Friday, December 09, 2022

"In The Name of the Lord"--The Christian Left Betrays Him

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A few years ago Tony Perkins' "Family Research Council" wisely published a warning that "Some professing Evangelicals are working to change minds when it comes to same-sex marriage, religious liberty, big government, and even the sanctity of life. Their success has been modest but noticeable in some Evangelical churches, campus ministries, and even Christian universities. The Christian Left is trying to creep in—quietly championing a distorted version of the Gospel more consistent with political liberalism than biblical teaching."

He was right. They were. 

And now, seven years later they are acting on a perversion of the biblical Gospel of Jesus Christ by strongly supporting the very social issues the Bible clearly condemns.

This past election cycle was living evidence.

Be informed, not misled.

Twisting Scripture: The warning.

Perkins' article continued:

The Christian Left heralds its political agenda by undermining the authority of the Bible. Once the lines of truth are blurred, confused young Evangelicals start trying to reconcile their faith with same-sex marriage, taxpayer-funded abortions, anti-Israel sentiments, feminism, pacifism, and the nanny state. The danger of this distorted, liberal theology is that it breaks down the moral values outlined in Scripture. It also encourages young Evangelicals to deny Judeo-Christian principles used to establish a just and prosperous nation.

By undermining the authority of the Word of God, the Christian Left concocts its own cafeteria-style Christianity—taking parts of the Bible out of context so that it fits their own liberal political activism.

If American Evangelicals disengage from the public square and also fail to keep watch at the doors of our own sanctuaries, we risk losing our voice for truth, and then we risk losing our religious freedoms, and then freedom altogether.

He encouraged his readers to read the book "Distortion: How the New Christian Left is Twisting the Gospel and Damaging the Faith."

It is still a good read.

However, what was predicted, has now come to pass.

Twisting Scripture: The reality.

Dr. Michael Brown has also written a book---recently, warning biblical Christians to beware of political seduction, explaining how "millions of Americans have confused politics with the Gospel."

While he makes a few passing remarks about the religious Left, the book is directed at the Christian right, in particular, conservative Christians. He is warning of the growing anti-biblical influence of the Christian Left in the culture.

Brown is a conservative evangelical.

What Tony Perkins warned about has come upon us.

Recognizing the cultural and personal danger, Brown wrote an article this week warning of the Christian Left's growing influence in politics.

Brown says, "It was no surprise when Bishop T. D. Jakes openly endorsed Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke or Pastor Creflo Dollar openly endorsed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams."

He continues:

Both of these candidates made appearances in these respective churches, where they were openly affirmed by these influential leaders. Although both Jakes and Dollar are conservative scripturally (meaning, believing that the Bible is the Word of God and that Jesus is the only Savior), they lean left politically.

In such circles, there is virtually no separation between Church and State.

The reason, though, for another article on this subject is that recent ministerial endorsements of Pastor (and Senator) Raphael Warnock have become even more pronounced and extreme.

But let me be blunt here before you read any further. Because of various political and ideological divides, the great majority of White evangelicals vote Republican while the great majority of Black evangelicals vote Democrat.

On Twitter, Woke Preacher Clips has posted a number of pro-Warnock video clips in which he is plainly endorsed as God’s man for the job, called and appointed for such a time as this.

A Baptist pastor prayed over Senator Warnock, acknowledging how God had “given him this assignment,” paraphrasing Psalm 23 over him and likening him to biblical figures like Moses, David (standing against Goliath), and Nehemiah. Warnock, in turn, addressed the congregation, urging them to vote, since “faith without works is dead” (Jam 2:26).

In another clip, a pastor stands behind a podium with an entourage of other leaders behind him, shouting out, “Joshua had to ask the people: Which side are you on? Which god are you going to serve? Choose ye this day whom you will serve. Walker or Warnock. As for me and our house, we're gonna serve the Lord. We're gonna vote for Warnock...It's our time because it's God's time.”

With great passion, this leader declares that they are sending a message to the nation (and to Donald Trump and Herschel Walker) that they have been on the battlefield too long and that they are not going back. They will not let their votes be denied.

Another pastor, speaking to a smaller congregation, disparagingly referenced “the 88% of the evangelicals, the right-wing evangelicals” who “voted for Herschel Walker.” Yet this 88% are “at somebody's church this morning, talking about ‘Praise the Lord’.”

How, he wondered, could these Christians vote for a man like Walker with his (alleged) moral failures. 

Yet Pastor Warnock staunchly defends abortion and LGBTQ+ activist causes and does not believe in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. That apparently is no problem in voting for him.

And there is this proclamation from a white-collared minister, again about Senator Warnock: “It's time to put the Kingdom over the government...What God is doing by sending this man of God into the U.S. Senate, he's putting a man there with a Kingdom identity, Kingdom mentality, and Kingdom authority to establish Kingdom territory.”

Can you imagine the national outcry in major publications like The New York Times and The Washington Post and Rolling Stone if a white evangelical had made these comments about a Republican candidate?

The shouts of “Dominionism! White Supremacist Nationalism! Christian Insurrectionism!” would have been heard across the land.

Takeaway

More broadly, another reverend, a nationally-recognized leader who regularly appears on MSNBC, preaches fervently to an equally passionate congregation, calling for the largest voter turnout ever for the 2022 midterms. He culminates with this word of warning to “every politician that benefits from this massive turnout: Don’t play with us this time. If we put you in, you better make abortion rights a national law.”

Yes, this was an ordained minister, preaching in a church building, calling for the national codifying of the “right” to shed innocent blood. Talk about an abomination. The false prophets of old would be proud of this.

Please explain to me how this is justified in the name of the Lord?

Obviously, I believe the biblical Church must lead in the culture.

And let no one accuse the Christian right of blurring the lines between Church and State without acknowledging that this has been part and parcel of the Christian left for decades, and a celebrated one at that.

And please don't bring up the false doctrine of "separation of church and state."

Be Informed. Be Discerning. Be Vigilant. Be Engaged, Be Faithful. Be Prayerful.