Challenging Progressive Narratives: Historical and Cultural Perspectives

• Discussion:

          -The text of this article is mostly a continuation of the previous one. The individual critiqued here raises talking points that represent both progressive religious and secular thought on a broader scale. Many aspects of this ideology are deceptive and harmful. It is desired that this sort of interaction will prove to be edifying to readers:

          "Very moving. Very sad. There is a victory at the end, but there are unnecessary barriers on that road that are unconscious forces polluting the cultural conceptions of our society."

          This talk of "unconscious bias" is really a subtle form of emotional abuse. It is designed to undermine a disputant's sense of reality, to doubt one's own powers of reason or sanity. Further, it is easy to accumulate masses of evidence in favor of any alleged conspiracy, when everything is filtered through that specific lens. 

          "These now antiquarian conceptual forces were at their peak at the founding of the United States and they are hallmarks of the Protestant Reformation."

          On the contrary, it was the Protestant Reformation which laid the groundwork for the traditions of personal freedom that we in the West have enjoyed for hundreds of years. If one wants to consider the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to be "antiquarian" or "destructive" concepts, then there is no way to help him out of his stupidity apart from divine intervention or an earth-shattering event. Even then, some may never catch on to the error of their ways.

          "that ancient scriptures are THE ONLY authority on which to gain a relationship with the Divine; and the isolated individual with intention is empowered to rightly interpret these scriptures absolutely unencumbered by and regardless of any and all networks of social relations in which the individual exists."

          Here is a challenge for people who reject the doctrine of Sola Scriptura: produce a collection of inspired sayings of Jesus Christ and the apostles that cannot be found in the New Testament. No honest person will proceed to do this, for it cannot be done! Therefore, there is no other reliable source for us to turn to in learning about God besides Scripture.

          "These hallmarks are the foundation for sectarian hate and segregationist structures that infect “Western civilization” from the religious wars of early modernity through the Atlantic slave trade, and which continue today in highlighted excess."

          The true hallmark for "sectarian and segregationist" hate in our society is actually those who complain about alleged racism in our society. For example, during a House Oversight Committee hearing on the Dismantle DEI Act of 2024, Rep. Jasmine Crockett made a racist statement, declaring, "There has been no oppression for the white man in this country." This sort of rhetoric dismisses the diverse experiences of white individuals and helps to exacerbate racial tensions. It reveals a deeply prejudiced perspective. Further, if widespread oppression of black people existed in America today, then she would never have been allowed to hold public office. Complaints about the existence of anti-black racism in our societal context are oftentimes historically uninformed. For instance, the Ottoman Empire put white people into slavery. They were treated like black slaves, sometimes being castrated and used militarily. White women were used as sex slaves.

          "This man’s father - an evangelical pastor - is quite courageous. Parts of his personal journals are in the national paper of record. Quite courageous. I celebrate the conviction of belief that has clearly rewritten his relationship with Christ. I’m existentially thankful that by grace I got that same train out at an earlier age."

          Excellent, let us give out certificates and trophies to fathers who can now "tolerate" their gay sons. Meanwhile, traditional marriage, a centuries-old institution designed between a man and a woman, is crumbling right before our eyes. Instead of throwing confetti, we should solemnly ponder what cultural essence that we are chucking out the window.

          "But the immense destruction of radical Protestantism is ongoing."

          False. There were broader factors such as secularization, globalization, and subsequent cultural shifts which affected our ideological landscape. Historical phenomena in many cases cannot be attributed to a single cause. 

          "And it is simply clear that from the first, the Protestantism of Calvin and many others missed the clear Gospel process: “I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything…”

          Those words concerning the promise of the Holy Spirit coming to teach were directed to the apostles, not us. What they received from Him, they wrote down in Scripture. So, in that sense, the Protestant Reformers did not miss anything relating to the gospel.

          Progressivism as a political philosophy disregards fixed standards, and utterly lacks in historical cognizance. It robs them of objective substance, importing meanings which are entirely subjective. Progressivism is based on how one feels at any given moment, without due regard to how actions and ideas have consequences.

          "And neither is the Holy Spirit contained by one individual. Only in the devotion of a diverse community can the Spirit be discerned. And never once for all time. Not even by the apostles."

          Traditional Christian theology often emphasizes the individual's personal relationship with God and the Holy Spirit. Verses like 1 Corinthians 6:19 (i.e. "Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit?") highlight that the Spirit is present within each person who believes.

          "St Peter had a hard time, yet again, when the Spirit was trying to convince him that the gospel of Jesus Christ was open to even Gentiles, and that without any preconditions of law whatsoever! Peter took his story back to the Jerusalem elders and only then was the matter reflected upon, discerned, and decisions made to break with apostolic understanding!!"

           Acts 15:15-18 demonstrates that the early Christian decision to include Gentiles was grounded in Scripture. Further, the text shows that they relied on an objective standard for their beliefs as opposed to some mere mystical prompting.