The Great Western Heresy

Let me preface my post today with this:  If you've read this blog for any length of time, I generally don't spend much time discussing religion.  While I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God and consider myself to be a Christian, religion is not the focus of this blog.  Suffice to say, I'm not exactly the evangelical or fundamentalist type.  However, every once in a while, a news item crosses my screen and it almost demands comment.  This is one of those news items.

The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Katharine Jefferts Schori,  recently raised some eyebrows with her opening remarks to their 2009  general convention.  In part she said:

The overarching connection in all of these crises has to do with the great Western heresy – that we can be saved as individuals, that any of us alone can be in right relationship with God.  It’s caricatured in some quarters by insisting that salvation depends on reciting a specific verbal formula about Jesus.  That individualist focus is a form of idolatry, for it puts me and my words in the place that only God can occupy, at the center of existence, as the ground of being.

For an explanation of what she meant, I found this from a Father T. (Terry Martin), an Episcopal Priest:

My salvation is yoked to your salvation!

If we look at so many of the messes made by humanity, throughout history as well as in our current time (economic downturn, for instance), we can see at their root a fixation on the illusion of individuality. The unspoken ethical standard today is no longer classical deontology (focusing on the morality of the act itself) or consequentialism (focusing on the result of the act...seeking the greatest good for all) but instead a hybrid notion of hedonism (the greatest good for me is the right thing to do).

And for too long we've baptism this notion, acting as if there was such a thing as "Christian Hedonism." You don't have to look too far to find it. Is Christianity all about getting my personal ticket to heaven? If so, personally, I'd rather not.

Since that kind of blatant "Christian Hedonism" has made a few folks uncomfortable, it's often masked in various ways...but still amounts to the same thing. My "Christian duty" is depicted as taking care of my family, my neighbrohood (sic), my church, my country first. Let's be honest for a minute. Isn't that kind of rationale nothing more than an expansion of our personal ego?

This "Christian Duty"  the Reverend T alludes to is the basis for our entire civilization.  His own "rationale" that this is some kind of an expansion of our ego is at the core of Socialism.  Socialism seeks to destroy individualism by putting the society first.  (Keep in mind that where ever this has been tried, totalitarianism reigns.

I'm obviously no theologian, but it is readily apparent to me that Bishop Jefferts Schori either thinks the New Testament is some quaint little book that has little relevance or she's thrown out the book altogether and Jesus is just this nice guy who said some really socially responsible things now and then.  

In John, Chapter 14, Jesus said this in answer to Thomas asking how they will find their way:   "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."  Note the lack of the collective. You must find the way and the ONLY way is through Jesus the Christ.

As I read my bible, I keep seeing verses that tell me that I must have faith, that I must act.  Not in some collective, but personally.  I must have faith and once I have that faith, I am responsible for my action.  We are baptized as individuals.  

I do agree, there is no prescribed prayer of salvation.  The thief on the cross did not say a prayer.  The thief was saved for his faith, not because he was part of some greater effort or because he said some prayer.  His Salvation was his own and not linked to anyone or anything.  He alone spoke up.  The other thief was not in the least repentant.  His lack of salvation was his own and not linked to anyone else.   I do believe, however, that if a prayer is offered, I don't think God will turn a deaf ear.

Here's my problem with liberalism in the church.  When my life is over, God isn't going to ask me what my church did or how much of my income I was willing to pay in taxes.  I will be responsible for my life, not a collective and that is the great message of Christianity.  I must choose to do good.  God gave us an intellect and an ability to make choices.  He gave us different talents and expects us to multiply them by making wise decisions.

I believe it is people like Bishop Jefferts Schori and The Reverend Martin that are the ones introducing heresy into the Church.  The social Gospel and/or liberation theology are nothing more than socialism creeping into the church and that eventually, they will start to even deny Christ.  Wait! Some already are.

VW

From The American Spectator Blog

Comments

[Scott]

A well-written post, Vee-Dub.