Emerging church

  • Thread starter Thread starter goodcatholicman
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
G

goodcatholicman

Guest
I have been doing some searching on the Internet about the and at first glance this “emerging church” idea sounds like a plan to, for lack of a better term, catholicize evangelical Christians. Wow! a return to more genuine worship, with fewer praise bands, more stained glass,lower lights and… drum roll… a return to the Eucharist! In addition, the focus will be on a “holistic” experience with a more liturgical approach and bringing back sacramental signs of water, etc. Of course, the evangelicals seem worried about a return to Rome so there will undoubtedly be a twist of doctrine or dogma as yet undiscovered to separate them from us so to speak. What do you think about the movement? It sounds like a promising move and a radical shift for evangelicals. The walk back to Rome is slow but it sounds like it has begun! Thoughts on this new movement?🤷
 
I’ve heard about the Emergent Church movement.
I don’t know much about it at all,
except that some ULTRA-fundamentalists are
foaming at the mouth over it, claiming it is a move
of Satan Himself to corrupt the pure (fundamentalist) gospel.

Jaypeeto4
+JMJ+
 
Can you explain it a bit more, and the specifically why the ultra-evangelicals are “foaming at the mouth”?
 
I just remember that there used to be a website
called “Slice of Laodicea” – a very fundamentalist,
antiCatholic (venomously so) website, and they had
an entire section devoted to the emergent church movement,
with article after article denouncing it as a latter day
deception of the devil (along with anything written by Rick Warren).

I don’t even know if “Slice of Laodicea” even exists anymore.

Jaypeeto4
+JMJ+
 
i’ve done and am still doing lots of research on the emerging church movement.

good things: as was said, a more holistic style of worship (they aren’t getting rid of praise bands, they add historic richness like incense, stained glass, silence, etc.), open minded, a heart to reach those who have been neglected by the church, compassion, community, social justice, new thinking, and some other things.

bad things: it’s a tough movement to nail down (many within it’s leadership disagree on MAJOR doctrinal issues ranging from a literal resurrection, to atonement, to sexuality, to egalitarianism vs. complimentarism, and the list goes on), sometimes so open minded their brains fall out, a sever critical nature of anyone who disagrees (not everyone involved but there are lots of words that have been exchanged), a desire to be accepted by the secular world seems to override a desire to please God (that might be too harsh a statement on my part, but many folks are so afraid of offending non-Christians they don’t even share the gospel), a revisionist attitude with many things historical.

these are just a few of the good and the bad. look up people like Brian McLaren, Tony Jones, Doug Pagitt, and Rob Bell. there has also been a mini exodus from the movement led by one-time leader Mark Driscoll. he is very good acquaintences with these men (he has never met Rob Bell, but has been friends with the others). he has sever doctrinal differences with these men. many of them are extremely influenced by the Jesus Seminar and often quote John Dominic Crossan (a red flag in my book). this movement seems to be the ultimate in pick and choose what to believe. but there is good coming from it so don’t label everyone who says they are emergent as heretics just yet. of course, they are almost all protestant so many on here would have already labeled them heretics anyway, but oh well.
 
PatienceAndLove said:
Can you explain it a bit more, and the specifically why the ultra-evangelicals are “foaming at the mouth”?
Click to expand...
they are fundamentalists not “ultra-evangelicals”. that would be the proper term as many fundamentalists would not equate themselves with evangelicalism. this is a newer development so i don’t mean to disagree with Keating’s book “Catholicism and Fundamentalism” where he says that all fundamentalists are evangelicals but not all evangelical are fundamentalists. there
are many splits taking place within evangelicalism right now because of the emergent movement and the groups that oppose it.
 
They sound earnest but to me sounds like they are rehashing protestant modernism/liberalism again. The problem with Sola Scritura is that leaves you walking a tight rope between pic and choose liberalism and fundamentalism on the other side. For that reasons is either Catholicism or Orthodoxy for me. Having tradition help you walk the tighrope. Protestants do not like Sacred Tradition so they have no safety net or brakes when making teological or worship innovations.
 
inthecloud said:
Protestants do not like Sacred Tradition so they have no safety net or brakes when making teological or worship innovations.
Click to expand...
this statement is way to general to make. there are plenty of protestants who hold tradition in extremely high regard and use it regularly to interpret scripture. the difference is they hold to Prima Scriptura so they will dismiss any “tradition” that is not found in scripture as not being binding doctrine. i.e. i have no problems with the thoughts about Mary’s role in heaven, but to make it binding doctrine is wrong (IMO) because there are parts that can be refuted by scripture (in light of some interpretations… hence the whole theotokos argument that went on within the church). when Tradition is put on the same level as scripture and can actually (sometimes) influence it is where many protestants have problems. of course this isn’t a thread on that subject 😃
 
goodcatholicman said:
I have been doing some searching on the Internet about the and at first glance this “emerging church” idea sounds like a plan to, for lack of a better term, catholicize evangelical Christians. Wow! a return to more genuine worship, with fewer praise bands, more stained glass,lower lights and… drum roll… a return to the Eucharist! In addition, the focus will be on a “holistic” experience with a more liturgical approach and bringing back sacramental signs of water, etc. Of course, the evangelicals seem worried about a return to Rome so there will undoubtedly be a twist of doctrine or dogma as yet undiscovered to separate them from us so to speak. What do you think about the movement? It sounds like a promising move and a radical shift for evangelicals. The walk back to Rome is slow but it sounds like it has begun! Thoughts on this new movement?🤷
Click to expand...
Well, for me my reading lots of books by people within the EC ended up leading me to Rome. 😃 I do think there is a lot of good stuff that speaks to people in my generation (I’m 25) and a lot of it is compatible with Catholicism. Sure, some people are a little bit out there, but that happens with any group of people. 🤷
 
Well, for me my reading lots of books by people within the EC ended up leading me to Rome.

Well THAT’S always a joy to hear !!
Still, I’m a little concerned about the theological liberalism
in the EC movement that some have mentioned in this thread.
But I’m glad you’re home !!
God bless,
Jaypeeto4
+JMJ+
 
bengal_fan said:
i’ve done and am still doing lots of research on the emerging church movement.

look up people like Brian McLaren, Tony Jones, Doug Pagitt, and Rob Bell.
Click to expand...
I have read several times “Velvet Elvis” by Rob Bell. I have to say he definetely chanllanges the reader. But says dont believe me just because I wrote the book. I rather like that. People tend to apply “star power” to people like Rob etc. and its wrong.

I dont know the finer aspects of the catholic faith and or any particular church for that matter, but I remember things Rob said I thought at the time may of been catholic, not sure.

He speaks alot about binding and loosing and how scripture isnt then its now, its their story and our story. I thought at times he was plain out wrong but considered it and found I was misunderstanding him.

Dont know if everything I agree he says, but he made me think, and thats part of what a good writer and pastor should do. Im not sure I like how he describes the new Heaven, but when he says we should be trying to make Heaven now, and not wait til we are there, then that makes good logic.

Im not sure hes part of that emerging church deal, or just being lumped cause hes new sort of, he stepped down as pastor of a mega church cause he couldnt do it anymore.

But he does resonate with those of us who are like Kane walking the earth between churches maybe because he is. But it seemed he was leading the reader back to a tradition by reminding us that there is one, and the things that happened long ago still happen today, like I already said their story is our story. So tieing us all together.

I hope that makes sense, if not sorry for babbling 😃
 
Jaypeeto4 said:
Well, for me my reading lots of books by people within the EC ended up leading me to Rome.

Well THAT’S always a joy to hear !!
Still, I’m a little concerned about the theological liberalism
in the EC movement that some have mentioned in this thread.
But I’m glad you’re home !!
God bless,
Jaypeeto4
+JMJ+
Click to expand...
Thanks! 😃 I do think there is some stuff that isn’t so great about it, but there is also plenty of good. It is just a matter of sorting out which is which, and not throwing the baby out with the bath water. 🤷
 
Hi all. I am a Protestant, but have a healthy respect for the Catholic Church. I look forward to some good discussion here!

I am shocked that the Catholic Church has not stepped out and made a statement against the Emerging Church. As some people have stated, yes, they do have some “Catholic-type” practices. But, to paint the Emerging Church as “trying to lead people back to Rome” is wrong. it is also equally as wrong for fundamental Protestants to link the Emerging Church and the Catholic Church. As someone who studies doctrine like crazy, I would suggest to you good folks to not be fooled by this heretical movement. As I stated, yes, they have a few “Catholic” ideas, but that is not the whole picture. In fact, what they are really trying to do is encompass everything. They do this by their post-modern viewpoint. The whole basis for this movement is to cater to a post-modern world. In it’s own right, that sounds good, because post-modern people need Christ just like everyone else. However, they do this by becoming post-modern themselves. this leads them to the following beliefs:
  1. There is no absolute truth. Not even God/Jesus Christ/Holy Spirit.
  2. They will accept any view point from anyone as legitimate because there is no absolute truth. Yes, this includes something such as abortion, which the Catholic Church has so courageously opposed for years.
  3. you can walk in, believe what you want, and it will be accepted, because it is “true for you.”
  4. They will not confront sin.
These things don’t sound very Catholic to me. Do they to you?

Here are some direct quotes from some of these guys.

“The church has been preoccupied with the question, “What happens to your soul after you die?” As if the reason for Jesus coming can be summed up in, “Jesus is trying to help get more souls into heaven, as opposed to hell, after they die.” I just think a fair reading of the Gospels blows that out of the water. I don’t think that the entire message and life of Jesus can be boiled down to that bottom line.” —Brian McLaren

“Emergent doesn’t have a position on absolute truth, or on anything for that matter. Do you show up at a dinner party with your neighbors and ask, ‘What’s this dinner party’s position on absolute truth?’ No, you don’t, because it’s a nonsensical question.” - Tony Jones

“My goal is to destroy Christianity as a world religion and be a recatalyst for the movement of Jesus Christ,” McManus, author of a new book called The Barbarian Way, said in a telephone interview. “Some people are upset with me because it sounds like I’m anti-Christian. I think they might be right.” - Erwin McManus

Yes, they do have some “Catholic-type” things they exhibit…but you are not getting the entire story by that.

Blessings
 
My understanding of the movement is that it’s just a bunch of libertines who call themselves Christian.
 
Hello catholic answers,

I have just recently been learning about this “emerging church” movement, and I think it’s very,very,very scary.

It seems to me it’s all about moral relativism. Some guy named Brian McClaren stated something along the lines that hell is not real. Basically, a mixture of truth with lies to create a scary ideology.
 
The Emerging Church, Emergent Church or whatever you want to call it is primarilly made up of people who are post evangelical. ie. They have been involved with evangelical protestantism and come to the conclusion that it isn’'t the be all and end all. such a statement would drive fundamentalists crazy. Obviously some people within it have somewhat exotic beliefs just like in any other part of the church. There is a strong emphasis on community within the movement which a lot of the church has lost.
 
As a member of the mainline Protestant church, I have been heavily exposed to emergent theology (many of my fellow ELCA peeps love this stuff). Mostly, the theology is very very weak. The emergent church is a weird form of congregationalism; each community defines itself liturgically, doctrinally, etc. They tend to use ancient practices, but they also tend to remove them from their historical context. They also emphasize that God works through secular means above the institutional church. They collapse the sacred into the secular and cannot make a distinction between the two. Consequently, the Special Revelation of Christ becomes secondary to a General Revelation of the Creator in nature (especially in and through secular means). Furthermore, the community becomes the highest form of Divine expression in this world. I have been to a few ELCA emergent churches and to Doug Pagitt’s church (Solomon’s Porch) and have seen this in action. For example, Solomon’s Porch has a giant paper mache goose hanging in its sanctuary as a symbol of the Holy Spirit.
 
The Emergent Church movement is a heretic post-modern movement. It cannot be defined at all because truth is relative there. It’s a “to each his own” type of worship. They deny some if not all of the essential truths of Christianity such as hell, eternal life, Jesus’ divinity, etc. Again, each congregation has its own sets of beliefs depending on the people attending. I wouldn’t even call it a church at all.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top