Page 390 - Way of Life Encyclopedia of the Bible Christianity. Based on the King James Bible

METHODIST

non-Christians. An example is the Piedmont Interfaith 1982 revealed that 34% of Methodists believe
Council which includes United Methodist churches in its community service is more important than proclaiming
membership. Its 1990 “Ecumenical Celebration of the Gospel. In The Battle for the Bible, respected
Thanksgiving” featured such “faith communities” as “the evangelical leader Harold Lindsell stated, “It is not
Franciscans, the Sikhs, the Japanese Community, Bahai, unfair to allege that among denominations like
the Russian Jewish Emigres, Islam, Buddhist, the Native Episcopal, United Methodist, United Presbyterian,
Americas and the Jewish and Christian faith traditions.” United Church of Christ, the Lutheran Church in
Another example is the Salem, Massachusetts, clergy America, and the Presbyterian Church U.S. there is not a
association, which, in September 1993, welcomed a single theological seminary that takes a stand in favor of
high priest from a witch’s coven into its membership. biblical infallibility. And there is not a single seminary
United Methodist pastor Ken Steigler was happy with where there are not faculty members who disavow one
this move, and said the group should become even more or more of the major teachings of the Christian faith.”
ecumenical by inviting Mormons, Buddhists, and Modernism is not new in the UMC. It began to take
Muslims to participate. UMC ecumenism and root in the late 1800s, as Methodist pastors were
worldliness on the local level was illustrated when the indoctrinated in higher criticism in Germany and
Lafayette Park United Methodist Church in St. Louis co- returned to spread this poison. Robert Chiles has
sponsored in 1980 a cocktail party and house tour to documented this shift from historic orthodoxy to
raise funds for the restoration of a local Catholic shrine. liberalism in his book Theological Transition in American
In these ecumenical adventures, Methodism has Methodists: 1790-1935. A book entitled The Christlike
renounced its former position. The Twenty-five Articles God, published in the early 1940s by Methodist Bishop
of faith developed by John Wesley in 1784 and affirmed Francis McConnell of the New York area, denied the
by Methodists until the second half of the 20th century, deity of Jesus Christ. McConnell said, “Is not this
had these comments in regard to Romanism: “The tendency to deify Jesus more heathen than Christian?”
Romish doctrine concerning purgatory, pardon, On the west coast, Methodist Bishop Gerald Kennedy in
worshiping and adoration, as well of images, as of Los Angeles was spouting every sort of unbelief and
relics, and also invocation of saints, is a fond thing heresy prior to 1950. He denied the Inspiration of
vainly invented and grounded upon no warrant of Scripture, the Trinity, the Atonement, the Deity of
Scripture, but repugnant to the Word of God. ... Christ, the Second Coming. Kennedy said, “I believe the
Transubstantiation, or the change of the substance of testimony of the New Testament taken as a whole is
bread and wine in the Supper of our Lord ... is against the deity of Jesus.”
repugnant to the plain words of Scripture, overthroweth Apostasy among Methodist missionaries is illustrated
the nature of the ordinance, and hath given occasion to by E. Stanley Jones, missionary to India. In his book
many superstitions. ... the sacrifice of masses in the Christ and the Round Table Jones stated, “If verbal
which it is commonly said that the priest doth offer infallibility is insisted upon, then the certainty is very
Christ for the quick and the dead, to have remission of precarious” (p. 257). In his Song of Accounts Jones says,
pain or guilt, is a blasphemous fable, and dangerous “We do not believe that the New Testament is the
deceit” (Thomas Lewis, President of the General revelation of God—that would be the Word become
Conference, Handbook of the Methodist Protestant printer’s ink” (p. 37). In his book Mahatma Gandhi: An
Church, 1925). Interpretation, Jones testified that he went to India to
The UMC and Modernism. The prevailing theological convert the heathen, but in the end the heathen
climate in the UMC was stated by Bishop James Thomas conquered him and he became an idolizer of Gandhi
at the UMC Quadrennial General Conference in 1976: and a promoter of pacifism. In 1943 Jones delineated
“We do not believe ... in rigid doctrinal concepts to hold his concept of a World Church Union. By this plan there
us steady in a wavering world.” This is an would be a World Assembly of the Church of Christ and
understatement; the fact is that most UMC pastors don’t each nation would have a national expression of this
believe the Bible. Polls have shown that at least 30 world body. The World Assembly would be made up of
percent of UMC ministers do not believe Jesus Christ is delegates from the national assemblies; and,
God, and 82% say they do not believe the Bible is the “interpreting the mind of Christendom on world
perfect Word of God. As early as 1968 a widely affairs, ... would be listened to by the nations.” This
publicized scientific survey by Jeffrey Hadden which sounds more like the harlot of Revelation than the
was published by the Washington University showed apostolic church of the first century. Jones denounced
that about 60% of the Methodist clergy did not believe capitalism and praised Russian communism. In his book
in the virgin birth and at least 50% did not believe in The Choice Before Us Jones argued for the establishment
the bodily resurrection of Christ. A Gallup survey in of a “new economic order” on earth which would

390 Way of Life Encyclopedia of the Bible & Christianity