Recently, there was an interesting Facebook exchange on one of my 'friends' pages. I made a brief suggestion that the book "A Time of Departing" by Ray Yungen might be a helpful resource that addressed some of the comments. One of my 'friends' friends posted the following. I do not know this individual, but, rather than post my comments in that forum, I decided to post them here. It just didn't seem like Facebook was the appropriate place to enter into such a discussion. Below, I am posting his comment and my response:

Dale T. : Thanks for the suggestion, Jan. I clicked the link for the sample chapter (chapter 2) and read through it. (Rolling out the soapbox...) I should say first that I consider the Bible to be one of the great spiritual books of the world, containing some profound truths. I'm not a fundamentalist though, so in my view, a Bible-centered argument carries not so much weight. One Bible teaching I do try to live by is "JUDGE NOT", which to me means that our knowledge and wisdom is severly limited (compared to God's) and it's not our place to condemn the spiritual/religious practices of others, as long as they're not causing harm to another person. It's another statement of the Golden Rule. Many Christians (such as the author of this book), however well-intentioned, seem to have lost sight of this. The author seeks to draw lines and declare that "these practices over here are the True Christian Way, and all those other practices (even if the fruits of the practice are comparable!) are heretical and guided by Satan. This purist attitude has led to religious war for thousands of years and is, I think, one of the major stumbling blocks hindering our advancement as a species. I DO believe that God is present in us and in the world around us. If all was created by God, how could it be otherwise? Finally, I'd like to say that I offer these words as an honest exchange of ideas, and it's not my intent to attack anyone's beliefs. Thanks for your consideration.

My response:

Hello, Dale…I read this original post with interest. I don’t know you, of course, so that must be taken into account as I post this. It’s been awhile, and I sat down to do so a couple of times but, time just didn’t permit. To begin with, I will say that we have quite divergent views of the Bible. It has been my experience that most people I’ve met who share that particular view of the Bible as “one of the great spiritual books of the world” (which is a postmodern view) #1…have never read the entire book from Genesis to Revelation and /or #2, hold a similar view of God, Jesus and salvation. The truth is…God Himself does not share that particular viewpoint. He reveals Himself to be unchangeable, immutable, omniscient, omnipotent, entirely true and incapable of lying, Sovereign over all things; the ONLY way to heaven; the beginning and the end, creator of time and epochs (and everything else we know and don’t even know for that matter) and that’s just the beginning of the list. I must also take issue with some of your comments about judging. I agree that we, in the fallibility of our humanity can never see others through the same eyes of God. There are some things, like the heart, that only He can judge. At the same time; we are called in Scripture to hold one another accountable and to inspect the fruit of others in order to determine the impact their individual ‘walk’ will have on us and to avoid like-minded fellowship with those who are ungodly, distorting God’s Word intentionally, or knowingly, willingly, habitually allowing sin to rule their lives. In John 17, the passage known as Jesus’ High Priestly prayer, it is clear that He did not leave us to be separated physically from the world, but to be separate from the world in terms of spirituality, faith and world view. We are left in the world so that we can be the salt and reflection of God’s love, mercy and grace. Sometimes, that means calling a spade a spade, just as Jesus did when He was here.

God also calls people to be prophets and heralds for the protection of His people. So, when I read a book such as “A Time of Departing”, I read it from that perspective. And, as far as the golden rule goes…well, if I’m saying something that isn’t true, or if my theology is skewed especially if it is skewed to the point where it could lead other people astray, I sure hope someone would say something to me! As a teacher of the Bible, I am particularly cautious about that fact, and always tell my classes to be Bereans, just as Paul encouraged Christians to be in Scripture. And, as a Christian who does take Scripture literally, just the way God intended for us to as made clear in His Word, I am thankful for authors and teachers who will go out on a limb for God and expose the very kinds of things God warns us about and I appreciate Ray Yungen for taking that kind of a stand. Do I check them out against Scripture? Absolutely. It just so happens that I am aware through other sources of many of the things he writes about truly happening in Christendom today.

It also turns out that God Himself, Dale, has the very ‘purist’ attitude you mention. This ‘attitude’ is seen throughout Scripture. One of the names of God is Jehovah Quanna, which translated, means Jealous God. There are a number of reasons He is jealous. Among them is the fact that in His jealousy, He protects His people from those “wolves in sheep’s clothing” who would attempt to distort, steal and destroy their faith.

Another commonly held post-modern view of God is that He is a tolerant God. Well, that is also a misunderstanding of who God is. Today’s cultural view of tolerance includes being tolerant of sin; homosexuality, for example. The Bible makes it very clear that God cannot and will not tolerate sin, and that all sin will be judged, either at the Bema (Judgment) seat of Christ for believers and at the Great White Throne of Judgment for non-believers. That is what hell will be created for and we all, Christian or not, will someday be judged by God.

God knew, Dale, that man’s post-modern view of God (which in my opinion is the open door to a Godless view of the world) would happen. It’s predicted in the Bible. If you have read the Bible in its entirety; from Genesis to Revelation, you must know that the Bible really is a book of prophecy, centered on the revelation of Jesus Christ and God’s plan for His creation which is seen first in Genesis 3 and lastly in the book of Revelation. We are warned throughout Scripture; beginning in Genesis, and continuing on through the major Old Testament prophets (Daniel, Ezekiel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Joel, etc) and into the New Testament in the gospels, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, Jude, 2 Peter, 1John, Hebrews and Revelation, that many people will arise who distort the truth of God’s Word, attempting and sadly, often succeeding, in leading God’s ‘elect’ away from the protective truth of Scripture. Jesus Himself told us this was going to happen, so it really should come as no surprise to anyone who is a student of Scripture. It simply is a continued sign that the return of the Lord, and the Day of the Lord, are imminent. And, what I have learned, and am continuing to learn, is that it is far less important to debate people over that fact than it is to share God’s love and truth in a dark and hurting world so that when the Lord does return, more will be ready to join Him.

So, Dale, I stand by my recommendation. I think his book is a good and relevant assessment of what is happening in modern Christianity and is a good warning for Christians individually and for the church as a whole.