Posted by
ValiantForTruth on Saturday, December 04, 2010 4:35:30 AM
'...the Christianity Today article concluded that most young people leaving the church “had been exposed to a superficial form of Christianity that effectively inoculated them against authentic faith.”' –Janice Crouse
Re: http://townhall.com/columnists/JaniceShawCrouse/2010/12/04/the_tribe_of_young_unbelievers_increases/
The term inoculation was borrowed from the new practice of small pox inoculation to illustrate the effects of the ‘new measures’ being used by Charles Finney in his revival meetings to inoculate people against authentic faith. It was first used by Asahel Nettleton, an evangelist of the Second Great Awakening. Among the new measures he was addressing is what has developed into the modern altar call.
The long-term affect of Finney's work often weakened the church by leading to church splits over the new measures. Finney's methods did not produce a lasting impact in the lives of people under his influence. His success was measured by the number of professions of faith, not whether the professors remain faithful to their profession.
Many who answer the altar calls have spurious faith, but think they are converted. The altar call experience is used to give them a false hope and therefore inoculate them against true salvation which results in a change of heart. They eventually leave the church with no lasting repentance and faith, but comfortable in their assurance of heaven.
Those who confess Christ and then leave the congregation of His people have no idea of the doctrines of Biblical Christianity because they have been deceived by preachers who practice unbiblical evangelism. The only cure is for the churches to preach the whole counsel of God contained in the apostolic testimony of the New Testament, which is the substance of the types and shadows given in the Old Testament.
Having people come forward and then tell them that they are now saved because of their response to an altar call simply serves to inoculate them against the Gospel. The apostle gives us the distinguishing mark of a Christian…
‘If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new’ [2 Corinthians 5:17].
So what is this superficial form of Christianity that produces spurious faith? Look at Finney’s theology. His methods have greatly affected how the evangelical churches practice evangelism. This is a reflection of a dramatic change in the theology that was characteristic of colonial America and the first Great Awakening. He opposed the theology of Jonathan Edwards while reviving the doctrines of Pelagianism.