False Christianity

Our world’s ability to reform itself into a false Christianity takes another step with the discussion in this book:

An Unmitigated Theological Disaster — Kirby Godsey Strikes Again

“Is God a Christian? presents a trajectory and set of theological arguments that reveal what happens when biblical authority is denied and the faith once for all delivered to the saints is repudiated.”

Thursday, June 9, 2011

 

Instead, (of the Bible) he argues that Christians should “weigh scripture against the word that we have heard and seen from God in Jesus.” At this point, Godsey is left in an untenable position. What does he know of Christ apart from the Scriptures? This is a familiar predicament for liberals who deny biblical authority but claim a knowledge of Jesus. Whatever knowledge of Jesus we have apart from the Bible is just a figment of our imagination. If the Bible is not the authoritative source of divine knowledge, we are left with nothing more than our own imagination and arbitrary judgment. We can make Christianity anything we might want it to be.

In the place of the Bible, Godsey claims human reason as his authority. Thus: “No rational pathway can lead us to the conclusion that Christians alone or Muslims alone have sole access to the ultimate reality that underlies the meaning of the universe.” Based on that judgment, Godsey then argues that claims of exclusivity are immoral because such claims turn Christianity “into a self-centered, narcissistic religious system that says to the rest of the world that they must become like us if they wish to be accepted by God.”

He allows that Christians can use the language of divinity concerning Christ, but his argument is breathtaking in its rejection of orthodox Christianity: “To ordinary eyes, Jesus was not divine. Affirming the divinity of Jesus is a way of acknowledging that, for the Christian, Jesus becomes the principal port through which the divine enters our lives.”

It follows logically that Godsey then argues that “the focus of the Christian faith should not be reconstructed into the worship of Jesus.”

 

We have heard an idea like this recently in the PCUSA as it redefined focus on desiring to submit “ to the lordship of Jesus Christ”.

This may sound different on the surface but it changes the focus away from the authority of Jesus (Matt 28: 18- 19) and the glory of Jesus as God the Son (John 17:1-5) , and puts it on the more human aspect of being just a worthy lord, a good example and teacher with whom we should pay high respect and use as our model. This teaching is common also in the well accepted phrase “What would Jesus do?” WWJD. But rejects the history and factual statements of the Bible or in a sense the true -  “Who was Jesus?”

One can find any number of other resources that either deny out rightly or change, revise, evolve or rereform our faith among writers in todays world. This can be seen in “The Shack”, “Love Wins” or even the the beloved “The Message”.

One of the reasons I’m studying the Westminster Confession of Faith is that doctrine does matter. Our faith is timeless, eternal. Although God reveals only portions of his plan and purpose at a given time, He is consistent. God is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Christ was present in the OT and walked the earth both before and after his incarnation. Jesus and the early church taught the Bible. And we should do the same. Not change it. Error and rejecting God is nothing new Israel and Christian Church have always had to deal with it. But we are still called to persevere and pursue the truth. 

Reflection:

I have a sense that all of this is leading towards the goal of a new humanistic “interfaith bible”, somehow taking what man sees as the best of worldly wisdom and putting it all together as our guide to follow to become a foundation of a new “interfaith church”.  This sounds impossible to reconcile all the variant faiths and perhaps even the non-faithful, but given the right circumstances and right leader(s) it might be possible.

Besides if you truly read the Bible you may even find this idea foretold.