Progressive Christianity Has a Scripture Problem

There’s a lot of talk in the mainstream media about some kind of resurgence of progressive Christianity in politics. Left-wingers have tried to co-opt Christianity for years when it benefits them, while simultaneously attacking biblical Christianity.c

Texas State Rep. James Talarico (D-50th district) is making waves in his Senate run both with statements he makes on the campaign trail and with past comments he has made. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) pastors the same church where Martin Luther King Jr. took to the pulpit. Gov. Andy Beshear (D-Ky.) has spent two terms pretending to be a centrist, and now he’s published a book about his faith as his national profile rises.

But does this handful of politicians — along with others — constitute some kind of rise in progressive Christian influence? Not necessarily. As Damian Thompson recently wrote at the Spectator:

Media articles about faith-filled Democrats are working a bit too hard to talk up the story. According to a Wall Street Journal report, “the expansion of far-right Christian initiatives, such as the push to display the Ten Commandments in schools, has inspired a wave of progressive Christians to run for office, analysts say.” Really? There are only about a dozen of these “progressive Christians” running for office in the midterms – hardly a “wave.” And most of them belong to mainline Protestant churches with shrinking congregations.

The problem with progressive Christians, particularly when they try to influence political debates, is that they get so many things wrong. Don’t get me wrong: the biblical commands for justice and care are real. God calls His followers to feed the hungry, clothe the destitute, welcome the stranger, and care for widows and orphans. But progressive Christians approach these and so many other issues by looking at Scripture incorrectly.

How do progressive Christians get God’s Word wrong? Let’s explore.

Overrelying on the ‘red letters’

There’s a tendency to overemphasize the direct quotes of Jesus — the “red letters” in many Bibles — and downplay the rest of Scripture. This isn’t just a phenomenon for progressive Christians, but liberal believers tend to do this publicly and vocally. There’s even a left-wing Christian group called Red Letter Christians, which pompously boasts the tagline, “What if Jesus really meant what He said?”

This tactic comes into play when progressive Christians argue their positions on issues by pointing out that “Jesus didn’t say anything about” those topics, whether they be abortion, homosexuality, or other subjects. Just because Jesus didn’t explicitly address something doesn’t mean that God’s Word doesn’t provide counsel.

The red letters don’t cancel the rest of the Bible. Jesus did not treat the Law and the Prophets as disposable, and the early church devoted itself to the apostles’ teaching.

Jesus said that He came to fulfill the Torah rather than abolish it (Matthew 5:16-20), and the Apostle Paul told his charge, Timothy, that “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness…” (2 Timothy 3:16, emphasis mine).

Related: Progressive Christianity Watch: What Is With These People and Glitter?

Cherry-picking verses

Look, we’re all guilty of this at one time or another, but when progressive Christians pull a verse or passage and use it out of context, it can range from merely misguided to downright dangerous. One article I stumbled on this week makes the case against cherry-picking Scripture pretty clear.

In the left-tilted magazine The Christian Century, David Congdon argues that the Bible makes a case for polyamory. Among cultural and historical arguments for polyamory, Congdon cites “Jesus’ observation that there is no marriage in heaven (Matt. 22:30)” to claim that the “question of polyamory thus becomes primarily a question of church authority.”

Here’s the problem with citing that verse: In the full context of that passage, Jesus was answering the Sadducees, who didn’t believe in the resurrection. They had invented a case involving a woman married to seven brothers in succession after each brother died. Their question was about whose wife she would be after the resurrection. Jesus’ answer tells us something about the resurrection; it doesn’t rewrite his teaching on marriage in this life.

This is just one example of this phenomenon, but it can show you just how dangerous it can be. It can also demonstrate how progressive Christianity can lead people astray.

Turning God’s commands for His disciples into government policy

The Bible has certain commands for leaders and governments to act justly and treat citizens properly, but progressive Christians try to take the commands that Scripture gives to believers, families, and churches and turn them into big government solutions to problems.

Left-wing Christians take the passages in Acts about the early church sharing possessions with each other and transform them from the church being the church and Christians taking care of their own into a system of socialism or communism. Progressives interpret Matthew 25 to assert that Jesus meant that “whatever your government did to the least of these, it did to Me,” which isn’t what He was talking about. 

But that’s not our calling as Christians. We cannot — and should not — outsource our obedience to God and let the government take care of it for us. 

The big picture

Conservatives can misuse Scripture, too, and we should be the first to admit it when we do. But neither party gets to decide which parts of God’s Word still apply. Jesus’ words deserve their full context, alongside the rest of Scripture. And when He commands us to care for our neighbors, our first question shouldn’t be how to hand that responsibility to somebody else.

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