House Church Talk - Jesus: Fact or Fiction DVD

[Glenn Frank]

Last week I attended an event at Biola (bible institute of Los Angeles)
University in California...

It was the kickoff event for their summer series of classes. They also used
this event to introduce a new DVD that was created by the Jesus film project
and Inspirational films... As well as a few other groups. It is intended for
witnessing purposes. If contains the "Jesus film" and also contains video
clip answers to a lot of commonly asked questions about God, Christianity
and Religion. The clips are done by a few professors from Biola and other
Christian speakers like Josh McDowell, Lee Strobel, Ravi Zacharias and
others.... 

They handed out a free copy of the DVD to every family that attended.

On the whole... Most of the answers provided seem pretty good... But I was
very disappointed at the answers given to questions about sin and
forgiveness.

specifically these questions:

Will God forgive my harmful mistakes?
(Answered by Lee Strobel)
http://www.jesusfactorfiction.com/answer.php?will_god_forgive

I'm not a bad person. Why would I need forgiveness?
(Answered by Alan Scholes)
http://www.jesusfactorfiction.com/answer.php?why_need_forgiveness


The answers provided to these two questions seem to make sin out to simply
be "not being all you can be" in the plan God has for your life... And the
answer given to the second question specifically says that every human is
not "gross", "terrible" and "wicked" in God's sight when the Bible states
that "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God"... Just that "we
have not lived up to what God desired of us".

This seems to be the standard approach to sin that the seeker sensitive
movement has taken. But it seems to me that approaching sin in this way can
leave people just saying... "Ok, so I didn't quite live up to everything God
wanted me to do... Is that so bad?" They miss the point that we were BORN
INTO SIN and even if we had done nothing at all we would be sinners before a
Holy God. I do not see how they can state that we as sinners are not
"gross", "terrible" and "wicked" before a holy God... That is WHAT WE ARE
before we are bought into Christ!

Anyway, I was very surprised that Biola, the Jesus Film Project and others
would answer this critical issue in such a weak way!

Has anyone else seen this DVD or looked at their website? Or have you seen
and experienced this sort of wimpy description of sin in "seeker sensitive"
churches?

Glenn Frank