"For me, liberals are the true followers of Christ."

[NightTrain]

This LTTE appeared in Wednesday's Journal Inquirer out of Manchester, CT:

Why do conservatives jump to the conclusion that if you don't take the Bible's story of creation literally, word for word, that you must not believe in a higher power? Can't the scientist who studies cells and sees the interconnectedness of all life also realize that there may be something greater than us individually?

People who have experienced death and were brought back to life don't come back saying there is only one true religion. Instead, they come back with a greater tolerance. In reading their stories, the message I have found is that while we are on this earth we are supposed to love one another and learn as much as possible. Not love in the "flower child, free sex" sense, but love in its real meaning--caring for, and respecting, one another. How simple life would be if we would just care more about each other and try to learn form out differences, rather than condemning opinions that are different from our own.

Do conservatives honestly believe that by taking the Bible literally that they will be guaranteed a place in heaven? Jesus Christ was a liberal and would turn the other cheek, but would His Father? Wouldn't intolerance and spreading hatred of homosexuals and liberals be a red flag that gets you a ticket straight to hell? You probably wouldn't even get to see those pearly gates.

It seems easy to make fun of such rigid thinking, but in reality it is very upsetting to see the split in our country and in our own neighborhoods that all this name-calling has created. It is difficult to understand how some people can call themselves Christians. For me liberals are the true followers of Christ.

--Alberta Mirer

[Solon]

1. This is one of the best LTTE pieces I have ever read n/t

[mdhunter]

2. Because conservatives are fond of double standards?

I mean, really, apart from the ultra fundamentalists, very few people hold to be true every word in the bible. The evidence of its fallability is overwhelming so much so that even extremely religious, and conservative, people are more likely than not to treat some as the direct word of God, some as good suggestions, and some as parable.

How one can conclude, based on the text itself, which portions to treat as parable and which to not I do not know. Now, I think the text does not include such clues, and that the propensity to hold parts of the bible as infallible, gospel (as it were), truth, and other parts as parable must arise from elsewhere, namely the personal convictions or unique character of each person.

The trouble I have is, that once you allow for any part of the bible to be read as anything other than absolute truth and fact based on extra-biblical factors, then the entire bible become open to interpretation. It can all be treated as mere suggestion and parable, and loses any force it had as authority. For what principle is stopping such from happening?

So, in short, they're just hypocrits. They want to think that the parts they think are important are more important than the parts you think are important. And that's important. :) They don't see that the book is what you make of it, and rigid ideolouges are hardly ever on the right side of history.

By the way, please don't anyone interpret this post as anti-Christian. I am a religious skeptic, and I think organized religion has done about as much harm as good, but religious people, faith, and the moral values of the bible (by and large) are positive things in this world.

[davekriss]

3. God is a Leftist

"Then I will draw near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers and against those who swear falsely, and against those who oppress the wage earner in his wages, the widow and the orphan, and those who turn aside the alien and do not fear Me," says the LORD of hosts.
--- Malachi 3:5

A leftist proclimation if ever I saw one!

[ktowntennesseedem]

4. Jesus was (and is) the ultimate liberal!

His messages and his actions turned everything on its end, especially the religious establishment. He challenged every tradition and ritual that was blindly accepted as the norm, and offered in their place a new and liberating way of thinking and doing and living.

I think he would cause just as big of a shake-up were he to spend some time on earth in our generation; it would be interesting to hear what he had to say to the religious establishment in America. The biggest criticism Jesus leveled in his day was toward the Pharisees who prided themselves for their devout piety and their supposed closeness to God, when ironically it was that piety that keep them from seeing the truth and kept them away from God. The parallels to our day and time are staggering.