The Extent of Openness-How "Liberal" can we Be?- Please Reply

                                                                       April 21, 2014






One of the things that occur in religion, is the tendency for people to automatically and blindly dismiss the perspectives and views of those whose beliefs are different. This dismissal takes place
without examining the history and origins of those different belief systems.  Furthermore, in many instances, dismissal takes place on the basis of hearsay about that belief system, and not on direct familiarity with it.  In addition to the aforementioned, many people discard other belief systems on the basis of the assumed truth of their own belief system.  For example, a practicing Christian may dismiss Buddhist, Hindu, or Muslim claims simply on that fact that "the Bible says."  In other words,
that Christian invalidates the claim of the other faith groups on the basis of the claims of her own/his own faith group. For that person, the Bible is the ultimate standard of absolute truth, and every other claim to truth has to be measured by what "the Bible says."


There is in Christianity, just like there may be in other faith groups, a perspective which is known as the "liberal perspective."  Unfortunately, many Christians have interpreted the term "liberal" to mean "anything goes.," in other words, that one belief is as good as another.  The term "liberal" has come to be associated with the concept of embracing the denial of the supernatural elements in Scripture such as the Virgin birth, the miracles, and the Resurrection.  Other Christians associate the term "liberal" with a denial of the divine inspiration of the Bible, and others yet, associate this term with accepting the belief in evolution vs. creationism.  En fin, the term "liberal" came to take on a negative connotation.   For many Christians, the term "liberal" is a "no, no," in terms of being incorporated into Christian theology. For Christians who think of "liberal" in negative terms,"liberalism" is something that should be avoided and even denounced as something which goes against the tenets of the Christian faith.


In the strictest sense of the word, "liberal" was a term intended to mean "broad-mindedness," and furthermore, "openness" to a variety of perspectives as opposed to being "dogmatic" and "opinionated."  It was designed to discourage closed and narrow-mindedness.  It was also intended to get people to think "outside the box."


It is precisely this concept of "openness" that I would invite you to consider here.  The question is, how "open" should we be?  If I can use the analogy of a window, I would ask, should we keep the window completely closed and run the risk of suffocation? Should we put a screen on the window so that we can receive some air and at the same time prevent the flies and the mosquitoes from coming in?  Or should we open the window up, getting more air, but yet risking flies and mosquitoes coming in?  Does being "liberal" mean that we surrender our basic convictions, or can we hold on to those convictions while at the same time being open to other beliefs and convictions without demonizing those who subscribe to those whose beliefs and convictions are different from ours?


Please share your views on this matter with us.  It would really help us to dialogue and to understand each other.  I look forward to hearing from you.


Brother, colleague, and friend,,


Juan Ayala-Carmona