Theological Issues

"But outside the Evangelical world, “proselytizing” is indeed a bad word. Other Protestants and the secular media regard it as an expression of “fundamentalism”—an elastic term, which can mean anything religious one does not like, in this case a faith that is intolerant and aggressive. The politically correct of all or no religious persuasion associate it with ethnocentrism, cultural imperialism and colonialism.  Roman Catholics tend to be more cautious in condemning “proselytism”—after all, they practice it themselves, asserting as they do that theirs is the only true church—but the more progressive ones also shy away from outright conversion activities, preferring terms like “enculturation” (adapting Christianity to non-Western indigenous cultures rather than going at them head-on) and “Christian presence” (bearing witness not by overt preaching, but rather by quietly practicing the Christian virtues of compassion and charity). The most favored alternative to “proselytism” is “dialogue,” the non-confrontational, open-minded conversation with “the Other.”

Read the entire article by Peter Berger on my website  http://www.reformedliving.org/

There is a great difference between Environmentalism and Conservationism.  

Simply put, Conservationism views Nature as a resource for the benefit of human beings.  It is to be conserved and managed so that it will be around for ages to meet human needs.  This is an anthropocentric viewpoint.

Environmentalism sees Nature as a living complex, a web, of biological and physical relationships which is good in itself.  It has intrinsic value in itself apart from any human use and should be left alone by humans other than to protect it for its own sake and allowed to remain "natural" as much as possible.  This is a bio- or eco-centric view.  It has strong undercurrents of New Age and neo-pagan concepts about the earth, spiritualizing and personalizing all of nature, placing it on the same level of importance and value as human life.   

It should be needless to say, Conservationism is far more Biblical than Environmentalism.  You should be able to see which of these perspectives is the most  compatible with the thinking and actions of the most vocal advocates of the proposed changes dealing with Global Warming.  I am writing a paper for my website on this subject.  A good resource is Where Garden meets Wilderness by Calvin Beisner

Tomorrow many churches commemorate the work of the 16th Century Reformers, beginning with Martin Luther and the next generation which included John Calvin and, in England, men like Thomas Cranmer, Latimer, Ridley and Jewel.  

If you consider yourself to be an Evangelical, these men should be your heroes.  They gave you your Protestant Heritage.  "Protestant" and "Evangelical" were the same 400 years ago and most of the years since- until our day.  Today the lines are blurred.  In fact, today's young Evangelicals do not care to call themselves Protestants and what they mean by "evangelical" is very different than what was meant by the first Protestants.  

The secular world recognizes the major influence the early Protestant Reformers had on politics, economics and education.  They started a revolution that changed the course of world history.  But we obviously honor these men most for their Theology.  Many of them suffered and died for it.  They are particularly known for the "Five Solas".  "Sola" is Latin for "alone".  Their revolutionary Theology was that Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone to the glory of God alone according to Scripture alone.  These Solas together are the essential Protestant or Evangelical Faith.  We rightly honor this Heritage today, but the best way to do that is to keep it alive.  

HERE is why Oct 31, is Reformation Day