Posted on 09/03/2004 4:34:45 PM PDT by johnnyb325
Intolerant Religious Leftists
We hear much in the media about the so-called "Religious Right," allegedly a group of homophobic, holier-than-thou zealots who wish to force morality down our throats. What we do not hear about is the Religious Left, a group of religious liberals whose socialist dreams of utopia are far more threatening to liberty, not to mention far less Christian.
The greatest bastion of religious liberalism is the National Council of Churches (NCC), and its close ally, the World Council of Churches (WCC). They are ecumenical coalitions of churches that include the United Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church (United States), the Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, among others. Both have an extensive history of support for communist and socialist causes. They long have been friendly to Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, despite his suppression of religious liberties. They supported the Sandinista regime in Nicaragua. During the Cold War they were so sympathetic to the Soviet Union that even former WCC president Konrad Raiser has acknowledged that the WCC failed the test of the Cold War.
On the home front as well, the NCC has consistently opposed liberty. The council strongly supported the "Million Mom March," a march on Washington demanding more gun control laws. They oppose any and all tax cuts, because they feel the American people cannot be trusted to care for the poor without government coercion.
On the other hand, they have little to nothing to say on the topic of abortion. In fact, the Presbyterian Church had the dubious distinction of becoming the first major church in the United States to embrace partial-birth abortion. Apparently, Christian principals only apply when they are in keeping with liberal dogma.
Predictably, most liberal churches are losing members. This is a result of leadership much more interested in getting President Bush defeated in the upcoming election than spreading the gospel.
The United Methodist Church includes many members, among them President Bush. Don't expect him to get much support from the leadership of his church, however. "It is our judgment that some policies advanced by your administration give evidence of the spiritual forces of wickedness that exist in our society today," read a document signed by 120 Methodist leaders ("wickedness" is a world rarely used by moral relativists like these leaders. Generally, it is only reserved for Republicans). Mark Tooley, a reform leader within the Methodist Church, had the best response: "Bush is supposedly a bad Christian and a bad Methodist because, like most Methodists, he does not agree with these church officials in their equation of compassion with a large federal welfare state and in their opposition to a strong military defense for America. These United Methodist officials are effectively telling the president he is not a good Christian because his policies do not match their own left-wing beliefs."
The Episcopal Church recently made headlines by electing an openly gay bishop, a move that could lead to a schism within the church. It is quite ironic that the staunchest opponents of the gay bishop come from the developing world, the people whom liberals claim to love the most. Apparently, these Christians in the developing world did something most religious liberals never have: they read the Bible.
The Religious Left's leaders have little support, even within the churches they lead. They remain in power largely due to bureaucracies and "good old boy" networking. They will continue to try to create socialist utopias on earth while attempting to pass off their plans as godly acts. These attempts to legislate morality will continue to be ignored by the press. In the meantime, their flock will continue to seek refuge in churches that still embrace Christianity. Will these "leaders" ever see the light? We can only pray. After all, all things are possible with God.
- John Brown is a senior in political science. He can be contacted at jbrown44@utk.edu.
Bravo, Mr. Brown!
I heartily recommend research on the Unitarian Universalists, also! What an interesting lot they are - visit their "churches" some Sunday morning and talk to them - they are usually friendly and open enough toward those who exhibit a QUESTIONING attitude. Many of them support groups such as Not In Our Name, International ANSWER, the ACLU, the United Nations, etc. --- you get the picture. (The joke about them is - if they were to burn anything on your front lawn, it would not be a cross, but a question mark! ???) Their website is www_uua_org.
I registered as a democrat so I could get their propagan...I mean information.
I've been watching the religious left develop. I'm glad its being covered.
They are a scary bunch.
One of them explained that abortion is okay because, and I'm quoting here "A person has no soul untill they take a breath".
Same idiot, who doesn't know much economics also argued that, its not the good something does, but the sacrifise i.e. giving alot to charity doesn't mean anything, unless it actually hurts you.
"...its not the good something does, but the sacrifice..."
This is Molech worship. The apostasy they mask themselves in is simply a back door route into the crumbling traditonal sects.
You give them far to much credit. This is one case, when you can over-estimate somone. These people are nuts, they try and convert me all the time, there warped views are not sane, especially regarding homosexuality and abortion, in fact, its frighting.
They have never studied nor cared to learn basic economics, to them, its not what the poor gain, but what everyone else loses. I wouldn't trust my dentist to give advise regarding my foot, so why trust a priest about economics?
It is a cult of perversion. An endeavor by obscure and erroneous doctrine to occlude the truth - - Neo-paganist new-age nut jobs are the religious left...
Click on my name...
There is no "religious left". Unless they are oxy-morons.
click on my dcreen name...
There is not a doubt in my mind that if Jesus was walking among us today, he would NOT be a big government, tax and spend liberal. Nor would He be an abortion enthusiast, a condom-thrower, a Hollywood drunk, a screeching feminist, an America-hating malcontent, a welfare parasite, or any other kind of goofball, loser, or imbecile you normally think of as a typical Democrat.
Well, I'm always open to the idea that the left is more insane than I give them credit for being...
Good find - thanks!
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