Whom Do We Listen To? Part 6

Whom Do We Listen To? Part 6
Wednesday, April 22, 2026 by Dr. James W. Walraven

Categories: Apologetics / Apostasy / Contemporary issues / Scripture discussion / Spiritual deception / Spiritual warfare / The church / Thought for Today / Truth telling

Do we listen to the advocates of liberal Christianity, modified forms of the faith that remove the reality of sin, our separation from God, and our need of salvation?

“Liberal Christianity” per se has a history. One can go back to the late 19th century with the proclamation of the “Social Gospel.” It emphasized the importance of meeting people’s practical needs, something that God does indeed command us to do. But while important, while doing so can demonstrate God’s love, it is not a salvific act. Placing one’s faith in Jesus Christ in response to God’s love is. Over the many decades it morphed into what became known as the Emergent Church, a movement that marched in lock-step with the philosophical and cultural rise of postmodernism.

In the last couple of decades, we’ve seen the rise of “progressive Christianity,” as the advocates of those non-biblical forms of Christianity continue to “Christianize” what the secular culture teaches at any given moment. That “progressive Christianity” is currently being replaced by the latest cultural demand: radical inclusivism.

The popular podcast “Rethinking God with Tacos” is a prominent place where the culture’s current requirements are being taught. Universal salvation is front and center. But it is no longer called universal salvation, but inclusivism or radical inclusivism. By using those terms, its advocates can sidestep the warnings about the unbiblical nature of universal salvation. The new terms also mirror what the culture is now demanding.

With each iteration down that non-biblical path, the resulting “product” becomes more removed from anything remotely biblical. At least with Christian universal salvation serious attempts were made to justify it biblically, even if many passages of Scripture had to be deliberately ignored.

The most recent version, inclusivism, barely even tries: God’s radical love, that is it. They harp on a few key verses and concepts: the biblically reality of our separation from God due to sin is blatantly contradicted, viewed as a lie, a wrong understanding. Salvation? In line with traditional Christian liberalism, not needed. Instead, occultic concepts may be incorporated.

They are also taking a page from the Jehovah’s Witnesses playbook: writing their own revised Bible. For the New Apostolic Reformation, the “Bible” of choice has been their “Passion Translation.” On its website, it appears legitimate, but per Brian Simmons’s podcasts one discovers that “version” was dictated to him by a supposed angel named Passion. One also finds that new, as of yet unrevealed books of the Bible await their release, possibly through Brian. As mentioned in a recent post, for the inclusivists, Francois du Toit has been working on the Mirror Bible, a “version” that is far worse than even the Passion Translation.

As for “Rethinking God with Tacos,” if a teacher or apostle (hence ties to the NAR as well) has a biblically incomplete or erroneous view, they have likely been a guest on the podcast. Even the dean of the Emergent Church, Brian McLaren, has been featured. One might recall his explosive book, “A Generous Orthodoxy,” along with many others. He deliberately raised questions and doubts, in essence deconstructing any literal understanding of Scripture, which gave rise to the Emergent Church, a church rooted in postmodern philosophy.

No separation from God. No sin. No salvation needed. All are included in Jesus’s finished work. All are in God. All sit on Jesus’s throne, being one with Him, whether they know it or not. Is that biblical Christianity? Is that what God discloses in the Bible? No. Do these beliefs lead to eternal death, a death the inclusivists strenuously deny? Yes.

What we pay attention to, who we listen to, has eternal consequences. Please believe and follow what Scripture states, not some charismatic speaker who says what one wants to hear, but whose teachings are biblically false.

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