Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards that one be FOUND FAITHFUL. – 1 Cor. 4:1-2
Megan Basham may use the language of a journalist in her book Shepherds for Sale: How Evangelical Leaders Traded the Truth for a Leftist Agenda, but to me her book reveals a heart that was astounded at the compromise and outright idolatry going on in some of the leadership of the evangelical church. Her revelations remind me of the prophet Ezekiel’s journey as he was being taken further and further into the temple and being exposed to the unfaithfulness of the religious leaders.
Then He said to me, “Son of man, lift your eyes now toward the north.” So I lifted my eyes toward the north, and there, north of the altar gate, was this image of jealousy in the entrance. Furthermore He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel commits here, to make me go far away from my Sanctuary? Now turn again, you will see greater abominations.” – Ezekiel 8:5-6
Basham, who was already reporting on corrupt activities in the church as a journalist, finally pulled together all her stories and sources to create a book which names names and exposes the shepherds who were for sale—either financially or by acting in a way that seemed acceptable to the world.
Knowing what she knew, how could she NOT expose these evangelical leaders for their idolatry and betrayal? This isn’t the first time religious leaders were found unfaithful . In Ezekiel 9:9 God explained why he was angry with the religious leaders of the temple.
Then He said to me, “The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great, and the land is full of bloodshed, and the city full of perversity… – Ezekiel 9:9a
Bloodshed, violence, and perversity had covered the land. America is looking more and more like ancient Israel! Perhaps it is because OUR religious leaders have become unfaithful to God, just like the religious leaders of ancient Israel.
Christians seem to think that the main goal of Christianity is that of reconciling people to God through faith in Jesus Christ, but they never seem to emphasize that God desires FAITHFULNESS in his reconciled relationships. (Jesus is coming for a BRIDE!) In Ezekiel 8:5 the word “jealousy” is used. God is jealous! Yet the religious leaders of Israel were worshiping idols—which, according to the prophet Hosea, was a form of spiritual adultery. These leaders did all the outward religious activities, but they also worshiped idols. To God, this was like being married to a wife who creeps around in the darkness to meet her lovers on the side.
Then He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the room of his idols? –Ezekiel 8:7-12a
In each chapter, Basham reveals the ways evangelical leaders were complicit in falsehood, ignoring or rejecting obvious scriptural teachings, and even accepting large donations from anti-Christian organizations such as Planned Parenthood or George Soros.
This isn’t the first time in church history that “Christians” ignored biblical truth and exchanged it for worldly beliefs. I document the damage that “polygenism” did to justify slavery and racial injustice. Scientists believed that Adam and Eve could not have been the only parents of the different races, so they claimed (against the scriptures, which claim in Acts 17:26 that God made all nations from “one blood”) that because of the different parentages, some races were more intelligent and capable than others. That ONE scripture, tossed aside in order to uphold the “scientific” view, was used over and over by the abolitionists.
Of course, the compromised church, represented by people such as John Broadus of the Southern Baptist Convention (who later repented), caused future generations to despise Christianity, appalled that Christians could be slaveholders and racists. Later, polygenism would be tossed aside for Darwinism, and Charles Gardner, professor of sociology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, would believe that intermarriage (“race fusion”) would either cause the evolution of darker races or the devolution of the white race.
Both views conflicted with the biblical view, but aligned with the “scientific” view and caused racism to be entrenched in the intelligentsia of society for more than a century! Will future generations look back on the compromised Christianity of our day and ask, “what were they thinking?” And the impure church, which embraced falsehood, refused to rightly divide the Word of truth, and tossed away scriptures that seemed ignorant to them, will have caused the name of Christ to be shamed –again.
If there’s one lesson the church could learn from history, it’s that we should trust our Bible! It stands the test of time! (My entire website is devoted to the beauty of the faithful church who stood on the Word, in contrast to the compromised church, whose failure led to pseudoscience, racism, slavery, eugenics, etc…)
At the beginning of many chapters in Basham’s book, she mentions at least one scripture being ignored or forsaken by leftist evangelicals and replaced with the admonition to “love.” (Of course there are many other scriptures that could be used to support her concerns, which is why she mentioned the ministries of Cal Beisner, Kelly Monroe Kullberg, Voddie Baucham, and others who present the biblical view.)
The most ironic part of their simplistic campaign to “love their neighbor” is that, in reality, because they forsake the Word, it’s actually leading to the bloodshed (abortion), violence (BLM riots and illegal immigration), and perversity (LGBTQ and transgenderism) that God hates in Ezekiel 9:9.
I would even like to take my criticisms of the evangelical left further than Basham. There are two characteristics that are common to most evangelical progressives:
1) They reject the creation story in Genesis.
2) They embrace contemplative spirituality.
In both cases they are idolaters. To believe in theistic evolution might seem like a wise compromise with the scientific community, but it counters the plain teaching in the scripture which claims God created the earth in six days. In order to teach this view, Genesis 1 has to be tossed aside, and a new version of the creation story has to be formed (like a nose of clay). The problem with this is that the theistic evolutionary view is manmade—just like every idol. Unfortunately, Francis Collins, Tim Keller, Gavin Ortlund, and Phil Vischer all question the Genesis creation account. Could this willingness to compromise lead to blindness in other areas, such as climate change, which presents rising seas due to melting ice caps as a danger for humanity—mistrusting the God who says He controls the boundaries of the seas (Job 26:10, 38:8-11)?
Another form of idolatry that I’ve noticed with the evangelical left is that so many of them have embraced some form of contemplative mysticism! Incidentally, the ancient Israelites who betrayed the Lord were revealed to be facing toward the east.
Have you seen this, O son of man? Turn again, you will see greater abominations than these.”So He brought me into the inner court of the Lord’s house; and there, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the EAST… –Ezekiel 8:15-16
Contemplative spirituality is rooted in eastern religion. Is it any surprise that it has produced such compromise and corruption in its followers? (And aren’t the scriptures insightful?) Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, Ann Voskamp, Tim Keller, Beth Moore, and so many of the other religious leaders mentioned in Shepherds for Sale are associated with purveyors of contemplative prayer, such as Richard Foster, Dallas Willard, Brother Lawrence, the Desert Fathers, Gary Thomas, Brennan Manning, Pete Scazzero, Henry Nouwen, Thomas Merton, Teresa of Avila, Ignatius of Loyola, etc…
Why should we wonder that so much of the American church is dying? God considers idolatry a form of abomination that “makes Me go far away from My sanctuary?” (Ezekiel 8:6) Again, the irony is that, in the attempt to get closer to God and experience His presence, the contemplative effort is actually causing God to depart from His people.
What God desires is faithful, undivided hearts. This is the First Commandment! After all, He’s coming back for a bride that is pure and unadulterated by the world. Spiritual adultery wasn’t only an issue in ancient Israel. In the modern evangelical church, as Basham details in Shepherds for Sale, spiritual adultery is characterized by love of money, love for the world, and idolatry (creating a god of our own making).
You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. – James 4:4
THE FAITHFUL CHURCH 