What does it mean to be a Moderate Christian?

[Butterfly99]

Just trying to understand the differences between a liberal, moderate, fundamentalist, etc.

 

[Carnegie]

The interpretation of "moderate Christianity" is going to be as diverse as the people who identify as such. For me being a moderate anything means that I acknowledge extremism is pointless and useless. I also acknowledge that each side is capable of making genuine contributions to an issue. Politically, I've voted for both major parties

What that means for me as a Christian is that I don't cultivate religious views based on a political ideology. I don't choose a church based on how it suits my stance on the hot-button topics of the day. I might even choose to place myself in situations that challenge some of my ideas about morality because maybe I'm the one that needs to change, not God and not the church.

In my experiences, moderates tend to be some of the more mature people in matters like this because they're willing to admit fault, they're willing to admit they were incorrect on a position or a statement. They don't cast their allegiance blindly to a denomination because it's "conservative" or "liberal" or because it's predominantly republican or democrat. In a way, I think many moderates understand God (and by extension, our faith) transcends earthly political systems and ideologies.

 

[Tigger45]

Just for clarification, moderate in the title of this forum is referring to 'how' we as posters engage each other in this forum.

 

[Butterfly99]

Just for clarification, moderate in the title of this forum is referring to 'how' we as posters engage each other in this forum.

Can you explain what that means? Like that people engage with each other in a respectful way? Cause that's how everybody should engage here but they don't. Sorry if I'm being slow to follow.

 

[Winken]

Just trying to understand the differences between a liberal, moderate, fundamentalist, etc.

A Christian is a Christian is a Christian, one who is saved by God's Amazing Grace through Faith. Liberal, moderate, fundamentalist, etc., are not related to that Anchor. God is. Grace is. Faith is. Salvation is, no modifiers. Those who have stepped out in branches of, amendments to, Christianity, are responsible for denominations; denominations are the result of personal interpretation and application. The simple, straight-forward understanding of "Christian" is lost in that process.

 

[Tigger45]

Can you explain what that means? Like that people engage with each other in a respectful way? Cause that's how everybody should engage here but they don't. Sorry if I'm being slow to follow.

Pretty much. Here's the actual SoP for this forum.

Moderate Christians Statement of Purpose:
This forum is for those who find themselves being open to new ideas and societal changes while clinging to their historical beliefs of the Christian faith. Moderate Christians believe in treating others fairly. Ministers and moderate Christians tend to be more accepting of more modern language and translations of the Bible. Moderate Christians believe in the Bible but remain open to new understanding of it, which can include being based in culture and God given reasons.

There are many denominations that would fit into the Moderate Christians forums, and participation here would be central to the unity of similar beliefs with growth and understanding of scriptures. It is for discussion, rather than debate of these understandings on subjects that are specific to moderate Christians. If you wish to debate theology, please go to General Theology or one of it's sub-forums where appropriate debate can be held.

Forum Guidelines:
When speaking about well-known, revered, and highly regarded past or present leaders, teachers, or pastors (living or deceased) within the Moderate Christian faith group, please show a measure of respect. These public religious figures are respected by CF members from a wide range of churches and movements. Please avoid using inflammatory words or phrases in reference to these public religious figures. Focus on discussing the beliefs and teachings of these leaders (e.g. whether it is biblical or not), but don't mock these leaders as it disrupts civil discussion.

Homosexuality and Same Sex Marriage:
Homosexuality and same sex marriage may be discussed in this forum, however, no promotion of these topics is allowed. Promotion is defined as encouragement of the progress, growth, or acceptance of something including advertising and publicity.

House Rules:
All posts within this faith community must adhere to the site wide rules found here (Community Rules). In addition, if you are not a member of this faith group, you may not debate issues or teach against its theology. You may post in fellowship. Active promotion of views contrary to the established teachings of this group will be considered off topic.

 

[Butterfly99]

A Christian is a Christian is a Christian, one who is saved by God's Amazing Grace through Faith. Liberal, moderate, fundamentalist, etc., are not related to that Anchor. God is. Grace is. Faith is. Salvation is, no modifiers. Those who have stepped out in branches of, amendments to, Christianity, are responsible for denominations; denominations are the result of personal interpretation and application. The simple, straight-forward understanding of "Christian" is lost in that process.

Yes I get that it doesn't help to answer my question. There's obviously different denominations & beliefs or there would be so many different faith communities & sections on Christian Forums for them. I'm trying to get a practical understanding.

 

[SeekerOfChrist94]

Yes I get that it doesn't help to answer my question. There's obviously different denominations & beliefs or there would be so many different faith communities & sections on Christian Forums for them. I'm trying to get a practical understanding.

For me personally, what it means to be a Moderate Christian is that I can be conservative when it comes to being a Christian but a little more liberal when it comes to politics. Most Christians I know are conservative both in Christianity and politics, whereas I'm the opposite. Conservatives can be seen (doesn't mean they all are, they're just portrayed this way) as intolerant, while moderates can be seen as more tolerant, especially when it comes to people of other faiths.

I hope this makes sense. This is just my personal idea of it.

 

[hedrick]

I don't know what moderate means. Most people think they're moderate. But I'd hope at a minimum that moderates would respect Christians throughout the whole theological spectrum: liberal, conservative, Catholic, Pentecostal, whatever.

 

[gtmyers]

I'd find myself to be moderate to liberal. I keep my political arena separate from my theological arena. I believe it's ok to have different translations of the bible. I believe it's ok for women to pastor. How can I deny that especially since it's a calling of God. I am open to new ideas. But at the same time I love the historic traditions of church. I also believe liberals and moderates are more caring and loving than strict conservatives. They sometimes come across as cold and uncaring unable to see another point of view. I believe the bible is inspired but it must be understood in the context of that culture and place in time. That period of time was a mythological time where people believed all sorts of things this is true even up until the late middle ages. People thought there were real witches and sorcery and thought there was black magic. While I don't believe in that stuff I do believe in good and evil. Right and wrong. The bible today must be read to be understood in the context it was written. To whom is it talking to in a given passage. Is this passage specific only to the culture of the 1st century or can it apply today. These are the sorts of things we should think of when we read it.

 

[Izdaari Eristikon]

I'm a moderate Christian, not in the sense of lacking zeal, but in the sense of on some issues siding with theological conservatives, and on some with theological liberals. Politics is a separate matter, on which I'm mostly libertarian;

 

[OrthodoxForever]

Just trying to understand the differences between a liberal, moderate, fundamentalist, etc.

Me too... I'm not really sure where I stand. I'm definitely too conservative to be considered liberal, at least by the normal conversation definition of the term, but I'm pretty traditional in terms of theology, moral stances/standards, and preferred worship style. Barring a few liberal veins in me..

Politically and philosophically I'm a libertarian which means that I believe barring actual harm to others or violation of the rights of others we should pretty much have the freedom to live the way we want to/feel we should and give others the same space and freedom whether we agree with their choices or not.

Ex. There should be easy access to Birth Control

Individuals and institutions owned by churches who oppose it shouldn't have to financially support it

I'm sure you can think through the other outgrowths of this philosophy a few of which I'm not sure if I'm allowed to speak of here.

I believe women should be in the Priesthood though my church does not allow that at this time (if they did I'd be in seminary) and have total political/social/economic equality while at the same time I oppose abortion with a passion and I'm not a big fan of divorce as anything but a last resort, or extramarital sex either as all of these cause harm to another person

I don't mind there being multiple bible translations but there are some I prefer more than others based on clarity and accuracy

I like actual hymns. I also like Christian Rock, I just don't really feel that the latter belongs in communal Sunday worship

So color me confused

 

[Truthseeker1971]

A Christian is a Christian is a Christian, one who is saved by God's Amazing Grace through Faith. Liberal, moderate, fundamentalist, etc., are not related to that Anchor. God is. Grace is. Faith is. Salvation is, no modifiers. Those who have stepped out in branches of, amendments to, Christianity, are responsible for denominations; denominations are the result of personal interpretation and application. The simple, straight-forward understanding of "Christian" is lost in that process.

If you are saved by the shed blood of Jesus Christ however you cannot be Liberal. Liberals are the lukewarm Christians Jesus was speaking of in Revelation. Neither hot nor cold, calling themselves Christian and yet being lovers of this world, afraid (or simply not caring) to speak out for the truth. There must be no compromises in your Christian faith.

 

[JCFantasy23]

If you are saved by the shed blood of Jesus Christ however you cannot be Liberal. Liberals are the lukewarm Christians Jesus was speaking of in Revelation. Neither hot nor cold, calling themselves Christian and yet being lovers of this world, afraid (or simply not caring) to speak out for the truth. There must be no compromises in your Christian faith.

That's not the definition many have on what a 'liberal' is. To me, what you wrote is the not the right view of what a liberal is. There are some who fit what you describe, and they may call themselves liberals, but I assure you that there are many liberal Christians who take their faith as seriously as conservatives.

Read here for more information on the Liberal area and how CF defines a liberal.

 

[OrthodoxForever]

That's not the definition many have on what a 'liberal' is. To me, what you wrote is the not the right view of what a liberal is. There are some who fit what you describe, and they may call themselves liberals, but I assure you that there are many liberal Christians who take their faith as seriously as conservatives.

Read here for more information on the Liberal area and how CF defines a liberal.

If that's the case then I am not a liberal Christian, I'm clearly not a fundamentalist, so I must be somewhere in the conservative or moderate part of the spectrum.

Since I DO believe that if a person knows the gospel of Jesus Christ and rejects it there will be spiritual repercussions for that, as is abundantly shown and stated by scripture, until and unless they repent. To clarify I don't dare presume to know what the consequences of such an act are or should be for any one person, nor do I claim to know anyone's eternal destiny.

I don't believe that judgment is always a bad thing though, I believe we are called to say to our brothers and sisters when they go off the tracks "hey this path is destructive, this is more what you should be doing." This is scripturally evidenced in both the Old and New Testaments

Another issue is the Bible which I believe was perfect in its original form and since then has been translated with certain political or theological agendas in mind, this is why I study the history of scripture and try to obtain the best and most complete translations I can find based on that research.

 

[JCFantasy23]

If that's the case then I am not a liberal Christian, I'm clearly not a fundamentalist, so I must be somewhere in the conservative or moderate part of the spectrum.

Since I DO believe that if a person knows the gospel of Jesus Christ and rejects it there will be spiritual repercussions for that, as is abundantly shown and stated by scripture, until and unless they repent. To clarify I don't dare presume to know what the consequences of such an act are or should be for any one person, nor do I claim to know anyone's eternal destiny.

I don't believe that judgment is always a bad thing though, I believe we are called to say to our brothers and sisters when they go off the tracks "hey this path is destructive, this is more what you should be doing." This is scripturally evidenced in both the Old and New Testaments

Another issue is the Bible which I believe was perfect in its original form and since then has been translated with certain political or theological agendas in mind, this is why I study the history of scripture and try to obtain the best and most complete translations I can find based on that research.

I see nothing wrong with anything you wrote here - I'm not seeing anything in what you wrote to say you can't be a liberal or fundamentalist with these beliefs either. A lot of people feel similar, myself included I try not to worry too much on labels since I think a lot of us don't really fit into the category boxes anyway. Personally I put "moderate" for me since I can't firmly align myself with boxes and labels and see good points in both categories.

 

[Percivale]

I'd say C S Lewis is a good example of a theological moderate. His writings appeal to people from a wide spectrum of Christianity. He believed all the basic doctrines of Christianity, as listed in the old creeds, though he did not believe in biblical inerrancy. He's been a big influence on me and I believe most of the same things he did.

 

[Albion]

As used on this forum, the term means to behave, i.e. post, in a temperate, reasonable way. It does not refer to any particular set of doctrinal positions.

 

[Percivale]

As used on this forum, the term means to behave, i.e. post, in a temperate, reasonable way. It does not refer to any particular set of doctrinal positions.

That is odd. Then it would seem that this forum section could be renamed "for people who obey forum rules." I would think moderate means 'between liberal and conservative.'

 

[hedrick]

That is odd. Then it would seem that this forum section could be renamed "for people who obey forum rules." I would think moderate means 'between liberal and conservative.'

In fact it probably means mostly people who are willing to be friends with the whole spectrum of Christians. The problem with "between liberal and conservative" is knowing what it means. I can characterize liberal and conservative, but where the boundaries are is much harder. I accept the Trinity, Jesus as Son of God, the Resurrection. But not verbal inerrancy, and other evangelical beliefs. In the UK I'd probably be conservative. Most CF posters consider me liberal. Many posters in what should be my home forum (Presbyterian) consider me apostate. A more workable definition of moderate is probably that they understand both perspectives and are happy to see both in the Church.