I watched a Charles Stanley sermon several months ago, entitled “What You Believe- Does It Matter?” Here is a short excerpt towards the end in regards to sending your child to college:
“And I want to say it again to parents. You owe it to your children to teach them the truth of the word of God….It’s your responsibility as a parent to find out what does that school teach. Do you want to spend 60 to 100,000 dollars getting your child educated in things that destroy them, instead of educating them in things that build them up and strengthen them and make them godly? Where you send your kids to school is a very important thing….they want freedom to choose. But freedom that is knowledgeable, freedom that is intelligible, freedom that knows the truth about a school, and about the president, and what they teach and what they don’t teach.”
This reminded me of what I had mentioned in a post last year, which was not well received by some, including a few pastors. That article I wrote ended up leading to a major turning point for the future of me and my family. It was a critique of Dr. Tom Oord and his lecture at Eastern Nazarene College. Dr. Oord teaches the heresy (yes, heresy) of open theism, and as a Christian parent with a future college child or two, I did not take kindly to this ideology he is indoctrinating students with, nor to the fact that he was speaking at Eastern Nazarene, nor to the fact that the leadership at the school welcomed him and apparently agree with, or at least tolerate with, this heretical teaching.
I recall that I made some people very unhappy just for simply suggesting that they call or write, and ask questions of the ENC leadership, if they were concerned. It continues to amaze me, how those who claim to be the “understanding ones”, the ones open to all ideas and beliefs, the so-called “Big Tent” people, are the very ones who try to silence or intimidate any Christian who has serious concerns about a school’s teachings and who ask questions and want straight answers! These “understanding ones”, the post-modern types, are the very people who one minute promote an open dialog and an embrace of tolerance for all viewpoints, but then turn around and slander you! But there is no doubt that these tolerant ones are really the intolerant ones. And they are like that simply because they are trying to defend their biblically indefensible ideologies that they espouse at our Christian universities. They know who they are, and I expect at least a few of them will get a little meaner and nastier if they manage to finish reading this. I can understand it, however, because they have no other substantive defense for their ideology.
But I think we need to go a step further beyond just continually asking questions, which most likely will not be answered, or answered adequately. I have concluded that the power of the checkbook is the only way to get some heads turning at these schools that are letting in all sorts of aberrant teachings whose source is clearly not God, but from satan. They are apparently comfortable with the idea that it’s more important to expose our kids to false teachers and teachings, than to protect them from what might lead them away from the faith. Hence barely a word said about guest speakers like universalist Jay McDaniel (at Northwest Nazarene University) who claims to be a Christian. Or Tony Campolo who is shamelessly embraced at ENC by Nazarene pastors and school leaders while he spouts his mysticism, his support for the homosexual lifestyle as compatible with Christianity, and his occultic doctrines of demons. And our premier theological seminary, NTS, reflects the same occultic tendencies as Campolo does, by providing a course in Celtic spirituality, which is a system that is nothing but a perversion of true Christianity. There is Point Loma Nazarene University, with its ill-advised support and promotion of Richard Foster and his contemplative mysticism; and Trevecca Nazarene University and its promotion of prayer labyrinths, Roman Catholic monastic mysticism, and practicing the silence. I could go on and on, including the teaching of theistic evolution, which is totally incompatible with biblical teaching, and contradicts the words of Jesus Christ Himself!
For the Nazarenes who know what’s going on and support all this stuff, you cannot with a straight face tell me that some of what is happening is from our heritage of Nazarene holiness teaching, or even from a Wesleyan tradition, which you often reference, but which you often misquote and twist. So perhaps more parents, alumni, and even churches and districts, may need to start sending a message, that their dollars will no longer go to these schools, until they straighten their act out. I believe some have already done this. I also have heard testimony that some individuals have paid a price for standing up against these practices and ideas. So, if asking questions politely does not even merit a substantive response, perhaps politely but firmly telling them that enough is enough, and they won’t get a dime anymore, might work.
Perhaps some parents might want to demand a refund from these schools, because of false advertising. “Prayer labyrinths, monastic mysticism, practicing the silence, evolution, open theism is not what I signed up my daughter or son to learn! Please return my money.”
Unless you don’t see any problem with any of the things I and others have clearly reported on and documented, I believe it is Christian negligence and disobedience to God if you DO know there is a serious problem, and do absolutely nothing and turn a blind eye to this. If someone knows that their child’s future or current Christian college is allowing or promoting false teachings, or allowing false teachers to come into the school unchallenged, to brainwash their children, they have a Christian obligation to say or do something about it.
And if you are willing to risk your child’s eternal salvation, just because it’s always been the school you supported, I think you need to pray about this. If you are very worried about these things, ask God for the strength and the words to challenge the leadership, and the board of directors at these schools, until they start listening to you, until they do something about the heresies being welcomed and embraced. If that does not work, perhaps we need to start asking the Lord to shut down these schools, for the sake of our children.
There is hope for some of these schools that have not gone too far off the deep end yet. But some of these others that I have mentioned apparently have swallowed the poison cup of apostasy and are in critical condition, on spiritual life support. And they will not care a bit no matter how much you complain, unless the threat of loss of money is hanging over their heads. Oh, they may send you a nice form letter back, thanking you and stating that the school is committed to the ideals of our denomination and the “stated” mission of the school. Then they turn right around again and continue with the transformation of the school into something that is a breeding ground for future pastors that do not even believe in the entire word of God. So I believe that the only practical weapon remaining is the power of the checkbook, in addition to the ultimate power of the Holy Spirit to change hearts and minds. Saying “God is in control, don’t worry, let Him take care of it”, does not absolve us of our Christian responsibility to do and say something.
Each one of us- individually, not collectively- is accountable to God. And one day, each and every one of us will answer to God in His presence, for all the things we did or DID NOT DO. If anyone thinks that it is only the overt acts of a Christian that will be judged by God, heed the words of Ezekiel 33:7-9.
Some of you remember the movie with Tom Cruise and his famous line: “Show me the money.” You see, the bottom line for him was the money. Well, some of us have come to the conclusion that the bottom line for these universities and colleges is the money. And what will assist in improving their hearing is a good old fashioned statement from a lot of parents, or from an entire church or district:
“Change your ways. Enough is enough. You will not get a dime from us until your school reflects the true values and doctrines of the denomination whose name you carry. Otherwise, we will not show you the money, and we will not send our children to this school.”
“I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; They shall never hold their peace day or night.
You who make mention of the LORD, do not keep silent.” (Isaiah 62:6)
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Below is a 10 minute summary of Dr. Jay McDaniel speaking at Northwest Nazarene University in 2008. Please watch it. Contrary to objections that have been made, I saw no evidence that this lecture was for nothing else than to further indoctrinate students into a pluralist and universalistic type thinking, and this should be a sober reminder of what will continue to happen at our Christian universities, if we stay silent.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9GgRy741A8
Filed under: *Nazarene, Eastern Nazarene College, Nazarene Theological Seminary, Northwest Nazarene University, Point Loma Nazarene University | 28 Comments »
