Christian Resistance (Part 1).
24 Mar 2023. Prophecy Today.
Confronting a rival religion
This is the first in a series by the Rev Campbell-Jack on Christian resistance to the direction of travel in today’s culture
We repeatedly witness new, alarming, and sometimes bizarre examples of woke culture. From demands that free speech be curtailed for fear someone’s feelings are hurt, to unscientific assertions that there are countless genders and the consequent insistence on weird pronouns, or that Drag Queen Story Hour is for the good of children.
As well as reacting to specific incidents we should also step back and view the big picture. To resist any movement it is important to understand its underlying beliefs and motivation. Christians must realise that in confronting progressivism we are not face to face with a political ideology destroying Western culture piece by piece, but with a rival religion ultimately determined to supplant the Christianity which has given us Western culture.
Myth of Progress
Despite objections to its use, the label ‘progressive’ is accurate as it describes their fundamental belief. They are termed progressives because they are motivated by a deep faith in progress. They are totally invested in the enormously seductive idea that they are on ‘the right side of history’.
One of the most potent ideas of Western civilisation for the past 250 years has been the myth of progress. This holds that today we are receiving the gifts of past development and have a responsibility to facilitate future progress which will eventually create a just and equitable society. Progress is a dynamic myth; it has direction and imparts motivation, it tells its adherents they are on the right track and gives them a reason to persevere.
Progress is a dynamic myth; it has direction and imparts motivation, it tells its adherents they are on the right track and gives them a reason to persevere.
Karl Marx believed that communism was inevitable because History demanded it, and the Bolsheviks were able to endure against massive odds and withstand persecution because they knew they were ‘on the right side of history’. Today Marx’s shadow Leftists, including progressives, think it inescapable that humanity is marching to a future of equity, justice and mutual understanding. Barack Obama rhapsodised about the arc of history which he saw as bending throughout time towards justice, from the liberation movements of Lincoln’s era, through the civil rights movements of the 20th century, all the way to his own election as president.
The acceptance of the myth of progress is not confined to the Left. Today conservatives as well as socialists believe the myth of progress, the main difference being that conservatives are generally more cautious than socialists. Unfortunately this is not always true: in the UK David Cameron when prime minister introduced same-sex marriage ‘because I’m a Conservative’.
Intolerance
Convinced they are on the side of progress, the faithful believe it is necessary to reject those who stand in their way and drive them from the public square. Progressives take for granted that Christians and social conservatives are not merely mistaken, they are aligned with the forces of greed, bigotry and injustice, therefore they are morally culpable. To allow their ideas to be propagated permits dangerous heresy to spread, and endangers the ultimate salvation of all humanity.
Progressives claim to value diversity. Yet they project their own prejudices as universal moral values, non-negotiable precepts to which all must agree or be declared heretics.
Progressives claim to value diversity. Yet they project their own prejudices as universal moral values, non-negotiable precepts to which all must agree or be declared heretics. Supporters of traditional marriage and sexuality are transphobic and homophobic. Pro-life advocates claim that they want to save babies from the scalpels of abortionists, but progressives are convinced their real goal is to control women. It is impossible for unbelievers to have pure motives.
Do you believe in climate change? What about the gender pay gap? How do you stand on transgender rights? Those who do not comply with progressive orthodoxy find themselves exiled, not just from the fold, but from the public square. David Harsanyi warned, ‘When a group confuses politics with moral doctrine, it may have trouble comprehending how a decent human could disagree with its positions’. Those progressives who sin and transgress the fundamentals of the faith face the Woke Inquisition and excommunication; they are allowed to return to the fold only after making full public confession.
Reality Intrudes
Influential as the myth is, can inevitable progress be defended? Britain’s most prominent public philosopher John Gray says simply that the humanist’s ‘core belief in progress is a superstition’. Gray describes progress as a myth unthinkingly accepted by thinking people. He argues that while progress can occur in technology, it does not occur in ethics, politics or civilisation. The humanist’s ‘core belief in progress is a superstition.
Britain’s most prominent public philosopher John Gray says simply that the humanist’s ‘core belief in progress is a superstition’.
We are the same fallen creatures we have been since leaving the Garden of Eden, with the same abilities and the same tendency to destroy what we treasure. Britain is rightly proud of its part in stopping the slave trade. At the same time we unthinkingly buy mobile phones, skin products, sports equipment and other merchandise made by 160million child labourers, some as young as five. Our drive to have environmentally friendly electric cars is not possible without massive use of child labour in Africa’s mines.
Like Prometheus, who stole fire from the gods and gave it to humanity in the form of technology, knowledge and civilisation, progressives believe they have the godlike power to change all things, to shape reality according to their desires. In Greek mythology Prometheus represented human striving, particularly the quest for scientific knowledge, with the attendant risk of unintended consequences. Progressives, sincere crusaders for their beliefs as they are, inevitably run into reality, and reality is unforgiving. Prometheus was sentenced to eternal torment for his transgression.
When Christians confront progressivism we are not only contending with an ideological movement, we are facing a rival religion determined to supplant us.
The Rev. Dr Campbell Campbell-Jack is a retired Church of Scotland minister. Check out his many incisive articles on his blog, A Grain of Sand
