Pensees: “Joe Z is playing with a disease”

For those fundy pastors/students secretly casting longing eyes at the E.C. with its bogus promises of freedom and unity, please, please do NOT make the jump. As an employee of Wheaton College, I am no expert at discernment, perhaps, but my position has offered me a unique point of observation. When the E.C. talks (through occasional cigar smoke and cussing) I don’t hear Christianity, I hear crypto-Buddhism. There aren’t many strains of Christianity from which I will separate, but their presence on campus for our Theology Conference a few weeks ago sent chills down my back. The disapproval leveled against them are not exaggerations. Here I am an outspoken critic. Their’s is a deliberate attack against conservative Christianity. Behind the coolness, the E.C. is rotten, and Joe Z. is playing with disease. I hope he’ll see that soon.

Ironically, one week ago today, Robert Webber, former BJU student and beloved former Wheaton professor, died. He was probably the first high-profile ex-fundy (if ever he was one to begin with) to make the break. In fact, in recent years he became a sort of grandfather to the E.C. movement. He left behind dozens of books explaining his passion for worship and reasoning for embracing liturgical worship. Following his publications, one can easily trace the trajectory of Bob Webber’s thought, whether you agree or not.