A Compromising Culture: (Liberal Theology) Part 1

We are living in a world that is changing at a rapid pace. Some of us are finding it more and more difficult to keep up.

There are religions that are being created or altered by the minute. There are laws that are oppressing our freedoms all over the world. There are injustices that are continually increasing due to mankind’s fallen nature. Why do things seem to get worse and worse?

The answer is simple. People don’t believe in absolutes anymore. Our human nature likes to make decisions and form their beliefs off of how they feel instead of following a moral compass that is rooted in love.

The Bible can present seemingly unfair situations that are left either ignored or justified. It is for this reason that many people are deterred from its teachings due to a misinterpretation of its values.

Most liberal Christians and theologians believe the Bible to be man-made without inerrancy, promote receptiveness to contemporary sciences, and place emphasis on moral duties. The term ‘liberal’ confuses people because they typically assume that it means ‘democrat’ or is in relation to politics. However, it is defined as being open to new behaviors and opinions while being willing to abandon traditional values, hence the part of the title called “A Compromising Culture.”

The world’s leading apologist Ravi Zacharias believes the Bible to be the only book that has withstood both the test of time and rigorous scrutiny since its creation. Liberal theologians tend to rely upon human reason and opinion instead of the concrete facts that the Bible presents. Donald E. Miller states in The Case for Liberal Christianity, “Scripture and creeds need not be viewed as metaphysical statements; rather, they are affirmations of the Christian community at a particular moment in time (7).” This seems to reject the Apostle Paul’s teaching that “all Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true…it corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right (New Living Translation, 2 Tim. 3.16).”

Some people pick and choose what they want to believe in the Bible and that is how liberal theology appears to function. Arguments regarding the Christian faith are often presented by people who are skeptical about accommodating certain implied Christian beliefs in the Bible that are said to be inherently true. Liberal theologian Harold DeWolf justifies this by saying, “they cannot honestly believe that only seventy-six generations separated Jesus found in Luke 3:23-38…and [the Bible] must be taken as signs of legend-making, guesswork, or inaccurate recording,” (186). Essentially, liberal theology is teaching that human logic and intellect must be emphasized and treated as the ultimate authority transcending the Bible.

The open-minded approach to theology is said to have produced a third way in Christian beliefs between orthodoxy and secularism due to its ability to connect numerous ways of thinking (Fay 7). Liberal theology is based on being open to human logic and reason “especially [with] the natural and social sciences” because there is more room for justification and interpretation according to a person’s perspective (Dorrien, p. xxii). This perspective can be seen as more tangible than God’s word because for the most part, it is difficult to physically hear or see God.

For example, the arts and sciences are studied because they are abstract with definitive goals and answers that relate to the modern intellectual inquiry of our times. Ian G. Barbour, a well-known physicist and theologian, revealed a distinction between humans and nature with humans and God to depict a correlation between science and religion (Russell 17-19). Barbour said of science and religion that “Both fields of inquiry mixed subjective factors with claims to objective knowledge” (Dorrien 495). This is an example of an argument with goals that include receptivity to scientific rationalization and analysis. Most liberal theologians seek God and create a moral compass that is only aligned with updated scientific discoveries and perceptible social evaluation (Miller 33). It allows the most intelligent people of our time to have authority over Scriptures when there is a conflict with their studies and the Bible.

Through researching many well-known liberal theologians such as Donald E. Miller, Gary Dorrien, Eli Fay, and Ian Bradley, a common thread between them displays liberal theology as not completely rejecting the Bible, but instead allowing the “modern mind” to become open to scientific discovery and modern reason in which to be preeminent in contemporary theology.

An ideology that is considered by most people is the discovery of their moral compass and how that can be shaped by society and religious beliefs. According to author S. D. Gaede of “When Tolerance is No Virtue,” Christians are called to be people of truth and justice in which we seek to be in unity with all people. *The part where this becomes unclear is how to remain people of truth and justice in a culture with diverse perspectives.*

Liberal Christian theologians tend to create logically based religious examples and ideas that mirror the class, gender, social, and political settings from which they transpire. In a pluralistic society, it is important to be aware of the context from which conclusions are drawn from, including the Bible and nonreligious sources. “The individual is met with a smorgasbord of religious alternatives, each serving up a slightly different offering of doctrine, community, and style” (Miller 100). It is assumed that one should keep silent if one’s personal religious or social convictions might be considered offensive to others.

This is also known as ‘political correctness.’

For instance, people are constantly discussing sensitive social issues that display the natural ability to be true to your own convictions that should be inclusive of different experiences, perceptions, and certainties. Some of these issues may be “[women’s rights], the poor, minorities, and others disenfranchised from the prevailing power structures” (Hunter 215).

These are things that people relate to, develop passions for, and can emotionally connect with because it is in front of our eyes on a daily basis. The arduous task that social issues present involves how people can see eye to eye in which the discussion includes how these issues may have been socialized or shaped by the surrounding environments. That is where liberal theology comes into play because it creates conciliation between opposing parties such as liberal worldviews and strict commandments in Scriptures.

Liberal theology is attractive to a lot of people because it teaches them things they want to hear for the stage of life that they are currently in. In the nineteenth century, liberal Christians emphasized Jesus’ ministry and loving teachings to be set as the global standard of life that is separated from supernatural influence.

Since then, many compromises have been made regarding beliefs in miracles and accepting the divinity of Christ because it is easier to justify sin.

For example, according to a 2007 study done for Journal of Family Issues, people who have a more liberal perspective with Christianity can be more susceptible to partake in marital infidelity and sexual immorality such as having sex before marriage (Burdette, Ellison, Sherkat, Gore 1556). The reason for this is due to the fact that they are simply trying to enact a moral vision rather than strictly follow the commandments in the Bible that were made to train human nature.

All individuals were given free will in which we make decisions every single day to either respond thoughtfully or react impulsively to multiple situations. “Certainly moral impotence correlates with a loss of the will” (Miller 93). This may be interpreted that we are open to corruption due to social conditions, which cause many people to think that they aren’t always responsible for their actions. For example, the common view of liberal theology regarding moral allegations from Christianity is it’s “simply a matter of personal and social conviction…there are no absolutes” (Rieff 13). Essentially, liberal theology supports the Bible’s teachings on love and harmony, but discards most of the teachings on ethics and values.

There is a disconnection with social convictions and the Bible because some do not view the Bible as a legitimate source. This concept helps describe the mindset behind theology but is slowly being surpassed by the popular liberal perspective of incorporating complete tolerance and impartiality.

It is important to understand the movement of liberal theology as its intentions involve connecting common worldviews with those of the Bible. Through this analysis, those intentions are keen to warp the Bible into a book of morals, which are followed or not followed based on personal convictions that were shaped by society or their own fallen human nature.

This can be seen through several points believed by most liberal Christian theologians, which include the Bible as a human document not inspired by God, to uphold an openness to modern sciences, and enact moral visions trumping concrete obligations as seen in the Bible.

Therefore, one might think that this liberal perspective may be too compliant to political correctness and acceptance of immoral behavior to be able to consider itself in relation to true followers of Jesus Christ.