Worldviews
The Newsletter of the Apologetics Resource Center
February/March 2005

A Decision Made!
In our January edition of Worldviews, I asked for feedback from you, our readers, concerning the format and style of our Worldviews newsletter. You may recall that we’ve decided to send it out monthly instead of bi-monthly (with the exception of this bi-monthly issue).

My question or concern was whether we needed to shorten the length (number of pages from eight to four) and abbreviate our articles, in order to enhance the chance of it actually being read. Our goal is to keep you educated and equipped to carry out the normal Christian’s calling to be redemptively engaged with people and ideas, enabling His Church to be salt and light—to be in the world, but not of it—to not be conformed to the world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.

The Results—It is a little worrisome that not very many people responded. But of those who did, the result was about 50/50. Some said, “Keep it more in depth—I read every word!” Others said “We like the idea of streamlining and shortening—all the text is off-putting.” So, I’ve decided to produce a “blended” newsletter. Some month’s newsletter will contain four pages and some eight. But when we have the eight page edition, the inside section will contain the more in-depth articles, while the outer pages will be more tapered.

OOPS!
In the January issue, we asked you to prayerfully consider helping ARC to 1) function, and 2) expand in our mission. One way is to help us expand the circulation of a valuable, strategic ministry vehicle—our bimonthly Areopagus Journal. We continue to receive very positive feedback on the quality of our journal from both academics and laypeople. But it needs to have many more subscribers to just break even with our costs and to have a deeper and wider impact in the Body of Christ.

So, to expand that aspect of our work, we strongly encourage those of you who have not subscribed, to do so. It’s only $25 per year for six issues, and the back issues are a real bargain too! Stock up your own resource library for your personal edification and growth and copy and give articles away to people you encounter with questions or relevant issues. Go to our website, www.apologeticsresctr.org, for a list of past and future topics/issues.
The other way to strategically expand is to advertise to a select group of Christians. Last month we asked you to consider targeting a special donation for one, two or a three full-page ad campaign in World magazine, and a copy of that ad was supposed to be enclosed. However, the printer/mailer mistakenly left it out. But now you see it. Thus far we have received $1,075 designated to the ad, and the cost is $2,730.

If we get just 1% return, we will triple our subscription readership! The other way to help us is to consider a one-time gift or to become a regular donor to ARC. Last year we realized a significant shortfall resulting in an inability to expand and one staff member didn’t receive two month’s of salary. So far, January and February have been encouraging with giving up 29% from last year.

We have two new interns, Jason Dollar and Brandon Robbins, as well as two new contingent staff in the field, Keith Gibson in Kansas City and Vic Minish in Anniston-Oxford. We have another experienced and capable potential staff member in Pennsylvania who is applying to become a contingent staff (which means they may begin ministry but full-time status is delayed until they raise their support). The year 2005 holds much promise and we are exploring by faith a larger office facility possibly joining with other local apologetics specialists. But we need you, the Body, to partner with us.

The Church
1. We are called to engage the world, people, ideas, and institutions. Some of that engagement was reflected in the Bush presidential win as many commentators attributed the difference to the mobilization and interest of the “Christian Right.”

Predictably, the political and ideological left is gearing up with their rhetoric, publishing articles in their magazines and with pieces in the national media, equating evangelical Christianity with the Taliban and Al Queda.

Let me go on record with a solemn admonition that if we neglect personal evangelism and solid discipleship, and if we don’t continue to equip believers and leaders with a solid biblical worldview, then our culture and country will inevitably slide into secularism and paganism.

Let’s wake up from any illusions or delusions we have about the strength of the Church in America. The vital, growing Church today is in Africa, South America, South Korea, and even China. Church growth in America is stagnant. Europe has been dead for quite a while. England is now 14% Muslim.

John Piper noted in the recent World magazine (03/05/05) that Barna’s latest research demonstrated that “having a biblical worldview changes the way evangelicals live.” Only about 8% of Americans fall into the category of “evangelical,” that is, believe basic, fundamental propositions (Trinity, salvation by grace and faith alone, inerrancy, etc). Yet only 9% tithe, 26% do not believe premarital sex is wrong, and 80% of Christian teenagers who took a chastity pledge had sex in the following seven years.

2. Time magazine’s February 7, 2005 cover story featured “The 25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America.” A closer look at the list provided a sobering wake-up call as to the direction and state of the U.S. Church.

Second in the list is Rick Warren (after Billy Graham), leader of the Saddleback church network (40,000 churches) and author of the best-selling (20 million copies) The Purpose Drive Life. This choice is reflective of the general state of the Church. Church growth (numbers) and pragmatism, man-centered values, with a little bit of sound theology (mixed with a lot of misapplied Scripture) rules the day.

But also on the list are the sensationalistic, manipulative and heretical word-faith leaders—T.D. Jakes and Joyce Meyer. Too many Christians are seduced by their powerful personalities and their mixtures of heresy with occasionally good applicational messages.
And lastly, Stephen Strang and Ted Haggard are listed. Strang is publisher of the popular series of charismatic magazines, some of which promoted very controversial and shallow doctrines including a continuation of prophets (mostly false ones) and apostles. Haggard is president of the National Association of Evangelicals. Yet he is very weak theologically and has promoted the very controversial New Apostolic Reformation Movement led by Peter Wagner (more on that momentarily).

3. The New Apostolic Reformation Movement: Recent events locally prompted research and investigation into a fairly new church growth/government phenomenon called The New Apostolic Reformation Movement (NARM). The key figure is C. Peter Wagner, whose headquarters, the World Prayer Center cohabits the property of Ted Haggard’s New Life Church in Colorado Springs.

The NARM has been gaining widespread adherence particularly in the charismatic-Pentecostal circles, especially in third world countries. The basic premise of the NARM is that the old paradigm of denominations and church structures are stagnant and that God is making a move to establish a new reformation paradigm, promising to usher in a major revival leading to Christ’s second coming.

Central in this new paradigm is the reestablishment of the “5-Fold Ministry” taken from Ephesians 4:11, 1 Corinthians 12:28 and Ephesians 2:20. These passages seem to indicate that God’s original and perpetual model (which was lost) for church growth and vitality is the governmental structure of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers.
Wagner and company teach that we must all recognize and submit to certain men who are believed to have that authority. The problem is, who determines those offices and what are the qualifications? On top of that, the NARM leaders insist on the necessity of the power connection—i.e. speaking in tongues. There are several other extreme spiritual warfare practices which are part of this movement as well.

The problem is that Wagner is more interested in pragmatism than sound theology. The attempts made to justify their paradigm are weak and wrong. Is there a test of false prophets and apostles? Does the Bible teach that the miraculous gifts have served their usefulness and ceased?

The NARM teaches that prophets can make false prophesies at first because they are processing how to learn to be a prophet. Oh, brother! A study of the NARM prophets reveals a long history of bizarre prophesies, failed prophesies.

There is a considerable debate among Christian scholars today over whether the supernatural “sign gifts” (miracles, healing, prophesy, tongues) have ceased (cessationists) or continue. That is not to say that cessationists don’t believe that God still performs healings and the miraculous. They just don’t believe these are still gifts operating today. There is a lesser debate whether the offices and functions of apostles & prophets are to be operative today. Most do not accept that but those in the NARM do.

Yet, those “prophets” in their lists have made many bizarre and false prophesies. And if these are the same as the apostles and prophets of the Bible, does that not mean we are to submit to whatever they say? Does that mean they can add to Scripture? If they can’t add to Scripture, then for what purpose do they function? I am in the process of writing a thorough theological treatment of tongues, apostles, prophets, and the place of doctrine and experience—in response to the new phenomena.

4. Evangelicals and Catholics Together (ECT): The latest installment of ECT (now four documents) has just been released and included in the evangelical magazine, Christianity Today, and a Roman Catholic publication, First Things (editor is Richard John Neuhaus who is a prominent drafter in the ECT dialogues).

The focus of the document is “A Call to Holiness.” It makes important exhortations challenging narcissism, individualism, and spiritual sloth in both communities. Yet we are sure to hear strong oppositional responses from more traditional Catholics and especially from other Reformed theologians. For example, the introduction points back to the Apostles’ Creed’s affirmation of “Communion of the Saints,” utilizing the Roman Catholic concept that “we are in a certain, albeit imperfect communion with one another in His body, the Church.”

Does that mean certain individual Catholics and Protestants or is it addressing how different churches define authentic conversion in our creeds? Catholicism holds that we Protestants are members of their Church, the true Church, but “imperfectly joined.” The latest document also states that baptism, whether its seen as the sacrament of “constitutive importance for Christian existence [Catholicism], or a sign of expression of a new Christian life already received” (many Protestants—Reformed tradition of baptism being a sign of the covenant replacing circumcision is left out), is “the gateway to the Christian life.” This casting of the issue gives too much ground to Catholicism as it favors their perspective.
But there is much to applaud in the document. The only continuing problem is that these Catholic theologians do not officially represent or speak for the Vatican—the real authority of the Roman Catholic Church.

Cults
1. Mormons & Jehovah’s Witnesses: As we pray for open doors to minister to two of the largest, most accessible cults in America (Colossians 4:2-6), we have been encouraged by a growing number of contacts from everyday Christians who are beginning to intentionally meet with them. It has been a growing experience for the Christians on a number of levels. Years ago we had over 30 individual or families engaging Mormon missionaries almost weekly. This tied up the missionary activity and provided a viable, informed witness to the Mormons. One missionary (that we know) came to Christ during that time.

The doctrines and practices of Jehovah’s Witnesses not only bring eternal damnation to its member but temporal pain as well. Their organization is in the news again over eleven new lawsuits in California contending that their officials “covered up acts of child molestation.” The control of the elders in a congregation, their rigid doctrine of the necessity of two witnesses, as well as the fear of any negative publicity, has repeatedly caused this abuse in their history. Many deaths from lack of blood transfusions have plagued the cult as well.

The squeaky-clean Mormon image façade is becoming more and more transparent. Not only is Utah (75% Mormon) higher than the national average in divorce, but the fundamentalist Mormon practice of polygamy is becoming a national issue. State officials have for many years looked the other way regarding enforcement of laws against polygamy. But now the effects of abuse, and abuse of minors, has surfaced the problem. Now the internal debate is escalating between those who oppose polygamy and those who endorse it.

After all, polygamy is in their official doctrines as an “everlasting decree.” But now that sodomy, homosexual unions or marriage is being debated in a culture that wants to hold “no absolutes,” the legal status of monogamy is now being questioned and challenged by consistent libertarians and postmodernists. Polygamy is next

And lastly, the daughter of one of Mormonism’s most prominent religious scholars and apologists has accused her father, Dr. Hugh Nibley, of sexually abusing her. The book Leaving the Saints: How I Lost the Mormons and Found My Faith, was written by Dr. Martha Beck, a sociologist and therapist. The book is controversial as is Dr. Beck who is now divorced and living as a homosexual.

2. Caritas: the Catholic Medjugorje Mary communal cult which was set up in Birmingham in 1988 by Terry Colafrancesco is in the news again. The Birmingham Post-Herald reported that the plaintiffs (former residents) in the lawsuit are in mediation discussions with the defendant. Colafrancesco is charged with abuse, money laundering, misuse of donations and extortion through brainwashing.

3. One of the many charges of heresy leveled at the owners (host) and many guests on Trinity Broadcast Network is that they teach self-absorbed, self-centered, hedonistic doctrines (Name- It-&-Claim-It, or Word Faith). The founder/host, Paul Crouch has lost the court battle trying to prevent his accuser (of homosexual relations) from publicly speaking about the incident(s). The accuser was paid $425,000 in 1998 with a stipulation that he remain silent about the affair. In a disclosed deposition, Benny Hinn is said to have known about it from Paul Crouch’s own admission. Yet he kept quiet and played the godly Christian “leader” with Crouch as a regular on TBN.

Now Benny Hinn’s false claim of healing and extravagant lifestyle has been revealed again on a Dateline special aired this month. Stephen Strang, publisher of Charisma and other charismatic- Pentecostal magazines says Hinn is an anointed healer and a holy man of God. Hinn appeared recently in Bangalore, India for a “Healing Crusade”, but a panel followed up on the professing “healed” and announced that only Hinn’s Volunteers (team members) were alleged to be healed.

Letters

Dear ARC

I have decided to begin the process of leaving our church due to some disturbing theology, and I was looking for an evangelical response to the "Jesus Seminar" and Marcus Borg's teachings. I searched on Google, glanced through a few of the websites, taking me to the article "The Jesus Seminar: The Slippery Slope to Heresy." I immediately recognized your name! I really appreciate this article and the explanation of the dangers of the teachings of the "Jesus Seminar". THANK YOU!
Valencia, CA

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