Dear Doves,

 

Are we throwing the baby out with the bathwater when we classify the book, "The Harbinger", as rubbish to be tossed in a fire?

Is there bathwater in this book?  Absolutely!!  There must be or else such excellent Bible scholars such as Joseph Chambers, Jack Kelley and others wouldn't take the time to outline there criticisms with such passion.

However, let us take a look at the bathwater before dealing with the baby:

- MAIN COMPLAINT:  The author is indicating that the U.S.A. has a similar or the same covenant with God as Israel has with God, including that a national repentance would bring restoration.

- Secondary complaints:  It is commercialized and contains sensationalism.

My personal take on the main complaint:  It is too bad that the author has gone down this particular path.  This may provide hope where there is none and provide application where there is little, if any.  HOWEVER, this particular message, though incorrect, DOES NOT actually contradict the message of the salvation truth of Jesus Christ in any way and that is extremely important.  Not only that but there may be cause to believe that there is some parallel application that makes perfect sense for this analogy.

My personal take on the secondary complaints:  BRAVO!!  AND GOOD FOR CAHN!!  The god of this world has had the stage almost exclusively for hundreds of years.  I personally do not have a problem with this being a raving success in the secular world.  It is funny, we pray that the salvation message will somehow make a break through in the secular world, but yet when it does, it is immediately condemned as commercial, selling out and sensationalizing by so many “well meaning Christians”.

In this world, a world addicted to sports, porn, booze and shallow entertainment, ANYTHING that has the true salvation message of Christ is better than the alternative.

 

With the bathwater part behind us, this now brings me to my thoughts on the baby part:

Is there a baby worth saving here? Again, I am relying on various critiques like Jack, Jan, Terry and others to supply what they saw as positives as I have not read the book (which is actually good in this case as I am neither defending nor condemning this book).

 

If you agree that the following were achieved in reading this book, then I believe the baby is well worth saving DESPITE some unclean bathwater:

 

-  The book illustrates that the God of the Bible is very much alive and active today

 

-  The book illustrates that the God of the Bible is all-powerful and controls the destinies, not of just some people or some countries, but of the entire world and everything and everyone in it

 

-  The book NEVER indicates that there is any other way to obtain salvation than through Jesus Christ

 

-  The book explicitly indicates that the ONLY way to obtain salvation is through Jesus Christ

-  The book never indicates that the Church or the U.S.A. has replaced Israel, but rather shares the same covenant God made with Israel (while incorrect, this is NOT the same as Replacement Theology, wherein this asserts that Israel is no longer in covenant with God and is just another country)

-  The book contains Chapter 21, which a knowledgable Christian reviewer indicates contains an extremely strong Christ-centered salvation message

-  The book contains an extremely blunt and direct message that both people and nations must repent and turn back to the One who saves, Jesus Christ, before it is too late

-  The book contains an extremely blunt and direct message that the time to choose Satan or Jesus is running out rapidly and that your last breathe could be your first step in Hell if you choose incorrectly

-  The book indicates that grace thru faith in Christ alone is sufficient for salvation

-  The book never contains any indication that grace thru faith in Christ alone is not sufficient for salvation

If you have read the book and agree with the above statements, it seems obvious to me that this book has a baby that is well worth saving. Especially when you compare alternative material available in this day and age, such as the secular garbage that abounds in the form of Lady Gaga and others.

I suppose the acid test could be the following:

- Could many people repent and come to salvation through Christ specifically because of this book?

It seems like many feel that the answer to this acid test is a resounding yes. And I believe that is what Jan Markell and others are trying to get across and that is; perhaps we are in danger of throwing out the baby with the bathwater when we condemn this book in its entirety for some non-salvation misapplications.

MARANATHA!!  Surely our redemption draws EXTREMELY near!!

 

YbiC, MathMan