Another Gospel?: A Lifelong Christian Seeks Truth in Response to Progressive Christianity

by Alisa Childers

I learned that creeds became an important form of communication to keep those first-century believers on the same page. But these belief statements weren’t simply a list of doctrines Christians had to affirm to be “in.” These were the convictions they lived and died for.

That may soon be how Christians in the affluent west think of them again. Christians in places like Jos are already there.

counterfeit Messiah

Look for the counterfeit Messiahs!

But as the saying goes, you can’t judge a belief system by its abuses.

These are all excuses people use to explain away the unbiblical and unethical behavior of some beloved church leaders. These rationalizations send wounded sheep into the arms of progressive Christianity, where they will be validated and accepted. But ultimately they will be left to bleed out, like someone who goes to the doctor to be treated for a flesh wound, only to be given a hug and some comforting words rather than stitches and antibiotics. It might feel nice at first, but with no real cure, the patient could lose too much blood, or the wound could fester and become infected.

Now imagine that prior to contracting MRSA, I’d had a really bad experience with a doctor. Let’s even say that this particular doctor was abusive to me. My hesitancy to step foot in another hospital would be completely understandable. However, it wouldn’t change the fact that I still needed the correct medicine to treat the MRSA. How much worse would my problem become if I found a community of people who affirmed my feelings, gave me painkillers and a comfy bed to rest in—all while denying the true source of the problem? This would actually kill me rather than save me.

Enns’s

Do people tend to go progressive gradually? Enns authored a homeschool Bible curriculum I tried with my kids one year, and it was...okay. Not great, but okay. And I remember liking RHE at first when she presented as more of a faithful questioner than someone who just flat out denied the reliability of the Bible. It seems like progressivism sort of sneaks in and gets worse as time goes on.

The doctrines themselves might be truths about who God is and how he works in the world, but I agree with Tomlinson that faith isn’t a set of propositional statements. Faith is trust in a person—Jesus. That trust is based on truth and evidence.