The Ohio Independent Baptist, February 1969

la1 a io1i Of ar ovemen~ ( ritic,1/ ,111t1f),si · of a <l oc·11111 e11t p11/J/is/1e(/ hv tl,e Joc1r11al of t/1e Ecurne11ical J 11stit11tc. ,1 tlivi,·i,>11 <>! Fe<lerc1tio11 of Greater /1icago, October 31, 1967, entitled, "T/1e l)cc/aratio11 of tl,c pirit 1ove11ze11t of t/1e People of Goll Cent11ry Twenty.") ··1'l1.. De 1, rati n f the piriit \ I , 01 nt" ~h uld b called "A De laratt n f \J ar." he leader of the un1 ni al n1 v n1ent in the ' ati n" l uncil f Churche have \\ ith thi ' 'Declarati n'' thrown all auti n t the wind as far a any eff rt t ma k their movement be– hind the facad e of traditional Chri • tianit}y. Thi d cument i absolutely traight-f rward in i open pre enta– tion of the intention , belief , and g al of the Ecumenical program. Th y have with thi document literally declared War. A critical examination of this docu– ment reveal exactly what fundament– al Chri tianity mu t oonJtend wi,th. Thi in idious and diabolical program of humani m is diametrically opposed in every manner to the Funda-mentf:al– i t po ition as this critical analy is will reveal. Pure Humanism Viewed as a whole "The D eclara– tion of the Spirit Movement of the People of God Century Twenty" i pure humani m. It is the deification of man. It i the final and absolute rejection of the Bible as the Word of God or authoritative ,to man. It is the denial of the existence of God, heaven, hell sin. eternal life, Divine creation, salvation by grace, and mo t of the other basic fundamental beliefs of Christianity as ' 'perversions which h ave been identified and are being systematically repudiated by the wave of clarity which pioneers of the last fifty years have delivered to this moment." (p. 96) Humanism is the heart and core oif this document. We are told ' 'the race at large is hurled into a grecl)t struggle to invent, as if from the beginning what it means to be human." ( p. 5) ' 'A new human being is emerging from the present radical cultural transformation." (p. 5) Man is said to be ' 'determining his own destiny." ( p. 8) We are told that "each man alone and all men together can and 4 FEBRUARY, 1969 by Norman Bosworth n1u t create. Man i re pon ible. " ( p. 11) God i imply era ed from the picture. "There i no eternal realm. " (p. 18) "There are no longer eternal paitterin for us to 'di cover' and 'duplicate'." (p. 19) Thi document maintain that man ha developed to the point ,that he now 'know there is no authority w.hich justifie hi deaisiion . No per on no book, no structure, no idea or doctrine i final." (p. 21) He (man) has risen to a new per– ception. It i only human rationality 1 that create patterns and impose order on all that is. Man places an Rev. Norman Bosworth overlay of order on reality and cre– ates the universe." (p. 38) Man is presented as the one who has created the universe "in order to live." (p. 40) "There are no immutlable laws relentlessly grinding out his destiny' ' we are told. (p. 41) "Man, oo,me of age, is the master of his ow,n destiny. ' ' (p. 41) Man is presellJted as the only hope for the future of the universe. ' 'The universe is dependelllt upon us. lt is our re ponsibility." (p. 44) Man must ' 'create the structtl[eS fwture generations will inherit." (p. 45) Man is actua1ly deified in this document. Man i called ' 'Spirit Man' ' (p. 45) and the words are deliberately capital– ized. Thi document boldly proclaim man to be God, and ju t as bold delegate God to be dead. "The supe natural two-storied mode of religio, ymbolism has been dead and dyir . for everal hundred years." (p. 49 Thi document decl,ares th·ait " power other than man himself w oreate an answer to the overwhelmir problems of the planet." (p. 52) Biblical Teaching Denied The fundamental, Biblical teacl i ng th,at man is sinful and thus co1 demoed is sy ,tematicailly denied alor l with mo t other basic Bible doctrine ' We are told ' 'Chri tianity has livt te its life in a context ,that is now di r, mantled.' ' ( p. 46) "Man is in fa uncondemned' ' we are told. "TI pa t is past and man is not cot demoed by it. Man is accepted. Tl awakened Spiri,t Man of the 201 Century knows that this :t:rans)form tion is dependent upon no deed, Ii belief." (p. 55) People are said 1 beoome people of God when tht ' ' rebuild the economic and politic de ign of the planet, rebuild the s.tru tures of education, and the struotur, of urban community life rebuild tl manifest tructure of religion." ( 64) Thi new man is said 1o ha, ' 'no final appeal but the appeal · him elf and his deed." (p. 74) This document declares it:hat f, this new "Spirit M·an' ' rto fulfill b monumental task of creating a ne universe be must of course have new church. Christianity "must no reformulate itself for an entirely ne world." (p. 47) "Current Christi~ forms are sick' ' we are ,told. (p. 4i Religious fo 1 rms of today are clas~ fied as ' 'inadequate and demonic ( p. 65) Bible doctrine is classified t 1:his ,document as that which ''blocke the Spirit vision. Stagniaites viital ii i,ght.' ' ( p. 92) As far as these peop are concerned ' 'gone is the pietist perver ion that makes the church vehicle for personal ~lvation.' ' ( 99) They mruintain rthat "the neX't stt of the journey~ a full-scale secula {Continued on page 12) THE OHIO INDEPENDENT BAPTI