Cissie Graham Lynch discusses the hidden danger of progressive Christianity in her most recent "Fearless" podcast.
Noting that some Christians, particularly younger ones, are enamored in a spiritual movement that offers a "feel-good appeal and freedom based on relative truth," Lynch sought the opinion of someone who had firsthand experience of it.
Alisa Childers, a former member of ZOEgirl, was invited to her pastor's Bible study. She was puzzled when he urged the group to reject Biblical truth. Her most recent book, "Another Gospel?" chronicles her own journey and study into the intriguing gap between historical and progressive Christianity.
"It's a completely different religion," said Childers. "I think that's what most folks don't understand."
Childers listened to people talk about how their faith had been deconstructed as part of her research and discovered that it was a recurring theme. Traditional Christian beliefs such as the exclusivity of marriage between a man and a woman and abstinence before marriage were seen as oppressive and problematic.
"You can live how you want to live sexually and still be a Christian. You can see why that would be attractive," she explained. "You can basically be your own God and you can still have the parts of Jesus that you liked as a kid."
"It's based on the idea of 'live your truth.' ... You need to go out and find your truth," she added.
Nonetheless, as Cissie Graham Lynch pointed out, "there are deep theological differences."
The Cross and the Gospel
Since God required Jesus' blood sacrifice on the cross, progressive Christians have questioned God's moral nature. Ignoring the atonement purposes of the sacrifice, the act "turns God into some kind of cosmic child abuser," Childers explained.
For them, "the Gospel is more about the here and now," Childers said, adding that they'll even use language like "building the kingdom of God," but it will all be centered on social justice.
Childers referred to it as a "social Justice Gospel," and she agreed that Christians "should be doing good works." However, she contends that in progressive Christianity, it's all about the good works, with less to zero emphasis on the Gospel of Christ and His atoning sacrifice on the cross for the sin of man.
As a result, Lynch comments that Christians who are unfamiliar with the Bible are "easily lured."
She believes that in order to stand on truth, one must first learn about God by reading His Word.
"When the voice of Satan comes, that you are able to have that discernment-whether it's the voice of God or the enemy talking," she said.
In this sense, Lynch's judgement was right.
In its recent study, the Family Research Council stated they uncovered major discrepancies between what people believe and what the Bible teaches among the 51 % of people who claimed to have a biblical worldview. After researchers asked a series of additional questions from those who profess to have a biblical worldview, they discovered that just around 6% genuinely did.
Listen to Lynch's full podcast here, or via the player below: