The RADEN Report                     March 21, 2001

Rome And Daughters Ecumenical News

 

A political conservative does not a theological conservative make!

Following are the words of one man whose influence permeates not only the Southern Baptist Convention, but practically the entire evangelical community. See if you can guess who he is...

"The secular media seem to take particular delight in reporting our failures - and in terms of demonstrating disunity, we have provided them with plenty of fodder.

"Take my own denomination, the Southern Baptists. Over a decade ago conservatives mounted a needed effort to restore orthodox balance to the denomination, but this quickly deteriorated into angry rhetoric and name calling. Throughout the 1980's, Southern Baptists made headlines... for the knock-down-drag-out battle for denominational power.

"Strangely, the combatants seemed to savor the publicity. I was with one friend, a conservative, when he picked up a headline and proudly pointed to a hatchet job on a liberal...."

"Doctrinal issues have been disputed in the church since the beginning, and such argument can be healthy. When we do this unlovingly, however, we unleash our own base instincts. We become more strident to mask our own insecurity, and we use doctrinal disputes as an excuse to grab power."

[I am sure there have been abuses on both sides of the isle, but if this is the way this man views the conservative restoration movement, I just don't think he's going to be getting any opportunity to advance his message or credibility in the SBC church I pastor. I have no obligation to bring the sort of "balance" of views that this man preaches. I am just not interested in being a part of a Convention that embraces a wide range of theological beliefs. Rather, I am obliged to present and uphold only a view that is faithful to God’s Word... and yes, I do admit to being rather dogmatic about the fundamental doctrines of the Faith (Titus 1:9). And if you doubt that this is the issue here, listen to this man's views as they get MUCH worse when he delves into doctrine...]

"And almost all traditions agree that the administration of the sacraments is the way the community of faith expresses its very essence, and thus is an essential task and mark of the church particular....

"Baptism... Infant versus adult. Immersion versus sprinkling. The work of grace in the act or represented by the act. What the act signifies. When it comes to the sacrament of baptism, Christians hold widely divergent views."

"The Lord's Supper.... Again, various traditions attach different meanings to the elements. But however we view them, it is important to remember the underlying reality. And whether symbolic or actual, when we receive the elements or when we go to the Communion rail, we are making a physical gesture."

[I'm not going to be giving ANY theological credibility to anyone who thinks that a person may be a Christian who understands baptism as a "work of grace in the act" (he's referring to baptismal regeneration), and who can tolerate an unbiblical view the elements of the Lord's Supper as either "symbolic or actual." These two views speak of the toleration of rank heresies.]

"But if we are to have an impact on our culture, the beginning point must be to take our stand united in Christ, making a conscious effort to come together across... confessional lines.... The unavoidable implication of Jesus' words (in John 17) is that Christian unity is the key to evangelism and cultural renewal.... Catholics and Protestants must stand side by side.... Then standing together as the people of God, we must obey the two great commissions: first to win the lost and then to build a culture."

"...Christianity [is] represented largely by evangelicalism, conservative Roman Catholicism, and the Orthodox church."

"...while there are many differences among us - Catholic, Orthodox, fifty-seven varieties of Protestantism - we all live in the same house... basically we agree on the fundamentals of the Christian faith (1).... We will never achieve unity in my lifetime, but I intend to devote my lifetime to working toward it...."

[Again, this man is promoting ecumenical compromise of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It does matter what one believes, and working together for the purpose of evangelism with those who profess a sacramental gospel is totally contradictory to God's inerrant Word.]

Regardless of whatever this man may have said or done elsewhere, he is here promoting some very liberal ideas. He may be the greatest humanitarian in the world; he may be the world’s greatest advocate for cultural reform; and he may have even been responsible for brining the Gospel to many people (2), but I could not recommend this man or any of his books unless he clearly repudiated these liberal, unbiblical statements.

And with the culturally correct/biblically incorrect mentality of many professing Christians today, is it any surprise that this man is touted as one of today's greatest "evangelical" leaders? This man is in fact an "evangelist" for the misguided cause of ecumenism.

But to me, as a Southern Baptist, one the most amazing things about this man is that his credibility is regularly promoted by the SBC’s NAMB, ERLC, and LifeWay agencies! This man is, of course, Charles Colson.

[All quotes are taken from The Body by Charles Colson 1992, pp 91-92 and 130-132; How Now Shall We Live? by Charles Colson 1999, pp 303-305 and 270; Chuck Colson Speaks 2000, p 120. Reading these quotes in context is recommended.]

(1) Interestingly, Rome and her ecumenical daughters are referred to by Mr. Colson when he says "Catholic, Orthodox, fifty-seven varieties of Protestantism... basically we agree on the fundamentals of the Christian faith." Of course, this is the lie of ecumenism that distorts the true gospel.   Back

(2) Without any doubt, one of the most popular and effective evangelists of his day was the apostle Peter. He had immense credibility. Yet, when he gave just the hint of tolerating the liberal views of the Judiazers, the apostle Paul confronted him about this "before them all" (Galatians 2). Paul did not discount the previous effective ministry of Peter; that was not the issue. Paul simply addressed Peter’s very serious error.   Back

Such is the case with our confrontation of Charles Colson, Timothy George, and others who promote ecumenical involvement. We are not these men’s enemies because we call them to walk by the biblical truth they themselves have heretofore professed.

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.

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