Why would the CRISTA Ministries want to change the name of
one of its three radio stations from "Christian" to
"Spirit"? Recently, the Seattle radio station with call letters KCMS
changed its name from the Christian Music Station to “Spirit 105.3”: "THE
HOPE IS IN THE HITS".
According to Bill Virgin of the SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
REPORTER newspaper - “Christian radio KCMS prefers to let music deliver the
message" (October 21, 1999)
"KCMS-FM, operated by Shoreline-based CRISTA Ministries, is
advertising itself these days as "Spirit 105.3," and that reflects
more than a new marketing campaign. Michael Tedesco, the station's promotions
director, says the station has decided to deliberately move away from a model
used by many Christian music stations.
""This market is so unique, and so removed from the Bible Belt,
we felt we had to go in a different direction," he says.
"The station isn't banning music with a Christian message; KCMS-FM's
old tag line was "the message is in the music," and Tedesco says
that underlying message is one of hope. But rather than proselytize between
the songs, the station will rely on the music to deliver the message.
""Believers are going to know the message, but we don't want it
so much in your face . . . that non-believers will be turned off," he
says."
The reason this is of concern to me is that increasingly,
professing Evangelical Christian leaders and organizations are moving away from
the name of Jesus towards a general message of "The Spirit" and
"spirituality". And this trend is occurring at a time when many of the
other worlds leaders and organizations are promoting a Universal
Religious Vision that also ignores or rejects the name of Jesus as the only
hope for individuals.
The CREDO Institute promotes CREDO
spirituality among the Chaplains of the U.S. Navy: “We want to carry on the
work of the Spirit...Homemakers and homeless, prisoners and judges, bishops and
workers, students, sailors, searchers and skeptics; people of many faiths –
all are part of the Credo family”
A well known author, M.
Scott Peck, who is often quoted by Evangelical Christian authors, also
promotes a work of the "Spirit" with or without naming the name of
Jesus. The following quotes are from his book, The Different Drum:
Community Making and Peace in the chapter titled, "The True Meaning
of Community".
"Community is a spirit
- but not in the way that the familiar phrase 'community spirit' is usually
understood.... The spirit of community is a manifestation of the Holy
Spirit. This does not mean that community is solely a Christian
phenomenon. I have seen community develop among Christians and Jews,
Christians and atheists, Jews and Muslims, Muslims and Hindus. People of any
religious persuasion or none whatever can develop community."
“The members of a group
who have achieved genuine community do take pleasure – even delight – in
themselves as a collective.”
“When a group enters
community there is a dramatic change in spirit. And then new spirit is
almost palpable.”
[The spirit of community],
“…is thought of as descending upon the group, just as the Holy Spirit is
said to have descended upon Jesus at his baptism in the form of a dove. …
Thus for those of Christian orientation the work of community building is
seen as preparation for the descent of the Holy Spirit. The spirit of
community is a manifestation of the Holy Spirit. This does not mean that
community is solely a Christian phenomenon. I have seen community develop
among Christians and Jews, Christians and atheists, Jews and Muslims,
Muslims and Hindus. People of any religious persuasion or none whatever can
develop community…. Any group of people (no matter what their religious
persuasion or whether the word “Jesus” is ever spoken) who are willing
to practice the love, discipline, and sacrifice that are required for the
spirit of community, that Jesus extolled and exemplified, will be gathered
together in his name and he will be there.”
If people who profess to be
followers of the Lord Jesus back away from the name of Jesus and try to preach
a message of "the spirit" with out preaching the Jesus of the Bible
in terms of the Gospel of the Bible, then their message becomes "A
different Gospel" (see Galatians chapter 1). Because...
"Neither is
there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given
among men, whereby we must be saved."
Acts 4:12
Four Ways Christians Are Deceived
"God"...a
false god
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