Progressive Christianity is a cancer that is metastasizing inside the contemporary American church. Alisa Childers‘ new book, Another Gospel?, is smart chemotherapy. It identifies the symptoms of the disease. And it targets the tumors. Be warned though. If you or your church are suffering from this cancer, the cure might make you feel sick. Read it anyway. In the long run, it will save your life. That’s because “Progressive Christianity offers nothing of value … no hope … no joy … and nothing concrete to affirm” (238). It’s not the real Gospel. And Alisa Childers will tell you exactly why.

An All-Too-Familiar Patient

Alisa grew up in the church. She hails from a solid Christian family. In her words, she “was that kid. You know the one. The one who asked Jesus into her heart when she was five. The one who began studying the Bible as soon as she learned to read … the one you never worry about. The one you just knew would be fine. The one who would never doubt her faith” (5).

In private, she served the poor and fed the hungry. In public, she was a contemporary Christian music artist who toured America seeking Jesus and singing about Him. She was happy calling others to do the same. But her idyllic faith started to wobble when she joined an invitation-only theological discussion group at her local church. That’s when she found out the pastor who was mentoring her was not a trustworthy spiritual mentor. He was a self-described “hopeful agnostic.” His goal was not to clarify or edify the orthodox theology Alisa had grown up with. He wanted to deconstruct it.

Destructive Agnosticism

If you’re wondering how someone can simultaneously be the pastor of a Christian church and a critic of orthodox Christian theology, you have a lot to learn about Progressive Christianity. And Alisa’s journal is just the place to educate yourself. Her story is a masterpiece. She writes in a friendly, self-effacing voice, but the content is methodical, cutting, and powerful. This is not a dry, wooden critique of Progressive theology. It’s a personal story. And it takes you step-by-step with her on her journey through the darkness of doubt … and back to the truth. Her humorous quips and relevant vignettes are icing on an already tasty cake.

Deconstructing Progressivism

I have talked before about the recent spate of Christian “celebrities” who bask in the public deconstruction of their faith. “Progressive” Christians believe themselves to be more enlightened than their stodgy old predecessors. But Alisa exposes the weakness of their case. She identifies the progressives’ errors, not with ad hominem attacks on their character, but with clearly-reasoned takedowns of their thinking.

The beauty in Alisa’s treatment of Progressive Christianity is that she does something progressives rarely do. She gives her opponents the benefit of the doubt. I applauded the charity with which she explained the loving motives behind their thinking. But motives don’t always lead to the right answers. And she proves it by exposing the fallacies in their flawed conclusions. Her book is a model of the necessary tension between grace and truth.

Boiling It Down

Alisa is a master of making complex things simple. She makes two observations that I found extremely helpful. First, she points out that Progressive Christianity is great at identifying the problems we face in the church. Oppression, doubt, the reliability of Scripture, hyper-fundamentalism, and human suffering are issues the church must address. No one questions that. But Progressive Christianity is a place where “questions mattered more than answers. It didn’t seem like anyone was interested in researching facts or reaching conclusions” (154).

Second, she exposes the Progressive bent toward redefining terms. As an example, we used to ground Scriptural reliability in history and in the authority of the biblical writers. But progressives have reversed that. They have created new interpretations of the Bible. Some of those interpretations are newer than your smartphone. And all of them are based on the subjective opinion of the reader.

Making Heresy Great Again

Are Progressives really preaching Another Gospel? You bet they are.

Alisa exposes this premise time after time. She shows how progressives twist the Bible to accommodate a non-judgmental Jesus. When it comes to human nature, sexual orientation, exclusivity, Hell, the Atonement, or salvation itself, they bend the knee to a postmodern lifestyle. For them, Orthodoxy is nothing but an impediment to happiness. It must be overcome. But their “updated interpretations” are nothing but rehashed heresies — wrong-headed ideas the church rejected nearly two millennia ago.

Some things never change.

Beware The Wolves

Progressive Christianity is a place where love is not just one of God’s attributes. It’s the only one. And that’s the problem. Progressives have created Another Jesus. But their Jesus isn’t the one you find in the Bible. As Alisa points out, the foolish virgins of Matthew 25 never make it to the wedding feast. The real Jesus shuts the door to His Kingdom and leaves them outside. It turns out, He is not the “all-inclusive, tolerant, never-judgy Jesus” of Progressive Christianity (192). And He never has been.

Those who teach otherwise are dangerous. They are wolves in sheep’s clothing. And they are leading their flocks astray. They teach a gospel so lame the lost have no reason to reject it.

Another Gospel? is a bugle call for all of us. I pray the sheep will raise their heads and listen. And I pray those who know better will speak up.

The cancer of Progressive Christianity is growing too big to ignore. It’s time to take the chemo.