Indulgences Return? Indulgence Never Left

“Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio,” it states on the website, “recently announced that parishioners in the Diocese of Brooklyn can receive plenary indulgences for participation in events connected with the 2008-2009 jubilee year of St. Paul the Apostle proclaimed by Pope Benedict XVI in May.”

Paul Vitello writes an intriguing article about the return of plenary indulgence, and how one might earn them again, for the N.Y. Times.  Be mindful, there is a limit of one indulgence per day, per sinner.  You can still earn the forgiveness of sins for a deceased loved one, except it will cost you something other than cash.  Actually, you can still exchange cash for forgiveness but it needs to be defined as charitable giving.

The practice of selling indulgences was denounced by Martin Luther in 1517 while igniting the Protestant Reformation.  The main point being that Justification by faith alone on the authority of Scripture as God’s inspired Word is the gospel.  The gospel needs no amendments and the forgiving of sins can only be purchased by death, and that death for our debt of sin was paid in full by Jesus Christ on the Cross.

Until recently, I spent the better part of my life as a member of the Pentecostal or Charismatic church.  One of the reasons I am no longer a part of said churches is because of the lack of focus and reflection on the issues of the Reformation.  Quite frankly, I grew appalled at the thoughtlessness that I found to be present in myself and many of the leaders of the church.  I had  to think.  I needed to serve God with all my mind, and since I was caught thinking and that was so wrong, my departure was inevitable.

I would argue that the Charismatic church is also in the business of selling indulgences.  Certainly none in these circles would sell you the forgiveness of sin.  Short of that, whatever you want can be had for the right price, as I wrote in Rethinking What We Sell.   The entire healing line is available:  physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, marital and, yes, financial can all be had at the right conference for the right price.  I’m sorry, everything else is available for the right donation.  (I misspoke.)  Donations, of course, do benefit the lead “servants” and primary benefactors of these NON PROFIT organizations to a fault.  I’m still waiting for the congressional hearing on the over-compensation and excessive bonuses of many of these pastors whose collective greed is causing a recession in the souls of millions, and the local pastors who live just large enough to stay under the radar, while they do little to nothing for the common people or community.

The theology of Indulgence is rampant in the black church community.  You can even decide exactly what blessing you want and “plant a seed of faith” — translation:  give more money.  This  concept of the seed faith offering was invented by James Eugene Ewing, who has long run a scam known as St. Matthew’s Churches.

The reality is that the economy is in great shape compared to the great depression being experienced in the spiritual economy of our day.

People like being indulged.  They want to hear that they can have whatever they want.  Tell them they can, and they’ll do whatever you want, like pay for forgiveness and purchase houses that require two months’ salary for one mortgage payment.

People like prosperity.  They want to obtain whatever they want.  They’ll tell you whatever you want to hear for the right price, tithe, or offering.  Please don’t indulge me.

2 Timothy 4:3,4–”For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”

A Year’s Worth of Conversation

Merry Christmas!

Wow! Can you believe another year has gone by? It’s been a year full of change, challenge, and the confrontation that is always necessary when you are working towards vision. One of the things that we often have to challenge is our old way of thinking. We can get so comfortable, that we stop thinking, stop evaluating, and stop asking questions. Life just becomes routine and things like church and career slowly lose their meaning. At the beginning of this year, I had to admit to myself, and to you, that personal relationship with Christ had become convoluted. Relationship can quickly become religious with rules and routine. What I had was rules and routine. What I wanted was relationship!

How do you move from religion to relationship? You rethink how you’ve come to that place. You begin by asking questions, confronting old ideas, and having honest conversations. One of the greatest joys of this year has been having this conversation with you. Some have emailed me directly; some shared their opinion on the blog, and yet still some have been offended and have chosen to disengage. It’s all good, real conversation which causes all sorts of reactions and emotions.

So in case you missed it, here are some of the top conversations of the year. Read them for the first time or read them again and rethink your position. Invite others to reevaluate and converse with you, or join the conversation on the blog. Thanks for being there. May the New Year bring you a renewed relationship with Christ and those around you. Here we go . . .

The Pastoral Conversation, I think this generated some hate mail.

Re-thinking Pastoral Authority — 25 comments

Re-thinking Pastoral Accountability — 11 comments

When Preachers Lie On God — 5 comments

Rethinking Who Speaks for God — 2 comments

Who can forget the Tithe Conversation, people get so passionate about money.

Tithe – Not what Malachi 3 is about — 16 comments

Tithe – The Heart of the Matter — 7 comments

Tithe – Support for the poor — 5 comments

Tithe – The original purpose — 4 comments

Tithe — The Eternal Principle — 3 comments

Tithe – The Disconnect — 2 comments

The Church As Is Conversation was very insightful

Questions About Church As-Is — 27 comments

Re-thinking the way we dress for church — 20 comments

When Christians Have Sex — 16 comments

Rethinking What We Sell — 11 comments

A Faith I Can Live With — 5 comments

The Theology Conversation

Rethinking What God Said — 8 comments

Christians’ Personal Responsibility — 4 comments

Rethinking Orthopraxy — 2 comments

Who’s Influencing Your Theology?

Thinking Theology

It’s been a great year! Thanks again for being a part of the conversation. You never know where the conversation will lead, so keep checking the blog often. I love your insight and input, so leave me lots of comments for Christmas. Happy reading and once again, Merry Christmas!!!

When Christians Have Sex

Pastor Ed Young was in the News again recently because of his 7 day sex challenge.  It’s not the fist time that he’s preached about sex with a King-size bed as a prop, so it’s neither here nor there for me.  Some people love the idea, like this mom.  Some think it’s a denial of the power of the Word of God and question the use of a prop, like this married man.  And still some think it’s a return to the 7o’s free love, like another married man here.  Personally, I was more intrigued by the 30 day sex challenge issued by the Relevant Church as reported here.  You can also purchase the book at the Relevant blog I linked earlier.

I can imagine that a lot of men dream about 30 days of sex, and a lot of women dream about 30 days of intimacy.  Here’s the the question many have asked privately, but you know me.  I think all things can be discussed intelligently.  What types of sex are we talking about?  Another way to ask the question is, are there restrictions on the types of sex that married christian couples can participate in?

How far is too far?  Are we all called to be missionaries?  Or is there liberty in the non-essentials?

Re-thinking Denomination, Non-denomination and Renewed Direction

Over the years the congregations I have been a part of have self-identified as different things. First there was Pentecostal, and then there was Charismatic; after that the new-fangled Non-denomination labeling grew in popularity.

So as I continue on my quest for an intelligent faith, I have to stop and ponder the question, “what does it men to be Pentecostal, likewise Charismatic and most intriguingly I wonder what does it really mean to claim that one’s congregation or one’s self is non-denominational or without denomination?” Isn’t that refusal to identify with any larger group really a declaration that you are now a new denomination?

Are you Pentecostal?

Based on the name, it’s not too hard to figure out that the Pentecostal focus is on the Pentecost experience of Acts 2, and therefore, they have a particular focus on each person having a direct experience with God where they are baptized or filled with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues. This experience carries much weight in Pentecostal circles. There is, of course, a broad diversity even within the denomination — two major groups, for example. There are the Trinitarian Pentecostals, such as the Church of God in Christ (COGIC) and the Assembles of God. Then there are the Oneness Pentecostals who deny the Trinity, such as the Pentecostal Assembles of the World and the United Pentecostal Church United.

Are you Charismatic?

My best summation is that Charismatic, first called neo-Pentecostalism, is a widening of the focus. Not born out of the 1906 Azusa Street revivals, Charismatics also believe that the gifts experienced by the first century church, such as prophecy and miracles, are still given to the church through individuals today. The major difference between Charismatic Theology and Pentecostal Theology comes down to the belief about tongues. It is the primary evidence of being baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit, says the Pentecostal, and the validation of salvation according to some. The Charismatic responds, “not so.”  It may be an evidence, not the evidence, and it’s not necessary for all believers to speak in tongues, especially not necessary for salvation. But wait, are you Neo-Charismatic?

You may be Neo-Charismatic.

Out of Charismatic Theology have come many churches, called various things. One trend that is prevalent today among the Neo-Charismatic group is to refer to their organizations as non-denominational.  It’s a bit naïve, in my opinion, because even if you refuse to identify the foundational theology of your church, you still hold to it. Not only do I think it’s naïve, but isn’t it also dangerous? Is it not important for the members of these churches to know and fully understand their church’s theological foundations, and thus the theology that they themselves hold to be true?

A revival of thinking

Should it not be the case that you understand the theological position of a church before you align yourself with said organization?  With a reported 38000 Christian denominations, it becomes ever so much more important for you to intelligently work out your beliefs and then join yourself to the appropriate group of people.

As Christians we share a rich history of scholarly reasoning.  The apostles were certainly men of reason and intellect.  The early church fathers would reach back to the apostles for knowledge as they reasoned forward and addressed the issues of the faith.  Today there seems to be this rouge and undisciplined approach to Christianity that, unfortunately, is growing in popularity.  The early leaders of the church were continually called upon to be diligent in teaching all that was taught to them.  If they were obedient, we can safely assume that new converts were willing to learn, study, and retain these God-given principles and follow them.

We have been warned that in the last days many will surround false teachers and false prophets wanting nothing more than an ear tickle.  Tell me something good!  That seems to be the cry of the day.  Tell me I’ll be rich, tell me I’ll be healed, tell me I have been absolved of all work and responsibility to work out my own soul’s salvation with fear and trembling.  Oh, and please tell me I can have all these things that I desire now!

Yet I hear the cry of the Word of God respond:  There is a way that seems right unto a man, but the end thereof is destruction.  I hear, work hard to show yourself approved.  I hear, seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things. . .

Why I’m no longer Charismatic

One of the reasons I walked away from Charismatic ministry is because thinking became more important to me than position, title, approval, or progress.  I needed to think, to reason, to consider, to decide.  I needed the liberty to disagree, to question, to serve the Lord with all of my mind.

Conformity is not unity.  You can only truly have unity when all people involved have intellectually ascertained truth that is essential and agreed to it.  What I experienced was more brain-washing and bullying than anything else.

We Christians need a renewed focus on the Gospel and a return to the directives of our one leader, Jesus Christ.  Have we forgotten that it’s all about the kingdom of God?

A Faith I Can Live With

I recently went out with my wife and a group of new friends.  We saw “The Good Negro,” a play about the civil rights movement and the struggle of the leaders to be effective, to be perfect, to be respected as human.

After the play, we all gathered at a local restaurant for food and discussion and it happened again.  You see, (and if you frequent my blog you already know), I have been on a journey for more than a year now.  After many years in ministries and 5 years on a church staff as the youth minister, I walked away.  I walked away knowing one thing for sure.  The faith that I shared with so many and for so long was not a faith I could live with.  I’ll tell you why in a moment, but back to the dinner for now.

Without intention, maybe even with resistance from me, the conversation merged into a discussion on truth, religion, God, and spirituality.  This kind of unplanned conversation has been happening to me frequently for more than a year.  I have concluded that people all over the world are searching for a faith they can live with.  I almost want to draw parallels between the civil rights movement and the unorganized spiritual movement that seems afoot.  I shall resist.

Why I could not live with “charismatic faith”

I can give you many, many anecdotal stories about why I was not content with the faith of my childhood.  Instead I’ll just say this.  I grew up in the charismatic church, and while it took me a long time to get to a place of frustration, I did get there.  The charismatic experience is too much of just that for me – experience.  Often times the experience is not questioned.  Often truth is presented that is not reasonable and has little biblical truth as its basis.  The foundation of truth, the way truth is determined in that group of denominations, is based on (as I have experienced it): general revelation (the Bible), special revelation (things that God says now), experience, and emotion.  Reason is often frowned upon and consideration of the global and historic church’s position on issues is unheard of for most within.

This approach worked for me until I started asking a series of ‘why’ questions.  Like i said before, if you are a frequent reader, you know all this.  If not, search “rethinking church” on the blog and you’ll let the gist of it.

Finally, I have come to conclusions about the basis of my faith.  In other words, this is where I stand now.  I have come to a place of peace and rest.

I have as my foundation now the five Solas.  I will compare and contrast each of these as I go further, but let me start with an overview.  Believe me when I tell you that the differences between charismatic theology and what is called reformed theology are night and day.

A faith I can live with.

Sola Scriptura, Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, Solus Christus, and Soli Deo Gloria:  With scripture alone as our primary theological authority, we conclude that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, and in this, God alone receives the glory.

As I read that I think to myself, I don’t know any charismatic Christians who would disagree with any of this verbally.  However, as I will point out over the next few posts, what is said and what is done in charismatic circles are two astoundingly different things.

Let me end here by saying, I am also decidedly irenic in my theological discussions.  I’m not here to bash those who are from the traditions of my past.  The fact remains that I have learned of God and have come to faith in Him in very charismatic environments.  Without the things that I have learned and without the relationship that I developed with God in these environments, I would have had nothing to sustain me.  It must be understood from the start that I love my brothers and sisters who remain.

Yet my faith seeks understanding.  “fides quaerens intellectum”