I have profited greatly from this environment. It gave me the freedom to seek out my own faith. It has produced churches and pastors who are open and relatively noncritical. However, there are some serious flaws in my own education and in the life of the church that have developed with an over emphasis on moderation, tolerance and diversity. First, moderate Methodism has become much too subjective.
Religious choices are personal and experiential.
By making religious preferences subjective, we effectively detach them from Biblical truths. Jesus is Lord not because His coming conforms to biblical prophecy, or His resurrection confirms his divinity. Elton Trueblood's famous argument for Christ as either Lord, Lunatic or Liar is simply unnecessary. Moderates will not argue for the objective truth of biblical faith they simply try to live it out. This subjectivity breeds a tolerance for everything but intolerance.