EMERGENCE CHRISTIANITY THEOLOGIAN TONY JONES AND HIS UNREPENTANT HOMOSEXUAL CHRISTIANS

By on Nov 21, 2008 in AM Missives, Current Issues, Emergent Church, Homosexuality/"Christian"

To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work. (Titus 1:15-16, ESV)
 
When Our Creator God Spoke Long Ago He Did Not Fail To Get His Message Across
 
Yesterday in Tony Jones: Influential Theologian of the Emergent Church Out of the Closet here at Apprising Ministries I did my best to bring to the attention of the Body of Christ this important issue. Tony Jones, author of the book The New Christianity Christians and a leading theologian in the Emergent Church, is officially out of the closet now concerning his view that unrepentant practicing homosexuals can become Christians, which we first covered in Tony Jones and the Emergent Church: “Christian” Gay is A-Ok.
 
Therein I quote from Relevant Magazine the answer Jones gave while still national co-ordinator for Emergent Village when RM pointed out a year or so ago:

RM: You mentioned earlier that you have lesbian pastors and conservative absolutists. It seems that it would create a tension point when it comes to endorsing that person’s view or platform.

TJ: If you believe that Christianity is–at its very heart–a tension-filled, dialectical endeavor, you have less problems with these tension-filled relationships with believers. Christianity is paradoxical. Life comes out of death. Jesus was fully human and fully divine. We haven’t yet found that there’s anything that justifies us breaking fellowship with somebody else who loves and is trying to follow Jesus. (On file at AM, emphasis mine)

Later in a personal phone call with Jones he confirmed to me that this indeed was his view. Forget whether or not he is speaking for the Emerging Church; the issue above is that Jones is stating the core belief of more and more who are involved in the highly ecumenical practice of Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism (CSM). From my own studies into the impact of CSM within the visible church I first found in liberal theology this very same view expressed by Jones above. And we note that for years the Contemplative/Centering Prayer of CSM has been an integral part of mainline churches long ago swallowed up by their liberal theology.
 
Men and women, do yourself a favor and make the time to look at what cult expert Dr. Walter Martin called “the Cult of Liberal Theology” and what it did to those mainline denominations when it really penetrated deep into their leadership structures in the mid 60’s. With men e.g. like Tony Jones, his pastor Doug Pagitt, and his friend Rob Bell—all involved with CSM—you are dealing with a postliberalism. Remember liberal theology was also known as modern theology.
 
Here’s your first hint that with these guys you’re getting a reimagined peace-meal version of the old Fatherhood of God; Brotherhood of man, unity of so-called “faith traditions” within the Church, along with a repainted social gospel of good deeds originally dreamed up by adherents of the original liberal theology. It starts with an existential feeling-oriented approach to Scripture, which is then combined with a faux-intellectualism where these musers—all allegedly enlightened [read: deceived] by their CSM—then attempt to blend the latest “scholarship” with their supposedly superior understanding of Scripture.
 
It’s actually the leaven in a receipe for spiritual disaster, which was what I was driving at when I wrote the piece Dan Kimball and the Emergent Church Seeking Hard to Make Homosexual Sin Not Sin. Predictably Kimball got all offended but, as I told him one time as we talked on the phone, by ones involvement with the practices of CSM—which would beyond question contribute mightily to bringing about the Protestant Reformation—they will only drift deeper into spiritual deception. This is the point I am making in that article; now enter Tony Jones as Exhibit A.
 
“I Think Feel; Therefore, I Am It Is—There, Fixed It”
 
At the interspiritual website Beliefnet where Jones now blogs (smell the coffee yet?) in Same Sex Marriage Blogalogue: How I Went from There to Here he removed all doubt as to his position, and that which he feels the Body of Christ itself should also take, regarding those who are unrepentant in their practice of the sin of homosexuality:

And yet, all the time I could feel myself drifting toward acceptance that gay persons are fully human persons and should be afforded all of the cultural and ecclesial benefits that I am.  (”Aha!” my critics will laugh derisively, “I knew he and his ilk were on a continuous leftward slide!”)

In any case, I now believe that GLBTQ can live lives in accord with biblical Christianity (at least as much as any of us can!) and that their monogamy can and should be sanctioned and blessed by church and state.
(Online source, bold theirs)

This is absolutely counter to the clear teaching of the Bible and has absolutely zero place in Protestant evangelicalism, which at least still pays lip service to adhering to Sola Scriptura. Yet after making many aware of this statement early yesterday I survey the blogosphere thus far today; nary a yawn, only silence. Here we have a major, and very influential, figure in this Emerging rebellion against the final authority of God’s Word openly defying what it says but we’re busy blogging about nothing. Hey, how about yet another post on the cessation of the spiritual gifts; or how about one on the critical need to have endless dialogue with people determined not to listen in the first place.

Well, I have news for you; I couldn’t care less if Tony Jones is a nice guy and from what he’s said behind my back in mocking me to people he didn’t know knew me I have a little different picture. You see, I happen to care deeply about the scores of young people whose faith is being warped, crushed, and destroyed by posers like Jones so listen up: As long as men like me are breathing they will never, ever, get their postliberal dream of false unity in our Lord’s Church. If no one with “credibilty” will attempt to expose this doctrine of demons, then I guess God will just have to use the foolishness of ministries such as AM to do it.

Below you’ll see Jones’ own comment in the comments section of the Beliefnet post. Typically off-topic:

Tony Jones
November 20, 2008 3:33 PM

Hi everyone. Just a note. This is going to be a long and engaging blogalogue over many days and many posts. Surely, Rod and I will both grapple with the scriptural passages that directly deal with homosexuality and those that indirectly have something to say about this issue. This was simply an opening post to give you something of my story. (Online source)

Who cares that he’s going to “grapple with the scriptural passages”? Men and women, please wake up. Are we really supposed to believe that no Christians ever did this prior to the time Emerging Church guys like Kimball and Jones arrived on the scene? No scholars and apologists faithful to the Gospel of Jesus Christ understood these issues concerning the subject of homosexuality before Emergent Guru Brian McLaren could slither in and ask for a moratorium on discussion? And yet still there are those who wondered why I called the Emergent Church a cult back in November 2005.

Well, it just so happens to be my opinion that McLaren’s moratorium was largely a ploy in order to buy time for this cult to further penetrate evangelicalism and continue conditioning increasingly gullible evangelicals to accept the views which Jones at least has the intestinal fortitude to express on the record. And for that I give him some due resepect. However, the issue of whether someone being unrepentant in their practice of the sin of homosexuality can become a Christian really is as simple as my own comment in the combox of the post under discussion:

Ken Silva
November 20, 2008 5:32 PM
https://www.apprising.org

The written Word of God clearly calls the practice of homosexuality sin; and therefore so does Christ Jesus, the living Word of God.

Dr. Walter Martin was dead on target when he said, “It is not unloving to tell someone the truth; you can get in a lot of trouble for doing it, but it is not unloving.” (Online source)

Actually I found quite interesting what Oswald Chambers, instructor of missionaries, says below in today’s entry for his My Utmost for His Highest. And you know, word has it he was kind of “missional” even without the benefit of that siren song of Brian McLaren and the Emergent Dreamers:

Anything that belittles or obliterates the holiness of God by a false view of the love of God, is untrue to the revelation of God given by Jesus Christ. Never allow the thought that Jesus Christ stands with us against God out of pity and compassion; that He became a curse for us out of sympathy with us. Jesus Christ became a curse for us by the Divine decree. Our portion of realizing the terrific meaning of the curse is conviction of sin, the gift of shame and penitence is given us – this is the great mercy of God. Jesus Christ hates the wrong in man, and Calvary is the estimate of His hatred. (Online source)

See also:

EMERGENT CHURCH OPENLY ACCEPTS PRACTICING HOMOSEXUAL “CHRISTIANS”

APPRISING MINISTRIES: SHOCKING NEW EVIDENCE JESUS CONDEMNED THE PRACTICE OF HOMOSEXUALITY

BRIAN MCLAREN, THE EMERGING CHURCH, AND HOMOSEXUALITY: WHAT’S SO HARD ABOUT THAT?

ROB BELL SINGS THE SIREN SONG OF THE SELF