Pluralism, Relativism, Marxism, Communism, Secularism, Humanism, Materialism , Scientism, Hedonism, Atheism . . . I have heard before if it ends in “ism,” it probably isn’t good. Not even positivism—the idea that science is the source of all authoritative knowledge and that history is a story of the advance of technology—is a positive “ism.” I am afraid all of these “ism’s” and more are contributing to a great schism in our nation.
In his prescient book, Live Not By Lies, Rod Dreyer makes a profound statement that Progressivism is not just another political idea, but rather a rival religion. In many ways, churches are seeing the next generation leave its institutions in droves and are left wondering why. I would say these churches are unsure why its youth are leaving because most likely, these churches are not keeping up with the times. Sure, these same churches may have the latest bells and whistles, what some churches may label as progress, but my belief is that Dreyer has it right: Most churches have been blindsided by Progressivism.
All gas and no brakes may sound good in theory, but it doesn’t work too well if you’re driving a car. The problem with postmodernism is that you can’t do whatever you want to do and go wherever you want to go. There are rules in life that must be followed and that includes stopping at traffic lights. Why has the church given into consumerism, seeking what man desires more than what God commands? Technology is good but it’s not all good. Church shouldn’t be minimized into a virtual rock show with stage lights that includes an occasional message from a hologram preacher. The church should be occupied by real people in a real place worshipping a real God. Maybe I went into a tangent here, but I am simply pointing out other “ism’s” that aren’t so good. Back to the “ism” that has blindsided the Church . . .
Please understand what Dreyer is saying. Dreyer is comparing Progressivism to a rival religion, such as the likes of Mormonism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Taoism, Confucianism, Sikhism, and more. If we, the church, don’t understand this, we’re not going to understand what hit us and we will be left out to dry. What we are witnessing isn’t politics as usual. Every sphere of life is being politicized today. 20,000 National Guard troops being called up to Washington D.C. is a political statement. Writing “Black Lives Matter” on NBA courts is a political statement. Cancelling social media accounts and censoring conservative talk at home, work, or play is a political statement. Whether its Big Business, Big Tech, or Big Brother, this political over reach is not good for our country because it strips us of our freedoms. Dreyer is right. Today’s America, in its soft totalitarian forms, resembles the former USSR. The progressives’ manifestos are no different than the 1936 Constitution of the Soviet Union. I am not going to write much about this now, but don’t think that your church’s social media account or your pastor’s messages couldn’t be cancelled real soon. That’s what “Progressivism” is all about.
Dreyer’s book should be a wake-up call to the church. I only hope it’s not too late. Going, going, going isn’t always good. Forward-thinking sometimes means taking a step back and in the case of The Church and our families, it might mean taking many steps back. We must make time to stop, to pause, and to ask ourselves if what we are doing is what God wants us to do. We must take time to evaluate the results. In the name of progress, we handed our kids smartphones and tablets (if you have not, your kid’s school probably has). But should we have given a child the world at his or her fingertips when they are not ready or of age to see all that the world has to offer? We embraced social media full-scale, but should we have embraced social media without first finding out about the long-term effects it has on our health and well-being? We trusted Big Tech but should we have, seeing now that its leaders act as demagogues aligned with one way of thinking.
Not even the Left and the Liberals are on the same page. The Left and the Liberals are divided in their own camp, probably even more so than The Left is divided from the Right. I think we’ll see this divide even more clearly in and among the Democrats once President Biden comes into office. But that is not The Church’s ultimate concern. Our concern should be to be of One mind, the mind of Christ. We need to be unified. We need to be loving our neighbor and praying for our nation. We don’t need to be attacking our brothers and sisters-in-Christ at this time. Trumpism is another “ism” that isn’t good. I am not saying that it was wrong of someone to vote for Donald Trump or to support Donald Trump, only that we as Christ-followers should never turn Donald Trump into an idol that we worship. We don’t worship a donkey or an elephant. We worship The Lamb of God!
I am hearing of school teachers imposing their progressive beliefs on the next generation at school. I hear of students making fun of other students because they have conservative beliefs and hold conservative values. At the rate we are going, I can see Big Tech soon shutting down your social media account because of anything you have left on in that is pro-Trump or anti-progressive ideology. Church and ministry leaders, I implore you to not have your head stuck in the sand. See Progressivism for what it is: a rival religion that is taking the next generation away from us.