PSYCHOHERESY: THE PSYCHOLOGICAL SEDUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY BY MARTIN & DEIDRE BOBGAN

Martin and Deidre Bobgan of Psychoheresy Awareness Ministries http://pamweb.org/, and/or http://psychoheresy-aware.org/, have been involved with exposing psychoheresy infiltrating the Christian churches for many years. Their latest updated book is described below.

Revised & Expanded

PsychoHeresy: The Psychological Seduction of Christianity

Twenty-five years ago, after being rejected for publication by three publishers of our former books, as well as by other publishers, we published our PsychoHeresy manuscript. We chose the subtitle The Psychological Seduction of Christianity because even then we could see the leading edge of a psychological tsunami that during the past twenty-five years has almost entirely engulfed the church. After these twenty-five years of PsychoHeresy, an enigma exists over the fact that on the one hand the current research more strongly supports our original conclusions and concerns, but on the other hand psychoheresy is more deeply and broadly imbedded throughout the church. Almost everywhere one turns in the church one sees psychology. The psychologizing of Christianity has reached epidemic proportions. We see it throughout the church, from psychologized sermons to psychologized persons. However, as we have repeatedly demonstrated, the psychologizing of the church is neither biblically nor scientifically justifiable. Beneath all the biblical reasons why Christians should not pursue psychotherapy and its underlying psychologies is this one fact: The use of psychotherapy and its underlying psychologies denies the sufficiency of Scripture for the issues of life normally taken to a psychotherapist. PsychoHeresy demonstrates the fact that psychological explanations about life and psychological solutions to life’s problems are questionable at best, detrimental at worst, and spiritual counterfeits at least. Just as with all of our other books still in-print, this revised and expanded edition of PsychoHeresy will be available on our web site as a free pdf ebook to be read on line or downloaded and printed. The online edition is the same word for word as the printed edition and is thus available world-wide. Our web site has over one thousand visitors a day and is visited by individuals in over 110 different countries throughout the world each month. We ask for the prayers and financial support of those of you who are like-minded to get this message out to all believers who value the sufficiency of Scripture for the issues of life normally taken to a psychotherapist. (PsychoHeresy Awareness Letter, July-August 2012, Vol. 20, No. 4)

Article Topics | Titles | Top

PsychoHeresy Awareness Ministries 4137 Primavera Road Santa Barbara, CA 93110 www.pamweb.org ______________________________________________________________________ The Bobgans have many resources including books, articles, etc. An example would be the following: Syncretism & PsychoHeresyby Martin and Deidre Bobgan All religions involve caring for souls. Shamans or medicine men, for instance, were considered to be healers of the body and the soul (the physical and nonphysical) and much of their preparation involved secret knowledge and occult practices. The study and treatment of the soul is a religious activity because it deals with the unseen realm of the inner man and includes morals and taboos. As various people groups intermingled through the ages they often incorporated one another’s cultural and religious beliefs and practices. This syncretism is an ancient as well as modern practice. Syncretism can easily occur when there are similarities between two systems of belief and practice. Particularly in the matter of soul care one can see similarities between cultures and religions. Because God created mankind with a conscience and a moral recognition of right and wrong, there are definite similarities among some of the beliefs and practices of numerous religions. In addition to the God-given conscience, all people groups have the same ancestors from which oral and written tradition would have originated. Nevertheless, because of sin and human error, the information and teachings God gave to Noah would have been corrupted while being passed down through the generations of nations not following God. Even the account of the flood varies throughout different people groups. If one were to read various religious and philosophical admonitions for how to live righteously and peacefully, one would find many similarities. There was no doubt a great deal of borrowing between cultures. However, God provided His Word and wisdom and He forbade the Israelites from assimilating beliefs and practices from the nations around them. The only source of uncontaminated truth about the soul (mind, will, emotions) is the very Word of God. Thus, even when there are seeming similarities between the Bible and wisdom literature from other cultures, one can know that what God gave in Scripture is the pure truth. Moreover, God has consistently forbidden His people from incorporating foreign religious and philosophical ideas and practices having to do with worship and with the unseen realm of the soul and spirit. Long History of Syncretism Thus, from the very beginning, God opposed syncretism among His chosen people, Israel. They were to worship and follow Him alone and not add anything from the faith systems surrounding them. It is very clear that once Israel began dipping into the ways of the surrounding cultures, they assimilated more and more idol worship, as well as human wisdom and occult practices. The fallen human nature is prone to look for pragmatic solutions apart from God, especially when God does not act immediately according to their needs and desires. The Old Testament is filled with Israel’s syncretism, including the golden calf at the base of Mount Sinai and the priests bringing pagan idols into the very temple of God (Ezekiel 8). Rather than trusting God alone, they turned to the pagan world with its idols and idle promises. Paul warned the early believers in Colosse of the dangers of syncretism when he said: "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ" (Col. 2:8). Syncretism could only distract and subtract from their Christian walk. God had given them new life in Christ. But, rather than becoming established in the faith, the Colossians were contaminating their faith in Christ by adding religious and philosophical elements from the world around them. Syncretism is defined as "the combination of different forms of belief or practice," and that is exactly what they were doing. Syncretism is one of Satan’s most deceptive and appealing techniques devised to destroy the true faith and undermine the Christian’s faith in and dependence on Christ. Syncretism can happen in different ways. One way is accommodating customs and religious beliefs and practices by renaming and redefining them, such as cultures turning native deities into Catholic saints.1 Another way is using facets of philosophical systems that seem compatible with Christianity, such as assimilating aspects of Greek Stoicism having to do with morality and consolation. Our concern is with the syncretism of psychotherapy and its underlying psychologies with Christianity. As we have demonstrated in our writings, psychotherapy and its underlying psychologies are actually religious in nature and practice.3 Robert C. Fuller, in his book Americans and the Unconscious, states this very clearly: Insofar as psychological theories purport to interpret reality and orient individuals within it, they inevitably assume many of the cultural functions traditionally associated with religion. And to the extent that psychological concepts are used to guide individuals toward life’s intrinsic values and ultimate mysteries, their religious character becomes prominent.4 We call this syncretism psychoheresy, which is taking psychological ideas, theories, and practices and mingling them with Christianity. The euphemism for this kind of syncretism is "integration," which occurs when two or more ideas or systems are able to be combined. However, those who take the psychological counseling theories and attempt to combine them with Scripture cannot truly integrate them. They are as different as oil and water! One works with the old man of the flesh (carnal); the other works with the new man in Christ (spiritual). They are at enmity with each other, just as the flesh and the Spirit are contrary to each other (Gal. 5:17) and just as the carnal man is at enmity with God (Rom. 8:7). They cannot mix because they are enemies, just as the idols of the nations around Israel were at enmity with God. Thus these so-called Christian psychologists and other mental health professionals are not practicing and promoting ordinary integration, but rather religious syncretism. They are overlaying their psychology with the Bible, which ultimately serves to disguise the psychological religious systems they are using. As we have shown through the years, this psycho-syncretism subverts and subtracts from the faith. Psychoheresy began years ago as pastors sought to use the latest information about the mind gleaned from men in the world of science and medicine. Pastors who struggled to help their people thought that the more they could learn about the mind, the better prepared they would be to minister to those in need. They thought that the information about psychological counseling theories that they were learning and using was safe because they believed these ideas came from the world of nature and medicine rather than from another religion. Did any realize that research into the unconscious involved occult practices, putting clairvoyants into trances, and then creating elaborate scientific-sounding theories out of what was spoken by those in the trance state?5 Some suspected the origins; others eagerly embraced what the world offered, often in place of the Bible. Syncretism and Mesmerism Franz Anton Mesmer, an eighteenth-century Austrian medical doctor, theorized that all physical and mental problems were the result of an imbalance of a universal, invisible fluid permeating all of life, which he called "animal magnetism." At first Mesmer had patients swallow tiny bits of iron so that as he moved magnets around their bodies he could attempt to balance this invisible fluid. Later he believed that he could transmit his own personal animal magnetism to the patient as he established a certain kind of rapport. Under his influence and treatment many fell into a trance and some appeared to achieve some element of healing. Mesmer’s followers brought his techniques to England and it became quite the rage, especially between 1830 and the early 1850s. Christian clergy were extremely curious about its possibilities and implications regarding the care of souls. In her book Mesmerized: Powers of Mind in Victorian Britain, Alison Winter says: Mesmerism … held out the tantalizing possibility of teasing apart proper and improper, spiritual and satanic, legitimate and false, forms of influence of the sinful, sick, and suffering. One reason was mesmerism’s similarity to forms of possession and divine inspiration.7 Winter says, "Many clergy became involved in mesmerism." That is syncretism. There was great controversy over mesmerism during the mid-nineteenth century in England in both the scientific community and in the church. The clergy could not agree among themselves if mesmerism was the work of the devil or a useful discovery from the natural world and therefore a gift from God. Some clergy used mesmerism in their pastoral care and became masterful in utilizing the techniques. Winter says, "Clerical mesmerists … lulled patients to sleep with mesmeric anesthesia; they claimed to have cured nervous diseases, insanity, and internal disorders."8 A pastor by the name of William Scoresby believed that "mesmerism revealed the underlying character of divine influence: of the magnet over iron filings, or the earth’s poles over the needle of the compass, of the preacher over his flock, or the social reformer over the community."9 He believed that proper use of what he called "zoistic magnetism" (animal magnetism) could be used to transform society, since he believed that "God designated a mysterious ethereal fluid or fluids … that enforce his will on earth." He further contended that this fluid is conducted among people in varying degrees so that some were stronger and others weaker in being conductors of God’s will.10 While there was much debate as to the source of this seeming power, the nineteenth-century clergy continued to use it until the fad ran its course. But, why even write about pastors using mesmerism, which had no real scientific basis and was found to be on the same plane as séances and occult "table turning," which were also popular in Britain during the nineteenth century? We do so because mesmerism was a precursor to psychotherapy, which is on the same pseudoscientific plane as mesmerism. The syncretism of mesmerism and Christian soul care gives us a glimpse into the horror of syncretism and should serve as a warning to pastors who look outside Scripture for methods to minister to souls. Talk therapy (psychoanalysis, psychotherapy, psychological counseling) evolved out of mesmerism, first through hypnosis and later through conversation.11 In his book The Discovery of the Unconscious, Henri Ellenberger describes the general sequence of events that preceded the modern psychological counseling craze: Historically, modern dynamic psychotherapy derives from primitive medicine, and an uninterrupted continuity can be demonstrated between exorcism and magnetism, magnetism and hypnotism, and hypnotism and the modern dynamic schools.12 As mesmerism came to America, it evolved into three forms: hypnotism, positive thinking, and psychotherapy. In fact Fuller says, "Mesmerists became the first Americans directly to study the psychodynamic nature of interpersonal relationships."13 One can also see how the positive thinking extension of mesmerism affected the church through Norman Vincent Peale and Robert Schuller. These men and their followers have been strong supporters of psychological counseling therapies and theories that include the idea that people have suffered some sort of deprivation which is what causes them to act as they do. As Fuller puts it, sin came to be "understood as a function of ignorance or lack of self-discipline or as the result of faulty social institutions. Man’s ‘lower nature’ was, therefore, considered to be potentially correctable through humanly initiated reforms."14 If pastors further believed that spiritual change could be wrought through human effort and human methods, they were ready to embrace human means and methods in their soul care and to seek to know more about the secular study of the soul called "psychology." The natural next step was to syncretize twentieth-century psychotherapy with Christianity and to continue to expand this syncretism into the twenty-first century. Faith in God & His Word or Syncretism? The syncretism of psychology and Christianity appeals to those Christians who believe that what is being discovered about the mind, the will, and the emotions is science, that it is part of God’s creation yet to be discovered in the same way as discoveries are made in physics, chemistry, and biology. Since psychology presents itself as a science and psychotherapeutic ideas are organized into theories, many pastors mistakenly believe that there is no syncretism of religion when adding the models and methods of counseling psychology. This faith in science and belief in a "scientific psychology" goes quite far back. Fuller says: Underlying the ability of late nineteenth-century Americans to embrace scientific psychology as a source of spiritual edification was a long tradition of seeing nature as fraught with theological significance. Throughout the first half of the nineteenth century, American Protestants were increasingly fascinated by scientific method.15 In addition, there are subtleties and similarities between certain ideas from psychology and Christianity that increase the vulnerability for one to begin thinking and ministering psychologically rather than biblically. That is why Christians need to be spending time in the Word and in prayer rather than in looking for answers to life’s dilemmas outside Scripture. Psychotherapy and its underlying psychologies are not science.16 They are human speculations about the soul with a pseudo-scientific façade. Those who are Christians attempt to accommodate the faith, but this syncretism will activate the flesh rather than minister to the spirit, because what is added comes from the world rather than the Word. There has been so much searching outside Scripture to find ways to minister to suffering saints that a whole cadre of psychologically trained or at least psychologically tainted professionals and lay counselors are prepared to minister the ways of men and the wisdom of men along with Scriptures that seem to support their practice. Others who are also guilty of syncretism are: (1) Those Christian schools and seminaries that positively promote the use of counseling psychology and/or prepare individuals to become licensed to practice psychotherapy, especially those Christian schools that have programs accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA), such as Baylor University, Biola University, Fuller Theological Seminary, George Fox University, Regent University, and Wheaton College; (2) Those pastors or others who promote and affirm those psychological ideas and/or refer congregants out to psychotherapists; (3) Those authors and organizations that promote a psychological understanding of man; (4) Those professing Christians who are deeply committed to this syncretism, which comes from not believing that Scripture is sufficient for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). Thus many have formed a new faith, which is not "the faith which was once delivered unto the saints" (Jude 3). Instead of following the ways of the world, Christians need to search the Word to find out how God changes individuals from the inside out without one human being probing into another person’s inner man, which only God can know. God does the primary work of change and has clearly set forth what believers are to do for one another: preach, pray, admonish, instruct, help, and encourage one another to seek the Lord daily through praying; worshiping; giving thanks; reading, studying, memorizing, and meditating on Scripture; thinking biblically; walking by faith; loving, serving, and obeying God; and loving and serving one another. This care of souls is to be practiced mutually in the body of Christ so that all may grow and flourish in the "faith which was once delivered unto the saints" (Jude 3). There is no system or program. Instead, it is the very life of Christ in every believer bearing fruit and bringing each to maturity through the Word of God, the work of the Holy Spirit, and the fellowship of the saints. As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power (Col. 2:6-10). (Endnotes) 1 Omar Rodriguez, "Afrocuban Religion and Syncretism with the Catholic Religion," http://scholar.library.miami.edu/emancipation/religion1.htm. 2 John T. McNeill. A History of The Cure of Souls. New York; Harper & Row, Publishers, 1951, pp. 45-46. 3 Martin and Deidre Bobgan. PsychoHeresy. Santa Barbara, CA: EastGate Publishers, 1987, pp. 11-25. 4 Robert C. Fuller. Americans and the Unconscious. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986, p. 6. 5 Henri F. Ellenberger. The Discovery of the Unconscious: The History and Evolution of Dynamic Psychiatry. New York: Basic Books (Harper Collins Publishers), 1970, p. 85. 6 McNeill. op. cit., p. 45. 7 Allison Winter. Mesmerized: Powers of Mind in Victorian Britain, p. 246. 8 Ibid., p. 252. 9 Ibid., p. 255. 10 Ibid., pp. 256-257. 11 Ellenberger, op. cit., pp152-153. 12 Ibid., p. 48. 13 Robert C. Fuller, op. cit., p.37. 14 Ibid., p. 42. 15 Ibid., p. 21-22. 16 Bobgan, op.cit., pp. 27-41. (PsychoHeresy Awareness Letter, January-February 2011, Vol. 19, No. 1) Article Topics | Titles / Titles | Top PsychoHeresy Awareness Ministries 4137 Primavera Road Santa Barbara, CA 93110 www.pamweb.org

YOUTUBE'S OWN "PROUD TO LOVE" LGBTQ VIDEO PROMO

QUOTE FROM YOUTUBE:

"At YouTube, we believe that everyone has the right to love and be loved. We strive to make YouTube a place where all communities can feel proud to express themselves and connect through video. That's why we're proud to stand with the LGBT community and support equal rights and marriage equality for all."

LILA ROSE OF LIVE ACTION REPORTS ON TEXAS SENATOR WENDY DAVIS 10-12 HOUR FILIBUSTER AGAINST ABORTION BILL WITH AID OF DISRUPTIVE PRO ABORTION MOB

Democrats Defeat Texas Abortion Law 

which would have stopped abortions after 20 weeks:

From Lila Rose: On Tuesday, a pro-abortion mob flooded the Texas Capitol to ensure that Planned Parenthood can continue to literally tear babies to pieces in the womb, or to kill them with a lethal injection in their heads and hearts. Don't doubt for a second that the baby feels all of this – or that Planned Parenthood kills these children for tremendous profit. After a ten-hour (some say 12-13 hour) filibuster by State Senator Wendy Davis, elected officials in Texas tried to vote on a bill to protect pain-capable infants in the womb – but the screaming mob, encouraged by Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards, drowned out the vote until midnight, when the legislative session had to close. Remember: State Senator Davis was fighting legislation that would save 20-week-old babies and older from excruciating death by dismemberment and poison. That is what is being praised by pro-abortion leaders and media outlets across the country. Live Action has firsthand knowledge of Planned Parenthood's long and gruesome record in Texas. We have investigative footage from Texas exposing Planned Parenthood's eagerness to facilitate late-term sex-selective abortions – specifically because the baby is a girl! Watch our shocking video from Austin and see how Planned Parenthood will do anything for abortion money – even target late-term baby girls, old enough to survive outside the womb. Sex-Selection in America: Part 1 - Undercover in Texas: This is the same Planned Parenthood that is against any and all regulations on abortion, including protections against babies born from a failed abortion. Planned Parenthood's vision for America means abortion on demand, for whoever wants it, and funded by you.  Texas Governor Rick Perry decided not to allow a mob to threaten the lives of children endangered by late-term abortions. He has called a new special legislative session so that Texas's representatives can do the work their constituents hired them to do. Pro-abortion bullies want abortionists to be allowed to rip apart pain-capable children in the womb, or kill them with poison injections through their heads or hearts. They will do anything to maintain this gruesome status quo. But these are unique human beings, and no amount of yelling and screaming can ever be enough to deny them the right to live. Screaming for the "right" to dismember babies twenty weeks and older in utero. For the "right" to poison them to death. Sen. Davis? Planned Parenthood? You have no shame. You have no compassion. Americans oppose late-term abortion by huge margins. In a state already reeling from the news of abortionist Douglas Karpen's Gosnell-like "House of Horrors" in Houston, it's essential that the people's will be carried out, and that we defend our children. As Live Action has documented, there are horrors going on even in Texas's capital, where the special session on safeguarding Texas's children will take place. I thank Governor Perry for combating human rights abuses in his state. Texas is not a state where the most basic and fundamental human right – the right to life – can be shouted down. America is not that kind of nation. Let's pray that Texas stands strong to protect these children from the violence of abortion! Yours in the fight for life,

Lila Rose President Live Action ______________________________________________________________ Governor Rick Perry of Texas condemns "mob rule" & filibuster: CHAOS on Senate floor during abortion vote in Texas: And here: Perry vows to fight for abortion bill: Gov. Perry calls another special session:

PENTAGON CELEBRATES GAY TROOPS

From the Washington Times: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jun/25/pentagon-celebrates-gay-troops/, and 
http://www.washingtontimes.com/multimedia/image/t-2jpg/,
which reports that: 
"The Pentagon on Tuesday toasted gays in the military, with a top adviser to President Obama declaring the country is “safer” now that they may serve openly in the ranks."

Army Brig. Gen. Tammy Smith (right) became the military's first openly gay flag officer when she was promoted to her current rank in an Aug. 10, 2012, ceremony. She received her new decorations from her wife, Tracey Hepner (left). (Servicemembers Defense Legal Network)

PETER LABARBERA OF "AFTAH" SLAMS "CRAVEN" JUSTICE KENNEDY OF THE SUPREME COURT FOR STRIKING DOWN "DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE ACT"

From Peter LaBarbera: 
June 27th, 2013

Contact: Peter LaBarbera: 312-324-3787; americansfortruth@gmail.com

The following statement was issued June 27 by Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans For Truth About Homosexuality:

Yesterday’s decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court striking down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and effectively invalidating Californians’ vote to preserve marriage as between a man and a woman — continues America’s godless trajectory toward sexual and gender chaos.  We have become a Profane Nation at war with our own heritage and the Judeo-Christian moral values that helped make us great.

Healthy societies discriminate against sexually immoral behavior: homosexuality, sex outside marriage, pornography, incest, etc. This benefits children and adults by using the law to reinforce stable moral boundaries and steer citizens away from destructive (sinful) behaviors. So it was stunning to read the majority decision by Justice Anthony Kennedy – a Reagan appointee – overturning DOMA’s pro-natural-marriage provision in the name of the children.

Kennedy surely has earned his future laudatory obit in the New York Times for capitulating to “gay” activist ideology — but among clear-thinking Americans who still know right from wrong he will go down in history as one more craven elitist who sold out Almighty God for a place in the Gay Hall of Fame.

Jettisoning the dictates of his own Catholic religion – which has some pretty strong words for putting children in homosexual-led households – Kennedy declares that by not recognizing legalized homosexual “marriages” in New York and other states, DOMA:

…“places same-sex couples in an unstable position of being in a second-tier marriage. The differentiation demeans the couple, whose moral and sexual choices the Constitution protects….And it humiliates tens of thousands of children now being raised by same-sex couples.”

What philosophical drivel. Only a decadent society — in which God and common sense have been kicked to the curb – would use its laws to enforce the egalitarian nightmare whereby government treats households that are fatherless or motherless ‘by design’ as if they are morally and practically equivalent to normal mom-and-dad homes. (And if you dare to disagree, you’re a hateful bigot.)

Homosexual practice is a perversion and homosexual role models are NOT healthy for kids. Neither is replacing dad with a “second mom,” or mommy with Daddy Number Two.

The Kennedy majority’s legal insanity is what emerges from an Isaiah 5:20 culture (evil is good and good evil) that puts deviant sexual identities on a pedestal, to be celebrated as protected “civil rights.” The LGBT Pandora’s Box has been flung open, and there will be much more folly and destruction to follow — including the public policy madness of establishing “gender identity” (read: extreme gender confusion) as a parallel “civil right.”

At least the Supreme Court did not create a national “right” to homosexual “marriage.” But we must be vigilant, as future LGBT litigation, coupled with the appalling self-righteousness of Kennedy’s liberal court majority, will combine to make this the next goal of the judicial supremacists.
______________________________________________________________
And from the National Journal's article:http://www.nationaljournal.com/domesticpolicy/scalia-high-handed-kennedy-has-declared-us-enemies-of-the-human-race-20130626?print=true, titled:

(Supreme Court Justice) Scalia: 'High-Handed' Kennedy Has Declared Us 'Enemies of the Human Race'

PETER LABARBERA OF AMERICANS FOR TRUTH ABOUT HOMOSEXUALITY ON THE COLLAPSE OF EXODUS INTERNATIONAL

See Rob Gagnon article referred to by Peter LaBarbera here: http://robgagnon.net/ExodusCollisionCourseWithJesus.htm, with full text below:
Exodus on a Collision Course with Jesus

Robert A. J. Gagnon, Ph.D.

Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, 616 N. Highland Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15206

gagnon@pts.edu

May 20, 2013

 Exodus Leadership now contradicts the Lord's Prayer, refuses to take a stand on "gay marriage," and severs ties with Evangelicalism. What's next?

The Exodus leadership of Clark Whitten, Alan Chambers, and Randy Thomas are teaching believers to violate our Lord’s own instructions about how we are to pray. Jesus teaches us that when we pray to God, we should say words to the effect: “Forgive us our debts as [i.e., to the extent that] we ourselves also have forgiven our debtors.”

Yet Rev. Whitten writes, and Mr. Chambers and Mr. Thomas concur, “There is no biblical basis for believers to confess sins to God for forgiveness. To each other for healing, yes; but not to God for forgiveness. How much time will that free up!” (Pure Grace, p. 20). Mr. Thomas, the no. 3 person at Exodus, adds that believers who continue to pray to God “Forgive us our sins” engage in “a self-righteous ritual” and “deny the righteousness of Christ that is already present” (http://exodusinternational.org/2013/05/concerning-sin-confession/).

Who are you going to believe? The Exodus leadership or Jesus?

This statement is just one of what I term “The Seven Pillars of Rev. Whitten’s Wisdom.” Rev. Whitten is the chair of the Exodus Board and Alan Chambers’ and Randy Thomas’s pastor, whom Alan and Randy follow down the doctrinal line. Indeed, Alan Chambers, the President of Exodus, has stated: “To say that I recommend [Clark Whitten’s book Pure Grace] is the understatement of the century.” With Whitten’s book, “God has unveiled something that has been veiled for hundreds and hundreds of years.”

Rev. Whitten doesn’t identify in his book “seven pillars.” The enumeration is mine. Yet what I identify as the seven pillars are all quoted strong positions taken from Rev. Whitten’s book. They should alarm all Christians. What are the other six?

(1) “Listen, Jesus did not die to modify your behavior!”

(2) “My bad works don’t move God any more than my good works move Him. He simply isn’t moved by 'works' of any kind. If you are motivated to do a great work for God, good luck!”

(3) “We are free to [do anything, good or bad] ... all without condemnation from God.... Our liberty isn’t negated by our sin.”

(4) The “anti-gospel” says: “God is pleased when you act right. When you don’t, He will clean your clock! [As a believer it is foolish to think that you can do anything to] tick the Big Guy off.”

(5) The “anti-gospel” says: “Fear God and keep his commandments.”

(6) The “anti-gospel” says: “The Holy Spirit was given to you to empower you to act better and better and convict you of your sin when you stray.”

Every one of these principles contradicts the truth of the gospel (see previous critique, "Cheap Grace Masquerading as Pure Grace: The Unfortunate Gospel of Rev. Clark Whitten" athttp://www.robgagnon.net/Clark%20Whitten%20Critique.htm). They epitomize what the German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer (martyred near the end of Hitler’s reign) defined as “cheap grace” in his classic book The Cost of Discipleship (1937): “Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession.” That is exactly what Rev. Whitten, Mr. Chambers, and Mr. Thomas teach: Forgiveness without having to repent of grossly immoral behavior, an end to church discipline since all sin is equal and all believers sin regularly, and a view of confessing our sins to God for forgiveness after conversion as a waste of time. Bonhoeffer adds: “Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ.” I’m not suggesting that the Exodus leadership wants believers to experience grace without discipleship, dying to one’s self, and letting Christ live in them. I am saying, though, that they assure self-professed believers (falsely) that the nature of grace is such that believers can have one without the other. Again Bonhoeffer: Cheap grace is the notion that “you can stay as you are and enjoy the consolations of forgiveness.” The Exodus leadership says that one shouldn’t but they also assure Christians that one can.

Alan Chambers now calls “evangelical” a “dirty word” that he no longer applies to Exodus or to himself (“Guests in an Ever Changing Culture—Letter from Alan Chambers March 2013” athttp://exodusinternational.org/2013/03/guests-in-an-ever-changing-culture-letter-from-alan-chambers-for-march-2013/?shared=email&msg=fail). He complains that Evangelicalism is too “black and white” and he assures us that God is not “black and white,” which presumably means that God’s aim is to shade the light into gray. The story of Christ is now the story of Gray breaking into the darkness.

Evangelicalism, Mr. Chambers complains, gives too much attention to “right and wrong” and requires one to “take a stand” on moral issues. Chambers cries: “Gone are the days of evangelizing through scare tactics, moral legislation, and church discipline.” So instead the Exodus leadership prefers to assure self-professed Christians who engage in unrepentant homosexual practice that they are going to heaven irrespective of whether they bring their life into line with a confession of Christ’s lordship. The Exodus leadership refuses to take a stand against “gay marriage” even as it takes public policy stances on issues that homosexual activists support. And the Exodus leadership categorically rejects church discipline despite the fact that it is commanded by Jesus and Paul.

Earlier this month Alan Chambers even went so far as to insert secretly the e-mail address of Jeremy Hooper, an abrasive homosexual activist, into the middle of a private group email thread containing a number of pro-family leaders (including moi). This led to a number of misrepresentations online by homosexual activist sites and even Salon.com. This deceitful alignment with a person who maligns those who believe in a male-female foundation for marriage is not exactly a model for Christian conduct, certainly not for someone leading what is supposed to be a Christian ministry.

At the end of April Randy Thomas gushed over John Paulk's repudiation of his previous books about coming out of a homosexual life and his flirtations with his homosexual past:

“I told him that while I related to him more after his gay bar visit in 2000, I could relate to him even more now that he is genuinely questioning past actions and motivations. While I don’t agree with all of his conclusions he shared on the phone, I can say I agree with about 95% of what he shared including renouncing the term ‘ex-gay.’’ I love that he is pursuing the true meaning of God’s grace…. Listening to John and his apparent newfound depth of honesty made me happy for him…. He is ... now more authentic than I have ever known him to be…. John, … I love that you are wrestling with various issues with humility and honesty. In His grip of grace, you are safe” (http://randythomas.co/2013/04/22/john-paulks-shocking-secret/).

In an Exodus post a couple of weeks ago Leslie Chambers affirmed her husband's severance of the transformed life from genuine saving faith, saying that while obedience to God is preferred it is not "required" (http://exodusinternational.org/2013/05/leslie-chambers/). Neither Leslie nor Alan appears to realize that a necessary byproduct of true faith is a life lived for God.

Who ever thought we would reach the day when it would be necessary for faithful followers of Jesus to exodus out of Exodus?

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Renew America has an extensive article written by Rev. Mark H. Creech:
http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/creech/130622, with full text below:

June 22, 2013

Exodus International flees the Promised Land

By Rev. Mark H. Creech

It is considered a landmark announcement, proof that the cultural winds are shifting in favor of the acceptance of homosexuality by the evangelical community. Exodus International, a ministry devoted to helping people overcome same-sex attractions is shutting down. Alan Chambers, the ministry's president, is apologizing for much of the hurt he believes the ministry has caused the LGBT community.

Chambers, who now rejects the view that sexual orientation can be changed through the Gospel, wrote that he believes there is a sense in which his apology is for the whole church. "[I]f the church is a body, with many members being connected to the whole, then I believe that when one of us does right we all do right, and when one of us does wrong we all do wrong," he said. "We have done wrong, and I stand with many others who now recognize the need to offer apologies and make things right." [1]

But Russell Moore, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention takes umbrage with Chambers' apology, arguing: "I think there is a tendency to see Exodus folding as a parable of Christian capitulation and ethic. That is not what is happening. Instead what you have is an organization that has some confusion about its mission and purpose...What is not happening here, is an evangelical revision of a biblical sexual ethic." [2]

Peter LaBarbera, who leads Americans for Truth About Homosxuality, would agree with Moore. When OneNewsNow recently asked LaBarbera about Exodus shutting down, he said, "I think Alan Chambers, who basically ruined the organization, had no choice because the affiliates were leaving. All the people who support the truth that homosexuals can change and overcome this perversion through Jesus Christ were leaving Exodus." [3]

LaBarbera, who called Exodus' closing one of the greatest tragedies he had witnessed in the pro-family movement, also shared where he believes the ministry made its fatal mistake. He said, "Homosexuality is about behavior, and behaviors can be changed with the help of God and through Christ...That's what Exodus used to be about. But once they started talking about so called 'gay sexual orientation,' as if this is the inherent state of somebody's being, they got in trouble." [4]

LaBarbera makes a critical point that raises a fundamental question: Is the concept of "sexual orientation" biblical? It is my contention that this expression, which finds its source in modern psychology and is so easily bandied about, doesn't have a biblical leg to stand on.

The Scriptures say, "So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them (Genesis. 1:27). When Jesus spoke to the religious leaders of his day about marriage and divorce, a passage certainly related to human sexuality, Jesus referenced the same Genesis passage repeating, "But at the beginning of creation God 'made them male and female.'" (Mark. 10:6).

The point is that the language of "sexual orientation" is an imposition today on much of what the Bible says about sexuality. According to the Bible no one was born heterosexual or homosexual, each was born ether a male or a female biologically. Heterosexual or homosexual behaviors are sexual acts, with heterosexual acts blessed and sanctified in some cases and condemned in others, while homosexual acts are condemned one hundred percent of the time.

It's interesting that the concept of "sexual orientation" is based strongly upon one's feelings. How does one know that one is gay? Conventional wisdom says because of the way one feels. Numerous are the individuals who have said, "I've felt that I was gay since I was a child." But if one felt that he or she was a squirrel, would that qualify as proof that one was justified in risking life and limb by climbing trees and eating only nuts? The entire concept is nuts and symptomatic of a postmodernist relativity out of control.

The Bible often speaks about feelings, thoughts, and urges. And what are such but emotions and processes of the intellect that 2 Corinthians 10:5 commands must be brought in subjection to Christ's Lordship.

Jesus said, "From within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean,'" (Mark. 7:20-23). Here Jesus describes a "sinful orientation" that is the inner nature of every person and demonstrates itself in outward behaviors unacceptable with God – acts that estrange a person from God.

The apostle James forewarned about arguments like "sexual orientation" saying they are the same as blaming God for evil. It appears similar arguments were apparent even in his day. He wrote, "When tempted no one should say, 'God is tempting me.' For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed" (James. 1:13-14). To blame homosexuality on heredity is no less than to blame the Creator for one's failure – an argument which is unconscionable.

To those who would contend the Bible is silent about "sexual orientation," let it be said this is because no such notion is based in truth. It is a broad term developed in modern times to provide credence for the growing number of sexual perversions. Even the polygamists and the pedophiles want to get on board.

There is one final point that also ought to be noted. Chambers said something in his apology quite telling. He said regarding the convictions that he and his wife hold: "Our beliefs do not center on 'sin' because 'sin' isn't at the center of our faith." [5] This author begs to disagree with that point of view. Unfortunately, without a clear understanding of sin, there is no need for faith – no need for Christ – no need for a Savior – no meaning to grace.

Central to the message of Christianity is that all have sinned and fallen short of God's glorious ideal for life (Romans. 3:23). Apart from repentance, the remission of sin, and the grace of God in Jesus Christ to transform a life to live according to God's standards, the Gospel becomes no more than a soppy code of self-help. What distinguishes it from any other religion or moral force is its promise that Christ suffered, died and rose again not simply to eliminate sin's shame and condemnation, but also to remove its power.

To water down this message with outside worldly, unbiblical influences, is to risk the loss of Christian identity and collapse, which is exactly what happened to Exodus International.

Indeed this is a landmark event. And every Christian denomination, church, church school or university, organization and ministry, should take note with fear and trembling. Exodus International took flight from its own promised land of deliverance and exists no more.

Resources:

[1] "The Expanded Public Apology from Alan Chambers," KansasCity.com, 20 June 2013 http://www.kansascity.com/2013/06/20/4303773/the- expanded-public-apology-from.html

[2] Anh Do, Kate Mather, Joe Mozingo, "'Gay Cure' Ministry Exodus International to Close," latimes.com, 20 June 2013http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me- 0621-exodus-international-gays-20130621,0,1731583.story

[3] Charlie Butts, "Supporters Flight from Exodus Cited as Reason for Shutdown," OneNewsNow.com, 20 June 2013,http://www.onenewsnow.com/culture/2013/06/20/supporters%E2%80%99-flight-from-exodus-cited-as-reason-for- shutdown#.UcS6HZzm1I0

[4] Ibid

[5] "The Expanded Public Apology from Alan Chambers," KansasCity.com, 20 June 2013 http://www.kansascity.com/2013/06/20/4303773/the- expanded-public-apology-from.html

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NAZARENES ELECT NEW GENERAL SUPERINTENDENT, ADMIRER OF INTERFAITH MYSTIC PHYLLIS TICKLE

Apprising has many posts about Tickle, clearly showing her extreme apostasy:
http://apprising.org/2008/09/30/who-is-phyllis-tickle/.
http://apprising.org/2009/07/06/phyllis-tickle-the-reformation-is-over-and-reformers-have-new-names-today/.
http://apprising.org/2009/06/09/phyllis-tickle-preaches-for-mars-hill-bible-church-and-rob-bell/.
http://apprising.org/2009/05/27/rob-bell-peter-rollins-and-phyllis-tickle-together-advancing-emergence-christianity/.
http://apprising.org/2008/12/09/phyllis-tickle-where-now-is-the-authority/.
http://apprising.org/2008/11/18/phyllis-tickle-tickling-itching-emergent-ears/.
http://apprising.org/2011/02/21/doug-pagitt-and-phyllis-tickle-set-to-infect-st-lukes-methodist-church/.
http://apprising.org/2008/10/01/phyllis-tickle-emerging-church-dominating-influence-over-protestantism/.
http://apprising.org/2009/05/19/christianity-21-and-alleged-innovative-voices-in-the-faith-phyllis-tickle/.
http://apprising.org/2009/07/04/phyllis-tickle-and-the-great-emergence-to-infect-canada/.
http://apprising.org/2009/11/14/andrew-marin-and-phyllis-tickle/.
http://apprising.org/2009/11/15/andrew-marin-and-phyllis-tickle-part-2/.
http://apprising.org/2009/07/08/tony-jones-on-phyllis-tickles-emergence/.
http://apprising.org/2009/03/19/peter-rollins-and-phyllis-tickle-discuss-emergence-christianity/.
http://apprising.org/2009/09/25/phyllis-tickle-mormonism-fourth-great-abrahamic-faith/.


Manny Silva of Stand For Truth Ministries reports:

A New General Superintendent: Cause For Celebration, Or Concern?

After many rounds of voting, the Church of the Nazarene has elected the first of two general Superintendents that are needed to replace two retiring Generals.  His name is David Busic.

Dr. David Busic, at the time of his election, was the president of Nazarene Theological Seminary, and professor of Preaching and Pastoral Theology.  He has an impressive resume, and seems like a nice guy.  But let us consider some issues that may of great concern to many Christians.

Concern #1: Emergent Connection or Lack Of Discernment?

At his inaugural address, Dr. Busic made many references and quotes of Phylis Tickle, a major leader in the emergent church movement, of which she has coined the phrase “the great emergence.”  Tickle promotes contemplative spirituality.  Phylis Tickle likens heretic Brian McLaren to Martin Luther who helped bring about the Reformation.  She is probably correct, but this new current reformation is not a good thing.  Tickle receives high praise from emergent heretic Doug Pagitt, calling her “the best friend the emergent movement could ever have.”  Tickle is currently a Senior Fellow of Cathedral College of the Washington National Cathedral, which has a heavily interfaith message.

Quote: “Washington National Cathedral is a church for national purposes called to embody God’s love and to welcome people of all faiths and perspectives. A unique blend of the spiritual and the civic, this Episcopal Cathedral is a voice for generous-spirited Christianity and a catalyst for reconciliation and interfaith dialogue to promote respect and understanding. We invite all people to share in our commitment to create a more hopeful and just world.”

 The Cathedral College also is known for its heavy promotion of all forms of contemplative prayer: centering prayer, silence, stillness.

Tickle is also on the editorial board of explorefaith.org, and the recommended spiritual experts on the site are a veritable who’s who of “Christian” mystics and non-Christian gurus such as Guru Ram Dass, Buddhist Master Thich Nhat Hahn, the Sufi Muslim Rumi.

Finally, I give you a dubious quote from her book The Great Emergence:

The new Christianity of the Great Emergence must discover some authority base or delivery system and/or governing agency of its own. It must formulate—and soon—something other than Luther’s Sola Scriptura which, although used so well by the Great Reformation originally, is now seen as hopelessly outmoded or insufficient ...(Phyllis Tickle, The Great Emergence, pg. 151)

Imagine that Luther’s Sola Scriptura, so critical within the Reformation movement, of which many left the persecution of the Catholic Church, some under pain of death, is no longer relevant according to Phylis Tickle.  What does this say of her regard for God’s word?  In fact, Phylis Tickle does not believe that the entire Bible is God’s word.

Conclusion: Why would a learned man such as David Busic want anything to do with Phylis Tickle, even if just to quote her and speak highly of her in his messages?  If a well respected man quotes someone favorably and praises them, would not most Bible believing Christians think that this person is a good source for them to go to?  I would like to find out what Dr. David Busic really thinks of Phylis Tickle, in the light of all the heretical things that she stands for.  Is it really wise that a church has just elected a General Superintendent who at the very least, seems to have some really impaired judgment and discernment?

Interfaith Connection?  Or Simply Carelessness?

The following is an excerpt from an email I wrote to Dr. Busic in 2011.  The entire article can be read here: http://reformednazarene.wordpress.com/2011/12/13/does-nazarene-theological-seminary-support-the-interfaith-movement/

11/18/2011

Dear Dr. Busic,

Congratulations on your appointment as President of NTS.  It is my prayer that God will guide you in leading NTS in upholding biblical truth at the school.  I and other Nazarenes have had concerns in the past regarding some things sponsored by, promoted by, or taught at the seminary.

I was concerned about something I ran into the other day, and wondering if you were aware of it. At the CRES website, the Seminary is listed favorably as a recommended institution friendly to the CRES organization.  My concern is that it is an interfaith group that works closely with practically any kind of religion in the world.​

Here is the link to the site where it mentions NTS favorably:  http://www.cres.org/pubs/KCInterfaithOps.htm

On their vision statement page, they say this: “CRES values the contribution of each distinctive faith in healing the crises of our age — and finds it important to honor and preserve their distinctions. “These faiths include: Buddhists, Muslims, Native American religions, Hindu, Sufi, Unitarian Universalists, Taoism, Confucianism, Wiccans, and Zoroastrians!

They also say: “CRES envisions the greater Kansas City area as a model community honoring interfaith relationships where interfaith relationships are honored as a way of deepening one’s own tradition and spirituality, and
where the wisdom of the many religions successfully addresses the environmental,  personal, and social crises of our often fragmented, desacralized world.”

Does NTS have any kind of real connection with CRES?  If so, on what basis?  And if not, would it not be prudent to ask this group to remove any reference to NTS as a good resource?  If this is not the type of group NTS wants to associate with, that would certainly remove any appearance of an endorsement of this organization.  If this is the kind of group that NTS wants to associate with, then I humbly will say that it would be a serious problem that all Nazarenes should be aware of.

I did not receive any response from Dr. Busic.

Does the Church of the Nazarene approve of the idea of working with interfaith groups on a regular basis?  Does not the word of God speak against that?  It is written in 2 Cor. 6:14-17:

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

¹⁵ And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?

¹⁶ And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

¹⁷ Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.

It is clear to me, a non-seminary educated man whose father always wanted him to be a pastor, that this scripture passage alone answers the question.  We are not be joining ourselves with those who are pagan and do not preach the Gospel of Christ.  And if these pagans are recommending us favorably, as if we also are favorable to them, it would do us good to have no connection at all with them, and no hint of any kind that we are aligned with their ungodly agenda.

There is only one right thing to do, and the president of NTS has not done it yet.  I call on him to do the right thing, remove the connection with this ungodly group, and make it clear that we do not stand with them in any way, no matter what “good” causes they may be involved in.

 Conclusion: Is this a matter of discernment?  Is this a matter of lack of knowledge?  Dr. Busic never answered me.  Perhaps others can bring this egregious connection to his attention, and he will do the right thing.  If not, then we have a serious concern on our hands, with a man who has just been chosen to the highest office of a denomination of over 2 million people.  To be favorably and knowingly linked to such a group, which cannot even be called a Christian organization, is a clear indication of lack of discernment, or an indication of solidarity with their ideas.  Either way, it not good for the Church of the Nazarene.

We have elected David Busic.  The question is, was that the right decision?

 Manny Silva

Stand For Truth Ministries