Can error travel from The Fall to 2nd Century Alexandria to apostate Rome to the 21st Century cities of San Francisco, Nashville, Tulsa and “your city” U.S.A.? Sounds preposterous, bizarre and downright weird! Truth IS indeed stranger than fiction, ...ERROR IS A TIME TRAVELER.
Of course we know that only God transcends time. Satan’s power is limited and he cannot transcend time. However, the same lie Satan told Adam and Eve is still being told today...with the same damning effect.
This blog is dedicated to placing the dangers of Circular Interpretive methods under the bright light of Scripture. Originated by Origen and perfected by Thomas Aquinas and Romanism over the centuries, allegorical interpretation is once again raising its ugly head in our day. This neo-Gnostic circular approach to interpretation has infiltrated the Lord’s church and is racing through the brotherhood virtually unchecked. This report will confirm the previous statement.
Circular Interpretation has at it’s core an allegorical foundation. An “allegory” to biblical interpretation is/are fictional story(s) assigned by the interpreter to “understand” the personal hidden message(s) contained within any given passage. As un-biblical as subjectively interpreting Scripture is, evil is compounded when allegorical stories are combined with the “undiscoverable truth” philosophy of post-modern man.
In the beginning, God spoke clearly, understandably and linerally with a singular message. For a time Adam and Eve clearly understood and obeyed that message without question; they “rightly divided the word of truth.” Here is what God said;
“And the Lord God commanded the man saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you do eat of it you shall surely die.”
- Genesis 2:16-17 (ESV)
As the country song might ask; “What part of NO don’t you understand?!” (R)
Things changed radically when an “out of town preacher” showed up with a “new slant” on the “interpretation” of Genesis 2:16-17! He “discovered” God’s “disguised motivation” hidden between the lines of the text! Based upon this “story,” He turned around and called God a liar! Here’s the allegorical and circular interpretation of Genesis 2:16-17 preached by Satan and recorded in Genesis 3:4-5:
“But the serpent said to the woman, You will NOT surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (ESV)
There you have it, the father of allegorical and circular interpretation is none other than Satan himself. He prototypes here the circular interpretive model by assigning allegory to truth. The circular / Alexandrian / Circular / Emergent “interpreter” takes whatever God says clearly and asserts that the passage has multiple hidden meanings, illustrates the many hidden meanings with stories and finally concludes that the “truth” is OPPOSITE to the original clear, unambiguous, linear and original singular message spoken by the Holy Spirit. Paraphrasing Satan’s circular approach,
“I know it “says” that “on the day you shall eat of the fruit you shall surely die,” but here’s the real story. God is just concealing his hidden motivation here to protect his divine status. You see God doesn’t want any competition from the likes of you! Here’s the bottom line, you will NOT surely die!”
Where am I going with all of this? You “may” have someone (or several someone’s) who attended this years - or a previous years Tulsa International Soul Winners Workshop. The most prominently displayed corporate sponsor this year for the work shop was ZOE GROUP / NEW WINESKINS. When you go to the ZOE/Wineskins website [www.zoegroup.org] their new logo at the top has 4 buttons. The very first button, going appropriately from “left” to right is an image of the champion of allegory, Brian McLaren. That button is entitled “Enrichment Conferences.” Such a prominent display is a de facto endorsement of ALL that Brian McLaren teaches. We could keep listing his errors for weeks on end but suffice to say that Brian McLaren is not a Christian in the New Testament sense of the word. Here is what McLaren says regarding hell, God’s motives and the death of Christ:
“One of the huge problems is the traditional understanding of hell. Because if the cross is in line with Jesus' teaching then--I won't say, the only, and I certainly won't say even the primary--but a primary meaning of the cross is that the kingdom of God doesn't come like the kingdoms of the this world, by inflicting violence and coercing people. But that the kingdom of God comes through suffering and willing, voluntary sacrifice. But in an ironic way, the doctrine of hell basically says, no, that that's not really true. That in the end, God gets His way through coercion and violence and intimidation and domination, just like every other kingdom does. The cross isn't the center then. The cross is almost a distraction and false advertising for God.”
Source: www.understandingthetimes.org/mclarentrans/shtml via www.bereanbeacon.org
To illustrate the brazen nature of his theology one has no need to go further than his statements regarding the purpose of the death of our dear Lord and Savior on the cross. He concludes that “if” God actually allowed Christ to die for our sins it would be like you and I kicking the dog when we are angry! The exact quote: “...God is incapable of forgiveness unless he kicks someone else.” McLaren here is quoting a well known preacher who he does not name so as to “protect” him. However, these are clearly Brian McLaren’s own sentiments. PLEASE, don’t take my word for it, check it out for yourselves on: www.youtube.com. Type in “Brian McLaren” on the “Search Bar.” A number of videos will be listed. When you scroll down about 12 slots you will see a video entitled: Brian McLaren’s Attack Against Hell and Jesus Atonement. Brian McLaren was one of the keynote speakers at the recently concluded “ZOE Conference” in Nashville, TN.
In addition to ZOE, Brian McLaren has other allies in his campaign to allegorize the entire Word of God. One such ally is the radical cleric, Alan Jones of San Francisco. Jones is the “Very Reverend” Dean of the self-identified Grace Cathedral of Henry VIII’s Anglican religion.
In addition to the usual cafeteria fare of worn out main line Protestant liberalism, Jones is outspoken in his support for something called the United Religions Initiative or U.R.I. The U.R.I. wants to unite the worlds religions into one body and mandate their beliefs into international law. They want to become, as it were, an international dictatorship over religious thought and practice. Check it all out for yourself at www.uri.org.
Jones has written a book called Reimagining Christianity - Reconnect Your Spirit Without Disconnecting Your Mind, sort of a personal spiritual manifesto. His beliefs are chilling to say the least. In the book he champions the prideful doubt of a skeptic, the allegorical interpretive model of Origen, the elevation of Aquinian human reason over revealed truth, the rejection of nearly everything sacred along with various and sundry other heretical errors. The danger of this man’s teaching cannot be over stated! Essentially, Alan Jones is an agnostic mascarading as a cleric. His blatant and rebellious UNBELIEF is clearly articulated by what he says in his book. He is a post-modern disciple of Origen’s allegorical interpretive model and the “reason over revelation” teachings of 13th Century Thomas Aquinas. Here are two quotes:
“From the very beginning when I heard those Bible stories, I believed them in a mystical way - as a way of communicating deep truths by way of images. I instinctively read the Bible as allegory and metaphor, not as literal truth.”
- Pg. 14 (XIV) [Emphasis mine RM] Source via: www.bereanbeacon.org
“...about the stories of the Bible. Are they to be trusted? If so, in what way? Are the words attributed to Jesus in the New Testament really his? My approach has always been skeptical with regard to the text and open with regard to the tradition...I don’t believe that what we can know of Jesus is confined to the New Testament. We have 2,000 years of experience and worship to draw on...we can get to the truth only by inference...through myth and poetry, through metaphor and
story telling. There is no such thing as “what really happened.” That’s
why history is always being rewritten.”
- Pages 209-210 [Emphasis mine RM] Source via: www.bereanbeacon.org
Alan Jones has a radio broadcast called “The Forum.” He has McLaren as a regular guest AND McLaren often speaks during the liturgy! [Audio MP3's of McLaren’s sermons are available for listening on the Grace Cathedral website noted below] Jones is so fond of McLaren that McLaren’s image is prominently displayed on the website [www.gracecathedral.org]. Just click on the “The Forum” button and a photo of Jones and McLaren appears on your left.
Now, here is Brian McLaren who is “instructing” the Lord’s people in Nashville and hobnobbing with Anglicans (radical Anglicans at that!) in San Francisco at the same time! How is that possible? It is NOT possible...unless...The ZOE Group, ALONG WITH ALL THAT SUPPORT THEM, are UNEQUALLY YOKED WITH UNBELIEVERS!
“Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what PARTNERSHIP has righteousness with lawlessness? O what FELLOWSHIP has light with darkness? What ACCORD has Christ with Belial? Or what PORTION does a believer share with an unbeliver? What AGREEMENT has the temple of God with idols?” - II Cor. 14-16a (ESV) [Emphasis mine RM]
ZOE Group and Alan Jones/Grace Cathedral, via Brian McLaren, have formed a PARTNERSHIP, A FELLOWSHIP, AN ACCORD, A PORTION AND AN AGREEMENT regarding the interpretation of the Scriptures. This poison was injected into the church of Christ via ZOE’s sponsorship of the Tulsa International Soul Winners Workshop just concluded.
The time travel route of error is now clear:
From Satan to Origen to Aquinas to Alan Jones to Brian McLaren to the ZOE Group to the Tulsa International Soul Winning Workshop to ____________?
Satan wants to fill in the blank with your name and mine, your congregation and mine.
The common thread of this time traveling error is the allegorical interpretation of God’s Word, prototyped at the Fall and still working today. We must, with truth and love, oppose these false teachers. More importantly, we must down load the inerrant, revealed, clear, unambiguous and linear Word of God into our minds and hearts daily and rededicate ourselves to our primary mission of making disciples, baptizing and teaching all things that Jesus taught in the Gospels, the Acts, the Epistles and the Revelation.
The very linear words of the Psalmist in #119 come to mind:
“Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are they that keep his testimonies. They also do no iniquity, they walk in his ways. Thou hast commanded us to keep to keep thy precepts diligently. O, that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes! Then I shall not be ashamed when I have respect unto all thy commandments. I will praise thee with uprightness of heart when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments. I will keep thy statutes, O forsake me not utterly.”
Section A-Lepth / KJV
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