Infiltration and deception have been tools of conspirators through the ages, and the Church has been a primary target! After all, God warns us that the whole world is under the sway of the evil one. (1 John 5:19) One of his most effective schemes is to redefine Gods Word and divert Christians from His unchanging Truth to mans shifting ideals. For example, God calls us to serve the poor and fills our hearts with love for the needy. Thats why His true followers around the world have willingly given their lives to share His truth and love in perilous places. But todays world-centered church illustrates a different kind of service. Designed to please man rather than God, it trains its servers to hide the offensive truths of the gospel. Like Rick Warren, it uses the Bible to validate its purposes but emphasizes organizational behavior rather than Biblical beliefs -- in short, deeds instead of creeds.[3] Behind its noble appearance hides a postmodern version of the century-old Christian Socialism. The Social Gospel, Councils of Churches, and Fabian Socialism Called Father of the Social Gospel, Walter Rauschenbusch (1861-1918), grew up in a German Lutheran immigrant family in New York. He studied theology at the University of Rochester, one of hundreds of educational and Christian institutions funded by John D. Rockefeller. After pastoring a Baptist Church among poor immigrants in New York City for a few years, he joined the faculty at Rochester Theological Seminary -- also funded by Rockefeller. In 1902 he became its Professor of Church History. From this prominent platform, he wrote books such as Christianizing the Social Order and A Theology for the Social Gospel.[4] Steeped in higher criticism and socialist ideology, he taught what many considered a more relevant and compassionate gospel. As a result, he changed both the emphases and the direction of American Protestantism.[5] Rauschenbusch introduced Jesus not as one who would come to save sinners from their sins but as one who had a social passion for society.[6] He and his comrades established the Brotherhood of the Kingdom, which unified like-minded church leaders under a common socialist quest for an earthly Kingdom of God. Their plan would have fit our times! It called for political reform, ecumenical unity, Social Justice and global peace. To justify its place in Christian theology, words like redemption and regeneration were redefined to fit their socialist ideals.[7] Sounds familiar, doesnt it? Popular church leaders use the same strategy today! Pastor Brian McLarens recent book, The Secret Message of Jesus, twists Gods Word into an endorsement of an earthly, interfaith Kingdom.[8] Likewise, Tony Campolos hope of earthly perfection mocks the Biblical promise of eternal life: The gospel is not about... pie-in-the-sky when they die.... It is imperative that the up and coming generation recognize that the biblical Jesus was committed to the realization of a new social order in this world.... Becoming a Christian, therefore, is a call to social action.[9]
Posted on: Fri, 07 Mar 2014 18:02:59 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015