A headline
in the Dallas Morning News seemed to jump off the page at me. It read, “New
spirituality: one part Jesus, two parts
Buddha....” The author then described
the growing trend in modern America wherein
people are concocting their own personal religion by borrowing what they
like from various religious traditions. This combining of different belief systems is known as "syncretism."
In this subjective,
self-centered approach to faith, people view the religions of the world, and
the Bible itself, as a great smorgasbord of religious ideas from which they are
free to choose what suits their feelings and desires. If something does not appeal
to their tastes, they consider themselves free to discard it.
The Rise of
Post-Modernism
This
approach is based in post-modernism, which is the prevailing philosophy
being taught throughout America’s educational system. Those who embrace this approach are called “post-modernists” because
they deny the existence of objective truth. The
“modernists,” who emerged out of the Enlightenment (1685-1815), rejected
the Bible and religious dogma as sources of objective truth, but they insisted,
that objective truth could still be discovered by human reason.
For the post-modernists, however, objective truth does not exist. Truth, therefore, is not something
to be discovered, but something to be created. For the post-modernists, truth
is very “I” or ego centered. It is all about me and what feels
good and right to me. This was expressed by one couple who were interviewed in
the above article. They said,
We discovered the God within. That’s why we need God.
Because we are God. God gives me the ability to create my own godliness.
The
Post-Modern Jesus
This post-modern Jesus is very malleable and like a piece of clay that can be shaped into an endless variety
of caricatures. This post-modernist way of thinking has given rise to so called
“Progressive Christianity” wherein Jesus is presented as a big-government socialist, an environmentalist,
and an advocate for open borders and the LGBTQ agenda.
This new
post-modern philosophy is the old lie of the serpent to Adam and Eve, that if
they would ignore what God had said and follow their own feelings and desires, they would be
like God, knowing good and evil (Genesis 3:1-5). In other words,
they did not need God to know good and evil.
They could become like God and create their own moral and religious
system.
Sad to say, this kind of thinking
has become mainstream in American culture, a reality that is indicated by the many
false caricatures of Jesus in both the world and the church. Jesus warned of
this, saying, Take heed that no one deceives
you. For many will come in My name saying, “I am the Christ,” and will deceive many (Matthew 24:4-5).
We Must Have Another Jesus
Revolution
The Reformation was ignited when Martin Luther
began preaching the Jesus of the Gospels. He once said, "The certain mark by which a Christian community can be recognized is the preaching of the Gospel in its purity," If we are to see another Jesus Revolution in America, Canada, and other
nations, there must be a return to the Jesus of Scripture. This is
serious for as Paul warned the churches of Galatia,
But there are some who trouble you and want to
pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven, preach
any other gospel to you than what you received let him be accursed. As we have
said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to than
what you have received, let him be accursed (Galatians 1:7-9)
The modern church must heed Paul’s
warning. There must be a return to the real Jesus of Scripture, who was known
and preached by the earliest Christians. We must have another Jesus Revolution.
This article is derived from Dr. Eddie Hyatt's latest book, Discovering the Real Jesus, available from Amazon and his website at http://eddiehyatt.com.
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