What do Liberals believe?

[dms1972]

Hi,

From some discussions elsewhere on the forums, it been suggested to me many Liberal christians are actually fairly orthodox in their beliefs, believe in the Resurrection of Jesus etc. I suspect perhaps some of the material I have read about Liberalism be may unfair or inaccurate, eg Gresham Machen's Christianity and Liberalism, or else there have been changes since the time that was written.

Dallas Willard wrote that older liberalism isn't a lot different from the likes of Ryrie and MacArthur nowadays.

So out of interest what are the distinctives of Liberal theology?

 

[SavedByGrace3]

nm

 

[Martinius]

What do conservative Christians believe? A wide range of things, not all the same. This also applies to liberal Christians.

It might be better to read what liberal Christian theologians say, rather than rely on people outside that arena commenting about it.

Many liberal Christians are liberal in the sense of how they interpret and live the Gospel teaching of Jesus. As a Catholic, I place great importance on the Social Gospel, which has been promulgated by the last several popes and many national bishops' conferences over 60 plus years. Also, the need to preserve our "home", planet Earth. I am also pro-ALL life, not just the pre-born.

In many ways, liberal Catholics follow the current teachings of the Church (Vatican II and after). An example is the continuing debate about capital punishment. The Church's position and teaching has evolved and is now clearly opposed to its use, which is the liberal position.

The question the OP asked is too broad, and the answers too many, to be covered by a series of posts. Again, I suggest reading what liberal Christian theologians teach. Hint: I may be labeled "liberal" but I still don't accept everything they say.

 

[dms1972]

I think that your faith will control your political beliefs, or your political beliefs will control your faith. Personally, I cannot see how a true believer in Christ and the Word of God could be a true liberal. There are many problems.
In my experience, Liberals hold to a humanistic religion/worldview regardless of what they profess. And this is the core of the issue. Who do you serve? God or man?

Sorry, I wasn't refering to liberalism as a political ideology, but liberal in term of theology. While some may have a humanistic worldview, I don't think they all have.

 

[Martinius]

Liberals hold to a humanistic religion/worldview regardless of what they profess. And this is the core of the issue. Who do you serve? God or man?

I prefer a humanist worldview to "survival of the fittest" (those with the most money, power, and guns). One can serve God AND man, as Jesus clearly commands us to do. What we do to (or don't do for) the least among us we do to (or don't do for) Him. The terms "humanist" and "liberal" have been tarnished by false labeling; I see them as essential to following the Gospel.

 

[hedrick]

In general I think liberal theology is a reinterpretation of Christianity from the modern intellectual point of view. This is not a new enterprise. Our traditional dogmatic theology came from a reinterpretation from a 4 though 7th Cent philosophical and religious point of view. There were less serious reinterpretations in other periods.

I think the most critical differences in methodology are preference for Jewish and modern philosophical terms rather than Greek ones, and use of historical and literacy criticism.

The former shows in understandings of the Incarnation and Trinity (both of which most liberal theologians still consider important) that try to use more Biblical terms rather than Greek ontological ones.

The latter is the more controversial, for two reasons:

• It results in an understanding that the various Biblical authors had different viewpoints.
• It results in a rejection of the historical accuracy of much of the Bible.

Many in the mainline churches don’t actually accept the more skeptical historical views.
For them, it is mostly about trying to start with Jesus’ emphasis on bringing the kingdom, rather than focusing on individual salvation. Jesus was certainly clear that we’d be held accountable for what we did, but his purpose seems to have been, in the words of the Lord’s prayer, to make God’s Kingdom come on earth. Hence the liberal churches see that as their primary focus, without denying that the Kingdom is based on supernatural assumptions (God, after all is beyond nature) and that there will be accountability after death.

However the scholars and theologians associated with those churches typically think a careful reading of the Bible suggests that things like the virgin birth and the empty tomb are historically questionable. CF rules probably don’t permit giving the arguments for that. But this is not, as often think, because of a prejudice against the supernatural. After all, the whole idea of God, and his continuing care for our world, is supernatural. Rather, it results from a reading of the Bible itself, in light of how literature of the period was written.

 

[dms1972]

What do conservative Christians believe? A wide range of things, not all the same. This also applies to liberal Christians.

It might be better to read what liberal Christian theologians say, rather than rely on people outside that arena commenting about it.

Many liberal Christians are liberal in the sense of how they interpret and live the Gospel teaching of Jesus. As a Catholic, I place great importance on the Social Gospel, which has been promulgated by the last several popes and many national bishops' conferences over 60 plus years. Also, the need to preserve our "home", planet Earth. I am also pro-ALL life, not just the pre-born.

In many ways, liberal Catholics follow the current teachings of the Church (Vatican II and after). An example is the continuing debate about capital punishment. The Church's position and teaching has evolved and is now clearly opposed to its use, which is the liberal position.

The question the OP asked is too broad, and the answers too many, to be covered by a series of posts. Again, I suggest reading what liberal Christian theologians teach. Hint: I may be labeled "liberal" but I still don't accept everything they say.

Who are some of the liberal theologians - to what extent is contemporary liberal christianity influenced by Harnack, Ritschl, Hermmann, Schleiermacher (to name some of the 19th century liberals)?

 

[PloverWing]

So out of interest what are the distinctives of Liberal theology?

@hedrick has written well on this subject in the past, and I invite him to give his thoughts here.

Liberal theology and liberal politics are two different things; I assume you're interested in liberal theology. What I see in liberal theology are some of the following values:

1) A high value given to scholarship, including secular scholarship. If archaeological evidence strongly suggests that thus-and-so event in the Bible didn't happen as the Bible records it, we'll listen to that. If literary analysis of a book of the Bible strongly suggests that it is the combined work of several different authors, rather than (as traditionally thought) the work of a single author, we'll listen to that. If scientific evidence strongly suggests that the history of the earth is different from what you'd think if you interpret early Genesis as a historical narrative, we'll listen to that.

2) It's been a long time since I read Schleiermacher, so I invite correction as appropriate, but I think Schleiermacher placed a lot of value on how we feel in relation to God, the feeling of being a created being in the presence of the Creator. (Interestingly, I see some of this emphasis on feeling in Evangelical Christianity as well, even though they're trying to be a reaction against Liberal Christianity.)

3) A willingness to revise some of our traditional rules within Christian practice, if we find that those rules go against the principle of loving our neighbors as ourselves. This is part of the basis for the full inclusion of women and gay people in the church.

4) At our best, we try to pay attention to the upending of human hierarchies that we see Jesus talking about so much. Poor people are valuable in God's Kingdom. Disabled people are valuable in God's Kingdom. Women are valuable in God's Kingdom. Foreigners are valuable in God's Kingdom. Rich and powerful people? Yes, they're included in the Kingdom too, but all that money and power gets in the way, so it's as hard as going through the eye of a needle.

(Honesty time: We're not always at our best. Liberals can become as complacent and self-absorbed as anyone else. But when we're living up to our own ideals, we're trying to live out the teachings of Jesus about wealth and poverty and hierarchies. Think Rauschenbusch and Gutiérrez, for example.)

 

[hedrick]

Who are some of the liberal theologians - to what extent is contemporary liberal christianity influenced by Harnack, Ritschl, Hermmann, Schelermacher (to name some of the 19th century liberals)?

Two major theologians associated with my church are Douglas Ottati and B A Gerrish. From the 20th Cent, clearly Barth and Rauschenbush. But I think Biblical scholars are in many ways more important than theologians. My favorite is James Dunn. There's quite a range, from N T Wright on the conservative end to Marcus Borg on the liberal end. There are plenty more far out than Borg, but I don't think they have been as influential.

 

[PloverWing]

Ah, @hedrick , I see you read my mind and wrote a post while I was still writing mine!

 

[hedrick]

Some time ago I wrote an FAQ entry on liberal Christianity: What is liberal Christianity: an FAQ

 

[dms1972]

2) It's been a long time since I read Schleiermacher, so I invite correction as appropriate, but I think Schleiermacher placed a lot of value on how we feel in relation to God, the feeling of being a created being in the presence of the Creator. (Interestingly, I see some of this emphasis on feeling in Evangelical Christianity as well, even though they're trying to be a reaction against Liberal Christianity.)

Yes, I think thats right, he spoke of faith as the feeling of absolute dependence.

 

[hedrick]

Yes, I think thats right, he spoke of faith as the feeling of absolute dependence.

Note that the Reformers spoke of faith as trust. Those are fairly close. I think the point is that faith in the Christian (and Pauline) sense isn't just an intellectual belief, but a commitment.

 

[hedrick]

Who are some of the liberal theologians - to what extent is contemporary liberal christianity influenced by Harnack, Ritschl, Hermmann, Schleiermacher (to name some of the 19th century liberals)?

Some. The two folks I pointed to, Ottatti and Gerrish, typically look at Augustine, Calvin, Schleiermacher, and Barth on most topics, plus additional writers that had specific things to say on the topic. (As Presbyterians, they tend to prioritize Calvin. Liberal Presbyterianism cites Calvin more than you might expect.)

However I think Biblical criticism has changed since Schleiermacher's time, and that affects some of what he says.

 

[Tolworth John]

So out of interest what are the distinctives of Liberal theology?

Things like the Jesus seminare, who have so take the bible apart that effectively nothing remains.

 

[hedrick]

Things like the Jesus seminare, who have so take the bible apart that effectively nothing remains.

The Jesus Seminar doesn’t seem to be well regarded among scholars.

 

[Martinius]

For the OP, here is a sampling of theologians, bible scholars and others who could be included in the category of liberal Christians. Some of these I would consider moderate, but traditionalists and conservatives may categorize them as liberal. A lot depends on point of view. Many are Catholic, but not all. I will mark my favorites with an asterisk, which means I like what they wrote and I can, for the most part, understand it. No particular order:

John Shelby Spong* - Episcopal bishop, bible commentary
Bart Ehrmann - You can find talks and lectures on the internet
Brian McLaren - Bible commentary
Wilfred Cantwell Smith * - Christology and other stuff
Jaroslav Pelikan *- Orthodox and Lutheran background; Bible commentary
Harvey Cox - opinions on just about everything; very readable
N.T. Wright - Anglican bishop, NT scholar, moderate theologian
Marcus Borg* - NT scholar
Gordon Kauffman, Mennonite theologian, great insights
John Hick, theology and Christology

Here are some Catholic theologians and scholars that would be considered liberal (many of them investigated by the Vatican's doctrinal police):

Jacque Dupuis, S.J. (Jesuit), theology and Christology
Hans Küng*, theology, Christology, scripture, etc.
Gerald O'Collins, S.J., Christology
Roger Haight, S.J., Christology - difficult reading, IMHO
Geoffrey Robinson, Bishop from Australia - vocal on the issue of abuse and a critic of the institutional Church
Garry Wills*, historian - lots of interesting takes on what Jesus meant, Paul meant, etc.
Albert Nolan, Dominican, wrote about "Jesus before Christianity"
Louis Evely*, speaker and writer on spirituality; wrote "The Gospels without Myth" - Vatican didn't like it
Anthony DeMello*, in the mold of Evely, preached with stories and parables, kind of like another guy from 2000 years ago.

Then there are the Liberation Theologians, mostly but not all from Latin America:
Gustavo Gutierrez - one of the fathers of Liberation Theology
Leonardo Boff* - critic of the Church hierarchy, which in turn criticized him
Jon Sobrino - another major proponent of LT
Tissa Balasuriya* - Sri Lankan theologian, Christology, Mariology and Liberation Theology; so radical he was excommunicated for a time.
Dom Helder Camara* - Archbishop in Brazil; not a theologian but a big supporter of Liberation Theology; his short book "Through the Gospel" is a great spiritual read, with social, political and religious commentary to spice it up.
Oscar Romero - Archbishop in El Salvador, spoke out for the poor and in defense of his priests who were being killed by the government; so they assassinated him (and then probably went to Mass the next Sunday and took Communion - oops, did I say that?)

There are many more, including several women theologians and scholars that would likely be put in the liberal bucket, such as Elizabeth Johnson, Margaret Farley, Rosemary Radford Ruether, Marina Warner, Ilia Delio.

So start reading now, and check back in five years or so to tell us what you've learned about Liberal Christian view points.

Note: if I mislabeled anyone, misspelled names, or forgot key people, I apologize.

 

[Tolworth John]

The Jesus Seminar doesn’t seem to be well regarded among scholars.

No, partly because there beliefs are 'liberal' and they do not believe that the bible was inspired by God.

 

[Martinius]

Note on The Jesus Seminar: Yes, very radical, but much of what they came up with can make one think and re-read Gospel passages in a new light. Some of their members also collected the extant non-canonical gospels (Thomas, Peter, etc.) which also make for interesting reading.

Note on Catholic teaching: Many Catholics are not aware of how "liberal" the teaching of the Church is. The Church accepts a lot of the more recent scripture scholarship, such as the four sources/editors for Genesis, and that some of the Epistles attributed to Paul were likely written by others.

Here is what the NAB says in its introduction to Genesis:

How should modern readers interpret the creation-flood story in Gn 2–11? The stories are neither history nor myth. “Myth” is an unsuitable term, for it has several different meanings and connotes untruth in popular English. “History” is equally misleading, for it suggests that the events actually took place. The best term is creation-flood story.

Many traditionalist (non-liberal) Catholics would have a problem accepting this.

You can read the introductions to the various bible sections and books in the New American Bible (available on-line) and get an idea for the what the Church currently teaches.

 

[SkyWriting]

Hi,From some discussions elsewhere on the forums, it been suggested to me many Liberal christians are actually fairly orthodox in their beliefs, believe in the Resurrection of Jesus etc. I suspect perhaps some of the material I have read about Liberalism be may unfair or inaccurate, eg Gresham Machen's Christianity and Liberalism, or else there have been changes since the time that was written.Dallas Willard wrote that older liberalism isn't a lot different from the likes of Ryrie and MacArthur nowadays.So out of interest what are the distinctives of Liberal theology?

To me....just me.....liberal means I read scripture and use that as my only source for knowing Jesus.
It means I ignore all scholars and theologians and preachers and any church edicts, creeds, chants, etc.
I do my own research on topics and ignore any biblical commentaries or notes. I ignore all commentary on what Jesus said or meant as well.