Robert Schuller, one of the advocates on teaching “self-esteem” to Christians. Here are some passages written in his book.
“What do I mean by sin? Answer: Any human condition or act that robs God of glory by stripping one of his children of their right to divine dignity … I can offer still another answer: ‘SIN IS ANY ACT OR THOUGHT THAT ROBS MYSELF OR ANOTHER HUMAN BEING OF HIS OR HER SELF-ESTEEM’” (Schuller, Self-Esteem, p. 14).
“I found myself immediately attracted to Pope John Paul II when, upon his election to the Papacy, his published speeches invariably called attention to THE NEED FOR RECOGNIZING THE DIGNITY OF THE HUMAN BEING AS A CHILD OF GOD” (Schuller, Self-Esteem, p. 17).
“AND WHAT IS ‘HELL’? IT IS THE LOSS OF PRIDE THAT NATURALLY FOLLOWS SEPARATION FROM GOD–the ultimate and unfailing source of our soul’s sense of self-respect. ‘My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?’ was Christ’s encounter with hell. In that ‘hellish’ death our Lord experienced the ultimate horror–humiliation, shame, and loss of pride as a human being. A person is in hell when he has lost his self-esteem. Can you imagine any condition more tragic than to live life and eternity in shame?” (Schuller, Self-Esteem, pp. 14-15, 93).
“We are born to soar. We are children of God. … THE FATHERHOOD OF GOD OFFERS A DEEP SPIRITUAL CURE FOR THE INFERIORITY COMPLEX AND LAYS THE FIRM FOUNDATION FOR A SOLID SPIRITUAL SELF-ESTEEM”(Schuller, Self-Esteem, p. 60).
“Classical theology DEFINES SIN AS ‘REBELLION AGAINST GOD.’ The answer is not incorrect as much as IT IS SHALLOW AND INSULTING TO THE HUMAN BEING. Every person deserves to be treated with dignity even if he or she is a ‘rebellious sinner’” (Schuller, Self-Esteem, p. 65).
“The core of original sin, then is LOT–Lack of Trust. Or, it could be considered an innate inability to adequately value ourselves. Label it a ‘negative self-image,’ but DO NOT SAY THAT THE CENTRAL CORE OF THE HUMAN SOUL IS WICKEDNESS. … POSITIVE CHRISTIANITY DOES NOT HOLD TO HUMAN DEPRAVITY, BUT TO HUMAN INABILITY. I am humanly unable to correct my negative self-image until I encounter a life-changing experience with non-judgmental love bestowed upon me by a Person whom I admire so much that to be unconditionally accepted by him is to be born again” (Schuller, Self-Esteem, p. 67).
“Any analysis of ‘sin’ or ‘evil’ or ‘demonic influence’ or ‘negative thinking’ or ‘systemic evil’ or ‘antisocial behavior’ that fails to see the lack of self-dignity as the core of the problem will prove to be too shallow. … TO BE BORN AGAIN MEANS THAT WE MUST BE CHANGED FROM A NEGATIVE TO A POSITIVE SELF-IMAGE–from inferiority to self-esteem, from fear to love, from doubt to trust” (Schuller, Self-Esteem, p. 68).
“THE CROSS SANCTIFIES THE EGO TRIP. FOR THE CROSS PROTECTED OUR LORD’S PERFECT SELF-ESTEEM FROM TURNING INTO SINFUL PRIDE” (Schuller, Self-Esteem, p. 75).
“Historical theology has too often failed to interpret repentance as a positive creative force. … ESSENTIALLY, IF CHRISTIANITY IS TO SUCCEED IN THE NEXT MILLENNIUM, IT MUST CEASE TO BE A NEGATIVE RELIGION AND MUST BECOME POSITIVE” (Schuller, Self-Esteem, p. 104).
“JESUS NEVER CALLED A PERSON A SINNER. … Rather he reserved his righteous rebuke for those who used their religious authority to generate guilt and caused people to lose their ability to taste and enjoy their right to dignity…” (Schuller, Self-Esteem, pp. 100,126).
“Christ is the Ideal One, for HE WAS SELF-ESTEEM INCARNATE” (Schuller, Self-Esteem, p. 135).
“The tragedy of Christendom today is the existence of entire congregations of church members who are dominated by emotionally deprived or emotionally under-developed persons. These congregations have been accurately labeled ‘God’s Frozen People.’ … And they do this by EXERCISING NARROW AUTHORITARIANISM IN DOCTRINES AND PRACTICES AND BY SOWING SEEDS OF SUSPICION AND DISSENSION IN THE RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY. … By contrast, strong persons–self-assured personalities, whose egos find their nourishment in a self-esteem-generating personal relationship with Jesus Christ–dare to face contrary opinions, diverse interpretations, and deviations of theology without becoming disrespectful, judgmental, or accusatory”(Schuller, Self-Esteem, pp. 153-154).
“In a theology that starts with an uncompromising respect for each person’s pride and dignity, I HAVE NO RIGHT TO EVER PREACH A SERMON OR WRITE AN ARTICLE THAT WOULD OFFEND THE SELF-RESPECT AND VIOLATE THE SELF-DIGNITY OF A LISTENER OR READER. Any minister, religious leader, writer, or reporter who stoops to a style, a strategy, a substance, or a spirit that fails to show respect for his or her audience is committing an insulting sin. Every human being must be treated with respect; self-esteem is his sacred right.” (Schuller, Self-Esteem, pp. 153-154).
“The classical error of historical Christianity is that we have never started with the value of the person. Rather, WE HAVE STARTED FROM THE ‘UNWORTHINESS OF THE SINNER,’ AND THAT STARTING POINT HAS SET THE STAGE FOR THE GLORIFICATION OF HUMAN SHAME in Christian theology” (Schuller, Self-Esteem, p. 162).
The Biblical Gospel hinges upon the fact that mankind is GUILTY, under the condemnation of God’s Divine Law, and justly deserving of Hellfire (Romans 3:19/23; 6:23; James 2:10). Robert Schuller is a Modernist, who professes faith in a Christ he knows not. There can be NO salvation apart from the Law of God, which makes us GUILTY because of sin. Schuller teaches people that the human soul is not wicked;but Jeremiah 17:9 states…“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Schuller is a false prophet!
Schuller and Graham Teach Damnable Heresies!
“It is time for Protestants to go to the shepherd (the pope) and say, `What do we have to do to come home?'” —Dr. Robert Schuller, Los Angeles Herald Examiner, Sept. 19, 1987.
The Infamous May 31, 1997 Interview: Graham and Schuller:
Robert Schuller: “Tell me, what do you think of the future of Christianity?”
Billy Graham: “I think everybody who knows Christ, whether they’re conscious of it or not, they’re members of the Body of Christ…God’s purpose is to call out a people for His name, whether they come from the Muslim world, Buddhist world, the Christian world, or the non-believing world, they are members of the Body of Christ, because they’ve been called by God. They may not even know the name of Jesus…and I think they are saved, and that they are going to be in heaven with us.”
Robert Schuller (overjoyed): “What I hear you saying is that it’s possible for Jesus Christ to come into human hearts and soul and life even if they’ve been born into darkness and never had exposure to the Bible. Is that a correct interpretation of what you are saying?”
Billy Graham: “Yes it is, because I believe that. I’ve met people in various parts of the world…that have never seen a Bible or heard about a Bible, and never heard of Jesus, but they’ve believed in their hearts that there was a God.”
So, there you have it. The world’s most famous evangelist teaches that no one needs Jesus to be saved and enter the Kingdom of Heaven. They’re already members of the Body of Christ whether they know it or not! All they have to do is believe in a God—like one of the three million Hindu gods; or perhaps the man-god whom many Buddhists worship, the Dalai Lama; or the Moslem’s Allah; or perhaps the Cosmic God of the evolutionists; or the witches’ horned god, Pan; or perhaps all that people must do is believe in the New Age deity—themselves—as God!
Frankly, if Graham is right, isn’t it time we just folded our tents and stopped all this foolishness of preaching? Why print Christian Bibles if the Hindu or Buddhist scriptures will suffice? If Billy Graham is right, we are certainly blowing millions of dollars on missionaries.
In fact, I can’t understand why Graham himself is still going on stage to perform. Is it all ego and pretense? Why doesn’t Billy just have his aides purchase a blaring, gaudy, and colorful message on thousands of billboards across the globe, declaring: “Attention Pagans, Heathens, and other Religionists: Whether you know it or not, you already have Christ within. Congratulations—you’re on your way to heaven!”—signed, Yours Sincerely, Billy Graham, world-famous Christian evangelist.
Or maybe this for a billboard message: “So you don’t know Jesus as Lord and have never read the Bible? Big Deal! Don’t worry, be happy. You are already a Christian headed for heaven, whether you know it or not! So eat, drink, and be merry. Guess what?—You’re already a member of the Body of Christ, just like me. Neat surprise, huh?” signed, With All My Love, Billy Graham.
How many thousands of sinners are going to split hell wide open, simply because they listened to that velvety-tongued apostle of ecumenicist, Billy Graham, who assures the lost, “Just believe in a God, any God, and you’ve made it. Jesus loves and accepts you just as you are, no need to repent and believe in the name of Jesus.”
Oh yeah? Well, God’s Word begs to differ. The Word says that if you believe in one God, “Thou doest well, the devils also believe and tremble.” (James 2:19)
That’s right. James, the brother of Jesus, told us the devils do even better than Billy Graham, Robert Schuller, and all their associates in lying. The devils actually believe in just one God, Jesus Christ! The devils know that the Hindu god, Krishna, the Moslem god, Allah, and all the other false gods have never saved one, single human soul! This is more than Billy Graham knows and teaches.
The Apostle Peter says that there is salvation in no other name:“For there is none other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
The Bible says that the Buddhist, the Hindu, the Moslem, the African witchdoctor, are not saved because they have never called on His Holy Name:“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13)
These lost souls need Jesus, but Billy Graham lies to these millions of unsaved people headed for hell. He soothingly tells them they don’t need the Bible, and don’t need to be born again in Christ. They can continue to bow down to their wooden idols, to their statues and icons, and to their devils made of molten steel and clay. But, hold on: John 5:12 reveals: “He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”
Thus we know that Billy Graham is a walking dead man, and all who believe in his wicked, foul message sadly remain foot soldiers in the legion of the dead. They are of the world and are dead to the Truth. But you, my friends, you who know Jesus Christ, you who contend earnestly for the faith and who refuse to accept a counterfeit Gospel—YOU ARE ALIVE AND CANNOT BE DECEIVED. YOU HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS OUR LORD:“Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God.” (I John 5:12)
What are we to do about Billy Graham? Be wary now, as you ponder this question, because the hounds of hell are even now at your door. Go against Billy and his foolish fables and abominable heresies, and they’ll bare their fangs and pounce on you with full force. Nevertheless, what can a saved, Christian man and woman do but obey the Word of God?
The Word commands us to stay away from he who, like Billy Graham, would pervert the doctrine of Christ Jesus and subvert the Gospel:“If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him Godspeed. For he that biddeth him Godspeed is partaker of his evil deeds” (II John vs 10-11).
Go against Billy Graham and his ilk, and the world will quickly turn against you. Even your pastor and your church friends will probably frown upon and disown you. Some will become as the hounds of hell, and they will seek to tear you to shreds.
Still, Billy Graham, having been admonished repeatedly, yet persisting in his lies, is a proven heretic. Of such, the Word of God commands: “A man that is a heretic, after the first and second admonition, reject, knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.”(Titus 3:10-11)
Finally, consider this: The Billy Grahams, the Schullers, and other deceivers now are having what they mistakenly think to be their day in the sun. The world hates and despises the truth-tellers but loves and receives its own. Jesus said of false teachers and lovers of the world: “They have their reward.”
The body of man, however, is corrupt and soon withers like the once lush but brown and crumbling blades of grass. Man’s riches and admiration are fleeting, and the pleasures of the flesh are but a phantom of man’s unreliable imaginations.
But the Word of the Lord—how exalted, how magnificent, how life-giving! Follow its dictates and its counsel, and you will never be disappointed. The Word of Truth is not corruptible; It builds and grows. The Word was and is:“But the Word of the Lord endureth forever…”(I Peter 1:25). And Who is that Word? None other than Jesus, the name above all other names.
Matthew 7:15, Jesus said; “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.”
