"What don't you like about liberalism?"
The question is out there, having been asked, and so I mulled that over seriously. What don't I like about liberalism?
Liberalism. n.
1. The state or quality of being liberal.
2. Liberalism
1. A political theory founded on the natural goodness of humans and the autonomy of the individual and favoring civil and political liberties, government by law with the consent of the governed, and protection from arbitrary authority.
2. often Liberalism The tenets or policies of a Liberal party.
3. An economic theory in favor of laissez-faire, the free market, and the gold standard.
4. Liberalism
1. A 19th-century Protestant movement that favored free intellectual inquiry, stressed the ethical and humanitarian content of Christianity, and de-emphasized dogmatic theology.
2. A 19th-century Roman Catholic movement that favored political democracy and ecclesiastical reform but was theologically orthodox.
There is a lot there. Liberalism is a movement for change, and that in itself is not bad. It is, in fact, inevitable. To hold on to tradition simply because it is tradition is a losing proposition. I picture Tevye singing "Tradition" in the musical Fiddler on the Roof while the life he has known comes under attack. He found himself unable to withstand forces he didn't entirely understand.
There are religious sects that believe that life ended in, say, 1830, like the Amish. There are some highly conservative Christian groups who think that clothes and hairstyles must be from 1962 or earlier, or so one would think. I don't suppose that really harms anyone but it strikes me as a bit odd.
Change can be good. In the computer world, change helps pay the bills. Everything is dog years in the computer world, we say, so companies have to keep updating their hardware and software and the way security operates is continually in flux. I change my clothes (heck, even take a shower first) so I won't stink.
I also like "free intellectual inquiry". Man has a mind, he should use it. Great Christian scientists like Newton, great semi-believers like Einstein and great atheists like Isaac Asimiov all pursued truth as they understood it rather than to be content with what others believed. Man has a creative and inquisitive mind. I would say that this is because he is modeled after his Creator. He should not be afraid to seek out the truth, no matter where it leads him. If it leads him to God, as it did in my case, then the man becomes a Christian.
"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use." --Galileo Galilei
Where I first have problems with liberalism is here: "the natural goodness of humans and the autonomy of the individual". I don't believe that people are naturally good, first of all. You have to teach a child the difference between right and wrong, but you sure don't have to teach him to do wrong! People are born selfish. Goodness is something we train into our children, not something that just naturally happens. The best of us still struggle with evil thoughts and compunctions and hopefully overcome the desire to do them. But I sure don't believe in the natural goodness of man, not by a long shot.
Romans 3:10 - As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one;
Jesus said this in Matthew 19:17 - "Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments."
Both echo words from the Psalms, such as Psalm 41:1 - The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
This country was founded on the Judeo-Christian ethics taken from the Bible. We have the Ten Commandments as foundational to what is considered right and wrong. Because liberalism rejects God as the authority for what is right or wrong, then man makes his own rules. This is why a liberal will typically be pro-abortion. Now I believe that it is obviously murder when you kill an unborn child. Did any of you have the stomach to look into Abortion73.com?Even very early in a pregnancy, the baby is obviously a small child. Liberals almost always champion the murder of the unborn. That is one thing I have against liberalism.
Secondly, there is the tendency of liberalism to take civil liberties and under that guise try to invent civil "rights" such as the "right to gay marriage" or "right to free healthcare" and so on. What? Who says you have a RIGHT to change the institution of marriage. Who says healthcare must be free and that is a right? Liberalism is great for inventing "rights" and then trying to circumvent the established laws by packing the courts with lefty judges who overturn the laws enacted by the representatives of the people in order to advance liberal agendas (so much for "government by law with the consent of the governed")! The 9th Circuit Court is a great example of judges who believe they are there to make law rather than preserve it.
I mentioned in an earlier posting that Humanism is the foundational belief for a large segment of the Darwinist community and that is true of a large segment of the liberal community. The tend to be one and the same. Humanism is a very selfish philosophy, even though humanists may endorse some self-sacrificing activities. Humanism says that even though one man may not be the center of the universe, mankind IS and liberalism says the same thing. Man is the ultimate authority.
A Christian believes that God is the final authority and will base his philosophy on that idea. Now Christians vary widely in belief systems even with that said, and so there are Christians who are pretty liberal as well as Christians who are staunch conservatives. Labels, generalities, they all fail to define individuals. I am likely more conservative than the evolution-believers who usually comment on this site, but less so than a couple of the creationists. We are all individuals and this, too, should be part of the Christian outlook. God gave us all free will, we are free to be right or wrong, to succeed or fail, to seek God out or turn away from Him.
In summary, I find that the majority of liberals are Darwinists, they are pro-abortion, they are for "gay marriage", they were against going to Iraq and they are usually Democrats. I am a creationist, pro-life, for us going to Iraq and usually vote Republican. But I do find liberal politicians and celebrities to be a rich source of humor. For instance:
Actress Drew Barrymore, who reportedly earns $15 million a film, told MTV viewers in one episode that after spending time in a primitive, electricity-free Chilean village, "I aspire to be like them more."
Barrymore, apparently enthralled by the lack of a modern sanitary facilities, gleefully bragged, "I took a poo in the woods hunched over like an animal. It was awesome."
Cameron Diaz, who earns a reported $20-million a movie, boasted that the cow-dung slathered walls of a Nepalese village hut were "beautiful" and "inspiring," and she called the primitive practice of "pounding mud" with sticks to construct a building foundation "the coolest thing."
"I'm not going to have some reporters pawing through Our papers. We are the president." --Hillary Clinton
"We are ready for an unforeseen event that may or may not occur."--Al Gore
"If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure." --Bill Clinton, President
"Whenever I watch TV and see those poor starving kids all over the world, I can't help but cry. I mean I'd love to be skinny like that, but not with all those flies and death and stuff." --Mariah Carey
"Smoking kills. If you're killed, you've lost a very important part of your life." -- Brooke Shields
"Those who survived the San Francisco earthquake said, 'Thank God, I'm still alive.' But, of course, those who died, their lives will never be the same again." --Barbara Boxer
Pretty much anything that Barbra Streisand, Johnny Depp or Martin Sheen has said concerning geopolitical matters over the last few years. Do conservatives ever say any dumb, funny stuff? Sure, but they just don't do it as often and with as much vigor. As Howard Dean would say,
"Yeahaarfgghtyhhhhhh!!!!!!!!"
Liberalism. n.
1. The state or quality of being liberal.
2. Liberalism
1. A political theory founded on the natural goodness of humans and the autonomy of the individual and favoring civil and political liberties, government by law with the consent of the governed, and protection from arbitrary authority.
2. often Liberalism The tenets or policies of a Liberal party.
3. An economic theory in favor of laissez-faire, the free market, and the gold standard.
4. Liberalism
1. A 19th-century Protestant movement that favored free intellectual inquiry, stressed the ethical and humanitarian content of Christianity, and de-emphasized dogmatic theology.
2. A 19th-century Roman Catholic movement that favored political democracy and ecclesiastical reform but was theologically orthodox.
There is a lot there. Liberalism is a movement for change, and that in itself is not bad. It is, in fact, inevitable. To hold on to tradition simply because it is tradition is a losing proposition. I picture Tevye singing "Tradition" in the musical Fiddler on the Roof while the life he has known comes under attack. He found himself unable to withstand forces he didn't entirely understand.
There are religious sects that believe that life ended in, say, 1830, like the Amish. There are some highly conservative Christian groups who think that clothes and hairstyles must be from 1962 or earlier, or so one would think. I don't suppose that really harms anyone but it strikes me as a bit odd.
Change can be good. In the computer world, change helps pay the bills. Everything is dog years in the computer world, we say, so companies have to keep updating their hardware and software and the way security operates is continually in flux. I change my clothes (heck, even take a shower first) so I won't stink.
I also like "free intellectual inquiry". Man has a mind, he should use it. Great Christian scientists like Newton, great semi-believers like Einstein and great atheists like Isaac Asimiov all pursued truth as they understood it rather than to be content with what others believed. Man has a creative and inquisitive mind. I would say that this is because he is modeled after his Creator. He should not be afraid to seek out the truth, no matter where it leads him. If it leads him to God, as it did in my case, then the man becomes a Christian.
"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use." --Galileo Galilei
Where I first have problems with liberalism is here: "the natural goodness of humans and the autonomy of the individual". I don't believe that people are naturally good, first of all. You have to teach a child the difference between right and wrong, but you sure don't have to teach him to do wrong! People are born selfish. Goodness is something we train into our children, not something that just naturally happens. The best of us still struggle with evil thoughts and compunctions and hopefully overcome the desire to do them. But I sure don't believe in the natural goodness of man, not by a long shot.
Romans 3:10 - As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one;
Jesus said this in Matthew 19:17 - "Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments."
Both echo words from the Psalms, such as Psalm 41:1 - The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
This country was founded on the Judeo-Christian ethics taken from the Bible. We have the Ten Commandments as foundational to what is considered right and wrong. Because liberalism rejects God as the authority for what is right or wrong, then man makes his own rules. This is why a liberal will typically be pro-abortion. Now I believe that it is obviously murder when you kill an unborn child. Did any of you have the stomach to look into Abortion73.com?Even very early in a pregnancy, the baby is obviously a small child. Liberals almost always champion the murder of the unborn. That is one thing I have against liberalism.
Secondly, there is the tendency of liberalism to take civil liberties and under that guise try to invent civil "rights" such as the "right to gay marriage" or "right to free healthcare" and so on. What? Who says you have a RIGHT to change the institution of marriage. Who says healthcare must be free and that is a right? Liberalism is great for inventing "rights" and then trying to circumvent the established laws by packing the courts with lefty judges who overturn the laws enacted by the representatives of the people in order to advance liberal agendas (so much for "government by law with the consent of the governed")! The 9th Circuit Court is a great example of judges who believe they are there to make law rather than preserve it.
I mentioned in an earlier posting that Humanism is the foundational belief for a large segment of the Darwinist community and that is true of a large segment of the liberal community. The tend to be one and the same. Humanism is a very selfish philosophy, even though humanists may endorse some self-sacrificing activities. Humanism says that even though one man may not be the center of the universe, mankind IS and liberalism says the same thing. Man is the ultimate authority.
A Christian believes that God is the final authority and will base his philosophy on that idea. Now Christians vary widely in belief systems even with that said, and so there are Christians who are pretty liberal as well as Christians who are staunch conservatives. Labels, generalities, they all fail to define individuals. I am likely more conservative than the evolution-believers who usually comment on this site, but less so than a couple of the creationists. We are all individuals and this, too, should be part of the Christian outlook. God gave us all free will, we are free to be right or wrong, to succeed or fail, to seek God out or turn away from Him.
In summary, I find that the majority of liberals are Darwinists, they are pro-abortion, they are for "gay marriage", they were against going to Iraq and they are usually Democrats. I am a creationist, pro-life, for us going to Iraq and usually vote Republican. But I do find liberal politicians and celebrities to be a rich source of humor. For instance:
Actress Drew Barrymore, who reportedly earns $15 million a film, told MTV viewers in one episode that after spending time in a primitive, electricity-free Chilean village, "I aspire to be like them more."
Barrymore, apparently enthralled by the lack of a modern sanitary facilities, gleefully bragged, "I took a poo in the woods hunched over like an animal. It was awesome."
Cameron Diaz, who earns a reported $20-million a movie, boasted that the cow-dung slathered walls of a Nepalese village hut were "beautiful" and "inspiring," and she called the primitive practice of "pounding mud" with sticks to construct a building foundation "the coolest thing."
"I'm not going to have some reporters pawing through Our papers. We are the president." --Hillary Clinton
"We are ready for an unforeseen event that may or may not occur."--Al Gore
"If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure." --Bill Clinton, President
"Whenever I watch TV and see those poor starving kids all over the world, I can't help but cry. I mean I'd love to be skinny like that, but not with all those flies and death and stuff." --Mariah Carey
"Smoking kills. If you're killed, you've lost a very important part of your life." -- Brooke Shields
"Those who survived the San Francisco earthquake said, 'Thank God, I'm still alive.' But, of course, those who died, their lives will never be the same again." --Barbara Boxer
Pretty much anything that Barbra Streisand, Johnny Depp or Martin Sheen has said concerning geopolitical matters over the last few years. Do conservatives ever say any dumb, funny stuff? Sure, but they just don't do it as often and with as much vigor. As Howard Dean would say,
"Yeahaarfgghtyhhhhhh!!!!!!!!"