Opinion: Here’s why “progressive Christianity” won't persuade believers
by Peter Heck · Dec 15th, 2020 11:45 am 
It's no big secret that Religion News Service gravitates left politically. Their line-up of op-ed contributors, the angles of their reporting, the stories within Christendom that are ignored versus the ones that are addressed by the organization, all make that abundantly clear to anyone paying attention.
But what may not be immediately obvious is the paucity of biblical grounding in much of the analysis found at the site. This is an all-too-familiar pattern within the vast majority of so-called "progressive Christianity." Sociological trends and modern scientific consensus always seem to provide their framework for thought and springboard for discussion rather than biblical authority.
In other words, instead of beginning with biblical presuppositions and interpreting contemporary issues from there, progressive Christians typically begin with what the culture "knows" – a worldly presupposition – and then try to chart out how best to make Scripture conform to it in the least contentious way. If there is to be any confrontation, progressive Christianity ensures it will not be with the world. They are consistently far more inclined to join forces with those who reject Scripture as authoritative in order to dress down conservative evangelicals than they are to stand shoulder to shoulder with their conservative brethren against an ungodly culture.
Consider as but one example the recent opinion piece that appeared at RNS, penned by pastor and political scientist Ryan Burge:
The subtitle tease to that article astounded me: "While women are changing the world of electoral politics, their progress in the world of religion is downright glacial."
What is Burge even talking about? How can women make "progress" in the world of Christianity that goes beyond being joint heirs with Jesus (Rom 8:7)? What "change" is needed to what Christ declared is "finished" (John 19:30)?
The central message of Christianity is that Christ died for all, giving to every human soul the opportunity to live in paradise not because of the progress we make, but because of the restitution of our souls that He already made.
The Apostle Paul's affirmation that in Christ, "there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one" (Gal 3:28), shows that Burge's entire piece is built upon a political calculus, not a Scriptural one.
Consider that in a piece ostensibly making the case for female pastors in the pulpit – the entire point of the column – you won't find a single Scripture reference. You can read Burge's entire "progressive" piece and find plenty of statistics, plenty of survey results, plenty of comparisons to the gender diversification in Congress and other democratically elected bodies. But you won't find a single sentence that addresses the second chapter of Paul's first letter to Timothy.
That sufficiently reveals what Burge, and those who are persuaded by his arguments, see as authoritative. And it isn't the Bible. That is not to say that Burge's position that women should be embraced as pulpit ministers is wrong simply because popular trends agree with him. It is to say that what he has written should not sway believers one way or the other because it omits the central question that matters most to believers: what does God say about it?
The Christian begins with the authority of Scripture. So if a professing Christian wants to make the case for female pastors to other Christians, that needs to be done scripturally. But notice that is not the approach of Ryan Burge, nor is it ever the approach of progressive Christianity. And that should be a glaring red flag.
Progressive Christians always seem far more competent and capable quoting the latest scientific consensus than exegeting a passage of Scripture. How crazy is it to suggest that might have something to do with who their god is?
source: https://disrn.com/opinion/opinion-heres-why-progressive-christianity-doesnt-persuade-believers
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