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The word "liberal" is too often used as a pejorative. That's wrong.
An article published 10-19-2004 on www.commondreams.org, defines the word:
The primary issues of Christian Liberalism were birthed when Jesus spoke the profoundly prophetic words found in Matthew 25:31-46. These scriptures reveal God's heart for the poor, the sick and other neglected people ... . His Liberalism lives on today and the issues have not changed much.Jesus was a liberal. Think about it.Liberalism as defined by Webster's 3rd New International Dictionary: "a political philosophy based on belief in progress, the essential goodness on man, and the autonony of t he individual and standing for tolerance and freedom for the individual from arbitrart authority in all spheres of life.
Some will say that "liberal" means empty-headed, atheistic, unpatriotic. If that is their definition, they err.
Walter Cronkite once wrote:
"I do not consider a liberal necessarily to be a leftist. A liberal to me is one who ... is unbeholden to any specific belief or party or group or person, but makes up his or her mind on the basis of the facts and the presentation of the facts at the time. That defines who I am. I have never voted a party line. I vote on the individual and the issues." -- interview in TIME magazine, 11/3/2003, page 8.
Some quotes which I hold are basic to a liberal position:
The spirit of liberty is the spirit which is not too sure that it is right; it is the spirit which seeks to understand the minds of other men and women; which weighs their interests alongside its own, without bias." Judge Learned Hand -- 5/21/44
If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation,
it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe
what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion .
or other matters of opinion... .
Justice Jackson, 1943
Licence they mean, when they cry "Liberty." For who loves that must be wise and good. John Milton.
Any scientist may read and dismiss them as irrelevant, but he may not dismiss them without reading them, for this is in a sense the mortal sin of science -- not looking at all the evidence at hand. T. M. Hesburgh, SCIENCE, 1/27/1961
Very little of what we do is important. It is, however, important that we do it. -- Greg Cummins, 2/16/03
Property is never owned, only held. We don't own land, we only lease it from our children. -- Colosimos (Mexican statesman)
Ask someone to change -- you need to respect them enough to be able to articulate their position.
11th commandment. Never take thyself too seriously. EEB
The best things in life - are not things.P> There is no saturation point in education. TJ Watson
The spirit of liberty is the spirit which is not too sure that it is right; it is the spirit which seeks to understand the minds of other men and women; which weighs their interests alongside its own, without bias." Judge Learned Hand -- 5/21/44
Christianity -- Not what one believes but to whom we relate. A journey.
Christianity - I don't understand it - but I know what it is about. It is not a checklist; not a transaction; not what we do. But it is who we are.
The goals of a liberal education (adapted from Godsey)
1. Develop the ability to think both clearly and precisely
2. Develop the ability to use language effectively
3. Develop the ability to define & solve problems
4. Develop the ability to analyze data
5. Develop the capacity for self-transcendence
6. Develop the ability to listen
7. Develop the ability to learn how to learn
8. Develop the ability to make informed judgments
9. Develop the ability to make rational moral judgments
10. Understand the impacts of religious commitments
11. Contribute to the advancement of knowledge
12. Develop empathty with other people.
13. Develop an ever expanding life credo
History is filled with evidence that, over and over, conscientious, committed, Bible-believing praying, devout Christians -- have been wrong. Dead wrong. Tragically wrong. Stupidly wrong. Sinfully wrong.
To be a Christian is not to KNOW a truth, but to BE a truth. Kirkegaard
God" is not God's name. It is OUR name for the mystery that looms within and without and beyond the limits of our vision.
Whenever an individual considers a given (mental) process as being too obvious to permit of any investigation into its origin, and shows resistance to such an investigation, we are right in suspecting that the actual origin is concealed from him -- almost certainly because of its unacceptable nature. - Ernest Jones
At the last judgment, the balcony-sitter may plead, "I never harmed a fly." But the Judge will say, "The fly that you never harmed carried the plague to millions." -- Franklin Littell (1969)
"This world is no native country of yours; go where you will, you are only a foreigner, only a visitor in it. Nothing will ever bring you rest except being closely united to Jesus. Why stand gaping here? This is no place for you to settle down. Heaven is your destination and you should look upon this earthly scene only as a transit-camp."
I don't believe in a fate that falls on men however they act; but I do believe in a fate that falls on men unless they act. G. K. Chesterton
Never ascribe to malice that which may simply be incompetence or ignorance. Never ascribe to incompetence that which may simply be a contrary assumption.
Our life begins to end on that day when we become silent about things that matter. MLK Jr.
Inarticulate repugnance does not ground a moral view.
The mind, once expanded to the dimensions of larger ideas, never returns to its original size. liver Wendell Holmes Jr.