Topic: Liberal Churches
07/19/2005: Melinda Penner
STR Weblog
As a general rule of thumb, if a church's name has "united" in the title, it's probably a liberal denomination. I don't say that because I dislike unity, but it usually happens at the expense of principles I think are more important. More likely than not these denominations are indiscriminately tolerant. They embrace all kinds of ideas and ultimately lose their Christian identity. And just as likely, attendance drops. Most people do go to church looking for a substantial message. A caller on the radio show Sunday brought up the state of the United Church of Christ and The Weekly Standard reports on that same topic:
"It's been a roller coaster of a ride across the centuries for the United Church of Christ, from gun-toting Calvinists to super-PC gay "marriage" proponents. The l.2 million member United Church of Christ (UCC) became the first major Christian denomination in America officially to endorse same-sex nuptials, when its General Synod met from July 1 to July 5 in Atlanta.
"While they were at it, the General Synod also targeted Israel for sanctions (forgetting, among so much else, the philo-Semitism of its Puritan forbears) and opposed Israel's new security wall. And for good measure, it opposed privatization of Social Security, opposed President Bush's 2006 budget proposal, urged the United States to support the International War Crimes Tribunal, and advised Bush to nominate a 'moderate' Supreme Court justice.
"The UCC didn't say yes to every proposal, mind you. It rejected a resolution defining marriage as the union of man and woman. And the UCC decided to remain Christian! It voted to affirm its continued belief in Christ and to retain a cross on its official logo....
"But despite the UCC's boasts of inclusiveness, it has lost nearly one million members since 1960. It lost another 30,000 last year alone. The ongoing membership hemorrhage notwithstanding, the UCC's president recently celebrated his denomination's 'extravagant hospitality' and 'evangelical courage.'"
