Internet
Christian Bookstores: Haven for Non-Christian Materials
New Age and Pro-Homosexual Authors only one-click
away (Part 1)
by Bud Press
February 8, 2004
For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.
Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which
the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which
he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing
shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of
your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away
disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space
of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears
(Acts 20:27-31).
Prior to his emotional departure from Ephesus, Paul reminded the Ephesian
Elders of their vast responsibilities to their flock, part of which was
to teach sound doctrine and guard against false teachings. Paul knew that
after his departure, the door-knocking false teachers and false prophets
would enter in from the outside of the Church and spew their heresy-laden
doctrines, in an attempt to undermine his teachings and the truth of God's
word.
Paul covered all bases and left no stone unturned. He also warned the
Elders of the "wolves" rising up from within the Church, whose perverted
doctrines were designed to captivate, compromise, ensnare and draw men
away from the truth.
History always repeats itself
To the discerning Christian, false teachings mock the authority of
God's word and are extremely dangerous to the emotional, physical and spiritual
welfare of the believer. False teachings will drive the unsaved deeper
into sin, further from God and into eternal damnation.
One part truth, shaken and stirred with two-parts deception, then bottled
in a new, divine revelation--produces a demonic cocktail sauce waiting
to be sprinkled on impressionable, Biblically illiterate Christians.
Indeed, false teachers have existed for thousands of years, and are
a recurrent, festering, ingrown toenail on Christianity's big toe. Now,
with the advent of modern technology, demonic doctrines span the electronic
airwaves and tickle our ears, day-and-night, with an orchestrated siren's
song of "Trust in me and I'll set you free!"
While salvation of the lost was paramount to Paul, he recognized the
fact that a perverted gospel leads the unsaved to a false Christ; neither
of which have the power to save.
Enter the Villain: the New Age Movement and Diversity
"The New Age Movement is both a religious and a social movement. In
fact, Western culture is currently experiencing a phenomenal, spiritual,
ideological, and sociological shift. It is a religious world-view that
is alien and hostile to Christianity. It's a multi-focused, multi-faceted
synthesis, in varying degrees, of the Far Eastern, mystical religions,
mainly Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Western Occultism, adapted to and
influenced by Western, materialistic culture. It sometimes appears in secularized
forms.
"It is comprised of hundreds of groups and individuals who have gained
significant influence, affecting almost every area of the culture - sociology,
psychology, medicine, the government, ecology, science, arts, education,
the business community, the media, entertainment, sports, and even the
church" (Craig Branch, "The New Age Movement," Watchman Fellowship Profile,
1996).
Books authored by New Age proponents such as David Spangler, M. Scott
Peck, Virginia Mollenkott, Marianne Williamson, Elaine Pagels, Carl Jung,
James Redfield and Neal Donald Walsch grace the pages of many internet
Christian bookstores.
Moreover, popular New Age books such as, The Coming of the Cosmic Christ:
The Healing of Mother Earth and the Birth of a Global Renaissance by Matthew
Fox and, Awaken to Your Own Call: Exploring a Course in Miracles by Jon
Mundy, are commonplace, and accepted as legitimate Christian writings.
While a marginal search within many internet Christian bookstores will
unearth authors whose books promote Yoga, Zen Buddhism, Taoism, the Baha'i
Faith, Hinduism and, the Muslim Qur'an (or Koran), these books are not
balanced with apologetics and Scriptural references, nor do they lead the
reader to an encounter with the real Jesus of the Bible. Thus, the reader
is lead away from the real Christ and into the grip of the wolf-pack that
Paul warned about in Acts 20:28-30.
But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through
his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that
is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have
not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received,
or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with
him" (2 Corinthians 11:3-4).
Never before in the history of the world has Christianity been under
such bombardment from the counterfeit Jesus, spirit and gospel. No doubt,
many Christians have been conditioned to believe in diversity, in that
all paths will lead to Christ--cosmic or Biblical.
On the shelves of Cyberspace: 'Christian homosexuality'
"'I believe that most Christians have difficulty accepting homosexuality
in the church because they are unable to accept any sexuality as a means
of God’s grace." I wrote this in my first book, Uncommon Calling--A Gay
Christian’s Struggle to Serve the Church. In it I describe how difficult
it was for me, at the time a fundamentalist Baptist and biblical literalist,
to move through various stages of acceptance of my homosexuality. First
I thought of it as both sin and sickness. When God didn’t change me despite
my prayers, I moved into another stage, believing that my sexuality was
my thorn in the flesh or my cross to bear. It was only when I fell in love
with my best male friend in college and found a Presbyterian church unafraid
to deal with sexuality that I began to understand that my sexuality was
truly a gift from God" (Chris Glaser. According to his website, Glaser
has been "a gay Christian activist and author" for 30 years).
Glaser's books, such as: Uncommon Calling A Gay Christian's Struggle
to Serve the Church and Reformation of the Heart: Seasonal Meditations
by a Gay Christian are readily available in many online Christian bookstores.
"I have been concerned about the types of materials being sold by Christian
bookstores since they began stocking their shelves with Third Wave books
in the 1990's. Christian bookstores had declining books sales for many
years and were kept afloat financially by the sale of 'holy hardware' and
CCM music. The leadership of the Third Wave began pumping out books by
the bushel and brow beating their adherants to buy the books and pass them
around. This rejuvinated book sales and many Christian book stores don't
seem to care as much about content as they do about the bottom line. I
know this because I have confronted bookstores personally about what authors
they are promoting, giving them the facts that show the false teachings
and false prophecies of the authors, but to very little success.
It is no wonder that these same bookstores have now branched out into the
sale of books favorable to homosexuality, other religions and the occult"
(Sandy Simpson, Deception in the Church Ministries).
The critical need for Concern and Discernment
Christians are under a Scriptural command to test all things, cling
tenaciously to the good and reject all forms of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22).
Yet, under the guise of Christianity, New Age and pro-homosexual materials
have subtly slithered into many internet Christian bookstores. As a cancer
which slowly, painfully eats away its victim from the inside, non-Christian
materials will feed and multiply until everyone involved in the management
of internet Christian bookstores take responsilbility for their actions,
protect the flock and hold themselves accountable to God and the body of
Christ.
"I find it both disheartening and perplexing to see these types of
books sold through major Christian book distributors--that are supposed
to be representing the Lord Jesus. We should be extremely disturbed that
many distributors are not scrutinizing the authors or content of their
books they sell. There has to be some kind of accountability for ministries
disseminating books that contain obvious opposition to the Bible and the
Church. Whether intentional or not, they have become promoters of the very
things Jesus warned of in His teachings, and what would take place at the
end of the age" (Mike Oppenheimer, Let Us Reason Ministries ).
2,000 years ago, Paul refused to compromise the truth of God's word.
2,000 years later, should 21st century Christians be any different?
###