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Former New Ager Alleges ‘Jesus Calling’
Is Harmful To Believers
Is Harmful To Believers
Jim Fletcher, WND — A runaway bestseller in the Christian book world is generating controversy as charges of unbiblical and New Age influences are leveled by watchdog groups and individuals.“Jesus Calling,” a top-selling inspirational Christian title, is authored by Sarah Young and currently ranks No. 1 on numerous lists.
Young, who lives in Australia, where she helps her husband plant churches, has a philosophy degree from Wellesley College, a counseling degree from Georgia State University and a master’s degree from Tufts. By all accounts, she is stunned by the success of her book, which has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide in the decade since its launch.
Various editions have been published by Thomas Nelson, the world’s largest Christian publisher. The Nashville-based publishing house was bought by News Corporation in 2011, and is now a subsidiary of NewsCorp-owned HarperCollins.
Christian author Warren Smith, who left the New Age movement in 1984, has serious concerns about much of the material in “Jesus Calling,” and has written a book – titled “‘Another Jesus’ Calling” – critiquing Young’s bestseller as well as other modern Christian movements and ministries in which he sees dangerous New Age influences.
“We’re getting incredible response to my book,” says Smith, “because her book is indefensible!”
Laura Minchew, senior vice-president of publishing for Thomas Nelson, disputes the claims, and told WND the Sarah Young book has positively impacted countless lives.
“I will tell you that should anyone hint of New Age teachings in ‘Jesus Calling,’ they would be sorely misinformed,” she said.
“We are releasing a new 10th anniversary edition of the book in September. We have added an expanded ‘Author Note’ that looks back at how the book was published and includes stories from the thousands of comments we have received about the impact of this book on people’s lives.
Minchew added: “Jesus Calling has been such a comfort and source of peace for so many. It helps readers spend time with the Lord. People’s lives have been touched for good by this book. I would ask that you not try to make a controversy that has no merit, just for the sake of readership.”
However, others in the Christian community echo Smith’s concerns, including Chris Quintana, pastor of Calvary Chapel Cypress, in Cypress, California, who is alarmed by the book’s success: “‘Jesus Calling’ is just the latest fad to come through the church,” says Quintana. “Like ‘The Shack’ or ‘The Prayer of Jabez’ before it, when truth is mixed with error, then it becomes heralded as the new wonderful thing. The church embraces and promotes it because those who should know better … don’t.
“The Jesus of Scripture would be appalled by the ‘Jesus’ of this book, and I am sure is grieved over the misrepresentation. There are some pages where nothing objectionable can be found, so people let their guard down. The book was given to them by a friend, or purchased through their church bookstore, etc. It then becomes trusted and they fail to see the error of the mystical ‘Jesus’ found therein.”
According to the Association for Christian Retail, or CBA, “Jesus Calling” ranks No. 1 in the category of Inspirational/General Interest. For May 2014, the children’s version ranks No. 2 in the Children’s category and No. 3 in Young Adult for the teen edition.
“Jesus Calling” has a staggering 5,451 reviews on Amazon, of which 5,050 are five-star. Only 73 are one-star.
Typical of the positive reviews are these three:
• “A beautifully written book of devotion. Sarah Young has a great deal of love in her heart for Jesus and the Christian faith.”
• “I was given this devotional while going through a difficult time, and it couldn’t be a better fit. Young writes from the voice of God, without sounding blasphemous or assumptive.”
• “Great devotional book, has changed my life! If you are looking for a closer relationship with God, this devotional book will help you on this journey.
However, one negative Amazon review clearly summarizes most of the main problems critics see with Young’s bestseller:
“There are several problems with this book. Here are just four:
• The obvious one is that the book puts words in God’s mouth.
• The author seems to depend on mystic experiences she’s had for her belief in God. Also, she wants something more than God’s Word in the Bible. It has a New Age feel to it.
• It’s a feel good book. It avoids the real problem of personal sin. It’s all about God filling the personal needs that you feel. It’s very self-centered.
• Dependence on experiences will lead to frustration and confusion in the Christian life because we need to have more and more experiences to be satisfied.
“In a nutshell,” adds the reviewer, “the book is misleading and is self-centered, rather than what Christianity teaches – to realize our sinfulness and look to Christ, and to serve God and others as a response to our salvation. I do not recommend this book.”
Despite warnings from Smith and others, “Jesus Calling” is highly visible in Christian bookstore chains and among ministries. » Full Article
About the Author
Blogger and researcher Jim Fletcher has worked in the book publishing industry for 15 years, and is now director of the apologetics group Prophecy Matters. His new book, "Truth Wins," provides important analysis of Rob Bell and his Emergent friends.
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The God Of Abraham, Isaac, And Jacob
Definition of Theism
Theism may be defined as belief in a god or gods. Some religions have many gods; some have only one. Some religions are theistic; others are not. Theism is the opposite of atheism, which is belief that there is no god. Biblical theism is belief in the Judeo-Christian God, i.e., the God presented in the Bible.Biblical theism encompasses many subtopics. A study of the God of the Bible will necessarily focus attention on the Godhead, composed of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It relates to the nature and attributes of God, the pre-existence and deity of Christ, the person and operation of the Holy Spirit, and a host of other subcategories. For resource information about biblical theism, click on Resources About Biblical Theism. For short essays about God, click on Theism - Essays About God.
BIBLICAL THEISM
The Names of God
When people introduce themselves to others, they usually tell their names. In ancient times, individuals were often associated with names having particular characteristics. Characteristics of God may be realized from names associated with Him. When God stayed the hand of Abraham from sacrificing Isaac, He provided a ram for the offering. Abraham then named the place “The LORD will provide” (i.e., Jehovah-Jireh, Genesis 22:14). After the Israelites had escaped from Egypt and crossed the Red Sea, God promised them that if they would “keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you” (i.e., Jehovah-Roph’echa, Exodus 15:26). After Joshua had defeated the Amalekites who fought against Israel shortly after they had crossed over the Red Sea, Moses “built an altar and called its name, The LORD is My Banner” (i.e., Jehovah-Nissi, Exodus 17:15). At Mt. Sinai, God instructed the Israelites to “keep My statutes, and perform them: I am the LORD who sanctifies you” (i.e., Jehovah-M’qaddishchem, Leviticus 20:8). Gideon built an altar to the LORD in Ophrah of the Abiezrites, and called it “The LORD is Peace” (i.e., Jehovah-Shalom, Judges 6:24). Jeremiah predicted the coming safety of Judah and Jerusalem, saying, “And this is the name by which she will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGTHEOUSNESS” (Jehovah-Tsidqenu, Jeremiah 33:16). David wrote, “The LORD is my shepherd” (Jehovah-Rohi, Psalm 23:1). After Ezekiel described the city of God, he wrote, “the name of the city from that day shall be: THE LORD is THERE” (Jehovah-Shammah, Ezekiel 48:35). God is also described as “The LORD of hosts” (Jehovah-sabaoth, Isaiah 1:24; Psalm 46:7).
A significant designation of God during Patriarchal times was God’s introduction of Himself to Abram as “Almighty God” (i.e., El Shaddai, Genesis 17:1). Isaac wanted “God Almighty” to bless Jacob as he journeyed to Paddan Aram to find a wife from the daughters of his mother’s brother, Laban (Genesis 28:1-3). When Jacob returned from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him and introduced Himself as “God Almighty” (Genesis 35:11). When Jacob sent his sons to Egypt a second time, He wanted “God Almighty” to be merciful to them (Genesis 43:14). In his old age, Jacob remembered that “God Almighty” had blessed him (Genesis 48:3). God told Moses that He had appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as “God Almighty” (Exodus 6:2-3). The concept of an “Almighty God” indicates the unlimited power of God.
When God appeared to Moses at a burning bush, and commissioned him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, Moses wanted to know God’s name. “Moses said to God, ‘Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them? And God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ And He said, ‘Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to you.’ Moreover God said to Moses, ‘Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations’” (Exodus 3:13-15).
God thus designates Himself as “I AM WHO I AM” and as the “LORD God.” The English word “LORD” (all capitals) in some English Bibles, and as “Jehovah” in others, comes from the Hebrew term Yahweh, or YHWH (without vowel points). Used over sixty-eight hundred times in the Old Testament, YHWH was thought by the Israelites to be too sacred to pronounce. Therefore, when reading Scripture, they substituted the word Adonai (translated as “Lord” without all capitals) for YHWH. In their writings, they inserted vowel points used with Adoni under the consonants of YHWH. Eventually, this practice contributed to YHWH coming into English as “Jehovah.” YHWH first occurs in Genesis 2:4 (“. . . in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens”). The word YHWH (the LORD) is frequently used together with the word Elohim (God) – thus, ‘the LORD God’ or as transliterated from Hebrew, ‘YHWH Elohim’ (e.g., Genesis 2:4; Exodus 3:14-16; Deuteronomy 6:4, etc.).
Elohim is the first Hebrew term that is translated as God in the Bible. “In the beginning, God (Elohim) created . . . .” (Genesis 1:1). Elohim is masculine plural. (Like “s” in English, Hebrew words ending with “im” generally indicate plurality.) Elohim is used occasionally in reference to creatures, angels and people in authority, and often in reference to idolatrous gods (plural). But whenever Elohim refers to the true God, verbs, pronouns, or adjectives associated with it are always singular. Elohim is used over twenty-five hundred times in the Old Testament. Whenever Elohim is associated with the true God, it contains ideas that He is creator, preserver, transcendent, mighty and strong. Because El was a common word for god, including idolatrous gods, the true God was sometimes referred to as “God most high” (Genesis 14:18-20; 22, Psalm 57:2) or as the “most high God” (El Elyon, Psalm 78:35, 56; Daniel 3:26; 4:2; 5:18, 21; Mark 5:7; Luke 8:28; Acts 16:17; Hebrews 7:1).
The designation “I AM WHO I AM” is not essentially different from the designation “the LORD God,” i.e., Jehovah God, or YHWH Elohim. God’s proper name, YHWH (i.e., Jehovah), is derived from the fundamental idea of ‘Being’ (i.e., “I AM”), around which are prismatic ideas, such as causation of being, independence of creation, self-identity in will and purpose, eternal existence, self-revealing and gracious, living personality, covenantal fidelity, and mystery. Hence, God’s name, YHWH, indicates that He is changeless in His purposes, faithful to His promises, able and certain to fulfill them. God’s claim to Moses – “This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations” – underscored the significance of the name YHWH, i.e., Jehovah (Exodus 3:15).
Just as one might know the name of a person but not know the person, one could know a name of God but not know God. Samuel ministered before YHWH, Jehovah (1 Samuel 2:18; 3:1) but he “did not yet know Jehovah, i.e., YHWH” (1 Samuel 3:7). To “know” (yadah, in Hebrew) was to experience. So also one might know (experience) a characteristic of God by one name, but not know (experience) God as designated by another name. God told Moses, “I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty (El Shaddai), but by My name LORD (YHWH) I was not known to them” (Exodus 6:3). In fact, the Patriarchs knew that the name YHWH applied to God (Genesis 15:7; 22:14, 24:35, 40, 42, 48, 50-51, 56; 26:22; 27:20; 49:18; etc.) but they had not experienced the ‘I AM’ nature of God’s being. Whenever God said that “you shall know that I am the LORD (YHWH) your God” (e.g., Exodus 6:7; 16:11-12; 29:46; Isaiah 52:5-6; Jeremiah 16:21), the statement was always connected with some activity of God that caused people to know (i.e., to experience) the power and person of God.
Before God gave the Ten Commandments at Mt. Sinai, he introduced Himself as the LORD (i.e., YHWH, Jehovah). By that name he declared Himself jealous over other gods. He warned people to “not take the name of the LORD (YHWH, i.e., Jehovah) your God in vain” (Exodus 20:2, 7). His names emphasize His worthiness of our respect.
Copyright ©, October, 2006, by Robert L. Waggoner. Permission is granted to copy and distribute this document for non-profit educational purposes if reproduced in full without additions or deletions. Why not distribute this document to others? For other essays about God and additional information regarding biblical theism, go to the website » Biblical Theism.