The Appeal Of God’s Truth To The Mind: Theological And Exegetical Answers To Post-Modern Trends Within Evangelical Thought -- By: Scott Newman

Journal: Conservative Theological Journal
Volume: CTJ 01:2 (Aug 1997)
Article: The Appeal Of God’s Truth To The Mind: Theological And Exegetical Answers To Post-Modern Trends Within Evangelical Thought
Author: Scott Newman


The Appeal Of God’s Truth To The Mind:
Theological And Exegetical Answers To Post-Modern Trends Within Evangelical Thought

Scott Newman

Senior Pastor
Mountain Home Bible Church, Mountain Home, AR

Introduction

A Middle Eastern nomad traveling across the desert decided to pitch tent with evening drawing close. Darkness had set in by the time his temporary shelter had been erected. He made himself comfortable under his canvas roof. Upon lighting his lamp he pulled out a bag of dates. His first bite was anything but tasty. Reeling from the awful taste on his tongue he found a worm in his date. He tossed it aside, cut open the next one and found yet another invader. The process was repeated with a third, fourth, and even fifth fruit. Rationalizing that were he to continue at this rate before long he would be without dates and very hungry, the desperate nomad quickly blew out his lamp, and in the darkness chomped down the remaining dates, never sure if they were worm infested or not.

This author and pastor is alarmed by the growing tendency of Evangelical Christians to, like that wilderness nomad, prefer the darkness of ignorance out of fear that the light of the truth may expose some worms of deceit. Blowing out the lamp of discernment, many believers gulp down whatever dates they are fed never knowing and never caring whether they are worm infested or not.

Twenty centuries ago the Apostle Paul warned Christ’s body in her infant to toddler stage to “not be conformed to the world” (Rom. 12:1, 2). The Church’s disregard of that basic tenet of apologetic defense has led her to espouse some incredible views. Indeed, much of orthodox Christian theology has been hammered out in response to heretical teachings that found their way into pulpits and schools via carnal influences. Many church historians have labeled this phenomenon the “Pendulum effect of Church history.”1

It is the conviction of this author that the present swing of the twentieth century pendulum from the rationalistic modernism of the previous era to the contemporary trend of post-modernistic thought (objective, external truth is unknowable, nonexistent, and not worth pursuit) poses just as grave a danger as

the Pelagianism fought by Augustinians in the fourth century.2 At stake is the very foundation of Evangelical hermeneutics, that being the belief that God and His truth can be known.

Without a thorough conviction...

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