Are They Really Christians?

CNS News had this article on Liberal Christians fighting Conservative Christians:

(CNSNews.com) – “Progressive” (liberal) Christian groups, attempting to dilute the political influence of their conservative brethren, are speaking up when conservative Christian leaders speak out.

The most recent example came on Wednesday, a week after Dr. James Dobson, the founder and chairman of Focus on the Family, discussed faith, sexuality and liberalism on CNN’s Larry King Live.

The Institute for Progressive Christianity — a new group — accused Dobson of making “highly inaccurate statements” and “crackpot assertions” during his conversation with Larry King.

Progressive Christianity has been making the rounds as the all new “in thing.” They’re the new voices to counterbalance the religious right. But here’s the question I pose (but won’t answer.) Are they really Christians as the Bible understands the word?

Let’s put politics aside for a moment and just get into Theology. Understand that not everyone who claims to be a Christian is. Of course, we get into really serious hot water when debating what makes a Christian. Is there a litmus test? Is there an issue where you can say, “On one side are true Christians, on the other are not?”

I’d maintain that there is. This test is the resurrection. The apostle lays it out in 1. Corinthians 5:13-19:

13But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:

14And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.

15Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.

16For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:

17And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.

18Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.

19If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

The literal resurrection of Christ is the test. If he didn’t really rise than Christianity is a lie. It’s a game and we should become Spirtualists or Atheists, or whatever. This is the central issue.

Surprise, surprise but there are many “Christians” and clergymen who don’t hold to this doctrine according to ReligiousTolerance.org

Jeffrey Hadden 1998 poll:

A survey of mostly mainline Protestant clergy by a prominent American sociologist showed that many doubt Jesus’ physical resurrection. 8 Percentage of doubters were found to be:

American Lutherans: 13%
Presbyterians: 30%
American Baptist: 33%
Episcopalians: 35%
Methodists: 51%

George Barna found a third of mainline Church leaders and lay leaders do not believe in the literal resurrection of Christ. These folks, having basically denied the point of the Gospel however remained in the church to serve things like progressive causes and to further spread their own disbelief and doubt. This is spread through liberal cemetaries seminaries which exist only to destroy the faith of those who are living and empower those who really have no faith to move into positions of church leadership.

And what are these churches like? I was driving somewhere early on a Sunday Morning and heard the local First Presbyterian Church holding a service (in Kalispell). The church service began with a round of Jazz music. I think there may have been a scripture reading, and then the pastor got up and gave a “sermon” on some health care topic without a scripture reference. I was stunned by the service and further stunned, they would put it on the radio. But, that’s what many mainline churches have become, big secular social clubs with a religious name on the building.

So, we go to the Institute for Progressive Christianity and who do we find?:

Mark is an Episcopalian Priest.

She is a graduate of Pacific School of Religion at Berkeley

(Berkely is, of course very well known for it’s respect for the Bible and theological orthodoxy.)

Steve is co-founder of CrossLeft. He has been an Episcopalian for most of his life, but has strong roots in the Evangelical tradition through his father

(I don’t believe any sense of Orthodoxy is passed on genetically.)

Zeus is a member of St. Andrew Presbyterian in Marin City

Certainly, not all Presbyterians or Episcopalians are doubters or opponents of the resurrection. However, if I see a group that’s chock full of them and has all kinds of nice buzz words like “spiritual path,” we’re looking at a group that as a whole is unorthodox in it’s views of faith and it’s overall theology.

The idea of a religious left to counter the religious right is also a little bit silly as these people seem never to have heard of “The National Council of Churches.” It’s the same type of folks, people with poor theology growing out into a poor political ideology.

UPDATE

Chris at Liberal Idaho points out that I don’t answer the question of whether Liberal Christians truly are. That’s because I don’t know, but I have serious doubts based on their affiliation:

What makes Adam think that he understands the Bible more than a Liberal Christian; this is why there is a perceived hostility to the evangelical right. They aren’t allowing you to interpret the Bible as you see it; only how they see it…

How willfully ignorant of the concept of faith do you have to be in order to question?

Well, I think there are debatable points, but let’s be clear, the Christian faith has a definition. If you don’t believe Christ rose from the dead, you can have “a faith” but it’s not Christian.