I Agree with Phil: Are there Emerging “Boundaries”?
I’ve read a good bit of “emerging church” material, and truthfully, I like some of what I read—there is a good bit to like, from my vantage point. That said, though Phil Johnson is more blunt and pessimistic than perhaps I would be, the concern he identifies is identical to mine:
Why the “Emerging Conversation” is Going Nowhere
The “emerging church” conversation, to his mind, has “no way to fend off heresy”. For all the potential that the discussion/conversation/movement holds, this is its biggest Achilles heel, to my thinking. All comers to the conversation cannot be equally welcome, because if what they hold amounts to heresy, they can’t be equal participants in the conversation (well, I suppose they can, but count me out if they are, frankly). I always said of PromiseKeepers that I didn’t care who attended the conferences—more the merrier, and if Mormons want to come, great—as long as the playing field was evangelical. PK lost a good bit of my support about 8-9 years ago when it made steps toward the inclusion of Catholics (I’m not sure, but it’s very possible that some of those steps have been rescinded—I just haven’t been paying attention, truthfully).
Same goes for EC: if there are boundaries to the discussion (and it sure doesn’t seem like there are at this point), then heresy surely looms as a likelihood. Are the leaders of the discussion willing to call heresy by its real name? I confess, I’m not overly optimistic at this point…
This phrase comes from the 1978 "Jonestown massacre" in which most members of the Peoples Temple cult, blindly following their leader Jim Jones, committed suicide by drinking cyanide-laced Kool-Aid.
Osborne: A Contrarian's Guide to Knowing God
Schlossberg: Idols For Destruction
One Response to “I Agree with Phil: Are there Emerging “Boundaries”?”
RZ says in “Jesus Among Other Gods,” that in modern pluralistic culture it is okay to believe anything you want to, as long as YOU DON’T CLAIM IT TO BE TRUE. Well, there must always be a voice for truth, ESPECIALLY in the context of discussions surrounding the nature, calling, cultural relevance, etc., of the Church, be it emerging or not. As I recall, ecclesia refers more to being “called out” than it does “emerging.”
Chad ~ Sep 7, 2006 at 5:16 pm