Posted Dec 18, 2018 by Michael L. Brown

So-called “progressive” Christians love to bash conservative Christians. They call us dinosaurs. They mock us as outdated fundamentalists. They taunt us as “Bible bashers.” They claim to be the enlightened ones, and they celebrate their departure from the “traditional church.”But the reality is that they are simply following the spirit of the age, swimming with the current cultural tide rather than against it. In the name of conformity to Jesus, they are being conformed to the world. How ironic.

On Saturday night, while working on a major book project at my computer, I noticed a tweet from a “progressive” pastor. I had reached out him to several times before, but always without response. He wrote, quite out of the blue, “When hopelessly phobic people of faith like @DrMichaelLBrown claim that God is against ‘homosexual practice.’ #ThatsNotAThing”

As soon as I spotted the tweet, I replied, “Hey John, I've reached out to you on several occasions, always without response. Rather than engage in baseless (and silly) name-calling, let's a have a mature, scripture-based, minister-to-minister dialog. You're welcome on my show any time. Why not?”

For the record, he still has not replied to my invitations – not once, ever – and I continue to reach out to him. But despite his lack of response, I decided to engage some of his followers. Talk about enlightening!

The first thing that became immediately evident was this. There was virtually no substantive interaction. Instead, there was mockery and insult and misrepresentation, making me wonder out loud, “What’s so scary about the truth?”

It started out of the gate with this pastor maligning me as hopelessly phobic (for reaching out to the LGBT community with the truth of the gospel while opposing radical LGBT activism). And, remarkably, while the Bible consistently and categorically opposes homosexual practice (meaning, same-sex relationships and sexual acts) a pastor – yes, a pastor – came against me for standing with God’s Word.

How dare I – how dare you– do such a thing. How dare you agree with Scripture. How dare you affirm that the Lord’s ways are best. That is so 1950s!

Rather than interact with a single thing I said, he later posted, “Michael thinks LGBTQ people can NOT be LGBTQ.Michael thinks you can pray the gay away.Michael preys upon already marginalized people.Michael thinks other people's bedrooms and body parts are his business.Don't be like Michael.”

Now, you would think it would trouble a pastor to post blatant falsehoods about other people, but when you’re “progressive,” you’re morally superior, which means you are the judge of the motives of others. You determine what they really think and believe, despite what they say and do. In the name of not judging, you are now the judge!

Of course, the issue is not what “Michael” thinks but what God says. That’s why, later in the night, I posted this: “To all professing LGBT Christians and their allies: Please give me just ONE explicit verse in the Bible where God sanctions same-sex relationships. Just one. You know already there are clear verses saying the opposite.”

Not a single one gave me a single supporting verse. How telling!

Indirect response to the pastor’s tweet, I wrote, “John, by God's grace, I know MANY ex-gays and lesbians who are so thankful for new life in Jesus. And I continue to have fruitful ministry around the world, NOT focused on LGBT issues. I have simply responded to biblical deception and radical activism. You have accommodated sin.”

How did he reply? He tweeted, “No you don't.You know people who you and others have badgered into modifying their behavior to stay in community.You've squandered your time here and you've caused irreparable harm to already marginalized people.That's on you.”

Are you detecting a pattern? This “progressive” pastor has the right to misrepresent me publicly because, well, he’s progressive, so it must be right. He has the right to put words into my mouth (like “pray away the gay”)and make inane and ridiculous comments (such as the bedroom remarks), no matter how farfetched they may be.

But since, in his eyes, I’m a Bible-bashing religious fundamentalist and he’s a liberated progressive, his perceptions are the truth. Who cares about facts? Who cares about Scripture?

Not only so, he claims the right to deny the very real stories of thousands of ex-gays, people who, with God’s help, have left homosexual practice and gay identity behind. They do not exist. They cannot exist. If they did, it would cause his house of sand to collapse in an instant. It would mean that Jesus can change anyone.

So, in the name of standing with the marginalized, he casts out and mocks the most marginalized group in America today: ex-gays. This is the heart of Jesus? This is pursuing righteousness? This is practicing mercy?

The “progressives” also fail to realize that they are joining forces with those who want to take away rights, who want to silence Christians, who want to impose their ideology, who want to penalize all dissenters. (Yes, I’m talking about LGBT extremists and their allies, sometimes known as the pink mafia for a reason.I and many others have documented this steadily for years.)

And when it comes to fealty to the Word of God, the Twitter interaction proved extremely interesting.

A professing gay Christian tweeted with joy about his upcoming wedding to his partner, telling me the Scripture he would use at the event. When I came back to him with other scriptures about same-sex relationships, he told me plainly that the Bible was not his final authority and that God was bigger than a book. Fascinating!

When I challenged a zealous supporter of “gay Christianity” when she simply repeatedthe standard, LGBT theological talking points, she told me I was obviously not a scholar. How dare I set the record straight. How dare I share the fruit of decades of serious academic study of the Scriptures (in their cultural context and in their original languages, with due attention to the Spirit’s intent). How dare I rely on the best research by the best scholars. How dare I burst her bubble.

Of course, when I asked her for a verse to back her points, she had none. When I presented her with verses that rebutted hers, she had vacuous talking points and nothing more.

But she was progressive, and I was not. Of course she was right.Of course I was not a scholar.

What I experienced over the course of hours of interaction with scores of different people was a steady tide of condescending, name-calling, biblically-bankrupt, and morally-hypocritical rhetoric, and all of it devoid of a single substantive response.

So, these folks can have their “progressive” religion (although I pray they’ll see the light). I’ll stay with the Jesus of the Bible, the Jesus who liberates and transforms, the Jesus who doesn’t affirm us in our sin but delivers us out of it.

He was good enough for the last 2,000 years. He’ll be good enough for eternity.

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RobertERutherford posted a comment · Jul 26, 2022
Dr. Brown thankyou for entering into the arena as apologist. I think it is clear at least to me in the Spirit that you are courageous in your faith for the truth of scripture. I believe the ultimate end of a faith that is progressive is no faith at all and then a great falling away. I am concerned that there are many in our churches in America wrestling with their souls over these truths. My hope is that the Spirit will guide us into all truth. The church is less unified today so that there is no overarching authority to state the "fiction" of the false gospel of progressive ideology. The ends is people trying to earn their salvation with God by giving acceptance for things God has clearly stated as displeasing and grieving to His Spirit. I believe you know you will never gain acceptance for stating truth from their own mouths. This false gospel rejects God as Creator, Jesus as Savior, The scriptures as God's word, The Spirit as God's guide, and Man as made in the image of God. Finally it rejects Jesus as the Way to God and any need of repentance. It rejects Man as born in sin and in need of a Savior.
MCamp posted a comment · Nov 08, 2019
Michael, one problem with these interactions you explain is the difference in how you and "progressives" view scripture and define right behavior. Your request for "one explicit verse that sanctions same-sex relationships" is one example. It's a silly request. Why? Because just because a explicit verse isn't there doesn't mean something is wrong. Can you cite one explicit verse that sanctions the abolition of slavery? How about civil rights for blacks and African Americans? How about one verse where Jesus condemns same sex relationships (and not merely one on marriage in the context of divorce) or even mentions homosexuality? How about a verse that sanctions women's voting rights? And please make them all explicit. Do you see what I mean? You keep saying you want to be scriptural. Fine. But you appear to mock someone who doesn't believe the Bible is THE final authority. Why is that such an evil belief? You don't even take it seriously. The Bible is full of wonderful, inspirational wisdom, especially from Jesus and how he interprets the prophets and Torah. But it also is full of disturbing violent narratives attributed to God. Why is it such a terrible thing for someone to reject those narratives? In fact, both Jesus and Paul did. As far as the homosexual narratives in the Bible, there is plenty of biblical and historical evidence that what they are talking about is NOT mutually loving same-sex relationships, but rather cultic shrine prostitution (both homo- and heterosexual), sexual exploitation, and pederasty. You also dismiss too easily the claims these people make. Are you not aware of the other side of your argument (that there are "thousands of ex-gays") that there are a large percentage if not a majority of these very ex-gays that changed their mind about actually being ex-gay? What happened to the Exodus organization? They folded and the director, Alan Chambers, apologized. What about the testimony of John Paulk? He was the poster boy for James Dobson and Love Won Out until he realized he was living a lie and was still gay… and found peace that God was okay with that. And Mel White, who did essentially the same? And many others, like my friend who tried to go through these ex-gay ministries and found them to be fraudulent. What about the studies done that show sexual orientation cannot be changed, only stuffed? What about these facts? The question is, is it possible to love God and love your neighbor and be gay? That is the only requirements Jesus gave to be in the kingdom (and loving neighbor meant to also love one's enemy). Paul even restricted it to love your neighbor. "Anyone who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law" Romans 13:8. I want to take you up on your challenge. If you reach out to me as a progressive Christian, I will engage--if you are open to engagement on your show or other venue. I am a former evangelical, missionary, and "progressive" Christian author. www.michaelcampbooks.com Best to you.
Dora posted a comment · Dec 28, 2018
I would challenge any of these "progressives" to read 'The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert' by Rosaria Champagne Butterfield. Absolutely inciteful read into the LBGT worldview and how the power of God can change lives if you are willing to challenge your presumption of truth with what's found in scripture - something we should all be doing :) Enjoy!
WordNerd posted a comment · Dec 19, 2018
23 years after Sowell's book, there is, sadly, even more non-empirical ideas accepted as "moot points" which reject well-known easily-accessed facts and evidence. For example, maiming healthy human bodies and subjecting them to risky lifelong "medication" because the person "thinks" their body is "wrong". God commands us to think and use our minds, which is the location of spiritual battle. We need to fill our minds with scripture, but also to stop and consider carefully the issues and ideas presented to us. It seems that many Christians prefer the ease of going along with the culture, and would rather not do the hard work of resisting sinful human nature. It's the ultimate selfishness and lack of care for your neighbors and the lost ones.
WordNerd posted a comment · Dec 19, 2018
The so-called "progressives" we're euphemistically dubbed "the Anointed" by Thomas Sowell in his visionary 1995 book. I highly recommend everyone especially authentic Christ-followers to read it, if you want some clarity as to how statistics are manipulated and why so many are wrong and not based on empirical evidence (such as that "1/2 of all marriages end in divorce"), how blatant policy failures continue to be pushed by "elites" (such as sex "education" and "affirmative action"), and how anyone who disagrees is a backwards bigot, deserving to be silenced despite the First Amendment. It's been going on for decades, and longer. There is now what I call a "Christian Elite" that has been duped by these "self-congratulatory" folks and have joined them. As Dr Brown indicated: being conformed to culture rather than separating your mind from it with God's truth.