The Christian Alliance for Progress: Reclaiming Christianity or Ignoring the Truth?
By David N. Bass (10/10/05)
In the wake of the “values voters” phenomenon during the 2004 General Election, a new left-wing organization has popped onto the political radar screen with the specific goal of unshackling Christianity from the so-called intolerance and divisiveness of the religious right. The Christian Alliance for Progress claims to represent a broad spectrum of disgruntled Christians fed up with the extremism of their conservative brothers and sisters on such topics as abortion, sexuality, the environment, and welfare funding. The organization was founded for the purpose of reclaiming Christianity in the American political sphere and advancing a supposedly progressive vision of the Gospel. Evidently stepping forward in the name of Jesus Christ, the Alliance markets itself as a way to bring Christians back to the bedrock of the faith.
But is the Christian Alliance for Progress truly basing its beliefs on the foundation of Christianity, or on a modernist, watered-down interpretation? Is the organization guilty of the same hypocrisy with which they so eagerly charge the religious right, namely the substituting of political ideology over true faith? A cursory examination of the organization’s stances on major issues reveals the answer.
Certainly more critical than any other issue is the fact that the Alliance in no way addresses the core of the Gospel message – that mankind is alienated from God through sin and that Jesus Christ is the only path of reconciliation. The moral and social teachings of Christ are an integral part of the Gospel, true enough. But the central tenant is that salvation comes through Jesus alone. As Jerry Falwell stated in a recent column, “I wonder if the leadership of the Christian Alliance for Progress would state that Jesus Christ, who conquered death following His crucifixion, is the singular avenue to eternal life in heaven?”
It’s a legitimate question. For Christian organizations on both the right and left, it’s easy to fall into the trap of putting all your stock in this life and none in the next. Scripture clearly states that this world and its evil desires will pass away (1 John 2: 17). We each have an allotted time here on earth, and then comes eternity. That is why the salvation message is so important, for the same Jesus who gave us the moral imperative to love our neighbors as ourselves also handed down the exclusive proclamation that He is “the way, the truth, and the life…none come to the Father except through me.” Given our relativistic culture, it is doubtful whether the Christian Alliance for Progress is willing to acknowledge that statement as absolute truth, and this casts aspersions as to the legitimacy of their claim to be returning Christians to the foundational principles of the faith.
Moving from salvation to social and moral values reveals a similar schism between what the Alliance supports and what the Bible teaches. The organization unabashedly encourages the homosexual lifestyle, advocates for contraception-based education in public schools, denounces abstinence, and supports abortion rights. According to the organization’s web site, providing abortion services and contraception education upholds the principles of “compassion, responsibility, and equality” taught by Jesus Christ. Conversely, abstinence education programs are not about protecting individual purity and unborn human life, but about punishing “desperate women.” Both these positions fly in the face of Christ’s teachings, Biblical mandate, and common sense.
Specifically with regard to homosexuality and sexual sin in general, Jesus Christ’s commands are clear. Jesus always opened his arms to sinners throughout the New Testament, and all should be glad he did. None of us would be justified without that, for we have all sinned and fallen short of His glory. Yet throughout the Gospels, although those who came to Jesus came as they were, they did not stay that way. They grew and matured in the Spirit; they put off the old man and adorned themselves with the new (Ephesians 4:22). God gave them the strength to overcome the sin that was ruling their lives and hand over control to Him, so that His purposes might be fulfilled. Perhaps the best illustration of this is Jesus’ admonition to the woman caught in adultery, wherein we see a perfect combination of mercy mixed with righteousness: “Then neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin” (John 8:11).
The wondrous realization is that God can always change and mold us to be more like His Son. After all, each Christian has the Spirit of the living God within him or her. Why should we resort to the sins and ways of the world, which are passing away? Rather than affirming sin, in our own lives and those of others, Christians should rejoice in the truth that there is a better way. One of the most appropriate Scriptures on this subject is found in 1 Corinthians 6, where the Apostle Paul states, “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (Emphasis added).
One mark of the Christian is change. The Christian Alliance for Progress does a disservice to the brethren by encouraging sin and thereby discouraging real change in the believer’s life. And homosexuality is only one area in which they do so. The organization also aligns itself with the radical left by supporting abortion-on-demand and backing those who peddle contraceptives as the cure-all for teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease.
Amazingly, the Christian Alliance for Progress charges that conservative believers “implicitly hold that the life of a woman does not matter” in abortion decisions, and that abstinence education programs are about “controlling and punishing desperate women.” First, it is obvious to any honest observer that such statements are patently false, especially given the millions of American women who oppose abortion and support abstinence education. Second, the Christian Alliance for Progress in denouncing the pro-life position simultaneously turns a blind eye to the physical, psychological, and spiritual damage that abortion routinely inflicts on women. More important than either of these two reasons, however, is the fact that nowhere does the Bible support abortion, either explicitly or implicitly. Psalm 139:13 states, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” During his ministry on earth, Jesus Christ always cared for the young and vulnerable, telling his disciples, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Clearly, the Lord is especially concerned for the most needy and vulnerable members of the human race. God does not choose between the so-called welfare of the mother and the life of the child. It is not an either/or situation. He wishes to protect both mother and unborn child.
In the pages of the Bible, too, we find the utmost respect for the sanctity of sexual relations within the boundaries of marriage. Hebrews 13:4 states, “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure.” Likewise, Jesus reinforced the importance of marriage in maintaining sexual purity, stating that a husband and wife are “no longer two, but one,” and that “what God has joined together, let man not separate” (Matthew 19:6).
With all the schisms between what the Christian Alliance for Progress believes and what the Bible says, some might be tempted to write off the organization entirely. But that would be a major mistake. While the Alliance might get it wrong on a number of critical issues, it is still important for those on the right to examine our own ideology and make certain that it is aligned with the truth. This should be practiced today more than ever, because we are living in a time in which Christian faith is routinely marginalized in favor of political ideology. This sin is just as much attributable to those on the right as it is to those on the left. Individuals on both sides of the political spectrum are guilty of looking to government or politicians as the cure-all for our problems rather than God. When we do so, we blaspheme the name of the One we call Lord and Savior.
It is easy to see this hypocrisy in the Christian Alliance for Progress, but are we willing to take the time to examine our own lives and political views to weed out the same hypocrisy? Those on the left may look to the government to solve poverty, but do we on the right not routinely look to the military rather than God to provide security? Do we not often elevate America as holier than every other nation, even though we are now exporting more sin and filth than many other countries combined? Such thoughts are definitely convicting. When issues are laid aside and we look strictly at the core philosophy behind what we believe, are we on the right really more discerning than those who work for the Christian Alliance for Progress? Is God at the center, or a humanistic ideology that looks to man as the cure-all for the ills of the world?
The words of Psalm 33:16 are particularly poignant as we struggle with our own views in the culture war: “No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love.”
What can we learn from the erroneous thrust of the Christian Alliance for Progress? Certainly to avoid erring from Biblical truth, but also the importance of having no other gods or idols – including political ideology – before the one true God.
Copyright 2005 by David N. Bass
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