View Story | 256 comments
Comments: Expand Shrink Hide (Always) | Indented Flat (Always)
Excellent post, one worth more detailed follow-ups. Liberalism has a religious foundation, one that shouldn't be denied.
I was raised a Southern Baptist, but it always ill suited me. My wife and I joined a Unitarian Universalist church three years ago, and the history of activism, particularly liberal, is pronounced in their and even in U.S. history. (I'll submit the links later.) I'm not talking up UU, just using it as an example.
The problem is two-fold: The attitude towards religion and the appropriation of the face of religion by Falwell, Robertson, and Reed.
I would like to see liberals live their values and respect differences. It is a shame when some liberals think that religion doesn't count.
--Tx Bubba
by Tx Bubba on Fri Oct 24, 2003 at 06:23:34 AM PDT
I appreciate this phrase. It is like the appropriation of the flag by the American right. When extremists lay claim to symbols that belong to a much broader group, it is hard for the majority to regain control and title to what should be theirs.
I don't know what the answer is. There's an old word that used to mean something: heresy. Those in the Christian mainstream have every right to call Fallwell, and that crowd, heretics. They are. By any reasonable definition of the term, that's exactly what they are -- but the word no longer has any force. Given its bloodied history, I'm fairly sure that's more good than bad. Still, its lack leaves real Christians without much of a defense against those false prophets who would redefine their religion.
Folly is fractal: the closer you look at it, the more of it there is.
by Canadian Reader on Fri Oct 24, 2003 at 01:37:50 PM PDT
[ Parent ]
I think maybe you should be. Both as individuals and as an organization, UUs do a lot of great stuff. It's a fantastic example of how a religion can exist without being ruled by dogma. I know a number of people who had bad experiences with Chrisitianity who really had their eyes opened by Unitarian Universalism.
by jtwdog on Fri Oct 24, 2003 at 03:51:18 PM PDT
wide narrow
View Story | 256 comments