Reply #102: I said it a couple of times

[bryant69]

It is a unique situation in religion - well i guess it would be in any situation where there is a battle over the identity of an organization. You bring up the Democrat example - obviously some of us say DLC moderates are not real Democrats. On the other hand Moderates might accuse more radical types of not really acting in accordance with the standards of the Democratic Party. IN both cases there's an element of bullshit in the accusations - obviously both the most moderate (or even Conservative) and the most leftist who holds a Democratic membership card are Demcorats. And the Democratic legacy is wide enough to include Martin Luther King and the Segregationists. On the other hand battling over the identity of an organization is a way of changing and improving that organization. Those who don't belong, like the segregationists, will get shaken out.

In Christianity we see a similar struggle going on - and by the same token it's somewhat silly and inaccurate to claim that people aren't Christian or aren't living up to Christian standards. Of course that is what people are claiming - that both Liberal Christians and Conservative Christians (including el presidente) aren't really Christians. I can certainly point you to Republicans saying that you can't be a Christian and a liberal - and in fighting back, it's easy to slip from saying "I don't think that Republican values line up with what I think Christianity is or should be" (presumably inoffensive) to "George W. Bush isn't a Christian" Obviously they shouldn't do that (and I shouldn't do it either) because of the additional implications of that statement (i.e. no real christian can do any wrong).

Bryant