What is Truth?

There is a new heresy infiltrating the church today but most Christians -- including many leaders -- are not aware of it. It's found in the philosophical movement called the "emerging church" movement. There is no simple definition of what the emerging church movement is made of. It is, in a whole, an attempt by some Christians to reach out to the post-modern generations (Gen X and Y) by opening up the Gospel message to critique, re-evaluation, and re-definition. The rock-solid foundation of absolute truth no longer exists in the emergent movement. Everything is open to question, from the life of Jesus to the mission of the church. Even salvation itself is open to redefinition in the emergent mindset.

Just today I read an Associated Press article interviewing Brian McLaren, widely considered one of the founders of the emergent church movement. In the article, writer Rachel Zoll asked a series of questions about what Mr. McLaren believes about absolute truth, the evangelical church, and the future of the emergent church movement. If you read this article, I want you to understand that what Mr. McLaren believes about the Bible, Jesus and the Gospel message is different than what you probably learned in church. In fact, his views stand in opposition to many basic doctrines of the faith. So be forewarned.

My personal response to Mr McLaren is too long and complicated for this blog. Maybe I'll write a paper on the emergent church movement one day. But I believe the Bible to be the inspired word of God, a measuring stick for all philosophy, doctrine, and theology. Jesus spoke of absolute truth and He spoke of it absolutely. There ARE answers to our spiritual questions. You know, my generation may ask a lot of tough questions about truth or social justice but we aren't looking for more questions. We seek answers. The emergent church movement only wants to facilitate an environment of question asking. But it is not willing to give answers because it fundamentally believes that there are no answers. Only questions. It rejects the truth of Jesus Christ's word, deeds and charges to his disciples. How can it even be called a "church"? I call it heresy.