If you are familiar with Apprising Ministries you’ll know that I’m not an advocate of what I call “the plus-minus” apologetic. By that I mean, one already knows a given author is not in favor of the subject at hand; yet, the author begins with a few “positive” aspects of the subject, followed by many “negative” aspects as we reach the foregone conclusion the author cannot recommend/approve said subject.

For example, I’m not so sure one needs to point out that poison berries are pleasing to the eye. With this in mind, I will bring to your attention a review of Manifold Witness: The Plurality of Truth, the latest book by John Franke, a leading theologian in the egregiously ecumenical Emerging Church aka Emergent Church de-formation of the Christian faith—now morphing into Emergence Christianity (EC).

Dr. Mohler begins:

The question of truth stands at the very center of the postmodern challenge… [postmodernism is] deeply subversive of the very concept of truth. Indeed, the rejection of truth in any knowable and objective form is one of the greatest challenges postmodernism presents to the Christian faith… the more general effect of postmodernism has been to insinuate a very dangerous epistemological humility that can undermine confidence that any truth can actually be known. (Online source)

He then goes on to point out:

In Manifold Witness, Franke offers a skillful review of postmodernism and its understanding of truth… In the end, Franke’s understanding of the Bible falls desperately short of evangelical conviction… we are not actually bound by the words of Scripture. Instead, the church is to engage the Bible, trusting that the Holy Spirit will lead the community into a new understanding. Thus, the emerging church would be freed from accountability to the actual words and propositional statements of Scripture. The community can simply claim that it is being led by the Spirit into a new and different understanding…

Of course, this is the very argument asserted by Protestant liberals over the last two centuries. Franke adds postmodern concepts and language to an old argument. The new liberalism, chastened by postmodernism for its extreme individualism, now puts theological revisionism in a communal context. The result is the same — the subversion of biblical Christianity… The Protestant liberals of the 19th and 20th centuries often offered words of criticism that orthodox believers and theologians needed to hear.

Nevertheless, their subversion of biblical truth and their embrace of heresy rather than orthodoxy established these theological liberals as adherents of a religion fully distinct from Biblical Christianity. Now,  the leading edge of the emergent church movement follows the very same trajectory. Manifold Witness is a fascinating book, but John Franke’s proposal is a recipe for theological disaster. In this book, a new postmodern form of theological liberalism comes fully into view. (Online source)

Which is why I’ve pointed out many times that this EC is actually a cult of a postliberalism metastasizing as a spiritual cancer throughout the visible church. Circa 1985 Dr. Walter Martin (1928-1989), author of the classic The Kingdom of the Cults, was lecturing on what he was calling “The Cult of Liberalism.” Remember, liberal theology was also known as “modern theology.”

Why; because it was an attempt to harmonize the Christian faith with the modern culture of its day. Can the big name evangelical leaders really not see the obvious parallel; postmodern [postliberal] theology is the same stupid attempt to harmonize the Christian faith with the postmodern culture of our day. And if they can; e.g. how have the mytic musings of the Elvis of the EC Rob Bell now become mainstream?

See also:

THE EMERGING CHURCH HIGHJACKING EVANGELICALISM

THE NIGHTMARE BEGINNING FOR MAINSTREAM EVANGELICALISM

EMERGING CHURCH TRANSFORM

THE GOSPEL-LESS GOSPEL OF ROB BELL

IS ROB BELL EVANGELICAL?

ROB BELL ABSOLUTELY WRONG ABOUT SCRIPTURE

SHANE HIPPS, CO-PASTOR WITH ROB BELL, SAYS ALL RELIGIONS VALID