Critical Review of the dangers of "progressive Theology"

Progressive Theology is dangerous

As we see where the world is heading according to the news we see, and if you are current on reading scripture and spending time with God, you cannot miss the description of what Paul is telling to Timothy in his second letter about what to expect in the end times.  Then turn on the news....isn't this for the first time in our lifetime where scripture is lining up with current events.  Yet, where are the preachers, where are the churches, where is anyone standing on the box, and bringing this to the attention of the world lost in sin, and heading for... hell...

About six years ago, I first noticed a move of some pastors who were once solid preachers, making moves to "preterism" and "allegorical interpretation".  I thought this was the only connection, and that was where I spent time.  I noticed that you couldn't believe in a preterist interpretation of eschatology unless you spiritualize all of scripture; you cannot take the scriptures at all in the way they were originally intended.  And, allegorical interpretation allows for atheism to come into the church and the confusing doctrine of a man with that of God, which Paul warns about.

Progressivism is many things; we see it in the secular marketplace as well, where they change the definitions of things, so that nothing means what it actually means.  This is true in theology; they will often use allegorical interpretation as a way to make the bible say whatever we want, and when we see something we don't like, we just spiritualize it.  Whereas proper interpretation is called "literal," now this should be called "correct interpretation," instead, as it only has rules when something is literal, figurative, symbolic, or types.

What is Progressive Christianity?

It can be hard to define progressive Christianity because it’s an umbrella term for a lot of different beliefs. But I think a fellow blogger, Alisa Childers (who was once part of a progressive Christian church), hit the nail on the head when she summarized it this way in a recent post:

A lowered view of the Bible

Feelings are emphasized over facts

Essential Christian doctrines are open for reinterpretation

Historic terms are redefined

The heart of the gospel message shifts from sin and redemption to social justice.  Sadly, I have witnessed a fellow brother pastor who was once strong on theology move in this direction, then went to social ministry and ended in social justice, and abandoned the gospel message.

Here’s the danger. To the untrained ear, the progressive Christian message can sound a lot like biblical Christianity. There’s talk of God, Jesus, the Bible, love, and compassion. If a child has never learned to think more deeply about theology and what the Bible actually teaches, they can easily mistake progressive Christianity for biblical Christianity.

This hits every Christian community, from the nondenominational to the orthodox and Catholic.  I feel that instead of attacking each other about what we don't agree on, we all need to see that this progressive movement is bad all the way around.  Paul tells Timothy in his letter that in the end times, we will see this kind of movement.