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"Take
Heed" Ministries
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Cecil Andrews, PO BOX 13, Ballynahinch, BT24 8AL, Northern Ireland. Telephone/Fax 028 9756 5511. E-MAIL - takeheed@aol.com WEBSITE - http://www.takeheed.net |
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The ‘Summer Madness’ of an invite to Brian McLaren and a look inside ‘The Mind’
of Tony Campolo |
This article has turned out to be much longer and a lot
more ‘in depth’ than I thought it would be. Nevertheless I believe it is one of
urgent and great importance as it highlights the danger posed, particularly to
young professing Christians by men who, as you will read, are ‘wresting [twisting, torturing] the scriptures’ [2 Peter 3:16 to the destruction of both
themselves and others and are also ‘perverting
[transforming
into something of an opposite character; totally changing] the gospel of Christ’ [Galatians 1:7].
Just recently I was informed by a brother in Christ that
details had been posted to a website of some of the invited speakers for the
planned 2007 ‘Summer Madness’ event. On the website http://www.tatch.tv/Resources/SM%202007.jpg
it states the
following –
‘Summer Madness is celebrating its 21st anniversary next
year. Help us blow out our candles between 29th June and 7th
July 2007with special guests Bart Campolo, David Nasser and Brian McLaren’.
The brother who drew this to my attention was quite rightly
concerned about the invite that had been extended to Brian McLaren. Before I come to analyse the beliefs of Mr McLaren let me just give some background information on this now
annual ‘Summer Madness’ event. The following snippets from
a number of websites give a flavour of the history and aims of this event.
‘The first
Summer Madness camp began in July 1987 in an attempt to provide encouragement
for Christians to look seriously at their faith, and the challenge of a radical
lifestyle…having begun as a canvas camp for some 250 young people, leaders and
staff, in just 3 years the numbers attending had risen to just over 1500. (The
Festival now attracts roughly 4000 people - camping and visiting throughout the
week-end.) The camp was based initially in Castle Archdale Country Park, Co.
Fermanagh…It moved location to Gosford Forest Park in Co. Armagh in 1992 to
facilitate the early expansion and joined forces with the New Horizon Family
Bible Week to buy a 3000-seater tent in 1994…Then due to the 'Foot and Mouth'
crisis in 2001 the Festival moved to the King's Hall complex in Belfast. The Summer Madness Management recently made the
decision to continue in Belfast…Little did the Church of Ireland Youth Council
realise what God was starting back in 1987 when it initiated a small summer
camp with an outrageous name.’
‘Summer Madness, Ireland's premier outdoor Christian
Festival, celebrates its 12th year in style this year [1998]. Around 4000 young people are expected to
descend on Gosford forest park (near Armagh) between Friday 26th June and
Tuesday 30th June for what promises to be an exceptional event! As in previous
years the programme boasts an impressive diversity in music, drama, debate,
worship, workshops, and activities. Speakers this year include the
world-renowned, controversial Tony Campolo whose
infectious enthusiasm, social conscience and profound message make listening to
what he has to say a must!…The other main speaker this year is firebrand, Alf Cooper**, who has spent 15 years working with SAMS in
Chile…As ever the arts programme for the event promises to be spectacular with
the welcome return of the hugely popular Soul Food Café and the launch of
Re-Activate, a new live music venue. Acts include local and overseas, names:
Booley House, Halcyon Days, Beehive, Hydro, DBA, and Fruit’
http://www.ireland.anglican.org/archives/newsbrief/nbarchive1998/nb9805.html
** The name
Alf Cooper was new to me so herewith is a short report compiled
by Mr Cooper and his wife that can be accessed on this website
http://www.samsgb.org/recentnews.html
What a weekend!
Alf
and Hilary Cooper report on another extraordinary encounter
"We have just returned from a mission in
Chol Chol, the cradle of Anglicanism in Chile. We were invited by a Pastor
Joel and his wife, wanting to see for themselves how Anglicans can experience a
visitation of the Holy Spirit. "The Lord led
the seminar at which there were over 100 leaders, first covering the themes of
Repentance, the Cross and the Person of the Holy Spirit. Then He came! There was such a powerful
manifestation of God's presence and loving power that not a soul went
untouched. People were converted on the Saturday night evangelistic meeting,
beamed over the area by the radio. "There were such wonderful healings and
deliverances of abused youth that the entire community acknowledged the hand of
God. One woman with a huge stomach protuberance was healed before our eyes (and
filmed!), weeping as her stomach noticeably flattened out. One missionary, now
married and living there, said: "I have waited 45 years to see what I am
seeing here today!" Another stalwart, responsible member of the PCC who
had been a little suspicious of such things said: "Look at me, with my
hands in the air worshipping God! I would never have imagined it!" "Our team from the richer sector of
Las Condes [Santiago] was very challenged and enjoyed every minute of the holy
hospitality and testimony of these materially poorer, but spiritually richer
Christian brothers and sisters they met. What a weekend!"
The Belfast Telegraph of Saturday 1 July 2006 carried
several reports on this years event and herewith are a few extracts from those
reports –
‘This weekend’s Summer Madness Christian festival at the King’s Hall,
Belfast is a sell-out. More than 3500 people are camping out in the
grounds…Among the highlights are the debates such as ‘This house believes all
XXXXing swearing is wrong’ and discussions on the Da Vinci code and Intelligent
Design and Evolution…Summer Madness has become a fixture in Ireland’s Christian
youth calendar. With speakers like Mike Pilavachi**,
Phil Collins and Tre Sheppard and renowned worship leaders like Tim Hughes and
Johnny Parks, it promises to be another landmark in the long history of the
event’
‘’U105 Radio presenter Julian Martin will present his Sunrise programme
tomorrow live from 7.00am-10.00am at Summer Madness…we…try to introduce people
to the huge variety of Christian music styles now available. For every
mainstream style, there’s a Christian equivalent which many people are not
aware of’
** The name
Mike Pilavachi was also new to me so I thought I would
share just a few extracts of an interview with him that is posted on this
website –
http://www.jesus.org.uk/ja/mag_talkingto_pilavachi.shtml
Mike
Palavachi is being interviewed by Huw Lewis ‘editor of Jesus Life and member of the Apostolic Team
of the Jesus Fellowship’.
HUW: What were the
significant moments in your own spiritual journey to finding Jesus?
Mike: I became a Christian just before my 16th birthday.
I’d been a complete non-Christian up until then, but I was searching for
something and seeking alternatives, like Christian Science. Then some
Christians came out of the woodwork and explained to me the gospel and I
realised that Christianity wasn’t about rules and regulations and going to
institutions, but it was a relationship with a person. I met Jesus as a
result of that and I gave my life to Him. Soon afterwards, I heard about what
it meant to be filled with the Holy Spirit and receive the gifts of the Spirit.
I was desperate for that and kept asking on my own. Nothing happened so I went to a couple who were leading my home group, and asked them to pray for me. They didn’t know what they were doing any
more than I did! So they sat in one
corner of the room, I sat in the other, and we just sat in silence and prayed!
After an hour, suddenly the Holy Spirit came upon me. It was the most wonderful meeting with
Jesus, in such a fresh way – knowing
God was in me and God was with me!… So, I spent the next two months walking
round Harrow without any shoes on, trying to be like Jesus! I did the most
ridiculous, crazy things like that!… My home is within the Anglican church and
I want to be a loyal, committed member of this bit of the body. But I also love
the whole church, and I’m not really a denominationally-minded person. What’s
amazing is young people come to our festivals from every denomination and
non-denomination and we want to serve them all.
What
was the fruit of ‘Soul in the City’ in London during July, 2004?
We learned what can happen when God’s people come together. We had 770
partner churches, 30 per cent of which were black majority churches. A number
of large churches were involved: Holy Trinity Brompton, Kensington Temple, All Souls Langham Place and others.
Who are the
spiritual heroes that have particularly influenced you most?
Not in any order - John
Wimber, who was by no means perfect
as a person and yet in his imperfection and his weaknesses he had a boldness
and he carried something powerful. I hope I can emulate the generosity, warmth,
humility and encouragement of David Pytches, who is my
spiritual father, and bring that to others.
No doubt these few items will convey clearly to some
readers an informative impression of the theological position and worship
approach to God that appears to be for the most part adopted by Summer Madness.
I want now to address the matter of the invitation to Brian McLaren
to be a guest speaker at the planned 2007 Summer
Madness event.
My first ‘encounter’ with Brian
McLaren occurred with
the controversy that blew up with the publication of Steve Chalke’s book ‘The Lost
Message of Jesus’. When
I obtained a copy and looked at the back cover it had this endorsement on it –
‘The Jesus introduced by Steve in these pages sounds
like someone who can truly save us from our trouble’
Brian McLaren [Author of ‘The Church on the Other Side].
So, according to Brian
McLaren, Steve Chalke’s ‘Jesus’ can solve the problem of man’s ‘trouble’. What exactly is man’s ‘trouble’’, his real but often ignored or
unrecognised ‘trouble’? Well, it is summarised very
succinctly in the opening words of the well-known hymn ‘I stand amazed’ that goes on to refer to the obviously now Christian
believer as having been ‘a sinner,
condemned, unclean’.
That’s some ‘trouble’ and that is the real ‘trouble’ of every unregenerate, non-Christian. How does a just and
holy God solve this ‘trouble’ that man is in? It is beautifully
set out in the words of 2 Corinthians
5:21 where we read “For he [God] hath made him [Christ] who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might be
made the righteousness of God in him [Christ]”.
In a previous article that I wrote about Steve Chalke I included the following –
In his book ‘The Murder
of Jesus’ Pastor John MacArthur gives an explanation of what Paul wrote in 2
Corinthians 5:21 of how God “hath made Him [Christ] who knew no
sin to be sin for us”. Pastor
MacArthur wrote [p71&73] ‘When Christ hung on the cross, He was bearing
the sins of His people and He was suffering the wrath of God on their
behalf. Second Corinthians 5:21 explains the cross in a similar way “He
made him who knew no sin to be sin for us”. In other words, on the cross, God
imputed our sin to Christ and then punished Him for it (cf. 1 Peter 2:24)…The
holy Son of God who had never known even the most insignificant sin would become
sin – an object of God’s fury’ and that is ‘penal substitution’.
That is how God solved the problem of man’s ‘trouble’ and that is how “He [God] might be just [rightly punish sin] and the justifier [declare a sinner ‘not guilty’ and free from the
condemnation that his sin merits] of him
who believeth in Jesus” [Romans 3:26].
This then is the true ‘Jesus’ who
really saves believers from their ‘trouble’
and God’s solution
was by the means of ‘penal
substitution’. The
problem with Steve Chalke’s ‘Jesus’ is that according to his thinking,
on the cross his ‘Jesus’ was ‘NOT suffering the wrath of God on their [sinners’] behalf’.
Steve
Chalke wrote
[blasphemously] in his book on pages 182-183 ‘The fact is that the cross isn’t a form of cosmic child
abuse – a vengeful Father, punishing his Son, for an offence he has not
even committed’. What
a testimony to the truth of God’s Word in 1
Corinthians 1:18 “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish
foolishness”! In
reports I have [and will share extracts from later] Brian McLaren echoed the same [blasphemous] thoughts with his rejection
of ‘penal substitution’ as being ‘divine child abuse’.
Rather than again rehearse in this article all the Biblical
arguments against the heretical views of both Steve Chalke and
Brian McLaren on this soul-saving issue let me
direct readers to the following articles posted on our website –
http://www.takeheed.net/DECEMBER2004.htm
http://www.takeheed.net/MARCH2005.htm
The upshot of all of this is that Brian McLaren has unreservedly given his endorsement to Steve Chalke’s ‘false Christ’ [see
Matthew 24:11&24], a
‘Christ’ who is incapable of saving sinners from their
greatest ‘trouble’ namely the just wrath and
condemnation against sin meted out by a Holy God.
My second
‘encounter’ with Brian
McLaren occurred when yet again I came across his endorsement on the back
cover of a book. This time it was ‘Speaking my Mind’ by Tony Campolo and
this was Brian McLaren’s endorsement –
‘If you paid the full price for this book and only got
chapter 8,
you’d be getting a great bargain. The same is true for
chapters 4, 6, 9, 10, and 11. At a time when the term
“evangelical” is up for grabs, Tony’s voice needs to be
heard’
[Brian McLaren – pastor & author of ‘A New Kind of Christian’].
For those who may be wondering, I didn’t pay ‘full
price’ as it was on ‘special’ in the bookstore that I
purchased it in. That aside, as we now ‘take a
look inside the “mind” of Tony Campolo’ I want to quote some extracts from
4 of the chapters Brian McLaren drew special attention to [coupled with
my own thoughts on the extracts quoted] and leave it to you to judge whether ‘Tony’s
voice needs to be heard’ and whether he has laid for himself a
legitimate claim to the term ‘evangelical’. I
am persuaded that this book is laced with scripture contradicting thoughts and
ideas from a man who rightly said about himself in his ‘Preface’ [XI &
XII] ‘Over the years I have had to change opinions and beliefs that I
once held with dogmatic fervour. Now there are fewer and fewer things about
which I am absolutely certain…It is as a struggling Christian that I try in
these pages to make valid cases for some of the most pressing concerns of our
times’.
That self-analysis by Tony Campolo rather
flies in the face of what is written on both the front and back covers of the
book – ‘The Radical Evangelical Prophet Tackles the Tough Issues Christians
Are Afraid to Face…He offers convincing interpretations of the Bible on such
bedrock issues as ordination of women and the right response to homosexuality’ -
whatever happened to the struggling Christian’? Herewith the extracts -
Chapter 4: Is Evangelicalism Sexist?
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Tony Campolo |
Cecil’s Comments |
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We read on pages 33, 36 & 37 ‘I got into big-time trouble when I declared to the
2003 gathering of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship that those who prevented
women from being ordained to the preaching ministry were perpetrating an evil
practice…Those who defend the practice of barring women…are likely to quote 1
Timothy 2:11-12…Paul made clear that Jesus’s death on the cross abolished
the second-class religious status that women had in Judaism (Ephesians
2:13-22)… |
Tony Campolo is wrong in his assertion
here – these verses have NOTHING to do with the supposed ‘second-class status of women in
Judaism’ but have ALL
to do with the removal, because of the redeeming and reconciling work of
Christ on the cross, of any social, religious and spiritual separation or
segregation between former Jews and Gentiles who, as Christians, are now “in one body” [verse 16] |
|
Tony Campolo |
Cecil’s Comments |
|
We also read on page 37 “There is therefore neither Jew
nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female,
for ye are all one in Christ Jesus” [Galatians 3:28] |
Tony Campolo quotes this verse supposedly
to make a case for the office/role of women preachers but this verse in
Galatians has NOTHING to do with the offices or a role that may be occupied
by those mentioned, but has ALL to do with the equality of their spiritual
standing before God. God here focuses on the fact that “all in Christ Jesus” are “one” and by that he means they are all equally part of “the body of Christ” (see 1 Corinthians 12:12-14) but Paul goes on in the verses that
follow in 1
Corinthians 12 to
highlight the diverse offices/roles occupied by the differing members of that
“body”. Paul writes in verse 18 “But
now hath God set the members, every one of them, in the body, as it hath
pleased him” and
from other verses of scripture it is clear that it has “pleased” God to only have male preachers ordained.
|
Pastor John MacArthur commenting on Galatians 3:28 phrased it well in his ‘Study Bible’ – ‘This verse does not deny that
God has designed for racial, social and sexual distinctions among Christians,
but if affirms that those do not imply spiritual inequality before God. Nor is
this spiritual equality incompatible with the God-ordained roles of leadership
and submission in the church, society and at home. Jesus Christ, though fully
equal with the Father, assumed a submissive role during His Incarnation
(Philippians 2:5-8)’.
The following link will lead to a
more thorough and I believe also very helpful article on this issue and it will
refute many of the arguments that Tony Campolo puts up for his support of the
office/role of ‘women preachers’ –
http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/womenpreachers.htm
Chapter 6: Is
There A Second Chance
For Those Who Die
Without Christ?
|
Tony Campolo |
Cecil’s Comments |
|
Tony Campolo on pages 77-78 says ‘As a guest on the TV show Crossfire…with
the TV preacher, Jerry Falwell, [he] sprang a
question that caught me off guard…he asked whether or not people who did
not know Jesus as personal Saviour could go to heaven…I hesitated before
I even tries to answer…After a few seconds I feebly tried to respond by
saying something about what Paul wrote in Romans 2:14-15…I began to make the
case that God would judge people – including those who had never heard the
gospel – on the basis of the light and truth about God that had been
available to them. It didn’t wash…I was showered by emails, letters and phone
calls condemning my hesitancy and my weak answer…Most evangelicals wanted me
to state with certainty and confidence that only those who clearly understood
declarations of Jesus as Saviour in this life would escape the fires of
hell’. |
I believe that no believer should hesitate when it comes to
answering this question. I am convinced the teaching of Scripture gives a
clear answer of “No” to this question. The testimony of the Lord in John 14:6 and of Peter in Acts
4:12 is clear – Christ ALONE is the only way to The
Father [to heaven]. Some argue of course that they agree with this “narrow
way” [Matthew 7:13-14] BUT they then speculate – does
that mean that people have to actually HEAR about the gospel of Christ’s
redeeming work for sinners, as outlined in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4? They claim that Christ alone has opened the way for
people to get to heaven but they also believe that the benefits of His
redeeming work on the cross can be applied to individuals even if they never
personally hear the gospel preached to them. These heavenly benefits can
apparently be applied if people respond sufficiently to whatever ‘light
and truth about God’ they have been exposed to.
It is crucial to realise that true believers will NOT be judged on the
question of entry INTO heaven – that matter was settled in time when they
were ‘born again’ – as Peter puts it in 1
Peter 1:23 “born again, not of corruptible
seed [the soul-damning ideas/philosophies/wisdom
of men] but of incorruptible, by the word of God [the message of
God’s Word is indispensable to someone being ’born again’]”. Believers will face
a judgement to determine ‘rewards’ given to them IN heaven [see 1 Corinthians 3:12-15; 9:24-25; 2 Corinthians
5:9-10]. ALL others will be judged about the degree
of punishment they will have to endure in hell [see the Lord’s teaching in Luke
12:45-48]. Commenting on these verses Pastor John
MacArthur in his Study Bible writes ‘That there will be
varying degrees of punishment in hell is clearly taught in Matthew 10:15;
11:22, 24: Mark 6:11 and Hebrews 10:29’. In Romans chapter 2, Paul makes plain in verse 12 that those who have
been exposed to “law” [God’s Word] and are not converted, then they will be judged [for their
degree of punishment in hell] by that same “law”. He also explains that those who have never been exposed to “law” [God’s Word], whilst
they won’t be judged [for their degree of punishment in hell] by “law”, they will nevertheless
be judged by how they responded to the promptings of their conscience [see
verse 15] because
the promptings of the God-given conscience actually mirror much that is
contained in “the law” [see
verse 14]. Those
“without law” will, in
like-fashion, be condemned as guilty sinners just like the unconverted “in
the law”. This is
how Paul states it clearly in verse 12 “For as many as have sinned without law shall also
perish [in hell – no entry into heaven here! ‘Perish’ means “the loss of well-being in the case of the unsaved
hereafter’ – Vines’s Expository Dictionary page 164 under ‘Destroy!] without
law; and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged [for their degree of punishment in hell] by the
law”. |
|
Tony
Campolo |
Cecil’s Comments |
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Tony Campolo continues on pages 79-80 ‘There is another way of looking
at this matter of heaven and hell that I believe deserves our serious
consideration. It is in the preaching and writings of English theologian and
novelist, George MacDonald. MacDonald is the writer whom C S
Lewis [a virtual
Roman Catholic] as well as the great British essayist, G K Chesterton [an actual Roman Catholic] credited
with some of his best insights. MacDonald offered us the
possibility that there could be opportunities for those who reject Jesus in
this life, or never had the chance to know about Him, to repent and surrender
to His transforming love after death… some biblical passages support
what MacDonald had to say… we find in 1 Peter 3:19 and 4:6
CLEAR [emphasis
Cecil’s] references
to the claim that Jesus goes to preach to those who are imprisoned in a place
of death. These are the kinds of passages
that MacDonald said upheld his beliefs about the afterlife. |
Do the passages in
Peter make it CLEAR that Jesus, after His death [1 Peter
3:18] gave dead people a further opportunity to
believe on Him and be saved by going and preaching to their ‘imprisoned’
spirits. My studies into this yielded ‘2 other schools of thought’
from that advanced by George MacDonald and which held a strong attraction for
Tony Campolo. Matthew Henry commenting on 1 Peter 3:19-20 wrote ‘The
apostle passes from the example of Christ, to that of the old world and sets
before the Jews…the different event of those who believed and obeyed
Christ, preaching by Noah, from those that continued disobedient and
unbelieving, intimating to the Jews that they were under like sentence. They
had now an offer of mercy…but those who rejected Christ…should be as
certainly destroyed as ever the disobedient in the days of Noah were…Because
they were dead and disembodied when the apostle speaks of them [the disobedient of Noah’s days] therefore
he properly calls them spirits now in prison, not that they were in prison
when Christ [by
Noah] preached to them. They were
disobedient…and…their sin is aggravated from the patience and longsuffering
of God…while Noah was preparing the ark…as well as by his preaching’. Matthew Henry clearly does not view this as a ‘further opportunity’ for dead
people to believe to the saving of their soul. Likewise in relation to 1 Peter
4:6 Matthew Henry does not see this as being ‘second-chance’
evangelism for those already dead. Louis Berkhof in his ‘Systematic Theology’ wrote on page 341 ‘1 Peter 3:18-19…This passage is
supposed to refer to the descent into Hades [by Christ] and to
state the purpose of it. The Spirit referred to is then understood to be
the soul of Christ and the preaching must have taken place between His death
and resurrection. But the one is just as impossible as the other. The
Spirit mentioned is not the soul of Christ but the quickening Spirit…The
common Protestant interpretation of this passage is that in the Spirit,
Christ preached through Noah to the disobedient that lived before the flood, who
were spirits in prison when Peter wrote and could therefore be designated as
such. Berkhof wrote when referring to 1 Peter 4:6 ‘The “dead” to
whom the gospel was preached were evidently not yet “dead” when it was
preached unto them, since the purpose of this preaching was in part “that
they might be judged according to men in the flesh”. This could only take
place during their life on earth’. Berkhof then adds ‘In all probability the writer
refers to the same spirits in prison of which he spoke in the preceding
chapter [3]’. The second ‘school
of thought’ finds expression on page 481 of Vine’s
Expository Dictionary where under the comments on ‘Preaching’ we read this ‘1 Peter3:19 the probable reference is, not to glad
tidings, [evangelistic
‘gospel’ preaching] but to the act of Christ after His resurrection in
proclaiming His victory to fallen angelic spirits’. Pastor John MacArthur follows an almost similar line of explanation when he writes in
his Study Bible – ‘Between Christ’s death and resurrection, His living
Spirit went to the demon spirits bound in the abyss and proclaimed that, in
spite of His death, He had triumphed over them. “spirits in prison”, this
refers to fallen angels (demons)…who have been there since the time of Noah’.
Commenting on 1 Peter 4:6 John
MacArthur wrote ‘Peter had in mind
believers who had heard and accepted the gospel of Christ when they were
still alive, but who had died by the time Peter wrote this letter’. |
When you reflect on these
‘2 schools of thought’ I hope that like me you will be convinced that
the meaning of these passages is not in any way as ‘CLEAR’ as claimed by Tony
Campolo. Both of these ‘schools of thought’, although differing greatly,
have this in common – both reject any notion of the passages meaning that dead
people will be given a ‘further opportunity’ to believe on Christ.
Perhaps you’re wondering
which of the ‘2 schools of thought’ I would lean towards – well I feel
most comfortable with the explanation offered by Matthew
Henry and believe that it has much to commend it
|
Tony
Campolo |
Cecil’s Comments |
|
Also n pages 80-85 Tony Campolo wrote In Ephesians 4:9-10 we read “Now
that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower
parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far
above all heavens, that he might fill all things”. Is this not a reference to a
Jesus who refuses to give up on people even when they reject Him in this life?… When Jesus called Peter to be the
key leader of Christendom …(Matthew 16:18) Does this verse not imply that a
church that declares the salvation message will invade hell itself’ [Rome and The Mormons would really love
these last thoughts!]... I find myself drawn to
MacDonald’s theology about the destinies of the lost. That
sort of thinking appealed to me before I ever read his novels or his
sermons…I am not saying that I am convinced that MacDonald is right but I would
be less than forthright if I did not admit that his convictions make sense
to me’ |
Tony Campolo clearly
believes that the references in Ephesians 4:9-10 to “he…descended” are
references to Christ going into ‘hell’ after His death in an attempt to evangelise
and save those already there and Mr Campolo even suggests that the
evangelising mission of the church can extend to those in ‘hell’. Louis Berkhof in his ‘Systematic Theology’ wrote on page
341 concerning Ephesians 4:9 ‘The apostle argues that the ascent of
Christ presupposes a descent. Now the opposite of the ascension is the
incarnation, cf. John 3:13. Hence the majority of commentators take the
expression as referring simply to the earth. The expression may be derived
from Psalm 139:15 and refer more particularly to the incarnation’. Pastor John MacArthur in his Study Bible wrote concerning the expression “He…descended”
– ‘This refers to Christ’s incarnation when He came down from heaven, as a
man into the earth’ and concerning the expression
“the lower parts of the earth” he writes ‘These
are in contrast to the highest heavens to which He afterward ascended’. |
As a final
thought on these passages in 1st Peter and Ephesians 4
I want to quote from page 123 of my ‘Dictionary of Theological Terms’ by Rev Alan Cairns. Responding to
the suggestion that 1 Peter 3:18-20 gives ‘a second
chance’ to those who died in their sins, Mr Cairns writes ‘This idea
may be easily disposed of. The Scripture does not proclaim any other day of
grace and gospel opportunity than the one enjoyed before death. The passage
cited simply means that Christ, by His Spirit, preached through Noah to men who
were “disobedient” in Noah’s day and were condemned for their sin. Those
disobedient and condemned sinners were “spirits in prison” in Peter’s day. The
use of “sometime” clearly marks the disobedience and the preaching as
contemporaneous [happening
at the same time]. The longsuffering of God is shown in His waiting in the
days of Noah, NOT in a ‘second chance’ after death…Furthermore Ephesians 4:8-10
teaches the incarnation of Christ, His descent into the world, not into Hades.
Isaiah 44:23 uses similar terms with the evident contrast between this lower
world of earth and [the higher
world of] heaven’.
Chapter 8: Can We Help the Poor
Without Making Matters
Worse?
This is the chapter that Brian McLaren drew
special attention to in his ‘endorsement’
on the back cover of
the book. Without reproducing large quotations from it I would just summarise
it as Tony Campolo’s assessment of all that is wrong with government economic
and social policies around the world and a clarion call from him for Christians
to involve themselves in all kinds of social action to alleviate the suffering
and poverty of ALL the poor in the world [both inside the USA and beyond]. He
speaks [page 126] of ‘a biblically prescribed
mission – to be a voice for justice for the oppressed’. This ‘mission’ of
course often involves an unbiblical, ‘ecumenical,
so-called Christian, mix’, such as in the case of Habitat
for Humanity and so it
can be to the doctrinal detriment of the purity and truth of The Gospel.
Consider carefully this statement [page 131] ‘The list of all that is going on under the auspices
of churches, synagogues and mosques goes on and on’. The following item was published in
our June 1999 NEWS FROM THE FRONT newsletter and illustrates the point I have
just made –
Habitat For Humanity - Northern Ireland
I
recently received unsolicited notification concerning the work of the above
charity that described itself as ‘a Belfast-based cross-community Christian
housing charity - part of the International Habitat for Humanity organisation’.
A 4-page letter to ‘Dear friend’ outlined the purpose and goals, cited a
practical example and invited me to help in these words ‘please don’t delay
with your gift…you have it in your hands to change the future’. In this
4-page letter not one mention is made of Christ or Calvary being the foundation
upon which true hope and peace is built as we read in 1st Corinthians 3:11. Instead we read ‘supporting cross-community projects is the most
practical way you can play a part in building lasting peace in our
communities’.
Whatever happened to prayer
and preaching the gospel?
In a
1992 Fact Sheet issued in advance of a visit to Belfast by the founder, Millard
Fuller, we read ‘Habitat for Humanity International is an ecumenical
Christian housing ministry…An ecumenical board of 29 people meets 3 times a
year to determine policy and monitor operations’. The ‘ecumenical’ flavour
of this organisation is well reflected in ‘The Patrons’ of the Northern Ireland
operation. Listed amongst them are Roman Catholic Bishop Michael Dallat, former
Presbyterian Moderator John Dunlop, Retired Church of Ireland Bishop Gordon
McMullan, Presbyterian elder David Hewitt and Roman Catholic Monsignor Tom
Toner. This organisation, enthusiastically endorsed by
Paul Clark of UTV, is an embodiment of today’s popular but false social gospel
that gives pride of place to human works rather than to Christ’s work.
Tony Campolo rounds off this chapter 8 in these words
‘On that great day, when each one of us must give an account of
ourselves, we will be asked what we did to feed the hungry or to
reach out to help those who were in need or being oppressed.
Let’s make sure we have a good answer’.
I would surmise that Tony Campolo is basing this statement
in
particular upon the Lord’s parable recorded in Matthew
25:31-46
A few years ago I produced a little booklet that detailed a
series of exchanges between myself + 2 other brothers in Christ and local Roman
Catholic priest, Patrick McCafferty. I want to quote some sections from that
booklet, as I believe they address some of the same ‘social gospel’ ideas that
Tony Campolo advances in this chapter of his book.
‘Numerous newspaper
articles and ‘Take Heed’ Ministry guest book entries penned by local Roman
Catholic priest Patrick McCafferty have prompted this article… [in
particular Patrick’s teaching] that the Lord’s parable in Matthew 25:31-46
teaches that ‘Those who will be saved are those who served Jesus in
the poor and needy’ [Please keep in mind the closing words of Tony Campolo to this
chapter that I quoted earlier]… The ‘great commission’ is
to preach the ‘gospel’ of ‘Jesus Christ and Him crucified’ so that sinners
[rich or poor] may be saved from eternity in hell. The true ‘gospel’ offers
‘eternal life’ based solely on the finished work of Christ’s atonement…The ‘great
commission’ is not to feed the ‘poor’ and starving else why would the Lord
not have applauded those who suggested that the precious ointment used to
anoint Him could have been sold and the money given to the ‘poor’ [see Mark
14:3-9]. Other passages of Scripture such as Proverbs 25:21-22 [quoted
also by Paul in Romans 12:20] refer to how Christians are to treat poor ‘enemies’
and these kindly actions will also merit a “reward”…The distinction between
kindly acts to Christ’s ‘brethren’ and to the rest of humanity is seen in
Paul’s exhortation to Christians in Galatians 6:20 “As we have therefore opportunity,
let us do good unto all, especially unto them who are of the household
of faith” [i.e. those who are Christ’s ‘brethren’]. This
parable [Matthew 25:31-46] does not
support Patrick McCafferty’s teaching that ‘Those who will be saved are those who served
Jesus in the poor and needy’.
Now I am not suggesting that Tony Campolo
is, like Patrick McCafferty, making ‘social/charitable’ action
a condition for salvation, but I believe he is using the same portion of
scripture to include ‘social/charitable’ action in ‘The Great
Commission’ and in this I think he is very wrong, based on his
understanding of this particular portion of God’s Word.
‘The Great Commission’ has everything
to do with the problem of ‘sin’ and yet in the whole of
chapter 8 the word ‘sin’ never appears – I think the closest allusion to it
is in the phrase ‘destructive behaviour’ [page
133] and even that misses the mark as it only deals with the effect of
such actions on humans and not the offence that such actions cause to a Holy God.
Tony Campolo is attempting to primarily
promote ‘carnal weapons’ [finance, politics, social/charitable action
etc] to break worldwide ‘strongholds’ [see 2 Corinthians 10: 4] caused
by the sin of fallen mankind instead of advocating the real Christian spiritual
resources that can tackle these issues – resources such as the preaching of The
Gospel, righteous living by God’s people with all that that implies and
constant, impassioned prayer.
Individual Christians are commissioned to
be ‘salt’ and ‘light’ in a corrupt and dark world and of course
they must love God and their neighbour but ‘The Great Commission’ centres
uniquely on the problem of ‘sin’ and its only remedy – a remedy that
comes through the preaching of The Gospel of Jesus Christ. Once ‘the Church’
introduces ‘a biblically
prescribed mission – to be a voice for justice for the oppressed’ then I believe they have gone astray and are
preaching ‘another gospel’. In closing this section let me quote
something by Dr Loraine Boettner from pages 30/31 of his book ‘Roman
Catholicism’ under the heading of ‘The Church In Politics’ –
‘She [The Church] does not
seek to become a political power rivalling the state, nor to become a state
within a state. She must not allow herself to be used as a pressure group for
the securing of certain rights and temporal benefits for men, nor to pressure
the state for reform measures even though such reforms may be needed and
desirable from the Christian viewpoint. Christians as individuals are indeed
to work for whatever reforms may be needed but the Church is not to do so in
her corporate capacity. Such action on the part of
the Church almost invariably will detract from her primary mission of the
proclamation of The Gospel and ministering to the spiritual needs of men and
will tend to give people a wrong conception as to what her true mission really
is’.
Chapter 9: Is Islam Really
an Evil Religion?
For me personally this probably has to be the most
disturbing chapter in this book as it focuses on what is, in today’s world, a
very ‘hot potato’ and Tony Campolo, in my opinion, fails utterly to honestly
and biblically address the question posed by his chapter heading. In the course
of his search for the answer to the question he posed, he makes some very
misleading and incorrect statements, and I want to address 2 of them before
setting out my own thoughts as an answer to the question posed by this chapter.
Firstly -
|
Tony Campolo |
Cecil’s Comments |
|
On pages 138-139 Tony
Campolo wrote ‘Hosts
on a variety of talk shows on Christian radio have stirred up negative
reactions against Islam by citing a verse in the Koran in which
Mohammed called for the death of “infidels” [unbelievers/non-Muslims]. The
text they usually cite to justify such violent retaliation is this – ‘Fight
in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress limits; for
Allah loves not transgressors. And kill them whenever ye catch them, and turn
them out from where they have turned you out; for tumult and oppression are
worse than slaughter; but fight them not at the sacred Mosque, unless they
(first) fight you there; but if they fight you, kill them’ [The Koran: Sura 2
(Al –Baqarah) 190-194]. When
asked about this passage from the Koran, a Muslim scholar contended that this
passage must be read in context. Those in (a) non-Muslim tribe were staging
regular terrorist attacks on the Muslims in Medina. These verses were not
permission for terrorism. Instead they were a warning against terrorists… It
is completely unfair to judge Islam by this verse when the
overwhelming emphasis of the Koran is to treat Jews and Christians with
reverence and respect, to provide freedom for them to worship (but not to
proselytise) in accord with their faith and to protect them against harm [The
Koran: Sura 29:46]… It
is…wrong for us to take an isolated passage out of the Koran to
demonise Mohammed or to define Allah as a God who wills the annihilation of
non-Muslims’. |
Anyone reading what Tony Campolo has written would, I believe,
come to the conclusion that the passage he quoted is the only passage
in the whole of the Koran that is used by Muslims to justify the killing of
‘infidels’ including Jews and Christians. This is one of the ‘misleading’ and ‘incorrect’ statements by Tony Campolo that I referred to earlier. So
what are the TRUE facts about the verses/passages in the Koran that are used
by Mulsims to justify the killing of ‘infidels’? A very helpful web page can
be accessed on http://answering-islam.org.uk/Quran/Themes/jihad_passages.html
and there you will find details of no less than 164 Jihad verses
that are often used by Muslims to justify the killing of ‘infidels’. On this
web page they are listed in the order that they appear in the Koran but people
must understand that the Suras in the Koran are not listed chronologically
[in the order the ‘revelations’ were given to Mohammed] but the Suras in
the Koran are listed according to length [shortest first and so on].
‘Revelations’ in Islam are subject to the law of ‘abrogation’ – in other
words, if a later ‘revelation’ contradicts or cancels a previous
‘revelation’, then the latest ‘revelation’ over-rides the previous. This is
very important when comparing/contrasting the verses that enjoin a peaceful
approach to ‘infidels’ [early ‘revelations’] with the much more militant
verses [later ‘revelations’] that sanction extreme violence against
‘infidels’. Here is one short quote from this web page - ‘Abrogation is a reoccurring topic whenever verses
of the Koran are discussed. As a rule, later verses counselling Holy War,
such as the Sword Verse (Sura 9:5), abrogate earlier verses counselling
tolerance and peace, such as Sura 2:256. The Sword Verse is just one of the
164 Jihad verses listed below. It follows that not many, if any, of the
Holy War verses in this list are abrogated’. From that quote we learn that the verses cited by Tony Campolo, from Sura 2, are actually part of a Sura containing ‘earlier verses counselling tolerance and peace’. The ‘Sword Verse’ [Sura 9:5] |
