“We shouldn’t have Democrat Christians and Republican Christian.” Politics from the pulpit, I was already nervous. But perhaps this was going to be a message of unity, that despite our political differences we as Christians should unite under a common banner of Christ and not let our partisan ideologies divide us. “I just don’t see how someone can be a liberal and call themselves a Christian.” I gritted my teeth and endured the rest of the service, for the last time. I never attended that church again.
The church that had renewed my faith just a few years ago now made me feel unwelcomed in its doors. If this had been the message on one of my earlier visits I wonder what turns my spiritual life may have taken instead.
I know many people just excused it saying “well he’s old”, “that’s just the way he is” etc… But after Rep. Todd Akin’s comment that “the heart of liberalism really is a hatred for God and a belief that government should replace God” I felt the need to address what I believe it means to be a Christian Liberal. And to be clear a Christian Liberal is different from a Liberal Christian; the latter refers to one’s theological views while the former refers to the political ideology held by someone who is a believer.
While even liberals would disagree on exactly what it means to be a liberal in America there are several things that are universally true. Liberals believe in equality and civil rights for all people and that the government exists to serve the people. Obviously there is nothing “un-Christian” about those views. In fact they seem pretty in line with Jesus who hung out with lepers, whores, and tax collectors and told us to care for the least of these.
But often when Christian Conservatives (again notice I did not say ‘conservative Christians’) say “liberal” they are only thinking of so-called moral issues such as gay rights and abortion. But even liberals may disagree on these issues just as not all conservatives will agree on capital punishment and gun rights. But for me being a liberal is more about ensuring that the least of these are cared for, that as Christians we should be more concerned with ministering to sinners than making their sins a crime.
I do have to confess that at times I have been guilty of looking down my nose at Christian conservatives for their faith not manifesting itself the way I would like, and for that I apologize. So to my conservative brothers and sisters in Christ I am sorry and I pray that God will help me with my judgmental spirit. And I also pray that despite our political differences we as Christians should unite under a common banner of Christ and not let our partisan ideologies divide us. And that we’ll leave our politics outside the temple door.
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