So much to write about! Today I will look at a common term often heard among the conservative evangelical fringe called "progressive Christianity".
What is progressive Christianity (PC)? Alisa Childers describes it as a movement that seeks to re-interpret the Bible, re-assess historic doctrines, and re-define core tenets of the faith. [1]
Michael Kruger states that "PC" has a low view of Christ. They don't believe that Jesus is the divine Son of God, but rather just a moral example for us to follow.
That "PC" is focused on moralism, not salvation. Therefore the highest goal of "PC" is that you just have to be a good person. You're not really left with the gospel of salvation; you're left with a moral code, and it really reduces it to sort of this moralistic religion.
Because "PC" think you can be a good person, you must have a low view of sin. It's the idea that people aren't really that fallen and they're not really all that bad...that we're all good people at the core and therefore really do have an opportunity to do even better. [2]
Hopefully this helps to paint a picture for you of "PC" in our post-modern day.
"Orthodox" Christianity also label such "PC" as being those who lack a biblical worldview, that is they take the Bible or Scriptures and mix or blend it's teachings and ideologies with the world's, syncretizing them to create something entirely different.
Recent polls by George Barna and Gallop showing that only 6% of professing Christians have a biblical worldview; that is, one unadulterated by worldly principles. That even among preachers its not much better as even "youth pastors" only have a 12% biblical worldview for example. That a record-low 20% of Americans now say the Bible is the literal word of God. [3][4][5]
George Barna said the following based on his poll:
One of the implications of the research is that we no longer live in a nation where we can choose a church home based largely on its denominational affiliation. Large proportions of pastors across all Christian denominations do not consistently think and act biblically. Neither can we assume that the popularity of a church, based on the number of people it attracts, is a sign of biblical fidelity. The research outcomes suggest the opposite.
It is time for American Christians to institute a major shift in our church selection process. We cannot attend a church hoping and willing to be spoon-fed theological truth. A healthier way of seeing our church experience would be to do our homework and choose a church we believe is faithful to the Word of God — and then to test and verify everything that we receive in the teaching from the church. When objective data shows that the teaching of most pastors cannot be trusted, we dare not ignore that warning. [6]
Truthfully, this is something a believer should always do. George concluded with the following exhortation:
In the end, God will hold you responsible for what you choose to believe and how you live. On Judgment Day, you will not escape responsibility for bad choices by pointing the finger at a pastor who proposed those beliefs or behaviors. The full responsibility for what you believe and how you apply those beliefs, regardless of what influenced your choices, lies on your shoulders. [6]
Ken Ham from Answers In Genesis also commented on Barna's poll. Following is his description of those lacking a biblical worldview:
Their prevailing worldview is best described as syncretism, the blending of ideas and applications from a variety of holistic worldviews into a unique but inconsistent combination that represents their personal preferences.
Rather than building their thinking on God’s Word, the majority of pastors are basing their beliefs on “personal preferences.” In other words, it’s like I’ve been saying for years: many in the church, including its leaders, have set themselves up as the authority over God and his Word. It’s a devastating disease and it’s infecting both pulpits and pews! [7]
Sounds quite serious! Man replacing God. In fact Ken has been calling the Body of Christ to repentance for decades!
From a worldview perspective, a church’s most important ministers are the children’s pastor and the youth pastor. Discovering that seven out of every eight of those pastors lack a biblical worldview helps to explain why so few people in the nation’s youngest generations are developing a heart and mind for biblical principles and ways of life, and why our society seems to have run wild over the last decade, in particular.”
This study’s results are extremely alarming for the future and health of the church. If pastors don’t possess a biblical worldview, they cannot pass it along, and individuals and families suffer from the lack of biblical shepherding and teaching.
Sadly, I’m not shocked by the results of this study. Anyone who has heard me speak over the past few decades knows I’ve been calling the church to repent of compromise with the world’s thinking and get back to God’s Word. If we don’t take God’s Word as the ultimate and final authority, from its very first verse, compromise and syncretism are direct consequences. Truth becomes a “pick and choose” buffet instead of a commitment to God’s Word.
We need a new reformation in the church—a return to the authority of God’s Word from the very first verse. Pastors need to repent of compromise and get back to first believing and then teaching God’s Word accurately, instead of adding the world’s opinions into Scripture. [7]
Thus, American Christians who perceive they hold to a biblical worldview are alarmed, though not shocked by the poll and survey results. It has them looking at root causes for this as well as solutions.
Personally I believe the public school system plays a big part in this. John Dewey introduced progressive education into our public schools. [8] Kids are being taught not how to think but what to think. The thoughts of Vladimir Lenin who said, "Give me your 4 year olds and in a generation I will build a socialist state." [9] have been the goal of our public school system. Even Florida Governor Ron DeSantis sees what's going on in the public schools:
Following woke indoctrination in our schools, that is a road to ruin for this country, and we're not going to let it happen in Florida.
There's an element on the far left that believes parents really have no role in the education of their kids. You drop them off at school ... and they impose the ideology and worldview that they want. [10]
Look at the typical American, whether they profess Christianity or not. Their typical daily and weekly routines are not much different. Both are so wrapped up in worldly pursuits, whether on the job where working 60 or more hours in a week is common, or running their children to extracurricular activities starting at the preschool age for many. Hobbies and entertainment of all sorts. It is evident that Christianity has become progressive and is devoid of a biblical worldview.
Erwin Lutzer, the former president of Moody Bible College had the following to say:
Progressive Christianity has the same basic worldview as the theological liberalism that shifted authority away from the Scripture to human opinions. Progressive Christians do not reject Biblical authority outright; rather they purport to walk a middle path with the Bible in one hand and cultural sensitivity in the other.
To put it clearly: Progressive Christianity interprets the Bible through the lens of culture; it does not critique the culture through the lens of the Bible. So, in the name of love and inclusivity, progressive Christians apply their teaching to matters of sexuality, the doctrine of salvation and the eternal destiny of lost sinners. They wish to make Christianity blend in with the culture rather than stand against it. They believe that in this way, the church will become more relevant and loving. “Can’t we just abandon some of the hard edges of Christianity and move toward a more inclusive understanding of the Christian faith?” This, they say, will remove barriers for those who see the church as unloving and hopelessly exclusive.
Progressive Christianity surrenders to the moral revolution, the essential goodness of human nature, and an inclusiveness regarding essential doctrines. In other words, they have developed a worldview based on human desires, not the clear revelation of God. This is exactly what Paul warned against: “The time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth” (2 Timothy 4:3-4). [11]
I like what Erwin said, "They wish to make Christianity blend in with the culture rather than stand against it." Also "...they have developed a worldview based on human desires, not the clear revelation of God. This is exactly what Paul warned against..."
Now what I find as additionally sad is that those who claim to have been warning the Body of Christ about its drifting from the truth through syncretism have likewise been taught by preachers of old to develop "a worldview based on human desires, not the clear revelation of God." They've been duped to believe and practice doctrines and traditions of man and not God! This alarms me!
Whoa! Wait. What am I talking about? Let me begin with some of the things that I've been warning about for years which you can find articles on this blog, like birthdays, Christmas, Easter, Sunday worship which came about largely due to anti-semitism (let that sink in for a minute, especially for the Sunday worshipping "pro-Israel" crowd who dis those who are not "pro-Israel" according to their doctrine), the immortality of the soul, the trinity, non-profit corporations, among others. These were not in the Scripture nor believed by the early church fathers per se. Yet, as more Gentiles believed, they brought their baggage over with them and blended it with the truth much like Christians with a biblical worldview today are saying has been occurring among the people of faith in America. Or as John Mason put it, "Christianity does not "progress" with the times. If it did, it would be a false religion. Do not be deceived into thinking there is a progressive form of Christianity. It doesn't exist because the truth never changes. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever." This is exactly What Orthodox, mainstream, Evangelical Christianity has done. The truth it professes is false because from early on it blended itself with the culture around them. Remember that God and His truth never change.
These same people who warn (?) against "progressive Christianity" and those lacking a biblical worldview, who are often touting their "Judeo-Christian" faith don't realize they are identifying themselves with "progressive Christianity"! Check it out! It was during World War II, that "Judeo-Christian" was taken up by liberal intellectuals as an umbrella term to designate the religious dimension of the Allied cause. It was the liberal Protestants and Catholics in particular who stressed the existence of the Judeo-Christian tradition to indicate their spiritual solidarity with the threatened Jewish population of Europe.[12] George Orwell is one who helped propagate it. [13] Recall Erwin Lutzer's words, "Progressive Christianity has the same basic worldview as the theological liberalism that shifted authority away from the Scripture to human opinions. Progressive Christians do not reject Biblical authority outright; rather they purport to walk a middle path with the Bible in one hand and cultural sensitivity in the other." The use of this phrase among mainline Christians today shows their ignorance of its origin as well in 1821 referring to Jewish converts to Christianity. [14] Shortly thereafter it was referred to as a type of church that would observe some Jewish traditions in order to convert Jews. [15] Yet Mark Silk states in the early 19th century the term was "most widely used to refer to the early followers of Jesus who opposed the wishes of Paul the Apostle and wanted "to restrict the message of Jesus to Jews and who insisted on maintaining Jewish law and ritual". [16] How can one say they belong to the "Judeo-Christian" faith or use this term to describe themselves unless they are "progressive Christians"?
If these people I've referenced would examine the doctrines and traditions which they were taught to believe through their congregation based on their seminary's or school's biased interpretation of Scripture, which are based on translations from scholars picked for the job to translate according to particular theological biases. There are those who talk about the corruption of what they call the "New Age" perversions that refuse to examine their so-called "pure" translation to see it also has been corrupted by the theological biases of it's translators. Sounds crazy, but honestly check it out for yourself. As George Barna wrote, "We cannot attend a church hoping and willing to be spoon-fed theological truth." Do you know that what you've been spoon-fed is pure, or does it contain GMO's? Again, remember George Barna's words, "... then to test and verify everything that we receive in the teaching from the church." Sadly we do not honestly test and verify everything according to truth without our own biases we have picked up along the way.
Don't laugh. Remember that Harvard was established in 1636 for the sake of educating clergy and raising up a Christian academic institution to meet the needs of perpetrating the Christian faith. [17] Yet in 1869 Harvard started to incorporate evolution into the education system, even as Ken Ham's Answers In Genesis affirms. [18] In this guest article written on May 6, 2000 they reveal what their (AIG) hope is:
Remember how Ken Ham has been warning Christians for decades. Not only are public schools diverted in what is taught, but so are Chritian institutes of learning whether K-12 or seminaries, colleges and universities. Look at the poll numbers again. There are professors even in Christian seminaries that are agnostic and atheist yet they are training future scholars and preachers. Again, what have you been spoon-fed or are being fed today? Just because your English Bible may say something doesn't mean it's true to the original languages it was translated from. Have you studied and learned these languages? While the translations are good overall, anyone who studies languages knows no language can be translated perfectly because of all the nuances. Do you know where the scholars translated according to their own theological biases? If not, you need to! Recall George Barna's words, "The full responsibility for what you believe and how you apply those beliefs, regardless of what influenced your choices, lies on your shoulders." Also remember 2 Timothy 2:15: Study, be diligent, to show, present thyself approved, worthy, qualified unto God, an unashamed workman rightly dividing, accurately apportioning the Word of truth.In the following guest commentary you will discover how education in America has changed from being Christian-based to humanistic-based, and how evolutionary thinking played a role in this shift.
I believe I have given you plenty to chew on and digest; to examine and verify. For most, what I have presented today flies in the face of what you have been taught to believe. As Paul said, "Examine yourselves whether you be in the faith. Prove your own selves. Know you not your own selves how the Jesus Christ is in you unless indeed you are unapproved, not standing the test." 2 Cor. 13:5 Today is the day to repent and be not unequally with the world. (2 Cor. 6:14-16). That you come out of the world and it's ways that you do not partake of it's sins nor receive of it's plagues. (Rev. 18:4) Dare to stand alone if need be. Make sure that you are a doer of the Word and not deceived. (Jam. 1:22) Help deliver others who are in error; who have been taken captive by the devil to do his will. (Jam. 5:19-20; 2Tim. 2:25-26)
Sources:
[10] https://www.npr.org/2022/07/13/1110842453/florida-gov-desantis-is-doing-battle-against-woke-public-schools
[13] Orwell, George (2017-02-04). George Orwell: An age like this, 1920-1940. David R. Godine Publisher. p. 401. ISBN 9781567921335.
[14] M'Caul, Alexander (1820–1821). "Extract of a Letter From Mr. M'Caul"The Jewish Expositor, and Friend of Israel. V: 478. and Judæo-, Judeo- in the Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition. Accessed online 2008-07-21
[15] Wolff, Joseph (1829). Missionary Journal of the Rev. Joseph Wolff, Missionary to the Jews. Vol. III. London: James Duncan. p. 314.5
[16] Silk, Mark (15 April 2019). "Mark Silk on the history of the term 'Judeo-Christian'". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
