The Highway Forums General Discussion Open Forum Best Denomination Today?

James,<br><br>I think you have made a very good and necessary point. "Liberalism" as a word can and is being used in various ways and which can cause confusion in the minds of some. Theologically, "Liberalism" is most associated with the theology of such men as Albrecht Ritschl, Friedrich Schleiermacher, Adolph Von Harnack, P.T. Forsyth, Walter Rauschenbusch, etc. All these men and their teachings can be classified as anti-supernatural and thus diametrically opposed to biblical Christianity. In more recent days, the term "Liberal" has also been used to describe those who have embraced and taught neo-Orthodoxy, for example, Karl Barth, C.H. Dodd, Emil Brunner, Rudolf Bultmann, Paul Tillich, etc. Although these men and their teachings do not deny supernaturalism, they do deny some of the basic tenets of historic Christianity. So, it is probably reasonable to allow the term "Liberal" to be applied to this area of theology as well. However, what Joe is terming "liberal" is far from what either of these groups have taught. It is certainly more of a "cultural" matter, although I am not comfortable with the word "cultural" either. The use of "liberal" in this matter I think is in pointing out those things which are not taught in Scripture or even against Scriptural teaching, practices which are not condoned or even forbidden in Scripture, etc. which the modern church has adopted. And even though these things may not be seen as "fundamentals, essentials" of the faith, they are certainly not OF the faith and can and often do lead to a disintegration, minimization and even denial of the fundamentals of the faith. The word "worldly" really doesn't seem to do justice in describing what Joe is pointing out either, but it might be better than the word "liberal".<br><br>I guess, what I'm trying to say is that I can clearly see and appreciate what Joe is writing about, although "liberal" as a word to describe it is probably not the best of terms to use. [img]http://www.the-highway.com/w3timages/icons/grin.gif" alt="grin" title="grin[/img]<br><br>In His Grace,