I don't defend Ashcroft (have never liked the guy) or his church, but daytrader76 slanders both here.
The site to which he refers, and which he obviously believes, claims Ashcroft's church believes "Christians should not make friends with non-Christians." The church believes no such thing. Rather, on this point it teaches essentially what the Scriptures teach in 2 Corinthians 6:14-15:
Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols?
The idea here is that believers ought not allow themselves to be inextricably linked to non-believers (i.e. "yoked") because non-believers will necessarily conduct themselves toward goals that will differ radically from those of the believer. In a deep friendship, like marriage, or in a contractual partnership, for example, I will certainly wish to give large sums of money to my church and support causes that may be unworthy to the non-believer. Indeed, I may wish to completely dedicate my life and everything I do to God, Who the non-believer by definition rejects. Were I unequally attached to a non-believer, having nothing in common with him or her, I would be part of a relationship that would undoubtedly hinder what ultimately should matter to all believers.
This by no means forbids Christians from befriending non-Christians. I have plenty of heathen friends and I am sure Ashcroft does also. It instead commands Christians to avoid entangling themselves in relationships equally controlled by non-believers, since, spiritually they have nothing in common. My heathen buddies know that where we are concerned, I enjoy their companionship, but, like Christ, I am always seeking their salvation. Contrary to daytrader76's implied claim, there are no canonical texts anywhere presenting Christ in deep relationships with non-believers. All of His most intimate relationships were with believers. And the few relationships He had with non-believers clearly existed for the purpose of bringing the non-believers to Himself. |
