Subject:  Thank you! |
Author:
Liberal
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Date Posted: 23:55:09 07/03/04 Sat
In reply to:
XOX
's message, "Founder of Liberal Christianity" on 12:56:40 06/24/04 Thu
Summary:
Castellio (and Servetus): founders of Liberal Chrsitian movement
Christians disagree with Christians on many points with regard to the teaching of Christ, and condemn one another and hold each other for heretics. The reason for these dissensions is ignorance of the truth. Castellio admonishes Christians to look into their own souls and examine themselves, to search their own conscience and restrain themselves from the condemnation of others.
The principle of absolute tolerance:
Castellio advises mutual toleration and persuasion and not condemnation as a method of convincing others about our truth. Castellio's principle of toleration is based on being merciful toward those who do not know the truth. This is an outgrowth of an entirely new concept of religion as centered not in dogma but in life and character. It is the very essence of this kind of religion to regard freedom and reason not as incidental but as fundamental conditions of a thoroughly wholesome existence of religion. At a time of extreme dogmatism, Castellio was the first to emphasize and lay down a firm and enduring foundation for the principle of tolerance.
Castellio treasured freedom of conscience for which he was ready to pay any price, and he did pay a big price. Castellio's beliefs, however, influenced the Catholic Church four centries later. And it is time Liberal Christians picked up Castellio's path of tolerance, love and acceptance as followers of Christ.
Response:
Thank you for reminding us of this less well-known pioneer of dogmatic tolerance. He has laid down a simple, clear, and sound foundation of tolerance for alternative understandings of faith: being merciful toward those who do not know the truth. The concept of religion as centered not in dogma but in life and character is very important. This is the basis for the development of Liberal Christianity into a creedless faith---centering on life and character instead of dogma. And that is the fundamental disagreement between Liberalism and Conservatism. The central concern of Conservatives is dogmatic correctness. The fundamental question they will ask a person is whether (s)he believe in this or that. If one's faith is correct, (s)he is treated as a believer. If one's faith is incorrect (s)he must be an unbeliever or a heretic. Therefore Liberals, emphasizing on life and character, hence being tolerant and loose in dogmas, are often labelled by them as the "unbelieving camp" (「不信派」) or plainly heresy. This accusation is partially right. Out of the observation that there are sincere and extremely spiritual practitioners of pagan religions, Liberals cannot deny the truthfulness of those good practitioners by dogmatic exclusivism. Religious inclusivism probes into a deeper meaning of faith or being a "believer": it is the life and character of the individual, not what one believes, which constitutes faith and the identity of being a "believer." This risks the accusation of "unbelieving" or heresy but that is an unavoidable price to pay. Our forerunners have faced fierce persecutions, often risking thier own lives; why can't we face those pale accusations today?
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