Shocking yes; but sadly, quite true. As Chris Rosebrough brings out in his Pirate Radio broadcast below Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) and Fred Phelps end up with all law and no gospel. However, Emergence Christianity pastor Jay Bakker is also guilty of what Rosebrough correctly calls a “theological smörgåsbord-i-tis” of selective Biblical reading i.e. picking and choosing what you like from the Sacred text much as one does at a buffet or a salad bar.

Rosebrough is absolutely right that Bakker ends up with essentially all grace and no law, which also equals no gospel. So Phelps and WBC, as well as Bakker, are equally as sick in their theology—albeit from opposite sides of the deviant lifestyle of those who are unrepentant in their sinful practice of sexual immorality with a member of the same sex i.e. homosexuality. And by the way, that is precisely what homosexuality is in practice.

You see, marriage was Biblically defined by Jesus of Nazareth—our Creator—Who, by the way, is speaking from the perspective of an eyewitness when He informs us:

But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female. Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh.’ “ (Mark 10:6-8, ESV)

Now the laws of a nation are an entirely different matter. The fact is, all who engage in sexual relations outside of marriage commit the sin of sexual immorality—period; at that point, it matters not whether it’s homosexual or heterosexual. This is what’s at issue and why it is that souls in sin of any kind are in peril. Consider the following from Jesus while He gave His disciples a post-Resurrection Bible study:

Then He opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. (Luke 24:45-47)

And, as I pointed out in Because I Love Jay Bakker And GLBTQ People, when it comes to any issue which relates to faith and morals our existential, highly subjective opinions, and/or notoriously fickle feelings are irrelevant. The only question that actually matters for those of us who are ambassadors for Jesus Christ is: What does the Bible itself say about the issue at hand; in this case the sin of practicing homosexuality.

But based upon his last message Good Theology That Makes You a Jerk Isn’t Good Theology what Jay Bakker doesn’t understand is that I’m hardly being a jerk in trying to get him to address what God has said concerning homosexuality; in fact, it’s the most loving thing I can do. Being that we are both pastor-teachers I’m well within my mandate ala Titus 1:9 to encourage Bakker to uphold sound doctrine, and to even refute him, because on this issue he’s eternally dead wrong. 

In that same verse God commands that Bakker must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, and in “affirming” that GLBTQ people practicing same-sex relations are not in sin, he is lying to them. It also needs to be understood that Bakker is going to be judged, as will I, according to James 3:1 — Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.

God is my witness here that I have sincerely been praying for Jay Bakker to repent; and in Will Rob Bell Now Follow Tony Jones Out Of The Closet I’m already on the record publicly, as one who has been quite critical of his teachings, in wanting to give Tony Jones some due respect for being man enough to plainly state what he believes. Jesus also knows I tell the truth that I have even more respect for Bakker because he was on record long before the rest of those ’round Emerging Church circles.

Sadly, many of them have yet to go on the record as to what, in my opinion, they have long believed. McLaren’s moratorium likely had more meaning than many knew, all the while waiting for the winds of change now set to destroy the mostly unware, and definitely apathetic, mainstream evangelical community to reach their current near hurricane force. And make no mistake, Bakker’s spiritual star is rising as demonstrated by a post today from “sociologist and author” Gerardo Marti and the fact that Jay Bakker Is To Speak For The 2009 ELCA Youth Gathering. 

See also:

EMERGING CHURCH PASTOR JAY BAKKER CLAIMS HE KNOWS THE SCRIPTURES BUT IS STILL “GAY AFFIRMING”

Q&A FOR “GAY AFFIRMING” EMERGING CHURCH PASTOR JAY BAKKER

POPULAR EMERGING CHURCH WEBSITE THE OOZE SLITHERS OUT OF THE GLBTQ-AFFIRMING CLOSET

OXYMORONIC ‘HOMOSEXUAL CHRISTIANS’ FOCUS OF BARNA REPORT

THE NEW CHRISTIANS WITH CHRISTIANITY WORTH BELIEVING—NO SOLA SCRIPTURA: YES, WOMEN PASTORS AND QUEER CHRISTIANS

QUEERMERGENT AND NOW ADULTERMERGENT!?

ROB BELL, PETER ROLLINS, AND QUEERMERGENT’S ADELE SAKLER