Times change! However, the gospel must remain the same. In a sincere attempt to reach the postmodern generation with the gospel, it seems many Christians have become postmodern in their thinking. This movement involves much more than stylistic change. It’s about the deconstruction of the fundamental truths of the Bible.
- Emerging Overview
- How to Evaluate Your Church (by Understand The Times International)
- The Renovaré Spiritual Formation Bible – A brief evaluation of the Renovaré Bible and those who endorse it (by The Berean Call)
- What is the Emerging Church? – An evaluation of the Emergent Church (by Compass International) (This document is no longer on compass.org. I retrieved the document from archive.org, but we need the permission of Compass to publish it on the website.)
In “The Watchman,” Horatius Bonar wrote,
Some one, then, must undertake the ungracious task of probing and laying bare the evils of the age; for men must not be allowed to congratulate themselves that all is well. If others will not, he will. If others shrink from the obloquy of such a work, he will not. He loves the age too well; he loves his nation too well; he loves his fellow-men too well. They may upbraid him; they may call him a misanthropist, or a prophet of evil; they may ascribe his warnings to the worst of motives, such as pride, or arrogance, or self-esteem, or malice, or envy; but he will give no heed to these unjust insinuations. He will prefer being thus misunderstood and maligned, to allowing men to precipitate themselves upon a ruin which they see not.
Rather than that they should perish, he will allow his own good name to be spoken against. He will risk every thing, even the hatred of brethren, rather than withhold the warning. If they give no heed to it, he has, at least, saved his own soul. If they do, he has saved both his own soul and theirs. He would rather take up the glad tidings of peace, and tell men of Him who came the first time for shame and death, and who is coming the second time for glory and dominion; but he feels as one who has a special and personal message to deliver, which cannot be postponed. He must remember that he is a watchman; and, having seen danger pressing on, he must not hesitate to make it known. He must speak his message of forewarning and rebuke, sparing no arrows, and neither smoothing down nor hiding any form of sin, but laying his finger upon every sore, and beseeching men to turn from their ungodliness.
The evils around him press upon him sadly; the coming evils are foreshadowed upon his spirit, and, therefore, he lifts up his voice like a trumpet. Satan has many snares which need to be detected; the world has many spells and lures which must be disenchanted; religion has many guises which must be unmasked, many devious paths of inconsistency which must be pointed out, many cherished errors which must be condemned, many carnal taints which must be abhorred and shunned. All these he must protest against without fear or favour.