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| SOUTHEASTERN SEMINARY PROFESSOR SAYS ABUSING ENVIRONMENT LIKE TEARING PAGES FROM BIBLE Friday Church News Notes Jonathan Merritt, a student at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, told the press recently that one of his professors made the statement "that when we destroy creation, which is God's revelation, it is no different than tearing a page out of the Bible" ("Baptists: No Change on Climate Change," WorldNetDaily, March 13, 2008). Merritt said that this statement inspired him to launch a campaign to produce a stronger action within the Southern Baptist Convention against climate change. What I found interesting is not this misguided seminarian's actions but the fact that he was inspired by a heretical statement by one of his professors (who he did not name). Scripture does say that God speaks through creation, that it is a light to mankind (Romans 1:20; Psalm 19:1-6). But it nowhere likens creation to the Bible or even hints that to destroy creation would be like ripping pages from the Bible. That is truly preposterous. Further, to say that if we don't buy into the mythical global warming frenzy that we are destroying creation and/or sinning against God is even more preposterous. What Merritt needs to do is get busy doing what Jesus Christ told us to do, which is "preach the gospel to every creature," and that does not mean the trees! And what Southeastern Seminary needs to do is find out that teacher's name and fire him. EMERGING CHURCH LEADER DENIES CHRIST'S SUBSTITUTIONARY ATONEMENT AND HELL Friday Church News Notes In a January 2006 interview with Leif Hansen, emerging church leader Brian McLaren said that the doctrine of Substitutionary Atonement makes God into a strange monster that wants to kill his own son and needs to be restrained.. He further says that if the doctrine of hell is true, then the Christ's message and the cross are "false advertising." He also said that if hell is true then people can legitimately question God's goodness. He even blasphemously mocks the Atonement by saying that if it is true it would mean that God can't forgive one person unless he "kicks someone else." Consider a couple of excerpts: "We have a vision that the real problem is God wants to kill us all. And we've got to somehow solve that problem. ... .................... |