Does legalism beget liberalism?

well, my answer is that most evil and most disobedience always flows toward liberalism, i do not say this because i loath liberalism, but study the facts and see the lowest denominator is liberal agendas in religion and secular. the end result is like sodom and gomorrah

 

Rules without good relationships breads rebellion.

 

I think it works both ways. Fundamentalism began as a reaction to modernism.

 

Unitarianism came to America from Europe. Unitarians captured many of the Congregational churches and hence the Unitarian foothold in the Christian Church.

The Puritans were always a mixed bag of theological thought. We generally attribute the name Puritan to those theologians who held forth the truth of God's word, but there were many who held weird doctrines also.

I came through a fairly liberal organization and it was not a reaction to legalism, but the outgrowth of scientific research of the time and rationalism. Fundamentalism was a reaction to modernism of the 1920's. The modernists applied the social gospel whilst the evangelicals virtually ignored social responsibility. Sadly, the pendulum seems to always swing in either extreme.

Society was becoming a moral social realm and the modernists were more in tune to these changes. The evangelicals thought that all that mattered was the preaching of the gospel. Get someone saved and all their problems are solved. Only lately we are finding a sense of balance between social gospel and evangelical thought.

Just my thoughts on the matter. Not written in stone, but an observation over 57 years of preaching the word.

Cheers,

Jim

 

I'm not sure how you are defining "legalism." If by "legalism" you mean salvation by works, I would agree that it begets liberalism.

Any time you put a standard of practical obedience on a man to be saved (as with Arminianism) or to judge his salvation (as with Calvinism) he will automatically liberalize the standard of righteousness so he can consider himself to be saved.

I've known a few Baptist who held to the "if you're really saved you won't sin too much" heresy. Invariably, these sort of people make allowances for their own personal sins and the sins of their familty and friends. As a matter of fact, they will even excuse in themselves what they condemn in others.

I know of a Campbellite woman who's father is a Campbellite preacher. When asked if lying would cause a man to forfeit his salvation, she replied that it would not. It doesn't take a genious to figure out the reason behind this sort of thinking.

Mark Osgatharp

 

Fundamentalism was made necessary by modernism. The truths that are within the Fundamentals go all the way back to the apostles. Every now and again, they just have to be clarified because the moderates are always trying to convince people they really aren't as liberal as they sound.

 

Depends on how hard you throw the rock. Throw it hard enough, and the one who gets hit doesn't make a sound.

 

Ew! Great imagery, Scott!

 

Dr. Bob, I would be highly interested in hearing that sermon series. You don't by any chance have that taped do you?