Any "Liberal" Bible Verses?

[BamaLefty]

I am battling this right-winger and he has gone into the whole "we are most Godly" BS spin. I was just wondering if anyone knows of any verses that lean to the left?

Thanks!

[thoughtanarchist]

1. just about all of the new testament...

That jesus feller was actually anti-war

It's a little known fact there Normy...

Apostle Peter attacked a soldier that had come to arrest the J-man... cut off his ear. Big J says something deep and heals the soldier.

[Coyote_Bandit]

2. Go to the Website

Liberals like Christ

Lots of good stuff there.

[SaintAnne]

3. I like to tell people that god is soooo big

he/she/it can't be contained in one single book or religion. don't know if that helps.

[ExclamationPoint]

20. Nice statement

I tend to think that all the religions of the world aren't mutually exclusive.

[BrklynLiberal]

4. http://www.liberalslikechrist.org/ n/t

[ExclamationPoint]

21. That's a great website everyone should check it out n/t

[ruthg]

5. Love thine enemy

That is one radical statement.

[seito]

6. How about the sermon on the mount n/t

[Schema Thing]

7. Sure, don't boil a kid in it's mother's milk

If that isn't namby pamby lefty stuff, I don't know what is.

[Mike Niendorff]

8. "we are most godly"? Isn't that what the Pharisees said?

Almost verbatim, in fact.

Personally, I wouldn't cede any of the terms of the debate to him.

(1) If he wants to talk "godliness", demand that he first PROVE that there is a god. Any god. Anywhere. PROVE IT. If he can't do that, his claims are without foundation.

(2) When he fails at that, he'll probably fall back on the old "my religion is right and you just have to have faith anyway" line. So, ok, let's ask him whose example his religion teaches him to follow. He will answer "Jesus, of course" (but if he doesn't, that's a REAL subject for debate). Anyway, once he cites Jesus as the prime example his religion teaches him to follow, I would then ask him to explain -- SPECIFICALLY -- how the Republican Party is currently following the example set by Jesus. Not in vague generalities about "moral this" or "moral that" or "Christian this" or "Christian that". Anybody can throw labels around. Ask for specifics. As in: name a specific policy, and then name the specific teaching of Jesus that it is designed to emulate. There is no way you will get a straight answer on this, because he simply won't have one. The Republican party of today follows literally NONE of Jesus' teachings. Most of them don't even know what they are.


MDN

[rickrok66]

14. Liberal Bible Verses

These are taken from the Catholic Study Bible - Today's English Version:

1. Leviticus 25:8-55 The concept of the Jubilee Year. Every fifty years - all slaves are freed, all debts are canceled, and prisoners are pardoned.

As the study Bible explained, "God apparently established the Jubilee Year to prevent the Israelites from oppressing and cheating each other. This law prevented a permanent system of classes from developing; it gave everyone the opportunity to start over, economically and socially."

Check out Jubilee.org for some modern interpretations of this passage. Also the Popes started Jubilee Years in the middle ages, which led to what Catholics now call Indulgences.

2. Isaiah 58:6-7 Remove the chains of oppression and the yoke of injustice, and let the oppressed go free. Share your food with the hungry and open your homes to the homeless poor. Give clothes to those who have nothing to wear, and do not refuse to help your relatives."

3. Ezekiel 18:16-17 "He returns what a borrower gives him as security. He feeds the hungry and gives clothing to the naked. He refuses to do evil/ and doesn't lend money for profit."

4. The whole book of Proverbs

5. Matthew 25:35-36 "I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me a drink; I was a stranger and you received me into your homes, naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me, in prison and you visited me"

6. James 2:26 "Faith without actions is dead."

There are a lot more, but I hope this helps.

[newyawker99]

18. Hi rickrok66!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[tuvor]

9. Ask him if there are any divorcees in his congregation

and what he's doing to fix that.

[earthside]

10. The Four Gospels

Matthew is particularly good. So many of the parables have a very liberal, generous, and peaceful approach.

Matthew 5:38 et al. is the basis for much non-violence theory and influenced Tolstoy, Gandhi, and MLK.

Look for the story about the young rich man who obeyed all the commandments but couldn't give up his money to follow Jesus ... "harder for a rich man to get into heaven than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle."

And challenge the right-winger to stick to the words of Jesus, you know the SON of GOD. These so-called Christians love to quote the Old Testament and the Epistles. How come they so seldom use the words of Jesus? Because JESUS WAS A LIBERAL!!!!

[Lenore]

11. from one Christian Conservative to another...

(1) Love is the supreme law for the Christian (Romans 13:10).
(2) Peace is the Christian's obligation (Romans 12:18).
(3) Retaliation is to be avoided (Romans 12:19).
(4) Help the hungry and those in trouble (Isaiah 58:10).

Those are left leaning scripture but what you REALLY need are some scriptural based questions to challenge your little zealot with...

I just so happened to dash off an email to my very conservative church's Youth Pastor, a man who has openly embraced war from the pulpit. I have recently begun to "take them on", as I love to put it lol, first the Senior Pastor and then the Elders and now tonight I opened the door with the Youth Pastor. Try some of these questions in your encounter.

1)How can a Just War be based on Deception and Misinformation?

2) If it was simply "the right thing to do" (because Saddam was a horrible Dictator)why wasn't THIS the reasoning used to go to war rather than "self defense", and is this "shell game justification" scriptural (ie can you demonstrate how deception is "of God" as these Iraq war deceptions have been embraced as being, embrace the war=embrace the deceptions)?

3) Why is the war Right and The Right Thing To Do? Is the answer found in New Testament scripture and if so, where?

4) Do you believe that they are fighting against us because they despise our freedom? Are you aware that while this has been a oft' repeated GOP mantra, the Pentagon just released a report that specifically debunks this facade as untruthful, instead stating (accurately I might add) that we are despised for our POLICIES and PRACTICES not our freedom! Some of us knew this before the war and don't need a Pentagon report to detail it out for us. Others won't believe it even WITH the Pentagon report....

5) Why does "thou shall not kill" not apply toward Iraqi's?

6) Is Love the supreme law for the Christian, Peace the Christian's obligation, retaliation is to be avoided? If so, how does this jive with a war against another people who did not attack us and didn't have the ability to attack us??

7)How can we as a nation claim (as has been portrayed from the pulpit) to *currently* be under God's blessing when the very fiber of our being (as a country) is defiled and unholy?

Then say something like: Aren't we called to come before the Lord with humility rather than the pride we so often now exhibit?? While I fully agree that we as a nation *have been* blessed by God, the legitimate question remains: "are we still?" and better yet "how do we remain in God's will and favor?"

8)What does the bible say about our treatment of the poor, the downtrodden, the widows and orphans? Is that all wiped away in some supposedly scriptural calling and (old testament) justification that gives us the unfettered right to kill in the name of Jesus?

9)Would Jesus support this war, under these circumstances (the shell game of deception and false justification)? If not, why do we? Are we not His children, a living sanctuary of/for Jesus?

10) How can something "debatable" be allowed to be nurtured within the Body as "Right" "Good" and of God? Wouldn't it rather be more appropriate to say to ourselves "wow, this is not a cut and dry situation so maybe we had better stick STRICTLY to scripture and let Jesus be our Guide" rather than embracing the war (and Bush for that matter) as of HIM?

11) Is it right to co opt religious and scriptural statements to support war or somehow demonstrate that we, the USA, are somehow The Godly Nation Doing His Will? An example would be calling us a "Light into the Darkness", naming our Afghanistan attack (which I did support as a JUST war) "infinite justice" (only GOD is infinite and only HIS justice is infinite)?

12) When ya'll say "either you are with him or against him" who do you mean? Bush or Jesus? It has been interchanged so much that it is hard to tell what the rhetoric means from one moment to the next. I don't find it coincidental that the government and the church BOTH say "either you are with us or against us" and it is often interchangeable to mean "Christianity" and/or "war"....

13) Bush claims "God" told him to "strike" Saddam, do you believe that God told Bush this and if so, can you help me understand why something of God is such an unmitigated disaster, and why HE instructed Bush to deceive his own people (unlike Rahab who God did use to deceive, but it was THE ENEMY that was deceived not the Children of Israel!)

14) Does Pro Life protection apply to those only in the womb and if not how can "pro lifers" support a war, of changing justification, that has killed TENS OF THOUSANDS of civilians??

15) What of the minority Christians of Iraq who, amazingly, had freedom to practice their religion under Saddam but now face death and destruction due to the havoc and rage we have sowed in the Middle East? There are at least 500,000 Iraqi Christians currently living in Iraq, our bullets don't distinguish between Islamic/Christian.. why do we have concern for our soldiers while ignoring the suffering of the civilians? Is this Of God and in the Spirit of Jesus??

Ask these things, sit back and discover how Godly the guy really is ;-)

Hello Everyone, first post here. Christian Conservative reporting for duty!

[newyawker99]

19. Hi Lenore!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Jackie97]

12. Well.....

There is Ex. Chapter twenty-one. It talks in there about how if a man kills a woman's unborn, then he's to pay a fine. However, if he kills her, then he's to be put to death because "a life for a life". These verses suggest that a woman is more important than a fetus.

The new testament has Jesus saying "Let the first one without sin be the first to caste a stone". (Against the death penalty).

You might not want to bother arguing with this person though. If he has his mind made up, then there's not much use in arguing.

[yellowdogintexas]

13. As you do to the least of these, so you do unto me

somewhat paraphrased, but my personal favorite scripture. I can't even tell you where it is in the Bible but it has always spoken to me.

That and
"Do unto others as you would have them to do unto you"

[supernova]

15. The Beatitudes

from the opening of The Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew:

• Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Verse 3)
  
• Blessed are the meek: for they shall posses the land. (Verse 4)
  
• Blessed are they who mourn: for they shall be comforted. (Verse 5)
  
• Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill. (Verse 6)
  
• Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. (Verse 7)
  
• Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God. (Verse 8)
  
• Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. (Verse 9)
  
• Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Verse 10)
  

Jesus is literally talking about upending the social order of his day.

[T_i_B]

16. Loads

The letter from James is great for starters. Here's a passage from Chapter 2, the famous section on living faith is later on in the same chapter.

http://bibleontheweb.com/Bible.asp

1 My brethren, show no partiality as you hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.
2 For if a man with gold rings and in fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in,
3 and you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, "Have a seat here, please," while you say to the poor man, "Stand there," or, "Sit at my feet,"
4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?
5 Listen, my beloved brethren. Has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which he has promised to those who love him?
6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you, is it not they who drag you into court? 7 Is it not they who blaspheme that honorable name which was invoked over you?
8 If you really fulfil the royal law, according to the scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you do well.
9 But if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

The story of Balaam and the Donkey from the book of Numbers tends to be given a social justice spin.

http://bibleontheweb.com/Bible.asp

20 And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, "If the men have come to call you, rise, go with them; but only what I bid you, that shall you do."
21 So Balaam rose in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab.
22 But God's anger was kindled because he went; and the angel of the LORD took his stand in the way as his adversary. Now he was riding on the ass, and his two servants were with him.
23 And the ass saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road, with a drawn sword in his hand; and the ass turned aside out of the road, and went into the field; and Balaam struck the ass, to turn her into the road.
24 Then the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on either side.
25 And when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she pushed against the wall, and pressed Balaam's foot against the wall; so he struck her again.
26 Then the angel of the LORD went ahead, and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn either to the right or to the left.
27 When the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam; and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he struck the ass with his staff.
28 Then the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she said to Balaam, "What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?"
29 And Balaam said to the ass, "Because you have made sport of me. I wish I had a sword in my hand, for then I would kill you."
30 And the ass said to Balaam, "Am I not your ass, upon which you have ridden all your life long to this day? Was I ever accustomed to do so to you?" And he said, "No."
31 Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, with his drawn sword in his hand; and he bowed his head, and fell on his face.
32 And the angel of the LORD said to him, "Why have you struck your ass these three times? Behold, I have come forth to withstand you, because your way is perverse before me;
33 and the ass saw me, and turned aside before me these three times. If she had not turned aside from me, surely just now I would have slain you and let her live."
34 Then Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, "I have sinned, for I did not know that thou didst stand in the road against me. Now therefore, if it is evil in thy sight, I will go back again."

The Story of the rich man and Lazarus is another one.

http://bibleontheweb.com/Bible.asp

19 "There was a rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day.
20 And at his gate lay a poor man named Laz'arus, full of sores,
21 who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table; moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried;
23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes, and saw Abraham far off and Laz'arus in his bosom.
24 And he called out, 'Father Abraham, have mercy upon me, and send Laz'arus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in anguish in this flame.'
25 But Abraham said, 'Son, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Laz'arus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.
26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.'
27 And he said, 'Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house,
28 for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.'
29 But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.'
30 And he said, 'No, father Abraham; but if some one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.'
31 He said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if some one should rise from the dead.'"


And it should be added at this point that there are also plenty of stories that tend towards the Conservative viewpoint. The Bible may lean in different political directions at different times but quite frankly it cannot be pinned down to any one political ideology and we Christians should be very wary of those who wish to corrupt the word of God for convenience or for political purposes, be they liberal or conservative.

[LDS Jock]

17. check out this site for help

http://www.elroy.net/ehr/fighttheright.html some good stuff there