"What you believe about the future will determine much of how you live your life, and will affect much of your character"

Life and Death and the Last Days, or Why Eschatology Matters

Christian parents wonder today why the majority of their children today leave the church when they become teenagers and never come back. I’ll tell you why. A big part is due to the nonsensical hounding upon Rapture and End Times by most Christian pastors, teachers, and parents. You’ve heard the phrase, “The economy, stupid.” The modern Christian equivalent should be “The eschatology, stupid.”

Discussion

Dispensationalism (and other forms of premillennialism) is a religion of fear. It is not motivated by love for God and neighbor.

…..
This is why modern-day Dispensationalists “support Israel” at all cost, yet you will never catch one of them trying to convert Jews

Anti-dispy hogwash!

The more I read from the pen of Joel McDurmon, the lower my opinion of his opinions.This was just awful.
Oh, and I’m not even one of these: “Dispensationalism (and other forms of premillennialism)…” I’m one of these: “Amillennialists and radical two-kingdoms theologians are nearly as bad—but that is material for another day.”
So I guess my time is coming. :)

Here are a few snippets from this pathetic article:

Some become violent in a different way: they support the military in its aggressions in the Arab world—not because they have any idea of a doctrine of just war, or anything like that, but because they think it’s somehow linked to prophecies about the end times. We gotta kill some ragheads for Jesus! You know those Iranians just want nuclear power so they can make a bomb and bomb Israel! Some Christians have joined the military out of just such a powerful zeal to speed the return of Christ.

And this:

The children’s response to their parents’ view is, “It scares me.” Indeed! It scares them because the Rapture view is constant fear-mongering and denial of Christian duty on earth.

And this:

They’ve been taught all their lives that the Bible goes against the long-term, family centered, ethics-centered worldview: that the Bible teaches a quick end to their lives and voids all need to plan beyond the Rapture. The parents and pastors have hounded these kids with a false message of what the Church and the Bible are, and what is expected of them. The children sense that the “fear the Rapture” message is inherently wrong, and they rightly desire to flee from it. But they have been wrongly taught that this is the message of the Bible. So, they flee from Church and the Bible completely as soon as they get a chance.

And this:

So of course (!) the whippersnappers will be skeptical, they’re self-interested! But the serious believer must have an adult’s-eye view and see things as they are—about to end! We must prepare our children to be raptured, not waste time caring for the things of this world. We need escape, not dominion. And escape, of course, is not self-interested at all.

And this:

the vast majority of modern day preachers who preach on the Rapture are far more dangerous to society and the church than the date-setters like Harold Camping … These others who refuse to set a date simply keep saying, “soon”—and they oppress, ruin lives, turn people off from the church, and ignore society perpetually. They preach perpetual fear, and present a constant threat against those who wish to ignore the imminent Rapture doctrine and actually practice biblical Christianity

Only a deliberately deceitful man could propagate such stupidity. He does not interact fairly with the dispensationalist position at all. His article is contemptible and unworthy of consideration by any serious Christian. I would never write such an inaccurate, vitriol-laced screed against any position I disagreed with. This is a shameful hit piece.

If Joel McDurmon is keeping a database of premillennial, pretribulational preachers who are “dangerous to society” and who pose “a constant threat” to biblical Christianity, I would appreciate it if he’d add my name to the list.

Tyler is a pastor in Olympia, WA and works in State government.

Have to think he doesn’t mingle with real live people he disagrees with much. I know too many non-dispies who have the same attitudes toward Christian living, society, etc. as I do. Character? Well, some of them actually consume alcohol now and then but otherwise good folks. ;)

Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.

the pre-mills\pre-tribs that brought us WW1, Prohibition and other cultural Christianity. It was those who sought to bring in The Kingdom.

Hoping to shed more light than heat..