Unity, forgiveness, mercy, and constant appeasement are to be more highly favored than righteousness, holiness, faithfulness, and obedience.
I call this more of the "feel good" Christianity that is prevalent in a lot of megachurches. There's an emphasis on personal fulfillment over holiness, obedience, or righteousness. The difference I see is that lefty churches emphasize more recycling and righty churches emphasize more family nights.
Of course, that's oversimplifying the differences, I realize. The new star of the Christian Left is Rick Warren, whose The Purpose Driven Life books fit nicely with my characterization of righty churches who are more about personal fulfillment.
McCullough states more clearly the difference between the Christian Left and the Religious Right:
The American political left believe that only Americans should have the right to live in freedom, thus their hesitation and belligerence in advancing freedom in other corners of the globe. But is not freedom a gift from God, for his creation? The American political left is not concerned with the freedom and liberation of the unborn child - but they will speak at length about the evil of slavery that ended in the 1800's. It was not leftists that marched for full civil rights in the 1960's and it was not democrats who granted full civil rights in the 1870's.
(Jim) Wallis and company will argue for the relief of poverty but give political support to liberals in America who seek to keep the poor impoverished, and dependent upon government for the well being of their family, and future. Conservatives are the ones who wish to see taxes reduced, so that government revenues increase, safety net programs insured - and fewer people needing them in the first place.
McCullough also points out that tsunami aid and aid for the Katrina victims came not from the left but from the religious right, who take seriously Jesus's admonition to care for the poor and those in need.
Jesus said that by their works you shall know them. Examining their works makes that pretty easy.
Johnson said...
ReplyDeleteIf you think The Purpose Driven Life is about fulfillment, you haven't read it! The opening sentence of the book is "It's not about you!" and the entire point of that book is that life is NOT about your own fulfullment but about serving God by serving others.
The reason Warren gets attacked is because he wrote a counter-culture book that pricks the ego of so many self-obsessed, self-serving people.
The other reason Warren gets attacked by both the Left wing and the Right wing is because he refuses to be identified with either label. Remember his famnous quote "I am neither right wing nor left wing, I am for the whole bird. A bird with only one wing will just flap around in a circle and never get off the ground."
When you have someone who is staunchly pro-life and opposes gay marriage, yet at the same time is feeding the poor,caring for the sick, and educating the illiterate,
Warren is the best example of a Compassionate Conservative, or better yet, how about just labeling him "an authentic follower of Christ"?