Progressive Christianity

The Headline said “Some Evangelicals Starting to Embrace Democrats”. That intrigued me, as it almost sounded oxymoronic. As it turns out, I only had to read thru the third paragraph before I saw the words “progressive evangelical”.

Beware when you hear the word “progressive” in the same sentence with the words “Christian”, “evangelical”, “Gospel” or other normally fundamental Christian words. Progressive basically equals liberal.

The gist of the article is (supposedly)that Evangelicals are starting to take a look at the Democrats. A group called the Sojourners, led by a Reverend Jim Wallis, hosted a three-day conference to discuss poverty and other social issues with politicians. There were six hundred clergymen and laymen in attendance. Political speakers included both liberals and conservatives – from Rick Santorum to Hillary Clinton.

Some quotes worth noting:

Of abortion and gay marriage, Rev.Wallis said, “It’s been terribly politicized and polarized. Moral values can’t be narrowed to those two.”

Howard Dean said American needs “...a social safety net that will take care of people. That is the mark of true Christianity.”

Hillary Clinton: “The budget is a moral document.”

Democrat James Clyburn: "Keeping the environment pristine and green and passing it on, I think that’s a faith issue.”

If you go to the Sojourners website and find a clear presentation of the Gospel, please email me and let me know. I couldn’t find it.

I know of a church in our city that espouses “Progressive Christianity”. They have practicing homosexuals on staff, they teach that the Bible is a “moral” handbook that teaches us through “myths and fairy tales”, and their “evangelical outreach” consists of working with the local GoCare (an AIDS assistance program), soup kitchens, and other social charities. Their Gospel is good works and political correctness.

The social issues of today, including poverty, racism, sexually transmitted diseases, child abuse, etc. all need to be addressed by the church. But the primary focus of the church is to "...Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature"(Mark 16:15). If we feed and clothe the masses but fail to give them the Gospel, what have we really done for them? "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul"(Matthew 16:26). Would the rich man not have given up everything he owned had he known the thirst he would experience? (Luke 16:22-24)