yes i listen to Rob Bell. but i took his first bit of advise and that was not to take his word as law, but to research it and test it. I find alot of his thoughts interesting, i don’t agree with them 100%. Don’t you think Satan would rather watch Christians fight with each other while the lost walk by saying…”that’s why I’m not Christian” or are you saying Bell isn’t Christian and is teaching an anti-christian message while masking it as worship to GOD? Bell was wounded in the head and survived.

“You may remember what I wrote about Jeremiah 31:31ff, how it he said that the New Covenant would not be like the Old Covenant, that it would be written on our hearts and minds directly by God.

I concluded that the page in my Bible marked “The New Testament” was a lie, and that I have torn it out.

Then I go to II Corinthians 3:6, where Paul writes that “He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant–not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills but the Spirit gives life.”

In Romans Paul builds on this: “By dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we may serve in the new way in the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code,” or “the oldness of the letter” (Romans 7:6).

Jeremiah prophesied that the New Covenant would be written directly in our minds and hearts. Calling the Greek Scriptures “the New Testament” contradicts the clear statement of Jeremiah about the actual nature of the New Testament, or New Covenant (which words mean the same thing).

I believe we have turned the Greek Scriptures into a new Law, the Christian Torah, to which our leaders have almost universally bound us. We still serve “in the old way of the written code.” We have changed codes, but we still “justify” our doctrines and structures by referring to the Letter of the Christian Torah, the “New Testament.”

Now someone will undoubtedly remind me that I am arguing from Scripture, being myself “bound” to conform my thoughts and beliefs to the “Christian Torah” I seem so dead-set against.

Let me reply that “All Scripture is inspired by God, and profitable for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.”

* * * * * * * *

Someone recently wrote, “The Scriptures are clear. God has written to communicate. He is sovereign so He has preserved His word. And He is not incompetent or limited in His clarity. That’s why He holds us accountable to His word.”

I believe in the clarity of Jeremiah 31:31ff, II Corinthians 3:6, and Romans 7:6.

There is the one who says no and does well and the one who says yes and does not. And then there is the one who sells out his Savior for 30 pieces of silver… or book royalties

I think Jesus said it best to the woman at the well:

John 4:22 22 “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.

When one considers the lengths some of these individual ECM’ers go to behave like world one wonders where the line of ignorance is crossed and where the other territory (that of outright rebellion) begins.

McClaren’s “mischievousness,” as he calls it,should be informed by the Scriptural warnings of the Holy Spirit, in the writings of James and in the warnings of Jesus, Himself:

James 3:1 Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.

If he’s not sure about much he shouldn’t write about that which he does not know (and receive payment for his ignorance).

If he’s trying to be cute and provocative, McClaren, and others who do so, should be take note of Jesus’ words:

Matthew 18:4-9 4 “Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 “And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; 6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. 7 “Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes! 8 “If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire. 9 “If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell.

And if he’s guilty of ignorance or “mischievous cuteness” then he should expect to be challenged and if he doesn’t repent then the rest of Matthew 18 applies (which is currently under way).

Matthew 18:15-17 15 “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. 16 “But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY FACT MAY BE CONFIRMED. 17 “If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

McClaren’s problem is that his public cuteness, mischieveousness, or ignorance requires a public rebuke.

1 Timothy 5:19-20 19 Do not receive an accusation against an elder except on the basis of two or three witnesses. 20 Those who continue in sin, rebuke in the presence of all, so that the rest also will be fearful of sinning.

He has demonstrated his ignorance of Scripture or been unedifyingly cute about the clarity of Scripture, publicly. His words are in his books, blogs, etc. for all to see.

Now, he’s being publicly rebuked for the sake of the church, and the little ones and weaker brothers he may and is causing to stumble.

Hopefully, Whtye, he will do as the son who refused to do what his Father asked him to do–admit his error.

Others have, he should follow suit… The Scriptures are clear. God has written to communicate. He is sovereign so He has preserved His word. And He is not incompetent or limited in His clarity. That’s why He holds us accountable to His word. If His word is not understandable then He is a liar, or perhaps the problem rests with McClaren and many in the ECM movement who doubt the clarity of Scripture.

Psalm 19:7-9 7 The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. 8 The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. 9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether.

We KNOW that God is not a liar.

Grace to you:

Keith Crosby
Green Bay, Wisconsin

You make a good point. “Approval junkies” show up in other circles as well. Check out how Joel Osteen ends most of his…well “sermons”. He’ll say something like, “Well, let me hear it if that blessed your heart.” Same thing…fishing for approval. Great observation!

Reading excerpts from McLaren, and reading posts by other emergents make me think they are approval junkies. The only way to get approval from the world is to be like them.

Ha… that reminds me of the speech given by Sally Field when she won the oscars.

“You like me …. you really do like me!”

By the way an interesting site.

He came to the second, and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but he didn’t go. Which of the two did the will of his father?”

They said to him, “The first.”

There will be people who say “No” to the father, but end up doing his will.

And vice versa.

And who’s kidding who? The “cool” kids know that he’s a churchie dork pretending to be “cool” because he still flinches when they show him the porno that they stole from their brother’s stash, and when he stops entertaining them they beat him up and make fun of him. AND, the Christian kids think he’s a spineless loser because when it all comes down, he buckles and doesn’t serve the Lord.

Like didn’t McLaren ever pay attention in elementary school?