‘Liberal’ meaning

Dear editor:

In his latest “missile” that he fired at me (Sunday, June 11), Mr. “Doc” stated that I don’t like the word “compromise” because it suggests a “liberal attitude” that seems to be anathema to me. What I particularly don’t like is how the left-wing, liberal, progressive side compromises God’s truths into whatever they want it to be! Yes, I am very concerned and passionately so about the disturbing state of affairs that your side is trying to bring about!

And you were not exactly correct in accusing me of calling you “evil.” No, I wasn’t labeling you an evil man, rather I was pointing out how that God greatly disapproves calling something that is evil — a good thing or vice versa. Committing that act is what is evil. The verse I quoted was Isaiah 5:20, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil.” Your argument is with God!

An example of this would be to call abortion something good when it is certainly very wrong in God’s teaching in the Bible. Another example of a wrongdoing that some in our increasingly liberal culture consider acceptable is the issue of same-sex marriage. God calls it sinful.

Refusing to obey the laws of the land and refusing to properly respect and obey our law enforcement officers would certainly be very wrong and un-

godly, as well, as so many other sins are.

“Doc,” you tried to convince everyone once again that Jesus is a liberal and you offered many examples in the gospels about how liberal He was. In one sense, a person could say that Jesus was liberal (giving freely; generous) in the way He interacted with people, but that is the old-fashioned, classical liberalism and certainly not the modern-day liberalism that actually is very incompatible with most of God’s teachings.

Just look in a Webster’s dictionary for the definition of liberalism: (A) a political philosophy advocating personal freedom for the individual …(B) a movement in Protestantism advocating a broad interpretation of the Bible, freedom from rigid doctrine and authoritarianism, etc.

And under the word liberal, you will find the more modern interpretation further into the definitions: (4) not restricted to the literal meaning; not strict; a liberal interpretation of the Bible, (5) broad minded; not orthodox or conventional … (9) excessively free or indecorous in behavior; licentious.

The modern-day definition of liberal certainly doesn’t sound a lot like the straight and narrow way of Jesus! “You can enter God’s kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose the easy way. But the gateway to life is small, and the road is narrow, and only a few ever find it.” (Matthew 7:13, 14).

We must handle the Bible with great care and respect so that we do not distort its message, even unintentionally. “Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it. … ” (Deuteronomy 4:2). Lloyd Hoffman Hot Springs