Page 52 - Liberating Liberals V2

Meaning-Making Maestros
could say for sure is that Hell means separation from God.”41
Combine that with the above earlier study citing most liberals believing in a benevolent or distant
God and you may have good news for the future of freethinking. With the jaws of Hell snapping beneath you — waiting for even one blasphemous thought in one unguarded moment — it’s tough to think freely. Now liberal Christians can think freely with much less fear. Maybe the rest of humanity will be able to do so soon.
A related aspect to this is that for many hundreds of years in Christianity, if you questioned the existence of God it was assumed you were evil enough to be burned at the stake. To think freely not only risked your immortal soul, but your mortal life.
These days fundamentalist Christians may think nonbelievers are evil but they can’t burn them at the stake. However, they and even semi-fundamentalists may still brand you as immoral. This will probably make it hard to get a job or be elected President.
But I do think that most liberal Christians who believe in a benevolent God, and don’t believe
that Christianity is the only way to truth, will not condemn you for questioning the existence of God. Freethinking is therefore vastly liberated! Bernie Sanders was something of an atheist and he got about 20% of the vote during the 2016 Presidential primaries.
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