There is a disturbing trend on Facebook and Twitter, which, when it carries over into “real” life, is even more disturbing. A growing number of Christians are joining a very vocal liberal progressive movement devoted to sacred cows and bashing conservative, traditional, evangelical and moderate followers of Christ whom they lump together as “conservative Christians.”
A typical post will begin with a statement or a question along the lines of “Why can’t conservative Christians stop judging others?” Then all their progressive and liberal friends will chime in with comments that tend to get harsher and much sillier than these:
“Ooooohhhh, you are so right! They are pushing me into being more progressive.”
“You said it. They just sit around judging others.”
“They sure don’t show the love of Christ when they post.”
“The Bible doesn’t even say they should call themselves conservative Christians.”
“I left my church because of them.”
“Do you know ANY conservative Christians who really love sinners?”
“They give Christianity a bad name.”
“Why are they so intolerant?”
“I don’t really care what scripture says. The gospel is about love and that’s enough for me.”
“When Jesus returns, I don’t think he will even recognize them as his followers.”
When the Pot Calls the Kettle Black
Heaven help anyone who points out the “conservative Christians” are NOT the ones using that term in these posts, it is the progressives lumping them all together and calling them that; the “conservative Christians” are not holding a gun to anyone’s head forcing/pushing them to be more progressive; the existing progressive thread sure isn’t showing any love to their more conservative brethren; and the thread, which is accusing “conservative Christians” of judging other, is CLEARLY JUDGING CONSERVATIVE CHRISTIANS!
The progressive social media crowd refuses to see how unloving and judgmental they have become and that they have become EXACTLY what they accuse others of being: unkind, unloving, intolerant and judgmental toward those with an opposing viewpoint.
This phenomena should not surprise me. I attended a progressive church for a few year in the 1990s where the pastor habitually slammed traditional churches as part of his sermons.
Sacred Cows
However, the sacred cows of the progressive church — the scriptures and causes they have hand-picked that are “culturally relevant” (which means politically correct) — do get lots of love. Those who don’t agree or take exception, however, receive no love or tolerance in these threads (or churches).
These social-media progressives don’t seem to really care about other scriptures beyond their special life verses, or they deem them minor scriptures. The Bible only needs to be adhered to when it conforms to the progressive notion of what “love” is. And sometimes specific words and phrases are omitted from Bibles verses and songs. In the progressive church I attended, wherever “blood of Christ” appeared in verse or song, it was changed to “love of Christ” among other “improvements.”
Love Means Never Having to Say “No”
Basically, “love” appears to mean “yes” to these Progressiveville posters. If you don’t agree with someone’s choices, lifestyles, or chosen sins for scriptural reasons–or any other reasons–you are not loving. You are intolerant. You are judging. You are full of hate. You are by default a “conservative Christian.”
To the progressive movement, which not surprisingly has its roots in the “Me Generation” with its “free love” and self-gratification, apparently “No” and the “Thou shalt nots” are dirty words from a long-dead Old-Testament mind set that they no longer have to pay attention to. No one wants to talk about self-sacrifice, dying to self, purity, giving up wants, and walking the straight and narrow path anymore, because it is not loving to ask that of others. No one wants to look at fruits anymore in Progressiveville, because that is also judging. And no one talks about cultural sins like divorce, adultery, fornication, abortion, homosexuality, etc., unless it is to EMBRACE them, because talking about lifestyle sins (other than the sins of being wealthy or powerful) is judging.
However, social sins like greed, pride, abusing power and hoarding wealth as well as the sin of being conservative — those sins are OK to talk about and to judge. Sins and judgments are cherry picked in Progressiveville.
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