Liberal Feelings vs. Judeo-Christian Values

February 22, 2005 Posted by Roger OvertoncloseAuthor: Roger Overton Name: Roger Overton
Email: rogeroverton@hotmail.com
Site: http://ateamblog.com
About: Roger Overton is currently pursuing a Masters degree at Talbot School of Theology. He has addressed various churches, schools and youth camps throughout the United States. Roger was co-editor of The New Media Frontier (Crossway, 2008) and God and Governing (Wipf & Stock, 2009). Roger can be emailed at rogeroverton@hotmail.com.See Authors Posts (569)

Dennis Prager's column today, Liberal Feelings vs. Judeo-Christian Values, is a MUST read.

The dichotomy is simple: In general, the liberal left holds their views and decisions based on how they feel, while the conservative right bases them on what they believe are objective truths. This is why the left doesn't argue for positions, they tell stories (remember Al Gore, “Now let me tell you about 83 year Ethel Swanson. She has no teeth, half a lung, cyphilis, and she takes 342 different medications!”). The right puts forth arguments, often with evidence to substantiate their arguments (see Bush's stem cell research speech). It may be that the right is wrong in some cases, but in putting forth arguments they appeal to more than the mood they're in when they're talking.

During the last election I was startled, at first, to see how many “Kerry/Edwards” stickers there were on vehicles at my church. For a congregation that isn't taught to think about issues, though, this makes sense. The more you base your views on emotional appeal the further left you go, and this is descriptive of what's happening in many of our churches becuase this is a larger cultural problem. The problem is that what is good and true and beautiful is not always what feels good or feels right. I'm sure there were many who didn't feel great about fighting in WWII. Reagan didn't feel good about having an execution done while he was governor. But these men were convinced that their feelings were irrelevant; they were convinced that what they were doing what actually the right thing to do. God grant us the courage, boldness, and wisdom to stand for the good, the truth, and the beautiful even when we lack the emotional motivation to do so.

Hat tip: Melinda Penner

Related posts:

1. Moving Values from the Freezer to the Medicine Cabinet
2. Book Review: Feelings and Faith by Brian Borgman
3. It's Not Looking Good for Liberal Christianity
4. ETS 2008 – Mark Wittmer "Machen on McLaren: A New Kind of Liberal?"
5. America Bewitched?
6. Book Review: Passing the Plate by Christian Smith and Michael Emerson

Posted in Culture, Ethics, Main Page, Religion (General), Roger's Posts