Well, look at this would you -- I knew Circuit Rider had been scouting around the Range -- looking over some of that undeveloped real
estate and he mentioned he had found this pit -- kind of unusual and also mentioned he wasn't sure what to do with it -- looks like he found something to do with it
rather quickly, since that's where we are at! You say that all you can see are clouds? Hey, that's extra thick FOG! This pit is so deep that we have this fog and it
costs me a fortune for the lighting system to brighten it up -- and CR is making me pay for it all! I should have known at the time that something was up, because
when he told me about it he addressed me by my full name, Theology, and he had that funny look in his eyes like when he was a kid and people would say,
"Look out! Clayton has that 'devilish look' in his eyes!" And look at the decor -- that cat for one thing -- oh, oh, now I remember -- he told me one time that
the cynic's definition of a theologian is more true sometimes than we may want to admit -- it goes something like this --
"A theologian is a blind man in a dark room at midnight looking for a black cat that isn't there!"
As I recall, back at Circuit Rider's Closet I had mentioned how I at times became corrupted and really messed things up. That German I referred to was Julius Wellhausen -- the guy who really took the axe, hatchet and chain saw to the Scriptures -- and a number of people bought into his crackpot ideas! As time passed the German church became infected and by the time that little beady eyed paper hanger with the mustache came on the scene, the church for the most part no longer could really discern too well between good and evil -- so the majority went along with A. Hitler and associates without objection! There were a few that objected but under Nazi domination protesters weren't around for very long! You want to see some of tragic results of perverted theology? Then take a walk through the Holocaust Museum
in Washington D.C. You'll have another opportunity to go to it in the Human Life Is Sacred area.
Eventually my corrupted influence impacted the United States starting with a number of seminaries. I remember the Circuit Rider telling how he was quite naive when he started in the ministry -- he assumed that all pastors and lay people who professed to be Christian believed the Bible -- his first rude awakening took place in New Castle PA in a ministers' book study group. One month the book discussed was written by a professor of what was considered an "elite" seminary in the eastern part of the U.S. The main theme of the book was a denial that there really is a personality identified as Satan and demons do not exist -- evil is just some kind of a malignant thing that seems to be the result of our not quite yet arriving at utopia via the evolutionary process -- or some such nonsense!
When the Circuit Rider questioned this stupidity, he was looked upon by some of his peers as one "who wasn't really with it, theologically!" And in "light" of that book, Circuit Rider wonders who that guy is that Peter refers to in his letter -- you know, where Peter says,
" Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings."
-- 1 Pet. 5:8,9 (NIV)
Alvin's Comment on Theology!
"Again, I must beg your pardon for intruding into what this Theo fellow is saying. He certainly has brought on a lot of calamity all over your planet due to his falling into a corrupted condition. On the other hand, on my planet we have no such problem as this with what you earthlings refer to as "theology" -- you can best begin to grasp this if you try to imagine what it was like in Eden before your grandparents, Adam and Eve, rebelled against their Creator. You see, God was in direct contact with them and they enjoyed the fellowship of His presence with them on a continuing basis. They knew and clearly understood what the expectations of their God were, and for a brief moment were totally obedient to Him in all things. Well, that is how it is with us now where I come from. Our grandparents didn't make the tragic mistake as did your Adam and Eve! So try to imagine how it would have been in succeeding generations if Adam and Eve had not rebelled -- an ongoing paradise of perfection -- now you are getting a bit of a handle on it, because that's how it is right now with us! We had heard about a planet whose inhabitants are described as a race of "fallen creatures" and born with a nature that is depraved and inclined to rebel against God and His moral code which He has set in place for a sane, orderly and peaceful creation. And the place where these creatures live is referred to as the "rebel planet!" Since arriving here, everywhere I look I see the evidence of all that! Well, enough for now -- Theo has much more to tell you as you explore the Theology Pit further."
Really my influence while being in a corrupted state has fouled up ministers, churches and the laity for a very long time now -- in fact, ever since the first act of rebellion took place back in Eden there is a replay of that whisper in every generation, "Has God really said that?" -- the fruit of this has yet to be fully manifested! It is not all that uncommon to hear denials of the authority of the Holy Scriptures -- even high profile apostates who speak of "errors" in the Scriptures and how limited they are -- denial of the miraculous events in the Old Testament period -- denial of miracles performed by Jesus -- ignoring or downplaying the significance of His death -- denial of His resurrection and on and on it goes! Consequently, we have arrived at a time that is strangely reminiscent of a period centuries ago -- the time of the Judges when "everyone did that which was right in his own eyes!" The mainline denominations, including the United Methodist Church, have been ravaged by my perversions of God's revealed truth -- the Circuit Rider really gets angry when he recalls how in his early years he learned of a young seminary student pastor whose faith was destroyed by a seminary professor who did not believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ -- the student left the ministry and a series of tragedies took place which will not be detailed here! There are those who are quick to defend professors saying that their job is to "challenge" students and their "faith" -- CR responds by saying professors are to exemplify the faith, affirm it again and again as centered in a living Savior, Jesus Christ -- and further to affirm the integrity, the reliability, and the full authority of God's inspired Word as stated by Paul in 2 Tim. 3:16, 17!! CR will go on to say that just because a guy or gal, as the case may be, sits behind a desk in a seminary or college classroom with a PhD or maybe 3 or 4 of them behind his or her name (maybe they even have a RFD too!!!), that doesn't make them an "authority"
on anything! There is more than an outside possibility that they may fall into the category of "theologian" as defined above!!
Well, you say -- the Circuit Rider seems to be pretty negative on this theology thing -- no, not really -- he says he has a "theology" that's been hammered out over the years and claims he has concentrated on the writings of the greatest theologian ever to produce written works on this planet -- and just WHO is this "greatest theologian" you ask? Well, my friend, are you sitting down -- you better -- OK, you're seated and ready for the name? Circuit Rider will tell you this "theologian" is the Holy Spirit! He has produced 66 books -- oh yes, and they have been put together into a book called the Bible!! CR will respond to those objecting to this by asking just what Jesus meant in John 14 through John 16 in those references to someone called the Holy Spirit Who would come and "teach" us -- He would guide us into the truth -- show us things to come, etc, etc. CR will also tell you he believes that Jesus meant precisely what He promised and fulfills it in the lives of those who take Him seriously!
Oh yes, there was the time that Circuit Rider and Jean attended a seminar for pastors who had recently graduated from seminary and were getting started in their ministerial careers -- although by this time CR had been pastoring for 7 years. The event was held in Baltimore MD -- the book highly exalted as THE BOOK of the age was something called "A Theology of Hope" and written by, wouldn't you know it -- another German -- those guys sure get around don't they? Circuit Rider's reaction to this? Simply that he has had a rock solid "theology of hope" ever since Jesus came into his life some years before and he had been preaching about it long before he ever heard of this "hot" new book -- you can read all about it in John 14:1-6 and 1 Peter 1:3-5. The most memorable part of that trip?? Being alone with Jean as they continued to honeymoon and some very delicious seafood meals in Baltimore -- let's see now, that German "theologian" -- what was his name again??????
Well, you say -- does Circuit Rider not ever read the writings of human theologians? Yes, he has, and as mentioned back in Range 1, he did extensive research on both European and American "theologians" -- one of his "favorites" (not favorite in the sense that CR really was enraptured with the guy, but "favorite" in the sense that the guy's head got cross threaded when it was screwed on!!) -- this character suggested that Jesus was likely the bastard son of a German soldier -- that is, that Mary became intimate with a guy who was an ancestor of the modern German people and this guy was a mercenary working for the Roman military! How's that for edifying you in your faith -- huh -- come on now, don't you feel better now that you know the "tabloid" facts of Jesus' background according to one who is a learned theologian???????
Of course, I, Theo, have to confess -- I played a part in this -- it was one of the low points of my life -- getting corrupted and defiled -- exerting influence on some individuals who were considered "authorities" in matters of theology -- like a chain reaction -- disseminated in seminaries -- infecting future ministers -- and they in turn spreading a lot of theological garbage to their congregations -- bad scene and it's getting worse -- Circuit Rider says if I would have just maintained a state of being as pure as I could have possibly been as in the days of the Wesleyan revival in England and in early colonial days of the U.S. what a difference it would make today -- but it didn't happen -- oh, what a disaster I have brought about!
The Circuit Rider says that everyone ought to learn to weigh and sift everything to which they are exposed -- the preaching of preachers -- the teaching of teachers -- the information that flows everyday through the mass media -- TV, radio, newspapers, magazines -- conversation coming from people whom they meet -- weighed and sifted in the light of God's Word and the Holy Spirit will give discernment as to whether it is true or false! That's part of His job here on earth according to Jesus -- check those passages in John again, plus the fact that Jesus' greatest warnings involved the possibility of being deceived -- if you don't believe it, then check out Matthew 24. And you can also look at 2 Peter 2 & 3, and Jude, just for starters!
CR says that after doing all that (the weighing & sifting thing) then you will find yourself doing what he often does,
that is, you'll deposit a lot of stuff in this
Ah, good way to take care of the problem of messed up theology, right? Just remember, you have to be very sensitive and determine if the "theology" to which you are being exposed has more life in it than this character -- oh, oh that looks like -- yes it is -- why that's old Julius W. himself beckoning -- don't come any closer and remember his kind is still around today, so be very, very careful --
--- he may appear in the form of a member of a church hierarchy, a clergy person "preaching" from a pulpit, a professor or an official of a seminary --- we are warned in the Scriptures about some who adorn themselves in a "religious cloak" and they can talk "Jesus talk" but the "Jesus" to whom they refer is not the true and genuine Son of God Who was crucified for our sins and then raised from the dead and the "gospel" to which they refer is but a twisted and badly distorted product of their own perverted imagination!
2 Cor. 3,4 -- But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.
Gal. 1:6,7 -- I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel -- which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.
Jude 4 -- For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.
(Ref's from NIV)
On the other hand, old Julius may appear as a professor in a college or university, a high school teacher, a TV talk show host who, trying to appear "intellectual" but miserably failing to do so, is not interested in the truth but more concerned with telling you how you ought to think about things, or a major TV network "news" (?) reporter who is not concerned with news as such, but rather with telling you how you ought to think about it, or a newspaper editor who takes the same approach, whether the publication is secular or religious -- OR a politician who blindly believes that government can take care of our every need from the "womb to the tomb" and tries to convince us that it is so -- be aware, friends, that the "spirit" of Julius W. lives on and encourages us to ignore the authority of God's plain revelation to us!! The tribe just described wants to strip Jesus Christ of His sovereignty, keep Him confined to the grave, and have Him capitulate to its perverted and unregenerate imaginations -- and in the process you are also expected to march to the drumbeat without question or objection!
Well, friend -- thanks for spending some time here in the "Pit" -- I still think that Circuit
Rider is a bit prejudiced -- he could have come up with a more dignified title than that! Just click below and you can
return back to the main area of Circuit Rider's Range, the Musings of a Maverick blog, or some other area, depending on
which route you took to get here, and continue your tour. Enjoy! :-)
Copyright 1998 - 2023 Clayton D. Harriger