Don't Be Afraid of the 'Christian Left'

Human Events Online ^ | 10 July 2006 | Ken Connor

[Steve_Seattle]

"After spending 30 years in the wilderness the "Christian left" is making its voice heard. From Washington, D.C., to Dallas, large conferences have been held in an attempt to politically mobilize these "progressive" Christians."

Of course, it is absolutely false to claim that there has been no "Christian Left" in this country for the last 30 years, or that it has not been mobilized and very active. The national leadership of most mainstream churches has been left/liberal for decades, as reflected in the antics of the National Council of Churches and the various "peace and justice" groups that thrive on Catholic college campuses.

[Conservative Goddess]

Yes, this heathen Baptist just graduated from a Catholic university where I was excoriated for suggesting that we the people own the full fruits of our labor and the government has no business redistributing it. I was told that I have "bad morals." Yup. That's me....heathen Baptist who believes as Pope Leo XIII did (Rerum Novarum can be found here: http://www.osjspm.org/cst/rn.htm ). Too bad Pope Leo's words were "reinterpreted," in supposed "celebration" of the 40th anniversary of the release of his encyclical, in Quadragesimo Anno: http://www.osjspm.org/cst/qa.htm

Sounds like Rerum Novarum was reinterpreted by the same crowd that likes to assert that the US Constitution is a living, breathing document.

[California Patriot]

"Center for a Just Society," judging by its name, sounds very centrist and confused, as does Mr. Connor. It is pathetic that the Family Research Council chose him as its president. If he's a good lawyer, use him, but in legal cases, not for leadership. We are at war with the Left, and we need warriors, not sissies.

[California Patriot]

It seems to me that leftists and liberals do not fully understand Christianity; that if they did, they would be at least centrists, if not conservatives. They would not favor abortion, but they might be "pro-choice." They would not favor gay marriage, but they might not oppose it. Therefore, some people who fully understand Christianity are still vulnerable to leftist propaganda, because they don't think clearly about its implications in politics.

In addition, there are genuine Christians (who believe in sin, that Christ died for them, etc.) who simply do not understand the full meaning of Christianity, let alone its implications in politics. In short, there are two layers of ignorance among genuine Christians, in addition to the fact that many liberals who claim to be Christians aren't.

[paltz]

always remember this: Marxists will never destroy already established conservative organizations. They infiltrate them, water them down, and turn them into socialists establishments. Afterall, why waste good buildings?

[Vanders9]

"Forgive me, but isn't "Christian Left" sort of an oxymoron?"


No, is the short answer. In Britain it's said that the formation of the modern socialist party owed as much to Methodism as it did to Marx. I can believe it too - its all that "social justice" aspect. To be fair, at the time it was frankly neccesary.

The real answer, of course, is that Christianity should be above party politics. Oh to be sure, there are certain political viewpoints that a Christian should not subscribe to (such as classical humanistic John Stuart Mills liberalism for example) but Christian identification with a single political party is not a good thing. We should be identifying with Jesus Christ, and Him alone.

[Vanders9]

"It seems to me that leftists and liberals do not fully understand Christianity; that if they did, they would be at least centrists, if not conservatives. They would not favor abortion, but they might be "pro-choice." They would not favor gay marriage, but they might not oppose it. Therefore, some people who fully understand Christianity are still vulnerable to leftist propaganda, because they don't think clearly about its implications in politics."


I'd go along with that...

[cherry]

I'll grant you that there is a misinterpretation of Christianity on both sides....however, I believe that people that call themselves "Christians" on the left do so for mere convenience, not conviction.....

they want to destroy every traditonal aspect of life....from what constitutes "life" to the "mercy" of killing the dissabled, to enabling homosexuals to adopt little children and to "marry" .....

just wait and see.....abortion will become forced abortion, contraception will become forced contraception, "mercy" killing will be forced death, homosexual rights will also be awarded to pedophiles and animalists....this will all be done in the tone of "loving your fellow man" ..

I see no moral foundation in anything that leftist "Christians" do....at least not a lot of them.....I think many of them act only because they seek to destroy the moral fiber and values of normal Christians......their tax policies destroy the middle class and the working class and do nothing but take my money and hand it freely to those not deserving....mind you, it doesn't help the poor really, but it makes the leftist "Christians" feel good about it, and it protects the limosine liberals from all that guilt..