Check out their mission statement. I like it.
Here's a bit of it--nah, here's the whole thing (emphasis mine, as usual):
The most prevalent and destructive heresy plaguing the visible Church today is the notion that “all truth is God’s truth.” This false belief, which is the philosophical kin of postmodern relativism and pluralism, has spawned a new way of Christian thinking that embraces world-proven “wisdom” as a source in which to direct the Church’s teaching and activities. Whether it is through the Purpose-Driven Church, Emergent Church or other current evangelical movements, the focus is to utilize these supplementary “truths” to create newfound success in evangelism and discipleship.
While this may seem a praiseworthy endeavor at first blush, it is actually a haphazard strategy that is rapidly eroding the biblical foundations of our faith and destroying our Christian salt. Adapting the so-called “truths” of science and philosophy has brought forth the rising acceptance in the Church of humanistic ideas that are completely foreign to the clear teachings of Scripture. It has led to the rampant utilization of pragmatic business methods to increase our church size, the use of Jungian psychology to develop our spiritual health, and the promotion of New Age mysticism to deepen our experience with the divine. As a result, churches have become glorified malls of consumerism, sin has become a personality defect, and pagan ritual has now become the new pathway to God.
The reason for this continued descent into apostasy is simple. The “truth” generated by the world is not a neutral force detached from natural man’s sinful nature, thus the Church should avoid it at all cost. It is a wisdom developed by man for the sheer purpose of playing out and indulging in his fleshly tendencies. It is part and parcel of the “world” system that the Bible warns us about in 1 John 2:15-16: "Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.”
Today’s Christian leaders, therefore, need to realize that there is no reliable source for truth outside of God. It isn’t “all truth is God’s truth;” but rather “God’s truth is all truth.” We need to remember that much of what passes for wisdom in the world today is nothing more than hay and stubble that must be tested in the fires of God’s word. It is folly for men, in their limited understanding, to think that they can detect so-called “truth” in the vacuum of human experience and pragmatic success and then somehow integrate it into the revelation of God. Such arrogant reliance on man’s self-styled wisdom is what brought swift death to Nadab and Abihu who thought they, too, could intermingle their “strange fire” with God’s ordained mode of worship (Leviticus 10:1-3).
God has plainly declared: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways” (Isaiah 55:8). To ignore this revealed truth and actively promote synergism between the two opposing ways of both God and man is to nullify God's sovereignty in all areas of His people's life and thought. In fact, James clearly teaches us that "a double minded man is unstable in all his ways" (James 1:8).
It is our belief, therefore, that professing Christians must “unplug” themselves from these postmodern influences of relativism, pluralism and ecumenism, and return to the biblical model of faith. We advocate a return to spiritual discernment that only comes by God's grace through a thorough interaction with the Truth of God's Word. We must study, reflect upon, and understand the theology it represents and the doctrines it teaches; and we should ground this noble pursuit on the confession that God, through His divine power, “has granted to us EVERYTHING pertaining to LIFE and GODLINESS, through the true knowledge” of Christ" (2 Peter 1:3).
Indeed, God’s truth is all the truth we need, and until we realize that much of the world’s wisdom is not part of God’s truth, we will continue to stumble like the blind following the blind. Unplug yourself from the seductive power of the world and return to the old path that God has provided for us through His word. “Thus says the LORD, Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; and you shall find rest for your souls…”
It is our hope and prayer that the material on this website will help you in returning to that ancient path. Please read the following articles and testimonies with a prayerful spirit, test their suppositions against Scripture, and then, like the Bereans, see if these viewpoints are in line with the Bible and therefore, are indeed “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”
Remember, the “world” is not neutral.
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6 comments:
Woowee! Adding that one to my sidebar! How'd I miss it?
Probably because Dave Black has many, many links for every day. :)
Hey Kristen. Maybe I'm missing something here, but I do not get at all the problem with the "all truth is God's truth" concept. There is only one Truth. It is God's Truth. If something is true, God decreed it. Everything else is a lie. If people call say that lies are true, that doesn't mean that doesn't make it the world's truth. It is the world's lie. There are not different kinds of truth. There are only truth and lies. All truth belongs to God. Lies belong to the Father of Lies.
I thought this was a great article. He makes some unfair generalizations, but overall, I agree with his analysis. It is a good thing to take scripture and the principles therein and apply them to various areas of life, but the reverse, taking the principles of worldly living and thinking and applying them to our spiritual lives as Christians, is dangerous. I've struggled with the words to express this concept and really appreciate that he was able to do so!
Keep it coming!
I want to throw out a possible answer to Sandra's comment. I think that what might be called principles of life, logic, natural cause and effect, business practices that lead to success, and so on, while they "work" in terms of worldly goals and even lead to prosperity and favor in the eyes of the world, these are not necessarily truth of God in the way that Jesus IS the Truth. Something can be true (i.e. not false) but still not be life-regenerating Truth. I hope that makes at least a little bit of sense.
To quote the article: "God’s truth is all the truth we need, and until we realize that much of the world’s wisdom is not part of God’s truth, we will continue to stumble like the blind following the blind".
I heard a very good example recently in a teaching. It was about possessions. The Bible says, "do not steal." therefore the concept of possessions is supported by scripture. So laws against stealing are right and appropriate. However, as Christians everything we have belongs not to us but to God. That is a higher truth, a higher law. When we choose to give up our rights to our possessions, we are free to serve God unencumbered. Just a simple example. There is a lot that is true, but not all Truth leads to everlasting LIFE!
And much of the world's principles appear to be true and even beneficial but in reality lead to death. We often need the help of the Holy Spirit to discern which is which. (See Proverbs 14:12 and 16:25)
Sandra--I agree with what Jodi said AND with what you said. :) I think that man's "wisdom" and "truth" can be called Truth, when really, the foundation of it is a lie from the Devil.
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