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There has been a tragic loss of discernment
concerning secular acceptance and approval.
Christian academia and the church are seeking
"respectability" in all the wrong places.
Perverted Priorities
Commenting on this development, Dr. James White observes:
Large numbers of Christian
scholars, with few and precious exceptions, have
chosen to walk the path of scholarship in
general, choosing acceptance by the world as
their highest priority. This may seem a sweeping
generalization, but the assertion is all too
easily proven…even Christian scholars have
adopted the methodologies of secularism. Most
importantly, even conservative Christian
scholars have adopted a view of the foundation
of the Christian faith (Scripture) that is not
derived from a Christian worldview but from a
secular paradigm.…this fact accounts for the
diminishment of the emphasis upon justification
as a divine truth that is elemental to the
church’s proclamation within the context of the
Christian ministry.1
Dr. Ligon Duncan notes that N. T.
Wright’s promotion of the New Perspective on
Paul from his position of prominence as a bishop
in the Anglican Church has helped gain
acceptance for "evangelicals trying to work in a
mainstream academic setting….This is very
impressive to a New Testament scholar who is
scared of being viewed as a 'fundamentalist' by
his/her colleagues, but who wants to stay an
evangelical and still be respectable."2
The same mentality grips those
who are willing to deny the doctrine of creation
in six literal days because they fear secular
ridicule, and therefore embrace one of the
popular compromise views of the Genesis account
so they can still be called "evangelical."
So it was also in Jesus’ day:
Nevertheless even among the
rulers many believed in Him, but because of the
Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they
should be put out of the synagogue; for they
loved the praise of men more than the praise of
God (John 12:42-43).
Scavenging Doctrines in the
Secular Landfill
The doctrines and practices that
have found
their way into formerly solid Bible colleges and
seminaries are often scavenged from the work of
unbelieving scholars. Space permits us to
mention just two of the more prominent examples
in our day.
The church
growth/Purpose-Driven/Emergent Church movements
are saturated with secular, liberal thinking.
(For a more detailed discussion, see the series
of articles on these movements in
TeachingTheWord's
Bible Knowledgebase.)
The intellectual lineage of the
New Perspective on Paul includes the works of
Emil Schürer (1844-1910), a German liberal
theologian; Claude Montefiore (1858-1938), a
founder of Liberal Judaism; George Foot Moore
(1851-1931), a liberal American Presbyterian;
Max Weber (1864-1920), the German sociologist
who advocated "value-free" social science;
Rudolf Bultmann (1884-1976), a noted spokesman
for liberal/skeptical methods of Biblical
interpretation who advocated replacement of
"traditional" theology with existential
philosophy; and Krister Stendahl (born 1921),
liberal Lutheran Bishop of Stockholm and former
dean of Harvard Divinity School.
Seeking the World's Counsel on
Spiritual Matters
The loss of discernment about
secular acceptance and approval can naturally
lead to seeking the unbelieving world’s counsel
on spiritual matters as well. A number of
reputedly conservative seminaries are members of
an organization called In Trust, a
consortium of seminaries and divinity schools,
whose mission is to educate and inform those
responsible for the governance of the graduate
theological schools of North America. In
Trust provides the members of its audience
with the insights they need to function more
effectively as leaders, illuminates the issues
likely to engage their governing boards, and
offers forums in which they can share with each
other what they have learned.3
Over 120 schools are In Trust
members and associates (as of the end of 2008).
The vast majority of them are Roman Catholic,
Jewish, and mainline liberal Protestant
institutions. But also among them are these
Reformed and Evangelical schools:
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Biblical Theological Seminary
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Capital Bible Seminary
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Several Church of God
seminaries
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Covenant Theological Seminary
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Dallas Theological Seminary
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Fuller Theological Seminary
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Gordon-Conwell Theological
Seminary
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Oral Roberts University
School of Theology
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Reformed Episcopal Seminary
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Reformed Presbyterian
Theological Seminary
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Reformed Theological Seminary
(Jackson, Mississippi)
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Westminster Theological
Seminary in Philadelphia
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Westminster Seminary in
California.
The president of In Trust
is Dr. Christa R. Klein, an associate professor
of church history at St. Mary’s Seminary (Roman
Catholic) in Baltimore.4
Over the years the members of the In Trust
board of governors and staff have come primarily
from unbelieving institutions — religious in
name, pagan in reality. One of the board members
is Diane Ashley, who carries the title of Vice
President and Chief Diversity Officer of the
Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The In
Trust web site states:
Our board of governors is drawn
widely from the world of theological education
and governance. The members’ extensive
experience guides us as we chart our future,
broaden our approach, and model good governance
for those we would teach.
In Trust publishes a
quarterly magazine of the same name which offers
advice to its member institutions. In an article
titled "Presidential Vision: Anticipating Where
the Church is Heading," Vincent DePaul Cushing,
a Franciscan priest, former In Trust
board member, and consultant to In Trust member
seminaries, writes:
Today, some respected churches
and confessions choose to flee into a romantic,
cherished past, a past impossible to regain.
We
must develop a vibrant, energy-laden, compelling
vision of where the church should be going.
Note
what it is we need to envision. It is not the
vision of where the school is going, but rather
where the church should be going. Then in the
light of that, one asks, "What is the best
education for ministry to ensure that that
church will come to be?" Moreover, envisioning
the church’s future and enabling its realization
are noble tasks and constitute a vibrant
intellectual challenge for the thoughtful (seminary) president.
The president’s task,
thus, is to engage in social analysis, then use
the findings to envision the school’s future as
an education for the ministry. This means being
steeped in the Christian tradition as the
foundation for exploring the key questions of
catechesis and hermeneutics.
I believe the
president and (seminary) board are, by position
and vocation, futurists who believe in the
possibility of the institution making a
difference in the future that will carry forth
the gospel as a treasure of meaning and a
statement of hope.5
Just what "gospel" this is, just
which confessions belong to "a romantic,
cherished past, a past impossible to regain,"
how questions of catechesis and hermeneutics are
to be "explored" through social analysis, and
where the In Trust consortium thinks "the
church should be going," we can only imagine.
But In Trust does give us clues. In
Trust magazine editor Jay Blossom writes:
North American theological
education is a riotous garden, filled with bees,
bugs and blooms of all kinds. At In Trust, we
share some of that bounty, try to make sense of
it, and offer tips for the gardeners of such a
great gift.6
Here is a sampling of In Trust
articles providing "tips" for those who tend
this garden of apostasy and syncretism:
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A transcript of a speech on
the education of ministers by Josef
Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI.
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"A Sacred Heart: Meditations
on Vulnerability, Leadership, and a Life
Fully Lived," in which "the authors, both
Jewish, obliquely explore two Christian
images, the Crucifixion and the Catholic
devotion of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,7
to plumb the spiritual depths of inspired
leadership."
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"Go Out into All the World:
How Schools Attract Those Who Would Be Doers
of the Word."
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"Capitalizing on Our
Differences."
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"Bridging the Divide:
Conversations Lead to Collaboration and
Cooperation."
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"Let Not Theology Put
Asunder"
The last three articles explored
ways to bring varying theological "perspectives"
together in seminaries and minimize doctrinal
differences.
In 2001, the In Trust
magazine included an article which lamented the
fact that a female Master of Divinity student at
Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia
was "rebuffed" when she sought, along with her
husband, to come under care of a PCA
(Presbyterian Church of America) presbytery.
(This is the first step toward licensure and ordination
to the ministry).8
It must also be said that seminaries like
Westminster have made this kind of situation
possible by permitting women to study for the
degrees for pulpit ministry that conservative
institutions long reserved for men only.
The In Trust web site
includes an area where the member schools in
this theological Babel are asked to pray for one
another, and member institutions can post
specific prayer requests. Dr. J. Gresham Machen well described
such a thing as "prayer in the house of Rimmon."9
The spirit of Antichrist is in
all of this. Yet a number of the Reformed and
Evangelical seminaries mentioned above not only
helped found such an endeavor, but according to
the In Trust web site they continue to
lend their support and use its services year by
year. A growing trend among "conservative"
seminaries is to have men (and women) on their
faculties who hold advanced degrees from
apostate seminaries and graduate schools. For
example, nearly half the members of the current
faculty of Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia have degrees
from liberal schools; most of those schools are
also members of In Trust.
The World Has Nothing to Say to
the True Church
In sharp contrast to all of these
examples, Scripture commands believers not to
seek the acceptance, approval, or counsel of the
secular world (which includes false religions)
in spiritual matters. We must recognize that if
anyone is not regenerated by the Holy Spirit,
and if any individual or organization is not in
submission to the Word of God, then they have
absolutely nothing to say to the true Church of
the Lord Jesus Christ about what its theology is
or should be, or how it should train men for the
ministry.
Adulterers and adulteresses! Do
you not know that friendship with the world is
enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a
friend of the world makes himself an enemy of
God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in
vain, "The Spirit who dwells in us yearns
jealously"? (James 4:4-5).
They are of the world. Therefore
they speak as of the world, and the world hears
them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us;
he who is not of God does not hear us. By this
we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of
error (1 John 4:5-6).
Let no one deceive himself. If
anyone among you seems to be wise in this age,
let him become a fool that he may become wise.
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with
God. For it is written, "He catches the wise in
their own craftiness," and again, "The Lord
knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are
futile." Therefore let no one boast in men. For
all things are yours…and you are Christ’s, and
Christ is God’s (1 Corinthians 3:18-23).
For you
see your calling, brethren, that not many wise
according to the flesh, not many mighty, not
many noble, are called. But God has chosen the
foolish things of the world to put to shame the
wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the
world to put to shame the things which are
mighty; and the base (lowly) things of the world
and the things which are despised God has
chosen, and the things which are not, to bring
to nothing the things that are, that no flesh
should glory in His presence. But of Him you are
in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from
God — and righteousness and sanctification and
redemption — that, as it is written, "He who
glories, let him glory in the Lord" (1
Corinthians 1:26-31).
Recommended Resources
Articles on our website:
References:
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James R.
White, The God Who Justifies (Bloomington,
Minnesota: Bethany House Publishers, 2001),
36.J.
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Ligon
Duncan, "Attractions of the New
Perspective(s) on Paul," a lecture reproduced at
www.christianity.com/partner/Article_Display_Page/0,,PTID307086|CHID559376|CIID1660662,00.html.
Dr. Duncan should heed the spirit of his own
advice. Despite the serious departure of the
Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) from
core doctrines of the faith, including
infiltration of the New Perspective on Paul,
Dr. Duncan remains in the denomination as
senior minister of one of its largest
churches, and has held numerous official
positions in the PCA leadership.
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From the mission statement at
www.intrust.org.
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Klein’s
husband Leonard was a prominent long-time
pastor in the liberal Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America (ELCA). They both
converted to Roman Catholicism in 2003. In
June 2005 Leonard Klein was ordained to the
ministry of Transitional Deacon in the Roman
Catholic Church. Since Vatican Council II
the papacy has placed greater emphasis on
this office (and that of Permanent Deacon)
as a "way home to Rome" for Protestant
ministers. By being ordained as deacons,
Protestant ministers converting to Romanism
can perform most of the functions of a
priest — assisting in the celebration of the
Mass, preaching at Mass, and performing
baptisms, marriages, and funerals. The only
major differences between a deacon and a
priest in the Romanist system are that the
deacon cannot officiate at the Mass or
(supposedly) offer absolution of sins.
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Vincent DePaul Cushing,
"A Presidential
Vision: Anticipating Where the Church Is
Headed," In Trust magazine, Summer 2000,
reproduced at www.intrust.org/magazine/pastarticle.cfm?&id=220.
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www.intrust.org/who/staff.cfm
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This idolatrous veneration of the
"wounded heart of Jesus," includes prayers
to it using special beads, offerings, a
feast day, and other acts of devotion.
Devotees "cling firmly to it as one of their
strongest hopes of ennoblement and
salvation." See "Devotion to the Sacred
Heart of Jesus," Catholic Encyclopedia, www.newadvent.org/cathen/07163a.htm.
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Bob
Bettson, "How Congregations Can
Promote Vocations," In Trust magazine, first
quarter 2001, reproduced at www.intrust.org/magazine/article.cfm?id=178
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J. Gresham Machen: Selected Shorter
Writings, 147. Rimmon was the Syrian god of
storms (see 2 Kings
5:18).
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