Another word from Paul Wilkinson

It's always good to have a different view from the norm in the Evangelical world. We tend to get on bandwagons so easily. 

We need balance. We need to weigh things. We need to seek and search out truth for ourselves. I think of the harsh warning Christ gives to teachers who lead others (little ones) astray. Little ones in the faith? It would be better for them to be sunk by a millstone in the  sea. Frightening words. We must be so sure before we jump into something.

In my "short" life I've been influenced by dozens of movements.

I loved Billy Graham, Dawson McAlister, Keith Green.

I've heard Tony Campolo, John Piper, Francis Schaeffer, and Luis Palau speak.

I bowed to John Stott, C.S. Lewis, Bill Gothard, and Jerry Bridges.

I've read Richard Foster, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Dallas Willard.

I followed David Bryant, Henry Blackaby, Chuck Swindoll, and even Rick Warren. 

I consider myself a typical evangelical. I'm not even close to listing all the study guides, manuals, and "helps" books I've read. I'm just throwing out a few names.

Now onto the scene comes Paul Wilkinson. A firebrand by all impressions. Refreshing when he bucks the theological "scene."

He offers a critique much needed in this apostasy ridden end time.

As the Waldensians and the Albigensians of the Middle Ages held out against popular trend and divergence from the Word of God, so are we called to remain true to Scripture.

Theology has suffered since the time of Christ, but God has seen to a remnant of people not cowed by worldly influence, willing to suffer for the integrity of their faith.

Welcome to the suffering, Paul. You will be maligned and verbally stoned for your critique, but it resonates with me, and I'm sharing it with my readers. Thank you.

www.raptureready.com/soap/wilkinson2.pdf

Conference in Bethlehem, 5-9 March 2012. Paul Wilkinson. Hazel Grove Full Gospel Church, 68 London Road, Hazel Grove,. Stockport, Cheshire, SK7 4AF. UK.


The Christ at the Checkpoint Manifesto

1. The Kingdom of God has come. Evangelicals must reclaim the prophetic role in bringing peace, justice and reconciliation in Palestine and Israel.
2. Reconciliation recognizes God’s image in one another.
3. Racial ethnicity alone does not guarantee the benefits of the Abrahamic Covenant.
4. The Church in the land of the Holy One, has born witness to Christ since the days of Pentecost. It must be empowered to continue to be light and salt in the region, if there is to be hope in the midst of conflict.
5. Any exclusive claim to land of the Bible in the name of God is not in line with the teaching of Scripture.
6. All forms of violence must be refuted unequivocally.  
7. Palestinian Christians must not lose the capacity to self-criticism if they wish to remain prophetic.
8. There are real injustices taking place in the Palestinian territories and the suffering of the Palestinian people can no longer be ignored. Any solution must respect the equity and rights of Israel and Palestinian communities.
9. For Palestinian Christians, the occupation is the core issue of the conflict.
10. Any challenge of the injustices taking place in the Holy Land must be done in Christian love. Criticism of Israel and the occupation cannot be confused with anti-Semitism and the delegitimization of the State of Israel.
11. Respectful dialogue between Palestinian and Messianic believers must continue. Though we may disagree on secondary matters of theology, the Gospel of Jesus and his ethical teaching take precedence.
12. Christians must understand the global context for the rise of extremist Islam. We challenge stereotyping of all faith forms that betray God’s commandment to love our neighbors and enemies.

(This is sounding like the new trend we are hearing about: "Dominion Theology")