Dave to explain his concerns with Billy Graham, Chuck Colson, and Bill Bright accepting the Templeton Prize

Dave Hunt

4 hrs · 

(The following post is longer than usual, but the background is necessary for Dave to explain his concerns with Billy Graham, Chuck Colson, and Bill Bright accepting the Templeton Prize)

Ecumenism and compromise are increasingly infecting the highest ranks among evangelicals. A major contributor to that trend is wealthy Wall Street money manager John Marks Templeton. We will quote from two of his books: Discovering the Laws of Life (1994) and The Humble Approach (1981, revised in 1995), referring to them as D and H, with the page numbers. Templeton is best known for having established a religion prize of larger monetary value (currently more than $1 million) than the Nobel Prize. He explains why:

"Microbes slowly evolved into worms, fishes, reptiles, and mammals. Humans did not appear until forty thousand years ago...."

"According to the Jesuit paleontologist and mystic Teilhard de Chardin [known as "the father of the New Age"]...there came first the sphere of mineral evolution, the geosphere; then the sphere of living things, the biosphere; and lastly the sphere of the human mind, the noosphere....[T]he human mind is so potent...that no one knows what may happen next. Evolution is accelerating...."

"Teilhard called for a new theology...a new, unprecedented religion....Is there evidence that minds are developing into even more miraculous spirits and souls...?"

"As the religious forms of traditional Judaism and Christianity are losing their powers to inform the contemporary mind, the West desperately needs religious geniuses who can create new imaginal forms...."

"Theologians...must begin to explore the vast unseen dimensions of our evolving universe...."

"The next stage of human divine progress on the evolutionary scale needs...geniuses of the spirit, blazing trails for the rest of us to follow. To encourage progress of this kind, we have established the Templeton Foundation Prizes for Progress in Religion."

Templeton has formed a religious research center called the Humility Theology Information Center for the development of "progress in religious thinking" ( H, 130). Here are some of his comments regarding the progress in religion which he hopes will come out of this center:

"[N]ew research presently has as its focus the development of...spiritual truth [to be] accepted worldwide regardless of the culture or...religions of any geographical or ethnic area [now, that's ecumenism!]...."

"I am hoping we can develop a body of knowledge about God that doesn't rely on ancient revelations or scripture [such as the Bible!]...that is scientific...and is not disputed because of divisions between religions or churches or ancient scripture or liturgy...."

"The main purpose of the Templeton Foundations is to encourage enthusiasm for accelerating discovery and progress in spiritual matters...."( H, 135-39)

According to Templeton, the world's scriptures (including the Bible) "were written ...[by] men whose minds were limited by cosmologies long since discredited" ( H, 61). Nor does the Bible accurately record the words of Christ, because those who reported them "could write down only what they understood...[as] ignorant and primitive ...Jews." ( H , 39-40).

On the contrary, Paul affirmed that every word in the Bible "is given by inspiration of God" (2 Tim:3:16); Peter said of the Bible, "holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (2 Pt 1:21); and the psalmist said, "For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven" (Ps:119:89).

To suggest that Christianity is the one true faith and is unchangeable and must be defended as such contradicts what Templeton calls "the humble approach" in religion. In his thinking, only pride would suggest that Christianity alone is true. When people take a "humble attitude, they welcome new ideas about the spirit just as they welcome new scientific ideas. ...Humility opens the door to the realms of the spirit, and to research and progress in religion" ( H, 2-3) and "is the key to progress" ( H, 3) because it prevents the proud delusion that any religion could be totally right:

"The truly humble should be so open-minded that they welcome religious views from any place in the universe that is peopled with intelligent life. Seekers following the humble approach... never...reject ideas from other nations, religions, or eras...the humble approach to theology is ongoing and constantly evolving...."

"In fact, at the heart of true religion is the willingness to see truths in other religions. The Persian scriptures claim, "Whatever road I take joins the highway that leads to Thee....Broad is the carpet God has spread...."" ( H, 35-36, 45)

Christ, too, spoke of the broad road; but far from commending it, He said it led to "destruction" (Mat:7:13). Contradicting Jesus, who said, "I am the way...no man cometh unto the Father [God], but by me" (Jn:14:6), Templeton says, "No one should say that God can be reached by only one path. Such exclusiveness lacks humility....New, freer, more imaginative and adaptable creeds will have to be devised in order that man's God-given mind and imagination can help to build the kingdom of heaven" ( H, 46,55). As for Templeton's "heaven,"

"[A]stronauts travel[ed] into outer space; and...they did not bring back any evidence of heaven...drills had penetrated the earth, they'd found oil, not hell, in the depths. The definitive descriptions of the afterlife we received as children called for some revision in the light of the scientific discoveries of the modern age....Through our own choices and attitudes we create our own heaven or hell right here on earth" (D, 208) .

The very idea of "progress in religion" denies the gospel of Jesus Christ. Christianity is not a religion, nor is it subject to progressive development. Neither does Christianity maintain a friendly, ecumenical relationship with the world's religions, but opposes all of them as devices of Satan. Every true Christian, by the very tenets of his faith, must be uncompromisingly opposed to Templeton's neo-pagan beliefs and the prize he offers.

Obviously, it would be dishonest for anyone to accept the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion who was not in complete sympathy with its purpose and the beliefs behind it. Wouldn't the reception of the prize by any individual constitute an endorsement of what the prize represents in the mind of its founder? How could any recipient offer ignorance as an excuse when Templeton's neopagan views have been widely published for years?

Campus Crusade for Christ founder Bill Bright is the latest evangelical leader to accept the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion. He joins Billy Graham, who received the prize in 1982, and Charles Colson, who received it in 1993. On that occasion Colson declared, "I salute Sir John for establishing this award and doing it in such a generous way...." Bright also joins Buddhist, Muslim and Hindu leaders, together with liberal theologians and atheists, who have received the prize as well. Try to imagine Daniel accepting an ecumenical prize from the sorcerers of Babylon, or Jesus from pagan leaders of His day!