Opus 2013-351: The Jets, Mark Driscoll and P.J. O’Rourke, part 2 of 3

The Jets confessed,  “Deep down inside we’re just no good.”  Society disagrees.  Mark Driscoll agrees.  In a podcast titled “Jesus Preached the Gospel,” breaks it down this way.  This was typed by listening so the punctuation is mine.  I may get a few words off, but it is close enough for understanding.

“Therapy has overtaken theology....A therapeutic model begins with this assumption:  You’re basically a good person.  And what is holding you back is the sins of others and the nature of the culture.  So what we need to do is encourage you to love yourself; to love yourself, to embrace yourself so that you could maximize your goodness. 

“The Bible says, “You are bad.”  A completely different assumption.  And you don’t need to just embrace yourself, you need to become a new self.  You don’t need to just accept who you are, you need to have God change who you are.  And what you need is not to just feel better.  You need to be new.

“And so it is a very different set of assumptions that are working for having to deal with the human condition.  So a Christian will come along and say, ‘Let’s talk about repentance.’  Whereas a non-Christian will come around and talk about something other than repentance.  Do you love yourself?  Do you have a high self-esteem?  Do you feel good about yourself?   You know, are you actualizing your potential?  Do you know how good you really could be? ....  It’s not centered on God as the standard of holiness and right and wrong.  It’s centered more on my feelings and my vision for my life...”

A lot of words.  Too many modern pastors do not accept this clear teaching of the Bible.  Driscoll did not surprise me.  What surprised me was the agreement of P. J. O’Rourke.

To be continued...

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