Distortion in the Church

on September 2, 2014

Finally, someone said it!

That’s what I’m hearing from concerned citizens and faithful Christians who spot liberal ideas sprouting from within the Evangelical community. Perhaps you too have noticed that something is a bit off with younger Evangelicals’ stance on same-sex marriage, religious liberty, big government, and even the sanctity of life.

Something has gone wrong. It is hard to admit, but for too long many conservatives and Christians have been so focused on the decay of our government that we let our guard down at the doors of our sanctuaries. So the Left soundlessly crept into the Church.

Liberalism is alive and well within our Evangelical churches. Taking cues from the political Left, what’s called the “Christian Left” is teaching an entire Millennial generation to compromise traditional Biblical values for the sake of tolerance and political correctness. So when the Christian Left couches their liberal theology in buzzwords like “compassion,” “equality” and “co-exist,” young Evangelicals are afraid to oppose. Sound familiar?

The goal of the Christian Left isto undermine the authority of the Bible by painting inconsistencies in Scripture, which they hope will breed confusion and, at times, doubt. Once the lines of truth are blurred, young Evangelicals start to reconcile their faith with liberal political platforms like same-sex marriage, taxpayer funded abortions and contraception, feminism, pacifism, and big government.

The danger is this distorted, liberal theology breaks down the moral values outlined in Scripture. It also encourages young Evangelicals to deny the Judeo-Christian principles our Founding Fathers used to establish a just, prosperous nation.

Confession: I have first-hand experience with the Left’s targeting of young Evangelicals. While attending a popular campus ministry in college I dabbled in the so-called “progressive” Christian movement. Peek under the curtain, and this progressive movement is really a political initiative driven by Leftists (and at times funded by George Soros) in the name of Jesus Christ. For this reason, I started to declare myself a faithful feminist. And I’ll never forget arguing with my parents over the Church’s acceptance of same-sex marriage.

Thank God my parents did not declare defeat and give up on me. Motivated by love, my parents constantly affirmed God’s absolute truths with me. They pointed to social science that confirmed Biblical principles and the important role they play in our lives and government. Best of all they fervently prayed for me. My parents’ words and sound reasoning (along with the Holy Spirit) tugged on my heart, until one day, I put down my Rob Bell book and picked up my Bible.

Right now America’s youth—in and outside of the church—need leadership. Goodness knows they will not get healthy guidance from America’s pop culture. It’s up to you. Once again, concerned citizens must take a passionate stand for the cultural wars, but this time in the churches.

To confront the Left in your church, you must be equipped with social science, an understanding of public policy as well as Scripture. Sadly, it isn’t enough to say “because the Bible says so.” This doesn’t mean that you pack up and move to D.C. to become a public policy expert. You can make a huge impact on the Millennials in your community. For example, start teaching Sunday school or leading youth group at your church. Then don’t be afraid to talk about what the Bible actually says about homosexuality and abortion. Don’t be afraid to tell the young Christians you know that just as Christ was deemed offensive for standing for truth, so too will his followers.

You must also learn how to identify the Christian Left. As I wrote in my book Distortion: How the Christian Left is Twisting the Gospel & Damaging the Faith, there are numerous books, bloggers, and Christian college and conference speakers who reflect liberal theology and are influencing a generation. Learn their names and their social and political stances.

Finally, you must share this message. Tell your friends, neighbors, and family that we must stand guard at the doors of our sanctuaries and take back America’s Christian culture.

This is no small matter. If the brakes aren’t applied immediately to the Christian Left, then the next generation will is on track to abandon the moral foundations and ethical principles that have made America great.

I want you to know that on September 2nd, I launch my new book Distortion: How the Christian Left is Twisting the Gospel and Damaging the Faith, in which I expose how the Evangelical Left is deceiving Millennials and must be uncovered and rejected by faithful Christians. It could not be more timely. I’d love for you to read it. If you donate $50 or more to IRD’s ministry, IRD will gladly send you a signed copy of DistortionYou can easily donate online here.

It is worth the battle. America needs you, but so does the Church.

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Editor’s note: The original version of this article was published by the Tea Party News Network. 

 

  1. Comment by Supertx on September 2, 2014 at 10:41 am

    Your book is coming out at an important time, as many churches seem to be willing to compromise anything that current culture dictates.

  2. Comment by Jeanne Doyon on September 3, 2014 at 10:02 pm

    I enjoyed hearing you last week on In the Market with Janet Parshall. If you need some PR, I’d be happy to read portions of your book and post a review. I can also post an interview on my blog with links to your book.

  3. Comment by Ben on September 4, 2014 at 8:39 am

    This book reminds me of Machen’s “Christianity and Liberalism” which was written in the 1920’s amidst the Modernist-Fundamentalist controversy. Curious to see if you interacted with some of his thoughts on this topic in your book.

  4. Comment by Darah Gaz on September 12, 2014 at 5:54 pm

    Great book! As fresh today as when it was published!

  5. Comment by Karmasue on September 4, 2014 at 11:12 am

    “…we let our guard down at the doors of our sanctuaries. So the Left soundlessly crept into the Church.” — Should we add – like an insidious disease?

    “…the Christian Left couches their liberal theology in buzzwords like “compassion…” — Oh no. Not “compassion” WWJThink?

    Wow. Now the Christian Left has to go. That’s a pretty big group.

    If you continue to kick people out because they are not worthy, who will support your ministries?

  6. Comment by Darah Gaz on September 12, 2014 at 5:52 pm

    The Christian left is a “pretty big group”?
    Keep your eye on it, and don’t blink, because it’s getting smaller by the minute – hallelujah!

    Btw, Christians are not opposed to compassion, we just resent the fact that the ACLU churches use it as a code word for “support every leftist cause that comes down the pike.” The left is, I must admit, pretty good about manipulating the vocabulary – “We’re compassionate, so if you don’t support everything we do, you are NOT compassionate.” Sorry, it’s clever, but it’s a lie.

    The ACLU churches will die, the Christian churches will endure.

  7. Comment by Karmasue on September 14, 2014 at 9:37 am

    So you are really not a true Christian. You are an *elitist Christian.

    *being, or characteristic of, a person who has an
    offensive air of superiority and tends to ignore or disdain anyone
    regarded as inferior .

    Much like a racist, except the class of people you find disdainful are a political class instead of an ethnic class.

    I don’t really find that surprising since right-wing extremism has come to be a hallmark of your brand of Christianity.

  8. Comment by Darah Gaz on September 14, 2014 at 10:16 pm

    Not sure I understand your comment. I just stated facts, facts are not “elitist.” It’s irrefutably true that left-wing churches are all declining, and many Christian churches are growing, mine included. If you belong to a shrinking left-wing church, then you are the elitists, because my church is gathering in MORE people.
    Btw, resorting to “-isms” such as elitism and racism does not win the argument. Human beings cannot be reduced to -ists, although liberals certainly try to.

  9. Comment by Karmasue on September 15, 2014 at 3:18 pm

    What IS declining is the interest in today’s Christianity especially among America’s young people. From high school to college they are dropping out of church. They “perceive evangelical Christianity to be too political, too exclusive, old-fashioned, unconcerned with social justice and hostile to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.” -CNN

    Those are the ones you are losing now.

  10. Comment by Michael C on September 16, 2014 at 9:42 am

    If conservative churches are losing young people (certainly isn’t happening in MY church), then according to your logic, they would be packing the pews in the liberal churches.

    But they aren’t.
    🙂

  11. Comment by Karmasue on September 16, 2014 at 10:26 am

    Not my logic – you may have missed the quotation marks and the “CNN” at the end. It was the result of research into the Millennials and why they are no longer finding “the church” necessary or comforting in their lives. I didn’t say they were flocking to liberal churches at all. I said they are leaving the churches, and not necessarily their desire for Jesus in their lives. But the research indicated that they aren’t finding that Jesus in church any more. They found judgment, politics, exclusion, hostility and hypocrisy.

  12. Comment by Sandra K Jenner on September 19, 2014 at 7:59 pm

    They are NOT joining the liberal churches, so it’s very odd that the religious left acts so excited about young people being turned off by traditional Christianity. Your glee would be understandable if they were leaving the “judgmental” churches and joining the “inclusive” ones, but that isn’t happening. So when we look at the religious left, we see a group that is steadily shrinking, and the only thing you find to gloat about is the hope that traditional churches will eventually shrink also. The best you do is glower at the conservatives and say “You just wait, you’ll lose people too!”

  13. Comment by Karmasue on September 19, 2014 at 9:25 pm

    I am not gloating or gleeful about it at all – though it appears that you would like to think I am. I am quoting research reflected by CNN about why young people are leaving the church.
    It is sad to me.
    I am not even saying they are right or wrong, just that they want to believe in God, and want a Savior who resembles what they were led to believe in as children. They want to find THAT Jesus – the one who loved everyone the same; the one who taught that love is unconditional and the most important of the commandments.
    These young millennials are
    not interested in dominion over other people, churches, or religions. They are turned off by in-your-face evangelism. They can’t equate bigotry, homophobia and hypocracy with the Jesus they believe in.
    So the ones who are not giving up on God entirely are slowly, but most assuredly, practicing the faith they seek outside of an institutional setting.

    As a PS – just look at your avatar! Some kind of warrior princess for God?

  14. Comment by Namyriah on September 27, 2014 at 10:14 am

    What is “hypocracy”?

  15. Comment by Karmasue on September 27, 2014 at 7:08 pm

    A typo, obviously.

  16. Comment by MarcoPolo on September 19, 2014 at 5:51 pm

    They’re becoming “Nones”!

  17. Comment by JohnnyAngel Advocacy Group on September 6, 2014 at 5:01 am

    I’m not sure what is gained by calling people who aren’t Biblical Christians, well Christian ? They are simply pagans. No different from other misguided ideology of life. Jesus gave us signs of the times and this is one of them. Unless a Christian ACTS according to Biblical values he is not a Christian in name only, he’s a pagan.

  18. Comment by MarcoPolo on September 12, 2014 at 1:35 pm

    As a Liberal myself, I can honestly say, that when ‘we’ say: Compassion, we mean it in the truest sense of the word.
    How does one not see that?
    You’re suggesting that liberals aren’t sincere?
    I have yet to see evidence of that, anywhere!

  19. Comment by Darah Gaz on September 12, 2014 at 5:53 pm

    Your sincerity is not in doubt. the fact that you equate “compassion” with supporting every left-wing cause – that’s a problem.

  20. Comment by MarcoPolo on September 13, 2014 at 6:30 pm

    I’m not sure I’d support EVERY Left-wing cause, but generally, I’ve not found too many that wouldn’t be beneficial to everyone.
    Give me a for instance?

  21. Comment by Darah Gaz on September 14, 2014 at 10:19 pm

    Pretty much any you care to name, they’re all bad. Your side is still gushing over ObamaCares, but I know at least 50 people who LOST their insurance after it passed, so didn’t that work out great? As for infanticide (“women’s right to choose”) or putting the government’s stamp of approval on two sodomites liviing under the same roof and splitting the rent – very bad. “Ending income inequality” is more correctly called “theft,” which is regarded as evil most people.

  22. Comment by MarcoPolo on September 15, 2014 at 7:35 am

    Interesting how you relegate the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to the Leftist corner.
    I think we can all be grateful for their existence, and hard work to fight the inherent bigotry that pervaded our country during the dark days of the 60’s.
    As for your fifty people that LOST their insurance after Obamacare arrived… I don’t know what their policies covered, but perhaps their Insurance company determined their policies insufficient by comparison. The Insurance industry still has too much control over your, and my well being.

    As for Income equality…have you not been paying attention? Or perhaps you’re part of the One Percent that wishes to keep the tax tables in your favor, at the expense of the Country’s financial health?

  23. Comment by Wild Child on September 19, 2014 at 8:52 pm

    Yes, sincerely misguided and dense.

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