Tolerance
As a liberal American, I have witnessed several groups that claim to be open minded and tolerant of others. There was Ronald Reagan’s so-called Big Tent Conservatives. Of course, in order to get into the tent you had to adhere to certain qualifications and today, even those qualifications aren’t good enough. The Republican party of 2012 could well end up being ten bigots and an AK-47 carrying chicken hawk.
But I’m not really talking about the Republicans. One of the biggest hypocritical groups out there today are the Liberals. They stand up the downtrodden, minorities, and other like-minded people, yet they snub their noses and look at Christians with both disdain and ridicule. As a self-professed Christian, I can see the hypocrisy.
I can understand how the evangelicals and holier-than-thou right wing Christians can get under the skin of liberals, but why lump all Christians in with those groups. The difference between liberal and conservative Christians is really fairly simple. Liberal Christians tend to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ while Conservative evangelicals tend to dismiss the teachings of Christ.
I call as my first witness, Jesus Christ. Let’s see what He has to say about various subjects:
Corporate Greed – “Watch out! Be on your guard against
all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.“ Luke 12-15
Social Programs – “But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you.“ Luke 14-13
War and Peace – “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.“ Matthew 5-9
“I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despite-fully use you, and persecute you.“ Matthew 5-44
Death Penalty – “Thou shall not kill.“ Matthew 5-21
“Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.“ Matthew 5-7
Now, do any of these things sound like something Conservatives believe in? No, but Liberal Christians do, and yet when other Liberals are slamming Christianity, they’re not just slamming Conservatives, but quite a few Liberals too! I try to point out that there are some good and moral Republicans. I don’t lump them all together. Yes, a few of the good ones are also hoodwinked by FUX news, but they’re still good people.
I do understand that many Liberals are also atheists and as such tend to believe they are much smarter than all the backward thinking, superstitious, idiots who believe in God. But are they smart enough to understand that for many of us it is a choice because of the teachings of Christ? If Christ were simply a philosopher, these same naysayers would be quoting him as much – or more – as they quote Nietzsche. But because it is part of a religion, they marginalize it, and by extension, those who believe.
You don’t hear these Liberals putting down Muslims or the Islamic faith, so why the bad rap? Yes, I could lay a lot of the blame on the evangelicals who back every play the Republican party makes, but instead, I lay it right at the feet of the hypocritical Liberals.
John Lennon once said, “Jesus was all right, but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It’s them twisting it that ruins it for me.” Lennon was right, many of the so-called faithful have twisted Christ’s teachings, but shouldn’t we as free thinking Liberals make sure we’re not bashing the wrong people for something someone else did? We expected GW Bush not to go after Iraq for something al Qaeda did, then how can we blame all Christians for what the evangelicals are doing? I hope the analogy is blatant enough for everyone to understand it.
Robert Rouse and Rev. Joseph Lowery
One of the best weekends I ever experienced was down in Crawford, TX. Not only was I able to be around other Liberals, but I had the incredible opportunity to meet and speak with Rev. Joseph Lowery. This is the man who founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference along with Martin Luther King. It was Lowery who led the march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965. It was Lowery who – at Coretta Scott King’s funeral – said in front of George W. Bush, “We know now there were no weapons of mass destruction over there. But Coretta knew and we know that there are weapons of misdirection right down here. Millions without health insurance. Poverty abounds. For war billions more but no more for the poor!”
Now that’s the way Liberal Christians like to roll.
The final day of our Crawford/Camp Casey gathering was on Easter Sunday and our Sunrise Service was presided over by Rev. Lowery.
He looked out over the crosses representing the men and women who paid the ultimate price for Bush’s folly and told us there is still hope for America. It rests in those of us who are willing to speak the truth and keep the faith. Faith that as long as we spread the word of peace there will always be hope that we can turn this nation around and take it back from those who seek to undermine the common good.
He told us a tale of faith. While fighting for the renewal of the voting rights act, Dr. Lowery organized a march from a small town in Alabama over to Birmingham and on up to Washington. But the county sheriff in the small town where the march was scheduled to begin had gone around to all the black families in the town and given them hams and turkeys and told them not to join with that “agitator” from out-of-town. When the cold morning of the march arrived, Dr. Lowery looked around the town square and saw only a handful of marchers. Disheartened by this turn of events, he kept the faith that the march would eventually be successful.
Dr. Lowery told us about the sleet that fell from the sky and how he was happy for it because it hid the tears in his eyes that so many didn’t show up. They started marching and someone suggested they spread out to make themselves look larger, but the good Reverend told them instead they should huddle and march to keep warmer. In fact, because of the cold they marched twice as fast. He looked up into the cold morning sky and asked God for help. When they reached the next small town and rounded the corner to the town square, he looked out and saw hundreds of people waiting for them. Each of them had a basket filled with ham sandwiches and turkey sandwiches and they had a feast as they marched on to Birmingham. They eventually arrived in Washington with a stronger faith in the common good of man and the voting rights act was renewed.
As the Easter service concluded, Dr. Lowery said he was appointing each of us as Chaplains of the Common Good.
So, as a Chaplain of the Common Good, I would like to call upon those who continue to deride all Christians and lump us all together to step back and think for a second. Do you want other countries to believe that all Americans are like Dick Cheney and George Bush? Do you want other religions to believe that white Americans are all bigots and southern rednecks?
I am not a war-mongering, hate-filled person, but I am a Christian. If you want me to respect you and your ideas, try reciprocating.
You make excellent points. While I am not religious, I do believe in what Jesus preached, which was right on target. And I know quite a few Christians (some of whose blogs I read!) who are sincere, truly live their faith, and are, yes, liberal. So I don’t lump all Christians together by any means, nor all Republicans for that matter. (And I love the writing of liberal Christian Anne LaMott – if you haven’t read her books, please do!)
There are good Christians out there, I know a few. I was bought up in the faith myself, but got out when my doubts were ridiculed and criticized. I decided there and then any spiritual feelings I had were mine and mine alone. My question is: Why don’t the good guy Christians stand up to the hard-core right not just on a blog, but in the Churches and Chapels? The answer to that is probably the same as “Why don’t the reasonable Muslims stand up to the radicals?. Fear.
It is seeming to me that most people need someone or some group to judge or stereotype in order to avoid looking at themselves.
When I look at myself, I see the ways that I don’t always live up to my professed beliefs. Then I have no motivation to judge others for what they do.
Much love and peace this beautiful Autumn day.
Never lumped those who believe in a finger snapper together Robert. Only those who need it get picked on. If you felt that way at OTC I don’t know what to tell you because at my place a “believer” who complains about the content can kiss my ass.
Never knew that about you because you don’t promote what you believe. As with many Christians you understand where you can go and where you can’t if that makes any sense. Bill Moyers is a hero of mine and he and others like him sure as hell don’t get picked on at my place.
@One Fly. The post was not directed at any one person in particular. It’s simply that I noticed a lot of people claiming to be tolerant who also automatically dismiss out of hand, Christians.
Excellent post, Robert.
I’m agnostic, but was raised by two people of the Lowery mold, so I know for a fact that there are actual, Christ-like Christians, and I don’t like seeing them tarred with the same brush as the “X-tians” who are all public bluster and private sin.
Thank you, Bob. That’s all I’m asking for.
Interesting points, but your pushing for social programs would require violence and theft which is very similar to the wars you don’t care for. For example, a mandate for people to purchase health care or even a tax to provide a universal health care system takes from someone without their permission and uses the threat of violence to enforce it. I believe when Jesus talks about giving and through his own example of service and sacrifice he means that it must be a choice and come from you. Not you voting to have the government take from others to do your will.
The problem lies in the fact that extremists have taken over the Republican party so much so that only 20% of Americans admit they are Republicans. The same has happened with Christians and churches. I have never in my life until now heard a minister advocate assasinations and yet that’s common now. Until they are pushed to the fringe the Christ like Christians can not or will not come forward. The tares are getting more of a voice than the wheat.
Shane, that’s quite a stretch to go from Health Care Reform to violence. I guess I have more faith in humanity than you do. However, I welcome all comments here – other than spam or personal attacks – whether we agree or not.
Health care reform to violence is not a stretch. It is the IRS that will be charged with collecting the 2.5% tax and if you don’t pay your taxes you do go to jail. Do a little research on those who have chosen not to pay taxes for moral reasons. What about “thou shalt not steal”? I agree with your views of charity, but it should be charity, not theft that is used to help the needy.
Talk about hypocrisy. Why has their been so much hate from the left directed at GW and Cheney for their wars and big government intrusions on our privacy and individual security, but yet these same lefty’s don’t say a peep about continuing the Bush policies and even increasing some of them? Looks like more partisan BS then anything else… something both sides of the isle are guilty of
Demeur, I think your “common” comment is an extreme stretch. I believe abortion is murder, but I don’t, and I have not met one other Christian, that advocates assassinating abortion doctors. You’re taking a few incidents and applying them to a much larger population.
Shane, have you ever lumped everyone together? Other than being way off topic – this post is actually about Liberals being intolerant of Christian Liberals – you’re also making assumptions.
Who stole what? Are you saying we shouldn’t “give unto Caesar”?
Yes, I think it was wrong to lie about WMD to get us into war, and yes I believe Cheney broke MAJOR laws when he orchestrated the outing of Valerie Plame as a CIA agent in retaliation for Joe Wilson telling the truth about Bush’s Yellow Cake from Niger lie. And I am against the patriot act and Bush wrongly expanding the role of the presidency. What you didn’t know – obviously – is that I have been vocal in wanting Obama to roll back all of Bush’s Bullshit policies. I believe Obama is wrong in doing so.
That is the part of being a Liberal that you don’t get. When William Jefferson was caught with cash in his fridge, his most voracious attackers were Democrats. Democrats help lead the charge against Bill Clinton when the GOP had to rely on him lying about a blowjob. Dems tend to be more vocal against their own than almost anyone else. The Right Wing, in contrast, tends to circle the wagon and protect their own – unless their own end up being gay like Larry Craig. It’s pretty sad really.
Shane, perhaps you should also pay attention to what is being said. Demeur was not referring to ministers advocating the murder of abortion docs, he was talking about people like Pastor Steve Anderson out in Arizona who is preaching for President Obama’s death from the pulpit, and Anderson isn’t the only one. When was this ever heard of before? It is more “common” now than it ever was before.
As for abortion, I am morally opposed to the act, however, according to my religion, God gave each of us free will so we could make our own choices. Who out there thinks they are greater than God to say that people should not have a free choice? You?
You’re getting close to being troll-like in your responses. I do not want to ban you from posting comments, but I will if you start posting lies.
One last thing – said in the best of humor – an isle is a land mass surrounded by water and an aisle is something a bride walks down.
I don’t live under a “caeser” and I believe the income tax is theft by force. If you or I tried to do what the IRS does we would be thrown in jail. If we don’t pay we are thrown in jail. The country I live in was founded on the principal of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I’m all for social programs. Like the book of James says, true religion is those who take care of orphans and widows. However, like you say and God gave us, I believe we have free choice and charity must come from free choice or else it is not charity. I’m sorry to change the topic of your article, but you did quote Mathew in order to push social programs and maybe I jumped to the conclusion that meant you support things such as the current attempts with health care reform. If I’m wrong about that I apologize, but I get the feeling from you frustration with a lack of acceptance from mainstream liberals that you are on board with most their views on social policies.
It’s good to hear your stance on Obama needing to roll back many of the Bush policies. I’m with you there. It’s just that most the liberals that I run in to, many of them friends, are still in love with Obama and can see no wrong. These days I try not and say something solely good or bad about either party since it is becoming difficult for me to see the difference between the two. My responses are in no means a defense of the republican party.
Demur said “I have never in my life until now heard a minister advocate assasinations and yet that’s common now.” That does not say more common than before. It says “common now”. I still think this comment is an extreme stretch. I think the assassinate “who” part is irrelevant as we would both agree that it would both be wrong.
Not trying to start an abortion debate, but your response in support of free will when concerning abortions, makes me wonder why you don’t support free will when it’s the fruits of your own labor.
If my responses are troll like to you then I would say that you just don’t care for open discussion. If that is the case I won’t bother reading any more of your rants.
Robert I wasn’t talking about abortion doctors I was talking about the president and other world leaders. That seems to be a new brand of Christianity to me.
Demeur, I knew what you were talking about. I was trying to explain that to Shane, but some people seem to have blinders on.
Sorry I skipped over your comments.
I see nothing wrong with paying taxes. They pay for our roads and schools etc. It’s that Bush gave the wealthy and business four tax cuts during his reign and that’s not fair.
Health care should not be a priviledge but a right and it should be non profit as it once was in the 50s. That’s correct it was once entirely non profit until Nixon came up with the HMOs. No one should be without it. That’s called the common good.