Liberal churches. Christian or not?

[OnceConvinced]

I am writing this thread with my God glasses on.

In another thread Drs said:

It would be better for the churches to judge and keep order and have all who are offended walk out bitter and angry because they have no place with CHRIST if they refuse Him and deny His word.

This came up on a discussion about judging. Drs maintains that members must be judged. Now I'm not saying I entirely disagree with his opinions on that, but I do disagree with the way he suggests going about it.

I have seen way too many people walk out of churches due to being judged. This only serves to push people away from Christ. And I have certainly seen it here on this site, some Chirstians judging others, spreading illwill and turning people off Christianity rather than attracting them to it.

I have been guilty in the past of judging a person of another religion and as a result this person refused to talk to me ever again. I thus messed up my chances of ever being able to convert this person. If perhaps I had been more sensitive to him, it may have been a different story.

Scare church members away and they may not get the teaching they need to get them back on the right track. You may be condemning them to hell yourself. I don't think it shows love, mercy, patience, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, Christian grace or any of the good things Jesus showed to the people everybody disliked.

Drs would condemn liberal churches as not teaching true Christianity. He would rather see people leave the church offended, than to change his methods and deal with people in a more sensitive manner.

So are liberal churches right in being little more tolerant of people?
Or should all churches take a dogmatic approach and judge it's members, thus risking detering them from attending?
What are the ramifications?
What are the advantages?

[scottlittlefield17]

There are Bible versus that say that people in certain sins will not go to heaven. Beyond that I am glad I am not the judge. It is up to God but for me myself I want to do my best not to "cut it close" because if I do I may end up cutting to much off.

[MagusYanam]

There are Bible versus that say that people in certain sins will not go to heaven. Beyond that I am glad I am not the judge. It is up to God but for me myself I want to do my best not to "cut it close" because if I do I may end up cutting to much off.

Well - as I understand it, there is only one sin in Scripture which is not capable of being forgiven.

' "Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin" - for they had said, "he has an unclean spirit".' (Mark 3:28-30)

' "Therefore I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come." ' (Matthew 12:31-32)

As I understand it, the Holy Spirit is that person of God which works within and through individuals to produce good in the world - what the Quakers call 'the Inner Light'. It is a radical and liberating interpretation Jesus brings to the Old Testament idea that we are all made in God's image (a platitude which is said so often by Christians as a formality that it loses its radical potency), that we have all already been given grace capable of doing good.

It is only when an individual denies that nature (the Holy Spirit within him), when that individual discards and blasphemes against any potential he has for being an instrument of goodness in the world, that God cannot forgive him. For those who cannot forgive themselves, what more can God do?

[Megaboomer]

well said i agree for the most part this is truly important to realize as a christian.