Lighthouse Trails Research Journal
Christianity Today—continued from previous page
article explained that Christianity Today
had come up with a plan to help alleviate
the confusion that so many young people
now had regarding their spiritual beliefs
(such as the atonement). In our article, we
challenged Christianity Today for helping to
create the problem in the first place through
their continual and energetic endorsing and
promotion of the emergent movement and
then turning around and proposing to help
solve the problem. In essence, that is what
they have done for many years now—help
create the problem then seemingly innocent
and concerned offer to help solve the prob-
lem and act as if they have been on the right
side all along. This is what they were doing
over two decades ago, and by all appearances,
this is what they are doing today.
In conclusion, we have put together a
chronological list of a few of the countless
articles Christianity Today has posted over
the last four decades that have given back-
bone and stamina to the emergent socialist
“church.” CT might argue that they are
merely reporting without bias, but that is not
the case as their steady history of often one-
sided reporting (especially from emergent-
leaning editors and writers), accolades, and
hearty praise to the emerging, contemplative,
social-justice church shows their bias as does
their own published materials (magazines,
journals, podcasts) and their recommended
reading lists, book reviews, and endorse-
ments. The following small sampling of CT
article titles illustrates how this supposedly
“theologically conservative” magazine has
made a steady concerted effort to change
and redefine traditional evangelical views
on issues such as the New Age and mysti-
cism, the biblical relevance of the nation of
Israel, the sin of homosexuality, conservative
politics, interspiritual ecumenism, and other
“conservative” issues. All this to say, Chris-
tianity Today is anything but “theologically
conservative.” Some will say that interspersed
with the bad, Christianity Today has good
articles too. But as Harry Ironside said,
VOLUME 8—NO. 1
7
“Truth mixed with error is equivalent to all
error, except that it is more innocent looking
and, therefore, more dangerous.” 4
As for the Christianity Today article
calling for the removal of President Trump,
given that so many church goers and pro-
claiming Christians see the magazine as
a trustworthy manifesto and directive for
Christianity, you can be sure, it will alter
the way many evangelicals vote this coming
November, just like it played its part in help-
ing to alter the election in 2008.
—
AN INCOMPLETE CHRONOLOGICAL
LIST OF CT’S ARTICLES PROMOTING
EMERGENT, SOCIALIST, CONTEMPLATIVE,
PROGRESSIVE SPIRITUALITY
EDITOR’S NOTE: All of the following article
titles are live links to CT on our research
blog. While it may be a bit monotonous to
read all of these below, we have included
them in this journal to substantiate what
we have said in our report.
Summer 1981—“An Invitation to the Spiri-
tual Life” (by Henri Nouwen)
Spring 1992—“Soulwork” (promoting
contemplative meditation practices)
August 1993—“Leadership Network: The
21st-Century Church” (on Buford and
Drucker)
January 1996—“Helping the Successful
Become Significant” (on Bob Buford/Lead-
ership Network)
Fall 1999—”BiblioFile Recommended
Reading ” (Recommending New Age sym-
pathizer, Leonard Sweet)
April 2000—“Measuring What Matters” (mak-
ing plans for the growth of the emerging church
and the contemplative prayer movement)
Fall 2001—”Amaze-ing Prayer” (by Dan
Kimball, on the use of the labyrinth)
January 2002—“The True, the Good, and
the Beautiful Christian” (for social justice)
Summer 2003—“Emerging Values” (by
Brian McLaren)
August 2004—“Banning Gay Marriage Is
Not The Answer”
November 2004—“The Emergent Mys-
tique” (promo for the emergent church)
February 2005—“Jim Wallis: ‘I See Genu-
ine Soul-Searching Among Democrats’”
(Encouraging evangelicals to compromise
on abortion and other conservative issues)
May 2005—“Yes to Yoga”
September 2005—“The New Monasticism”
(uplifting social-justice emergent Shane
Claiborne)
October 2006—”Elementary Disciplines:
Spiritual formation for little lambs” (pro-
moting contemplative prayer for children)
January 2007—“Fresh Air” (by contempla-
tive Keri Wyatt Kent)
January 2007—“Five Streams of the Emerg-
ing Church” (by emergent Scot McKnight)
2007 “A Devoted Life: From the Editor—
Rediscovering Benedict” (for contemplative
monaticism)
November 2007—“Evangelical Leaders
Reiterate Call for Two-State Solution for
Israel and Palestine”
February 2008—“The Future Lies in the
Past” (promo for Catholicism and contem-
plative)
February 2008—“Braking for Bloggers”
(CT upset that Cedarville University can-
celled event with emergent Shaine Clai-
borne)
May 2008—“What form should our love of
LGBT neighbors take in the public square?”
(Encouraging evangelicals to remain silent
on the LGBT issue)
October 2008 (just prior to election)
—“After the Aloha Shirts” (promoting
Rick Warren’s PEACE Plan and Saddle-
back’s presidential forum (of which
some analysts said helped to get Obama
elected by swinging the views of many
evangelicals)
October 2008—“Preach and Reach “ (help-
ing to alter the election)
November 2008—“John Ortberg’s Les-
sons from the Election” (Ortberg is a
major player in the contemplative prayer
movement)
November 2008—”Listening and Learn-
ing in the Middle East ” (by anti-nation of
Israel Lynne Hybels)
Concludes on page 9
SPRING 2020