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VOW
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I received the following letter yesterday (11-7-03) from our ecumenical friends at the Institute on Religion and Democracy. As I read it, I felt it contained important material for a much broader readership. It is for this reason that I place it before you with their permission. Sylvia Dooling The Institute on Religion & Democracy
October 2003
Do you believe that the virgin birth and physical resurrection of Jesus Christ are “trivial issues? With the vast majority of Christians across the world, and across history, I am sure you do not. But the former head of the National Council of Churches (NCC) admitted that he did when responding to me on a letters-to-the-editor page recently. Writing to Zion's Herald, a liberal magazine for United Methodists, I said I was amazed that James Armstrong, a former United Methodist bishop, had referred to the "utter triviality" of quibbling over Jesus Christ's virgin birth and bodily resurrection. "Why is the contemptuous dismissal of the deepest convictions of others called courageous," I asked, "while forthrightly responding to such provocative insults is called quibbling?" In his response to me, Armstrong wrote that "to `quibble' over the manner of our Lord's birth and the chemical makeup of his body at the time of the resurrection is `trivial' when imperialistic aspirations, militarism, oil, terrorism, nuclear weaponry and nation-worship threaten the globe." Is it trivial quibbling to defend the ancient and biblical teachings of the Church? Armstrong's response summarizes, shockingly but concisely, what is wrong the ultra-liberal leadership elites of mainline churches. The identity and work of Jesus Christ are secondary issues. The real task of the church is to advance a secular left-wing political agenda, such as fighting U.S. imperialism around the globe! Concluding his letter, Armstrong wrote that the IRD "is a neo-conservative think tank that sports a pious halo." He admitted that some of us had religious motives, derisively noting, "some within the IRD are Bible-believing fundamentalists." But he alleged the IRD's primary focus has been political, such as backing the policies of Presidents Reagan and George W. Bush. How sad that Bishop Armstrong believes this about us and about other critics of mainline church problems. For liberal church elites, there is nothing beyond the political. For them, that is the Gospel! It is commendable when church leaders seek to make the world a better place. Christians are called to work for peace (whenever possible), and for justice for all people, especially the poor and marginalized who often cannot speak for themselves. But liberal church elites are distorting the Gospel when they focus so keenly on the mandate Christians have for social change and ministries of compassion, while ignoring the mandate we have to preserve and proclaim the truth claims of God's identity and holiness! God's identity as Father, Son and Holy Ghost is not a trivial issue. The incarnation through the virgin birth and the bodily resurrection of God the Son are not trivial. The personal salvation that God offers through the atoning death of His Son upon the cross is not trivial. Eternity is not trivial. But Armstrong and countless other liberal church elites discount or minimize the importance of God's identity as He reveals Himself through Scripture. They want to get on with the "real business" of the church, which they say is fighting for justice and helping the poor. Here is the tragic irony. They sincerely want to make the world a better place, but their bad theology leads them to bad and harmful political action. Let me explain. The NCC under Armstrong's leadership back in the late 1970's and early 1980's shamefully pandered to and apologized for the policies of the old Soviet Union and its satellite governments in Eastern Europe, Africa, Southeast Asia, Cuba and Central America. Oh, they certainly thought they were promoting justice and peace. But their flawed theology - especially their naivete about Original Sin and the limitations of human endeavor - blinded them to the failures of Marxism. In some cases, liberal church elites even endorsed Marxist governments and revolution. Liberal church elites then, and even now, believe they can build the Kingdom of God through political action, through redistributionist economic policies, and through simple good will. Marxism, which claimed to produce a just and classless society, seemed to resemble Christianity, according to their flawed theology and logic. Communism murdered millions of people throughout the 20`" century. It enslaved hundreds of millions of people. But groups like the National Council of Churches for decades were unable to acknowledge the full truth of this. Marxism aspired to help the poor and work for world peace, so how could it be bad?! Christians who adhere to traditional, orthodox, biblical beliefs were largely spared from this error. Traditional Christians know that humankind is sinful, that we need salvation, that the Kingdom of God cannot be built by human effort alone, and that the perfect society will not be constructed this side of Jesus Christ's Second Coming. Traditional Christians oppose totalitarianism, and prefer limited government that safeguards human rights and liberty, because we know the capacity of ordinary people to commit terrible deeds when allowed unrestricted power. IRD was founded on the premise that traditional Christianity should be partial to democracy, liberty and free economies, because flawed human nature requires constant checks against unrestricted governmental power. Traditional Christians look to the ultimate triumphant return of our Lord. Yes, we work to make the world better, relying on the Holy Spirit for guidance. IRD's advocacy for persecuted Christians is an example. But we know that what we can accomplish is limited and incremental, within God's Providence. Traditional Christians know that to understand the world and human nature we must first understand God's identity and His character. This is why we cherish and refuse to compromise on ancient core doctrines. These issues are not trivial. They have important consequences, in this world and for eternity! Liberal church elites like Armstrong cannot understand this. To them, such issues belong to "fundamentalists." They suspect that traditional believers such as those who support IRD really have a political agenda, that we are just trumpeting theology when really we are after political power. I suspect that their allegations mirror their own aspirations. They are focused on political power and assume everyone else is too! Mainline churches are now in their fourth decade of continuous membership decline. Leaders such as Armstrong, with their emphasis on left-leaning political causes instead of the core of the Gospel, have led the churches in a disastrous direction. But here is the good news. Liberal church elites such as Armstrong represent the discredited past. IRD and other renewal movements in the church reform movement represent the future. A recent cover story in Christianity Today magazine makes this very point. "If evangelicals remain in their denominations, time is on their side," the magazine says. Church growth is found in the mainline churches where there is evangelical, orthodox belief. Liberalism only fuels stagnation and decline. Younger clergy tend to be evangelical, while older clergy are more liberal. Projected retirement patterns will shift the denominations in more conservative directions, the magazine reports. "Even if all else fails, the evangelical insurgents may simply outline the liberals." "For the liberals - who have always believed that orthodox Christianity could never survive in the modern world - this might turn out to be the greatest irony of all," Christianity Today concluded. God is not done with the mainline churches. He is bringing renewal within and among the churches. Fruitful branches will grow. Dead vines will be pruned. And IRD is one of the instruments He is using for reformation. Of course, this process will not be easy. We still have many battles ahead. The fad of homosexual advocacy continues. We are battling against it mightily, particularly working to see that the disastrous turn by the Episcopal Church does not affect other denominations such as the United Methodist or Presbyterian Church (USA). But even the pro-homosexual fad will fade eventually. The notorious Re-Imagining Community recently shut down after its ten-year existence. Praise God! Remember the first ReImagining Conference of 10 years ago, where worship of goddesses was openly advocated? Supposedly that was the wave of the future. IRD played a key role in exposing it. Now, that fad has become passé. Homosexuality, socialism, radical environmentalism, radical feminism, the Jesus Seminar. These are all fads that have plagued our churches. But the future does not belong to them. The future belongs to traditional Christian beliefs. God will continue to reform our churches, even through new alignments, as we are faithful to Him. Can you continue to support IRD as we work for the reform of our churches? Complacency, not liberal church elites, is our greatest enemy. Help us to continue waking up church members to the urgent needs for change in our churches. Appreciatively, Diane Knippers President P.S. Please continue to check our website at http://www.ird-renew.org
for the latest developments regarding our battles in the churches, especially
over the homosexuality issue. I have recently appeared on Fox News, ABC
News, CNN, MSNBC, and National Public Radio because of IRD's role in fighting
the homosexual agenda in the Episcopal Church!
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