Page 425 - Way of Life Encyclopedia of the Bible Christianity. Based on the King James Bible

NEW EVANGELICAL

and say that pagans need to be converted. When the without delving in personalities which embrace the
Southern Baptist Convention published a prayer guide error. ... Instead of attack upon error, the New-
in 2000 calling upon Baptists to pray for the conversion Evangelicals proclaim the great historic doctrines of
of Hindus, ecumenical leaders in India rose up in alarm. Christianity” (Harold Ockenga).
Ipe Joseph, general secretary of the National Council of The chief danger of New Evangelicalism is not the
Churches in India, condemned the prayer guide and error that is preached but the truth that is neglected.
said, “We should find ecumenical space for followers of The New Evangelical narrows down his message,
other faiths in salvation. ... Christians should stop focusing only on a portion of the whole counsel of God
thinking of Christianity as the religion among religions.” (Acts 20:27).
The general secretary of the Council of Baptist Churches This means that much that the New Evangelical
in North-East India, Pastor Gulkhan Pau, also preaches and writes is scriptural and spiritually
condemned the Southern Baptist prayer guide. Pau said, beneficial. The New Evangelical will say many good
“You preach your faith, but don’t play down others. ... I things about salvation, Christian living, love for the
am not going to condemn the Hindu or the Muslim for Lord, marriage, child training, sanctification, the deity
his faith.” of Christ, even the infallibility of Scripture.
For eleven years the Church of England conducted a For example, when Ravi Zacharias spoke at Robert
formal dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church (the Schuller’s Crystal Cathedral in April 2004, his message
Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission); was largely a blessing. I read an online version of it, and
the result was that the Church of England capitulated to he preached on such things as love for Jesus in the
Catholic doctrine, for “at no point was there any give in Christian walk and a godly marriage. The problem was
Roman doctrine” (Iain Murray, Evangelicalism Divided, p. not what he said but what he did not say and the context
219). The dialogue concluded in 1981 and five years in which he said it. He failed to warn about Schuller’s
later the Final Report was approved by the General gross self-esteem heresy (i.e., teaching that sin is the
Synod of the Church of England. loss of self-esteem). He failed to note that Schuller uses
“The Vatican delayed its response until 1991 and then, traditional theological terms while redefining them in a
instead of thankful consent, it required that the heretical sense. He failed to reprove and rebuke in a
Catholic teaching--especially on the Eucharist (the plain manner. He failed to separate from error. (In
Mass)--be spelt out specifically. It wanted assurance typical New Evangelical fashion, he also quoted a
that there was agreement on ‘the propitiatory nature of modernist, J.K. Chesterton, in an uncritical manner.)
the Eucharistic sacrifice’, applicable to the dead as well
as the living; and ‘certitude that Christ is present ... A New Evangelical speaker will preach against sin
substantially when “under the species of bread and and error in generalities, but not plainly. He will say
wine these earthly realities are changed into the reality that he is opposed to error and compromise, but he will
of his Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity”’. This not define this plainly. (The only exceptions are what I
confirmation was given from the Anglican side in call “politically correct” or “safe” sins and errors, such as
Clarification of Certain Aspects of the Agreed Statements homosexuality and abortion. The New Evangelical will
on Eucharist and Ministry (1994). The Anglicans speak plainly against this type of thing because to do so
assured the Vatican that the words of the Final is acceptable within Evangelical circles today. Safe sins
Statement -- already approved by Synod -- did indeed and errors are those that a preacher can warn about
conform to the sense required by the official Roman
teaching” (Murray, Evangelicalism Divided, p. 220). without offending most of his ordinary listeners.)
Eighth, dialogue ignores Titus 3:9-11 -- “But avoid When faced with a requirement of coming out plainly
foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and against error and naming the names of popular
strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and Christian leaders, though, he will refuse to take a stand
vain. A man that is an heretick after the first and second and will, more likely, attack the one who is trying to
admonition reject; knowing that he that is such is force his hand or will lash out against “extreme
subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.” fundamentalism” or some such thing.
The command of God is not to dialogue with heretics Billy Graham is the king of positivism and non-
but to reject them. judgmentalism.
3. New Evangelicalism is characterized by a love for His message has been described as “hard at the
positivism, by a repudiation of the more negative aspects center but soft at the edges.” He says his job is merely to
of biblical Christianity, by a judge-not philosophy, by a preach the gospel, that he is not called to get involved in
dislike of doctrinal controversy. doctrinal controversies.
“The strategy of the New Evangelicalism is the positive In 1966 the United Church Observer, the official paper
proclamation of the truth in distinction from all errors of the ultra liberal United Church of Canada (in 1997

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