What could be wrong with Christian men uniting to become more godly?
What could be wrong with men assuming leadership in marriage? What could be
wrong with promoting the virtues of sexual integrity, parental responsibilty
and church devotion?
Well, of course, there is everything right and
nothing wrong with becoming more godly, assuming leadership, sexual integrity,
etc . There is a fundamental problem, however, with the Promise Keepers'
approach to the Gospel and to the way godliness is achieved in the life of a
believer. It is an approach that has attracted Catholics and Mormons as well.
Promise Keepers is committed to reaching across denominational
barriers in an effort to unite men. And they have been successful in doing
that. Promise Keepers supporters and sponsors include Evangelicals, Catholics,
Lutherans, Presbyterians, Methodists, Episcopalians, Charismatics, Catholics,
Mormons and others. These groups have been divided by major doctrinal
differences for many years. But now these differences are being dropped for the
sake of unity. The very fact that both the Roman Catholic and Mormon churches
have officially declared that they find no conflict between PK teaching and
their own doctrines ought to tell you that something is seriously wrong. This
seems to be an ecumenicalism of proportions never experienced since the
Reformation.
There have been single issues, such as abortion,
pornography, and prohibition, that have drawn a spectrum of churches together,
but none have reached the popularity and ecumenicalism of the Promise Keepers.
Promise Keepers is a burgeoning force in American Christianity. With the goal
of Point Men in every church, one cannot ignore its influence. Beneath the
emotional hype, camaraderie, enthusiastic speakers, songs, and cheers, Promise
Keepers champions a psycho-spiritual, ecumenical and political agenda.
Those who get involved with Promise Keepers are trained in a mixture of
humanistic psychology and corrupt Christianity. Men attending a massive 1993
Promise Keepers conference were given complimentary copies of The Masculine
Journey: Understanding the Six Stages of Manhood by psychotherapist Robert
Hicks. In a review of this book, T.A. McMahon notes:
"The book, written to help 'provide directions for a man's life so that he doesn't get lost along the way,' is mainly psychologically biased conjecture centering around six Hebrew words. In chapter after chapter, subjective insights into manhood are offered through quotes by a host of secular authors with a psychological bent, including Carl Jung, inner-healing therapist Leanne Payne, transpersonal psychiatrist/spiritualist Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, and Sam Keen, former theologian in residence at Esalen, the New Age/Eastern mystical therapeutic center south of San Francisco.
The Promise Keepers' movement is part
of an ecumenical trend of down-playing doctrine for unity that puts aside
essential theological issues in order to promote a unity which is not biblical
unity. Are false doctrines being addressed? Are the people in these churches
challenged to flee their false religious systems? The answer is "No." Key
foundational issues have been dropped, all for the sake of supposed unity.
The men who are reached through this ministry are not necessarily brought
into sound New Testament churches and grounded in the truth. They are not being
taught to keep themselves pure from apostasy and heresy. They are not being
trained in discerning false gospels from the true. Rather they will be
instructed in unscriptural ecumenism as they are sent back to their church
congregation or parish to become active laymen. They are being taught that
doctrine is not crucial, that to fight for the truth is unspiritual. They are
even being encouraged to accept apostate denominations as genuine expressions
of Christianity. There is so much theological diversity among those involved
with Promise Keepers that no in-depth discussion of Scripture or what it means
to be a Christian could take place without tearing the movement apart. If one
followed the doctrines of some of the groups involved in this movement, one
could not even be a Christian. And if one is not a Christian, nothing that
person does will enable him or her to be godly.
Though we can rejoice
that men may get saved and their lives turn around for the good, yet results in
and of themselves do not necessarily mean the movement has God's approval or
that the methods Promise Keepers uses are right and in conformity to the will
of God. Numbers 20 provides a classic example of this. Moses was commanded by
God to strike the rock (Ex. 17:5) and speak to it (Num. 20:8) and water would
come forth miraculously to supply the needs of the Israelites and their
animals. In a fit of rage and frustration over the rebellious attitudes and
complaints of Israel, Moses angrily struck the rock twice and water came out of
the rock in abundance to quench the thirst of millions of people and animals.
God graciously displayed His supernatural power and performed a miracle in the
presence of the entire assembly. Yet, did God approve of Moses' methods? Did
the visible result of water coming out in abundance demonstrate God's hand of
blessing was upon Moses' work? No, his disobedience was noted and as
punishment, he was forbidden to enter the Promised Land. "The good results that
were publicly displayed did not justify the wrong way in which God's will was
carried out" (Axioms of Separation, p. 14). The same is true about Promise
Keepers.
Other Modern Ecumenical Movements
- (ECT) Evangelicals and Catholics
Together
- Freemasonry
- The New Age Movement
- Baha'i World Faith
- Pro-Life
Movement
