On the Emergent
Church
"The emerging /
emergent church movement falls into line with basic post-modernist thinkingit
is about experience over reason, subjectivity over objectivity, spirituality
over religion, images over words, outward over inward, feelings over truth..."
Full text:
What is the emerging / emergent church movement?
[From Proclaiming the Gospel Ministries, a letter to the
editor]
Q: "Proclaiming The Gospel has been a blessing to me. Over the years, I have
given your book, Preparing Catholics For Eternity and Gospel tracts to
Catholics. Some repented and turned to Christ alone but one young priest became
very angry with me. Lately, I have been talking to several Pastors concerning
their admiration of Brennan Manning. I shared some of your statements from the
DVD, God and the Gushy Gospel, such as, Manning teaches a Gospel that is full
of mysticism but void of the truth. Also, He preaches a Gospel of works and
sacraments. He is an enemy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Pastors took
issue with me and defended Manning. Can you help me by clarifying his errors? I
pastored a church for 50 + years, but these pastors tell me, "you are not
relevant with this generation." I.H., Council Bluffs, IA
A: "Manning is an inactive
Catholic
priest who left the priesthood to get married, but now has divorced his wife. As
a recovering alcoholic, he is heavy into contemplative prayer and Eastern
mysticism. His popularity as a writer and speaker in evangelical circles
continues to grow despite his proclamation of "another" gospel. Manning's gospel
declares that all people are redeemed. In his book, The Signature of Jesus, he
"looks upon human nature as fallen but redeemed, flawed but in essence good" (p.
125). He promotes a contemplative wordless "prayer" that involves breathing
exercises and the chanting of a sacred word or phrase. He says, "the first step
in faith is to stop thinking about God at the time of prayer" (p. 212). Manning
dedicates an entire chapter to Celebrate the Darkness. He must be unaware that
God calls his people out of darkness and they should have nothing to do with it
(2 Cor. 6:14; Eph. 5:8; 1 Thes. 5:4-5; 1 Pet. 2:9; 1 John 1:5-10). His flawed
theology and fatal gospel have a lot to do with his low view of Scripture. He
writes: "I am deeply distressed by...the idolatry of the Scriptures. For many
Christians, the Bible is not a pointer to God but God himself, in a
word-bibliolatry" (pp. 188-89). Manning must not know "the Word was God, became
flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:1, 14). These are just a few of the major
problems with Brennan Manning. You are to be commended for warning others of his
deceptive teachings." Gendron, Mike:
Proclaiming the Gospel Ministries, Vol. 20 No. 1 Newsletter. January - March
2011.
Also see:
What is contemplative prayer?
Recommended Reading:
The Truth War: Fighting for Certainty in an Age of Deception
by John MacArthur
Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church: Understanding a Movement and Its
Implications by D. A. Carson
Response to comment [from a
Christian]: "The Emergent Church are a group of people, including
myself...[I]t is a refreshing antidote to doctrinal Christianity..."
1 Ti 4:1.
[From Southwest Radio Ministries] "A new religious fad is
sweeping the churches: Contemplative Prayer.
Contemplative prayer has been borrowed from the repetitious religious chants of
the Catholic church. After chanting repetitive phrases for an hour, the mind
becomes blank and then God, or a god, is supposed to speak.
The chanting of the same words over and over with loud, screaming music is
similar to what is now practiced in the Emerging and Purpose Driven churches.
As Dr. Hoggard stresses, contemporary churches and even major denominations are
now endorsing and practicing contemplative prayer. Even more disconcerting, many
well-known fundamental and evangelical ministries are also endorsing and
practicing contemplative prayer as a better way to communicate with God.
Some of these well-known Christian leaders may have innocently become associated
with this questionable or perverted diversion, but we need to alert and warn
others."
Recommended resource:
The Mystery of Contemplative Prayer
Response to comment [from a "Christian"]: "...[Y]ou believe that we are
saved by works done through humans..."
Salvation is by grace. We cannot earn salvation. Good
works contribute nothing to your standing with God. Trust Christ (Eph
2:8).
"Isaac...is perhaps one of the most vivid foreshadows of Jesus Christ. Just as
Jesus was miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit through Mary, Isaac was a
miracle given to Abraham and Sarah in their old age. Both were the "child of
promise." Abraham had been told his offspring would be great in number, yet
Sarah was barren into her nineties. As Isaac was a miracle, he also points to
the miraculous virgin birth of our Savior (MacGregor, Prys pg. 139)."
Response to comment [from a Christian]: "Can't read your post..."
I bet you can read it.
Response to comment [from a "Christian"]: "...[Y]ou keep ignoring my
questions..."
Are you a Roman Catholic?
See:
A Scriptural Response to: Biblical Evidence or Catholics St. Joseph
Communication
Response to comment [from a Catholic]: "Are you not
a Catholic?"
I am a catholic (small "c") in the sense that I am a member of the body of
Christ--an organic body of believers worldwide (Rom.
7:4; 12:5; 1
Cor. 6:15; 10:16; 12:12, 27; Eph.
4:12, 16; 5:23; Heb.
10:10). I am not a Roman Catholic (capitol "C").
Mark 9:3841 Luke
9:49, 50. Acts
10:148; Acts
11:17, 18; Acts
15:131; Rom.
1:17, 1416; Rom.
3:2031; Rom.
4:125; Rom.
5:1, 2; Gal.
3:27, 28; Eph.
2:1417; Col.
3:1115.
The
Roman Catholic Church is an apostate church (Re
3:1422) denying: the Jesus of the Bible, his gospel, and his plan of
salvation (Jude
11). Catholicism, like all religions of the world, is work-based.
Christianity is faith-based. Catholicism is about what you do. Christianity is
about what He had done.
See:
Works vs. Faith
[From Proclaiming the Gospel
Ministries: Emerging Church Leading Protestants Back Home to Rome] "We have been
receiving an increasing number of reports about Protestants who are converting
to Roman Catholicism. There is now a series of three books which herald the
testimonies of former Protestant pastors who have found the broad way to Rome
more enticing and fulfilling. What is causing this growing apostasy? Who is
behind this reversal of the Reformation? Why are so many Protestants being
seduced by the piety of this false religion? Many evangelicals are puzzled and
are searching for answers. Although it is disheartening and discouraging, we
should not be surprised because: "the Spirit explicitly says that in later times
some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and
doctrines of demons" (1
Tim. 4:1)...Does Christianity Need to Be
Reinvented?, A New Kind of Christian, Mystical Feelings Replace
Doctrine, The Alluring Power of the Eucharist, Subjective Experiences vs.
Objective Truth..." Full text:
Emerging Church Leading Protestants Back Home to Rome
Response to comment [from a Catholic]:
[Stripe quote: "God has a body."] Sorry, back to Theology 101 for you..."
"In His incarnation, the eternally
existing second Person of the Trinity accepted all the essential characteristics
of humanity and so became the God Man (Philippians
2:5
8;
Colossians 2:9). We teach
that Jesus Christ represents humanity and deity in indivisible oneness (Micah
5:2;
John 5:23;
14:9
10;
Colossians 2:9)..." Full
text: God
the Son Grace to You
People who live in glass houses
shouldn't throw stones (Ga 1:6-8).
[What compelled you to give your life to sharing the Gospel? by Mike Gendron
Proclaiming the Gospel Ministries] "Thirty years ago when God adopted me into
His eternal family, He gave me a new purpose for living. There were two
revelations from Scripture that helped refocus my life: 1) the only two things
in this life that are eternal are God's Word and relationships. Everything else
will pass away or be burnt up in the end; 2) the most important issue in this
life is investigating where people will spend eternity. Realizing this, I began
to live each day with an eternal perspective, investing my time and efforts in
things that would last throughout eternity.
God also gave me a great compassion for everyone who was being deceived by the
same religious traditions that once deceived me. I realized none of them would
ever know they were deceived unless they were confronted with God's Word. The
very nature of deception is that people will never know they are deceived until
they hear or see the truth.
When I began to comprehend what the Bible reveals about the reality of hell, it
gave me a great sense of urgency and passion for evangelism. To know that
multitudes were perishing everyday into outer darkness where they are being
punished with everlasting destruction was too hard to bear without doing
something about it. The Bible describes hell as a lake of fire where the
unforgiven will experience the full effect of God's justice and punishment with
no rest, no hope and no escape (Revelation
9:2;
14:11;
21:8). By God's grace, I
want to do everything possible to rescue them by pointing them to Christ as the
all-sufficient Savior and only mediator (1
Tim. 2:5;
Heb. 7:25;
10:10-14).
My desire to glorify God with my life came from a heartfelt gratitude for His
saving grace and mercy, coupled with an everlasting love for Jesus. One of the
best ways I can demonstrate my love is to be obedient to the Great Commission.
The Lord Jesus said, "if anyone loves Me, he will keep My Word" (John
14:23). He has entrusted us with the Gospel
which reveals the only cure for the fatal disease of sin. Whether people believe
the Gospel or not, I know that every time I proclaim it, I am praising the One
who called me out of darkness into His glorious light...'I am not ashamed of the
gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that
believeth (Romans
1:16)...'" Full text:
Celebrating Twenty Years of God's Faithfulness
Response to comment [from a "Christian"]: "He's no Jedi."
~ Bib Fortuna, Star Wars
"He's no Jedi." ~ Bib Fortuna, Star Wars
On
the 'Emergent Church'