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straw said:

I just think that 'heretic' is such as strong word to use about little lambs who have gone astray. I favour the idea of restoring such 'in the spirit of meekness' lest we be found commiting a greater sin, and that of passing the weight of eternal damnation on souls that are escaping but caught in something we can clearly see. It is always the matter of the old 2 x 4 that scatcheth the eyeball and causeth one to poke out the eye of the weaker one in the faith. After all we are in the ministry of saving and restoring, not discouraging and damning. Then who am I to pass judgment on such fine scholars as yourselves who spend many hours counselling and encouraging those who wander into cyberheaven. Then again, cyberheaven can get a little crowded when the elitest spirit is dominant, I am just saying open your hearts fellas, Jesus forgave and we aught to 70 x 7. No?

Straw,

When I read your sensitivities about using more gentle language, displaying meekness, and not violating someone's self esteem it makes me think about an interview I heard recently with a well-known pastor who expresses those same sentiments. His name is Rev. Robert Schuller. When he was asked about topics like the wrath of God, sin, repentance, faith, and the hope of glory he chooses to use softer words too but unfortunately as you will see he gets lost in the process. He is no longer teaching what Scripture says but he has developed a ministry philosophy focused on positive thinking and self esteem. Below is an excerpt from that interview.


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Schuller's false teaching is an extremely serious matter in light of his wide influence. His is the most popular religion television broadcast in America. His books sell by the millions. He appears with presidents. His "self-esteem Christianity" has been adopted by multitudes. These believe they are Christians and attend churches; but in reality, they worship a false christ and follow a false gospel. Robert Schuller and his mentor, the late Norman Vincent Peale, are two of the key culprits in promoting this error.

Schuller reinterprets the doctrines of the Word of God to conform to his self-esteem philosophy. His Christ is a Jesus who provides men with self-esteem.

Schuller's gospel is the replacement of negative self-concepts with positive ones. To Schuller, sin is merely the lack of self-esteem. To Schuller, the greatest evil is to call men sinners in a Biblical fashion and thereby injure their self-esteem. Schuller is a Universalist who believes that all people are the children of God. His goal is to help each person understand and enjoy this "fact." Bottom line, Schuller's message is that there is no need for one to recognize his own personal sin, no need for repentance, and no need for the crucifixion of self. In fact, concerning the latter point, Schuller teaches just the opposite philosophy -- that self is to be exalted -- which is nothing less than an outright denial of the Gospel of Jesus Christ:

(a) Personal Sin?: "What do I mean by sin?

Answer: Any human condition or act that robs God of glory by stripping one of his children of their right to divine dignity. I could offer another complementing answer: Sin is that deep lack of trust that separates me from God and leaves me with a sense of shame and unworthiness. I can offer still another answer: Sin is any act or thought that robs myself or another human being of his or her self-esteem" (Self-Esteem: The New Reformation, p. 14). In a 10/5/84 letter to Christianity Today, Schuller wrote, "I don't think anything has been done in the name of Christ and under the banner of Christianity that has proven more destructive to human personality and hence counterproductive to the evangelism enterprise than the often crude, uncouth, and unchristian strategy of attempting to make people aware of their lost and sinful condition" (cf. Romans 1:18-3:20).

(b) Repentance?:

In response to a question from Paul Crouch on Crouch's TBN 12/8/87 television show, concerning critic's claims that Schuller doesn't preach repentance, Schuller responded, "I preach repentance so positively, most people don't recognize it" (cf. Ezekiel 18:30-32).

(c) Denial of Self?:

One of Schuller's books, Self-Love: The Dynamic Force of Success, took Eric Fromm's humanistic self-love teachings and brought them into the church. In Self-Esteem: The New Reformation (Word Books, 1982), Schuller teaches that: (1) the church's problem is that it has had a God-centered theology for centuries, when it needs a man-centered one; (2) we're not bad, merely badly informed about how good we are; (3) it would be an insult to the integrity of any human being to call him a sinner; and (4) "Jesus knew His worth; His success fed His self-esteem. He suffered the cross to sanctify His self-esteem and He bore the cross to sanctify your self-esteem. The cross will sanctify the ego trip" (p. 115) (cf. Matt. 16:24). (See attached reports for more analysis and quotes from Self-Esteem: The New Reformation) [Schuller further amplified this latter thought on the 8/12/80 Phil Donahue Show; Schuller said, "Jesus had an ego. He said, 'I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me.' Wow, what an ego trip He was on!"]

- The following are highlights from an 11/92 radio interview with Robert Schuller; it provides a good snapshot summary of Schuller's perverted gospel of self:

QUESTIONER: Dr. Schuller, did you write "The unsaved person cannot perceive himself as worthy of divine grace and hence rejects it."?

SCHULLER: I may have said that because I am inclined to believe very definitely that the person who is lost and unsaved is afraid of the light. The person who is only used to darkness is afraid of the light and I think unsaved people do not consider themselves worthy enough; I think that's absolutely true, "While we were yet sinners Christ died for us."

QUESTIONER: But not while we were "worthy" Christ died for us?

SCHULLER: Listen, if Christ had died for somebody who wasn't worth anything that would have been a lousy deal. God is a good steward and he teaches us to be good stewards. God knows the worst sinner is worth saving so that he would die on a cross for us.

QUESTIONER: But if we are worth it, then it is not grace, it's merit.

SCHULLER: No, no. It means that we are still creatures of God, we are still sons of God. We have value. We still have value.

QUESTIONER: Would you be willing to address your congregation as a group as sinners?

SCHULLER: No I don't think I need to do that. ... My only concern is: I don't want to drive them farther away than they are! ... I do let people know how great their sins and miseries are. How do I do that? I don't do that by standing in a pulpit and telling them they're sinners. ... The way I do it is ask questions. Are you happy? Do you have problems, what are they? So then I come across as somebody who cares about them ... So the way I preach sin is by calling to attention what it does to them here and now, and their need for divine grace! ... I believe in heaven. I believe in hell. But I don't know what happens there. I don't take it literally that it's a fire that never stops burning.

QUESTIONER: As Jesus said it was?

SCHULLER: Jesus was not literal.

QUESTIONER: Justified from what? The wrath of God?

SCHULLER: Oh! I'll never use that language.

QUESTIONER: But the Bible does.

SCHULLER: Yes, the Bible does, but the Bible is ... a contradiction: Old Testament -- Law, New Testament -- Grace. Jesus is a contradiction; totally human and totally God.

QUESTIONER: Of course we would say that the dual nature of Christ is a "mystery" but not a contradiction.

SCHULLER: It is a contradiction, but you know what? Contradictions are ultimate points of creativity...

QUESTIONER: How could the cross, as you write, "sanctify the ego trip," and make us proud, in the light of passages that say, "I hate pride and arrogance (Prov. 8:13), "Pride goes before destruction" (Prov. 16:18),"The Lord detests all the proud" (Prov. 16:5), "Do not be proud" (Rom. 12:16), "Love does not boast, it is not proud" (1 Cor. 13:4). In fact Paul warns Timothy that in the last days men "will be lovers of themselves" (2 Tim. 3:2). ... Why should we do anything to encourage people to become "lovers of themselves" if Paul in fact warned others that that would be the state of godlessness in the last days?

SCHULLER: I hope you don't [preach this] because you could do a lot of damage to a lot of beautiful people. ... if you preach that text, oh man, I sure hope you give it the kind of interpretation that I do or, I'll tell you, you'll drive them farther away and they'll be madder than hell at you and they'll turn the Bible off, and they'll switch you off, and they'll turn on the rock music and Madonna. Just because it's in the Bible doesn't mean you should preach it. ... it is so difficult to preach some of those texts and not come across as lacking humility ...

QUESTIONER: Dr. Schuller, what do we tell someone who says, "I'm already happy and fulfilled, so why do I need the gospel?"

SCHULLER: I don't know ... I can't relate to that.

QUESTIONER: Ought we to pray, "Our father in heaven, honorable is our name"?

SCHULLER: (Silence)

QUESTIONER: That's a legitimate question?

SCHULLER: It may be a legitimate question but I think it's kind of a dumb question because I don't teach that. Ask someone who teaches it.

QUESTIONER: Well you wrote it on page 69 of Self-Esteem: The New Reformation.

SCHULLER: You know what, I'm tired now. You're laying so many heavy trips on me, and I wasn't prepared for this.

- Since Schuller will not preach from the pulpit the gospel of repentance of sin and faith in Jesus Christ, nor teach from the Bible, what then is the message he propagates? Los Angeles Times staff writer Bella Stumbo, after an extended interview with Schuller, wrote: "In short, Robert Schuller believes that God placed him on this Earth to preach possibility thinking" ("The Gospel of Success," 5/29/83, Los Angeles Times, p. 24). To underscore just how "vitally important" this message is, Schuller once wrote: "I believe in positive thinking. It is almost as important as the resurrection of Jesus Christ" (Michael Nason and Donna Nason, Robert Schuller: The Inside Story, 1983, p. 152).

- Schuller's "possibility thinking" replaces truth. It doesn't matter what or whom one believes, but only that one be positive. He argues that Biblical doctrine may have communicated to people in the past, but to our generation it seems so "negative" and offensive that it turns people off. So what is needed now is a "positive" gospel that everyone can accept. In an article in The Orange County Register, Schuller berated preachers "who spew forth their angry, hate-filled sermons of fire and brimstone." Explaining that the way to "tell the good religion from the bad religion" is whether it is "positive," Schuller exhorted "religious leaders ... whatever their theology ... to articulate their faith in positive terms." He then called for a "massive, united effort by leaders of all religions" to proclaim "the positive power ... of world-community-building religious values."

I know it can be hard to listen to someone who is over bearing, out spoken, and argumentative. I don't sense that attitude here. I believe the responses you have received are genuinely concerned for your spiritual well being and discerning truth from error. Even though we may rebuke you for promoting heresy it doesn't mean we don't care about you. Ecclesiasities 7:5 says "It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise than for a man to hear the song of fools." Proverbs 9:8 also says: "Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you."

I’d like to remind you that the Lord Jesus Christ didn’t hesitate to call the religious leaders of His day hypocrites, white washed sepultures, and sons of Satan. (see Luke 11:44; John 8:44) Schuller's philosophy would rebuke Jesus for not being more sensitive to the people. After all he might sound negative and destroy their self esteem. The question is... "who's being more loving and kind?" Jesus or Robert Schuller?


If you want to read the entire article you can find it here.

Additional Schuller quotes


Wes

When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died, my richest gain I count but loss and pour contempt on all my pride. - Isaac Watts