Pursuit of Gods: Anna Diehl and Christian Post

PURSUIT OF GODS: ANNA DIEHL AND CHRISTIAN POST [Excerpts]

Christian Post (hereafter CP) is a major online media organization based in Washington, DC, that describes itself as “the nation’s most comprehensive Christian news website.” It is a member organization of the Evangelical Press Association as well as the National Association of Evangelicals, and has a statement of faith that is generically, solidly evangelical. As I noted in my email to CP, “We share the same orthodox, evangelical beliefs as your organization, as reflected in your excellent Statement of Faith.”

It was recently brought to my attention that one of the blogs featured prominently on CP’s website exists to promote heretical teachings that are clearly at variance with CP’s avowedly evangelical doctrinal position. I refer to the blog called “The Pursuit of God,” the author of which is Anna Diehl. Ms. Diehl denies the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity; her version of the doctrine explicitly contradicts CP’s statement of faith. In a recent article on Jesus and the Holy Spirit (Oct. 31, 2014) on her Christian Post blog, Diehl wrote: “When giving that famous Great Commission, Jesus told His disciples to baptize people in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Jesus taught that there were three Gods—three Beings who met Yahweh’s definition of praiseworthy…. There are three Gods. Jesus and the Holy Spirit have no beginning. They were not created. They are Almighty Gods who are separate from Yahweh, yet equal to Him in every way.”

Ms. Diehl’s...doctrine clearly contradicts the classical doctrine affirmed in CP’s statement of faith that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are “the one eternal God.” In technical theological language, her doctrine is known as tritheism, the doctrine that the world is governed by three separate Gods. Many evangelicals know that Mormonism teaches a form of this doctrine; it is unsettling to find it promoted by a blogger on Christian Post.

This is not the only heretical error taught by Ms. Diehl. Surprisingly, she denies that Jesus Christ is truly human. CP’s statement of faith rightly affirms that Christ is “the eternal Son of God who became fully human while remaining fully divine.” Ms. Diehl flatly and vigorously contradicts this basic doctrine of the Christian faith. In her “What We Teach” article, she writes: "Is Jesus fully God and fully man? No. Jesus is fully God. His brief time on earth did not alter or reduce His Divinity in any way. To teach that Jesus is less than God or that for awhile He “set aside” His Divinity is heresy. God is quite capable of coming to us in a human form without permanently changing His identity."

Finally, although there are several other problems with Anna Diehl’s theology, I will mention just one more than explicitly contradicts the CP statement of faith. Ms. Diehl denies the inerrancy of the Bible, and even denies that all of the Bible is inspired. Her “What We Teach” article says: "Is the Bible inerrant? No….Is the Bible inspired? Parts of it. But there is teaching in the Bible that is just plain wrong….Would God ever go against His written Word? Of course. We find many examples of Him doing this right inside the Bible. The Bible does not limit or confine God in any way."

I realize that Christian Post has a disclaimer stating that “CP Blogs do not necessarily reflect the views of The Christian Post. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author(s).” I also realize that CP does not necessarily endorse views taught on other websites by the authors who blog on CP. However, Anna Diehl’s article on Christian Post, “The Divinity of Jesus & the Holy Spirit,” quoted above, explicitly contradicts the CP statement of faith [which] is meaningless if the organization knowingly hosts a blogger who explicitly contradicts [it.]

http://www.religiousresearcher.org/2014/11/12/pursuit-of-gods-anna-diehl-and-christian-post/