Jesus severed from Scriptures: New Age Anthropology

In his article, On Being Human and & Divine: Reflections & blessings at Easter, Michael Adee, field organizer of MLP, reaches far outside of Scripture in his word to More Light Presbyterians. He, in fact, seems to linger on the edge of New Age ideology. Not only does Adee continue to see homosexual sex as good, he embraces the divinity of humanity and encourages others to do so too.

It isn’t that Adee is denying the material world as Gnostics often do; he believes creation to be good. But, equating the idea of Jesus being human and divine with an understanding that humans are also divine, while at the same time embracing creation, is the basic world view of New Agers and Neo-Pagans.

Adee points to author Kathleen Norris and her understanding that the liberal emphasizes the humanity of Jesus too much, while the conservative emphasizes the divinity of Jesus too much. He quotes Norris:

“The orthodox Christian seeks another way, that of living with paradox, of accepting the ways that seeming dualities work together in Jesus Christ, in our own lives. For me, this has meant trying to hear the gospels in a way that allows me to reject a simplistic dualism in the interest of a creative tension between flesh and spirit, faith and reason, even God and Caesar.”

Adee uses this statement to write, “Our own Church and too many other religious traditions seem to resist relaxing into and embracing this natural and creative tension that Norris speaks of between flesh and spirit, sexuality and spirituality, of being human and divine.” (Italics mine)

Insisting on seeing humans as a "natural and creative tension" of human and divine, Adee includes the thought in his ending proclamation, “And, may all of us experience peace of heart and mind this Easter by embracing the inescapable paradox of being children of God, flesh and spirit, human and divine.” (Italics mine)

Probably unknown to Adee, topping off a rather Neo-Pagan view of humanity, he ends with a Neo-Pagan blessing. That is, “blessed be,” which has its origins among members of Wicca.

In all of this a thread is running, a theology that is disconnected from the Scriptures. Moreover, and terribly important at this time in the life of the Church, is the disconnect between the Jesus of Scriptures and a free floating Jesus who can be made the servant of any ideology.

Here is another important reason not to vote yes on amendment B.

The authors of amendment B sever Jesus Christ, the living Word, from the written word. In their rationale for the amendment they write, “Although the hierarchy of the church’s authority is clear, it is subverted by the current language of G-6.0106b, which substitutes for our obedience to Christ two concepts that are foreign to Reformed understanding: “obedience” to Scripture and “conformity” to the confessions.”

With that statement and with amendment B they are preparing Presbyterians, such as Adee, to fall into grave error concerning humanity and their relationship with Jesus Christ. They are opening the door to a thousand theologies foreign to the Christian faith since they will be based in a Jesus unattached to the Scriptures.