Back to: How We Got The Bible
This was a really good presentation from Dr. White from his appearance on the show Wretched. Highly recommend watching.
Aside: DECONSTRUCTION
As we go through our study, you may have noticed one particular name that is frequently mentioned: Bart Ehrman.
So who is Bart Ehrman?
Bart Ehrman
In short, Ehrman is an apostate. That is, he was once a professing Christian who no longer believes, and has since, been actively working to spread his own ideas to undermine Christianity.
He is highly educated, a credentialed scholar, and professor of biblical studies. There is no doubt about his status among the academia elite. For that reason, he has become the chosen ‘expert’ spokesperson for the legacy media when it comes to the bible
Dr. James White has debated him on a couple of occasions. The most widely viewed debate can be found here and here.
In my view, Ehrman is a representative case study of deconstruction.
Road to Deconstruction
Dr. Ehrman was first educated at Moody Bible Institute and later completed his undergraduate degree at Wheaton College. Both are considered solid bible colleges.
So what led to Ehrman’s decision to become an agnostic?
Randy Alcorn cites Ehrman out of his own book, ‘God’s Problem’, that Ehrman could not reconcile a good and benevolent God with the existence of pain and suffering in the world. But in this podcast, he states that it really started when he no longer subscribed to the infallibility of scripture.
Bart Ehrman, however, isn’t the first prominent evangelical to deny his faith.
Dr. Charles Templeton
(The following excerpts were taken from Dr. Templeton’s memoirs published at https://www.templetons.com/charles/memoir/evang-graham.html)
Everyone knows about Billy Graham. Few know about Charles Templeton.
In his early years with Youth For Christ, Charles Templeton stood alongside and shared the pulpit with Billy Graham in their evangelistic crusades. Some even thought that Graham lived in Templeton’s shadow who would soon eclipse him.
But just before Billy’s meteoric rise to public ministry, Charles had begun to doubt his faith and struggled with the veracity of the bible.
In his memoirs, he recounts how seeds of doubt had begun to take root. In one section, after several paragraphs describing various tenets and doctrines of the Fundamental Baptist faith, Templeton writes,
I never believed all of this (the Genesis account of creation, for instance, or the monstrous evil of an endless hell), but I did accept most of these doctrines and lived by them fervently. And now the entire fabric was coming apart.
Not willing to reconcile these doubts, he did, in fact, begin walking away…
In late August 1948, just before I enrolled at Princeton, I flew to Montreat, North Carolina, to speak at a conference and to spend a day with Billy and Ruth Graham. Billy and I talked long about my leaving Youth for Christ. Both of us knew that, for all our avowed intentions to keep our friendship alive, our feet were set on different paths. He was as distressed as I was. We both knew that I was not simply giving up Youth for Christ, I was leaving fundamentalism.
But not before having to struggle with Billy about the path upon which he was about to embark.
All our differences came to a head in a discussion which, better than anything I know, "explains" Billy Graham. I had said. "But Billy, it's not possible any longer to believe the biblical account of creation. The world wasn't created; it has evolved over millions of years. It's not a matter of speculation, it's demonstrable fact." "I don't accept that," he said, "And there are reputable scholars who don't." "Who are they?" I said. "Men in conservative Christian colleges?" "Most of them, yes. But that's not the point. I believe in the Genesis account of creation simply because it's in the Bible. I've discovered something in my ministry: when I take the Bible - literally, when I proclaim it as God's Word, I have power. When I stand before the people and say, 'God says,' or 'The Bible says, 'the Holy Spirit uses me. There are results. People respond. Wiser men than you or I have been arguing questions like this for centuries. I don't have the time or the intellect to examine all sides of each theological dispute, so I've decided, once and for all, to stop questioning and to accept the Bible as God's Word."
Less than ten years after that conversation, Templeton walked away. He would later say that by choosing to live by faith, Billy Graham was committing ‘intellectual suicide’.
In the spring of 1957, just prior to my leaving the ministry and returning to Canada, Billy Graham came to New York City for his first Madison Square Garden crusade. I was still living in Manhattan, and on a whim, telephoned Billy simply to say hello. He insisted that I come to his hotel room so that we could talk. By late afternoon he had to prepare for the evening meeting. He let me leave only after he had exacted a promise that I would attend the service that night and sit with him on the platform. "Bill," I said, "I don't think that would be wise. I've just left the ministry. I'm an agnostic."
Saying Farewell To God
Charles Templeton never did come back to the faith, but instead, publicly embraced agnosticism and published the book, ‘Farewell To God‘ in 1999. The book description reads…
“In ‘Farewell to God’, Templeton speaks out about his reasons for the abandonment of his faith. In straightforward language, Templeton deals with such subjects as the Creation fable, racial prejudice in the Bible, the identity of Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus’ alienation from his family, the second-class status of women in the church, the mystery of evil, the illusion that prayer works, why there is suffering and death, and the loss of faith in God.
– Amazon.com
While writing ‘Case For Faith’, Lee Strobel had the opportunity to interview Templeton, who was suffering from Alzheimers and rapidly deteriorating. In the opening chapter, Strobel writes…
“Was there one thing in particular that caused you to lose your faith in God?” I asked at the outset.
He thought for a moment. “It was a photograph in Life Magazine,” he said finally…
“It was a picture of a black woman in Northern Africa,” he explained. “They were experiencing a devastating drought. And she was holding her dead baby in her arms and looking up to heaven with the most forlorn expression. I looked at it and I thought, ‘Is it possible to believe that there is a loving or caring Creator when all this woman needed was rain?’”
Lee Strobel, Case For Faith, pg 14, ‘Introduction: The Challenge of Faith‘
Like Ehrman, Templeton attributed his doubting the existence of a good and loving God, to the presence of pain and suffering in the world. Leaning on his own emotions and understanding ultimately lead to questioning the existence of hell, the Genesis account of creation, deity of Jesus, and existence of God.
Crisis of Faith: Did God Really Say…?
As demonstrated with Ehrman and Templeton, the enemy’s tactics have not changed since Eden. It always starts with sowing the seeds of doubt and appealing to the human intellect and ego (then you will be like God), usually when a believer is struggling with crisis of faith.
And yes, once you choose to be a disciple of Jesus Christ and follow Him – you WILL come to a crisis of faith. Likely more than once on your journey to the Celestial City.
Even Jesus, right after his baptism to kick-off His ministry, was led by The Spirit out into the wilderness for a time of testing. Remember the question that Satan repeated?
-satan
“If you are the Son of God…”
The doubts will always come, whether internal or external. The key is in being prepared to respond – and stand firm.
Research, Analysis, and Solutions
Already Gone
In the first scientific study of its kind, the “Beemer Report” reveals startling facts discovered through 20,000 phone calls and detailed surveys of a thousand 20–29 year olds who used to attend evangelical churches on a regular basis, but have since left it behind.
In this powerful book, popular author Ken Ham and consumer behavior research/analyst C. Britt Beemer combine to reveal trends that must be dealt with now… before we lose another generation!
The trends are frightening, but Already Gone shows how to win back our families, our churches, and our world!
Already Compromised
Christian colleges took a test on the state of their faith and the final exam is in.
Too many “Christian” colleges and seminaries are going the way of Yale, Harvard and Princeton. A survey of 200 colleges reveals what students are really being taught at today’s Christian universities. The findings are shocking.
Want to know which colleges were contacted as part of the ARG study? Visit CreationColleges.org to find out + discover a growing list of Christian colleges
Ex-vangelicals: Choosing Sin over Faith
It can be argued that apostasy and leaving the faith is nearly as old as mankind itself. History tends to be cyclical and repeats itself, especially when it comes to the constant wheel of
sin > judgment > repentance (disobedience) > reconciliation (depravity) > peace (death)
Individuals like Ehrman and Templeton may appear to have chosen agnosticism motivated by an altruistic or compassionate perspective. But it still stems from the original sin of pride: assuming to know better than God.
The most recent resurgence in deconstruction seems to be spearheaded by self-proclaimed ‘exvangelicals’, who really want nothing more than to openly embrace their sin. Many are cultural influencers and entertainers with broad media platforms.
It’s the new fad and there’s money and fame to be had. But sadly, the trail of carnage from collateral damage to relationships and family is beginning to become apparent.
Re-vangelicals: Repentance of the Prodigal
Not all succumb to the fire. Some who have walked through this valley, wrestled the enemy, and come out the other side are beginning to emerge with vigor and strong sense of purpose.
And they’re coming out swinging.
A.W. Tozer once wrote, “I doubt God can use a man greatly, until He has hurt him deeply.”
In this particular example, God is using a woman, Alisa Childers.
Alisa Childers/Tim Barnett : The Deconstruction of Christianity (Book)
Alisa Childers/Collin Hansen : Why Progressive Christianity Can’t Bring Reformation (Interview)
Alisa Childers: Another Gospel (Book)
Doubt, Deceive, Destroy
The enemy’s tactics and objective are no secret. But they are subtle.
While preoccupied on the battlefront of doubt, understand that there is also one being fought in the forest of deception.
It’s also crucial to realize that the enemy is not trying to ‘win’. They know they are defeated.
They simply want to destroy.
In the previous, section, we saw how Luther’s stand for biblical truth and accuracy led to the Protestant Reformation. The enemy is all too happy to take that which is good and make it corrupt. Sometimes it involves hijacking or redefining established words or ideas.
But almost always, it starts by asking the question, “Did God really say…?”