"Cosmic Child Abuser"

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[Huldah]

Today I learned the phrase "cosmic child abuser," which apparently is popular in some progressive churches.

A progressive church could be described as a church which denies that sin separates us from God, and which places an emphasis on social issues rather than bringing people to faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior. In particular, progressive churches tend to deny the penal, substitutionary, sacrificial nature of Jesus's crucifixion. Some progressive leaders have gone so far as to describe Jesus's substitutionary death as "cosmic child abuse," with God the Father as the abuser.

The speaker I was listening to (Alisa Childers) made two points about this concept. First, it implies that Jesus wasn't willing to die for our sins. Second, it implies that Jesus wasn't God.

But when we look at the Bible, we see that Jesus freely chose to die for our sins. In John 10:17, 18, He says, "This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again."

Jesus demonstrated that He was God, the second person of the Trinity, not just because He could raise other people from the dead, but because He was able to raise Himself from the dead. John 2:19-21 says,

"Jesus answered and said to (the Jewish leaders), 'Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.'

"The Jews said, 'This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and you will raise it up in three days?'

"But he was speaking about the temple of his body."

So rather than God the Father being the cosmic child abuser of His Son, it was the triune God looking down from heaven, seeing that we needed forgiveness, and the Son loving us enough to say, "I'll go. I'll become the sacrifice to pay for their sins."

This was just such a beautiful thought that I had to share it.

[Janet Easson Martin]

How awful that they would slander and malign Almighty God of heaven and earth for the very thing he did to rescue them! How terrible this evil lie is being “taught” in these churches. I honestly know very little about Progressive Churches. Thanks for laying out God’s true Glory in Jesus’ intentional voluntary sacrifice and his own heavenly-powered resurrection. What a great clarification, Huldah!