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#5 KINGDOMS AT WAR: Core Doctrines.DR. STEPHEN PHINNEY: The rise of humanism is exposed as a strategic shift in the spiritual battlefield.
LIBERAL DOCTRINESListen to the audiobook version: This essay encapsulates the core revelations of Chapter One from Kingdoms at War, where the rise of humanism is exposed as a strategic shift in the spiritual battlefield. The chapter traces how humanism subtly dethroned biblical authority by exalting personal virtue, moral autonomy, and self-determination—redefining righteousness apart from divine revelation. Through this lens, the essay highlights the consequences of elevating the individual above the ecclesiastical order, revealing how such elevation fractures spiritual alignment and fuels deception. What unfolds is a prophetic warning: when man becomes the measure of truth, the Kingdom suffers compromise. This essay distills that warning, calling readers back to the supremacy of Scripture and the indwelling Life of Christ as the only true source of virtue.
ROOTS OF DELIVERANCEEnlightenment, Reformation, and Reason:Modernity did not simply emerge as a rejection of religion—it arose from a crisis within theology itself. As the medieval synthesis of reason and revelation began to fracture, thinkers like William of Ockham introduced nominalism, which denied the reality of universals and emphasized God's absolute will over divine reason. This shift destabilized the Scholastic view of a rational, ordered cosmos governed by immutable truths. Suddenly, God was seen not as predictable and knowable through creation, but as radically free and unknowable, leading to theological uncertainty and existential angst. In response, humanism elevated the individual, emphasizing personal virtue and moral autonomy over ecclesiastical Biblical authority. Figures like Petrarch and Erasmus sought to reconcile classical ideals with Christian ethics, but often at the expense of doctrinal clarity. The Reformation, led by Martin Luther, reacted against both humanism and Catholic corruption by returning to Scripture alone and faith alone, yet it too was shaped by nominalist assumptions about divine sovereignty and human depravity. Redefining Core DoctrinesModernity redefined theological assumptions in several key ways:
These shifts laid the groundwork for liberal theology, which often treats Scripture as symbolic, morality as subjective, and truth as evolving. The result is a fake Christianity that will retain its vocabulary but lose its power. Prophetic ImplicationsBiblically, these developments shout Paul’s warning: “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator…” (Romans 1:25) Modernity did not merely challenge theology—it reconstructed it around man rather than God. The Church must now discern whether its doctrines are shaped by Scripture or by the spirit of the age. Modernity ignited the ideology of individualism by shifting the center of truth from divine revelation to human reason. As the Enlightenment, Masonic thinkers elevated autonomy, rationalism, and personal liberty; the collective identity rooted in covenant and community gave way to the self-defining individual. The rise of secularism, capitalism, and democratic ideals reinforced this shift—celebrating freedom from tradition, hierarchy, and even God. In this new paradigm, the individual became sovereign, morality became subjective, and truth became negotiable. The Biblical worldview—where identity is found in submission to the Creator and the Life of Yeshua—was replaced by a culture that says, “You shall be as gods.” (Genesis 3:5) Modernity did not merely liberate the individual—it redefined humanity apart from its Maker. And in doing so, it laid the groundwork for theological liberalism, moral relativism, and the erosion of the indwelling life of Yeshua as the source of true identity. From the Garden of Eden onward, the human heart has wrestled with the question: Will I submit to God’s Word, or define truth for myself? The serpent’s whisper—“You shall be as gods” (Genesis 3:5)—was the first seed of individualism, enticing mankind to elevate personal autonomy above divine authority. Throughout history, this tension has played out in empires, philosophies, and even within the Church. The rise of modernity intensified this shift, as Enlightenment thinkers exalted reason, self-expression, and personal liberty, often at the expense of Biblical submission. The result was a world increasingly shaped by self-defined morality, where Scripture became optional and obedience negotiable. Yet the Bible never yields to this trend. It declares, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). True freedom is not found in self-rule, but in surrender to the One who made us. The apostles warned of a time when people would “not endure sound doctrine, but...heap up for themselves teachers...to suit their own desires” (2 Timothy 4:3). That time is now. Individualism has taken center stage, even in pulpits, where personal preference often trumps prophetic truth. But the remnant still hears the call: “Submit yourselves therefore to God” (James 4:7). In a world intoxicated with self, submission to Scripture is not weakness—it is warfare. It is the narrow road that leads to life.
Biblical submission reorients us from isolation to communion. Individualism thrives on the illusion of self-sufficiency, but Scripture reminds us that we are members of one body (1 Corinthians 12:12). The Word teaches us to “esteem others better than ourselves” (Philippians 2:3) and to live in mutual submission “in the fear of God” (Ephesians 5:21). When we submit to Scripture, we are submitting to the heart of God—a heart that calls us into covenant, community, and sacrificial love.
IM Writers Association is a collective group of Christian writers who support the advancement of the Gospel of Jesus Christ while sustaining an eschatological view of the Holy Scriptures of God.
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