Evans Liberal Politics, September 5, 2011, also April 23, 2011 (revised and updated), with update of May 12, 2011, also November 29, 2010 and September 12, 2010, and other editing at other times, by Paul Evans:

My name is Paul Evans, owner of Evans Liberal Christian Politics. In keeping with our emphasis here on caring and sharing, I want to share my faith and spiritual beliefs with you. My faith is very strong, but some of my beliefs are unusual and may be controversial. So Be it. Truly I know and love our Lord, despite having struggled with my own spiritual gifts and also lack of faith for several years.

Let me start by saying that it is my firm belief that no one can understand the infinite and pure goodness of the universe. That is why the answer is to have faith, as there is no other way.

*****

I have made studies and even researches into not simply who God is, but also what God is. This has been going on with me since about 1978, but especially in the last six years. I found writings about the pre-Socratic idea of God as Logos, which was thought by the early Christian church to be a good description of the nature of Jesus, and I studied this especially in 2005. However I have been what is commonly referred to as “spiritually gifted” since my 30th birthday in 1987. And during this whole process I did suffer because I have had basically no discernment, spiritually.

At the time I was studying Logos and even writing about that, God specifically warned me, so it strongly seemed to me, to stop questioning and trying to discern exactly what God’s nature is. And sure enough, as a moth is driven to a candle or light, I did not leave the whole issue alone and I was hospitalized for a couple of weeks for an episode of mental illness.

Like Third Day’s song, “Consuming Fire,” I could not leave it alone. But in recent days, I had a strong moment of clarity when I remembered the Bible specifically saying that God is Spirit. That left out a few properties, you might say, that many people these days commonly associate with God, such as light and love, and even life itself, if you remember the opening verses of the Gospel of John.

If you have your own beliefs as to God’s nature, that is wonderful and I hope it works for you. But for me, with many years experience interacting with Spirit as I have, the concept of God as Spirit works for me. Furthermore, I also now think it is foolish for a mere mortal man to try to actually think he or she can know God to the extent of knowing what God is. As for me, the whole Biblically supported concept of God as Spirit works well, whatever other attributes you would ascribe to Him. I just am at peace about it and no longer wish to struggle with any researches or even other beliefs as to the nature of God. After all, He did warn me about it, and moreover I believe that if He had wished us to know his physical nature, He would have told us. Lastly, of course, the question arises as to what Spirit itself is, but I am not so stupid to try to solve or discover that. I am fairly certain that no one will ever know.

UPDATE of April 23, 2011: The truth is not easy for me to relate, because it is embarrassing to me. As one who is spiritually gifted, I have rewritten and edited a book on spiritualist Christianity that is for sale on Amazon. Yet the last several years of my life have been quite troubled. I had thought that I was to a certain degree troubled by Satan and satanic spirits, but in the last few days I have found out with certainty that this is not so.

Jesus has revealed to me that He himself and at least several other spirits that He recruited have been “deviling” me in order to teach me a few important lessons. I think partly he did this because I thought maybe I was especially caring and very much like Jesus, and Jesus wanted to show me how very far from that I was in actuality.

Let me explain: Because of my own mental illness, I always led a sheltered life, and did not know much about life, really, or the nature of good and evil. I knew several things academically but I did not know real life basically at all. To bring this explanation to a close, at times I was afflicted by a spirit or spirits I thought were Satanic. I thought furthermore that I had no choice but to capitulate to them in some regards, although I never hurt anyone or did much wrong at all. I learned. Jesus taught me what is good and what is evil and just how evil evil is. And I am fairly certain that I am somewhat protected as Jesus’ wish for me.

And I learned that while I meant well, I really was not all that special in any way, certainly not truly in any way like Jesus. Now I understand that. Then he revealed himself to me and forgave me my delusions. At no time during this process did I engage in any really evil acts, and I always tried to live a caring life.

In fact, Christ’s life as revealed in the Gospels was the model by which I actually made a poor attempt to live my life by for the last six years. I still think that this is the ideal way for humans to be, as much as we are capable of it (which is meagerly). Few of us are Mother Theresa (or Martin Luther King) in our lives. But in terms of this affliction, finally, I saw that it was Jesus always in my life, and how wrong I had been to think I had to capitulate to evil or let it have any sway over me whatsoever. And again, I learned how holy Jesus really is, and learned that no human is like Jesus. In terms of the delusions I suffered from, I basically knew I was under Jesus’ personal protection, I had talked with him spiritually quite a few times… so I don’t know what exactly I was thinking. I was deluded, and I think the reason was that Jesus had lessons to teach me. Mainly I think something about holiness, the power and glory of Jesus, and just how frail a man is without God’s active help. And of course that I myself was not that special.

Jesus made a point to not spiritually interact with me himself as long as I remained deluded. And my mental illness entered the picture in that I would swing back and forth in my belief. It certainly was difficult, I will say, and I pray that that phase in my life is over. It always has been a tremendous relief, and especially is now, a tremendous relief when Jesus came back personally in my life, spiritually. (Let me make clear that I do not “hear voices.” I get yes/no answers to questions I ask spirits, to some extent I experience the personality of the visiting spirit, and some spirits and especially Jesus are able to get words across to me, as if “ideas” entered my mind.)

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From November 29, 2010: Quite a few times in my life, the last very recently, I have spiritually communed with Jesus, and I am so very happy about that! To me, the Lord has a a loving and kind character, and I “talk” (in a sense) to him when his presence is felt (so far I have always known when it is He). I cannot tell you the peace this gives me, except to say that, so far as I can tell the essence of Jesus is caring and it is Spirit, whatever else it is. From what I know, the view of Jesus as an impassioned, passionate person does not quite ring true, as I know Him as also very kind, patient, caring and loving, yet also serious and rather grave. But there is a Peace and also a strong feeling of patience (and lately I have learned, power) about Him….

Spiritual communications are a commonplace in my own life. And spiritual discernment — being aware of just what spirit you are “talking” with, without words — is a difficult thing. People, and spirits, are more alike than you might imagine in their substance, at least that has been my experience. I used to hope for and pray for Jesus to talk to me, and also to somehow rescue me from my situation or “fix” it. So it was natural that sometimes I used to confuse some very good and very kind spirits with Jesus, as I had hoped they were, in fact, Jesus. But when Jesus IS here iwth me, then I always am aware of it. And Jesus doesn’t just come running when you call him. As the Bible says, not everyone who “knocks” on his door gets an answer. These things are up to Jesus, and His ways are beyond our understanding (– but he has lessons to teach us).

Christian, Liberal AND Spiritual

The Bible calls such a gift as talking to those who have passed away (but whose spirit lives on) “prophecy” and we moderns call it mediumship, and many in the church condemn it, yet I have had this gift since my 30th birthday, and I am 54 years old now. Spirits come and go, completely beyond my control, and I feel them physically in my head and in my heart, almost like a super-energetic gas, yet immaterial, and I could not even help interacting with them if I wanted to. I tell you, such an enchantment is a wonderful, though sometimes difficult experience to manage! Surely, I know and love Jesus, and if God grants me this gift, what could be wrong with it? The gift is from God, and there is nothing evil or wrong about it. I am an open and honest man, and I have decided not to hide my gift, but to share it with my readers. I don’t mind being this open about my unusual beliefs, nor what it exposes me to. In fact, I consider it a witness for Christ.

So let me share my faith and my ideas with you. I hope some of the ideas I set forth here might be useful to you. At this time, I stand as a committed Christian, first and foremost. I am going through some hard times now, financially, but my faith is strong and committed. Many of my friends are people of other beliefs or even lack of a belief, and as it says in the Bible, "judge not lest ye be judged." I would never judge a person based on their beliefs, and I don’t think anyone should judge or shun a person based on that. I was for many years a Unitarian-Universalist until at the very beginning of 2009, a stronger Christian faith compelled me to join the local United Church of Christ, where the pastor is a friend of mine. I have been spiritually gifted for a very long time, with the unusual ability to interact spiritually (with spirits), and this has not always been easy for me.

It was only recently, in prayer with Jesus, that I was healed and truly saved to live as a servant of God. As with anyone, my salvation is conditional upon my own faith and works. My own spiritual gifts, again, often referred to in the Old Testament as the gift of “Prophecy,” involve this spiritual interaction I have mentioned. Some of these issues were a part of the mental illness I used to suffer from. (But you would be very foolish to consider what I have written here as any sort of mental illness. There are lessons here which you might ignore at your own peril.) I am only an ordinary man and have no power over any spiritual forces. Yet I know with complete confidence in my heart that, while in prayer with Him, Jesus healed me of any remaining affliction, and gave me a special spiritual protection, along with a very much stronger spirituality than I have ever enjoyed before. If you would ever like to discuss your own Christianity or spirituality with me, please feel free to email me.

Jesus seems to be taking a personal interest in this article and in my welfare, and I find that a blessing beyond belief, so to speak. I did not expect Jesus to come back to me anytime soon. My own history of mental illness is such that I had problems completely trusting Christianity, and sometimes was afraid that I had to – had no choice but to – in fact believe in darkness, and that it had a power over me, and that resisting it was the cause of the hardship and difficulties I suffered from. (At the same time, this never changed my outlook that I would always be a caring person following the golden rule.)

Here I want to make note of something many of you will find very controversial and dislike. I have always felt that Jesus whole life here on earth was one that only a basically liberal person could have lived. His strong emphasis on CARING, the way he loved everyone he met, regardless of what they believed, the way he lived for others and did not care about money, or power, just about helping one another, always struck me as a very liberal sort of life. So anyway, below is a symbol a friend of mine made describing Jesus as a liberal. Many of you won’t like this…. Jesus said to tell you that he did not TELL me to put the graphic there, but that he DID give me his permission to put it below. I always thought that Jesus is, in fact, very much a liberal. What do you think about this? It’s not like Jesus is “telling me” that he is basically a liberal, he just told me it wasn’t wrong of me to put the image below, or at least that I had his permission. Deal with it.

A Word About Spiritual Christian Beliefs
Psychiatry and Delusion

It is hard to know where to begin here. Personally, I am isolated in that no one else in my life has spiritualist beliefs, and this makes it hard for me. I know that many people think these spiritual interactions are delusional, and that it is very likely that this is what my psychiatrist thinks, too. Yet because the spiritual beliefs fall under the aegis of “religion,” they keep their hands off of it pretty much, because they are not supposed to interfere in people’s religious beliefs. All my friends believe that it amounts to me talking to myself in some strange way. All I know is how very real it is to me, and that there are several spiritualist Christian churches in every state, so that I am not alone in my beliefs. All I can do is stand with what is true for me, personally, and stand with my faith. I swear by all that is Holy before God that everything I have written here is true to the extent I know, so help me God.

My Own Christianity
and the Bible as Truth

While now I am a strong Christian, I do not believe in the strict and universal literal truth of all passages in the Bible. It is a document written down by men, and the wonderful spiritual inspiration which caused it to be written down is no less flawed than were the very flawed and human men who first wrote it down. At the same time, as a committed Christian, I do believe the Bible was inspired by the Holy Spirit. Yet to some extent I truly feel the Old Testament was written, yes, for all humanity, and forever, yet the rules in it were meant to apply to the pastoral Hebrew people of those times. One should also keep in mind, as to the Old Testament, that this was handed down orally for some 800 years, scholars believe, before it was ever written down. I really think that quite a bit of the Old Testament is more about the customs of the ancient Hebrew people than it is a reflection of the Word of God. Certainly I feel that way about certain passages of the Old Testament.

The literal truth of the New Testament seems less questionable to me, and yet I realize at the same time that it is by our own fallible human minds that various translations of the Bible in fact become available, that in fact different translations have some different content, and also that no person gets any meaning from the Bible except through the interpretations of a flawed and very human mind. God gave us a mind, a fragment of the divine spark, and we need to realize that it is only by the limited powers of our humanly fallible minds that we understand anything. And the Bible is certainly not an easy document to understand fully! As to the Old Testament, my favorite passage from the New Testament about all that is from Luke 10:27, where it is said that the sum of all the Law and the Prophets is to “love God and love your neighbor as yourself,” (paraphrase), to which Jesus replied “Yes! Do this and you will live!”. Living a truly caring life is not such an easy thing, either.

The Reverend Candace Chellew-Hodge speaks about the Bible as literal truth, with an interpretation that one should never argue scripture. She says:

Those who see the Bible as “God’s literal word” only know one way to read any passage, and it’s usually to back up their current beliefs about God, homosexuality or any other issue. … We have to remember that this is an ancient book. It was written at a time when people believed the world was flat and that the earth was in the middle of a three-tiered world with heaven above and hell below. It was written at a time when people believed that the whole of human reproduction was held in the sperm of a man and a woman was merely an incubator. Speaking of women, this was a time when they were seen as chattel — property to be passed along from father to husband, from husband to brother and so on. It was written at a time when slavery was seen as God-ordained and animal sacrifice was the way to cleanse sins.

I know that many conservative Christians have “problems” about those who are spiritually gifted, and say that the Old Testament power of prophecy is in some way evil or wrong to practice. I can only say that I have prayed spiritually and interacted with Jesus, and he told me to quote you a verse also from Luke, in this case Luke 10:16 – "Then he (Jesus) said to the disciples, ‘Anyone who accepts your message is also accepting me. And anyone who rejects you is rejecting me. And anyone who rejects me is rejecting God, who sent me.’" I have a very close interpersonal relationship with the Lord. If you will judge me for my liberal beliefs and the sinners I associate with, that is on your head. Here I would cite a truly wonderful passage, Romans Chapter 3, particularly verses 21 through 24: (New Living Translation):

21 But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. 22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard (some versions read, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"). 24 Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.

It was Jesus himself who warned us, in Matthew 7:1-2, "1 Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." And I, Paul Evans swear to you, Jesus has let me know (during spiritual prayer and that communion with Him) that we are to love one another, and never judge anyone. For loving one another pleases God and removes the penalties of the Law that hold from the Old Testament. It is by CARING for one another that we please God while here on earth.

The Book of Revelation particularly within the New Testament is, besides being controversial, is the least credible to me of New Testament books as to it’s literal truth. I find it an allegorical work and one that is very useful to growth and development, yet somehow I question it’s literal truth in that I have a hard time believing that God, in his totally loving nature, would subject mankind to that sort of ordeal. Did he not promise, in the Old Testament (if you believe in the literal truth of the Bible), after the Flood, never to again destroy the world? The Book of Revelation has always troubled me, and I believe that thinking it literally true has caused a great deal of trouble in the world, as it inspires neocons (right wing militaristic Republicans) to work towards it’s fulfillment, which I find rather evil. I believe in full co-existence with other world religions, while personally having strong yet liberal Christian beliefs, a strong spirituality, and a strong faith in God. Call me a very faithful and spiritual Christian liberal.

Passages in the Bible which strain our credulity as to their literal truth are all too easy to find. One need look no further then the wonderful and poetic Genesis Chapter 1, the story of Creation (New International Version). Here each day of creation ends with something like “morning came and evening came, an ‘nth’ day, there being seven days of creation. Notice the sequence of creation (and here it does not matter if you interpret the “day” as literally 24 hours or as in the original Hebrew, “a period of time.” Look at the very first day. Here God created light and darkness and called the light “day” and the darkness “night.” And here and for each of the remaining days of creation, that day’s creation ends with something like “And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.”

Yet the sun and the moon were not created until the fourth day. I’m sorry: we are rational, thinking human beings. By what stretch of the imagination is the creation illuminated and does morning come and evening come on days one through three without a sun even existing (until day four)? If words and logic mean anything, the Creation story CANNOT be literally true. That does not mean it is not moving, and it does not mean it is not poetic and important. But if you believe that is literally true, you have not thought the matter through or words and logic mean nothing to you, in which case, why bother with reading. God Bless us all, anyway.

What is important to me is mainly the New Testament, although the Old Testament is a wonderful chronicle of the history of the Jewish people, God’s people at that. And what is important to me in the New Testament is the example of strong CARING that Jesus showed for us to follow, by his whole life.

It is Christ’s very life, in particular the emphasis this shows on the centrality of CARING, a caring for each other, much as Martin Luther King, Jr., envisioned in his concept of the Blessed or "Beloved Community," which has cause me to devote so much effort to promoting liberalism. I highly recommend that you take a look at the collection of The Sermons and Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr. on Wikipedia. I see a liberal political agenda for society as central to Jesus’ wish that we “feed his sheep,” and I find his last words to Peter very telling. Just before he ascended into heaven Jesus asked Peter if he loved him. Peter said, “Lord, you know I love you.” To which Jesus replied, “Feed my sheep.” Jesus was no hypocrite. Jesus meant BOTH figurative AND literal feeding of his sheep. Surely he meant that we must be our brother’s keeper, and liberalism and a progressive vision fulfills that idea for me.

Also see In Defense of the Christian Liberal, Democratic Underground, October 12, 2002, by Frank Lovato.

A Bible Passage the Religious Right
Won’t Like or Acknowledge
(Could This Be Socialism??)
Acts 4:32-35 NIV

The Believers Share Their Possessions

32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all 34 that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.

My Favorite Bible Passage:
Matthew 17: 1-13: The Transfiguration
New Living Translation

1 Six days later Jesus took Peter and the two brothers, James and John, and led them up a high mountain to be alone.

2 As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance was transformed so that his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light.

3 Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus. 4 Peter exclaimed, “Lord, it’s wonderful for us to be here! If you want, I’ll make three shelters as memorials—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

5 But even as he spoke, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him.” 6 The disciples were terrified and fell face down on the ground.

7 Then Jesus came over and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” 8 And when they looked up, Moses and Elijah were gone, and they saw only Jesus. 9 As they went back down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

10 Then his disciples asked him, “Why do the teachers of religious law insist that Elijah must return before the Messiah comes?”

11 Jesus replied, “Elijah is indeed coming first to get everything ready. 12 But I tell you, Elijah has already come, but he wasn’t recognized, and they chose to abuse him. And in the same way they will also make the Son of Man suffer.”

13 Then the disciples realized he was talking about John the Baptist.

Comment by Evans Liberal Politics owner Paul Evans: So far as Bible scholars can tell, the Gospel of Matthew was the earliest of the four Gospels, written about 50 A.D. The Gospels of Mark and Luke followed in about 70 A.D. and John is believed to have been written perhaps about 90 A.D. Some liberal Christian theologians have commented that John is the only Gospel which affirms that Jesus is really God, and remark that the earlier church did not claim such a thing. Whether or not you may believe that Jesus is God, such a passage as Matthew 17: 1-13 surely seems to affirm that Jesus is God’s Son, and not simply a prophet, and that this belief infused the earliest Christian church’s writings. In fact, the early Church existed as a sect within Judaism, and it was not, scholars believe, until about 170 A.D. that this faith actually called itself “Christian,” as distinct from Judaism. (You do realize, Jesus was a Jew, right?) The nature of the passage above, which is from Matthew and thus an early writing, is such as to make the fact that the early church believed in the divinity of Jesus clearly apparent.

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My Experience
with the Unitarian-Universalist Faith

At the left is a symbol of the Unitarian-Universalist Association. They are a church which believes in the search for truth and gives their members complete freedom to believe as they are led by their consciences. I attended this church for twenty years, so I know quite a lot about it. One could be a liberal Christian, or study Zen Buddhism or Taoism, or be simply an environmentalist, or even be a humanist, agnostic, atheist or study pagan religions. While one can be a Christian and be a “U-U,” generally Unitarian-Universalists believe that most or all religions are reflections of the same truth and that no religion should be viewed as “better” than any other. My own conviction as a Christian, which took place in a troubled manner, but is wholly heartfelt and real for me, caused me to believe that there is more truth in Christianity per se than in other religions, at least for me. At this point, the very beginning of 2009, I left the local U-U church, began attending Trinity United Church of Christ, and soon became a member. At the same time, I see a lot of truth, beauty and opportunity to learn from all world religions, yet Christianity is The Truth for me now. Yet by no means have I ceased being fascinated by all world religions, which in my opinion all have something to teach us.

In the Unitarian-Universalist faith, one could simply be a persona still searching for a personal religious belief. Belief in a particular religion is not required to join, and quite a few members are either searchers or do not particularly believe in anything except their own moral and ethical values, while at the same time holding a reverence for the goodness within the Universe. Also, Pagans, Wiccans and other witches may find a home in this church. Yet I insist, any decent belief is fostered and supported here, and one can attend this church and be a liberal Christian. Universalists (quite a few Unitarian-Universalists consider themselves to be primarily Universalist, and many of these churches still label themselves as such) are usually thought of as more Scripturally based Christians who believe that all souls are saved, that a loving God would not damn anyone. The two formerly separate groups merged in 1961. And yes, some U-U’s are in fact Republican. The symbol shown above, which is actually the OLD logo, is called the Flaming Chalice. It originated sometime during or just after World War II when the Unitarian church was assisting Jewish people to escape the clutches of the Nazis in Europe, operating primarily, I think, out of Spain. You can explore U-U beliefs at the website of The Unitarian-Universalist Association of Congregations. You can read the U-U Principles in a Word document here. The church and logo is in no way affiliated with my business. The fellowship in Wooster can be found at www.uufwc.org. The local U-U fellowship meets Sundays at 9:00 and 10:45 a.m. (There is more on Trinity United Church of Christ, the most usual church I go to, and the one I am a member of, below.)

Trinity United Church of Christ
Wooster, Ohio

The Pastor at Trinity United Church of Christ (Trinity UCC)
is Rev. Dr. Kevan Franklin, whose friendship means so very much to me.

*****

Come join the United Church of Christ, if you wish, on Sunday mornings. We have an Alternative (contemporary) service at 8:30 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall and a Classic Service at 10:30 a.m. in the Sanctuary, with Christian Education for all ages at 9:15 a.m.

Trinity United Church of Christ
150 E. North St.
Wooster, Ohio 44691

330-264-9250

Email Trinity UCC

*****

Songs and Ministries of Christian Praise

Ministries of God’s Truth and Love and Christian Rock
for our Education and Devotion
(with Some Socially Relevant Stuff, Too)