Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Prophecy Fail
Just a sidenote: Timothy LaHaye's doctorate is a Doctor of Ministry from Western Seminary and Beverly Lahaye's is an honorary degree from Liberty University.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Administrator's Note: Picking on Glenn Beck
Although no one has mentioned it to me, the preponderance of Glenn Beck on this blog may be of some inquiry. I thought it would be helpful to explain why the Fox News celebrity appears on here so often.
Glenn Beck has set himself up as a sort of teacher and historian for America. Recently, however, he has also set himself up as a theologian and even a prophet. Were Beck a nobody, even a lowly radio host, I would not see it appropriate to detail his every theological transgression. Beck is not, however, a nobody. He is listened to by thousands upon thousands of Americans, many of whom claim to be Christian. If I subscribed to the same level of alarmism and fear-mongering as Beck, I would here say something about how dangerous he is. I think it's better to expose his ridiculousness to people who would otherwise not hear him and be aware of the kind of horrible theology that is being pumped into the minds of Beck's audience, as they are everywhere.
Glenn Beck has set himself up as a sort of teacher and historian for America. Recently, however, he has also set himself up as a theologian and even a prophet. Were Beck a nobody, even a lowly radio host, I would not see it appropriate to detail his every theological transgression. Beck is not, however, a nobody. He is listened to by thousands upon thousands of Americans, many of whom claim to be Christian. If I subscribed to the same level of alarmism and fear-mongering as Beck, I would here say something about how dangerous he is. I think it's better to expose his ridiculousness to people who would otherwise not hear him and be aware of the kind of horrible theology that is being pumped into the minds of Beck's audience, as they are everywhere.
Liberation Theology Fail
The video clip is really long--and I understand not being able to stomach Beck for that long--so I'm pasting some salient points from the clip.
We are living in dangerous times and unless you understand what people are saying and why they are saying it and how they arrived there, then too many Americans are going to be fooled.
We start with James Cone. He's one of the founding fathers of liberation theology. Liberation theology is a brand of Christianity based on the liberation of the oppressed from unjust economic, political or social conditions. It centers around the idea that people are in one of two categories: the oppressor and the oppressed. Poverty, according to this theology, is caused because the poor are "victims of others."
---
This is kind of complex, because Jesus did identify with the victims. But Jesus wasn't a victim, he was a conqueror. Jesus conquered death. He chose to give his life. Jesus didn't come back from the dead and make the Jews pay for what they did. That would have been an abomination.
---
Got it? The only way you can be saved according to this theology, if you are the oppressor, is to give back what you took through reparations. Step down from that job you "took" from someone else. Give back that money you "took" from someone else.
Do you notice anything that's missing here? Well, for one thing, merit. And when it comes to salvation, how about the concept of grace? Saved by grace. You cannot earn your way into Heaven. There is no deed, no random act of kindness, no amount of money to spread around to others that earns you a trip to heaven. It's by God's grace alone that you are saved. Now, that doesn't mean you aren't supposed to do works and deeds — "faith without works is dead." Our work is a demonstration of our faith.
But right now I just want to show you how liberation theology has completely perverted Christianity and teaching something radically different. For example, Cone himself has argued that the Bible is insufficient to know what social justice is and that you need Marxism to understand what Christianity means. I think I speak for most Christians when I say, God's word is sufficient for me; you can 86 the Marx — thank, but no thanks.
-Glenn Beck, July 13, 2010: http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/42891/
(thanks to Patrick C.)
We are living in dangerous times and unless you understand what people are saying and why they are saying it and how they arrived there, then too many Americans are going to be fooled.
We start with James Cone. He's one of the founding fathers of liberation theology. Liberation theology is a brand of Christianity based on the liberation of the oppressed from unjust economic, political or social conditions. It centers around the idea that people are in one of two categories: the oppressor and the oppressed. Poverty, according to this theology, is caused because the poor are "victims of others."
---
This is kind of complex, because Jesus did identify with the victims. But Jesus wasn't a victim, he was a conqueror. Jesus conquered death. He chose to give his life. Jesus didn't come back from the dead and make the Jews pay for what they did. That would have been an abomination.
---
Got it? The only way you can be saved according to this theology, if you are the oppressor, is to give back what you took through reparations. Step down from that job you "took" from someone else. Give back that money you "took" from someone else.
Do you notice anything that's missing here? Well, for one thing, merit. And when it comes to salvation, how about the concept of grace? Saved by grace. You cannot earn your way into Heaven. There is no deed, no random act of kindness, no amount of money to spread around to others that earns you a trip to heaven. It's by God's grace alone that you are saved. Now, that doesn't mean you aren't supposed to do works and deeds — "faith without works is dead." Our work is a demonstration of our faith.
But right now I just want to show you how liberation theology has completely perverted Christianity and teaching something radically different. For example, Cone himself has argued that the Bible is insufficient to know what social justice is and that you need Marxism to understand what Christianity means. I think I speak for most Christians when I say, God's word is sufficient for me; you can 86 the Marx — thank, but no thanks.
-Glenn Beck, July 13, 2010: http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/42891/
(thanks to Patrick C.)
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
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