Posted on March 10, 2008 - by Calvin L. Smith

Englishman Near New York (11)

This entry is not really about America directly. (Well, it is to a degree because it follows on from my last comment about Christian broadcasting here.) On Saturday there was a very lengthy radio interview with Roger Oakland, who teaches with Jacob Prasch from time to time and features on his website. Some of you know my views about the more extreme aspects of the watchman/discernment movement, namely, that while it was established in a milieu rife with and in much-needed reaction to all manner of erroneous doctrine and practices being promoted in the wider Evangelical church, nonetheless at its most extreme the watchman/discernment movement has sadly in some cases become unbalanced. After all, if someone’s whole r’aison d’etre (hope I spelled that correctly) is to identify error and nothing else, the logical conclusion it to root out and expose heresy even where it does not exist, expressed as criticisms over the most minor, non-essential doctrinal issues. That is why reactive teaching that exposes false doctrine (a thorough biblical practice known as “task theology”) must also be accompanied by proactive instruction (cf 2 Ti 3:16-17). But when discernment ministries cease to have anything constructive to say, they become unbalanced.

But I digress. Going back to the Roger Oakland interview, he had some interesting things to say about a powerful movement within Evangelicalism which is currently embracing a dangerous form of ecumenism that seeks to ditch important defining features of the Christian faith in order to achieve a wider spiritual alliance, which Oakland refers to as a “new global spirituality”. His point was backed up by recorded comments made by some of these people, which were insightful. Interestingly, Oakland linked Tony Blair with this effort, which if true is ominous indeed and certainly worthy of closer investigation. The recorded comments on Muslim dialogue echoed eerily the Yale controversial response to last year’s extension of the hand of friendship by Muslim scholars. The Yale document (together with the FAQs) should be read by all MBC students. Pay particular attention to the Evangelical signatories. Some are to be expected, but others will surprise you. I don’t have the link right now, but perhaps someone would post it in the comments. Anyway, all this is an important develop students should pay close attention to. The rise of Islamism is an issue the 21st century Church needs to face head-on, but a far greater issue is the need to challenge some powerful so-called Evangelical responses to it. But it is no good doing so based on mere hearsay or what you read in a discernment/watchman book or heard in a sermon. The effective, academic way is to research the issue thoroughly, acquiring a range of impeccable primary sources (eg the Yale document, Oakland’s recorded comments by these leaders, some of their own books) to help build a convincing case that will make fellow Christians sit up and listen.