Kretyen Etranje

The church gets the heretics it deserves. – Unknown

The debate between so-called progressive Christians and conservative Christians is one that, until recently, I had little idea existed. I have not read much about it, as I prefer to spend my reading time divided between the Bible and fiction like Fat Vampire. However, from the little I have read about it, I do have a thought, as unqualified as it is. There is really no debate. It's a false dichotomy in which both sides have missed the mark terribly and both are the heretics we deserve as a church.

A side note: I like the word heretic, despite the bad rap it has received over the centuries.

More progressive Christians have, as far as I am concerned, moved in the right direction when it comes to social justice. A country that can tell immigrants to get stuffed with the excuse they should help their own, but then allow people to live without proper healthcare and on the streets is nothing short of utter, blatant and detestable hypocrisy. And I am not just talking about the USA, which does not have a monopoly on being a complete and total douche-canoe to its poor and other marginalised.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. – James 1:27

In the second part of the verse above, I differ with many progressive Christians. While many question the God-inspired nature of the Bible, which leaves much to personal, subjective opinion in interpretation, they seem to have compromised a great deal. A good example is downplaying of the exclusive claims of Jesus. The Lord Himself made it abundantly clear that He is the only way to God (John 14:6). Peter reinforces this exclusivity in his own speech in Acts 4:12. Paul also supports this exclusive claim. Simply put, the “all paths lead to God” is Biblically untenable.

The “all paths lead to God” position also falls down in logical consistency. Many Muslims would hold that all Christians (among others) are going to Hell to face some rather graphic torments that are detailed in the Qur'an. Many Hindus would say that everyone will be reborn, maybe as a gnat, except those who have reached a certain level of enlightenment. We are not all going to be correct. If a Muslim is right, then the Hindu person and I will be rather unpleasantly surprised. To say that there are many paths to God the Father is to contradict Jesus Christ Himself.

A lot other positions that progressives seem to take are also untenable from a Biblical viewpoint, such as sin and what constitutes sin. That is, unless you also hold that murder is not a sin. Otherwise, we are cherry-picking what we want from the Bible to support our views.

Again, progressive Christians rightly point out that our economic systems are inherently sinful and it is on us as “salt of the world” to do something about it. Does that mean we throw correct doctrine out with the bathwater? Absolutely not.

The label conservative means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. For the purposes here, I am talking about the type of Christians who the media would call the religious right. Although I have called myself a conservative, there is much that separates me from the right wing elements that seem to have arisen in the USA and other places.

The centrality of the Biblical revelation, including what we know about Jesus Christ, is something they get right, in claim, if not in deed (more on that later). Calling out sin where they see it, as hated as that is in the world, is something conservative Christians have got right. Sin is not a game and God went to all the trouble of putting His own Son through a gruelling and inhumane punishment to deal with sin. The price of sin has always been death, and in this case it was Jesus the Son of God who fronted the bill. Conservatives have got that right in upholding a standard of holiness that is Biblical. In thought, perhaps not in deed.

If you are upsetting people and they hate you because you stand for Jesus, (which our Lord said they would), you're probably doing something right.

What I call the “God and guns crowd” truly disturb me. They seem to be mostly from the USA and they have really missed the Biblical boat. Jesus commanded us to love your enemies (Matt 5:44). He also said we need to turn the other cheek so that it may be slapped also (Luke 6:29). Many Christians in this group need to seriously consider Romans 13:1-5, among other verses. Since when is putting a bullet in someone either loving an enemy or treating our neighbour as we would have them treat us? When is shooting someone ever turning the other cheek? There were no “ifs” or “buts” on this one. Gun ownership is not a Biblical right if it is to be used for so-called protection or resistance.

Turning to the wider church, primarily conservative in this case, I think, is its focus on material wealth. This deserves a whole different post in its own right, but I would like to touch on it here. To be clear, charity costs money. That is true. If a church is asking its members to donate, often that means the church is doing something. If the church is contributing to the assistance of the poor and marginalised, then I see nothing wrong with that. In fact, a church should be asking for money for those reasons. Those who criticise churches for asking for money need to read Bibles more.

The caveat is revealed when one looks at the places where that money is going. How much of it is being spent on the church itself and how much is going to the poor, the widow and the oppressed? A simple look at a church's finances should reveal its priorities. Not much needs to be said here. If those priorities do not match up with the Bible's, serious questions need to be asked. And let me be clear – private jets, Harley Davidson motorcycles and mansions have no place in the lives of church leadership. Those church leaders who possess huge estates and other excesses are in sin. Period. Read Matthew 6:24 and there was no gate called the Eye of the Needle.

Turning back to the issue of sin, one area where conservatives generally fail massively is Matthew 7:1 (do not judge), Matthew 19:19 (love your neighbour) and John 8:7 (casting the first stone). Many conservatives seem to think that sin renders someone unredeemable, except themselves of course. They absolutely forget that the exact standard they use will, in turn, be used to judge them. Jesus Himself will judge them and consign some to the eternal fire (Matthew 25:31-46). My point here is that Jesus is not just some “lovable dude”, but God incarnate and the Judge. When we sit in judgement of others, we are usurping His position and making ourselves to be like Him. There is only one unforgivable sin and sins like murder, adultery, sexual immorality in any form are not it.

In addition, when we judge someone, we assume we know utterly everything about them. Quite clearly, we do not. In fact, if we faced their life experiences, we would make exactly the same choices. Jesus treated sinners (that is, you and I according to Romans 3:23) with acceptance and kindness, even though He did not compromise on sin. He did not walk down the streets telling everyone, “Hey, you're a sinner! Enjoy Hell!” Like the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus called people out, but there was a context to that. There's a reason Jesus did not start with labelling people sinners. If Jesus didn't do it, what on earth makes a Christian think we should?

For these and a lot more reasons, the progressive – conservative debate seems to be a false duality to me. Both sides over-simplify the nature of Jesus, God and faith, throwing out what is of value along with the dross. For me, I serve the Lord and I am a Christian. I am not progressive or conservative. Labels are crap anyway. Just like many of you, I am “[working] out my salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12).

As always, do not take my word for any of this. The Bible is the primary revelation of God and everything needs to line up with that revelation. So, rather than just accept what I have scribbled here, get into the Bible and listen to the Spirit.