# james kennedy



## rembrandt (Apr 25, 2004)

Been seeing the man on the TV. What do you think of him, his theology, and his ministry? Is his church affiliated with any particular denomination?


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## rembrandt (Apr 25, 2004)

I answered my own question... PCA. Let me ask this: what do you think of his preaching?


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## Scott Bushey (Apr 25, 2004)

I have witnessed D. James Kennedy's preaching first hand. Coral Ridge Presbyterian is about 20 minutes away. He's an excellent expositor, although his preaching is now politically seasoned. Truth be told, his ministry is not, what I would call, reformed. They have contemporary services available if you do not like the orthodox.


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## rembrandt (Apr 25, 2004)

[quote:2ddd93f42f][i:2ddd93f42f]Originally posted by Scott Bushey[/i:2ddd93f42f]
I have witnessed D. James Kennedy's preaching first hand. Coral Ridge Presbyterian is about 20 minutes away. He's an excellent expositor, although his preaching is now politically seasoned. Truth be told, his ministry is not, what I would call, reformed. They have contemporary services available if you do not like the orthodox. [/quote:2ddd93f42f]

This morning his whole sermon was about evolution and taking down the contemporary evolution theorists. He ended in a prayer that we would know that evolution is false. uzzled:

How is it then that Knox is &quot;Reformed&quot; but this man's ministry is taking a different bend?

Rembrandt


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## Scott Bushey (Apr 25, 2004)

Paul,
Much of what goes over the airwaves is NOT sermons from the present.

In regards to your question about Knox, I don't know how to answer that. It's a good question. Keep in mind, what may be reformed to me, may not be reformed to Kennedy. This is part of the present day problem.


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## luvroftheWord (Apr 26, 2004)

What do you mean by contemporary service?


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## Scott Bushey (Apr 26, 2004)

Craig,
They have a service in another area of the church campus while the main body worships in the main facility. I have never been there, but a friend once told me that it is w/ more contemporary type music, etc.


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## rembrandt (Apr 26, 2004)

[quote:12cf4a73ca][i:12cf4a73ca]Originally posted by Paul manata[/i:12cf4a73ca]
...has he recanted on his &quot;gospel in the stars&quot; teaching??? [/quote:12cf4a73ca]

What?


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## alwaysreforming (Apr 26, 2004)

*Gospel in the stars*

I once heard a &quot;talk&quot; on the &quot;Gospel in the Stars&quot; at Zion's Hope in Orlando (Marv Rosenthal's church).

Other than what I heard that day, several years ago, I haven't looked further into it. But to me, the whole thing sounds like a bunch of hogwash. 

&lt;Power Point&gt; I mean, talk about obliterating the distinction between General and Special Revelation!!!

You tell me how it is that someone's supposed to be able to look up in the sky and know that Jesus died on the cross to ransom vile sinners! Pu-leeeeeze!!!



Now, if you like my &lt;Power Point&gt; idea (if you only have one good line in a post and you want to make it stand out), I have not copyrighted it yet so you can use it until further notice... Hee hee hee


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## rembrandt (Apr 26, 2004)

eeekkk....

How is it then that this man is president of Knox, and yet the seminary has a such a good reputation?


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## alwaysreforming (Apr 27, 2004)

Thanks, Paul, for the link. I took the liberty of posting the majority of it here because it was so short and concise:

&quot;The modern corruption of astrology expresses the idea that some mysterious, magical, and supernatural powers emanate from the houses of the zodiac which affect and control destiny and lives. That is the lie of Satan which will destroy every soul that believes it. Instead, what God put in the stars is a glorious sky-painting of Jesus Christ as the Lord of Glory. Our goal is to rediscover this original message and proclaim it for God's glory. 

In the interest of simplicity, the criticism against the Gospel in the Stars (GIS) theory has been reduced to three points and answered as follows:

1. GIS is a denial of the formal principle of the Protestant Reformation Sola Scriptura. This is a misunderstanding not only of GIS, but also of Sola Scriptura. With Sola Scriptura, the Reformers were protesting church traditions when they declared that the Bible alone was sufficient to make us wise unto salvation. They never suggested that God's creation played absolutely no part in the Gospel. In fact, to suggest that God reveals himself by the things he has made is a blatant Scriptural notion found plainly in Romans 1 and Psalm 19 and taught clearly by Reformed theologians from John Calvin to B.B. Warfield. It is called general revelation (creation) as opposed to special revelation (the Bible). While general revelation is sufficient to pronounce guilt, it is not sufficient to produce salvation; that is the task of special revelation (the Bible). Nowhere in the book or series of The Real Meaning of the Zodiac does Dr. Kennedy say otherwise.

GIS confuses special and general revelation. Again, this is a misunderstanding of the definition and purpose of general and special revelation. The universal guilt of mankind is revealed not only by Holy Scripture (Genesis 1-3) but also by the failure of man to acknowledge the revelation of God in His creation: 
For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse (Romans 1:20 NKJV).



This is the role of general revelation. Dr. Kennedy merely uses the constellations to point people to Christ. This function is complimentary to both the Westminster Confession and the plain teaching of Scripture.



GIS pours superstitious meanings into the arrangement of the stars. This is a mischaracterization of what Dr. Kennedy is saying. To point out how the constellations point to elements in the biblical record is hardly what most Christians would call "superstitious." Even if you don't agree with the GIS conclusions it by no means follows that such conclusions are "superstitious." 
In summary: The notion that Dr. Kennedy is teaching heresy is ridiculous, at best, to even a casual observer of his ministry. Aside from his earned theological degrees and his doctorate in comparative religions from New York University, he has also accrued 42 years of public teaching and 26 years of broadcast ministry. He has earned a reputation for defending strict orthodoxy. To be accused of "blasphemous heresy" shows both a lack of theological training and a gross misunderstanding of the actual contents of the book and series.&quot;



After reading their explanation, I'm afraid its worse than I thought. I wasn't expecting to find them DEFENDING the view!


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## turmeric (Apr 27, 2004)

Let's keep in mind that this is the guy behind Evangelism Explosion.

For those who may not have lived through the 60's(or can't remember) that's the technique where you ask 2 diagnostic questions;

1. Have you come to a place in yr spiritual journey where you know if you died tonight you would be in Heaven?

2. If you were to die tonight and stand before God, and he were to ask why he should let you into Heaven what would you say?

These are very good questions, I have used them. However, the &quot;gospel in the stars&quot; one of those things that make ya go hmmmm!


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## mjbee (Apr 28, 2004)

But wasn't R.C. Sproul also instrumental in Evangelism Explosion?


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## sundoulos (Apr 28, 2004)

*Gospel in the stars*

I am not familiar with the &quot;Gospel in the Stars&quot; presented by James Kennedy. However, I am familiar with the teaching that the Zodiac reveals the Gospel.

I do not find this at all far-fetched. After all, who made the Zodiac? Why? Did God actually make it to support Greek and Roman mythology? I think not. The explanation I have somewhere in my files does justice to this theory.

That God could use natural creation to point man to Christ is not preposterous. For one thing, written revelation came long after creation. Romans 1:18,19 says the wrath of God is revealed from heaven ... that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God has shown it to them. Psalm 19:1-5 also indicates the same.


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## wsw201 (Apr 28, 2004)

[quote:6e716527a6]
This morning his whole sermon was about evolution and taking down the contemporary evolution theorists. He ended in a prayer that we would know that evolution is false. 

How is it then that Knox is &quot;Reformed&quot; but this man's ministry is taking a different bend? 
[/quote:6e716527a6]

It is true that Kennedy does get off on political issues but overall his theology is very Reformed. Regarding the contemporary service, since Coral Ridge is a PCA church, you should look to the Session, which is responsible for the Worship Service, not strictly at Kennedy.


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## staythecourse (Apr 28, 2004)

*Probably misunderstand*

Scott and Paul,

I'm not following on what is being implied between evolution, Kennedy, and being reformed. 

Does being reformed also imply believing in evolution (can't be) or are you saying something else?


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## johnny_redeemed (May 6, 2004)

he seems to preach more our of history, i.e. sermons about Washington, Lincon and other. i do not like that.


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