Promoter of Same Sex Marriage, Tony Campolo, Welcomed At Nazarene Theological College

Tony Campolo was a recent featured speaker at Nazarene Theological College on May 17. This is very troubling in the long list of troubling signs regarding the future of the Church of the Nazarene. The most recent issue with Campolo is his outright promotion of same sex marriage as being fully compatible with the Christian lifestyle. So why does a Nazarene college invite such an enemy of Christ to speak?

I can only think of two possibilities of why Tony Campolo was allowed to set foot on the campus of a Nazarene college or seminary. It was either from total and complete ignorance of what this man stands for, or the other explanation is that the leadership of this college has no problem with having a speaker who promotes same-sex marriage. I do not for a minute believe that the leadership of any Nazarene university is stupid and ignorant, therefore the only other explanation is certainly alarming to those who are concerned with the movement towards eventual acceptance of homosexuality as compatible with Christianity.

What Tony Campolo Believes In

Mr. Campolo is an avid promoter of contemplative mysticism, he believes in evolution, he rejects the inerrancy of scripture, he is an ecumenist, he has described man as divine, he believes non-Christians might go to heaven, he promotes Roman Catholic practices, he believes in praying to people, he has a disdain for fundamentalists. And now he has changed his view on homosexuality and same sex marriage.

Campolo’s New View On Same Sex Marriage

On June 8, 2015, Mr. Campolo made his position perfectly clear regarding same sex marriage:

“It has taken countless hours of prayer, study, conversation and emotional turmoil to bring me to the place where I am finally ready to call for the full acceptance of Christian gay couples into the Church.” https://tonycampolo.org/for-the-record-tony-campolo-releases-a-new-statement/

As you read the entire article, you notice that this man’s position comes not from an “authority of scripture” perspective, but from a selfish vantage point that all post-modernists and liberals view from: the “I believe” view, the “what I think” view, the “intellectual analysis” view. See these examples:

“One reason I am changing my position on this issue is that, through Peggy [Campolo’s wife], I have come to know so many gay Christian couples whose relationships work in much the same way as our own.”

“I have concluded that sexual orientation is almost never a choice and I have seen how damaging it can be to try to “cure” someone from being gay.”

Campolo also makes false assumptions and gives strawman arguments for the acceptance of same sex marriage. Nothing he argues comes close to referencing scripture, except when he suggests that we will never fully know who is right regarding the subject of homosexuality and same sex marriage.

“As a Christian, my responsibility is not to condemn or reject gay people, but rather to love and embrace them…”

“I just knew too many wonderful Christian people who are in gay relationships…”

“Obviously, people of good will can and do read the scriptures very differently when it comes to controversial issues, and I am painfully aware that there are ways I could be wrong about this one.”

And notice what he says is the greatest influence in nurturing him as a Christian. It is not the Bible. It is not Jesus Christ.

“If I was asked, what has been the greatest influence in nurturing you as a Christian, I would have to say, it’s my wife. No church, no organization, no studies, nothing has nurtured me more as a Christian..”

It is his wife! Yes, his wife, a fallible human being, is his greatest influence in his Christian growth. Central Baptist Church in Wayne, Pennsylvania, where his wife attends, is “an open and affirming congregation.” This means that her church accepts unrepentant practicing homosexuals as members.

Perhaps that is one of the contributing factors to this poor man’s error-filled ways of thinking. His justification for approving same sex marriage does not come from scripture. It comes from his observation that since he had such an uplifting, satisfying marriage with his wife, why should same sex couples be denied the same experience?

In 2006, the Pacific Southwest region of the American Baptist Convention voted to withdraw from the denomination because of its relaxed policies on homosexuality. This is a problem in many ABC churches, as many accept unrepentant homosexuals as members. Tony Campolo criticized the withdrawal decision, saying that it “runs counter to the prayer of Christ that we might all be one people.”

This is the man that Nazarene Theological College was proud to bring to campus and expose to all the students!

Conclusion

The appearance of Tony Campolo at another Nazarene college ought to be no shock to those of you who have been seeing the very unraveling of the Church of the Nazarene. It is but a symptom of what ails the church. That ailment is a progressive spiritual death of holiness and biblical principles. What is shocking is how fast, in the last four years or so, the church is stumbling into life-support status. And homosexuality is what is getting the Church of the Nazarene onto its death bed faster than anything I could have imagined nine years ago.

In my warning about Andy McGee and his LGBT group (back on April 2, 2018) which I sent to the General Superintendents (to one of them personally), and to every district office in the United States and in Canada, I received only two responses. Both responses were requests to take them off my mailing list. That’s all. Nothing else, no words of concern, no questions, no rebukes…just silence. It is a deafening silence that has gone on for years now.

Where are the voices? Do so few care? Do even so few know what is happening in the church? Is it an innocent ignorance, or a deliberate action by many to pretend all is well with the emperor and his clothes? Where are the Orville Jenkins, Jrs to sound the warnings to the people? Where are the Joe Staniforths who spoke out and were willing to lose everything in the church rather than betray the Lord Jesus Christ? Where are the Rick Headleys who defied the church’s demand to capitulate to worldly methods and philosophies?  Where are the John Hendersons and the Jeff Allens, fearless in speaking out against the moral decline in the church? These are just a few.

I know they are out there, and many of them are standing up for the truth right now, and perhaps paying a heavy price. I just simply do not know or cannot list all their names and all their circumstances, but they are there, and we thank them for their faithfulness. But yet, so few are still turning a blind eye to the truth, which leads to such spectacles as a homosexual marriage promoter- and an ENEMY of the church- being given the opportunity to further damage the church, and to further help destroy a denomination that is moving from holiness to heresy. To those who know what is wrong, and continue to say nothing, you may have to answer to the Lord someday for your inaction and silence.

Manny Silva

 

 

Related Links For Tony Campolo:

Tony Campolo interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mw0un2lVQ0

https://reformednazarene.wordpress.com/2010/10/31/false-prophet-tony-campolo-promotes-doctrines-of-demons-to-enc-students/

https://reformednazarene.wordpress.com/2012/11/15/false-teacher-campolo-to-speak-at-southern-nazarene-university/

https://reformednazarene.wordpress.com/2011/09/08/olivet-nazarene-lets-false-teacher-campolo-speak-in-chapel/

https://reformednazarene.wordpress.com/2010/11/03/tony-campolos-thin-places-occultic-christianity/

https://reformednazarene.wordpress.com/2010/10/21/profiles-in-apostasy-tony-campolo/

 

Andy McGee:

https://reformednazarene.wordpress.com/2018/04/02/a-disturbing-report-nazarene-pastor-andy-mcgee-and-love-wins-lgbt-attack-and-protest-those-who-preach-freedom-from-homosexuality/

 

 

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False Teacher Campolo To Speak At Southern Nazarene University

The Nazarene denomination’s fascination with Tony Campolo, especially as a guest speaker at the universities, is astounding.  The latest venue he is scheduled at in the near future is Southern Nazarene University, where he is slated to speak on Feb. 14, 2013.  I am sending this to the president of Southern Nazarene University, and I hope that he will agree with those of us who are fully aware of the falsehoods in Tony Campolo’s ideology, which do not lineup at all with Nazarene teaching, and more importantly, with Biblical teaching and doctrine.  The right thing to do would then be to withdraw the invitation for Campolo, with the exception that they would at least provide a forum where he can be debated in front of the university students. I know several Nazarenes (myself included) who would, in a heartbeat, be willing to debate Dr. Campolo on the merits of his belief system, which I will highlight in a moment.  After all, is not the university the best place for a vigorous debate between opposing principles, where students can listen and make up their minds?  It would serve everyone well to see if Dr. Campolo’s beliefs stand up to the light of Scripture.

In previous posts, I have documented his promotion of pagan Celtic “Christianity” and its “thin places”.  In his speaking engagement at Eastern Nazarene College, he blatantly promoted “thin places” and contemplative spirituality, with Nazarene pastors in attendance at the chapel service, and not a word of protest as far as I know.  And I’m not surprised, as not one pastor in my New England area who happens to be on my email list has ever commented back to me about any concern about Tony Campolo.  One would think that they would want to correct any erroneous assessments of Tony Campolo, including the fact I have called him out as a false teacher.  I have not heard a word either supporting Tony Campolo, or condemning his false teachings.

I have had one university leader, Dr. Karl Leth of Olivet Nazarene University, respond to me and try to defend the welcoming of Dr. Campolo to their campus.  His defense failed the biblical test, although I do respect the fact that he was willing to try.

It truly is sad how bad things are getting in all our Nazarene universities.  It truly is sad how are General Superintendents have done nothing in the last four years since they started getting warnings from me and many others.  If they have been doing something to stop the onslaught of false teachings, I would love to know what it is.  And it certainly has not been made know publicly, which would be the proper thing to do, so there will know where they stand.  But no, continued silence from these leaders, who according to the church manual, are charged with the responsibility of interpreting church doctrine.

Below are just some examples of the heretical views of Tony Campolo.  Judge for yourself.  I am sending this to the General Superintendents again for their review and comment as to whether Tony Campolo reflects the values of the Church of the Nazarene.  It must be pointed out again that Dr. Campolo is never openly challenged in front of the students, who sit passively as he indoctrinates many of them with his false teachings.

SOME OF TONY CAMPOLO’S HERETICAL BELIEFS:

His ecumenicalism, and belief that you don’t even have to know you are saved, or astoundingly, that you even have to be a Christian to have “Jesus in you”.  He also places Islam on the same equal footing as Christianity.

“I’m not convinced that Jesus only lives in Christians.”  (Charlie Rose show on January 24, 1997)

“Beyond these models of reconciliation, a theology of mysticism provides some hope for common ground between Christianity and Islam. Both religions have within their histories examples of ecstatic union with God, which seem at odds with their own spiritual traditions but have much in common with each other.”  (Page 149, Speaking My Mind)

“I am saying that there is no salvation apart from Jesus; that’s my evangelical mindset. However, I am not convinced that Jesus only lives in Christians”  (National Liberty Journal, 8/99)

“…what can I say to an Islamic brother who has fed the hungry, and clothed the naked? You say, “But he hasn’t a personal relationship with Christ.” I would argue with that. And I would say from a Christian perspective, in as much as you did it to the least of these you did it unto Christ. You did have a personal relationship with Christ, you just didn’t know it.” (EVANGELICALS AND INTERFAITH COOPERATION, An Interview by Shane Claiborne)

“Jesus is the only Savior, but not everybody who is being saved by Him is aware that He is the one who is doing the saving”  (EP News Service, Oct. 4, 1985)

“What I am trying to say is that Jesus who incarnated God 2,000 years ago is mystically present and waiting to be discovered in EVERY person you and I encounter”  (A Reasonable Faith” 1983 page 171)

His Promotion of Contemplative Prayer (Mysticism)

His fascination with mysticism and heretics such as Ignatius of Loyola, who was a leader in the Counter-Reformation.  Here, he mentions Loyola as an important source of help for him.  Campolo apparently forgets the fact that Ignatius was in charge of the brutal group called the Jesuits, also known as the pope’s shock troops, who persecuted Christians who dared to defy the Roman Catholic teachings.  Yet, he calls Ignatius a saint!

“Counter-Reformation saints like Ignatius of Loyola have become important sources of help as I have begun to learn from them modes of contemplative prayer. I practice what is known as “centering prayer,” in which a sacred word is repeated as a way to be in God’s presence.”   (“Mystical Encounters for Christians”)

His Promotion of Mindless Repetitive Prayer and Pagan Celtic Spirituality

“I’ve got to push everything out of mind save the name of Jesus. I say His name over and over again, for as long as fifteen minutes, until I find my soul suspended in what the ancient Celtic Christians called a “thin place”–a state where the boundary between heaven and earth, divine and human, dissolves. You could say that I use the name of Jesus as my koan.”  (Mystical Encounters for Christians)

* It is also interesting that Nazarene Theological Seminary’s Doug Hardy is teaching the pagan Celtic Spirituality to future Nazarene pastors.  This is an abomination, frankly, along with the emergent ideology and other contemplative spirituality they are teaching.  The seminary is preparing our future false pastors for Nazarene churches across the globe right now.

His “Feminization” Of Jesus In the Following Statement

“There is a feminine side of God. I always knew this … It is this feminine side of God I find in Jesus that makes me want to sing duets with Him … Not only do I love the feminine is Jesus, but the more I know Jesus, the more I realize that Jesus loves the feminine in me. Until I accept the feminine in my humanness, there will be a part of me that cannot receive the Lord’s love. … There is that feminine side of me that must be recovered and strengthened if I am to be like Christ … And until I feel the feminine in Jesus, there is a part of Him which I cannot identify.”(Carpe Diem: Seize the Day”, 1994, pages 85-88)

His Lack of Understanding Of Scripture regarding Homosexuality

“On the other hand, we are hard-pressed to find any biblical basis for condemning deep love commitments between homosexual Christians, as long as those commitments are not expressed in sexual intercourse.”  (20 Hot Potatoes Christians Are Afraid To Touch”, page 117)

Dr. Campolo also believes in evolution; does not believe that the Bible is inerrantly inspired; believes that man has an inner divinity; believes non-Christians might go to heaven; believes that homosexuals are “born that way”, and that it is not a “volitional” issue.

So this man continues to get invited to our Christian schools to indoctrinate our students with all sorts of heresies.  Discernment was thrown out a long time ago by our leaders.

Related Articles:

Beware Tony Campolo:  http://www.wayoflife.org/database/campolo.html

https://reformednazarene.wordpress.com/2011/09/08/olivet-nazarene-lets-false-teacher-campolo-speak-in-chapel/

https://reformednazarene.wordpress.com/2011/02/01/symptoms-of-a-great-apostasy-in-our-christian-schools-and-seminaries/

https://reformednazarene.wordpress.com/2010/11/03/tony-campolos-thin-places-occultic-christianity/

https://reformednazarene.wordpress.com/2010/10/31/false-prophet-tony-campolo-promotes-doctrines-of-demons-to-enc-students/

https://reformednazarene.wordpress.com/2010/10/21/profiles-in-apostasy-tony-campolo/

Olivet Nazarene Lets False Teacher Campolo Speak In Chapel

2 Tim 4: 1-5 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;  Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.

I was very disappointed that Olivet Nazarene University has apparently followed through on its scheduled appearance of false teacher Tony Campolo at student chapel services, which happened Wednesday and today.  It reminded me of the same type of situation with Eastern Nazarene College in 2009, when my wife and I met with the school president, chaplain, and provost, and made our case that Dr. Campolo was not an appropriate speaker for a Christian school.  That was to no avail, as we were told that they had no problem with Tony Campolo, and he continued on to speak to the students a few months later.  As I sat in that chapel service, he promoted his Celtic spirituality and mantra prayer style as some Nazarene pastors also listened, either ignorant of his heretical ideology, or complicit in the same beliefs, or perhaps even afraid of saying anything.

 

In the past few months, I had several good emails back and forth with Dr. Carl Leth, head of theology at ONU, and also CC’d the information to President Bowling and Dr. Webb in Student Development.  I sent a mountain of information documenting the heresies that Tony Campolo has been promoting in his books and in his speaking engagements.  Anyone with even a modest knowledge of scripture should have the discernment to almost instantly recognize that this man is a heretic who is spreading lies to thousands of Christians!  I thought again I had made a good case, but somehow it was not good enough to be a game changer, and now he has twice spoken at another Christian school.

 

If Tony Campolo:

 

1. Has NOT repented from the practices of contemplative mysticism,
2. Has NOT repented of his promotion of panentheistic Celtic spirituality,
3. Has NOT repented of suggesting the god of Islam is the same as the God of Christianity,
4. Has NOT repented of his rejection of God’s word as inerrantly inspired,
5. Has NOT repented of his compromising ecumenical philosophy,
6. Has NOT repented of his claims that man has an “inner divinity”,
7. Has NOT repented of his claim that non-Christians might go to heaven,
8. Has NOT repented of his view that homosexuals can be ordained without renouncing homosexuality,
9. Has never even testified of a true born-again experience of salvation, but instead says he became a Christian through a gradual process through the use of centering prayer, and says that being born again is not the only way to become a Christian…

 

Why in the world was he allowed to speak in a chapel service at a Christian school?

 

I have ruled out total ignorance, because that is not possible any longer.  Two other possibilities are left.

 

One possibility is that Olivet Nazarene and other Christian universities that invite Tony Campolo do not agree with his belief system, but accept him because he has some good things to offer, and he is very popular and well known, and so that is okay with them, in spite of the poison he brings.  For convenience, they ignore principle and they compromise.

 

The other possibility is that these schools, or at least the leadership that allows him to come speak, have bought into his mysticism, his ecumenism, and his repudiation of the inerrancy of scripture, and are totally comfortable with it.  I hope I am wrong here.  But what other possibilities are there other than these two I mentioned?

 

Which is worst?  Either choice is not good news for Bible believing Christians and parents who are sending or thinking of sending their children to these schools.  It should be very disturbing news to those Bible believing Christians, including alumni, who send financial support to schools that are either showing a reckless lack of discernment and judgment, or have bought into the heresies that these speakers promote.

 

As I suggested regarding Dr. Campolo, as well as Dr Tom Oord who spoke at ENC in 2009, I suggest here.  I suggest that parents, alumni, and any other Bible believing Christian who is concerned about folks like Dr. Campolo speaking at our Christian college campuses, start asking some questions to the leaders at this school and all the others, and give them no rest until they give a clear answer.  In my opinion, Christian schools that are exhibiting a blatantly obvious lack of discernment and sound judgment do not deserve to receive automatic financial support.

 

Tony Campolo may be a nice guy personally, but nice guys do not necessarily preach sound doctrine.  It is clear in this case, is it not?  Or can any Nazarene pastor or theology professor tell me that these things I mentioned, if true, are perfectly fine  with them also.  I don’t believe they will, or can do that, but if they do, I will gladly publish their biblically sound defense of Tony Campolo’s teachings.  And so, if Tony Campolo is teaching unsound doctrines, why are our Christian schools ignoring the biblical instruction to avoid such teachers as he?

 

I believe that instead of accepting him and welcoming him with open arms, Tony Campolo is to be exposed as a spiritual predator who is looking for his next gig to indoctrinate perhaps your child or grandchild with heretical views that are nothing but doctrines of demons.

Additional Resources:

(Dr. Campolo’s chapel messages are already online and can be watched here.  Perhaps they were safe messages and you might think he’s okay, but that does not change anything as far as the bad influence he will have on many students.)

False Prophet Tony Campolo Promotes Doctrines of Demons To ENC Youth

Tony Campolo’s ‘Thin Places’: Occultic Christianity

Beware Of Tony Campolo (David Cloud)

News: Eric Barger’s Take A Stand! Ministries will debut as a regular radio program this Saturday on the Christian Satellite Radio Network and selected local stations, such as KAWZ in Scituate, MA.  There are many other stations nationwide, for a listing go here: http://www.csnradio.com/stations/.
Eric will be speaking at the Olive Tree Ministries – Understanding The Times Conference in Minnesota on Oct. 7-8.  Eric is also the keynote speaker at the NEATC Conference on Oct. 14-15 in Ashford, CT.  Click here for a special preview of Eric’s radio program.

Symptoms Of A Great Apostasy In Our Christian Schools And Seminaries

Acts 20:28-31 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.

There are still some good Christian colleges out there, you just need to search hard, find them, and verify what they profess to stand for.  You cannot simply trust the fact that a school labels itself Christian anymore.  This has been obvious to me in my last two years of investigation, and the facts are appalling and shameful.  We need to stop being a little less polite or politically corrent, and be more honest and upfront about the dangers facing our youth today.  Souls are at risk!

I just cannot see myself sending my son to a “Christian” university someday simply because it claims to be a Christian school.  Some folks say that they would rather send their child to any “Christian” school rather than a secular school. Imagine the horror, however, if your child goes to a “Christian” school, and after four years, comes home having learned and incorporated all sorts of pagan practices and unbiblical ideas into his life, or doubting the truthfulness of the Bible, after you entrusted him into the hands of supposedly solid Christian teachers and administrators.  My friends, many of these schools are all marching down the road of one-worldism, and ecumenical false unity, and an the incorporation of personal mystical experiences over the sufficiency of the word of God. And I have noticed over the last few years that many Christians are either not aware of, or just don’t care about, the signs of a great apostasy invading our Christian schools.

There is hardly a Christian university around anymore that can be trusted with your son or daughter’s spiritual well-being.  It is getting harder to recommend a school that you can be confident has a strong biblical foundation.  With the usual lame excuse of offering a “healthy liberal arts education”, this problem is showing up in all denominations, and in my particular denomination, the Nazarenes, it is a horrendous problem that I never dreamed would happen.  But it is, and it is a nightmare of “biblical proportions.”  And many Nazarenes are still stubbornly refusing to acknowledge this problem and deal with it according to scripture.  But deal with it we must.

One of the nightmares for instance is occurring at Point Loma Nazarene University.  I do not advise parents to send their children there at all. Point Loma proudly welcomed heretical emergent leader Brian McLaren- again- to speak there in February of 2009.  McLaren is a false teacher who considers the Cross like false advertising for God; who as a pastor does not understand what scripture clearly teaches about homosexuality; who cannot come to say that Jesus Christ is the only way to God.  Yet, Point Loma’s leaders either have no clue, or have bought into the lies and are deceived.  Students are being led like lambs to the slaughter, spiritually, at this school.  And having heard from alumni and concerned parents, these leaders have done nothing as of yet, as far as I know.

Point Loma has been promoting mysticism for a while now.  They have no problem bringing in Richard Foster to their school, to teach our young people the ways of occultic mysticism.  And they have shown their continued lack of discernment by hosting a bizarre conference called Nurturing The Prophetic Imagination.  Here, in this video, Dr. Peter Jones describes this conference as well as the school’s connection with Madame Blavatsky, founder of the Theosophical Society, an occultic organization.  Dr. Jones also mentions how several feminist professors at Point Loma are promoting a radical blurring of male-female roles that is unbiblical, as well as the radical social justice that is plaguing many Nazarene colleges.  One of their professors, Dennis Bratcher, teaches process theology, a heresy that says that God learns from His mistakes.  And Professor Darrel Falk is a leading member of BioLogos and is a promoter of evolution as being compatible with the Bible.

Then there is Northwest Nazarene University, which is just about as bad as Point Loma. I would also strongly advise against sending your child to this school without investigating.  The classic example I have on my blog is the horrendously pagan lecture given by Dr. Jay McDaniel in front of NNU students, with the approval of leadership and faculty, including Dr. Tom Oord.  What a disturbing display of pagan and universalistic thinking that was indoctrinating our college Christian students, with not a word of protest from those who are teachers of our young people.  To this day, we have heard only excuses and pitiful explanations for this sad exhibition.  And there’s more of course, as NNU also hosted Brian McLaren and his ridiculous worship of mother earth and mis-translation of John 3:16 as meaning that Jesus came to save planet earth (see Eric Barger’s video).  Their theology curriculums are filled with books by mystics and emergent heretical authors.  Many (not all) of their teachers reject the Bible as the infallible word of God, and consider much of it as only myths.

Trevecca Nazarene University is in bad shape as well.  They have been going on field trips every year now to the Abby of Gethsemane, home to the late mystic Thomas Merton.  They have been indulging in the pagan practice of the prayer labyrinth, and when they were exposed, they changed the name of this practice to “prayer walk.”  They promote books by emergent church leaders, heretical mystics and contemplative spirituality proponents to their students.  In practice, this school is rejecting solid biblical principles by bringing in the ways of Roman Catholic monastic mysticism and emergent church heresy.

My own alma mater, Eastern Nazarene College, is exhibiting many signs of poor judgment.  The school is now also getting onto the social justice bandwagon.  They have a new social justice program with connections to a Marxist.  Can we also remember the hosting of Tony Campolo, in spite of my warnings to the leadership a few months before?  Campolo did not fail us in our expectations, as he promoted his occultic mysticism to a chapel full of young students, and perhaps more sadly, to also a good number of Nazarene pastors and leaders that day.  How sad that as far as I know, none have spoken out against this travesty. ENC is also home to Karl Giberson, a professor who does not believe the entire Bible, but insists that we came from evolutionary processes.  And he also promotes the heresy of open theism (God cannot know the future).  Their bookstore is full of books by heretical emergent leaders, and also promotes Roman Catholic bibles, including one with a prayer rosary inside.  In February, they will be hosting a speaker, Rachel Held Evans, who will be taking part in the Big Tent Christianity Conference and apparently has no problem associating with heretical speakers such as Marcus Borg and Brian McLaren.    A quote of her latest blog post gives us some insight into her thinking (emphasis mine) :  “My tradition teaches that all non-Christians will be damned to hell for eternity, which can be supported with some interpretations of Scripture, but which violates every compassionate instinct God gave me as a human being and follower of Jesus.”

It seems that discernment has disappeared at my old school.  I would not recommend it at this time for any discerning parent to send their child.

Just because I did not mention the other Nazarene schools, does not necessarily mean they don’t have problems.  Nazarene Theological Seminary is frankly no better.  It is shamelessly promoting mysticism, including a Spring course taught by Dr. Doug Hardy called Celtic Spirituality, an occultic belief system that is nothing but paganism pretending to be Christian!  They have even promoted mystical and Roman Catholic practices to our young children of middle school age!  I dread to think of what future pastors will be preaching and promoting, as many of them buy into the unbiblical teachings that are being taught at our top seminary.

Oh, there are others schools besides Nazarene.  You will need to do some serious homework and ask some hard questions while demanding clear answers, before deciding where to send your child.  There are many universities once trusted for years, but no longer.  Fuller Theological Seminary is more aptly now called a cemetery.  Baylor University, Biola University (known for its apologetics!); Dallas Theological Seminary, George Fox University, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and many more, are delving into contemplative spirituality, emergent church ideology, social justice tinged with Marxism, worship of the creation, and post-modern theological ramblings that go nowhere but to confuse already confused young people.

Am I crazy that I don’t want my son to go to a “Christian” school where the theology professors don’t even believe in the inerrant, infallible word of God?  Am I crazy that I don’t want my son to be taught that you can have “an experience” with God, unlike anything taught in the Bible?  Or that he is going to have a social justice ideology rammed down his throat at the expense of solid biblical foundations?  Or that he is being introduced to Roman Catholic mysticism, prayer beads, and mantra style prayer?

Apostasy is here in our Christian universities and seminaries.  Some of us just need to stop being in denial.

Tony Campolo’s ‘Thin Places’: Occultic Christianity

“You, LORD, have abandoned your people, the descendants of Jacob.  They are full of superstitions from the East; they practice divination like the Philistines  and embrace pagan customs.”  Isaiah 2:6

Nazarenes and all other Christians, welcome to the mystical world of the occult, when you welcome Tony Campolo.

Anyone- yes, anyone- who supports this man as a legitimate Christian leader is complicit with his agenda to promote his doctrines of demons!  You are guilty of helping a false prophet possibly deceiving your very own children someday.  I am making this point clear to you because there are pastors out there- irresponsible pastors- who are recklessly or ignorantly promoting this man for what he said at ENC last week.

What Tony Campolo said last week resulted in my post from Monday which as I said, got my blood boiling for various reasons.  I would like to help you understand clearly what Dr. Campolo meant when he referenced “the thin place.”  After reading this, could anyone let me know if you still think it is wise to have such a man speak to any group of Christian students, or adults, or pastors?  If not, could you write a letter to the leadership of ENC or your school of interest, and ask that Tony Campolo and others like him never speak there?

Thin places are tied closely to and are a part of the new spirituality.  They are part of the whole repertoire of contemplative spirituality practices that are just a repackaged and “Christianized” form, of transcendental meditation.  TM is not taught in the Bible in any way, shape or form.  It’s no surprise that Marcus Borg (denies the uniqueness of Christ) has an affinity to thin places, as reported here.   False teacher Brian McLaren attests to having experienced thin places.  (“Yes, I have experienced both dimensions of what you describe: God’s presence flowing like a gentle current in simple human interaction, and God’s presence shining through what the old Celts called “thin places.”” )
Scot McKnight, a proponent of emergent church ideology, speaks favorably of thin places as a way of getting close to God.  So it all ties together, and I am sure this is a concept that no emergent/post-modern Christian will criticize, because that would undermine their philosophy of non-judgmentalism, and their house of cards would fall along with the rest of their false gospel.

What’s a thin place? According to Sylvia Maddox at the Explore Faith website:

“There is a Celtic saying that heaven and earth are only three feet apart, but in the thin places that distance is even smaller. A thin place is where the veil that separates heaven and earth is lifted and one is able to receive a glimpse of the glory of God.”

Thin places are also well described on a website by Mindie Burgoyne (http://www.thinplaces.net/openingarticle.htm).  I don’t know if she is the foremost expert on this topic, but she certainly seems to have a good grasp of its history, philosophy, and practice.  Mindie says on her blog, Where This World Meets The Eternal World,  that she has a deep interest in the mystical.  No surprise there if you like thin places.  Here is a basic definition she gives:

“In simple terms a ‘thin place’ is a place where the veil between this world and the Other world is thin, the Other world is more near.  This meaning assumes the perceiver senses the existence of a world beyond  what we know through our five senses.  Since the times of ancient civilization the fascination with the “Other world” has occupied human minds.  To some it is heaven, the kingdom, paradise.  To others it may be hell, an abyss, the unknown.  Whatever you perceive the Other world to be, a thin place is a place where connection to that world seems effortless, and ephemeral signs of its existence are almost palpable.”

And here she attests to Dr. Campolo’s reference to the Celtics as those who know of these thin places well:

“The Pre-Christian and Celtic people of Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England had a keen sense for thin places.   The landscape is littered with monuments, markings and ruins that once boldly stated, “This is a thin place. This is holy ground.”  The very ground itself seems to call out, “Come here and be transformed.”  In a quiet moment, a visitor today can feel the connection with the people whose spirits first marked these spots, and all the pilgrims who have visited since.  They are vivid reminders that we are all joined inside and outside of time.”

Apparently there are also thin moments”, but I won’t get into that- she explains that too.  But she then says later:

“A thin place is simply that – a PLACE where the veil is thin.  The place itself calls you, draws you into itself, transports you into the presence of the world beyond this world.  The thinness of place moves you into the presence of the mysterious power.  There, all things you perceive through your senses are charged, electrified, illuminated with the presence of that power.”

She further explains thin places:

“This brings us to another characteristic of thin places.  They are often marked by human spirits that have gone before, felt the thinness and been changed by it.  Thin places not only transcend the senses, but transcend the boundaries of time and space.  While you’re there, time seems to stand still, and there is a communion with the human spirits that have walked there before and are yet to walk.”

Thin places apparently sharpen your senses:

“The more you experience thin places, the sharper your senses become.”

You can apparently meet the “Divine Presence” in thin places:

“Thin Places are ports in the storm of life, where the pilgrims can move closer to the God they seek,  where one leaves that which is familiar and journeys into the Divine Presence.”

And this is perhaps the “gospel message” of thin places:

“They probe to the core of the human heart and open the pathway that leads to satisfying the familiar hungers and yearnings common to all people on earth, the hunger to be connected, to be a part of something greater, to be loved, to find peace.”

In an article by Michael McMullen on the same site, he describes how thin places are like and where some of them are, such as Croagh Patrick mountain in Europe:

“Christian and pagan, this is a sacred mountain…  For on this high and remote place one is close to the gate of heaven, close to the early Christian spirit and perhaps close to ones best aspirations…   He (St. Patrick) imposed a new spirituality on and old spirituality and there is a continuum in the thought patterns between the pagan and the Christian mind. On many of the pagan symbols he and his followers cut the firm cross of Christ. Perhaps we could say that the ancient Irish possessed minds that were naturally Christian.”

If all of this is biblical in any way, I don’t know what else to tell you.  But this is what Tony Campolo meant when he told perhaps 300 students at a Christian school about a thin place.

My point in all this is not to put down Mindie Burgoyne or any other proponent of this stuff, because she is not being invited to our Christian schools-yet.   I do pray that she will wake up from this deception and find the true Christ of the Bible, otherwise her soul is lost.  She and others I quoted are an example I used to show you what this “thin place” is, and that Tony Campolo is connected to it, and he believes in it, and yet he is still speaking to Nazarene youth.

This is nothing but of the occult and the mysticism of today’s emergent church and their New Age friends! If anyone understands what they just read, they will clearly see this.  And for anyone to pretend that Tony Campolo has something good to offer, and deserves to speak at a Christian campus, then let us go on and invite others as well!  Based on that criteria, how about inviting also the following: Joel Osteen, TD Jakes, Joyce Myers, Benny Hinn, Robert Schuler, Leonard Sweet (he’s already on the list apparently).  Let’s just bring in anyone- anyone at all- who has at least a few good things to say, who can dazzle the crowd with some well-placed scripture, and the undiscerning young person walks away thinking, “man that was a great message!  The spirit was really moving today!”  But all it was that day, was the spirit of the age, not the Spirit of God, and yet, so many are being deceived right before our eyes.

If some of you don’t understand yet why I am against this man and others speaking to Christian audiences, I pray that you will understand now.  I pray that God will reveal the truth to you about some of these predators who are only tools of satan.  That’s all they are, tools of satan.  If I am wrong, may God open my eyes and forgive me, but I cannot see that, when I clearly see what scripture speaks to us about them, and what they do to twist the word of God.  They are “hypocritical liars.”

I’m not a “Bible scholar.”  Some of you would embarrass me with your command of memorized scripture, or your ability to find a passage in the Bible quickly.  But… don’t you see it too?  If so, why are some of you mad at us for telling the truth?  All I am interested in doing with these posts is to help keep at least one person from going to hell based on a false gospel, a false Jesus.  But I am really afraid for some of you, (and some of you used to be my friends) because I truly believe the greatest deception is still to come.  And I’m afraid you may get swept into it, and the worst thing that you can do, is deny the real Jesus, and compromise, and join the crowd that is going down the wide road of “unity”, and ecumenism, and one-ism.  It’s a well-paved road, very comfortable, very accommodating, very understanding, that leads straight to everlasting punishment.

Nazarenes and other Christians, welcome to the mystical world of the occult, when you welcome Tony Campolo.