The Rev. John Liebler, an Episcopal priest, lost his faith in an ironic place: seminary. Studying for the priesthood in the late 1970s, Liebler was inundated with a theological liberalism that left him believing that Christianity, and all religion, was just a mirror we hold up to our own wishes rather than a window through which we see true spiritual realities. After a few years pastoring, he finally realized his spiritual emptiness.
We asked Liebler, who now leads St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Fort Pierce, Fla., about how he returned to faith, and why he believes orthodox Christians urgently need to reclaim liberalism.
I confess I began to skim the middle part of the article, as I’m tired tonight… but it is VERY worth reading to the end. I loved the final 2 paragraphs!
[blockquote]Liebler: The first principal is to commit yourself not only to Jesus Christ as your personal savior but also to Him as your Lord and Master. As one submitted to Christ, allow no political or philosophical viewpoint to define your identity or to claim your loyalty. Second, let the Scriptures in their entirety speak judgment upon your life. If that judgment seems to be correcting ideas from the right or the left, so be it. Let Christ be your master, not a political philosophy.
Finally, take those biblically inspired injunctions and work to enact them in the world. If Christians today would follow this prescription rather than being hijacked by one political party or another, I believe we would see a new movement of God’s power and wisdom applied to the social problems we face in our nation. The result would be increased hope, healing, and freedom to countless people far deeper and wider than any government program can offer.[/blockquote]
Amen.
And what a great tribute to +John Howe, (though that is not the focus of the article,) showing the role and influence of a Godly bishop in shepherding the clergy & souls in his diocese. I loved the bit about +Howe’s encouraging Liebler+ to “pray as if what he was reading was true.” Great advice and our loving Father revealed Himself to John Liebler in clear and wonderful ways as he prayed!
Karen:
I agree.
I thought this was a wonderful testament to what Christian belief and practice should be.
Great interview, except for the all-too-common myth of “the tyrannical rule of King George III”.
Mr Liebler’s essay is very much worth reading, and I thank God for his return to orthodox Christian faith and his witnessing to that faith. But I would also generally observe that caution should be exercised when discussing liberalism and conservatism vis-á-vis the political Anglo-American political philosophies of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. What we call “classical liberalism” influenced not only 20th century political liberalism, but also 20th century political conservatism in its various forms. The 20th/21st century form of liberalism known as progressivism has more to do with the “liberalism”, better the Jacobinism, of the French Revolution (as Liebler notes) than it has with classical Anglo-American liberalism.
I’m troubled by this statement:
[blockquote]Classical liberalism is essentially the idea that individual human beings have intrinsic value, and that scholarly study, guided by the Holy Spirit, and unencumbered by church traditions, is a holy enterprise.[/blockquote]
It’s not entirely clear to me whether he is stating this approvingly, but the assumption that “church traditions” (in liberal protestantism and modernist catholicism, this would mean catholic Tradition) is an encumbrance and that scholarly study must be carried on without regard to it represents the sort of epistemological hubris that led to the faith-killing liberalism Mr Liebler encountered in seminary.
Not enough of guys like that left in TEc I am afraid.