Redeeming Pagan Cultures?

Mon Nov 12 20:43:59 PST 2007

*"TWO ARE BETTER THAN ONE" MINISTRIES*

*Jim & Marie Watt*

*PO Box **25116 – Federal Way** **WA** **98093-2116***

*Tel: 253.874.4256 – Email: jmbetter at gmail.com <jmbewtter at gmail.com> *

*Web: www.2rbetter.org – **November 12, 2007***

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*"DOES GOD REDEEM THE PAGAN PARTS OF A CULTURE?"*

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See God with Israel and the 7 Canaanite nations! No redemption of Culture
here – but rather complete destruction of the 7 nations (Deuteronomy 7:1).
Because Israel failed to walk in this commission, but left remnants of the
Canaanites throughout their assigned territories of the 12 tribes, they
eventually superseded the wickedness of those pagan nations, and the land
vomited them out – first for 70 years, and then for 1900 years.

Some might say – "But that directive by God was given to Israel in Old
Testament times – Surely it would not apply to New Covenant believers!"

But consider the Moravian Revival under Count Zinzendorf, and the high
standards of separation from the world maintained both by the home church in
Herrnhut, as well as for the 300 missionaries who went forth from there
during that 100 year period.

Or consider the high standards of separation maintained during the 60 year
Wesleyan revival from 1738 onwards, through the "Class Meetings" for
70.000enrolled under this discipline in all 4 nations of the British
Isles. The leader of each of these groups of some 8 believers on a weekly
basis, led each member in a check-up to encourage them to maintain Wesley's
Doctrinal Standards as set forth in his 52 key sermons.

One British sociologist, himself an unbeliever, stated that apart from the
effect of Wesley's Class Meetings in Britain, the French Revolution would
have leapt the English Channel and devastated Great Britain as it did France
.

Lenin was so impressed with Wesley's Class Meetings, that he adapted this
concept for the Communist Revolution.

So we can conclude from these 2 examples that separation from pagan
traditions not birthed by the Spirit of God, cannot be and should not be
attempted to find redemption for, and thus be continued and incorporated
into the church.

Do not be deceived – Allah, the god of Islam and the Koran, is NOT Jehovah
nor the God of the Bible! Many today in high places are trying to break down
the barrier between the Church and Islam. It is an attempt because of
deception and lack of understanding. We can and should love our Islamic
neighbors – but there is NO PLACE in America to bring their customs into our
schools, neighborhoods and societies. We have been established as a
Christian nation and owe it to God to maintain the goal of our Founding
Fathers. Can you envisage ANY Muslim nation allowing our Christian customs
to be incorporated into any of their nations? Just look at the persecution
and restriction for Christians in Saudi Arabia, and that it was from THIS
nation that practically ALL of the Terrorists of 9/11 came!

Certainly we are to love them unto salvation, but NOT by leaving our
cultural heritage so as to allow it to be defiled by pagan cultures of other
religions, by humanistic devotees in our own nation, and by the dictatorship
of small but vocal minorities such as those seeking equality for
unscriptural homosexual rights and abortions.

But not only are we to protect our own borders from false infiltrations – at
the same time we are not to lower the bars of God's Biblical Gospel Standard
by encouraging pagan cultures to maintain false gods under human traditions.
We do such nations grave disservice.

At Whistler BC in 1995 on July 1st, Freda Cooper stood with her people of
some 20 tribes and nations, to repent of those traditions and practices not
birthed by God or His Great Spirit in times past. This challenge they
accepted. She begged the United States, Britain and Canada – "Please do not
repent and ask forgiveness from my people for your past sins against us,
till FIRST we repent and ask forgiveness of God where WE in the past
departed from God with unscriptural practices and traditions. After 5 hours
of repenting and asking forgiveness of God on THEIR part, then
representatives from the above 3 nations did apologize on bended knee, and
ask forgiveness for THEIR sins against the North American Indians, the FIRST
nation's people.

Unfortunately, there was later a severe backlash against their leader for
the above action – but GOD still stands behind her!

Missionaries should seek to know legitimate cultural traditions that can be
maintained in each nation. Nationals should likewise see the face of God
through His Word and Spirit to understand what HE will allow them to
maintain, and what He would have them reject.

On one occasion national believers in Africa approached their missionaries
and asked them, "Why are your children calling up demon spirits?" "Oh, but
they are NOT," responded the missionaries. "Oh yes they are," answered the
native believers." Those drum rhythms they are playing are what we used to
use as unbelievers before we repented and came to know the true God, and the
kind of life He wants us to make adjustments to live!"

But there is another aspect to all of this, that is equally important to
consider. It is HOW we present God's position as missionaries, and God's
representatives.

There is an organization called "Let us Reason Ministries (LURM)". It is
EQUALLY wrong in the SPIRIT in which it seeks to correct.

Dale Carnegie in his "How to Win Friends and Influence People" encourages us
to LATHER a man before we SHAVE him!"

Jesus in His words to the 7 churches in Revelation 2 & 3 gives us a
wonderful, gracious and kind example. BEFORE He corrects the first church,
Ephesus, He lists all the good things about her. He LATHERS her first. Then
He takes out His shaving blade and warns that if she doesn't repent and
return to her first love, her Menorah will be removed from its place!
Serious! Today there is no trace of this church in Turkey. Nevertheless,
each of the 7 churches had "overcomers" in them, who Jesus commended and
made wonderful promises to!

In hundreds of articles exposing cults, heresies, doctrinal aberrations
etc., on the part of LURM – I can't find the examples of Jesus followed. All
the bad from their viewpoint is exposed – but NO encouragement with anything
positive. SURELY if they searched they could find SOMETHING to commend as
did Jesus our Example!

Alan Redpath from England came to pastor the Moody Memorial Church of
Chicago in the '50's.  At his invitation I joined the Africa Inland Mission
Midwest regional association for 2 years. Redpath said 3 words in those 2
years that have stayed with me strongly. One of them was, "One can be
Orthodox in Doctrine – but HERETICAL in spirit!" I always sensed the truth
in this concept, but did not have a handle to express it. THIS was my
handle!

It has been my observation that such organizations as LURM have a zeal to
answer and confront heresy – but a woeful lack in the compassion of Jesus to
FIRST find something positive to say for encouragement, before bringing out
the shaving blade.

The above reveals two ditches. We can become overly soft-hearted and
compromising with error – but we can also fall into the ditch of harsh and
hard criticism – Heresy in spirit!

For God's sake, brethren – let us not fall into EITHER ditch! Let us ask for
grace from Jesus through His Spirit to be firm in standing for truth in love
– but may the love and compassion of Jesus encourage those we correct  so as
not to harden and discourage them – but to give them the opportunity for
true repentance, and adjustment.

This article was instigated by a close friend who is concerned by some he
has observed falling into the first ditch. The article he saw that
crystallized his concern was, however, from LURM – and gives little
encouragement or hope for repentance from those being exposed.

It seemed to me that my friend's concern was sufficiently important, that my
answer in this article deserves to be heard more widely than just by one
person. Hence this mailing.

Your friend – Jim Watt

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