Progressive Christianity: Trading Sola Scriptura for Prima Scriptura

During the sixteenth-century battle between the reformers and the Roman Catholic church, the reformers developed the Five Solas which demonstrated their core beliefs in contrast to the Catholic Church from whom they were separating. The first of the five was Sola Scriptura — Scripture alone. Over the preceding centuries, Rome had developed a tradition that placed the teaching magisterium (College of Cardinals) in union with the Pope, as the final authority for faith and practice. As we point out in “Thus Saith Rome,” the view of the Roman Catholic Church was and continues to be that Scripture is inspired by the Holy Spirit, which we also believe. However, in addition, the Roman Catholic Church holds that their church tradition is likewise inspired by the Holy Spirit, and both sources are on an equal par with one another. Additionally, the Roman Catholic Church holds that the College of Cardinals in conjunction with the Pope is the only authentic, infallible interpreter of Scripture and tradition. This has allowed Rome to have continually evolving doctrines, far removed from what the scriptures actually teach. We have a short sampling of the effects of Prima Scriptura — the Roman Catholic position — showing some of the changing doctrines of Rome since the 4th Century.

Interestingly, this position of evolving doctrine also tends to be the view of today’s Progressives. One of the major areas this impacts for Progressives is morality and human sexuality. We touched on this a bit in “Is Progressive Christianity Christian?” Progressives want to be viewed as Christian and see the need to include the Bible and a modified Jesus in their faith in some way for credibility and validation. Prima Scriptura provides the vehicle through which “mystical insight,” “the views of experts, the spirit of the times or something else” is given a heavy hand in assessing “truth,” apart from —and overriding — the clear teachings of scripture on a given subject. Emergent leader and Progressive Brian McLaren, for example, knew the clear teaching of Scripture on homosexuality but gave “experience” a higher authority than Scripture: “I had gone through my change in this view before I ever guessed that any of my kids might be gay,” he said on the radio program.

“I was a good kid, I believed what I’d been told. And as a pastor, I started having gay people come out to me and what became clearer and clearer to me is that their experience was not explained by the theology I inherited,” he explained. “And that it would be unjust to continue to uphold what I’d been taught. Maybe I could say it like this: My call to love God and love my neighbor was in conflict with what I’d been taught the Bible required me to say and do.”

The Progressive leaders at The "Reformation Project” [TBC: No “Reformation” in view] assert, “The Christian tradition doesn’t address sexual orientation.” Notice they do not claim or even hint that God glorifying vs God forbidden sexual activity isn’t discussed in Scripture or the writings of the early church. Instead, they sanction LGBTQ+ based upon “the views of experts, the spirit of the times or something else.” They implicitly admit additional revelation “for what a believer should believe and how they should live” when they write: "Affirming Christians are not overturning the Christian tradition on LGBTQ people. Until recent decades, there has been no Christian tradition on LGBTQ people."

This is misleading at best. Indeed, we don’t find LGBTQ, with or without the +, in either scripture or church dogma. The term had not yet been invented. So, although the words in current usage are not found, the teaching on these behaviors most definitely is. The Scriptures and church tradition are very clear — sex outside of the marriage of a male and female is sin. That includes adultery, fornication, homosexuality, incest, bestiality, and more. For example, Leviticus:18:20Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour's wife, to defile thyself with her.
See All... describes the act of adultery while not explicitly using the word.

"And you shall not lie sexually with your neighbor’s wife and so make yourself unclean with her.”

Leviticus:20:13If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
See All... describes another sexual act: "If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination…”

Sola Scriptura directs us to focus on God and His holiness and to grow in holiness ourselves as we are conformed to the image of Christ. We fully accept that God’s view of right and wrong, spelled out in the scriptures, is completely RIGHT and does not change.
Prima Scriptura changes direction and puts the focus on us. Progressives are working to conform the word of God to reflect their deeply flawed human image.

In our nation citizens have every right to try to persuade elected officials to pass legislation that favors their views and beliefs. This is true for LGBTQ+ and for evangelical Christians as well. However, God’s proclamations of right and wrong cannot be changed based on our feelings nor on the zeitgeist of the age we live in. Our object is not to “pick on” a particular group (LGBTQ+) as examples of people writing their own rules without regard for God’s standard. The LBGTQ+ is only one example of people choosing to challenge what God has clearly stated to go their own way. The LGBTQ+ issue is rather a prominent flashpoint in our time. But there are many ways that people of our age are attempting to justify their behavior, to turn right and wrong upside down. Self-justification is a deadly pursuit in the end, and so useless. It’s not a matter of good people vs bad people, because everyone has transgressed God’s standards. There are no “good people” in their own right. (Romans:3:10As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
See All...) Jesus Christ is the only One who never transgressed God’s perfect standard. Christians are people who believe (about themselves) what God says is true and gladly accept His gift of a pardon. Without God’s loving provision on our behalf, no one would be considered by God as “righteous.” God justifies those who believe that He has saved them, through absolutely no goodness of their own.

The scripture teaches there is a Day when God will judge mankind based upon His Holy standards. It’s rather appropriately called “Judgement Day.” Any person whose name is not written in the Lamb’s (Jesus’s) Book of Life shall stand before God in that Judgment (Revelation:20:11-15 [11] And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. [12] And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. [13] And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. [14] And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. [15] And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
See All...).

A person’s only hope for eternity lies not in challenging God’s clear position of right and wrong, but in reconciling him or herself to God through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. How will one come to God and accept His full pardon if he refuses to acknowledge his or her sin? We beg of you today to give up the fight of prideful self-justification and accept God’s gracious pardon.

https://midwestoutreach.org/2024/04/18/progressive-christianity-trading-sola-scriptura-for-prima-scriptura/