I’ve come to the conclusion that anyone who fancies themselves a writer should be required to take a basic course in logic. If you’ve ever taken Philosophy 101, you probably learned that there are logical fallacies — that is — arguments that fail to pass to the requirements of logic.

While mindlessly googling for “Christian Liberals this morning while eating breakfast, I came across this article in the fervently conservative Front Page Magazine. It is a fine example of the logical fallacy of Ad Hominem — attempted to argue based on the character of the person you are arguing with. The author attempts to paint Christian Liberals as nothing less than anti-American (and anti-God), and compares them to the Pharisees, who were the very incarnation of liberalism. Some choice bits:

Liberal Christians take great pride and joy in consciously forgiving the criminal, in accepting all standards of religion and behavior. They?re never ?judgmental.? They?re against the death penalty. They?re against guns. They?re against condemning anyone for anything. They love to tolerate?in the name of Christ.

I’m at a bit of a loss here. Against guns? Where exactly is the Biblical mandate for possessing a weapon? Where does Christ teach intolerance? While Christ gave us a the great commission to spread the news, He doesn’t ask that we do so with swords and intolerance. And aren’t there plenty of passages in the New Testament about the perils of judging one another?

More:

Social activism has been a YDS priority in modern times, in fact distinguishing YDS from the other ?big five? theology schools of America. Socialism and social activism are their version of righteousness. Whether through campaigning, demonstration, lobbying, or in some cases even violence, the goal is to bring about the right social conditions in the world.

Again, isn’t this the sort of thing that Jesus taught? Social compassion? He dined with all sorts of sinners, and wasn’t afraid to help those in need. Yet when “Liberals” attempt to do the same, they are branded as socialists.

Amazingly, liberals have established an implied association with Christianity. Christian leftists like to think Jesus was a young radical socialist, and that the Pharisees were the old vanguard of tradition and conservatism. Jesus was the hero of social change, and ?progressive? ideology, and the Pharisees were like crusty old Republicans who cherished the tradition of the fathers.

But what did Jesus do (pardon the pun)? Didn’t He heal people on the Sabbath against the laws of the Pharisees? Didn’t He dine with the castoffs of society? Didn’t He shake up the established order? Wasn’t that the whole point of the New Covenant?

Posted on 6 April 2004