Quote:
Originally Posted by Ohio
Don't understand your questions here, but I'm pretty sure the quote is mine.
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I didn't want personality in it.
But it almost makes your response an attack on your own position.
The one question is:
Why is it that we presume that an intelligent Christian cannot espouse liberalism in general?
Is there something difficult in that question?
The rest was not a question. It was a plea to separate poor behavior on the part of some from the ideals behind general political philosophies. To stick to the political ideals of both liberalism and conservatism.
If the liberal political positions are wrong because of the perceived evil of the present administration, then it is just as easy to argue that the conservative political positions are wrong because of abortion clinic bombers, gay bashers, and an array of very unloving actions and words toward your neighbor wrapped in the cloak of the Christian right.
If you want to talk about either of those, that is a different discussion and is full of problems on both sides.
If you want to discuss whether liberal v conservative politics in general are more or less Christian in the true sense (not just in terms of numbers taking the positions) then that is the discussion I want to have.
I will start by saying that I am politically conservative. But I do not presume that my positions are the God ordained way. Or that Jesus would necessarily vote my way. I think it is a better position for the good of the nation, But I know very good, intelligent Christians that take the opposite position. And for reasons that are not anti Christian.
Why must the intelligence or Christianity of a person be questioned because they do not agree with you on politics? We see how positions like that play out in these forums in terms of whether Lee was or was not a legitimate Christian minister. They do not win friends or influence people.
And it would seem that if there are differing positions among otherwise like-minded Christians, then influencing those who you think have the lesser position will only happen when you consider them as intelligent equals and present a rational reason for changing their minds.
And their failure to agree with you (or me) is not proof of their lack of intelligence or lack of Christian faith. In fact, I wonder if the determination to link Christianity with a political position is due to lack of Christian faith and an attempt to replace it with political faith. And we are just small potatoes in a sea of "Christian right" replacing faith in God with faith in government.