Book Review - Another Gospel

 

Alisa Childers' new book, Another Gospel? A Lifelong Christian Seeks Truth in Response to Progressive Christianity, is a compelling and important look at a growing threat to historical Christianity. This threat comes from the rise of progressivism within the Christian church of today.  The ideas espoused by these prominent Christian leaders are significant departures from the historic doctrines held by the Church since the beginning of Christianity.  Alisa is uniquely qualified to address the issues raised by these progressive leaders and those holding to Critical Theory (CT), which forms a foundation for these theological errors.  In this book she relates her first-hand experience of having her faith systematically deconstructed by a trusted pastor.  This progressive pastor led her, and other innocents, down a path which nearly destroyed her faith on the rocks of liberal theology.  This is her story of reconstructing her faith and the journey back to becoming a stronger, better-grounded follower of Jesus.

In addition, this book is a great introduction to the subject of Christian Apologetics.  Apologetics, simply stated, is the art of sharing what you believe and why -- to make a defense for your faith.   Alisa shares many of the insights she found by in-depth study of issues such as: 

• The Reliability of the Bible Manuscripts

• The Authorship, Inspiration, and Authority of the Bible

• Truth and Trustworthiness of the Bible

• Why people are drawn to the progressive gospel

• Moral Relativism vs. Christian teaching

• The nature of evil, hell, and the character of God

• Core Christian Doctrines such as historic Adam and Eve, the Resurrection, and the substitutionary atonement of Christ's death

The author makes the point that doubt and sincere questions are okay, even by mature Christians.  However, it takes work and effort to seek out the answers.  There are good answers and historic Christianity is on strong footing, both intellectually and theologically.  She transparently relates how she was unprepared to handle the kinds of skeptical questions that were raised by her progressive pastor.  But she also shares her story of overcoming those new doubts and questions, and thereby growing in the process.  Was it easy?  No.  Was it worth it?  Yes.  

While this book covers a lot of topics that are addressed in much more depth by other Christian apologists (such as J. Warner Wallace in Cold Case Christianity,) it gives a great window into the kinds of challenges that are brought against our youth and questioning church members.  This book ought to scare us a little (or maybe a lot), since aspects of this new "gospel" are easily seen prominently in Christian bookstores, heard from well-known pastors and speakers at Christian conferences, and acted out in the liberal social justice climate.  It is important that leaders in our churches be prepared to address these kinds of questions and to give forums for questions and doubts.  If we don't, we will be blindsided and will continue to lose people to the rocks of Progressive Christianity. 

Desperately Seeking Truth

Truth is that which corresponds to reality. Truth is something we should all seek. It can be discovered or known. Unlike the Postmodern worldview, the Christian worldview holds that reality is out there, and that truth is not simply relative to the person and that it is knowable.

Before you start your search for Truth, you should ask yourself whether or not you are willing to follow the evidence wherever it leads. If your biases are such that you will reject the evidence or refuse to give honest consideration to the facts, then you might as well not bother. Regardless of your starting worldview, the truth seeker will at least consider the evidence from the viewpoint of those holding opposing views. Willful ignorance or stubborn insistence on being "right" will be a stumbling block to the search for truth.

When seeking the truth, if there are multiple independent sources of information supporting claims, then we have a higher confidence in our conclusions. From investigating the reliability of the New Testament accounts and the Resurrection, to claims in a highly-charged political environment, there are some principles to apply:

• Eye-witness testimony (both friendly and hostile) of conversations, events, experiences, and actions are valuable.
• The truth-seeker considers historical records, financial documents, email/text trails, business associates' testimony, and contemporaneous recorded or documented conversations.
• Statements from experts or officials with firsthand information should be given more weight than uninformed opinions of commentators.
• Public statements, whether inconsistent, deliberate, or incidental, are all part of the puzzle to give serious consideration.
• Consideration of motives and biases of the participants is often used during investigations.
• Is there evidence of a coverup or conspiracy? Are the participants holding together, or is it falling apart with defectors or leaks?
• Allegations and opinions can be considered, but need to be given appropriate weight compared to the evidence. These are either consistent with the evidence, or they may not be consistent.

In the end, we are looking for the best explanation of all the evidence (abductive reasoning). Explanations which are coherent and consistent with the evidence should be given more credence.

Also, don't forget the Golden Rule of Apologetics, "Treat other's ideas and arguments in the same way you would like yours to be treated."

Should children as young as 8 be able to change their genders?

Last night at his town hall event, Joe Biden appears to imply that children as young as 8 should be able to change their genders. That is an unbelievably radical suggestion that should shock the conscience. Doesn't it seem to be abusive to the child to enable these psychological and physical changes in a person who we don't allow to make other important life decisions because of their maturity level? Note: This is a separate issue from whether or not fully grown adults can/should make these kinds of choices for themselves.

At the root, this is a Worldview issue, one that embraces a relativistic view of morality. Under relativism, morality is defined by either the self, groups, or the broader culture. There can be no objective set of moral standards with regards to sexuality, personal behavior, or social interactions.

Before you blindly vote against Trump and other Conservatives, please think about the Worldview the Democrat Party supports. Voting for the liberal progressives will further entrench these evil policies. As a Christian, I find it unconscionable to support the moral positions of the Democrat Party Platform.

"Reasons" to Vote for the Biden/Harris Democratic Socialism Agenda

 

1. Continued support of unlimited late term (and even post term) abortion, gov't paid of course, in the name of women's rights.  Progressive Christians know that supporting social justice is far more important than protecting innocent human life.

2. They will ensure that the Supreme Court is filled with activist judges who will enact policies or "discover" rights they can't get created through the people's legislators.

3. Abolish our law enforcement system and replace it with "something else", with no police or jails, as pushed by the moral leaders like Colin Kaepernick.  We know that people are fundamentally good and it is society that forces them to commit crimes.

4. Trump Bad!

5. Redistribute wealth in the name of reparations for past wrongs and to right economic disparities, even if it destroys the economy or punishes people who have done nothing wrong

6. They listen to the scientists who agree with them, ignoring other experts and considerations. We need to shut down our economy and livelihoods again in the name of saving us from today's crisis.

7. Force socialized medicine on the US citizens, whether they want it or not.  Better to destroy the whole system, than to make allowances for the people who might fall through the cracks.

8. Abolish Capitalism and math, since they are racist.  Replace it with a more just system like Communism  Democratic Socialism.

9. They'll enact tolerant laws and policies that restrict bigoted religious freedom, ban offensive expression, and eliminate biased conscience excuses.

10. Create more states to gain political advantage. After all, Somalia needs more representation than just Minnesota.

11. We should allow unlimited immigration to flood our social safety nets.  Since we can't afford to care for our own poor, vets, and elderly, why not?

12. We need to continue open-ended spending and gov't debt increases to fund things like free college and student loan forgiveness for all those who didn't pay their own way or who took on too much debt.

13. They support the Social Justice Gospel and Critical Race Theory, because they are doctrine-free Christians, not those backward Conservatives, who (like Jesus) think All Lives Matter.

14. Get rid of guns for self-defense and militias.  Who needs guns anyway?  There will be no violence and bad guys won't kill innocent people anymore, if they can't get them.

15. "Peaceful" riots and protests are politically advantageous, so they will continue to be implicitly enabled, but publicly decried 😉😉 by public leaders.  After all, we should not prosecute rioters thinking they are exercising their 25th Amendment rights.

16. Patriotism is wrong and we should not be proud of this country, which was founded on systematic racism way back in 1619.  The same goes for Western civilization and its oppressive religion.

17. Since it was an insult to Muslim nations to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem and to broker unacceptable peace deals between Israel and some Arab countries, these actions need to be repudiated and voided, just like Trump did with Iran.  We can't have a president who actually talks to foreign leaders and does tough negotiations, instead of bowing down to them.

18. Trump Really Bad. Of course, Conservatives are also racist, sexist homophobes who hate anyone different than them.  

19. We despise aggressive like Republicans and can only work with weak leaders like Romney or McCain.  We all know everything Trump says or does is wrong.  Trump is rude and calls people names (just better than Joe and Kamala).

20. America First is offensive and racist.  We need to wipe out the idea that America ever was great.

21. Our superior leaders know what we need better than we do.  We don't need to know their glorious plans for us.

22. Energy policies like the Green New Deal will create all the energy we need if we wish hard enough, so we should just get rid of all those fossil fuel and nuclear power plants now to save our planet, regardless of the consequences.

23. Allowing choice of schools would be catastrophic to our children, the public school system, and the teacher's unions.

24. We trust that Joe's handling of Swine Flu, as Obama's VP, shows how he will handle COVID19.  Since fewer people died under his watch (with many more infections), and because more have died under Trump, clearly Joe is better.

25. Trump Really, Really Bad.

26. Waiting until after the election, then we can tell you.

Disclaimer: If you haven't figured it out yet, this is a satirical take on reasons often heard for the voting decisions of the progressive left.

Responding to ‘Pro-Life' Evangelicals for Biden

They miss the difference between objective morals and subjective ones.  Abortion is objectively morally wrong, since it is wrong to murder innocent human beings.  

However, it is subjective to claim we must support (fill in the blank) liberal social policy.  Biblical Justice is objective; wealth redistribution (for example) to achieve "justice" is not.  No amount of support for subjective morality outways objective moral truths on protecting innocent human life and sexuality.

True Non-violent leader, Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Violence as a way of achieving racial justice is both impractical and immoral. I am not unmindful of the fact that violence often brings about momentary results. Nations have frequently won their independence in battle. But in spite of temporary victories, violence never brings permanent peace. It solves no social problem: it merely creates new and more complicated ones. Violence is impractical because it is a descending spiral ending in destruction for all. It is immoral because it seeks to humiliate the opponent rather than win his understanding: it seeks to annihilate rather than convert. Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love. It destroys community and makes brotherhood impossible. It leaves society in monologue rather than dialogue. Violence ends up defeating itself. It creates bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers."   Martin Luther King Jr., 11 Dec 1964

So true.  He was a real leader.  Where are those today?  So what is the agenda of the violent mob then, since it is obviously not real justice and equality?  Even the "peaceful" protestors chant and write despicable things about other human beings.  Dr. King was not in favor of tearing down the family and societal structure of America.  He knew that this kind of revolution is evil and immoral.

What messages are we sending our children?

Where are the leaders willing to stand up and say what needs said? Influencers such as social activist heads, pastors, entertainment icons, prominent political leaders, and especially parents around the kitchen table, all need to speak about what matters for healing.

No nation can long stand with antipathy for civil authority. We need people who lead by both example and speech to model respect. If your goal is peace and reconciliation, then you must change your actions and attitudes, and then do your best to influence those you can to do likewise. To fail to do that is not noble nor is it moral. In The Abolition of Man, C.S. Lewis got it right, “We make men [and women] without chests and expect from them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst.”

No amount of police reform or defunding can work without sustained leadership teaching respect and civil attitudes toward those tasked with upholding our democratically established law instead of fearing the mob. To teach disrespect for authority, especially police or federal ICE agents, just perpetuates the war and cannot bring any reconciliation.

We cannot have disregard for all human life and private property rights. Envy and covetousness of those who have more than you do is not a virtue. Disdain for rule of law, because you decide it violates your subjective morality, is only destructive.

We rightly condemn Arabs who teach their children to hate the Jews. We rightly condemn those who teach that others with a different skin color are inferior. We should also expose those who indoctrinate our children and culture with the idea that it is noble to disrespect and openly resist authority and the rule of law.

We should rebuke those who work to tear down respect for the one nation founded on principles of equality granted not by gov't, but by God, and which fought a costly civil war to right the great evil of slavery. Is it virtuous to decry it, but offer no better examples or practical solutions? Is it just to mislead others with straw man arguments against the founding principles of our country, which has never been perfect, but is set up to allow self-correction and the righting of wrongs? Yet we see this time and again. This is the big sin that needs to be publicly confessed and repented of.

Ask yourself, are you throwing the first stone? Do you condone, implicitly support, or refuse to rebuke the rebellious attitudes, destruction, and violence toward innocent human beings? Do you silently encourage vigilante "rush to judgement" lynch mobs, which ethical people know cannot be tolerated? Most major incidents that have sparked the recent rioting and violence have their roots in criminal activity. The disrespectful attitudes and actions of those perpetrators often result in injury or death to the officers and/or the malefactor. There are very few cases where a respectful interaction with law enforcement ends unjustly. When there is actual wrongdoing, is it better justice to enforce laws or to allow anarchy? Where are the leaders correcting the initial false narratives and never openly questioning or urging calm, thereby failing those who might listen and learn?

Whether you're a Hatfield or a McCoy, can you follow Jesus' example and be the first to not return wrong for wrong? Can we send the right messages to our children and heal our land?