View source for Evangelical Ministries to New Religions

{{Short description|Christian counter-cult organizations}}
{{Infobox organization
| name          = Evangelical Ministries to New Religions
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| abbreviation  = EMNR
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| formation     = 1982
| founder       = Gordon Lewis, [[Walter Ralston Martin|Walter Martin]], James Bjornstad, [[Ronald Enroth]]
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| type          = [[Christian countercult movement|Christian countercult]] group
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| purpose       = Evangelize to members of [[new religious movements]] (NRMs)
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| leader_title  = President
| leader_name   = L.L. (Don) Veinot, Jr
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| subsidiaries  = {{hlist||style     = font-size: 80%;|[[Watchman Fellowship]]|[[New England Institute of Religious Research]]|[[Midwest Christian Outreach]]|[[Institute for Religious Research]]|Apologetics Evangelism - NAMB/SBC|Apologetics Resource Center|Apologia|ARMOR|Biola University|Christian Apologetics Program |BRIDGE|CANA/Christian Answers for the New Age|Centers for Apologetics Research|Christian Perspectives International|Christian Research and Counsel|Current Issues in Alternative Medicine|Evidence Ministries|Gospel Truth Ministries|Families Against Cults of Indiana|Fire Escape Ministries|Freedom In Truth Outreach|Haven Ministries|Discernment Ministries International|Jesus Christ Saves Ministries|Life Assurance Ministries|Mormonism Research Ministry|Naming the Grace|Refuge Ministries|Religious Information Center|Resource Center for Theological Research|Rooftop Ministries|Stormwatch Ministries|Spiritwatch Ministries|True Light Educational Ministry|Word for the Weary}}
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| website       = {{url|http://www.emnr.org/}}
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| formerly      = Evangelical Ministries to Cultists
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'''Evangelical Ministries to New Religions''' ('''EMNR)''' is a coalition of [[Christian countercult movement|Christian countercult]] organizations. It was founded by Gordon Lewis, James Bjornstad, [[Ronald Enroth]], and [[Walter Ralston Martin]] in 1982.<ref>Bozeman, John. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/nr.2004.8.1.103 "Conference Updates."] ''Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions'' 8, no. 1 (2004): 103–7. p. 106.</ref><ref name="cowan" />
==Purpose and activities==
The organization brings together groups and individuals who [[Evangelism|evangelize]] to members of [[new religious movement]]s (NRMs) and seeks legitimacy and accountability for the [[Christian countercult movement|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".<ref name = "rhodes">Rhodes, Ron. The Challenge of the Cults and New Religions: The Essential Guide to Their History, Their Doctrine, and Our Response. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2001. This quote is part of an excerpt form Gordon Lewis's book ''Confronting the Cults''.</ref> EMNR aims to consolidate much of the scattered countercult movement and establish a ubiquitous mission strategy for movements they see as non-Christian or threatening to traditional [[Protestant]] [[Christianity]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2008-12-09 |title=EMNR - Our Purpose |url=http://www.emnr.org/our_purpose.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081209044722/http://www.emnr.org/our_purpose.html |archive-date=2008-12-09  |access-date=2022-08-05 }}</ref>
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.<ref name=":0" />
==Organization==
James Lopez currently serves as EMNR’s Executive Director.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Executive Director – EMNR |url=https://emnr.org/about/executive-director/ |access-date=2022-08-05 |language=en-US}}</ref> A full list of the organization's current members can be found [https://emnr.org/members/ here].
==History==
===Formation===
The [[Christian countercult movement|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 [[cult]]s and [[new religious movement]]s voted to form a permanent [[Anti-cult movement|anticult]] coalition, which they named Evangelical Ministries to Cultists.<ref name = "watch">{{citation |url= http://watch.pair.com/cult-intro.html |title= New Age Ties of the Apologetics Industries |work= Watch Unto Prayer [watch.pair.com] |author= Aho, Barbara |access-date= 2008-11-25 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130122032455/http://watch.pair.com/cult-intro.html |archive-date= 2013-01-22 |url-status= dead }}</ref> This coalition was coordinated by Gordon Lewis, a well-known figure within the countercult community. Other founders include [[Walter Ralston Martin|Walter Martin]], James Bjornstad, and [[Ronald Enroth]].<ref name = "cowan">Cowan, Douglas E. ''Bearing False Witness? An Introduction to the Christian Countercult'' Westport, CT: Praeger, 2003. {{page needed|date=February 2014}} {{ISBN|978-0275974596}}</ref>
The group was designed to carry out the directives established by the 1974 [[Lausanne Covenant]], a Christian [[manifesto]] adopted by the [[First International Congress on World Evangelization|International Congress on World Evangelization]] that explains and promotes active global [[evangelism]].<ref name = "cowan" /><ref name="Lausanne">{{Cite web |date=1974-08-01 |title=The Lausanne Covenant |url=https://lausanne.org/content/covenant/lausanne-covenant |access-date=2022-08-05 |website=Lausanne Movement |language=en-US}}</ref>
===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 movement|new religious movements]].<ref name = "cowan" />
===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 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.<ref name = "cowan" />
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.<ref name = "cowan" />
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 Testament|Old]] and [[New Testament|New]] Testaments.<ref name = "Lausanne" />
==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.<ref name = "cowan" />
Some analysts are critical of EMNR’s attitude toward the people it attempts to reach. [[Douglas E. Cowan|Douglas Cowan]], a [[Sociology of religion|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 it sometimes describes non-Christians.<ref name = "cowan" />
==References==
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== External links ==
* [https://emnr.org/ Official website]
* [https://emnr.org/about/MEDS/ MEDS Document]
* [https://www.youtube.com/c/EMNR-INC YouTube channel]
{{Opposition to NRMs|state=collapsed}}
[[Category:Evangelical Ministries to New Religions| ]]
[[Category:Christian countercult organizations]]
[[Category:Christian organizations established in 1982]]