The News Beats

The fallout over John Piper’s endorsement of Rick Warren has also revealed that people in ministry positions from where they should be able to respond decisively and expeditiously are selecting the wrong time to apply generosity of spirit and indecisiveness.  For example, Phil Johnson is executive director of Grace to You radio ministry of John MacArthur.  Johnson also writes for his own website Pyromaniacs, and his lengthy article “On the Piper-Warren Connection” would lead one to believe by its title that he is addressing the serious implications of John Piper inviting Rick Warren to speak at his Desiring God National Conference.  Actually, it does little to address the heart of the issue itself; instead, it provides evidence of an unflattering assessment of many in professional ministry.

Unfortunately, many that make their living in Christian Industry are often too far removed from real living to develop discernment.  Their problem is they are usually surrounded by admiring laity, and live a cloistered, insulated, happy little Christian life, and are too far from the front lines of spiritual warfare to discern the times.  This is demonstrated by the length Johnson goes to in his article to prove he almost knows that Piper’s endorsement of Warren is an apostate move, without being able to come out and say it is an apostate move; resulting in an irresponsible piece that flirts with the notion that Johnson knows the truth, but can’t set if free.

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And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

(Joh 3:19)

The Bible is nothing if it is not provocative.  It describes not only the human condition, both cause and remedy, but it also tells of the time before the human race, and the universe after the race ends.  The Bible also reveals information about other supernatural beings, and their interactions with humans throughout time.  In fact, some things the Bible reveals about the unseen world seem so fantastic and dreadfully fearful that many down through history have chosen to interpret much of the Bible metaphorically, or otherwise spiritualize certain scriptures in order to fit them comfortably within the viewfinder of empiricism. Over the years Chuck Missler, of Koinonia House, has displayed no such temerity.

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The Time cover story “The Case for Teaching the Bible,” favoring Bible-literacy classes taught in public schools, is being positively received by many Christians, and some have been prompted to proclaim by it “God is alive and well.”[i]The phenomenon is not that a secular magazine would endorse on its cover that Bible-literacy, of all books, be taught in public school, but that so many Christians would misinterpret the news to imply that the actual Bible itself would be taught. That is not the focus of the article, and teaching the Bible is not the objective of the school districts that have implemented curriculum to cover the Bible. There is something far more sinister afoot, and Christians need to take note: what is taking place is a church-state government takeover of the Bible on a scale that hasn’t been seen for four hundred years.

The establishing of State Ordained Bible Teachers will inevitably lead to reenactments of the Oath of Supremacy and Test Act of seventeenth century England. In order to hold public or civil office back then, such as that of preacher, persons must have first professed allegiance to, the state established, Church of England. Originally designed to check the Pope, and so Roman Catholics, the Act was enforced against Nonconformists too. In essence, state ordinations were required in order for a person to obtain a pastorate, or to publicly preach the gospel.

Dissenters eschewed ordination on at lest two points. While the Anglican Church was a breakaway from the Roman Catholic Church, it was established by HenryVIII in response to the Pope’s refusal to sanction his divorce and remarriage; it retained, with the exception of its stand of transubstantiation, the formers corruption. (Always a condition that presents when ever state and church are subservient to each other so they may benefit of themselves.)

The second point emits from the sharp edge of that twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and capable of revealing to a man the thoughts and intents of his wicked heart; the word of God. That is, if the Lord is merciful to allow the scales to fall away from his eyes so he may see his need for salvation and the way thereof, and so become ordained by God in the new royal priesthood (1Pet. 2:9), he is called to preach to set the captives free.

The penalties for obeying God’s call, and thus refusing the ordination of the state, were unemployment, arrest, and imprisonment. Nevertheless:

They wished no ordination but the ‘call,’ and they could dispense with learning because they abounded in inspiration, inner light, and the gifts conferred by the Holy Spirit. In 1660, the Anglican Church began to persecute and silence the dissenting sects. Jails filled with unlicensed Nonconformist preachers, and Bunyan was one of the prisoners.[ii]

This was John Bunyan, the “eloquent and fearless Baptist preacher” and famous author of Pilgrim’s Progress from This World to That Which Is to Come (1678).[iii] Bunyan was imprisoned twice, once for twelve years, and in his second prison term he wrote Pilgrim’s Progress which remains the “most popular allegory in English.”[iv] Here also is an existing literary work among many that could be taken up in English classes to foster Biblical liertacy and cover literay devices too (i.e. allegory), and without the eventual conscription of students into state religion classes; under the authority of state credentialed Bible teachers using erroneous and derogatory curricula such as The Bible and Its Influence .

Throughout history, men and women of God have opposed religious tyranny, and by doing so have won liberty and preserved opportunity to preach the gospel. By the fire of their persecution a great spiritual refinement produced a witness to a dying world. For this reason, we must oppose State Ordained Bible Teachers and preachers. This campaign is one of the sluiceways leading into the same funnel of apostasy, and today it includes faith-based government co-opting of churches, with the help of the ordained pastors, to conscript church members into the ranks of a social-service army exercising the political will of atheist governments. In fact, it is the ignorance now perpetrated in the churches that emboldens the state to act. We have entered an age of Biblical illiteracy that may be, on a per-capita basis, an even greater pandemic that existed prior to the Reformation. Indeed, this is the age of the falling away (2Thess. 2:3).

We do not, by opposition, expect to stop it; indeed, the Apostasia must come. Our opposing its establishment is not the product of our effort, but the result of our steadfastness in the faith; and the compassion we have to make a difference, saving others with fear, “pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh” (Jude 1:23). And this we can do if we redeem the time, and remember the admonishment: “Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life” (Jude 1:21). What we may have to endure, we do not know, but if we are to look to our fellow man for positive reports, let us look to the likes of John Bunyan; and let us look to the author and finisher of our faith for the same strength.

Notes:

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[i] Doug Huntington, “Christians Pleasantly Surprised by Time’s Pro-Bible Article,”Christian Post, March 30, 2007.
[ii] Editors, “John Bunyan.” The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. M. H. Abrams, et al. 2 Vols. 7^th ed. New York: Norton, 2000. Vol I. 2132.[iii] Norton, “John Bunyan.”
[iv] Ibid.

The April issue of Time magazine carries a controversial cover story entitled “Why We Should Teach The Bible in Public School: The Case for Teaching the Bible,” by David Van Biema. The basic premise is that the teaching of Bible-literacy classes in public school is compelling on the basis of the Bible’s cultural and literary value.[i] It is a sound argument, and Biema brings up good points. For the prominent role that the Bible played in U.S. History, Biema cites political rhetoric in phrases “The shinning city on the hill” attributed to John Winthrop who was in fact quoting Matthew, and Martin Luther King Jr. using the phrase “Justice rolling down like waters” which is from Amos.[ii] Biema might have added that Patrick Henry’s famous speech referred to from its famous ending “Give me liberty, or give me death!” is inspired by several books in the Bible including Paul’s epistle to the Galatians. Students would fare far better acquiring Biblical literacy by exposing them to extant literature that not only relies on the use of scripture itself, but also provides context which can assist them in developing their acquaintance with understanding. The real issue is, as it always will be, the religious one.

As might be expected, prominent secularists would entertain the notion if the Bible-literacy course were curtailed until it resembled a balanced world religion study equally covering half a dozen or so religious views, and high profile Christians are themselves sharply divided on the subject. Chuck Colson, of Prison Fellowship fame, is in favor of teaching Bible-literacy classes in public school. While he acknowledges it would be limited, he is confident in their potential for evangelism: “What you can do is introduce the Bible so that people are aware of its impact on people and in history and then let God speak through it as he will.”[iii] Although his sentiments are noble enough, Colson has been outside public school for too long to realize that he is overly optimistic. Author and attorney Wendy Kaminer is described in the article as a First Amendment sentinel who would only approve of Bible classes “taught in close conjunction with other religions” so as to not to become “a kind of promotion of the majority faith.”[iv] Kaminer’s concerns may be unfounded for two reasons.

Surveys often result in data which give Christianity overwhelmingly high numbers when respondents are asked to declare their religion. These are, however, confessions that are made in unmolested comfort, and without qualifying religious tenets to determine whether this is a faith in the Easter Bunny and the practice of searching for chocolate eggs. The other reason that should serve to alleviate Kaminer’s fears is the one given by pastor John Hagee who is also against the classes. Hagee cited the compromised curriculum of the The Bible and It’s Influence, used in 85 schools districts in 30 states,[v] and an inability of young students to assess the errors presented and sort them out .[vi] It is this last view that is the most accurate of the three, and it can be expounded on to note that absent using the King James Bible, the literary value of a Bible-literacy course would be moot. No other version compares to the majesty of its language, the scope of its influence, and the shear volume of its verses incorporated in English literature. However, the current hostile environment of public schools towards Christianity precludes the use of an accurate text, and this leads to question what kind of teachers are available and willing to teach Bible-literacy in public school, and what other motives could they have?

There is already an ongoing warfare being waged against Christians and Jews at the college and university level in Philosophy and World Religion classes. Many of the upcoming college professors are already cutting their teeth on high school students in the social sciences such as English and History, and honing their attack arguments with what they purport to be inconsistencies and contradictions in the Bible. A mild form of misinterpreting scripture as contradictory, and positing unscriptural reconciliations, is provided in the Time article. When a question was asked in a Bible class about the meek inheriting the earth it was framed in the presupposition that it has finally been accomplished, but instead by force. Responding, the teacher said: “When [Jesus] was giving the sermon, people took it not just as a physical award but an emotional or spiritual kind of award. Later on, when they became more powerful, say, in the Crusades or something, they weren’t trying to inherit the earth. They were trying to take it over.”[vii] This only appears to be a case of ignorance: attributing to Christians what were the Roman Catholic Crusades, and so the blame; and allegorizing, or spiritualizing, doctrine meant to be taken literally by ascribing a false fulfillment to it. The meek will indeed physically inherit the earth when Christ returns to set up His Kingdom for a thousand years, and it will be partially restored to Edenic splendor. After that period, their inheritance will be greatly increased in value after the Lord surrenders the Kingdom to His Father, and the earth is completely renovated to perfection (Rev.20:4, Jo. 3:18, Isa. 65:20; Rev. 21:1, 2Pet. 3:7-13, Isa. 66:22, Mat 19:28, Isa. 11:6-9). If small points can send classes careening off course into error when intentions are innocent, imagine he harm that can be inflicted by careful design. It can be long lasting, or even permanent.

Damage of the long lasting kind includes what happens to Christian teens who are worked over vicariously by teachers using their spin on a Biblical characters. The emotional abuse they are exposed to over a semester can produce a kind of Stockholm Syndrome where students actually form attachments to their captors and renounce their walk of faith for a time. Parents and pastors of these students will begin experiencing sharp increases in rebellious attitudes and resentment from these students who will hold them partially responsible for the beating they are taking in class, and may even despise them for a religion that can’t be defended and is so easily ridiculed, or at least for failing to prepare them for the task. Inevitably, some will also hold God responsible. The reason this effect often goes undetected is that teens don’t like to share their defeats, and parents assign the causes for their behavior to difficulties as are typical for teens such as hormone changes, or they may search for the causes in some murky deficit disorder. Keep in mind these antics are taking place in classes that are not yet Bible-literacy classes.

Every year in this fashion Christian students in public school have their faith attacked, and many have it short circuited and in turn sustain scars. The duration of their tumbling depends in part on their proximity to reserves. With youth groups that are little more than activity-based teen romps, and most pastors regularly preaching on a sophomore level, there are few forts for rearming, and reforming, and reconnoitering. Many don’t seem aware that the battle is being waged. There is, however, one formidable weapon, albeit a passive one, that the students do still have where Bible-literacy classes are not taught, and the attacks are only coming at them through social sciences.

Once a student enrolls in a class, they are required to attend and remain under the tutelage and authority of the teacher. They constitute a captive audience subject to the withholding of grades and accolades. If these same High School teachers are armed by the state schools with the mantle of Bible Teacher, the last vestige of defense will be demolished for students who can, to their own consolation, identify the fact that these teachers have no real expertise to venture into the subject they so loath and love to rail against.

While some may hold the hope that these classes, no matter what, will contribute to the furtherance of the gospel, this is not the same as the circumstance the Apostle Paul describes in his epistle to the Philippians. His imprisonment and confinement in chains prompted two opposing motives for the preaching that took place because of his persecution. Some Christian brethren were emboldened by Paul’s faith and the extent to which he was willing to suffer and remain steadfast, and they became more zealous in preaching the gospel. Others seized on the occasion to preach Paul’s message as a means of adding to his affliction, and the more accurately they retold it the surer it was to contrast his circumstances to, what they thought, would be his shame. Paul summarized it this way:

The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel. What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. (Phi. 1:16-18)

The significant differences between that circumstance and the one in which Bible-literacy classes are taught in public school make the analogy inapplicable. The people that were preached to then would have lent their ear only as much as they desired, would have been primarily adults or under parental supervision, and they would not have had any material considerations subject to the benevolence of the preachers. Furthermore, the preaching would have been far more accurate than public school curriculums which must pass muster for tolerance and inclusiveness.

We have had nearly two thousand years of tampering and perverting of the scriptures, and which tampering had begun in earnest before Paul’s death. Paul had to warn the Thessalonians about letters that had been circulating with his name on them that were forgeries (2 Thess. 2:2). The Apostle Peter also mentions that men who were unlearned in the scriptures were taking the complicated teachings from Paul’s letters and torturing them out of context and meaning (2 Pet. 3:16). While the principals themselves have varied over the years, their motives have remained constant. They have strived to apprehend spiritual elements from the text and fabricate an esoteric religion of enlightenment and privilege (e.g., Gnostics); to confiscate the word, reedit it and become sole arbiters of interpreting the text to garner for themselves special positions of power (e. g., papists); and to pervert the gospel of grace so as to establish the excommunicatory power of a new earthy high priest (i.e. these, et al). To day these principals include large Protestant denominations, and the plethora of perverted texts in use by liberal churches and by liberal university professors include The Message, the TNIV, the NIV, the NRSV, the NASB, the ESV, and the NLT.

These corrupt texts are what next years sincere high school teachers are ingesting. How will they be able to recognize, much less correct, the factual errors and outright contradictions in The Bible and its Influence like this: “Jesus taught with parables to put his message about God’s reign into language that all his hearers would grasp immediately.”[viii] Notice by referencing the Bible how patently false this is:

And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. (Mat 13:10-15).

It is hard enough to excuse such blatant error in a text written in part by Cullen Schippe, former vice president at giant education publisher Macmillan/McGraw-Hill,[ix] but the claim that the text was reviewed by 40 scholars with backgrounds including Evangelical, Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish scholars seems completely incredible.[x]

A thorough critique of the text by Berit Kjos reveals students are prompted to questions God’s wisdom, pagan images are blended with Biblical references, the authority of scripture is undermined, Bible prophecy is ridiculed, provision is made for more endorsement of public schools’ litany in Communitarian indoctrination, and the account of judgment falling on Sodom and Gomorrah redacts the sin of homosexuality as the cause.[xi] And this is as good as it gets. To expect God’s word to be presented without bias and with objectivity in the public school districts that are openly hostile to the Bible, Judaism, and Christianity; and not to realize that it would be used as an occasion to set upon Christian students to cause them to stumble, distancing sincere inquiries by gauzing the Bible with political mysticism, and twisting scriptures in order to bolster the state’s continual endorsement of sin, is to be utterly and completely naive.  As for the ridiculous presumption that public school Bible-literacy will offer significant evangelism, Christian students living their faith unmolested by the state would be a far more effective means of evangelizing other students who were likewise unencumbered by political/religious indoctrinating, erroneous presentation of Bible doctrine, and outright lies perpetrated in classrooms by State Credentialed Bible Teachers.

Notes:

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[i] David Van Biema, “The Case for Teaching The Bible,” Time.com, March 22, 2007.

(aritlce title noted herein is from Time magazine cover; all quotes used taken from this online publication)

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1601845,00.html. 3

 

[ii] Van Biema, “The Case for Teaching The Bible” 2.

 

[iii] Ibid. 2.

 

[iv] Ibid. 2.

 

[v] Ibid. 3.

 

[vi] Ibid. 2.

 

[vii] Ibid. 3.

 

[viii] Qt: Berit Kjos, “A More Adaptable Bible?“: A Critique of The Bible and Its Influence,

http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/05/bible-textbook.htm.

 

[ix] Doug Huntington, “Christians Pleasantly Surprised by Time’s Pro-Bible Article,”

Christian Post Reporter (Correction), March 30, 2007.

http://www.christianpost.com/article

/20070330/26610_Christians_Pleasantly_Surprised_by_Time%27s_Pro-Bible_Article.htm

 

[x] Bible Literacy Project, “Breakthrough public school Bible textbook

receives wide acclaim from scholars,” April 2007.

http://www.bibleliteracy.org/Site/News/bibl_newsOpEd060414.htm

 

[xi] Berit Kjos, “A More Adaptable Bible?”