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Andy Stanley Says You Can Deny the Vast Majority of Scripture and Still be a Christian

by | Oct 21, 2024 | News

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Andy Stanley, the son of famed late pastor Charles Stanley, has once again taken the liberty of redefining Christianity on his own terms. In his latest sermon, he laid out a scandalous proposition … Christians, he suggests, need only believe in two miracles—the creation of the universe and the resurrection of Jesus.

Just two. That’s it. Forget the rest.

Toss aside the virgin birth, the miraculous healings, the prophecies fulfilled with pinpoint accuracy, the ascension into heaven—none of that is essential anymore. According to Stanley, you can deny almost everything else in Scripture and still call yourself a Christian.

Let that sink in for a moment. Deny everything except for these two miracles. What does that mean? Well, if you follow this line of reasoning to its logical conclusion, it means you can deny the Trinity.

It means you can deny the deity of Christ. You can deny the very foundation of salvation by grace alone through faith alone.

In fact, under Stanley’s “gospel-lite,” you don’t even need to believe in repentance. Why bother? If the only essential tenets of the Christian faith are that God created the universe and that Jesus was resurrected, then everything else is just… optional.

This foolishness completely snaps all credulity and his proposal isn’t just theologically reckless—it’s downright blasphemous. Christianity, under his revisionist framework, becomes nothing more than a loose collection of personal preferences, where the authority of Scripture crumbles into dust.

Imagine walking into a courtroom and declaring that only two laws of the land apply to you, and the rest are up for negotiation. That’s exactly what Stanley is advocating for—spiritual anarchy.

And what does this reveal about Stanley’s view of Scripture? We already know that to him, the Bible is just a buffet where you can take what suits your palate and leave the rest behind. Miracles like Christ’s virgin birth? Optional. Jesus walking on water? Meh. Peter healing the sick? Not necessary. Paul raising the dead? A good story, but not essential to the faith, according to Stanley.

He goes so far as to suggest that after you accept his two approved miracles, “you will find many of those other miracles far more acceptable.” How generous of him. It’s as if Stanley thinks his role is to arbitrate which parts of God’s revelation we are obligated to believe and which parts we can casually discard—which parts are palatable and which aren’t.

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Stanley’s position is so hollow that it borders on humorous—except that it’s not funny. It’s pathetic and miserable. It’s like selling someone a car and saying, “You only need the engine and the wheels to get it running. Don’t worry about the brakes, the transmission, or the steering wheel. Those are optional. You’ll probably appreciate those parts later.” No sane person would accept that deal, but in the spiritual realm, Stanley is pitching this nonsense with a straight face.

Stanley’s logic allows for the denial of even the most essential core tenets of the Christian faith. If only two miracles are required, then the crucifixion itself becomes unnecessary. After all, why does it matter that Christ died for our sins if the resurrection is the only thing you need to believe in? I mean, why can’t we just believe in Lazarus’ resurrection?

Who needs atonement provided by the only sinless Lamb of God when Stanley has trimmed down Christianity to this ridiculous “miracle-lite” version? Apparently, sin is no longer the issue—just believe that Jesus popped back to life and you’re good to go.

Do you see the fatal flaw here? What’s said is that there will be many people defending this tripe.

And what about repentance? Apparently, you don’t need to worry about turning from sin. Stanley didn’t list that as one of his required miracles. If you believe in the resurrection, then sin—by this logic—doesn’t really matter. If there’s no need for the cross, there’s no need for repentance. You can go on living exactly as you were, free from the burden of having to align your life with God’s Word. It’s easy to see where this is going, a Christianity without the cross is no Christianity at all.

Stanley has effectively opened the door for people to deny everything else in Scripture. You can reject the Trinity, discard the deity of Christ, ignore the inspiration of the Bible, and refuse to repent of your sin. Just cling to these two miracles, and Stanley will hand you your “Christian” badge.

But let’s be honest, this isn’t even a new problem. Stanley’s slide into theological liberalism started years ago when he told his congregation to “unhitch” from the Old Testament. Now, he’s telling us that we don’t need to believe in most of the New Testament either.

He’s been chipping away at the foundations of the faith for years, and this is just the latest chapter in his quest to water down the gospel. What’s next? Will he tell us that we don’t even need to believe in the resurrection, as long as we love each other? With Stanley, nothing would surprise me at this point.

The sheer arrogance of it all is mind-boggling. Who does Stanley think he is to redefine Christianity? He’s not the first to try this, of course—liberal theologians have been doing it for centuries. But Stanley is particularly dangerous because he comes from a respected evangelical background, yet he is leading people down the exact same path that others have followed into heresy. It’s the same old liberal poison, dressed up in new packaging.

And make no mistake, Stanley is a spiritual poison. His vile words are a deadly concoction that lures people into a false sense of security while gutting the faith of everything that makes it real. It offers comfort without repentance and a false belief without submission. It’s the spiritual equivalent of giving someone a parachute packed with sand. It may look good on the surface, but when they need it most, it will fail them.

Stanley’s teaching represents the slow death of the professing Church. It is a slow, creeping rot that starts by denying a miracle here or there, then moves on to questioning the authority of Scripture, and eventually ends up denying the very heart of the gospel, which he has already done.

His empty words may sound inviting, even compassionate, to a modern audience uncomfortable with the supernatural, but they are nothing more than a serpent’s whisper in the garden—“Did God really say?”

Yes, God really said. He said it all. And He didn’t give us the option to pick and choose which parts we’d like to believe. Stanley’s teaching is dangerous. It’s the kind of teaching that leads people away from the God who saves and headlong into death and destruction.

Christianity demands all of us—our minds, our hearts, our souls, and yes, our belief in every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. The miracle is that God did this to us—He changed our hearts and minds.

Two miracles? No, Christianity is founded on the totality of God’s miraculous, infallible, and inspired Word.

Anything less is a false gospel.

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