SBTS Panel Discussion: A New Kind of Christianity? Brian McLaren’s Fresh Take On An Old Lie
March 12, 2010 9 Comments
From Towers (SBTS)
“Brian McLaren, author and leading voice of the emergent church movement, has written a new book that seeks to reformulate Christianity, but it is nothing more than a wholesale rejection of historic Christianity, concluded members of a panel discussion Thursday at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Seminary President R. Albert Mohler Jr., along with professors Bruce Ware, Greg Wills, Stephen Wellum and Jim Hamilton, considered McLaren’s recently released work, “A New Kind of Christianity: Ten Questions That are Transforming the Faith.” Mohler served as moderator.
Ware represented the sentiment of other panelists in suggesting the book might be more accurately titled “an old kind of apostasy,” because it rejects the God of the Bible.
“There is an audacity and an arrogance in this book that is breathtaking,” Ware said. “To look God in the face, as McLaren does, and say, ‘You are not God,’ is just stunning. Here is a man who sees the God of the Bible and despises that God. So what he does is create God in a whole different image, an image that fits his postmodern ‘evangelicalism.’ This will appeal to a person who knows little or nothing about the Bible, but who is steeped in the culture.”
Ware represented the sentiment of other panelists in suggesting the book might be more accurately titled “an old kind of apostasy,” because it rejects the God of the Bible.
“There is an audacity and an arrogance in this book that is breathtaking,” Ware said. “To look God in the face, as McLaren does, and say, ‘You are not God,’ is just stunning. Here is a man who sees the God of the Bible and despises that God. So what he does is create God in a whole different image, an image that fits his postmodern ‘evangelicalism.’ This will appeal to a person who knows little or nothing about the Bible, but who is steeped in the culture.”
After the video, read the rest of the panels comments here.
more about “SBTS – Resources – Panel Discussion -…“, posted with vodpod
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Brian McLaren - God Has Better Options For Us Than Biblical Christianity
Thanks again, JT. Being a discerndamentalist is not for the faint of heart.
The whole EC deal is another can of worms that must be sifted through and emptied out for it is rotten to the core. This post correctly identifies the MO of the emergents: create a god you can mold and manipulate. It’s simply a new golden calf.
The SBC has problems of its own. The world has blown into its doors as well (not all but many). The drive or lust for numbers is a cancer in the SBC. When you do anything for numbers, you end up with tares instead of wheat. We have churches of the tares everywhere in my town. And in my somewhat Biblical, somewhat baptist church, the sermons are tempered with ‘nice talk’ so as not to offend tares.
The church in America is in crisis and doesn’t even know it. Paul Washer said that Christians from Africa and Peru do not recognize what we call church in America. He was not talking about wealth or cultural differences…he was talking about our attitude about God and His holiness.
Thanks to these men for at least addressing the issue. I’m still waiting for my church to acknowledge that the EC even exists… Many in my church think Relevant Rick Warren is a good guy doing much for the kingdom of God. Please pray for us. We are in the nearest thing to a Biblical church we could find…
Many thanks for posting this! What a refreshing difference from former SBC president Page’s exhortation to embrace these heretics in the emerging movement.
Very enlightening and thank you for the post. The content of this video discussion is exactly why I lovingly say that when I hear of true converts at concerts “singing/rapping” (performing) to crowds of possible BM or EC followers makes me want to plead with them to come out of there and preach through their medium in a different forum, so as not to cater to the flesh of those followers and thereby enabling them to never fully hear the true gospel.
Sorry for overlapping posts here, but it seems appropriate.
Lol, Bruce Ware said it well, the book should be called “An Old Kind of Apostasy”.
When Satan asked Adam and Eve, “Did God really say that?”, it was the first temptation to idolatry and the setting up of self over God. It continues and today manifests itself in the EC movement and New Ageism. They want to get rid of God as the Bible reveals Him so they can do as they please according to the god they create for themselves or who they become, little gods. No guilt, no sin, so no repentance or need for a Saviour. Same old story just packaged in a different and more enticing way. The EC is very crafty because these leaders pass themselves off as Christian. True believers become the target and are accused of bigotry and eliteism. Sad, but a sign of the end time that Jesus talked about. Much deception.
One more point. Why don’t the SB call out the not so obvious that contribute to people being led off by these wolves in sheep’s clothing? I mean, the Radicali conference that Rick Warren held, had some of the popular pastors that people are always talking about, as speakers. It gets very confusing.
Pam,
Your question, ” Why don’t the SB call out the not so obvious that contribute to people being led off by these wolves in sheep’s clothing? ” is a very good one and I fear the answer is that post-modern man is too fearful of losing face with the public and his own prestige-driven ego.
I say this after years of watching with awe at how the new paradigm in “how to be a good Christian” has changed from the Biblical to the man-centered. The worst thing you can do today is to call a person or a movement into accountability. Cat calls come at you from all directions. Tolerance of heresy and heretics for the sake of ” not appearing divisive ” is lunacy but it rules today.
Another thing is the fear of having the funding of our mega-conglomerate ministries cut off. Everyone knows it is bad PR for a church to take a stance for anything Biblical. Churches are so far in debt for their over-grown buildings and acreage they will not do anything that could threaten the cashflow of the ministry. The Bible warns against being in debt but churches have fallen into financing everything (even with dangerous adjustable rate loans!) .
Churches are held hostage to their attendance numbers. Because of this, they play to the numbers and use ego-driven methods of appeasing the tares. This leads to further dumbing down and loss of Bible knowledge. The viscious cycle goes no place good…
A hearty Amen to that!!!!
Wish they would have talked about what McClaren does with Calvary. Why do you need it? What was it? etc. Because if they are reading McClaren right, Calvary can’t matter at all. If God doesn’t need Jesus’ death, if that’s the angry God of the OT, then what was Jesus’ death for. I may have to read it myself to hear what he said on that… nah.