Wednesday, March 12, 2008

A little more

On the other hand, many evangelical churches of today have done equal damage to the historic Christian faith and to Christians themselves by sensationalizing, emotionalizing and commercializing worship and faith. The faith-healers, modern revivalists, and "televangelists" have eroded the intellectual foundation of the Christian faith and substituted doctrines of health, wealth, prosperity, entertainment, and even occult practices for the work of Jesus Christ within the hearts and minds of people.

Hank Hanegraaff, host of the popular radio program Bible Answer Man, writes in his book Counterfeit Revival:

  • ...John the Apostle warns, "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1).
  • This warning is particularly relevant today, as Christianity is undergoing a paradigm shift of major proportions — a shift from faith to feelings, from fact to fantasy, and from reason to esoteric revelation. This paradigm shift is what I call the Counterfeit Revival.
  • Prophets of the Counterfeit Revival claim that the entire Christian community is going to be polarized by a bloody civil war. On one side will be those who embrace new revelations. On the other will be those who obstinately cling to reason. One "prophet" went so far as to say: "God is going to renovate the entire understanding of what Christianity is in the nations of the Earth.... In twenty years there will be a totally different understanding of Christianity as we know it."'
  • Some of the most recognizable names in the Christian community are endorsing this paradigm shift with little or no reservation. The appeal is so staggering that churches on every continent are now inviting their people to "experience" God in a brand-new way. It is now estimated that seven thousand churches in England alone have embraced the Counterfeit Revival. And with each passing day the numbers are escalating dramatically.
  • Sardonic laughter, spasmodic jerks, signs and wonders, super apostles and prophets, and people being "slain in the spirit" are pointed to as empirical evidence of the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. The form and function of the church is being so radically rearranged that even the secular world has taken note.
Our own faith may be weakened without a solid foundation. Our own faith must be built on solid rock - a Biblical foundation for Christianity is based on the Word of God. If we aren't convinced intellectually, emotionally and spiritually about the truth of the Bible, and of the God it describes, our faith can be washed away just like the foolish man's house in the children's song (Matt. 7:26).

God expects us to use reason (Isa. 1:18; 1 Pet. 3:15; Matt. 22:36-37). God is a rational being, and He created us as rational beings. Why would the God who created our unique ability to think expect us to suddenly abandon this gift when considering Him?
Defense of our Faith

"I will be able to get any answers that I need when I get to Heaven."

We must find a basis for being 100% committed to Christ now - there is no other alternative. The Bible warns us that assent is not enough; there is no middle ground between absolute commitment and rejection:

Matt. 12:30 "He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters."

Rev. 3:16 "So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth."

C. S. Lewis writes in The Weight of Glory, p. 50.

"To be ignorant and simple now – not to be able to meet the enemies on their ground – would be to throw down our weapons, and to betray our uneducated brethren who have, under God, no defense but us against the intellectual attacks of the heathen. Good philosophy must exist, if for no other reason, because bad philosophy needs to be answered."

Link - http://home.houston.rr.com/apologia/sec1p2.htm

2 comments:

cas said...

Nuff said - Matt. 7:26
and there is no middle ground between absolute commitment and rejection


cas

trd said...

2 items - 1) the part about televangilists really hit me - i think christianity gets a bad name and is being stereotyped by some televangilists and in mainstream media (watch a sitcom and it seems like its the whack christian who does something wrong in the name of their faith). i think this could be one of the BIGGEST challenges to the growth of Christianity 2) no middle ground - that statement hit me - you are either in or out. it made me wonder, when i experience "doubts" what does that say about me?