Relational Theology is another form of subjectivism
that is rapidly spreading throughout fundamental and neo-evangelical churches. This
too, subjects the Bible to the object of producing, via experience, self-love,
self-esteem, and self-acceptance.
It is similar to secular psychiatry, which is
beginning to strongly stress raw narcissism. "We are not narcissistic enough -
all need their self-esteem fed from birth to death." Wrong "self,"
for one thing.
As a result of relational theology and the
charismatic movement, the church has just experienced its "Me-decade," spurred
by such bestsellers as I’m O.K.: You’re O.K., Pulling Your Own Strings,
and Looking Out for #1. And the worst is yet to come.
A recent tributary to the subjective
stream that is flowing through the church at present might be termed the C.S. Lewis cult.
There is no blame to be laid upon the late Lewis. His writings by and large
are certainly to be admired, despite the fact that they are more subjectively
philosophical than objectively doctrinal.
Mainly through the influence of Lewis’
Anglican affiliation and his fine writings, numerous highly intellectual neo-evangelical
leaders are following his lead into the Anglican and Episcopal churches--there to be
immersed in the subjective religion of so-called Apostolic succession, baptismal
regeneration, ritualism, and priestcraft.
A few of these leaders might be mentioned,
each with his own sphere of influence, each having become an Episcopalian.
Thomas Howard
Professor Howard teaches English at
Gordon College. He is author of several books, including his controversial Christ
the Tiger. He is also an Editor-at-large for Christianity Today.
Professor Howard has the finest of
fundamental backgrounds, including four years in a Plymouth Brethren assembly. His
father was the much-revered Dr. Philip Howard, long-time editor of the former Sunday
School Times.
Despite his solid foundation based upon the
objective truth of the Word, fifteen years ago Thomas Howard took the subjective step down
into Anglicanism.
Prior to being confirmed in the Anglican
Church, in England, upon visiting an Episcopal church in New England, he remarked,
"That time I was pierced to the
heart. I was enthralled by the candles and vestments. I felt as though my
heart would break. Something had been touched inside me, and I could not rest until
I attended to it."
Elisabeth Elliot
Sister to Thomas Howard and with a
companion background, Elisabeth is a well-known author, and at present (circa '70s)
adjunct professor at Gordon-Conwell Seminary.
In a recent Christianity Today
interview she was asked about her membership in the Episcopal Church. "If
your denomination should ordain self-confessed homosexuals, what would be your continuing
relationship to that church?"
She replied, "I am a member of
such a church and I’ll continue to be a member."
Elisabeth was then asked, "How
can Christians justify continuing membership in such a situation?"
Her reply was, "Although I
deplore and abhor what the Episcopal Church has done, I don’t think it gives me the
warrant to withdraw. I just don’t believe that is the meaning of being
separate."
Robert E. Webber
Associate Professor of Theology at
Wheaton College, the Rev. Webber is an Episcopal priest, no less. In a forthcoming
book to be published by Zondervan, he writes,
"The authoritative basis for
Christian truth does not rest on a doctrine of verbal inerrancy, but Apostolic
tradition." Again, "The Church, to be Apostolic, ought to have
within her all the charismatic gifts that were present in the primitive church, practiced
within the body."
Consider the influence of this Wheaton
faculty member, both on the campus and in the classroom.
Dr. Charles E. Hummel
Until recently president of Barrington
College, Dr. Hummel is now Director of Faculty Ministries for Inter-Varsity Christian
Fellowship, U.S.A. A member of the Episcopal Church, he has just written a book
entitled Fire in the Fireplace, which is a promotion of tongues and healing.
It is published by Inter-Varsity Press.
Whether these leaders realize it or not,
their Canterbury trail is well down the road to Rome. Still farther advanced on this
fateful path is an entire movement of evangelicals known as the New Covenant Apostolic
Order.
These devotees, at present several thousand
in number and many of them in tongues, are governed by such ex-Campus Crusade
"Apostles" as Jon Braun, Bishop Peter Gillquist, Gordon Walker, Dick Ballew, and
Jack Sparks.
Their official "theology" at the
moment, written by Braun and authorized by the above-mentioned leaders, is in the book,
It
Ain’t Gonna Reign no More (Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers, 1978).
In it you will find such Roman Catholic
heresies as the following:
"You can call it the Lord’s
Table, Holy Communion, the Supper, the Eucharist, or whatever you want, but by any name it
is the partaking of the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the chief
means of nurture of the Christian life" (p. 119).
You will also read with surprise that
"Baptism is God’s normal and
proper occasion for placing someone into union with Christ. See what the Apostle
Paul says in Romans 6:1–7." "Water baptism is the normal occasion
or vehicle that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit have ordained to communicate the
grace of regeneration into Jesus Christ" (pp. 116, 117).
Does it not sadden your heart to see the
position taken by these fine, dedicated leaders? It isn’t that they have merely
gotten off the track, but they have switched onto, the subjective line and are
headed for a crash.
You might wonder how such a thing could possibly happen to
these brilliant and highly trained leaders, most of whom come from solidly fundamental
backgrounds. Yet nothing could be easier. All one has to do is to place his
emphasis upon subjective reasoning or experience rather than the objective
Word of God. It is just that simple.