It’s always interesting when ODMs quote a famous person, pretending that said famous person agrees with them. Then, you look into many these heroes of the ODMs and you find all kinds of things that don’t line up.

Here’s some examples:

• CR?N displays a video by John Piper, implying that Piper shares their ODM belief system. Fact: John Piper wrote an article for the most recent issue of Relevant (a somewhat progressive Christian magazine). He has also spoken at a Mars Hill Seattle conference. Mark Driscoll, pastor at Mars Hill Seattle, spoke at Piper’s most recent Desiring God conference. Mark Driscoll is considered by some to be a leader in the emerging church.
• Mike Corley quotes C.S. Lewis, implying that Lewis shares his ODM belief system. Fact: Lewis wasn’t a fundamentalists, nor held to an ODM belief system, nor was reformed. In fact, Lewis wrote in Surprised By Joy that a key person in bringing him to faith was Tolkien, a devout Catholic.
• ODMs love Calvin, Luther, and Spurgeon and yet speak out against alcohol. Fact: Calvin, Luther, and Spurgeon all drank alcohol. Most Presbyterian and Lutheran churches use wine in their Eucharist.

In fact most of these men listed above, when you look at them closely, don’t meet the requirements of perfect ODM Christians. In this ODM worldview, will anyone, besides themselves, get to spend an eternity with the Father?

Can I just tell you how ironic I find it that our friends at the Online Hysteria Passed Off as Spiritual Discernment ODM’s get so riled up over David Aikmen’s article wherein he (note that Mr. Aikmen does not write for CRN.info) calls one of them “attack dogs.” We’re still having to read articles about it today. Must be a slow news day. Here’s some advice for said ODM’s, “LET IT GO!!!”

I don’t understand, what’s the big deal. You call people terrible names all the time and try to support it with Scripture. Mr. Aikmen makes some observations that you don’t like. What’s the problem?

I believe in a literal hell but I grow weary of my own hypocrisy and the hypocrisy of the orthodox crowd with their snobbery and doctrinal satisfaction about it. It’s time for a “Hell Revival!!”.

What I want is for all you guys to openly and with enthusiasm declare a belief and love for hell. I want T-shirts that say “I believe in a literal hell and I’m proud of it!”. I want pictorials and descriptions that make the place come alive, and even perfumed with a doctrinally enhanced sulfur scent.

These orthodox theologians that just give lip service and written doctrinal creeds professing their espousal of the doctrine of hell are nothing but paper tigers. Live it, man. Love it, make it your banner of truth proving your love for the Savior! Taste it, smell it, enjoy the vicarious ambiance of the overall penal essence of the place and with that you can claim orthodoxy!

Don’t just criticize those who waiver, go deeper in your stagnant theology and rejoice with the dance of eternal damnation. Remember, you BELIEVE in hell as the Bible declares, you are mentally Biblical!! Some emergents are waffling but not you, you faithfully believe people are going into hell by the thousands as we speak so praise His holy Name, you believe in hell and all the souls that now are experiencing hell’s torments substantiate your glorious orthodoxy. You – are – a – hell – believer!!

So this Sunday when your pastor exposes the ones who are attempting to dismantle the doctrine of hell you stand and shout “Those cowards! Heretics! Emergents!”

And as the service ends go get a bite to eat because it is the doctrine that is important not the souls. Remember, when your neighbor dies that lousy emergent doesn’t believe he went to hell but YOU DO, and with that God is pleased.

This was a classic example for the ODMs response to the criticism of their teacher/mentor, John MacArthur and their theology. I thought that the talk given by Shane McGee in this film was well thought out, well presented and very true in regards to the content in The Truth War. Ken Silva, general editor of Christian Research Network, fails to address any of the content brought up in this film. In fact, his only rebuttal was mocking the film and the movement behind the thinking

The quiet arrogance displayed here is ample evidence of the fetid fruit of the neo-liberal cult of the Emergent Church currently infecting your church’s youth group. These kind of men who are always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth are the new fires of Molech that spiritually obtuse evangelical leaders are sacrificing your children to.

Listen for yourself to this gibberish as a “Christian” agnostic argues how difficult the Bible is to understand using the same arguments as would an unbelieving skeptic. [emphasis mine]

It never ceases to amaze me what these ODMs will write when they are unable to defend their position, including labeling someone as an agnostic. Instead of addressing the issues at hand, they name call and dismiss the claims as arrogance with literally no explanation.

Let me say this about the film – I agreed with most of what McGee had to say. It is more arrogant of John MacArthur to declare that the scriptures are a simple thing to interpret than for McGee to say they are more complex than what meets the eye. Anyone who has taken a basic course in Biblical interpretation knows how intense the process can get when interpreting the scriptures and applying an ancient and sacred text to modern contexts. It is certainly not as obvious at the ODMs would have it.

So there are basically two roads you can take. You either go down the path that the ODMs have chosen. It’s the idea that your exact interpretation of the scriptures is the only interpretation, and everyone else is a man-loving heretic. Or, you are faithful to interpret the scriptures before God to the best of your ability, and accept the fact that we are broken humans who may not get it right 100% of the times. You agree on the essentials, and realize that both pre-trib and post-trib believing believers can read the same scriptures, interpret them very differently, yet worship along side one another.