Thursday, July 31, 2008
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Not sufficient
It is becoming quite clear that in our postmodern world, Scripture is no longer sufficient to meet the needs of our faith. I have known for quite awhile now about the Emergent Movement and its deemphasis on doctrinal importance and over emphasis on social awareness. While I don't deny their concern that the Church can be negligent in its awareness of and involvement in the world around them, their belief that Christianity is simply a salvation prayer followed by Christians uniting to solve the wrongs of the world is grossly erroneous. To them Scriptural doctrine is some unnecessary idea that just creates arguments between uppity intellectual Christians who care nothing for the world around them.
What they don't understand is that knowing Scripture and doctrine IS knowing Christ. Christianity and salvation is not just saying a prayer. In order to properly understand and live one's faith requires intense study of Scripture. Living one's faith will and should involve caring about and being involved in the world around us, but we can't do that until after we begin to understand the Scriptures God gave us.
If you want to be socially aware, that's all well and good, but if you're not actually going to understand what Christianity is all about, then you're no different than any non-Christian out there who volunteers their time to lend a hand in the community, so there's no reason to mask your environmental concerns as Christianity. The Emergents want to put the cart before the horse, and that breakdown in logic is bound for failure.
Another erroneous "form" of Christianity I have just recently become aware of is Christian Mysticism. This seems to be, for the most part, an off shoot of the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements. These movements have always been problematic because of their poor understanding of Acts Chapter 2. On top of this, Charismatics often times base the depth of their faith on how emotional they can get during a worship service and demand signs and wonders from God, or they won't believe his existence. The flaw in logic here should be very apparent.
However, Christian Mysticism adds a new wrinkle to this idea that is even worse. Christian Mysticism is an attempt to fuse Eastern Mysticism with Christianity. So, not only are the people practicing this adding to Scripture, which is already spoken against in the Bible, but they are also attempting to add a pagan flavor to Christianity. Paganism and Christianity will never work together because at their favor base they are in opposition to each other. This is a very dangerous place to play and Pastors who are leading their flocks in this direction should be ashamed of themselves.
What is wrong with Christians today? Why is Scripture no longer sufficient? In a recent chat room discussion about Christian Mysticism I was involved in, Christians were actually defending this. The conversation went something like this:
Person 1: "I can't believe this guy on this forum has a problem with Christian Mysticism. After all, it is Christian Mysticism."
Me: "I'm sorry, but I see no Scriptural support for Christian Mysticism."
Person 2: [link to wikipedia article on Christian Mysticism] "See, there's Scriptural support. It's very similar to what Charismatics practice."
Me: "That is a complete misinterpretation of Scripture and the Charismatics have no Scriptural support for their practices either, in my opinion."
Person 2: "Well, I think we need to look deeper and not just judge things on the surface. After all, if their focus is on Christ, we shouldn't judge what they do."
Me: "If their focus is on Christ, then they should want to follow what Scripture says about worshiping Christ, not say 'We're doing whatever the hell we want...but it's alright, because our main focus is Christ.'"
What they don't understand is that knowing Scripture and doctrine IS knowing Christ. Christianity and salvation is not just saying a prayer. In order to properly understand and live one's faith requires intense study of Scripture. Living one's faith will and should involve caring about and being involved in the world around us, but we can't do that until after we begin to understand the Scriptures God gave us.
If you want to be socially aware, that's all well and good, but if you're not actually going to understand what Christianity is all about, then you're no different than any non-Christian out there who volunteers their time to lend a hand in the community, so there's no reason to mask your environmental concerns as Christianity. The Emergents want to put the cart before the horse, and that breakdown in logic is bound for failure.
Another erroneous "form" of Christianity I have just recently become aware of is Christian Mysticism. This seems to be, for the most part, an off shoot of the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements. These movements have always been problematic because of their poor understanding of Acts Chapter 2. On top of this, Charismatics often times base the depth of their faith on how emotional they can get during a worship service and demand signs and wonders from God, or they won't believe his existence. The flaw in logic here should be very apparent.
However, Christian Mysticism adds a new wrinkle to this idea that is even worse. Christian Mysticism is an attempt to fuse Eastern Mysticism with Christianity. So, not only are the people practicing this adding to Scripture, which is already spoken against in the Bible, but they are also attempting to add a pagan flavor to Christianity. Paganism and Christianity will never work together because at their favor base they are in opposition to each other. This is a very dangerous place to play and Pastors who are leading their flocks in this direction should be ashamed of themselves.
What is wrong with Christians today? Why is Scripture no longer sufficient? In a recent chat room discussion about Christian Mysticism I was involved in, Christians were actually defending this. The conversation went something like this:
Person 1: "I can't believe this guy on this forum has a problem with Christian Mysticism. After all, it is Christian Mysticism."
Me: "I'm sorry, but I see no Scriptural support for Christian Mysticism."
Person 2: [link to wikipedia article on Christian Mysticism] "See, there's Scriptural support. It's very similar to what Charismatics practice."
Me: "That is a complete misinterpretation of Scripture and the Charismatics have no Scriptural support for their practices either, in my opinion."
Person 2: "Well, I think we need to look deeper and not just judge things on the surface. After all, if their focus is on Christ, we shouldn't judge what they do."
Me: "If their focus is on Christ, then they should want to follow what Scripture says about worshiping Christ, not say 'We're doing whatever the hell we want...but it's alright, because our main focus is Christ.'"
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Man-made Dogma
I've been sick for about a week now, so my sleep patterns have been really off the wall. Because of this, I was awake at 3 am this morning and decided to go grocery shopping at Walmart. I was in a Five Iron Frenzy mood, so I grabbed "The End Is Near" to listen to during the drive. I really wanted to hear "New Years Eve", since it's pretty much a tradition now for me to listen to that song during the New Year.
While jumping around different tracks on the album while in the car, I ended up listening to "Something Like Laughter". The song is basically about about a "girl who's lost her way". She's trying to find meaning in her life and struggling with her faith and the world around her. The chorus is basically a prayer for the girl to see the glory and wonder of God. I can relate to this (as I'm sure most true Christians can) because there was a time when I was also struggling with my faith and God stepped in and revealed Himself to me, which propelled me out of the rut I had fallen in.
I have heard this song many times before and I think it is one of the most moving, beautiful songs Five Iron Frenzy has ever written. While listening to it this time, however, one particular lyric really struck me: "searching for more than mere lies disguised as dogma". This got me thinking about the state of the church. What does the church claim as doctrinal dogma that is no such thing?
Sure some particular denominations are legalistic, and that would fit the profile. However, during this election season, it really got me thinking about politics. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that the vast majority of Christians believe that voting Republican is Bibilically mandated. Now, I'm not a Democrat, but any person with half a brain can see the flaw in this line of thinking.
Understandably, certain moral issues are discussed rather specifically in the Bible and the Republicans stance on several of these issues is on the side of Christianity. However, it doesn't follow that being a Christian equals being a Republican. This will be the first election I am strongly considering voting for Independents in the election. In fact, there is only one Republican I would support: Ron Paul. While the Evangelicals are falling all over Mike Huckabee, he does not truly stand for The Constitution and has a questionable past as governor of Arkansas.
I do not mean for this to be all about voting for Ron Paul. This is a decision I have come to for various reasons. I just hope that during this year's election Christians at least consider their voting options before blindly vote for Republicans. Do a little research, and it is very clear that the Republican Party is not pro-Christian, it is pro-votes. In other words, they care little for your beliefs and care more that they appear to support your issues so you will vote for them.
While jumping around different tracks on the album while in the car, I ended up listening to "Something Like Laughter". The song is basically about about a "girl who's lost her way". She's trying to find meaning in her life and struggling with her faith and the world around her. The chorus is basically a prayer for the girl to see the glory and wonder of God. I can relate to this (as I'm sure most true Christians can) because there was a time when I was also struggling with my faith and God stepped in and revealed Himself to me, which propelled me out of the rut I had fallen in.
I have heard this song many times before and I think it is one of the most moving, beautiful songs Five Iron Frenzy has ever written. While listening to it this time, however, one particular lyric really struck me: "searching for more than mere lies disguised as dogma". This got me thinking about the state of the church. What does the church claim as doctrinal dogma that is no such thing?
Sure some particular denominations are legalistic, and that would fit the profile. However, during this election season, it really got me thinking about politics. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that the vast majority of Christians believe that voting Republican is Bibilically mandated. Now, I'm not a Democrat, but any person with half a brain can see the flaw in this line of thinking.
Understandably, certain moral issues are discussed rather specifically in the Bible and the Republicans stance on several of these issues is on the side of Christianity. However, it doesn't follow that being a Christian equals being a Republican. This will be the first election I am strongly considering voting for Independents in the election. In fact, there is only one Republican I would support: Ron Paul. While the Evangelicals are falling all over Mike Huckabee, he does not truly stand for The Constitution and has a questionable past as governor of Arkansas.
I do not mean for this to be all about voting for Ron Paul. This is a decision I have come to for various reasons. I just hope that during this year's election Christians at least consider their voting options before blindly vote for Republicans. Do a little research, and it is very clear that the Republican Party is not pro-Christian, it is pro-votes. In other words, they care little for your beliefs and care more that they appear to support your issues so you will vote for them.
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