The New Evangelicalism

Herescope just keeps serving up truth in the ongoing apostasy of the professing church.

Friends, let there be no doubt that we are witnessing in our day a massive falling away of the church. A post-modern seeker-sensitive, emerging, Devil Driven false gospel is spreading like a malignant cancer within the body and these blind leaders of the blind are being blown about by every wind and the doctrines of demons.

In my opinion the spiritual landscape of Christianity hasn't been this barren and desolate since the dark ages when the scriptures were withheld by the iron grip of the great and terrible Romish Whore. But what is our excuse today? We live in the information age when the Holy Bible is easily accessible, scriptural resources are plenteous at myriads of outlets including on the Internet, and churches are free to preach the gospel across the country.

I can only attribute the mass spiritual lethargy and rank heresy which abound today to a sovereign movement of God Almighty. God is not mocked and I believe He is sending a great delusion which is causing the goats and the tares who have mixed among His flock through the ages to believe the lie.

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
(1 Timothy 4:1-2)

These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. (2 Peter 2:17-18)

However we who are called by His name have His promise that His own will hearken only unto His voice. I for one am fully persuaded that this is the last days falling away prophesied of in the Holy Writ. My only advice is to stand firm on the Rock of Christ Jesus, cling to His Word, the Holy Bible and, as the noble Bereans, use the scriptures as your "litmus test" and ultimate authority in all matters.

Pray up.

Look up.

Be always ready.

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5)

Read 'Em and Weep...

...For the state of the post-modern submergent Laodicean church.

Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. (Revelation 2:4-6)


EMERGENT CHURCH: DAN KIMBALL IS NOT THOROUGHLY ORTHODOX

DAN KIMBALL AND IMAGO DEI COMMUNITY

EMERGENT CHURCH: DAN KIMBALL AND LECTIO DIVINA

IS EMERGENT CHURCH PASTOR DAN KIMBALL REALLY A “CONSERVATIVE EVANGELICAL?”

LISTENING TO DAN KIMBALL'S BELIEFS OF EMERGING CHURCHES

DAN KIMBALL AND DOCTRINE

THE EMERGING CHURCH AND EMERGING WORSHIP

EMERGENT CHURCH: THE EMERGING CULT

Newsflash: Death Destroyed!

May all praise and glory and power and honor and strength wisom and riches be unto the name of the Lord our God forever and ever more!

The Subversive Church

As time passes the true nature of the emergent church movement becomes clearer and clearer. Basically the emergent church is an ecumenical, supposedly "post-modern conversation" that seeks to make the Christ of the church "relevant" to the broader culture by taking on the customs, appearance and language of the culture.

Of course this is nothing new and the post-modernists are virtually indistinguishable from the garden variety modernists as Phil Johnson points out in his article over at Pyromaniacs entitled More on the dearth of conviction in the ECM.

Perhaps the saddest and most perplexing aspect of the emergents is their fevered high-noon fantasies about the "relevance" of the church in modern times and the mass hysteria which is apparently evoked within them when the absolutes of scripture are proclaimed.

Let me say this as clearly as possible, the relevance of the truth proclaiming gospel of Christ upon which the church was founded was not, is not, and never will be a question of relevance to the broader culture. This is because the cross of Christ was not, is not, and never will be anything other than an offence and a stumblingblock to the unregenerate, period.

The unregenerate don't want Jesus Christ.

The unregenerate don't desire the Word of God.

The unregenerate don't seek after salvation.

The church is not to be conformed to the world - "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."(Romans 12:2). Man must submit to and be conformed to God Almighty, not the other way around.

The emergent conversation is misguided and riddled with bad theology at best, and is a subversive ecumenical false-religion tool of the enemy at worst.

I hope you'll take the time to read Phil Johnson's post linked above and I'd ask you to pay particular attention to the comments thread where none other than emergent architect Dam Kimball takes up the gauntlet and exchanges comments with Phil.

Below are the two comments I posted over at Pyro on this thread:

Coram Deo said...
Thanks for this concise, thoughtful and devastating expose of the postmodern mindset of the emergent church.

Thanks also for boiling the "emergent conversation" down to its bare essence which is nothing less than holding a skeptical view of the veracity of the scriptures.

If there's one thing I've learned in my life it's that a low degree of trust in the scriptures results in a lofty view of man and a high degree of trust in the scriptures results in a lofty view of God.
3:27 PM, April 06, 2007

Coram Deo said...
To echo DJP's post, (the 2nd on the thread above) the slope upon which the emergents are treading is indeed slippery.

In fact the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would concur wholeheartedly with each point DJP made:

"and for our salvation, [Christ] came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made man, and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried"

Does such an affirmation make a Mormon a true born-again orthodox Christian in any sense of the word? Of course it doesn't.

The Mormons have redefined the meanings of those affirming words to fit within their corrupted and false theology.

Since the emergents are self-proclaimed "seekers" and "Christ-followers" then what rationale could they possibly advance for not following the Christ of the LDS or the Christ of the Watchtower Society?

I have to be frank here (not Frank Turk) and note that this sort of Jell-O theology is quite reminiscent of the "gay rights" advocates and apologists who defend their type of morality in the public arena.

Interviewer: "So why should homosexual rights and protections be recognized and enshrined in hate crimes legislation?"

Homosexual advocate: "Well, because you know we're discriminated against all the time. We don't have the same rights as other citizens, we're a minority and need minority protections against the bigotry and prejudice we face every day. Consenting adults shouldn't be allowed to be discriminated against under the law. We should have equal protection."

Interviewer: "Let me ask you, should these same types of rights be granted for polygamists? Do they deserve legal protection for their consensual relationships?"

Homosexual advocate: "Oh no, we're not for that. I'm not for that either, that's not our aim."

So why don't the emergents embrace the Jesus of the LDS, the Jesus of the JW's, the Jesus of Arius, or the Jesus of Islam?

What's wrong with those other Jesus figures in their theology? Oops, maybe that's the problem! What is their theology?
9:37 AM, April 07, 2007

Pleasure In Unrighteousness

10And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12)

I found this troubling article over at World Net Daily which discusses a new state law currently under review in Oregon that would vasty change the legal landscape in that state. This type of "thought crime" legislation was once the stuff of frightening Orwellian science-fiction, but in truth they are today being passed in state after state.

Friend, the day is coming when the unholy trinity of politics, science and false religion will move together in unison with singleness of purpose and in that day no creature can be secure.

From World Net Daily:
A plan being shoved down a fast track in the Oregon Legislature would give homosexuals a vast range of new state laws they could use to impose their moral perspective on Christians across the state, according to opponents who fear for their speech and religious expression rights.

Senate Bill 2, on its face, is written to enshrine in state law special protections for homosexuals by classifying them as a protected civil rights group. But hundreds of pastors – whose churches include tens of thousands of evangelical Christians – are horrified by what they see advancing virtually without opposition.

Continue reading this article here.

They Asked For It

Phil Johnson unloads both barrels into the emergent nonsense over at Pyromaniacs in his article entitled "Glad you asked".

I posted a couple of comments after reviewing his post and the subsequent discussion thread:


Coram Deo said...
In reviewing this post I had a truly frightening thought flash across my mind. Two words: "Emergin' Spurgeon"...

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein would have nothing on such a postmodern "Calvi-stein"!

8:32 PM, April 03, 2007


Coram Deo said...
Assuming you are employing it: is it working?

First allow me to apologize in advance, because this comment is going to come across as rather harsh, but what kind of question is this: "Is it working?" IS IT WORKING?!?

What Phil advocated in his post was simply a distilled "go unto the world" preparation and application.

I ask you, have we as Christians slipped so far upon the Great Downgrade as to ask ourselves if preaching the Gospel is "working"?!? Are we actually to believe that such an offensive and absurd question is worthy to be considered as a matter of serious reflection?!?

Egads!!

How long, oh Lord?

8:52 PM, April 03, 2007

Spiritual Encouragement

"Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong." (1 Corinthians 16:13)

In the last days many shall be as “clouds without water, carried about of winds.” And this is one of the special perils of these “perilous times.” The winds are let loose, and are now performing their awful work of tossing hither and thither these empty clouds.

Hence the instability that prevails. Men are “carried about with every wind of doctrine.” They are not “rooted and grounded in love;” and having never “tasted that the Lord is gracious,” nor rested their weary souls upon Him, they go about seeking they know not what. They want something that will fill them, but not going to the Divine fulness of the incarnate Word for it, they wander on in sadness of spirit, vainly trying to soothe their uneasy souls with every new doctrine or device that meets them in the way! All in vain. For what can be a substitute for God and His free love?

Amid all this instability, let us “stand fast in the faith.” Let us be “strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” Let us beware of novelties in religion. Let us guard against fickleness of opinion and hastiness of decision. Satan will let loose his blasts and call up his storms; let us only moor our vessel firmer, and keep faster hold of the anchor, which is sure and steadfast, “and which entereth into that which is within the veil.” Thus, in patience shall we possess our souls, for “he that believeth doth not make haste.”

-Taken from Words of Peace and Welcome, 1851.