Emergent or The Story is in the Pages, Keep Your Eye on the Bible

You not only have a purpose in life, you are worth it. God thought you were worthy of His love so much that He sent His son to earth for you. Does that not sound nice, regardless if it is true? Emergent literature seems to agree with that, it tends to dance down the pathway of emotional responses. Authors such as Rob Bell, Brian McLaren and Donald Miller say this and even more, but they usually do not have the authority behind their statements and subtle whispers. They try to find a way to blend the bible with post-modernism, but they have trouble realizing the blend is not right. Emergent, or emerging, authors and thinkers try to use the fundamental truths of Gods scripture along with the ever swaying lack of truth in post-modernism. The result is an emerging movement (or conversation) of social gospel made up of emotional reactions, antithetic usage of scripture and a lack of truth.

A few quotes from leaders in the conversation:

"The Way is not a method or a map, The Way is an experience."
- Leonard Sweet, SoulTsunami

“The Christian faith, I am proposing, should become (in the name of Jesus Christ) a welcome friend to other religions of the world, not a threat”
-Brian McLaren, A Generous Orthodoxy McLaren

"Heaven is full of forgiven people. Hell is full of forgiven people. Heaven is full of people God loves, whom Jesus died for. Hell is full of forgiven people God loves, whom Jesus died for. The difference is how we choose to live, which story we choose to live in, which version of reality we trust. Ours or God's."
-Rob Bell, Velvet Elvis

”The main reason of the incarnation of Jesus is so that we can understand how to be human”
- Rob Bell

"I once listened to an Indian on television say that God was in the wind and the water, and I wondered at how beautiful that was because it meant you could swim in Him or have Him brush your face in a breeze."
— Donald Miller, Blue Like Jazz

"I don't agree with 1/4 of my first book"
-Donald Miller

"religious doctrines just aren't very compelling, even if they're true."
- Shane Claiborne

"[In Calcutta] The goal was not to keep people alive...but to allow them to die with dignity, with someone loving them, singing, laughing, so they were not alone."
- Shane Claiborne


The problem with this movement (or conversation, as it is called by people in the movement) really is the lack of substance when it becomes spiritual, as they prefer to skim the outside of spiritual truth or even flat out refuse it. The truth of the cross and the reason Christ died for us is muddle up by this movement.

Steve Chalke (an author highly praised by Brian McLaren) has even called the death of Christ on the cross "cosmic child abuse" and even goes as far as claiming, "Jesus believed in original goodness." After that, the author and dreamer Shane Claiborne claims that Jesus is in the eyes of everyone (The Irresistible Revolution). Donald Miller seems to believe that pain and brokenness are the main problems of humanity and we need to learn to love ourselves (Blue Like Jazz). Even Rob Bell says that Christ died so we can "understand what it means to be human." These authors miss the fact that Christ died to free us from our bondage of sin. They ignore 1 John 4:10, "In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." Christ died and suffered on the cross so he could absorb the wrath of God so we did not have to.

They also twist and mold scripture to fit their idea of Christ. Share Claiborne claiming the Christ was a revolutionary, rebellious leader who was crucified because he hung out with sinners (The Irresistible Revolution). He also says that the principalities and powers and rulers of our dark world that Ephesians tells us about are the empire because it makes the world unsafe because millions live in poverty. He totally ignores the truth that Ephesians actually talks about darkness spiritually.

That is just two main issues I have found with the emergent church, they also distort scripture when discussing war and violence (and ignore the perfect demands of God for Israel to go to war)and become spotty when they are presented with big morality hot topics such as homosexuality ("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." -Brian McLaren). These issues are too much for me to continue writing about currently, Perhaps I'll expand with a Part II to this.

This movement very well could be remembered when Paul warns us to be wary of false teachers who exchange to truth of God for a lie, perhaps a lie that drips honey to our ears.

How Do You Like This Now?

People love to manipulate and twist scripture so it can fit their ideas. Why do people tend to twist peacemakers in Jesus' sermon on the mount to mean people who make worldly peace and not spiritual? What ever happened to God commanding the annihilation of the Amalekites? That's sure not peaceful, but that was perfect and right. How do those people explain those old testament scriptures like that? The holy, just, righteous and perfect God command that a nation be blotched up, that meant that Israeli going to war and slaying the Amalekites was holy, just and perfect. What kind of kink does that put in the peace loving misconception that people lick up in this current age?

A Plan For Peace?

"It is our job, it is our responsibility, to help people make peace with God and then to help them make peace with each other. That is the commission that was given not to a government, but the church." - Rick Warren

P.E.A.C.E.

Promote Reconciliation
Equip Leaders
Assist the Poor
Care for the Sick
Educate the Next Generation

This plan is formed, by Pastor Rick Warren, to combat the Giants of spiritual emptiness, corrupt leadership, extreme poverty, pandemic diseases, illiteracy and lack of education. Of course you could interchange any semi-emergent leader in Warrens place and it'd still fit. Here are some names for you to try it with: Brian McLaren, Tony Campolo, Shane Clairborne, Donald Miller, Rob Bell, and even Robert Schuller.

Okay, so how is this biblical? Why is this the churches commission? What is the hang up with people thinking Christ becomes suddenly superficial when he teaches about peace? What is the deal with pulling out the social gospel so often anymore? When does God command us to fix the worlds messed up, superficial problems? When does God command the church to make every poor person not poor and command the church to make everyone literate?

I'll emphasize that I'm arguing at the superficial standing point, and I'm not arguing this is wrong but that is is not the command from Christ for us to do. Too often people are just seemingly lazy or looking for biblical justification for the things they do when there may not be. The command from Christ is to spread the word of Him and what He has done for us. A social gospel and desire for worldly peace are not the objectives of the savior of our souls. Christ even says he does not come for worldly peace:

"Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." (Matthew 10:34)

"Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division;" (Luke 12:51)

"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful." (John 14:27)

Just as when he tells us the beatitude of being a peacemaker, it is not superficial, worldly peace He is telling us about. It is spiritual peace, which will not be accomplished by fixing this faulty planet (which is impossible by the way). Jesus also talks about the poor, saying they will always be with us and that a sign of Him being the Son of God is the fact the poor are getting preached the Word of God. Nothing about the poor getting an easier life on this decomposing planet called earth.

Making someones earthly body healthy again so it can die a few years later, or making someone earthly body recognize earthly words will not save their souls. The ultimate commission from Christ is to tell people of His grace and glory, not make them feel better about their earthly body.

"Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation." (2 Corinthians 5:18,19)

Christ is the reconciler, we are a way to let other know who the true Reconciler is. Our commission is to let it be know that one can only be reconciled to God through Christ Jesus, our commission is to let Christ's death for us on the cross be known, our commission is to let God grace through Jesus be known. Our peace should not be that of the world, superficial and with other men, but that of Christs, spiritual and with God alone.