I don't know if you pay any attention to the political news broadcasts, or if you do how much you've seen or heard regarding the debates between the "Progressives" and the "Constitutionalists." Actually, as I understand it, those terms are just descriptive of the two opposing ways of thought, or movements, regarding our nation's Constitution. I found their two opinions, their ways of thinking, interesting, not only in the application to our government, but also how these two opposing thoughts can be applied to religion and the Church today. Let me see if I can state my thoughts in an understandable manner for you to consider.
It's pretty easy to state the "Constitutionalists" side of the debate, IE: their way of thinking. Simply said, they believe the U.S. Constitution is the specific law of the land. That all of the laws that are enacted are to be in accordance with the various articles of the Constitution. That it was good when it was written and it is good now. That there is no need to try and rewrite it.
Now the "Progressives" don't see it this way. I should tell you that this ideology is really not all that recent of a philosophy. It seems to have started somewhere around 1930 or so, sort of went dormant until around the 1980's and then again reappeared. It works hand-in-glove with what we refer to as "liberalism." Those two philosophies can be easily confused with each other.
Here's my interpretation of the way the "Progressive" movement thinks regarding the Constitution. And, here again, simply stated, they believe it to be passe'. That it is far too narrow of a document for today's enlightened society. Oh, it was okay for the 1700's when it was written, but just not modern enough today. According to them, it's not flexible enough.
Basically, it's just old-fashioned and not relevant to the times of today's world. Personally, I think the key phrases here is that it's "too narrow" and it's "too inflexible." (Read - it's too specific.) Our society today is much more educated and enlightened than those in the era it was written and it's just too restrictive.
At this point we're going to segue (I've always wanted to use that word) into the religious part of the editorial and look at just how the ongoing debate between the "Progressives" and the "Constitutionalists" can teach us a spiritual lesson. I imagine you probably already have an idea of how we're going to do this. By using the two political movements and their contrasting philosophies I think that we can see a similar contrast in two "religious" movements found in the Church today.
We have a movement, not necessarily a new or recent one either, that we might call a "Progressive" movement towards the Gospel of Christ, IE: The Constitution of the Church. And like it's "political" counterpart, it sort of lay dormant for some years, but has reared it's ugly head again for the past few years or so.
Let's take a quick look at the opposing philosophies of the two religious movements and thereby see the contrast. And, we'll call them the "Progressives" (IE: the liberal, the flexible, the changeable) versus the "Conservatives" (IE: the constant, the unchangeable).
The "Progressives" within the Church today have a lot in common with their "political" cousins, in that they see the Church as being unprogressive enough for today's enlightened society. The old ways ("paths") are just too limiting in today's world. Yes, it was okay in the early, formative years, but we've progressed so far in our education and technology that the Church and it's beliefs are just, well, "old-fashioned." The Church hasn't kept up with the times.
The opposing viewpoint of the "Conservatives" is as simple as the viewpoint of their "political" counterpart, to wit: the Gospel is still, and always will be, parabolically speaking, the "law of the land" IE: The Church. It was authored by God and delivered by Jesus Christ (John 12:49) and, to use another "Biblical" jawbreaker of a word, is "immutable." That simply means, in the original Greek and in English - "changeless."
Church "Conservatives" believe that no man has the right to change anything about the Gospel, the governing "document" of the Church. Even if society today is far more educationally or technologically advanced than those of the early Church, people are still people and are affected by the same emotions and lusts that they have always been affected by. All education and technology has done for society in this regards is to provide us with faster ways to get in trouble.
"Conservatives" believe that for someone to argue for "change" in the Church in order to better reflect the modern mores and philosophies of the current society, is actually to be advocating a "change" in the governing document, the Gospel. Revelation 22:18-19 has those well-known words about "adding to or taking away" from God's Word and if you really think about it, all that's saying is that anyone who "changes" anything God specifies is, as we say, "in a heap of trouble."
Keep one thing in mind, and here is the basic offence in the making of a change from what God has said, "it takes as much authority to change a law as it does to make a law." Thus, anyone changing any part of God's Law has, in essence, made themselves equal to God. If Christ pronounced "woes" on the Jews who had changed the Law of Moses and, in so doing, had made it "of none effect" (Mt. 15:6) I have no trouble seeing the same "woe" on any modern-day "change advocate."
So I guess, in the belief of the "Progressives," the Gospel is just too "limiting." Just too "restrictive." It has too many "ones." (Eph. 4:4-6) Like the Constitution, it's "too specific". It just has not kept up with the times, so to speak. The "Progressives" seem to be saying that they know a better way and that goes for both camps, the "political" and the "Church."
Christ said in John 14:6 "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (ESV) He said that He delivered what His Father gave Him to deliver and Peter tells us that the Words that Christ delivered are incorruptible" (imperishable) and that they "liveth and abideth forever." (1Pet. 1:23) I don't know about you, but I believe that God's Word, the Gospel, is as "alive" today as it has been from the beginning and, when it says "forever," I see that as including the "illustrious and enlightened times" of the Church today.
And, I believe our nation's Constitution is just as alive and pertinent today as when it was written.
Ron Cove
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