BiblicalInsights.net

The general definition of progressivism is “advancement of human society.”  “The general advance of human society and industry over time toward a state of greater civilization” (Bing Dictionary).  Advances in science, technology, business, and industry have helped define progress.  Horse drawn carriages have given way to the automobile.  Most of us would not want to go back to horse and buggy days.  Men have traveled to the moon and back.  The science involved has helped to develop techniques in open heart surgery and many other beneficial things.  Medicine has advanced.  Technology has advanced.  Most of us have a computer and cell phone that was unheard of just a few years ago.  Some advances are good and beneficial while others are detrimental.  In the spiritual realm, progressivism leads to digression (apostasy) and regression (unrighteousness).  Both digression (from God’s Word) and regression (going back to sinful practices) amount to transgression (breaking God’s laws).  When individuals do not want to be governed by God’s Word, then they push for change in a direction away from God.  To many, the Bible has become an archaic book that needs to be discarded.
Theistic Worldview Vs. Secular Humanism
The cultural wars we are experiencing result from a clash of worldviews.  Progressives believe that we need to advance from the theistic worldview to the secular humanist worldview.  This is a major shift from being God-centered to being man-centered. The clash between creation and evolution is at the heart of this conflict.  Creationists are viewed as being out-dated and unintellectual, even unscientific.  The progressives attempt to occupy the high ground.  For many, science has eliminated the need for God.  To these indivudals, religion is based in superstition.  Science eliminates superstition and so eliminates the need for God or religion.  Once God is eliminated, anything goes!  Man has the freedom to do whatever he desires and the lust of the flesh rule his heart.  For some, progress is moving away from God and God’s Word.  If this is good for civilization, then, we ought to see real advancement in all areas.  Consider some observations.
1.  One attack against the Bible is from the femininst movement which attempts to destroy male spiritual leadership in the home and in the church.  Roles of women and men have changed.  Men have been undergoing a redefinition of what it means to be male.  Women pushed for no-fault divorce laws and marriage and the home have both suffered.  Almost half of all marriages end in divorce.  The permanence of marriage has taken a significant blow and homes have been fractured.  More women and children are now living in poverty.  Is this progress?  Children are impacted by divorce for decades after a divorce.  The psychological and economic effects are tremendous.  This does not represent advancement, but regression.
2.  Consider abortion.  On Monday, January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court ruled in a 7 to 2 decision that abortion would be legalized and made available on demand throughout America up to and including the ninth month, with the doctor’s permission, if the physical or mental health of the mother was deemed “at risk.”  This was the result of the feminist movement in America demanding the right to determine what would happen to a woman’s own body.  Since then 45 million unborn babies have been aborted in American (10 million more than the entire population of California).  That number is 16 percent of the current population of America.  Every year about 46 million abortions occur worldwide.  Abortion is murder of the unborn and violates God’s law.  The consequences of killing an eagle in America is greater than the consequences of killing an unborn child!  Is this progress?
3.  Drug and Alcohol Abuse.  There are approximately 80,000 deaths attributable to excessive alcohol use each year in the United States.  This makes excessive alcohol use the 3rd leading lifestyle-related cause of death for the nation.  Excessive alcohol use is responsible for 2.3 million years of potential life lost annually, or an average of about 30 years of potential life lost for each death.  The economic costs of excessive alcohol consumption in 2006 were estimated at $223.5 billion.  Lost life and lost value do not equal progression, but rather regression.
4.  Homosexuality.  Homosexuality was a problem in Abraham’s day (over 4,000 years ago) (Gen. 19–Sodom and Gomorrah).  Did you know that all thirteen of the original colonies of the United States treated Sodomy as criminal behavior?  Severe penalties for homosexuality were inflicted in all states.  Four states: New York, Vermont, Connecticut and South Carolina had the penalty of death for this crime.  Thomas Jefferson advocated dismemberment as the penalty for homosexuality in his home state of Virginia and authored a bill to that effect.  America’s legal system was founded upon the moral integrity of the Bible.  But,  now that has been discarded for progress???  This is not progression, but regression and digression which is transgression of God’s Word.
Rejecting the old paths is nothing new.  Jeremiah (600 years before Christ) struggled with those who wanted to reject the “old paths” for what they considered progress.  The “progress” was nothing but “transgression” of God’s laws.  Jeremiah 6:16, “Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.  But they said, We will not walk therein.”  Simply put, unrighteousness is not progress.  It is digression and regression that equal transgression of God’s Will.