Has the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) “jumped the shark?” Or, to put it another way, Was this past General Assembly the Assembly of Heresy? (Part 2)

Error #1.

Yesterday, I started looking at the errors made by the recent General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The most significant error was in what the Assembly did regarding our interfaith relationship with those who practice the religion of Islam. Before going any further, I must admit that I am not an expert in this area; however, I am more familiar with this area than probably 90%-95% of Presbyterians. My study of the world’s religions began at Sheldon Jackson College as a student, it continued at Washington State University. At those institutions I studied under professors who were well versed in the world’s religions. One of the professors was a Christian and one had left the Christian faith and believed that all religions lead to God or high consciousness. My assumptions about religion, faith, Christianity, salvation, God, etc, were profoundly challenged. My study of the world’s religions continued throughout my life. As a faculty member at Sheldon Jackson College I taught the class on the World’s Religions every semester for five years. Adherents of many of the religions we covered took the class. I sought to be unbiased in my presentation of each religion and was commended by those who practiced religions other than Christianity for teaching the doctrines of their faith in a fair and unbiased way.

If anything is going to bring the wrath of God upon the PCUSA it will be this past General Assembly’s actions on interfaith relations with Muslims. As a Christian and a Presbyterian pastor I call on all Presbyterians to repent of the sin which our General Assembly is leading us into.

At the end of yesterday’s posting, I asked my readers to look at the following scripture passages:

• 2 Kings 17:37-38
• Jeremiah 13:10
• Jeremiah 44
• Numbers 25:1-4
• Judges 2:12
• 2 Kings 17:38

Scripture is very clear about the worship of God. We ARE NOT to bow down and worship other gods—PERIOD!!

All religions do not worship the same God. If a person believes that all religions worship the same God then he/she is not a Christian—that person may be a “Presbyterian.” The god that the Muslims worship is not the God that Christians worship. Do your homework! Read the Bible! Read the Koran. Read the teachings of Muhammad. The two faiths are mutually exclusive.

“though we hold differing understandings of how God has been revealed to humankind, the PC(USA) affirms that, as children of this loving God, we share the commandments of love for God and neighbor, the requirement to care for the poor." (2008 General Assembly of the PCUSA)

The statement passed by the Assembly is heresy! The statement begins by inferring (if not explicitly stating) that God (Yahweh) has revealed God’s self to Christians and Muslims—we just understand it differently. “This loving God” again implies that we worship the same God. Heresy, once again. Our different faiths may indeed call us to love the god of our faith—but Christians are called to love Yahweh and Muslims are called to love a different God (Allah). Our faiths may call us to care for the poor. However, there are different gods calling us to these actions. There is only one true God—Yahweh!

"Practices might include participation in sacred and holy observances in each other’s traditions." (2008 General Assembly)

The Assembly calls upon us to take part in each other’s “practices.” Taking part in the sacred practices of a god other than Yahweh is totally forbidden in scripture. God is a jealous God and is swift in his punishment of the worshipping of other gods. (Note: a Muslim that takes his/her faith seriously would never worship a god other than Allah, as revealed in the Koran.) The General Assembly is actually encouraging Presbyterians to bow down and worship a different god. The Assembly did not say to “go and observe” Muslims as they practice their sacred events. The Assembly used the word “participation.” To “participate” is to “take part in.” A person that participates in a Muslim sacred (worship) event may say, “I am not really worshipping Allah.” That person is only fooling themselves—they are not fooling God. Look at scripture and see what God did to those who worship other gods.

“encourage congregations of these faiths to celebrate religious holidays together, setting aside days of worship during which there can be congregational suppers, and dialogue groups. (2008 General Assembly)

Does this General Assembly expect me to celebrate the birth of Muhammad—someone who leads people away from Jesus and eternal life? Does this Assembly expect me to celebrate Ramadan? Does this Assembly expect a Muslim to come and celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, the birth of Christ, Pentecost, etc?

It would be nice to sit down and eat with Muslims but most Christians do not follow the Muslim dietary restrictions. We could do it, though. We should sit down and dialogue—talk. We can work together to fight hunger, gang violence, terrorism, racism, discrimination, etc. It would be good to dialogue, but it should be done with the realization that we are of two distinct, separate faiths.

What will happen to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) if we follow through on what this past General Assembly has called us to do? I don’t pretend to know what God will do. But, I do know this—it won’t be pretty! God’s judgment is harsh. Read your Bible. See for yourself. Fall on your knees and pray for the PCUSA.

Has the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) “jumped the shark?” Or, to put it another way, Was this past General Assembly the Assembly of Heresy?

Those who are familiar with popular culture will be familiar with the phrase “jump the shark.” Urbandictionary.com’s first definition of “jump the shark” says, “Origin of this phrase comes from a Happy Days episode where the Fonz jumped a shark on waterskis. Thus was labeled the lowest point of the show.” The second definition says, “The precise moment when you know a program, band, actor, politician, or other public figure has taken a turn for the worse, gone downhill, become irreversibly bad, is unredeemable, etc.; the moment you realize decay has set in.”

The phrase “jumping the shark” has been applied in many areas. Krispy Kreme donuts had a good thing going. Their stock had shot up through the roof. Their stores were few and far between. People would drive hundreds of miles to stand in line for Krispy Kreme donuts. Several years ago a group from our church to the only Krispy Kreme donuts store in Washington State. Going to Krispy Kreme was an “event.” The night we visited Krispy Kreme there were several groups of high school students in their prom dresses, tuxes and limousines at Krispy Kreme. Krispy Kreme had a good thing going with not-for-profit organizations. These organization would order dozens and dozens of donuts to sell out along side the highways and byways of Washington State. Most people’s first experience of a Krispy Kreme donut was of a cold donut that was cooked at 3:00 a.m.! Krispy Kreme jumped the shark when it opened so many stores. There are currently two Krispy Kreme stores within fifteen minutes of my house. The Krispy Kreme stores sit virtually empty. The stock value plummeted.

The Anglican Church jumped the shark when the Episcopal Church in the United States consecrated a non-celibate gay bishop. This one event has caused irreparable damage to the Anglican Communion. Conservative Anglicans just wrapped up the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON). Archbishop Peter Akinola, Primate of Nigeria, said there must be “unavoidable realignment in the communion to rescue the communion from where we are.” He went on to say, "A sizeable part of the Communion are in error and not a few are apostate; is the Communion correctable from within or must it be from without?" A major shift in the Anglican Communion is taking place.

Was this past General Assembly meeting the “jump the shark” event in the life of the PCUSA? Was this the Assembly meeting that will forever change the denomination?

What is heresy? The Oxford English Dictionary defines heresy as a “theological or religious opinion or doctrine maintained in opposition, or held to be contrary, to the Roman Catholic or Orthodox doctrine of the Christian Church, or, by extension, to that of any church, creed, or religious system, considered as orthodox.” Several actions by this past General Assembly are very troubling. Do any of these actions rise to the point of being called “heresy?”

The Internet is ablaze with postings on this past General Assembly. The folks at “higher headquarters” (a.k.a. – Louisville) are in full damage control mode. Yesterday I received a call from our General Presbyter – the first one in twelve years. The GP is concerned about how pastors and churches are going to respond to the actions of the Assembly. The you-know-what has hit the fan.

The Book of Order says that “all synods and councils may err…” (G-1.0307) Christ’s followers are human—forgiven, but still human. General Assemblies have erred in the past and will undoubtedly err in the future. One safe guard against such error is that changes to the constitution have to be ratified by a majority of the presbyteries. Such a balance of power helps to prevent the Assemblies from error. One very troubling aspect of this past Assembly is the way in which it bypassed the requirement to send things to the presbyteries to be ratified.

Enough of the preamble—on to the analysis.

Error #1.

The recent General Assembly dealt with issues regarding the interfaith relationship between Presbyterians and Muslims. It is important that we build appropriate relationships with those who are outside of the Christian faith. Those relationships would include being respectful of the other religion while holding fast to the belief that salvation is found in Christ alone. I would expect that any Muslim that truly believes the doctrines of his/her faith would hold fast to the teaching of Muhammad and the Koran. It is possible to build a trusting relationship with those of a different religion without compromising the tenants of our faith.

The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) adopted a report that says, “though we hold differing understandings of how God has been revealed to humankind, the PC(USA) affirms that, as children of this loving God, we share the commandments of love for God and neighbor, the requirement to care for the poor." and, "Practices might include participation in sacred and holy observances in each other’s traditions." and, “encourage congregations of these faiths to celebrate religious holidays together, setting aside days of worship during which there can be congregational suppers, and dialogue groups.”

To be fair to the Assembly, the most heretical sentence was removed from the report by the committee. However, the troubles with the report are of historic proportions.

Before I comment further, please take the time to read the following biblical texts:

• 2 Kings 17:37-38
• Jeremiah 13:10
• Jeremiah 44
• Numbers 25:1-4
• Judges 2:12
• 2 Kings 17:38

I will comment further tomorrow after you have had an opportunity to read the listed biblical texts.

Update…

Regular followers of this blog know that pastoral responsibilities have taken their toll over the past several months—this postings have been few and far between.

Last week I took the entire week off. We traveled to the in-laws for their 50^th anniversary party (Saturday), to attend a huge family reunion (Sunday) and for the memorial service for my wife’s sister’s father-in-law. My time away was wonderful—even the memorial service. Many relative on the wife’s side of the family have accepted Christ in the past few years. It is humbling to see how God has moved in this family. I met Holly—soon to be my sister-in-law by marriage. She and her two teenage kids are great.

Guess what—no internet connection while I was gone. J

I turned on my computer yesterday and wanted to weep. So many people have written on the assembly. I will begin writing tomorrow – Wednesday. My spiritual “nerves” are still to raw to comment today.

Will I offer any new thoughts? Will my “2 cents” add to the debate? I will strive to honor your time. Time is too valuable to waste.

See you tomorrow…