Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Hank Speaks Out on Newsweek Cover Story & Editorial attacking the authority of the Bible!

The recent edition of Newsweek claims:

"Opponents of gay marriage often cite Scripture. But what the Bible teaches about love argues for the other side."

Hank Hanegraaff: I spoke about this last week but due to its tremendous significance I would like to again address the issue of the recent Newsweek article on homosexuality and marriage. We talked about this issue in depth on the December 15th, 2008 edition of the Bible Answer Man with Joe Dallas. You can access the archive of this off our Website at http://www.equip.org/, by clicking on Today’s Broadcast on the left side.

I don’t know if you’ve seen the cover artwork for the recent issue of Newsweek, it’s singularly devoted to the Bible. What you see is a black Bible on a stark white cover with a multi colored ribbon coming out of it. While the cover shows the Bible, the contents undermine the Bible.

John Meacham in From The Editor’s Desk says, “No matter what one thinks about gay rights—for, against or somewhere in between —this conservative resort to biblical authority is the worst kind of fundamentalism. Given the history of the making of the Scriptures and the millennia of critical attention scholars and others have given to the stories and injunctions that come to us in the Hebrew Bible and the Christian New Testament, to argue that something is so because it is in the Bible is more than intellectually bankrupt—it is unserious, and unworthy of the great Judeo-Christian tradition.” Meacham goes on to further argue that sexual orientation in not a choice but intrinsic to a person’s makeup, that Biblical passages that condemn homosexuality with equal veracity forbid particular haircuts, and that Christians use the Bible to justify and perpetuate slavery.

Religion Editor of Newsweek Lisa Miller is equally dogmatic. She says the Bible endorses slavery and provides conceptual shelter for anti-Semites.

In truth the Bible roundly denounces slavery as sin. The New Testament goes as far as to put slave trades in the category as murderers, adulterers, perverts and liars (1 Timothy 1:9-10). While the Bible as a whole recognizes the reality of slavery, it never promotes the practices of slavery. It was the application of Biblical principles that ultimately led to the overthrow of slavery not only in ancient Israel but in the United States of America as well. Israel’s liberation from slavery in Egypt was a model for the liberation of slaves in general. In American many today are waking up to the liberating truth that all people are created by God with innate equality.

Lisa Miller’s assertion that Bible provides conceptual shelter for anti-Semites is just as outrageous. As is obvious to any unbiased person from a scholar to a school child the New Testament is anything but Anti-Semitic. Jesus, the twelve apostles, and Paul were all Jewish. In fact, Christians proudly refer to their heritage as the Judeo-Christian tradition. In the book of Hebrews, Christians are reminded of Jews from David to Daniel who are members of the Hall of Fame of Faith. Christian children grow up with Jews as their hero’s. From their mother’s knee to Sunday school class children are treated to Old Testament stories of great Jewish men and women of faith from Moses to Mary, from Ezekiel to Esther. The Bible goes to great lengths to underscore the fact that when it comes to faith there is no distinction between Jew and Gentile and that Jewish people through the generations are no more responsible for Christ’s death than anyone else.


Miller and Meacham I think owe the world an apology for perpetuating an idiosyncratic form of fundamentalism that foments bigotry and hatred by entertaining the absurd notion that the Bible provides conceptual shelter for anti-Semitism. It’s about time we put the record straight. It’s about time that we learn that truth is under siege. Because it is under siege we have to equip an army of people with supplies so that they can answer these kinds of outrages.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think apologetics has its place, and I in part agree with speaking out on issues that perpetuate against what the Bible teaches. I don’t ever believe that a ministry (church or parachurch) should be involved in a war against the world on anything but the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Let's let the false converts (like Rick Warren) who are making nicey nicey with the world handle these issues. We as true disciples of Jesus need to be actively engaged in a preaching of the Gospel, this IS THE MAIN THING Matthew 28:16-20. The world will always be in error, it will also always be hating Christianity and the Holy Scriptures. It will always be telling lies about the Bible and its truth, quite frankly because the world knows not the truth of the Scripture because there is no knowledge from the Spirit of the Living God.
My friends, don’t you understand that if you preach the Gospel (like brother Paul Washer or Brother Ray Comfort are doing, or like Brother Spurgeon or Brother Tozer DID) God WILL reveal HIS people!?! Just read the whole chapter of John 15 and if the Spirit teaches you, you will understand.
This is what Jesus' True church will be doing: Preaching the Gospel, When God reveals HIS people through a conviction by The Holy Spirit, you bring His people in the Church and teach them to observe the commands of Jesus. This is the historic Christian faith.
Lets stop yelling at the world who hates us, Lets stop trying to disciple GOATS and FALSE CONVERTS, and can we PLEASE (church and parachurch) get back to the MAIN THING!!!
For further insight: please watch brother Paul Washer's Ten indictments against the Church, you can find it on the web at - ten indictments dot com -
Apologetics has its place and its place is this, to put the glorious Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to such an elevated position, that the world is screaming against it! May God's Saints go back to doing what we should be doing!

Ken said...

Sean;
I appreciate your passion and it is not misplaced.

I would respectfully submit that when very, very popular media outlets such as Newsweek are misinforming the culture at large as to the contents of the Bible we are to speak out in response.

I personally did so in this post.

May God richly bless you and you Hank,

aDios,
Mariano