061112
CHURCH: The Road to Nowhere—Middle Church (Mohler, 061003)
THEME: Bob Edgar, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches of Christ (NCC) in the U.S.A,
wrote a book claiming that liberal mainline churches (that he called Middle Church) represent true
Christianity. But the book is full of contradictions and shows why liberal churches do not believe in the Bible
and are losing influence in the world.
QUESTIONS:
When is compromise an unacceptable solution to conflicts?
 When it comes to the matters of truth, there should be no compromise. The NCC is a typical
ecumenical movement that compromise constantly at the expense of truth.
Edgar says that the Bible does not contain much on abortion and homosexuality. How did Mohler
respond?
 The Bible speaks clearly to the sanction of human life and to the priority of protecting unborn life.
The Bible mentions many times about homosexuality, much more than the “only twice” that Edgar
admits. But more importantly, the Bible’s consistent judgment is that homosexual acts are inherently
immoral and sinful.
What is Edgar’s position about the Bible?
 He does not believe that the Scripture is immutable and its words are literal.
From what mistakes that Edgar makes can we know about his knowledge about the Bible?
 He states: ““The book of Revelation does speak of the Rapture, and the portrait it paints is in fact
quite fierce. But it’s equally important to understand that the books of the New Testament are works
of human beings.”
 Mohler rightly comments: “In the span of two fairly short sentences, Edgar manages to suggest that
the New Testament is to be read as a merely human book while moving the Bible’s text concerning
the Rapture from 1 Thessalonians chapter four to the book of Revelation.”
What is the contradiction in Edgard’s opinion about making moral judgments?
 Edgar objects moral judgments by the Religious Right but his book is filled with moral judgments—
judgments about ecology, justice, racism, and a host of other issues. But when it comes to sexuality,
Edgar offers the facile suggestion that moral judgment is “an enterprise in which we’re not supposed
to be involved anyway.”
 In other words, when Edgar makes moral judgments, he’s not being judgmental. But when others
make moral judgments, they are being judgmental.
Should Christians avoid being judgmental?
 The Bible does not say that we are not to make moral judgments, or that we are not to judge moral
behavior. Indeed, the Bible makes absolutely no sense if that is the case.
 The Bible—in both Old and New Testaments—is filled with moral judgment and with advisement on
how we are to make such judgments.
 Of course, the judgments we are to make concern behavior, not the heart. We are expressly forbidden
to judge another’s heart.
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THEOLOGY: The ‘Openness of God’ and the Future of Evangelical
Theology (Mohler, 031120)
THEME: The recent theological movement “Open Theism” is a major threat to orthodox theology and may
bring disaster to the church.
QUESTIONS:
What is the meaning of “Open Theism”?
Open theists argue for a new model of understanding God’s knowledge—a model that insists that true human
freedom requires that God cannot know human decisions in advance. They believe that since the future does
not now exist, God cannot know it.
What is the problem for such belief?
 Open theists deny that God can possess infallible and comprehensive knowledge of the future. In
essence, God is waiting with the rest of us to know how any number of issues will turn out.
 They believe that God can only direct the future in a “general” way.
Why did they hold such belief?
 Because of the difficulty in answering questions about pain and suffering, they thought that this kind
of belief allows God “off the hook” when things do not go as we had hoped.
 The misunderstood biblical passages that speak of God repenting or changing His mind.
How does this belief differ from orthodox Christianity?
 It redefines the God of the Bible and denies the classical understanding of God’s sovereignty,
knowledge, and power.
 It denies the Bible in which God speaks of His own unlimited power, sovereign will, and perfect
knowledge.
 In the past, this kind of denial of divine omniscience have been limited to heretical movements like
the Socinians.
What interesting conclusion did Mohler make about theology?
 Theology is too important to be left to the theologians. Open theism must be a matter of concern for
the whole church.
 [KH: The liberal tendency in theology starts with theologians who, by studying a lot, think they know
more than other Christians.]
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APOLOGETICS: Pluralists of the World Unite! (Mohler, 031009)
THEME: Religious pluralists rejects Christian claim of exclusive salvation through Jesus Christ. While they
exert some influence even on the Roman Catholic Church and liberal theologians, they will lead only to the
loss of faith.
QUESTIONS:
What is religious pluralism?

It is the belief that all religions lead essentially to the same divine reality and that one faith is, in
effect, as good as any other.
What do they promote?
 They promote dialogue and engagement between religions. With the dialogue, they require that the
religions surrender all absolute truth claims.
How did religious pluralism influence the Roman Catholic Church?
 The Roman Catholic Church, which had long claimed to be the only vessel of salvation, now accepts
the notion that persons may become Christians unconsciously.
 Catholic theologian Karl Rahner argues that these “anonymous Christians” are following the light of
other religions, but will eventually be included in Christ’s work of salvation.
What saying by John Hick did Mohler describe as “sloppy thinking and intellectual dishonesty that marks
the pluralist movement?
 Hick said: “It is the consensus of the great majority of the New Testament scholars today that Jesus
Himself did not claim to be God incarnate and that his deification was the gradual work of the
church.”
 This is total dishonesty because of false statements about Jesus’ claim and about the consensus of
scholars. He knows they are false.
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WORLD: ‘False flag’ theologians: September 11 and conspiracy theories
(townhall.com, 060918)
THEME: The Presbyterian Church-USA (PCUSA) published a book by a liberal theologian claiming that
the 911 attacks were orchestrated by the Bush administration. While the book lacks credibility, it reflects the
regrettable trend of the PCUSA toward liberalism.
QUESTIONS:
What reasons did Griffin support his claims that the 911 attacks were orchestrated by the Bush
administration?
 Griffin claims that the attacks were part of a “false flag” operation to provoke war in the Middle East
and expand the American global empire.
What did Griffin propose about the political world?
 He believes that the United States is a demonic power and should be overthrown. [KH:: He dares
even to claim that Jesus was the original political activist who tried to overthrow the Roman Empire
and to claim that Jesus’ claim that “my kingdom is not of this world” was a deceptive claim.] He
supports a one-world government. [KH: just like Babylon the Great in Revelation.]
What is the greater problem with the publication of Griffin’s book?
 What makes his theory so disturbing is the fact that he drags a twisted view Jesus into his fantasies —
and that the Presbyterian Church publishers would aid and abet him.
 The bigger problem is the willingness of Presbyterian publishers to publish such a heretical book.
What did the great Presbyterian theologian Machen say about liberalism?

In his classic 1923 book, Christianity and Liberalism, the great Presbyterian scholar and Princeton
Professor Jay Gresham Machen reminds us that people who deny the fundamentals of the Christian
faith are not just liberal Christians; they belong to another religion entirely. When it comes to
liberalism, Machen wrote, Christianity “is battling against a totally diverse type of religious belief,”
rooted in naturalism. Despite its use of Christian terminology, “liberalism not only is a different
religion from Christianity but belongs in a totally different class of religions.”
What is the common thread about these 4 kinds of heterodoxy (deviation from orthodoxy) in these 4
articles: liberal ethics, open theology, religious pluralism, and liberal theology?
 The common thread is the denial of the authority of Scripture. [KH: That is why this is the first line
of defence for evangelical Christians to stay in orthodox Christianity.]
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