| Topic: |
Religions > Bible |
| User: |
"Noahs Dove" |
| Date: |
07 May 2006 11:48:22 AM |
| Object: |
What is Wrong with Ecumenism? |
http://www.spiritwatch.org/fireecumen1.htm
What Is Wrong With "Ecumeniism"?
By Dr. Opal L. Reddin
If we are to converse meaningfully about the subject of ecumenism, we
must define our terms so we can know we are talking about the same
thing. We need definitions for the following: ecumenism; ecumenical;
modern ecumenical organization; ecumenical movement.
Ecumenical Can Be a Good, Useful Term
Ecumenical derives from the Greek term oikoumene; it is of course a
good word, used 15 times in the New Testament; it always means either
the inhabited world or earth or inhabitants of the world (Cf. Mt. 24;
Lk. 2:1; 4:5; 21:26; Ac. 11:28; 17:6, 31; 19:27; 24:5; Rom. 10:18; Heb.
1:6; 2:5; Rev. 3:10; 12:9; 16:14). Websters Dictionary has: ecumenical:
the inhabited world; worldwide in extent or influence.
Any activity that encompasses the world or involves the inhabitants of
the world can be described as ecumenical. Of course, the prime example
is the spread of the Gospel to the whole world, according to the Great
Commission of our Lord. The First Century Church so evangelized their
world that Paul could write to the saints in Rome that the Gospel had
gone to the ends of the oikoumene (Rom. 10:18). The term can also be
used in a secular sense with no undesirable implications, such as an
ecumenical conference on world hunger.
When Ecumenical Becomes a Dangerous Term
Ecumenical becomes a dangerous term when it is combined with movement
and applied to churches and Christians. Webster defines ecumenical
movement as a planned bringing together of all Christians into visible
unity; most ecumenical organizations define the ecumenical movement as
a means to show the world all Christians are in unity.
The claim is made that this is to answer Jesus prayer in John 17:22.
While Webster does not have be concerned about the definition of
Christian and unity, we do! The fact is that the current ecumenical
movement always brings together some who are true to the doctrines of
the Word of God with some who are not. There is no Christian unity
where there is not unity in the faith once for all delivered to the
saints (Jude 3).
The True Body of Christ IS In Unity
In His prayer Jesus specified the kind of persons who can be in unity
as He is in unity with the Father (John. 17:22b). He made clear the
desired unity would be a spiritual unity (17:5; 10:30), unity in Truth
(17:17), and in agape Love (17:23,26). The fact that seems to be
commonly overlooked is that Jesus' prayer HAS ALREADY been answered and
continues to be answered until He claims His Bride.
The world sees hundreds of denominations; God sees the One Church, the
Body of Christ, which includes some from many denominations. The only
way to be in the true Church is to be placed into the Body of Christ by
the Holy Spirit in regeneration: ...the Body is one .. . .all the
members are one . . .for by one Spirit we were all baptized into one
Body (1 Cor. 12:12-13). You are all one in Christ Jesus (Gal. 3:28).
Jesus prayer WAS answered as Acts 2 records. The disciples were in the
unity of the Spirit since all were filled with the Holy Spirit (2:4,
they were in unity of Truth as they continued steadfastly in the
apostles' doctrine (2:42), and they were in unity of Love (2:43- 44).
The original unity of the Church was gradually broken by heretical
teachers and their followers as recorded, for example, in Jesus'
letters to the seven churches (Rev. 2-3). Jesus warned five of the
churches He would be leaving their midst if they did not repent. Would
an ecumenical conference have helped them? It would only have ensconced
them more deeply in their backsliding. The ONLY way the whole Body of
Christ can again have visible unity before the world is for all to be
of the same doctrine and experience as that first church.
The Wrong Kind of Unity
The modern ecumenical movement is promoted generally by the World
Council of Churches and the Roman Catholic Church. It gets most of its
momentum from the Roman Catholic Pontifical Council on Ecumenism. Their
PURPOSE was verbalized succinctly at Vatican II.
Speaking of dialogue with separated brethren, the following plan was
recorded: The results will be that, little by little, as the obstacles
to perfect ecclesiastical communion are overcome, all Christians will
be gathered, in a common celebration of the Eucharist, into the UNITY
OF THE ONE AND ONLY CHURCH (Documents of Vatican II by Flannery, p.
456).
The World Council of Churches has contributed to the breaking down of
doctrinal standards for many denominations and has promoted the
ecumenical movement; however the WCC is now drawing closer and closer
to the Catholics because the Roman Church has AUTHORITY, vested in an
infallible pope.
When Nehemiah was leading God's people in the rebuilding of the walls,
his archenemies Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem saw the Jews' success.
When they could not stop the people of God, they tried another ruse.
They sent an invitation to Nehemiah inviting him to dialogue in the
plain of Ono. Nehemiah said, "Ono? Oh, no! I am doing a great work so
that I cannot come down" He knew their PURPOSE was evil; he stayed the
course and was successful (Neh. 6:1-15).
Pentecostal denominations in general, and the Assemblies of God in
particular, have experienced great success as defined scripturally. Now
the Sanballats and Tobiahs want to dialogue. The ecumenical movement is
led by a Church that admittedly plans to bring all other churches under
its control.
For example, Father Ray Ryland, a professor of theology at Franciscan
University in Steubenville, OH, works with Coming Home Network, an
organization whose purpose is to draw in separated brethren. In an
article in THIS ROCK, March 2000, he explains how Catholics are to
carry out Vatican II's ecumenical agenda, both covertly and overtly. He
writes, "The goal of Catholic ecumenism is to restore unity to the
separated traditions by bringing them within the unity of the Catholic
Church."
What About "Celebrate Jesus 2000"?
Coincidentally, Franciscan University is administering an ecumenical
event for June 22-25, 2000, called "Celebrate Jesus 2000." It is
sponsored by the North American Renewal Service Committee (NARSC), an
ecumenical organization bringing together many Charismatics, Third
Wavers, and Pentecostals from many denominations.
It is essential that we remember the Roman Catholic priests who
participate have an agenda. If they were not loyal to the pope in his
encyclical Ut Unum Sint (That They May Be One), they would not remain
priests. Pope John Paul II is not a Charismatic, but he is willing to
"tolerate and use" those who speak in tongues to accomplish his
nefarious purpose. Let the sheep be warned, and let true shepherds be
alert.
The Assemblies of God Has Spoken
The General Council of the Assemblies of God RE-EMPHASIZED a bylaw of
long standing in their biennial meeting in St. Louis in 1995. Article
IX, Section 11, states: "The General Council of the Assemblies of God
disapproves of ministers or churches participating in any of the modern
ecumenical organizations on a local, national, or international level
in such a manner as to promote the ecumenical movement because:
We believe the basis of doctrinal fellowship of said movement to be so
broad that it includes people who reject the inspiration of Scripture,
the deity of Christ, the universality of sin, the substitutionary
atonement, and other cardinal teachings that we understand to be
essential to biblical Christianity.
We believe the emphases of the ecumenical movement to be at variance
with what we hold to be biblical priorities, frequently displacing the
urgency of individual salvation with social concerns.
We believe that the combination of many religious organizations into a
world superchurch will culminate in the religious Babylon of Revelation
17 and 18."
By definition, NARSC is a modern ecumenical organization and Celebrate
Jesus 2000" is an ecumenical conference. "Celebrate Jesus 2000" covers
the ecumenical agenda under the umbrella of common Charismatic
experience. However, spiritual experience ALONE can never be the basis
for unity. Unity must be based on sound DOCTRINE. "If anyone comes with
another doctrine, do not receive him....for he who greets him shares in
his evil deeds" (2 John 10,11).
Peter was a Spirit-filled Pentecostal (or Charismatic if you choose)
when he began to side with the Judaizers in their legalistic heresy;
Paul rebuked him publicly for his hypocrisy (Galatians 2:11-16). Roman
Catholic dogma promotes the same kind of legalism Paul anathematized.
Peter repented; thus good fellowship was preserved in the unity of the
faith (Acts 15: 7-11; 1 John 1:7).
What Would Jesus Do? What Would Paul Do?
If Jesus had been ecumenical, He would have lovingly dialogued with the
Jewish leaders who loved God (as they defined God) and were totally
engrossed in doing good, just as are the leaders of the ecumenical
movement today. He would have practiced reconciliation with all who
named the name of Jehovah, and He could have escaped the Cross.
Just one problem: where would we be if He had? If Paul had been
ecumenical, he would never have rebuked Peter or pronounced God's
anathema on those who preached "another gospel"! In fact, he would not
have been arrested and sent to Nero if he had only practiced
reconciliation with all who claimed to be Christians. If Paul were
alive today, he would again rebuke those teaching wrong doctrine
regardless of their spiritual experiences.
The fact that some Catholics speak in tongues proves nothing except
that if the glossolalia is genuinely given by the Holy Spirit, then He
will lead them away from error to Truth. When they insist on the
biblical doctrine of salvation through Christ's finished work of
Calvary, with absolutely no necessity for the RCC sacraments, they will
be excommunicated if they do not leave of their own accord. Mormons
also speak in tongues. How long before we unite with them? Their
doctrines are not much farther away from orthodoxy than are those of
the RCC.
Hasn't the RC Church Changed Its Doctrines?
Anyone can by reading the latest Catholic Catechism (1995) see that all
the heretical teachings of past centuries, plus some new ones, are
there: the placing of ultimate authority in CHURCH TRADITION and the
Papacy rather than in the 66 canonical books of the Holy Bible; the
sacramentalism of the Church as necessary to salvation;
Transubstantiation, i.e., the receiving of grace by partaking of the
Eucharist which is claimed to be the real body and real blood of Jesus;
Mariolatry with prayers made to Mary everywhere as if she is
omnipresent; Purgatory which most must endure before going to be with
the Lord; and Indulgences for future sin.
Check this book out of your library and read it for yourself. Roman
Catholic theology presents another Gospel (Gal. 1:1-9) and another
Jesus (2 Cor. 11:4). The hypocrisy of the leaders in the Catholic
Charismatic movement is seen in bold relief by the fact that they deny
the Eucharist (the Lord's Supper or Communion) even to those they wish
to unite with at ecumenical celebrations. I sent an e-mail to the
Franciscan University connection asking, Will there be a celebration of
the Eucharist at Celebrate Jesus 2000'? I received a reply, Yes, for
the Roman Catholics in their one separate morning meeting.
I then asked, "Why cannot the others participate if all are celebrating
the same Jesus?" I received no reply to that. The correct answer would
be, they are not celebrating the same Jesus. They celebrate a Jesus Who
must die daily; they crucify Him afresh in each Mass. True Christian
faith rests in the Lord Jesus Christ Who said, "It is finished!" and
arose to prove it.
Ecumenism Cannot Change God's TRUTH
There is a line of cleavage forming in Christendom. Reverend James
Bridges, General Treasurer of the Assemblies of God, stated to a
meeting of leading A/G educators:
There are many putting down denominations today, but I would rather
have the multiple denominations which have emerged out of the
Reformation, than be held in the bondage of a Roman colossus that
continues to keep its devotees in superstition, ignorance and spiritual
darkness. Beware the ecumenical movement afloat today lest when the new
garb is removed it shows itself to be the same old bondage (personal
file).
NOW is the time to pray and to speak; if we are silent, we can lose our
doctrinal integrity. Our Lord is Truth, a Person; the Bible is Truth, a
book. The Holy Spirit brings them together in our genuine experience!
The current ecumenical movement is antithetical to our Lord's
commission to preach the Gospel to every creature.
We know too much and have been given too much to think of surrendering
to the spirit of ecumenicalism. The eternal destiny of millions of
people rests in our hands; if we are not true their blood will be on
our hands. History will record your decision. What legacy will you
bequeath to your children and their children? We must be true at any
cost!
Go To The SpiritWatch Home Page Go Back To The Strange Fires
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| User: "" |
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| Title: Re: What is Wrong with Ecumenism? |
07 May 2006 12:51:17 PM |
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If ecumenism tries to seek common goals and common truths, it is positive.
If it tries to eliminate differences merely for the sake of eliminating them
without examining them, it is evil. What is wrong with much of ecumenism
today is that many ecumenists see Christianity as merely part of a historical
Hegelian process and they do not believe in Christianity itself.
Paraphrasing the late GOArch.org Abp Iakovos, if you use a group to promote
good, then it is good, but if you use the good to promote the group, it is
evil. That "group" could be a political party, a lodge, a cause, anything
"earthly". Fundamentally it is an issue of priorities. Don't send as reps to
"ecumenical" groups those who are weak kneed and likely to compromise. Send
instead those who believe fiercely and who love all humanity so much they are
willing to argue with it. Motivated by genuine love, all those who disagree
with each other will dialectically reach a more robust agreement than all
those lazy weak knees.
- = -
Vasos-Peter John Panagiotopoulos II, Reagan Mozart Pindus BioStrategist
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/vjp2/vasos.htm
---{Nothing herein constitutes advice. Everything fully disclaimed.}---
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