Joyful message broadcaster?

Originally posted on February 25, 2006 – by Andre Piet

As of March 1, Ad de Boer will step down from his position as Dutch Evangelical Broadcasting Compagny (EO) director. In today’s Nederlands Dagblad (Dutch newspaper), an interview with him is published. He is asked the question, “Are you concerned about the eternal doom that awaits the godless?” and responds as follows:

“It is not my primary motivation, it looms in the background. When I read the words of the Lord Jesus, I cannot escape the conclusion that there will be eternal life without God for those who reject Him. I cannot reason that away.

At the same time, it is so drastic and so horrifying that I try not to form a detailed image of it. For me, it is a reality in the background, something I don’t think about much further. It has to do with the passing of my brother, Gert, sixteen years ago. (…) From his teenage years onward, Gert increasingly distanced himself from the faith. He became ill and died without – let’s say – any visible signs of repentance.”

As parents and as brothers and sisters, we sat together after his passing to compose a text for the obituary. That’s when you cry, when you stammer, when you search for verses that say God is greater than our heart, that He does not forsake the work of His hands.

I do not allow the thought that… No, I don’t want to think about the question of where Gert is now. I don’t think a person can live with the knowledge that someone you love is not with the Lord, but is in eternal lostness. That is almost impossible to live with. I can hardly allow it in my thoughts. It would make me very downhearted.

Is there a greater caricature imaginable of a broadcaster that publicly presents itself as a joyful message broadcaster, yet whose director is unable to live with the consequences of that so-called joyful message?! “It would make me very downhearted,” he honestly admits. The schizophrenia of such a ‘joyful message’ leaps off the page! Teaching others that there is eternal lostness, but when that notion comes very close (e.g., when a loved one dies), seeking comfort in the truth that God does not forsake the work of His hands.

I don’t need to explain here how things truly stand regarding hell, lostness, eternity, and such terms. For that, I refer to many other articles on this site. The only thing I want to draw attention to is how double-minded (read: hypocritical) and unconvincing the ‘gospel’ of orthodoxy really is.

Delen: