Searching for the Truth in the King James Bible;
Finding it, and passing it on to you.

EDITOR:
Steve Van Nattan

HOME PAGE

 

SEARCH THIS JOURNAL

 

HOME - TABLE OF CONTENTS - WAR ROOM - THE GOSPEL - BIBLE STUDY - MORAL ISSUES - KING JAMES BIBLE - CULTS
HUMOR - PROPHECY - WORLD AFFAIRS - QUIET PLACE - STEVE'S YARNS - STEVE'S BIO - HEALTH - LADIES' PAGE - HEROES

 

THE BIBLE BELIEVER'S METANARRATIVE
We must be radically exclusive to remain true Philadelphians

By Steve Van Nattan

 

 

Metanarrative Defined

Though defined elsewhere, we need to review the definition of a metanarrative. Until this Emergent Church issue came up, I had not even heard of the concept. But, it is there, it is an old concept, and New Agers and New Spirituality people are using the concept to define themselves. So, we will try to make it very clear what the metanarrative of the Bible believer is and whether it is adequate to answer all of the options.

METANARRATIVE A story, narrative or theory which claims to be above the ordinary or local accounts of social life. Postmodernists claim that the majority of the writings of Marx, Durkheim, Weber are offered as metanarratives, presented as capturing universal properties of social life and thus superior to local or more grounded stories. Postmodernist social theorists argue for a return to the local, the rejection of grand theory and a privileged position for science and its narratives, and an acknowledgment of the inherently political nature of all narratives.

Here is a definition of a universal (New Age) metanarrative by a Mormon Brigham Young University philosopher. I believe it is about as "good" as it gets, and it comes from the right source, the devil's playground in Salt Lake City, Utah:

Metanarrative: A "grand theory," a narrative about narratives. A metanarrative is a story we tell about ourselves, what we do, and what is expected; it is a story that links our smaller stories together and gives us unity-- social, psychological, and intellectual. Modernism includes several metanarratives, such as the story of progressive, global emancipation of people, minorities, etc.

The Bible believer has a narrative in the Word of God, but the Bible believer has a limited metanarrative. It consists of 66 books which are all there is from which to derive our metanarrative. We do not have a story about all stories which includes every story on earth.

Then again, we DO have a metanarrative that defines all the other narratives as well as the narrative of the Bible. All stories outside the metanarrative of the Word of God are defined by the Word of God:

Luke 11:34 (KJV) The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.
35 Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness.
36 If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light.

All "light" from outside of the metanarrative of the Word of God is, in fact, darkness. The mongrel "light" has an origin:

2 Corinthians 11:13 (KJV) For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

It is no surprise to the Bible believer that there is a larger metanarrative than the Word of God, for there is a second story teller-- Satan. So, the Bible tells us that there are narratives outside of the metanarrative of The Lord Jesus Christ, and the Bible defines them OUT OF the metanarrative of the Word of God.

The "what if" of the universalist and the New Spiritualist, that is, "What if there is another way," is defined as the way to hell.

Proverbs 14:12 (KJV) There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

 

The Metanarrative of New Spirituality and the Emergent Church

The Emergent Church, New Spirituality, Purpose Driven Church, and the New Age Movement, use many of the buzz words we use. They have a Christ, and they talk about many things we talk about. What they MEAN by these terms can be totally another definition. Their Christ is found in Hinduism and in Islam, and their truth is all inclusive. By this we mean that each group within the New Spirituality Movement has its own local metanarrative, but they borrow from other metanarratives eagerly. In the end, they have no idea where they came from nor where they are going. They have cooked their stew of metanarratives until the carrots taste like cabbage, and the peas taste like onions.

The Rick Warren New Spiritulists also approve of other metanarratives as valid for the followers of those "other ways" to consciousness or whatever that means.

In the video you see Billy Graham tell the story of his journey from a Bible based exclusive metanarrative, one my Dad thought he really believed back in 1948, to the present metanarrative of the New Age New Spirituality Globalist pagan pie. It is made of four and twenty black birds.

When Billy Graham had his first tent meetings in LA, local Lutheran churches panicked and told their people to stay away from his tent meetings. They were terrified that Lutherans would learn that they were not saved. They called him a Communist and many other false accusations.

Today, Lutherans are more narrow than Billy Graham is. Go figure. When you start buttoning your shirt wrong at the bottom, it will be wrong all the way to the top. Graham has shown us that he has NO concept of the metanarrative of the Word of God. He was only playing a game all long, and he is damned to hell in a hand basket.

WATCH GRAHAM VIDEO ON YOU TUBE

 

How can we say this? Well, Jesus taught a number of things about false teachers:

Matthew 7:15 (KJV) Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Matthew 7:22 (KJV) Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

There will be people in heaven who heard the Gospel preached from Billy Graham in his early days, and they believed it and were born again. They will be shocked to find that Billy Graham is not there.

J. Vernon McGee said something that answers this:

It is not how a man starts out his life that counts-- it is how he ends that tells you about the man.-- J Vernon McGee

Revelation 2:24 (KJV) But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden.
25 But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.
26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:

"Unto the end" does not mean that our metanarrative mellows and ages like good cheese as we arrive at old age, as is the case with Billy Graham. We die with the faith which was first delivered to us:

Jude 1:3 (KJV) Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

Once ANYONE, be he a Buddhist, a Pope, a Billy Graham, a Fundamentalist, steps outside of the metanarrative of the Word of God, here is where he is headed. If you are in an Emergent Church, or you have inhaled the incense of Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Life, you will by horrified that I would suggest that you will one day believe you are God. But, this the the journay Eve took in the garden of Eden, and you will too, just like the idiot in the video.

It may take you a day, or it may take you a lifetime, as with Billy Graham, but one day you will accept any representation of God that passes by in the parade of feel-good religion. This is the story of The Shack. It is taking in thousands of gullible people daily. God is a black Mamma, and maybe God is even YOU.

Here is an example of the "you are God" message

The New Age, New Spirituality, Rick Warren, Emergent Church metanarrative starts down the same road as the fellow in the video. Something is missing. We are not the only ones who can do good. The whole world can benefit from everyone's journey. The point there Rick Warren stops short is the point at which the video fellow says YOU are the reality, YOU are divine. That is where a bunch of people jump off of the wagon. Even many Catholics and Liberal Christians will find that a bit much. Hugging heretics because we think God is tolerant is one thing, but saying I AM God is quite another.

The bottom line of the New Age and the New Spirituality is very old:

Genesis 3:4 (KJV) And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

If you eat thereof, of the New Spirituality, Purpose Driven Life, Self-love of Robert Schuler, or any other definition of "truth" from outside the Word of God, you will die and go to hell.

Hebrews 6:4 (KJV) For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

Billy Graham tasted of the metanarrative, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and he preached it. But, he never believed it. Anyone who is truly transformed from spiritual death to life never turns back.

 

The Bible Believer's Metanarrative

The metanarrative of the Word of God is Jesus Christ. You are the reader, you are the sinner, and you are the one for whom The Lord Jesus Christ died and rose again from the grave. If Adam and Eve had not sinned, and no one ever sinned, there would not have been a metanarrative written down.

Genesis 3:6 (KJV) And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.

The video discusses the two godheads- Jesus Christ or YOU

But, has God let these counterfeit metanarratives run free? Are they immune from examination? Do we have a way of grabbing hold of them and putting them into the perspective of truth?

Answer: Absolutely, and here it is:

1 Timothy 2:5 (KJV) For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

The One God spoken of is The Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible is his metanarrative. In his metanarrative we have our origin, and in his metanarrative we have our eternal end.

He created us in the beginning of all things physical which we see and experience.

John 1:1 (KJV) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

He is the end and final objective of our life, that is, if we are in him by faith in his death and resurrection:

Revelation 21:6 (KJV) And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

Revelation 22:13 (KJV) I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. 14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

You see, The Lord Jesus Christ is the only revelation the Bible believer has of the Godhead. John 1:18 (KJV) No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

It is very clear, to anyone taking the Bible as the literal truth, that there cannot be any other revelation of God or truth outside of Jesus Christ.

As to our present state, we cannot grab a bit of this and a bit of that and combine it all into a jolly good stew of blessed tolerance:

Acts 17:28 (KJV) For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.
30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:

The revelation of God was, to Adam, a walk in the garden in the cool of the evening every day. Once this was lost, due to Adam's sin, the metanarrative started to be lived out. Moses, and other inspired writers, put it down in writing for a record, and you now have 66 books in the metanarrative.

Genesis 5:24 (KJV) And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.

Enoch walked so well with God that God took him out of this life without requiring him to die to go on into God's eternal presence. The walk with God is on a narrow path.

Matthew 7:13 (KJV) Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

The Bible tells you how God arranged for you to get back the walk in the cool of the evening with him-- now, and for all eternity. But, you have NO alternative to the metanarrative given you by God, and you CANNOT add to it or take away with it without being damned to hell.

Revelation 22:18 (KJV) For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

This is simple-- it is not necessary for me to go on and on. The Bible is all there is. There is no other valid metanarrative. Read it, and learn-- read it and believe it-- you will pass from death unto life.

John 20:30 (KJV) And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:
31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

Is you definition, is your belief, is your faith that you live with, ONLY about The Lord Jesus Christ? If so, you have eternal life, and your spiritual instincts, which as given to you by the Holy Spirit of God in you, will cry out against the New Spirituality and the Emergent Church. If you feel all warm and cuddly in the Emergent Church and the Purpose Driven Life, you are still very lost and on your way to hell.

Your choice.

Joshua 24:15 (KJV) And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

Your Amorites are Billy Graham, the Pope, Rick Warren, and the teachers of the New Spirituality which is inclusive and gathers in all beliefs into you big family-- your Amorites are tolerant. In truth, YOU are your own metanarrative maker.

It is all about The Lord Jesus Christ, or it is all about YOU. These two godheads are mutually exclusive.

 

How Shall We Then Respond to the New Spirituality
and Emergent Church Metanarrative?

Can we then define EVERY other metanarrative within the context of our metanarrative? I said ours was absolutely exclusive in my larger introduction to the Emergent Church and New Spirituality previously, but I now take the liberty to contradict myself. This is a bit of the Scotch-Irish White Savage coming out in me I suspect :-)

Proverbs 6:16 (KJV) These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

So, the definition of Rick Warren's namby pamby milque toast cuddle-up program with geopolitical Globalists, commercial do gooders, and Hindus and Muslims and the Dali Lama is covered by our metanarrative-- God hates it. And, God hates Rick Warren:

Psalms 7:11 (KJV) God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.

And, what are we to do about this?

Psalms 139:21 (KJV) Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee?
22 I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

My only concern about my hatred for Rick Warren is, "Lord, is it really perfect hatred?" David, after making his hated for the wicked public, turns to God and asks God to show him how to do a better job of hating the wicked in verse 24.

Now, as I said, we do have a metanarrative that grabs hold of every other metanarrative and includes it in the one big story. The Emergent Church, New Spirituality, Rick Warren, the New Age, TBN, the Pope, Billy Graham, a thousand seminaries, 99% of all Christian denominations, the Dali Lama, Guru Yogi Banana, Mother Goose Church of Divine Slop Hog Holiness-- you name it-- anything and anyone who is in ANY way outside of the metanarrative of the 66 books of the King James Bible is to be the object of our hate, for they hate God.

Ezekiel 44:23 (KJV) And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.
24 And in controversy they shall stand in judgment; and they shall judge it according to my judgments: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all mine assemblies; and they shall hallow my sabbaths.

This video of Rick Warren shows that this man is very open minded toward virtually anyone who does good works as he defines them. The unity he craves is his gospel, and it is a mongrel gospel because it does not define his fellow workers as damned to hell and in need of salvation.

You must have noticed that Rick Warren simply gushes over the good works done by the lost government and business people, as well as other religious groups. You will recall the definition at the first of this article which talked about a "return to the local" stories. Warren is joining everyone with a local story differenct thatn his to gain a higher good. In this, if nowhere else, Warren shows his utter ignorance of the biblical metanarrative:

Isaiah 64:6 (KJV) But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

Ephesians 2:8 (KJV) For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Rick Warren is absolutely driven by the prospect of doing good to the world. The Bible teaches that doing good to a man, making him comfortable and well fed, without giving him the propositional metanarrative about his biggest problem, his lost soul, is wicked. The man is simply made more comfortable as he goes to hell. Rick Warren is a devil who rocks the cradle of the damned and does a little Winnie the Pooh hum to make them comfy.

So, what shall we do about all the do-gooders of the New Spirituality, the Global Village? We cannot cooperate with them, and we cannot do anything but rebuke them and command them to repent:

Acts 17:30 (KJV) And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:

If they were ignorant before we got to them, that time in their slop hog days is over-- we are to trash their folly soundly and command them to repent. If they do not repent......

Acts 13:50 (KJV) But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts.
51 But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium.

To hell with them. They are not repentant, and they are blaspheming God. They deserve only their place, which THEY chose, in the Lake of Fire. Again, I give you the verdict from Jesus Christ Himself:

Matthew 7:13 (KJV) Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

The grand monster Emergent Church, your mega church, the Global "Harmonic Convergence," the Global Village, and 99% or Christendom are all on the broad way to hell. You simply cannot fix that. You can only believe that only the Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and tell people you meet that this is the only way to salvation. You will never find yourself in a large mob that gives you the warm fuzzies. You will end your life with the few, and you will know you are walking with God as Adam did before he sinned.

 

If you have recent information, or you have found web pages exposing mind control techniques,
please send me email with the URL at this page.

 

 

BACK TO WAR ROOM

BACK TO WAR ROOM- NEW SPIRITUALITY ( More books on the Emergent Church Movement are listed here )

BACK TO OPENING PAGE OF JOURNAL

 


ge