Click the post title to be taken to the source.
Would the Real John Piper Please Stand Up?
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Defending Contending aka DefCon has a post which also has some bearing on the CRN post Mark Driscoll: The Guardian of Grunge and Seattle Sludge…. This particular piece deals with “questionable judgment demonstrated” by John Piper in his “propagating the revolting” Jesus Christ was damned upon the cross and in his inviting “the potty-mouthed prodigy Mark Driscoll to his Desiring God National Conference.”
Be Not Overcome by Evil
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In our daily Christian walk it is a rare day in which we take every thought capture and, through our active repentance, successfully deny ourselves through every circumstance. I don’t think I could claim that I have successfully done this the majority of the time. However, our God is wise and omniscient. It should be a matter of great rejoicing on our part that our perseverance is in His hands and is based on the work of the Holy Trinity on our behalf, not on our will power.
(click here to read this post)
Brian McLaren, the Emerging Church and Homosexuality
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Clay Aiken’s recent announcement that he is a “gay Christian”, and the coming out announcement of gospel singer Ray Boltz in the Washington Blade a few days ago once again bring into sharp relief the issue of homosexuality and the Bible. Pastor Ken Silva has written a much-needed piece on this subject. Can Christians live as homosexuals? Leaders like Tony Campolo, Brian McLaren and the emerging church crowd are sowing a whole lot of confusion on a subject about which the Bible is very clear. Silva addresses their teachings in light of the Bible.
Fundraising Auction for Alpha and Omega Ministries(Ends 9/28/08)
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My friend, Mark Lamprecht, at Sweet Tea and Theology is hosting an auction from which all the money received from the winning bid will go to benefit James White’s Alpha and Omega Ministries. The winner of the auction will receive the following:
- The God Who Justifies by Dr. James R. White list price $17.99 (paperback)
- The King James Only Controversy by Dr. James R. White list price $16.99 (paperback)
- The Message of the New Testament by Dr. Mark Dever list price $29.99 (hardback)
- The Da Vinci Deception by Dr. Erwin Lutzer list price $14.99 (hardback)
- Darwin’s God: Evolution and the Problem of Evil by Dr. Cornelius G. Hunter list price $18 (paperback)
- Road Maps for the Psalms by Dr. George Zemek list price $20? (Not 100% sure) (hardback)
- Amazing Grace: The History and Theology of Calvinism list price $29.95 (with study guide which will be available after it’s updated)
- Amazing Grace (The Wilberforce movie) list price $19.98
Total approx. value: $167.86
Click the following picture to go there and bid (auction ends 9/28/08):
CROSSTALK RADIO: SEXUAL NEO-GNOSTIC SPIRITUALITY AMONG EVANGELICALS
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Recently I had the opportunity to join Ingrid Schlueter to discuss the new reimagined Gnostics and their supposed superior mystic spirituality currently infesting the evangelical community fueled by the spurious Spiritual Formation of Living Spiritual Teacher and Quaker mystic Richard Foster . You can find the link to that program in *Crosstalk* “Christian” Mysticism. The sad fact is we are now witnessing the rise of a Cult of Richard Foster who, with an able assist from his spiritual twin ordained Southern Baptist minister Dallas Willard, is spreading corrupt Contemplative/Spirituality/Mysticism (CSM)—a core doctrine of the Emerging Church from its inception—deep within rapidly apostatizing evangelicalism.
It’s crucial that the Body of Christ come to understand that much of this warped neo-pietism espoused in spurious so-called Spiritual Formation with its unbiblical practice of Contemplative/Centering Prayer—itself a type of Eastern transcendental meditation for the “Christian”—has come about because of the Emerging rebellion against Sola Scriptura going on within postevangelicalism. And it has now lead to a spiritually deadly dance of deception through its false approach to Christian spirituality, which is really rooted in the asceticism of apostate Roman Catholicism.
And so with all of this in mind Apprising Ministries is pleased to point you to the Crosstalk website where we read of today’s program:
Larry DeBruyn is the pastor of Franklin Road Baptist Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. He’s the author of the book, Church on the Rise: Why I am Not a Purpose Driven Pastor. Recently, Crosstalk examined the subject of mysticism and how it’s infiltrating evangelical churches. Part of this mysticism involves inclusion of sexuality as part of their theological platform.
Pastor DeBruyn came across this unusual combination while reading the book, The Shack by William P. Young. This allegory of the Trinity has become a Christian bestseller. The problem is, books like this can create false idols due to their fictional nature. Fiction ignites the imagination and when it does, if we’re not careful, idolatry can be the result if we allow this combination to mold our perception of God.
From Kundalini type experiences, to feminine goddess theology, to the idea of the divine spark, pastor DeBruyn exposes the subtle fusion of spirituality and sexuality on this edition of Crosstalk. (Online source)
You can listen to and download this Crosstalk program here.
See also:
UNDERSTANDING THE NEW SPIRITUALITY: GOD INDWELLS MANKIND
ROB BELL IN A NUTSHELL: CONTEMPLATIVE SPIRITUALITY/MYSTICISM
Believer, You’re Saved Because God Chose You First Not Because You Chose Him First.
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Many people hold that the reason they are born again is because of something they did. Does the Bible teach this, though? Listen as Mark Kielar explains, Biblically, the order of salvation.
This is a clip from the series called “How God Converts the Human Soul”. You can order this full series at http://www.crosstv.com or by calling 1-877-CROSSTV . Thanks to CrossTV for allowing me to host these clips.
Author: LaneCh
Keywords: order of salvation romans ordis salutis mark kielar crosstv calvinism arminianism reformed
Added: September 26, 2008
Believer, You’re Saved Because God Chose You First Not Because You Chose Him First.
Click the post title to be taken to the source.
End of post.
Brian McLaren, the Emerging Church, and Homosexuality: What’s So Hard About That?
Click the post title to be taken to the source.
The issue of professing Christians who are openly practicing the lifestyle of homosexuality and yet still claim to be in right relationship to God should now be front and center for discussion within the Body of Christ. This coming on the heels of well-known “Christian” singer Ray Boltz who recently made a rather shocking announcement in Washington Blade: Gay And Lesbian News, Entertainment, Politics And Opinion. Boltz informed the Body of Christ that he is unrepentant in his practice of the sin of homosexuality.
In addition, as you can see in the Apprising Ministries article Clay Aiken: Another Gay “Christian” this American Idol favorite and professing Christian has also just come out as a practicing homosexual in the current issue of People magazine. With this as our backdrop in this article we think back to the January 23, 2006 piece over at the Out of Ur blog from Christianity Astray Today magazine. There you may recall prominent Emergent Church theologian Brian McLaren suggested the Church might “need a five-year moratorium on making pronouncements” concerning its position on practicing homosexuals until “the wind of the Spirit [would] set our course.”
BRIAN MCLAREN, THE EMERGING CHURCH, AND HOMOSEXUALITY: WHAT’S SO HARD ABOUT THAT?
Click the post title to be taken to the source.
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10, NASB)
Talking Loud But Saying Absolutely Nothing That Will Convert Sinners
The issue of professing Christians who are openly practicing the lifestyle of homosexuality and yet still claim to be in right relationship to God should now be front and center for discussion within the Body of Christ. This coming on the heels of well-known “Christian” singer Ray Boltz who recently made a rather shocking announcement in Washington Blade: Gay And Lesbian News, Entertainment, Politics And Opinion. Boltz informed the Body of Christ that he is unrepentant in his practice of the sin of homosexuality.
In addition, as you can see in the Apprising Ministries article Clay Aiken: Another Gay “Christian” this American Idol favorite and professing Christian has also just come out as a practicing homosexual in the current issue of People magazine. And so we now think back to January 23, 2006 over at the Out of Ur blog from Christianity Astray Today magazine where prominent Emergent Church theologian Brian McLaren wrote:
Usually when I’m asked about this subject [of homosexuality], it’s by conservative Christians wanting to be sure that we conform to what I call “radio-orthodoxy,” i.e. the religio-political priorities mandated by many big-name religious broadcasters. Sometimes it’s asked by ex-gays who want to be sure they’ll be supported in their ongoing re-orientation process, or parents whose children have recently “come out”… (Online source)
Well, looking again at Brian McLaren’s non-stand about homosexuality (or about anything else for that matter), you need to understand this. There is little chance that McLaren is ever going to come down on the side of what the Bible actually says about this forbidden and sinful lifestyle because of his own views concerning the inspired texts of Holy Scripture. You should know that McLaren sees the Bible in a very allegorical “Alexandrian School” approach to Scripture so he would not readily see what it clearly appears to be saying when simply read at face value.
But that’s not good enough for these new reimagined Gnostics and their supposed superior mystic spirituality. And much of this has to do with the Emerging rebellion against Sola Scriptura going on within postevangelicalism and its spiritually deadly dance of deception with a neo-pietism fueled by the spurious Spiritual Formation of Living Spiritual Teacher and Quaker mystic Richard Foster. The sad fact is we are now witnessing the rise of a Cult of Richard Foster who, with an able assist from his spiritual twin ordained Southern Baptist minister Dallas Willard, is spreading corrupt Contemplative/Spirituality/Mysticism (CSM)—a core doctrine of the Emerging Church from its inception—deep within rapidly apostatizing evangelicalism.
However, I happen to be a former Roman Catholic whom God in His mercy chose to deliver from the religious bondage of the Church of Rome into the glorious liberty of the sons of God. So the Protestant Reformation has much meaning to me and as I have said many times before this spurious so-called Spiritual Formation with its unbiblical practice of Contemplative/Centering Prayer—itself a type of Eastern transcendental meditation for the “Christian”—is a false approach to Christian spirituality really rooted in the asceticism of apostate Roman Catholicism.
Subjective Centered On The Self Interpretation Of What We Wish God Had Said
Men and women, it’s critical for you to keep in mind that for one to even be a practioner of CSM they would first have to put themselves at odds with the Lord’s Reformers, who rejected these Roman Catholic mystics now so romanticized today by the Emergent Church and postevangelicalism as apostate i.e. not Christians. So one might imagine my surprise, as I point out in Ravi Zacharias Answers “Can A Person Live A Sincere Christian Life AS A Homosexual?”, when this prominent “Protestant” evangelical apologist literally gushes in praise for a recent apostate Roman Catholic mystic.
Yet in that piece you’ll see for yourself Ravi Zacharias emphatically state: “One of the greatest saints of recent memory was Henri Nouwen.” But this disastrous drift from Sola Scriptura within the visible church today is no light matter at all. For one thing it’s opened the door for the near worship of evangelical icons such as Zacharias, Way of the Master’s Ray Comfort and Emerging Church pastor Mark Driscoll, he of the Junior High juvenile antics in the pulpit.
More specifically to the postliberal Emergent Church and the issue of practicing homosexuals those who are involved with practicing CSM e.g. like McLaren, his disciple Rob Bell, and his friend Emerging Church Pastor Doug Pagitt, have a highly subjective, neo-orthodox (at best), and existential (feelings-oriented) approach to Holy Scripture. And this is why McLaren goes on to inform us that:
Most of the emerging leaders I know share my agony over this question. We fear that the whole issue has been manipulated far more than we realize by political parties seeking to shave percentage points off their opponent’s constituency. We see whatever we say get sucked into a vortex of politicized culture-wars rhetoric–and we’re pastors, evangelists, church-planters, and disciple-makers, not political culture warriors. Those who bring us honest questions are people we are trying to care for in Christ’s name, not cultural enemies we’re trying to vanquish.
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 admittedly 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. (ibid.)
A Real Teacher Sent By God Teaches What God Has Said
O yes, at first glance that all sounds so very pious, does it not? Actually it also sounds a lot like Emergent Church promoter and pastor Dan Kimball as well. In the AM piece Dan Kimball An Effete Christianity Is Nothing To Be Gay About I discuss a recent Christian Post (CP) piece lauding Kimball who “believes people at his church were not shocked partly because of their openness in discussing marriage and homosexuality.” However as I said before, so what; this is also true of many other Christian churches who still faithfully preach the full Word of God, and yet this doesn’t require us to shy away from teaching God’s absolute sovereignty over His creation.
As a matter of fact John MacArthur preached a series covering same sex sexuality called Homosexuality and the Bible not so long ago. The truth is that CP article, and the Out of Ur post by McLaren referenced above, are perfect examples of these loquacious leaders in the Emergent Church who are continually blethering on about some abstract Christians and church leaders who supposedly aren’t really in touch with the culture like they are. But in the end, the fact remains that there are many fine pastors of Jesus Christ who dearly love people with the shepherd’s heart our Lord has given to them.
And you know, somehow they still manage to preach the whole counsel of God while having nothing to do with the counterfeit Christianity of the postliberal cult of the Emerging Church, which now brings us back around to the very heart of the matter. Because Kimball and McLaren are in fact spreaking from the flesh (the world) the Bible tells us what they are really bringing forth is the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them (1 John 4:5). But, to quote that noted pop philosopher Jackson Browne, there are lives in the balance; there is the eternity destiny of the souls of these people at stake.
So a word to the wise; don’t let yourself be fooled by fools like McLaren and their centered on the self (mankind) viewpoint of the world as illustrated below where he says:
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 admittedly 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. (ibid.)
However, what McLaren seems to have missed is that the wind of the Spirit has already set our course e.g. in the text with which I opened this missive — Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. So tell us messers McLaren and Kimball just what are these ”scholars in biblical studies, theology, ethics, psychology, genetics, sociology, and related fields” going to tell us which might happen to have escaped the attention of our Creator?
No, the absolute Truth is that in Romans chapter one we are informed that the LORD God Almighty’s patience will (and possibly now has) run out. In verse 26 we read — Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. It should be obvious enough we are being told here that what we will read next would be considered shameful lusts by the Creator. And notice that this has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with a particular culture, but rather, with what God Himself as Creator judges universally to be shameful lusts. The b part of verse 26 — Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.
So the logical question that should arise now is: What are these natural relations women exchange here for unnatural ones. God the Holy Spirit anticipates this question and then provides our answer in Verse 27 — In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. We see then — In the same way as the women the men also abandoned — or exchanged — national relations with women for unnatural ones. So now we can understand that according to the created order, the LORD God Almighty—very the Creator of the universe Himself—has in fact defined “natural” sexual relations to be that which occurs between one man with one woman after marriage.
As a result therefore, Scripture then defines sexual activity between members of the same sex as being “unnatural.” And this is also reinforced in the b part of verse 27 — Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. Now we can put all of this together and come to the realization that according to the Bible God refers to sexual relations between members of the same sex as shameful lusts. Homosexuality is also said to be abandoning natural relations and being inflamed with lust (a sin in and of itself) for a member of one’s own sex. Verse 27 lists this among indecent acts and clearly refers to homosexuality as perversion.
Men and women, there is just no way around what these texts are saying because this passage of the Bible concerns proper sexual conduct for men and women that would be regardless of cultural mores of any generation. If we really do love others then we’re going to tell them the truth. And so the question then becomes: If you actually love Jesus Christ then you’d respect His Word and teach what He has said to His creation; so, Brian McLaren, what’s so hard about that?
An Online Gateway to Joy
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I am delighted to see that Back to the Bible has posted past Gateway to Joy programs with Elisabeth Elliot. This is a treasure trove of biblical wisdom taken from her 13 years of programming.
Crosstalk Radio: An Evangelical Version of Tantra?
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At Slice of Laodicea Ingrid Schlueter writes:
Promoted by some cutting-edge authors and leaders, the fusion of mysticism with sexuality is producing an evangelical version of Tantra. Where are these teachings coming from and why are they dangerous? These are the issues we’ll be discussing with researcher and author, Pastor Larry DeBruyn on today’s Crosstalk Show at 2pm Central. Listen live here.
Jay Wingard – The Serious Error of Decisional Regeneration
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My dear friend, Jay Wingard, wrote a terrific article entitled, “The Serious Error of Decisional Regeneration”. Please click HERE and take a few minutes to read his post.
End of post.
What Type of Food is Your Pastor Serving?
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Here is the second installment of Chris Rosebrough’s suggestions for a postcard marketing campaign for faithful pastors to send out to their communities.
Rosebrough’s first postcard idea created a firestorm of controversy with critics claiming that he had gone too far by comparing the physical starvation suffered by those in concentration camps to the spiritual starvation people suffer at the hands of seeker-sensitive pastors . Rosebrough responded to his critics today by saying that his first postcard “despite it’s ugliness and shock” did not go far enough. Furthermore, Rosebrough said that he believes that rebellious and apostate pastors who refuse to fulfill their Biblically mandated duty to feed Christ’s Sheep are “MORE evil than any Nazi who ever ran a concentration camp.”
* Please note that a real cow lost its life for this post card. It was literally killed, cooked, photographed and then eaten, along with other side dishes for this postcard.
What Type of Food is Your Pastor Serving?
Click the post title to be taken to the source.
Here is the second installment of Chris Rosebrough’s suggestions for a postcard marketing campaign for faithful pastors to send out to their communities.
Rosebrough’s first postcard idea created a firestorm of controversy with critics claiming that he had gone too far by comparing the physical starvation suffered by those in concentration camps to the spiritual starvation people suffer at the hands of seeker-sensitive pastors . Rosebrough responded to his critics today by saying that his first postcard “despite it’s ugliness and shock” did not go far enough. Furthermore, Rosebrough said that he believes that rebellious and apostate pastors who refuse to fulfill their Biblically mandated duty to feed Christ’s Sheep are “MORE evil than any Nazi who ever ran a concentration camp.”
* Please note that a real cow lost its life for this post card. It was literally killed, cooked, photographed and then eaten, along with other side dishes for this postcard.
BRIAN MCLAREN AND HOMOSEXUALITY: WHAT’S SO HARD ABOUT THAT?
Click the post title to be taken to the source.
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10, NASB)
Talking Loud But Saying Absolutely Nothing That Will Convert Sinners
The issue of professing Christians who are openly practicing the lifestyle of homosexuality and still claiming to be in right relationship to God should now be front and center for discussion in the Body of Christ. This coming on the heels of well-known “Christian” singer Ray Boltz who recently made a rather shocking announcement in Washington Blade: Gay And Lesbian News, Entertainment, Politics And Opinion. Boltz informed the Body of Christ that he is unrepentant in his practice of the sin of homosexuality.
In addition, as you can see in the Apprising Ministries article Clay Aiken: Another Gay “Christian” this American Idol favorite and professing Christian has also just come out as a practicing homosexual in the current issue of People magazine. And so we now think back to January 23, 2006 over at the Out of Ur blog from Christianity Astray Today magazine where prominent Emergent Church theologian Brian McLaren wrote:
Usually when I’m asked about this subject [of homosexuality], it’s by conservative Christians wanting to be sure that we conform to what I call “radio-orthodoxy,” i.e. the religio-political priorities mandated by many big-name religious broadcasters. Sometimes it’s asked by ex-gays who want to be sure they’ll be supported in their ongoing re-orientation process, or parents whose children have recently “come out”… (Online source)
Well, looking again at Brian McLaren’s non-stand about homosexuality (or about anything else for that matter), you need to understand this. There is little chance that McLaren is ever going to actually come down on the side of what the Bible says about this forbidden and sinful lifestyle because of his own views concerning the inspired texts of Holy Scripture. You see McLaren sees the Bible in a very allegorical “Alexandrian School” approach to this Scripture so he would not readily see what it clearly appears to be saying when simply read at face value.
But that’s not good enough for these new reimagined Gnostics and their supposed superior mystic spirituality. And much of this has to do with the Emerging rebellion against Sola Scriptura of postevangelicalism and its spiritually deadly dance of deception with a neo-pietism fueled by the spurious Spiritual Formation of Living Spiritual Teacher and Quaker mystic Richard Foster. The sad fact is we are now witnessing the rise of a Cult of Richard Foster who, with an able assist from his spiritual twin ordained Southern Baptist minister Dallas Willard, is spreading corrupt Contemplative/Spirituality/Mysticism (CSM)—a core doctrine of the Emerging Church from its inception—deep within rapidly apostatizing evangelicalism.
However, as a former Roman Catholic whom God in His mercy chose to deliver from its religious bondage into the gloruis liberty of the sons of God, I have said many times before that this spurious so-called Spiritual Formation with its unbiblical practice of Contemplative/Centering Prayer—itself is a type of transcendental meditation for the “Christian”—is a false approach to Christian spirituality really rooted in the asceticism of apostate Roman Catholicism.
Subjective Centered On The Self Interpretation Of What We Wish God Had Said
Men and women, it’s critical for you to keep in mind that for one to even be a practioner of CSM they would first have to put themselves at odds with the Protestant Reformation, which rejected these Roman Catholic mystics now so romanticized today by the Emergent Church and postevangelicalism as apostate i.e. not Christians. So one might imagine my surprise, as I point out in Ravi Zacharias Answers “Can A Person Live A Sincere Christian Life AS A Homosexual?”, when this prominent “Protestant” evangelical apologist literally gushes in praise for a recent apostate Roman Catholic mystic.
Yet in that piece you’ll see for yourself Ravi Zacharias emphatically state: “One of the greatest saints of recent memory was Henri Nouwen.” But this disastrous drift from Sola Scriptura within the visible church today is no light matter at all. For one thing it’s opened the door for the near worship of evangelical icons such as Zacharias, Way of the Master’s Ray Comfort and Emerging Church pastor Mark Driscoll, he of the Junior High juvenile antics in the pulpit.
More specifically to the postliberal Emergent Church and the issue of practicing homosexuals those who are involved with practicing CSM e.g. like McLaren, his disciple Rob Bell, and his friend Emerging Church Pastor Doug Pagitt have a highly subjective, neo-orthodox (at best), and existential (feelings-oriented) approach to Holy Scripture. And this is why McLaren goes on to inform us that:
Most of the emerging leaders I know share my agony over this question. We fear that the whole issue has been manipulated far more than we realize by political parties seeking to shave percentage points off their opponent’s constituency. We see whatever we say get sucked into a vortex of politicized culture-wars rhetoric–and we’re pastors, evangelists, church-planters, and disciple-makers, not political culture warriors. Those who bring us honest questions are people we are trying to care for in Christ’s name, not cultural enemies we’re trying to vanquish.
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 admittedly 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. (ibid.)
A Real Teacher Sent By God Teaches What God Has Said
O yes, at first glance that all sounds so very pious, does it not? Actually it also sounds a lot like Emergent Church promoter and pastor Dan Kimball as well. In the AM piece Dan Kimball An Effete Christianity Is Nothing To Be Gay About I discuss a recent Christian Post (CP) piece lauding Kimball who “believes people at his church were not shocked partly because of their openness in discussing marriage and homosexuality.” However as I said before, so what; this is also true of many other Christian churches who still faithfully preach the full Word of God, and yet this doesn’t require us to shy away from teaching God’s absolute sovereignty over His creation.
As a matter of fact John MacArthur preached a series covering same sex sexuality called Homosexuality and the Bible not so long ago. The truth is that CP article, and the Out of Ur post by McLaren referenced above, are perfect examples of these loquacious leaders in the Emergent Church who are continually blethering on about some abstract Christians and church leaders who supposedly aren’t really in touch with the culture like they are. But in the end, the fact remains that there are many fine pastors of Jesus Christ who dearly love people with the shepherd’s heart our Lord has given to them.
And you know, somehow they still manage to preach the whole counsel of God while having nothing to do with the counterfeit Christianity of the postliberal cult of the Emerging Church, which now brings us back around to the very heart of the matter. Because Kimball and McLaren are in fact spreaking from the flesh (the world) the Bible tells us what they are really bringing forth is the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them (1 John 4:5). But, to quote that noted pop philosopher Jackson Browne, there are lives in the balance; there is the eternity destiny of the souls of these people at stake.
So a word to the wise; don’t let yourself be fooled by fools like McLaren and their centered on the self (mankind) viewpoint of the world as illustrated below where he says:
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 admittedly 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. (ibid.)
However, what McLaren seems to have missed is that the wind of the Spirit has already set our course e.g. in the text with which I opened this missive — Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. So tell us messers McLaren and Kimball just what are these ”scholars in biblical studies, theology, ethics, psychology, genetics, sociology, and related fields” going to tell us which might happen to have escaped the attention of our Creator?
No, the absolute Truth is that in Romans chapter one we are informed that the LORD God Almighty’s patience will (and possibly now has) run out. In verse 26 we read — Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. It should be obvious enough we are being told here that what we will read next would be considered shameful lusts by the Creator. And notice that this has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with a particular culture, but rather, with what God Himself as Creator judges universally to be shameful lusts. The b part of verse 26 — Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.
So the logical question that should arise now is: What are these natural relations women exchange here for unnatural ones. God the Holy Spirit anticipates this question and then provides our answer in Verse 27 — In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. We see then — In the same way as the women the men also abandoned — or exchanged — national relations with women for unnatural ones. So now we can understand that according to the created order, the LORD God Almighty—very the Creator of the universe Himself—has in fact defined “natural” sexual relations to be that which occurs between one man with one woman after marriage.
As a result therefore, Scripture then defines sexual activity between members of the same sex as being “unnatural.” And this is also reinforced in the b part of verse 27 — Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. Now we can put all of this together and come to the realization that according to the Bible God refers to sexual relations between members of the same sex as shameful lusts. Homosexuality is also said to be abandoning natural relations and being inflamed with lust (a sin in and of itself) for a member of one’s own sex. Verse 27 lists this among indecent acts and clearly refers to homosexuality as perversion.
Men and women, there is just no way around what these texts are saying because this passage of the Bible concerns proper sexual conduct for men and women that would be regardless of cultural mores of any generation. If we really do love others then we’re going to tell them the truth. And so the question then becomes: If you actually love Jesus Christ then you’d respect His Word and teach what He has said to His creation; so, Brian McLaren, what’s so hard about that?
Fundraising Auction For Alpha And Omega Ministries
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From Lane’s Blog:
My friend, Mark Lamprecht, at Sweet Tea and Theology is hosting an auction from which all the money received from the winning bid will go to benefit James White’s Alpha and Omega Ministries. The winner of the auction will receive the following:
- The God Who Justifies by Dr. James R. White list price $17.99 (paperback)
- The King James Only Controversy by Dr. James R. White list price $16.99 (paperback)
- The Message of the New Testament by Dr. Mark Dever list price $29.99 (hardback)
- The Da Vinci Deception by Dr. Erwin Lutzer list price $14.99 (hardback)
- Darwin’s God: Evolution and the Problem of Evil by Dr. Cornelius G. Hunter list price $18 (paperback)
- Road Maps for the Psalms by Dr. George Zemek list price $20? (Not 100% sure) (hardback)
- Amazing Grace: The History and Theology of Calvinism list price $29.95 (with study guide which will be available after it’s updated)
- Amazing Grace (The Wilberforce movie) list price $19.98
Total approx. value: $167.86
Click the following picture to go there and bid (auction ends 9/28/08):
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*Crosstalk 2pm Central* Pastor Larry DeBruyn
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Promoted by some cutting-edge authors and leaders, the fusion of mysticism with sexuality is producing an evangelical version of Tantra. Where are these teachings coming from and why are they dangerous? These are the issues we’ll be discussing with researcher and author, Pastor Larry DeBruyn on today’s Crosstalk Show at 2pm Central. Listen live here.
The Order of Salvation
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From LaneCh
“Many people hold that the reason they are born again is because of something they did. Does the Bible teach this, though? Listen as Mark Kielar explains, Biblically, the order of salvation.”
Mary Unites Christians, Cardinal Tells Anglicans
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Ecumenical Pilgrimage to Lourdes Called a Miracle By Inmaculada Álvarez
LOURDES, France, SEPT. 25, 2008 (Zenit.org).-
Devotion to the Virgin Mary has an essential role in ecumenical dialogue and the journey to full and visible unity among Christians, says the president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.
Cardinal Walter Kasper affirmed this Wednesday when he presided over an ecumenical celebration in Lourdes, where Anglicans and Catholics had joined on pilgrimage. Anglican Archbishop Rowan Williams of Canterbury gave the homily at the event. The pilgrimage began at the Anglican shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham in England.
See how Mariology of Roman Catholicism is designed to unite the world religions at the Watcher’s Lamp.
