Editor, Times-Union: Liberal theology has traditionally embraced ecumenism and the historical/critical interpretation of scripture. In contrast, conservative theology considers historic Christianity to be absolute truth, with scripture being the literal final rule of all aspects of life today. Evangelicalism today seems more progressive and shifting toward liberalism.
In the past, Evangelicals were aggressive in preaching against Mormonism, in order to curb its spread and prevent the Mormon “White Horse Prophecy” from being fulfilled. It was believed followers of Mormonism were lost souls deceived by Satan and needed to be evangelized. Today Evangelicals seem more ecumenical. They seem willing to see Mormons as one of them. And for the sake of personal/national/global economic well being, they seem willing to set aside the old Evangelical charges that Mormons have a counterfeit gospel and worship a false God.
But in the past, Evangelicals would place the importance of worshipping the true God and preaching the authentic gospel of Jesus Christ over economic issues. Jesus said you cannot serve God and money, you must choose. But many Evangelicals today seem to follow the lead of liberal scripture scholars and understand Jesus’ teaching as being set in an historical context/situation and not be taken literally today. Therefore, some Evangelicals think giving to those who ask without expecting anything in return does not apply today, since they believe people today are poor because they are lazy and just want to teach off the rich. For these Evangelicals, the teachings of Ayn Rand trumps the teachings of Jesus Christ.
Jesus’ teaching on taxes is another area we can’t take literally today. Jesus, when asked about taxes, commanded his followers to render unto Caesar what is his, knowing full well that their tax money would be used to finance things that were immoral. In contrast, many Evangelicals today are members of the Taxed Enough Already party, which protests taxes and many of the programs the tax money funds. In a sense, many Evangelicals do with Christ’s teachings on taxes/money, what mainline churches do with homosexuality/same sex marriage. Both understand the issues as being set in a historical context that doesn’t apply today.
Many will see Evangelicalism’s move toward liberalism as positive and unifying. Truth is relative, and therefore not useful in bringing about the unity/peace the world needs. So downplaying the truth of God and his word for economic reasons will be seen as a wise move.
But a small number of conservatives will not embrace such a move, seeing it as the beginning of the end. They take orthodoxy seriously, with the love of God and neighbor being primary. It may sound archaic to many of us, but for conservatives, the First Commandment is non-negotiable, since God will visit the iniquity of the fathers onto the children if the commandment is not kept. Therefore, for them, all economic and social issues are secondary.
