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If it is true, as some have said, that we live not only by bread but by catch phrases and buzz words, we are well fed these days by stereotypes for Christian ?conservatives? and ?liberals.? However, these phrases have become toxic and they poison intra-Christian dialogue.

I?m using ?conservative? to include those considered to be on the evangelical right. ?Liberal? includes progressives and those perceived to be on the evangelical left.

Although what we have here are admittedly extreme positions, most of us find ourselves along a continuum from ?right? to ?left.? Mind you, understanding does not necessarily mean agreement and disagreement is not a license to demonize.

These labels, first of all, distort the differences over the nature of authority, a crucial issue for both sides.

For the conservative, God is known in a sacred text, the Bible. This is why creeds, orthodoxy, and assent to propositional faith claims are front and center. For liberals, God is known in the sacred life of Jesus; hence their stress on deeds and orthopraxy.

God is too often holy, just and righteous for the conservative and loving, merciful and compassionate for the liberal. That God is profoundly both is omitted from the conversation.

Conservatives generally believe that truth is objective and absolute. Liberals need to appreciate this. The boundaries and discipline ?conserved? here give structure and gbwc_superuserance to our lives. A river doesn?t flow without banks.

Liberals, on the other hand, who generally see truth as relational and subjective (they do not know the Absolute absolutely) provide affirmation and nurturing for the life-giving water flowing between the conservative banks.

We should, once and for all, put an end to this silly reductionism, usually espoused by liberals, that conservatives desperately need answers and liberals thrive on questions with the implication that one is more emotionally insecure than the other. In fact, liberals need more respect for answers and conservatives need to ask more questions.

The way to salvation is another difference revealed by these stereotypes. Both sides must remember that to the question about how one achieves eternal life, Jesus gave two answers. To Nicodemus, he said, ?You must be born again.? To the rich young ruler, he replied, ?Go, sell what you have and come follow me.?

This is why Paul?s ?salvation by grace alone? must be balanced by the wisdom of James: ?salvation, not without works.?

A third difference these limiting labels continue to perpetuate is the conservative accent on the individual and the liberal stress on community.

Conservatives, in the main, see sin as more individual than social. Thus, the insistence on sexual purity and other private sins by conservatives.

Liberals emphasize the social sins of war and injustice. It is not rocket science to see the need for both a personal and social relationship with God; it proves the old adage that a religion which does not begin with the individual does not begin and a religion which ends with the individual, ends.

This emphasis on the individual plays out in another important way. Conservative churches often perceive themselves as independent and are suspicious of ?councils? of churches.

As a result, they find themselves splintering off into purer and purer communities of true believers. Witness the number of non-denominational chapels in our suburbs and counties.

On the other hand, liberals lean more towards ecumenism and seek inter-dependent links with other denominations and faith traditions.

The exclusion in the former and the inclusion in the latter are both their strengths and weaknesses.

These labels expose a fourth message regarding social and political issues. Conservatives tend to support capitalism, nationalism, and appreciate that ?God blesses America.? Liberals lean toward democratic socialism, have a prophetic lovers? quarrel with the nation, and like to see more signs which read ?God Bless the Rest of the World Too.?

Eschewing the sloganeering, both conservatives and liberals need humbly and carefully to listen to each other about all the pro-life issues, which are finally spiritual issues, e.g., capital punishment, poverty, war and violence of all kinds, the unborn, euthanasia, health care and God?s good earth.

Too much use of these stereotypes results in death by caricature assassination. Can we be more critical of this social construction of language which does not intend to inform? Can we resist enemy-imaging and the need to find someone in error to insure we have the truth?

Rather than staying in the comfort zone of our biases and cherry-picking verses to support them (be we conservative or liberal), let us risk and seek information about what others believe and do, and why. We might learn more, including more about ourselves. That graceful knowledge of religious wholeness would mean a healthier spiritual diet for us all and lead to the healing of this divided land

The Rev. Ira Zepp is professor emeritus of religious studies, McDaniel College in Westminster.