For all practical purposes, I am deeply honored to be put in the same category as Brian McLaren, Tony Jones, Rob Bell and Andrew Perriman; all of whom promote a much deeper understanding of the Scriptures than the superficial and mechanical understanding offered by modern Preterism.

But since most criticism seems to be about the content presented here, I must reiterate that PlanetPreterist has always been presented as a community of people, thus a community of ideas and opinions. That is what makes this website so valuable and important to the Christian conversation; I do not know what part of the purpose and goals of this website it is not being understood out there. If Hugo Chavez would ask to be a columnist here, he would certainly be one, and so would Hal Lindsey, Jack VanImpe or whoever else would want to offer ideas and opinions to the large audience of PlanetPreterist, as long as it is being done in a respectful manner. By allowing open dialogue and exchange of ideas, PlanetPreterist does not insult the intelligence of our readers by implying that they are unable or maybe too dumb to discern truth on their own. I like to believe that users of this site are good readers of character, able to discern and understand the differences between opinions, proposals, research, theories and facts; I like to believe that you, the reader, do not have the mind of a child that blindly listens and buys into everything I suggest, so do not fear, you will be treated like an adult here and hopefully you will also all act as adults.

Jack’s story

During the last Emergent meeting in Dayton, I’ve had the privilege of meeting Jack[1]. Jack is a great fellow for a good conversation; in fact, after more than two hours of speaking with him, we had a hard time saying goodbye and leaving on our ways. But during those two hours I learned something fascinating about Jack. You see, Jack did not find God in a church building, in theology, fulfilled eschatology or a Seminary, in Calvinism or in Arminianism; instead Jack found God in Buddhism. Jack told us about his struggles and his journey; he told us about the emptiness he found in modern Christian churches where judgmentalism and dogmatism take front stage. He told us about the solace he could not find among Christians, but among Buddhists and in meditation.

Now hit the pause button for a second.

So far a modern, self-serving, self-gratifying, judgmental, self-righteous Christian would laugh at someone like Jack; maybe even spit in his face or call him a Heretic and a destroyer of the Gospel; who knows, even call all his friends encouraging them to leave Jack because he did not find God “the right way.” Yet how surprised would all be to learn that as a result of his encounter with Buddhism Jack is now a practicing Christian, serving in an Orthodox Church, professing his faith in the saving blood of Christ? Jack was lost, and now he is found.

Our stories

But Jack’s story is only one out of thousands; we hear the stories of Christians abandoning churches in droves because of hate and dogmatism, theology being placed before people, dogma before souls, and orthodoxy before the community; how many Preterists leave or get kicked out of their own churches because of their newfound eschatology? The truth is that Jack’s story is our story; it’s my story and PlanetPreterist’s story. Many of us have found solace in Preterism…for a time; now we are willing to look at the practical aspects of Preterism and see what the present Kingdom of God is all about.

In the process we have discovered a new group of long-lost brothers looking for the same solace, yet they come into our story from the practical side of things. While Preterist Eschatology leads us to ask questions about practical Christianity, practical Christianity is leading Emergents to ask questions about Preterist Eschatology. This is a point of no-return for both groups, thus a clash of generations is inevitable. For all practical purposes most Emergent Christians are Preteristic in their eschatology; and they will continue be Preteristic whether some Preterists like it or not. There is no Preterist roster that I am aware of, nor is there a Pope of Preterism that allows or denies applications into the movement based on one’s theological accreditations. This will happen regardless of the loud whining being heard from the Star Wars bar scene, or despite the vicious personal attacks against me. It is not up to me or anyone else to dictate the eschatology of the emergent generations of Christians or to dictate who can and who cannot call himself a Preterist; but it is up to me to choose to stand up for my convictions.

You see what is ironic in this clash of generations, is that the well-established, modern Preterists that claim to have all answers, claim to have no doubts, claim to have no theological weaknesses, those who are daily offering us a spectacle of orgasmic theological self-righteousness and perfection claim they have every right to stand up for what they think is right, what they thing is just and biblically accurate. Yet they would suggest in the same breath that we do not have the same justification, we may not stand up for what we believe is right, biblical and Christ-like; when they point out our words they call them “lies” but we cannot do the same; they can mock us but we cannot; they can whine and complain, but we cannot; they can charge heresy, but we cannot; we do not preach the Gospel, only they do; we molest the Gospel, they do not. This list can go on forever.

In some ways Preterism is becoming a movement of hollow theological fanatics that lacks any practical aspect whatsoever; in other ways Preterism is offering a newfound hope to Emergent Christians willing to consider fulfilled eschatology. PlanetPreterist is here to offer answers, avenues for conversations and dialogue. This is the only Preterist place that is willing to extend a welcoming hand to anyone out there, regardless of religion, creed, political persuasion or soteriology, because I firmly believe that open arms are next to brotherhood and conversation is better than hate and mockery.

For those of us having the Elijah complex, I hope that I have made it clear yet again. It appears that every few months I have to reiterate that PlanetPreterist’s agenda will not be dictated by critics or by anyone that is driven by the only desire to be “against” something. The honest zeal for truth has driven a handful of old-time Preterists to proudly wear their horse glasses, making them indistinguishable from the Dispensationalists and Futurists they love to mock and criticize, already forgetting their own story, their own journey and their own friends and brothers.

Jack did not forget his story, and like Jack I did not forget mine, and I will continue to tell my story without shame, hoping to encourage others to do the same: I like lighting candles when I enter a Church building; I like contemplating and praying when I look at an icon; I like speaking with Emergent liberals and conservatives; I like speaking with Universalists and Calvinists; I like being open about my weaknesses and doubts instead of hiding them and pretending I do not have them; I like telling others I am a sinner; I like taking groceries to my friends’ homes to help them out; I like listening to other people’s opinions; and last but no least, I like telling people how Jesus loves all mankind, and how he encouraged us to love even our worst enemies.

The passing generation likes to divide the world of Christianity into tents and like-minded groups; they warn you not to set foot (or nose) into the wrong tent, or maybe by mistake step into someone else’s shoes. This is the mentality at the heart of denominationalism, and it’s ripping Christianity apart. Our faith is not divided in tents or groups where the strongest rule and dictate everyone’s theological agendas – Jesus did not come to build tents; instead he sat at the same table with all his disciples, drank from the same cup with all of them and broke bread together with them. He let prostitutes wash his feet and tax collectors buy him dinner.

I want to encourage all of you to continue to reach out to all people of all backgrounds just as Christ would; listen to others’ stories, see where they find God, and if they are still looking, encourage them, help them, talk to them and point them gently in the right direction. Creating zones of exclusions, withdrawing articles from websites, bashing people’s heads in with hollow theology will hardly motivate anyone to reconsider truth. You will be amazed by how much of your story you will be able to tell just by listening.

[1] Name changed to protect the innocent