In just a few lines I'll give you a quote. No, you won't have to guess who it is - I'll tell you. But, do read it before you observe who it is. Why?
Because I suspect you should realize what is being said before you look at who is saying it, and then the significance will be quite obvious.
My comment first: this quote is not trendy, new, different, postmodern, emergent, emerging, relevant, and so on; rather it is quite "modern", liberal, establishment, just plain "old-fashioned", traditional, theistic evolution.
Are you ready? Here it is. Discussing the mess the systems of the world are in (what some of us would call systemic sin), this author says, the mess can "destroy good and living things, devalue what is precious, overvalue what is worthless, foul up the results of millions of years of evolution, and so desecrate and frustrate what I believe is a sacred and ongoing work of the Creator, in us, among us, and through us." There you have it! He said that sin is essentially messing up what evolution has accomplished, albeit through "God".
Who said this? Brian D. McLaren in "Everything Must Change", Nelson, 2007, p. 53.
How irrelevant!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Dr. Shearer,
ReplyDeleteThis frightening quote really lets the emergent cat out of the bag and I thank you for making others aware of it. I am concerned deeply for many, even in our fellowship, who are going after these teachings and trying to emulate what many in the emergent church are doing.I was recently told by a friend in the fellowship that I am too overly concerned with this "little emergent thing" that is allegedly not even present within our churches.We must wake up. thank you for the warning and for your consistent insistence on preaching the Scriptures. God bless, Steve Mitchell
great set up. i really thought we were going to get a historical quote.
ReplyDeletephil johnson exposes a similar issue on his blog. while quoting Spurgeon's attacks on modernism (which most today don't realize. The true church was opposed to modernism as well), they seem like quotes written for today.
i think once all the dust and smoke clears, we're going to realize postmodernism is nothing more than hyper-modernism.
I think we have to be careful not to view the "emergent" discussion as a monolithic movement or philosophy. There are some, like myself, who find a great deal that resonates with us coming from those who are part of the so-called emergent church. As one who has been frequently lumped in with those who are praised/demonized for being emergent Christians, I would caution against setting up straw men and tearing them apart without actually talking with those of us who are on a journey that some have arbitrarily described as "emergent."
ReplyDeleteOh, and I serve at a Grace Brethren church, and am happy to be part of the Fellowship, even though some seem to prefer not to fellowship with me at all.
Hi Scott . .
ReplyDeleteGood to hear from you. I'm not sure what straw man was set up and knocked down here. By his own direct admission, Brian McLaren is a theistic evolutionist. What else needs to be said? This is false teaching. When he clearly wrote this can I not comment unless I check in with various people of whom I would have know way of knowing whether or not they are on a particular "journey" or not?
I don't have a grasp on where the rest of your comments are coming from, at least in relation to what I wrote in the article. Are you commenting on my article or responding to the other commenters?
Let me know how I can help.
And to believe there are Grace Brethren Pastors who consider men like McClaren, Bell, McManus, Sweet, Burke,Childress, Travis, etc. as mentors in the new church. God help our Grace Brethren Fellowship. Many have no idea what is infiltrating our Fellowship. Thanks Pastor Keith for your solid stand.
ReplyDelete