How you define "liberal"

Amen. Well said. The simplicity we have in Christ Jesus has never changed:

Wherewith shall I come before Jehovah, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt-offerings, with calves a year old? will Jehovah be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth Jehovah require of thee, but to do justly, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with thy God? Micah 6:6-8

 

John,

This is what comes to mind when I hear the word liberal. The errors that the German liberals began have grown and faded over the years, but are still being preached in many churches today. Everytime I used the term liberal in my classes I would get strange faces so I always tried to qualify what it meant as to not offend any liberal minded voters.

 

The sad part about truly liberal theology (and also wacky fundamentalist stuff) is that students and scholars have to wade through all of that crud every time they want to jump into a biblical class or debate...

Nothing like an enemy that works to counterfeit the message of God with complex human-centered alternatives.

 

My experience almost to a tee.

SBC churches that I have seen don't go around pounding their chests like King Kong about being fundamentalists and yet they stand firm on the fundamentals of the faith.

Those that I have seen who use the term the most, use it in such a way that it has nothing at all to do with the fundamentals- it has to do with dress standards, and going to the Hollywood movies, and mixed bathing, and a host of other stupid penny ante junk.

 

One thing that has often occurred to me is that the standards of many a church and pastor who rail against "liberals" and define them as "the world" (hair, dress, dance, cards, movies, non-KJVO, etc.) often look JUST LIKE the half of "the world" that runs the financial districts, Wall Street, the banks and businesses, those people being as lost as the long-haired hippie that is so often the target of their sermons.

Most of the people preaching against the "liberals" would have a heart attack of they walked into the church I serve. Yet, we're actually preaching and doing the Word of God.

We need to learn that it is not all about culture or holding out for a certain era or style that matters. The Pharisees did that in Jesus day and He took them to task then (and would now!).

 

That is very funny! And often times very true!

 

For what it is worth, and from me it may not be much, I have an image in my mind when one refers to a "liberal" when speaking of Biblical issues.

Osteen comes to mind.

 

He is a liberal in my mind as well.