To understand the profound impact of Liberalism’s demise, it helps to make sure one understands the difference between Classical Liberalism and it’s contemporary milquetoast descent that slinks around in straw-man form on our 24 hours news cycle.

Hedges explains (pp. 6-7) “Classical liberalism was formulated largely as a response to the dissolution of feudalism and church authoritarianism. … (It) has, the philosopher John Gray writes, four principle features, or perspectives, which give it a recognizable identity. It is :

• individualist, in that it asserts the moral primacy of the person against any collectivity;
• egalitarian, in that it confers on all human beings the same basic moral status;
• universalist, affirming the moral unity of the species;
• and meliorist, in that it asserts the openended improvability, by use of critical reason, of human life

Both John Cobb (Mainline)  and Clayton Crockett (Radical Political Theology) use very similar formulations in their recent Homebrewed  podcasts. Cobb, by focusing on the demise of the Mainline and Crocket, by focusing on the Evangelical and Religious Right, articulate the monumental shift in the religious-political landscape in the past century.

The Mainline denominations are in a collapse narrative and it makes perfect sense why when one examines both the way liberal thought partnered with power in the 20th Century and the way that conducted itself (largely) within the shifting landscape of post-war realities at home and globalization abroad.

“In a traditional democracy, the liberal class functions as a safety valve. It makes piecemeal and incremental reform possible. It offers hope for change and proposes gradual steps toward greater equality. It endows the state and the mechanisms of power with virtue. It also serves as an attack dog that discredits radical social movements, making the liberal class a useful component within the power elite. But the assault by the corporate state on the democratic state has claimed the liberal class as one of its victims…

The inability of the liberal class to acknowledge that corporations have wrested power from the hands of citizens, that the Constitution and its guarantees of personal liberty have become irrelevant, and that the phrase consent of the governed is meaningless, has left it speaking and acting in ways that no longer correspond to reality. It has lent its voice to hollow acts of political theater, and the pretense that democratic debate and choice continue to exist.”  (pp. 9-10)

We talked yesterday about the fictitious nature of the supposed Left-Right spectrum.  For those of us who participate in christ centered communities and organizations, what does this mean?  While incomplete, here is my little experiment to come up with a game-plan for a start.

1. We stop using the label ‘Liberal’ generically for anything that is not Conservative… especially to be dismissive.  Liberal is a very specific ethical  framework and it takes quite a commitment to liberal. It is not a default position.
2. We disavow the left-right , conservative-liberal split as farcical. It doesn’t exist. Obama is a Centrist Democrat. Romney is a Centrist Republican. Any idea that Obama is a radical is ridiculous.* We repent of lazy language & thought.
3. We wake up as the church that the role the Liberals used to play in the system does not function. There is no moderating or buffering presence to bring a corrective to the system. Thus, participating in the system as-it-now-exists will not fix the system. The corporate hold over every aspect of our political system is pervasive.
4. We step up as the church in the revelation that government is not going to fulfill the expectation to

• bring good news to the poor (Economy)
• restore sight to the blind (Medical)
• release to the captive  (Legal)
• lift up the broken hearted (Compassion)

The church can do these things! We have deferred to the political system for too long. We have outsourced our responsibility to society but now live with the remains of the bloated carcass Christendom. With the death of the liberal class resistance to corporate rule and unchecked consumerism is impotent. The Citizen’s United ruling is just one step on long trail … but we know where it leads.

There are churches in every community and there may be no greater existing potential than us! **  I know it sounds dreamy, but in the rest of this series I want to flesh it out. By the end, it might not seem as far-fetched as it does right now.

- Bo Sanders

*Wall Street campaign funding, legalizing assassination, and Guantanamo Bay are your first 3 hints.
**  The danger of course is that we keep voting based on two issues while turning a blind eye to  corporate rule, environmental deregulation, and perpetual war.

John Cobb delivers the challenge at the UCC's Southern California – Nevada Conference on June 5, 2009

He has continued to speak and write about new ecological issues that weren’t known at the time he wrote Is It Too Late? A Theology of Ecology (1972). In June, he challenged the UCC to take as its mission working with God for the salvation of the world … with the environment as a focal point.

I’m not at all jealous that Tripp gets to grab lunch with Dr. Cobb down in Claremont any time he wants.

So I marked the morning of my 40^th Earth Day (well technically my 28^th) by listening to this recording from when Dr. Cobb visited Tripp’s class.

“We need to make use of technology, but that’s not going to solve the problem.”

John Cobb … Earth Day 2009 (MP3)

If you are involved in some form of student ministry and you have done some kind of work in the environment, give us a call and share your ideas with others. I often hear from ministers who are looking for ideas. Call us at 678-590-BREW.

We mention a climate change bill, and I was actually in D.C. lobbying around the same time Ben was, the American Clean Energy and Security Act (HR 2454), that will significantly reduce carbon emissions in the U.S. It barely passed the House after being weakened significantly, and it is on the way to the Senate after the August recess. Stay tuned for updates from Homebrewed Christianity and watch for ways that you can help strengthen the bill and get it passed.

Praise for Green Revolution in the blogosphere:

RelevantMagazine.com, Review by Jonathan Merritt
DeepGreenConversation.org
Godspace.Wordpress.com, Review from Christine Sine

Our talk covers:

disenchantment in the modern era
a new cosmology that encourages a deeper relationship with God and creation
viewing the gospel through an evolutionary, ecological lens

Bruce is the pastor of Canadian Memorial United Church in Vancouver, British Columbia and author of Darwin, Divinity, and the Dance of the Cosmos and The Emerging Church: A Model for Change and a Map for Renewal.

We also have a little fun with the legendary band Devo…in honor of Darwin’s 200th birthday (on Thursday) and 150th anniversary of On the Origin of the Species. Listen to find out the connection.

Thank you Deacon Kevin for calling the Homebrewed Hotline (678-590-BREW) and sharing how HBC has brought you closer to your brother. The entire Homebrewed Diaconate is invited to call us and share your story of how the podcast has improved your relationships.

Also check out Episode 26 with Bruce Sanguin and Tripp’s review of The Emerging Church on Emergent Village.

In episode 40, the first episode of Homebrewed Christianity Season 2, we finally reveal the much anticipated ‘hypaliciousness’. Listen for the list of what is new this year for the podcast. The controversy over the new Emergent National Coordinator is settled, we share our plans for upcoming episodes, and tell our deacons about new ways to get involved.

The guest this week is very special to me, and not only because she founded the organization that employs me. The Rev. Canon Sally Bingham gives us hope that people of faith are starting to take climate change seriously. She founded Interfaith Power & Light convincing a handful of Episcopal churches in California to purchase wind energy.

Today, the organization represents 5,000 congregations in 29 states. Recently she received an honorary doctorate from Sewanee and was featured on The Weather Channel’s Forecast Earth Hot List, along with Google and T. Boone Pickens.

Visit InterfaithPowerandLight.org to:

• Pre-order Love God Heal Earth by the Rev. Canon Sally Bingham
• Sign the Interfaith Call for Climate Action Petition to Barack Obama
• Find out how to get involved locally
• Subscribe to the IPLog, the blog of the Interfaith Power & Light campaign.