Category: Progressive Christianity

” I know only in part” (1 Cor. 13:12).

Randal Rauser has rightly pointed out, “Humility about knowledge is not relativism about truth.”

Belief and Knowledge

There is a difference between belief and knowledge. Belief is the acceptance of a claim as truth, which then becomes a rule of action. Knowledge is a justified true belief.

Now not all claims in Christianity reach the level of knowledge. The virgin birth, for example, we have to accept on faith in the testimony of the early church. It is a belief, it is not knowledge properly so called.

Since there are many beliefs we might hold about Christianity, there will be some that are disputed. The theory of the atonement, for example. There has never been universal agreement. That means we should have humility when we share our viewpoint.

Progressive Christians

Progressive Christians recognized that there are many areas of disagreement. And science, history, scholarship, and sociology has brought other issues to light. Things that seemed sure, are now being openly questioned. This makes conservatives very uncomfortable.

But to those who just want the truth, this is a welcomed situation where we get to again examine our faith and make sure we are following the best evidence. And even then, we will always remember that we could be wrong. That is the humility appropriate to fallible humans.

Liberty in Non-Essentials

To paraphrase St. Augustine: In essentials let us have unity, in non-essentials let us have liberty, but in all things let us have love. This is the path of true Christians who love God, Christ, and the Church.

“There is no longer Jew or Greek; there is no longer slave or free; there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28).

If there are neither male nor female in Christ Jesus, then why do we segregate women from the ministry?

Apostle to the Apostles

Mary Magdalene was the Apostle to the Apostles. For Jesus appeared to her first, and sent her to give the news of the resurrection to the Apostles (Matt. 28:10). So she was the first Apostle of the resurrection.

Prominent Among the Apostles

“Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Israelites who were in prison with me; they are prominent among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was” (Rom. 16:7).

Junia, a woman, is here called an apostle. Since a woman can be an apostle, a woman can be a bishop. Patriarchy is not happy with this verse, because it makes women equal with men.

Woman Teaching a Man

We also read about a man named Apollos, who had an imperfect understanding of Christianity. So yge Bible says that “Priscilla and Aquila,” a husband and wife, “took him aside and explained the Way of God to him more accurately” (Acts 18:26). Here a woman taught a man.

What Should Be Done?

I believe that it is a universal principle that “there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28). Which means it serves to guide interpretations that are circumstantial.

As Paul said, “What should be done then, my brothers and sisters? When you [men and women] come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up” (1 Cor. 14:26).

Alisa Childers in her book Another Gospel?: A Lifelong Christian Seeks Truth in Response to Progressive Christianity, makes a fundamental error about Progressive Christianity. It is that Progressive Christianity is one thing.

As I say in “A Progressive Christian Declaration”:

“Progressive Christianity is not a unified group, but a movement that seeks to be honest with the evidence of science, history, and modern scholarship.”

But the response to this evidence is varied, ranging from conservative adjustments to a radical abandoning of core Christian doctrines. So to paint Progressive Christianity with a broad brush as another gospel is unfair.

Unlike the pastor she uses as a representative of Progressive Christianity, I am not an agnostic. I believe in the Virgin birth of Christ. I believe in the resurrection of Christ. I believe in the atonement. And I believe the Bible is given by the inspiration of God and contains all things needed for our salvation.

That is not another gospel, that is the essential doctrines handed down by the historical church. Alisa Childers picture of Progressive Christianity is a caricature, because it is “a picture, description, or imitation of a person in which certain striking characteristics are exaggerated in order to create a comic or grotesque effect” (Oxford English Dictionary).

So to say that Progressive Christians believe this, or deny that, or the like, is simply incorrect. Rather, they should say that some Progressive Christians believe this, or deny that. Because not all do. In fact, there is a growing group of Progressive Christians who believe that the Nicene Creed should form the foundational understanding of what Christianity is.

I write this a little tongue-in-cheek. It is a parody of Michael J. Kruger’s book, The Ten Commandments of Progressive Christianity.

But take note, each of these commandments is partially true. And it is a master class in half-truths that actually sound appealing on the surface.

1. Jesus is an object of worship, not a person we should imitate.

2. Affirming people’s depravity is more important than reminding them of their potential.

3. Making judgments is more important than reconciliation between people.

4. Right belief is more important than kind and compassionate behavior.

5. Supplying answers is more valuable than asking uncomfortable questions.

6. Group uniformity is more important than a personal search for truth.

7. Maintaining institutions is more important than meeting actual needs.

8. Taking power is more important than peacemaking.

9. We should care more about what people do in their sex life than about love.

10. The afterlife is more important than life in this world, therefore forget about the environment.

This Is not Christianity

If Michael J. Kruger believes “liberal Christianity is not Christianity”, then equally true, is that conservative Christianity is not Christianity. And can you really be a Christian if you do not follow Christianity?

Of course, I don’t believe either statement. Christians can be both liberal or conservative and still be Christians. What matters is whether they love God and have made Jesus their Lord and Savior. After all, you can be right in your heart and wrong in your head.

Christianity is the religion of Christians, and there is no perfect theology. Conservative Christianity and liberal Christianity are both imperfect. Progressive Christianity just tries to be honest and acknowledge that we don’t have all the answers. But we are constantly seeking the truth in love. We are progressing “until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ” (Eph. 4:13). We are not there yet. Let’s be charitable.

The Ten Commandments of Progressive Christianity are found in Exodus 20:1-6 in the Bible. As a Progressive Christian theologian, we do not have any other 10 commandments.

Michael J. Kruger

Michael J. Kruger, like other authors, confuses liberal Christianity with Progressive Christianity. Progressive Christianity is halfway between conservative Christianity and liberal Christianity. We use different terms to mean different things.

The Middle Way

Think of progressive Christianity as the middle way, between ultraconservative and ultraliberal. Truth is not conservative or liberal, but is that claim that best matches actual reality.

Liberal Christianity

Liberal Christianity is dedicated to liberal values, in opposition to conservative values. Both are a bias, one for change and one against change. I believe both are mistaken.

Richard Rohr

Michael J. Kruger also makes the mistake of identifying Richard Rohr as a progressive Christian. Richard Rohr, a Franciscan priest and doesn’t typically use the term “progressive Christian” to describe himself.

Philip Gulley

Philip Gulley, from whom he takes this list, is a Quaker pastor, not a Progressive Christian. So it is unfair to use his list as representative of Progressive Christianity. It is not.

Nicene Creed

Progressive Christianity is committed to the essentials of the Christian faith, which are innumerated in the Nicene Creed. But it is committed to growing in the knowledge of God and his creation. It is reformed, always reforming.

St. Augustine

You could say that the guiding principle of progressive Christianity is that, to paraphrase St. Augustine, we should have unity in essentials, Liberty in non-essentials, but love in all things.