Progressive Christianity: Not All Progress Is Good

If you follow any Christian news or “celebrities,” then you have come across the term progressive Christianity. It gets thrown around a lot, and people seem to use it to describe nearly anything that is new or unfamiliar. In reality, progressive Christianity is a specific approach to the Christian faith. At first blush progress sounds like a good thing, but what does it actually mean?

Heads Up!

Before we look at the basic beliefs of the average progressive Christian, we should clarify something very important. Progressive Christianity is not a denomination. There is no set of beliefs, no creed, and no governing body unto which all progressive Christians adhere.

Two people might believe themselves to be progressive Christians while having serious differences in opinion on core tenets of the faith. For instance, one of these individuals may believe in the virgin birth while the other does not. One could deny the resurrection of Jesus Christ and still belong in fellowship with other progressive Christians!

The absence of a creed or statement of faith makes it difficult to argue against progressive Christianity. No matter what criticism you give, there is always someone who will argue that she doesn’t fit that description.

No creed or statement of faith to unite progressive Christians into a denomination also means that they can infiltrate any church. Progressive Christianity can sneak its way into your church or mine through a Sunday School class, Bible study, or even a pastor who has begun adopting progressive ideas into his personal faith.

We need to be diligent and guard our churches and families from the lies of progressive Christianity. But how?

The 8 Points Of Progressive Christianity

Progressive Christians have a website called progressivechristianity.org, and on it you can find what they call the 8 Points of Progressive Christianity. These points are not a fleshed out statement of faith, but these are eight beliefs and actions that all (or nearly all) progressive Christians have adopted into their faith.

1. 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;

Let’s pay attention to the capitalized words in this point. Capitalization is significant and implies importance and a proper noun (i.e., a name). Sacred, Oneness, and Unity are not alternative terms for Jesus because the statement claims the He can lead to these.

Rather, in this context these words relate to panentheism. Panentheism has roots in Eastern religions and mysticism. The two major ideas behind it are that God is in everything and He changes and learns as events and changes take place in the universe.

We know that God is everywhere; He’s omnipresent.

“The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.”

Proverbs 15:3

“Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?”

Psalm 139:7

Though God is everywhere, we know He is not in everything. Simple logic and Bible literacy can show us this. He made us (i.e., people) in His image (Genesis 1:27), but that is not God literally inside us. Think about salvation.

We are enemies of God until being born again (Romans 5:10), and after salvation we are filled with the Holy Spirit. That is what call being indwelled by the Spirit. Until that moment, God is not in us.

“Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.”

2 Corinthians 5:5

“And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”

Ephesians 4:30

Panentheism’s second assumption is that God learns and changes. Well, no. He already knows everything because he is omniscient, and he doesn’t change…period.

“For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.” (emphasis mine)

1 John 3:20

“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”

Hebrews 13:8

“The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.”

Isaiah 40:8

2. Affirm that the teachings of Jesus provide but one of many ways to experience the Sacredness and Oneness of life, and that we can draw from diverse sources of wisdom in our spiritual journey;

Progressive Christianity just ruled itself out of being legitimate Christianity right here. There are not multiple ways to be with God. A Muslim, Catholic, and Buddhist are not all taking their own unique path to God. They’re taking the very broad path to destruction (Matthew 7:13).

Christianity is an exclusive faith because you must be born again through faith in Jesus Christ. That’s it. Only those people can be saved. However, the offer is open to any who will believe.

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

John 14:6

“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

Acts 4:12

“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;”

1 Timothy 2:5

“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”

John 3:36

Real quick…can we take note that there is only one source of true wisdom? God! So, where can people receive that wisdom? The Bible, of course! Meanwhile, progressive Christianity encourages us to seek out wisdom from other faiths.

“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”

James 1:5

“For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.”

Proverbs 2:6

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.”

Proverbs 9:10

3. 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;

Christians want to be inclusive, of course. I pray no churches are refusing someone entry because they are not saved or don’t make enough money. But…this list is trying to be a little sneaky. Among the list with men, women, varied abilities, and different social classes, we find unrepentant sin and people who do not believe.

So, it makes me wonder what inclusion is from a progressive Christian worldview. Should we be allowing agnostics and active transgender individuals to be members of our churches? If that’s what inclusive means, then absolutely not.

Here’s a few verses about fellowship with unbelievers that I doubt progressive Christianity spends much time studying. God clearly disapproves of yoking with unbelievers.

“Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, ‘I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.’”

2 Corinthians 6:14-18 (ESV)

The criticism underlying inclusivity is that Christians who do not include everyone in their churches are unloving and not behaving in a Christlike manner. My response is that treating unsaved people like they are “one of us” is not loving. Love is warning them about the judgment at hand. How cruel it is to hide the way to salvation!

Instead of welcoming everyone who enters the church as an equal in light of salvation, let’s give a loving warning. Share the gospel rather than condone sin. How can we read the verses below and not feel compelled to tell them about the saving grace of Jesus?

“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” (emphasis mine)

1 Corinthians 6:9-11

4. Know that the way we behave towards one another is the fullest expression of what we believe;

I’m OK with this point on paper. Christians strive to live out the commands of the Bible and grow more and more like Christ. Bad news, though, guys. We are never gonna reach that goal of being fully Christlike here on Earth.

So, that means we all fall short of behaving 100% in accord with our beliefs. Where’s the grace and room for growth?

There’s a poorly hidden meaning here, as well. The focus is set hard and fast on behavior, and our beliefs appear to take a backseat. How else can people who vary amongst each other on core Christian beliefs (e.g., the resurrection, inerrancy of the Bible, etc.) still see themselves as members of the same faith?

They can yoke together because spiritual beliefs are not the point at all in progressive Christianity. The focus is on pursuing social agendas instead. Believe what you will about the virgin birth, but you had better affirm LGBTQ+ people in the community and the church.

5. Find grace in the search for understanding and believe there is more value in questioning than in absolutes;

I have heard more stories than I’m comfortable with about Christians asking questions and church leaders and parents telling them to keep quiet. Some have even claimed they were told that to question was sin. That’s terrible, and it isn’t even Biblical. Mark 12:30 says we should love God with our heart, soul, and mind. To know Him with our minds, we need to understand his teachings.

On the other hand, God doesn’t shy away from absolutes. When God commands it, He means it. He demonstrated this in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve ate fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil which was the only tree from which they were told to abstain.

God’s response to this sin was swift. He removed them from the Garden of Eden, and they (as well as the rest of us) were condemned to bodies that will perish and separation from God.

So, progressive Christians may not believe in absolutes, but God sure does.

6. Strive for peace and justice among all people;

Everyone wants this, but forgive me for my cynicism, it’s juvenile to expect to achieve it. Even as people strive for peace and justice for all, some will inevitably have rights and justice taken away to make it possible for others. (“Alexa, what is Marxism?”)

 We should all do our best to support legal justice, but progressive Christianity takes it further by seeking to tackle societal systems to create equal outcomes. If this sounds familiar to you, that’s because it is part of Critical Race Theory (CRT).

Real justice is biblical justice. For starters, in response to CRT which gives preference to particular people groups, God does not favor anyone. His standards for punishment and salvation are the same for all people.

“For there is no respect of persons with God. For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;”

Romans 2:11-12

Second, ultimate justice is not found through our actions here on Earth. Although progressive Christianity preaches the “judge not lest ye be judged” mantra of watered-down, modern Christianity, it is quick to lay down judgement and punishment on those of us who won’t bow down to the woke agenda.

God, however, does not want us to seek out ultimate judgements or revenge for wrongdoings. He will judge and justice belongs to Him.

“Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”

Romans 12:19

Finally, God’s will is always accomplished, but we don’t always see how it is coming together. Look at the Church. It is comprised of men and women who are of great stature and wealth all the way down to the poorest in our society. The Lord uses all these circumstances for His purposes.

Although we are instructed as a Church to care for others, such as widows and orphans (Psalm 82:3; 1 Timothy 5:1-16), we are not told to dictate what circumstances all the world should have. Caring for those in need is not the same as hijacking entire social systems to lift up those you favor most.

7. Strive to protect and restore the integrity of our Earth;

Yes, God instructed us to be stewards of this Earth (Genesis 1:26, 28), but He also told us to “subdue” it and gave us “dominion” over it. It is bad stewardship to trash the planet and not care for the life on it, but Earth is not our Lord.

Progressive Christianity lends itself to Earth worship. Progressive Christians refer to Mother Earth, and give our planet a personality and autonomy. But there is no Mother Earth. However, there is God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

If you want to be scared for a minute, think about what would happen if God let the Sun inch away a few miles or stopped our spinning globe for a bit! You see, He controls it all.

8. Commit to a path of life-long learning, compassion, and selfless love.

Progressive Christianity is tricky, isn’t it? None of that sounds bad until you dig deeper. Again, love to a progressive Christian is acceptance and permissiveness. Meanwhile, true Christian love is sharing the gospel and warning others about sin.

First Corinthians 13, sometimes referred to as the love chapter, tells us what love looks like, and it isn’t accepting and encouraging sin.

“Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;”

1 Corinthians 13:6

Undoubtedly, the ultimate example of selfless love, of course, is found in Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

John 3:16-18

Christians often stop at John 3:16, but notice verses seventeen and eighteen. God’s salvation is for the world. We were all condemned to start, but Jesus offered a way to be saved. However, some people will remain condemned because they will not believe in Jesus. Every person needs salvation, and Jesus is the only Way.

So, progressive Christians, tell me again how withholding the true gospel and refusing to acknowledge sin as sin helps anyone? How is that selfless love? It’s not. I can think of no greater way to hate someone than to keep the gospel away from that person.

Progressive Christianity Leads To Deconstruction

I’ve written about deconstruction in the past. Essentially, it is a process in which a Christian will pull apart her faith bit by bit and examine it. The Christian will throw out the parts that she doesn’t agree with and keep what she does affirm.

Deconstruction wouldn’t be a bad thing if the standard were the Bible. I believe we all ought to consider our beliefs and hold them against the truth of God’s Word, but that isn’t typically what happens.

A doubting Christian (or a cultural Christian) learns about progressive Christianity. They discover that these believers support CRT, LGBTQ+ people, Black Lives Matter, environmentalism, mysticism, sexual freedom, abortion, etc., and this “Christianity” fits better with their current lifestyle and/or beliefs.

The next step is to deconstruct one’s faith and compare those beliefs to progressive Christianity rather than the Bible. This is where we get the popular #exvangelical all over social media. They believe they have left the abuses of evangelicalism for freedom in a jesus of their own creation.

Frankly, progressive Christianity may as well be its own religion because it looks very little like biblical Christianity.

Other Common Features Of Progressive Christianity

1. Progressive Christians often misrepresent evangelicals and fundamentalists.

Evangelicals and fundamentalists are presented as caricatures rather than real people. For example, I’m a fundamentalist and believe in a literal translation of the Bible.

A progressive Christian would say that a literal translation means I think Jesus is calling Himself a loaf of bread when He calls Himself the Bread of Life. This uncharitable assumption neglects the fact that literal interpretations do still understand literary styles.

2. Progressive Christianity has a low view of Scripture.

Progressive Christians reject what doesn’t fit into their worldview and twist Scripture to support their beliefs. They also just plain ol’ disregard it. How else do you land at the conclusion that Jesus is just one of many ways to God?

Progressive Christianity is also based a lot on feelings and experiences. But as my favorite conservative commentator says, “Facts don’t care about your feelings.”

3. Progressive Christians claim the Bible is filled with contradictions.

The first time I ever heard this from someone that I thought was a believer was in a homeschool co-op nursery. A couple of the women sort of looked down at me from their lofty and enlightened ivory towers when they realized I believe in the inerrancy of Scripture.

They pointed out that the creation account contradicts itself. I was stunned. “Does it?” I wondered. So, I reread the familiar passage. This was the accusation: Genesis 1 tells how God created the world, including people. But Genesis 2 shows God creating people later. (I wish I could show you my stunned, slow blinking right now.)

This criticism is the worst example of literal interpretation I’ve ever encountered. Chapter one tells the creation account. Chapter two zooms in on some of the specifics. It’s not contradiction; It’s story-telling.

4. Progressive Christianity is an evolving religion.

Generally, progressive Christians believe that God is speaking to us now with new information meant for our current time. So, some commands no longer stand, and He has instructions for us. Even the tagline for progressivechristianity.org is “Spiritual networking and resources for an evolving faith.”

Of course we know that God doesn’t change (Hebrews 13:8; Isaiah 40:8), therefore, the Christian faith shouldn’t be evolving.

Final Thought

Progressive Christianity has a way of inching its way into unsuspecting churches through an “innocent” book study or a new, enthusiastic church member. We, as Christians, should be diligent and have an educated faith. Know why you believe what you believe, and be ready to defend it.

I’m curious, have you encountered progressive Christianity? What’s your story?

Image courtesy of Belinda Fewings via Unsplash.