Liberal vs.
Conservative Christianity
Rev. Aaron
M. Mathews, Th/M, D.D.
Pression; favorable to in accord with concepts of maximum
individual freedom possible, especially as guaranteed by law and secured by
governmental protection of civil liberties.
“Conservative” is defined as being “disposed to preserve
existing conditions, institutions, etc. or to restore traditional ones and to
limit change traditional in style or manner , avoiding novelty or showiness.
As American Philosopher, Dallas Willard, states, “Toxic
faith such as this can eventually lead to chaos, cults, and all manner of abuse
and evil—destroying the redemptive message of Christ.” The extreme end of conservative Christianity
implements legalistic dictates and detracts from the free gift of grace. The result, then, is that Christians are
“controlled” through the obedience to rules and laws rather than acceptance and
living within God’s grace. This extreme
lends itself to dangerous theology, as can be seen in such members of the
pastorate as Fred Phelps, pastor of Westboro
Baptist Church
On the extreme end of liberal Christianity, believers often
rely on the automatic covering of grace and an avoidance of Biblical
truth. The danger in this end of the
spectrum is that Christians refuse to take a stand for anything. While grace is, in fact, truly sufficient for
each believer, there is such great emphasis on a relationship with Jesus and
“social justice”, the essential integration of repentance, obedience,
discipleship, and righteousness into Christian living is all too often
overlooked and merely unmentioned. As
warned against in Jude’s epistle, the absence of recognizing the absolute
authority of God’s Word (2Timothy 3:16) creates a complete “free for all”
approach to living in the faith. Some
refer to this as “cafeteria-style faith”.
Thus, “the resulting mindset is I am free to do and behave as I see fit
and understand the way of Jesus…and don’t you dare judge me!” Matthew 7:1 states, “ Judge not, that ye be
not judged“, which Christians remember and throw around frequently, I redirect
them to John 7:24, which I believe completes the concept in stating, “ Judge
not according to the appearance, but judge a righteous judgment“. Using judging in matters of outward
appearance, the inward heart, etc. are often misused rather making a judgment
call, then implementing correction [in love] via a good grasp of in depth,
solid Biblical teaching.
The key aspect of liberal Christianity is “Tolerance”. When tolerance becomes the rule, the
foundational tenets of the Christian faith are gradually (and sometimes
quickly) dissolved and abandoned. This,
then, leaves a “religion” based upon one’s own personal preference. Emotional “truths” replace Biblical truths
and sin is done away with.
One additional topic is worth noting, that is a conservative
versus liberal approach to the reading and “interpretation” of scripture. I will do my best to keep this concise yet
definitive. Christians will take one of
two views of the Bible – literal or figurative.
If you hold the Bible in your hands, open it, and take what you read
literally, then you are on the conservative side. If you turn the pages and read, and take it
apart, interpreting it for yourself, then you hold a liberal approach It is
of great importance to state that the Bible does contain allegorical texts, but
Scripture interprets itself, thus, letting the reader know when it is doing
so.
A liberalist reader will hold a historical-critical, or Higher Criticism
method of interpretation. In short,
historical criticism sets out to ascertain the text’s original or primitive
meaning in it’s original historical context and its literal sense, or sensus
literalis historicus. Furthermore, it
seeks to establish a reconstruction of the historical situation of the author
and recipients of the text.
Biblical Literalism, Biblicism, or Biblical Fundamentalism
are terms for the interpretation or translation of the explicit and primary
sense of words in the Bible. These
terms describe the conservative method of Biblical interpretation often held by
fundamentalists and evangelicals.
Interestingly, a 2011 Gallup
The study of Biblical interpretation is, in itself, a topic
in which I could write an entire volume on, so I won’t do that to you here (you
may sigh in relief, it’s ok!)! You have
to know for yourself which method of interpretation you use in study and
sharing the Gospel. If you do, in fact,
hold a liberal view of Scripture, be very careful so as not to misinterpret or
mislead those who you will be responsible for teaching
I offer you a middle
of the road approach to living and approaching the faith. John best sums this up in the first chapter
of his gospel, in verse 14, where he states, Jesus is “full of grace and
truth” Jesus was loving, yet He acted
boldly and spoke directly and with authority.
He was compassionate and experienced a human range of feelings and
emotions, yet He was righteous and true, without sin. Recall when He saw the synagogue being used
by the moneychangers, He became angry and admonished them, and threw them out
with force. He said “my house is a house
of prayer and you have turned it into a den of thieves!” (Matt. 21:13I
paraphrased). Notice Jesus did not say, “You guys have
turned my house into a shamble, but that’s just my opinion…” He took a stand against evil with authority,
passion, and confidence. Jesus did not
turn a blind eye to the woman caught in the act of adultery, no He said get up,
go home, and sin no more (see John chapter 8). You see, we are to take a stand, be bold,
while exercising compassion and grace.
We, as believers, are called to be like Him. Christian means “Christ-Like”. If one is to truly be a Christian believer,
s/he is to become just that, Christ like.
Dr. Tim Clinton states, “Will we advocate for our beliefs and actively
influence others? Or are we doomed to
silence – to accept our Christian faith as a completely private matter that has
no impact on our lives in the public square?”
If you or I get wrapped up in going through life tiptoeing around so as
to not offend anyone, we embrace and present a weak and inaccurate, incomplete
Gospel.
In closing, I ask you, the reader, where are you on the spectrum? Once you answered this question, I further
inquire, are you comfortable in your position?
As believers, it is crucial that we be salt and light. Jesus tells us to share the Gospel and be
examples, bodily representations of Him on the Earth, just as He Himself was a
human representation of His Father (and ours), God.
For more information,
further discussion, or any reason at all, you may contact Pastor Aaron M.
Mathews at reverendamathews@yahoo.com
Beyond Biblical Literalism and Inerrancy: Conservative
Protestants and the Hermeneutic Interpretation of
Scripture, John Bartkowski, Sociology of Religion, 57, 1996.
conservative.
(n.d.). The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. Retrieved April 30,
2013, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/conservative
Elwell, Walter A (1984). Evangelical
Dictionary of Theology. Grand Rapids
King James Version, Genesis Bible Co.
liberal.
(n.d.). © Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.. Retrieved April 30, 2013,
from Dictionary.com website: ictionary.reference.com/browse/liberal
Willard,
Dallas. Early Writings in the Philosophy of Logic
and
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