[SIZE=+2]Tony Campolo[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]Young people are easy targets for modern false prophets and their teachings. The appended post from Sandy Simpson exposes the ministry of Youth Alive as an agency to draw youth into the Brownsville A/G Revival and Third Wave experience. Also available on Sandy's Outrigger Productions web site are several informative articles on the Gnostic theology and occult phenomena associated with the Third Wave movement.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]As might be expected, popular youth speaker Tony Campolo is also associated with Youth Alive and scheduled to hold a Gotta Have Hope Tour in Australia in March of 1999. Since this event will take place a few weeks before Easter, it is worthwhile to consider Dr. Campolo's doctrine of the resurrected Christ, as expressed in his controversial book, A REASONABLE FAITH:[/SIZE] [SIZE=+0]""He can be found exactly where he said. He told us that he did not dwell in temples and churches that we build in his honor. Instead, he encouraged us to look for him in one another. He said, 'You are my temples I dwell in you. What I am trying to say is that Jesus who incarnated God 2,000 years ago is mystically present and waiting to be discovered in EVERY person you and I encounter.' (p. 171)[/SIZE] [SIZE=+0]"...In describing the resurrected Jesus as the SACRED PRESENCE waiting to be encountered in other people, I was making a literal statement. I do not mean that the others represent Jesus for us. I mean that Jesus actually is present in each person. He continues to live in our midst, not as a religious influence or a sacred idea. He is personally alive. It is the historical Jesus who is encountered in the I -Thou. It is the resurrected Lord of the universe who is revealed to those who are open to his presence in others. Jesus is a REAL PRESENCE in other people and this convinces me that there are infinite possibilities for the future and great hope for the world." (p. 192) [caps added][/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]What is the "Hope" young people "Gotta Have" according to Tony Campolo? Is it the Gospel or recognition of the "sacred presence" in themselves and every person? Theosophist Alice Bailey described the first stage of an initiation ceremony as the revelation to the initiate of "The Presence" of "the God within"...[/SIZE] [SIZE=+0]"We can now consider the stages of the initiation ceremony, which are five in number, as follows: 1. The 'Presence' revealed. 2. The 'Vision' seen. 3. The application of the rod, affecting the bodies, the centres, the causal vehicle. 4. The administration of the oath. 5. The giving of the 'Secret' and the Word...[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]"The Revelation of the 'Presence'[/SIZE] [SIZE=+0]"Right through the later periods of the cycle of incarnation... there is growing up in his mind a realisation that he himself is an immortal Existence, and eternal God, and a portion of Infinity. Ever the link between the man on the physical plane and this inner Ruler becomes clearer until the great revelation is made. Then comes a moment in his existence when the man stands consciously face to face with his real Self and knows himself to be that Self in reality and not just theoretically; he becomes aware of the God within, not through the sense of hearing, or through attention to the inner voice directing and controlling, and called the 'voice of conscience.' This time the recognition is through sight and direct vision. He now responds not only to that which is heard, but also to that which he sees." (Initiation: Human & Solar, pp. 112-13)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]Dr. Campolo has forthrightly acknowledged that his view of Jesus indwelling every person is inconsistent with Scripture, and based on experiences instead. In fact, it is the New Age concept of "the Christ within." Anticipating unfavorable reactions to his book, Campolo wrote:[/SIZE] [SIZE=+0]"There are some warnings that I wish to issue to anyone reading this book. The first is to be aware that the theology expressed in this short volume represents a personal attempt to state my Christian faith in a way that might prove meaningful for my secularist friends. I am sensitive to the fact that any attempt to state the Gospel in the dominant categories of a culture inevitably leads to a distortion of the Gospel. Consequently, anyone who accuses me of violating the biblical message is correct." (p. 190)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]Tony Campolo KNOWS that his message is HERETICAL.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]Notwithstanding this candid admission, he has been invited to address young people at Youth Alive with the knowledge and approval of the Assemblies of God. In fact, Tony Campolo has for many years been a popular speaker at the youth events of many denominations and nondenominational churches.[/SIZE] [SIZE=+0]It remains for parents, therefore, to become informed about the teachings of this false prophet and increasingly vigilant regarding church sponsored youth activities for their teenagers. For a more thorough evaluation of Tony Campolo, VCY America has posted Excerpts from Renegade Prophet? A Look at the Teachings of Tony Campolo.[/SIZE]
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