Sometimes being different is not such a comfy thing ya know?
I’m a liberal. Very liberal. I’m a Christian. As in, I really believe Jesus is the true way to God.
This poses problems.
Nah…not with my personal faith or the way I conduct life but with the people around me.
When liberal friends (most of them pretty much not churchgoing types) find out I’m a Christian and a bible reader they kind of go all googly eyed and such and don’t know what to make of me anymore. I suddenly become the village idiot who used to be cool but now isn’t because she believes in the flying spaghetti monster in the sky.
When Christian friends find out my political leanings it’s like I’m suddenly branded a heretic who doesn’t REALLY believe in the bible I guess. No matter how much I point out how much things shifted from the old to the new testament and how even religion is an evolving entity as people and societies changes…I get looked at like a traitor who doesn’t deserve the Lord’s Supper anymore.
So what’s the answer? Do I have to hide my faith from my liberal friends? That’s not cool because Jesus wants us to be open about our faith. Do I nod when my Christian friends go off on a Obama-as-antichrist rant and act like it doesn’t faze me? That’s dishonest and I should call them on self righteous bull dookie.
I don’t have any answer to the quandry. I guess I’m just glad that Sir Pink is liberal enough that we agree on most politics and religious enough that he’ll tolerate going to church on the regular.
Deacon Blue
Inda Pink
Holy Sh!+ from Deacon Blue 
Mz Pink
Dont sweat it, we’re all a little Schizonphrenic. 😉
It really shouldn’t be that way. I mean, Jesus was a liberal! And the stuff he said in the Sermon on the Mount is just about 100% liberal. At least, as I understand liberal.
But then, I’m a liberal, too.
It may be no comfort, Miz Pink – after all, we’re probably hundreds of miles away from each other and will never look into each other’s eyes and say hello – but I’m totally cool with liberal Christians. It makes sense to me. Even though I’m not a Christian. Jesus’ philosophy and liberal philosophy seem to be pretty much aligned.
What always seems weird to me is how many Christians are NOT liberal!
Which probably makes me weird, too… as if I weren’t already.
Radical – that’s what my friends call anyone who differs from the normal majority. Standing out is good and it makes for interesting conversations….how boring is it for everyone to think and believe alike.
Heh…I’ve had that same “radical” thing thrown at me, 32B, though primarily by the troll named Thordaddy. I have a couple pretty liberal stances, though overall I’m a slightly left-leaning moderate, and because of just two stances (marriage between homosexuals and a woman’s right to choose between birth or abortion), he consistently labelled me a “radical liberal.”
Which only proves that too few people understand ideological positioning.
😉
I always find liberal Christians a bit puzzling. But, I’ll take one of you over 100 conservative Christians any day.
I can relate Miz Pink, since I have grown from a more evengelical/conservative bend to clearly being liberal which at times is a hard road to walk.
Liberal? Yes. Radical? Yes
YE HAVE HEARD:
I
21 ¶ Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. [1]
II
27 ¶ Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. [2]
III
¶ Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:
34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne:
35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.
36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. [3]
IV
38 ¶ Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.
41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.[4]
By these standards (teachings), how many how many of us who profess to be Christians can really call ourselves that?
For many Christians, certain teachings of Jesus continue to be radical, not just liberal.
Lip service leads to hypocrisy.
[1]–[4]: Jesus
Be liberal cause all the hassle defending the ‘dead’ positions of the conservatives is even worse – I almost wonder if they know they are lying to themselves to maintain sanity?
As for the people that view us liberal Christians as ‘idiots’ – well – they shouldn’t judge until they can see what our lives can do in this society! If they call it before they see it – then the only idiot in the room is the one ‘pre-supposing’ what a person’s beliefs can do.
***Which oddly enough I just did when I damned the conservative position (lol)
LOL- i never have that problem. jews are EXPECTED to be liberals. as are new yorkers, or former new yorkers, in my case.
i don’t understand people who claim Jesus stood for this that the other thing and use His name to justify prejudice, segregation and murdering doctors who perform abortions [sidebar: if a woman could transplant her fetus into the body of the man who impregnated her, we’d see how long it was before abortion during ALL stages was legalized AND state funded]can not be liberals, true liberals. wasn’t Jesus’ whole premise that we love one another and treat each other kindly, with support and understanding?
Amen to that, robyn.
Robyn, I would so love to see that scenario happen (transplanting fetuses to men) but that’s another blog post in itself.
Most of us men have a hard enough time making it through PMS, and we don’t even have to suffer the DIRECT effects. Any attempt to have us carry babies will surely end in a massive revolt.
😉
Wimps! 😉
what, you don’t think you could endure 12 hours of back labor, 90 second contractions 3 minutes apart [1st born] a placentia abruptio vaginal breech birth [2nd born] or a picture perfect delivery on her due date [3rd born] none of which involved ANY PAIN KILLERS AT ALL??????
you know what? i suffer more on my bicycle.
I have a reasonably high pain threshhold, robyn. I will pat myself on the back there. I’m not one of those guys who goes all helpless when he gets hurt or sick so that his woman will take care of him more.
However, having seen my wife’s labor process, and knowing enough from medical and healthcare writing in my career what goes on, I’m surprised you ladies even bother to procreate with us. That mess is NOT nice at all.