Redemption without the cross, forgiveness without repentance, love without judgment, heaven without hell, faith without church …

“We want to become more mature Christians!” Which pastor does not rejoice when his church members voice this desire. (S)he probably imagines that they want to learn how to discern God’s will better, win more people for Jesus, or use their spiritual gifts better and more extensively.

However, as (s)he asks them some questions about this quest, (s)he realizes that they don’t mean spiritual maturity but “man’s emergence from his self-incurred immaturity” (Kant), i.e., Enlightenment-driven doubt, which questions hitherto practiced faith. To his/her amazement, the church members raise questions such as: “What do we need church for if Jesus wants us to impact the world?” or “If we have Christ’s life as a moral compass what do we need his atoning death for?”

By now it dawns on him/her that the church has been infected by thinking, which has shaped Western Protestant theology for approximately 200 years. (S)he is surprised because, so far, the Bible had been the source for the church’s teachings and life. Redemption through Christ’s atoning death had been the central message. 

This is very different for proponents of progressive theology. Doubting traditional faith has become the new paradigm and creates identity for post-evangelical Christianity. The “old” faith is now considered unloving and judgmental. Biblical (sexual) ethics exclude and condemn. This new type of religiosity alleges to know what is contemporary.

Formerly dedicated leaders begin to deconstruct (i.e., question) their faith and ask questions such as: Why would God require a sacrifice? Is Christ’s bodily resurrection true? Are the Biblical commandments still valid in our current culture? Aren’t scriptural sexual ethics outdated? How can Jesus claim to be the only way?

They start reconstructing their “new” postmodern faith. For them, not unbelief but intolerance is the real sin. There is no longer just one truth, especially with regard to other religions. God’s love includes all people and does not know of any final judgment. Therefore, the world needs to be saved, not the people living in it. This is viewed as liberation from the old “dogmatism”.

None of this is new. It is the old theological liberalism that now enters the evangelical world in “new clothes”. Despite all the differences among the liberals, they agree on one point: Jesus never wanted a church. For those, who reach this juncture in the deconstruction process, the logical conclusion is to leave the church. 

However, there are also different reports. People recount that they suddenly recognize the destructive power of deconstruction and renounce it. They turn to the Bible and prayer with renewed intensity. To them, Christ’s atoning death is no longer a later interpretation of the disciples, who were traumatized by Christ’s crucifixion. Furthermore, establishing Christian churches is no longer an idea that came to the Apostle Paul much later. They testify that God continues to impact the world supernaturally by redeeming people from sin, healing the sick and casting out demonic forces. 

Those, who have experienced the supernatural power of God personally, do not easily fall prey to liberal ideas. This is likely to be the reason why, for now, Pentecostal and Charismatic churches have been largely spared this spiritual tsunami, which has shaken Western evangelicals. 

However, Pentecostal and Charismatic churches should not be lulled into a false sense of security and should not underestimate these Western “doctrines of demons” (1 Tim 4:1). Progressive theology presents itself as a more “mature” faith because it views itself as scientifically and intellectually superior due to Enlightenment and humanism. However, it ignores that these concepts are largely alien to the non-Western world. Its false religiosity purports to love the world and be philanthropic, but not as revealed in the Scriptures. Instead, mankind is now the center of attention. Progressive theology promises to make Christianity acceptable for society. It overlooks, however, that neither Jesus nor his followers were looking for social acceptance.

We should ask ourselves why some Christians change their theological positions so drastically. There are many different reasons. Legalism, the inability to question leaders and abuse of power in churches appear to be primary factors. Apart from them, there are also personal motives, which can be traced back to the zeitgeist: self-fulfillment instead of self-denial, ethical conformity instead of confrontation and the quest for personal importance.

How can we prevent this development?

1. Allow questions: Honest doubts as to one’s faith do not equate deconstruction and should be accepted and worked through.
2. Adopt Christ’s worldview: Jesus teaches love and final judgment, life on earth and afterlife, eternal salvation and eternal damnation.
3. Promote Bible reading: The Bible as a reliable guide for doctrine and how to live life should be emphasized und explained.
4. Encourage spiritual gifts: Signs and wonders are part of Christ’s kingship. They should be authentic, and time and space to experience them should be made available.
5. Distinguish between absolute and relative beliefs: The Apostles’ Creed contains the core content of Christian doctrine. Beyond it, every church can define its own specific profile, seeing to it that secondary questions do not become central ones and that central questions do not become relegated to secondary ones. We need to distinguish between what was only relevant at a certain period in time and what is timeless, such as the Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount and the catalogs of virtues and vices.
6. Define our commission: Peace, justice and conservation of creation are the tasks of all people, not only Christians. But only Christians can implement the Great Commission to make disciples of all people by baptizing them and teaching them to obey everything that Jesus has commanded.

Dr. Andreas Franz