I was recently sent a USA Today article highlighting the growth of “inclusive Sunday collectives,” communities of former “evangelical Christians,” atheists, agnostics, “nones,” and “spiritual”—people who’ve abandoned “traditional organized religion” but still want a sense of community, belonging, and “spirituality.” It was a stark reminder of something I’ve taught over and over again.
You see, every single one of the communities highlighted in the article had one thing in common—an elevation of man’s wisdom over God’s Word. And this exchange changed houses of worship dedicated to the one true God into times of “meditation and breathing exercises,” readings of “ancient wisdom teachings,” and social justice advocacy. While some of the groups still called themselves “churches,” they were all far from the biblical definition of the church (Christ’s Bride).
Now what do I mean by an elevation of man’s wisdom over God’s Word? Well, consider these quotes from several of the leaders of these “congregations”:
“We do our best to be nonpartisan. . . . The difference between us and fundamentalism is one phrase: We might be wrong. They were always so [expletive] certain about everything.”
“Sometimes in these environments, if spiritual teachers or church leaders would just say, ‘I don’t know,’ that we don’t have all the answers, it helps us relate more.” . . . “I say it all the time.”
The community now revolves around what McMaster calls 2024 kinds of values, not rooted in dogma or scripture; while its curriculum draws much of its inspiration from Christian teachings, speakers represent multiple faith traditions.
A commonality between the “multiple faith traditions” that make up these groups is that they claim to be uncertain—they’re just seeking truth in many different places while accepting and including everyone. Now, of course, this isn’t really true—they’re very certain about many things: they are certain that the Bible is not authoritative, certain that Jesus is not the only way, certain that God is not who he has revealed himself to be in his Word, certain about LGBTQ inclusion, abortion, critical race theory, and social justice, certain about feelings determining truth, and so on. In other words, they are very certain of their secular religion! This reminds me of a group that once existed in Australia called “Toleration,” and in their documents, they listed all the things they were against (in other words were intolerant of).
One of the communities highlighted claims to now center around “values rather than beliefs.” But values are always derived from beliefs; in order to determine what you value, you must first have beliefs about yourself and the world around you. For example, their values of “inclusion” come from their belief that God’s Word is not the standard, that man determines morality, and that anything we desire sexually is good (as long as no one gets hurt—however one defines hurt!). It’s impossible to have values without beliefs! They’re two sides of the same coin. The question is what are your beliefs and therefore your values grounded in—the unchanging Word of God or the ever-changing thoughts of man?
The kind of false humility these kinds of leaders showcase—the “I just don’t know, and I am open to anything” narrative—looks attractive to many in our pluralistic society, but it’s all self-contradictory. They are very sure of their own wisdom and very sure the Bible is not true, does not have answers, and is not an authoritative foundation on which to build your thinking.
Everyone has a worldview grounded on something. The question is what will your foundation be: “2024 kinds of values” that will come and go, just as values have come and gone throughout history, or the eternal Word of God that has lasted millennia and will outlive earth itself?
Isaiah 40:8 KJV – “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.”
