God and Other Famous Liberals: Reclaiming the Politics of America

Pay with

About God And Other Famous Liberals: Reclaiming The

From Kirkus Reviews Cheerleading manual for politico-religious liberalism, by an N.Y.C. Unitarian minister. Church (Father and Son, 1985) loves the ``L word''; what's more, he believes that God loves it too: ``God, the most famous liberal of all, has a bleeding heart that never stops,'' he quips, and then tosses in some apple pie for good measure: ``every good mother and father is a liberal.'' Behind this jaunty sloganeering lies an instructive history exercise, an attempt to trace the roots of American liberalism back to the Bible and the Founding Fathers. Church finds a ``liberal social gospel,'' which he defines as ``love to God and love to neighbor,'' in the teachings of Jesus, in the free-worship statues of the colony of Rhode Island, in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, and in the words of both Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King. He does concede some liberal errors--overprotection of criminals, government paternalism--but the battle cry is sounded: faith, flag, family, and federal government--all these belong by right to the liberals. Amazing in its single-mindedness, amusing in its silliness (Church takes the time to argue that Jesus would have opposed prayer in public schools), finally poignant in its quixotism. Liberals will love it, but unless the political climate swerves to the left, conservatives will laugh all the way to next Inauguration Day. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. Product Description Argues that Liberalism is in keeping with Christianity's fundamental virtues of charity and tolerance, and looks at the connection between these values and the founding principles of our country