Guys, I am working through this article, and its not done, but I would love your feedback.

Liberalism in the Church
by Wesley Faulk

Did I miss it? When did I turn around and miss that orthodoxy was on the outs. When did liberalism become the norm in the church? When did the highest value in the church become tolerance? I have recently realized as I have read and seen what many of my contemporaries have written that we as Baptists have left the once for all message of the saints. Differences in theology is not a problem as it is often how we challenge each other, and grow to understand how scripture is best understood. The growing problem in the Baptist convention though is not differences in minor issues, but instead on major theological tenants which are necessary for our faith. In the quest for academia, new knowledge is as prized as gold, and the effect of it is often turning scripture to say what one feels it should say, not what it actually says. I believe that at the core of this movement away from the truth are several key ideals. 1. The pride of man has always attempted to elevate creation to be like the Creator. 2. Because of Man’s pride, man has exchanged the One True God for and idol of his own creation. 3. Man’s idol begins to influence all that he believes. 4. The idolatrous lie is accepted by a body as a whole, and it becomes their “truth”.

We begin by understanding that the pride of man has always attempted to elevate creation to be like the Creator. One does not need to turn far in the bible before clearly seeing this issue. God had given man and woman everything necessary for life, and they blew it. Though they had a perfect relationship with God, every need provided for, eternity in a garden created for them, their desire was to usurp God. Pride was the first great sin. Not to much farther into the book of Genesis man seeing no limit to his own greatness sought to build a tower to rival God. We see the same sin, the same actions, and the same hearts. We are living in the days of Babel all over again. With the advances of science, technology, and academics, man once again sets himself to build to heaven. He sees no ceiling above him, and has fallen into the original trap, pride. Once man sees himself in the center of his universe (as if the sun revolved around the earth) his ability to view God will be distorted by the end of his nose. He will begin to worship himself, though his worship of God. Slowly as man grows greater and greater in his own eyes, he will become discontent with who the One True God is, and mold an idol in the form he wishes God to be, a god who values Human greatness above himself, and idol built so that man no longer feels threatened by God.

A fallen man will always follow an idol, because in his depravity he desires personal greatness. The modern notions of who God is, and what is taught about him is nothing more than creating an image of gold or stone. To a large degree men have exchanged The One True God for an idol in female form. When we teach theology, we teach God’s love. I am not saying in this article that God is not love. Heresy often does not begin by what you affirm about God, but instead what you deny about God. Modern thought about God has been stripped of all masculine characteristics. Men desire a softer God who affirms them, who allows their sin, and seeks to uplift them, not convict them. Because of this man’s view of God has been flipped contrary to His created order. He no longer sees God as center and source of all things, but sees who God is in relation to how he fits into human perspective. Once man begins to see who God is in relationship to himself, he will always move God to become what is comfortable to his own logic. Look at Romans 1:22-23. A prideful man claiming to be wise will create an idol of who he thinks God should be. Idolatry is claiming God is anything other than who He is.

Once one’s views are impaired by their own motives, all their theology will become distorted by the heretical view. Man will begin to wield scripture wrongly so that it says what he feels it should say, and down deep affirms his own pride. Any heretic can state numerous scriptures to prove his own point. Feminist theology is the easiest example, in that they take insignificant passages in scripture, or order of names, or sitz in leben to turn scripture to state their view. Scripture was never meant to be so difficult to read that it would need the hoops placed in it by heresy. Often the plainest rendering of scripture is what is true. No wonder that out of the same camp as are coming the heresies, are also coming the attacks on the validity of the Word of God. The pagan heart is always attempting to move human logic to equal divine inspiration.

Finally, once a heresy has become norm, and human logic is used to defend and bolster it, then it will sadly become norm in the church body. The heresies today that are challenging the church are not packaged as we would think. They are wrapped in the concepts of freedom and liberty. No self respecting American would dare challenge the equal rights of women, so in the name of women’s equality, feminist theology attempts to destroy the masculine characteristics of God. Americans love the freedom they are given by the constitution, so slowly as freedom has become tolerance, and “American Ideals” have become the church’s ideals. When tolerance reigns as center of theology, any heresy that promotes tolerant virtues will trump the exclusive truth of God.

In Conclusion, how do reclaim the average church member. How can truth become center again? One must begin by actively calling heresy for what it is. This will cause conflict, and those proclaiming exclusive truth will be seen as harsh men who do not look like “Christians”. Gentlemen, from the example of believers through out scripture, I have yet to see God’s desire for men to act like women. It is time that men acted like men and stood up for truth. Proverbs 17 says “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another”. Forgive me, but in sharpening, that means that any unneeded edge must be cut off. We must begin to sharpen once again. A dull sword is a tolerant sword. Would any man go into battle with a dull sword? Let us sharpen ourselves by removing what heresy lies within us, and then move forward to reclaim biblical truth.

__________________
Wes Faulk
Southern Baptist
Oklahoma

Here's my take, Wes:

I don't know if you can say what it seems you want to say, in only 6 paragraphs.

There are at least 6 articles in that one article. For example in the 1st para, you have those 4 "key ideas" that each get a paragraph in the center. But I had a hard time sort of "reasoning" through each para to the end of it, and then going on to the next, as though I had been "convinced" of the previous chain, the next link followed. You have got the firehose on, brother.

Basically, I think the key to success here would be to narrow your commentary, so that each of the six paragraphs hits like a hammer driving home a single nail. "1) OK. 2) Right. 3) Yes. 4) Defintely. 5) Right ON! 6) Couldn't have said it better myself!" I actually didn't realize that the four central paras were development of the "4 key ideas" until I had been analyzing the article for several minutes. If you change nothing else at all, I think you should add one sentence to the end of para 1 that states: you are next going to give each point its own paragraph of development.

What I'm saying is, at the end of the 6th para, I didn't feel as though I had been taken from an initial idea, expressed succinctly in the first sentence or by the end of the first para, and argued through to a conclusion; or conversely, from an initial idea, through some supporting material and back to that idea restated in the final para, only more forcefully.

Not that there isn't the making of a good article there, or more exactly several good articles. But in so a short space, you want to focus like a laser, and drive one tightly reasoned point home. In the final paragraph, you begin asking by "How do we reclaim the average church member?" and proceed to offer an answer of sorts. But where was this question asked at the beginning? This is part of what I'm referring to when I say "Focus."

Hope you find this helpful, and not too negative. I don't mean it to be.

__________________
Rev. Bruce G. Buchanan
ChainOLakes Presbyterian Church, CentralLake, MI


When posting friends, kindly bear those words of earthly wisdom in mind:
Oh, that God the gift would give us
To see ourselves as others see us.
--Robert Burns, 1786 (modernized) ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ Click to get: Board Rules -- Signature Requirements -- Suggestions? --