How many outfits is the corpse of Theological Liberalism going to wear before it finally stops twitching?
Apparently the future of Christianity now rests on the collective backs of Woke Young People Trying to Make Christianity Cool Again according to Vice (an aptly named forum for this story if ever there was one.) It’s a quick profile of a half a dozen fashionable young folks raised in American evangelicalism—each with an issue that’s near and dear to them—whose pursuit of worldliness under the guise of Christ has earned them some attention. But make no mistake, it’s the same old song and dance that Christianity must change or die that we’ve been hearing for almost 200 years. And in its characteristically rigid adherence to current political trends, this means that Christianity needs to fight climate change, racism, and the death penalty whilst engaging in LGBTetc advocacy and promoting open borders.
Quite tellingly, the big “issue” is not Christ crucified for a single one of these trendy little minions of the Spirit of the Age.
But those of us who prefer to be well-informed rather than “woke” all realize that Christianity was never cool in the first place. Christ was so popular and in line with the political trends of his time that he and almost all his Apostles were put to death. These were the same guys who recognized that their own message was foolishness to the Greeks and a stumbling block to the Jews, promised persecution and hatred for their followers, and recognized that few of those followers numbered among the wise, powerful, or noble people of the world. Anybody who is trying to make Christianity cool is trying to make it into something other than Christianity.
And perhaps the most pathetic part of the whole deal is that theological liberals have been sacrificing the Gospel to receive worldly acclaim for centuries now and it’s never actually worked. In terms of numbers, Christianity in general has been on the decline in the West for awhile now, but its the theologically liberal mainline denominations that are hemorrhaging members faster than anyone else—to the point that many of them may not even exist in a generation or two. As much as they scream “change or die,” the reality has turned out to be “change and die.”
And good riddance to them. Co-opting pulpits to preach leftist politics isn’t going to make Christianity anything except the social justice version of Pelagianism.
I saw that article. Old heresies are all the rage. Just yesterday (Friday?) I saw a Tweet from @TenaciousMandy that said: “I submit this thesis: the Jesus of the Bible and the God of the Old Testament are 2 separate deities of opposing and conflicting religions.” When someone pointed out this was the Marcionite heresy, she said that she knew but still thought it should be part of the 21st century conversation.
Wow; you don’t usually see that explicitly embraced as Marcionism. But yes, its amazing how many people today think that the God of the OT is a a big, mean, authoritarian brute while Jesus is just some nice squishy love guru. Of course, to reach that conclusion, you have to ignore most of the Bible, which is why Marcion threw out not only the OT, but also all of the NT except parts of Luke and 10 Pauline epistles.
What a poisonous article. It’s the very definition of social convergence: coopting an organization’s purpose to advance a social agenda. How so many church leaders can be credentialed professionals yet not have the will or knowledge to defend against such attacks is disgraceful. Like a military officer conscientiously objecting to a deployment.
But whatever. The Church has always consisted of people, not places and organizations. Truth is always the last man standing.
“And perhaps the most pathetic part of the whole deal is that theological liberals have been sacrificing the Gospel to receive worldly acclaim for centuries now and it’s never actually worked.”
It’s kind of fascinating. On the one hand, they don’t know why people refuse to come anymore. On the other hand, they install female leaders, participate in the frivorce-industrial complex and make a point of never criticizing government misconduct or judging the morality of current events. They neglect God’s work and if you force the issue, they insist on neglecting God’s work.
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