''. . . if by a liberal they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people - their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties - someone who believes that we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a liberal, then I'm proud to say that I'm a liberal.” John F. Kennedy, speaking before the New York State Liberal Party, Sept 14, 1960.
This seems quite compatible with the Golden Rule of Matthew 7:12.
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Musings on science, the Bible, and fantastic literature (and sometimes basketball and other stuff).
God speaks to us through the Bible and the findings of science, and we should listen to both types of revelation.
The title is from Psalm 84:11.
The Wikipedia is usually a pretty good reference. I mostly use the World English Bible (WEB), because it is public domain. I am grateful.
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The posts in this blog are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. You can copy and use this material, as long as you aren't making money from it. If you give me credit, thanks. If not, OK.
5 comments:
Y'know ... that definition of "liberal" has a not-entirely-tacit negative stereotype of conservatives as people who do not look ahead but look behind, react rigidly to new ideas, do not care about health, housing, schooling, jobs, rights, or liberties, and feel hopeless on the international scene (besides being probably suspicious). Which leads to the question: Would propagating negative stereotypes of his political opponents be compatible with Matthew 7:12?
No, propagating negative stereotypes is not compatible with Matthew 7:12. But, of course, liberals don't have a monopoly on doing that sort of thing.
Thanks for your comment.
I don't think anybody has a monopoly on sin! Or on being forward-looking, pro-education, etc. Kennedy was playing to a "home crowd" when he made those fairly off-putting comments. I think most people make their most outrageous and narrow, partisan comments when they're safely with their own. Just one of the ways in which civility erodes more quickly behind closed doors.
Take care & God bless
WF
. . . or at political rallies, which often aren't behind closed doors.
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