Riplinger- Part II
Pastors, the Internet, Knowledge and Gail Riplinger’s Material
Many of these pastors have not done a Personal Study of the issues of Gail Riplinger’s Book. What many pastors have done – is ask their other pastor-friends – to give them an opinion on Riplinger’s book. They do, and then the pastor takes their reply...as if those opinions were an established fact.
This is a standard evangelical practice – because Pastors think that this saves them time. Actually, taking a few weeks or months to study this issue:
1) would strengthen their faith a great deal
2) would re-aquaint them with historical material concerning Bible Versions
3) would help them understand just WHY the issue of Bible Versions is so important to their own local church and
4) would help them to see how Modern Versions of the Bible may endanger the spiritual wellbeing of their own congregations – which is the Last thing ...those pastors really want to see happen.
But being willing to do a study of this kind takes a willingness to set time aside, and it also takes courage and a genuine seeking after truth.
If you are in a church audience wondering whether to encourage your pastor to do this, we would encourage you to make an appointment and specifically talk to him directly and honestly about this issue, asking him to consider setting time aside for a study of this kind.
We mention asking your pastor or his secretary to make an appointment of a hour when possible, so that you can have uninterrupted time with your pastor. At that time, then - he can give you his full attention.
The question about your pastor and his willingness to do this kind of a study - personally - may have to do with whether or not 1) the pastor is truly seeking to follow God and find truth and historical accuracy, or or 2) whether or not the Pastor in question might not instead be simply a "caretaker" pastor, committed to making the congregation "feel good", and perhaps at the expense of truth.
If you do not know how to talk to your pastor about this, you may want to copy this page and print a copy and give it to him or others in your church, which would be fine with us.
Pastors will tell themselves that they do not "have the time" for this kind of a study. We find that kind of response rather shocking. How is it possible, that the man who claims to be doing the will of God, who claims to be wanting to lead his congregation to truth and who claims to be helping others to truly find God (through His Son Jesus Christ)...can determine that the very text of the Bible that he proposes to instruct others out of ----> every week...is something which does not merit great study and careful consideration, not only about the text itself, but also about the method by which the text has been transmitted to us today ???
Many Pastors have trouble adapting to the information age, to the Internet and to Technology. Pastors can understand that the credibility of the News Media is challenged because other information is available and can be found on the internet...that the media may not want to publicize. And Pastors can also understand how the Internet is challenging the credibility of Doctors, and this new information - in the hands of those who access the internet - is changing the medical field, and greatly increasing the level of information that Patients have...about their medical diseases or medical situation.
But when it comes to theological issues, some Pastors still expect that the information revolution will not affect their congregation, or the congregation’s understanding of the Bible, History, Bible Versions, Theology & Doctrine, and the general perception of Christianity. In other words, Pastors think that the Internet will not affect their own credibility. But that view is mistaken. The Internet directly affects the information that is in the minds of the congregation, and how they perceive the Pastor and his true credibility.
The information on the Internet affects each Pastor directly, and many members of church congregations are searching for answers on the internet – about Church History and Bible Versions, because they are Not getting those answers from Pastors. (We know...because those people write to us and other ministries). The result of this trend – and it will grow – is that Pastors are loosing credibility because they insist on being treated as the "experts" about Christianity or the Spiritual life of the Church. But they are not able to give the specific and detailed answers that people are looking for, especially the younger generation(s).
Pastors who seriously expect to retain their own credibility within their Church will be spending far more time in libraries, with books, or on the internet....educating themselves with the information that has now become available to their congregations through the Internet, internet discussion groups, internet debate forums, book clubs, and the growing new church libraries -
that other committed Pastors are willing to invest in...in order to make sure that the congregation that the Lord has personally entrusted to them...is able to be spiritually equipped, mentally prepared, and trained for a level of apologetics that takes place – these days – in many contexts that would have been unthought of ...only a few years ago.
The Internet represents the disappearance of distance, to the point that even local or remote congregations can have great access to information (or to the books that contain the information) just as much as any big congregation in the top 10 American cities and their suburbs.
Some pastors however – are still living in the dark ages. They think that if they ignore the internet, that somehow their congregations will do the same thing. The world simply does not work this way. Pastors in the next ten years will be hard-pressed to explain almost every decision that they make and every Biblical doctrine they chose to stand behind, with chapter and verse, and the benefits of history and the books of those who have come before now.
The days of believing that a Pastor is right ...simply because "I said so, and that’s it" are over.
This kind of response by pastors - ("I said so, and that’s it") - is likely going to be understood simply as a lack of humility – by those Pastors who should be the first to demonstrate it.
We are living in times of great change, and everything is open to change. Many groups and cults now produce their own Bibles and hire their own Bible translators. And many Bibles are undergoing revisions that most pastors have no idea is taking place. And many New Versions of the Bible continue to be commissioned and made, because Large publishing conglomerates know that the Bible continues to be a bestseller.
Pastors who think that all Bible Versions are essentially the same demonstrate that they are Not familiar with the internet and the materials available on the different versions. Sadly, some pastors think that if its a Bible, that all Translations are created equally. But the Historic record does not support this, and we know for a fact that the Spiritual enemies of true Christianity have a vested interest in being able to subvert the Bible.
Being a servant of God means being willing to communicate His truth to the culture that already exists out there - and not simply within the 4 walls of a church building. It is wise to continue to pray that pastors will not relegate themselves to irrelevance in the New Millenium, as we learn to accept the changes that the information highway brings to all of our lives.
Steps to take if you want to talk to your pastor
This page can be found on the Web at http://www.exorthodoxforchrist.com/riplinger_&_pastors.htm
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