Letters
March 22, 2005
 

Dear Editor:

I must confess that I do not read our denominational and related independent publications as often as I used to. Quite frankly, I just cannot take it anymore. Nevertheless, during Holy Week, I like to check in to see how the PCUSA is doing and determine whether the rampant apostasy of our denominational leaders and seminary educators continues unabated. Once again this year, I have not been disappointed.

In the March 21st edition of The Presbyterian Outlook, Professor Cynthia Rigby of Auburn Presbyterian Theological Seminary has authored an article entitled "The Significance of the Resurrection". She begins by telling us that she teaches her seminary students to "redirect the conversation" if someone presses them for an absolute YES or NO answer on a theological issue, such as whether the bodily resurrection of Jesus is a fact. Mind you, this is not an answer to a question such as: "Will my cocker spaniel go to heaven". Rather the question at issue is: "Did Jesus Christ bodily rise from the tomb". For Professor Rigby, this is a "litmus test" question which must be avoided and the inquirer must be "redirected". She follows her own advice, avoids the question and the answer, and spends the rest of the article talking about what the idea of resurrection (rather than the fact of resurrection) means for our "lives of faith".

The best response to Professor Rigby is the Word of God:

"... and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, your faith is in vain...and if Christ has not been raised your faith is worthless, and you are still in your sins...If we have only hoped in Christ in this life, we are of all men to be most pitied. (First Corinthians 15:14,17,19).

The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ is not a theological concept that informs our "lives of faith". It is an historical fact upon which our faith depends. If the tomb is not empty, our "lives of faith" are a lie. If the tomb is not empty, we are pitiful and hopeless purveyors of a false hope. Back away from this "litmus test", redirect the inquirer from the empty tomb to reflections on the "idea" of resurrection as a spiritual analogy and you back away from light into darkness and redirect from truth into apostasy. Fellow Presbyterians, this is what your future pastors are learning in seminary. Small wonder my annual apostasy check does not disappoint. If there is not a resounding YES in the matter of the empty tomb of Jesus Christ, Professor Rigby's theological reflections are all useless babble.

This Easter Sunday, Christians have reason to rejoice. "Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (First Corinthians 15:57). The apostle Paul is speaking about victory over death, over the grave, over sin. How can we be certain of this victory? HE IS RISEN.

God deliver us from the Professor Rigby's in our denomination who train pastors and teachers to actively avoid making the foundational factual declaration of the Christian faith. May God have mercy on them. May they cease to search for the living among the dead. The empty tomb is not a theological quiz question, it is a glorious historical reality. Because He lives, those who by grace place their trust in Him will live also. If Jesus of Nazareth still rests in the tomb, our faith is in vain and we are dead in our sins. These are unequivocal facts upon which our faith depends. They are not matters of opinion. It is YES or NO when it comes to Jesus and the empty tomb. That is the core of the Gospel. How terrible it is that a seminary professor whom we support with our tithes teaches otherwise.

But there is something more terrible. Some will read this letter and dismiss the author as a raging fundamentalist who apparently cannot grasp the nuanced approach of Professor Rigby. Some will read this letter and agree with the author that Professor Rigby distorts and denies the foundational truths of the Gospel and teaches her students to do likewise. However, few, if any, who read this letter will do anything about it. Professor Rigby will still be teaching her class after Easter break. That is why our pews are half empty and getting more empty every year. Professor Rigby and her colleagues sing "Nearer My God To Thee" on the fantail as the PCUSA slips below the waves. What are we doing to get God's people into the life boats? Not enough.

On this Easter Sunday, I declare to you that the answer is YES, Professor Rigby. HE IS RISEN INDEED. I pray that your students will come to know that sure and certain hope, despite your misguided teaching.