The following post is from July of 2012. I hope to occasionally bring back old posts for only a day or so, in fact I do already, for readers who happen to be visiting these posts on that day:
Liberal...Churl...And Conservative
We often hear people saying that they don't like labels. I understand where they are coming from, or at least where they think they are coming from but in reality we all fit some label, it's just that some fit the particular label perfectly and some fit not so perfectly. The labels Liberal, Churl and Conservative are the topic of this post.
It's funny how many of those who say that they don't like labels such as liberal will then proceed to label themselves a moderate. Does the Bible say anything about the liberal of today? Actually it does...sort of. Read for yourself Isaiah 32:5, this from the King James, "The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful." The English Standard Version and many others translate the word liberal as noble but the general meaning is the same. This is from the ESV..."The fool will no more be called noble, nor the scoundrel said to be honorable." Here is the setting behind this verse: Isaiah is describing a Messianic Kingdom in which man will live in peace with each other, and honesty will prevail among men and no more will the vile person be called noble or liberal, for these men in the day of Isaiah boasted of their good deeds and compassion but were in fact vile and in rebellion to God. They were acclaimed to be noble or liberal, but were anything but.
Solomon wrote that there is nothing new under the sun. The culture back then that acclaimed the vile to be noble is more than similar to today. As I wrote of in a recent post, the Democrat of yesterday who was often liberal in the noble sense of the word has been replaced by the liberal, in Isaiah's vile sense of the word. I'm speaking here of the leadership in the Democrat Party for the past twenty or so years. They claim to care for the poor, the oppressed, women, children and minorities but it is a facade. They take pride in the word liberal but are the vile only acclaimed as noble.
What about the churl? Merriam-Webster describes a churl as a "stingy, morose person" and the Hebrew implies a person who withholds due benefits. This sounds, to me anyway, like the movers and the shakers of today who rake in millions of dollars, mostly in bonuses given partially on profits and partially on the backs of anyone who they depend upon to make those profits. We in the conservative movement come perilously close to labelling these churls as merely bountiful or successful. We glorify capitalism and the free market but they are mechanisms that can be, and often are....corrupted.
What about the conservative... those who hold to traditions, who are skeptical of change without proof that the change would be an improvement, for otherwise change can send us reeling backwards? The conservative is generally a law abiding, hard working, God-fearing person who just wants to live in peace. I'm speaking here of the ideal of conservatism, not everyone who claims the label. The average conservative may not be perfect but the cause is noble even if he, she or I fall short. The New King James Version translates the word liberal in question in this post as generous and verse 8 of the same 32nd chapter of Isaiah reads, "But a generous man devises generous things, and by generosity he shall stand." May God bring us together in this country but only as we seek His will which is perfect and not ours which can be corrupt.
Postscript: The first verse of Isaiah 32 reads...."Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule with justice."
Liberal...Churl...And Conservative
We often hear people saying that they don't like labels. I understand where they are coming from, or at least where they think they are coming from but in reality we all fit some label, it's just that some fit the particular label perfectly and some fit not so perfectly. The labels Liberal, Churl and Conservative are the topic of this post.
It's funny how many of those who say that they don't like labels such as liberal will then proceed to label themselves a moderate. Does the Bible say anything about the liberal of today? Actually it does...sort of. Read for yourself Isaiah 32:5, this from the King James, "The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful." The English Standard Version and many others translate the word liberal as noble but the general meaning is the same. This is from the ESV..."The fool will no more be called noble, nor the scoundrel said to be honorable." Here is the setting behind this verse: Isaiah is describing a Messianic Kingdom in which man will live in peace with each other, and honesty will prevail among men and no more will the vile person be called noble or liberal, for these men in the day of Isaiah boasted of their good deeds and compassion but were in fact vile and in rebellion to God. They were acclaimed to be noble or liberal, but were anything but.
Solomon wrote that there is nothing new under the sun. The culture back then that acclaimed the vile to be noble is more than similar to today. As I wrote of in a recent post, the Democrat of yesterday who was often liberal in the noble sense of the word has been replaced by the liberal, in Isaiah's vile sense of the word. I'm speaking here of the leadership in the Democrat Party for the past twenty or so years. They claim to care for the poor, the oppressed, women, children and minorities but it is a facade. They take pride in the word liberal but are the vile only acclaimed as noble.
What about the churl? Merriam-Webster describes a churl as a "stingy, morose person" and the Hebrew implies a person who withholds due benefits. This sounds, to me anyway, like the movers and the shakers of today who rake in millions of dollars, mostly in bonuses given partially on profits and partially on the backs of anyone who they depend upon to make those profits. We in the conservative movement come perilously close to labelling these churls as merely bountiful or successful. We glorify capitalism and the free market but they are mechanisms that can be, and often are....corrupted.
What about the conservative... those who hold to traditions, who are skeptical of change without proof that the change would be an improvement, for otherwise change can send us reeling backwards? The conservative is generally a law abiding, hard working, God-fearing person who just wants to live in peace. I'm speaking here of the ideal of conservatism, not everyone who claims the label. The average conservative may not be perfect but the cause is noble even if he, she or I fall short. The New King James Version translates the word liberal in question in this post as generous and verse 8 of the same 32nd chapter of Isaiah reads, "But a generous man devises generous things, and by generosity he shall stand." May God bring us together in this country but only as we seek His will which is perfect and not ours which can be corrupt.
Postscript: The first verse of Isaiah 32 reads...."Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule with justice."
