I Didn’t Know There Was A Difference Between Contemporary “Liberals” And The “Left.” Did You?

I knew there was a difference between what is called "classical liberalism", which seems very much like today's contemporary conservatism, but I didn’t know there was a between contemporary “liberals” and the “left.” Did you?  The way columnist Dennis Prager describes them, they seem to have more in common with conservatives and possibly the “classic liberals” of the renaissance era yet it seems they are few and far in-between in comparison to those of the radical left.
 
Nevertheless, the columnist holds these “liberals” responsible for keeping the left in power by persistently electing leftists to power whom he claims hold these liberals and their values in contempt. 
 
So if these liberals hold values at odds with the progressive values of the left, then what is it that these liberals believe in?
 
Dennis Prager explains:
 
 
 
The Left has never believed in free speech and has suppressed dissent wherever it has assumed power. Free speech is a pillar of liberalism, and it has always embraced dissent.
 
The Left rejects the anti-racist ideal of colorblindness. Colorblind is the liberal racial ideal.
 
The Left supports racial segregation—such as all-black dorms and separate black graduations. Liberals have always advocated racial integration.
 
The Left has always loathed capitalism. Liberals were always major advocates of capitalism—recognizing that only capitalism has lifted billions of people out of poverty.
 
The Left has always been anti-Israel. Liberals have always been fervent supporters of Israel.
 
The Left has always held America in contempt. Liberals loved this country. A liberal wrote ‘God Bless America.’ No leftist would write such a song.
 
Leftists want to defund the police. No liberal does. [1]
 
 
 
Sounds like this brand of liberals are no different than conservatives insofar as their stance on the aforementioned issues goes.  If that is the case, then what is the difference between these liberals and conservatives.  Doesn’t seem like there really is.  Not saying that there aren’t any differences between these liberals and conservatives, but if this faction of liberals which I have never heard of before until now is lock-step with conservatives in their love of country, racial integration, maintaining a well-funded law enforcement apparatus, the freedom of speech, and capitalism, then what sets them apart from conservatives?
 
Mr. Prager seems to believe that there are a sizeable number of these liberals and claims it is they who keep in power those leftists whose values they oppose and that it is only they who can remove them from power and prevent them from ever assuming power again. 
 
But if they hold values at odds with those whom they persist in placing and retaining in power, then why do they continue to give them power and hold them in positions of power?  Prager gives us two possibilities:
 
 
 
One is brainwashing. Liberals are brainwashed from childhood into believing that the right is their enemy and that “pas d’ennemis a gauche” (there are “no enemies on the Left”). That is why there is no left-wing position, no matter how destructive or vile, that could move a liberal to vote Republican or identify with conservatives.
 
The second reason is fear. Liberals fear they will lose friends and even family if they do not vote Democrat or if they publicly criticize the Left. And this is not an irrational fear. [2]
 
 
 
This brainwashing and fear of losing family and friends is not merely a problem and dilemma faced only be these so-called liberals, but Jews and minorities have also faced the same dilemmas though an increasing number of Jews and minorities are recognizing that the left is not their advocate but their enemy, stands opposed to everything they hold dear, is at enmity with the core values to which they hold, and have experienced firsthand the harm caused by leftist policies, and in recognizing the dangers of leftist policy, have come to choose their governing authorities in accordance to the dictates of their own conscience and convictions, even against the objections of family and friends and to the dismay of they who had once held influence over their thinking.
 
If Jews and minorities are able to break away from placing and retaining in power they who would be their enemies, then so can these so-called liberals.  It is a matter of first undoing the many lies by which their mind has been poisoned so that they might be enlightened with what is the truth.
 
They must be persuaded and shown that they whom they thought to be their friends and advocates are their enemies and that they whom they were deceived into thinking they were their enemies are actually their friends and allies.
 
But there isn’t just a battle going on for the hearts and minds of these so-called liberals.  There is a battle going on for the hearts and minds of all people because there is a battle going on for the souls of men and it is not confined to just one side of the political aisle or the other and in order to win over the soul, you must first be able to win over the mind and heart.
 
This battle for the souls of men is one that has raged almost since the beginning of time itself and has been fought in every household, every community, village, town, city, county, district, province/state, nation, society, culture, kingdom, and empire throughout history and continues on to this very day.
 
This age-long war has manifested itself in various ways; sometimes in wars, battles, and conflicts waged with the sword and at other times it is waged not by open warfare but in ways much more subtle and in a manner in which most are either unaware or do not comprehend; with doctrine, philosophy, and ideology on various fronts and by forces seen and unseen.
 
But this is a warfare that is waged, not against flesh and blood, but as the Apostle Paul wrote, “against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Eph. 6:12)
 
And there are unseen spiritual forces, both good and evil, that are at work behind the faces that we see and who are attempting to direct the course of every life, people, community, nation, and civilization and at every level of every society.
That is why political reform, in and of itself will never be enough to change the course of any nation but if we want lasting change, that is a work that must be accomplished, not from the top down but from the bottom up.
 
Before the forces of darkness infiltrated the halls of government, he first infiltrated the schools, universities, entertainment industry, media, private sector and even our places of worship, religious organizations and establishments, and our homes.
 
Though granted that Prager has some sense of the nature of the age-long conflict taking place, his error is placing blame for the impending destruction of western civilization solely on these “liberals” and granted they may be part of the problem, it is people in general who will be to blame due to their evil, wickedness, cowardice, complacency, apathy, and laziness.
 
The liberties we claim to hold dear and the way of life that we have been blessed with have been taken for granted and even if we do understand as to how they are acquired we do not know what it is required of us to maintain them as well.  We have been overly reliant upon governing authorities to defend our liberties as they have sworn to do, never considering that many of them swear to the oath of their respective office with either no intention of keeping that oath or without any adequate knowledge of what they are swearing to protect.
 
And if, as indicated by disheartening studies, the vast majority of American citizens are biblically illiterate, how rampant might Constitutional illiteracy be among our populace, even within the halls and institutions of government itself?
 
And not only have we had a misplaced faith in our government to uphold and defend our liberties, but we have also for too long blindly and unquestioningly trusted in our academic institutions to educate our students about their Constitutionally protected rights and liberties, and have errantly relied upon the media and even the entertainment industry to affirm those liberties and way of life that we have held dear, and have even depended too much so on even our religious establishments to be that necessary spiritual and moral conscience needed to spur the people into conducting themselves in a productive and upright manner, but we, and not just our government or institutions of influence, have a part in maintaining our freedoms and way of life and though not all of us may necessarily have a large part in this, we all have a part and it is just a matter of finding out what that part is for each and every one of us and we have all been given gifts, talents, skills, passions, and contentment suited for that respective role and purpose assigned to each us and the only one who can show us for what purpose we were born into the world for is the God who created us, who reveals to each and every person the respective calling for them to pursue, and who instills in each and all of us the skills, gifts, talents, and passions needed to fulfill that purpose and not just for the maintaining of a free, peaceful, and prosperous society alone, but for the glory of God who is the establisher of all things but far too often are the gifts, talents, and skills given to us used for selfish and even wicked purpose and far too many people wander about aimlessly through life and subjugated to a meaningless existence because they do not know the God in whom a purpose and meaning to life is found for if they knew the God who made them, they might discover their purpose in the world.
If they knew well the truth of God, they might not be deceived by the various lies and falsehoods of this present world.
If they knew the laws and precepts of God, they might walk accordingly.
If they knew where liberty begins, then they might know what must be done to obtain and maintain it.
And if they knew the source of every war, battle, and conflict, then they would attack the source thereof.
 
And that is where it comes down to: the nature of the various divisions, conflicts, and perils that beset us.  The real reason for why the institutions in which we have placed much trust have become so utterly corrupt, untrustworthy, unreliable, and far removed from the purposes and intents for which they were established.
 
And the real nature of the battle is not political or economic and the moral ills of greed, lust, covetousness, perverseness, the instability and breakdown of marriages and family households, rampant crime, fiscal irresponsibility, hopelessness and despair, and corporate and government corruption are but manifested symptoms of a foundational problem that is moral and spiritual and it is the moral and spiritual roots from which the manifested evils spring that must be addressed beginning not within our established private and public institutions but within our own selves because that is where the corruption begins.  It is an inherent corruption that follows each and every one of us wherever we go and has an influence in everything we do and it is a corruption defined not merely by our outward performance but by the condition of our very nature from which evil and the potential for it springs.
 
This inherent corruption affects not only our actions, what we say, or align ourselves with (those outward manifestations are just the end result) but also our very thoughts, motives, and attitudes of the heart which is why it is written, that it is not what goes into a man that defiles him but it is what comes out of him that defiles him. (Mt. 15:11, 17-20)
 
It is this inherent corruption which the Bible calls sin that is the source of much of the evil that has entered into our world and it is these sinful tendencies that are used to tempt us and lead us into evil, bondage, darkness, and eventual destruction by that unseen tempter who seeks to take and hold captive as many souls as possible and keep them blind to the redeeming truth of God that is able to set them free from that bondage and deliver them from eventual eternal damnation and it has been so ever since sin entered into Adam the first man from whom all of humanity descend, when he disobeyed a single command which forbade him to eat fruit from a certain tree called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, being warned that if he did, he would die (Gen. 2:16-17, 3:3) and it was when he had eaten of that forbidden fruit that sin entered into him which then caused the sentence of death to be placed upon him (Gen. 3:19) and not only upon him was it placed, but because the sin that entered into Adam passed from into all of mankind who descend from him, so did the sentence of death because due to the sin that we inherit, we all sin in some form or fashion (Rom. 5:12) and therefore we all die as a consequence (Rom. 6:23)
 
But the effects of sin are not confined to mankind, but to all of creation which is why it is written that the entire groans and travails in pain to this day (Rom. 8:19-22) for the taint of sin corrupts, defiles, distorts, perverts, and ruins more than we can comprehend and it is for this cause that sin causes a separation between us and our Creator because God, being without sin, can suffer no sin in His direct presence and the Kingdom of Heaven, which is without corruption cannot allow anything with sin to enter into it and once sin reaches a certain measure, it must face eventual judgment and they who die in their sins have nothing to look forward to except a terrifying everlasting punishment and torment beyond imagination and beyond any degree of misery, pain, grief, or suffering that we may ever experience in this life, forever separated from our Creator.
 
Even though we may try to good and live as morally upright and productive of a life as possible as we all should even our own goodness at its best is not enough to deliver us from our sins because we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God which is moral perfection. (Rom. 3:23)
 
Even one sin, no matter how insignificant, even if it be in the mind or heart, is enough to deny us entry into Heaven which is why it is impossible for us to enter into Heaven by our own merit because even good works can be down for sinful reasons and impure motives but because the God who made us is a God of immense love and mercy, He is not willing that any should suffer eternal damnation but that all come to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9) and because He desires that all come to repentance, He sent His only begotten Son, Christ Jesus to take upon Himself the demanded penalty for sin, by offering Himself up as that perfect sacrifice required (Heb. 7:26-27) being without sin, (2 Cor. 5:21) submitting Himself to death for sinful mankind, thereby satisfying through His shed blood the demanded penalty for sin so that men would in Him receive the forgiveness of sins and after having died upon the cross for our sins, was raised from the dead so that our faith in Him for the forgiveness of sins would be justified. (Rom. 4:25)
 
And when the repentant sinner calls upon the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and submits themselves to His Lordship, with the cleansing of their souls from the stain of sin, they become a new person in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17) for they then receive in themselves a new transformative nature that transpires within them when Christ, through the Holy Spirit, comes to dwell inside of them causing them to no longer follow after selfish and worldly pursuits but after those things that pertain to the Kingdom of Heaven,
To no longer take pleasure in those things that are evil and displeasing in the sight of the Lord, but in that which is good, right, and pleasing in His sight,
To no longer desire to walk in the lies of this present world, but only in the truth that comes from Christ Almighty, no longer placing their hopes in the things of this present world, but looking forward to that new and better world to come,
no longer relying on worldly resources, men, or even their own power, abilities, skills, and wisdom for our needs and provision but upon God who is able to meet all of our needs, recognizing that the resources of this world and even the people He brings into their life are but instruments and vessels through which God meets our needs and that the skills, power, knowledge, and wisdom by which they might acquire our provision are provided and instilled in us by God,
no longer fearing what men can do to them, but rather fearing the God before whom they will have to one day give an account for how we lived their life,
no longer looking to corruptible institutions within our society for direction and order in their life but to God who, by His written Word has given us laws and precepts to be applied to our lives and which serve to produce and maintain an ordered life, and who, by His Holy Spirit which comes to dwell within us upon repentance, establishes in our lives a course and direction in our lives to pursue for His glory,
no longer seeking their own glory but the glory of God,
no longer rallying behind corruptible men, but instead behind the incorruptible God in Heaven bearing in mind that those men and women God raises up for our edification are but instruments and servants of His for that respective purpose to which He has called them,
no longer seeking to align themselves with the things of darkness but only with the things of the light,
no longer relying on the wisdom of the world but only on the wisdom and knowledge that comes from above,
and no longer trusting in corruptible earthly authorities to swiftly administer justice, but only in the power of God to deliver us from evil.
 
 
 
 
And the more of us embrace the forgiveness of sins offered to us by the Savior of the world and submit our hearts, minds, and souls to the transformative power of the His Spirit, the greater of a difference we will see in how households are run, how marriages are maintained, how children are raised, in the sincerity and authenticity of religious leadership, in how education is taught, how news is reported, in how business is conducted and how the private sector is operated, in what is affirmed in our entertainment industry, and in the manner of governance we live under.
 
Far too often do we seek after an outward change to the direction of our economy, how our private sector operates, how our academic institutions educate our children, how the media reports news, to what our entertainment industry affirms, and to how our ruling authorities govern when we all need to first seek that change needed within each and every one of us which is spiritual.
 
For as it is written, “seek ye first the kingdom of heaven and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Mt. 6:33)
 
For when we earnestly and sincerely seek first our Maker, turn away from those things that displease Him, and call upon the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and to cleanse us from all of our iniquities, it is at that time that His Spirit will come to dwell within us and we will receive within ourselves that transformation that will cause each and every one of us to, out of love for our Creator and out of gratitude for the salvation that we receive in Christ to live morally upright and productive lives pleasing in His sight.
 
It is the kind of change that causes men to treat each other with respect,
To no longer hate one another but love one another,
To no longer hold grudges against one another but to forgive each other,
To no longer judge one another by past misdeeds, gender, age, race, nationality, ethnicity, economic or social status, but by our actions, what we say, promote, and align ourselves with,
To unite around all things essential and to exhibit tolerance on all things not essential.
 
It is the kind of change that causes married couples to love and reverence one another the way that they should, to be self-sacrificing towards one another, and to hold to the vows that they have made towards one another in any and all given circumstances.
 
It is the kind of change that causes children to respect, honor, and obey their parents and which causes parents to raise their children to be upright, God-fearing, and productive persons.
It is the kind of change that causes employers to have genuine regard for the welfare of their employees and which causes employees to have respect for their employers and to be as productive and reliable for them as they possibly can be.
It is the kind of change that causes business to deal honestly with their consumers.
It is the kind of change that causes academic institutions to provide an honest education and without any intent to deceive and devoid of any nefarious motives.
It is the kind of change that causes media outlets and establishments to report their news honestly and accurately.
It is the kind of change that causes all things good, pure, noble, and honorable to be exalted, praised, and celebrated in our entertainment industry instead of being vilified, mocked, and ridiculed.
And it is also the kind of change needed to bring forth government that is reliable, trustworthy, principled, has respect unto the things of God, properly and swiftly administers justices, maintains our security, does what is necessary to preserve the peace and safety of the public, acts in the best interests of all and not just a favored privileged class, protects and justifies the innocent and condemns the wicked without making any excuses for their evil.
 
But that change will never take place from the top down.  It has to begin from the bottom up because the enemy is at work at both the bottom and the top and we can bail as much of the swamp water out of the top as we can and until we are blue in the face, but it will only continue to refill until we attack the swamp at its very source and it is somewhere down at the bottom and somewhere down at the bottom, there is a breach from which the water is entering and a clog in the drain that needs to be removed.
 
And when we at the bottom begin to seek out our Creator, submit to His call to repentance, and conform our minds, hearts, and lives to His ways, His truth, and to what is pleasing and good in His sight, and be willing to receive that necessary transformation from the inside out, only at that moment will we know what breaches we need to patch up to prevent the swamp water from flowing in, and where the clogs are that we need to remove in order for that filthy water to be drained, and only then can the filthy water be replaced with the pure and living water that comes from Christ Jesus alone who gives it in abundance to any who call upon His name for salvation.
 
If you sense the call of God on your life today and the call to repentance, do not hesitate to call upon the name of Jesus today.  Salvation and deliverance from eternal damnation is but a prayer away.
 
 
 
"Lord Jesus I need you.
 
 
I realize that I am a sinner
who has fallen short of the glory of God
and that my goodness falls short
of your standard of Moral perfection.
 
Please forgive me of all of my sins.
Come into my heart and into my life
to be the Savior and Lord of my life.
Make me into the servant and follower
that you want me to be.
In your name Lord Jesus, I pray.
 
 
Amen."
 
 
Know that God is not concerned with the words that you use to call upon Him forgiveness, but with the attitude of your heart and if you have, with all sincerity, have asked Christ to forgive you of your sins, placing your trust in Him only for your salvation and in nothing else, then your sins are forgiven and your place in Heaven is certain.
 
 
 
End notes:
 
 
 
1.  Dennis Prager, “The Left is Evil—and Liberals Keep Voting for Them,” American Greatness, October 19, 2021
https://amgreatness.com/2021/10/19/the-left-is-evil-and-liberals-keep-voting-for-them/
 
2.  Ibid.
 
 
 
Scripture references:
 
 
 
 
1.  Ephesians 6:12
 
2.  Matthew 15:11, 17-20
 
3.  Genesis 2:16-17
 
4.  Genesis 3:3
 
5.  Genesis 3:19
 
6.  Romans 5:12
 
7.  Romans 6:23
 
8.  Romans 8:19-22
 
9.  Romans 3:23
 
10.  2 Peter 3:9
 
11.  Hebrews 7:26-27
 
12.  2 Corinthians 5:21
 
13.  Romans 4:25
 
14.  2 Corinthians 5:17
 
15.  Matthew 6:33