How It Happens by S. M. Hutchens

Editorial

How It Happens

Easy Descent on an Unguarded Road

Recently we received a piece of writing in which biblical references to the author's subject were rejected as unhelpful, given the realities of the world in which we now live, whereas the author found real help in certain kinds of fiction. No attempt was made to explore what those unhelpful biblical references were teaching; much less was there any notion that what one finds in them is authoritative and that the task of the believing interpreter is to approach them humbly as the Word of God, following, if he can find it, the tradition of the Church, and discover what the Scriptures are saying on the assumption they are to be heeded and obeyed.

The phenomenon of treating what one finds in Scripture as something one may take or leave if one has good reason, an old habit and invariable sign of theological liberalism, seems to be on the rise among younger people who have been told they're "orthodox." They come from places with a name for theological conservatism. This points to a fundamental change from earlier days in the institutions where they are receiving their training. What is even more arresting is that those who think this way typically toss off their observations easily and naturally, as though they were accustomed to it, as if it were something they could do while thinking of themselves as orthodox with a perfectly clear conscience. Some passage from the Epistles, they will typically indicate, is Paul's opinion, but archaic and lacking in relevance—so something better must be found elsewhere.

THIS ARTICLE ONLY AVAILABLE TO SUBSCRIBERS.
FOR QUICK ACCESS:


S. M. Hutchens is a senior editor and longtime writer for Touchstone.

Print &
Online Subscription

Get six issues (one year) of Touchstone PLUS full online access including pdf downloads for only $39.95. That's only $3.34 per month!

Online
Subscription

Get a one-year full-access subscription to the Touchstone online archives for only $19.95. That's only $1.66 per month!

bulk subscriptions

Order Touchstone subscriptions in bulk and save $10 per sub! Each subscription includes 6 issues of Touchstone plus full online access to touchstonemag.com—including archives, videos, and pdf downloads of recent issues for only $29.95 each! Great for churches or study groups.

Transactions will be processed on a secure server.


more on liberalism from the online archives

29.1—Jan/Feb 2016

Bargain Debasement

Secular Credibility Is a Devilish Temptation by James Hitchcock

30.6—Nov/Dec 2017

The Great Divorce

Christianity & the Liberal Society by James Hitchcock

33.2—March/April 2020

How It Happens

Easy Descent on an Unguarded Road by S. M. Hutchens


more from the online archives

31.2—March/April 2018

Watchful Dragons

Neil Gaiman’s Brush with Narnia Lingers by Russell D. Moore

14.2—March 2001

The God of Princes

on the Political Use of Religion by Wilfred M. McClay

33.1—January/February 2020

Forbidden Lies

Speaking Truth About the Sexes Is Not Optional by Anthony Esolen

calling all readers

Please Donate

"There are magazines worth reading but few worth saving . . . Touchstone is just such a magazine."
—Alice von Hildebrand

"Here we do not concede one square millimeter of territory to falsehood, folly, contemporary sentimentality, or fashion. We speak the truth, and let God be our judge. . . . Touchstone is the one committedly Christian conservative journal."
—Anthony Esolen, Touchstone senior editor

Support Touchstone

00