The Hubris of the Modern Liberal

Taking the Name of Jesus in Vain

The modern self-conscious liberal tends to see himself as a cut above the ordinary bloke. He is smarter than the average bear. He has a cool rationality that is not held sway to dogma or creed. He is intellectually free to let the facts fall where they may, without pre-conditions or pre-commitments. This makes him intellectually superior.

Once he forms this view of himself--that he is of a superior liberal mind--he then can be found re-interpreting all of reality through his rosy coloured spectacles. Suddenly he becomes an expert on Jesus Christ. He moves quickly to use the name of Jesus to baptise his prejudices. But it turns out that his jesus looks and thinks remarkably like himself. In his mind, the modern liberal thinks that jesus was a first century manifestation of--well--himself.

An example of the mindset has been aptly provided by one of the contributors to the blog, Yes Minister. Contributor, Fairfacts has published a post critical of the Pope for his recent comments on homosexuals. The Pope apparently failed to live up to his duty and responsibility to manifest the superior mind of a modern liberal. We reproduce the Fairfacts piece as follows:

Pope Shows Kindness and Tolerance, Not

When you might think there are more pressing concerns, his awfulness has made a speech widely perceived a critising gays.

But whatever we are, aren't we all God's creations?

Thus, isn't it is little blasphemous for the Pope to criticise some for the way God created them.

Hardly the spirit of the week, eh!

I don't think Jesus would approve.

Now the Pope is a big guy who, we are sure, can look after himself. He is probably smart enough not to have any truck with the kind of self-indulgent, effete liberalism displayed here.

What is most egregious, however, in the post is Fairfacts's presumption to declaim on what Jesus would or would not approve. He displays the unfortunate arrogance of the modern liberal: he would remodel a new jesus, who is, wonder of wonders, remarkably like himself. Then he would parade this jesus around to bolster and justify his liberal prejudices and predispositions. "This new super revised liberal jesus would not condemn homosexuals because--well, because I don't condemn them".

Now, in the time that he has been posting, Fairfacts has also shown himself to be a modern warrior against Islam. He has written in stentorian tones calling the world to resist Islam as the great beast intent on destroying the liberal mind. But actually, it turns out, that on the most important issue of all--on the issue so fundamental the course of nations and every individual human being on the planet will be affected--modern liberal Fairfacts and Islam are cut from the same cloth. Both utterly reject the Living One, and both alike seek to recreate an alternative jesus, then parade him in the service of their prejudices.

Both alike persist in taking Jesus name in vain. Both alike persist in recasting Christ to conform to their own peculiar world view. Both seek to reinvent a revisionist jesus in their own image.

It is with a degree of sardonic amusement that we find at the very same time theologian Fairfacts piously intones about his jesus, the President of Iran, Ahmadinejad is reported as being about to deliver a Christmas message to the people of the United Kingdom on Britain's Channel Four. He too will talk about his jesus--who, he will speciously and vainly claim, would stand with the people in opposing "bullying, ill-tempered and expansionist powers". "If Christ were on earth today, undoubtedly He would hoist the banner of justice and love for humanity to oppose warmongers, occupiers, terrorists and bullies the world over," says the text of the speech by the noble Presidente.

Both alike deny the Christ. Both alike seek to manufacture a jesus in their own image. Both alike are fundamentally self-serving. Both alike abuse and profane the Name of the Holy One. Both alike are intellectually dishonest. Both alike walk into the path of certain doom.

What is infallibly certain and without doubt, both alike will be arraigned--along with all men--before the judgement seat of Christ Jesus, King of all kings, and Lord of all the earth. We don't think their respective false "jesus's" will be much help to them on that day.