by Dennis Gladden, By Green Pastures, ©2025
(Aug. 25, 2025) — A friend and I have had an offline conversation about posts I have written recently.
In our exchanges, Tony has made cogent remarks that I thought deserved more than my attention. I created this Dialog in By Green Pastures for just such conversations and want to pass his comments along.
I invite you to join the conversation. Do you agree? Disagree? Let me know in the comments below.
On his behalf, and with his permission, here is a portion of his observations.
By Tony Flanagan, Contributor
You were spot-on in your post, Restore Our Father to the Lord’s Prayer, when you said, “Progressive theology has swamped the church with confusion.”
Restore Our Father to the Lord’s Prayer
To Progressives, objectivity (truth) is an illusion. Nothing is certain, and the thoughtful person will never speak with too much conviction about anything. Strong convictions about any point of truth are judged as arrogant and hopelessly naive.
They believe everyone is entitled to their truth. If we can’t know anything for certain, how can we judge anything evil?
Uncertainty is the new truth. Right and wrong have been redefined in terms of subjective feelings and personal perspectives. Advocating ambiguity, exalting uncertainty, or otherwise deliberately clouding the truth is a sinful way of nurturing unbelief.
Personal gods pose no threat to the sinful self-willed because they suit each sinner’s personal preferences, and they make no demands on them. Truth is clear, too clear—it reveals and condemns sin. Francis Schaeffer said that “true truth is the unchanged and unchanging expression of who God is; it is not our own personal and arbitrary interpretation of reality.”
You mention that Jesus is the truth. He is also the way and the life. What confuses people is that they are taught Jesus is the truth, but like so many other terms, which truth?
I see two types: an objective truth (gravity, math, the Bible) and a subjective truth (what personally feels right—one’s personal truth). The subjective truth is popular because it allows them to feel good, for a while. The serpent in the Garden of Eden asked Eve, “Did God really say?” Today, he is asking a different question: Did God really mean?”
Same deceiver; same goal.
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