Well, why are you a liberal?

[Lemmiwinks]

I'm liberal because there are too many rules to follow in the conservative christian world. Society puts enough rules on me as it is, I don't need any more.

 

[Mick116]

Conservative religion often has the side-effect of commanding a person's assent to a doctrine, religious text or creed, while deep down, in that hidden place, there lingers secret doubt and unbelief.

The ideal of intellectual liberty in religion allows people the freedom to explore spirituality at their own pace, and truly accept only that which is honestly and actually believed.

 

[Galatians513]

I was going to post until I realized that someone else had already written what I was thinking.

* I prioritize Jesus' teachings over Paul's
* The historical/critical way of reading the Bible makes more sense than so-called "Biblical literalism"
* In light of the evidence, evolution makes more sense than any of the many conflicting creationism or intelligent design stories
* I realized gay people weren't the boogeymen conservatives made them out to be

Yep. That about sums it up.

 

[dinonum]

I consider myself liberal because I am not locked into one specific interpretation being correct. I think that we are all on a journey and we all need to find what is right for us and what God has planned for us.

 

[indigo tree]

Upon reflection, I have found that ideas/beliefs that lean toward the more liberal side
sound a little more reasonable and logical to me.

 

[AlexBP]

I consider myself to be theologically conservative and politically liberal. Politically liberal on most issues, that is. I don't feel myself to be tied irrevocably to either side of the political debate in the United States. Instead I look at each issue, check the facts, and take the position that makes the most sense. On global warming, after reading the arguments put forth by both sides, I concluded that pollution is actually causing global temperature increases and that it will cause extreme harm if we don't end it. On the Iraq War, I looked at the situation in Iraq and the past history of nation-building projects and concluded that invading Iraq was unlikely to produce much good.

 

[NDNgirl4ever]

I grew up in a conservative church, and until my mid teens I was a conservative as well. Then, as I started to really get out and interact in the world I realized that many things that I had been taught were wrong. I had been raised to believe things like elective abortion,evolution,sex before marriage ect, were completely wrong. As I started to learn other people's views I discovered that things aren't always black and white, there are many grey areas. That's when I beliefs changed and I began to consider myself a proud liberal.

The things I believe that make me "liberal" are:
I don't believe that the week described in Genesis consisted of 7 24 hour days. I believe that the "days" that it speaks about were actually thousands of years (or more). I've also started to lean towards a belief in theistic evolution.

I believe in racial and gender equality(to be fair, I know several of my conservative friends believe in that as well).

I believe in a woman's right to choose whether or not to have an abortion or carry the pregnancy to term.

I have gay friends.

I don't believe that sex before marriage is always a sin.

I believe in and promote peace.

I believe in universal healthcare and that we need social services in place to help the poor.

I believe that we should do what we can to protect the earth. I LOVE recycling, carry my own shopping bags, and try to buy recycled and organic products when I can.

There's more, but I'll stop here for now.

 

[Im_A]

In an effort to bring some life back to this forum, I wanna know why you're liberal, progressive, etc., and what it means to you.

Classical liberalism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The only way I know how to be.

It comes natural.

 

[QuakerOats]

I'm pleased to see this thread is still receiving responses. Thank you, everyone.

 

[lismore]

As a person I think I'm naturally easy going, open-minded. Willing to talk about new things.

As a Christian, a good samaritan, there are no enemies or barriers between people, no 'them and us'.

=Liberal.

 

[RediGrace]

I prefer to look and explore everything with an open mind rather than stay bound within a box.

 

[genestealerbroodlord]

I'm a liberal because JC was beyond liberal. His life was (is) about challenging and destabilizing institutions and and pompous religious machinery while elevating the value of the individual.

Liberalism is something akin to optimistic dissent. When I look around the Church, I'm infuriated by all the hurtful nonsense that's passed off as faith. But I see glimpses of The Good here and there, so I'll never give up on it.

Pretty much the same as this for me.

 

[Izdaari Eristikon]

Classical liberalism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The only way I know how to be.

It comes natural.

Ditto that, for my political side. I really couldn't be anything else.

So far as theology, C.S. Lewis remains my biggest influence, and most Christians would call him conservative, though he wasn't an American-style Evangelical conservative. but an orthodox Anglican who tended Anglo-Catholic.

 

[gtmyers]

I consider myself liberal because I am not locked into one specific interpretation being correct. I think that we are all on a journey and we all need to find what is right for us and what God has planned for us.

I like that! It fits me as I was once a baptist, presbyterian, and currently Lutheran. I have learned that while each one holds to differing theoligical ideas that at the basic level they are mostly the same. Its always because of Christ, thats why we are here and why we are saved. Its him and him along. Praise Be!

 

[Obzocky]

I'm a liberal because I support a woman's choice, that homosexuality is natural and that Christianity is not the only true path, because I feel that we can worship the Lord far better in nature's church than man made buildings, because I believe the word of God was written by mortal men who are by their humanity imperfect, meaning their own thoughts and opinions greatly influenced their books within the Bible. Because I think the word of God should naturally grow and bloom, not be restricted to ancient texts. They serve as a guideline but should not be the limitation of our faith. Which makes no sense, but I know what I mean

Basically my opinions on certain subjects aren't exactly embraced by certain conservative Christians and I firmly believe it is more important to live a life doing good deeds and working for God's glory than try to apply ancient laws onto a culture and society that has changed significantly since the books were scribed.

 

[Octorock]

I just disagree with a lot of what I've been taught by my conservative christian upbringing. I have a lot of opinions and views that most conservatives would disagree with (or even consider heretical.) I think there are a lot of cultural standards that conservatives mistake for being biblical. I believe that the bible is a compilation of texts written by men who are not free from error, no matter how God-inspired they may be, and that there are numerous ways to interperet every part of those texts, with none neccessarily being the single "correct" way.