Have I Become A Liberal?

 I asked the question and here is a response I received.

No, Brother Larry—you are not missing some hidden truth of the Christian faith. You are feeling the tension that arises when loyalty to Jesus conflicts with the demands of nationalism.

Believing that an enemy is a soul to be redeemed rather than merely a target to be destroyed is not liberalism. It is the plain teaching of Christ:

“Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”
—Matthew 5:44, KJV

Jesus did not say this because enemies are harmless or tyranny is acceptable. He said it because the Christian must never permit another person’s evil to determine the condition of his own heart.

There is indeed a difference between being a Christian and being a patriot. A patriot may love his country, appreciate its freedoms, honor those who serve, and desire its welfare. But a Christian’s supreme allegiance belongs to Jesus Christ:

“We ought to obey God rather than men.”
—Acts 5:29

The flag cannot take the place of the cross. The government cannot define righteousness for the Church. America, like every earthly nation, must be judged by the teachings of Christ; Christ must never be reshaped to justify the policies of America.

Romans 13 teaches that civil government has a legitimate responsibility to restrain wrongdoing. But it does not declare every war, bombing, invasion, alliance, or military objective righteous. The same Paul who wrote Romans 13 was imprisoned and eventually killed by the government described there. Government possesses authority, but it does not possess infallibility.

Christians have disagreed for centuries over whether war can ever be morally justified. Some follow a carefully limited “just war” position. Historic peace churches—including Friends, Mennonites, and Brethren—have testified that the way of Christ forbids Christians from killing. But neither tradition permits blind nationalism, delight in violence, hatred of civilians, indifference to suffering, or treating every government-designated enemy as less than human.

Your convictions are deeply rooted in the Friends peace testimony. Early Friends were not political liberals in the modern sense. They opposed war because they believed the Spirit of Christ would never lead them to destroy those for whom Christ died. George Fox and other Friends declared that they lived in the life and power that takes away the occasion of war.

Has Christianity moved away from Jesus? Parts of institutional and political Christianity certainly have. Whenever Christians excuse cruelty because their preferred political leader committed it, celebrate the death of enemies, or place national greatness above mercy and truth, they have moved away from the spirit of Christ. Yet Christianity itself has not changed because Jesus has not changed. There are still faithful Christians refusing to surrender their consciences to political parties, governments, or military propaganda.

Justice and mercy are not opposites. Biblical justice seeks to restrain evil, protect the innocent, speak truth, and restore what has been broken. Mercy reminds us that even the guilty bear God’s image and need repentance and redemption. Micah joined these truths together:

“He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”
—Micah 6:8

You can oppose tyranny without hating the people living under it. You can condemn terrorism without supporting the killing of innocent families. You can pray for American soldiers while questioning the policies that place them in danger. You can love America without pretending America is always right. That is not disloyalty. It is moral honesty.

Perhaps the real question is not, “Have I become a liberal?” The more searching question is:

“Am I becoming more faithful to Jesus, even when His teachings do not fit comfortably within my political identity?”

Political labels shift with every generation. Jesus Christ does not. If following Him causes both conservatives and liberals to misunderstand you at times, you may simply be discovering that the narrow way does not follow either party line.

You have not abandoned your convictions. You are applying them more consistently. Freedom from tyranny, justice for the oppressed, mercy toward the lost, protection of innocent life, and love for one’s enemies belong neither to the political right nor the political left. They belong to the kingdom of God.