Setting Believers Free from the Prisons of the Mind

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.  We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:3-5).

The Apostle Paul makes it clear that the “warfare” in which believers in Christ are involved is a well-thought-out “campaign.” The word he uses is strateia, from which we get “strategy.” Specifically, the devil’s battle against Christ-centered wisdom is not an accident. Satan specializes in disguising himself as “an angel of light” (2 Cor. 11:14). Therefore, the invasion of man-centered counseling philosophy into the church is a well-planned and well-executed war against the sufficiency of Christ and His Word and the transforming power of His gospel.    Continue at Paul Tautges

Your Own Personal Jesus

Citing examples from TV, pop music, and best-selling books, an article in Entertainment Weekly noted that "pop culture is going gaga for spirituality." However,

[S]eekers of the day are apt to peel away the tough theological stuff and pluck out the most dulcet elements of faith, coming up with a soothing sampler of Judeo-Christian imagery, Eastern mediation, self-help lingo, a vaguely conservative craving for 'virtue,' and a loopy New Age pursuit of 'peace.' This happy free-for-all, appealing to Baptists and stargazers alike, comes off more like Forest Gump's ubiquitous 'boxa chocolates' than like any real system of belief. You never know what you're going to get. (1)

The "search for the sacred" has become a recurring cover story for national news magazines for some time now; but is a revival of "spirituality" and interest in the "sacred" really any more encouraging than the extravagant idolatry that Paul witnessed in Athens (Acts 17)? 

Not only historians and sociologists but novelists are writing about the "Gnostic" character of the soup that we call spirituality in the United States today. In a recent article in Harper's, Curtis White describes our situation pretty well. When we assert, "This is my belief," says White, we are invoking our right to have our own private conviction, no matter how ridiculous, not only tolerated politically but respected by others. "It says, 'I've invested a lot of emotional energy in this belief, and in a way I've staked the credibility of my life on it. So if you ridicule it, you can expect a fight." In this kind of culture, "Yahweh and Baal-my God and yours-stroll arm-in-arm, as if to do so were the model of virtue itself."

What we require of belief is not that it make sense but that it be sincere....Clearly, this is not the spirituality of a centralized orthodoxy. It is a sort of workshop spiritu-ality that you can get with a cereal-box top and five dollars....There is an obvious problem with this form of spirituality: it takes place in isolation. Each of us sits at our computer terminal tapping out our convictions....Consequently, it's difficult to avoid the conclusion that our truest belief is the credo of heresy itself. It is heresy without an orthodoxy. It is heresy as an orthodoxy. (2)  Continue at Michael Horton

American Churches: The Evangelical Answer to Home Depot

You’ve got to get this book: This Little Church Went to Market by Gary Gilley (Darlington: EP Books, 2010 [reprint]).  The subtitle is telling: “Is the Modern Church Reaching Out or Selling out?”  In this book, Gilley takes on the American church growth industry.  From Saddleback to Willow Creek to Lee Strobel to Bill Hybels, churches and church leaders are straight up adopting a business model of marketing a product and applying that model to the church.  Of course, Mike Horton, David Wells, Os Guinness, and many others have also written well on this subject, but Gilley’s book is a great addition to those other voices.

In This Little Church, Gilley discusses how our culture is entertainment driven, self-focused, consumer based, and swimming in self-help psychology.  He then documents how many American churches have adopted the business model of getting people in the doors by entertaining them, meeting their felt needs, and using Christianity as a resource to give lives a boost.  Preachers talk about fulfillment and say Jesus is a way to find fulfillment and that Christianity brings excitement and spontaneity into dull lives.  While some of these churches are might mean well, ultimately what happens is the whole message of salvation gets watered down to nothing, since neither repentance nor self-denial is demanded of people in the ‘audience.’  Here are a few of my favorite quotes. Continue Reading>>>

Self-help, Self-esteem, Self-destruction, and large, irresponsible mouths

God Helps Those Who Cannot Help Themselves