing and instead engage in sharing experiences with God among others and learning from each other. Because I don't see the point arguing about interpretation of scripture, really the only interpretation I understand anyway is what God reveals, and he is always open to revealing himself, who needs a theory when you can go to Truth and ask?I think Paul said it best "I am determined to know nothing among you except Christ and him crucified."

I conclude all systematic theology becomes garbage when hit with the reality of who God is and what he is like.

 

[toLiJC]

What makes a person theologically liberal?

the true liberty in God is possible through faith

Romans 1:16-17 "I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”"

Blessings

 

[dqhall]

the true liberty in God is possible through faith

Romans 1:16-17 "I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”"

Blessings

There is a narrow way in the Bible that leads to life.

 

[OzSpen]

What makes a person theologically liberal?

Sola,

If you want an exposition of the history of theological liberalism, see Roger E. Olson, "What is 'theological liberalism'?"
For a short edition of its beliefs, go to, "What is liberal Christian theology?" (Got Questions)

When I think of theological liberalism, I see 2 main influences:

1. The Enlightenment thinking (The Age of Reason), and
2. Secular, contemporary thinking integrated with Scripture.

These are opposed to the authority of Scripture.

Oz

 

[Paul of Eugene OR]

I don't deny any of the teaching of the creeds. Just like I would not deny the preaching of Good Bible preachers. I do not adhere to their preaching I only adhere to the Word of God. Their preaching may be good and useful but I do not adhere to those men, they are only men. I adhere to only Jesus Christ. In the same way The creeds are not God's Word only the Bible is.

There are so many aspects to being "liberal!" For example, take the findings of science. Many would say that accepting the facts about evolution makes one "liberal". Such people make it quite clear that the mere accusation of being "liberal" is, perhaps, actually a badge of honor.

 

[Deadworm]

1. Since the OP doesn't define "liberal," lets let the Oxford Dictionary be our guide: "Liberal:" from the Latin "liberalis" which means "free." synonyms: tolerant · unprejudiced · unbigoted · broad-minded · open-minded · enlightened So a liberal Christian experiences the truth of Jesus' teaching: "He whom the Son sets free is free indeed." Liberal Christians are open-minded and enlightened in the sense that they are always willing to consider the possibility that their belief system is flawed and needs to be rethought--in contrast to conservatives whose thinking is more closed-minded and inflexible. Liberal Christians are tolerant and unprejudiced, and so, would not support the agenda of White Nationalists, whose supporters are more conservative.
2. "open to new behavior or opinions and willing to discard traditional views" In this senses Jesus was a liberal in 3 ways: (a) He allowed "work" in the sense of "good deeds" on the Sabbath in contrast to the Law of Moses. He reduce the countless Sabbath laws to one principle: "The Sabbath was made for man; man was not made for the Sabbath." (b) He reduced Jewish purity laws to one principle: "It's not what goes into a man that defiles him, but what comes out of him." (c) He challenged the permissive biblical divorce laws and insisted that couples enter marriage with the concept that this is a lifelong commitment.

3. "(especially of an interpretation of a law) broadly construed or understood; not strictly literal or exact"
Jesus was liberal in that He rejected the biblical law of "an eye for an eye," replacing it with His teaching about loving enemies and turning the other cheek.

4. "given, used, or occurring in generous amounts"
So a liberal Christian is a generous giver.

• 
  

 

[Thedictator]

So you effectively accept the Creed. No reason to say that you don't.

Would you call someone a heretic if they rejected one of its articles? Like, say, the virgin birth of Christ? Or the resurrection of Christ?

If Someone rejected biblical teaching like these then I would say they are Heretics, but there are a lot of people who do not accept the creed but do accept the teaching that is found in a creed.

 

[Thedictator]

There are so many aspects to being "liberal!" For example, take the findings of science. Many would say that accepting the facts about evolution makes one "liberal". Such people make it quite clear that the mere accusation of being "liberal" is, perhaps, actually a badge of honor.

There are a lot of Facts that go against Evolution, Math being one of them. So yes having faith in Evolution is Liberal.

 

[Thedictator]

Well what do you mean by "believe in the Word of God?" How many times have I been told to reread scripture because I didn't agree with someones theology, so many I lost count. I finally stopped arguing and instead engage in sharing experiences with God among others and learning from each other. Because I don't see the point arguing about interpretation of scripture, really the only interpretation I understand anyway is what God reveals, and he is always open to revealing himself, who needs a theory when you can go to Truth and ask?I think Paul said it best "I am determined to know nothing among you except Christ and him crucified."

I conclude all systematic theology becomes garbage when hit with the reality of who God is and what he is like.

I did not say anything about interpreting the scriptures a certain way! So know what your talking about before you speak. The Book of James has something to say about that. Now, what I was saying that those who say that the Bible has errors and it is not God's Word but just writings of men about God. That the Bible was not inspired by the Holy Spirit. These people are Religious Liberals.

 

[Bible Highlighter]

Liberalism is merely saying that they want God but they don't like certain things that His Word says (so they regulate His Word to what they think it means and not what it really says at face value).


...

 

[redleghunter]

#1 -- I can agree in the big picture sense as to the global inspired message, but I can't go with "inerrant" on the macro level. The Bible was reproduced by countless numbers of scribes working by hand until the invention of the printing press. Too many hands over too many centuries for me to think there isn't a mistake or two, or that some monk didn't take the liberty of adding his own words to explain it better. And, then there is the church (i.e. "men") deciding what texts are in and what are out. Whenever and wherever men touch the manuscript there is opportunity for error. The Bible was inspired; it was not handed on stone tablets from God to St. Peter on Mt. Sinai. And, therein lies my problem.

So I'll take a "partial" on number 1. Am I one of these dreaded theological liberals?

What is your understanding of the term Biblical inerrancy?

 

[Paul of Eugene OR]

There are a lot of Facts that go against Evolution, Math being one of them. So yes having faith in Evolution is Liberal.

Well, we don't want to turn this thread into a debate on evolution, but you know that many, many people say you're wrong about the math part.

 

[makeajoyfulnoise100]

Okay that makes sense. But, then, I still need help defining this creature. Goodness, I could be one. I need to find out. LOL

Only God is goodness. Humanity can possess good and bad traits, but ultimately the "creature" that is good is God. Personally, I came to this conclusion by reading Ecclesiastes with the ESV version.

 

[redleghunter]

Reading and listening to fundamentalists.

What's a fundamentalist?