RethinkChurch

I just happened to scan an article in the morning paper that was concerned with the environmental movment co-opting the moderate wing of the church , I don't know much about it, but I thought I would share this excerpt from a John MacArther radio cast and see what people think. The excerpt isnot about the environmental movement but it is about seasons of difficulty in the church

2 Timothy 3

Godlessness in the Last Days

 1But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5having the appearance of godliness, but

denying its power. Avoid such people. 6For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, 7always learning and never able to

arrive at a knowledge of the truth.

Times of difficulty could be as easily translated as eras of danger or seasons of danger. The following is an excerpt from John Macarthur’s radio program on 02/02/2009 explaining these seasons of danger which the Church has been subjected to. One interesting observation of these seasons of danger is that they seem to come but never really go, but stay embedded in the church long after their newness wears off.

1^st season of danger : starting in the 4 century AD  Sacramentalism , started under emperor Constantine and was fully developed into the Roman Catholic system. Sacramentalism is salvation by automatic ritual. The church became a surrogate Christ and you connected to the church and its system, instead of having a personnel relationship with Christ. This institution became the instrument of persecution and execution of true believers

2cnd. season of danger: Rationalism, spawned in the Great Enlightenment and Industrial Age. Rationalists assaulted Scripture, denied its miracles, and denied its inspiration, and denied the deity of Christ and the Gospel of Grace in the name of Scholarship and human reason, it destroyed every seminary in Europe.

The mind of man became god for the rationalist.

3^rd season of danger was the dead Orthodoxy of the 19^th century. The lack of zeal and spirituality that was apparent in the church.

4^th season of danger was Politicism: the Church became preoccupied with political power. The social gospel was developed, Reconstruction theology and Liberation theology were born out of this era.

5^th season of danger  Ecumenism of the 1950’s : Dogma and Doctrine were set aside for the sake of unity.The call was to set aside doctrinal issues and sentimentality became the issue of the day.

A new hermeneutic was developed for interpreting scripture called the Jesus ethic: they determined Jesus was a nice guy and would never say anything mean spirited or hurtful so we will take all the judgement and retribution out of the Bible. They began to tolerate sin and disdain Doctrine. Their legacy was a lack of discernment.

6^th season of danger was Experientialism in the 1960’s: the belief that truth comes from feelings, intuition, from visions , prophecies, or revelations. You know longer look to the objective word of God but you look to some subjective intuition to determine truth

.7^th season of danger Subjectivism in the 1980;s: when psychology captured the church and people became concerned about becoming successful. We developed a man centered theology, a needs based theology, and personal comfort became the goal.