AN unbelievable exodus has been occurring from Protestant Churches to the Roman Catholic Church. Seeing is believing -- here is one site where you can see ex-pastors from Protestant Churches as well as sects making the shift.

These people believe that they are returning or converting to the "true faith". The Catholic Church is boasting of the many hundreds that are now "coming home". Apostasy has taken a giant step. Assemblies of God pastors who once "felt the presence of God" at Toronto are now "feeling the presence of Jesus" in the Eucharist. They are reading into Scripture to support their new beliefs just as they were before. Rodney Howard Browne brought Toronto to the Catholic Church in 1997. According to a report on the November 1997, Charisma magazine, Rodney Howard-Browne took his phenomenon to the Presentation Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church in Philadelphia. More than 1,200 Catholics, many from far distances, attended the meeting in August. Charisma magazine noted, "Catholics laughed hysterically after they were hit with what Howard-Browne refers to as "the joy of the Holy Ghost."

Did the Holy Spirit convict them of error? No, Rodney H Browne just gave them a laugh and increased converts to the Roman Catholic Church. Alpha is also being hailed as bringing in more converts to the RCC. There is a nice blend of charis-mania and Mary worship in many parishes.

The scene is reminiscent of the time of Jesus" first coming. The Jews expected the Messiah to be the triumphant victor over their Roman enemies. Now Gentile believers are expecting Jesus second coming to be a worldwide revival, fulfilling their expectations.

Meanwhile there is the befriending and accepting of present day Rome as well as deceptions like Toronto at the expense of upholding the truth.

Market research and the freezing out of hell

AN interesting piece in the Los Angeles Times (June 19th, 2002) reports how churches have dropped references to hell in order to pull in the crowds. One minister from a Vineyard Christian Fellowship is quoted as saying “it isn’t sexy enough anymore”.

Now this is obviously wrong on so many levels. Firstly, when was hell ever “sexy”? Secondly, is anything about our faith “sexy”? Did Jesus really walk around trying to win people over with “sexy” sermons? Is “sexy” ever a criteria set in the Bible for a way to assess the validity of our message? Of course not! Of course we have the Vineyard in Toronto to thank for the “barking” revival – if that is their idea of “sexy”, we feel very sorry for them.

Professor Harvey Cox of the Harvard Divinity School observes, “There has been a shift in religion from focusing on what happens in the next life to asking, ‘What is the quality of life we’re leading now?’ You can go to a whole lot of churches week after week and you’d be startled even to hear a mention of hell”.

Now of course we are not advocating that ministers get obsessed with hell and speak of nothing else. But it is, excuse the pun, a burning issue and should not be ignored either. The problem here is the worldliness that has crept in and changed our message. The article continues:

“Hell’s fall from fashion indicates how key portions of Christian theology have been influenced by a secular society… the rise of psychology, the philosophy of existentialism and the consumer culture have all dumped buckets of water on hell. The tendency to downplay damnation has grown in recent years as nondenominational ministries, with their focus on everyday issues such as child-rearing and career success, have proliferated and loyalty to churches has deteriorated.”

In order to fill their mega churches, ministers pay for market researchers to identify the message they should preach. As Professor Martin Marty from the University of Chicago Divinity School puts it, “Once pop evangelism went into market analysis, hell was just dropped.”

Professor George Hunsinger from Princeton Theological Seminary adds, “It’s a failure of nerve by churches that are not wanting to take a non-popular stance.” This is even evident in statements from the usually conservative Catholic Church. In 1999, Pope John Paul II stated that hell should not be seen as a fiery domain but as “the state of those who freely and definitely separate themselves from God.”

Will the evangelical movement now follow the Pope’s lead?

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Appeared in Issue CETF 8.1 December 2002
"...contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints" -- Jude v3