To be sure, a "church" that looks to the zeitgeist and culture for truth will eventually have to deny the Truth of scripture. For years false teachers and the scriptures could shack up, but in these radical times this is becoming an increasingly untenable path.
An excerpt:
But about a dozen years ago, the founder and leader of Vineyard Church of Ann Arbor started to have some misgivings about his views.Perspective is everything. This is a glowing article written to puff up this "pastor" and from the writer's perspective this pastor has finally seen the light of secular humanism, and that is a good thing. He is no longer a bigot. But there is a different perspective, a biblical one. From that perspective the excerpt might be better stated:
But about a dozen years ago, the founder and leader of Vineyard Church of Ann Arbor started to have some misgivings about God's views.Another excerpt:
It was a slow process, one that involved prayer, introspection and scholarship as he pored over the Bible and interpretations of it from various writers.Imagine that, culture and secular humanism rejects scripture and embraces homosexuality as good and proper, then church men all of a sudden begin to figure out the truth about how wonderful homosexual "marriage" is after 2000 years of darkness. What a coincidence.
Experts say it might be the first time the pastor of a large evangelical Christian congregation in Michigan, and maybe the U.S., has come out so openly in favor of gay people and same-sex marriage.One wonders what rock this writer must has been living under for the last decade. A great reason why being cited by a media person as an "expert" is not something you want to put on your resume.
The move comes at a time of intense debate in Michigan over gay marriage after a ruling two weeks ago by a federal judge in Detroit that legalized gay marriage, a ruling currently being appealed.Go figure. Not that it matters to this "pastor" what Jesus said, but he certainly doesn't have to worry about Jesus' words warning that to follow Him will mean persecution, especially if you're a CEO of a chicken restaurant or a large software company and agree with thousands of years of hisstory.
Anyway, this is old news really, with more "revelations" and outings to come sure as the world. But it does give me reason to make a few points.
1. This teacher did not become a false teacher overnight. My guess is that bit by bit he taught his apostasy to his congregation until it was safe to go where his heart already was... out of the closet.
2. Much of the Church is apparently in an age of bankruptcy of discernment. Just because your pastor has not "come out of the closet" on this issue doesn't mean that his heart is still in the closet. The modern Christian must know scripture and see the world through that lens, then he will see these things long before they happen.
3. Matt 24:24 "[Jesus answered saying...] For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect." If we are not able to discern scripture, how will we avoid this deception?
4. The good news is that it is becoming very easy to spot many false teachers and apostates from a mile away. The Church of Christ looks nothing like we imagined it was even a quarter century ago. Then, this pastor's anti-biblical views would have not been nearly as discernible, nor would have his anti-biblical followers.
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4 comments:
The one good thing about this issue is that it does out the wolves. This guy had the usual lame arguments, pretending that the Bible didn't specifically say that monogamous healthy blah blah blah gay sex was ago, so it must be OK! God just forgot to use any examples of it when noting his ideals for sexual morality!
One of many things He evidently forgot.
A few thoughts.
1. "zeitgeist" ... really? Extra points for proper use of a fancy word.
2. I am sick and tired of the "experts" who refer to the embrace of a behavior condemned by God as "in favor of gay people". "Oh, this is so wonderful!" they are saying. "You're going to Hell and we're celebrating ... and this is showing favor!"
3. I am equally disgusted by the complete disassembly of the concept of "evangelical" as it is applied to a particular Christian view. Evangelicalism is (was) centered on the need for conversion, the need to share the Gospel, a high regard for the ultimate authority of the Bible, and a focus on the Cross. So when they refer to an "evangelical" that discards one or more of these basic positions (especially and most commonly a high regard for the Bible) and call them "evangelical", it simply means that, once again, the public has stripped the meaning of a word and expect us to understand it as we do but mean it as they do.
4. I am reminded (it almost yells at me) of John's words: "Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us (1 John 2:18-19). This pastor went out from us. Need I say more?
The man didn't hear from Jesus - he heard from Satan disguised as an angel of light.
Of course being originally Vineyard says a lot.
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