"We sense that something magnificent is afoot. We are intrigued by the chaos. We are willing to risk significant change in order to create local expressions of the kingdom of God that are burning with missional passion and practice. We want to explore the meaning of the chaos, the vision of a preferred future, the challenge of being 'church.'" -- Heaven's Gate founder Marshall Applewhite (the cult group whose members committed mass suicide when Haley's comet drew near a few years ago...)

No wait... It was Ellen G. White, founder of Christian Science... Or was it Tom Cruise and his Scientologist whacko cohorts? David Koresh, maybe?

No. It was John Frye. "Emergent" mouthpiece.

"Emergent" is somethng akin to the belief "There is truth, but we're not saying what it is."

Take for example these posters. There's lots of others, but I'm just picking these three for example only. I chose them because the are succinct, to the point, and don't need a lot of prep work to set them up (that's kinda the point of a poster). They each make a short statement regarding the "Emergent 'Conversation'"



The claim: We are all imperfect images of Jesus. It's more authentic to just be honest about that than to pretend we are perfect. Honesty is the best policy.

The problem: We are not images of Jesus Christ at all. We are not called to be images of Jesus. We are not even examples of Jesus.

What we are are images of the Glory of God in Christ Jesus in saving to the uttermost them that come to God BY Him.

We are not examples of Jesus Christ. We are examples of how He is able and willing to die to save us. We are examples of why Jesus had to die, and the confirmation before the world that He is able to save.

In other words, the "emergent" claim is that while we are imperfect reproductions or examples of Christ, we are nonetheless images of Him.

The truth is we are all worthless sinners, saved BY Him. The only thing we may be an example of is the power of God in salvation; the perfect example of "Jesus Saves! Yes, even YOU!?"

No man is the image of God, except Jesus Christ. And, no, Genesis 1 does not claim that we are. It might claim that we were. But that image is long lost in thousands of years of sin. We are most certainly NOT the image of God anymore.






The "good news" for this person is "The photo shoot is over. You can get dressed and go home now. Thanks for coming."

It seems crass, I know. But that's essentially it. The emergent good news is "God can make your miserable life happy." Or, God can "make you more comfortable, either with yourself or your circumstances."

When Jesus claimed to have come to set the captives free, and to proclaim liberty for those in prison, he did not mean those enslaved by political powers. He meant, those in the captivity of sin, those in the prison of guilt and condemnation for being rebels against God and His Law.

It's worth noting that in His entire ministry, Jesus set free from Roman prison's... lesseee here... about ZERO people. (Well, excluding, perhaps, Barabas). Not a very good track record for someone who claimed to have come to open prison doors. Unless.... Unless he had in mind a different kind of prison. A different sort of captivity.

Hmmmn....







That's a good point.

How come "the conversation" never seems to actually conclude? I mean, it's not like we don't know the rest of this "conversaion." Why do we always start "the conversation", but never seem to finish it? Why does the "emergent conversation" seem really big on "starting", but never on "finishing?"

In fact, the whole point of "emergent" seems to be about starting stuff, but never about finishing stuff.

Jesus, on the other hand, started conversations: "I am the way, and the truth and the Life..." But he also always finished them: "... no man comes to the Father BUT BY ME.

Notice the period there at the end. How come so many emergent "conversations" end with elipsis, when so many of Jesus "conversations" ended with Periods?

And lots with Exclamation Points!