Liberal vs Conservative Christians

The primary dispute between liberal and conservative Christians is metaphysical. Liberal Christians are naturalists while Conservative Christians are supernaturalists. Now the liberal Chrisians may not be quite ready to acknowledge they are naturalists but the only way one can defend their method of making theology is by first acknowledging naturalism as the primary way in which they view reality. From the viewpoint of the supernaturalist the liberal way of doing theology is quite unique and indeed heretically so.

Naturalism is one component of the metaphysical system used by science to view reality. The other two components are materialism and mechanism. Thus the metaphysical system of science can be labeled as mechanistic-materialistic-naturalism. This is the metaphysical system of Newtonian physics. The success of science over the past several hundred years has convinced many people science has proven this the only true metaphysical system. This is false, indeed the new understanding of physics known as quantum physics leads one to conclude we can not know if any one metaphysical system is exclusively true. But in order to do science one must be accepting of the mechanistic-materialistic-naturalistic system of viewing reality.

Liberals are prejudiced in favor of science. This means they are prejudiced in favor of the mechanistic-materialistic-naturalistic way of viewing reality. This means, for example, they are more comfortable with the idea of nature, ie human beings, creating God than they are with the idea of a creator God simply because if there is nothing superior to nature then nature can create but is not created. They are also comfortable with the idea that matter creates and controls mind because mechanism and materialism both imply the truth of reductive materialism; and if reductive materialism is true then mind is nothing more than a creation of matter.

Thus for example liberals are accepting of homosexuals because they are accepting of the homosexual arguments for their own existence. These arguments are based on the ideas of sexual orientation and conditional homosexuality. They are comfortable with these ideas becausse they are based on the idea that matter can control mind. In the end the idea matter can control mind is quite acceptable to the naturalist, who believes nature is all the reality there is. If liberal Christians were not comfortable with the materialistic and naturalistic view of reality they would be less accepting of the homosexual arguments for their own existence.

Meanwhile conservative Christians are decidely uncomfortable with mechanistic, materialistic, and naturalistic arguments for anything. They are supernaturalists. They believe in a metaphysical system in which God exists outside of nature and indeed created nature. God created nature, including human beings, for His own purposes. These purposes He tells humans through revelation. These revelations include both scripture and the incarnation, in which God became, in the person of Jesus, a part of His own creation. The way in which they view reality makes conservative Christians comfortable with the idea "God said it, I believe it, that's that."

Given the way in which they view reality homosexuals, from the conservative point of view, simply do not exist. There is simply no room in the supernatural viewpoint for the idea matter creates mind. From this point of view it is the other way around, mind, namely the mind of God, creates matter. Once one decides mind creates matter one can argue mind can control matter. At this point one must conclude there are no such persons as homosexuals. The idea of homosexuality simply becomes a way of rationalizing immoral same sex intercourse. At this point demands to accept hommosexuals simply become offensive.