April 3, 2023

Christianity In Crisis

Super bowl XXXVIII is over, and too many, the commercials were the most excitement in the first half, until the last three and one-half minutes. But true to the billing of “Superbowl,” the second half was a seesaw battle. Truly we are satiated with sports, and the buildup to the bowl games, the World Series, and the playoffs testify to that.

I would like to divert our attention to a more somber topic. Let us begin with a section of scripture authored by the apostle Paul to a young pastor: Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away [their] ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables [II Timothy 4:2-4].

In 1997, Hank H. Hanegraaff, president of the Christian Research Institute (which was founded by the late Dr. Walter Martin), published a critique on some of the trends in Christianity entitled Christianity in Crisis. The crux of the book deals with several contemporary Christian doctrines that are foreign to the “historical” church. Hanegraaf suggests that left unchallenged by the body of the church, these doctrines can have devastating consequences upon the doctrines of the church. It is not my purpose to rehash his book, or suggest that you buy it. I simply want to use his analysis that the “visible” church is under assault from many areas, some recognizable and some sublime. It, therefore, behooves each of us to remain vigilant and know what “sound doctrine” looks like, or something self-serving will take its place.

The mind-controlling antics of Jim Jones People’s Temple seems easy to spot when one thinks of false doctrine. But is it really so obvious to those who became involved with the People’s Temple that Jones was a deceptive disciple? Jones began his ministry as a pastor at Somerset Methodist Church on Keystone Street in Indianapolis in 1952. Jones quickly became a rising star with his activism and was asked to speak at a denominational convention in Columbus, Indiana, where he energizes the audience. In 1953, Jones appeared at an interdenominational missionary seminar in Detroit. Jones left the Methodist Church over a disagreement about racial integration and opened a church at Hoyt and Randolph Streets that he called Community Unity. Then he moved to another building at 15th and New Jersey and renamed the church “Wings of Deliverance.” Jones then moved into a former synagogue at 10th and Delaware and named the new church the “People’s Temple.” The church becomes affiliated with the Disciples of Christ in 1960, and Jones is ordained by the denomination (in 1964). The official name of the church became People’s Temple Christian Church Full Gospel. In 1965, Jones would move to California, along with about 130 followers, and would opened the Temple first at Ukiah, then in the rough “Tenderloin” district on San Francisco’s Fillmore street. The church exploded in membership (around 8,000) and eventually Jones claimed 20,000 people followed/supported his ministry..

Jones began to look for a promised land for his followers by the mid-1960s and settled on migrating to Guyana in 1977. Jones obtained a lease on 3,852 acres from the Government of Guyana (for 25 years), and named it “Jonestown.” This paradise was to become an agricultural commune (named People’s Temple Agricultural Project) located in the western part of the country in the Orinoco River Basin, near a disputed border with Venezuela.

So what went wrong? Why would hundreds of people follow Jones across the country to San Francisco, then to the jungles of Guyana where Jones suggest that there might be people who want to bring the temple down, and began rehearsing a “White Night” suicide plan?

Psychologists would say Jones was a sociopath who became delusional and dangerously paranoid. Pentecostals would say Jones was possessed by the devil. Many laypeople would say he was mentally ill. Researchers into Jones’ early life suggest that he was already showing eccentric behavior long before the move to Jonestown. The truth probably lies in a combination of all.

Reaching back to my introduction and scripture text, Jones looked good on the outside; his charisma and church outreaches appealed to the disenfranchised, the poor, to those seeking social justice, and to educated idealists. However, he lacked and/or failed to preach sound doctrine. The ramifications of his lack of Christian orthodoxy proved fatal to over nine hundred of his followers. Those individuals who followed Jones were caught up in the excitement of his message, his works, and his social activism, which is commendable. But many of his parishioners lacked the knowledge of the scriptures and the doctrines of the church. Whose fault is that? Both! As a minister, Jones was ordained by the Disciples of Christ to preach the word (as mentioned in II Timothy 4), and as members of the church, each of them (and us) are exhorted to study and know the Word. Jones and his followers perished because they left the safety of the doctrines of Christ.

What about my comment Christianity in Crisis? Christianity has always been under attack from within and without. From within have risen false teachers who through time the church has had to deal with and refute.

Judaizers, or the Judaizing movements, are not a condemnation of Judaism or ethnic Jews. Instead, it has historically been the label for those who attempt to make observing the Mosaic Law a requirement for Christianity and salvation. The book of Acts refers to such people as “they of the circumcision” (Acts 10:45; 11:2), and the council at Jerusalem decisively ruled against them (Acts 15:23–29). Despite this biblical ruling, Judaizing movements continue to grow in our time. These movements require such things as strict observance of the Sabbath on Saturday, mandatory tithing, observance of the Jewish feasts, and other regulations in order for a Christian to earn salvation. Modern groups that can be considered Judaizers are Seventh-Day Adventists; Worldwide Church of God; and Seventh-Day Pentecostals.

The Nicolaitans and Gnostics (as mentioned by John in Revelation chapter 2) taught that for one to find divine knowledge, one must throw off any inhibitions, which meant that sins committed in the body (sex) did not affect the spirit. The Gnostics promoted three basic teachings: 1) matter is evil, and thus Jesus only appeared to be a man; 2) because the Bible teaches that God created matter, the God of the Old Testament Jews is an evil deity who is distinct from the New Testament God, Jesus Christ; and 3) ultimate Truth is a mystery that is available only to those who are initiated into the secret teachings and practices of the Gnostic groups. Gnosticism has become popular in the latter half of the 20th century with the 1945 Egyptian discovery of the Nag Hammadi library, a collection of Gnostic writings. One of the most influential books in modern Gnosticism has been Elaine Pagel’s The Gnostic Gospels, an analysis of the Nag Hammadi documents. Modern Gnosticism is commonly found in syncretistic groups, which teach that Truth can be found by combining the beliefs and practices of numerous religions, such as the New Age Movement.

Donatists taught that the people who claimed to be a member of the church had to be holy or be expelled. Furthermore, anyone ministered to by one who was not sufficiently holy would not have been properly ministered to (would not have been saved correctly). The name Donatist is taken from the Greek word dokein- to seem. The docetics believed that the seeming humanity of Christ, particularly his suffering, were imaginary. They taught that the divine God cannot suffer, and thus, since Christ is divine, his suffering was an illusion to teach humans a valuable lesson about the illusion of matter. Docetism was an integral part of Gnosticism. The heresy was a major impetus for the Chalcedonian Definition of AD 451, which describes that Christ is one person with two natures: human and divine. The heresy continues among modern groups that deny the reality of suffering such as Christian Science, Mind Sciences, and the New Age Movement.

Arianism believed that Jesus was a created being and did not exist with the Father from the beginning (though He was divine). Perhaps the most significant heresy faced by the Church, Arianism (named after Arius) taught that, as the Son of God, Christ was created by God the Father. Arius thus denied the Trinity by teaching that Jesus is less than fully divine. This heresy became extremely widespread, even being promoted by many bishops. It was condemned at the First Council of Nicaea in AD 325 (which proclaimed that Christ is fully divine), and at the First Council of Constantinople in AD 381 (which proclaimed that the Holy Spirit is divine). Arianism remains one of the most common heresies to afflict the Church. Almost all pseudo–Christian groups deny the full deity of Christ, as held by Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, and the Unification Church.

Pelagianism rejected the doctrine of original sin, taught that children are born innocent of the sin of Adam, taught that baptism was not a regenerative sacrament, and claimed that following the law as well as the gospel can lead one to Heaven, and finally they taught that pagans had been able to enter Heaven by virtue of their moral actions before the coming of Christ. Pelagius, a Welsh monk, also taught that salvation is earned by following the example of Christ, grace is not necessary and humans can overcome the sin they gradually develop by using God’s grace to assist them in perfecting themselves and thus earning salvation. This heresy is endemic to almost all modern pseudo–Christian groups such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, and the Worldwide Church of God.

Nestorianism (and Monophysites) held that Jesus was two distinct persons: one human and one divine who are closely and inseparably united. Nestorius, the bishop of Constantinople, taught that Mary bore only Jesus’ human nature in her womb, thus implicitly teaching that Christ was not divine while on earth. In an overreaction to Nestorius, the Monophysites taught that Christ was one person with his humanity and divinity fused into a single nature (the Greek roots of the word monophysite are mono = one, and physis = nature), thus implicitly teaching that Christ was neither fully human nor fully divine. Nestorianism is implicit in those groups who deny the reality of matter. One of the most common forms of the monophysite heresy can be found in the New Age Movement and Christian Science, where many believe that Jesus was a man who developed his “Christ consciousness” and thus fully achieved his divinity.

Origenism embraced the doctrine of the pre-existence of human souls, the subordination of the Son to the Father, and universalism. The career of Origen is one of the more unusual in Christian history. He dedicated himself to defending attacks on Christianity from paganism, Judaism, and Christian heresies. Despite his defense of orthodoxy, Origen developed several heretical doctrines (as previously mentioned) that were eventually condemned in AD 553. Few groups currently adopt all of Origen’s teachings. Nonetheless, groups influenced by Joseph Smith believe in both the preexistence of souls and the essential subordination of the Son to the Father, and many other groups believe in both the preexistence of souls (usually in the form of reincarnation) and universalism.

If we fast forward to the early part of the twenty-first century, what erroneous teachings can we find embedded in the church? You are a god; you preexisted in eternity past; you can become a god; sin is illusionary; there is no salvation outside of our denomination; Christ didn’t become divine until he descended into hell; God doesn’t hear the prayers of sinners; you must observe the Jewish Sabbath; Jesus was only a moral teacher; you must observe the Christian Sabbath; you must observe the Law of Moses and keep the Jewish dietary laws; you must be baptized into our church; doctrine of divine health; abortion rights; we are in the Latter-Day rain; replacement theology; universal salvation of all mankind; jubilee anointing; Jesus took on the nature of Satan on the cross; only a selected group will become the elect; humans are born either saved or lost; if you think-then you are; dominion theology; serpent seed doctrine; annihilation of the wicked; the virgin birth didn’t occur; the corporate anointing; make a vow to release one’s faith; financial anointing; and there is a Time of the Father-Time of the Son-Time of the Holy Ghost. I could continue, but you get the picture. False teachings surrounded the early church, and they simply keep resurfacing under a new name.

An analysis: Jimmy Jones may have been delusional, but he simply resurrected false teachings that grounded Christians should have recognized. There is little doubt that Jim Jones began as a man who genuinely preached Christ. People joined the Temple to fellowship with others, serve their fellow man, and live a Christian life. But in the end, Jones was preaching himself as a god-“the Lord’s anointed,” and demanded strict obedience. In the grand schema of events, Jones is just another leader whom followers of Christ were warned about by the Apostle Paul: Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them [Acts 20:28-30].

Jim Jones’s demise is simply history repeated. As one observer wrote: “The first step [in the development of a cult and cult following] is always the teaching of the Bible, teaching it straight, teaching it with the grace of God, the love of Christ, and the promises of Scripture. The second step is when the focus turns from the Lord Jesus Christ to the teacher, who is then proclaimed as Lord. The third step is the suggestion that the faithful forfeit their wealth and property, which is given willingly at first, then forcibly. The final step is, of course, blind and unque stionable obedience and submission. Questioning the “Leader” becomes paramount to questioning God, and humiliation, ostracism, or excommunication is the fate that awaits those who challenges his “divine revelation.” The end result is always the same. Followers become zombies unable to discern life around them, or they become disillusioned, and their faith becomes shipwrecked.

The antidote to the Jim Joneses of the world and even sublime false-teaching is to know the scripture and test what is being said against the Word of God. Paul commended the Church at Brea for just this approach: These were more noble [the Bereans] than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so [Acts 17:11]. Think About It!