To everyone with an interest in finding a new Church:
Today we visited our 3rd Church- one new Church for each week. We are looking for a new Church, and the one we found today is not the one. As we entered the Church we noticed that we were the only ones with Bibles- a tell tale sign! I will not go into many details, just the following:
During his sermon, the Pastor informed us that Peter was the “Rock” upon which Christ would build His Church. He also said that when God gave the Jews the law in the book of Leviticus, that they kept the law, but after a long time it became boring, and they turned away from it.
This is a very large Church in my town, that for years was a conservative Christian Church, that relied on the King James Bible. Today it does not. The New Pastor came aboard 14 years ago and changed things around.
So, I came home with a mission—to find a conservative, Bible believing Church in my City. I used Google, and typed in: King James Bible, My City, Ca. and found our new Church. We will attend next Sunday. Why did I choose this Church? #1 We totally agreed with their Statement of Faith; #2--During the month of March, three Sunday Services were focused on one thing, and one thing alone--[b]warning the members of the Emerging Church, and exactly what it is, in relation to true Christianity.[/b] Is it a Kings James Bible Church? I don't know, but will find out next week:
[b]EMERGING TRUTH AND THE NEW KIND OF CHRISTIAN
Session 1 – Foundations
WHAT IS THE EMERGING/EMERGENT CHURCH?[/b]
It is a movement within Christianity that is notoriously hard to define.
It is a new movement that dislikes labels and presents itself as a “conversation.”
This conversation features authors, pastors, professors, conferences, websites, blogs and
churches, all with their own interests and points of emphasis. When pressed for clarity, and
especially when criticized as drifting from or denying the Bible, many of these conversationalists argue that they have been misunderstood, that they were just talking, that they’re still in process and figuring things out, or that the critic is being unkind or unhelpful. For all of these reasons, it’s
hard to define the conversation!
The goals of this series:
1. We will attempt to understand how we came to this point in American Christianity, beginning with the idea of postmodernism.
2. We will read and listen to some of the actual words and teachings of a few major figures in the
conversation. These clips will be necessarily short, but always fair. Their sources will be cited.
3. We will identify a few of the major challenges that the emergent movement makes to Biblical teaching and the Christian faith.
4. We will learn what the Bible clearly says about these topics and ask God to help us believe it.
[b]I will gladly acknowledge:[/b]
1. I have not read everything that has been published in the conversation. I doubt anyone has, or that it’s even humanly possible. I have, however, read a variety of both EC authors and their critics.
2. That this survey is too short and some of its points are too briefly made to cover all of the
important topics to anyone’s satisfaction. This includes both proponents and opponents of
emerging Christianity.
3. That the goals of this study are offensive to some postmodern, emergent Christians. They
would likely argue that their positions are not yet firmly established, that my statements about
doctrine are too narrow, and that it is arrogant for any individual to believe he knows what the Bible “clearly says.” I acknowledge those rebukes, but maintain that they are simply not true because of what God has graciously done through His Son, His Spirit and His Word.
[b]BASICS ABOUT THE EMERGENT CHURCH[/b]
1. The Emergent church (EC) movement began as an effort to reach the new generation
using innovative methods that addressed a culture which everyone agrees is changing
rapidly. “Seeker” churches such as Saddleback and Willow Creek reached Boomers, but
Emerging leaders were alarmed that younger generations were rapidly leaving the church.
2. The EC is a protest and a pendulum swing.
A. Against traditional evangelicalism and fundamentalism
B. Against the “seeker church”
C. Against institutions and their authority in general
3. The EC comes from the cultural soil of postmodernism.
4. The EC’s core issue is truth. The academic word for this area of knowledge is epistemology -
how we know things, or think we know them.
[b]TRUTH[/b]
Does it exist? How do we know? Can we know anything for certain?
Discussion Question: Can you name something that is true for all people, regardless of culture,
whether anyone accepts it or not? (Try to do so without appealing to the authority of the Bible.)
Torturing babies for fun
This is what we call “objective truth” – something that is true for everyone, always.
The Biblical explanation of why some truths are obvious to everyone:
For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a
law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the work of the
law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them 16 on that day when, according to my gospel, God
judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus. (Romans 2:14-16)
It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not
tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife. (1 Corinthians 5:1)
People everywhere have a conscience! - “That’s just wrong!”
[b]THE SOIL THE EMERGENT CHURCH GROWS FROM IS POSTMODERNISM[/b]
The EC began because its belief that we are living in a whole new way of thinking about the world.
We are moving from Modernism to Postmodernism.
Modernism (1550 – 1945)
1. Starting point: the individual.
2. Believes that truth can be found through reason alone.
3. Believes that truth is found only through what we can see, hear, touch, taste and
smell. - “Science has the answers.”
This idea makes it impossible to discuss God in a “rational” way.
“You can’t talk about God making the universe. That’s a religious thing.
We’re talking about science.”
4. Science alone can deliver facts. Religion can only give us values. Everything
outside of science is a matter of personal preference. Once we abandon the realm of science, the reply we hear is: “That’s true for you, but not for me.”
5. Believes progress is inevitable. THEN came two World Wars, the knowledge that government could not be trusted, the disintegration of the family, and a new connection with the world’s
cultures through travel and technology.
Belief in man’s ability to understand the truth (there are so many!) and do what’s right (power is used to oppress!) was fatally wounded.
[b]Postmodernism (1945 – present)[/b]
1. People are fallible and very limited: they can only see things from their
perspective.
2. Truth is relative.
There is no “true way” - just different ways of seeing and doing things.
Believing that some things are true for everybody is arrogant and oppressive.
3. Language itself limits our ability to know truth and express it.
This is especially true when talking about spirituality or God, because the concepts are so
big that we cannot really describe them adequately.
4. Truth is found in communities, which “make” their own truth as they talk, share
their perspectives, and live out their values.
5. Since we cannot be certain of anything, it is best to be authentic.
Since my own perspective is so limited and “truth” is used so selfishly, it is
best to be a “citizen of the world.” I should care about the environment. It makes sense to be skeptical of patriotism, institutions and authority figures. The world is a village, after all.Postmodernism’s bottom line: the truth is unknowable. Truth is personal and provisional at
best. How do we evaluate these two different ways of seeing the world and truth? They’re both wrong!
[b]Modernism is fatally flawed because it begins with man, and leaves no room for God. Human
reason and motives are selfish and will be turned to evil.[/b]
5Thus says the LORD:" Cursed is the man who trusts in man, and makes flesh his strength,
whose heart turns away from the LORD.
6 He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.7 "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD.
8 He is like a tree planted by water that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear
when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it
does not cease to bear fruit."
9The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick; who can understand it?
10 "I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways,
according to the fruit of his deeds."
Postmodernism is fatally flawed because its reaction to the errors of modernism is to diminish or deny truth altogether, leaving us in a world with no objective morality, no certainty, and no destination.
“The one thing about trains: It doesn’t matter where you are going. What matters is deciding to get on.” From the conclusion of the movie “The Polar Express.”
BUT NO ONE lives a single day of their lives as if the truth does not exist and cannot be known.
People know who they are. They know that the destination does matter. They know when they
are being wronged, and are very quick to say so. (And sue!)
[b]HOW POSTMODERNISM HAS SHAPED THE EMERGING CHURCH[/b]
Emerging Christians tend to be diminish, deny, or be uncertain about:
The clarity and authority of the Bible
“The Bells started questioning their assumptions about the Bible itself—‘discovering the Bible
as a human product,’ as Rob puts it, rather than the product of divine fiat. ‘The Bible is still in the center for us,’ Rob says, ‘but it's a different kind of center. We want to embrace mystery, rather than conquer it.’
‘I grew up thinking that we've figured out the Bible,’ Kristen says, ‘that we knew what it
means. Now I have no idea what most of it means. And yet I feel like life is big again—like life
used to be black and white, and now it's in color.’”
Source:
[url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2004/november/12.36.html?start=2]How Postmodernish Has Shaped the Emerging Church[/url]
[b]The Bible says:
I have given them Your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the
world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but
that You keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the
world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; Your Word is truth. (John 17:14-17)
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. (2 Timothy 3:16)
“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about Me, 40 yet you refuse to come to Me that you may have life.”
(John 5:39-40)[/b]
The trustworthiness of doctrinal statements
[b]“WHAT DOES EMERGENT VILLAGE BELIEVE?[/b]
“We believe in God, beauty, future, and hope – but you won’t find a traditional statement of faith here. We don’t have a problem with faith, but with statements (read more here). Whereas statements of faith and doctrine have a tendency to stifle friendships, we hope to further conversation and action around the things of God.”
Source:
[url=http://emergentvillage.com/about-information/faqs] What the Emergent Church Believes[/url]
[b]Catch this: They have a statement saying they have a problem with statements![/b]
[b]The Bible says:
Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it
necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to
the saints. 4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this
condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our
only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. (Jude 3-4)
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another one, but there are some
who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from
heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel
contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. (Galatians 1:6-9)[/b]
[b]The Emergent Church conversation questions and recasts basic Biblical teachings like the purpose of the death of Jesus, the existence of hell and the nature of God Himself. Generally, if the doctrine is controversial, it is being questioned and revisited. We’ll address these important topics later in this survey.
Their position on controversial issues, like homosexuality “Frankly, many of us don't know what we should think about homosexuality. We've
heard all sides but no position has yet won our confidence so that we can say "it seems
good to the Holy Spirit and us." That alienates us from both the liberals and conservatives who seem to know exactly what we should think. Even if we are convinced that all homosexual behavior is always sinful, we still want to treat gay and
lesbian people with more dignity, gentleness, and respect than our colleagues do. If we think that there may actually be a legitimate context for some homosexual relationships, we know that the biblical arguments are nuanced and multilayered, and the pastoral ramifications are staggeringly complex. We aren't sure if or where lines are to be drawn, nor do we know how to enforce with fairness whatever lines are
drawn.
“Perhaps we need a five-year moratorium on making pronouncements. In the meantime, we'll practice prayerful Christian dialogue, listening respectfully,disagreeing agreeably. When decisions need to be made, they'll be admmittedly provisional. We'll keep our ears attuned to scholars in biblical studies, theology, ethics, psychology, genetics, sociology, and related fields. Then in five years, if we have clarity, we'll speak; if not, we'll set another five years for ongoing reflection. After all, many important issues in church history took centuries to figure out. Maybe this moratorium would help us resist the "winds of doctrine" blowing furiously from the left and right, so we can patiently wait for the wind of the Spirit to set our course.”
Brian McLaren[/b]
Source:
[url=http://blog.christianitytoday.com/outofur/archives/2006/01/brian_mclaren_o.html]What Does the Emergent Village Believe[/url]
“I now believe that GLBTQ can live lives in accord with biblical Christianity (at least as
much as any of us can!) and that their monogamy can and should be sanctioned and blessed by church and state.” Tony Jones
[url=http://blog.beliefnet.com/tonyjones/2008/11/same-sex-marriage-blogalogue-h.html]Tony Jones[/url]
[b]The Bible says:[/b]
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be
deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice
homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will
inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were
sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
(1 Corinthians 6:9-11)
The legitimacy of preaching
"Why do I get to speak for 30 minutes and you don't?
"A sermon is often a violent act," says Pagitt, a key figure among emerging leaders.
"It's a violence toward the will of the people who have to sit there and take it."[/b]
Source:
[url=http://www.abpnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2462&Itemid=11]The Legitimacy of Preaching[/url]
[b]The Bible says:
I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the
dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the Word; be ready in season and out
of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 For the time
is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will
accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4and will turn away from
listening to the truth and wander off into myths. (2 Timothy 4:1-4)[/b]
YOUTUBE VIDEO FROM PBS SPECIAL HERE:
[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGSQjtWTpa]Youtube Link[/url]
[b]WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW:
The truth is – there IS TRUTH.[/b]
God has spoken and acted so that we can know the truth. His gracious work to communicate the truth overcomes our limitations to understand and love the truth. You don’t have to know all the truth to have a genuine relationship with God. You can be absolutely sure who God is and what He has said without being arrogant.
Uncertainty is not humility.All of Scripture and all truth points to Jesus, who IS the Truth in the flesh. (John 14:6)
The Bible says that the truth can be known, and known so well that its counterfeits can be
detected and should be rejected. The most readable of the books describing and countering the Emergent movement is Why We’re Not Emergent (By Two Guys Who Should Be) by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck
(Moody Publishers, 2008)
[b]EMERGING TRUTH AND THE NEW KIND OF CHRISTIAN[/b]
Session 2 – Thinking about doctrine – Reason and Scripture
The core issue with the emergent movement is not couches, candles, or style. The issue is
doctrine – what the Bible is and what it teaches. As we survey emergent theology, we’ll
encounter many arguments against historic Christian doctrine. PLAY ROB BELL’S “VELVET ELVIS” UNTIL 3:44 MARK Common mistakes in the postmodern/emergent conversation:
1. Self-contradicting arguments
This is probably the single greatest flaw in postmodern reasoning when it comes to truth claims. The EC says it distrusts statements. But it ultimately has to make statements saying that the statements it doesn’tlike are false!
“There are no absolute truths.”
“Really? Do you believe that absolutely?
An example from emergentvillage.com -
“WHAT DOES EMERGENT VILLAGE BELIEVE?
“We believe in God, beauty, future, and hope – but you won’t find a traditional statement of faith here. We don’t have a problem with faith, but with statements (read more here). Whereas statements of faith and doctrine have a tendency to stifle friendships, we hope to further conversation and action around the things of God.”
Source:
[url=http://emergentvillage.com/about-information/faqs] More beliefs of the Emergent Church[/url]
[b]Response:
They have a statement saying they have a problem with statements![/b]
They also “hope to further conversation and action around the things of God” but to do that someone is going to have to say WHAT “the things of God” are! Caring for the environment? Feeding the hungry? Blessing gay marriage? Learning things from other religions? Telling people that only Jesus can save them from sin?
2. False dilemmas
“As an American citizen, would you rather have freedom of speech or the right to a fair trial?”
“The Bill of Rights guarantees me both!”
An example from Tony Jones:
“As I gained a little prominence as an author in the youth ministry world, people began asking me my opinion on homosexuality. I often quoted one of my seminary professors, Bill Pannell, who was
involved in the civil rights movement. I had lunch with him during my last semester at seminary and as we drove back to campus he said to me, "Civil rights and abortion will be nothing compared to how the church has to deal with homosexuality. I'm glad it's your generation and not mine who'll have to figure that out."
With that in mind, I always responded, "I'm holding that issue in abeyance. I haven't made up
my mind yet, and I'm in no hurry to. Homosexuality," I would say, "I (sic) one issue that I don't want to get wrong."
And yet, all the time I could feel myself drifting toward acceptance that gay persons are fully human persons and should be afforded all of the cultural and ecclesial benefits that I am.
("Aha!" my critics will laugh derisively, "I knew he and his ilk were on a continuous leftward slide!")
“In any case, I now believe that GLBTQ can live lives in accord with biblical Christianity (at least as much as any of us can!) and that their monogamy can and should be sanctioned and blessed by church and state.
“Well, I suppose this blogalogue will be a test of whether I have good theological and philosophical reasons for supporting the rights of GLBTQ persons to marry, or whether I've simply caved to the mushy inclusivity of pluralized nothingness. In either case, Rod, I'm looking forward to this conversation, and I'm praying that it is ultimately glorifying of God.”
Tony Jones
[url=http://blog.beliefnet.com/tonyjones/2008/11/same-sex-marriage-blogalogue-h.html] Tony Jones[/url]
[b]Response:
This implies that anyone who believes gay marriage is wrong must believe that gay persons are less than “fully human.”
The Bible says:
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived:
neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
(1 Corinthians 6:9-11)
3. Choosing beliefs that accommodate today’s sensibilities rather than affirming what
God has clearly said in His Word.
DOUG PAGGIT “CHRISTIANITY WORTH BELIEVING 5” video found here:
[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hf2gDprVpDI]Doug Paggit[/url]
4. The need for absolute knowledge before anything can be known for sure.The EC correctly points out that people, including Christians, have done evil things because they were
certain it was the right thing to do. So they say, “Let’s not be so sure of ourselves.”
But the problem is not with certainty itself, much less with Scripture. Those who did evil in the name of Jesus were simply wrong. The EC has the right diagnosis, but the wrong medicine.
“When we 'do theology,' we are clay pots pondering the potter, kids pondering their father, ants discussing the elephant. At some level of profundity and accuracy we are bound to be inadequate or incomplete all the time, in almost anything we say or think, considering our human limitations, including language, and God's infinite greatness. “Our words will seek to be servants of mystery, not removers of it as they were in the old world. They will convey a message that is clear yet mysterious, simple yet mysterious, substantial yet mysterious.
My faith developed in the old world of many words, in a naïve confidence in the power of many words, as if the mysteries of faith could be captured like fine-print conditions in a legal document and be reduced to safe equations. Mysteries, however, cannot be captured so precisely. Freeze-dried coffee, butterflies on pins, and frogs in formaldehyde all lose something in out attempts at capturing,
defining, preserving, and rendering them less jumpy, flighty or fluid. In the new world, we
understand this a little better.” (Brian McLaren, The Church on the Other Side. Cited in D.A. Carson,
[b]Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church, p. 129.
Response:[/b]
Brian McLaren uses many words to tell us that we can’t really capture the truth in words!
We are told that clarity and certainty tend to kill living things. In this analogy, the faith is never static. It’s always moving, changing, and fluid. We are told that the distance between God and us is simply too great for us to be too sure about anything. By this standard, it’s hard to imagine how anyone could be sure about much of anything. In EC terms, this is “mystery.”
Four words to remember about the Bible:
Clarity – The Bible is clear.
Content – The Bible delivers a definite message: truth from God.
Authority – God’s truth has the right and the power to change our lives.
Life – God did all this that we may have life.
CLARITY
The Bible speaks clearly
The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether." (Psalm 19:7-9) ESV Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Psalm 119:105 ESV The unfolding of your Words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.
(Psalm 119:130) ESV God made His Word clear so that it would give life and change life.
CONTENT
God’s message has been delivered once for all to all believers. Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary
to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. 4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. (Jude 3-4) ESV
So the ta sk i s not “ repa int ing t he C hri stia n f ait h” but fa ithful ly pas sing it on to ot he r s!
You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, 2 and what you have heard
from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. (2 Timothy 2:2) ESV
Now I would remind you, brothers, of the Gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the Word I preached to you unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) ESV
Gospel means “Good News.” There is a definite, clear, life giving truth to announce, and it’s personal.
AUTHORITY
For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)
LIFE
The Bible tells us about Jesus – The written Word testifies to the incarnate Word
“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about Me, 40 yet you refuse to come to Me that you may have life.”
(John 5:39-40) ESV
And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that youhave eternal life. (1 John 5:11-13) ESV
And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know
Him Who is true; and we are in Him Who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and
eternal life. (1 John 5:20) ESV
"But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:14-17) ESV
WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW
God has personally spoken in His Word and by His Son. He has spoken clearly so that we may
know Him, and be sure that it is Him!
While our understanding of God will always be incomplete and growing, that does not mean it is
uncertain.
God’s power graciously overcomes our sinful limitations so that we may really know Him.
This points to His goodness, not our wisdom.
Yes, we are “kids pondering the Father.” He has created us, spoken to us and forgiven us so that
we may know Him!
Understanding this will make us truly humble.
Issues we will consider next week:
Jesus – His message and the purpose of His death.
The existence of heaven and hell
EMERGING TRUTH AND THE NEW KIND OF CHRISTIAN
Session 3 – Jesus, the Cross, and Hell
One of the chief characteristics in postmodern thought is that little, if anything, can be known forcertain. Certainty is considered arrogant and intolerant. It is said that certainty leads to the abuse of power.
This lack of confidence in certainty has shaped the Emergent view of Scripture, so that they do not believe it is clear. Without clarity, confidence in the Bible’s content also disappears. (“Who knows what it really means?”) Finally, Scripture’s authority is also lost.
With all of this lost, it is no wonder that the message and death of Jesus are being reevaluated by leading emergent thinkers.
In Emergent teaching, especially in the prolific work of Brian McLaren, the central message and work of Jesus does not deal primarily with saving people from hell by paying for their sins on the cross. From a 2005 PBS interview with Brian McLaren:
(Emphasis added)
“I think it would be safe to say that everything we're doing with the emerging conversation is summed up in saying, "What is the message of Jesus, and what is the message of the kingdom of God? What does that mean?" In many ways, what we feel has happened is the church has tended too often to be about institutional survival, which results in horrible things, from fund-raising scandals to covering up pedophilia scandals. When institutional survival is the purpose of the church -- Jesus said it: "If you save your life you lose it. You can gain the world and lose your soul." So the church starts to lose its soul. The church has been preoccupied with the question, "What happens to your soul after you die?" And that has resulted in, all too often, an abandonment of the ethics of the kingdom of God, the ethics of Jesus
for this life and our history here and now.”
________________
“The way I've tried to describe what I'm trying to do is this way: let's say you're going down a road and you come to a T in the road. And there's a sign, and it says if you turn left you get to Boston, and if you turn right you get to New York City. And I get to that T and I think, "You know what, I actually want to go to Los Angeles." At that moment, my answer isn't to turn left or to turn right, my answer is to turn around and rethink how I got to where I am now.
“I think we're in a similar situation in not just evangelical Christianity, but really in Western Christianity -- that for a very long time we have been very preoccupied with the question, as if the reason for Jesus coming can be summed up in ‘Jesus is trying to help get more souls into heaven, as opposed to hell, after they die.’ I just think a fair reading of the gospels blows that out of the water. I don't think that the entire message and life of Jesus can be boiled down to that bottom line.”
The entire interview is here:
[url=http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week846/interview.html] Entire Interview Here[/url]
The message of Jesus, as presented by Brian McLaren, Tony Campolo and others in the Emergent
“conversation” has to do with their understanding of the Kingdom of God – which they say is a primary concern for earthly injustices and tragedies, like poverty, slavery, and disease.
From the PBS interview:
“In GENEROUS ORTHODOXY you're pretty critical especially of the evangelical focus on personal
salvation. Why does that trouble you? That is one of the basic concepts in many people's theology in the evangelical church.”
“Well, first of all, I'm not at all against the idea of a personal relationship with God. I think that's where it all begins. I think this is part of the beauty of the message of Jesus. Every individual is invited into a personal
relationship with God. But personal is not private, so personal doesn't just mean it's me and God, or me and Jesus, but personal means that my connection to God also connects me to other people and connects me to what God is doing, the mission of God in our world.”
________________
“You know, you could look at it like this: if becoming a Christian makes a person withdraw and isolate so that their focus is on what will happen to [them] after death, and makes them less involved in the problems and needs of this world here, today, every person who becomes a Christian in some ways is taken out of the
game. But if being a Christian means converting from being part of the problem to being part of the solution, then every person who is a dynamic, growing Christian is engaged in the world as an activist on the cause of
justice and peace.”
Response:
Once again we are confronted with a false dilemma. In this one, a personal concern for your eternal salvation makes you withdrawn, isolated (and consequently very selfish) so that you have no concern for earthly problems
like poverty and disease. This is an amazingly unfair reading of Christian history because God’s people have always been concerned with
both issues. Genuine Christians are the greatest force for good on earth, counting among their good works hospitals, orphanages, and relief work of all kinds. The Gospel has invariably produced what missiologists call “redemption and lift.” Cultures with a large number of genuine Christians always become more peaceful, just,
compassionate and productive. But Christians have correctly put the ultimate and urgent focus on what happens to a person after death,
just as Jesus did!
The Emergent understanding (which echoes the “Social Gospel” of the early 1900’s) necessarily changes the reason Jesus died and questions or denies the existence of hell.
A 2006 podcast interview with Brian McLaren makes this clear. (Portion of Brian McLaren interview)
You can hear the entire interview here:
Part 1:
[url=http://bleedingpurplepodcast.blogspot.com/2006/01/brian-mclaren-interview-part-i.html] The Emergent Understanding. Part 1[/url]
Part 2:
[url=http://bleedingpurplepodcast.blogspot.com/2006/01/interview-with-brian-mclaren-part-ii.html]The Emergent Understanding Part 2[/url]
What does the Bible say about Jesus’ message and the purpose of His death?
Jesus announced that the Kingdom of God was at hand. People should respond by repenting and believing the Good News!
14 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel.”(Mark 1:14-15)
After feeding the hungry 5,000, Jesus framed people’s earthly and eternal needs in
clear terms. And they rejected Him for it!
22 On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except that one which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone— 23 however, other boats came from Tiberias,
near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks— 24 when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. 25 And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You come here?” 26 Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the
signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.” 28 Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”
29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” 30 Therefore they said to Him, “What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from
heaven to eat.’” 32 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven,but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.”
35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 This is the will of
the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. 40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:22-39)Jesus predicted His death on the cross for the salvation of those who believe: 13 “No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in
heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”(John 3:13-19)
John the Baptist explained the message and purpose of Jesus in stark terms: 25 Then there arose a dispute between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purification. 26 And they
came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have
testified—behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!”27 John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. 28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.’ 29 He
who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. 30 He must increase, but I
must decrease. 31 He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. 33 He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true. 34 For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. 35 The
Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. 36 He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” (John 3:25-35)
Jesus said belief in Him was the difference between life and death: 21 Then Jesus said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come.”
22 So the Jews said, “Will He kill Himself, because He says, ‘Where I go you cannot come’?”
23 And He said to them, “You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
25 Then they said to Him, “Who are You?”
And Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning. 26 I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him.”
27 They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father. 28 Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. 29 And He who sent Me is with Me.
The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.” 30 As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.
Jesus said that He alone grants people eternal life and a home with God: 1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And where I go you know, and the way you know.”5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.(John 14:6)
John explains that He wrote His Gospel so we would believe and have eternal life: 30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book;31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. (John 20:30-31)
Jesus warned of the reality of hell in the most graphic, horrible language:
43 “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched — 44 where ‘ Their worm does not die And the fire is not quenched.’45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched — 46 where ‘ Their worm does not die
And the fire is not quenched.’47 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one
eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire— 48 where ‘ Their worm does not die And the fire is not quenched.’ “
(Mark 9:43-47)
God is the One who has authority over life, death and hell:
4 “And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. 5 But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him! 6 “Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. 7 But the
very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. 8 “Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God. 9 But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.
(Luke 12:4-8)
Hell is justified because of the horrendous offense of defying God: 1 We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2 For
if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, 3 how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. 4God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
(Hebrews 2:1-3)
28 Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And
again, “The LORD will judge His people.” 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.(Hebrews 10:28-31)
The hardest question regarding hell: How can never-ending punishment for finite sins be
justified?
Answer: The degree of punishment is not determined by the length of time it takes to commit the crime, but by the dignity, worth, and honor of the One we offend.
The greater our obligation to love, honor and obey a person, the greater the offense when we
refuse to do so. But Isaiah explained that God would make Jesus absorb the punishment for our sins:
4 Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions,He was bruised for our iniquities;The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,6 All we like sheep have gone astray;We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth.
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment,
And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living;
For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. 9 And they made His grave with the wicked But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth.10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. God did this because of His great love, to save us from His righteous wrath: 6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom we have now received the reconciliation.
(Romans 5:6-11)
God accomplished this through the death of His Son on the cross: 13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in Whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
(Colossians 1:9-14)
WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW:
1. Major leaders in the EC are denying basic Biblical teachings and recasting them in the image of contemporary sensibilities. The crises facing humanity are enormous, so they affirm this is Jesus’ main concern. The thought of a God who punishes sin is unthinkable, so they deny His existence.
2. Our concern over people’s earthly troubles will be of no comfort to them if they die without finding eternal life in Jesus Christ.
3. The horror of sin, the dread of God’s wrath, and the depth of His love is most clearly and gloriously
seen in the Cross of His Son, Jesus.
EMERGING TRUTH AND THE NEW KIND OF CHRISTIAN
Session 4 – Trends and Effects
Continued from week 3: Hell is justified because of the horrendous offense of defying an infinitely holy, good, loving and just God.
But Isaiah explained that God would make Jesus absorb the punishment for our sins:4 Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities;The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,So He opened not His mouth.
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment,
And who will declare His generation?
For He was cut off from the land of the living;
For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. 9 And they made His grave with the wicked But with the rich at His death,Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth. 10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
God did this because of His great love, to save us from His righteous wrath:
6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
(Romans 5:6-11)
God accomplished this through the death of His Son on the cross: 13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
(Colossians 1:9-14)
Doug Paggit radio interview.
The Doug Pagitt interview is found here:
[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0isqLRhClo] Doug Paggit Radio Interview[/url]
WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW:
1. Major leaders in the EC are denying basic Biblical teachings and recasting them in the image of contemporary sensibilities. The crises facing humanity are enormous, so they affirm this is Jesus’ mainconcern. The thought of a God who punishes sin is unthinkable, so they deny His existence.
2. Our concern over people’s earthly troubles will be of no comfort to them if they die without finding eternal life in Jesus Christ.
3. The horror of sin, the dread of God’s wrath, and the depth of His love is most clearly and gloriously seen in the Cross of His Son, Jesus.
The Doug Pagitt interview is found here:
[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0isqLRhClo]What we Need to Know[/url]
TRENDS AND EFFECTS OF THE EMERGENT MOVEMENT
1. The Emergent Church is increasingly promoting theological liberalism.
The EC describes this as either the shift from modernism to postmodernism or the return to a more “ancient” or “authentic” Christianity, but at its core it is teaching that denies the “faith which was once for all delivered to
the saints.” (Jude 3).
The EC is doing this with fresh personalities that have mostly emerged from conservative evangelical churches. They have used new media very effectively to tell a whole new generation that the faith of their fathers is isguided, outdated, and in many ways, the cause for many of the world’s ills.
This message is presented as a protest against what is slick, fake, and hypocritical in contemporary American Christianity. It resonates because there is a lot of slickness, fakery and hypocrisy! This protest, combined with the assurance that Emergent Christianity is actually a return to an older, more authentic, more Biblical Christianity has made many people believe its claims. (“What a relief that authentic Christianity does not have exclusive, intolerant truth claims and actually cares so much about the stuff I think is important!”)
2. The Emergent Church is increasingly encouraging interfaith spirituality.
A. The EC is willing to learn from non-Christian beliefs and religions.
“Western Christianity has (for the last few centuries anyway) said relatively little about mindfulness and meditative practices, about which Zen Buddhism has said much. To talk about different things is not to contradict one another; it is, rather, to have much to offer one another, on occasion at least.
“If, as a Christian, I am to love my neighbor, and treat my neighbor as I would be treated, then without question one of my duties in regard to my neighbor of another religion is to value everything that is good that he offers me in neighborliness – including the opportunity to learn all I can from his religion. Another duty is to offer everything I have that could be of value to him – including the opportunity to learn from my religion if he can. This is not a compromise of my faith or his: this is a required practice of it.” Brian McLaren, A Generous Orthodoxy, p. 287-288 B. Mystical practices are important to the EC’s concept of Christian spiritual growth.
There are many such disciplines recommended, often alongside Biblical practices like the study of Scripture, worship, prayer, and fasting. This makes discernment especially difficult. For sake of space and time, I will only focus here on examples of breathing exercises and centering prayer as examples of the mysticism recommended by EC leaders.
Leonard Sweet is a professor and a major influence in postmodern Christian thought. He coauthored a book with Brian McLaren entitled, “A is for Abductive: The Language of the Emerging Church.” In his book Quantum Spirituality, he recommends these breathing exercises, among others: (All errors in the original.)
“5. Take a deep breath of life holding someone’s hand. Nothing is more personal and private than breathing. Yet nothing connects us more to one another and the earth than breathing. Each breath we take contains approximately a quadrillion (1015) atoms breathed by the rest of humanity within the past few weeks.
“6. Take another deep breath while holding a pet or plant. The connectedness of our breathing encompasses not simply the human order but all creatures that breathe, including persons, plants, and animals.“7. Stand in front of a picture of a family member who has died. Recall joyful memories of them and laugh. With the breath you took for that laugh, your loved one literally became a part of you. In every breath there are more than a million atoms breathed personally at one time or another by every breathing earthling that has ever lived.
“8. Hold your Bible and breathe meditatively. The breathtaking, nay, breathgiving truth of
liveness is more than Methuselean in its span: Part of your body right now was once actually, literally part of the body of Abraham, Sarah, Noah, Esther, David, Abigail, Moses, Ruth, Matthew, Mary, Li ke, Martha, John, Priscilla, Paul... and Jesus.
“9. Keep breathing quietly while holding your Bible. You have within you not just the
powers of goodness resident in the great spiritual leaders like Moses, Jesus, Muhammed, Lao Tzu. You also have within you the forces of evil and destruction. The youthful comrade and confidant of Joan of Arc was Gilles de Rais, a marshall of France and one of the wealthiest men in Europe, who was condemned to the stake in 1440 for the crimes of witchcraft, heresy, sodomy, and the sexual abuse and murder of over 140 children. Resident in each breath you take is the body of angels like Joan of Arc and devils like Gilles de Rais, Genghis Khan, Judas Iscariot, Herod, Hitler, Stalin and all the other destructive spirits throughout history.“10. Gather a group together for a Navajo breathing ceremony. Stand in a circle, everyone facing the center of the circle. If there are any present in special need of prayer, ask them to “center” the circle. Place your hands in the center of the backs of those standing on either side of you and observe silence. Get in touch with one anothers’ breathing patterns. Now breathe together as a circle, bending the knees slightly as you
inhale, straightening up as you exhale.
“Keep doing this until the circle becomes one breath.”
Sweet is not alone in writing about Christian mysticism. Tony Jones wrote The Sacred Way, Doug Pagitt authored BodyPrayer: The Posture of Intimacy with God and Brian McLaren gave us Finding Our Way Again: The Return of the Ancient Practices. Even more explicitly, Rob Bell recommends that his readers take three months to study a book by Ken Wilber, one of the most esoteric New Age teachers alive today.
[b]Important notes regarding mysticism:[/b]
1. This mystical trend is pronounced in the Emergent Church, but it is also growing in the broader, more conservative evangelical Christian movement, particularly through contemplative or “centering” prayer. Scriptural meditation is not the point of these exercises. Neither is any other “form” of prayer.
A major proponent of these practices, Richard Foster, explains:
“At the outset I need to give a word of warning, a little like the warning labels on a medicine bottles. Contemplative prayer is not for the novice. I do not say this about any other form of prayer. All are welcome, regardless of proficiency or expertise, to enter freely into adoration and meditation and
intercession and a host of other approaches to prayer. “But contemplation is different.”
Richard Foster, Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home, p. 156)
2. The instructions given for contemplative prayer are very similar to those for mantra meditation found in Buddhism and other Eastern religions, including a wide range of New Age practices. Books from evangelicals promoting and defending these practices are peppered with disclaimers and clarifications to separate this kind of prayer from Eastern and New Age practices. Even as Christian authors offer their disclaimers, New Age authors point to “Christian mysticism” as a connection to their own beliefs and those of Eastern religions.
The case of Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk whose writings are enormously influential offers a sad case of just how far this connection can go.
“Near the end of his life, the American Christian monk, poet, social critic and mystic, Thomas Merton said that he wanted ‘to become as good a Buddhist as I can.’ (Steindl-Rast, 1969).”
Source:
[url=http://www.thomasmertonsociety.org/altany2.html]Thomas Merton[/url]
Catholic priest and mystic Henri Nouwen showed the same appreciation for the world’s religions in writing the foreword for another priest’s book:
“While deeply anchored in his own Christian tradition, the author shows a wonderful openness to the gifts of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Moslem [sic] religion. He discovers their great wisdom for the spiritual life of the Christian and does not hesitate to bring that wisdom home”
(Thomas Ryan, Disciplines for Christian Living: Interfaith Perspectives, p. 2).
In the journal he kept during the last year of his life, Nouwen wrote:
“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.”
(Sabbatical Journey, p. 51)
Spiritual leaders should be chosen by their faithfulness to the Word of God:
Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.
(Hebrews 13:7)
The Bible’s instructions for prayer are clearly different from these practices:
5 And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father Who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. 7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. 9 In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come.Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread.12 And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors. 13 And do not lead us into temptation,But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. (Matthew 6:5-13)
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)
The Biblical instructions and examples regarding prayer are full of worship, confession, praise, praise and petition, but not the constant repetition of a word or phrase to “center” the person at prayer. This is why these ancient/new prayer practices are rooted in and defended from church history, and rarely, briefly and poorly from Scripture.
You will also find no Biblical basis to learn from religions that deny God and His Son, Jesus.
3. Not everyone who has encountered these practices uses them in the same way or ends up suffering the same harm. God’s grace can preserve us from the damage of believing lies and half-truths. But this gives us no reason to wander from Biblically faithful instructions and examples for our spiritual development. That is presumption, not faith!
4. These practices are often defended by pointing out the “genetic fallacy” – which is the error of rejecting something because of its source. But in evaluating instructions we are given to grow in Christ, this argument only goes so far.
[b]Why?
Scripture is the supreme, sufficient and final authority for everything we do to grow in Christ.[/b]
People who do not believe in salvation by grace alone, in Christ alone cannot be guides to growth in Christ! They are still dead in their own sins, and blind guides.Only a fool would take the medical advice of a doctor whose own protocol killed him!3. The Emergent Church increasingly denies the saving work of Jesus on the cross, replacing it with their social, earthly understanding of the Kingdom of God.
A. “Living the right way” matters more than “believing the right things.”
(“Who knows what right beliefs are, anyway?”)
B. Personal, saving faith in Jesus is not necessary for salvation. God will someday accomplish the “salvation” of every person. Jesus said that the Scriptures promised His death and resurrection. They should now be proclaimed to the world for the forgiveness of sins in His Name: Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.”
45 And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.
46 Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 And you are witnesses of these things. (Luke 24:44-47) Paul faced the multi-religious, pagan crowd in Athens and preached Jesus, risen from
the dead, as the basis for God’s judgment:
Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, 31
because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.” (Acts 17:30-31)
If our witness and work stop short of the cross and the resurrection, we have not proclaimed the Gospel!
4. Emergent Christianity
