I challenged my good friend Mark Haukaas, the Pirate, to give me one verse proving the non-preexistence of Christ. Because, honestly, I couldn't understand how anyone could possibly hold this teaching. And I REALLY couldn't understand how a smart guy like Haukaas would not be bothered by the fact that the
teaching enjoys not a single Scripture of support. I knew there was no such verse, but I wanted to hear from The Pirate what he regarded as proof.
Here it is. Is it proof? Of course not. As I said, there is no proof. (How can a lie have proof?) But maybe we can get more insight into the "Christ-never-descended-from-heaven" mindset by analyzing what
those of this mindset consider to be proof than by their shocking denials of Jesus' own words.
This is a public dispute. Mark is my brother. I love him dearly and the feeling is mutual. If I thought this video would somehow compromise our friendship, I would not jump into this with such relish. But Mark is one of the most sincere, most conscientious,
most passionate believers I know—if not THE most. This is tough love for a man I have served next to for years, with whom I have strained together in the fields of evangelism and the pursuit of the recognition and realization of God.
The teaching of the non-preexistence of Christ is a trap that will result in considerable loss at the dais of Christ. I
don't know how my friend got caught up in it (I take a stab at it in this video), but if something I say can help him out of it, how can I not throw myself at the effort? If I do nothing, I am not a friend. If this weren't so important, I would do nothing.
Mark doesn't teach this lie, he simply holds it. Those who teach it? Pilkington? Welch?
Meye? I currently have no expectation that they will unhand it in this life. I did at first, but no more. They are too closely tied to it now. They're too far down in the rabbit hole and the rabbits don't seem interested in evicting them. The Pirate? Not a bunny guy.
None of us are immune to satanic seduction. We can all go down—not in the salvation
department, but in the department of "how-about-let's-lose-as-little-as-possible-at-the-dais." None of us are immune to the lure (it SEEMS righteous) of destroying Christian orthodoxy. (I believe this to be the lure for The Pirate.) But what if Christian orthodoxy is, in some cases, correct? (Do they not cite Bethlehem as the place of Christ's birth and Jerusalem as the place of His death?) Shouldn't we choose our battles based on Scriptural revelation rather than firing blindly at
everything labeled "Christian"? If the weapons of our warfare are not carefully trained, may we not incur unintended yet grievous collateral damage?
I'm into preventing this if I can.
