Evangelicals & the Idol of Autonomy

Introduction: When Freedom Becomes a False God

Few ideas are more celebrated in modern Western culture than autonomy. We are told that freedom consists in self-definition, self-expression, and self-rule. Authority is suspect. Submission is a weakness. Dependence is failure.

Yet Scripture presents a radically different vision. Human flourishing is not found in autonomy but in rightly ordered dependence upon God. When Evangelicals absorb the culture’s obsession with autonomy, they do not merely adopt a bad idea — they embrace an idol.

The Illusion of Self-Rule

Autonomy Defined: Self as the Final Authority

At its core, autonomy is the belief that the individual is the highest moral authority. Truth becomes personal. Meaning becomes self-assigned. Moral boundaries become negotiable.

Scripture names this impulse plainly:

“Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 21:25)

This verse does not describe freedom — it describes moral chaos.

The idol of autonomy does not announce itself as rebellion. It masquerades as authenticity, empowerment, and liberation. But when the self replaces God as the ultimate reference point, the result is not dignity — it is disintegration.

The Idol of Autonomy and the Rejection of Biblical Authority

Autonomy becomes idolatrous when it displaces God’s authority. The modern Evangelical temptation is not outright atheism, but functional deism — God is acknowledged in theory but ignored in practice.

Proverbs warns against this posture:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5)

Autonomy does the opposite. It leans entirely on human understanding and baptizes preference as principle.

Autonomy in Moral and Sexual Ethics

Nowhere is the idol of autonomy more visible than in modern moral and sexual ethics. Phrases like “my body, my choice” and “live your truth” reflect an anthropology completely foreign to Scripture.

Biblical Christianity teaches that we are created, not self-made. Our bodies, desires, and lives are not our own.

“You are not your own, for you were bought with a price.” (1 Corinthians 6:19–20)

When autonomy governs ethics, repentance disappears. Sin becomes preference. Obedience becomes oppression. And holiness becomes optional.

Evangelical Accommodation to Autonomy

Many Evangelicals resist autonomy in theory while accommodating it in practice. This is seen when:

• Biblical commands are reframed as “personal convictions.”

• Church discipline is abandoned for fear of offense

• Doctrinal clarity is sacrificed for inclusivity

• Submission to Scripture is replaced with therapeutic language

Jesus’ call remains unchanged:

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24)

Autonomy cannot survive discipleship. One must be crucified for the other to live.

The False Promise of Autonomy

Autonomy promises freedom but delivers isolation. It promises empowerment but produces fragility. It promises authenticity but results in confusion.

History confirms what Scripture already teaches: societies that enthrone the self eventually lose the ability to sustain moral order, family stability, or shared meaning.

The gospel offers something better — not autonomy, but redemption.

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Conclusion: Freedom Found in Submission

True freedom is not found in self-rule but in submission to the One who made us. Autonomy dethrones God and enthrones the self. Christianity does the opposite.

The task before Evangelicals is not to make autonomy more palatable, but to name it for what it is — an idol that cannot save.

Only Christ offers freedom that does not enslave.

With fear & trembling,
Ricky V Kyles Sr. DEd.Min