liberalism and christianity
One of the most tired, overworked expressions found in The Liberal Playbook is "How can you criticize liberalism and call yourself a Christian?" The curious logic behind that question is that Jesus preached peace, love and tolerance (not entirely true, by the way) and liberalism believes in peace, love and tolerance (completely false!) so it is only logical to say that liberalism is the same as Christianity, and conservatism is anti-Christianity. All of this is a big liberal lie, of course, but truth is the first casualty of liberalism, so the lie marches on. I thought it would be helpful to look at the commands from God given to us by His Son Jesus Christ and found in the Bible. Then let's compare.
All of the teachings of Jesus are summarized in the Great Commandments and the Great Commission. The Great Commandments are found in Matthew 22:34-40.
34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:
36 "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37 Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'[b] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
http://www3.sympatico.ca/lords.word/grtcommand.html will give you additional info about these verses.
The Great Commission is found in Matthew 28:18-20.
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
This is it. In just a few short Bible verses, Jesus tells us everything that we are to do and all that we are to strive for. The question here is, do the principles of modern liberalism conform to what Jesus said, and how do the ideals of principled, Christian conservatism compare? Let's find out.
First, Jesus said that we are to love God with our entire being. The Bible continually tells us that, if we love God, we will follow God's commands. Well, one of God's commands is that we are not to kill innocent life. Liberalism says that abortion, which kills innocent babies, is the most sacred human right we have. Embryonic stem cell research, which kills innocent human life and which has never produced one single scientific success, is trumpeted by the devotees of modern liberalism as crucial to the survival of mankind. That's a lie, and by the way, God had something to say about lying, too. Loving God with our entire being means that we are to rely on and depend on our Heavenly Father for our daily bread. Modern liberalism says that we are to depend on Mommy and Daddy Government. God says that we are not to covet our neighbor's possessions, but the entire liberal class-envy warefare tactic for pushing entitlement programs and tax increases is based on "we the people" coveting our neighbor's possessions. And one other point--If liberalism supported loving God with our entire beings, then why does the modern liberal devote so much energy to eliminating all mention of God from the public square, despite America's indisputable Christian heritage? Is that how you treat someone you love? I could go on, but you get the point.
Second, Jesus says that we are to love others as much as we love ourselves. If that's true, then let me pose a few questions:
1. Why do liberals support minimum wage hikes, when it has been proven that those hikes are so hurtful to the poor, and especially poor blacks?
2. Why do liberals donate so little of their time and treasure to charity? It's shameful how stingy liberals are when it comes to charity!
3. Why do liberals oppose school voucher programs, even as rich liberals pull their kids out of the public schools and send them to expensive private schools?
4. Why do liberals so strongly support Planned Parenthood, an organization that was founded on the belief that eugenics was the answer to America's poverty problem?
5. Why do liberals like Jimmy Carter give so much love and attention to evil despots who commit unspeakable atrocities against their fellow man, at the same time that they spit in the face of this American republic, which promotes liberty and justice for all?
Have I made my point?
Third, Jesus gave us the Great Commission, which is found in Matthew 28:16-20.
16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
I am just sure that this passage says that we are to go to all nations. We are to go to all the world and teach the Gospel. The Liberal Bible shrinks that down some. It says, all the world except for public schools, or government buildings, or town squares, or graduation ceremonies, etc., etc., etc. The Liberal Bible is seeking to shrink "all nations" down to "behind closed doors in your home or church building." That's not what God's Perfect Word says! That's also not what our Founding Fathers believed. I would invite skeptics to visit the Library of Congress website and their online exhibition called "Religion and the Founding of the American Republic."
Does this make sense? If you are a Christian, can there be any doubt as to how modern liberalism views your religious beliefs? If you are comparing the Christian conservative and the modern liberal, can there be any doubt as to which one is attempting to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ more completely? I rest my case.
All of the teachings of Jesus are summarized in the Great Commandments and the Great Commission. The Great Commandments are found in Matthew 22:34-40.
34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:
36 "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37 Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'[b] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
http://www3.sympatico.ca/lords.word/grtcommand.html will give you additional info about these verses.
The Great Commission is found in Matthew 28:18-20.
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
This is it. In just a few short Bible verses, Jesus tells us everything that we are to do and all that we are to strive for. The question here is, do the principles of modern liberalism conform to what Jesus said, and how do the ideals of principled, Christian conservatism compare? Let's find out.
First, Jesus said that we are to love God with our entire being. The Bible continually tells us that, if we love God, we will follow God's commands. Well, one of God's commands is that we are not to kill innocent life. Liberalism says that abortion, which kills innocent babies, is the most sacred human right we have. Embryonic stem cell research, which kills innocent human life and which has never produced one single scientific success, is trumpeted by the devotees of modern liberalism as crucial to the survival of mankind. That's a lie, and by the way, God had something to say about lying, too. Loving God with our entire being means that we are to rely on and depend on our Heavenly Father for our daily bread. Modern liberalism says that we are to depend on Mommy and Daddy Government. God says that we are not to covet our neighbor's possessions, but the entire liberal class-envy warefare tactic for pushing entitlement programs and tax increases is based on "we the people" coveting our neighbor's possessions. And one other point--If liberalism supported loving God with our entire beings, then why does the modern liberal devote so much energy to eliminating all mention of God from the public square, despite America's indisputable Christian heritage? Is that how you treat someone you love? I could go on, but you get the point.
Second, Jesus says that we are to love others as much as we love ourselves. If that's true, then let me pose a few questions:
1. Why do liberals support minimum wage hikes, when it has been proven that those hikes are so hurtful to the poor, and especially poor blacks?
2. Why do liberals donate so little of their time and treasure to charity? It's shameful how stingy liberals are when it comes to charity!
3. Why do liberals oppose school voucher programs, even as rich liberals pull their kids out of the public schools and send them to expensive private schools?
4. Why do liberals so strongly support Planned Parenthood, an organization that was founded on the belief that eugenics was the answer to America's poverty problem?
5. Why do liberals like Jimmy Carter give so much love and attention to evil despots who commit unspeakable atrocities against their fellow man, at the same time that they spit in the face of this American republic, which promotes liberty and justice for all?
Have I made my point?
Third, Jesus gave us the Great Commission, which is found in Matthew 28:16-20.
16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
I am just sure that this passage says that we are to go to all nations. We are to go to all the world and teach the Gospel. The Liberal Bible shrinks that down some. It says, all the world except for public schools, or government buildings, or town squares, or graduation ceremonies, etc., etc., etc. The Liberal Bible is seeking to shrink "all nations" down to "behind closed doors in your home or church building." That's not what God's Perfect Word says! That's also not what our Founding Fathers believed. I would invite skeptics to visit the Library of Congress website and their online exhibition called "Religion and the Founding of the American Republic."
Does this make sense? If you are a Christian, can there be any doubt as to how modern liberalism views your religious beliefs? If you are comparing the Christian conservative and the modern liberal, can there be any doubt as to which one is attempting to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ more completely? I rest my case.
posted by hondo at 9:19 AM
2 Comments:
Hondo,
It’s me, Hondo-Watch.
I know I said I wouldn’t post anymore, but I feel compelled to respond to what you have blogged above. And I am engaging here in a serious, non-confrontational, and respectful way. (Please forgive any confrontation in my log-in name, but I stuck with it so you could see it was me).
In all seriousness, I think I have figured out something. The way that you define liberals in your blog I don’t believe is the way that most liberals would define themselves. For example, I don’t think that anyone calling themself liberal would be for raising the minimum wage if they thought it hurt minorities. Now you make a very compelling argument, and you may be right. But the point is that the common liberal would support a raise because they BELIEVE, rightly or wrongly, that it helps low wage earners. See?
I think that most liberals believe that they are supporting policies of peace, love, and tolerance, and that those are the ideas they value. And they perceive conservatives supporting just the opposite. They perceive the GOP as a magnet for racist and other intolerance-oriented people. People like David Duke. Now…maybe there are more politically smart liberals making policies in the way you describe (out of greed, intolerance, etc) and they have just fooled your common-garden liberal into believing they are doing the right thing when they are actually doing the wrong thing; what you I think call “the great liberal lie.”
A couple of other things… I think your average self described liberal Christian would interpret “go make disciples of all nations…” more along the line of go set a good example to win others over, not go blow up part of a village with a C-130 gunship, indiscriminately taking lives, in a show of strength. Missionary work is good…war is bad. (I personally think our current war is more about showing the world Superior American Christian Culture and it’s strength rather than about defeating terrorism, but that’s just my opinion. And I’m in the war).
I’m interested in your point about liberals performing less charity. Do you have a statistic or is that based on your own experience? Just curious.
Regarding abortion, from a spiritual point I think abortion is wrong and that those who do so will have to answer for it. From a liberal standpoint, I recognize not everyone shares my belief and law should not be based on personal belief alone. I believe that from a legal standpoint the fetus is part of, and thus belongs to, the mother. So up to a point, to abort the fetus should be her decision. And no one really knows when the soul enters the fetus or if it is maybe a gradual progression, or whatever. But I would not force my own beliefs onto someone else based on faith. That I think is the value of separation of church and state as understood by most people. One doesn’t legislate based on religion.
Which brings us to eliminating God from the public square. And also public schools, govt buildings, graduation ceremonies, etc. You see, liberals believe that these events are included by people of a variety of religious beliefs, and some none at all. Liberals recognize that public prayer outside of worship environments, excludes people of differing faith and makes them feel uncomfortable. Imagine if you attended a public event that began with a prayer to Allah or a non-Christian deity. Would you feel uncomfortable or excluded? I know people who would. Leaving religion out of govt and public events is out of respect to all faiths. Liberals want to practice respect for other people, not offend Christians.
So that's my contribution.
I appreciate the serious, respectful tone of your comments. Because of that, I will answer in a serious, respectful way.
In the second paragraph of your comment, when you talk about the perceptions of liberals, you provide a crystal clear illustration of something that Pres. Reagan said a long time ago. He said that liberalism is the passionate belief in things that just aren't so. The point that I think you are making (I could be wrong) is that liberals BELIEVE they are doing the right thing, and that BELIEF makes their actions OK. I would respectfully disagree. It's not enough to just close your eyes and hope that you are doing the right thing. God gave us 2 eyes to see with, 2 ears to hear with, a brain to think with, and the Holy Spirit to give us wisdom. We have a responsibility, I believe, to do more than just say, "I don't care what the facts are. I believe that I am right, and that's good enough for me."
You go on to discuss the perceptions of liberals vs the perceptions of conservatives. Every liberal perception that you mentioned can be blown away by looking at easily verifiable facts. Take your reference to David Duke, for example. You say that the GOP is a magnet for people like him. The truth is that the National Republican Committee repudiated Duke, and refused to give him any money. Compare that to former KKK Wizard Robert Byrd, the most-senior member of the Senate and one of the mosr revered Democrats in the country. Or take a look at the Congressional debates over the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Southern Democrats filibustered that bill, and it wasn't passed until the GOP voted to stop the filibuster and get the law passed. These are facts which make liberal "perception" not only irrelevant, but also dishonest.
Next, you interpret Jesus' command to "make disciples of all nations" as a directive to just live a good life and to be a good example to others. I must say, in the interest of honesty, that there are a whole lot of Christians who would agree with you. I disagree, and I'll tell you why. Take an hour some night to read the Book of James in the New Testament. It's one of the shortest books in the Bible, and it's also written in a style that's a lot more plain and straightforward than many of the other books. That means that, for a wooden-headed Southern Indiana boy like me, it's easier to read! The major theme of James is that faith without works is useless. We can believe, and we can be nice people, but if we don't LIVE God's Word, we haven't truly accepted God. That's why I take those words from Jesus literally when He said "go." We must act, not just "be."
Next, you made the point that war is a sin. I actually had this discussion with a guy at church a couple of years ago, so believe me when I say that there are Christians who agree with you. I don't. The Old Testament is full of stories of how God made war against many people. God is perfect and incapable of sin, so to make a blanket statement that war is sinful just doesn't hold up to Biblical scrutiny. Of course, it is possible for some wars in some circumstances to be sinful. I Country X invades Country Y to steal their oil, that's a sin (see Commandments on murder and coveting). Was invading Iraq a sin? I don't think so. I believe that invading Iraq was absolutely the right thing to do based on the intel we had at the time. I also believe that Pres. Bush has bungled the "winning the peace" portion of the war so badly that we are truly in one hell of a mess at this point in time. I believe that his bungling has cost American lives, and has made final victory harder to achieve. Is that a sin? I don't know the answer to that, but God does, and He will sort it out. Was it wrong to invade Iraq? Absolutely not, and I believe that the current insurgency, boosted primarily by Iran and Syria proves me right. Iraq is a big piece of the larger war on terror puzzle, and we must win there if we wish to win the larger war.
You asked about my thoughts on liberals and charity. Look at my post from Jan. 5, found at
http://christianconservatives.blogspot.com/2007/01/difference-between-cats-and-dogs.html
I have lots of documentation in that post. It is a fact that liberals are far stingier than conservatives.
Next you bring up abortion. I don't have the time or energy to get into a big debate about abortion here, but I was interested in a comment you made. You said that "one doesn't legislate based on religion." Why? Where is that written? Our Founding Fathers certainly didn't believe that.
Your last point was that worship outside of church makes people uncomfortable, therefore it's wrong. I am a bit puzzled as to where liberals ever came up with the idea that it's unconstitutional to make people feel uncomfortable. America was founded on the principles of Christianity found in the Bible. Look at the Library of Congress website, and find their online exhibit entitled "Religion and the Founding of the America Republic." You will see historical proof of what I'm talking about. The modern day liberal understanding of "separation of church and state" is a myth, and runs counter to all that our Founding Fathers believed in. And by the way, that last part about liberals not wanting to offend Christians? That's a big old whopper. One of these days I will post a Top 20 list of the biggest ways in which liberals actively, aggressively try to offend Christians. It's not a bit surprising, though. Jesus told us in His Sermon on the Mount that Christians would be persecuted. Jesus is the Truth!
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