I can already feel James Dobson or Jerry Falwell calling me a heretic just for typing that title, but I am clearly not the only one who feels that way. This editorial from the Charleston, WV Gazette makes the case (which I strongly support) that Jesus and other key figures in the Bible were liberals.
Jesus was a liberal. Absolutely and totally a liberal. Not a conservative bone in his body. He broke the rules. On purpose. He flaunted them, in fact, eating with sinners, healing on the Sabbath, rescuing a fallen woman, criticizing the establishment. And the well-to-do. He was not crucified because he was too conservative. The Christian faith is not about rules. Jesus’ first public utterance shows his compassion for the poor. He never asks us to sing pretty songs, to build cathedrals, or wiggle our fingers in the air. He tells Peter, “Feed my sheep.”
The Hebrew Prophets were liberals. By definition. Social critics. Reformers. Nathan stood face to face with King David, shook his finger and told him he was a murderer. Amos was a liberal. He measured the corruption of Beth’el up against the plumb line of justice. Amaziah told him to go home, “you troubler of Israel.” “Let justice roll down like waters,” Amos replied. Check Micah, Hosea and Isaiah while you’re at it.
These were not the Republicans of Palestine. They were not trying to shore up the establishment or save the wealthy.
Jeremiah was a liberal. He wrote the book on public protest and nonviolent direct action. He trod the streets of Jerusalem naked as a jaybird to make his point.
The history of the church is the story of liberal versus conservative religion. It begins in Jerusalem, when Peter and Paul struggle over the issue of circumcision. The great St. Augustine tells us to “love God and do whatever you want.” Not conservative there! Was Martin Luther a conservative when he challenged orthodoxy on 95 points of theology? Was John Wesley a conservative when he took his Bible to the streets and the coal mines of England? Were the Methodists in America conservative when, in 1908, they adopted the “Social Creed,” supporting the right of workers to organize and bargain collectively? And is our church conservative in its continued struggle for social justice, for the rights of women and minorities, for equal opportunity for all, for ecological responsibility — through the Social Principles and Social Creed?
In today's society, we also need people to step up and challenge traditional, conservative thought and policies. This is not a war on Christianity as some of the right-wingers spew to try and position themselves as victims. This is a war FOR the Christianity of Jesus and the prophets who preceeded him on Earth.
Those of us who are taking God's word into the GLBT community and preaching the errors and/or bigoted intent of conservatives who have worked hard to make them feel incomplete, inferior parts of society who are unwelcome in God's Kingdom, WE are doing His work.
We're doing it just the way Jesus taught us--by challenging the status quo and challenging religious rules that do not adhere to the example He set.
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Not entirely fair, I don't think - you have to take American politics in its proper context, which means contrast the US, both right and left, and comparing it to other forms of political structures that came before it. In an important sense - in its respect for individual freedom, in the limitations the Constitution places on the power of government, and the fact that there are certain lines which we will not cross - American politics represents a distinct break from the most common form of government throughout human history; tyranny, whether the tyrant be a monarch, dictator or fascist/communist State. Given that context, Republicans and Democrats (and most any other US citizen) is a "liberal" in the sense which you're using the term. Yes, the "right wing" is out of step - but which right wing? Certainly something further out there than merely our GOP.
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