Beck and Call By Derek Gilbert - July 21, 2010        Tweet

Props to radio and TV personality Glenn Beck for speaking boldly about his faith. It takes guts to admit to believing in an invisible, omnipotent deity in this scientistic day and age.  He'd be better received if he claimed to see dead people.

Beck's message of faith, hope, and charity resonates with conservative Christians. But before we sign on as roadies for his American Revival Tour, we should stop and examine carefully the gospel according to Glenn.

Mr. Beck regularly hosts Christian pastors and evangelists on his programs. Faith and patriotism are the dominant themes of Beck's discussions. He talks about Jesus and the Lord, something one rarely hears on the major media, especially in the context of spiritual warfare.

Beck has become the commentator of choice for conservatives who fervently believe in God and country. His message is so popular with conservatives that he was invited to deliver the commencement address at Liberty University this year—a decision that raised some eyebrows in some Christian quarters.

You see, in their eagerness to gain a foothold on the cultural mountain of media, it appears that some prominent Christian leaders are willing to overlook the rather important fact that Glenn Beck is a Mormon.

I agree with Beck's views on most things political. In 2007, when I served as the program director and afternoon host of one of affiliate stations in Columbia and Jefferson City, Missouri, I was delighted to promote Beck's live show in Saint Louis. But when Beck advances his political views under the banner of Jesus, Christians need to step back and compare his message to the one Christ left with His apostles.

First, the gospel of Jesus had nothing to do with politics. Yes, we're to live out our faith. Faith without works is dead and that applies to the way we vote. But the Great Commission calls us to make disciples of all nations, not to go forth and form political action committees. The gospel is about saving souls—and if you've ever had to deal with a government bureaucracy at any level, you know the real reason that separation of church and state is a good idea.

In fact, Christ refused political opportunities He could have used to save the world from evil emperors like Nero and Caligula, who reigned during the age of the Apostles. But rather than accepting Satan's offer or allowing the crowd at the Sea of Galilee to make him king by force, Jesus rebuked those who wanted to put Him on an earthly throne.

Why, then, this growing coalition of Christian leaders who insist on political activism to save America? Especially when, as the recent vote by the leadership of the Presbyterian Church USA to allow gay clergy illustrates, we can't even defend the supremacy of the Bible in our own churches!

Second, and more important, Beck follows a fundamentally different Jesus. To the LDS, Jesus is a created being, not the Creator. That's a huge difference, and just the first of many deviant teachings in the Mormon Church. Salvation, for example, is a combination of faith in the atonement of Christ and good works, a direct contradiction of biblical doctrine. It is by grace we are saved, not by works.

Maybe that's why Beck is working so hard to spread his gospel. And professing Christians who are happy to use Beck's program as a platform—such as Dominionist "seven mountains mandate" proponents Jim Garlow, chairman of Newt Gingrich's Renewing American Leadership organization, and David Barton of Wallbuilders—will have a lot of 'splaining to do someday about the false gospel to which they chose to be yoked.

Derek P. Gilbert co-hosts a weekly Internet talk show, P.I.D. Radio, with his wife, author Sharon K. Gilbert, and hosts A View From the Bunker, a weekly interview program.  He previously hosted The Drive, the #1-rated afternoon radio talk show in Columbia/Jefferson City, Missouri.  His published novels are Iron Dragons and The God Conspiracy.

Email Derek at derek at peeringintodarkness dot com. His website is www.derekpgilbert.com.