DOWN WITH SOLA SCRIPTURA!

 In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes. (Judges 17:6)

Out Goes The Bible To Make Way For Gay “Christ-Following” Activists For Emergence

In For Emergence Christianity Out Goes The Bible And In Comes “Queer Christians” (FECQC), which is essentially the prequel to this article, Apprising Ministries discussed the influx into evangelicalism of Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism (CSM). We also note that this CSM has roots in the spurious spirituality of the Counter Reformation of apostate Roman Catholicism, which ought to be of very serious cause for concern to actual Protestant evangelicals. But unfortunately, as you can see within that prior piece with the increasing rejection of Sola Scriptura, the case is really quite the opposite.

The heart of the matter would be that, without Scripture—the Word of God—being the final authority, evangelicalism is now going to be left with no real way to evaluate proper doctrine other than with highly subjective personal feelings about the Bible. In fact, this is the logical end of the “trampolinianity” of Rob Bell, an icon of this “new reformation” now being called Emergence Christianity. In FECQC I showed you a vivid example of coming consequences now that the Emerging Church has contributed mightily to the Sola Scriptura being shown the door of the visible church.

One sad issue is the growing militant homosexual lobby within the Emergent Church as typified by Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgendered, Queer (LGBTQ) activist Adele Sakler. From a March 3, 2009 interview we’re told Sakler:

currently resides in Richmond, Virginia and blogs as the Existential Punk and is the creator and site administrator of Queermergent and you can also find her on Twitter as well… Adele has been a Christ-follower for 20 years and an “out” queer woman for two and-a-half years. Her involvement with the emerging church and Emergent Village has filled the better part of 10 years. You can listen to a recent interview with Adele on Irreligiosophy and read a recent article she published on The Ooze. (Online source, emphasis mine)

Sakler’s “Christian” homosexual activism has even come up high enough on the radar that John Starke of The Council of Biblical Manhood & Womanhood would write An Open Letter to Adele: A Response to Queermergent. And it’s an interesting sequence of events that would first bring Sakler to our attention, which all begins with a November 19, 2008 public announcement from Tony Jones, former national coordinator of Emergent Village, at his Beliefnet blog where he told us:

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 his)

A couple of weeks later in early December comes a conference for The Great Emergence (TGE), a recent book for itching Emergent ears by Phyllis Tickle. You see, Tickle has the folks in this Emergence rebellion against the final authority of the Bible all excited because she told them exactly what they already wanted to hear, “it’s not if Sola Scriptura ends but when.” Now among the speakers at TGE we find Rob Bell’s friend Peter Rollins, Emergence theologian Tony Jones, and his quasi-universalist pastor Doug Pagitt.

This would be followed by what at the time seemed like a rather odd, yet  innocuous, January 18, 2009 post from Jones, which he called Announcing Queermergent:

Adele Sakler, whom I’ve known for a few years, has started yet another “hyphenated” group within the emergent network-of-networks.  She’s calling it “Queermergent,” and, as you might guess, it’s focused on GLBTQ issues. (Online source, emphasis mine)

Then on February 15 Something Beautiful tells us:

this week we share the second part of Thomas’ conversation with Adele Sakler (aka existential punk). be sure and listen to part one if you haven’t already. in this second part, Adele talks more about her homosexuality and her desire to be a voice of God’s love to each community she’s a part of. we also chat about labels and how we often try to define one another with them. (Online source, emphasis mine)

Also of note is a March 3 interview with Sakler conducted by Kevin Davis where she informs us:

In 1997 I moved to Los Angeles and began living a double life as a Christian and as a gay woman. I began to read Brian McLaren and found him writing things I had felt inside but was very afraid to express outwardly to anyone. In 2002 I went to Northern Ireland to do a DTS (Discipleship Training School) with YWAM.

I met the great Peter Rollins and we developed a great friendship. His teachings and writings on postmodernism and Christianity radically shaped how I viewed my faith. I could no longer hang onto certainty with regards to interpreting scripture. (Online source, emphasis mine)

Emergence Christianity Aiming For Acceptance Of Sinful Behavior In Evangelicalism

So in retrospect we may well be seeing an agenda within this Emergence Christianity to begin further indoctrinating those “within the emergent network,” and whoever else will listen, to accept this perversion of God’s created order as acceptable behavior for someone who is a Christian; or “Christ-follower,” as they often refer to themselves. Consider also that just a couple of days later Sakler’s article SEX-CRAZED: America’s Christian Subculture would appear at the popular Emerging website The Ooze. 

Even as the first open shots against Sola Scriptura fired from the Emergent Church were still ringing out, in her ode to the self (see—2 Timothy 3:2), Sakler defiantly declares:

Evangelicals are hyper-concerned with pointing out how being queer is a sin, and that the Bible explicitly denounces homosexual acts. Trust me, I get it all firsthand. But I’m not buying the rhetoric. I disagree with what I have come to consider outmoded and out-of-context religious interpretations. (Online source)

Sakler’s article, however, is a perfect illustration of the confusion that will only continue to grow within the younger sectors of the visible church now that it’s without God’s crystal clear revelation in the Bible as the final authority concerning, in this case, the deviant sexual behavior of the practice of homosexuality. We note again Tony Jones has told us he’s known Sakler, who is “out” and openly living in sin, for years and that her Queermergent is a group “within the emergent network.”

Make no mistake, this Queermergent is not simply a blog as Jones himself has called it a “group.” In the March 2 post Presbymergent 2.0 Adam Walker Cleaveland, one of the contributors to the book An Emergent Manifesto of Hope, talked about a group of  “thirty-some people” who met to “discuss the future of Presbymergent.” The first comment in the combox is from “Existential Punk” aka Adele Sakler who says:

This sounds exciting, Adam! Maybe Queermergent will be having our own get together in a few years as well. Adele (Online source, emphasis mine)

As  a matter of fact at the Emergent Village website we also find out that Sakler is actually one of the leaders of the Richmond Emergent Cohort:

Richmond Emergent Cohort We are a gathering of people who are interested in the emergent conversation and who want to be a part of it in our local area. For more information, contact Joey Jones or Adele Sakler…  

Existential Punk Apr 16, 07:17 PM People can also contact me, Adele Sakler, as Joey and i are co-leading the Richmond Cohort. (Online source, bold theirs)

Sakler’s really been busy making the rounds lately as she’s also had her article from The Ooze published on the website Emerging Women back on March 27 as well:

i was invited by Julie Clawson to submit a piece to the Emerging Women Blog on their series on women engaging sex/sexuality. It is my ‘Sex-Crazed: America’s Christian Subculture’ piece i did a few weeks ago for The Ooze… (Online source)

Regular readers of AM would know that “pastor” Julie Clawson is co-founder and co-pastor, along with her husband Mike Clawson, of the Emerging Via Christus Community Church. You may also recall that Mike was among those who helped organize the Midwest Emergent Gathering last year that featured both Tony Jones and Doug Pagitt. And then this coming June Emergence Pastor Rob Bell Is To Have Friend Peter Rollins In His Pastor’s Conference. Isn’t it interesting how these same names just happen to keep popping up together concerning aberrant and heretical teaching…

Ah, but I’m sure that it’s just a crazy coincidence…right…

See also:

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

EMERGENT CHURCH THEOLOGIAN TONY JONES AND HIS UNREPENTANT HOMOSEXUAL CHRISTIANS

BRIAN MCLAREN WITH GOOD NEWS CONCERNING “THE HOMOSEXUAL QUESTION”

EMERGENT CHURCH OPENLY ACCEPTS PRACTICING HOMOSEXUAL “CHRISTIANS”

WE FEEL HOMOSEXUALITY IS NOT A SIN

REJECTING SOLA SCRIPTURA OPENS THE DOOR FOR LESBIAN EPISCOPAL PRIESTS

“ABORTION IS A BLESSING”: US EPISCOPALIAN LESBIAN MINISTER APPOINTED TO HEAD PRESTIGIOUS SEMINARY