I was responding mainly to Foster's article on atonement, and extrapolating from that.

If the essence of Jesus's teachings is "love," liberal Christianity is hardly even a religion. In defending an ancient story that makes Christian love special, the liberal would need to collect theological options, rather than taking a stand in defending some of them by stubborn faith, because this Christian is too modernized to suspend her disbelief. She reads the Bible more critically, and she's more skeptical of institutional dogmas and authoritarianism. Implicitly, she adapts Christianity to the modern context, and the latter typically includes the values of consumerism.

By contrast, the conservative Christian makes a show, at least, of rejecting modernity out of allegiance to Christianity's ancient source.