Counterfeit faith
For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.—Matthew 24:24
I read an article a long time ago about a family that had a pet wolf. The wolf shed a lot, so they decided to collect the shedding, and had a friend—who knew how to process it—card, spin and crochet the sheddings into some nice sweaters that looked and felt just like wool. No one could tell the difference, except the neighborhood dogs who wouldn't come near any of the children while they were wearing the wolf-wool sweaters.
Today, many of the wolves that are trying to twist the church away from it's true path aren't even trying to hide their true nature very well.
From FoxNews...
A council of the United Methodist Church has decided to allow a transgender minister to retain his job, but it stopped short of addressing whether a change of gender violates the denomination's rules....
Before undergoing surgery and hormone therapy, Phoenix spent five years as minister at St. John's United Methodist Church in Baltimore as the Rev. Ann Gordon.
Phoenix was reappointed this spring by Bishop John Schol of the Methodists' Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference, who noted that the denomination's Book of Discipline said nothing about transgender clergy.
That rumbling sound would be John and Charles Wesley spinning in their graves.
From CNN...
The Rev. Charles Kennedy, of the Glorious Church of God in Christ, a Pentecostal church in Tampa, Florida, and the Rev. James McLaughlin, of the Wayman Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Houston, Texas, are among the theological hybrids.
They say they are not scared off by programs with ties to a church [Scientology] that critics say has aggressive recruiting, secretive ways and rigid theology. As men of God rooted in Christian values, they do not see Scientology as a threat to their faith, but rather as a tool to augment it.
Scientology was founded in the 1950s by L. Ron Hubbard, a science fiction writer. Followers are taught that they are immortal spiritual beings called thetans. Although the church says there is a supreme being, its practices do not include worshipping God....
Critic Rick Ross, a court-certified Scientology expert, sees something more sinister at work. He warned that mainstream acceptance makes it easier for the Scientologists to achieve their ultimate goal -- new recruits.
Open-mindedness can often be a convenient rationalization for gullibility.
WorldNetDaily also reports...
Schuller's latest move is to hold a "Rethink Conference" at his Crystal Cathedral. With an unusual mix of Christian and non-Christian speakers, the conference will take place Jan. 17-19, 2008. He is co-hosting the conference with Emerging Church movement leader Erwin McManus. Schuller's "rethink" website states the purpose of the conference: "Our aim is to bring together a cross-section of the key leaders in today's culture so we can grapple with what's truly happening in our world."
Among the 30 speakers lending their names and varying degrees of credibility to Robert Schuller's conference are Lee Strobel, Dan Kimball, Charles Colson, George Barna, Rupert Murdoch, George Herbert Walker Bush, Larry King and Rick Warren's wife, Kay Warren. While Rick Warren has tried desperately to deny his spiritual ties to Schuller, his wife's presence at the conference speaks volumes....
The Emerging Church also refuses to take the New Age seriously. Not surprisingly, two of its top leaders – Erwin McManus and Dan Kimball – agreed to participate in this Schuller "Rethink Conference." The word "rethink" can be found throughout Kimball's book "The Emerging Church,"which was forewarded by Rick Warren and Brian McLaren. The word "rethink" can also be found throughout the books of other Emergent leaders, including McLaren. So what is this "Rethink Conference" really about? What do Schuller and "the forces that be" hope to accomplish?...
In fact, in his latest book, "Don't Throw Away Tomorrow: Living God's Dream for Your Life," Schuller eagerly writes about the virtue of compromise. In this book, that bears New Age leader Gerald Jampolsky's endorsement on the back cover, Schuller states, "We need to learn the healing quality of wise compromise." He further states, "Perhaps the only way to deal with contradictions is to combine them creatively and produce something new. That's ingenious compromise." Whether Schuller knows it or not, he just presented the recipe for a New World Religion.
I'm very disappointed with people like Chuck Colson, Jay Seculow and H.B. London for participating in such a cult-led conference. Even the very elect, indeed.
Posted by Danny Carlton at November 1, 2007 7:07 AM