Retro or Retrograde

The argument that because something is old and dated it must be devalued by default is quite a flimsy one. Clothing, cars, and style must appeal to the past. Things made up out of thin air, if they even truly exist, are nonsensical. But the theological argument that appeals to newness and popularity is even worse than that saying that something is old. God is quite old—eternal to be precise—and His will is unchanging. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
So opposing something by labeling it “retrograde” (which has a much more negative connotation) rather than “retro” (which implies cool and hip) is to call the actual thing advocated for new. For those who assume progress in this world and deny the prevalence of sin and Satan that is easy to do—but it makes no sense in the worship of an eternal God.
Progress is the false god of many today. But new is not necessarily good. A cheap new product may be far inferior to a quality old one. New cars can break down and be lemons, while some old, maintained cars can hum along reliably. Being new or progressive does not tell much technically. And when it comes to doctrine and the honoring of the eternal God “new” is certainty not enduring in the time-frame of our God.
But even the argument that something is old is not good enough. As has been stated by others, murder is very old. Adultery is not new at all. Sin is one of earliest inventions and acts of man in this world created by the Lord of all. All these are much older and more venerable in human history than the oldest of the self-professed ancient human churches and man-made traditions. So new or old, we must have a better criteria. Being old does not equate to being eternal—that is a vast chasm that nothing from man can pass over. Human lineage, while to be respected to some extent, is never elevated to the divine. Nothing old can ever pass into the eternal category, if it was not already there.
Indeed, we do have a better criteria than human age—the holy will of God, which is eternal, revealed in Holy Scripture and proclaimed with power in the Spirit. God works to change the old, sinful ways of people. He calls us to a new faith—so that we are new before God in Christ, not that the teachings and values we hold are newly contrived. Rather, we live above this world, seeking the mind of Christ. We don’t need new fads or ideas—it is our very heart and will that must be renewed in the knowledge of our Creator. We can see all things in a new light, while living in a world old with sin. We seek the glory of God which cannot become old.
Man and woman are creations of God within the one humanity. This primary distinction cannot be changed by an act of man’s will—they are more enduring. So progress on gender is falsely assumed; a change in God’s works is a false belief. Nothing new can be eternal or of lasting worth. Progress is actually destruction when God’s will is opposed. We do not seek to undo the Creator’s good order for us, but trust in the newness promised to come in the resurrection. The problem is not with the law of God, or His good creation of the body, but that we cannot love Him purely. The deficiencies and weakness of sinful flesh—are not new at all, but we seek the eternal newness promised in Christ, which will not need updates or improvements or revisions.
Those who worship the man-made god of progress, thinking that everything is new is best will be consumed by the next newness, which undoes their old newness—since so-called progress is not linear, but revolutionary. The worship of progress eats its young and has no respect for its elders. The Word of the Lord, which we live by and find eternal certainty in, remains forever. Amen. —ed.