A Christian Liberal is NOT an oxymoron.

Posted by XT on July 31st, 2008 in General

Pastor Dan gets a little uppity about my post calling his site, and his interest, an echo chamber. In the process, he blatantly misrepresents what I’ve said. This, of course, is how echo chambers operate.

Stuff and nonsense. It’s not an accurate description of who I am as a pastor or a writer, for one thing. My esteemed critics can talk about working across partisan lines from the comfortable environments of New Jersey and the Bay Area if they like. I’d invite them to come with me on my daily rounds in darkest rural Wisconsin, where you’re more likely to meet a Ron Paul supporter than someone who’s ever heard of Jim Wallis.

Hmm, you mean like my own family in Texas, New Mexico, Missouri, and Iowa? Don’t break your arm patting yourself on the back here, Dan. If you want to comment on my life, you want to actually, you know, learn a bit about it first.

Furthermore: I deal every day with Pagans, Buddhists, Jews, conservative Christians, Evangelicals and atheists right here on this blog. And if I were so segregationist about Evangelicals, I wouldn’t have appeared on a panel at Netroots Nation with a Pentecostal preacher. Nor would I have bothered to turn up at Zack Exley’s panel on the new Great Awakening.

Well, yeah, you’re showing a lot of tolerance by “turning up” at a panel led by John Kerry’s Director of Online Communications. I’m sure he challenged you with his uber-conservative worldview.

This is what I said:

I think this exchange shows PD’s limits. I like him, and I genuinely respect him and his efforts. But the last time I posted something at Street Prophets, Dan made it clear that he doesn’t want to “engage” with – well, apparently with anyone who disagrees with him. I had engaged in a three-part discussion with mystical seeker and Bruce Ledewitz at Hallowed Secularism.

You don’t want to engage with people who don’t share your particular values. You’ve said as much several times. Purity here isn’t about denominations, but ideology. There’s nothing wrong with that – and I even stated that in the post to which you link.

But you want to be the poor martyr, attacked on every side. Enjoy the role. It’s as distasteful for me to see it on political friends as it is on political opponents. I’d rather not play that game.

As I wrote:

From a political point, it might actually be wasted time – this year, anyway. There’s no way to tell if anyone at Warren’s church will vote for Obama. But just the fact that Obama shows up will get some people to listen who wouldn’t otherwise. Many – perhaps even most – will reject much and maybe all of what they hear. Some won’t. Others will have ideas tucked away in their brains where it will ferment for years. Time and perspective may open some hearts and minds. Not all, no. But some.

So characterize that as wasted effort if you want. The fact is that I used to sit in a very conservative church and if everyone took your approach, I’d likely still be there or outside of church all together. Perhaps I’m only one person and I’m not going to show up in your devoted study of statistics. But it matters a great deal to me.

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