Theological Literacy in Today's Church - Moralistic Therapeutic Deism

This is the final part in my series on Theological Literacy in Today's church. It has been very eye opening to me as I researched and worked through the issues that I addressed. To those that have looked at it and have been enlightened and blessed, I thank you for reading it.


In the original article, my final point was in regards to preaching of pop psychology vs the Biblical Gospel. My research showed that this is better known as Moralistic Therapeutic Deism (MTD). The basic points of MTD are:

• A God exists who created and order the world and watches over human life on earth. 
• God wants people to be good, nice, fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.
• The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.
• God does not need to be particularly involved in one's life except when God is needed to resolve a problem.
• Good people go to heaven when they die.

Source: Modern Reformation (Nov-Dec, 2010)

I would submit that the ripe fruit of the seeds that are planted by the Modern Evangelical Church is MTD. One should not be surprised that this is what most teens today believe. The church for many years has been preaching what most people want to hear. 

[3] For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, [4] and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. [5] As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.(2 Timothy 4:3-5 ESV) 

Humanism is alive and well in the Church. I was recently made aware of a sermon by Paris Reidhead entitled "Ten Shekels and a Shirt" (Hat tip Cameron Beuttel). This sermon beautifully illustrates the state of the church today and yet it was made in about 1965 (Could not find the specific date so if you know it please leave a comment below). This would remind me, as a dear brother in the Lord also did that there is nothing new under the sun.  


However how is one as a Christian suppose to respond to this heresy that has entered the church. First we need to address how we got here. Many of the materials that are used for Bible study, I believe have lead us to this current point. One such item is Eugene Peterson's "The Message Bible". Many in the church today have elevated this to a level that is on par with inspired scripture itself. This book is handed to church members and it is almost never explained to be a paraphrase. There is no guidance that it should not be the main Bible that one uses. One knows that something is up with this paraphrase when the author of this work says that it shouldn't be a person's primary source for bible study or preaching. 

The reason so many were surprised at Rob Bell is that his heresy was eased into the church as a wolf in sheeps clothing. The hip and highly stylized Nooma videos have been used greatly. The ones that I have seen do not engage the viewer to think in a meaningful way when looking at scripture. They often produce isogesis of the text rather than clear Biblical exegesis. They are shown in churches and Bible studies and this opens the door for the wolf to easily devour people. The next time the church members are in a "Christian Book Store" they see one of Rob Bell's books and think that what it teaches must be orthodox. My church has not even spoken out against the most recent Rob Bell book, even though one of the pastor's believes it to be unorthodox and "Ticked him off."

Finally the emphasis on social justice programs are the last leg in this stool. Many churches have programs for feeding the poor and homeless, doing yard work for single moms, and reaching out to battered women's shelters. Although these are things that I firmly believe should be done, however it has become a replacement for the Gospel. "You must live the Gospel." is what is said from the pulpit, however I would say that this is impossible. The Gospel is "Good News". One would not try to live out the front page of the newspaper or the lead story on the nightly news any more than they can the Gospel.

What the church needs to do to combat MTD is to proclaim the gospel. Teach the law to the church so that it reveals how utterly dirty and depraved their sin is. Then share the life, death, and resurection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Call the lost to repentance instead of just giving them a neat lawn, food in their belly, and clothes for their back. Because when that is all that we give people we just make them comfortable on their way to hell. 

Evangelism in the Marketplace

For the past several weeks I have been going to a Way of the Master class at a friends church. The class was being held in preparation for the Roseville Street Market. This was my first night and little did I know how profound an affect that it would have on me.  

I have been doing one on one evangelism for the past several weeks and in the past week and a half or so a fear had overcome me. I had not shared my faith for almost a week except for just before Sunday's class. We had homework and I had to get it done.  I have been doing it because I truly have a heart for the lost but I think that some pride had crept into my thinking, which in turn became fear.  

The first few encounters of this evening seemed rather superficial to me. I have a very formulaic way of doing things. I have ADD and having a process is good for me, however I can sometimes loose sight of why I am doing something. I fall into just going through the motions. I felt like I was going into that mode this evening until Toby came to the booth. 

A group of kids came by the booth and one stepped up to take the test who professed to be a Christian. One of the friends he was with was prodded by the rest of the group to take the test and he stepped up. He was a rather big young man with long straight brown hair under a loose nit ski cap of sorts that lightly flopped over to one side.  He had a lip piercing that was a half circle with spikes on both ends.  He wore an Ozfest t-shirt with a long sleeve unbuttoned flannel shirt over it. His black skinny jeans and hightop shoes completed the ensemble.  

Our booth has a sign that asks if you think you are a good person and urges them to take the test.  I like to start the conversation with a question that turns things to the eternal rather quickly.  

"So I would like to begin by asking you what do you think happens after you die?" 

I could tell he was a little hesitant and I encouraged him to be honest and really tell me what he thought.  He replied that he really did not know.  He said that some people say you go to heaven or to hell.  

"So do you have a faith background?" I asked, because I wanted to know what was really in there. I was not prepared for his answer.  

"You will hate me if I tell you." he replied in a rather low tone.  

"I will not hate you, you won't offend me, so please tell me." I said. 

"My family and I are satanists." he replied again in a low voice. He went on to explain that he had been beaten up in the past for this and that some people had actually cut swastikas into his skin because his grandfather was a Neo Nazi. 

I then began to ask him about what the satanic view of the afterlife was.  He basically explained that it was that you were going to hell, but not the kind that others talk about.  It is whatever you believe to be the most fun and pleasurable things. I decided to not go into the ten commandments yet because I believed that the groundwork for what the true punishment of hell was like needed to be laid down first.  I spent about five minutes doing that and then proceeded with the "Good Test."

"So there are a set of standards or laws that have been set up and they are the ten commandments. God's rules if you will." I said. He had not heard of them and I told him that was all right that I would be going through a few of them and would lead him through them.  

He professed that he would be guilty and I asked if he was concerned about what the punishment of hell and he said that he hadn't really thought about it. I knew that his heart had not been fully convicted by the law and that he was not ready to have the good news shared yet. Some further preparation of the "soil" needed to be done. I explained that we are all at enmity with God and that all have fallen short and have sinned before a holy God. I put myself in the same boat with him as being deserving of eternal wrath and punishment.  I could tell that he was beginning to understand.  

He said that he had heard a lot of it before. He had a friend that "forced" him to go with her to a youth group on Wednesday nights. I then told him that it wasn't by simply stating Jesus' name as he might have heard someplace that there was something more to it.  I could see that a light had gone on and that he wanted to know more.  It was at this point that I explained repentance and faith to him. This it seemed he had not heard before.  I asked him if he would think about the things that we had talked about and he said that he would.  I gave him one of the New Testaments that we had there and the "Why Christianity" tract.

By this point all of the members of the ministry team were there talking with him and encouraging him to come back in the weeks to come if he had any questions.  I would have liked to have had a better ending because I am the kind of person that tends to be results oriented.  But what I took away from this encounter is very profound.  

Now this is going to be a strong statement, but please bear with me.  Before any of us are Christians, we are all Satanists at heart.  

[5] For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. [6] For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. [7] For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. [8] Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. (Romans 8:5-8 ESV)

My heart was in anguish over this young man. Then it dawned on me that all of the lost people that had come by the booth that evening were on the same path. One of my friends and ministry leaders for the Church that sponsored the booth had left and came back after we had wrapped things up with Toby. I told him that of all the encounters this was the one that I was going to take with me for the night.  I had poured out everything in this encounter and realized that all of the ones before needed just as much poured into them.

I really believe that no friendship evangelism method would have, or has been, effective in situations like this. This single encounter made it all more poignant to me that we must go out and spread the word.

[13] For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

[14] How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? [15] And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” (Romans 10:13-15 ESV)

My prayer is that I will not come to a point of "going through the motions".  That I will have a heart to spread the word and share the gospel more and more each day.  The words that are spoke at the end of the Way of the Master Minutes is very real to me more than ever: "There goes another minute, gone forever.  Go share your faith while you still have time."