here's wishing you a holy, liberal lent!
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070224/LIVING09/702240392/1111
Tom Ehrich can always be counted on to completely butcher the teachings of the Bible, God's Holy and Perfect Word, so that they will fit within his "religion" of secular humanism. I have referenced Ehrich before. He calls himself an Episcopal priest, but a better title might be "False Teacher of a False Gospel." His latest "Gospel According to Liberals" is typical of the fiction he usually writes. Look at the first four sentences:
If I could wish you a "Holy Lent," it would have two components: personal and communal.
At the personal level, it's the time to focus on the basics: prayer, study and self-examination. That means taking time away from normal pursuits -- sleep, work, play -- and giving time to God, even if you just sit and daydream. Faith happens when we let God in.
That sets the tone for the whole column. A worthy Lenten activity would be to sit and daydream and just "let faith happen." Should I listen to a Jimmy Buffet CD while I'm daydreaming? Would listening to Jimmy's "Havana Daydreamin' " help me get closer to God? Just wondering.
That kind of leads in to Ehrich's take on prayer. He says that the point isn't to "do it right," it's just to give God an opening. Well, actually, there is a right way to pray. We are to pray with a spirit of humbleness as we enter in to communicate with the God of all creation. We are to intentionally seek God's will. Just kickin' back on the couch with a cool drink and saying, "OK God, here I am. Speak to me!" is not praying the right way!
Then, Ehrich tackles the subject of "study." Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't see anywhere in this whole column any mention of studying the Bible. Ehrich mentions several books written by really cool human authors, but at no time does he suggest reading the one, perfect book containing the perfect words of our Heavenly Father--the Bible. That's not surprising. If you have ever read any of Ehrich's work, you know that he abhors those who actually read, memorize, and quote Scripture. He calls it "shooting scripture bullets." You see, God's Holy Bible contradicts all of the liberal hoohah that Ehrich believes in, so he sees no need in reading the Bible. This is a very telling characteristic of false teachers.
Next, Ehrich talks about self-examination, which he defines as journaling. He says, "Self-examination, to me at least, has always meant journaling: writing down one's thoughts and feelings, and offering them up to God. I see no need to make it complicated; just write whatever needs writing." Well, isn't that precious? All I have to do is to just sit down with paper and pencil and, just like with a ouija board, I'll "write whatever needs writing?" And that qualifies as serious self-examination? Good grief! This guy has the intellect of a grapefruit!
Ehrich, as always, uses this groovy philosophy with such tenuous ties to real Christianity as a launching pad for an anti-conservative rant. You can read the rest of the column yourself. Ehrich believes that Christian conservatives are intolerant bigots, and that we are seeking to "take over" Christianity. He believes that true Christianity is being tolerant of any and all beliefs and personal behavior, except for those beliefs and behaviors that are actually taught as righteous in the Bible, and which are believed in by Christian conservatives. He's a mess, isn't he? But that's what happens when liberalism infects the church.
Liberalism equals secularism, and it has no place in the the Christian church. We are to follow God's commands, as communicated to us through His Holy Word. We are to continually seek, with the help of the Holy Spirit living within us, to be as much like His Son Jesus as we possibly can. We are to be ever mindful of the fact that, alone, we are morally and spiritually bankrupt and completely unworthy of being in God's presence. That's why we need to humbly and thankfully accept Jesus' saving grace, in order to become part of God's eternal family and to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
For what it's worth, may I offer an alternative to Ehrich's suggestions?
1. Pray--- Set aside "alone time" each day to talk with our Heavenly Father. Confess our sins, repent, and ask God to forgive us. Ask God to strengthen us against sin and temptation. Thank God for the wonderful gift of salvation He has freely offered us through the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus. Ask God for wisdom, so that we would be better able to discern His perfect will.
2. Read the Bible--- During that "alone time", commit to reading two chapters of the Bible each day. Start with a Psalm of penitence (Psalm 6; 32; 38; 51; 101; 130; or 143) and then read a chapter from the Book of John, for example. Pray that God would open our minds and hearts and give us wisdom so that we could understand what He wants us to learn from these verses.
3. Follow God's commands--- Love God with our entire being, and love and serve others as much as we love and serve ourselves. Seek to fulfill those two commands every waking moment of every day.
Oh, and one final suggestion. Beware of false teachers. They are everywhere, and they are extremely dangerous to our eternal health.
Tom Ehrich can always be counted on to completely butcher the teachings of the Bible, God's Holy and Perfect Word, so that they will fit within his "religion" of secular humanism. I have referenced Ehrich before. He calls himself an Episcopal priest, but a better title might be "False Teacher of a False Gospel." His latest "Gospel According to Liberals" is typical of the fiction he usually writes. Look at the first four sentences:
If I could wish you a "Holy Lent," it would have two components: personal and communal.
At the personal level, it's the time to focus on the basics: prayer, study and self-examination. That means taking time away from normal pursuits -- sleep, work, play -- and giving time to God, even if you just sit and daydream. Faith happens when we let God in.
That sets the tone for the whole column. A worthy Lenten activity would be to sit and daydream and just "let faith happen." Should I listen to a Jimmy Buffet CD while I'm daydreaming? Would listening to Jimmy's "Havana Daydreamin' " help me get closer to God? Just wondering.
That kind of leads in to Ehrich's take on prayer. He says that the point isn't to "do it right," it's just to give God an opening. Well, actually, there is a right way to pray. We are to pray with a spirit of humbleness as we enter in to communicate with the God of all creation. We are to intentionally seek God's will. Just kickin' back on the couch with a cool drink and saying, "OK God, here I am. Speak to me!" is not praying the right way!
Then, Ehrich tackles the subject of "study." Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't see anywhere in this whole column any mention of studying the Bible. Ehrich mentions several books written by really cool human authors, but at no time does he suggest reading the one, perfect book containing the perfect words of our Heavenly Father--the Bible. That's not surprising. If you have ever read any of Ehrich's work, you know that he abhors those who actually read, memorize, and quote Scripture. He calls it "shooting scripture bullets." You see, God's Holy Bible contradicts all of the liberal hoohah that Ehrich believes in, so he sees no need in reading the Bible. This is a very telling characteristic of false teachers.
Next, Ehrich talks about self-examination, which he defines as journaling. He says, "Self-examination, to me at least, has always meant journaling: writing down one's thoughts and feelings, and offering them up to God. I see no need to make it complicated; just write whatever needs writing." Well, isn't that precious? All I have to do is to just sit down with paper and pencil and, just like with a ouija board, I'll "write whatever needs writing?" And that qualifies as serious self-examination? Good grief! This guy has the intellect of a grapefruit!
Ehrich, as always, uses this groovy philosophy with such tenuous ties to real Christianity as a launching pad for an anti-conservative rant. You can read the rest of the column yourself. Ehrich believes that Christian conservatives are intolerant bigots, and that we are seeking to "take over" Christianity. He believes that true Christianity is being tolerant of any and all beliefs and personal behavior, except for those beliefs and behaviors that are actually taught as righteous in the Bible, and which are believed in by Christian conservatives. He's a mess, isn't he? But that's what happens when liberalism infects the church.
Liberalism equals secularism, and it has no place in the the Christian church. We are to follow God's commands, as communicated to us through His Holy Word. We are to continually seek, with the help of the Holy Spirit living within us, to be as much like His Son Jesus as we possibly can. We are to be ever mindful of the fact that, alone, we are morally and spiritually bankrupt and completely unworthy of being in God's presence. That's why we need to humbly and thankfully accept Jesus' saving grace, in order to become part of God's eternal family and to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
For what it's worth, may I offer an alternative to Ehrich's suggestions?
1. Pray--- Set aside "alone time" each day to talk with our Heavenly Father. Confess our sins, repent, and ask God to forgive us. Ask God to strengthen us against sin and temptation. Thank God for the wonderful gift of salvation He has freely offered us through the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus. Ask God for wisdom, so that we would be better able to discern His perfect will.
2. Read the Bible--- During that "alone time", commit to reading two chapters of the Bible each day. Start with a Psalm of penitence (Psalm 6; 32; 38; 51; 101; 130; or 143) and then read a chapter from the Book of John, for example. Pray that God would open our minds and hearts and give us wisdom so that we could understand what He wants us to learn from these verses.
3. Follow God's commands--- Love God with our entire being, and love and serve others as much as we love and serve ourselves. Seek to fulfill those two commands every waking moment of every day.
Oh, and one final suggestion. Beware of false teachers. They are everywhere, and they are extremely dangerous to our eternal health.
posted by hondo at 10:36 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home