André van Heerden with Alex Jones, one of the leading minds interviewed in the upcoming documentary 12 BIGGEST LIES

In the attempt to be nice and open-minded, many of us may not realize that we’re offending God. Another way of putting it: blasphemy.

This is a strong statement but let me explain. I recently read a daily devotional from Bill Keller of LivePrayer.com. It opens by saying:

The latest attempt to sell the lie from hell that “everyone will get to Heaven!” There is a new movie out, CHARLIE ST. CLOUD (Zac Efron). At first glance, it looks like a pretty good movie. There is not the normal abundance of gratuitous sex, violence, swearing. The story is actually a pretty positive one…if you don’t believe the Bible. You see, the new movie Charlie St. Cloud is the latest attempt by the world to sell the new age like that everyone will make it to Heaven. I have actually heard that many churches are recommending their members go to see it, despite the fact this movie promotes the great lie that you can get to Heaven without faith in Jesus Christ!

The fact is, a movie like this would have never been given an ounce of credibility within the church just 40 years ago. That is because you would have had pastors speaking out against this satanically inspired idea that “all good people will make it to Heaven.” Years ago, the average lay person would have never given a second of their attention to such garbage. In this Biblically illiterate time we are living, most who claim to be Christians fall for lies like this because they simply don’t know what the Bible says!

Of course the blame has to fall squarely on the shoulders of pastors and Christian leaders. They have failed miserably to lead the flock. A true shepherd is supposed to feed, teach, and protect their flocks from wolves like this movie. Instead, they blindly let these wolves of satan into the very place their sheep live. So many have come into the church through these watered down seeker/purpose driven/emergent church marketing strategies designed to fill churches with warm bodies by watering down the Truth of God’s Word. So these people are already used to a compromised, non-confrontational, non-offensive presentation of God’s Word. So lies like the movie Charlie St. Cloud dispense sound very similar.

“THIS IS WHY I POUND ON THIS ISSUE SO OFTEN. WE HAVE AN ENTIRE GENERATIONS OF PEOPLE WHO IDENTIFY THEMSELVES AS CHRISTIANS WHO MAY HAVE NEVER EVEN GIVEN THEIR LIVES TO CHRIST BY FAITH, AND CERTAINLY HAVE NEVER BEEN ROOTED AND GROUNDED IN THE ABSOLUTE TRUTH OF GOD’S WORD. THE BYPRODUCT IS THEY ARE EASY TARGETS FOR THE CHOPRA’S OF THE WORLD TO LEAD THEM FAR AWAY FROM THE TRUTH OF THE BIBLE AND TO ETERNAL DAMNATION!”

Clearly Bill Keller has a very direct and provocative way of communicating. But before you get offended, stop and re-read what he has said. Is any of it incorrect? The truth may not be easy for some people to hear but that doesn’t make it any less true. And if no one actually speaks out and says the truth – how would anyone ever know it?

And let’s take this a step further: if you say or believe that there is more then one way to heaven then aren’t you saying to God: “Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross, to save me from my sins, means absolutely nothing and was a wasted effort, because there are other ways to make it to heaven.”

Yikes. In the effort to be nice and non-confrontational and saying “all good people go to heaven” we’re being extremely confrontational and offensive to GOD.

It’s good to listen to people and to be friendly but we must also honor the truth and honor God.

- Blog by André van Heerden, Executive Producer/Director at Christian movie company Cloud Ten Pictures