Answer
Progressive theology attempts to merge liberal values with Christianity. Such merging gratifies left-wing convictions but does so at the expense of sound biblical theology (Titus 1:9; 2:1). Liberals generally celebrate the rise of progressive theology because it reflects and promotes their cultural sensibilities, while conservatives mostly oppose it because the values it champions contradict the Bible’s teachings on various topics.
In social and political contexts, the term progressive describes a person, group, or idea that favors implementing liberal ideals, often through social reform. This includes promoting LGBTQIA+ causes, safeguarding limitless access to abortion, and demanding action on climate change. Progressives often consider people who disagree with their values as hateful, close-minded, fearful, anti-science, racist, sexist, and bigoted. The desire to avoid these labels drives many people to accept progressive theology, compromising their faith in the Bible.
Progressive theology’s priority of conforming to contemporary social values over the Bible signals a sharp departure from orthodox approaches to Christian doctrine. Progressive theology replaces Scripture as the standard for faith and practice with modern liberal ideals like tolerance, relativism, and sustainability. Progressive theology enthrones subjective personal feelings. As a result, love, compassion, and justice—as progressive theology defines those terms—don’t exist alongside truth, righteousness, and orthodoxy, but override and supplant them.
While progressive theology represents a subdiscipline in the study of Christian doctrine, it’s fundamentally different from orthodox approaches like historical, systematic, and exegetical theology. Historical theology examines doctrines at different times in history: worship in the early church, prayer in the Middle Ages, or pneumatology during the Reformation. Systematic theology studies all that Scripture says about a topic, from Genesis to Revelation. Exegetical theology aims to describe the original meaning of a passage. Each of these three approaches upholds the inspiration of Scripture as the unerring Word of God and the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
In contrast to these biblically sound subdisciplines, progressive theology is rooted in modern liberal ideology. While orthodox approaches to Christian theology are unified in their core convictions on the nature of God, the person and work of Jesus, the deity of the Holy Spirit, the inborn sinfulness of humanity, and Scripture as the Word of God, progressive theology opposes these doctrines. Progressive theology criticizes the Bible as outdated, patriarchal, and oppressive. The compromises progressive theology makes are so extensive that its adherents illustrate Paul’s warning: “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions” (2 Timothy 4:3, ESV).
The roots of progressive theology are found in its hermeneutics, i.e., the principles and methods it uses for interpreting the Bible. Progressive theology tailors its interpretation of Scripture to guarantee conclusions that align with its liberal worldview. Alternatively, sound hermeneutics involves the grammatical-historical method of biblical interpretation. This method ensures the integrity of the interpretation by emphasizing authorial intent and literary and historical contexts. The goal of biblical hermeneutics is to make objective and accurate interpretations of the Bible.
Progressive theology began in the nineteenth century and grew to incorporate elements of feminist theology, which seeks to reform Christianity’s perceived patriarchy; and process theology, which believes in the evolving nature of God and the universe. More recently, it has adopted queer theology and its affirmation of various sexual identities and practices, and environmental theology, which focuses on environmental stewardship, especially global warming.
James teaches that championing the morality of society when its values are antithetical to the character of God is tantamount to spiritual infidelity: “You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4, ESV). Progressive theology doesn’t represent an orthodox approach to Christianity because it contradicts Scripture. Tragically, its heretical conclusions are the result of rejecting God and using His written Word in a sinful manner.
