“The truth of the matter is the consumer mentality authorizes people to judge all matters religious and theological by the simple criterion of whether or not they have been ‘helped’—and the only people equipped to assess whether or not they have truly been helped are the people who claim to have been helped. Questions of truth, long-range effects, and purpose are shunted aside.”
…
“A few months ago I was in another country addressing some hundreds of missionaries. As I sat at lunch with one missionary couple, the question of ‘rebirthing’ came up. Somewhat defensively at first, and then openly, the husband told me his story. He came from an abusive background; the notion of ‘father’ was entirely distorted for him. As a college student he trusted Christ, but never really felt or delighted in the love of God or the love of Christ. Then, some months before I arrived, an ‘evangelical’ professor gave some talks on rebirthing which this missionary attended. He said that people from abusive homes should close their eyes and imagine themselves as they were emerging from their mothers. Picture Jesus standing there, ready to catch you into his arms. You emerge, and he cuddles you, cleans you up, loves you, caresses you. Do you not see all your life Jesus has been loving? The missionary told me that he broke down and wept and wept, and from that moment his life became more integrated. He had become better able to give and receive love; for the first time he felt loved by Jesus. What was wrong with that, he wanted to know. The Bible does not teach rebirthing, but it does affirm the love of God, and if this technique helps you experience it, what fair criticism can be offered.
“So many things could have been said. I had no desire to ‘crush a bruised reed’ or ‘quench a smoking wick.’ I replied along these lines:
“I cannot help but be glad if your life is truly more integrated. I have talked with enough people from abusive backgrounds to have some idea of the terrible struggles you have gone through, and doubtless will go through. If in truth this experience really does teach more of the love of God, I shall not be the first to criticize.
“But I have to tell you that at best you have experienced second best; and at worst you have been seduced to idolatry. Bear with me, and I shall try to explain.
“My dear brother, all the emotional catharsis, all the tears, all the healing integration, might well have been your along biblical lines. You might have meditated long on Ephesians 3:14-21, praying along with Paul that God would give you the power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of God, to know this love that surpasses knowledge. You might have read and re-read the passion narratives. Where, after all, according to God’s gracious self-disclosure in Scripture, is the greatest manifestation of his love? Is it not in the incarnation and the cross? Might not a godly pastor taking you back to the cross have brought you to the same tears, but with the anchor of God’s Word authorizing them?
“For the fact of the matter is that you now associate your emotional release not with the cross, but with rebirthing techniques. You will be less inclined to think of the gospel as that which is the power of God unto salvation. You will think of the gospel as providing some sort of pardon, and rebirthing techniques as providing healing, power, restoration. All the associational links are wrong. They are diverting. They bring you some measure of relief, while distracting you from the cross.
“And if you ask, ‘Why be so fussy as long I am genuinely healed, or least substantially improved?’ then you have brought yourself to the very heart of my argument: the primary criterion for what is right and true and valuable cannot possibly be whether or not you feel helped. This does not mean that the gospel of Jesus Christ crucified can’t help you: it can, and does, and will. It means that the content of that gospel cannot be determined or approved simply on the basis of whether or not you feel helped. For if that were the case, would not the archenemy, whose love of deception is well known, have a field day ‘helping’ people, and helping people feel helped, provided the result is that they are diverted from the cross? If he is clever—and he is—the danger will not be perceived at once. Like a spacecraft swiftly speeding off course by only a degree or two, this kind of trajectory ensures that in time you will miss the mark by millions of miles.
“And that is why I insist that at best you have experienced second best; at worst, you are being seduced into idolatry.”
