What describes a liberal Christian?

[GreenPartyVoter]

oh my word. wow, haha. thank you for the clarrification. i feel like a dope, but at least i'm smiling and laughing, and yes i meant Hans Kung. am i the only one that sees a connection between Carl Jung and Hans Kung?....ok probably not, haha

Actually, check this site out: http://journeyintowholeness.org/ It's a Jungian Christian group.

 

[seekthetruth909]

Christians should not follow liberal or conservative ideals. For example do these values reflect Christianity: Anti abortion,anti gay,anti premartial sex,pro death penalty,pro guns, pro war, anti affirmative action,pro family values or:
Pro abortion,pro gay,pro premartial sex, anti death penalty,anti guns,anti war,pro affirmative action,pro family values.
The bible should be your guideline.

 

[TheMilkman]

Christians should not follow liberal or conservative ideals. For example do these values reflect Christianity: Anti abortion,anti gay,anti premartial sex,pro death penalty,pro guns, pro war, anti affirmative action,pro family values or:
Pro abortion,pro gay,pro premartial sex, anti death penalty,anti guns,anti war,pro affirmative action,pro family values.
The bible should be your guideline.

Give me some versus that clearly define God's stance on gun laws and affirmative action? Sometimes we have to make judgments as humans based on other things in the bible. For instance, God says and it is common sense not to kill. However, beasts were given to us for food. So perhaps what someones view should be if you base it on the bible is that we may kill an animal with a gun but we must eat it.

Some social issues are really unclear in the bible. It's a nice thought that we can get everything from the bible in a nice, perfectly defined summation, but that just isn't the case.

 

[MissingPerson]

I second what THEMILKMAN said. I don't think the Bible was ever meant to be the be-all-end-all of guide books. Many parts of the Bible were written for a specific audience, in a particular situation, at a set point in time. The Bible is silent on many issues we grapple with today. It would have to be millions of pages long to be a comprehensive guide to life (Christian or Otherwise). I think it is ultimately more important to be led by the Spirit. That doesn't discount the Bible (I love the Bible), but I think it puts the book in its proper perspective. It is a guide book in a way, a faith history, etc. But it isn't the All in All. Only one deserves that title.

 

[annaapple]

Christians should not follow liberal or conservative ideals. For example do these values reflect Christianity: Anti abortion,anti gay,anti premartial sex,pro death penalty,pro guns, pro war, anti affirmative action,pro family values or:
Pro abortion,pro gay,pro premartial sex, anti death penalty,anti guns,anti war,pro affirmative action,pro family values.
The bible should be your guideline.

How on earth did you come up with those lists as if they are one oir the other? I am living proof that it is, for example, possible to be both pro-gay and anti-premarital sex.

And HOW HOW HOW can you be both anti abortion and pro death penalty?! Either life is sacred or it is not. And for the record I am anti both.

I think the Bible is an important reference, but the Spirit and our conscience need to be prayerfully consulted too, otherwise you'd have to be pro-slavery, since the Bible gives guidelines for how to treat slaves...

 

[gjus]

I would say it's hard to be a true christian and have liberal beliefs since so many of them contradict the christian beliefs.

 

[seekthetruth909]

How on earth did you come up with those lists as if they are one oir the other? I am living proof that it is, for example, possible to be both pro-gay and anti-premarital sex.

And HOW HOW HOW can you be both anti abortion and pro death penalty?! Either life is sacred or it is not. And for the record I am anti both.

I think the Bible is an important reference, but the Spirit and our conscience need to be prayerfully consulted too, otherwise you'd have to be pro-slavery, since the Bible gives guidelines for how to treat slaves...

I made the list up quickly and maybe should have put more thought into it but I was trying to make a point that some right/left wing views contradict one another as you noted in anti abortion/pro death penalty.

 

[seekthetruth909]

Give me some versus that clearly define God's stance on gun laws and affirmative action? Sometimes we have to make judgments as humans based on other things in the bible. For instance, God says and it is common sense not to kill. However, beasts were given to us for food. So perhaps what someones view should be if you base it on the bible is that we may kill an animal with a gun but we must eat it.

Some social issues are really unclear in the bible. It's a nice thought that we can get everything from the bible in a nice, perfectly defined summation, but that just isn't the case.

Most issues are clear in the bible if you appy the whole law summed up in a single command .
Galatians 5:14 "The entire law is summed up in a single command: Love your neighbor as yourself."
If we attempt to apply this principle to the majority of modern issues I believe we could possibly find the answers. When we let go of our egos, pride, and opinionated ways and feel compassion, empathy, and love for our fellowman/woman then God gives us understanding and discernment.

 

[seekthetruth909]

I would say it's hard to be a true christian and have liberal beliefs since so many of them contradict the christian beliefs.

I would agree with this but would like to add the same could be said for conservative beliefs.



I think that both liberals and conservatives follow a pick and choose theology. But I have to admit liberals are a little bit more honest. Correct me if I'm wrong: Liberals Christians believe that much of the bible is inspired by God, but not all the bible. So by the definition of a Christian, being one who believes the complete authority of scripture, Christian liberals would not qualify under that definition of Christian. [not my opinion]


But on the other hand, Conservative Christians believe in the complete authority of the bible, but do not follow the bible in many areas. As one theologian put it "When evangelist became very materiialistic, abandoned the poor, supported war and the NRA, they in a sense abandoned Christianity."


I came across a good book recently by Ronald J. Sider a professor of theology which illustrates this point. In his book entitled "Why Are Christians Living Just Like The Rest Of The World" professor Sider says that Evangelical Christians, are very much like their non-Christian neighbors in rates of divorce, premarital sex, domestic violence and use of pornography, and are actually more likely to hold racist views than other people. He uses polls from reliable pollsters to back up his statements.


So how would one define a "Hard Not to be a True Christian?" One who doesn't believe in the whole bible because it doesn't fit that persons political ideology or one who does believe in all the bible but chooses to ignore many of it's teachings because it doesn't fit that persons political ideology.

Left/Right

 

[seekthetruth909]

I use to be a liberal, but now I am what you would label as a semi-conservative Christian.


My problem with liberal theology is that in the end all we are left with is, our infallible opinions. Then we come to the old philosophical question: What is truth? It could be anything.

Recently I decided to submit myself to the scriptures to have a guideline of truth
Even if I find something I don’t like and would not normally agree with, I try to let my opinion go and just submit to reasoning out scripture. Some times great intuitive ideas or insights just flow out of people naturally, which I believe is the Holy Spirit acting inside of us, but we can’t let our mindsets paralyze us and hinder our understanding. We need some guideline. We have to pray for understanding and let scripture talk to us instead of us talking to scripture. Through humility we find truth.


Why do we think our entire being consist of our opinions? We think opinions make us who we are, when really, they just blind us to what we really are.

 

[tulc]

We have to pray for understanding and let scripture talk to us instead of us talking to scripture. Through humility we find truth.

Interesting. The more I pray and read my Bible the more Liberal I get.
tulc(who's sort of weird that way!)

 

[Im_A]

Interesting. The more I pray and read my Bible the more Liberal I get.
tulc(who's sort of weird that way!)

TULC IS ALIVE! haha. sorry, just haven't seen your posts for awhile. good to see you are still around tulc.

good post btw!

 

[aperson1234]

What makes you a liberal Christian?

I ask because I would never consider using the word liberal to describe my beliefs or how I live, but am finding that my Christian walk doesn't jive with quite a number of Christians.

It makes sense to not quite know where I fit in the world, but I am trying to find where I fit in the church.

I'm liberal when God wants me to be. I'm naturally a shy person, so God fills me up with love and sends me off to... well, love. =)

Whether that be actually thanking someone or just talking to them.

I'm conservative by nature, but... I'm tending to be a bit liberal lately. I hate to say it, but I'm moving in a liberal direction. So in a liberal sense that means, breaking tradition to follow where God is leading me. Yes, it could be viewed as a (sort-of) nerotic response to conservative thought. I still believe in predestination, so that's a yes for conservative; but I believe in personal choice, so that's a yes for liberal.

Wooooah what am I???

 

[Im_A]

I'm liberal when God wants me to be. I'm naturally a shy person, so God fills me up with love and sends me off to... well, love. =)

Whether that be actually thanking someone or just talking to them.

I'm conservative by nature, but... I'm tending to be a bit liberal lately. I hate to say it, but I'm moving in a liberal direction. So in a liberal sense that means, breaking tradition to follow where God is leading me. Yes, it could be viewed as a (sort-of) nerotic response to conservative thought. I still believe in predestination, so that's a yes for conservative; but I believe in personal choice, so that's a yes for liberal.

Wooooah what am I???

a moderate

 

[freespirit2001]

Lolxoxlol!!!!

 

[Im_A]

I'm liberal when God wants me to be. I'm naturally a shy person, so God fills me up with love and sends me off to... well, love. =)

Whether that be actually thanking someone or just talking to them.

I'm conservative by nature, but... I'm tending to be a bit liberal lately. I hate to say it, but I'm moving in a liberal direction. So in a liberal sense that means, breaking tradition to follow where God is leading me. Yes, it could be viewed as a (sort-of) nerotic response to conservative thought. I still believe in predestination, so that's a yes for conservative; but I believe in personal choice, so that's a yes for liberal.

Wooooah what am I???

sorry for quoting your post again, i should have just put it together.

but there are liberals who believe in universal reconciliation as myself. we believe that Divine Love is more paramount to human freedom.

so would that make me a liberal Calvinist?

 

[matthewgoh]

After reading this tread, I came to realize that I am a liberal Christian. This does not mean I am less Christian than the conservative or fundamentalist.

I have learned that all doubts can be answered in the bible, if we understand it correctly. If we read it literally, it causes more confusions. God has provided all answers we need in the bible, but most unfortunately the truth has been burried by confusions.

I believe that Christ is the only way to see God. If we want to experience God, we have to believe in Christ first. God will not provide evidences or signs, we have to choose by faith alone.

God gives us wisdom to rationalize things, so it's not wrong for being liberal.

This is solely my opinion and believe. Please do not take offence.

 

[Wiffey]

I am coming to realize that, in my heart I am a liberal Christian.

You are a liberal Christian when you get crucified in very dogmatic forums for deviating with the party line...sigh.

When every time I'm honest and express what I think instead of what I'm supposed to believe...wham.

I'm currently in the doghouse for saying how great the movie "Brokeback Mountain" is. Apparently I am a heretic for going to see it in the first place, and a total freak for liking it.

What if they knew that my daughter's best friend has lesbian parents...and that I feel perfectly comfortable letting her sleep over at their home? I'd probably be evicted from my home forum ASAP.

What do I think?
1. Jesus came for everyone, including Hindus and Buddhists and gay people. He loves us all.
2. Tolerance is not a dirty word.
3. God gave me free will and likes it when I think and question things.
4. Treating others in a hateful and judgmental way is not what Christ calls us to do.
5. God would probably rather have me feed the homeless than abstain from meat on Fridays (unless He's a vegetarian ).

So... does that make me a Liberal Christian?

 

[tulc]

So... does that make me a Liberal Christian?

Nah, just Christian!
tulc(liberal to some, conservative to others!)

 

[Buttermilk]

What do I think?

Wiffey

Come and have some icecream