Ken Ham and Shelby Spong in the same blog post?

[Canuckster1127]

One of my FB friends linked me to this blog that contrasts liberal and conservative extremes (using Shelby Spong and Ken Ham as examples).

It also makes some comparisons between YEC and OEC and contrasts the relationship between YEC and OEC as opposed to OEC and Theistic evolution.

Put up just as a general interest piece.

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/philosophi ... mes-wrong/

[RickD]

One of my FB friends linked me to this blog that contrasts liberal and conservative extremes (using Shelby Spong and Ken Ham as examples).

It also makes some comparisons between YEC and OEC and contrasts the relationship between YEC and OEC as opposed to OEC and Theistic evolution.

Put up just as a general interest piece.

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/philosophi ... mes-wrong/

Who is Shelby Sponge? I never heard of her. She sounds like a cartoon character. Spongebob's girlfriend. Whoooo lives in a pineapple under the sea... Shelby Sponge Squarepants...

[Canuckster1127]

Shelby Spong is a liberal theologian.

[RickD]

Example 1: Old Earth Creationists (who believe the Genesis account of Creation is mostly literal, but the cosmos is very old) will generally regard Young Earth Creationism (in which Genesis is literal and fixes the age of the cosmos at something like 6000 years) as an error but a basically harmless one; yet they will generally regard Theistic Evolution (which takes a less literal view of Genesis and believes God deployed the evolutionary processes that produced human beings) as not only wrong but spiritually treacherous. OEC’s will smile and nod at YEC’s; they will (generally) not feel a burning need to convince YEC’s of their error. Yet they will feel a burning need to convince Theistic Evolutionists that evolution and Christian theology are incompatible. Moving to the Right is harmless; moving to the Left is dangerous.

From my experience on this site, I find this example to be false. I believe that many OECs find more wrong with YEC, than Theistic Evolution.

Example 2: Evangelicals who are moderately conservative politically will often view their more conservative brethren (say, dominionists) as wrong, maybe even embarrassing, but benign, while they view their more liberal co-religionists as not only wrong but dangerously wrong. If you are Center-Right, you may disagree with those who are very stringent on issues like crime and immigration, or who can go on for hours about the evils of Washington and government power, but you don’t feel obligated to argue against them. On the other hand, if you hear someone advocating open borders, or the legalization of marijuana, or someone who wants to massively expand the government (split infinitives are sometimes helpful), you think their ideas are trending in a dangerous direction.

I can see why the author would say this. I believe Evangelicalism, and Conservative politics, go hand in hand, in the US, for the most part. Just listen to Fox News, and you'll see what I mean.I also believe Dominionism, as I understand it, could be very dangerous. Not only to the future of the country, but also to the freedom, and lives of its citizens. We all know examples of countries that were, or are, run by a specific religious belief. And we can see what happened. I'll take the US, as a secular country, with freedom of the individual, to believe as he chooses, over, the US being run by "christians", with complete control over the government.


I think it's important to understand that biblical Christianity, and Evangelicalism(especially the kind in the US), are not exactly the same.

[PaulSacramento]

I don't like extermissim, never cared for it.
Religious people are especially notorious about it and you'd think that history would have taught us the folly of extremissim.
I don't understand why the bible, all of it, MUST be taken as literal and concrete when there really is no reason for all if it to be take that way.

[wrain62]

I don't like extermissim, never cared for it.
Religious people are especially notorious about it and you'd think that history would have taught us the folly of extremissim.
I don't understand why the bible, all of it, MUST be taken as literal and concrete when there really is no reason for all if it to be take that way.

What if your parents were extremist? We should not make immediate enemies out of extremists by calling them foolish. Not only does it not do anything but it may have severe consequences.

Only in love and truth can people really change their heart, so care for it.