DISQUS

ETC: Everyday Thoughts Collected: The Religious “Left” - Eternal or Social Gospel?

  • Jonathan · 2 years ago
    Randy, Frank says he is for "full disclosure" and yet with one very liberal stroke, he paints all on the Religious Left in a way that is not entirely accurate. I fail to see how calling for full disclosure on one front, and being less than accurate on that same front can do anything but negate the message that he's attempting to make.

    I grew up in a very conservative Christian household, and while I don't hold nearly as conservative views today, I still hue pretty closely to the views I was raised with. I will say that reading Jim Wallis' book "God's Politics" certainly was an eye opener. Simply being on the "right" side of an issue doesn't make you right anymore than being on the "left" side of an issue makes you wrong?

    j.
  • Brady · 2 years ago
    Hey Randy,

    I agree with Jonathan on this one. If Frank is for full disclosure, I think he should fully disclose where he got the list of position statements (hopefully i didn't just miss that somewhere). Or if he summarized these himself, I'd like to know that also.

    I'd also like for him to fully disclose that the religious left is more divrerse than he gives it credit for in this list. For example, I believe myself to be religiously liberal, but I'd never believe that Jesus is not the only savior or that there are more ways to heaven than Christ. His point may be that I'm not as leftist religiously as I thought, but my thought is that he may be misrepresenting the religious left with these policies.
  • Randy · 2 years ago
    Hi Jonathon. My friend Paul says that it really isn't about Right or Left. What it's about is that God has called us to be faithful.

    I would have to agree with you that the author overgeneralizes the left. At the same time he specifically mentions the National Council of Churches and I have to say, I don't think they and I serve the same god. The lingo may be similar but what they apparently think God is for is nothing close to what my God has revealed to me. We couldn't possibly be serving the same god.
  • Randy · 2 years ago
    Brady, I also agree with you. I would have liked to have seen his references for the points he made.

    At the same time :) ...

    I have been to enough "diversity dialog" type of things with liberal religious groups to know that he isn't that far off from what they espouse (in general.)

    Now, I want to be very clear, salvation is through Jesus Christ alone, if you trust in Him as Lord and Savior... *I* do not question your declaration of faith. Our disagreements on sin, social and moral issues are separate from our own individual declarations of faith.

    When I say that I wonder if we even serve the same God sometimes is because some on the more liberal side of things say that god says this or that to them... my God would never say those things. We both might be "hearing" something spiritually but it couldn't possibly be the same Spirit.
  • Soluzfe · 2 years ago
  • Jonathan · 2 years ago
    Randy~

    Thanks for your comments. I wanted to know a little bit more about the NCC and so I went to their official website. Here is their statement of faith:

    "The National Council of Churches is a community of Christian communions, which, in response to the gospel as revealed in the Scriptures, confess Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word of God, as Savior and Lord.

    These communions covenant with one another to manifest ever more fully the unity of the Church.

    Relying upon the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, the communions come together as the Council in common mission, serving in all creation to the glory of God."

    --from the Preamble to the NCC Constitution.

    That seems to directly be in direct conflict to what Frank wrote.

    j.
  • Randy · 2 years ago
    No I hadn't seen that Soluzfe.
  • Randy · 2 years ago
    Jonathon, wellllll... :)

    What if NCC does mean that "unifying" and "manifesting" is in the ways that the author details?

    I know, and have met plenty of people who looked me straight in the eye and said that Jesus is Lord and Savior and then turn right around and declare that He isn't the only Way to be reconciled to God.

    .. Or that He might as well be some chick named Sophia ... I am not kidding.

    That's the point of the article. The NCC sounds like they are saying the same thing in order to appear that they are of the same persuasion when it comes to living out their faith ... when in fact they are diametrically opposed to others who would say the exact same types of words and sentiments.

    The scriptures state that "...you will know them by their fruit (their actions and results of their efforts.)" If the NCC is producing results that are opposed to the rest of the Christian community, it should be revealed so that people know exactly what they are walking into.

    I think it would be important for the NCC to do that themselves instead of blanketing their motives with "Christianese."

    In a nutshell, I don't believe your quotes necessarily negate all of the author's assertions and might actually reinforce his original premise. An interesting saying comes to mind, "The Devil is in the details."