I have been asked a few times recently what is meant by the phrase “progressive Christianity.” The following is from a website promoting and championing progressive Christianity. This is progressive Christianity in their own words.
8 Principles of Progressive Christianity: By calling ourselves progressive Christians, we mean that we are Christians who…
- Believe that following the path and teachings of Jesus can lead to an awareness and experience of the Sacred and the Oneness and Unity of all life;
- Affirm that the teaching of Jesus provide but one of many ways to experience the Sacredness and Oneness of life, and that we draw from diverse sources of wisdom in our spiritual journey;
- Seek community that is inclusive of ALL people, including but not limited to: conventional Christians and questioning skeptics, believers and agnostics, women and men, those of all sexual orientations and gender identities, those of all classes and abilities;
- Know that the way we behave towards one another is the fullest expression of what we believe;
- Find grace in the search for understanding and believe there is more value in questioning than in absolutes;
- Strive to protect and restore the integrity of our Earth; and
- Commit to a path of life-long learning, compassion, and selfless love.
OK, there you have it – progressive Christianity defined and described by itself and not its detractors. It affirms homosexuality and trans-genderism and Muslims and Hindus – all lifestyle choices and all religions. It’s all good. What the Bible says about the uniqueness of Jesus Christ and creation sexuality means little or nothing to them. What to make of it?
Dr. Michael Kruger, a conservative Christian theologian, has written “What is Progressive Christianity?” The full article can be found here: https://rts.edu/resources/what-is-progressive-christianity/. Here is a synopsis of what he writes –
- Progressive Christianity Has a Low View of Christ
One of the hallmarks of progressive Christianity is the way they view Jesus. The orthodox view of Jesus, of course, is that he’s the divine Son of God and worthy of our worship and worthy of our adoration and to be praised as God. But, of course, that’s not what progressive Christians believe. They believe that Jesus isn’t so much the divine Son of God, but rather just a moral example for us to follow. Jesus is more of a big brother that sets a pattern that we walk in his footsteps. Jesus is just a picture of what we can be and what we can do and his main point is just to set an example for us. The lowering of Jesus is the first mark of progressive Christianity.
- Progressive Christianity Is Focused on Moralism, Not Salvation
The highest goal of the Christian life for progressive Christianity is that you just have to be a good person. Tightly tied to that, as I’ve already suggested, is a second mark, which is this big focus on moralism. If you don’t have any sort of sense of Jesus as someone to be worshiped, then he’s just someone to be emulated, so the highest goal of the Christian life for progressive Christianity is that you just have to be a good person, be kind to your neighbor. 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.
- Progressive Christianity Downplays Our Fallenness
The third mark is tightly interwoven with that, too, which is if you think you can be a good person, you must have a very low view of sin, which is another thing that progressive Christianity has. It’s this idea that people aren’t really that fallen and they’re not really that bad, there’s not really anything marring us, that we’re all good people at the core and therefore really do have an opportunity to be even better. You’ll find that in progressive Christian circles, there’s a downplaying of the word sin; there’s certainly no interest in talking about the wrath of God on sin. God is not portrayed as at all disturbed by or upset with sin. These are sort of the classic hallmarks of progressive Christianity.
Let me add a fourth observation to Dr. Kruger’s list: Progressive Christianity Demotes The Bible. The Bible is not the word of God to men – it’s the word of man about God. Progressive Christianity demotes Jesus – He’s not One above all, he’s one among many; the Bible and sin are devalued and they promote human goodness and the Sacred and the truth of all religions and texts. It feels like a hybrid of New Age religion and Old Age paganism. As Dr. Kruger comments: “At the end of the day, it’s really not good news at all.”
For those of us who have been around for a while – this sounds and feels like 20th century theological liberalism dressed up for the 21st century. What is progressive about a Christianity that is moving away from Christ and the Bible? This sounds more like regressive Christianity!
“So, Pastor Tim, just so I’m clear – are progressive Christians really Christians?” Let me answer this way: If a Christian is someone who has repented of their sin and put their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation, then, NO – they are not Christians. “That’s pretty harsh.” NO – it’s pretty true. And it’s probably the best and kindest thing I can say in order to point them back to the Christ they are making progress away from.
We played a game as kids that when you tried to find something, the others would say, “Warm, warmer, or cool, getting colder.” As progressive Christians move farther and farther from Christ, they are getting “cold, colder, icy, frozen – red hot!”
