Evangelical Ministries to New Religions
Encyclopedia
Evangelical Ministries to New Religions, often abbreviated as EMNR, is a coalition of Christian countercult
organizations.
s (NRMs) and seeks legitimacy and accountability for the countercult movement. Gordon Lewis, one of the group's founders, defines a cult as a "religious group which claims authorization by Christ and the Bible, but neglects or distorts the gospel". EMNR aims to consolidate much of the scattered countercult movement and establish a standard for evangelizing to those movements they see as non-Christian or threatening to traditional Protestant Christianity
.
EMNR holds conferences about pertinent issues, publishes relevant materials, encourages networking between member groups, and makes recommendations of helpful agencies and materials that meet its standards.
. A full list of the organization's current members can be found here.
and new religious movement
s voted to form a permanent anticult coalition, which they named Evangelical Ministries to Cultists. This coalition was coordinated by Gordon Lewis, a well-known figurehead within the countercult community. Other founders include Walter Martin, James Bjornstad, and Ronald Enroth
.
The group was designed to carry out the directives established by the 1974 Lausanne Covenant
, a Christian manifesto adopted by the International Congress on World Evangelization
that explains and promotes active global evangelism
.
" in academic spheres; "cult" still carries a largely negative connotation and is often seen as disparaging towards the members of emerging movements.)
MEDS also represents an attempt to professionalize EMNR's sector of the countercult movement, a trend in the broader movement as well. Its warnings against falsifying credentials and embellishing pertinent stories demonstrate a desire for legitimacy and respect from serious parties on all sides.
MEDS does not explicitly define the doctrine its members should express, but the Lausanne Covenant and its sibling document the Manila Manifesto of 1989 provide a basis for the expected religious beliefs and values of EMNR's members. These documents call for public faith, fervent evangelism, and firm belief in the absolute authority of the Old
and New
Testaments.
Some analysts are critical of EMNR’s attitude toward the people it attempts to reach. Douglas Cowan
, a sociologist of religion at the University of Waterloo
, Ontario, points out the discrepancies between its demands for countercult activists to respect non-Christians and the loaded language with which is describes these non-Christians.
Christian countercult movement
The Christian countercult movement is a social movement of Christian ministries and individual Christian countercult activists who oppose religious sects thought to either partially abide or do not at all abide by the teachings that are written within the Bible. These religious sects are also known...
organizations.
Purpose and Activities
The organization brings together groups and individuals who evangelize to members of new religious movementNew religious movement
A new religious movement is a religious community or ethical, spiritual, or philosophical group of modern origin, which has a peripheral place within the dominant religious culture. NRMs may be novel in origin or they may be part of a wider religion, such as Christianity, Hinduism or Buddhism, in...
s (NRMs) and seeks legitimacy and accountability for the countercult movement. Gordon Lewis, one of the group's founders, defines a cult as a "religious group which claims authorization by Christ and the Bible, but neglects or distorts the gospel". EMNR aims to consolidate much of the scattered countercult movement and establish a standard for evangelizing to those movements they see as non-Christian or threatening to traditional Protestant Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
.
EMNR holds conferences about pertinent issues, publishes relevant materials, encourages networking between member groups, and makes recommendations of helpful agencies and materials that meet its standards.
Organization
EMNR's National Conference for 2009 will be held in Kansas City, Missouri the first week of March. Its current president is L.L. (Don) Veinot, Jr., who also serves as president of the evangelical support group Midwest Christian OutreachMidwest Christian Outreach
Midwest Christian Outreach, Inc , is a non-denominational, evangelical organization. It is a "a big Chicago support group that encourages people to leave cults" and "an apologetics ministry in suburban Chicago."...
. A full list of the organization's current members can be found here.
Formation
The countercult movement has long been divided over its goals and the tactics it should use to achieve those goals, which left the movement lacking cohesiveness. The participants in a 1982 Christian conference on cultsCults
Cults is a suburb on the western edge of Aberdeen, Scotland. It lies on the banks of the River Dee and marks the eastern boundary of Royal Deeside.Cults, known for its historic granite housing, sits approximately six miles from the coast of the North Sea...
and new religious movement
New religious movement
A new religious movement is a religious community or ethical, spiritual, or philosophical group of modern origin, which has a peripheral place within the dominant religious culture. NRMs may be novel in origin or they may be part of a wider religion, such as Christianity, Hinduism or Buddhism, in...
s voted to form a permanent anticult coalition, which they named Evangelical Ministries to Cultists. This coalition was coordinated by Gordon Lewis, a well-known figurehead within the countercult community. Other founders include Walter Martin, James Bjornstad, and Ronald Enroth
Ronald Enroth
Ronald M. Enroth is Professor of Sociology at Westmont College, Santa Barbara, California, and a prominent evangelical Christian author of books concerning what he defines as "cults" and "new religious movements"....
.
The group was designed to carry out the directives established by the 1974 Lausanne Covenant
Lausanne Covenant
The Lausanne Covenant is a 1974 Christian religious manifesto promoting active world-wide Christian evangelism. One of the most influential documents in modern Evangelical Christianity, it was written and adopted by 2,300 evangelicals at the International Congress on World Evangelization in...
, a Christian manifesto adopted by the International Congress on World Evangelization
International Congress on World Evangelization
International Congress on World Evangelization may refer to:*The First International Congress on World Evangelization held in 1974 in Lausanne, Switzerland*The Second International Congress on World Evangelization held in 1989 in Manila, the Philippines...
that explains and promotes active global evangelism
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
.
Name Change
In late 1984 the group's name was officially changed to Evangelical Ministries to New Religions, after the founders realized that the original name was likely to be seen as offensive to members of new religious movements. (The term "new religious movement" has for the most part replaced the word "cultCult
The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
" in academic spheres; "cult" still carries a largely negative connotation and is often seen as disparaging towards the members of emerging movements.)
MEDS
In 1997, EMNR's Committee on Ethics (which at the time consisted of Eric Pement and Craig Branch) drafted the Manual of Ethical and Doctrinal Standards (MEDS). This document, available here, spells out the guidelines for EMNR members' expected practices in evangelism. It represents a major step in bringing cohesion to the countercult movement through the clarification of doctrine and goals, the articulation of ethical standards of conduct, and the approval of countercult material.MEDS also represents an attempt to professionalize EMNR's sector of the countercult movement, a trend in the broader movement as well. Its warnings against falsifying credentials and embellishing pertinent stories demonstrate a desire for legitimacy and respect from serious parties on all sides.
MEDS does not explicitly define the doctrine its members should express, but the Lausanne Covenant and its sibling document the Manila Manifesto of 1989 provide a basis for the expected religious beliefs and values of EMNR's members. These documents call for public faith, fervent evangelism, and firm belief in the absolute authority of the Old
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
and New
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
Testaments.
Reactions
Although EMNR is meant to unify groups within the Christian countercult movement, it does not attempt to or claim to include all those that exist. The coalition's structured standards and emphasis on accountability deter some related groups from joining, even though submitting to the EMNR's authority is essentially voluntary. Tensions between groups also contribute to a less than uniform wave to join. On a broader level, there is no consensus within the Christian community as to whether evangelism is even the right approach to take for those opposed to new religious movements.Some analysts are critical of EMNR’s attitude toward the people it attempts to reach. Douglas Cowan
Douglas E. Cowan
Douglas E. Cowan is a Canadian academic in religious studies and the sociology of religion and currently holds a teaching position at Renison College, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada...
, a sociologist of religion at the University of Waterloo
University of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo is a comprehensive public university in the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The school was founded in 1957 by Drs. Gerry Hagey and Ira G. Needles, and has since grown to an institution of more than 30,000 students, faculty, and staff...
, Ontario, points out the discrepancies between its demands for countercult activists to respect non-Christians and the loaded language with which is describes these non-Christians.