Anglican College Pres Says 'Go to Hell'
By J. Grant Swank Jr. (05/24/07)
Richard Turnbull, principal, Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, proclaims that "ninety-five per cent of Britons are heading for hell," per The Guardian's Stephen Bates.
Perhaps he is right. If one takes seriously Jesus’ statements concerning heaven and hell, Turnbull could be right on the money.
Jesus said that most souls are on their way to hell, the lesser ones on their way to heaven. "Narrow is the way. .. " "Broad is the way. . . " Those who are ignorant of Jesus’ teachings should check out the material first-hand by reading the New Testament in its entirety. The material is all there for the study.
One cannot be a legitimate biblical student and scissor up the biblical data. One either takes all Jesus’ statements as divine revelation or junks them all. There is no legitimate academic middle ground here. It’s all or nothing. Period.
Theological liberals have spent their entire lives defending their hubris in concluding what is legitimate biblical material and what is to be discarded. They have played God. They have committed an arch sin. They will pay at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
Theological conservatives on the other hand have come to the data to believe it as divine revelation, not needing adding to or subtracting from. They bank their souls on the conviction that God has spoken clearly, not needing any mortal assistance. In that is their humility.
They also believe Jesus to be deity—fully so. He is not a lesser deity. He is not a half deity. He is fully God incarnate. What He states therefor in the Gospel records is God speaking. Jesus spoke clearly about eternal bliss. He warned pointedly about everlasting damnation. In fact, the latter warnings outnumber the blissful invitations.
Liberals have no problem with the eternal bliss part for that of course selfishly provides them with that abode—they think. Eternity may prove otherwise. However, they cannot tolerate eternal hell; therefore, they "demythologize" it away with much snobbish adieu.
Now we have a "leading Anglican theological training college" headed by a conservative principal. Too bad for the Anglican liberals, of which they are too many.
"Richard Turnbull, appointed two years ago, made the claim in a speech to the annual conference of Reform, a conservative evangelical pressure group within the Church of England. If he truly believes it, the figure would encompass at least all non-evangelical Christians, including many members of the Church of England, and those of all other religions and none.
"A recording of the speech, made in October last year and seen by the Guardian, was posted last night on the Thinking Anglicans liberal website.
"In it, Dr Turnbull also warns against the danger of liberalism in the church, talks of ‘the strategic nature’ of evangelical control of training colleges and calls on conservatives to siphon off 10% of their financial contributions to the Church of England to help pay the costs of like-minded colleges.
"Dr Turnbull told them: ‘We are committed to bringing the gospel message of Jesus Christ to those who don't know [him] and in this land that's 95% of the people: 95% of people facing hell unless the message of the gospel is brought to them.’"
When visiting a friend in eastern Canada recently, I told her: "Your United Church of Canada and the Anglican Church are going to hell."
We were seated in her kitchen about to have breakfast. She is one wrestling with the biblical truth as opposed to the liberalism suffocating her dying local congregation. She did not know what to answer me for she is betwixt and between on denominational loyalty.
However, I believe exactly what I said. Of course, I know there are biblical believers in every denomination. But they are beaten up presently by theological liberals in too many denominations as the so-called leadership there shovels their followers into hell.
Again: one cannot have it both ways: a sweet Jesus extending heaven’s invitation while debunking a warning Jesus whose lips speak of hell’s fires. A legitimate biblical scholar takes Jesus’ whole package or none of it. Only the tawdry "scholars" say they have the right to splice and dice the data.
"Traditionally Wycliffe, a permanent private hall of Oxford University founded in 1877, has trained evangelical Anglicans for the clergy, but its reputation has been as an open evangelical college, welcoming would-be ordinands >from a wide range of theological and liturgical beliefs.
"Critics within the college have accused the principal of taking it in a much more restrictive and exclusionary direction. At least a third of the academic staff have resigned and its best-known member, the Thought for the Day contributor Elaine Storkey, has been threatened with disciplinary action, allegedly for raising concerns at an internal staff meeting."
Persecution pounded upon Turnbull is nothing new to believers. They have endured far worse. And they will endure this as well. In some locales, biblical believers are having their heads cut off as I type.
Jesus warned His own would be hated in this existence. Go figure.
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