Reflections on the Emerging Church - Part 2

Review of Postmodernism‘s Spiritual Death Spiral

Relative Truth

Relative Language

Loss of Discernment

Philosophical Pluralism

www.confidentchristians.org

The Emerging Church and Postmodernism

The Emerging Church says it understands Postmodernism and the despair that
its generation feels. It wants to offer something real to those suffering from the
bad philosophy that has marched forward since the Renaissance. But, now let‘s
look at how the Emerging Church has turned out to be a victim of
Postmodernism rather than a victor.


―We can‘t know that God was in Christ
reconciling the world to himself; the
best we can do is believe. Why?
Because to know would mean being
certain. But this isn‘t a bad thing: quite
the contrary, it is liberating and just‖
-James Smith
Who‘s Afraid of Postmodernism


But God‘s Word says…

―for our gospel did not come to you in word
only, but also in power and in the Holy
Spirit and with full conviction; just as you
know what kind of men we proved to be
among you for your sake.‖
(1 Thessalonians 1:5)
The term ―conviction‖ is the Greek term ―plerophoria‖ and is found in only three
other places in the New Testament (once in Colossians 2:2 and twice in
Hebrews: 6:11, 10:22). In all cases, according to Danker‘s Lexicon it means ‗A
state of complete certainty‘ (Danker, 2000).


"Certainty is overrated . . . History
teaches us that a lot of people
thought they were certain and we
found out they weren't. . . .
When we talk about the word
'faith' and the word 'certainty,' we've
got a whole lot of problems there.
What do we mean by 'certainty'? . .
. Certainty can be dangerous. What
we need is a proper confidence
that's always seeking the truth and
that's seeking to live in the way God
wants us to live, but that also has
the proper degree of self-critical and
self-questioning passion.‖
- Brian McLaren



―These things I have written to you who
believe in the name of the Son of God, so
that you may know that you have eternal
life. ‖
(1 John 5:13)

―So have I become your enemy by telling
you the truth? ‖
(Galatians 4:16)

―She [Karen Ward] affirmed the physical resurrection of Christ but added "It's okay if
you don't want to believe it." This was rather shocking since the physical resurrection of
Christ is one of the essential doctrines of the Christian faith and it is absolutely not okay
if someone doesn't want to believe it. Ignorance is one thing; denial is another. So, I
politely told her that it was an essential doctrine taught in the Bible and that you can't
be a Christian if you openly deny it. She said that "The Church gave us the Bible and
the Bible was written by men." I'm sure she saw my eyebrows shoot up at this point
since that is a typical comment given by people who don't believe in the inspiration of
Scripture. I told her that the church didn't give us the Bible. The Church recognized the
inspired word of God, that the Bible tells us what is and is not essential in Christianity,
and the physical resurrection was not an optional belief. I told her a person could not
be a Christian if he denied it. Karen said, "The self-righteous won't inherit the kingdom
of God." She then turned away and walked off.‖
- Christian Apologetics Research Ministry interview with Karen Ward


―But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even
Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised,
then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain.
Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of
God, because we testified against God that He raised
Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not
raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ
has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your
faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those
also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. ‖
(1 Corinthians 15:13–18)



―But what does it say? ―The word is near you, in
your mouth and in your heart‖—that is, the word
of faith which we are preaching, that if you
confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and
believe in your heart that God raised Him from
the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a
person believes, resulting in righteousness, and
with the mouth he confesses, resulting in
salvation.‖
(Romans 10:8–10)

―A move away from intellectual Christianity is essential.
We must move to the mystical."
– Spencer Burke



―And He said to him, ― ‗You shall love the Lord your God with all your
heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.‘ ‖ (Matthew 22:37)

―And according to Paul‘s custom, he went to them, and for three
Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and giving
evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead‖
(Acts 17:2–3)

"But Saul kept increasing in strength and confounding the Jews who
lived at Damascus by proving that this Jesus is the Christ‖
(Acts 9:22).

Paul’s evangelistic engagements with the Jews resulted in them being “confounded”
(from syncheō – literally ‘pour together’ or trouble the mind), because the Apostle
was ‘proving’ the Messiahship of Jesus – a word (symbibazō) that means to draw a
conclusion in the face of evidence or to present a logical conclusion

"The Christian faith is
mysterious to the core.
It is about things and
beings that ultimately
can't be put into words.
Language fails. And if we
do definitively put God
into words, we have at
that very moment made
God something God is
not."
-Rob Bell
Velvet Elvis, p. 32


"Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the
Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely
given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words
taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit,
combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. But a natural
man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they
are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them,
because they are spiritually appraised" (1 Cor. 2:12-14).

Paul makes a very fascinating point above with respect to the infinite
God and language: with the help of the Spirit, one is able to
translate spiritual thoughts into language and words that are
capable of accurately representing the thoughts of God, and which
may be communicated and understood by finite human beings.


―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.‖
-Interview in Christianity Today
Rob & Kristen Bell

―Eric Barger, one of Christendom's
leading defenders of the faith, told me
recently about a worship service in the
Seattle area that featured Brian
McLaren, the leader of the apostate
Emergent Church Movement. McLaren
challenged the Church's traditional
interpretation of John 3:16 as applying
to personal salvation. Instead, he
applied it to the earth, arguing that
when it says, "God so loved the world,"
that it was talking about the cosmos
and the environment! His altar call
consisted of inviting people to come
forward and stick their hands in barrels
of dirt and make a commitment to save
the planet.‖
- Dave Reagan



―For when He received honor and glory from God the Father,
such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic
Glory, ―This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-
pleased‖— and we ourselves heard this utterance made from
heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. So we
have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do
well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until
the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. ‖
(2 Peter 1:17–19)

Peter says that the words written in Scripture are more reliable
than even our own first-hand experiences


―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.‖
- Brian McLaren


―Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that
their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of
God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator,
who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them over to degrading
passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is
unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function
of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men
committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of
their error. ‖
(Romans 1:24–27)

―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. Such were some of you;
but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the
name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. ‖

P-E-R-S-P-I-C-U-I-T-Y
Latin perspicuus: ‘transparent’
Plain to the understanding especially because of clarity and
precision of presentation

―If someone were to ask me whether the Bible teaches that Jesus went to
Capernaum, I would say yes, it does. I would not be in agony over the
question. It is not the most important question, but it is clear. If someone were
to ask if the apostle Paul taught that homosexual behavior (both male and
female forms) is the dead end result of idolatry, I would say yes again. No
agony in the exegesis whatever. There is only agony if you are lusting after
respect from the world, which they will not give to you unless you are busy
making plenty of room for their lusts. And that is what the emergent movement
is doing‖
- Doug Wilson

―John is the ultimate unifier and integrator of two
religious systems that have nothing in common;
the Jews and the Greeks…So here‘s what‘s so
stunning: at a time when it was unthinkable to try
and unify religions, John is basically saying your
religion totally valid…I love it…I‘m even using your
language…and your religion…I love it…it‘s
beautiful, totally valid, but I just want you both to
know that there‘s something bigger than what
you‘ve got. So these…these external
things…religion is about making these
distinctions…and guess what? That isn‘t a bad
thing. Having a distinct religious identity marked
by some boundaries, knowing how you‘re different
from other religions isn‘t a problem. John isn‘t
trying to get rid of that, he‘s trying to point
beyond it. Keep it, but move beyond it.‖
- Shane Hipps, co-teacher with Rob Bell, Mars Hill


"John Shepherd, the dean of St. George's
Cathedral in Perth, Western Australia, invited
the abbot of the Bodhinyana Buddhist
Monastery to preach at the service, which
was a Eucharist -- the central Christian
sacrament. The abbot accepted in full
knowledge of this. Aboriginal dancers led the
procession into the cathedral and later led the
offertory procession to the altar. During
communion, representatives of the Jewish,
Hindu, Muslim, and Baha'i faiths read
passages from their sacred writings, and after
communion an aboriginal leader offered a
dream-time reflection. Was this Christian?
The answer, as far as I'm concerned, is 'Of
course'"
- Alan Jones, Reimagining Christianity



―Elijah came near to all the people and said, ―How long will you
hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but
if Baal, follow him.‖ But the people did not answer him a word.‖
(1 Kings 18:21)

―Jesus said to him, ―I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no
one comes to the Father but through Me. ‖
(John 14:6)

―And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name
under heaven that has been given among men by which we must
be saved.‖
(Acts 4:12)

―The emergent church is the latest
version of liberalism. The only
difference is that old liberalism
accommodated modernity and the new
liberalism accommodates
postmodernity.‖
Mark Driscoll


In their book 20th-Century Theology,
Grenz and Olson, no rabid fundamentalists
they, describe classic liberalism in five
points:

1. Liberals believe doctrine needs to
develop to meet the needs of
contemporary thought.
2. Liberals emphasize the need to
reconstruct traditional beliefs and
reject the authority of tradition and
church hierarchy.
3. Liberals focus on the practical and
ethical dimensions of Christianity.
4. Liberals seek to base theology on
something other than the absolute
authority of the Bible.
5. Liberals drift toward divine
immanence at the expense of
transcendence.

―Christ and
Buddha are not
antithetical‖
- Alan Jones,
Reimagining
Christianity



―What harmony has Christ with
Belial, or what has a believer in
common with an unbeliever?‖
(2 Corinthians 6:15)

Buddha‘s teachings in some areas of
morality may be similar to Christ‘s,
however his foundational teachings
were not. Buddhism is basically
atheism; there is no God. Man‘s
problem is not sin in Buddhism, but
desire. Salvation is by works in
Buddhism, but grace in Christianity.
The end goal of Buddhism is
Nirvana, which means extinction.

"I must add, though, that I don't
believe making disciples must
equal making adherence to the
Christian religion. It may be
advisable in many (not all!)
circumstances to help people
become followers of Jesus and
remain within their Buddhist,
Hindu, or Jewish contexts. This
will be hard, you say, and I
agree. But frankly, it's not at all
easy to be a follower of Jesus in
many "Christian" religious
contexts, either.―
- Brian McLaren



―What do I mean then? That a thing
sacrificed to idols is anything, or
that an idol is anything? No, but I
say that the things which the
Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to
demons and not to God; and I do
not want you to become sharers in
demons. You cannot drink the cup
of the Lord and the cup of demons;
you cannot partake of the table of
the Lord and the table of demons.‖

Hindu god Ganesha


…

How the Emerging Church‘s Positions are Self-Defeating
• The Claim of Relativism: “We cannot know absolute truth.”
• Self-Refutation: We know that we cannot know absolute truth.
• The Claim of Pluralism: “No view is exclusively true.”
• Self-Refutation: It claims that its view (that no view is exclusively
true) is exclusively true.
• The Claim of Anti-Objectivism: “There are no objectively true
statements.”
• Self-Refutation: It is an objectively true statement that there are
no objectively true statements.
• The Claim of Conventionalism: “There is no objective meaning.”
• The Self-Refutation: It is objectively meaningful to assert that
there is no objective meaning.
• The Claim of Agnosticism: “Knowledge is a luxury beyond our means.”
• The Self-Refutation: We have the luxury of knowing that we can’t
have the luxury of knowing.

How the Emerging Church‘s Positions are Self-Defeating

• The Claim of Relative Doctrine: “We should not insist on being
right about doctrine.”
• The Self-Refutation: We insist on being right in our doctrine
that we should not insist on being right in our doctrine.
• The Claim of Anti-Propositionalism: “Our view of the Christian
faith must not be fixed on propositional truth (doctrine).”
• The Self-Refutation: We must be fixed on the propositional
truth that we should not be fixed on propositional truth.
• The Claim of Fideism: “There are no reasons for what we believe.”
• Self-Refutation: There are good reasons for believing there are no
good reasons for what we believe.


So is the Emerging Church a Victim of Postmodernism?

• Does it embrace relative
truth…? Yes.
• Does it embrace relative
language…? Yes.
• Has it lost spiritual
discernment… Yes.
• Has it embraced
philosophical pluralism…?
Yes.


Some Litmus Tests for ―Emergent‖ Behavior

i. Rejection of the clarity of
Scripture
ii. Re/misinterpretation of Scripture
iii. Dismissal of doctrinal priority
iv.Rejection of the exclusivity of the
Gospel
v. Embracing of Mystery over
knowledge
vi.Emphasis on feelings over
absolutes
vii.An immersion into the
postmodern culture rather than a
separation from it
viii.No talk of God‘s judgment

―If you believe what you like in the
gospel, and reject what you don't
like, it is not the gospel you believe,
but yourself.‖
- Augustine


Reflections on the Emerging Church - Part 2

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