For some reason, atheists aren’t happy unless they convert religious people to their dogma. Why? I don’t know, but they frequently display intolerance, expressing a deep conviction to win converts to the religion of atheism.
Here’s a statement which isn’t very remarkable, except for the revelation of the methods atheists should use to win converts.
If we want to change the mind of the believer then the most effective way is to drive a wedge between their arguments for the existence of God (i.e., natural theology) and the other things they believe based in the Bible.
Once we do this the believer will see very soon afterward that those arguments for God’s existence don’t make a good case. What I’m doing undercuts their faith at the most fundamental level.
And so first we must make them liberals, then agnostics and then atheists. If we attempt to argue them from Christianity to atheism in one fell swoop we will not do it.
Make them liberals? We’re not talking politics, liberals means liberal Christians, and may or may not relate to a political view. “Liberal Christianity” might not be familiar to you, but it’s taught in major seminaries across the country. For them, denying the foundational concepts of orthodox Christianity is all in a days work, and these people exist as Christians in name only.
Atheists do quite well creating liberal theologians. Just watch any show “investigating” Jesus, the Bible or similar and you’ll see professors from national seminaries denying the inerrancy of the Bible, resurrection of Jesus, virgin birth, and more. These aren’t in any meaningful way Christians, as atheist Christopher Hitchens says “I would say that if you don’t believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ and Messiah, and that he rose again from the dead and by his sacrifice our sins are forgiven, you’re really not in any meaningful sense a Christian.”
Those “liberal Christians” aren’t Christians, any more than calling yourself the President gets you a ride on Air Force One.
The cult of liberal theology is dangerous and heretical. As Paul warned Timothy these have a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof. These liberals are ever learning, yet never able to come to the knowledge of the truth (2 Timothy 2:7), with corrupt minds, and disapproved concerning the faith. They may have a PhD and other accolades, but they’re utterly unqualified in basic Biblical knowledge.
Liberal Christians may posses the warm-and-fuzzy felling of religion, but share nothing with Jesus except ripping off his name.
Once you start accepting liberal theology like Isaiah didn’t write the book bearing his name, replacement theology (where the church replaces the Jews and Israel in God’s plan), Daniel was really written later or other liberal theology garbage, it’s at that point you’ve denied God and become an atheist, not later. Liberal theologians deny most of the major tenets of Christianity — how can they call themselves Christians?
The progression from orthodox Christianity, to liberalism, finally arriving at atheism can be subtle, as the change to atheist actually comes in the first step after rejecting the foundational tenets of Christianity, not the last small step to atheist.
In a warning, the atheist notes his techniques don’t work on the traditional Christian, those who reject liberal theology and stand firm on the Word of God. But if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything — including the cult of liberal theology.
Stand firm on the truth, and reject liberal theology which has nothing in common with Christianity except the name — liberal scholars have created their own religion and abandoned Christianity. For more information, Walter Martin has a message titled “The Cult of Liberal Theology” available at http://waltermartin.com.