Metanoia – Part 2

Considering the fact that Jesus used the word “metanoia” in his very first public sermon, it is arguably one of the most important and potent words in the Bible. Having said that, we should be very careful how we interpret it and how we use it in our own evangelizing outreaches. Unfortunately the Emerging Church has very stealthily changed its intended meaning, not by changing its meaning per se but by changing its application, and a person who has contributed to this subtle change in meaning is Eugene Peterson, the author of the paraphrased version of the Bible, The Message. Like most Emergent Church devotees Dries Cronjé of e-church fame, regards The Message to be his favourite Bible paraphrase because it supposedly “uses language that’s compatible with the language we speak today to communicate the timeless truths of the Bible” . . . but does it faithfully portray the eternal and infallible truths in the Bible? I really don’t think so. To substantiate my confident affirmation that it is not a trustworthy paraphrase of God’s Word, I would like to quote the same verse Dries Cronjé used on his blog and compare it with some other translations of Mark 1:14 and 15.

After John was arrested, Jesus went to Galilee preaching the Message of God: “Time’s up! God’s kingdom is here. Change your life and believe the Message.” (The Message)

After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” (New International Version)

Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (New American Standard Bible)

Now after John was arrested and put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the good news (the Gospel) of the kingdom of God, And saying, The appointed period of] time is fulfilled (completed), and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent (have a change of mind which issues in regret for past sins and in change of conduct for the better) and believe (trust in, rely on, and adhere to) the good news (the Gospel). (Amplified Bible) (Emphasis added throughout)

It is obvious that Eugene Peterson, in keeping with the Emergent Church’s doctrine of Kingdom Now Theology, deliberately changed the entire last sentence in this verse to convey their idea that God’s Kingdom is already here in our midst. The words “Times up” is a far cry from “the kingdom of God is near,” and “the kingdom of God is at hand.” If the Kingdom is already here, then we should stop praying the prayer Jesus taught us: Let thy Kingdom come, let thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  As we shall see, this infamous alteration of the meaning of Jesus original words inevitably leads to a change of meaning of the word “metanoia.” Listen carefully to what Dries Cronjé says in the following few paragraphs and you will immediately see what I mean. Read the entire article here.

The Greek word for “change your lives” in the verse above (which is also translated in other bible translations as ‘repent’) is metanoia.

It comes from two significant words. Meta means ‘after’ or ‘beyond’, and noia means ‘mind’. In it’s regular usage meta was also often used for the word ‘change’ (Thomas Moore explained this to me in his latest book, Writing in the Sand).

Therefore, true repentance or metanoia is to change your mind or to shift your vision. Jesus says we must metanoia and believe his message — a message of the kingdom of God being here, now. This kingdom is a new reality we can enter if we live according to the new kingdom instructions (or commands). What we need as a start is metanoia, something Thomas Moore calls a radical shift in vision.

Although Cronje acknowledges that “metanoia” is rendered as “repent” in other Bible translations, he emphasizes that the act of repentance actually means to radically change your vision which translates into a firm belief in — not the Gospel — but in the message of the Kingdom of God as being here now. This opens a whole new can of worms, simply because it facilitates their intention to steer away from the real meaning of “metanoia” as a radical change of mind and heart in order to enter into the Kingdom of God (2 Corinthians 5:17; Colossians 1:13). “Metanoia” as a change of mind always goes hand in hand with a regret for one’s past sins and a change in conduct for the better. In contrast to this, a change of vision suggests that everyone (of all religious persuasions) are already in the Kingdom of God that is already here and that they only need to change their vision (mindset; to go beyond your present state of mind) in order to benefit from the blessings of God’s Kingdom. The Kingdom is already a new reality anyone can enter by living according to the new kingdom instructions (or commands). “What we need as a start,” according to Dries Cronje,“is metanoia, something Thomas Moore calls a radical shift in vision.” Of course, another way of describing this shift, is to say that we need a paradigm shift, which involves, according to Rob Bell’s and Brian McLaren’s Universal/Interfaith belief, merely that Jesus be added to all the other religions. Rob Bell says:

A lot of people see Jesus as just for Christians but I keep discovering that his teachings are really about what it means to be human. – Rob Bell, Manchester Evening News (June 15, 2007)

In a book by Oppenheimer and Sandy Simpson titled Idolatry in Their Hearts, they show how widespread this new missiology has become. Listen to some of the comments made by a few new missiology evangelists: Read here.

New Light embodiment means to be “in connection” and “information” with other faiths…. One can be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ without denying the flickers of the sacred in followers of Yahweh, or Kali, or Krishna.”-Leonard Sweet

I happen to know people who are followers of Christ in other religions.-Rick Warren

I see no contradiction between Buddhism and Christianity. . . . I intend to become as good a Buddhist as I can.-Thomas Merton

Allah is not another God…we worship the same God. The same God! The very same God we worship in Christ is the God the Jews—and the Muslims—worship.-Peter Kreeft

In the emergent vocabulary the word metanoia no longer means a change of mind in order to be saved from your past sins and lost status so that you may be granted entrance into the Kingdom of God, but a radical shift in vision (paradigm shift) with the purpose of including all religions in the already present Kingdom of God. This is apparently what it means to be truly human —a hotchpotch of religions serving and worshiping a god that is not the God of the Bible.

The principle of following Jesus Christ has also undergone a very serious paradigm shift or radical visionary shift within the ranks of the Emergent Church. This is how Dries Cronje articulated it:

So, as we start our journey here with Jesus’ very first command in Mark, realize that to be a serious follower of Jesus you have to first undergo a radical shift in vision. How we go about that practically is part of the mystery that’s the whole reason behind this category of echurch. I hope that the teaching offered here will help you with this shift in vision. We’ll be looking into some practical details as we progress, but keep in mind that the spiritual journey is a mystery with only the very next step being revealed most of the time.

The radical shift in vision involves a shift away from the doctrine of self-mortification, (the only prerequisite to follow Jesus – Matthew 16:24); from what you are to what you do. The what you are followers realize there is nothing good in their old Adam nature and therefore take Christ’s command to deny yourself and take up your cross (die to yourself) very seriously. Paul’s entire discourse in Romans 7 explains in great detail the futility of trying to do good without having the cross of Jesus Christ doing its mortifying work to the flesh. The what you do followers of Jesus Christ have transformed the doctrine of mortification through the cross into a social Gospel. For them it does not matter to what religion you belong for, as we’ve noticed in many of the emergent leaders’ bold statements, you can become a follower of Jesus without having to relinquish your own religion. Mysticism plays a major part because it is the unifying catalyst between all the religions in the emergent movement. The spiritual journey on which they have embarked is a mystery which in essence means that every traveller on this journey is given the opportunity to include their own spiritual experiences in this growing hotchpotch of spiritualities without having to be examined or evaluated by clear-cut doctrines. In short it means: Your spiritual experience is as valid and true as mine because we are both on a spiritual journey shrouded in mystery. Indeed, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH is emerging before our eyes.