The Collapse of Modern Leftism

A Reformed Christian Response to Today’s Progressive Ideologies

By Dennis Mackulin

“The answer to our cultural crisis is not merely better arguments. It is the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

— Colossians 2:3

Introduction: The Gospel vs. the Zeitgeist

The 21st century is not short on ideology. Everywhere we turn—universities, newsrooms, government policy, and even churches—we are confronted with a vision of the world that claims to be just, inclusive, and moral. But behind the activist slogans and hashtags lies a different story: a crumbling worldview built on borrowed capital, emotionalism, and intellectual incoherence.

In the Reformed tradition—Calvin, the English Puritans, and later covenantal apologists—there is a clear and unapologetic mandate: every thought must be made captive to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). The gospel is not simply a message for private life. It is the only foundation for public truth.

This post offers a biblical response to the dominant progressive ideologies of our time, confronting them not with political rhetoric but with timeless theology.

1. Gender Ideology: Autonomy Gone Mad

Modern gender theory insists that identity is fluid, self-defined, and subject to emotion. It severs gender from biology and insists society must conform to the individual’s internal sense of self—even when that self defies logic, reality, or moral sanity.

But Scripture grounds our identity in the Imago Dei:

“Male and female he created them…” (Genesis 1:27)

The problem here is not just bad science or policy—it’s rebellion. As Thomas Watson said, “Sin is man’s attempt to be a god unto himself.” Gender ideology is not a neutral pursuit of freedom. It is an idol of autonomy—where the creature presumes the right to redefine creation.

This worldview is philosophically bankrupt. If gender is self-defined, why not species? Age? Morality itself? It destroys the categories that make sense of reality, leaving only confusion—and pain.

2. Socialism: When the State Becomes a God

Today’s activism often romanticizes socialism as the pathway to equity and justice. But socialism is more than economics—it’s a theology. It claims the state can save us, feed us, equalize us, and legislate morality.

“When man turns from God, he does not become irreligious—he simply invents new gods.” — Calvin

Yet the state has no divine mandate to redistribute wealth or dictate social outcomes. Romans 13 gives the magistrate a sword, not a welfare wand. Samuel Rutherford, in Lex, Rex, rightly placed law above kings. When the modern state takes the role of Savior, it becomes the greatest oppressor.

Biblical justice upholds property rights (Exodus 20:15, 17), rewards labor, and encourages voluntary generosity. Socialism twists justice into envy, stealing under the banner of compassion. It replaces the cross with coercion and charity with bureaucracy.

3. Whiteness as Original Sin: A Gospel Without Grace

Many leftist academics and activists describe “whiteness” as a moral stain—an inherited guilt that one must continually atone for but can never cleanse. This is a counterfeit gospel.

It mimics Christian categories (sin, guilt, repentance) but offers no Christ, no forgiveness, and no peace.

The Reformers were clear: guilt is personal, not tribal.

“The soul who sins shall die.” (Ezekiel 18:4)

By reducing people to racial categories, this ideology dehumanizes all sides. It calls evil what God has made, and declares virtue based on victimhood, not character. The biblical gospel does not reduce humans to melanin measurements—it reconciles sinners across all ethnic lines in Christ (Galatians 3:28).

4. Intersectionality: The Death of Truth

Intersectionality teaches that truth is determined by one’s level of oppression. The more victim categories you check, the more moral authority you wield. But this worldview implodes on contact with reason.

If every perspective is valid, then no perspective can be challenged—including the one that says intersectionality is false.

“Truth is the same, wheresoever it be found.” — John Owen

Christianity offers a better way: objective, universal truth grounded in the character of God. Yes, injustice exists. But justice must be measured by God’s law—not social power charts.

Intersectionality doesn’t unify. It divides. It offers no reconciliation, no shared moral foundation, and no hope.

5. Hatred of Conservatives: Suppression Disguised as Tolerance

Progressive culture prides itself on tolerance—until you speak biblical truth. Then, censorship, slander, and silencing become the tools of the trade.

This is not inconsistency. It is exactly what Romans 1 describes:

“They suppress the truth in unrighteousness…” (Romans 1:18)

Traditional values are mocked. Christian ethics are demonized. Even biology is dismissed if it offends. The irony is staggering: those who claim to fight oppression are often the loudest oppressors of dissent.

As Richard Baxter warned, “He that hateth the truth, hateth God who is the truth.” What we are witnessing is not just political bias—it is spiritual warfare.

The Inevitable Collapse of Godless Ideologies

These ideologies are doomed—not just morally, but logically. They contradict themselves, deny reason, and cannot account for the very concepts they depend on (justice, truth, morality, identity).

They borrow capital from Christianity while burning the Christian house down.

“Man’s heart is a perpetual factory of idols.” — Calvin

When you reject the Triune God, you lose the foundations for thinking, for ethics, for civilization. You are left with raw power, redefined terms, and a culture where feelings outweigh facts—and truth is sacrificed on the altar of narrative.

The Christian Response: Boldness, Clarity, and Grace

The answer is not neutrality. There is no neutral ground.

The Christian must meet these false worldviews with loving confrontation—not mere opposition, but truth-filled engagement. Not fear, but fearless witness. Not tribalism, but transcendence.

The solution is not a better version of socialism. It is the Lordship of Christ.

“He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:17)

Our task is not to win arguments, but to proclaim a King who cannot be dethroned. A Savior who offers actual forgiveness. A worldview that doesn’t collapse, because it was authored by the One who upholds the universe.

Let the Church rise with confidence—not in its own wisdom, but in the eternal, unshakable truth of God’s Word.

Sources & Suggested Reading

• The Holy Bible (ESV)

• Institutes of the Christian Religion – John Calvin

• Lex, Rex – Samuel Rutherford

• The Body of Divinity – Thomas Watson

• The Glory of Christ – John Owen

• A Christian Directory – Richard Baxter

• Always Ready – Greg L. Bahnsen

• Total Truth – Nancy Pearcey

• The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self – Carl Trueman

• Romans 1, Genesis 1:27, Galatians 3:28, Ezekiel 18:4, Colossians 2:3

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