PROMISE KEEPERS AND MASCULINE JOURNEY

[Distributed by Way of Life Literature's Fundamental Baptist Information Service. These articles cannot be stored on BBS or Internet sites without express permission from the author. The articles cannot be sold or placed by themselves or with other material in any electronic format for sale, but may be distributed for free by e-mail or by print. They must be left intact and nothing removed or changed, including these informational headers. This is a listing for Fundamental Baptists and other fundamentalist, Bible-believing Christians. Our goal is not devotional. OUR PRIMARY PURPOSE IS TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO ASSIST PREACHERS IN THE PROTECTION OF THE CHURC H ES IN THIS APOSTATE HOUR. If you desire to receive this type of material on a regular basis, e-mail us, tell us who you are and where you are located, and request to be placed on the list. Also include your postal address and the name of the church of which you are a member. Please note that we take up a quarterly offering to fund this ministry, and you will be expected to participate. To unsubscribe or to submit a change of address, send your name and the request to fbns@wayoflife.org. This is not an automated list. Changes in the database often require two to four days. Some of these articles are from O Timothy magazine. David W. Cloud, Editor. O Timothy is a monthly magazine in its 16th year of publication. Subscription is $20/yr. The Way of Life web site is http://www.wayoflife.org/.]

July 23, 1996 (Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061-0368, fbns@wayoflife.org) - The following is from Psychoheresy Awareness Letter, July-August 1996:

Is it true that Promise Keepers is backing away from an enthusiastic support of Robert Hick's book The Masculine Journey? It may appear so at first glance. For an extended period of time, Promise Keepers provided a seven-page letter supporting The Masculine Journey to those who requested it. However shortly after our article "Promise Keepers Still Endorses The Masculine Journey" went to press last March, they replaced the seven-page support letter with a brief statement, which said: "Promise Keepers no longer distributes the book The Masculine Journey by Robert Hicks, published in 1993 by NavPress."

After admitting that Promise Keepers distributed (gave) the book to every man that attended the 1993 conference, the rest of that statement simply talked about Promise Keepers rather than about The Masculine Journey. No warning, apology, or repudiation of the book could be seen.

As of June 17, Promise Keepers has begun to supply yet another position statement regarding The Masculine Journey. The current statement says:

"Several passages in The Masculine Journey by Robert Hicks (1993, NavPress) could be understood in more than one way. Some of the content of the book has unfortunately lent itself to a wide range of interpretations and responses involving theological issues which Promise Keepers does not feel called to resolve."

The statement continues to say that they don't want these unforeseen controversies to detract from the focus of Promise Keepers. After again saying that they no longer distribute the book, they state:

"At the same time, we believe Mr. Hick's core theology is consistent with orthodox evangelical Christianity, and that The Masculine Journey was a forthright attempt on his part to deal with mail issues from a biblical context."

Unfortunately, the organization only seems to be trying to avoid further controversy over the book. There is still no hint of warning, apology, or repudiation.

Any fair reader of Promise Keepers' present statement on The Masculine Journey would have to conclude that Promise Keepers still supports The Masculine Journey! The fact that leaders of Promise Keepers were involved in the development of the book, identified it as a Promise Keepers book, and gave a copy to every man who attended the 1993 conference reveals the psychological foundations of the movement. Until Promise Keepers makes a definitive statement statement confessing the error of being involved in the development of the book The Masculine Journey, as well as of promoting and distributing it, they must be held culpable. (Psychoheresy Awareness Letter, July-August 1996, 4137 Primavera Road, Santa Barbara, Calif. 93110. Their web site address is http://esoptron.umd.edu/PAM/PAM.html )