There Is a Difference

There is a Difference

By

Susan Seymour

Chapter 1

THE PARADIGM SHIFT

According to a popular Christian magazine, something is “brewing and stirring in this generation” and something “new and dynamic” is taking place in the church. The activism is a compassion-driven roll call for acts of social justice directed not only at mankind, but also planet earth, as “90% of evangelicals support green environmentalism.”1

The world is calling for all nations and all people to come together and share in the earth's “glorious” natural resources, weaving together all faiths and ideologies. This interaction is said to ultimately usher in a heavenly kingdom on earth. The call is so loud and persuasive that the churches are turning their ears to listen and lining up with other nations and creeds to participate in the great “paradigm shift.”

A “paradigm” is a system, a pattern, or simply put, a way of doing things. Christians have used the Bible as their pattern since it was written. The laws and commandments of God have long been our guide for how we “do things.” Nobody can easily persuade Christianity to abandon these truths and embrace another paradigm over night. But if given a decade, many in church can be motivated and influenced to slowly shift away from the foundation. The goal of those striving to dissolve foundational truth is to eventually bring Christianity into a completely different way of doing things.

“Paradigm shift” indicates a slow turning from one premise to another. It takes place through trends, practice, and repetition rather than one-time incidents. Lately, long-standing truth has been supplanted with true-sounding fabrications which use Scripture quite cleverly and even humbly. No longer is mankind's answer for salvation through the blood of Jesus (of the Bible), but a wider scope of salvation is now presented to include all of humanity.

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Since even the elect are deceived in the end times, we have to see another perspective. Even as we have become focused on people, there is also a new fervor for the “story of Jesus” in particular. However, in many cases (not all), the information about Him is misrepresented because the emphasis does not always represent the Christ of the Bible.

It seems anything of interest from movie plots, secular song lyrics, to viral videos can be called a parable in church. Just because a teacher calls something a parable or even uses a real parable from the Bible does not mean he applies it correctly. Proverbs 26:7 informs us that “the legs of the lame are not equal: so is a parable in the mouth of fools.”

Young people who have not been taught foundational truths of the Bible, but rather stories from television and movies, are embracing skewed slants on Scripture. They complain the Bible is “irrelevant” because its stories are unfit for our current culture. Distaste for the narrow field of information from the Bible is growing. A new hunger for a gospel that preaches truth from any story and from any source (even other religions) is gaining ground.

In these last days, the attack on Christianity (truth) is like never before. We shouldn't be surprised since God warned us in 2 Thessalonians 2:11 there would be “strong delusion” in the last days and in 2 Peter 2:2, the “way of truth shall be evil spoken of.” The attack is coming under the disguise of a new and better Christianity which is one reason why it's so deceiving. This coalition for a new Christianity prefers other names that are broader and less defining. The new rebellion's books agree more with each other than they do with Christianity. The new “emergent” doctrine claims to be the result of previous stages of history, consisting of prehistoric, ancient, medieval, modern, and now postmodern, each having built itself upon the previous concepts as new thought evolves.2 The proponents do not believe truth was true from the beginning and therefore never changes.

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In order for the Anti-Christ to gain world dominance, he must eliminate true Christianity and any loyal adherents. He attacks from within, a proven strategy, as we see traitor preachers praising the “death of Christianity in America.” Even though Satan has always attacked truth, the Bible tells us that “evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived” (2 Tim. 3:13). We are living in a time when there are more transgressors than ever before (Dan. 8:23). The church is now captivated by wolves in sheep's clothing. She is allured, not even considering Satan's weapon of mass destruction (appearing as an angel of light). “Strangers” are now leading the church away from the safety of the true shepherd.

In the Faith section of a local newspaper, an article entitled, “Dueling beliefs? Group sees vastly differing religions as complementary” opens the reader's mind to how “other religions strengthen their own faith, highlighting the similarities while making the differences a little less foreign.”4 Another article called, “Two faiths join for a meal,” praised when Muslims and Christians “prayed together in peace and respect” ignoring the difference that only one group actually prayed to God.5 God's Word is not silent on the subject, “Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers” (Is. 1:7).

If the local newspaper of a conservative, Christian region in America opens its doors to broader perspectives allowing truth in all religions, we can conclude the influence is far-reaching. Sadly, the effects of this fervent activism is even infiltrating faithful churches. The movement is subtle with an ability to fly under the radar as it humbly coaxes participation without any indication of its impending trap. A false notion of safety and the belief that “I would never participate in Satan's deception” has led a lot of Christians astray. Satan winks and assuredly pats us on the back when we feel invincible.

Today's average Christian is passive for truth. The Bible tells us that God sends “strong delusion” whenever we do not receive “the love of the truth” (2 Thess. 2:10). We must love truth and hold fast to sound doctrine like never before (Titus 1:9). Apathy is costing a generation their souls. We must be the salt preservative for this generation and refuse the spirit of the age. (The spirit of the age is what everyone does without question.) Who would question listening to another story, another prayer, or another view? It seems harmless enough just to listen, right?

As we lovingly embrace a more tolerant version of Christianity and allow flexibility into our definition of truth, we then welcome an infected virus into our camp. Given time, it spreads until there is no cure. What is currently being preached as real Christianity, yet open-minded Christianity, is not the real thing. Even though parts are real, it is the falsity that makes the whole corrupt. The new gospel is so flexible and compatible, it fits everyone's view of truth. Its new christ presented as the real, more loving, interpretation of the Bible quickly leads its followers into a deathtrap.