The Progressive Boogeyman, Pt. 1
By Travis Scott, September 20, 2021. Click here for Part 2 in this series.
Webster’s dictionary defines the boogeyman as a monstrous imaginary figure used in threatening children. Popular uses of the boogeyman include threats that he might get you if you don’t behave, stay out too late, disrespect your parents, etc. When we grow up we all realize there are no such things as boogeymen and that to ever have feared them was silly in the first place. Of course, we might also rightly question the parenting tactic of frightening a child into compliance with such imaginary figures.
In our current time of social, political, and cultural polarization it’s a sad fact that many people have created new boogeymen - the fear of which can be used to rally people to their side or cause. Oftentimes these boogeymen are identified by the use of particular words. When words are used in this way they don’t promote discussion, thought, or understanding. Instead they tend to stir up uninformed, inaccurate, and visceral emotional responses.
Sadly, this same thing happens in the Church. And more sadly for me it has been a feature of many recent debates in my own denomination, the Presbyterian Church in America. While there are several words and phrases that have come to be used in less than helpful ways in the PCA – one stands out above them all: Progressive.
There’s an important statement all Christians should memorize and keep in mind when discussing critical issues related to faith and life. It’s a concise, piercing statement of logical acuity which should be considered indispensable in any theological or ecclesiastical debate. It comes from that bastion of philosophical insight, The Princess Bride. Which statement? Well, it’s the famous words of Inigo Montoya: “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”
There has been an avalanche of rhetoric and fear about the influence and spread of Progressive thought and Progressive Christianity in the PCA. There’ve been conferences telling us to take stands, planned gatherings of Presbyterians concerned about the inroads of Progressivism, and calls to get more orthodox Ruling Elders engaged denominationally (which assumes there are too many unorthodox forces at work). If you believed the press of various movements and leaders in the PCA you’d be convinced that the denomination is doomed to go the way of other mainline liberal denominations, maybe as early as tomorrow. Indeed, it seems by the calls to root it out of the PCA that theological Progressivism is already a deeply entrenched cancer sucking the life out of faithful PCA churches everywhere.
And yet, having listened to and read of this concern from a variety of sources it seems to me to be no more than an imaginary boogeyman. I feel like I must bring the important statement above to bear here: Progressivism? You keep saying that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
So, what does it mean? Well, therein lies part of the problem. As with many terms in this cultural moment Progressive Christianity is a hard one to pin down. Historically Progressive Christianity overlaps with, but is not identical to, classic theological Liberalism. While historic Liberal Christianity was largely a product of modernity, Progressive Christianity is largely a product of post-modernity (itself a slippery term).
Progressive Christianity has a wide range of meanings depending on what people think is “progressive” versus “traditional” for Christians. So for instance, an emphasis on social justice might be considered progressive by some simply because they view traditional Christianity as having little to say on the subject. Similarly, Christianity is seen by some as inherently misogynistic and so any appreciation for feminism is seen as a Progressive ideal. The same would hold true on race and a host of other issues. In this sense the Cultural Progressive has a very low opinion of the Christian Faith as something which must be modernized and reframed to pursue a proper ethic in the name of Jesus.
Yet, any Christian tradition holding to the authority and inerrancy of Scripture must take justice for society and individual persons seriously if they are to consider the whole counsel of God. Because of this, people speaking and wrestling against racial injustice, sexism and patriarchy, and similar issues may be labeled as “Progressive” when in reality they are just holding to a high view of Scripture and the Christian tradition. These “Progressives” are merely seeking to apply God’s word to all of life like saints who’ve gone before us such as Wilberforce, Kuyper, etc. Are there ministers in the PCA that are this type of “Progressive”? I certainly hope so, and if there aren’t God should judge us and close all our doors. But this is not true Progressive Christianity. Tensions may flare between believers in these areas but these are ultimately issues of emphasis and leaning; they are concerns related to differing interpretations on secondary matters.
Actual Progressive Christianity is far more serious and represents a deviation which cuts to the core of Christian belief itself. In Conservative Christian circles the terminology of Progressive Christianity is generally used to denote radical theological departures from historical, biblical, orthodox Christianity. In this sense there are no Progressive ministers in the PCA. Nor should there be.
In his article “What is Progressive Christianity?”, Dr. Michael J. Kruger highlights three main features of Progressive thought: 1. Progressive Christianity Has a Low View of Christ; 2. Progressive Christianity Is Focused on Moralism, Not Salvation; 3. Progressive Christianity Downplays Our Fallenness.
Similarly, over at The White Horse Inn (certainly no den of Progressives) Alisa Childers outlines a list of denials and affirmations found in Progressive Christianity in her article, “What Do Progressive Christians Believe?” The denials include such central things as Biblical Authority/Inspiration, Original Sin and Substitutionary Atonement, the Deity and Resurrection of Christ, and so forth. The affirmations include things like LGBTQ Relationships and Marriage, Religious Pluralism, Pantheism, Panentheism or Perennialism, etc.
Given that this is the more prominent understanding of the Progressive terminology in Reformed and Presbyterian circles the term takes on serious weightiness when used to describe someone. To claim someone is a Progressive in this sense is to say they should be removed from ministry because they have denied the faith. And I agree with that. Men who fit the descriptions of Progressivism outlined by Kruger and Childers should not hold office in the PCA. I’d go even further and say that they may not even be eligible for mere membership as several of those views are not a matter of differing opinion on secondary matters, but an undermining of foundational beliefs and doctrines.
There’s only one problem. While the blogosphere and social media platforms might give you the impression that there are Progressive ministers behind every tree in the PCA – I’ve never met one. If the problem were as widespread as some would have us believe certainly their presence would be more clear and known. The fact that it’s not leads me to the conclusion that there are no true Progressives ministering in the PCA.
The reason for this is simple - all of our ecclesiastical and theological guns have been pointing at that target since our inception. There are no Theological Progressives itching to get into ordained ministry in the denomination. And in the sad cases where ministers have compromised and slid into a form of true Progressivism - they inevitably leave the robustly orthodox and conservative halls of the PCA for pastures more amenable to their errors.
And thus when PCA voices clamor on about an insidious Progressivism that is taking over the denomination and needs to be rooted out – well it certainly seems they keep using a word without it meaning what they think it means.
Rather than having any substantive meaning or application in the PCA, the word Progressive is a boogeyman. As with the childhood version, the bogeyman is a scare tactic designed to cause change based on fear of what might be and to elicit control. There are no real Progressive PCA Ministers denying the faith. There are instead imaginary, mythical Progressive Boogeymen which are caricatures used to stir people to action, and rally them to culture war that’s been imported into the Church.
As with boogeymen, and all mythical creatures, we shouldn’t believe in things that aren’t real. We should also seriously question those who do. We should question even more seriously those who use such figments of imagination to frighten, coerce, and create division. More on that next time.
