Monday, September 28, 2009

Constrained and Unconstrained Vision... What a difference a Worldview makes!

Pretty much anyone who knows me knows that I am a political junkie. I am a typical example of the "religious right". I am conservative in my political philosophy, both fiscally and socially, and I think I can clearly articulate why from a Biblical point of view (in another post, perhaps). I believe in small government, free enterprise, and personal responsibility.

I have, however, met many Christians that consider themselves Progressive or Liberal, (though not "classically" liberal,) especially within my own denomination. Both sides proclaim that their own views are "Christian". How is this? How do you get conservatism (free-market capitalism) on one end and liberation theology (Marxism) on the other? We're reading the same Bible, right?

I watched a great video by Bill Whittle commenting on Thomas Sowell's philosophy. (I found a link to ithere.) I immediately saw this in the Christian connotation: the Reformed Christian and the Pelagian worldview. Ok, so maybe I said "Calvinism and Finneyism" but that's basically the same thing, right?

More and more, I have noted that there is vociferous objection to Calvinism, and the concept of the Total Depravity of man. Calvinism, unfortunately, has been whittled away to the 5 points (or TULIP) which were derived as a rebuttal to the Remonstrants' 5 points of Arminianism.

So, is this vast difference in Christian thought a product of worldview? Could these underlying ideologies -- the constrained and the unconstrained vision -- be the root of the conflict?