In this SBC Extra!

>> Remember, Satan’s time is short, he does not take a holiday, so be alert! 1Peter 5:6-11 <<
Making the right move...

Booksellers pull Weigh Down materials

Christian booksellers received a rude awakening recently when they discovered that they were promoting the best-selling publications of a woman who denies fundamental doctrine related to the deity of Jesus Christ. With questions about her doctrinal beliefs surfacing in July, Weigh Down founder Gwen Shamblin posted information on her "ministry’s" website indicating that she believes "Jesus and God are two separate beings" and that much of what Christians believe about the Trinity is "man-made Trinity teaching."

Since that time, churches around the country have discontinued using Shamblin’s materials, Thomas Nelson Publishers canceled publication of her next book, and LifeWay Christian Bookstores announced that it will no longer carry Weigh Down materials. Thomas Nelson Publishers has been clear that this action has become necessary because of "the recent controversy created by [Mrs. Shamblin’s] doctrinal position."

The world needs to see more of this sort of seriousness about biblical truth, this demonstration of responsibility by Christian leaders and institutions. RADEN joyfully applauds the decision to place doctrinal integrity above other considerations.

Another demonstration of biblical responsibility is found in the October 7 issue of WORLD Magazine. In an unusually bold editorial, Deputy Managing Editor Timothy Lamer stands up for the Truth and against the error of what he labels "Spiritual adultery, A case of infidelity in the public square."

"On Sept. 14, a joint session of the U.S. House and Senate basically bowed down to Baal," says Lamer. A Hindu priest from Ohio had been asked to serve as guest chaplain and bring the invocation.

Lamer says "...one response should be immediate: If any congressman who is a professing Christian took part in the service, the elders of his church should call him to repentance and, if he doesn’t repent, excommunicate him.... Sound too harsh? It isn’t if we take the Bible seriously."

"Evangelicals can respond in various ways. We could recognize that under the new covenant, civil government doesn’t have authority over spiritual matters, and that legislatures shouldn’t have chaplains. (For centuries some evangelicals, such as Baptists, made this argument.) We also could recognize that civil religion, by affirming unbelievers in their unbelief, hinders the spread of the gospel," says Mr. Lamer.

Also to be noted regarding this editorial format is the heading at the top of the page... "JUDGMENT CALLS." It is incredibly rare today to see such forthrightness regarding the truth. Few are brave enough to make such clear public judgments based upon biblical truth. Mr. Lamer is sure to be accused of intolerance, bigotry, and of wielding a judgmental attitude. Again, RADEN is happy to applaud this public demonstration of biblical responsibility by editor Timothy Lamer.

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Pope says some can be saved without faith in Jesus...

Related to this issue of Hindu prayers, a recent Vatican document, Dominus Iesus, says "various religious traditions contain and offer religious elements which come from God... Indeed some prayers and rituals of the other religions may assume a role of preparation of the Gospel...." Shocking? Only if you are unfamiliar with Roman Catholicism’s pursuit of ecumenical and interreligious dialogue over the past 35 years.

And if that heresy isn’t clear enough, earlier this month the Pope restated his position, saying that among the saved are "All who seek God with a sincere heart, including those who do not know Christ and his church."

FIRST THINGS, 11/2000, p 84 [Roman Catholic priest Richard Neuhaus, editor, speaking]
"I was pleased to give the commencement address at Regent University (Pat Robertson, Chancellor) this spring. Afterwards a large number of people came up, each introducing himself or herself as 'the token Catholic' at Regent. When about thirty people had done so, a faculty member who had been watching all this introduced himself, 'I'm a Catholic, and I guess I'm no longer token.' As it happens, the President of Regent is also Catholic, and I am told there is a lively Newman Center on campus. Robertson and Regent have been very supportive of the project known as 'Evangelicals and Catholics Together,' and I was impressed that this was one of many places where that project is impressively lived."

Pat Robertson is one of the original endorsers of the heretical document entitled "Evangelicals and Catholics Together; The Christian Mission in the Third Millennium." The document was authored by Richard Neuhaus and Charles Colson, and boasted some forty notable evangelical and Roman Catholic signatories. Mr. Colson now calls his ecumenical ECT consortium "the ECT Alliance" and says it "represents the most significant religious movement in America today."

The ECT Alliance is a hodgepodge of individuals who hold to various conflicting doctrinal and theological positions. Consider, for instance, another ECT endorser, Roman Catholic author and professor Peter Kreeft. One of Kreeft’s more recent books is called Ecumenical Jihad and includes a chapter entitled...

"What Christians Can Learn from Confucius, Buddha, Muhammad, and Moses." In this chapter, Kreeft says he had an out-of-body experience in which he was somehow transported to the outskirts of heaven where he received instruction in the truth by Confucius, Buddha, Muhammad, and Moses. The teaching that Kreeft suggests as valid is clearly a form of universalism (remember, WORLD Magazine’s Timothy Lamer called today’s polite universalism "an absolute enemy of the gospel").

But perhaps the most amazing thing about all this it the connecting thread of Colson and Neuhaus’ ecumenical ECT Alliance. In his book Kreeft lists the ECT as one of fifteen "Pearls on the Thread of God’s Strategy" toward uniting various religions into one "ecumenical jihad" to fight in what he describes as an all-important "Culture War." And he says that to fight in this war is to "fight the good fight." Not surprisingly, Kreeft’s book boasts public endorsements by ECT co-authors Richard Neuhaus and Charles Colson. (ECT and Commentary...)

>> First, though, let me say that the issue at hand is not a private matter. We have been reporting on this problem through RADEN and communicating with SBC leaders and LifeWay staff by various means for some time. At this point, there is a difference of opinion as to how to deal with the situation that I will report on in the following paragraphs. Please understand that I view our SBC leaders as allies in God's Work, brethren in the Lord. I simply believe that it is well past time for our leaders to correct a very significant mistake. And I truly believe that once they examine the facts, as responsible leaders they will take proper measures to deal with this situation in a godly manner. Let me explain...

We’ve already talked about Mrs. Shamblin’s theological problems, but what about Charles Colson? Mr. Colson is a master at teaching conservative political and moral truth and espousing popular evangelical terminology while stealthfully interjecting unbiblical statements. These statements reveal Mr. Colson’s veiled ecumenical agenda. Speaking of his belief that "Catholic, Orthodox, and fifty-seven varieties of Protestantism... basically agree on the fundamentals of the Christian faith," Mr. Colson pledged, "We will never achieve unity in my lifetime, but I intend to devote my lifetime to working toward it...." (Chuck Colson Speaks, p.120, available at LifeWay bookstores.)

In his recent book entitled How Now Shall We Live? Charles Colson says "Christian unity is the key to evangelism and cultural renewal." "The most hopeful words from any Christian leader today have come from John Paul II..." Evangelicals and Catholics must "stand together as the people of God...." (pp. 302-305) In Colson’s ECT-I document we read that even though Catholicism teaches "Baptism as a sacrament of regeneration," we must set aside this fact to accept that "the mission that we embrace together is the necessary consequence of the faith that we affirm together." In his ECT-II document, Colson says that evangelicals and Catholics must not allow their witness to be compromised by "needlessly divisive disputes" regarding such things as "the meaning of baptismal regeneration, the Eucharist, and sacramental grace...."

Since when did baptismal regeneration become anything other than heresy? When did it become biblical to include in "the Christian mission" those who hold to such perversion of the Gospel? Jesus Christ regenerates men without religious works... so, just what faith may we "affirm together" with those who trust in baptismal regeneration? Can anyone explain why so many continue to promote Charles Colson as a credible teacher of biblical truth? (Again, in October Mr. Colson was paid to speak to SBC pastors who gathered for NAMB’s "Legacy 2000 Conference" on Church Planting and Evangelism in the twenty-first century.)

How is it that Mr. Colson's promotion of perverted doctrine is permissible while Gwen Shamblin's is not?

Please consider... will an eternity in Hell be different for a person who believes Jesus is not God than for a person who trusts in baptismal regeneration? According to the Bible, don't either of these perversions of the Gospel make it "no gospel at all"?

One thing you might do is to write to the LifeWay trustees from your state. Every SBC pastor is mailed a SBC Annual which contains the names and addresses of agency trustees. Let us know here at RADEN if you do not have access to an Annual. If you wish, you may also express your concerns to Dr. Jimmy Draper at 127 Ninth Avenue North, Nashville, Tennessee 37234. If you copy your letter to RADEN it will help us to document your concern to other SBC leaders.

You need to be absolutely sure that you understand what you are talking about! Don’t just take our word for it; go to your LifeWay bookstore or church library and ask for a copy of Charles Colson’s How Now Shall We Live? Also, examine a copy of the companion Adult, Student, and Collegiate Edition workbooks by LifeWay. (Although Dr. Draper has promised to edit the LifeWay workbooks when present supplies run out, these materials have now gone out across the Convention by the tens of thousands. They clearly demonstrate the reality of the problem we are addressing. LifeWay can not edit the textbook included with the curriculum, which is published by Tyndale Publishers.) I will attach a file copy of a RADEN Report/Colson Quotes to help you quickly locate problem areas in these materials, but be sure to read the context of quotes.

The RADEN Report is a news and commentary service purposed to inform and educate the body of Christ regarding the dangers of ecumenism. For our purposes, ecumenism is defined as cooperative ventures of an evangelistic nature with individuals and/or groups which promote errant doctrine. Much of the New Testament was written to oppose the false doctrines of men who claimed to be Christian teachers, yet were bringing in "destructive heresies." According to Jude we are to "earnestly contend for the Faith that was once for all delivered unto the saints." This we aim to do and to encourage others in this part of God's work. If we can be of assistance to you in this way, please let us know. Additional copies (hard-copy) of RADEN are available, as well as other resources. Why not pass RADEN on to a friend? If you would like to read the ECT document, click here.  We also have the ECT put together into booklets, if you would like for us to send you one or more, request it by email.   Please include your home address and how many you would like.

Why not give a copy of RADEN to a friend?