The Apostate Church - by Paul Proctor
Upon reading the following op-ed in the San Francisco
Chronicle my first inclination was to just dismiss it and move on. However, it
occurred to me later that maybe this was something that needed addressing in
light of our country's new infatuation with God and the growing apostasy within
the post-modernist church.
W.W.J.D.?
First of all, I have no doubt that the lady who wrote the above article meant
well. I also think her questioning some of the decisions our president made
following the September 11th attack was appropriate in light of his
well-advertised Christian faith. Unfortunately, her naiveté with respect to
present-day political posturing and public relations may have handicapped any
chance of her making an impact with the essay among conservatives and
libertarians. My issue though, is not so much with the content of her remarks as
with the sheer presumptuousness of the premise itself. I must respectfully take
exception to her trivializing Almighty God with contrived revelations,
conversations and role-playing...even if it is for a good cause. I've received
over the years, as I'm sure many of you have, email containing imaginary
stories, instructions and encouragement from and about "God", all spammed with
the best of intentions. I will now confess publicly to all the dear friends who
sent them my way that I seldom, if ever, read such email simply because of their
fictional nature. I'm sorry, but on matters of faith I just cannot accommodate
the contraptions of men.
No matter how good such creativity makes us feel, our faith in Christ needs to
be based on reality, not fiction. If it becomes dependent upon the fantasies and
feelings of humankind then any little "wind of doctrine" that comes along has
the potential of carrying us away or spiritually hurling us to the ground in
defeat. As many of my readers already know, the sensory-driven "worshiptainment"
format of the seeker sensitive church growth movement has corrupted mainstream
Christendom in much the same way "edutainment" has corrupted public school.
Because everything these days has to be a game, a show, a program, a strategy or
an adventure for a church to be "competitive in the marketplace", it's no wonder
that there are just as many people leaving the church as there are arriving.
That's just what happens in theaters and entertainment venues. People stay until
the show's over or the thrill is gone. As a result, some are now predicting that
"Home Churches" will be the wave of the future. With our culture becoming more
and more socialistic and anti-Christian it only stands to reason that a
marginalized church would move underground.
I'm always concerned when I witness Christians attempting to teach others
biblical truths with fantasy and feelings as their primary mechanism. It's one
thing to quote from scripture what Jesus actually said and did to guide someone
toward a more biblical understanding and behavior. But when we take it upon
ourselves to imagine what Jesus would think, say, do or feel under certain
circumstances and treat those imaginings as factual information or inspired
revelation then we betray the very One we claim to serve. That's no better than
carrying around a graven image of God in our pocket for divine guidance,
blessing and inspiration. It's idolatry, pure and simple.
Although the catch phrase "What would Jesus do?" has become quite fashionable
among younger Christians, it can turn the didactic teaching of scripture into a
dialectic tool of occultism. Taking such liberties with the gospel is just how
men like Jim Jones become so successful in leading the spiritually gullible
astray. Consequently, "Thus saith the Lord..." is replaced by a second
opinion...in this case, that of a creative journalist with a vivid imagination.
Instead of humbly proclaiming God's Word on important issues in her commentary,
she imaginatively puts HER words in HIS mouth like a little girl playing house
with dolls, super-imposing HER will over HIS and making the God of the universe
little more than a puppet that artificially voices HER concerns, HER morality
and HER agenda.
Another example of dialectic brainwashing can be found in the old John Lennon
song "Imagine". The Beatles captivated the world (and yours truly) with their
music throughout the 60's and 70's and used the attractive melodies, rhymes and
ideals of songs like "Imagine" to quite frankly, invert the morality of an
entire generation by suggesting in a charming and entertaining way that evil is
good and good is evil. "Imagine" not only became a huge hit for Lennon but also
demonstrated just how easily we are corrupted by taking pride in our own wisdom
and imagination.
Isn't it time we put away those silly WWJD? bracelets, stop playing games with
God and just give our childish imaginations a rest? Instead of trying to
fanaticize about what Jesus would say or do in a given situation, wouldn't we be
better off opening up that dusty Bible of ours and discovering what Jesus has
already said and done and act on that instead? It's our faith and obedience that
pleases God, not our fantasies, creativity and imagination.
"When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought
as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things." (1st
Corinthians 13:11)
Paul Proctor, a rural resident of the Volunteer state and
seasoned veteran of the country music industry, retired from showbiz in the late
1990's to dedicate himself to addressing important social issues from a
distinctly biblical perspective. Paul Proctor is a writer for the American Reformation
Project and a regular columnist for
Ether Zone.
Paul can be reached by email at watchman@usa.com