By Reverend Mark Hunnemann
Continued from Ghosts and the Great Evangelical Disaster, Part 1.
The title, The Great Evangelical Disaster, is borrowed from a book by Francis Schaeffer...my favorite author. I just finished reading it, and it is the most profound book I have read in a long time. To clarify, an evangelical is a bible believing Christian...specifically, they believe that the bible is without error, including where it touches on matters relating to science and history. In that sense of the word, then I am an evangelical....perhaps you are too.There is a disaster occurring right now in the Body of Christ...a horrible disaster. We are discussing this so that the question of ghosts is set in its proper historical context.
We noted that about 80 years ago there remained a Christian consensus in America. That does not mean that America was a Christian nation, or God's chosen nation, or that it was a golden era...it was none of these, and never has been. In fact, there were three area where Christians did an exceptionally lousy job: in the area of race relations, the compassionate making and using of wealth (unjust treatment of employees and idolatrous love of money), and the concept and practice of manifest destiny. With some exceptions, the church largely followed the world's lead in these three areas, instead of confronting these evils..
Having stated those qualifications, the American ethos was substantially Christian, and this brought in its wake much beauty and productivity--all across the spectrum of human life. Biblical knowledge was widespread, even amongst non-Christians. Because of this Christian consensus, there was an adequate foundation for meaning and morals.The real existence of the infinite-personal God meant that truth was truth. The source of truth was the unchanging character of God, and found in His loving communication with us--the bible.This held the nation together like supernatural super-glue..And we were blessed...
In the span of 80 years or so, the Christian consensus was lost. Perhaps the best way to illustrate this is in the radical shift in how we view truth. Before the shift, the basic law of non-contradiction was understood by virtually everyone.That simply means that something can't exist and not exist at the same time. The cow is either standing in the field or it's not. Jesus either bodily rose from the dead or He didn't. To say that He rose from the dead and that He didn't rise from the dead at the same time is a flat out contradiction. Right? .....Right?! As recently as 80 years ago, the answer from the average Joe would be, "of course you're right!"
I say this with tears, but in 2016 the answer would be "wrong"...at least amongst those affected by the anti-Christian consensus--which would be the vast majority of people.. In this short span of time almost everything distinctively Christian has been lost in our culture. Our quest for autonomous freedom (freedom from the restraints of God and His morality) has come at a steep price...we have become irrationalized. In his book The Closing of the American Mind., Professor Allen Bloom states that he knows one thing is certain of 99% of his incoming students--they are subjective relativists. Truth is no longer objective (rooted in God's unchanging holy character) but has become mere opinion, which changes from individual to individual. "Jesus rose from the dead may be your truth, but my truth is that Jesus did not rise from the dead. He was just a good man.." That is how we think, and it should make us weep. Basic logic is dead...beaten to death by demonic autonomous freedom.
The ethos or consensus of America today is anti-Christian and irrational. If you reject the God of truth, then the truth of God dies. The diabolical dust of death has settled upon our beloved country. Do you grasp the radical nature of this shift in our concept of truth? Man as man is dead, truth as truth is dead, meaning and morals are dead. Everything is now mere opinion, and if that is the case, then who can find fault with Hitler? Do you see the horror of great darkness in which we live?
I spoke with a woman tonight who lives in the southwest. On two occasions I have also talked to the demon/s that have possessed her, as they took over in mid-sentence. (please don't you ever do that....I did it, not because I am a special person,, but because I have a special calling to this field) I have several irrational, texts from her possessing demon/s stored in my cell phone. Tonight she asked me why all of her mirrors are breaking when she looks into them.I could multiply such horrible encounters that I have faced in last few years This is for real.
Once we rejected the truth of God as a nation, then two things happened (there are more): overt demonic activity has increased, and demonic irrationalism has gripped us by the throat.Do you really believe we are in spiritual warfare? Satan walks upon the Earth seeking ways to bend, twist, and demonize culture. A favorite tactic is the destruction of truth.I have never said this before publicly (I don't think), but this may be the beginning of the end.
What brought us to this point in a mere 80 years? Evangelicals did not confront the crucial issues of the day which were attacking our country like an army of suicide bombers. I quote Schaeffer, "Obedience to God's Word is the watershed. And the failure of the evangelical world to take a clear and distinctively biblical stand on the crucial issues of the day can only be seen as a failure to live under the full authority of God's Word in the full spectrum of life." The church is the guardian of culture, because Christ is King. When the guardian is silent, then society crumbles. That is what happened to cause the loss of a Christian consensus, and this disaster continues today.
What he is talking about is confrontation. Truth demands confrontation with error and evil. Yes, loving confrontation, but confrontation nonetheless. Satan never attacks on just one front; there are several crucial issues that Christian leaders are hesitant to be vocal about. Schaeffer also wrote A Christian Manifesto, where he quotes from a document written by myself and two other young seminarians at the time.
While at Covenant Seminary in St. Louis, I had a passion to confront the abortion issue. So, we held an orderly rally at an abortion clinic, and promptly got arrested. The three of us felt the need to write something to explain to the seminary community (especially the president) why we did what did. An acquaintance of mine, who knew Dr Schaeffer well, told us that Schaefffer was excited about what we had done. That made me feel humble and happy. So, he got a copy of our very brief biblical defense of our actions and quoted it.
There are several crucial issues evangelicals are accommodating to the world spirit merely by not confronting them. Not forcefully and publicly confronting them has the same net result as actually believing in the evil or error...the outcome is the same...This is rampant. It is in this context of sinful accomodation and not lovingly confronting evil and error, in which the topic of ghosts is being ignored and dismissed by almost all evangelical pastors and leaders. Hopefully, by now you don't need endless arguments to convince you that the notion of ghosts is is very significant and must be confronted. May the Lord raise up an army of rebels with a righteous cause.
Amen.
Read part 3: http://eyeontheparanormal.blogspot.com/2016/12/obedience-to-lordship-of-christ-and.html
Mark Hunnemann is the author of Seeing Ghosts Through God's Eyes: A Worldview Analysis of Earthbound Spirits. It's also available in eBook format.
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