I fear this is one of the reasons you've had trouble getting your book published. You are quite careless at times in communicating the nuances of what you're trying to say.
I'm still not entirely sure whether what you are trying to say is, "Yes, liberals can be Christians, I just think they're really, really wrong about some of their beliefs," or "No, liberals aren't really Christians even if they think they are, because their beliefs are contrary to Christianity."
(Replace "liberals" with "Obama" in the above paragraph, if you like.)
And I'm also not sure whether the ambiguity is because you're waffling, or because you just don't realize that you are not being clear.
I know you're a Catholic and you therefore believe that all non-Catholics have it wrong to some degree. I also know that the Roman Catholic Church recognizes Protestants as Christian, even if they're "wrong." So you don't need to give me a lecture on the viewpoint of Rome.
However, at least here in the U.S., there are an awful lot of people who are even more selective about who is a "real" Christian. They don't just exclude, say, non-Trinitarians, as you do, but pretty much anyone who disagrees with them about anything. In their minds, what they believe is what Jesus believes, and if you disagree with Jesus, you're not a Christian.
So, "liberals aren't Christians" is a very common sentiment, even if rarely expressed quite so bluntly.
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Date: 2009-12-19 08:30 pm (UTC)I'm still not entirely sure whether what you are trying to say is, "Yes, liberals can be Christians, I just think they're really, really wrong about some of their beliefs," or "No, liberals aren't really Christians even if they think they are, because their beliefs are contrary to Christianity."
(Replace "liberals" with "Obama" in the above paragraph, if you like.)
And I'm also not sure whether the ambiguity is because you're waffling, or because you just don't realize that you are not being clear.
I know you're a Catholic and you therefore believe that all non-Catholics have it wrong to some degree. I also know that the Roman Catholic Church recognizes Protestants as Christian, even if they're "wrong." So you don't need to give me a lecture on the viewpoint of Rome.
However, at least here in the U.S., there are an awful lot of people who are even more selective about who is a "real" Christian. They don't just exclude, say, non-Trinitarians, as you do, but pretty much anyone who disagrees with them about anything. In their minds, what they believe is what Jesus believes, and if you disagree with Jesus, you're not a Christian.
So, "liberals aren't Christians" is a very common sentiment, even if rarely expressed quite so bluntly.