Saturday, May 11, 2013

The Slippery Slope of Liberal Christianity

There was a movement that began in the late 19th century that has had a very negative impact on the church. Today this movement is as strong as ever within the church, specifically the western church. It is important that we are aware of what this is, as it will affect the future of the church in America in a very serious way. This movement that I speak of is that of Liberal Christianity.

The term Liberal Christianity does not refer to "Liberal" in a political sense, rather a theological one. What does that mean exactly? Well, at the core of Liberal Christianity is the thought that the Bible is not the infallible and inherent Word of God. Therefore, the Bible is treated by Liberal theologians in the same way as other ancient documents are treated. In doing this, the ideologies of Christianity are drastically changed. 

Liberalism's roots were in the Enlightenment, or the age of reason. This is why man's reason and logic are equal or even elevated above Scripture in Liberalism. Where a Conservative theologian or Christian uses the Bible as the authoritative rule of faith and conduct, a Liberal theologian or Christian reads Scripture through the lens of modern thinking and reasoning. If the Bible says something different than what science is theorizing or people are philosophizing, then the Bible is either wrong or we are reading it wrong, according to a Liberal Christian.  

An example of an issue that is in an interesting phase in America right now is the topic of homosexuality. It is obvious in the Bible that homosexuality is a sin. This is really not an argument. However, many in the Liberal camp say that homosexuality is not a sin, and they accept the gay lifestyle. While I believe strongly that we should love homosexuals, the Bible makes it clear that homosexuality is a sin. However, Liberal Christians will not accept that homosexuality is a sin, because of their own reasoning. "Why would homosexuality be wrong if homosexuals are not hurting anyone?" "Why should we stop them from marriage if they truly love each other?" "People are born gay, so why should we change or oppose what God has created?" These are questions we have all heard from those who are in support of gay marriage, often times from Christians. This all stems from Liberalism, and denying the infallibility of Scripture in favor of mankind's own reason and logic.

If Scripture is not our foundation as Christians, we might as well make up whatever we want to believe out of thin air; Liberalism basically does this already! Our God has spoken to us through his Word, and we must stand firm to what God has spoken. Even if the Bible goes against our own human ideas of values, we must submit to God's values. We cannot get to the point of taking what we like from Scripture, but ignoring what we don't like. We can't get to the point where something is not "from God" because it doesn't make sense to us. God's Word is truth. When we put our own reason at the same level as Scripture, we get Liberal Christianity, and we get a mess. Liberalism truly is a slippery slope.