Thursday, January 24, 2008
Presbyterians Pushing Bad Books
Today Presbyweb was linked to a news story at Presbyterian News titled,
‘Abraham’s dysfunctional family’. The news item was written by Jerry L. Van Marter and was about a book written by Rev. Brian Arthur Brown. The book is Noah’s Other Son: Bridging the Gap Between the Bible and the Qur’an, Continuum International Publishing Group (April 15, 2007) .
According to Marter, Rev. Brown is a Canadian and a minister in the United Church of Canada. In his book Brown, according to Marter who either quotes from the book or the author, "examines 25 familiar figures who appear in both the Bible and Qur’an, 'revealing how these characters can point present-day Muslims, Christians and Jews toward more mature relationships.'”
Evidently The Presbyterian News Service did an interview with Brown who included Presbyterian Churches in his book tour. Brown, it seems, is attempting to bring about change in the way the three monotheistic religions see each other. Marter explains, "he hopes his book will also break down the post-9/11 negativity that has grown around Islam."
Brown evidently stated that, “Christian extremists — Hitler, Mussolini, the Ku Klux Klan — got the upper hand in the 20th century,” . . . “To now judge Islam by Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein is at least as distorted as to judge Christianity by those people.” (Bold Mine)
In the actual text of the book, in an attempt to show that the Jewish people do not need Jesus as Lord and Savior, Brown writes:
"A problem for many Christians is a traditional misreading of chapter 8 of John's gospel and certain 'I AM' passages in John's gospel. For example, in John 14, when Jesus says, 'I AM the way, the truth and the life; nobody comes to the Father but by me," he is here identifying himself as the voice Moses heard from the burning bush, the 'I AM' the essence of the universe, rather than simply Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus spoke as the Cosmic Christ, the Eternal Essence that is in all of us when he said 'I AM the Vine,' 'I AM the Gate,' I AM the Good Shepherd,' I AM the Light of the World,' and in all the other 'I AM' passages. Jesus embodies the 'I AM' as may we." (198) (Bold mine)
Whether Marter and those who officiate knew this was in the book or not, (and there is more) I do not know. Reporters who do interviews generally read the author's book before they do the interview. I believe the news worthy part of this story is not the author's attempt to find a way to reconcile the three different faiths but rather his attempt to use a "hate" card to change the way others understand Christianity.
Marter uses the term "provocative," when describing this book. The Bible uses a different term when describing those who call themselves Christians but deny the Lord Jesus Christ. And any attempt to tear the two natures of Jesus Christ apart is heresy. John writing to a church troubled by false teachers is very clear:
"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world." (1 John 4:1-3)
John was very careful to explain at the beginning of this small letter, as he wrote of Jesus Christ, that he and the other disciples had '"heard," "seen with their eyes," and "touched" with their hands, "concerning the Word of Life," the one who was with the Father in the beginning and yet was made known to them. (1 John 1:1-4)
Telling only half the story is not telling the truth. Perhaps the Presbyterian News Service should do penitence by pushing a few really good books like Andrew Purves' The Crucifixion of Ministry or Ben Witherington III's What Have They Done with Jesus" : Beyond Strange Theories and Bad History--Why We Can Trust the Bible.
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11 comments:
What is more disturbing here is the 'cosmic christ' crap you quote - this is the same philosophy you have addressed elsewhere - that is the direct opposite of Christianity. It can have zero common ground with Christianity. They are not only mutually exclusive - they are directly antithetical and hostile to one another.
If the 'cosmic christ' line is true - then it is axiomatic that Christianity is false. Worse than false, false combined with a sort of evil idolatry of Jesus.
The fact is, no one can be Christian and endorse this view at the same time - only insanity, total ignorance, or deception and theft can account for it.
And as we've seen in other places in our denomination, this type of view (lowering or even denying Christ) is the only way one can go in order to get all the other stuff in. :(
There they go again. Sadly there is a pattern here.
I may be ignorant here but are there Jewish and Muslim apologists out there toning down their faiths, searching for the commonality between the three major monotheistic religions for the purpose of "pointing us toward a more mature relationship"?
I haven't heard of any, but I may be wrong. This (as Toby so eloquently put) "crap" is nothing bu ignorance - ignorant of Christianity, History, and Islam... Christian extremists like Hitler and Mussolini. Now that's an alternative timeline!
Will,
I totally agree--thank you for re-enforcing my thoughts.
hsgbdmama, Its kind of like the chicken and the egg, one wonders which came first.
Quotidian Grace, that’s why I put my title in plural I just kept thinking of all the other bad books.
I was just thinking, yes there are other groups among the Moslems and Jews who do this. And several things to notice about all of these people and groups is some of their similarities.
The Moslems have the Sufis, one of their mystical branches—and they are the ones pushing the “Dances of Universal Peace” that you see being promoted here and there in main line churches. The Jews have the Reconstruction groups.
The two things being promoted by them is an Eastern type of worldview which is often pantheistic or panentheistic. God is either everything or creation is a part of God. The second thing that is similar is a subtle insistence on their view being the right view and all others being war mongers and more or less unbalanced in their belief system.
I have not actually read this whole book yet! If you go on Amazon you can read some parts of some books. And, in fact, for some books you can search inside of some books under different words. For this book I used the word conversion. I have ordered the book and intend to write more.
I'm nauseated by this stuff.
The downward spiral into oblivion continues...
Viola,
last time the best I could say was a stunned "wow" this time its "holy cow"...
hmmm.. provocative, eh?
Few listen to the United Church of Canada in Canada, why should we?
If you want to read a book that engages Muslims and Islam from a posture of humility, respect and christian conviction, I commend "Muslims and Christians on the Emmaeus Road" J. Dudely Woodbury, ed. c. 1990ish.
And what do you know, Doc Woodbury's even Presbyterian. Go figure.
Bill and Toby, it does leave one without much to say, and it is sickening in so many ways. It would almost seem that the Presbyterian News Service is buying into the idea that Americans only want to hear and read the sensational. But Christians are not supposed to go with the culture. But of course the maddening part of this is that the reporter and others have failed to distinguish between what is truly Christian and what is new age.
Dave, several years ago at an Evangelical Ministries to New Religions Conference, I rode back and forth with a professor who taught at a seminary in Canada. She talked about the deadness of the United Church of Canada and how out in the hinder-lands there were so many older people who either had no churches anymore or were being served by pastors who believed nothing. Its like a creeping death.
Thanks for the book tip.
Viola,
I've termed it starving on the Word to feast on the eucharist. These folks are forced to recieve doctrineless teachers so that they can get the Lord's Supper.
Is it is time to break the guild?
That’s an interesting thought Bill since in the Reformed faith the Lord's Supper without the Word is full of death for the faithless. The falseness though is only for those who have no faith which includes faithless Pastors. That is an interesting picture to me: a Pastor who receives nothing but death in the communion cup while some of his sheep receive God's faithful gift to them.
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