http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/2007/07499.htm Article from PC(USA) website.
Dear friends, I can’t even begin to explain how much this article troubles me. This title was at the top of Yahoo! Religious News, and hit me like a ton of bricks. A “conversion code of conduct” is apparently in the works between the Catholic Church and an organization of which I have never heard called the World Council of Churches, an ecumenical group representing a whopping 347 churches worldwide. To give you an idea of the size of this organization…if every church in Cary, North Carolina (population ~80,000) were to join the organization, it would grow by 20 percent. Now that’s what I call a mandate!
Now that I have that out of my system, let’s delve into this article:
The code aims to ease tensions with Muslims, Hindus and other religious groups that fear losing adherents and resort to punishments as extreme as imprisonment and even death for converts from their faith and foreign missionaries. (AP)
The people that the Holy Spirit has called to the Gospel in these countries are examples to us all. Living in the “Bible Belt” of the USA, the only oppression we face is from the public education system, stand-up comics and the Discovery Channel. These champions of the faith risk death every minute of every day. What inspiration! The Apostle Paul faced similar persecution, and rejoiced in it. Philippians 1:19-21:
“For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (NKJV).
The audacity of these enemies of evangelism to proclaim that watering down the Gospel and preventing brave missionaries from preaching the Word is in someway benefiting them is truly disgusting.
(AP) Evangelization also has caused concern among the branches of Christianity because of the vigor with which Pentecostal and evangelical congregations have led the drive for conversions around the world, outstripping the growth of older churches. Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Brazil in May was partly a response to
the exodus of millions of Catholics to Protestant evangelical churches.
(From the PCUSA.org article) Tensions have also arisen among Christian denominations, including Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox, over what has been called “sheep stealing,” or engaging in conversion by encroaching into areas where one church has traditionally dominated.
“Sheep stealing”? So…liberating someone from the religiosity of their society to the Truth is unfair? Do we all have to have the same number of Lego blocks?! Jesus spoke to the Jews in John 10:27-29:
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.” (NKJV)
They demanded for demonstration of His claim as Savior, and He told them plainly that they that did not believe because they were not his sheep…they would never believe. His sheep know Him. The religious and social bonds of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches are not easily broken, but those whom He has called will follow Him, no matter how many restrictions and handicaps are put on those who preach the Truth.
Finally (saved the best for last), from the PCUSA article:
While preserving the right to propagate one’s faith, the code of conduct would emphasize respect for the faithful of any religion, noted Hermen Shastri, general secretary of the Council of Churches of Malaysia and co-moderator of the WCC’s Faith and Order Commission. “Religious preachers need to be told that no religion has monopoly to the truth, that there are many ways to find salvation,” said Shastri.
I am literally shaking my head. Mr. Shastri’s group, the Council of Churches of Malaysia, states the following as the first sentence of their mission:
[The Council is founded] on a common belief that God has revealed His eternal purpose for mankind in His Son Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit. Its members accept the scriptures of the old and new testaments as the supreme standard of faith and practice, and confess their common faith as expressed in the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds.
This is what the delusion of the Gospel message under the banner of ecumenism has accomplished. A prominent member of an organization that is representing (without authority. mind you) Protestant denominations worldwide declares that there is no truth, and there are multiple avenues of salvation. Wow. I don’t need to break down the Greek language or provide contextual proof. Our Lord Jesus Christ said it all in John 14:6:
“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’” (NKJV)
I’ve been at this for about an hour now, and it commands much more of my time, but I need to get some sleep.
Please pray for God’s Will to be done in our lives; my grandfather suffered a heart attack this afternoon, and we are still awaiting a prognosis. Pray for strength for my family and I, and that in this experience and trauma that
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