Remaking Christianity?

We have to be so convinced of the truth of the gospel that we can recognize the counterfeits - the distortions of Biblical truth, that seem so commonplace in our world today. Galatians 1 states this:
6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel,
7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.
8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.
9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.

The Church at Galatia had allowed other ideas to creep in and distort their thinking - there were those who had apparently embraced a doctrine of works-based righteousness, and Paul was calling them out. There are those who want to "deconstruct" from Christianity when the fact is that they have not been practicing true Christianity.  People want to "remake" Christianity in their own image, rather than to walk in what reflects the true image of God. 

+++++

Throughout human history, humanity has attempted to construct religious systems based on false gods - "graven images," that do not reflect the image of God. Exodus 20, in the leadoff to the passage containing the 10 Commandments, we find these words:
2 "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 You shall have no other gods before Me.
4 "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;
5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

It's no secret, the Chinese Communist Party is devoted to world domination - economically, militarily...and spiritually.  In fact, a Chinese pastor with the state-sanctioned "Three-Self" movement has said that the CCP wants to "change the face of world Christianity," according to a recent report on The Christian Post website. 

The article cites recent coverage by the magazine Bitter Winter, stating:

According to the report, the "Training Meeting for Key Pastors of the Northeast China Christian Region" held June 27-30 in the northeast Jilin province was the launch of a "grandiose" plan from Chinese President Xi Jinping and the CCP.

As part of the nationally-broadcast conference, Pastor Kan Baoping of the China Christian Three-Self Patriotic Movement Committee and Pastor Shan Weixiang of the China Christian Council were reportedly among the speakers at the conference.

The Christian Post article goes on to say:

In his speech centered on "Christianity adapted to a socialist society," Kan predicted the Three-Self Movement would help amplify the message of "the successful experience of the Sinicization of Christianity."

"We will change the face of world Christianity," Pastor Kan reportedly told the conference.

While the term "sinicization" has been used by CCP authorities to describe bringing Christian groups in line with cultural and historical Chinese traditions, critics argue that the "fundamental purpose of the Sinicization of Christianity is to transform and alienate Christianity."

The article references the Christian group, China Aid, which has said that the CCP "hopes to reduce Christianity to the point that it operates as a tool, turning it into 'Pseudo-Christianity.'"

Sorry to say, this phenomenon is not limited to Chinese officials.  There seems to be plenty of "face-changing" of Biblical Christianity to go around.  And, that is why we have to have a strong, operative knowledge of the Scriptures, so that we follow the Word rather than the whims of religious types who want to change the meaning of what it means to be Christian.

We have traditional confessions of our faith, such as the Lord's Prayer, the Westminster Confession, and the Apostles' Creed.  But, now a progressive "minister" has developed the Sparkle Creed, born not out of divine inspiration, but out of a voice-to-text experience.  The Washington Stand has this:

“Let us confess our faith today in the words of the Sparkle Creed.” Thus Pastor Anna Helgenled the congregants of Edina Community Lutheran Church, an ELCA member in a Minneapolis suburb, which has been “LGBTQIA+ inclusive” since 1985. “I think it’s a stretch to call this a church,” said Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, because “to be a Christian is to follow Christ.” While historic creeds distill the Christian faith to clarify truth and error, the “Sparkle Creed” is neither historic nor Christian. It is, however, clarifying.

The Sparkle Creed was drafted during June 2021 by Rachel Small-Stokes, a queer-identifying minister of the United Church of Christ (which, despite bearing Christ’s name, now has little to do either with him or its New England Puritan roots). Small-Stokes explained its backstory, “I was voice-to-texting ‘the Apostles’ Creed’ to a colleague, and it translated as ‘The Sparkle Creed.’ I decided that’s exactly what we need for Pride Month. So here’s my first jab at it. Feel free to share if it moves you.” Since then, it has evidently exploded in popularity among progressive congregations. 

So, here is "The Sparkle Creed:"

“I believe in the non-binary God whose pronouns are plural.

“I believe in Jesus Christ, their child, who wore a fabulous tunic and had two dads and saw everyone as a sibling-child of God.

“I believe in the rainbow Spirit, who shatters our image of one white light and refracts it into a rainbow of gorgeous diversity.

“I believe in the church of everyday saints as numerous, creative, and resilient as patches on the AIDS quilt, whose feet are grounded in mud and whose eyes gaze at the stars in wonder.

“I believe in the calling to each of us that love is love is love, so beloved, let us love.

“I believe, glorious God. Help my unbelief.

“Amen.”

Tony Perkins is quoted as saying: “When Christian denominations reject the word of God … you can end up anywhere,” adding, “This is the extreme, but it is the logical conclusion of those who reject God as the Creator, making boys and girls, boys and girls, and creating us in His image.” Perkins called it “blasphemous” and “modern idolatry, where we create God in our own image rather than seeking a relationship with the one who created us in his image.”

Meanwhile, Todd Starnes reports that the Archbishop of York, in the Church of England, has decided that he has an issue with Jesus and the patriarchy of the church. In a recent message, he said: “For if this God to whom we pray is ‘Father’ — and, yes, I know the word ‘father’ is problematic for those whose experience of earthly fathers has been destructive and abusive, and for all of us have labored rather too much from an oppressively, patriarchal grip on life,” and added, “Then those of us who say this prayer together, whether we like it or not, whether we acknowledge it or not, even if we determinedly face away from each other, only turning round in order to put a knife in the back of the person standing behind us, are sisters and brothers, family members, the household of God.”

Starnes quotes Canon Chris Sugden of the conservative Anglican Mainstream group, who asked, “Is the archbishop of York saying Jesus was wrong or that Jesus was not pastorally aware?” and stated, “It seems to be emblematic of the approach of some church leaders to take their cues from culture rather than Scripture.”

Starnes referenced a report from The Guardian, stating: "Christians have recognized since ancient times that God is neither male nor female,” the Guardian reported the church saying in a statement announcing the creation of a commission to study gendered language. “Yet the variety of ways of addressing and describing God found in Scripture has not always been reflected in our worship.”

It seems to be quite popular these days to try to "remake" Christianity, to do, as the Chinese overlords desire to do, "change the face of world Christianity."  But, Christianity doesn't need to be "re-made" and those who desire to do so attempt it at their spiritual peril.

But, we are finding in our world today people who want to make Christianity in their own image - to either distort the basics and add humanistic or secularistic elements, or to take a progressive platform and put a "God-stamp" on it to make it seem Biblical.  That's why Christian believers need to know the truth and incorporate it into their lives.  We have to discern between good and evil and be diligent to allow a Christian worldview to be the basis of our thinking and acting.  We have to be aware of "false gods" and "graven images" that are inconsistent with the truth and image of God.