Showing posts with label Emergent. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Emergent. Show all posts
July 8, 2013
April 26, 2012
"A New Kind of Christianity"
CONFERENCE SEEKS TO NURTURE CHILDREN, YOUTH, IN "NEW KIND OF CHRISTIANITY"
Scheduled May 7-10, 2012, at Calvary Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., the Children, Youth and a New Kind of Christianity conference will bring leaders, ministers, volunteers, parents and students together for dialogue about the spiritual formation of children and youth in the "emergent" or "missional" church.
Nationally known presenters include progressive evangelical social activists like Brian McLaren, Tony Campolo and Jim Wallis alongside children's and youth ministry experts such as Ivy Beckwith, Joyce Bellous, Amy Dolan and Michael Novelli.
McLaren, author of books including A New Kind of Christianity, said in a promotional video that in his travels he has heard a recurring theme that new forms of ministry, worship and community taking root and growing around the world are not being transmitted effectively to children and youth.
Presented by Emergent Village, Wood Lake Books, Virginia Theological Seminary and Calvary Baptist Church, sponsors include the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Dave Csinos, chair of the conference planning committee, said that along with event sponsorship by the national CBF, the CBF of Virginia will sponsor an opening reception.
http://www.abpnews.com/content/view/6697/53/
[TBC: McLaren's purpose is to "reach" Christian youth with his ideas, which in practice deviates little from far-left politicians and is devoid of the hope of the gospel. For example, the speakers at this apostate event include Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and speaker's topics include: Ivy Beckwith, "Godspell, Footloose (the original) and a New Kind of Children and Youth Ministry"; Susan Burt, "Opening the World of Faith by Nurturing the Imaginative, Questioning Spirit"; Patricia Lyons, "Harry Potter, God and Youth: Using Fiction to Transform Young Readers into Young Theologians"; Dave McNeely, "A New Kind of Sexuality: Finding a Framework"; Melinda Melone, "Welcoming Rainbow Kids: Resources and Approaches for Working with Youth in the GLBTIQA (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Transexual, Intersex, Queer, Questioning, Ally) Community."]
Scheduled May 7-10, 2012, at Calvary Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., the Children, Youth and a New Kind of Christianity conference will bring leaders, ministers, volunteers, parents and students together for dialogue about the spiritual formation of children and youth in the "emergent" or "missional" church.
Nationally known presenters include progressive evangelical social activists like Brian McLaren, Tony Campolo and Jim Wallis alongside children's and youth ministry experts such as Ivy Beckwith, Joyce Bellous, Amy Dolan and Michael Novelli.
McLaren, author of books including A New Kind of Christianity, said in a promotional video that in his travels he has heard a recurring theme that new forms of ministry, worship and community taking root and growing around the world are not being transmitted effectively to children and youth.
Presented by Emergent Village, Wood Lake Books, Virginia Theological Seminary and Calvary Baptist Church, sponsors include the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Dave Csinos, chair of the conference planning committee, said that along with event sponsorship by the national CBF, the CBF of Virginia will sponsor an opening reception.
http://www.abpnews.com/content/view/6697/53/
[TBC: McLaren's purpose is to "reach" Christian youth with his ideas, which in practice deviates little from far-left politicians and is devoid of the hope of the gospel. For example, the speakers at this apostate event include Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and speaker's topics include: Ivy Beckwith, "Godspell, Footloose (the original) and a New Kind of Children and Youth Ministry"; Susan Burt, "Opening the World of Faith by Nurturing the Imaginative, Questioning Spirit"; Patricia Lyons, "Harry Potter, God and Youth: Using Fiction to Transform Young Readers into Young Theologians"; Dave McNeely, "A New Kind of Sexuality: Finding a Framework"; Melinda Melone, "Welcoming Rainbow Kids: Resources and Approaches for Working with Youth in the GLBTIQA (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Transexual, Intersex, Queer, Questioning, Ally) Community."]
February 22, 2012
The Shameful Social Gospel
Just my take...
by Judie
Ahhh, the "social gospel"...should true believers have any part in such a movement?
Many would think or say, "well, what harm can it do, after all Christians should make a difference in this world shouldn't they?" To which I would respond, ABSOLUTELY! But exactly what difference are we as believers called to make? This is where I think the issue starts to get a bit convoluted in christendom.
The only answer I care to discuss here is what the BIBLE says on the subject...
Considering the teachings of Jesus, what I conclude is that although we should indeed meet the needs of our fellow human beings if and when we can, we certainly should not make that endeavor our primary "focus" or calling in life.
Simply put, the Lord NEVER called His people to "fix" this present world with all it's unfortunate woes, but rather to REACH those who don't yet know Him and teach them the ways of truth.
The commission of Mt.28:19,20 is quite clear on this - "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world."
In my view, there is no confusion whatsoever as to what the Church should be spending their time and efforts doing. As Jesus said, His Kingdom is not of this world - so tell me, why should we as His people be attempting to build His Kingdom in this present world? Makes no sense.
Let's consider for a minute what our relationship to this world should be...the admonition in Colossians 3 tells us to "NOT put our affections in the things on this earth but to seek those things which are above". In James 4:4, and 1 John, we are told to "NOT love this world or be a friend to it".
Another important consideration is that Jesus clearly said that where our treasure is there our hearts would be also. Needless to say, it seems pretty clear that our ultimate hope should not be in this present world since we who belong to Christ are just strangers and pilgrims passing through on our way to our REAL home.
So, I really have to wonder where all the confusion on this issue is coming from. Does scripture not make it clear enough that we are to be about our "father's business"? And do we not realize that His business is surely not about picketing or lobbying for our many "rights" and comforts? Nor is it about making the doing of GOOD WORKS and "changing society" our primary focus. Neither Jesus or the disciples ever pursued such things, so why should we? As the writer of the article below accurately states - "the root of the problems in our world is SIN". I wholeheartedly agree.
Now, if SIN is indeed the problem, and it is, then there is really only one solution...SALVATION. The salvation of souls is the primary mission Jesus gave to the Church. He didn't call us to "moralize" or "politicize", he called us to EVANGELIZE! This is why it's so crucial that we believers don't allow ourselves to become DISTRACTED with all the "good things" we can do in this world...good things that oftentimes cause us to neglect our true calling and mission. Remember, Jesus never said to feed the world, He said to feed His sheep. He also said, that if we seek to save our lives in this world, we'll lose them.
Now don't get me wrong, I fully realize that doing good things has a significant place in the life of the believer, but I also realize that it should never take precedence over sharing the truth of God's Word to reach souls. It's noteworthy to also point out that we should never compromise our principals or the truth of the Gospel for the sake of getting together with others to DO "good things"...never!
That said, I think it's safe to say that we'd all be wise to check our priorities and ask ourselves exactly WHAT and WHO we are building for? Are we building on the solid rock - Jesus Christ - resting in HIS righteousness and seeking HIS Kingdom? Or is the foundation of our faith and life set more on the shifting sinking sands of this evil present world with all it's coveted creature comforts?
In closing, my prayer is that we'll ignore all the constant distractions coming our way, both good and bad, and get back to sharing the TRUE Gospel message that alone can save, heal, and change the hearts of men. The message of the GRACE of God and His finished work on the CROSS - this is the help and hope that the world so desperately needs. It is also the greatest and most precious gift the true believer can give to a sin-sick dying world that's in dire need of life-giving TRUTH and godly direction.
Saints, there's much work to do - let's be about our Father's business, He's counting on us to truly make a difference...the RIGHT difference...and the only one that will count for time and eternity!
Come soon Lord Jesus!
Hope you enjoy the article below.
In His love,
Judie <><
The Shameful Social Gospel
by T.A. McMahon
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth." Romans:1:16
For various reasons, Christians of different sorts have tinkered with "the gospel of Christ" as though it needed adjustments. Not major alterations, most will tell you, but just some minor tweaking here and there. The changes often begin by one's declaring that there is no real change involved, simply a shift in emphasis. Yet, no matter what the rationale may be, the end result is being "ashamed of the gospel of Christ."
To be "ashamed of the gospel" covers a number of attitudes from being totally embarrassed by it to thinking one can improve upon it a bit to make it more acceptable. One example of the former is the recent claim by an Emerging Church author that the teaching regarding Christ's paying the full penalty for the sins of mankind through His substitutionary death on the Cross is irrelevant and viewed as "a form of cosmic child abuse." More subtle examples include trying to make the gospel seem less exclusive, and the "softening" of the consequences from which the gospel saves mankind, such as the wrath of God and the Lake of Fire.
Prevalent among many religious leaders who profess to be evangelical Christians (i.e., Bible-believing Christians) is the promotion of a gospel that is acceptable to, and even admired by, people throughout the world. Today, the most popular form of this is the social gospel.
Although the social gospel is common to many new movements among evangelicals, it is not new to Christendom. It had its modern beginning in the late 1800s, when it developed as a way to address the various conditions in society that caused suffering among the populace. The belief was, and is, that Christianity will attract followers when it demonstrates its love for mankind. This could be best accomplished by helping to alleviate the suffering of humanity caused by poverty, disease, oppressive work conditions, society's injustices, civil rights abuses, etc. Those who fostered this movement also believed that relief from their conditions of misery would improve the moral nature of those so deprived.
Another driving force behind the introduction of the social gospel was the eschatological, or end times, views of those involved. Nearly all were amillennialists or post-millennialists. The former believed that they were living in a (symbolic thousand-year) time period in which Christ was ruling from heaven, Satan was bound, and they were God's workers appointed to bring about a kingdom on earth worthy of Christ. Post-millennialists also believed they were in the Millennium, and their goal was to restore the earth to its Eden-like state in order for Christ to return from Heaven to rule over His earthly kingdom.
The social gospel, in all of its assorted applications, helped to produce some achievements (child labor laws and women's suffrage) that have contributed to the welfare of society. It became the primary gospel of liberal theologians and mainline denominations throughout the 20th century. Although its popularity alternately rose and fell as it ran its course, it was often energized by the combination of religion and liberal politics, e.g., Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement. Midway through the last century and later, the social gospel influenced developments such as the liberation theology of Roman Catholicism and the socialism of left-leaning evangelical Christians. It is in this present century, however, that the social gospel has gotten its most extensive promotion. Two men, both professing to be evangelicals, have led the way.
George W. Bush began his presidency by instituting the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. His objective was to provide government funding for local churches, synagogues, mosques, and other religious ministries that were providing a social service to their community. Bush believed that programs run by "people of faith" could be at least as effective as secular organizations in helping the needy, and perhaps more so because of their moral commitment to "love and serve their neighbor." As he prepares to leave office, he has declared that he considers his Faith-Based program to be one of the foremost achievements in his tenure as president. Presidential candidate Barack Obama stated that, should he win the election, he will continue the Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.
Rick Warren, the mega-selling author of The Purpose-Driven Church and The Purpose-Driven Life , has taken the social gospel to where it's never been before: not only worldwide but into the thinking and planning of world leaders. Warren credits business management genius Peter Drucker with the basic concept that he is executing. Drucker believed that the social problems of poverty, disease, hunger, and ignorance were beyond the capability of governments or multinational corporations to solve. To Drucker, the most hopeful solution would be found in the nonprofit sector of society, especially churches, with their hosts of volunteers dedicated to alleviating the social ills of those in their community.
Warren, acknowledging the late Drucker as his mentor for 20 years, certainly learned his lessons. His two Purpose-Driven books, translated into 57 languages and selling a combined 30 million copies, reveal the game plan for what Drucker had envisioned. Warren had local churches implement this vision from his books through his enormously popular 40 Days of Purpose and 40 Days of Community programs. To date, 500,000 churches in 162 nations have become part of his network. They form the basis for his Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan.
What is his P.E.A.C.E. plan? Warren's presentation of the plan to the church is found at www.thepeaceplan.com. On video, he identifies the "giants" of humanity's ills as spiritual emptiness, self-centered leadership, poverty, disease, and illiteracy, which he hopes to eradicate by (P)lanting churches, (E)quipping leaders, (A)ssisting the poor, (C)aring for the sick, and (E)ducating the next generation.
Warren uses the analogy of a three-legged stool to illustrate the best way to slay these giants. Two of the legs are governments and business, which have thus far been ineffective, and, just like a two-legged stool, cannot stand. The third very necessary leg is the church. "There are thousands of villages in the world that have no school, no clinic, no business, no government—but they have a church. What would happen if we could mobilize churches to address those five global giants?" Warren reasons that since there are 2.3 billion Christians worldwide, they could potentially form what President Bush has termed a vast "army of compassion" of "people of faith" such as the world has not yet experienced.
In addition to the Christian version , Warren has an expanded inclusive version of the P.E.A.C.E. plan that has drawn support and praise from political and religious leaders and celebrities worldwide. At the 2008 World Economic Forum, he declared, "The future of the world is not secularism, but religious pluralism...." Referring to the ills besetting the world, he declared, "We cannot solve these problems without involving people of faith and their religious institutions. It isn't going to happen any other way. On this planet there are about 20 million Jews, there are about 600 million Buddhists, there are about 800 million Hindus, there are over 1 billion Muslims, and there are 2.3 billion Christians. If you take people of faith out of the equation, you have ruled out five-sixths of the world. And if we only leave it up to secular people to solve these major problems, it isn't going to happen" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGytW4yh0C8 ).
To accommodate working with people of all faiths Warren has revised the "P" in his P.E.A.C.E. from "planting evangelical churches" to "(P)romoting reconciliation" and the "E" from "equipping [church] leaders" to "(E)quipping ethical leaders." Warren has elsewhere acknowledged his practical shift to pluralism: "Who's the man of peace in any village—or it might be a woman of peace—who has the most respect?...They don't have to be Christian. In fact, they could be Muslim, but they're open and they're influential, and you work with them to attack the five giants [to which he has added global warming]." He quotes a secular leader who affirms what he's doing: "I get it, Rick. Houses of worship are the distribution centers for all we need to do."
Warren has joined the advisory board of Faith Foundation, established by former British prime minister and recent Roman Catholic convert Tony Blair. The Foundation's goal is to further understanding and cooperation among the six leading faiths: Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, and Jewish. How does the Cross fit into this ecumenical gathering? It doesn't. Critical to achieving that ecumenical goal is the elimination of the problem of exclusive religions, a concern articulated by one of the World Economic Forum panelists: "There are some religious leaders in different religious faiths who, in seeking to affirm their own faith and its authenticity and legitimacy...deny other people their faith with its legitimacy and authenticity. I don't think we can keep going like this without...spawning the kind of hatred we are all here to try and solve. I think it's up to us to hold the clergy's feet to the fire of whatever faith. That we insist that we affirm what is beautiful in our own traditions while at the same time refusing to denigrate other faith traditions by suggesting that they are illegitimate, or consigned to some kind of evil end."
The Bible declares all the religions of the world to be "illegitimate" and "consigned" not to "some kind of evil end" but to their just end. Only belief in the biblical gospel saves humanity: "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name [Jesus Christ] under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved;...He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him" (Acts:4:12; John:3:36).
The history of the social gospel is, in nearly every case, a sincere attempt by Christians to do those things that they believe will honor God and benefit humanity. In every case, however, the practical working out of "benefiting humanity" has compromised biblical faith and dishonored God. Why is that? God's Word gives no commission to the church to fix the problems of the world. Those who attempt to do so are starting out under a false premise, "...a way which seemeth right unto a man ," not God's way. So where can it go from there? "The end thereof are the ways of death," i.e., destruction (Proverbs:14:12). Furthermore, the problems of the world are all symptoms . The root cause is sin.
What percentage of the "people of faith," who comprise all religions and make up five-sixths of the world's population, understand and accept the gospel—the only cure for sin? Or how many of the 2.3 billion "Christians" in the world believe the biblical gospel? The numbers tumble down exponentially. "Yes, but...they are a massive volunteer force and distribution outlet of resources for slaying the giants of world suffering!" What does it profit the billions of "people of faith" who may alleviate some of the world's symptoms yet lose their very souls?
The social gospel is a deadly disease for "people of faith." It reinforces the belief that salvation can be attained by doing good works, putting aside differences for the common good, treating others the way we want to be treated, acting morally, ethically, and sacrificially—and that doing so will endear humans to God. No. These are self-deceptive strivings that spurn God's salvation, deny His perfect standard, and reject His perfect justice. Salvation is "not of works, lest any man should boast." In fact, it is "by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God" (Ephesians:2:8-9).
Jesus declared Himself to be condemned humanity's only hope for reconciliation with God: "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John:14:6). There is no other way, because God's perfect justice demanded that the penalty for sin for every human ("for all have sinned"-Romans:3:23) be paid. Only the perfect, sinless God-Man could and did pay that infinite penalty in full by His death upon the Cross. Only faith in Him reconciles a person with God.
The shameful social gospel today not only promotes "another gospel," it helps prepare a kingdom contrary to the teachings of Scripture. "For our conversation [citizenship] is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ" (Philippians 3:20). He will return from heaven (John:14:3) to "rapture," or catch, those who believe in Him (His bride) up into the clouds and take them to heaven (1 Thessalonians:4:17). The kingdom that remains on the earth will be the kingdom of the Antichrist.
Consistent with its amillennial/postmillennial beginnings, the efforts of the social gospel are earthbound in their attempted restoration of the kingdom of God. Eugene Peterson has infiltrated that heresy into his Message Bible: "God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again" (a perversion of John:3:17).
Rob Bell, in his book Velvet Elvis , reflects the "fix the earth" eschatology of nearly all Emerging Church leaders: "Salvation is the entire universe being brought back into harmony with its maker. This has huge implications for how people present the message of Jesus. Yes, Jesus can come into our hearts. But we can join a movement that is as wide and as big as the universe itself. Rocks and trees and birds and swamps and ecosystems. God's desire is to restore all of it....The goal isn't escaping this world but making this world the kind of place God can come to. And God is remaking us into the kind of people who can do this kind of work."
For Emerging Church leader Brian McLaren, this is the future way of life for the Christian. In an interview July 28, 2008, on ChristianPost.com , he said: "I think our future will also require us to join humbly and charitably with people of other faiths—Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, secularists, and others—in pursuit of peace, environmental stewardship, and justice for all people, things that matter greatly to the heart of God." No, what matters to the "heart of God" is "that all should come to repentance" and believe the gospel.
Anyone who puts his hope in this social gospel, which employs "people of faith" to make "this world the kind of place God can come to," needs to heed the words of Jesus in Luke:18:8: "When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" People of all faiths , yes, but certainly not " the faith," for which Jude exhorts true believers to earnestly contend. Lord, help us all not to be ashamed of Your gospel! TBC
by Judie
Ahhh, the "social gospel"...should true believers have any part in such a movement?
Many would think or say, "well, what harm can it do, after all Christians should make a difference in this world shouldn't they?" To which I would respond, ABSOLUTELY! But exactly what difference are we as believers called to make? This is where I think the issue starts to get a bit convoluted in christendom.
The only answer I care to discuss here is what the BIBLE says on the subject...
Considering the teachings of Jesus, what I conclude is that although we should indeed meet the needs of our fellow human beings if and when we can, we certainly should not make that endeavor our primary "focus" or calling in life.
Simply put, the Lord NEVER called His people to "fix" this present world with all it's unfortunate woes, but rather to REACH those who don't yet know Him and teach them the ways of truth.
The commission of Mt.28:19,20 is quite clear on this - "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world."
In my view, there is no confusion whatsoever as to what the Church should be spending their time and efforts doing. As Jesus said, His Kingdom is not of this world - so tell me, why should we as His people be attempting to build His Kingdom in this present world? Makes no sense.
Let's consider for a minute what our relationship to this world should be...the admonition in Colossians 3 tells us to "NOT put our affections in the things on this earth but to seek those things which are above". In James 4:4, and 1 John, we are told to "NOT love this world or be a friend to it".
Another important consideration is that Jesus clearly said that where our treasure is there our hearts would be also. Needless to say, it seems pretty clear that our ultimate hope should not be in this present world since we who belong to Christ are just strangers and pilgrims passing through on our way to our REAL home.
So, I really have to wonder where all the confusion on this issue is coming from. Does scripture not make it clear enough that we are to be about our "father's business"? And do we not realize that His business is surely not about picketing or lobbying for our many "rights" and comforts? Nor is it about making the doing of GOOD WORKS and "changing society" our primary focus. Neither Jesus or the disciples ever pursued such things, so why should we? As the writer of the article below accurately states - "the root of the problems in our world is SIN". I wholeheartedly agree.
Now, if SIN is indeed the problem, and it is, then there is really only one solution...SALVATION. The salvation of souls is the primary mission Jesus gave to the Church. He didn't call us to "moralize" or "politicize", he called us to EVANGELIZE! This is why it's so crucial that we believers don't allow ourselves to become DISTRACTED with all the "good things" we can do in this world...good things that oftentimes cause us to neglect our true calling and mission. Remember, Jesus never said to feed the world, He said to feed His sheep. He also said, that if we seek to save our lives in this world, we'll lose them.
Now don't get me wrong, I fully realize that doing good things has a significant place in the life of the believer, but I also realize that it should never take precedence over sharing the truth of God's Word to reach souls. It's noteworthy to also point out that we should never compromise our principals or the truth of the Gospel for the sake of getting together with others to DO "good things"...never!
That said, I think it's safe to say that we'd all be wise to check our priorities and ask ourselves exactly WHAT and WHO we are building for? Are we building on the solid rock - Jesus Christ - resting in HIS righteousness and seeking HIS Kingdom? Or is the foundation of our faith and life set more on the shifting sinking sands of this evil present world with all it's coveted creature comforts?
In closing, my prayer is that we'll ignore all the constant distractions coming our way, both good and bad, and get back to sharing the TRUE Gospel message that alone can save, heal, and change the hearts of men. The message of the GRACE of God and His finished work on the CROSS - this is the help and hope that the world so desperately needs. It is also the greatest and most precious gift the true believer can give to a sin-sick dying world that's in dire need of life-giving TRUTH and godly direction.
Saints, there's much work to do - let's be about our Father's business, He's counting on us to truly make a difference...the RIGHT difference...and the only one that will count for time and eternity!
Come soon Lord Jesus!
Hope you enjoy the article below.
In His love,
Judie <><
The Shameful Social Gospel
by T.A. McMahon
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth." Romans:1:16
For various reasons, Christians of different sorts have tinkered with "the gospel of Christ" as though it needed adjustments. Not major alterations, most will tell you, but just some minor tweaking here and there. The changes often begin by one's declaring that there is no real change involved, simply a shift in emphasis. Yet, no matter what the rationale may be, the end result is being "ashamed of the gospel of Christ."
To be "ashamed of the gospel" covers a number of attitudes from being totally embarrassed by it to thinking one can improve upon it a bit to make it more acceptable. One example of the former is the recent claim by an Emerging Church author that the teaching regarding Christ's paying the full penalty for the sins of mankind through His substitutionary death on the Cross is irrelevant and viewed as "a form of cosmic child abuse." More subtle examples include trying to make the gospel seem less exclusive, and the "softening" of the consequences from which the gospel saves mankind, such as the wrath of God and the Lake of Fire.
Prevalent among many religious leaders who profess to be evangelical Christians (i.e., Bible-believing Christians) is the promotion of a gospel that is acceptable to, and even admired by, people throughout the world. Today, the most popular form of this is the social gospel.
Although the social gospel is common to many new movements among evangelicals, it is not new to Christendom. It had its modern beginning in the late 1800s, when it developed as a way to address the various conditions in society that caused suffering among the populace. The belief was, and is, that Christianity will attract followers when it demonstrates its love for mankind. This could be best accomplished by helping to alleviate the suffering of humanity caused by poverty, disease, oppressive work conditions, society's injustices, civil rights abuses, etc. Those who fostered this movement also believed that relief from their conditions of misery would improve the moral nature of those so deprived.
Another driving force behind the introduction of the social gospel was the eschatological, or end times, views of those involved. Nearly all were amillennialists or post-millennialists. The former believed that they were living in a (symbolic thousand-year) time period in which Christ was ruling from heaven, Satan was bound, and they were God's workers appointed to bring about a kingdom on earth worthy of Christ. Post-millennialists also believed they were in the Millennium, and their goal was to restore the earth to its Eden-like state in order for Christ to return from Heaven to rule over His earthly kingdom.
The social gospel, in all of its assorted applications, helped to produce some achievements (child labor laws and women's suffrage) that have contributed to the welfare of society. It became the primary gospel of liberal theologians and mainline denominations throughout the 20th century. Although its popularity alternately rose and fell as it ran its course, it was often energized by the combination of religion and liberal politics, e.g., Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement. Midway through the last century and later, the social gospel influenced developments such as the liberation theology of Roman Catholicism and the socialism of left-leaning evangelical Christians. It is in this present century, however, that the social gospel has gotten its most extensive promotion. Two men, both professing to be evangelicals, have led the way.
George W. Bush began his presidency by instituting the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. His objective was to provide government funding for local churches, synagogues, mosques, and other religious ministries that were providing a social service to their community. Bush believed that programs run by "people of faith" could be at least as effective as secular organizations in helping the needy, and perhaps more so because of their moral commitment to "love and serve their neighbor." As he prepares to leave office, he has declared that he considers his Faith-Based program to be one of the foremost achievements in his tenure as president. Presidential candidate Barack Obama stated that, should he win the election, he will continue the Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.
Rick Warren, the mega-selling author of The Purpose-Driven Church and The Purpose-Driven Life , has taken the social gospel to where it's never been before: not only worldwide but into the thinking and planning of world leaders. Warren credits business management genius Peter Drucker with the basic concept that he is executing. Drucker believed that the social problems of poverty, disease, hunger, and ignorance were beyond the capability of governments or multinational corporations to solve. To Drucker, the most hopeful solution would be found in the nonprofit sector of society, especially churches, with their hosts of volunteers dedicated to alleviating the social ills of those in their community.
Warren, acknowledging the late Drucker as his mentor for 20 years, certainly learned his lessons. His two Purpose-Driven books, translated into 57 languages and selling a combined 30 million copies, reveal the game plan for what Drucker had envisioned. Warren had local churches implement this vision from his books through his enormously popular 40 Days of Purpose and 40 Days of Community programs. To date, 500,000 churches in 162 nations have become part of his network. They form the basis for his Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan.
What is his P.E.A.C.E. plan? Warren's presentation of the plan to the church is found at www.thepeaceplan.com. On video, he identifies the "giants" of humanity's ills as spiritual emptiness, self-centered leadership, poverty, disease, and illiteracy, which he hopes to eradicate by (P)lanting churches, (E)quipping leaders, (A)ssisting the poor, (C)aring for the sick, and (E)ducating the next generation.
Warren uses the analogy of a three-legged stool to illustrate the best way to slay these giants. Two of the legs are governments and business, which have thus far been ineffective, and, just like a two-legged stool, cannot stand. The third very necessary leg is the church. "There are thousands of villages in the world that have no school, no clinic, no business, no government—but they have a church. What would happen if we could mobilize churches to address those five global giants?" Warren reasons that since there are 2.3 billion Christians worldwide, they could potentially form what President Bush has termed a vast "army of compassion" of "people of faith" such as the world has not yet experienced.
In addition to the Christian version , Warren has an expanded inclusive version of the P.E.A.C.E. plan that has drawn support and praise from political and religious leaders and celebrities worldwide. At the 2008 World Economic Forum, he declared, "The future of the world is not secularism, but religious pluralism...." Referring to the ills besetting the world, he declared, "We cannot solve these problems without involving people of faith and their religious institutions. It isn't going to happen any other way. On this planet there are about 20 million Jews, there are about 600 million Buddhists, there are about 800 million Hindus, there are over 1 billion Muslims, and there are 2.3 billion Christians. If you take people of faith out of the equation, you have ruled out five-sixths of the world. And if we only leave it up to secular people to solve these major problems, it isn't going to happen" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGytW4yh0C8 ).
To accommodate working with people of all faiths Warren has revised the "P" in his P.E.A.C.E. from "planting evangelical churches" to "(P)romoting reconciliation" and the "E" from "equipping [church] leaders" to "(E)quipping ethical leaders." Warren has elsewhere acknowledged his practical shift to pluralism: "Who's the man of peace in any village—or it might be a woman of peace—who has the most respect?...They don't have to be Christian. In fact, they could be Muslim, but they're open and they're influential, and you work with them to attack the five giants [to which he has added global warming]." He quotes a secular leader who affirms what he's doing: "I get it, Rick. Houses of worship are the distribution centers for all we need to do."
Warren has joined the advisory board of Faith Foundation, established by former British prime minister and recent Roman Catholic convert Tony Blair. The Foundation's goal is to further understanding and cooperation among the six leading faiths: Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, and Jewish. How does the Cross fit into this ecumenical gathering? It doesn't. Critical to achieving that ecumenical goal is the elimination of the problem of exclusive religions, a concern articulated by one of the World Economic Forum panelists: "There are some religious leaders in different religious faiths who, in seeking to affirm their own faith and its authenticity and legitimacy...deny other people their faith with its legitimacy and authenticity. I don't think we can keep going like this without...spawning the kind of hatred we are all here to try and solve. I think it's up to us to hold the clergy's feet to the fire of whatever faith. That we insist that we affirm what is beautiful in our own traditions while at the same time refusing to denigrate other faith traditions by suggesting that they are illegitimate, or consigned to some kind of evil end."
The Bible declares all the religions of the world to be "illegitimate" and "consigned" not to "some kind of evil end" but to their just end. Only belief in the biblical gospel saves humanity: "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name [Jesus Christ] under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved;...He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him" (Acts:4:12; John:3:36).
The history of the social gospel is, in nearly every case, a sincere attempt by Christians to do those things that they believe will honor God and benefit humanity. In every case, however, the practical working out of "benefiting humanity" has compromised biblical faith and dishonored God. Why is that? God's Word gives no commission to the church to fix the problems of the world. Those who attempt to do so are starting out under a false premise, "...a way which seemeth right unto a man ," not God's way. So where can it go from there? "The end thereof are the ways of death," i.e., destruction (Proverbs:14:12). Furthermore, the problems of the world are all symptoms . The root cause is sin.
What percentage of the "people of faith," who comprise all religions and make up five-sixths of the world's population, understand and accept the gospel—the only cure for sin? Or how many of the 2.3 billion "Christians" in the world believe the biblical gospel? The numbers tumble down exponentially. "Yes, but...they are a massive volunteer force and distribution outlet of resources for slaying the giants of world suffering!" What does it profit the billions of "people of faith" who may alleviate some of the world's symptoms yet lose their very souls?
The social gospel is a deadly disease for "people of faith." It reinforces the belief that salvation can be attained by doing good works, putting aside differences for the common good, treating others the way we want to be treated, acting morally, ethically, and sacrificially—and that doing so will endear humans to God. No. These are self-deceptive strivings that spurn God's salvation, deny His perfect standard, and reject His perfect justice. Salvation is "not of works, lest any man should boast." In fact, it is "by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God" (Ephesians:2:8-9).
Jesus declared Himself to be condemned humanity's only hope for reconciliation with God: "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John:14:6). There is no other way, because God's perfect justice demanded that the penalty for sin for every human ("for all have sinned"-Romans:3:23) be paid. Only the perfect, sinless God-Man could and did pay that infinite penalty in full by His death upon the Cross. Only faith in Him reconciles a person with God.
The shameful social gospel today not only promotes "another gospel," it helps prepare a kingdom contrary to the teachings of Scripture. "For our conversation [citizenship] is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ" (Philippians 3:20). He will return from heaven (John:14:3) to "rapture," or catch, those who believe in Him (His bride) up into the clouds and take them to heaven (1 Thessalonians:4:17). The kingdom that remains on the earth will be the kingdom of the Antichrist.
Consistent with its amillennial/postmillennial beginnings, the efforts of the social gospel are earthbound in their attempted restoration of the kingdom of God. Eugene Peterson has infiltrated that heresy into his Message Bible: "God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again" (a perversion of John:3:17).
Rob Bell, in his book Velvet Elvis , reflects the "fix the earth" eschatology of nearly all Emerging Church leaders: "Salvation is the entire universe being brought back into harmony with its maker. This has huge implications for how people present the message of Jesus. Yes, Jesus can come into our hearts. But we can join a movement that is as wide and as big as the universe itself. Rocks and trees and birds and swamps and ecosystems. God's desire is to restore all of it....The goal isn't escaping this world but making this world the kind of place God can come to. And God is remaking us into the kind of people who can do this kind of work."
For Emerging Church leader Brian McLaren, this is the future way of life for the Christian. In an interview July 28, 2008, on ChristianPost.com , he said: "I think our future will also require us to join humbly and charitably with people of other faiths—Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, secularists, and others—in pursuit of peace, environmental stewardship, and justice for all people, things that matter greatly to the heart of God." No, what matters to the "heart of God" is "that all should come to repentance" and believe the gospel.
Anyone who puts his hope in this social gospel, which employs "people of faith" to make "this world the kind of place God can come to," needs to heed the words of Jesus in Luke:18:8: "When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" People of all faiths , yes, but certainly not " the faith," for which Jude exhorts true believers to earnestly contend. Lord, help us all not to be ashamed of Your gospel! TBC
November 15, 2011
Brian McLaren: 12 Step Groups May Help Us Escape Bible
by My Word Like Fire
In his book, A New Kind of Christianity, Emergent leader Brian McLaren attacks Biblical understanding, and tries to revise both God and the Bible. In his chapter on reinterpreting God’s Word, he notes, “Even for those of us on this quest, breaking out of centuries-old habits won’t be easy…”[1]
In the same paragraph, McLaren makes an interesting statement. “No wonder those of us who want and need to change our approach may need to form twelve-step groups to deprogram our thinking.”[2] (Bold Mine)
Wait a minute. 12 Steps groups to help people reject the Bible as the literal Word of God?
Is this shocking? Hardly. McLaren knows this has already happened–and is continuing to happen–through both Christian and cultural acceptance of 12 Step spirituality. Unlike numerous Bible-believing pastors who allow 12 Step groups to meet in their churches, the Emergent leaders are clearly aware of what AA and other 12 Step groups have brought about.
McLaren wrote the foreword to A Heretic’s Guide To Eternity. In this book, Emergent authors Spencer Burke and Barry Taylor write, “As Phyllis Tickle [another Emergent leader] has noted, the development of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) probably did as much as other, more celebrated events to undermine our concept of religion. Emerging in the late 1930s, AA made it acceptable to talk about a generic God–a ‘higher power.’”[3] (Bold mine)
Burke and Taylor further note what has resulted from this: “Consequently, a generation of people began speaking about God in new ways not previously sanctioned by the consensual illusion–and traditional religious perspectives began to change as a result.”[4] (Bold mine)
Due to acceptance of the chameleon nature of AA’s “higher power,” our culture has been put at ease with custom-made gods and even with blended belief systems. Undeniably, Biblical Christianity has been greatly weakened.
This has always been the objective of the spiritual forces that created AA.[5] (Ephesians 6:12)
Yes, but what about the people helped by Alcoholics Anonymous? We should be grateful for the estimated five percent of alcoholics who do gain sobriety through AA. Yet, in terms of alcoholism, this success is in public relations and publicity rather than treatment effectiveness. Herein lies a real tragedy, because most believe only AA can help. Many who have quit drinking in another manner have been called “dry drunks” (not really sober) by AA members. This can be extremely hurtful.
AA’s teachings can also be terrifying. There are Christians in AA who fear to leave because they believe they will relapse unless AA and the 12 Steps are involved. And so, out of fear, they disobey Scripture, or rationalize reasons for remaining. (2 Corinthians 6:14-17, Galatians 1: 6-9, Amos 3:3) For others, AA has become an idol. For these people, it is more important to defend AA than to acknowledge what the Scriptures command.
In his book, The Sober Alcoholic, Irving Peter Gellman observes, “A member who suggests that AA is not as effective as maintained, and who implies that some improvement might be made, will be censured when broaching these ideas. The AA program is deemed infallible, whereas other methods are deemed less than perfect.”[6] (Bold mine.)
Like many in the Emergent and Contemplative movements, many–perhaps most– in AA who call Christ their “higher power” do not worship the Biblical Christ at all. This is not intended to offend those in 12 Step spirituality who do worship the God of the Bible, but true Christians desperately need to understand this. The 12 Steps are not our friend. Truly, Emergent, Contemplative and 12 Step spirituality are blending. Homospirituality grows daily as a religious force, and may ultimately merge with the other three systems.
As others have pointed out, wherever one finds the Emergent movement, there will also be found Contemplative Spirituality. Perhaps this will also be said of 12 Step spirituality in the near future. AA’s eleventh step states: “Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will and the power to carry that out.”
Considering that AA’s Step Three allows the addict to make up, customize, or borrow any “god” that holds appeal, the act of opening oneself further through Step Eleven meditation can have very real spiritual consequences.
The contemplative roots of AA can be traced back to Frank Buchman and the Oxford Group.[7] Today these roots are being watered by many meditative and contemplative advocates.[8]
Brian McLaren calls himself a “contemplative/reflexive.”[9] While we must continue to expose the apostasy of Emergents such as McLaren, Spencer Burke, and Phyllis Tickle, it is time we listen to their unintended warning about the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous.
~For more info CLICK HERE~
Endnotes:
1. Brian McLaren, A New Kind of Christianity, pg.85-86
2. Ibid., pg. 86
3. Spencer Burke and Barry Taylor, A Heretics Guide To Eternity, pg. 34-35, foreword by Brian McClaren.
4. Ibid.
5. Seances, Spirits, and 12 Steps: http://mywordlikefire.wordpress.com/2008/09/24/seances-spirits-and-12-steps/
6. Irving Peter Gellman, The Sober Alcoholic
7. Alcoholics Anonymous and Contemplative Spirituality: http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/?p=1196
8. 12 Step Outreach: http://cp12stepoutreach.org/ 11th Step Meditation Newsletter http://www.11thstepmeditation.org/11th_step_meetings/overview.htm
9. Brian McLaren, A New Kind of Christianity, pg.226.
In his book, A New Kind of Christianity, Emergent leader Brian McLaren attacks Biblical understanding, and tries to revise both God and the Bible. In his chapter on reinterpreting God’s Word, he notes, “Even for those of us on this quest, breaking out of centuries-old habits won’t be easy…”[1]
In the same paragraph, McLaren makes an interesting statement. “No wonder those of us who want and need to change our approach may need to form twelve-step groups to deprogram our thinking.”[2] (Bold Mine)
Wait a minute. 12 Steps groups to help people reject the Bible as the literal Word of God?
Is this shocking? Hardly. McLaren knows this has already happened–and is continuing to happen–through both Christian and cultural acceptance of 12 Step spirituality. Unlike numerous Bible-believing pastors who allow 12 Step groups to meet in their churches, the Emergent leaders are clearly aware of what AA and other 12 Step groups have brought about.
McLaren wrote the foreword to A Heretic’s Guide To Eternity. In this book, Emergent authors Spencer Burke and Barry Taylor write, “As Phyllis Tickle [another Emergent leader] has noted, the development of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) probably did as much as other, more celebrated events to undermine our concept of religion. Emerging in the late 1930s, AA made it acceptable to talk about a generic God–a ‘higher power.’”[3] (Bold mine)
Burke and Taylor further note what has resulted from this: “Consequently, a generation of people began speaking about God in new ways not previously sanctioned by the consensual illusion–and traditional religious perspectives began to change as a result.”[4] (Bold mine)
Due to acceptance of the chameleon nature of AA’s “higher power,” our culture has been put at ease with custom-made gods and even with blended belief systems. Undeniably, Biblical Christianity has been greatly weakened.
This has always been the objective of the spiritual forces that created AA.[5] (Ephesians 6:12)
Yes, but what about the people helped by Alcoholics Anonymous? We should be grateful for the estimated five percent of alcoholics who do gain sobriety through AA. Yet, in terms of alcoholism, this success is in public relations and publicity rather than treatment effectiveness. Herein lies a real tragedy, because most believe only AA can help. Many who have quit drinking in another manner have been called “dry drunks” (not really sober) by AA members. This can be extremely hurtful.
AA’s teachings can also be terrifying. There are Christians in AA who fear to leave because they believe they will relapse unless AA and the 12 Steps are involved. And so, out of fear, they disobey Scripture, or rationalize reasons for remaining. (2 Corinthians 6:14-17, Galatians 1: 6-9, Amos 3:3) For others, AA has become an idol. For these people, it is more important to defend AA than to acknowledge what the Scriptures command.
In his book, The Sober Alcoholic, Irving Peter Gellman observes, “A member who suggests that AA is not as effective as maintained, and who implies that some improvement might be made, will be censured when broaching these ideas. The AA program is deemed infallible, whereas other methods are deemed less than perfect.”[6] (Bold mine.)
Like many in the Emergent and Contemplative movements, many–perhaps most– in AA who call Christ their “higher power” do not worship the Biblical Christ at all. This is not intended to offend those in 12 Step spirituality who do worship the God of the Bible, but true Christians desperately need to understand this. The 12 Steps are not our friend. Truly, Emergent, Contemplative and 12 Step spirituality are blending. Homospirituality grows daily as a religious force, and may ultimately merge with the other three systems.
As others have pointed out, wherever one finds the Emergent movement, there will also be found Contemplative Spirituality. Perhaps this will also be said of 12 Step spirituality in the near future. AA’s eleventh step states: “Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will and the power to carry that out.”
Considering that AA’s Step Three allows the addict to make up, customize, or borrow any “god” that holds appeal, the act of opening oneself further through Step Eleven meditation can have very real spiritual consequences.
The contemplative roots of AA can be traced back to Frank Buchman and the Oxford Group.[7] Today these roots are being watered by many meditative and contemplative advocates.[8]
Brian McLaren calls himself a “contemplative/reflexive.”[9] While we must continue to expose the apostasy of Emergents such as McLaren, Spencer Burke, and Phyllis Tickle, it is time we listen to their unintended warning about the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous.
~For more info CLICK HERE~
Endnotes:
1. Brian McLaren, A New Kind of Christianity, pg.85-86
2. Ibid., pg. 86
3. Spencer Burke and Barry Taylor, A Heretics Guide To Eternity, pg. 34-35, foreword by Brian McClaren.
4. Ibid.
5. Seances, Spirits, and 12 Steps: http://mywordlikefire.wordpress.com/2008/09/24/seances-spirits-and-12-steps/
6. Irving Peter Gellman, The Sober Alcoholic
7. Alcoholics Anonymous and Contemplative Spirituality: http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/?p=1196
8. 12 Step Outreach: http://cp12stepoutreach.org/ 11th Step Meditation Newsletter http://www.11thstepmeditation.org/11th_step_meetings/overview.htm
9. Brian McLaren, A New Kind of Christianity, pg.226.
August 23, 2011
The Vineyard Movement Goes Contemplative
“The Vineyard Movement Grabs Hold of Contemplative Spirituality”
The Vineyard movement was started in the 1970s by John Wimber (who had been a leader in the Friends (Quaker) church) after breaking off from Calvary Chapel where Kenn and Joanie Gulliksen had started the first meetings. Vineyard Anaheim is the “mother” or “flagship” Vineyard church, pastored today by Lance Pittluck. Regarding the ”Spiritual Formation” workshop that our reader wrote to us about, on the church website, it states:
We believe that every disciple is invited by the Holy Spirit into becoming conformed to the Image of Christ through the disciplines encompassed by solitude, silence, scripture-meditation and reflection.
Vineyard Anaheim has turned to Richard Foster’s Renovare to bring these “disciplines” to their church members. Richard Foster, also a Quaker, is one of the pioneers in bringing contemplative spirituality to the evangelical/Protestant church and is a disciple of Thomas Merton. Foster believes that Merton tried to “awaken” God’s people (through mysticism)2 and that he “has perhaps done more than any other twentieth-century figure to make the life of prayer widely known and understood.3 Yet Merton’s panentheistic view (i.e., God in all) coupled with his strong affinity to Buddhism (he once stated: “I see no contradiction between Buddhism and Christianity … I intend to become as good a Buddhist as I can”4) is contrary to the God of the Bible and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Richard Foster so resonates with Merton that he includes him in his list of spiritual masters in his two books Spiritual Classics and Devotional Classics.
It’s not just Richard Foster that Vineyard is looking to for “spiritual formation.” On the ”Pastoral Staff Recommends” page, there is a who’s who of contemplative mystics listed. Craig Lockwood, the pastor who will be heading up the Spiritual Formation program, includes Dallas Willard, Jan Johnson, Larry Crabb, Madame Guyon, Richard Foster, Gary Thomas, Morton Kelsey, and Adele Calhoun on his recommended reading list. These are some of the “heavy weights” in the contemplative movement, and you can read about most of them in A Time of Departing by Ray Yungen or on our research site. Typical of the contemplative mindset, one of those listed, Morton Kelsey, stated: “You can find most of the New Age practices in the depth of Christianity . . . I believe that the Holy One lives in every soul.”5
In Adele Ahlberg Calhoun’s book, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook (which Lockwood recommends), Ahlberg Calhoun promotes mantra meditation, giving detailed instructions on several types of contemplative practices. In addition, she quotes from many New Age sympathizers and New Age contemplatives and encourages the use of centering prayer, breath prayers, contemplative prayer, labyrinths, palms-up, palms-down exercises, and recommends for further reading a plethora of mystics. One of those she lists is Tilden Edwards, the founder of the mysticism promoting Shalem Prayer Institute, who said that contemplative prayer is the bridge between Christianity and Eastern religion.6
An interesting name shows up on the “Pastoral Staff Recommends” page at Vineyard Anaheim – J.P. Moreland. The beliefs of Moreland have been discussed in a number of Lighthouse Trails articles regarding his contemplative views, but we didn’t realize that he attends Vineyard Anaheim. When we saw his name on the Pastoral Staff Recommends page, we called Vineyard and were told that Moreland attends Vineyard Anaheim and “sometimes speaks” there. Moreland, a teacher at Biola University and Summit Ministries (in Colorado) recommends a number of Dallas Willard books and The Way of the Heart by Henri Nouwen. In that book, which is a primer on contemplative prayer, Nouwen states:
The quiet repetition of a single word can help us to descend with the mind into the heart . . . This way of simple prayer . . . opens us to God’s active presence. 7
What Nouwen is describing here is mantra meditation (i.e., eastern-style meditation). Practicing mysticism is what led Nouwen to say near the end of his life:
Today I personally believe that while Jesus came to open the door to God’s house, all human beings can walk through that door, whether they know about Jesus or not. Today I see it as my call to help every person claim his or her own way to God.8
By saying this, Nouwen illustrated the “fruit” of contemplative spirituality – panentheism (God in all) and interspirituality. This can be further proven by Nouwen’s strong affinity with New Age meditation proponent, Beatrice Bruteau where he called her a “trustworthy guide to contemplative consciousness” (from Abba’s Child) . J.P. Moreland’s endorsement of The Way of the Heart will point Vineyard members to the same spirituality Nouwen came to embrace.
In a book review of Moreland’s book Kingdom Triangle, he lays out a three-step process to bring about a kingdom of God on earth through spiritual formation (i.e., contemplative prayer). This would resonate with what Vineyard is doing – turning to contemplative to accelerate their kingdom of God on earth goals.
In Kevin Reeves book The Other Side of the River, Reeves addresses the spiritual viewpoints of John Wimber. Wimber said that the Western church needed to go through a major paradigm shift because of its resistance to the supernatural.9 Reeves explains some of Wimber’s ideas:
The old study and learn method (commended by the apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 4:13-16, and II Timothy 3:14-17) is no longer adequate. In fact, according to Wimber and a flood of Third Wave teachers, it never has been. Experience is what counts, they say, and all that head knowledge we’ve been accumulating all these years is a big waste of time. This teaching states that to really know God, His power and miracles, we need to shuck all that dead letter stuff and get into the life.
Wimber also first introduced into mainstream charismatic congregations the incredibly strange manifestations that are supposedly initiated by the Holy Spirit. Pogoing (jumping up and down in place), rippling on or under the skin, tingling, shaking, convulsions, uncontrollable laughter—many of the same kinds of manifestations traditionally attributed to demonic influence—have now attained prominence in River meetings. It is shocking and frightening to see the similarities between Wimber’s manifestations and what is called Kundalini, “a Hindu term for the mystical power or force that underlies Hindu spirituality.” Here is a list of Kundalini symptoms:
* Burning hot or ice cold streams moving up the spine.
* Pains in varying locations throughout the body.
* Vibrations, unease, or cramps in legs and other parts of body.
* Fast pulse and increased metabolism.
* Disturbance in the breathing–and/or heart function.
* Sensitivity to sound, light, smell, and proximity of other people.
* Mystical/religious experiences.
* Parapsychological abilities.
* Persistent anxiety or anxiety attacks, confusion
* Insomnia, manic high spirits or deep depression. Energy loss.
* Impaired concentration and memory.
* Total isolation due to inability to communicate inner experiences out.
* Experiences of possession and poltergeist phenomena. 10
What some may not realize is that many of these symptoms are also experienced during deep contemplative meditation. By combining the hyper-charismatic experiences with contemplative spirituality (as Vineyard is doing), the process of going into altered states of consciousness (i.e., demonic realms) is speeded up; and the voice heard, believed to be God, may not be Him at all. Reeves points out that Wimber was drawn to the writings of Agnes Sanford and Morton Kelsey. Did Wimber realize that Kelsey “equates the ministry of Jesus with shamanism, commends encounters with the dead as natural spirit-earth links, bases much of his book on paganistic Jungian psychology, and calls the atonement a “hypothesis developed” by the early church”?11
An article titled “Buried Seed: Spiritual Direction and the Vineyard Movement” written by a Vineyard “spiritual director” in New Zealand reveals the efforts by spiritual directors in Vineyard to integrate spiritual formation into the Vineyard movement. Just to show the lack of discernment that occurs by contemplative advocates, the author of the article lists Thomas Keating as a source he used to write the article. Keating, like Merton, is a panentheist and mystic Catholic priest.
We should not hesitate to take the fruit of the age-old wisdom of the East and “capture” it for Christ. Indeed, those of us who are in ministry should make the necessary effort to acquaint ourselves with as many of these Eastern techniques as possible.
Many Christians who take their prayer life seriously have been greatly helped by Yoga, Zen, TM and similar practices, especially where they have been initiated by reliable teachers and have a solidly developed Christian faith to find inner form and meaning to the resulting experiences. 12
Our reader who sent us the e-mail inquiring about Vineyard Anaheim asked if there was any emergent connection to spiritual formation. We have always contended that they are basically the same thing (see Faith Undone). What’s more, on the recommended reading list of Vineyard Anaheim, senior pastor Lance Pittluck recommends Rob Bell along with several other contemplative/emerging figures (Nouwen, Sider, Manning, Miller, Boyd, etc). It is clear that Pittluck resonates with these people.
For those who wonder if the contemplative/emerging infiltration is confined to just Vineyard Anaheim, a Book Recommendations for Youth list on the main USA Vineyard website recommends emerging church favorites N.T. Wright, Andy Stanley, Erwin McManus, and Shane Claiborne, and contemplatives Henri Nouwen, Dallas Willard, John Ortberg, Jim Burns, and John Eldredge. Sadly, Vineyard youth are being introduced to these contemplative/emerging leaders. In addition, Vineyard has at least one leader who is designated to work with Vineyard churches in spiritual formation. And just as a sampling to show this is not an isolated situation, listed below are a few Vineyard churches that are incorporating “spiritual formation” into church life:
Vineyard City Church – Redding California’ (also links to the very contemplative/emerging Simpson College and Bethel Church in Redding)
Live Oak Vineyard – Monrovia California (promotes New Age sympathizer Phyllis Tickle)
Friends Langley Vineyard – BC Canada
Vineyard Community Church – Cincinnati, OH
All this would leave little doubt that the Vineyard movement has hopped onto the contemplative/emergent track, seemingly full speed ahead. LTR
Notes:
Bill Jackson, The Quest For The Radical Middle: A History of the Vineyard, ch 3, p. 80.
Ray Yungen, A Time of Departing (Eureka, MT: Lighthouse Trails Publishing, 2nd ed, 2006), pp. 76-77, quoting Richard Foster at a seminar Yungen attended.
Richard Foster and Emilie Griffin, Spiritual Classics (San Francisco, CA: Harper, 2000), p. 17.
David Steindl-Rast, “Recollection of Thomas Merton’s Last Days in the West” (Monastic Studies, 7:10, 1969).
Morton Kelsey cited in Charles H. Simpkinson, “In the Spirit of the Early Christians.”
Tilden Edwards, Spiritual Friend (New York, NY: Paulist Press, 1980), pp. 18.
Henri Nouwen, The Way of the Heart (San Francisco, CA: Harper, 1991), p. 81.
Henri Nouwen, Sabbatical Journey (New York, NY: Crossroad Publishing, 1998), p. 51.
John Wimber: 1934-1997. Wimber’s “paradigm shift” is discussed and documented in several books and articles such as C. Peter Wagner’s Acts of the Holy Spirit (Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 2000), p. 123.
Kevin Reeves, The Other Side of the River (Eureka, MT: Lighthouse Trails Publishing, 2007), pp. 167-168.
Ibid, p. 169.
M. Basil Pennington, Thomas Keating, Thomas E. Clarke, Finding Grace at the Center (Petersham, MA: St. Bede’s Pub., 1978), pp. 5-6.
The Vineyard movement was started in the 1970s by John Wimber (who had been a leader in the Friends (Quaker) church) after breaking off from Calvary Chapel where Kenn and Joanie Gulliksen had started the first meetings. Vineyard Anaheim is the “mother” or “flagship” Vineyard church, pastored today by Lance Pittluck. Regarding the ”Spiritual Formation” workshop that our reader wrote to us about, on the church website, it states:
We believe that every disciple is invited by the Holy Spirit into becoming conformed to the Image of Christ through the disciplines encompassed by solitude, silence, scripture-meditation and reflection.
Vineyard Anaheim has turned to Richard Foster’s Renovare to bring these “disciplines” to their church members. Richard Foster, also a Quaker, is one of the pioneers in bringing contemplative spirituality to the evangelical/Protestant church and is a disciple of Thomas Merton. Foster believes that Merton tried to “awaken” God’s people (through mysticism)2 and that he “has perhaps done more than any other twentieth-century figure to make the life of prayer widely known and understood.3 Yet Merton’s panentheistic view (i.e., God in all) coupled with his strong affinity to Buddhism (he once stated: “I see no contradiction between Buddhism and Christianity … I intend to become as good a Buddhist as I can”4) is contrary to the God of the Bible and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Richard Foster so resonates with Merton that he includes him in his list of spiritual masters in his two books Spiritual Classics and Devotional Classics.
It’s not just Richard Foster that Vineyard is looking to for “spiritual formation.” On the ”Pastoral Staff Recommends” page, there is a who’s who of contemplative mystics listed. Craig Lockwood, the pastor who will be heading up the Spiritual Formation program, includes Dallas Willard, Jan Johnson, Larry Crabb, Madame Guyon, Richard Foster, Gary Thomas, Morton Kelsey, and Adele Calhoun on his recommended reading list. These are some of the “heavy weights” in the contemplative movement, and you can read about most of them in A Time of Departing by Ray Yungen or on our research site. Typical of the contemplative mindset, one of those listed, Morton Kelsey, stated: “You can find most of the New Age practices in the depth of Christianity . . . I believe that the Holy One lives in every soul.”5
In Adele Ahlberg Calhoun’s book, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook (which Lockwood recommends), Ahlberg Calhoun promotes mantra meditation, giving detailed instructions on several types of contemplative practices. In addition, she quotes from many New Age sympathizers and New Age contemplatives and encourages the use of centering prayer, breath prayers, contemplative prayer, labyrinths, palms-up, palms-down exercises, and recommends for further reading a plethora of mystics. One of those she lists is Tilden Edwards, the founder of the mysticism promoting Shalem Prayer Institute, who said that contemplative prayer is the bridge between Christianity and Eastern religion.6
An interesting name shows up on the “Pastoral Staff Recommends” page at Vineyard Anaheim – J.P. Moreland. The beliefs of Moreland have been discussed in a number of Lighthouse Trails articles regarding his contemplative views, but we didn’t realize that he attends Vineyard Anaheim. When we saw his name on the Pastoral Staff Recommends page, we called Vineyard and were told that Moreland attends Vineyard Anaheim and “sometimes speaks” there. Moreland, a teacher at Biola University and Summit Ministries (in Colorado) recommends a number of Dallas Willard books and The Way of the Heart by Henri Nouwen. In that book, which is a primer on contemplative prayer, Nouwen states:
The quiet repetition of a single word can help us to descend with the mind into the heart . . . This way of simple prayer . . . opens us to God’s active presence. 7
What Nouwen is describing here is mantra meditation (i.e., eastern-style meditation). Practicing mysticism is what led Nouwen to say near the end of his life:
Today I personally believe that while Jesus came to open the door to God’s house, all human beings can walk through that door, whether they know about Jesus or not. Today I see it as my call to help every person claim his or her own way to God.8
By saying this, Nouwen illustrated the “fruit” of contemplative spirituality – panentheism (God in all) and interspirituality. This can be further proven by Nouwen’s strong affinity with New Age meditation proponent, Beatrice Bruteau where he called her a “trustworthy guide to contemplative consciousness” (from Abba’s Child) . J.P. Moreland’s endorsement of The Way of the Heart will point Vineyard members to the same spirituality Nouwen came to embrace.
In a book review of Moreland’s book Kingdom Triangle, he lays out a three-step process to bring about a kingdom of God on earth through spiritual formation (i.e., contemplative prayer). This would resonate with what Vineyard is doing – turning to contemplative to accelerate their kingdom of God on earth goals.
In Kevin Reeves book The Other Side of the River, Reeves addresses the spiritual viewpoints of John Wimber. Wimber said that the Western church needed to go through a major paradigm shift because of its resistance to the supernatural.9 Reeves explains some of Wimber’s ideas:
The old study and learn method (commended by the apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 4:13-16, and II Timothy 3:14-17) is no longer adequate. In fact, according to Wimber and a flood of Third Wave teachers, it never has been. Experience is what counts, they say, and all that head knowledge we’ve been accumulating all these years is a big waste of time. This teaching states that to really know God, His power and miracles, we need to shuck all that dead letter stuff and get into the life.
Wimber also first introduced into mainstream charismatic congregations the incredibly strange manifestations that are supposedly initiated by the Holy Spirit. Pogoing (jumping up and down in place), rippling on or under the skin, tingling, shaking, convulsions, uncontrollable laughter—many of the same kinds of manifestations traditionally attributed to demonic influence—have now attained prominence in River meetings. It is shocking and frightening to see the similarities between Wimber’s manifestations and what is called Kundalini, “a Hindu term for the mystical power or force that underlies Hindu spirituality.” Here is a list of Kundalini symptoms:
* Burning hot or ice cold streams moving up the spine.
* Pains in varying locations throughout the body.
* Vibrations, unease, or cramps in legs and other parts of body.
* Fast pulse and increased metabolism.
* Disturbance in the breathing–and/or heart function.
* Sensitivity to sound, light, smell, and proximity of other people.
* Mystical/religious experiences.
* Parapsychological abilities.
* Persistent anxiety or anxiety attacks, confusion
* Insomnia, manic high spirits or deep depression. Energy loss.
* Impaired concentration and memory.
* Total isolation due to inability to communicate inner experiences out.
* Experiences of possession and poltergeist phenomena. 10
What some may not realize is that many of these symptoms are also experienced during deep contemplative meditation. By combining the hyper-charismatic experiences with contemplative spirituality (as Vineyard is doing), the process of going into altered states of consciousness (i.e., demonic realms) is speeded up; and the voice heard, believed to be God, may not be Him at all. Reeves points out that Wimber was drawn to the writings of Agnes Sanford and Morton Kelsey. Did Wimber realize that Kelsey “equates the ministry of Jesus with shamanism, commends encounters with the dead as natural spirit-earth links, bases much of his book on paganistic Jungian psychology, and calls the atonement a “hypothesis developed” by the early church”?11
An article titled “Buried Seed: Spiritual Direction and the Vineyard Movement” written by a Vineyard “spiritual director” in New Zealand reveals the efforts by spiritual directors in Vineyard to integrate spiritual formation into the Vineyard movement. Just to show the lack of discernment that occurs by contemplative advocates, the author of the article lists Thomas Keating as a source he used to write the article. Keating, like Merton, is a panentheist and mystic Catholic priest.
We should not hesitate to take the fruit of the age-old wisdom of the East and “capture” it for Christ. Indeed, those of us who are in ministry should make the necessary effort to acquaint ourselves with as many of these Eastern techniques as possible.
Many Christians who take their prayer life seriously have been greatly helped by Yoga, Zen, TM and similar practices, especially where they have been initiated by reliable teachers and have a solidly developed Christian faith to find inner form and meaning to the resulting experiences. 12
Our reader who sent us the e-mail inquiring about Vineyard Anaheim asked if there was any emergent connection to spiritual formation. We have always contended that they are basically the same thing (see Faith Undone). What’s more, on the recommended reading list of Vineyard Anaheim, senior pastor Lance Pittluck recommends Rob Bell along with several other contemplative/emerging figures (Nouwen, Sider, Manning, Miller, Boyd, etc). It is clear that Pittluck resonates with these people.
For those who wonder if the contemplative/emerging infiltration is confined to just Vineyard Anaheim, a Book Recommendations for Youth list on the main USA Vineyard website recommends emerging church favorites N.T. Wright, Andy Stanley, Erwin McManus, and Shane Claiborne, and contemplatives Henri Nouwen, Dallas Willard, John Ortberg, Jim Burns, and John Eldredge. Sadly, Vineyard youth are being introduced to these contemplative/emerging leaders. In addition, Vineyard has at least one leader who is designated to work with Vineyard churches in spiritual formation. And just as a sampling to show this is not an isolated situation, listed below are a few Vineyard churches that are incorporating “spiritual formation” into church life:
Vineyard City Church – Redding California’ (also links to the very contemplative/emerging Simpson College and Bethel Church in Redding)
Live Oak Vineyard – Monrovia California (promotes New Age sympathizer Phyllis Tickle)
Friends Langley Vineyard – BC Canada
Vineyard Community Church – Cincinnati, OH
All this would leave little doubt that the Vineyard movement has hopped onto the contemplative/emergent track, seemingly full speed ahead. LTR
Notes:
Bill Jackson, The Quest For The Radical Middle: A History of the Vineyard, ch 3, p. 80.
Ray Yungen, A Time of Departing (Eureka, MT: Lighthouse Trails Publishing, 2nd ed, 2006), pp. 76-77, quoting Richard Foster at a seminar Yungen attended.
Richard Foster and Emilie Griffin, Spiritual Classics (San Francisco, CA: Harper, 2000), p. 17.
David Steindl-Rast, “Recollection of Thomas Merton’s Last Days in the West” (Monastic Studies, 7:10, 1969).
Morton Kelsey cited in Charles H. Simpkinson, “In the Spirit of the Early Christians.”
Tilden Edwards, Spiritual Friend (New York, NY: Paulist Press, 1980), pp. 18.
Henri Nouwen, The Way of the Heart (San Francisco, CA: Harper, 1991), p. 81.
Henri Nouwen, Sabbatical Journey (New York, NY: Crossroad Publishing, 1998), p. 51.
John Wimber: 1934-1997. Wimber’s “paradigm shift” is discussed and documented in several books and articles such as C. Peter Wagner’s Acts of the Holy Spirit (Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 2000), p. 123.
Kevin Reeves, The Other Side of the River (Eureka, MT: Lighthouse Trails Publishing, 2007), pp. 167-168.
Ibid, p. 169.
M. Basil Pennington, Thomas Keating, Thomas E. Clarke, Finding Grace at the Center (Petersham, MA: St. Bede’s Pub., 1978), pp. 5-6.
August 20, 2011
Roman Catholic Church And The Last Days
Comment from Understand the Times:
Once again we see that the pope is endorsing the emerging church and the promotion of contemplative practices. Read the following article and if you can find that what we are saying is not true please let us know.
This goes for those in Calvary Chapel and other movements who are open to emerging church beliefs and that are headed towards Rome. It is obvious that the Counter Reformation is still in place. Wake up - those of you who say you are evangelical and Protestant. The time before you join with Rome is limited.
Those of you who live according to the Word of God and stand up against Rome can expect to be persecuted. The Inquisition has not ended. Be prepared.
August 17 - Pope reflects on Mary's example before heading to WYD
Article: Roman Catholic Church And The Last Days
Pope Benedict used his Aug. 17 general audience to reflect on Mary's example of prayer and meditation, just before he travels to Madrid to celebrate World Youth Day with over 1 million young people.
"Mary teaches us how necessary it is to find in our days, with all of its activities, moments to gather our thoughts in silence and meditate on what the Lord wants to teach us, on how he is present and acts in the world and in our life."
"Mary fully lived her existence," he said, "her daily duties, her mission as a mother, but she knew how to hold within herself an interior space for reflecting on the word and will of God, on what was occurring within her, on the mysteries of the life of her Son."
Since the way to heaven involves following God's will for our lives, he added, it's necessary for individuals to listen to and discern God's voice, which requires silence and meditation.
Pope Benedict explained that meditation involves creating "in ourselves a situation of contemplation, of interior silence, to reflect, to assimilate the mysteries of our faith and what God operates in us; and not just the things that come and go."
He noted there are many ways to learn how to meditate and offered several practical suggestions, such as reflecting on a brief Scripture verse and talking to a spiritual director.
"Reading and reflecting on what we have read, trying to understand it, what it is saying to me, what it says today, to open our spirit to what the Lord wants to tell us and teach us," he said.
The Pope recommended praying the Rosary, which he called "a prayer of meditation" that invites the faithful to reflect deeply on the life of Christ.
He also suggested focusing on private words or reflections that come during the celebration of the Eucharist, which enables "an intense spiritual experience" and can help a person enter into meditation.
Source
Once again we see that the pope is endorsing the emerging church and the promotion of contemplative practices. Read the following article and if you can find that what we are saying is not true please let us know.
This goes for those in Calvary Chapel and other movements who are open to emerging church beliefs and that are headed towards Rome. It is obvious that the Counter Reformation is still in place. Wake up - those of you who say you are evangelical and Protestant. The time before you join with Rome is limited.
Those of you who live according to the Word of God and stand up against Rome can expect to be persecuted. The Inquisition has not ended. Be prepared.
August 17 - Pope reflects on Mary's example before heading to WYD
Article: Roman Catholic Church And The Last Days
Pope Benedict used his Aug. 17 general audience to reflect on Mary's example of prayer and meditation, just before he travels to Madrid to celebrate World Youth Day with over 1 million young people.
"Mary teaches us how necessary it is to find in our days, with all of its activities, moments to gather our thoughts in silence and meditate on what the Lord wants to teach us, on how he is present and acts in the world and in our life."
"Mary fully lived her existence," he said, "her daily duties, her mission as a mother, but she knew how to hold within herself an interior space for reflecting on the word and will of God, on what was occurring within her, on the mysteries of the life of her Son."
Since the way to heaven involves following God's will for our lives, he added, it's necessary for individuals to listen to and discern God's voice, which requires silence and meditation.
Pope Benedict explained that meditation involves creating "in ourselves a situation of contemplation, of interior silence, to reflect, to assimilate the mysteries of our faith and what God operates in us; and not just the things that come and go."
He noted there are many ways to learn how to meditate and offered several practical suggestions, such as reflecting on a brief Scripture verse and talking to a spiritual director.
"Reading and reflecting on what we have read, trying to understand it, what it is saying to me, what it says today, to open our spirit to what the Lord wants to tell us and teach us," he said.
The Pope recommended praying the Rosary, which he called "a prayer of meditation" that invites the faithful to reflect deeply on the life of Christ.
He also suggested focusing on private words or reflections that come during the celebration of the Eucharist, which enables "an intense spiritual experience" and can help a person enter into meditation.
Source
July 23, 2011
Emerging "Christianity"
FROM GNOSTIC ROOTS TO OCCULT REVIVAL
by Berit Kjos
A flood of mystical temptations is sweeping through churches and culture. They beckon us "let go" of the old inflexible Word and explore the new ways of the world and spirit. Naturally, a growing consensus of "open-minded" seekers claim that God's truth is "too divisive" to fit their new vision of global unity and experiential spirituality.
“It used to be that Christian institutions and systems of dogma sustained the spiritual life of Christians. Increasingly, spirituality itself is what sustains everything else," wrote Pastor Brian D. McLaren, a "key figure" in the Emerging Church and author of A New Kind of Christian. "Alan Jones is a pioneer in reimagining a Christian faith that emerges from authentic spirituality. His work stimulates and encourages me deeply.”1 [Emphasis added]
Do you wonder what McLaren means by "authentic spirituality?" Or by "reimagining a Christian faith?" I did. So I read Reimagining Christianity. In it, Alan Jones, the Episcopal Dean (priest) of San Francisco's gothic Grace Cathedral, offers some provocative clues:
"I am no longer interested, in the first instance, in what a person believes. Most of the time it’s so much clutter in the brain.... I wouldn't trust an inch many people who profess a belief in God. Others who do not or who doubt have won my trust. I want to know if joy, curiosity struggle, and compassion bubble up in a person’s life. I’m interested in being fully alive. There is no objective authority...."2 [Emphasis added]
Wrong! There is an objective authority: our Sovereign God, Creator of the universe. He has revealed His will and authority through His Word! But, as in Old Testament days, today's masses "love evil more than good!" (Psalm 52:3) Despising His authority, they deny the only Truth that can set us free! Their earthly destiny is summarized in 2 Timothy 3:7: "...always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth."
In Reimagining Christianity, Jones explains that "Any journey toward belief must begin with the task recognized by mystics throughout history. They realized that merely knowing about things (science) wasn't enough. In fact, it was a distraction."3 Then he points to a major goal of mystical insight -- one that is emphasized in Purpose-Driven as well as emerging churches:
"They realized that there was a deeper and potentially frightening task of self-knowledge. Knowledge of God and knowledge of self were sides of the same coin. It was a knowledge that had no end.... Those on a spiritual path share this vision of the universal and unending character of our Journey to and in God. The principle is that all things are lights guiding our way—even a stone or a piece of wood—but they are not what we seek. What stops our drive for facts from going haywire? The discovery of a higher form of knowing."3
Let's summarize his main points, then compare them with some occult systems formerly hidden in secret societies:
1. Biblical beliefs are out. They are irrelevant -- to be discarded as mere "clutter in the brain."
2. Being "fully alive" is in -- no matter what spirit or religion inspires the obligatory passion.
3. There's no room for objective reality or absolute truth.
4. This "higher form of knowing" would be based on mystical experience, intuition and self-knowledge. The latter supposedly leads to knowing (gnosis) a universal god -- or the spirit of love in everyone.
This worldview lies at the heart of Western occultism! Alan Jones' quest for a "higher form of knowing" is simply a new version of ancient Gnosticism and the mystical "Jewish" Kabbalah. Starting in the first century, the two occult threads intermingled and formed new pathways to secret knowledge (gnosis). Those dark, mystical paths hid for centuries underground. Then, starting in the 12th century, Kabbalah began to sprout mystical "brotherhoods" and secret societies that laid foundations for Alchemy, Theosophy (which would embrace Hinduism), Freemasonry and Rosicrucianism (these two incorporated Egyptian myths and symbols), the teachings of Swedenborg, Anthroposophy (Rudolf Steiner and Owen Barfield), and Hermetic magic. 4
During the 20th century, this hidden "knowledge" began to spread into mainstream culture and churches through revered poets and authors such as Alfred Lord Tennyson, William Blake, George McDonald, Tolkien, Charles Williams, and C. S. Lewis. Suddenly, the hidden mysteries of occult masters were laid bare to a thrill-seeking world hungry for a "fresh" and exciting spirituality -- purged of the old offensive truths. But even before these dark secrets were exposed, Georg Hegel, who was deeply involved in the several branches of Western occultism, provided educators and globalist visionaries with the dialectic process needed to transform both church and world.5
Not only did these enticing glimpses of forbidden mysteries affect beliefs and worldviews, they helped change the way we think and communicate. Even people who still treasure God's Word are learning to approach information in radically new ways. Nothing seems absolute anymore! Even God's Word is being adapted to the global values spawned by this cultural transformation.
Francis Schaeffer , founder of L'Abri, saw the beginning of change back in the sixties. Ponder this warning from his 1968 book, The God Who Is There:
"The present chasm between the generations has been brought about almost entirely by a change in the concept of truth. Wherever you look today the new concept holds the field. The consensus about us is almost monolithic, whether you review the arts, literature or just simply read the newspapers and magazines.... On every side you can feel the stranglehold of this new methodology—and by ‘methodology’ we mean the way we approach truth and knowing. ... And just as fog cannot be kept out by walls or doors, so this consensus comes in around us, till the room we live in is no longer distinct, and yet we hardly realize what has happened....
"Young people from Christian homes are brought up in the old framework of truth. Then they are subjected to the modern framework. In time they become confused because they do not understand the alternatives with which they are being presented. Confusion becomes bewilderment, and before long they are overwhelmed. This is unhappily true not only of young people, but of many pastors, Christian educators, evangelists and missionaries as well. So this change in the concept of the way we come to knowledge and truth is the most crucial problem... facing Christianity today.... The shift has been tremendous."6[Emphasis added]
When minds are no longer grounded in certain absolutes, there is no frame of reference that allows logical thinking. Without factual or Biblical certainty, a person cannot rationally resist today's enticing spiritual counterfeits. Alan Jones said it well:
"All the great religious traditions are in upheaval, and the divisions are within rather than between or among them. I have more in common with my friend Stephen, the rabbi at a large synagogue in San Francisco, than I do with many fellow Christians. I don’t mean that we simply find each other congenial. I mean that I am more ideologically compatible with Stephen than with, say, any Christian fundamentalist. ...
"Although there are some Christians who are unafraid of other spiritual paths and have learned from them... battle lines are being drawn between 'orthodox' and 'progressives.' And some people, like me, are at home on neither side. There’s a celebrated couplet by the poet William Blake that sums up for me much that is disturbing about exclusionary versions of Christianity:
"That vision of Christ, which thou dost see
Is my vision's greatest enemy."7
In light of this spiritual melting pot, it's not surprising that Rick Warren has announced that fundamentalism, of all varieties, will be "one of the big enemies of the 21st century."8 What, then, does Warren mean by Fundamentalism? In a May 2005 interview the Pew Forum on Religion, Warren stated:
"Today there really aren't that many Fundamentalists left; I don't know if you know that or not, but they are such a minority; there aren't that many Fundamentalists left in America.... Now the word 'fundamentalist' actually comes from a document in the 1920s called the Five Fundamentals of the Faith. And it is a very legalistic, narrow view of Christianity."9
Actually, Jesus told His disciples that His way would be narrow and difficult. "There are few who find it," he said. But "wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it." [Matthew 7:13-14] But for those who walk with Him, there's abundant strength in Christ for all the challenges ahead! This promise is for us today:
"My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9
Notes:
1. Alan Jones, Reimagining Christianity (Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2005), back cover.
2. Ibid., pages 79, 83.
3. Ibid., page 78.
4. See "How mysticism & the occult are changing the Church at www.crossroad.to/Excerpts/warnings.htm. This page includes links to descriptions of the main occult societies that affect our culture today.
5. See Georg Hegel 's vast influence, first in the Soviet Union, then the Western world at www.crossroad.to/Quotes/spirituality/hegel.htm
and www.crossroad.to/articles2/2003/occult-rpg.htm#steps
6. Francis A. Schaeffer, The God Who Is There (Intervarsity Press, 1968), pages 13-14. See excerpts at www.crossroad.to/Excerpts/books/schaeffer/who-is-there.htm
7. Alan Jones, page 83.
8. Paul Nussbaum, "The purpose-driven pastor," 1-8-06 at www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/living/religion/13573441.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp
9. The Pew Forum's biannual Faith Angle conference on religion, politics and public life, 5-23-05. http://pewforum.org/events/index.php?EventID=80
by Berit Kjos
A flood of mystical temptations is sweeping through churches and culture. They beckon us "let go" of the old inflexible Word and explore the new ways of the world and spirit. Naturally, a growing consensus of "open-minded" seekers claim that God's truth is "too divisive" to fit their new vision of global unity and experiential spirituality.
“It used to be that Christian institutions and systems of dogma sustained the spiritual life of Christians. Increasingly, spirituality itself is what sustains everything else," wrote Pastor Brian D. McLaren, a "key figure" in the Emerging Church and author of A New Kind of Christian. "Alan Jones is a pioneer in reimagining a Christian faith that emerges from authentic spirituality. His work stimulates and encourages me deeply.”1 [Emphasis added]
Do you wonder what McLaren means by "authentic spirituality?" Or by "reimagining a Christian faith?" I did. So I read Reimagining Christianity. In it, Alan Jones, the Episcopal Dean (priest) of San Francisco's gothic Grace Cathedral, offers some provocative clues:
"I am no longer interested, in the first instance, in what a person believes. Most of the time it’s so much clutter in the brain.... I wouldn't trust an inch many people who profess a belief in God. Others who do not or who doubt have won my trust. I want to know if joy, curiosity struggle, and compassion bubble up in a person’s life. I’m interested in being fully alive. There is no objective authority...."2 [Emphasis added]
Wrong! There is an objective authority: our Sovereign God, Creator of the universe. He has revealed His will and authority through His Word! But, as in Old Testament days, today's masses "love evil more than good!" (Psalm 52:3) Despising His authority, they deny the only Truth that can set us free! Their earthly destiny is summarized in 2 Timothy 3:7: "...always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth."
In Reimagining Christianity, Jones explains that "Any journey toward belief must begin with the task recognized by mystics throughout history. They realized that merely knowing about things (science) wasn't enough. In fact, it was a distraction."3 Then he points to a major goal of mystical insight -- one that is emphasized in Purpose-Driven as well as emerging churches:
"They realized that there was a deeper and potentially frightening task of self-knowledge. Knowledge of God and knowledge of self were sides of the same coin. It was a knowledge that had no end.... Those on a spiritual path share this vision of the universal and unending character of our Journey to and in God. The principle is that all things are lights guiding our way—even a stone or a piece of wood—but they are not what we seek. What stops our drive for facts from going haywire? The discovery of a higher form of knowing."3
Let's summarize his main points, then compare them with some occult systems formerly hidden in secret societies:
1. Biblical beliefs are out. They are irrelevant -- to be discarded as mere "clutter in the brain."
2. Being "fully alive" is in -- no matter what spirit or religion inspires the obligatory passion.
3. There's no room for objective reality or absolute truth.
4. This "higher form of knowing" would be based on mystical experience, intuition and self-knowledge. The latter supposedly leads to knowing (gnosis) a universal god -- or the spirit of love in everyone.
This worldview lies at the heart of Western occultism! Alan Jones' quest for a "higher form of knowing" is simply a new version of ancient Gnosticism and the mystical "Jewish" Kabbalah. Starting in the first century, the two occult threads intermingled and formed new pathways to secret knowledge (gnosis). Those dark, mystical paths hid for centuries underground. Then, starting in the 12th century, Kabbalah began to sprout mystical "brotherhoods" and secret societies that laid foundations for Alchemy, Theosophy (which would embrace Hinduism), Freemasonry and Rosicrucianism (these two incorporated Egyptian myths and symbols), the teachings of Swedenborg, Anthroposophy (Rudolf Steiner and Owen Barfield), and Hermetic magic. 4
During the 20th century, this hidden "knowledge" began to spread into mainstream culture and churches through revered poets and authors such as Alfred Lord Tennyson, William Blake, George McDonald, Tolkien, Charles Williams, and C. S. Lewis. Suddenly, the hidden mysteries of occult masters were laid bare to a thrill-seeking world hungry for a "fresh" and exciting spirituality -- purged of the old offensive truths. But even before these dark secrets were exposed, Georg Hegel, who was deeply involved in the several branches of Western occultism, provided educators and globalist visionaries with the dialectic process needed to transform both church and world.5
Not only did these enticing glimpses of forbidden mysteries affect beliefs and worldviews, they helped change the way we think and communicate. Even people who still treasure God's Word are learning to approach information in radically new ways. Nothing seems absolute anymore! Even God's Word is being adapted to the global values spawned by this cultural transformation.
Francis Schaeffer , founder of L'Abri, saw the beginning of change back in the sixties. Ponder this warning from his 1968 book, The God Who Is There:
"The present chasm between the generations has been brought about almost entirely by a change in the concept of truth. Wherever you look today the new concept holds the field. The consensus about us is almost monolithic, whether you review the arts, literature or just simply read the newspapers and magazines.... On every side you can feel the stranglehold of this new methodology—and by ‘methodology’ we mean the way we approach truth and knowing. ... And just as fog cannot be kept out by walls or doors, so this consensus comes in around us, till the room we live in is no longer distinct, and yet we hardly realize what has happened....
"Young people from Christian homes are brought up in the old framework of truth. Then they are subjected to the modern framework. In time they become confused because they do not understand the alternatives with which they are being presented. Confusion becomes bewilderment, and before long they are overwhelmed. This is unhappily true not only of young people, but of many pastors, Christian educators, evangelists and missionaries as well. So this change in the concept of the way we come to knowledge and truth is the most crucial problem... facing Christianity today.... The shift has been tremendous."6[Emphasis added]
When minds are no longer grounded in certain absolutes, there is no frame of reference that allows logical thinking. Without factual or Biblical certainty, a person cannot rationally resist today's enticing spiritual counterfeits. Alan Jones said it well:
"All the great religious traditions are in upheaval, and the divisions are within rather than between or among them. I have more in common with my friend Stephen, the rabbi at a large synagogue in San Francisco, than I do with many fellow Christians. I don’t mean that we simply find each other congenial. I mean that I am more ideologically compatible with Stephen than with, say, any Christian fundamentalist. ...
"Although there are some Christians who are unafraid of other spiritual paths and have learned from them... battle lines are being drawn between 'orthodox' and 'progressives.' And some people, like me, are at home on neither side. There’s a celebrated couplet by the poet William Blake that sums up for me much that is disturbing about exclusionary versions of Christianity:
"That vision of Christ, which thou dost see
Is my vision's greatest enemy."7
In light of this spiritual melting pot, it's not surprising that Rick Warren has announced that fundamentalism, of all varieties, will be "one of the big enemies of the 21st century."8 What, then, does Warren mean by Fundamentalism? In a May 2005 interview the Pew Forum on Religion, Warren stated:
"Today there really aren't that many Fundamentalists left; I don't know if you know that or not, but they are such a minority; there aren't that many Fundamentalists left in America.... Now the word 'fundamentalist' actually comes from a document in the 1920s called the Five Fundamentals of the Faith. And it is a very legalistic, narrow view of Christianity."9
Actually, Jesus told His disciples that His way would be narrow and difficult. "There are few who find it," he said. But "wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it." [Matthew 7:13-14] But for those who walk with Him, there's abundant strength in Christ for all the challenges ahead! This promise is for us today:
"My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9
Notes:
1. Alan Jones, Reimagining Christianity (Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2005), back cover.
2. Ibid., pages 79, 83.
3. Ibid., page 78.
4. See "How mysticism & the occult are changing the Church at www.crossroad.to/Excerpts/warnings.htm. This page includes links to descriptions of the main occult societies that affect our culture today.
5. See Georg Hegel 's vast influence, first in the Soviet Union, then the Western world at www.crossroad.to/Quotes/spirituality/hegel.htm
and www.crossroad.to/articles2/2003/occult-rpg.htm#steps
6. Francis A. Schaeffer, The God Who Is There (Intervarsity Press, 1968), pages 13-14. See excerpts at www.crossroad.to/Excerpts/books/schaeffer/who-is-there.htm
7. Alan Jones, page 83.
8. Paul Nussbaum, "The purpose-driven pastor," 1-8-06 at www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/living/religion/13573441.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp
9. The Pew Forum's biannual Faith Angle conference on religion, politics and public life, 5-23-05. http://pewforum.org/events/index.php?EventID=80
July 13, 2011
The "Wild Goose" Festival
Evangelical Left Flocks to Carolina Field to Tout Big Government, Pacifism, Vapid Theology
"Much of what 'Wild Goose' features is not new or novel but old-fashioned liberal causes, freshly repackaged for young evangelicals." -- Mark Tooley, IRD President
WASHINGTON, June 24, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- Evangelical and Religious Left groups are converging on a North Carolina field near Chapel Hill this weekend for a four-day festival of music acts, yoga and liberal Christian speakers. The IRD will provide onsite coverage.
The "Wild Goose" festival, patterned on Britain's 37-year-old "Greenbelt" festival, will feature Emergent Church guru Brian McLaren, pacifist activist Shane Claiborne, and author Jay Bakker, the pastor son of former televangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker. Combining "justice" issues with a vague "spirituality," the festival is also showcasing "evangelical progressives" like Tony Campolo, a spiritual advisor to former President Bill Clinton during his impeachment scandal, and Sojourners chief Jim Wallis.
IRD President Mark Tooley commented:
"Much of what 'Wild Goose' features is not new or novel but old-fashioned liberal causes, freshly repackaged for young evangelicals.
"Most Religious Left groups that advocated leftist policies in past generations are now in severe decline, and their activists are now targeting evangelical youth.
"Influenced by gnostic beliefs that Christianity has repeatedly rejected, many 'Wild Goose' voices flatter themselves with fanciful dreams of sophistication and praise from secular elites. Their 1960s-style hoopla is supposedly updated for the 21st century. But ultimately this featherless old Wild Goose won't fly."
The Institute on Religion & Democracy works to reaffirm the church's biblical and historical teachings, strengthen and reform its role in public life, protect religious freedom, and renew democracy at home and abroad.
Source
"Much of what 'Wild Goose' features is not new or novel but old-fashioned liberal causes, freshly repackaged for young evangelicals." -- Mark Tooley, IRD President
WASHINGTON, June 24, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- Evangelical and Religious Left groups are converging on a North Carolina field near Chapel Hill this weekend for a four-day festival of music acts, yoga and liberal Christian speakers. The IRD will provide onsite coverage.
The "Wild Goose" festival, patterned on Britain's 37-year-old "Greenbelt" festival, will feature Emergent Church guru Brian McLaren, pacifist activist Shane Claiborne, and author Jay Bakker, the pastor son of former televangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker. Combining "justice" issues with a vague "spirituality," the festival is also showcasing "evangelical progressives" like Tony Campolo, a spiritual advisor to former President Bill Clinton during his impeachment scandal, and Sojourners chief Jim Wallis.
IRD President Mark Tooley commented:
"Much of what 'Wild Goose' features is not new or novel but old-fashioned liberal causes, freshly repackaged for young evangelicals.
"Most Religious Left groups that advocated leftist policies in past generations are now in severe decline, and their activists are now targeting evangelical youth.
"Influenced by gnostic beliefs that Christianity has repeatedly rejected, many 'Wild Goose' voices flatter themselves with fanciful dreams of sophistication and praise from secular elites. Their 1960s-style hoopla is supposedly updated for the 21st century. But ultimately this featherless old Wild Goose won't fly."
The Institute on Religion & Democracy works to reaffirm the church's biblical and historical teachings, strengthen and reform its role in public life, protect religious freedom, and renew democracy at home and abroad.
Source
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
