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By Ken Silva

 
Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment. [1]
 
A "Heretic" Opens The Door To Universalism
You knew it was only a matter of time before the doctrine of universalism came emerging from leaders within the neo-liberal cult of the Emergent Church. Spencer Burke of the quite prominent Emergent blog TheOoze has written a new book with an apparently apt title The Heretic's Guide to Heaven (HGH) which opens the door to universalism. This is not just my impression either because I was first made aware of this by my ol' pal Dr. Andrew Jackson of SmartChristian.com who writes "Scot McKnight starts a book review series on Spencer Burke's (creator the TheOoze) new book that provides a new twist to universalism called The Heretic's Guide to Heaven." [2]
 
Those of us who have been reporting on this Emergent rebellion against the absolute Truth and authority of the inerrant and infallible Word of the one true and living God of the Bible in His Holy Scripture with its heavy involvement in the new age/eastern mysticism of Contemplative Spirituality (CS) have been telling you all along that this is exactly where so-called "Christian" mysticism will always lead. Now it would seem we have influential Emergent Spencer Burke himself peeking out from the "closet" of universalism.
 
It is my firm conviction that this is also where Emergent Guru Brian McLaren is headed, following closely behind his inclusivist friend Doug Pagitt, only as far as I'm concerned McLaren just doesn't have the intestinal fortitude or the scholastic integrity to just come right out and admit it. For the interested reader I have covered the subject of universalism in Everyone's Going To Be Saved Eventually…Aren't They?
 
And lest you think that Burke hasn't much real influence outside Emergent circles you'd best think again. A while back he and David Trotter conducted an Interview with Sally Morgenthaler for TheOoze. Morgenthaler "is a worship consultant, speaker, and writer." This interview was also carried by Pastors.com "a division of Purpose Driven Ministries" which is obviously associated with religious icon Rick Warren.
 
So you should be able to see that with the spread of this deadly infection of CS within the new evangelical Ecumenical Church of Deceit, daughter of the apostate Church of Rome, Emergent seducing spirits like Burke no longer must hide in the shadows at the edge of the Church. Rather they are now being ushered right on into the Body of Christ by spiritually obtuse Christian leaders like Warren himself just the same way his predecessor Billy Graham once used his own influence to open the door to the Church for liberal heretic Robert Schuller.
 
Some Heretical Background
Here is a bit of what Burke's bio on The Ooze tells us about this "heretic" and his mission:
 
Spencer is a man of metaphors. "KINDLING" describes his approach to speaking and consulting. He sparks new thought and conversation in his… "CAVEPAINTING" is an ancient tool used to express the stories of the soul. Spencer has always been fascinated with individual and collective spiritual stories… In the 1990s, he created TheOOZE.com, a safe online community for a diverse faith-based population to connect through articles, message boards and social networking… Spencer is author of Making Sense of Church, in which he contrasted his twenty-two years as a pastor in a traditional church with eight years of exploring emerging, non-traditional metaphors.
 
Spencer has been described as a "HERETIC". After achieving more than he dreamed as a teaching pastor at a mega-church, Spencer refocused on his original desires to love, serve, and live a grace-filled life. Spencer lives out his faith with what the Los Angeles Times called "a church with no name"… Spencers (sic) next book entitled A Heretics Guide to Eternity will be released July 2006 by Jossy-Bass. SpencerBurke.com is his latest adventure, where he is looking for new ways to evolve.
 
The above use of "heretic" would appear to be something Burke almost sees as a positive, almost for "shock value," though he does deny this because in true Emergent pouty postmodern fashion we simply stomp our feet, ignore what standard textbooks and dictionaries have to say, and then just redefine words any which way we wish.
 
When we pick up our discussion next time we turn our attention to Emergent theologian Scot McKnight, who having spoken personally with Burke, is in somewhat a better position than anyone else to understand what Burke is talking about in HGH. McKnight has just begun what will be a series entitled Heretic's Guide To Eternity where he will be posting an ongoing review Burke's book of "heresy."

[1] Hebrews 9:27.

[2] Emphasis mine.