The Internet has become a place where anyone can express their views. It does not matter if you have a coherent argument or have any qualifications to speak on this topic. As long as you have a web page, a blog, a YouTube page, Twitter or Facebook, you can express whatever views you want. Any guy in his basement can rant on anything. This includes Christians. One of the ways in which we see this is in the area of discernment. These discernment sites believe that God is calling them to name names of those in the Christian public eye, who in their estimation has failed. They feel called by God to point this out. This goes all the way back to the '90's.
Many of the discernment ministries seem to have a worldview similar to that of the fundamentalist of the Bob Jones University. There was once a site that believed that My Little Pony, Star Trek, even the spork (fork that is also a spoon) was part of the Satanic, left wing pro-gay agenda. A hobby-horse for many Christian fundamentalists is Christin rock. Terry Watkins of "Dial-the Truth" used his site to showcase the dangers of Christian rock and other versions of the Bible, not the King James. There are several websites that identify who they believe are apostates. Their apostates usually include Joel Osteen, emergent church, word of faith, Moody, Spurgeon, MacArthur, Piper, Driscoll, Paul Washer, Billy Graham and others. Another frequent target is lordship salvation and Calvinism.
On YouTube, Andrew C. Bain has made his reputation by attacking those who believe in Calvinism and lordship salvation. He tries to expose the leading believers of this philosophy as heretics. Bain has become the poster child of these discernment ministries. He is not the only one who does this. Those who believe in salvation by grace and keeping the law also use YouTube to further their agenda. They frequently attack who they believe is the biggest false prophet of all times: the apostle Paul.
Should Christians be involved in discernment? The Bible does warn of false prophets. Jude commands us to contend for the faith. The discernment ministries I've mentioned are more focused on their own pet peeves than true Biblical discernment. Some of these ministries don't like anyone. They view anyone in the public eye as an apostate. It is true that apostasy exists and it must be challenged. These people do not seem to be fueled by love for the brethren. These people turn people off. We are commanded to speak the truth in love. Everything we do needs to be fueled by love and the truth.
How To Be A Christian Centrist Without Being A Liberal
We live in an age in American Christianity where the three basic groups are the fundamentalists, evangelicals, and liberals. Fundamentalists are heavily influenced by Bob Jones University and schools like it. They favor the King James Version to the exclusion of other versions. They favor extreme separatism and totally reject Christian rock. They tend to be dispensational and Armenian, but do believe ion eternal security. They are opposed to lordship salvation.
Evangelicals believe in the inerrancy of the Bible. They participate in ecumenical events, even with Catholics. The favor the older manuscripts as opposed to the majority texts. They are politically active. It was Evangelicals who helped elect and re-elect Reagan and Bush as president.
Liberals believe in a social gospel. They do not believe that the Bible is inerrant. They do not even believe it was meant to be. Their view on whether it is the word of God or not varies. They do not believe it is totally the word of God. The primary purpose of the Bible according to these people is to give us good moral guidelines. They tend to reject Biblical accounts of history and science. They believe that the Bible should not be taken literally.
While I lean fundamentalist, there are several things I disagree with them on. I greatly respect the KJV, and believe it is the best of the English versions. I am not King James only. I enjoy Christian rock and do not believe it's evil. I do believe however, that we must be careful with all forms of music. I do not like the Evangelicals extreme political views or their ecumenicalism. I would not even consider joining with the liberals. So what do I do?
Christians should go on issue by issue. There are however, essential beliefs that true believers have. Jesus is the only way to salvation. Other religions are false. The Bible is 100% the Word f God and is the only guide to life. Salvation is by faith alone (Ephesians 2:8-9) Homosexuality is a vile sin (Romans 1:26-27). Abortion is wrong because God created human life in His image, and taking that life is wrong. In the Bible, abortion is associated with false worship. The false god Molech demanded baby sacrifices. What do we do with other issues?
Evangelicals say there is no such thing as global warming. Liberals say it our moral imperative that we do something about it. While I do not believe that global warming is as bad as liberals say, it is crazy to pollute and not expect bad results. Why can't we reduce pollution? What about big businesses? Why does being an evangelical equate supporting big businesses? Jesus and Paul warned about greed.
We need to think for ourselves. Being a centrist means considering issues without being tied to a particular group. Sometimes you'll agree with the group you associate with and sometimes you won't. Being a centrist means not checking your brains at the door. it means not voting for Bush just because Christian leaders tell you to. It means doing a lot of research and not blindly following a Christian or political leader. We need to be Bereans. I'm asking people to think critically on all issues. Don't succumb to group think. Be a thinker, be a centrist.
Evangelicals believe in the inerrancy of the Bible. They participate in ecumenical events, even with Catholics. The favor the older manuscripts as opposed to the majority texts. They are politically active. It was Evangelicals who helped elect and re-elect Reagan and Bush as president.
Liberals believe in a social gospel. They do not believe that the Bible is inerrant. They do not even believe it was meant to be. Their view on whether it is the word of God or not varies. They do not believe it is totally the word of God. The primary purpose of the Bible according to these people is to give us good moral guidelines. They tend to reject Biblical accounts of history and science. They believe that the Bible should not be taken literally.
While I lean fundamentalist, there are several things I disagree with them on. I greatly respect the KJV, and believe it is the best of the English versions. I am not King James only. I enjoy Christian rock and do not believe it's evil. I do believe however, that we must be careful with all forms of music. I do not like the Evangelicals extreme political views or their ecumenicalism. I would not even consider joining with the liberals. So what do I do?
Christians should go on issue by issue. There are however, essential beliefs that true believers have. Jesus is the only way to salvation. Other religions are false. The Bible is 100% the Word f God and is the only guide to life. Salvation is by faith alone (Ephesians 2:8-9) Homosexuality is a vile sin (Romans 1:26-27). Abortion is wrong because God created human life in His image, and taking that life is wrong. In the Bible, abortion is associated with false worship. The false god Molech demanded baby sacrifices. What do we do with other issues?
Evangelicals say there is no such thing as global warming. Liberals say it our moral imperative that we do something about it. While I do not believe that global warming is as bad as liberals say, it is crazy to pollute and not expect bad results. Why can't we reduce pollution? What about big businesses? Why does being an evangelical equate supporting big businesses? Jesus and Paul warned about greed.
We need to think for ourselves. Being a centrist means considering issues without being tied to a particular group. Sometimes you'll agree with the group you associate with and sometimes you won't. Being a centrist means not checking your brains at the door. it means not voting for Bush just because Christian leaders tell you to. It means doing a lot of research and not blindly following a Christian or political leader. We need to be Bereans. I'm asking people to think critically on all issues. Don't succumb to group think. Be a thinker, be a centrist.
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