Review: Steven Wong, "The Great Deception"

[Deacon]

I purchased this book after viewing a FB website where the author presented his ideas about Christianity. He has such a smooth, thoughtful and peaceful demeanor that I desired to know about his views.

Steven Wong presents a non-orthodox view of Christianity. His views of divine justice, hell, and the nature of salvation are far different from traditional Christian doctrine.
I was alerted to his error quite early in the book by the statement that “The Bible… rarely uses the language of courts and penalties” (p. 13). So punishment for evil is simply reduced to “how life functions.”

In reality, a large portion of the Hebrew Scriptures are structured around legal procedures. If you miss this fact, you’ve wondered off course. And with regret, that’s exactly what Wong has done.

By minimizing God’s judicial authority Wong rejects God’s moral judgement against sin, substituting amoral consequences by natural design.
Wong’s views distort and weaken our understanding of God and his character as presented in Scripture.

Steven Wong presents a distorted view of Scripture that rejects the heart of the Christian gospel.

Jesus Christ died as our substitute.
He bore our penalty for sin.
His death satisfies God’s justice.

 

[DaveXR650]

@Deacon. This discussion should be interesting. It is fairly common, outside of our conservative Baptist, evangelical, and reformed circles to reject the strict legal terminology that we all assume is universal. Add to that the fact that in Proverbs and all the wisdom writings it most certainly is taught that there are a lot of natural consequences that follow sinful behavior (although it is not denied that direct judgement comes from God and also that God uses consequences as judgement).

Having not read the book I might be unfair but it sounds to me like he has just moved back into Socinianism, which is the "thing" nowadays. (There's always "the next thing" or so it seems.)

 

[Jerome]

Oh brother, is he SDA?

Castlemaine Seventh-day Adventist Church online resources

YouTube Melbourne Asian Seventh-Day Adventist Church

 

[Deacon]

Oh brother, is he SDA?

Castlemaine Seventh-day Adventist Church online resources

YouTube Melbourne Asian Seventh-Day Adventist Church

Apparently there are a few Steve Wongs, ...who would have guessed? lol

His book doesn't give many clues about his background; the first indicator of a possibly aberrant theology.

The book only describes him as:
"...a Christian author, international speaker, and digital evangelist..."
"...elder of a local church and regularly teaches, preaches and engages with global audiences..."

But there is an acknowledgement directed towards, "To Come and Reason Ministries"; "Design law framework explained in this book by the works of Dr. Timothy R. Jennings..."

Yes, he's an undercover SDA.

Rob

 

[JonC]

I purchased this book after viewing a FB website where the author presented his ideas about Christianity. He has such a smooth, thoughtful and peaceful demeanor that I desired to know about his views.

Steven Wong presents a non-orthodox view of Christianity. His views of divine justice, hell, and the nature of salvation are far different from traditional Christian doctrine.
I was alerted to his error quite early in the book by the statement that “The Bible… rarely uses the language of courts and penalties” (p. 13). So punishment for evil is simply reduced to “how life functions.”

In reality, a large portion of the Hebrew Scriptures are structured around legal procedures. If you miss this fact, you’ve wondered off course. And with regret, that’s exactly what Wong has done.

By minimizing God’s judicial authority Wong rejects God’s moral judgement against sin, substituting amoral consequences by natural design.
Wong’s views distort and weaken our understanding of God and his character as presented in Scripture.

Steven Wong presents a distorted view of Scripture that rejects the heart of the Christian gospel.

Jesus Christ died as our substitute.
He bore our penalty for sin.
His death satisfies God’s justice.

I have never heard of the writer.

There was one I read (can't remember the writer, but he was well known) who made his case by emphasizing some passages while ignoring others (like Christianity was any view derived from any part of the Bible).

Obviously there is legal language as most of the Bible deals with life under the Moasic Law and the Old Covenant (most of the OT and a lot of the NT in explaining the New Covenant).

So it sounds to me that this writer you mention did the same as the one I read.

Can you give the passages vs what he said?

I ask because I have seen errors both ways - ignoring "law language" and placing everything under "law language". It is important because some "law language" is universal while some is in the context if Jews under the Law.

I have seen the extreme of viewing salvation as lawlessness and the extreme of viewing salvation as God's righteousness manifested through the law (both being unbiblical.... and perhaps reactions to opposing doctrines that ultimately departed entirely from God's Word).

 

[JesusFan]

I purchased this book after viewing a FB website where the author presented his ideas about Christianity. He has such a smooth, thoughtful and peaceful demeanor that I desired to know about his views.

Steven Wong presents a non-orthodox view of Christianity. His views of divine justice, hell, and the nature of salvation are far different from traditional Christian doctrine.
I was alerted to his error quite early in the book by the statement that “The Bible… rarely uses the language of courts and penalties” (p. 13). So punishment for evil is simply reduced to “how life functions.”

In reality, a large portion of the Hebrew Scriptures are structured around legal procedures. If you miss this fact, you’ve wondered off course. And with regret, that’s exactly what Wong has done.

By minimizing God’s judicial authority Wong rejects God’s moral judgement against sin, substituting amoral consequences by natural design.
Wong’s views distort and weaken our understanding of God and his character as presented in Scripture.

Steven Wong presents a distorted view of Scripture that rejects the heart of the Christian gospel.

Jesus Christ died as our substitute.
He bore our penalty for sin.
His death satisfies God’s justice.

Does he then reject actual hell?

 

[JesusFan]

Apparently there are a few Steve Wongs, ...who would have guessed? lol

His book doesn't give many clues about his background; the first indicator of a possibly aberrant theology.

The book only describes him as:
"...a Christian author, international speaker, and digital evangelist..."
"...elder of a local church and regularly teaches, preaches and engages with global audiences..."

But there is an acknowledgement directed towards, "To Come and Reason Ministries"; "Design law framework explained in this book by the works of Dr. Timothy R. Jennings..."

Yes, he's an undercover SDA.

Rob

So he holds to a multitude of aberrant doctrines