Posted on 05/03/2007 3:00:09 PM PDT by Terriergal
James L. Evans
An emerging Christianity is reshaping faith
Christians may believe that they are participants in a "faith once delivered to the saints," but the shape of that faith has varied greatly through the centuries. From the stately and ornate forms of Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism, to the humble and plain worship of the Amish, Jesus is followed and revered in a myriad of ways. In fact, so great is the diversity of forms within Christianity, it may be more appropriate to refer to them in the plural — Christianities.
Even now a new form of the faith seems to be taking hold within the broad tradition of evangelicalism. Calling themselves "emerging Christians," or in some instances "the Emergent Church," a movement of mostly younger believers are re-shaping the traditional faith in ways that is creating excitement among some, and deep worry among more established Christian leaders.
This past February, Scot McKnight, a professor at North Park Seminary in Chicago wrote an article for Christianity Today in which he details the significance of this new movement within the traditional faith. McKnight offers this concise summary of the emergent Christian experience.
"Emerging churches are communities that practice the way of Jesus within postmodern cultures. This definition encompasses nine practices. Emerging churches identify with the life of Jesus, transform the secular realm, live highly communal lives, they welcome the stranger, serve with generosity, participate as producers, create as created beings, lead as a body, and take part in spiritual activities."
On the surface there does not seem to be anything in this list of practices that would alarm a traditional believer. But when some of these practices are discussed in detail, that's when the hand wringing begins.
For instance, one of the central concerns of the emergent Christian movement is the desire for their faith community to be all-inclusive — to welcome the stranger. This concern has resulted in high tolerance for people of other faiths. Emergent Christians have serious doubts about doctrinal ideas which hold that some are in and some are out — that is in or out with God.
Emergent Christians hear Jesus' words, "Whoever is not against us is for us," as a challenge to find ways to include rather than exclude others. This means, of course, that emerging Christians are not very evangelistic — at least in the traditional sense. For the most part we will not find them trying to convert people from one faith to another or from no faith to their faith.
Emergent Christians also tend toward a more liberal social view. They are concerned about the poor and about the environment. The emphasis here for emergent Christians is on serving and being generous. They think it is more important to live and act in faithful ways rather than obsessing about what we should believe. This concern for people and the world is not a stance related to any political party. For emerging Christians, caring about people in this world is their mission in life.
Conservative Christian leaders are beginning to view the Emergent Church with great suspicion. They see the movement as resurgence of old mainline liberal theology. But I believe they are mistaken. The social vision of the mainline church was rooted in European liberalism that developed along side the rise of systematic theology and a historical critical reading of the Bible.
The Emergent Church rejects that sort of theological agenda altogether. Instead, this group gets their liberalism from the founder of liberalism — Jesus himself.
May their tribe increase.
James L. Evans, a syndicated columnist, also serves as pastor of Auburn First Baptist Church. He can be reached at faithmatters@mindspring.com.
THe Womens ministry page on their website mentions the SBA and they are located in Auburn, Al. Can I give you my address so you send the check?
“Emergent Christians have serious doubts about doctrinal ideas which hold that some are in and some are out — that is in or out with God.”
THAT WHICH IS NOT FAITH, IS SIN.
The only reference to any affiliation is on the Women’s Missionary Union page. There it alludes to both the Southern Baptists and the Conservative Baptists.
And if they are SBC, whether they will be for much longer!
They see the movement as resurgence of old mainline liberal theology.
liberal theology = renounced as heresy by both Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI.
This mess is in the Catholic Church too.
Yeah you wouldn’t want to be speaking anything sharper than any two edged sword, DIVIDING things up very precisely/black and white, with these people... ya know??
Well I would, but maybe that’s just me....
This concern has resulted in high tolerance for people of other faiths.
Jesus said, “ I am the way, the Truth and the Life, no man comes to the Father but by Me.”
That doesn’t sound very tolerant.
They do alarm this traditional believer. This sounds like works oriented belief. Try as they might, they cannot strain that camel through the eye of a needle.
“They think it is more important to live and act in faithful ways rather than obsessing about what we should believe.”
Both are equally important.
“This concern for people and the world is not a stance related to any political party.”
They are liberal Democrats.
One wonders why he doesn't become part of the Emerging church movement? There has always been ONE faith and view of God. Every view that does not conform to this one view is corruption and heresy. It is our job to seek out the correct view of God and discard the rest.
He should read Pilgrim Progress.
What is this? Another form of religious socialism brewing? Liberal theology refers to which: the fairly benign 19th century liberalization movement; or the 20th century "liberation theology" bastardization of scripture to hew to Marxist ideology? Hard to tell exactly how bad this is judging only from this article full of rump kissing.
There is an enormous difference between forced worship of a particular god or God ... and God’s own express, specific and narrow road of redemption that the Bible says is the only way to Heaven.
I don’t condemn you for whatever god or God you worship. God is the Judge and unforgiven sin is what results in condemnation. Yet God is not willing that any should perish....
Tolerance in a medical context, BTW, is how much toxin a body can survive.
The whole other-faiths thing... I think a lot of these lib-Christians are uncomfortable with the idea of some kid in Muslim-dominated Africa who’s never even heard Christ’s name dying and going to hell because he never joined up with the One True Faith. And take the example of what Dante called the “virtuous pagans.” The people who don’t believe as we do but who are upstanding citizens of the world anyhow. They’re just like us, stumbling through this life and looking for fulfillment - but are all the decent non-Christians of the world going to be damned forever solely because they weren’t washed in the blood of the Lamb? That’s what I think gets the lib-Christians riled up.
All I can say about the virtuous pagans is to let God worry about them. Not a sparrow falls... right? (And if you’re starting to wonder about my sanity after reading this post, don’t worry. So am I.)
“This sounds like works oriented belief. Try as they might, they cannot strain that camel through the eye of a needle.”
What they fail to emphasize (maybe because they no longer believe it) is that works without faith are meaningless, just as faith without works is moribund.
IMHO, faith and works are both important attributes of the Christian life.
“I think a lot of these lib-Christians are uncomfortable with the idea of some kid in Muslim-dominated Africa who’s never even heard Christ’s name dying and going to hell because he never joined up with the One True Faith.”
There are lots of conservative Christians who are missionarys there helping these poor kids and lots like me who send them money to buy them food and give them a better life and share with them God’s love in a very substantive manner. Liberals do not have the market cornered on compassion and concern.
“They’re just like us, stumbling through this life and looking for fulfillment - but are all the decent non-Christians of the world going to be damned forever solely because they weren’t washed in the blood of the Lamb? That’s what I think gets the lib-Christians riled up.”
They have a faith based upon feelings and no amount of good works will save any of us. The Word tells us “by faith you have been saved by grace which is gift from God, not by works so no man may boast.”
All I can say about the virtuous pagans is to let God worry about them. Not a sparrow falls... right? (And if you’re starting to wonder about my sanity after reading this post, don’t worry. So am I.)
I believe God is just and merciful and He takes care of the innocent victim, weak, downtrodden and dying. Many of these kids know nothing but misery and they are the victims of evil selfish men in these countries who have heard the Gospel and know better.
No they don't. They just talk about it and try to get others to be generous. All their money goes towards movie admissions, coffee and beer. They live and act like a bunch of people impressed with themeselves. When it comes down to actually caring about actual people, they don't. In fact they hate them in the worst way. They help them into hell.
Good point about tolerance. :-)
We are commanded to be patient, forebearing and forgiving which the libs try to sell as tolerance.
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