. @timkellernyc always acts like he's a centrist, or above the liberal/conservative dichotomy, but when you pay attention to his actual Rhetoric, he's actually quite conservative and often stereotypes liberal Christians.

I have no problem with his assertion that the liberals have idols. But let's take these one at a time.

1) personal choice and freedom: first, how is this different than a conservative idol? It may manifest differently (women's rights) but it's fundamentally the same on the right (who isn't wearing masks because personal rights?)

2) absolute tolerance: funny how conservatives always say this and then claim liberals are all about "cancel culture." Either we are absolutely tolerant or we are not.

For my part, I vote for not. There is no absolute tolerance divorced from *justice* on the left side of Christianity.

It's not absolute tolerance. It's freedom to think outside the received box bc it recognizes the received box has been oppressive/harmful (see: purity Culture).

Rejection of exclusive truth: this is such an old, tired claim. If by "exclusive truth" Tim means conservative definitions of truth, then yeah. But truth is NOT an anything-goes scenerio in leftist Christianity.

You can't say things like "believe women" or "black lives matter" if you categorically reject exclusive truth claims.

I think people like Tim are mostly upset by the loss of their power to dictate truth to others. Liberals are a nice, easy criticism.

Rejection of personal responsibility: what is this? Tell me where this is actually true, @timkellernyc. Just because a group sees *systemic* problems doesn't mean they don't want people held personally responsible. Just look at how liberals responded to Trump inciting riots.

Professional expertise/status: okay, this one is probably true. I'm not sure that it's any different than the guru-obsession (think of all those john maxwell books!) we see on the right. But I'll admit that this is probably true.

Attract culture: Yeah, right. because we all know the liberal church is doing such a great job of reaching the culture and growing.

Avoid conflict: apparently Tim hasn't been watching liberal churches protest with BLM or go against denominational wishes to marry gay folks, it get fired for preaching against racism.

Either that or Tim is more committed to his stereotype than the truth.

Accept modern sex ethics: this is too big of a statement to universalize. Lib churches have a wide range of sexual ethics. But at least, what they have in common is an acknowledgment that the right's sexual ethics are broken and hurtful. Indeed, not as biblical as they claim.

They do not do church discipline: Well, technically conservative churches do not either. And while Tim might want liberal churches to do church discipline on People he deems sexually deviant, he's perfectly happy to let unrepentant fascists remain in his church. When: Metaxes.

They do not preach Christ That's the only way to salvation: again, this is probably too big of a statement for him to make without illustrating or qualifying it.

I can make the same comment about conservative Christians. They say they're safe by faith, but they had all kinds of stipulations to it. Or they reduce faith to nothing more than mental assent. So that really they're saved by their mental ascent and not actually by Jesus.

Their ministry is supportive and therapeutic: yep, probably true. But it's reduction is to leave it at that, as if Christ does not form how I do ministry or pursue justice in my city.

I'd be grateful for people to consider me a pastor who is supportive and therapeutic, as long as I'm acknowledged to be more than that. Since when is supportive in therapeutic bad? Let alone idolatrous?

No one has ever warned about God's judgments: apparently Tim hasn't spent much time listening to the black church.

Lady is not empowered bc the church is run by experts: I don't know how this is more true of liberals than it is conservatives. I feel like he's just stretching for something to criticize now.

Popular opinions of modern culture are adopted and promoted: um, Tim, have you seen what's happened to the conservative church? How is this an exclusively liberal criticism?

In the end, I think half of these criticisms would apply equally to the religious right. Of the other half, most of them are stereotypes about the left. and a few of them might actually be legitimate with qualifications.

But what I really hope, is that Tim stops pretending to be a centrist. He's not. He's just a really nice conservative. And I just like him to admit it.

Citation.