Charles Colson is the
founder of Prison Fellowship Ministries and host of the
radio program Flashpoint. Formerly Anglican and now
Southern Baptist, he holds to Protestant distinctives but works
for unity with like-minded Catholics, believing the two groups
have more commonalities than differences. Colson was a leading architect
of the declaration "Evangelicals and Catholics Together." Titles Written by Chares Colson:
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Answers to Your Kids' Questions;
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Being the Body; Born Again;
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Gideon's Torch; How Now Shall We Live?;
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Loving God; Science and Evolution;
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Six Million Angels.
"The Postmodern Redirection of Motivation for Evangelism"
Charles Colson:
1. "Those converted -- whether understood as having received the new birth for the first time or as having experienced the reawakening of the new birth originally bestowed in the sacrament of baptism -- must be given full freedom and respect as they discern and decide the community in which they will live their new life in Christ."
(1994 The Christian Mission in the Third Millennium) [Herein, Mr. Colson gives credence to the perverted doctrines baptismal regeneration and sacramentalism, Roman Catholicism's official teaching, which is another gospel according to Scripture.]
2. "The Christian life begins with spiritual
restoration, which God works through the preaching of his Word, prayer, the
sacraments, worship, and the exercise of spiritual gifts within a
local church."
(1999, How Now Shall We Live, p 296)[[Again, Mr. Colson demonstrates
his error of promoting the perverted gospel of sacramentalism.]]
3."The most hopeful words from any Christian leader today have come from John Paul II...."
(1999, How Now Shall We Live, pp 302-303)[[By proclaiming the Roman pope, a man who promotes another gospel, to be a "Christian leader," Mr. Colson effectively reveals that his understanding of what it means to be a "Christian" is utterly unbiblical. Mr. Colson promotes two different gospels as if they are the same. This cannot be of the Lord and is far more than a simple mistake. Regarding this grave doctrinal error, Mr. Colson has been repeatedly and lovingly confronted by many faithful Christian brethren.]]
4. "The time is ripe for a message that the social peace and personal fulfillment people really crave are available only in Christianity."
(1999, How Now Shall We Live, p 303)[[The pursuit of social peace and personal fulfillment is NOT the biblical motivation for evangelism. Those who attempt to become "Christians" only to pursue such goals of human fulfillment are embracing another gospel, a gospel centered on self-fulfillment rather than repentance from dead works and faith and trust in the finished work of Christ Jesus alone. A biblical Christ-centered faith results in total abandonment of self to God, rather than the self-centered pursuit Mr. Colson proposes.]]
5. "But if we are to have an impact on our culture, the beginning point must be to take our stand united in Christ, making a conscious effort among all true believers to come together across racial, ethnic, andconfessional lines."
(1999, How Now Shall We Live, p 303)[[Here we see Mr. Colson's ecumenical false gospel combined with the popular cry for social justice. If the differences between two "confessional lines" of belief present opposing views of how a person obtains salvation, how then can Mr. Colson proclaim those who hold to either of these "confessional lines" to be "true believers"? Of course, this false "unity" can only be accomplished by promoting both "confessional lines" as if they are both proclaiming the same gospel. In spite of the fact that he denies doing this, Mr. Colson's own words demonstrate the truth that he is promoting another gospel as equal to the Gospel of Christ.]]
6. "ECT's joint statements have emphasized the great truths of the faith we hold in common without compromising the very real doctrinal differences that continue to exist."
(1999, How Now Shall We Live, p 304) [[Truth does not change simply by continuing to oppose it. No matter how many times Mr. Colson may say that he has not compromised the Gospel of Christ, he has repeatedly and publicly done so. No matter how many times his defenders point to his good motives, this can not change the facts of the matter. Good motives do not always equal the truth. The broad road to Hell is paved with the good intentions of men.]]
7. "We must not allow our witness as Christians to be compromised by... needlessly divisive disputes." "[We affirm] Catholics who are conscientiously faithful to the teachings of the Catholic Church and as disciples together of the Lord Jesus Christ...."
(1997, The Gift of Salvation - ECT-II) [The official teachings of the Roman Catholic Church promote a sacramental religious-works gospel. This is another gospel and certainly NOT a "needlessly divisive dispute," but rather this is a pivotal issue regarding the very essence of the Gospel of Christ.]]
8. "...Catholics and Protestants must stand
side by side.... Then, standing together as the people of God, we must obey
the two great commissions : first to win the lost and then to build a
culture."
(1999, How Now Shall We Live, p 305)[[In context, Mr. Colson is
saying that evangelicals must join together with sacramentalists in God's
work. His assumption seems to be that everyone who claims to be a Christian
is genuinely born again of the Spirit of Christ. This is the Roman belief in
"evangelization" or "Christianizing" a culture, rather than genuine biblical
evangelism which has the power to bring true salvation to individuals. There
is but ONE "great commission" given to us by our Lord, and it is NOT to
"build a culture" as Mr. Colson proclaims.]]
Like the fabled "Chicken Little," Mr. Colson has misinterpreted the facts of
the situation and is running to and fro, writing books, speaking, and
promoting ecumenical agreements that effectively compromise the Gospel of
Christ. With his emotional appeals, Chuck Colson continues to replace the
urgency of proclaiming the ONE Gospel that can save lost men from Hell, with
an ecumenical perversion aimed at creating a coalition to salvage a fallen
culture. Such hype, though motivated by human compassion and culturally
acceptable to the postmodern mentality, can not be compared to the one great
commission of our Lord. No culture, great or small, Christianized or
moralized, is worth saving at the expense of the one Gospel of Christ Jesus…
and this is precisely what Mr. Colson and other ECT endorsers propose,
whether they realize it or not.
What Chuck Colson thinks of
the new pagan children's books ...
(Harry Potter ) on the market...
(his quote is found at the end of the third paragraph below....) Harry
Potter flies on a broomstick, casts spells, and fights evil spirits -- and
some Christian parents want him out of public schools. Potter is the main
character in a series of books by J.K. Rowling that feature magic and
promote elements of the Wiccan religion, parents charge, according to the
Washington Times. "There's no denying that 'Harry Potter' has a lot of
symbolism for Wiccans," Karen Jo Gounaud of the Family Friendly Libraries
in Springfield, Va., said. "Everyone is a witch or a warlock, they're
casting spells, drinking blood, they believe in reincarnation."
...Gounaud said she has received hundreds of calls from parents who are concerned that books promoting Wicca are allowed in school while books that portray Christian themes are banned on the grounds that they promote religion. "There's one school that put on The Sound of Music and couldn't show Maria as a nun. They had to make her a businesswoman," Gounaud said. "Well how come it doesn't matter when it's a pagan religion? You can't have it both ways."
...Not all Christians agree that the books are harmful. They contain dark themes but show the difference between good and evil, and good always wins, Prison Fellowship Chuck Colson said in his Breakpoint radio broadcast. The characters "develop courage, loyalty, and a willingness to sacrifice for one another. Not bad lessons in a self-centered world," he said.
More Wolves in Sheep's Clothing
