Lighthouse Trails Research Journal
Letters to the Editor—continued from previous page
the clear biblical teaching we all participate
in. Now living back in Germany again, I still
participate in our virtual church setting. E.g.
Today about 20 believers participated via 12
Skype connections. We also connect indi-
vidually with each other, to communicate on
a more private basis. This is not perfect, but
the exchanges are biblical. Wolfgang
CHURCHLESS IN NORTH AMERICA
We are writing this letter to encourage oth-
ers in their journey to find a Bible-believing
church that values sound biblical doctrine
and the authority of Scripture. We became
aware of a significant shift in our C&MA
[Christian & Missionary Alliance] church
after they picked up a new hip pastor from
a California mega church. Some of the first
things we noticed included the new lingo
and dress-down look, the extensive use of
The Message, the feel good TED Talks
salted with a few out-of-context Scriptures,
the kicking out of the old worship team,
and the bringing in of the very loud rock-
band-style worship along with smoke and
lights, the removal of mailboxes in order to
bring in the Emerging pastor’s book table,
removal of crosses and Bibles (one day, we
led a couple to Christ and could not find
one Bible in the church to give them), the
embracement of native-related issues with
an actual smudging ceremony performed in
the sanctuary, the supporting of commu-
nity organizations that embrace abortion
and homosexuality, the social-gospel mes-
sage, SHE conferencing, and the promotion
of Yoga, etc. The list is endless and goes on
and on, typical for a lot of mega churches
(emerging/seeker sensitive/purpose driven).
. . . Sadly, we have come to know many
solid Christians in two churches who are
just not aware of the false teaching of the
emerging pastors of today. It would appear
that unity in the church is more important
than sound biblical doctrine, so now again
we are churchless. Sadly, the little Baptist
church pastor, despite attempts by us and
Volume 7—No. 5
23
others, has been convinced by the elders
that things are taken out of context and to
tow the party line despite him knowing the
truth. Hopefully, he doesn’t find himself
out on the street when he doesn’t get in line
with the emerging agenda. Thanks for all
you guys do in exposing error and preparing
the Body of Christ for the fight of truth.
Apostasy is now in the evangelical church
of North America. T & J [T & J’s entire
letter can be read on the LT blog.]
LAMBS AMONG WOLVES
I am sending you out as lambs among wolves
. . . There will come a time that when they
kill you, they will think they are doing God
a favor . . . God reminded me today that
Jesus said that. It seems surreal that those
who call themselves by God’s name are in-
creasingly taking a stand against His word,
and actively persecuting those in the church
who speak up for Him.
I’ve had to tell Him I’m willing to die for
Him, even at the hands of U.S. church-goers.
It’s not a thought most Americans have, I
think. We’re used to murderous persecution
happening elsewhere in the world, and here
we are quick to engage in litigation for our
“constitutional rights” when threatened.
There’s nothing wrong with “appealing to
Rome” when it is allowed, but we must re-
member that Paul was eventually martyred.
. . . Fill your lamps and trim your wicks and
hold fast to His Word as you wait for Him,
even though they turn you out of the church
and would destroy your very life. Hide
yourself in Him, and feast on His goodness.
“Everyone who desires to live a godly life in
Jesus Christ will be persecuted.” B.
CALVINISM, AUGUSTINE, AND PLATO
It is a standard claim by Calvinists that
their system is misunderstood by every
non-Calvinist. Do you realize what this
implies? It implies that the Holy Spirit has
given Calvinists special spiritual insight
that He hasn’t given to other Christians.
This claim is closer to Gnosticism than it
is biblical Christianity.
Do Calvinists realize that John Calvin
based his system on the works of Augus-
tine of Hippo? In fact, Calvin claimed that
he wrote nothing that Augustine would
have disagreed with. Augustine claimed
that Scripture must be interpreted using a
Platonic framework and even called Plato a
pre-Christian Christian. Plato was a pagan
pure and simple. Augustine’s writings are
blatant syncretism and so is any system
based on Augustine. It is fairly simple to
understand Calvinism by reading Plato’s
Allegory of the Cave. A really instruc-
tive exercise is to take the allegory and
“Christianize” it by changing some of the
vocabulary so it sounds biblical. The prison-
ers become the “unregenerate” the sunlight
becomes “illumination of the Holy Spirit.”
No one has ever denied that there are many
Calvinists who are faithful to the Lord.
Their faithfulness is in spite of the Calvinist
philosophy not because of it. Glenn
THE GOSPEL TO THE INDIGENOUS
OF THE NORTH
Stories from Indian Wigwams is a fascinat-
ing first-hand account by Egerton Young, a
missionary to the indigenous of the north.
The account of the four Indians looking for
the Bible was heart-breaking. When they
finally reached some Europeans, who were
R. Catholic, there was not one person who
could give them a Bible. They walked the
long journey back home (Western U.S.),
sick and disheartened. As a result, this
tribe continued in their old pagan ways
with no hope. Without Christ, the tribes
were abusive to the women and ruled by
witchcraft and drugs. So sad. The courage
of Young and his family to live among these
people is admirable. He always proclaimed
the Gospel using God’s Word. They had
an amazing love for the Native people of
the north. I encourage all of us to read this
missionary book. It is a treasure. Elizabeth
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019