Well,I don't think the problem is that you want no part of the label "Christian." It's that you want no part of the label moron.
While many political opportunists cynically pander to an evangelical base by nodding to socially divisive issues they only cursorily believe, I don't doubt the sincerity of Santorum's beliefs or the strength of his convictions.
It's typical to think that theology is static and permanent. It's not, though. What's true instead is that theology follows sociology. And slowly but surely we are all becoming members of one big society.
Jesus doesn't show us a God who is harsh, punishing, aloof, and vindictive. He presents a God possessed of qualities directly contrary to those, a God who loves as God alone can: absolutely, unconditionally, unmitigatedly, freely.
The story of Jesus might have been different if Joseph and Mary had been sent back to Israel from Egypt because they were considered "undocumented workers," or worse, "illegal aliens."
I argue for a progressive Christianity that extends the meaning and mission of Jesus into the present and future, rather than promoting an obsession with the past.
Why do so many Christians -- especially fundamentalists and evangelicals -- so often fail to discern the themes of peace and justice that are so central to the biblical vision of the kingdom of God?
