What I Learned From Liberals?

I was educated by the best liberals that Baptist Cooperative Program money could buy. I went to School at two Baptist institutes of higher learning; Cumberland College and Southern Seminary. Southern has made a turn for the good in recent years. As a matter of fact, Southern began making the turn when I was there. President Mohler and I came to Southern in the same year. It took him a few years to straighten out the mess, but by my third year in seminary; I began to see the difference.

Liberals, I just love them. Both feet planted firmly in the air. They work hard to believe in nothing. They believe in nothing so that they will not have to defend anything. This allows them to say and believe whatever they want in the name of academic liberty.

In Theological terms, the difference between a Conservative and a liberal is how one interprets the Bible. A Conservative believes that the Bible is the true infallible word of God. A liberal believes that the Bible is not. Now this is overly simplified, but it is the basis of the debate. There are some Baptists that fall to the far right end of Conservative thought, and there are some Baptist that go to the far left end of liberal thought.

For the most part, Southern Baptists are conservatives. They are Bible believing. This is why there had to be a change in our denomination. In the late 1970's the national convention was controlled by liberals. The local church decided that the leadership must change. This sparked the Baptist reformation of the 1980's. However, the last bastion of liberalism was and is found in our educational institutions. Many of our state convention colleges are still strongholds of liberalism. However, our seminaries are now firmly in the hands of conservatives.

I went through seven years of Baptist education before I heard that the Bible was the true word of GOd. This is shameful, but nevertheless true. I learned three major concepts from liberals. I want to share with you what I learned through liberal theological training.

First, They taught me that there are absolutely no absolutes. The last thing that a liberal wants to do is believe that something is certain. Once a person believes that something is certain, then they are bound to act upon their beliefs. By not believing in anything, you are not accountable to anything. This makes life and faith so much easier. That is absolutely true.

Second, They taught me that the further you move from orthodoxy the smarter you are. For liberals, the sign of true intelligence is to convince yourself to believe in the most radical things. The further out-there you are, the smarter you are. For an enlightened thinker is represented by an open mind. I remember a liberal opening class with prayer. The young man said, "Our Father and Mother who art in heaven." By saying this, it proved he was smart. I don't know why he didn't include all the other members of the family: Our heavenly Aunt and uncle, brother and sister, 3rd cousin; twice removed. Nevertheless, if you want to be considered smart, you must become a radical. For liberals, the two go hand and hand.

Finally, they taught me to hate the local church. Liberals would never say this, but they know it is true. The local church demands accountability. Accountability is one thing liberals hate. I was never encouraged by a liberal to go to church, but I sure heard over and over again of how bad the church is. This is probably why most liberal churches are dying. They hate themselves.

My senior year of college, I actually started buying into some of this stuff. It didn't last long, but after hearing it again and again and again, I thought that it might be true. I was grounded enough not to let it pull me all the way in, but I watched many other young men fall into liberalism and never get out. This is why I believe it is time to finish the reformation. It is time for the state conventions to straighten out their Baptist colleges. We have wasted enough CP money on professors who hate the word of God.