Pastor Ken Silva--A Contender For the Faith!
Ken Silva of Apprising Ministries has been carefully researching the teachings of Rob Bell for over a year now. It's nice to see letters like the one below which show the Lord moving through men like Ken Silva.
Thanks Ken for all your hard work and for truly contending for the faith.
Dear Pastor Silva,
This whole Emergent issue came to my attention about a year ago while reading a copy of my friend's magazine, “Relevant.” At first it seemed like a very hip and current magazine that talked about issues related to Christianity in a fresh way. As I looked into it more closely, the warning bells started to go off. This magazine promoted authors like Brian McLaren and Donald Miller which I had never heard of. So, I started to take a look at what they had to say and realized that I would really need to do a critical study of their writings and see how it matched up with the Word. I still haven't gotten to that yet, but thankfully there are people like you who are already stepping out in the arena.
A few months ago, I became friends with a young woman from Grand Rapids who I later found out attended Rob Bell’s church, Mar's Hill. I had never heard of him, but went to a Sunday morning service with her. Rob talked about something called “Exodus Theology” which sounded very convoluted and contrived. I didn’t really get what he was saying but my alarm bells went up when he made a joke directed at Focus on the Family.
Recently my friend told me a little about Rob’s latest sermon and said I wouldn’t like it. So, I took a listen to the message series titled “Calling All Peacemakers.” As a former Navy officer and someone with a pretty good understanding of Islamic terrorism, I was shocked at Rob’s conclusion–he seemed to be advocating Christian involvement in the peace and anti-war movement. I don’t want to go into this debate right now, but the one thing that people advocating for “peace in our time” don’t understand is that human nature is sinful.
After hearing this sermon, I had to learn more about Rob Bell and so I found your website. It is definitely a Godsend. The other articles you had up about Rob’s sermons were unbelievable.
Some thoughts about Emergent. One of my attorney friends told me that instead of directly addressing a person’s argument, he likes to attack the underlying assumptions. Maybe this is where we start against the apostate teaching of Emergent–attack their underlying assumptions. I’m not exactly sure what those are: relativism, favoring the new over the old, tolerance?
Anyway, this is how I came across Emergent and Rob Bell. I think his heart is in the right place but he is just very much deceived. He seems to be talented but has been infected by ungodly influences.
Sincerely,
Andy
Thanks Ken for all your hard work and for truly contending for the faith.
Dear Pastor Silva,
This whole Emergent issue came to my attention about a year ago while reading a copy of my friend's magazine, “Relevant.” At first it seemed like a very hip and current magazine that talked about issues related to Christianity in a fresh way. As I looked into it more closely, the warning bells started to go off. This magazine promoted authors like Brian McLaren and Donald Miller which I had never heard of. So, I started to take a look at what they had to say and realized that I would really need to do a critical study of their writings and see how it matched up with the Word. I still haven't gotten to that yet, but thankfully there are people like you who are already stepping out in the arena.
A few months ago, I became friends with a young woman from Grand Rapids who I later found out attended Rob Bell’s church, Mar's Hill. I had never heard of him, but went to a Sunday morning service with her. Rob talked about something called “Exodus Theology” which sounded very convoluted and contrived. I didn’t really get what he was saying but my alarm bells went up when he made a joke directed at Focus on the Family.
Recently my friend told me a little about Rob’s latest sermon and said I wouldn’t like it. So, I took a listen to the message series titled “Calling All Peacemakers.” As a former Navy officer and someone with a pretty good understanding of Islamic terrorism, I was shocked at Rob’s conclusion–he seemed to be advocating Christian involvement in the peace and anti-war movement. I don’t want to go into this debate right now, but the one thing that people advocating for “peace in our time” don’t understand is that human nature is sinful.
After hearing this sermon, I had to learn more about Rob Bell and so I found your website. It is definitely a Godsend. The other articles you had up about Rob’s sermons were unbelievable.
Some thoughts about Emergent. One of my attorney friends told me that instead of directly addressing a person’s argument, he likes to attack the underlying assumptions. Maybe this is where we start against the apostate teaching of Emergent–attack their underlying assumptions. I’m not exactly sure what those are: relativism, favoring the new over the old, tolerance?
Anyway, this is how I came across Emergent and Rob Bell. I think his heart is in the right place but he is just very much deceived. He seems to be talented but has been infected by ungodly influences.
Sincerely,
Andy
posted by kennyo at 10:12 PM
5 Comments:
doesn't Jesus say "Blessed are the peacemakers?"
Eve,
Yes, he did say that. But he did not say "blessed are the peace-fakers" (pardon the pun).
The Emergent proponents act as though there are no errors in their beliefs, and that there is peace. But this is not true. A false peace exists in their ranks. There is conflict with the likes of us because they are in conflict with the truth of scripture.
Jude vs. 3 tells us to contend (fight) for the faith. Fighting for clarity of the truth of scripture is our responsibility.
-KCO
The scriptures are so difficult to stomach. I understand the threat of the Islamic Terrorists and the destruction they seek. To be honest with me it is terribly alarming, they wish to destroy western civilization entirely. But does our thirst for justice trump Jesus' call to love our enemies?
We spend so much time focused on tearing each other down, criticizing those whom we do not see eye to eye with. But what are we doing? Where is the incredible power of the Holy Spirit? Power that can change EVERYTHING!
"...–he seemed to be advocating Christian involvement in the peace and anti-war movement."
I heard the entire Peacemakers audio series by Bell. In his last message, he begins by detailing how much he and his church love/honor America, his support for the troops and for families who have lost loved ones, how blessed we are here, etc., etc.
Keep listening: by mid-message he begins to bash America and ends up at one point by suggesting, quite subtly, that we in America (with our excess, our consumption, our indifference to the plight of other coutries, ad nauseam) are really no better than the people who commit terrorist acts.
Moral equivalency is alive and well in Bell's mind. He claims to cling to a non-political stand and to stay away from taking political sides, while using the Word to preach an anti-govt., anti-American message.
That series alone should convice any thinking youth pastor to drop the slick (velvet indeed) videos and books coming out of Mars Hill.
"I didn’t really get what he was saying but my alarm bells went up when he made a joke directed at Focus on the Family."
That's alright...my alarm bells were just-about worn-out once I finished this sentence. Lighten-up.
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