Christianity

Part I ended with Os Guinness’ words which call for individual Christians and the church “…to regain the courage of “prophetic untimeliness” and develop the art of “resistance thinking” and so become followers of Jesus who have the courage to become “untimely people” despite the mesmerizing lure of the present age and its fixation with the future.”[1] But resistance must be preceded by an accurate assessment of the condition of the church, recognition of the nature of the mesmerizing lure of the spirit of the age, and how that spirit has wheedled its way into the church. The evangelical church in America and much of Western civilization is in a deplorable state and declining. George Barna[2] and the American Culture and Faith Institute (ACFI)[3] recently […]

Satan hates God. Satan was cast out of heaven because of his pride in his position and his beauty rose to the point of placing himself on the level of God. As a result of his rebellion, Satan was not only demoted and stripped of every precious stone that was his covering, he was cast out of heaven. So Satan really hates God. It is a vicious, snarling, consuming hatred—something almost beyond our human ability to comprehend. But Satan had no power to strike back at God directly. His only alternative was to strike at God by robbing the Creator of His relationship with man—His special creation. Humanism’s opposition to God’s plan for mankind encompasses all of human history. The humanistic spirit of the world […]

In Part I, Dr. Charles Crabtree identified three causes of the crisis of discipleship in the Assemblies of God. These causes have affected virtually all denominations. The causes have been profoundly debilitating to the liberal mainline denominations for most of a century, but the causes have also invaded non-mainline evangelical churches in varying degrees since the 1960s. Dr. Crabtree identified the three causes of the crisis in discipleship as preaching another gospel, the failure to count the cost of discipleship, and a failure to continue in the Word.[1] These are not the only causes of the demise of biblical Christianity but account for much of the humanistic spirit of the world that has invaded the church. This invasion into the modern evangelical churches of America […]

Dr. Charles Crabtree served as the Assistant General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God for fourteen years. Following his tenure at the Assemblies of God headquarters in Springfield, Missouri, he became the president of Zion Bible College in Haverhill, Massachusetts, and served until 2013. Dr. Crabtree published an article in the Enrichment Journal, Winter Quarter, 2007, titled “The Crisis of Discipleship in the American Church.”[1] This article was condensed and published as a supplement titled “Discipleship in the Assemblies of God: The Crisis, The Cause, and The Cure.”[2] This was an abridgement of a message delivered the previous August at a weekly chapel service for the headquarters employees of the General Council of the Assemblies of God. In 2007, Dr. Crabtree wrote of the crisis […]

In Part I we traced the beginnings of the ecumenical movement between the various branches of Christianity and within those churches embroiled in the liberal-fundamentalist controversies of the early 20th century. In Part II we examined the conflicts and controversies in the 1950s and 1960s surrounding ecumenicalism’s push into evangelicalism in an effort to achieve reconciliation and unity among evangelical, non-evangelical, and liberal churches in America and England. As was stated in the conclusion of Part II, the 1950s and 1960s were a major turning point for evangelical churches as they embraced ecumenicalism which determined their course for decades to follow. The evangelical church’s pursuit of ecumenicalism over the last half century has blurred the once sharp line that distinguished the Christian from the non-Christian. […]

In Part I we traced the beginnings of the ecumenical movement among the various branches of Christianity and within those churches embroiled in the liberal-fundamentalist controversies of the early 20th century. It was noted that the great difficulty in achieving ecumenicalism was the result of differences between the fundamental beliefs between Roman Catholicism and Protestant churches and also the doctrinal differences between the evangelical and liberal wings of the Protestant churches themselves. Part II will primarily address the efforts to achieve reconciliation and unity between the liberal churches and neo-evangelical churches which were mostly from denominations oriented toward the fundamentals of the Christian faith as found in the Bible. By the mid-1930s, the intra-church doctrinal differences that roiled over the previous three decades had subsided […]

Most modern American evangelicals have never heard of Iain H. Murray. And if by chance they had heard of him, it is just as doubtful that they will have read any of this Scottish pastor’s writings. But they should. Murray’s writings provide valuable insights into both theological reasons and historical events of the last half of the twentieth century that account for the abysmal conditions in the evangelical church in both America and the United Kingdom. Murray was born in Lancashire, England, in 1931 and educated at King William’s College in the Isle of Mann. He later read Philosophy and History at the University of Durham in preparation for ministry in the Presbyterian Church. Following a year of private study, he became an assistant to […]

Down through the ages these words have been the almost universal advice given to those attempting to make decisions and find direction for one’s life. Borrowing from the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates, William Shakespeare wrote, “This above all, to thine own self be true.”[1] More recently Steve Jobs wrote, “Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”[2] Follow your dream, listen to your inner voice, get in touch with your inner self, and follow your intuition or hunches are various ways of expressing the more universal exhortation to “follow your heart.” The reason for the attractiveness and eager acceptance of this phrase is that it is an appeal […]