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The
“Emerging Church” - The New Face of Heresy
Wayne Jackson
http://www.christiancourier.com/articles/1473-the-emerging-church-the-new-face-of-heresy
Recently, Charles Colson, a leading evangelical writer, pointed
out:
“Last
June a Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life survey found rampant doctrinal
ignorance among American Christians. Fifty-seven percent of evangelicals
believed people who follow religions other than their own can enjoy eternal
life. The results were so unexpected that Pew repeated the survey, asking more
specific questions. The answers were virtually unchanged. Astonishingly, about
half believed that everyone, atheists included, was going to end up in heaven.
Heaven for the godless? That’s the old heresy of universalism
(2009).”
The thinking of many who profess an identification with some form of
“Christianity” has become mushy indeed. Here is a typical comment from a student
of the so-called neo-evangelical community:
“It
is not now, nor was it at the time of the reformation, the correct
teaching or doctrine which brought the reformation. It was being willing to
challenge the Church with living out the doctrine which mattered most. Today we
need a reformation of less teaching and more living (emphasis
added).”
This statement is senseless. How about more teaching and
better living? How can there be correct living without proper
teaching?
If we may borrow an expression from Solomon, “there is no new thing under
the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9); the same old heresies just undergo superficial
theological cosmetic surgery—or to use another metaphor, they are recycled. Let
us reflect upon several old ideas with new faces.
Universalism
asserts that there will be the final and complete salvation of all beings. The
dogma was taught by some of the early church writers, e.g., Clement and Origen
of Alexandria, who lived in the mid-second to mid-third centuries A.D. There is
no biblical basis for this dogma.
Yet most folks seem to be inclining to the notion that almost everyone—if
not literally everyone—will be saved ultimately.
The expression “Postmodernism” is not found in Van Harvey’s book,
A Handbook of Theological Terms, published in 1968. It is a relatively
new designation. Postmodernism denies universal truth. Supposedly, truth is how
each individual feels about things, not how they really are. Hence, supposedly
there is no exclusive, true gospel. The facts of Christianity must be
redefined by a new vocabulary in preaching, writing, and worship. This is a
wrong-headed ideology.
The so-called “
It is contended that each person must find his own way to God, and not be
addicted to “bibliolatry.” This sounds like the philosophy of those rebels who
lived in the dark ages of
Several of these aberrant ideas have found their way into churches that
once were conservative. For example, it is argued by an increasing number that
we cannot declare as gospel truth that those are wrong who disagree with our
“traditional” teaching. All teaching is now declared to be mere
tradition.
What difference does it make whether one believes that baptism is “*for*
[unto, to obtain] the remission of sins,” or whether it is “*because of*
remission of sins.” It is alleged that gospel preachers of bygone years who
debated with the sectarians on the design of baptism were misguided. Some are
contending that the mode of baptism is irrelevant; sprinkling is as valid as
immersion, and those baptized as infants must not be excluded from Christian
fellowship. To speak of a "non-immersion baptism” is an oxymoron, because
“baptize” by definition signifies “to immerse.”
“Emerging” churches are restructuring the worship format. The Lord’s
supper is being offered in conjunction with special events, e.g., weddings. The
communion memorial is not restricted to the Lord’s day; instead groups step
beyond the biblical pattern and provide it on weekdays, ignoring a New Testament
that is undergirded with historical truth, namely the Lord’s resurrection on
Sunday.
The music issue is wide open among a growing number of churches. A
prominent church in
These are trying times for the body of Christ. But it is not a time for
despair. Instead, courageous men and women must keep the ship of