From an astute reader of Hugh's News:
I was reading the articles this morning and noticed one by Lee Grady.
I always read those, so I read this morning's article. I liked it alot. I came across one of his points in which he mentioned "progressive revelation" and said that you might have a religious spirit if you want to hold onto things the way they were done 50 years ago and resist progressive revelation -- that's a paraphrase and I invite you to read it again for yourself, but that's the context in which he was using the term "progressive revelation."
My issue is that I understand progressive revelation to refer to the canon of Scripture. I wasn't aware that there was any progressive revelation going on today, in that context. I am hesitant to apply the term to the notion of embracing change vs. doing things just because that's the way we've always done them. I'm not sure I would
call that progressive revelation. Some examples I can think of might be the setting aside of traditional Sunday school in favor of home groups … or the transition away from choirs to the use of praise teams, contemporary music, and more percussive instruments … or the integration of different ethnic groups into our typical all-white
congregations … or taking denomination names off our marquees and calling ourselves more generic things so that we'll appeal to more people who have attached unfortunate stigmas to denominations and "organized religion" (as if there is any other kind). I'm not sure any of that is what Lee Grady had in mind when he wrote that article, but if it's anything along those lines, I'm not sure it's a good ideato call it progressive revelation. Perhaps "progressive marketing" might be a better moniker.
Care to weigh in?
[Editor's comment: I directed this reader's inquiry back to J. Lee Grady a friend of mine for his answer. And sure enough even with his very busy schedule he took the time to answer this inquirer's quest with speed.]
Hello Dr. Morgan: That is a great question.
You can assure this reader of Hugh's News that I am not advocating for us to change the meaning of Scripture just because of culture. I do not believe that truth is "evolving." However I do believe that religious people sometimes get stuck in ruts because they are resistant to change. One good example relates to technology. When television came on the scene in the 1940s, some Christians saw it as the devil personified, while others saw it as a means to communicate the Gospel. This became a huge conflict in some churches. In the United Pentecostal Church (a Oneness Pentecostal group), television was outlawed and members of that group taught that a Christian cannot watch television.
On the flip side, some evangelists like Billy Graham used TV aggressively to spread the good news. And millions of people came to know Jesus through that technology. This is what I was referring to when I used the term "progressive revelation." We must stay in tune with the Holy Spirit, just as the children of Israel watched for the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night on their journey. God moves. He leads us forward to new places. That does not mean His character changes, and certainly His moral law does not change. Lee Grady
I was reading the articles this morning and noticed one by Lee Grady.
I always read those, so I read this morning's article. I liked it alot. I came across one of his points in which he mentioned "progressive revelation" and said that you might have a religious spirit if you want to hold onto things the way they were done 50 years ago and resist progressive revelation -- that's a paraphrase and I invite you to read it again for yourself, but that's the context in which he was using the term "progressive revelation."
My issue is that I understand progressive revelation to refer to the canon of Scripture. I wasn't aware that there was any progressive revelation going on today, in that context. I am hesitant to apply the term to the notion of embracing change vs. doing things just because that's the way we've always done them. I'm not sure I would
call that progressive revelation. Some examples I can think of might be the setting aside of traditional Sunday school in favor of home groups … or the transition away from choirs to the use of praise teams, contemporary music, and more percussive instruments … or the integration of different ethnic groups into our typical all-white
congregations … or taking denomination names off our marquees and calling ourselves more generic things so that we'll appeal to more people who have attached unfortunate stigmas to denominations and "organized religion" (as if there is any other kind). I'm not sure any of that is what Lee Grady had in mind when he wrote that article, but if it's anything along those lines, I'm not sure it's a good ideato call it progressive revelation. Perhaps "progressive marketing" might be a better moniker.
Care to weigh in?
[Editor's comment: I directed this reader's inquiry back to J. Lee Grady a friend of mine for his answer. And sure enough even with his very busy schedule he took the time to answer this inquirer's quest with speed.]
Hello Dr. Morgan: That is a great question.
You can assure this reader of Hugh's News that I am not advocating for us to change the meaning of Scripture just because of culture. I do not believe that truth is "evolving." However I do believe that religious people sometimes get stuck in ruts because they are resistant to change. One good example relates to technology. When television came on the scene in the 1940s, some Christians saw it as the devil personified, while others saw it as a means to communicate the Gospel. This became a huge conflict in some churches. In the United Pentecostal Church (a Oneness Pentecostal group), television was outlawed and members of that group taught that a Christian cannot watch television.
On the flip side, some evangelists like Billy Graham used TV aggressively to spread the good news. And millions of people came to know Jesus through that technology. This is what I was referring to when I used the term "progressive revelation." We must stay in tune with the Holy Spirit, just as the children of Israel watched for the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night on their journey. God moves. He leads us forward to new places. That does not mean His character changes, and certainly His moral law does not change. Lee Grady