Should the Bible be interpreted differently in every age? Over the last few weeks, of our tour through the dangers of heresies, we have been highlighting some notable heresies that undermine the authority of the Scriptures. Well, today we will conclude that sub-focus, and next week we will move on to other areas of gross heresy. For today, we will look at the dangers presented by Theological Liberalism and by Progressive Christianity.
Although the terms “liberal” and “progressive” are common verbiage in our day, when it comes to theological matters they are not necessarily synonymous with how they are used politically. Furthermore, despite some overlap, the two movements actually are quite distinct and they have their origins in two very different eras of human history. One commonality they both share is an errant view of the Bible – Although the way they approach the Word is quite different. Let’s look at Liberal Theology first.
Theological Liberalism starts with the belief that the Bible is not inerrant or infallible. Emerging through the philosophies of the Enlightenment period, Liberal theologians attempted to incorporate modern advances in science, rationalistic thought, and the ethics of the day. This led them to the broad acceptance of the theory of evolution, and the rejection of the miracles portrayed in the Scriptures. Thus these heretical theologians sought to reinterpret the creation account in the Bible, as either more of a metaphor, or as the thoughts of unenlightened men trying to explain what they could not yet know through scientific discovery. Similarly, nearly every miracle recorded on the pages of the Scriptures was explained away as some natural phenomena that primitive people just could not yet grasp. Thus they believed that the unexplainable was erroneously and needlessly attributed to God. Of course, that left these Liberals walking a fine line, by claiming to still believe in some sort of diety, but not one that had interacted miraculously with mankind. And, for our purposes today, the greater tragedy is that they made the Scriptures out to be simply the work of ignorant and fallen men, rather than the very Word of God Himself. Without the ballast of the Word, you can just imagine the number of heresies that sprung up as a result of this belief system.
Now, Progressive Christianity which emerged much later, and is still growing in our day, was empowered by the revisionist approach to the Scriptures that the Liberals used. But where Liberals sought to analytically attack and redefine the Scriptures, the Progressives take a more sentimental approach. Rejecting the belief that each word in the Bible is authoritative, the Progressives look at the Scriptures as more of a moral storybook. So then, most Progressives could care less if what is recorded in the Bible actually happened or not (most would say there is much that probably didn’t happen). What they care about is what the “stories” have to teach them. Consequently, they most often key in on the commands toward loving your neighbor, and works of mercy, and justice for the poor. They often focus on the teachings and ministry of Christ in the Gospels, but they are often confused by what they read in the rest of the Scriptures (especially the Old Testament), and so they only cherry-pick the rest of the Bible to suit their bent. All of this emphasis on love and works of service for people is often expressed in their activism socially and politically. They are the theological heartbeat of the “social justice” movements that are everywhere in the world. Unfortunately, their approach is not based in a robust understanding of the whole of the Scriptures, thus they have an incorrect view about the nature of God and man. Their efforts then are almost always misguided, more harmful than helpful, and they always seem to misidentify the real problem that needs to be addressed – The wrath of God against sin.
What we should glean from all of this is that in every age there are those who seek to reinterpret the Scriptures with the lens of their modern times. But by doing so they lose their bearings, because to do so they have to either neglect certain portions of the Word, or redefine them to fit what their day believes to be most important. The truth is that the Word of God is timeless. Like God Himself, it is eternal – “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.” (Isa. 40:8) Every jot and tittle of the Bible (as it was originally written) is true and authoritative. Rightly interpreted, the Word is applicable to every age, and every person, who has or will ever live. Rather than falling into the trap of heretics who seek to make the Bible agree with the time in which they live, won’t you allow the Word to reshape you to become agreeable with He who is timeless? Such is the only right use of the Word. How do you read it?
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