http://www.confessionalsbytes.com/2010/03/fighting-for-faith-beth-moores-false.html
The link above goes to Chris Rosebrough’s “Fighting for the Faith” radio program. It’s worthwhile dropping by there once in a while to see what’s going on in the crazy world that is “American Evangelicalism.” Recently, for example, Rosebrough and a friend were escorted out of Elephant Room 2 before even getting a chance to sit down. It seems some of the elephants didn’t want Rosebrough in the room!
Anyway, this piece is about the nonsense regularly spewed out on the unwary by Beth Moore. Moore has one of those annoying but inevitable “I wanna tell ya, Girl” fast-action deliveries which, for reasons which elude me, many find spiritually authoritative. She is incredibly “me-centered” and incredibly successful and incredibly wrong! Here she twists a passage from Hebrews 10 out of all recognition. She uses it to get her listeners to rescue their lost self-confidence out of the dumpster. In reality, this rubbish belongs there!
LISTEN and learn.
7 comments On Beth Moore and Spiritual Dumpster-Diving
I love the way you used the description of dropping in once in a while to see the goings on in “American Evangelicalism”. It is my experience that provided you move around Christian circles that are reasonably sound in doctrine, you will be mistaken that everyone has moved on from such rubbish.
I have recently started to sense the YRR teachers like James Macdonald or Mark Driscoll are losing steam among the Calvinistic circles in my part of the world, and I’ve noticed signs young people want to look beyond standard Covenant theology works. Having read what you said I now think that, no, the likes of Macdonald and Driscoll are perhaps still influential in the visible church, and the fact that many previously-Reformed young people are trickling back into dispensationalism in my part of the world doesn’t necessarily mean it is a general trend yet. Thanks for the reminder.
An additional remark: there are many people out in what you coined “American Evangelicalism” who will accept whatever Beth Moore teaches just because she is dispensational in eschatology (or was, she is now mid-tribulation or pre-wrath, but still premillennial). Or they judge her as doctrinally sound based on such pragmatic assessments such as “how many got saved by her preaching the gospel” and “she has said she wants to love the Lord with her her heart: see, she’s a passionate Christian!”.
Would you, assuming there is absolutely no doctrinally sound dispensational church around, advise a young Christian to leave a dispensationalist church that believes in such strain of pragmatic/narcissistic/seeker friendly evangelicalism for an amillennial Covenant theology church that tries to teach what it believes the Bible teaches?
Pastor Paul, this has been so helpful, thank you!
That was incredible and helpful…and beyond description…WOE!
This is a near-perfect example of what obtains when the Bible becomes a launching pad for the “teacher” to make a predetermined application. Rather than reading what the text is actually saying, a surface scan is quickly made for a verse or two that seem to touch on the desired topic and then off the teacher goes to prepare their motivational, inspiring talk.
No wonder, as teachers of God’s Word, we find that one of our biggest challenges is getting the saints to actually read and meditate on the context to try to understand what is actually being said. The blessing from all this is that simply modeling and teaching those around us how to read the Book for its true meaning can yield great reward among those who have here-to-fore had a constant dose of this sort of stuff which runs rough-shod over what the Scripture is actually saying.
Interesting to read some of the defensive comments in support of Moore–they don’t seem to care much about what the Scripture really says and whether she is completely twisting the meaning. Instead, they judge her by motivational relevance and other factors. You would think more believers would be troubled by her demonstrably cavalier handling of God’s Holy Word.
Amen!
Paul,
In all due respect, I would never want anybody to know that I listened with approval to what Chris Rosebrough does with this show. I have hardly ever heard such overly critical sensationalism in my life. Listen, I will agree that it seems Moore did not take proper care in handling the word “confidence” in Hebrews 10. And so, she should be admonished for this. Nevertheless, Rosebrough is wrongly characterizing Moore’s use of the word as “self-confidence,” in the worldly sense. Rather, she referred to it as “your confidence in Christ” and your “God confidence.” It appears that she is encouraging one to cling to the positive and personal repercussions that result from our relationship and trust in Christ. Now again, I think this is not quite what the writer of Hebrews is talking about; however, the concept is not heretical either—for goodness sake.
Now besides the fact that Rosebrough presents himself as an uncharitable radio host (and the fact that he is a professing Christian makes this particularly disheartening), it is his accusations of legalism which bother me the most. He spends several minutes commenting on how Moore is preaching “law” when she had, at that time, only read the passage and was asking the crowd to repeat the passage. Now, if this is preaching “law,” then the writer of Hebrews was preaching “law.” The fact of the matter is that Hebrews 10:35-36 tells its readers that there is a sense in which receiving the promise of God is connected to doing His will. And yes, we see in vs. 39 this is all done within the context of faith. I hardly think that Moore promotes that obedience outside of faith is the procurer of salvation. Now, in contrast, to assume that obedience to God’s will or moral law is somehow unrelated to our salvation—in the sense that it reveals its genuineness, or, as Calvin would suppose, as an aid to our sanctification—is to be guilty of some kind of antinomianism. And yes, I know that some of these themes of law and gospel are present within contemporary lordship controversy debates, but for some reason it sounded particularly scandalous coming from Rosebrough’s mouth.
Oh well, how are things in Granbury? Perhaps we will see you guys soon.
Chad
Hi Chad,
I’m afraid I can’t agree with much of what you say here. First, though I do not give Rosebrough a blanket endorsement i do think his program well worth listening to; if not all the time. He exposes the false teachers and wacky goings-on within the Church and does so with an open Bible. He went through Hebrews 10 verse by verse (albeit quickly) to show how Moore had utterly misrepresented the passage (viz. vv.35-36). I find very little sensationalism in his work, but I’m willing to be corrected on that if you can show me.
As for Moore not teaching on self-confidence – well I’ll let the listener decide that. I really don’t understand where you’re coming from on this my brother. E.g. At 55-57 minutes in she speaks about our “low self-esteem and our self-loathing and self-condemnation” and goes on to tie that in with our “confidence taking a hit.” There is a heap of subjectivity in her presentation (not surprising for someone who says God speaks with her audibly), and although she does speak of our “God confidence” and the like, it is clear that these are handles for her motivational message. Wacky charismatics do this all the time.
Your view about obedience tied to sanctification and reflecting our justification is great. But Moore uses obedience in the same way Faith preachers use it – to be fulfilled. I may not agree with Rosebrough’s use of the designation “Law” here, but I am not Lutheran. However, the text she uses is pointing to the finished work of Christ and our confidence in it, not some vague “God confidence” which helps us with our confidence! That’s a perversion of the text. It’s all the more dangerous because some truth is mixed in.
I’m sorry to have to disagree with you brother. I hope your ministry is blessing many. May God bless you and your lovely family.
Always your brother,
Paul