You: Huh?
Me: You heard me. The Bible says a liberal is
generous and noble!
You: Oh, really? I keep hearing that liberals are:
• Atheists
• Agnostics
• Heretics
• Socialists
• Communists
• Bleeding hearts
• Big spenders of government money.
Me: Okay, I’ll give you those last two. Generous people usually
spend big. Noble people often feel compassion for others—that’s
what “bleeding heart” means, doesn’t it?
You: Well, where in the Bible does it say that liberals are…wow…noble and generous?
Me: Look at these words:
Proverbs 11:25: The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that
watereth shall be watered also himself. (KJV)
Isaiah 32:5: The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the
churl said to be bountiful. (KJV)
Isaiah 32:8: But the liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal
things shall he stand. (KJV)
“Liberal” in the King James is, in the New King James Version and the
New International Version, translated as “noble” or “generous”. In
the KJV we even have Isaiah saying that a liberal by liberal things
will stand! Therefore, according to the Bible, a liberal is generous and noble!
You: Oh, come on! Aren’t you just playing with words?
Doesn’t “liberal” mean different things in different times and settings?
Me: Sure it does. But I’ve done some hunting on the Internet (at
Biblegateway.com), and I haven’t found yet a single Bible passage in
modern translation using “liberal” in a derogatory way! Oh, the
American Standard Version and the Amplified Bible say that “many will
entreat the favor of a liberal man” (Proverbs 19:6). The Darby
translation warns the rich of the “present age” to be “liberal in
distributing” (1Timothy 6:17-18)!
Think of the word “Christian”. These days, you’d think “Christian”—
especially “born-again Christian”—means “right-wing Republican”.
You: Doesn’t it?
Me: No. “Christian” means “follower of Jesus Christ”.
You: Hold it! Are you telling me that all those liberal-bashing
conservatives—they’re not really Christians?
Me: That’s not for me to say.
Romans 14:4: Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own
master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to
make him stand. (NIV)
James 4:12: There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able
to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor? (NIV)
And they can’t judge me either. Only God knows for sure who’s a real
Christian and who isn’t.
You: So, is Jesus a liberal or a conservative?
Me: Well, Jesus does have a “bleeding heart” of compassion for the
masses. (See Matthew 9:36, Mark 6:34.) (He also had a bleeding
head, hands, side, and feet!) He did say to a woman caught in
adultery, “Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.”
You: But that doesn’t answer my question.
Me: Jesus is not a Democrat nor Republican, nor an American, nor
European. He’s a Jew from Israel in Western Asia, the Middle East.
Born to a first-century working-class family (Joseph was a
carpenter), Jesus said he was the Messiah, the Son of God. He came
not to call the self-righteous, but sinners (Matthew 9:13). Really,
we all need a Savior: liberal or conservative, rich or poor, male or
female, black, white, brown, yellow, or red.
You: Isn’t the Bible against abortion and homosexuality?
Me: Yes. But the Bible is for justice for the oppressed, healing
for the brokenhearted, freedom for the captives, caring for the poor
and hungry, protecting the earth, treating animals well, and
welcoming foreigners and immigrants. The Bible sees the worth of all
people of every ethnicity, gender, and class.* The Bible condemns
favoring the rich (James 2)! Don’t forget the parable of the Rich
Man and Lazarus. Also, the Bible supports restoration for outcasts
and forgiveness for sinners.
You: So, if I become a Christian, will God change my political beliefs?
Me: That’s between you and God. But God will change you—he will
come to you and love you intimately and individually. He will make
you more like Jesus: more compassionate, more loving, more self-
controlled, less fearful, more patient, with greater power to do
right. Oh, and did I mention an eternal life of love, joy, and peace?
You: Aren’t you going to tell me that I’m a sinner going to hell
unless Jesus saves me?
Me: Heck, you know that. I want to emphasize that God loves you and
he’s waiting for you to turn to him!
You: And if I want to become a Christian…?
Me: Just ask God! In your own words. Now, if you want. Believe me,
he’ll hear you!
You: And then I have to join your church.
Me: You can if you want…but find a community of believers that love
Jesus and will love you and help you grow in your relationship with
God. Make sure you make lots of time to talk to God in private,
too. He has things to tell you specifically! And find a Bible
version you’ll enjoy and understand; those are things he’s saying to
his people in general.
You: One more thing. Whom should Christians vote for in the next election?
Me: Hoo-boy…!
You: Just kidding!
Written by M. N. Lee, Queens, NY
mnl_1221@yahoo.com
Scripture source: The Bible Gateway http://www.biblegateway.net
(not responsible for these contents)
Recommended book:
The Bible Tells Me So: Uses and Abuses of Holy Scripture, by Jim Hill and Rand Cheadle.
*For example, look at Isaiah 10:1-2, Isaiah 58; Isaiah 61, Luke 4:17-
21, Revelation 11:18, Jeremiah 51:25, Proverbs 12:10, Ecclesiastes
3:18-21, Isaiah 56:3-8, Leviticus 19:33-34, Revelation 7:9, Galatians 3:26-27.
DISCLAIMER
The charities and causes listed below are opportunities for you to
participate in something I consider both "liberal" and "Christlike".
This is not meant to "guilt" you. Like I said above, your choices,
politics, and passions are between you and God!
Also, my listing a site is no guarantee that the organization is
welcoming or tolerant of "liberal" politics, or even of Christianity.
However, this is our chance to give, not to judge.
***Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
--2 Corinthians 9:7-8 (NIV)***
A Sioux Nation reservation situated in the two poorest counties in the USA;
great needs here!
Jesus of the People, by Janet McKenzie
(click image for story)
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Here's a for-profit site (click image to enter):
image from www.landoverbaptist.org/www.cafepress.com
Would you believe as of April 1, 2003, I have dared to wear
this T-shirt in public at least four times!
--debuted at the John Lennon Birthday Memorial at Strawberry Fields,
Central Park, New York City, October 9, 2002.
Here I'll give a detailed history of why I was finally moved in the summer of 2002 to write the above tract. It has to do with Politically Incorrect, but it's a culmination of over 20 years of careless "liberal-bashing" by those who call themselves Christian. *** E-mail from me to Christine O'Donnell of SALT, June 25, 2002 (adapted for this website): Dear Ms. O'Donnell: I've been a born-again Christian for nearly 23 years--more than half my life. I'm also a regular viewer of Politically Incorrect. On June 21, you made a comment on PI which seemed to imply that liberals don't want to recognize the differences between people--implying, considering the context of the show, that liberals want to see a mentally-retarded man executed for murder just like anyone else. I want to share with you an excerpt of a post I placed on the PI Message board of ABC-TV: She was probably responding to Maher's challenge of "Why shouldn't we execute the mentally retarded who commit crimes?", and thinking of him as a liberal. In fact, as she was pointing out how a mentally retarded person couldn't reach the heights in society and can't always be judged by the same standards, I was thinking, Wow, she sure sounds awfully liberal on this topic! Then she launches into her liberal-bashing. Never miss an opportunity to bash liberals, eh? Miss O'Donnell, why do you think liberals would be in favor of executing a mentally retarded person? Then I thought of something else. O'Donnell said liberals don't want to recognize differences between people. A few days ago [an ultraconservative poster on the ABC-TV PI Message Board] said that liberals are always noting divisions between black and white, rich and poor, male and female, etc.; he called it "liberal-speak". Oh, conservatives, if you're going to engage in liberal-bashing whenever you can, at least get your party line straight! Or, did you mean that liberals make distinctions where conservatives don't, and don't make distinctions when conservatives do? Ms. O'Donnell, when you were saying that a mentally retarded person can't make it to the top of society, and therefore can't always be judged by the same standards as the rest of us, I thought you were sounding liberal--which I felt in this case was a good thing! I know that liberal-bashing has become such a habit over the past two decades among conservatives, even among conservative Christians, that you can't recognize it for the sin that it is. Another excerpt from another PI post of mine: Isaiah 32:5 (KJV) The vile person shall be no more called liberal... ...from what I see from this KJV passage, if you consider a person vile, calling him or her a "liberal" is too much of a compliment. Look, the bottom line is, I'm sick to death of all this liberal-bashing that the conservatives have been subjecting us to for the past 20 years. It sounds too much to me like a substitute for the N word--or the N-L word. And it's a cheap and easy way to mark your so-called enemies. It violates the commandment, "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." Yes, object to specific liberal policies all you want, and offer viable alternatives. But this demonizing has got to stop. When Christine O'Donnell implies that liberals want to see a mentally retarded man executed for murder just like anyone else--that's proof that liberal-bashing has gone way too far and comes to the lips way too quickly. Please, Ms. O'Donnell, consider the merits of what I am saying. Careless liberal-bashing is a wound to members of the Body of Christ. It's high time it was put to an end. *** Excerpt from my Amazon.com Listmania Guide: "So You'd Like to Rescue Christianity from Ultraconservatism" Fed up with over 20 years of liberal-bashing from people who claim to know God? Me, too. The church is supposed to be the Bride of Christ. So why has the American Church, from about 1980 on, seemed to marry itself to the Republican Party? Why do some radio preachers feel free to make outlandish statements such as "It's almost impossible for liberals to be saved"? On the contrary, Jesus said it was almost impossible for the RICH to enter heaven (Matthew 19:23-4)! I don't think "rich" and "liberal" are synonyms. Yes, conservatism has its place in the church and in the country-- but so does liberalism. Do we really want to return to the so- called "godly" roots of the United States of America--roots that for much of its history supported slavery, Jim Crow, the near- extermination of American Indians (while we broke every treaty we made with them), laissez-faire business practices (which allowed the rich to exploit the poor), and the near-inability of women to support themselves? Wouldn't Jesus care as much about protecting the poor and oppressed, ending racism, and caring for the earth as he would about abortion, homosexuality, and school prayer? Why aren't evangelical Christians fighting mad about CEO's who run off with the profits while their workers lose their jobs and their investors get swindled? 1 Corinthians 12 compares the church, the Body of Christ, with the human body with all its parts working together. Now the average body has a left side and a right side. If one part of the body is constantly being bashed, "all the parts suffer with it." (1 Corinthians 12:26) So, the careless bashing of liberals, just because they are liberals, hurts all of us. Let's find a way of arguing our differences without demonizing each other. *** This website was begun September 28, 2002. Last updated August 3, 2004.