Conservative vs. Liberal Christians

Here we are. A society that defines itself either liberal as opposed to conservative, right verses left, far left verses far right or independent. We classify ourselves this way in all aspects of life but in this case we will refer strictly to our Christian faith and most especially our Catholic faith.

We boast of our advanced intelligence and express our “modern philosophies” but are we all that modern? No, not at all. Our society has digressed to a level of permissiveness that is perverse while we strive to redefine what we know is truth to conform it to fit what is most self indulging. In fact, today our social standards and permissiveness mirror that of the Caligula society during the first century. We’ve explained this in previous articles so we will not repeat the distorted elements or lack of morality that conform us to that era again here.  

In Christianity there is a call to faith that is expressed by a way of life of which we are taught by Jesus Christ. Scripture and the Church together teach that way of life and the moral values that are intrinsic to live as true Christians. Scripture does not teach a conservative way of Christian life or a liberal way of Christian life. It does not teach us we can selectively defy the teachings of Christ in our faith determined by what is most convenient or self gratifying to us as individuals. It does not teach us we can manipulate our conscience to serve our greater desires within a particular culture. The cultural elements of any given society are after all, nothing more than the adopted practices of the majority based on opinions. Opinions change based on what one considers as advantageous to the individual within that culture or period.

But God does not change; neither does moral values or truth change, but rather are respected or rejected. Principles of faith are either abided by or ignored. There are no conservative or liberal versions of Christian faith; we invented these categories to serve our own interests. We must be honest with ourselves before we can be honest with others. Many of us ignore our call to worship the Lord even one day a week. We claim sin is not sin, sexual promiscuity is not lacking in self respect or respect toward others, pregnancy to a single parent or outside of a marital commitment is acceptable and does not deprive a child of the benefits of a loving parental commitment or the influence of being raised by a father and mother during the growth of a child, divorce is as valid as marriage, abortion is not murder of human life, homosexual relationships are not adverse to nature, science, morality or the will of God, marriage is merely a civil agreement between any two people and is not a covenant intended strictly between one man and one woman but whoever chooses to enter into it including those of the same sex.

The fact is, if one believes in God and the judgment each of us will one day face, we must turn back to recognizing reality and stop kidding ourselves by claiming to be conservative or liberal in matters of living our faith. We must realize that claiming our conscience is good with the choices we make even when defiant of scripture and the Church either reflects an ill-informed conscience or a conscience that we have distorted for self-gratification. Is it difficult to live a truly Christian life? Not if you know your faith well enough to have a meaningful relationship with Jesus Christ. As in any loving relationship, self control and moral values are expressed willingly in the desire to preserve a loving relationship. Truth: there is no conservative Christian faith. In matters of faith, those considered conservative are actually striving to live their faith properly and “liberal” is living faith by convenience. Will we be judged on our choosing to live a truly Christian life or liberal way of life? The answer is in the following verse from Revelations, by which one can judge for them self the eternity they choose for them self. 

 "I know your works; I know that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, 'I am rich and affluent and have no need of anything,' and yet do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I advise you to buy from me gold (grace) refined by fire (purified by perseverance in faith) so that you may be rich (righteous), and white garments to put on so that your shameful nakedness may not be exposed, and buy ointment to smear on your eyes so that you may see.”  (Revelations CH3: vs15-18)