Post-Modernism and the Emergent Church

Anyone familiar with what is known as the Emergent Church Movement? Yeah, I wasn't either, until I watched a few videos that were assigned by my Worldview teacher.

The first of these videos can be found at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wf79xW6RAh4
It is basically a documentary about the Emergent Church, which professes to embody the contemporary culture version of Christianity. People belonging to the Emergent Church are people who think that the traditional ways/practices of Church and worship are outdated and no longer acceptable.

Though each Emergent Church is different and unique, they all share several defining characteristics, such as:
1. A very casual, relaxed setting
2. A large emphasis placed on the experiential; truly experiencing a relationship with God.
3. Worship that is multi-sensory, meaning people are encouraged to tangibly express their spirituality

It is also observed that members of the Emergent Church are less certain of theological ideas, and are mostly focused on the experience, rather than on the knowledge or truth.

Leaders of the Emergent Church describe it as a place of conversation, dialogue, and movement, and that their journey to spirituality and a connection to God is just as important as the end result, which is Heaven, ideally.

In my opinion, the Emergent Church Movement with end up pulling people away from Christ, instead of drawing them to Him, because the emphasis on the teaching of the Gospel is fading in that movement. It is becoming more focused on being comfortable and connected to a higher power than developing a personal relationship with Christ. It seems to me that the appreciation and recognition of what Christ did for us is being put aside and saved for a rainy day, instead of being that first priority.

The second video can be found at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTSKU0FgZts&feature=related  
It is comedian Taylor Marley's view of post-modernism. 

Marley suggests that our society has become so engrossed with conflicting feelings that we're the most aggressively inarticulate generation. Society considers it "uncool" to sound like you know what you're talking about, and that you believe in what you're talking about. Marley has noticed that, as a result of this, people nowadays rarely speak with conviction. He ends with saying: "Contrary to the wisdom of the bumper sticker, it is not enough to question authority, you have to speak with it."

I believe Marley speaks with excellent wisdom, regardless of the fact that this is a comedy bit. People that speak with passion and conviction about a certain topic are disregarded as overzealous and often judgmental. They seem not to have an "open mind" when in fact they are just passionately expressing their opinion. People are losing their voice and influence in America, because they are too afraid to stand up against the common thought of society. They are afraid of being judged, so they decide that it is better not to say anything at all.

The final video can be found at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLDgrBGwMX8&feature=relmfu  
It is a video by Francis Schaeffer, in which Schaeffer discusses the roots of the Emergent Church, and what effect this movement has had on Christianity. 

This movement found many of its roots during the Middle Ages, during which time it was recognized that the Bible shared authority with the Church. This idea grew until the teachings of the Bible and the teachings of prominent philosophers were mixed together. Eventually, the authority of the Church and of the philosophers was valued over the authority of the Bible. 

This allowed a form of humanist Christianity to emerge, that has begun to take the focus away from accepting Christ as our Savior.

I think Schaeffer is absolutely right in his reasoning. Humanist ideals have crept into Christianity, and corrupted it. Many Christians are more focused on being good people and earning their way to heaven, than they are on developing a relationship with Christ. The Bible is the absolute, infallible word of God, and the fact that some people believe the authority of the Church is more important than the authority of the Bible is ridiculous and dangerous. 

Wisdom of C.S. Lewis

The following poem was written by C.S. Lewis, and is quoted in the book "Between Heaven and Hell" by Peter Kreeft:

"From all my lame defeats and oh! much more
From all the victories that I seemed to score;
From cleverness shot forth on Thy behalf
At which, while angels weep, the audience laugh;
From all my proofs give no sign, deliver me.

Thoughts are but coins. Let me not trust, instead 
Of Thee, their thin-worn image of Thy head.
From all my thoughts, even from my thoughts of Thee,
O thou fair Silence, fall, and set me free.
Lord of the narrow gate and the needle's eye,
Take from me all my trumpery lest I die."

Lewis is essentially asking God to deliver him from this world and from himself. The idea of asking to be delivered from oneself and all of one's own actions is one of absolute selflessness. For a person to make this request, he must have reached the realization that he can never be good enough, and thus become filled with the overwhelming desire to let go of everything and hand it over to God. That state of selflessness and Christ-likeness is one that all believers should strive for.


"Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?" - Matthew 16:24-26

 

TBN...the good and the bad

This week I had my first experience with the Trinity Broadcasting Network. Religious television....gotta love it, right? Honestly, I'm one of those people who flips to a different channel right away when I come across any sort of "religious" TV show.

A lot of the time, religious shows, specifically those that are Christian-based, become too dependent on donations from viewers. While there is nothing wrong with a donation-funded channel, I think there is something wrong with a show that professes to be teaching the Gospel, but is at the same time there is an advertisement on the screen that shows which hashtags to follow on twitter.....

This happened on the show, "The Potter's Touch." It features a man who is giving a sermon at a church. His sermons are very passionate and focused on appealing to the emotions of the viewers. Coincidentally, during the commercial breaks, there is an advertisement for a DVD series by the man who is giving the sermons, and there is a phone number that appears for people who desire to give a donation. In addition, those who make a donation are sent a magnetic, jeweled cross as a reward.

I love Jesus with all of my heart and soul, but honestly I don't understand how people can turn TV shows based on the spread of the Gospel into a way of conning people out of their money. While I'm sure that is not always an intention of the producers, I think it is something that tends to happen quite often.

The second show that I watched is called "The Way of the Master," and it consists of a small group of people who travel around the world, preaching the Gospel. In the current series, the group is traveling through Europe, preaching in a different country each day for 13 days. This particular episode depicted the time that the group spent in Germany, during Oktoberfest (huge beer party, essentially).

The group talked with random people on the street and asked them questions that led into a conversation in which they could tell that person about the Gospel. It was sad to see that many of the German people were deceived about the truth and grace of the Gospel. They said that they considered themselves to be "good people" and since God always forgives their sins, that they will end up in Heaven. The reality is that only people who truly give their lives to Christ, and put all of their faith, hope and trust in Him will go to Heaven. And that is only because Christ came and died for us: taking away all of our sins.

Ray Comfort, a member of the group, also did some open air preaching on the streets of Munich, Germany. He attracted people by talking while his friend tried to get himself out of a straight jacket. Ray succeeded in getting the attention of many people, and was thus able to create an opportunity to witness about the Gospel.

Often times, Christians are afraid to stand up and be witnesses for Christ, or they just choose to wait until an obvious opportunity presents itself. However, as demonstrated by Ray Comfort, sometimes the best witness opportunities are the ones that we have the courage to create. 

Between Heaven and Hell...part 1

The book, "Between Heaven and Hell," written by Peter Kreeft, consists of a conversation between three prominent men in history, who all happened to die on November 22, 1963. These three men are C.S. Lewis, John F. Kennedy, and Aldous Huxley. There will most likely be a series of blog posts regarding the ideas discussed in this book, and this is the first!!

One concept that I believe is often never addressed is the idea of a "sage." A sage is sometimes referred to as a guru or a spiritual master. In this book, C.S. Lewis describes them as having three basic psychological characteristics:

1. Unusual wisdom or insight into the human heart and character.
2. Love, compassion and selflessness.
3. Creativity; can't be put into familiar categories.

People such as Jesus, Socrates, and Buddha are given as examples of sagacious men (men who have the qualities of a sage). Socrates and Buddha were men that were prominent figures during their lifetimes, but it doesn't seem as though our world today shares the same value of wisdom and intelligence. Our society has become much less dependent on intellect.

One of the main points of this book is that C.S. Lewis is trying to convince the other two men of the divinity of Christ. Lewis uses the premise of the aut deus aut homo malus proof, which is that Jesus is either God or a bad man. Jesus claimed to be God (because he is), so either he was telling the truth, and thus is in fact God, or he was telling a blasphemous lie, and is therefore a bad man.

Lewis later expands on this argument, and shows that there are four possibilities of who Jesus actually is:

1. God
2. A bad man (blasphemous or insane)
3. A good man (a mere sage)
4. An ordinary man

It was already known that Jesus could not simply be an ordinary man, and he was so much more than a good man like Socrates. That leaves only the first two possibilities, and since Jesus is not insane or blasphemous, then he must be God.

Since Lewis is the one who is trying to prove the divinity of Christ, it may surprise you that he is the man in this book that confesses that he once desired to be his own God. He explains that he hated the idea of a God who barges into our world and interferes with our lives and our values. Lewis hated the idea of anyone but himself being in control of his life. He stresses his belief that many people reject Christianity, because they do not want to believe in a God who is actively involved in our lives.

Lewis describes this concept as self-deception: rejecting something because you don't want it to be true, and not because the evidence proves it to be false. He then says that the first step toward being honest to yourself is just wanting to achieve honesty. "An honest will makes an honest mind."

There is surely more to come from this book, so stay tuned if you want to have your mind further enriched!

Man's Place in the Universe

 "...Never again would man be satisfied to bow in utter subjection to the powers of the universe. He would stand erect and demand the right to challenge the universe and master its secrets. This was indeed a new day for man and the birth of a new conception of man's place in the universe." - S.E. Frost

Have you ever wondered what your place is in the universe? Does anything you do matter? Do you really have any control? This is what Keith Ogorek had to say on the subject in Chapter 5 of his, "A Clear View"....

Man has long struggled for an answer to the question, "What is my place in the universe?" Before considering the place of man in the universe, one must first consider what he believes about the origins of the universe. A person's view on the beginning of the universe will often shape his view about the origins of man. During the 1920's, the theory of Evolution was the prominent explanation for both the origin of the universe as well as that of man. However, Evolution could never be fully explained by science, so it cannot be considered valid.

In general, there are four answers to the important question i have introduced, which is: "What is man's place in the universe?"

1.  Man is fated and is subject to the forces of the universe.
2.  Man is the center of the universe and is the full determinant of his destiny.
3.  Man is subject to chance and there is nothing sure, predictable or controllable. 
4.  Man is created by God with purpose and intentionality. 

Each of these views can be seen in culture today. The first can be seen in those people that seem cynical or apathetic. They have developed this personality as a consequence of the fact that they believe that nothing they do in their lives really matters, so why should they care about anything?

The second can be seen in people that appear to be overwhelming confident, and even proud or conceited. The development of the view that they are the center of the universe has led them to think that they are in control of every aspect of their lives, and that no one else has any say in what they do. I believe this is often seen in politicians and celebrities, as a result of their fame. They are treated like the center of the universe, so that is what they begin to believe.

The third is very similar to the first, in that it is seen in people who believe they don't have control over anything that happens.The difference is that the first says that man's fate is governed by the forces of the universe, while the third says that man's fate is simply not governed by anything, but left up completely to chance.

The fourth, my view, can be seen in people that live with an aer of accountability and intentionality, in that everything they do has a purpose, and the purpose is not one of selfish desire. These people are driven by God's Word and what He has planned for their lives.

Through the interactions with people in my own life, I tend to meet those that possess either the view that man is the center of the universe and thus the most important aspect of life, or the view that man is subject completely to chance and thus no one has control over what happens. Unfortunately, the view I see the least often is that of man being created by God with a purpose. The Christian perspective is being drowned out by the idea that man is the center, and thus higher than God.

By understanding which of these views a person believes in, we can discover what or who is the personal authority in their life. "People's choices and decisions indicate what the personal authority is in their life." Someone's personal authority can be things such as the drive to be popular, a fear of failure, or a conviction to please God. A person's personal authority often stems from their beliefs about truth or their view of God.

Ogorek believed that a person's view of man and his view of authority are connected, but sometimes the Church fails to make that important connection. The church can focus on teaching that our view of man should be that we were created by God with the purpose of serving him, and they can focus on the importance of establishing God's Will as our ultimate authority, but they hardly ever discuss the two together. They fail to see that a person's beliefs about his ultimate authority are actually his first step toward establishing his view of man.

The result of this disconnection by the Church is that some Christians acknowledge that God is their ultimate authority, but they also believe that they are in control of their own lives. Their view of authority and their view of man do not coincide or make sense together. While God does give us free will to make many of our own decisions, he has a hand (a large hand) in every aspect of our lives. God does not make all of our decisions for us, but he influence those decisions, one way or another.

Therefore, I do not believe that anyone can say that man is truly "free." Total freedom implies that there is absolutely nothing that can influence the decisions that we make, and there is no one who can punish us for any bad decisions that we may make. God is our judge. We are free to live here on this earth, and to live our own lives, but we are required to live our lives for Christ. Those that choose not to will ultimately be punished and condemned. I know that may sound harsh, but it's the true reality of life. We are free to choose whether or not to live for Christ, but we are not free to choose what happens to us as a result of which path we choose. Though I do not think true and total freedom can ever be achieved, the only piece of freedom we can have comes from the hope we have in Christ.


"When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
 the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
⁴ what is man that you are mindful of him,
    and the son of man that you care for him?

⁵ Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
    and crowned him with glory and honor.
⁶ You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
    you have put all things under his feet,
⁷ all sheep and oxen,
    and also the beasts of the field,
⁸ the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, 

   whatever passes along the paths of the seas." - Psalm 8:3-8

 

Star Trek...who knew?

I am sure that most of you have heard of a TV show called "Star Trek," right? I have, but I never understood what made it so appealing to some people, or why it had any sort of significance at all. That changed when I read an article by Dwayne Day. Mr. Day explained how Star Trek was one of the most culturally influential TV shows of all time. This show was comprised of a multi-racial cast, which sent the message that people of different cultures could work together to maintain a peaceful world.

Apparently, the purpose of the show was to use futuristic situations as analogies for the current problems occurring on Earth. It discussed moral and social issues such as slavery, warfare, and discrimination. "Star Trek presented a positive image of the future at a time when the news was filled with stories of racism, social strife, and war."(-Dwayne Day) Many people, during the 1960's, were fearful that America would not emerge from the Cold War. The idea that people of different races, specifically American and Russian crewmen, could work peacefully together in the future communicated a very important message to the American people: "humanity will be okay."

In addition to all the concepts of the show, Star Trek also effected future science fiction shows, because they would all have to live up to the standards already set by this show, in order to be respected. Star Trek also influenced the start of a fan group known as the "Trekkies," which grew into an entire "folk subculture." The world even went so far as to add Star Trek phrases to well known dictionaries. Clearly, the TV of Star Trek had much more influence on society and culture than I had ever imagined.

In the clip of an episode that I watched, the main issue being addressed was the idea of slavery. During the 1960's, America was still fighting the battle of Civil Rights. Slavery had officially "ended" nearly a century earlier, but African Americans were still not treated with the equality and respect that they deserved. In the episode clip, a citizen of another planet was attempting to seek asylum aboard the Enterprise. He had evidently been involved in some revolution attempts on his planet, as a group tried to free themselves from the slavery and oppression that they had been put under for so long. The man that was sent to retrieve this escapee declared that he was no longer a slave on that planet; that slavery had been abolished years ago. However, the escapee was still treated as a slave.

That is the situation that existed in America as well. Though African Americans were not technically "slaves," they were still oppressed and treated as though they were inferior to white Americans. The purpose of this episode of Star Trek was to show that any form of slavery, whether physical or mental, was not accepted, and should not be tolerated.This show attempted to get America to wake up and make a change.

African Americans and women throughout the nation were encouraged by the fact that those like them had been portrayed in equality with white men. It gave courage and hope to those who had been afraid or hesitant to try and pursue their dreams. Star Trek was a historical landmark that greatly affected American culture.

      "Star Trek has clearly influenced many diverse aspects of human behavior." - Dwayne Day

Truth and Knowing---Part 1

"Whence come our ideas? Are they born with us and do they become conscious in time or do we get them from sense experiences? Or does some god reveal them to us?" - S.E. Frost

I am again considering "A Clear View," written by Keith Ogorek, but this time focusing on the questions, "How do we know?" and "What can we know?"


First of all, there is the question, "How do we know?":

       The early Stoics and Epicureans believed that all knowledge was received by the senses and obtained through experiences. These people were often referred to as "empiricists".

       The other popular view was that of the "rationalists" which believed that ideas are resident in man at birth and experiences simply awaken them.

       However, from a Christian Worldview, we can know things by three different means: cognitively, empirically, and by revelation.

•   Things that we know intuitively, or without having to learn them, are referred to as Cognitive. For example, a child does not have to learn to lie; it exists within as part of his sinful nature from the beginning of his life.
•   Things that we have learned through sensory experiences or observations are referred to as Empirical. For example, a child does not have to learn to lie, but he does have to be taught that lying is wrong, and that it requires an apology to be offered.
•    All truths that we know about God are revealed to us by Him directly, and thus they are known only by Revelation. For example, God must allow us to know about Him before we can begin to live our lives for his glory.

The next question to be addressed is "What can we know?":

      Early on, there were four attempts to explain how we can know what we know.

• Herodotus believed that the world we encountered is constantly changing and shifting, so it is impossible to achieve true knowledge about it. Thus, we will never be able to understand the true nature of the world.
• Parmenides, however, believed that the world is a single unchanging, infinitely large entity, and therefore, knowledge is arrived at not through the senses but through reason.
• Plato, a student of the great thinker Socrates, taught his theory of forms, which describes a world with two layers. One layer is the world revealed to us by our senses, but there are no truths to be found in that world because it is constantly changing. The other layer is the realm of what is real and that which truly exists.
• Aristotle, student of Plato, insisted that there are forms that do not change and that they are fully present in material things. He believed that the objective world of forms is not something elusive, but something we can know.  

     Another influential thinker later on was Thomas Aquinas, who opened the way for discussion about the difference and relationship between "nature" and "grace". Aquinas caused a shift from Plato's ideas to Aristotle's, and this became known as the "Aristotelian Revolution." Aquinas described the world as having an "upper story" and a "lower story". The upper story is "characterized by the world of faith and grace, a world for which we need God's revelation." The lower story is "characterized by the world of men and world of nature as understood by reason alone."

     These two stories were divided by a "line of despair," titled as such because it caused despair for people who are struggling to find out what we can know, and what is real. Prior to 1200 AD, the upper story was given much more importance, and thus grace and the things of heaven dominated nature and the things of man.

     However, the Aristotelian Revolution led into a period called the Renaissance, during which nature began to consume grace. The material world was no longer ignored. This means that the focus was put on the lower story; the focus was put on man. This led to a view of life called Humanism, where man is the center of all things. Creativity in art and architecture flourished during this time, and artists such as da Vinci and Michelangelo were unleashed.

     This new view of humanism caused theology, philosophy and art all to become autonomous or independent of revelation or Scripture. Theology tried to explain the existence of God based solely on reason. Philosophy was beginning to be developed apart from any revelation or Scripture from God. Artists began to express reality as they saw it, without any reference to the truth of Scripture. The scope had shifted to an entirely humanistic view.

     In an attempt to restore the relationship between grace and nature, the Reformation took place around 1500 AD. Men like Luther and Calvin recognized that it was "sola scriptura" that had authority, and it was "sola Christus" whose works were more than enough for our salvation. These men brought grace back to its rightful position, but they recognized that the material world was also important, because it was created by a good God. Things like education, learning, art, economics, and just laws flourished during the Reformation. Reason was alive, but it was now tempered with revelation.The harmony between the stories was restored.

"Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." - John 14:6

   

The Church is Failing

  I recently watched a video of Os Guinness, in which he talked about the pursuit of meaning in one's life, where to find that meaning and the consequent truths that are discovered. According to Mr. Guinness, one main reason why so many people end up searching for meaning in their lives is because they have lost meaning in their faith, and have drifted away from God.

"The Christian Church in the west is at one of its lowest points since just before the 16th century Reformation." - Os Guinness

As a Believer, does that concern you? Does it alarm you? Does it worry you? Well, it should! Christianity is quickly being extinguished around the world, and America is a prime example. Yes, there are still around 300,000 "Christian" churches throughout the United States, but the Gospel is being continually watered down, until it becomes virtually pointless. According to Os Guinness, "Much of the Western Church is shallow, crass, vulgar, distorted and worldly."
 

Though many people are still attending church, the teaching that the majority of them are receiving is either riddled with lies, or told in a way that conceals the real truth of the Gospel. Satan is at work in these churches.

These deceiving churches are, ever increasingly, discouraging the process of thought, especially that concerning faith. As a result, people are developing questions that cannot be answered by the faith they were brought up in, and they are falling away from God.

This tugs at my heart strings. Countless souls have been lost or torn away from God’s grace, because we, as Believers, have allowed God’s message of love and forgiveness to be disfigured and destroyed. All Believers have the responsibility to speak out against such deception and spread the real truth of the Word of God:

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” – Galations 6:9

 “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you.” – 1 Corinthians 11:1-2

“For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” – Jude 1:4

If there is any possibility of saving those souls that are slowly being lost to the Devil and his lies, the world is in need of a Revival. Those of us who are true Believers in the grace, love, and sovereignty of our Lord Jesus Christ, what are we doing to spread these truths to others? Will we continue to sit idly back and allow our nation, and our world, to sink even more into this bottomless pit of deception and despair? What will you do?

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." - Matthew 5:14-16

Forming a Worldview

   

"Having fitted your experiences into a whole, having related them to each other, you say of the world, 'This is the way things fit together. This is the world as I understand it.' '' - S.E. Frost

After reading through Chapter 1 of Keith Ogorek's, "A Clear View", here are my thoughts...

       

       A worldview is simply a person's way of understanding the world. Each worldview is personal and dynamic in the sense that it differs from person to person. There are no two people in the world that share the exact same worldview. This idea can stifle the practice of condemning a group of people to a certain stereotype. For example, after meeting a liberal Christian, someone may want to draw the conclusion that all Christians share those liberal views. However, by accepting the fact that all worldviews are different and distinct, this unjust assumption can be avoided in the future. 

        I believe that a person's worldview is formed based on their ideas about how prevalent the role of God is in their lives. As a result, Deists, Atheists, and Christians will never share a worldview, because they each have distinctly different ideas of where God "rates" in their lives. Also, it seems clear to me that a person's worldview is influenced by what he perceives to be truth in the world around him. Does he believe that there is sin? Does he believe that there is good and evil? Ultimately, I believe the answers to these questions shape the formation of a person's worldview, and those answers are rooted in a person's beliefs about God and His amount of sovereignty. 

       When forming a personal worldview, there are many questions a person must consider: questions about God, Man, and Existence. Though there are numerous relavent questions, I believe that one of the most vital ones to consider is: "How do we know anything, and can we know truth?" If a person really takes the time to examine this theological question, I believe he will discover that the only absolute, infallible, never-changing truth that exists is that which is found in the Bible, and a person who puts 100% of his faith and trust in the Word of the Lord, is a person that will never be led astray by the dangerous lies of this fallen world.

      A person's worldview also acts like the "lens" through which that person views the issues of life. This includes issues such as: education, family, money, work, etc., but perhaps the most important issue here is money. Matthew 6:21 says, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." and Proverbs 4:23 says, "Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life." If a person takes a look at where he spends most of his money, he will discover what he cares most about. In addition, the thing that he cares most about will affect the way he lives his life, the decisions he makes, and the things he believes. Therefore, money has a large influence on how a person chooses to live his life.