This from a discussion on CRC Voices about classic liberalism and heresy.

One of the contributions McGrath makes in his book is the observation that both orthodoxy and heresy are a process, probably a process vital for the growth and health of the church.

It is clear to me from the books of Isaiah and Revelation that God loves culture and that is part of his desired harvest from the age of decay. This is an audacious goal (these seem to be the only kind God really enjoys) because culture is like the operating system of us. What this means is that for Christ to experience that manifest expression of all peoples, tribes and tongues the gospel has to get into all of these cultures. Missionaries know the complexity of gospel and culture.

McGrath notes that orthodoxy in fact develops through the process of heresy. Over time the church learns what works and what doesn’t. Bill Vis noted Mohler’s critique of Bell. The problems with heresy are all within itself. Putting a label on something can be helpful, but sometimes its helpful to work through why things fail.

We’ve yet to really resolve the issues that gave rise to “liberalism” (for lack of a better label). Most of McGrath’s book walks through a bunch of the classic heresies you read about in seminary. The Donatist controversy is a good one to continue to contemplate because in that case orthodoxy looks “liberal”. Hardliners don’t always win these fights. In the macro perspective heresy helps the church because it helps it sort things out, but that’s a VERY long view. The rest is like making sausage.

I’ve been reading Garret Keizer’s “The Enigma of Anger”, a fine, wise and learned book written likely by a liberal. I’m glad Bill H is among us because he keeps reminding us that liberals are Christians too. They continue to make contributions to Christianity, heretics usually do even if over the long haul their positions don’t win and they fade away.

Mohler’s comments are helpful in noting the history of western Christian liberalism. It kills churches. One of the posts on my website that actually gets some traffic is something I wrote for voices years ago called “Conservative churches lie and liberal churches die“. It probably gets read because of the title and Google. I remember Bill H really pushing back hard on that post and rightfully so.

When it comes time each of us must decide what we believe and what beliefs we will truly live from. I find a lot of liberal scholars and authors very helpful and so I listen to them. I also find many of them live practically not much differently from conservatives. They look to the trinitarian God for all that they need and trust in him for their resurrection. That’s most of the Christian life actually, whatever they think of Adam and Eve or Adam and Steve. pvk