Being brought up in the Evangelical Church, the people we most feared (and in reality reviled) was not atheists, Muslims or Cults but Liberals. We felt incredible mistrust at what we saw as there attempted destruction of the Church and the intellectual rationalism they brought with them. We used to gloat at there decline compared to the growth of Conservatism. A common phrase was that 'Liberals don't have spiritual children so liberalism will die out'.

The reason I mention this is that I was reading on www.tallskinnykiwi.com about some Evangelical groups within the Evangelical Communion putting out what I would call a bit of a kung-fu statement http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/?p=1034 which does seem to be pointed at the liberals within Anglicanism.

Considering that I have automatically thought of 'Liberal Christians' as the enemy it's amazing for me to reflect about how many of them are people I admire and who have made a real impact on the modern world. In fact the three that come to mind that I think would be classified by most conservatives as liberal would consider as more influential in shaping world events to the better than any conservative evangelical in the last 100 years.

Here are my favourite three liberals

Desmond Tutu (Major contributor to halting apartheid and bringing reconciliation to South Africa)

Martin Luther King (Civil rights and Non Violence)

Dietrich Bonhoffer (Nazi Martyr, lived for his Christian principles stood up to Hitler when the rest of the German Church didn’t) (Is he liberal, I think so?)