THEME: The
attendance in liberal churches is desclining when the attendance in
conservative churches is increasing.
QUESTIONS:
Are there statistics to support the theme?
- Between
1990 and 2000, 5 liberal national churches had their attendance decreased
by 5% to 15%.
- 5
conservative national churches had their attendance increased by 5% to
57%.
- The
more liberal the denomination, by most people’s definition, the more they
were losing.
- These
trends had begun in the 1960s. One national church actually lost half of
their members.
How did the liberal churches show their deviation from orthodox faith?
- In
2004, the Episcopal Church USA elected a gay man as bishop for a New
Hampshire diocese. This flew directly in the face of the clear teachings
of Scripture and the official doctrinal positions of the church.
- Liberal
churches determine to normalize homosexuality, even as they have
normalized divorce and remarriage.
- Some
embrace bishops who do not believe the divinity of Jesus. For example, the
heretical Bishop Spong has been accepted without censure by the Episcopal Church.
How did liberal churches explain away clear teachings in the Bible?
- They
decide that the texts do not mean what they appear to mean.
- They
try to use God’s love to justify inclusion of homosexuals.
- They
will tolerate virtually anything in terms of belief.
What are the warning signs for every church to watch out?
- unorthodox
doctrines: Doctrinal beliefs are the crucial variable determining whether
churches and denominations grow or decline.
- the
anti-supernaturalistic claims of seminary professors.
- The
ultimate result: No one will feel at home there if they believe in God.
THEME:
Postmodernism is one of the most powerful forces in contemporary culture. Christians
need to understand the main ideas in postmodernism and to find ways to avoid
its traps.
QUESTIONS:
Why do we need to understand postmodernism?
- Today,
postmodern ideas and motifs dominate the intellectual landscape and shape
public opinion.
- The neglect
of postmodernism is the “missing link” in Christian apologetics.
How did postmodernism develop?
- 16th
century: the power of Roman Catholicism was broken by Luther, Calvin, and
other Reformers, leading to the loss of unity in Christendom and
denominationism
- 17th
century: a radical crisis in philosophy and religious certainty,
everything is being questioned with the ascent of skepticism
- 18th
century: Enlightenment, rationalism became everything to philosophers. God
is no longer the judge of human reason; God was judged by reason itself. Reason
must be used to question all views and ideas.
- 19th
century: rationalism questioned, no uniform philosophical position, causing
the rise of the postmodern distrust of reason
- 20th
century: radical questions are raised about everything, including the
intellectual, cultural, and political ideologies of their day
What are the main points in postmodernism? [KH: my summary of the 10
points]
- Rejection
of Reason & Objectivity: There is no single world view that
captures reality, no master story (or meta-narrative) that underlies
humanity. Reason is to be distrusted because there is no way to know which
person’s reason is reliable. There is no such thing as objectivity.
- Rejection
of Absolute Truth: There is no “truth” to appeal to for understanding
history and culture. There are no moral absolutes. Everything is relative.
- Suspicion
towards Ideas: Ideas are cultural creations. Texts, whether religious
or philosophical or literary, do not have intrinsic meaning. We need to be
deeply suspicious of all ideas given the way that ideas are used as tools
to oppress and confine humans. [KH: e.g., apartheid, communism]
- Anti-West:
The West, with its colonialist heritage, deserves ridicule.
How do Christians react to postmodernism?
- deeply
concerned about certain aspects of the postmodern mind, but also celebrate
some aspects of postmodernity such as questioning rationalism
- give
virtually no credibility to postmodernism, believing that it is a godless
relativism that is a cancer against the gospel.
- realize
that ultimately postmodernism is an anti-Christian perspective
- Solution:
Christians in this postmodern world must seek to present Christ in such a
way that postmodernists will recognize in Him the path to truth, the way
to meaning, the cause of beauty, the answer to oppression, and the
solution to despair.
THEME: The
morality of the society is declining because of secularism which tries to
eliminate God from the culture. However, without God, there can be no moral
goodness.
QUESTIONS:
How does secularization try to eliminate God from culture?
- Ideological
secularists bent on removing all vestiges of the Judeo-Christian heritage
from the nation’s culture.
- Postmodernism
supports a morality with no absolutes, and without God.
- Liberal
law professor Dershowitz argues: “We should not be good because we fear
divine punishment, but because we aspire to good character. In deciding
what course of action is moral, you should act as if there were no God.
You should also act as if there were no threat of earthly punishment or
reward. You should be a person of good character because it is right to be
such a person.”
Can there be morality without God?
- How
do we know what character is if there is no objective reference? If human
beings are left to our own devices and limited to our own wisdom, we will
invent whatever model of ‘good character’ seems right at the time. Without
God there are no moral absolutes. Without moral absolutes, there is no
authentic knowledge of right and wrong.
- Laws
were based on the laws set down by God. God is the origin of morality. Fyodor
Dostoyevsky acknowledged that if God is dead, “nothing would be immoral,
everything would be permissible (possible), even cannibalism.” (Brothers
Karamazov, 1:2:6) [KH: an inspiring observation counterpunctual to Mt
19:26: “…with God all things are possible.”]
What example can be used to illustrate this point?
- We
cannot agree on the question sexual abstinence because there is no
absolute. We are now told by secularists that teaching for sexual
abstinence is just another imposition of a Christian morality.
- If
abstinence-based sex education is “inherently religious,” then so is the
criminal code which outlaws murder. If there is no religion, even murder
can be right.
What else aggravate the problem?
- We now
live among the ruins of a moral value structure destroyed by the wrecking
ball of a radical secularist agenda, but the moral foundation has already been
weakened by compromise from within—even from within the Church.
- In
Anglican Church and Episcopal Church, heretical bishops reject moral
absolutes and teach people to live with moral ambiguity.
- In
evangelical churches, many pulpits remain empty of biblical content and lacking
of moral confrontation with the issues of the day.
- The
moralless society is expanding.
THEME:
Christianity, particularly evangelicalism, is becoming more accommodated to the
world. It is in fact similar to secularism in many ways.
QUESTIONS:
How does Wolfe, a secularist, describe the religion of today?
- American
religion has been so transformed that we have reached the end of religion
as we have known it.
- Wolfe
admits the culture war is very real and the issues are urgently important.
This culture war divides Americans on issues of morality, especially
sexuality. Despite this, there is an underlying consensus that unites most
Americans in a muddled middle.
- There
is a tendency for organized religions (especially evangelicalism) to
accommodate themselves to the culture of postmodern America, as can be
seen from their forms of worship, and from their tendency to witness only
when they can avoid being unfriendly or invasive.
In what ways do evangelicals accommodate to the world?
- Evangelicals
practise cultural and theological accommodation. They have exchanged
orthodoxy for popularity.
- In
their worship, modern evangelicals often forget the holiness of
God. Worship is no longer dictated by theological conviction, but rather
by personal taste. They are looking for worship that is experienced with
the thrill and excitement of the latest musical styles and video
technology.
- Their
preaching has little content.
- Their
small groups came out from an anti-institutional bias and a desire
for intimacy.
- In
terms of doctrine, most evangelicals are basically disinterested in
doctrine and ignorant of even the most basic theology.
In what ways do evangelicals deviate from the traditional faith?
- There
is a fundamental shift in the concept of God.
- Many
churches will do almost anything to avoid doctrinal controversy.
- Sin
has been replaced with the language of self-esteem. The sins are less
numerous, less serious, and more forgivable.
- They
are confused about the gospel. The absolute truth claims of
historic Christianity are transformed into truths held to be less than
absolute.
- Cultural
accommodation and surrender to the narcissistic culture of the self do
indeed mark the transformation of American religion.