“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits.” (Matthew 7:15-16, ESV)

Professing To Be Wise, Becoming Fools

I’ve been doing what I can here at Apprising Ministries to track the influx of heresy into the mainstream evangelical community, which is now spreading apostasy as quickly as an Oklahoma wildfire. Much of this false teaching can be traced directly back to its idiotic embrace of the egregiously ecumenical Emerging Church de-formation of the Christian faith aka Emergent Church—now morphing into Emergence Christianity (EC). 

And I really couldn’t care less if you believe that or not; my job is to show you the truth, and it remains between you and God to work out the rest. My writing isn’t so much aimed at those leaders in the EC—and the Lord be praised, they are quite acquainted with my writings—because likely many are found here: 

For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus uiteChrist our only Sovereign and Lord. Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.

In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire. In the very same way, these dreamers pollute their own bodies, reject authority and slander celestial beings. But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” Yet these men speak abusively against whatever they do not understand; and what things they do understand by instinct, like unreasoning animals—these are the very things that destroy them.

 Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion. These men are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead. They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.

Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” These men are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.

 But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. (Jude 4-19) 

Below however, is yet another clear example that this uber inclusive EC is a Liberalism 2.0; in other words, as my friend Chris Rosebrough of Fighting for the Faith has pointed out, it’s a upgrade in the software of the original liberalism. A main difference is postmodern theology (postliberal) now includes belief in the miraculous, where modern theology (liberalism) did not. One fatal characteristic they both share is the highly subjective existential experience Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism(CSM) over Sola Scriptura, where we learn proper Christian spirituality.

Being a modified cessationist, I haven’t any problem whatsoever with “experiencing” God; as His regenerated children we are, after all, indwelt by the Spirit of Christ. However, EC CSM advocates ala Living Spiritual Teacher and Quaker mystic Richard Foster—and his spiritual twin Dallas Willard— interpret Scripture by their experiences. If you don’t believe me, then you just haven’t done your homework. But the proper approach to a relationship with God has always been every experience must be tested by God’s revelation of Himself in the Bible.

We are never to do the reverse, which would then put our fickle human feelings at the center. Indeed, the regenerated Christian has God the Holy Spirit within, but at the same time, we are also fallen creatures whose human reasoning capacity, our heart so to speak, is irrepairably marred. Leaving this aside for now, why don’t you do yourself a favor; actually make the time, as I have, to read the books of these puffed-up purveyors of CSM. There you’ll see they always end up attacking the Lord’s Reformation while bringing a new form of Gnosticism into the church. 

We Don’t Exactly Know What We Believe; But We Certainly Know You’re Wrong

Now we return now to our subject at hand; the liberalism, which has mortally wounded the mainline of the church visible, has been reimagined and is now metastasizing—as the spiritual cancer it is—into the bloodstream of the mainstream. Consider our old friend lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, queer (LGBTQ) activist Adele Sakler. Although she thinks I am not acting in the Lord’s love toward her, she happens to be dead wrong. As was pointed out elsewhere, it’s not unloving to tell someone the truth; you can get in a lot of trouble for doing it, but it’s not unloving. 

The truth is Sakler aka Existential Punk is, by her own public testimony, a practicing lesbian “Christ-follower,” who was co-leader of Richmond Emergent Cohort aligned with Emergent Village, and continues to head up the EC group Queermergent. You’ll recall from Queermergent Adele Sakler And Emergent Village that we were first introduced to Queermergent and Sakler, whom he said he’s “known for years,” by heretical EC spokesman Tony Jones, who’s “theologian in residence” at the EC church of his quasi-universalist pastor Doug Pagitt. 

If you happen to think all of these names in association with each other around the EC then you, my friend, are akin with the spiritually obtuse evangelical leaders doing their outstanding impression of Rip Van Winkle. And in addition, Sakler’s also good friends with EC darling Peter Rollins; whom she told us has had much to do with shaping her doubts faith, and has made the curious choice to align herself with the rather biblically illiterate, and largely gay affirming, bunch who’ve crowned themselves as Outlaw Preachers now rallying around gay marriage advocate “pastor” Jay Bakker. 

Here’s some more rancid fruit of this Emergence Christianity, as the other day we see Sakler tweet the following to Samir Selmanovic: 

@SamirSelmanovic i heard that in your new book you discuss that it’s ok to be a Christian atheist. True? i consider myself a Xian Agnostic. (Online source) 

To be more specific Sakler tells us that she:

considers herself at this point in her journey a Christian agnostic because she just can’t seem to sign on the dotted line and ascribe to all the man-made doctrines and long-held man-made traditions of Christendom any longer. She is thomas, doubter.

She is judas, betrayer. She is nicodemus, reluctant in the night. She is st. john of the cross, soul darkened by love. She is lost, wicked, and depraved but redeemed by the grace and beauty of God. She loves G-D and is a failing Christ-follower. (Online source)

And as far as Selmanovic, I’ve already brought your attention that he’s a member of the Coordinating Group for Emergent Village and contributing author to An Emergent Manifesto of Hope—which was edited by the dubious duo of Jones and Pagitt—in articles like Samir Selmanovic: It’s Really All About Self and Samir Selmanovic: God Is Father Of All Religion. As you’ll also see in Faith House Manhattan: Project Of Apostasy By Samir Selmanovic he heads up an interspiritual project he calls Faith House that carries the ringing endorsements of EC guru Brian McLaren and Tony Campolo.

So Selanovic then appears to tell Sakler, a self-identified Christian agnostic but one step away as it is, that it is indeed “ok to be a Christian atheist”: 

@ExistentialPunk Yes, I think it is true because I met some! (Online source)

Sakler replies: 

@SamirSelmanovic Well then, will be purchasing your book to read. i really hope our paths cross one day! Shalom! (Online source) 

How sad; we’ve just witnessed a leading figure in the EC—and allegedly a Christian pastor—helping Adele Sakler, an apostate (at best), wallow further in her agnosticism. I’m not the brightest guy in the world, but I’m guessing Christian atheism and/or agnosticism is not what Christ and His Apostles were murdered for. Know this, both Sakler and Selmanovic have close ties with the Christian atrocity Emergent Village, and here again you get a vivid picture of what the Trojan Horse of the Emerging Church has been unloading into your Young Adult and Youth Groups for years now. 

Today I challenge church leaders with the spiritual intestinal fortitude—and since there’s a definite dearth of those—I’ll appeal to you as well; go start asking questions about what your worship leaders, and ministers to your young folks are influenced by, and are reading. Then prepare yourself to be surprised—and even shocked— to find out just how far away from the actual mission of the Church—winning people to Christ—today’s younger “Protestant” evangelicals are being, and have been, led by these postliberal Apostles of Unbelief within this spiritually bankrupt Emergence Christianity.

See also:

ADELE SAKLER AND PETER ROLLINS

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

PETER ROLLINS NEXT TO JOIN ROB BELL?

TONY JONES, PETER ROLLINS AND ROB BELL

THE EMERGENCE OF POSTMODERN APOSTLES OF UNBELIEF

YOU LOVE JESUS; GOOD FOR YOU, BUT WHICH ONE?

THE NIGHTMARE BEGINNING FOR MAINSTREAM EVANGELICALISM