What a joy it is to read books written a very long time ago by Godly men! It never ceases to amaze me how these men were so good to warn us of the consequences of popular thought patterns in their day. In our day, we see these consequences of these thoughts. We are living in the days that these men were warning of. Here is a great example from Louis Berkhof From his Systematic Theology
:
Doesn’t this describe perfectly the seeker-sensitive/purpose driven model? The bible and the study of God is put on the shelf and instead, focus is placed on mans own subjective emotions and thoughts as divine dogma? Thoughts would be appreciated! Conversation welcome!
:“Up to the beginning of the nineteenth century the practice was all but general to begin the study of dogmatics with the doctrine of God; but a change came about under the influence of Schleiermacher, who sought to safeguard the scientific character of theology by the introduction of a new method. The religious consciousness of man was substituted for the Word of God as the source of theology. Faith in Scripture as an authoritative revelation of God was discredited and human insight based on man’s own emotional or rational apprehension became the standard of religious thought. Religion gradually took the place of God as the object of theology. Man ceased to recognize the knowledge of God as something that was given in Scripture, and began to pride himself on being a seeker after God. In course of Time it became rather common to speak of man’s discovering God, as if man ever discovered Him; and every discovery that was made in the process was dignified with the name “revelation.” God came in at the end of a syllogism, or as the last link in a chain of reasoning, or as the cap-stone of a structure of human thought. Under such circumstances it was but natural that some should regard it as incongruous to
begin Dogmatics with the study of God. It is rather surprising that so many, in spite of their subjectivism, continued the traditional arrangement.” Berkhof
Systematic Theology P. 19-20
Doesn’t this describe perfectly the seeker-sensitive/purpose driven model? The bible and the study of God is put on the shelf and instead, focus is placed on mans own subjective emotions and thoughts as divine dogma? Thoughts would be appreciated! Conversation welcome!
