In
Theological Crossfire: An Evangelical and Liberal Dialogue, Clark Pinnock
writes:
All theologians find themselves constantly struggling with two poles or horizons that define their work. They strive to correlate the Christian message with human existence. Theology needs to wrestle with both to be worth much. Evangelicals are relatively more preoccupied with the message pole and liberals relatively more with the pole of human existence.
From
the perspective of compass theory, progressive Christians rightly affirm that
God is immanently present in creation, and that God enables people to actualize
their human potential. However, the here and now quest for relevancy to
contemporary culture can disconnect persons from essential orthodox doctrines
derived from the authority of Scripture, definitive creeds, and valuable church
traditions. This is one of the consequences of holding an "Aristotelian mind-set," noted in my book, Compass Psychotheology: Where Psychology & Theology Really Meet.
Loath
to being judged as naive in the modern world where faith without reason is
perceived as foolish, liberals are discomfited by fundamentalist/evangelical fervor
that regards the Bible as God’s Word and Christ as humanity’s Savior from sin.
The progressive wants to make Christianity respectable by bringing it under the
auspices of reason. To be seen as intelligent and perhaps even avant-garde, one
rejects doctrines or scriptural assertions that seem irrational or implausible.
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| Christian Doctrine |
Up-to-date
knowledge from the sciences, the humanities, and cultural analysis can give
liberals the sense of being Christianity’s intelligentsia who move beyond
simple biblical faith. This philosophical sophistication and outward focus on
improving society makes it difficult for the progressive Christian to admit
personal foibles like rigid personality patterns or blind spots in one’s human
nature.
Even
though one perceives one’s self as open-minded, a reaction formation often
develops against historically orthodox tenets of faith. A certain skittishness
prevails regarding supernatural intervention and particular answers to prayer,
coupled with an aversion to seeking personal redemption through the death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The
Holy Spirit is marginalized as a vague and irrational aspect of Trinitarian
theology who is functionally irrelevant to the improvement of society. The idea
of a deepening personal encounter with the Holy Spirit is judged as lacking
empirical evidence and too mystical for modern life. One bypasses pressing into
spiritual transformation in favor of pressing for social action through the
church and one’s own resolve.
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| Social Action |
There
is an unconscious fear of surrendering to an emotional encounter with God, or
being guided in directions that smack of loss of control. God’s guidance is
sought in terms of what seems the most rational way to proceed, whether in daily
life or in choosing one’s calling.
The
call from liberal and progressive pulpits is not for evangelization but for
active involvement in solving society’s problems. The progressive Christian is
often left with two options in response: one can mobilize one’s will to
unselfishly serve others or one can quietly withdraw into apathy, feeling overwhelmed
by the prospect of transforming the world through heroic human willpower. A
person who becomes inwardly apathetic is outwardly present in church
attendance, but before long may even withdraw from that.
Moreover,
there is a price to pay for dissociation from orthodox Christian roots and
estrangement from the biblical worldview: the loss of absolute points of
reference. An indiscriminate pluralism results. By losing sight of doctrinal
clarity, apostolic teaching, and the inspired continuity of Scripture, an individual
can, in effect, lose one’s Christian identity. A person’s life can drift in a
sea of relativity.
The
overall result is identity diffusion: a lack of commitment to absolutes that
would firm up a self-identity in intimacy with God and others.
As a consequence, the very community and communion so ardently sought in this world can elude the liberal Christian, since the Aristotelian mind-set unconsciously excludes the transcendent Trinity who makes such community possible.
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| Transcendent Trinity |
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