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Old 07-05-2009, 08:04 AM
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PaulB PaulB is offline
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: The Northwest of England
Posts: 158
Default Hi Will

Thank you for your article every time I read one I get inspired to think!

Concerning your missionary friend’s desire to reword the Bible to his target audience, this is one of my arguments with Rick Warren’s “purpose driven phenomena” - where they redesign the gospel, the ethos of the church and the worship to please their target audience.

Once we start to apply the hammer and chisel to the rock on which we stand we don’t only weaken it but we disfigure it, no matter how well meaning our intentions may be. Once we start to question the need for relevance driven changes to the established foundations that are entrusted to us we are tampering with things that we have no right to and entering into a forbidden domain.

Once a person starts off down that route they are playing a dangerous game and I get concerned for folks like that because where do they decide to draw the line? If a culture has no equivalent to the number 4 (I speak hypothetically) does that mean that I redesign Scripture to win their hearts by being “relevant” – or do I remain faithful to the sacred text and change their understanding?

When I read the following:

“The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.” Isa 40:8

I see that as something that is eternally established and not to be changed. If I decide to add a new number that fits in between 1-10 and make my own name up for it I totally ruin any sensible calculations that would be understood from a simple mathematical formula. This is exactly what the change agents are doing with the Bible and the gospel (today’s sell out in both areas speaks for themselves). And as a result many research polls now tell us that pastors and congregations alike are convinced that there is no absolute truth, that Jesus sinned, got married and had kids…etc.
All of these blasphemous conclusions had their origin and it normally comes down to the rejection of absolute authority.

Bibles to suit is satan’s reformation and now, after his labours during the 1800s even the authentic claims of Christ are dismissed as nonsense by those who claim to be His followers!

You are right Will, when you say that these “archaic” arguments are smokescreens because that’s exactly what they are. When the preserved word isn’t believed (as the foundation of their argument) then something else is being believed and that is the real basis of their quest.



God bless

PaulB