Al Mohler on "Athiests in the Pulpit - the Sad Charade of the Clergy Project"

A very sobering article Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr., president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary .  Not in the sense that there are those in leadership in the church who are professing atheism.  Don't get me wrong, that is terrible.  It was these paragraphs from the article that really opened my eyes:

"Dennett and LaScola made a very interesting and important observation in their research report. They acknowledged that defining an unbelieving pastor is actually quite difficult. Given the fact that so many liberal churches and denominations already believe so little, how is atheism really different? In the name of tolerance, the liberal denominations have embraced so much unbelief that atheism is a practical challenge.

In the words of Dennett and LaScola: “This counsel of tolerance creates a gentle fog that shrouds the question of belief in God in so much indeterminacy that if asked whether they believe in God, many people could sincerely say that they don’t know what they are being asked.”

 You can link to the rest of the article here.

  
"The greater danger to the church is a reduction in doctrine that leaves atheism hard to distinguish from belief. And the real forces to fear are those who would counsel such a reduction." ~ Al Mohler, from this article

The World Tilting Gospel by Dan Phillips - my brief thoughts.

I have been frequenting the blog Pyromaniacs almost daily for a few years now and it was there is discovered one of the blogs writers, Dan Phillips.  Off and on Dan had/has been promoting The World Tilting Gospel (TWTG) and I became curious about it.  After awhile I decided to purchase it and, boy am I glad that I did!

A few years ago I realized that I didn't know what the Gospel was.  Specifically, how to articulate it.  I didn't understand the various rich aspects of it.  Mine was a relatively surface understanding and, as I found out the more I looked into it, "surface" may have been an understatement!

I've been a Christian for years and over time just took for granted that I really knew the Gospel.  How could I be a Christian and NOT know it?!  I knew I was a forgiven sinner, that Jesus Christ had died for me and rose again.  I rested there.  However I started to take notice when I would hear phrases in sermons like, "We can do such-and-such because of what Jesus has done for us."  Or, "Because of what Jesus has done for us we are no longer this-or-that."  I realized that I had never really looked any deeper into the "WHAT" that Jesus "HAS DONE".  Dan Phillips has done just that in TWTG.

He shows from the Scriptures what the Fall did to humanity, the far-reaching effects of it.  How "bad", how sinful we really are, and how utterly hopeless we are to do anything about it.  On page 69, ..."sin not only makes us behave badly, it makes us think badly."  Further, "We may see things, but we do not see them as they are, do not know what they mean, do not rank priorities rightly.  We look at the world through distorted lenses."  It was this portion of the book, these paragraphs, that opened my eyes to my sin.  I had repented as best I knew how.  I believed that Jesus paid the penalty for my sin.  It just didn't "feel" like it.  When I read those words describing just how much sin has affected me I realized I had been wanting some feeling, some kind of comfort to confirm my repentance and forgiveness - my thinking was twisted!  I turned from this and read Romans 10:9 which says, "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." I now trust His Word and what it says to confirm my salvation, rather than waiting on a feeling.  There is a "settledness" now that I am trusting His Word, the sure foundation, which is far deeper and sturdier than any feeling.

There is a chapter called "The Quagmire of Muzzy Mysticism" which addresses the "Letting Christ live through us", or "Let go and let God" teaching that I had been taught in a Bible School I attended years ago.  I've struggled with this teaching and how it applies to my life for years but not known why.  That's all I will say on this as Phillips blows the lid off the whole thing!  It's really good!!!

What I have taken from this book is immense!  How great a salvation we have in Jesus Christ, how far-reaching the effects sin has on me, how awesome God is.  There is SO MUCH here!

All I can say is: Thank you, Dan Phillips, for writing this book, a book that is easily readable and understandable and so pertinent, so needed!, for the Body of Christ today.  Everyone who names the name of Jesus Christ today should dig into this treasure!