| Teaching the Truth: Studies |
 Christophobia
When
those in high places in the church start denying the need to preach the
gospel to all mankind in every situation possible, by all possible
means, then we know that the church is in bad shape. I am not even
speaking of a church that ordains homosexuals into the bishopric such as
the US arm of the Anglican church recently did! When a doctor of the
church is so Christophobic that he claims for justice over against the
preaching of the gospel, then by all means he has forgotten what the
gospel is all about. Such a man is the Rev Dr Giles Fraser. In an article
he wrote in the UK based Guardian,
which is called Giles Fraser: ‘The
evangelicals who like to giftwrap Islamophobia’, he blatantly
calls the preaching of the gospel to Islamic kids “a
toxic agenda.” Obviously,
Mr Fraser feels that sending gifts to Islamic kids with a gospel message
inside the gift is unforgivable! What he is really lamenting about is
the project called Operation Christmas Child. It "is a unique
ministry that brings Christmas joy, packed in gift-filled shoeboxes, to
children around the world". Fraser writes that many parents and
teachers do not know that “behind Operation Christmas Child is the
evangelical charity Samaritan's Purse.” Oh, how sinister! If only we
had known that there was this ominous group with their evil message of
deliverance from the bondage of sin!
Fraser continues, “Their aim is ‘the advancement of the
Christian faith through educational projects and the relief of poverty’.
And a particularly toxic version of Christianity it is. This is the same
outfit that targeted eastern Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall
and was widely condemned for following US troops into Iraq to claim
Muslims for Christ.” Widely condemned by whom? The satanic liberals
who would rather see the advancement of everything else by the wonderful
gospel of Jesus Christ! Those who are truly Christians would say with
Paul, “that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is
proclaimed; and in this I rejoice.” (Phil 1:18 NASB) According
to Fraser “children in multicultural schools are being encouraged to
support a scheme that is, quite understandably, deeply offensive to
Muslims.” Since when do we stop preaching the gospel because it might
offend some? The very essence of the gospel is offensive to the world.
That includes the Muslims! Christ is a “stone that causes men to
stumble and a rock that makes them fall.” (1 Pet 2:8 NIV) When we
soften the gospel to bow the knee before the world so that it might not
“offend” them, we completely disregard the gospel of the Bible! We
in effect stop preaching the gospel! The gospel without one of its
elements is no gospel at all! Paul was so indignant with those who
preach false gospels that he wrote that “even
if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary
to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! 9As we have
said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel
contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!” (Gal 1:8-9 NASB)
Fraser further writes, “What is most resented about Samaritan's Purse is the way it links aid and evangelism.” The complete gospel includes the bringing of the wonderful news of Jesus Christ and help in physical aid. By taking physical aid only, to a people that also need spiritual upliftment in Jesus Christ, is like throwing a rope to a drowning person that is not at all attached to a boat or solid ground! The person will still drown. We should care enough for people to help them in their physical needs but also to bring them the wonderful gospel of Jesus Christ. Help in times of need are wonderful and we should be involved in it, but if we believe that this world is not all there is, we should unequivocally preach the gospel of Christ for the deliverance from sin so that people can enter life after death knowing that they will spend it in heaven and not suddenly wake up on the other side engulfed in hell’s eternal flames! Fraser relates how people in India in the 19th century became Christians purely because missionaries supplied them with food. They "came to the mission stations simply for food" and as a result they were called "rice Christians," a derogatory term. The fear of Mr Fraser is "that groups such as Samaritan's Purse are creating a new generation of rice Christians in the Middle East." He then asks the question, "How might they be stopped?" The question is, "Why should they be stopped?" If the gospel they are preaching is the gospel of Jesus Christ, then there would be no reason to stop them! Why then would Fraser want to stop them? Would it be that Fraser is one of those liberals that believe that Jesus Christ is not the only way to the Father, but that all religions have some form of truth in them and so all religions eventually lead to heaven? I do not know this for a fact, but that would be my guess. If one looks at Fraser's endorsement of http://www.inclusivechurch.net/, one would immediately know why he opposed the gospel being preached to those poor lost souls in the Middle East! Inclusive Church.net declares that "we call on our Church to live out the promise of the Gospel; to celebrate the diverse gifts of all members of the body of Christ; and in the ordering of our common life to open the ministries of deacon, priest and bishop to those so called to serve by God, regardless of their sex, race or sexual orientation." Well, folks! There you have it! The Irreverend Dr (of what who knows) Giles Fraser believes that homosexuals can be called by God to serve Him as "deacon, priest and bishop!" That men like this can stand in the ministry of the Christian Church is beyond me! No wonder Islam hates Christianity so much! What these so-called Christians see as keeping up with modern culture is seen by Muslims as utter weakness! Because of watered-down "Christianity" such as that espoused by Fraser (which is NO Christianity at all!), Muslims see the God of Christianity as weak with no objective moral principles that He can demand from His own people! No wonder Muslims feel offended when Christian preach the gospel to them! They have already seen "Christianity" and cannot see why they should convert to a religion that is so devoid of morals with a god that cannot tell his people what is wrong and what is right! Now we know why Fraser would like to stop Samaritan's Purse from preaching the gospel to those in war torn Iraq and other Middle East countries. He is offended by the gospel Himself. He is opposed to a ministry that calls a spade a "spade" or a homosexual a "homosexual" or someone going to hell as "someone going to hell." Fraser claims that the story of the Good Samaritan teaches us to "overcome religious bigotry." From my reading of the story in Lk 10:30-37, I am informed by the Scriptures that the story is indeed about who my neighbour is. My neighbour is not the one with the right or wrong religion. It is the one who shows me compassion (v33), takes care of me (v34) and shows me mercy (v37). When Jesus asked His listeners who the neighbour of the victim of the story was, they answered "he that showed mercy on him." (v37 UPDV) Upon hearing this Jesus said to them "Go, and you do likewise." When Jesus said to do likewise, He certainly did not mean that we should likewise not be religious bigots! He meant that we should likewise be true neighbours by showing mercy! Is this not what Samaritan's Purse is doing? They are showing mercy on two fronts: physical by bearing gifts, and spiritually by bearing the good news of salvation by Christ Jesus! Fraser drones on, "What is astonishing is that Christian fundamentalists have managed to persuade millions that their warped version of Christianity is the real thing and that mainstream churches have sold out to the secular spirit of the age. The truth is quite the reverse." The truth is that Fraser's brand of Christianity goes against that of Paul, the Church fathers and that of the Reformation! The prophets of old spoke truthfully when they said that in the end people will call good "evil" and evil "good!" Fraser has manipulated the gospel in his own mind so much, that the perverted outcome of his own "gospel" is now seen as the gospel preached by Christ and the apostles. Fraser and his type have perverted the gospel to the point that not even the King of kings, Jesus Christ, will recognise the "gospel" these men preach! Sure, they are preaching a "gospel." It is a "gospel" that preaches no retribution against sin. It is a gospel that says that the bearer of good news, Jesus Christ is a liar, since His words "I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no one comes to the Father, but by me," must be a pack of lies! It is a gospel that will carry those who adhere to it straight to hell! Oh, yes. They probably do not believe in hell either!
Amen! Copyright © 2004 [Teaching
the Truth]. All rights reserved. Revised: May 05, 2004 .
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