AMERICAN EVANGELICALISM IS A MENTAL GHETTO--Part III Some Folks Who Profit By Keeping You Uninformed

SO, DO I REALLY THINK THERE ARE EVANGELICAL INSTITUTIONS AND LEADERS WHO WANT TO KEEP YOU STUPID?



YOU BET I DO!

If you recall Parts I and II a mental ghetto is a place where folks stay uninformed because it's easier to stay stupid than to put in the mental work to study. As long as no one in the ghetto becomes informed, then the rest are happy. They haven't been shown up. And some outside the ghetto actually are ecstatic that Evangelicals stay uninformed because they get power and money on the backs of the folks in the ghetto.

BAUBLES AND BIBLES.

Recently, ads have appeared on television for the "Prayer Cross". It's actually sold as a "spiritual accessory" here. Like the TV ad, the website has a narration. Music starts and the deep-voiced representative says, "'Our Father Who art in heaven, hallowed by Thy name...' These words begin one of the most important prayers in all of Christianity. And now this very special prayer can always be kept close to your heart with the Prayer Cross from the Montibello Collections. This one of a kind cross features a secret center stone which, when held up to the light, reveals the entire Lord's Prayer, right before your eyes. Watch as people gaze in amazement as they experience the magic of the Prayer Cross for the first time. Each Prayer Cross is hand crafted, using genuine Austrian crystal and solid sterling silver, creating not only a magnificent piece of jewelry, but a one of a kind spiritual accessory. When held up to the light, the entire Lord's Prayer becomes instantly and almost miraculously visible..."

Stop rubbing your eyes; you saw right. "Spiritual accessory".

Now lest you think the Prayer Cross is a fake--don't worry. Each one comes with a certificate of authenticity, certifying, I suppose, that the folks selling it to you certify it.


Yee haw.

"Austrian crystal" is nothing more than a particular type of Rhinestone, but some of the suckers listening don't know that. And that's what counts.

Few who read this would fall for such a pitch, but the truth is some ME institutions count on you not knowing all sorts of things. Think I'm kidding? Did you know that Wheaton College, a citadel of orthodox Evangelicalism for decades, recently had a number of pro-homosexuality speakers. I'll save that for Part IV on Wednesday, though. And don't worry. I'll provide documentation, too.

Back to the more mundane, though. When was the last time you took wifey and the munchkins down to the local "Christian" book store for Bibles, baubles, and bunches of really cool t-shirts that will be a "witness"? (Are there laws against spiritual child-abuse?) Thanks to all the LIPS (liars in pulpits) most think there is such a thing as life-style evangelism which actually saves folks without us having to actually say the gospel and get laughed at as though we were some sort of stinking fundamentalist scum. So, we get our favorite rap or rock "Christian" group on a t-shirt and that means we're active in Evangelism. Never mind the fact that we only wear it to church. And only to youth group. And Dad gets a chrome-covered plastic fish, peels the protective paper off the stickum, puts it on the back of the car, careful to place it high enough on the back so the pastor notices and low enough so the neighbors don't.

PROPHETS OR PROFITS?

In Part II, I discussed some of the money tossed around in Corporate Christianity, especially the religious publishing world. There are hundreds of millions of dollars at stake. Selling lots and lots of books is success. Selling true books is optional. Something I didn't realize until recently, is that many of the books in your corner religious book store aren't even written by the authors the publishers claim they are. Ghostwriters are common in religious publishing. (1)

So what does this have to do with the Mental Ghetto? It's a demonstration that the ignorance of just one biblical doctrine can be exploited by the ghetto enablers. In this case the forgotten doctrine is the sufficiency of Scripture. According to the apostle Paul, the Bible is all that's needed for the Christian life to be lived and taught to others. II Timothy 3:16-17. We've forgotten that, though. And now many religionists feel they must read the latest book from the religious publishers to stay hip--cutting edge. As a result there is a demand for new books from the biggest names in the ME world. But they're all busy doing conferences, speaking, and writing other books as well. So that the publishers can publish more and so the big names can make money without much work, no-name writers are hired and folks like D. James Kennedy, Billy Graham, and Gary Smalley put their names on them. (1) That's right, if you go and buy a book at the store by Billy Graham, it may be a complete lie, written by someone who may or may not have had some good ideas, but didn't have the name to sell. If you knew a book was written by it's real author, you may have passed on it, but it said it was written by a celebrity and you thought you were reading Billy Graham.

Like that?

This is such a plague one can actually google "Christian ghostwriters" and get folks selling their services. (I wonder if they have a red light in their window at night.) One religious ghostwriter actually advertizes that she has a degree in spiritual formation from Wheaton College. Yes, she has an education in new age spiritualism from a known ME institution and is willing to be paid to lie on a national scale, in print. (2) Last year a ghostwriter was honored as the Holy Ghostwriter" by Christianity Today. (3) This seems to be the state of "Christianity" today.

At least the ME version.

In Christ,
Phil Perkins.
(1) http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1571/is_30_16/ai_64426330
(2) http://www.inspirationalghostwriting.com/ghostwriters.htm
(3) http://www.christianitytoday.com/tc/2007/003/6.14.html

BLESSED NEWS--I guess.

This is really great news. I've recently noticed that when I leave comments on some blogs they get saved right away. FANTASTIC!!!! The thing that worries me, though, is that they never seem to progress. They never get sanctified or baptized. No progressive sanctification.

Pray for my comments. I think they're carnal. Maybe they just prayed the prayer but weren't really sincere.

Hoping,
Phil Perkins.

AMERICAN EVANGELICALISM IS A MENTAL GHETTO--Part II Some Causes

This post is now complete, but the Mental Ghetto series will now have four parts, not three. I hope you get REALLY, REALLY angry.

The last time we discussed this issue I said that a ghetto is a place where lots of poor folk live because it's easier to stay poor than to get a job and because there are some in our society who enable folks to remain poor. Likewise, the mental ghetto is possible because of the laziness of its occupants and because a group of enablers outside the ghetto get something out of others being stupid.

IN THE GHETTO.

Enablers always get something out of enabling others. (They don't do it jusscuz.) The biggest losers are the enabled. Political enablers are bureaucrats who get paid to pass tax-payer money to those who never hold a job, workers who maintain the free housing, contractors who build the projects, landlords who get money from the government, and political figures who make a living out of the power they get by appealing to the foulest characteristics of man. "Hate those outside the ghetto because they have more than you and, after all, they put you in here," say the ghetto pimps. Then morality goes upside down. Those in the ghetto become romantic figures, while working folk are suspect.

The mental ghetto is the same. We are often too lazy to do the hard work of Bible study. We can feel bad about that or we can hear a sermon on "Knowledge puffs up." The preachers, youth leaders, and conference speakers who denigrate the biblically literate are the ghetto pimps. They get approval by telling the occupants that they're spiritual and good and godly, even though they have been in the church for years, but still haven't read the Bible through even once. They couldn't come up with a dozen memory verses to save their souls (ironic) and they couldn't lead a person through the gospel without a concordance or a very colorful tract. And if the ghetto preacher is nice enough to them, assuring them that they are the spiritual ones even though they can't find the minor prophets, they drop a buck in his offering plate, go to his conference, buy his music, attend his concerts and pay his way to the major profits. And if someone actually tries to tell ghetto occupants something from the Bible that doesn't square with ME (Modern Evangelical) bromides and sayings, then he's obviously unloving and knows too much. It's his fault, not theirs.

NO BEREANS ALLOWED--A wink and a nod.

While all this happens, no one quite explains just how all those quiet folks outside the financial ghetto, raising kids, working jobs, and paying taxes actually forced all the ghetto occupants into the ghetto. But that doesn't matter. The belief itself performs a function so vital to the existence of the ghetto that it must never be questioned. Both ghettos are philosophically justified with a set of assumptions that are preposterous to everyone who cares to think, but neither set of assumptions can be examined. If that's ever done, the occupants will be faced with their own guilt and either change or admit that they simply like their vices more than they hate their conditions.

The preacher/pimp in the mental ghetto needs these lies to remain in tact for his own reasons, too. He gets paid two ways. First, the externals are paid. The preacher/pimp gets paid money and a certain amount of power and recognition. But there's another, more subtle payment the preacher gets. The stupider the ghetto occupants stay the less likely it is that his surfs will recognize the sins in his life. That's one of the reasons for the scandals in the ME "church", not the least of which is the scandal of laziness in the study and pablum in the pulpit. His laziness, lust, greed (and whatever else) is enabled by the laziness of those around him as long as they remain in the ghetto. If the pimp is a musician, he doesn't have to come up with biblical lyrics. Sappy will do just fine. The adult Sunday School teacher can simply read from the quarterly, asking questions like, "So, Brother Frank, what do YOU think the word 'the' means here?" In this way the teacher attempts to make those in the class think he knows something about the topic of the lesson, or maybe just that he actually cares what it says. He doesn't. And his hearers know that. But the ploy makes the class able to kid themselves that they are actually learning something and further kid themselves that their teacher isn't lazy and unfit to teach. It's an unspoken agreement to lie to themselves and each other.

Feel abused yet? Wait until you see what "Christian" businesses are doing to you!

HEY, $TUPID! "Christian" corporate pimpery.

It's not just dime store stuff. It's not just your pastor. The mental ghetto is big business. Here on my desk I have a flyer that came in the mail from Berean Christian Stores. I just opened up ONE PAGE AT RANDOM as I type. On that page I find seven Bibles for sale and nine other books. Of the nine books, I can recognize the names of all the authors. Of the nine books, at least one is written by a heretic who suggests we follow quite a number of mystics and study the Bible less. Three of the books are written by authors who only produce fluff--feel-good and self-help books. Four of the books are written by folks whom I don't know much about. The previous page has six books. The first is by Rob Bell, who wants to re-imagine Christianity and pushes meditative breathing to find God. One is written by a man who is nationally famous and denies the trinity. A third is written by a nationally-known pastor who was separated from his wife and later divorced, all the while remaining in the pulpit.

Berean Christian Stores took in just over 600 MILLION DOLLARS in 2001.(1) Having been in their stores, my guess is that at least 2/3 of their book business is either fluff or outright heresy. If it's only 1/4, that means that if Evangelicals left the ghetto, Berean Christian Stores would lose 150 million dolars a year.

Do you really think they'll sell books that will educate you?

Zondervan has been in the vanguard of publishing the Emergent heresy. Zondervan revenues are about 160 MILLION. They are the publishers of the gender-altered TNIV "bible". Zondervan is a wholly owned subsidiary of HarperCollins, a secular publisher and sold 15 MILLION copies of The Purpose Driven Life in one year alone.(2) The book twists Scripture and advocates the study of mystics like Thomas Merton. Can you imagine the collapse that would occur at Zondervan if the average Evangelical suddenly would no longer put up with such sinful things? Zondervan has at times accounted for 15% of sales for HarperCollins.(2)

HarperCollins doesn't need smart Christians. They need Christians who buy their books.

Think it through,
Phil Perkins.

FOOTNOTES:

1. http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Standex-International-Corporation-Company-History.html

2. http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Zondervan-Corporation-Company-History.html

STIILL TO COME IN THE MENTAL GHETTO

Part III. The Extent of the Problem.

Part IV. Why You Should Stop Having Devotions.

A CHALLENGE FOR MODERN EVANGELICALS

If you're an ME (Modern Evangelical) I'd like to challenge you to do something. Here it is; see if you can actually do it:

Sit down at a table with a pen and a tablet that will fit in your pocket. List all the churchy sayings you and your friends say to each other and that you hear your pastor say over and over. After you've written down every religious saying or bit of wisdom you think you hear and say at church or Bible study, close up the tablet and put it in your pocket. Keep it there for at least a week because as days go by and you listen to ME radio or watch ME TV, you'll hear some you forgot or simply remember some old ones. Write them in the tablet, too. Be sure to take your sayings tablet to church and Bible study at least once and write every saying down. EVERY one. "God helps those who help themselves." "Who are you to judge?" "Make the gospel relevant." "God loves a cheerful giver." "God doesn't want any of His children poor or sick." "Love them into the Kingdom." "Lifestyle evangelism." "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." "The Pharisees were too into following everything the Bible says." "Doctrine isn't important." "Jesus is too much of a gentleman to make you repent." "God doesn't hate anybody." "Hate the sin; love the sinner." "God doesn't send anybody to hell." "Don't preach to people." "Pray this prayer to be saved..." "God wants me happy." "Accept God." "Plant a seed offering."

When you're satisfied you have them all, sit down again. Look up each saying in a concordance or a topical Bible. If you can’t find them, what does that tell you? It tells you they probably aren’t in the Bible, doesn’t it? Drop them and never say them again. Replace them with Bible verses and partial verses. If you do find one of your old sayings, like “Don’t judge”, read the entire chapter where you found it. It might not mean what you thought it did. If you find one in the Bible and it really means what you thought it meant, GREAT! Keep it. You're good. Read enough Bible regularly that you get new Bible verses all the time to replace the old sayings as they drop away and don’t try to remember all of them. That’s not the point. Just keep doing this. You will begin to change. You will see the world through brand new eyes, eyes filled with the Spirit of God.

In a very short time you will be amazed at just how silly some of the things you used to say were. Then start reading the Bible over and over and over. Read it through at least once a year. Anything less puts you in danger.

It'll change your life. God promises that, you know.

I’m serious.
Phil.

STILL TO COME: Parts II and III of AMERICAN EVANGELICALISM IS A MENTAL GHETTO.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK--December 3, 2008

Biblical faith isn't a parlor trick, a Rod Serling skit, or the result of repeating verses of "Just As I Am". It's based on the objective truth of a God Who acts in space-time. And those acts are attested by witnesses. That's why we believe the Bible.

AMERICAN EVANGELICALISM IS A MENTAL GHETTO--Part I

Is your church a mental ghetto? If you attend an Evangelical "church", you almost certainly attend a mental ghetto.

Insulted? Let me explain what a ghetto is. A ghetto is a place where lots of poor people live together because it's easier to simply stay poor than to clean up, do job interviews, take a job, and get out of the ghetto. And it's all made possible because the government will pay you to stay poor. Similarly, Evangelicals are biblically illiterate because it's easier to stay stupid than to do the hard work of study. And the pastors are like the government enablers who keep our ghettos populated. Instead of teaching the Bible in depth, it's easier to give emotion-packed, feel-good pablum, than to actually spend hour upon hour alone in the study. And it's easier to let the folks go along in mediocrity than to force them to learn about the God they claim to love but don't even know. If I get a welfare check why work? Just the same, if my pastor and "church" accept my biblical ignorance as par for the course, why study?

Turn on the TV and order a pizza.

Let me give you an example of what I mean by the mental ghetto. This was found on one of the blogs on my blogroll. It is by a "Zac Poonen", a prominent Evangelical preacher. Here it is: "The gift of 'tongues' was a perfect gift. God has not changed His mind about the gift, for He never changes."

That was his argument against the idea that the gift of tongues isn't for today--because God never changes. This is juvenile. Of course God doesn't change, but that doesn't mean He never changes the way he deals with men. For instance, we aren't under the Old Covenant. (And I believe that biblical tongues could happen today.) He went on to claim that Acts 2 was the first time believers were filled with the Spirit, evidently unaware of Exodus 31, Samson, and John the Baptist, to name a few.

Did you know that Acts wasn't the first time in Scripture believers were filled by the Holy Spirit? If you're an Evangelical, almost certainly not.

I could go on and on, but if you think you're biblically informed, see how you do on a little quiz:

1. Name the ten commandments.

2. Who is the first person whose faith was explicitly mentioned in Scripture as counting for righteousness?

3. In Matthew 7:1, Jesus said, "Judge not that you not be judged." Does this command forbid judging when read in context?

4. The Scripture says God is love. Does the Bible ever say God is truth?

5. The word "church" is translated from the Greek "ecclesia", meaning "assembly. When did God first have an assembly?

6. The Scripture calls the assembly a bride. Does it say this more in the Old Testament or in the New Testament?

7. When was the practice of tithing first mentioned in Scripture?

8. On what day of the week did the early Christians first worship?

9. When was the first New Testament church building built in the Bible?

10. What tribe did God name to serve in the tabernacle?

I will put the answers in the comment thread.

There are several words translated in the New Testament as "fool". The one that most describes the Evangelical "church" is "aphron". It means someone who is purposely mindless or unthinking. It comes closest to what I mean when I say the "church" is ignorant. I don't mean ignorant in an innocent way. I mean ignorant in the most derogatory sense. I mean what Paul meant when he spoke of suppressing the truth in unrighteousness. I have coined the word "aphronism" from the Greek "apron". I needed a word that has only one meaning. Ignorance can be innocent or it can be the kind of ignorance to which Paul referred in Romans 1. It's a perniscious ignorance that is on purpose. "Aphronism" is my word for that. An aphronist is one who practices aphronism and he is aphronistic.

Coming in AMERICAN EVANGELICALISM IS A MENTAL GHETTO--Part II:
Breadth of the problem in three places.
1. Schools.

2. Pulpit.

3. Pew.

Depth of the problem in four categories.
1. Biblical ignorance.

2. Ignorance in general knowledge.

3. Ignorance in how to think.

4. Ignorance about the biblical command to practice precise thought.

Coming in AMERICAN EVANGELICALISM IS A MENTAL GHETTO--Part III:
Mental Ghetto or Swamp of Emotions. Objective truth or feelings. Study the Bible or have devotions.