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Calling Good, Evil and Evil, Good: How 'Christian Liberals' Twist the Words of Jesus
Townhall.com ^ | February 12, 2018 | Scott Morefield

Posted on 02/12/2018 6:13:13 AM PST by Kaslin

This spring, a group of Christian liberals (yes, apparently “Christian liberal” is a “thing,” not an oxymoron) plans to visit Lynchburg, Virginia, the home of conservative Liberty University, and protest what they consider the “toxic evangelicalism” coming from leaders like Liberty’s president Jerry Falwell and others like him who happen to support President Trump. 

The “Red Letter Revival” was announced last week by Christian author and social justice warrior Shane Claiborne via Twitter, and is set to take place April 6-7. According to his website bio, Claiborne “heads up Red Letter Christians, a movement of folks who are committed to living ‘as if Jesus meant the things he said.’”

For a group billed as a Jesus-centered alternative to both the Christian Left AND the Right, the positions taken seem awfully Leftist, and include such gems as “Wherever your power and influence might lie, it is magnified when shared and held by those who are poor, oppressed and looked over by society,” and “Questioning cultural norms is healthy and can lead to wholeness,” among others.

Yeah, Karl Marx would have been totally down with it, his atheism notwithstanding. (Which is another problem, but I’m getting ahead of myself...)

While there are no plans specifically to directly confront Liberty officials, Claiborne seems to have targeted the college’s hometown based on his claim that some Liberty students want the school “to be known for its love for Jesus (rather) than its love for Trump.”

In other words, if you’re a Christian and you support the president and his agenda, you’re somehow not following the Founder of your faith as well as these Birkenstock-clad hippies are, because Red Letters, or something.

Truly, does anyone have a ladder high enough to get these people down from their high horse? 

It’s a giant strawman, of course, but one people like this, and other liberals who call themselves “Christians,” construct and use to great effect. Jesus said to turn the other cheek, so it must mean nations and individuals shouldn’t be allowed to protect themselves. Jesus said not to judge, so who are we to say two lesbians shouldn’t be married and “mother” children? Jesus said to love our enemies, so it obviously means capitol punishment is a no-go (as if life in prison would be more merciful... maybe we should just “love” them and let them go free!). Jesus said to give to the poor, so he’d obviously dig Nancy Pelosi’s welfare state (minus the “crumbs” to working people, of course). Jesus said to love your neighbor, so we should give every Muslim in Somalia a one-way ticket to the United States and a house in the ‘burbs, that is if we want to stay on the right side of the Almighty. 

I could go on and on, but you get the picture. By selecting the “Red Letter” words, often out of context and usually interpreted out of alignment with the rest of the Bible, liberal Christians (and not just the ones aligned specifically with the group mentioned above) build a theology of sorts around proof-texting and use it as a bludgeon against conservatives and particularly Trump supporters.

To them, rather than the Lord of all Creation, Jesus is a smiling, winking doofus giving you a thumbs-up for your “tolerance,” sort of like Kevin Smith’s “Buddy Christ” statue. To them, rather than pieces of a much larger picture that must be rendered consistent with their context, observable reality, and the rest of the Bible, the recorded words of Jesus Christ are used to justify policy positions that are, for all intents and purposes, from the pit of hell.

Put it this way, “Red Letter Christians,” if your positions are so “Godly,” why do so many non and anti-Christians agree with them too?

From abortion, gay marriage, and immigration to tax policy, gun rights, the death penalty, and even the welfare state, liberals, Christian and otherwise, have somehow managed to convince a significant percentage of Americans that they are on the side of the angels, while conservatives and especially Trump-supporters are flirting with damnation because of their “mean-spirited” policy positions.

Nevermind that our policy positions actually, you know, WORK.

But for them, it’s their way or the highway. In a viral blog post that sums up their view quite well entitled “Following Jesus And Supporting Donald Trump Are Utterly Irreconcilable,” Christian Leftist (again, NOT an oxymoron) Zack Hunt lists Trump shortcomings to support his case that someone can’t support the president and follow Jesus at the same time.

“We must choose a master: either Christ or Trump,” concludes Hunt. “Because we cannot follow Jesus while also supporting someone who, in the most literal sense of the word, is anti-Christ.”

Anti-Christ? Seriously? While we’re bringing up the Bible, how about this…

Isaiah 5:20 reads, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness.” 

Not to be judgmental or anything, but if any one group deserves an extra helping of this “woe” from the Almighty, it’s these modern day Pharisees.

This Spring, the “Red Letter Christians” will be in Lynchburg protesting Trump, Falwell Jr., and whatever perceived “mean-spirited” agenda item they happen to be triggered by that day, and they’ll be twisting the words of the Son of God to justify their absurd, unworkable policy positions. 

Truly, if Jesus weren’t sitting at the right hand of God looking down at them with a scowl and a gigantic thumbs-DOWN, he’d be rolling in his grave!


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial
KEYWORDS: christians; homosexualagenda; jesus; liberals; libertyuniversity; religiousleft; sin
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the rest of the title is: to Wage War Against President Trump - Part I
1 posted on 02/12/2018 6:13:13 AM PST by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin
Truly, if Jesus weren’t sitting at the right hand of God looking down at them with a scowl and a gigantic thumbs-DOWN, he’d be rolling in his grave!

Which as I believe he got up and left a couple of millennia ago.

2 posted on 02/12/2018 6:28:49 AM PST by Don Corleone (.leave the gun, take the canolis, take it to the mattress.)
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To: Kaslin

Marxist dialectics have been advancing in academia for many decades - ADVANCING - and, decade after decade hidden as Marxist within so-called “Liberals” that were indoctrinated with it, and absorbed it, without their professors ever naming the origins of the philosophy behind their positions.

It was not long before that process entered supposed Christian bastions of education, even schools of theology.

Marxist ideology entered and slowly dominated American academia much as a sort of philosophical Voldemort - He Whose Name Must Not Be Said.

With that process apparent, it is not surprising that some persons call themselves Christian and spout positions whose thought forms come from Marxism.


3 posted on 02/12/2018 6:32:24 AM PST by Wuli
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To: Kaslin
I love this by Ravi Zacharias:

"When you say there's too much evil in this world you assume there's good. When you assume there's good, you assume there's such a thing as a moral law on the basis of which to differentiate between good and evil. But if you assume a moral law, you must posit a moral Law Giver, but that's Who you're trying to disprove and not prove. Because if there's no moral Law Giver, there's no moral law. If there's no moral law, there's no good. If there's no good, there's no evil. What is your question?"

4 posted on 02/12/2018 6:34:41 AM PST by SkyDancer ( ~ Just Consider Me A Random Fact Generator ~ Eat Sleep Fly Repeat ~)
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To: Kaslin

Unfortunately for them, Jesus said this:

Mat 18:8 And if your hand or your foot causes you to offend, cut them off and throw them from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.
Mat 18:9 And if your eye offends you, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the hell of fire.

Liberals generally shut down over these two verses.


5 posted on 02/12/2018 6:35:02 AM PST by AppyPappy (Don't mistake your dorm political discussions with the desires of the nation)
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To: Kaslin
“Questioning cultural norms is healthy and can lead to wholeness,”

Actually, today's cultural norms are mostly a sewer, so I don't have a problem with that statement.

However, the founder of this group is an SJW, and I have a problem with that, since these folks create poor people by getting them fired from jobs due to differing opinions. You're supposed to help the poor, not actively create them.

6 posted on 02/12/2018 6:45:41 AM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks (The US Constitution ....... Invented by geniuses and God .... Administered by morons ......)
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To: Kaslin; rlmorel; metmom; Albion Wilde

Jesus also told us to beware of false prophets. I’m pretty sure these hate-filled, leftist (redundant) knuckleheads would qualify as such.


7 posted on 02/12/2018 6:50:48 AM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks (The US Constitution ....... Invented by geniuses and God .... Administered by morons ......)
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To: Kaslin
This spring, a group of Christian liberals (yes, apparently “Christian liberal” is a “thing,” not an oxymoron

Sorry, but Christian liberal, IS an oxymoron. The two can’t be mentioned in the same sentence. Many libtard positions are anti Biblical, so yes, it IS an oxymoron.

8 posted on 02/12/2018 6:54:13 AM PST by Mark17 (Genesis chapter 1 verse 1. In the beginning GOD....And the rest, as they say, is HIS-story)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

There are 4 basic spheres of influence: the media, education, church, and family. The left just about has it completely wrapped up.


9 posted on 02/12/2018 6:59:20 AM PST by Right Brother
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Jesus also told us to beware of false prophets. I’m pretty sure these hate-filled, leftist (redundant) knuckleheads would qualify as such.

I believe you are correct sir. To them, He will say, “I NEVER knew you.” Those are not the kind of words I would ever want to hear. 😀😄

10 posted on 02/12/2018 7:00:31 AM PST by Mark17 (Genesis chapter 1 verse 1. In the beginning GOD....And the rest, as they say, is HIS-story)
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To: Kaslin
Claiborne “heads up Red Letter Christians, a movement of folks who are committed to living ‘as if Jesus meant the things he said.’”

Jesus was not a statist, collectivist, or socialist. Biblical Christianity recognizes that the state is a God ordained institution with limited authority and limited obligations, not totalitarian powers. Its proper role is to administer justice (Jeremiah23:5, Amos 5:15), not to take over the roles of other institutions such as the family, the church, and education. It is not its role to create a libtard utopia which is impossible in a fallen world.

11 posted on 02/12/2018 7:07:28 AM PST by mjp ((pro-{God, reality, reason, egoism, individualism, natural rights, limited government, capitalism}))
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To: Kaslin

There is no such thing as a ‘christian liberal’ . . .


12 posted on 02/12/2018 7:11:26 AM PST by Pilgrim's Progress (http://www.baptistbiblebelievers.com/BYTOPICS/tabid/335/Default.aspx D)
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To: AppyPappy

Matthew 18:8, 9 is a Millennial passage . . .


13 posted on 02/12/2018 7:12:41 AM PST by Pilgrim's Progress (http://www.baptistbiblebelievers.com/BYTOPICS/tabid/335/Default.aspx D)
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To: Kaslin

Jesus said “Render unto Caesar (earthly leaders) the things that are Caeser’s and render unto God the things that are God’s”.

The Jews of His time wanted an insurrectionist Messiah to free them from the tyranny of Rome and Jesus’ response was “I’m not down for that.”

I also believe it is an intentional diversion to tell Christians they must choose between Jesus and Trump. I feel no such compulsion. Trump is the American president and he is doing what is best for America. Jesus is (to complete the analogy) the Christian president and He is doing what is best for His Kingdom. Two totally different jobs with totally different job requirements. Trump could never do Jesus’ job. Only idiot leftists think we Christians expect him to do so.


14 posted on 02/12/2018 7:15:24 AM PST by OrangeHoof (Donald Trump: Doing the work American politicians just won't do.)
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To: Kaslin

It is Orwellian—the term “Christian Liberals”. It is non-sensical as is the term
“homosexual Marriage” (no such union possible) and “social justice” (adjective deforms the word). and “liberal” (fascist) and “right” (Nazis are on the Left) and “welfare” (slavery), “gender” (only two “sexes”) “transgendered” (no possibility of changing boy to girl or vise versa).

Christians can’t love sin and promote evil use of other humans ( using them as means to an end)— esp. promoting such evil ideas to children. Any Christian who corrupts and sexualized little children by putting the evil concept of sodomy and baby-killing into their heads and telling them it is “Good”, is evil and defies God and God’s Laws. They can’t be “Christian” if they corrupt the minds (souls) of little ones. The acts of sodomy and baby-killing are so intrinsically evil and both are abominations, totally anti-God and anti-human (anti-rational/anti-truth).

Wittgenstein stated how important language is to create concepts in children and to be able to communicate ideas to each other. The evil Marxists took over our language with the so-called “Federal Reserve” (which is neither) and the “Income Tax Act” (a Marxist concept anathetical to the Constitution so “null and void” as Justice Marshall stated) so that they could flip Good and Evil, make us slaves, control our economy and fund evil people and their friends to make billionaires out of them so they can control ALL OUR INFORMATION. (Walt. Cronkite and Dan Rather were CIA agents (controlled by the House of Rothschild, etc. as were all major publishing agencies and Hollywood, etc., to control “culture” which controls your emotions). Using the Hegelian Dialectic of “Democrat” v. “Republican” we have a false choice (no free will-—all determined by the House of Rothschild whose enforcers (assassins) were and are the Mossad and CIA who create all the “false flags” and assassinate or threaten (bribe) people like on Epstein’s orgy island and with the boy-sex ring (Franklin) in Washington DC).

We are watching their 100 year old “plan” on Jekyll Island which implemented their plan with their controlled (bribed) puppet, Pres. Wilson. They need to pervert all little children and destroy their natural desires to make them into “happy slaves” and zombies (non-thinking) when they grow up. John Dewey, the communist, took over “education” to warp and control it although local control back then make it take 30 years to get total control of all the states/curricula.

The Marxists made our language (and therefore our “laws”) nonsensical so we would talk over each other-—connotations completely irrational (emotional/triggered) and true Justice (and Truth (God)) (Reason) will be erased. And that is what the Marxists did and are doing by promoting irrational concepts to children and for “discussion”—all irrational: Slavery is Freedom, Up is Down, Boys are Girls and Vice is Virtue.

Reason is impossible with the irrational (and with irrational “words”). Right Reason is essential for Just Law.

Destroy Virtue formation in children by hyper sexualization of children (Sex Ed/Lukacs invention) and taking over textbook publishing to pervert history, destroy words, inject irrationality-—and you own the culture. As Lenin stated, control children for four years and you will own them for life. The agent changers (skool teachers) are trained using weaponized “curricula” to destroy the Minds of children (create non-thinking “group” thinkers-—all conditioned to be unable to use critical thinking (all Classical Christian curricula was totally banned by the 1970s.) John Dewey was a communist and as Rockefeller and the funders of our textbooks and skools stated: “You are to make the children into workers, never thinkers”.

Billy Ayers-types have designed “Common Core” and Goals 2000, Race to the Top and all curricula now-—and they started control over our ideas by 1930 with the invasion of Cultural Marxists into our universities who took them completely over by 1960s. PC is Cultural Marxism and censorship of ideas, particularly the banning of Christianity from the public square and public skools so Satanism, Atheism and all other religions (”faiths”/worldivew”) can be forced onto little minds for Mind Control. (That is what the zombies, snowflakes are-—complete Mind Control Zombies who only hear “cognitive dissonance” when they hear the “truth”) They are totally brainwashed (ideologues).

To take back our culture (minds of our children) we need to reform “law” (words to be rational only). Laws need to promote “public virtue” ONLY since that is what a true justice system does (Montesquieu).

We need to ban the government control of skools (minds of our children—even Socrates stated that if the State controls “education” it will only make slaves for the State). Public schools can ONLY be locally controlled (no boards of education—just parent on any type of voluntary boards which can consist of all parents).

Get rid of govt. indoctrination systems (publik skools) and we can get rid of a lot of property taxes so people can afford to raise and educate their own children (their Natural Duty!!!!! which is necessary for ALL NATURAL RIGHTS (which are the ONLY “rights” embedded in the Constitution-—not unnatural “rights” to do evil (enslave or sodomize others).

One room school rooms 3 hour days—only for 4 - 6 years needed to create a Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson or Tesla who will have advanced training or skill training by 16 or so if needed. People should be done with advanced education by age 22 or so for their most productive years in society and their child producing years.

We have social engineering now to literally destroy Natural instincts in children and corrupt and pervert their emotions, to remove them from their natural parents (destroy individualism and common sense (understanding basis of male/female and all social cues (ability to relate to both male and female in positive, productive way, etc.)


15 posted on 02/12/2018 7:15:29 AM PST by savagesusie (When Law ceases to be Just, it ceases to be Law. (Thomas A./Founders/John Marshall)/Nuremberg)
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To: Kaslin
we are Christians with a very high view of Scripture

If that's the case, why do they seem to be totally focused on just the red letters?

16 posted on 02/12/2018 7:32:17 AM PST by tbpiper
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To: Kaslin
How 'Christian Liberals' Twist the Words of Jesus

How many Christians were involved in making a moral evil a civil right?

17 posted on 02/12/2018 7:58:39 AM PST by MosesKnows (Love Many, Trust Few, and Always Paddle Your Own Canoe)
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To: AppyPappy

Oh, that doesn’t, and needn’t, always happen.

As long as the “conservative” vision of Christ isn’t complete, there’s room to challenge it.

The happy thing is that this verse doesn’t live all by its lonesome, but alongside others that promise the perfecting action of the Lord. He’d rather you voluntarily choose than that He must force the issue, but He would rather force the issue than see you lost.


18 posted on 02/12/2018 8:01:08 AM PST by HiTech RedNeck (Tryin' hard to win the No-Bull Prize.)
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To: tbpiper

But they could ask you, why are you focusing away from the red letters... equally valid.


19 posted on 02/12/2018 8:02:42 AM PST by HiTech RedNeck (Tryin' hard to win the No-Bull Prize.)
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To: MosesKnows

We have to talk about specific issues before we can address that, or whether that’s even a valid question.

Sometimes modern “conservative” Christians assume we have to have a theocracy. That’s not a bible requirement. America reflects circumstances under which a political system was erected to plug-and-play with a people who have a good (but private) bible view. The difference may seem subtle but it’s important. We don’t need the politician or legislator or judge first; we need the evangelist and preacher first.


20 posted on 02/12/2018 8:06:39 AM PST by HiTech RedNeck (Tryin' hard to win the No-Bull Prize.)
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