I, for one, do not. I'd still appreciate a response to my other query for the reasons given.
I saw a 'piece' on last nights news concerning rather violent opposition on the part the other kind of liberals toward republicans at a California University.(no shirts ripped off that I noticed) One occasionally gets the idea that you either seek out or actually intentionally precipitate 'shirt ripping' responses. ----- Original Message ----- From: "David Miller" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: November 20, 2004 10:45 Subject: [TruthTalk] Defining Liberal > David Miller wrote: > >> 'In my opinion, almost every professor of theology is liberal.' > > Lance wrote: > > I'm energized by this charge of yours, David. > > Finally! A passionate response from Lance. :-) I like it. > > Lance wrote: > > Will you kindly do the following?: > > 1. Define liberal > > 2. Supply us with a few dozen names which > > support/exemplify your charge > > I would be glad to define liberal, but I don't see the point in supplying > names. Let's discuss the meaning of liberal first and see if we can meet > some common area of agreement. > > First, let me say that I do not think of "liberal" as a dirty word. > Although I am a registered Republican and very conservative in my economic > and political views, my social viewpoints are very liberal. I believe that > the strong ought to help the weak, and that we should take care of the poor > and destitute. I have been a social activist at times, and such as caused > many to think me to be a liberal. I have never been offended at being > called a liberal. I have been invited to speak at socialist and communist > meetings solely because of my successes in social activism. Sometimes those > events did not turn out so well when they realized that I was a God loving > Republican. I remember being invited to speak on a radio show once, and the > talk show host about fell over when I told her I was a Republican. She was > a communist and had no idea that some Republicans were so involved in grass > roots efforts to help the poor. At a socialist meeting once, a man enraged > by my comments about God came out of his seat at the back of the lecture > room and physically attacked me, tearing my shirt into shreds right off my > back before others pulled him off of me. > > Anyway, with the preceeding caveat out of the way, let's define liberal. > Following is not an absolute, but rather a working definition for the > context in which I spoke: > > A liberal is someone who is broad-minded and tolerant of a wide variety of > viewpoints. They do not cling to a particular viewpoint concerning a > religious text, but are very open to alternative explanations. For example, > a liberal might entertain ideas such as the fact that Moses and Abraham did > not actually exist, or if Moses did exist, then perhaps the Red Sea that was > split was really a shallow marsh, that the general theory of evolution > better explains origins than the myth outlined in Genesis, that Moses did > not write the Torah, but rather there were multiple authors, etc. These > viewpoints would be extremes, but I think other theologians who accept the > traditional viewpoints of the above issues also might be considered liberal > if they depart from the viewpoint of Jesus that few find the way to eternal > life. In other words, liberals are those who entertain many ideas as valid > considerations whereas conservatives tend to follow a traditional or simple > reading of the text. Liberals are always looking for other ways at looking > at an issue whereas conservatives tend to want to stick with tradition and > what is safely known to be true. Conservatives like absolutes whereas > liberals shy away from absolutes and tend to think of truth as all being > relative. > > I certainly could be wrong about my perception of most professors being > liberal, because I have not surveyed all of them, but those coming out of > seminary invariably show this bend toward liberalism, so I think it proper > to view it this way. On this list, I would say that you, Jonathan, John > Smithson, Bill Taylor, and Gary all show this liberal tendency. People like > Terry, Judy and Izzy appear to be more conservative. At times I see a > conservative perspective from Gary and Bill, as well as the others I guess, > and sometimes I see a liberal side from Judy and Izzy, so please take these > comments as generalizations and not absolute categories. Do you or anyone > else see it differently? > > Peace be with you. > David Miller. > > > ---------- > "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man." (Colossians 4:6) http://www.InnGlory.org > > If you do not want to receive posts from this list, send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and you will be unsubscribed. If you have a friend who wants to join, tell him to send an e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and he will be subscribed. ---------- "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man." (Colossians 4:6) http://www.InnGlory.org If you do not want to receive posts from this list, send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and you will be unsubscribed. If you have a friend who wants to join, tell him to send an e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and he will be subscribed.
