Internationally Known Evangelist Warns Against Infiltration of ‘Woke’ Terminology in the Church
By Movieguide® Staff
As political correctness and “woke” youth try to influence every aspect of culture from media to home life, one pastor is sounding the alarm.
Pastor Michael Youssef, host of the popular program “Leading the Way,” did not hold back in his assessment that the current culture runs in the opposite direction of Jesus Christ.
As the cancel-culture cements itself in today’s politics, education systems, and media, Dr. Youssef warned against letting “woke” terminology into the Church and focus on the Gospel.
“It’s not of the color of skin, of the ethnic background, or social status…it is on Jesus,” Youssef told CBN News. “When you take your eyes off Jesus and you focus on the circumstances that surrounds us… this whole idea that we’re woke. We realize this world is made of two kinds of people – the oppressed and the oppressors – we begin to see people with those kind of prisms. That is a total false Gospel and we ought not to fall for that trap.”
Youssef also encouraged evangelical pastors to stay aware and adhere to scripture.
“Please be careful. This is another one of those enemies…deceptions that are sneaking into the church to take our eyes off Jesus and of the eternal perspective and the fact that only He can give us eternal life, forgiveness of sin, redemption. And therefore He has got to be the focus, not all the stuff that is coming to us from the outside. Who is the master of division? Satan. He is the one trying to divide us and Jesus unites us,” Youssef said.
He added: “We are living in a culture that is hostile to the Gospel and faith in Jesus Christ. Instilling in the homes, children, and the churches the vital importance of knowing what you believe, who you believe, and who you are in Christ is basically like the air we breathe and the food we eat.”
Moreover, Youssef outlined that the divergence from pointing people to Jesus has real consequences worldwide.
“The church is the church of Jesus and not even the gates of hell will overcome it. The church is, unfortunately just like we’ve seen in the mainline denominations and Europe, where churches are basically becoming museums,” Youssef said. “That’s going to happen here too unless God’s people stand up and pastors begin to preach the Word of God instead of self-help and self-motivation and focus on the sword of the Spirit because that’s our weapon and the love of Christ.”
Youssef’s warnings echo Movieguide®’s push for critical understanding for media discernment. A strong foundation for media discernment comes from understanding and adhering to a Christian worldview, which is precisely what Youssef encourages with his admonishment to heed scriptures and not be deceived.
Dr. Ted Baehr, Movieguide® Founder, discusses the importance of a Christian worldview in his book, The Culture-Wise Family:
Christianity, a form of ethical monotheism, is superior to all of these non-Christian or anti-Christian worldviews because it is logical, it explains many different kinds of phenomenon, and it fits the facts.
For instance, the Christian worldview affirms the existence of an ordered, physical universe created by an eternal, transcendental, personal God, who is inherently benevolent, loving, and thoughtful. This God has instilled in people the ability to engage in rational or logical thought and empirical observation, as when a historian, scientist, theologian, or film critic rationally examines factual evidence. Thus, the Christian worldview affirms the general validity, but not the infallibility, of science, history, theology, and film criticism.
The Christian worldview also accepts the idea that truth exists and can be known by finite, or limited, human beings like you and me. This truth is objective, transcendent, and absolute because God and His existence are objective, transcendent, and absolute. It is perfectly proper, therefore, for human beings to spend their lives searching for objective, transcendent, absolute truth.
Third, the Christian worldview proclaims there’s an objective, transcendent moral order (or set of essential moral values and principles), which every person must obey. These moral values and principles are part of God’s character. This moral order transcends race, sex, class, culture, ethnicity, national identity, social state, economic status, and political ?? Thus, Christianity provides a rational justification for judging what is good or evil, right or wrong, true or false, and proper or improper. Without a worldview such as Christian theism, we could not claim that murder is wrong or that the war against Nazi Germany in World War II was the right thing to do. Because of all this, the Christian worldview has an intellectually and emotionally compelling moral philosophy.
The Christian worldview is also superior because it gives human beings a meaningful love. The love that God has for human beings is rooted in the loving, transcendent, eternal relationship that exists between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the three persons who make up the One True God. This “trinity” is not an irrational concept, because the three persons in the Godhead share the single divine nature or divine being of the One True God. In other words, to have three “who’s” and one “what” is not a logical contradiction.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the Christian worldview, because it is based on a set of historical documents, the books of the Bible, can be empirically verified and rationally studied by using basic rules of evidence, basic laws of logic and simply reading the text. There is sufficient evidence that the historical biblical documents making up the Holy Bible are internally consistent and factually true. The Bible clearly states that all human beings are sinful (Gen. 8:21; Psalm 14:1-3; John 3:19; Rom. 3:9-18, 23), but that Jesus Christ died for their sins and rose from the dead (Mark 10:45, 16:6; Luke 24:45-48; 1 Cor. 15:1-8). Human beings can receive forgiveness from God for their sins by believing in this Gospel of Jesus Christ and believing in the work Jesus has done (John 8:12 and 11:25-26; Acts 2:38 and 26:15; Eph. 1:17; 1 John 2:12).
Thus, Christianity is thoroughly logical, explains many different kinds of phenomenon (including physical phenomena and the human condition), and it fits the facts. There is no rational reason, therefore, to withhold your love, worship, and obedience to God the Father, through Jesus Christ, His Only Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Turn away from your sins and your evil nature, and believe the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Watch his whole interview with CBN below:
Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
