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Where's your Head ..and your Hearth?


angels4u

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THE BEREAN CALL       www.thebereancall.org         March 2002

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Where's Your Head... and Your Heart?

T.A. McMahon

The Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, tells

us that we ought to have the same mind about things that Jesus

has. In telling us we "ought," he is also telling us that we can.

But wait! What exactly does that mean?

Obviously, it can't mean that we can develop a mind with the

capabilities of Jesus, who is not only a perfect, sinless Man, but

also our infinite God, the Creator of the universe. Even on their

best day, that's not the stuff of fallen, finite beings!  What we

can do, however, is to develop the same kind of attitude toward

things that Jesus had. Philippians, Chapter 2, verses 6 through 8,

makes it clear that "mind" in verse 5 refers to His attitude of

humility. Furthermore, the Greek word for "mind" in verse 5

(phroneo) is used in other places and is translated "regard,"

"savour" or "think." In Colossians 3:2 phroneo is translated

"affection" and we are told to "set [our] affection on things

above, not on things on the earth." The implication here is that

our minds are to have a bias toward -- even a passion for -- the

ways and things of God.

More and more these days, after reading about, hearing or seeing

highly respected Christians compromising the faith with regard to

false religions and occult practices, I find myself mostly

muttering (but too often loudly uttering), "Where are their heads

in this?!"

I realize that there are biblical issues which are not as simple

as we would like, and true believers in Christ are not always of

the same opinion regarding some points of doctrine. On the other

hand, we are seeing today what amounts to a shocking disregard for

very simple, fundamental teachings of the Bible by those who claim

to be Bible-believing Christians.

The unbiblical, thoughtless reaction by evangelical pastors in

coming to the aid of allegedly moderate Islamic leaders since

September 11, 2001 has become all too common to be newsworthy.

Under the aegis of "gaining respect for another's religion,"

numerous evangelical churches have had Muslim clerics speak from

their pulpits and Muslim faithful fellowshiping and sharing their

beliefs at church functions, even potlucks. Is this a tough one

regarding biblical discernment? Hardly.  Is there even a hint of

"respecting another's religion" in any of the sixty-six books of

the Bible? Not one! Would the Bible then have us love Muslims?

Absolutely. And to love them biblically means to treat them

personally as those whom Christ loves and for whom He died. We are

to do no less than reflect His love in all our interactions with

them. But it's the antithesis of love to convey the message,

explicitly or implicitly, that their religion will do anything

other than keep them separated from God now and for all eternity.

Islam rejects the Jesus of the Bible; it rejects His deity; it

rejects His death, burial, and resurrection as the full and only

payment for humanity's sin; it rejects Christ's words: "I am the

way, the truth, the life; no man comes to the Father except by me"

(Jn 14:6). Coming to the conclusion that Islam rejects God's only

way of salvation hardly requires a Ph.D. in theology. So where are

the minds of more than a few evangelical leaders in this?

Has Bill Hybels, pastor of the Willow Creek Community Church, and

considered the genius behind the "seeker-friendly" church growth

movement, written off the fundamentals of the faith? A month after

the September 11 tragedy, a Muslim cleric, Fisal Hammouda, shared

Hybels's pulpit for a discussion about Islam. The imam and pastor

discussed strong ties between Christianity and Islam and the

congregation was impressed. They learned from the charming

Hammouda that jihad, more often than not, was an individual "holy

war" to overcome personal weaknesses such as a sweet tooth.

Seriously? Hybels was concerned that there "are some Christians

spreading rumors and half-truths that the Qur'an encourages

violence." It may be that Pastor Hybels has never read the many

verses in the Qur'an condoning and commanding violence (especially

for temporal and eternal rewards) and that he simply was

misinformed. However, when Hammouda claimed that Muslims "believe

in Jesus, more than [Christians] do in fact," Hybels knew enough

to disagree. Yet he didn't seem to have the heart to tell the

congregation that Islam's "Jesus" is someone invented by Muhammad,

and therefore can't save anyone. That lack of disclosure by the

pastor was not inconsequential. How many among the thousands who

attended the "seeker-friendly" service left with the same

enthusiastic feeling noted by one church member: "I didn't know

they believed in Jesus"? (1)  What of those who came seeking the

truth?

Hybels's mentor in ministry is Robert Schuller, whose compromises

with Islam are notorious. From personally preaching in the mosque

of the Grand Mufti in Damascus, to allowing the Islamic leader's

cleric son to preach from his own pulpit, these things are nothing

new for someone who sponsors  "Christians and Muslims for Peace"

at his Crystal Cathedral. Exactly where his head is in all of this

can be ascertained from a statement he made to an official of the

Muslim American Society. He said that "if he [schuller] came back

in 100 years and found his descendants Muslims, it wouldn't bother

him...." (2)  Perhaps  Schuller has been influenced by his good

friend, Billy Graham, who said, "I think Islam is misunderstood,

too, because Mohammad has a great respect for Jesus...And I think

we're closer to Islam than we really think we are." (3)

While some might regard pastors Hybels and Schuller as rare

examples of compromising the basics of the faith, certainly their

influence among evangelicals cannot be questioned. Willow Creek

Community Church is the largest evangelical church in America.

Schuller's "Hour of Power," which Graham helped him begin and

continues to enthusiastically support, is the number one

evangelistic TV program worldwide. Here's another troubling

question: Where then are the heads of the sheep these pastors

shepherd, and the thousands of evangelical pastors from around the

country who flock to their conferences? At the very least, most

are critically confused about the simple, biblical gospel.

Another indication of the mindset of many evangelical Christians

is their favored response to the Harry Potter series of books and

motion picture. Following our live call-in broadcast of "Search

the Scriptures Daily," in which J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter was

the featured topic, a distressed young girl called to tell us that

most of her friends and teachers at her Christian school were fans

of Harry Potter. Where are their heads in this?  Apparently, the

same place where highly influential evangelical leaders such as

Chuck Colson and James Dobson are. Initially, Colson touted the

moral attributes of the books, such as "courage, loyalty, and a

willingness to sacrifice to one another," as "not bad lessons in a

self-centered world." In an amazing combination of ignorance and

rationalization, he states that the magic of Harry Potter is

"purely mechanical, as opposed to occultic. That is, Harry and his

friends cast spells, read crystal balls and turn themselves into

animals-but they don't make contact with a supernatural world."(4)

Some time later in a Prison Fellowship "Breakpoint" commentary

(which followed some pro-Harry Potter articles), Colson modified

his position: "Now personally, I don't recommend the Harry Potter

books or the movie...." A subsequent moral conviction? Perhaps,

but he followed up that statement by recommending that his readers

should look to Connie Neal's book, What's a Christian to Do With

Harry Potter? as an aid to discernment. (5)  Neal writes, "There

is such a wealth in these stories that Christian parents should

seize upon."(6) An interviewer described her as "a born-again

Christian" and "the best known evangelical proponent of the J.K.

Rowling canon." While she may be at the top of the list, she has

plenty of company. A Christianity Today editorial explained,

"Author Rowling has created a world with real good and evil, and

Harry is definitely on the side of light fighting the 'dark

powers.' " (7) So let's have a hearty "amen" for white witchcraft!

Wheaton College professor Alan Jacobs certainly seems to be saying

that very thing: "The question of what to do with magic powers [in

the Harry Potter series] is explored in an appropriate and morally

serious way." Incredible! Jacobs's school is described in the same

secular article as "the evangelical Harvard." Irony aside, what

does it take to understand the Holy Spirit-inspired words of the

prophet Samuel: "For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft" (1 Sm

15:23)?  

The context of that rebuke by Samuel to King Saul has to do with

obedience. God gave Saul specific instructions, against which he

rebelled, i.e., he disobeyed. Read Saul's excuses when he is

confronted by God's prophet (1 Sm 15:15); this leader of the

people accommodates them and rationalizes how they were going to

use what God told them to "utterly destroy" as a means of

glorifying Him. James Dobson's Focus on the Family ministry,

arguably the most popular source of guidance among evangelicals,

features a number of articles on Harry Potter. The most

comprehensive one, "What Shall We Do With Harry?",(7) bears a

strong resemblance to Saul's rationalizations. It certainly

accommodates the people: convincing reasons are given both to

appreciate and to deprecate Harry Potter. A little something for

both sides.

More significantly, the article exhorts its readers to use the

Harry Potter books and film as a means to "engage the culture with

a critical Christian thoughtfulness": "...we've taken too

simplistic a view of what our reaction must be to the problematic

elements of Harry Potter." A more balanced approach that will

impress the world is being recommended. (This is the foundational

mindset of Focus on the Family's advocacy of Christian

psychotherapy, by the way.) The article, which is confusing at

best, subversive to the Bible at worst, acknowledges that "God

hates the practice of witchcraft" (Dt 18:10) but it avoids the

simple yet critical issue: obedience. How does one "balance"

obedience?

Where are their heads in this?

Too often, disdaining simple answers has caused those critical of

the sufficiency of Scripture for "all things that pertain to life

and godliness, through the knowledge of [Jesus]" to miss what

should be obvious (2 Pt 1:3). Consider, for example, today's most

popular trend for helping people -- and the fact that it is used

in many evangelical churches. It is the 12 Steps program,

originated by the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous. It's certainly

biblical for Christians to help people. However, Christians, as

the name implies, are to help people according to the teachings of

the Christian manual, the Word of God. That entails obedience to

what God says. It also involves rejecting what He tells us to

reject.

A.A.'s official biography indicates that Bill Wilson received the

details of the 12 Steps through spirit dictation. Scripture

condemns communication with familiar spirits. The Second and Third

Steps encourage turning one's life over to a "Higher Power" and

"God as we under[stand] Him." Any higher power? Yes! Any idea of

God? Yes! How about that of a Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, Animist,

Satanist -- or anyone else's idea, for that matter? Sure. What

about making Jesus Christ one's Higher Power? Fine, but only as

long as a person who does that is respectful of the Higher Powers

of others. Does anyone see a simple, idolatrous problem here? But

what about evangelicals just using the methodology the familiar

spirit gave to Bill Wilson? Simple again: God condemns the source,

and the approach is contrary to the way He wants to transform our

lives. Furthermore, why turn to such a spiritually toxic system?

Where are evangelical pastors' heads in this?

"Let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus." How is it

that Christians, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, can be blind to very

clear and simple teachings of Scripture? Here's a seemingly

tougher one: How is it that Solomon, the wisest man (other than

Jesus) to walk the face of the earth (1 Kgs 3:12), who was used of

the Holy Spirit to write three books of the Bible, could be blind

to the sin and gravity of idolatry and thus end up suffering the

destructive consequences? The answer is that even his godly wisdom

couldn't keep his heart right before the Lord. In the Book of Job

we're told, "Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to

depart from evil is understanding" (28:28). Solomon was

astonishingly selective regarding some things in his life when it

came down to "the fear of the Lord." He didn't have the mind of

Christ in all things; that is, in his thinking, attitude,

affection, etc. he was not devoted first and foremost to obeying

God.

Wisdom and knowledge are terribly important; but devoid of one

wanting the will of God they become the very things we distort in

order to satisfy our own lusts. Pray for today's evangelical

shepherds who are succumbing to "all that is in the world, the

lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of

life" (1 John 2:16) in their teaching, and especially for their

sheep, that they (and we as well) may have the mind of Christ,

which is a heart to know and obey the truth. TBC

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This is a good article. It shows people that many people have taken their eye off of Christ and onto the doctrine of comprimise. This is what satan has waited for. The ecumenical movement. More than ever now, Christians have to keep their minds like Christ. I say this for two big reasons. One the deception is going to get worse at a alarming speed and you need not be deceived. Second there are lost souls needing to be rescued. We can not accomplish this without a Christ-like mind.

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  • 15 years later...

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On March 3, 2002 at 1:10 PM, angels4u said:

 

angels4u: "The Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, tells

us that we ought to have the same mind about things that Jesus

has. In telling us we "ought," he is also telling us that we can.".

Amen and HALLELUYAH ! 

MARANANTHA !   COME QUICKLY LORD JESUS ! 

On March 3, 2002 at 8:33 PM, boblandis said:

This is a good article. It shows people that many people have taken their eye off of Christ and onto the doctrine of comprimise. This is what satan has waited for. The ecumenical movement. More than ever now, Christians have to keep their minds like Christ. I say this for two big reasons. One the deception is going to get worse at a alarming speed and you need not be deceived. Second there are lost souls needing to be rescued. We can not accomplish this without a Christ-like mind.

As we have seen almost exponentially getting worse since this was posted in 2002.  (where's bob? ) 

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2 hours ago, simplejeff said:

angels4u: "The Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, tells

us that we ought to have the same mind about things that Jesus

has. In telling us we "ought," he is also telling us that we can.".

Amen and HALLELUYAH ! 

MARANANTHA !   COME QUICKLY LORD JESUS ! 

As we have seen almost exponentially getting worse since this was posted in 2002.  (where's bob? ) 

Jeff,I didn't,t see Bob now for about 14 years on the forum,I do remember him and would like to know how he,s doing:) Things in the world  have gotten much worse in the last 15 years..  

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On 11/13/2017 at 12:18 PM, angels4u said:

Things in the world  have gotten much worse in the last 15 years..  

And on the good side,  the good blessings from Yahweh,  the LIFE and SALVATION of JESUS !

In a 'few' places/ persons all around the world in every nation ....  YAHWEH'S PROMISES all TRUTH,

He is fulfilling every one of HIS Promises for everyone who Trusts and Relies on HIM.

 

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 It would be great if, instead of pulling up other people's threads from YEARS ago, we all started out own.  It's really not that hard and makes way more sense than airing names that have disappeared over a decade ago.

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When serving Yahweh, seeking, always seeking Yahweh's Kingdom,  everyone should do as their master says to do.

If you don't like it,  read other threads.

Visitors need the TRUTH, the GOLD,  the HONEST MESSAGE from YAHWEH that is present in past threads in some posts, the TRUTH someone learned from YAHWEH years ago, by HIS GRACE,  the TRUTH many current visitors have never seen.

and remember, SCRIPTURE is a few years older than any posts here, eh!?

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