From my Google search, it appears that Karl Clauson is a well know figure in Alaska. At the age of 18, Karl became the youngest finisher of the Iditarod dog sled race (1,100 miles from Anchorage to Nome). According to the Alaska Superstation1 on Mar 21, 2008 “Karl Clauson, at the request of the board of elders, has agreed to take a leave of absence from…Changepoint [the largest church in Alaska with over 4,500 attendees]. According to the church, there is not any hint of financial or sexual wrong-doing or any other illegal activity…The church has stated that Clauson had stumbled with respect to the core spiritual values of the church…For nine years Clauson led the church.” Now, fast forward to Jan. 3, 2010 when Karl Clauson preached a sermon2 at my church, Scottsdale Bible Church, in Scottsdale, AZ. Karl was introduced with no affiliations but a Google search, afterwards, showed that he is now heads a ministry called Lifeland180.com. My wife and I found his sermon to be biblically sound but I was intrigued by an undefined comment he made during the sermon: “The world is rejecting angry evangelicalism.” I wanted to see if I could get a better idea of what he meant by this. Did he get the boot from his old church because he discovered that its church body was practicing “angry evangelicalism?” So, I emailed him. What follows is my email correspondence with Karl Clauson:
Subject: You’re Message to Scottsdale Bible Church on Jan. 3
Sent: Jan 4, 2010 7:32 PM
Karl, thanks for your powerful message this past Sunday that came through to my wife and me as a call for repentance and total surrender to Jesus Christ. I would be interested to find out what you meant by your statement, "The world is rejecting angry evangelicalism"? I was hoping that you would have given some examples on how the world is "rejecting angry evangelicalism". Can you direct me to a sermon where you have spoken more extensively on the subject? In your opinion, would the call by evangelical preachers like John Hagee and Rod Parsley for a preemptive military strike against Iran be an example of angry evangelicalism?
Also, did the strip club owner that you told about coming to accept Christ, sell his business? We'd like to hear the rest of the story here in Scottsdale. In Christ and Thanks, Tom Compton
On Mon, Jan 4, 2010 at 11:24 PM:
Hello Tom, No, my take would be that there are just wars. A strategic strike that aims to limit casualties but take out weapons of destruction that they lack the character to possess is a just strike in my personal estimation.
.
Terry has his properties on the market - one is sold - and is making great decisions. - Great questions... Karl
On Tue, Jan 5, 2010 at 12:24 AM
Karl, thanks for your reply but how is the world rejecting "angry evangelism" and what constitutes "angry evangelicalism"?
Didn't Jesus tell us to "love our neighbors as ourselves"? And, didn't He tell us, "Blessed are the Peacemakers?" Can you please tell me how advocating the bombing of Iran can be based on the teachings of Jesus? Never, mind the secular arguments about "just" wars. I can get all those arguments from the government or one of the talking heads on TV or on the radio.
My neighbors are from Iran. My neighbor's mother-in-law still lives in Iran. So, if I am to follow the commands of Christ, I must love my neighbors including the mother-in-law, whom we have met and have had in our home for dinner. I can't think of any reason, based on Jesus' teachings, to bomb Iran when they are not threatening the United States except in the minds of people like John Hagee. I certainly don't want to put my neighbor's mother-in-law in harms way or anyone in Iran, for that matter. I believe that the "angry evangelicals" are the ones who advocate such actions. I've seen them in action at Scottsdale Bible Church, which is an evangelical church.
Personally, I believe the "angry evangelicals" are the ones that have the divorces, are prejudiced, etc. According to our Pastor Jamie Rasmussen in an excellent sermon3 he gave in Nov, 2008, evangelicals have a higher divorce rate then the general population. Also, from what I've observed, the "angry evangelicals" say they are pro-life but are not against the killing of innocent women and children in places like in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Palestine because they believe them to be "just" wars.
Please, Karl, help me believe that you really are on Jesus' side. Tom Compton
On Tue, Jan 5, 2010 at 9:53 AM
Good Morning Tom, Some evangelicals do take stands that are angry and hypocritical. The divorce rate is just one example...
Not all evangelicals are angry but the perception is that we talk about things like border control and have no real care or solutions for families that just want to better themselves. To be mercy oriented and to talk of solutions or the bigger "yes" is the way of Christ in my estimation.
The fact that we talk about love but are mean with our words is a general accusation that is often accurate.
I have not said "bomb Iran" and any person who would say that without regard for innocents is misguided... but some people close to me here in Irvine who have family who have been tortured and killed at the hands of that regime believe they will stop at nothing... and are begging for help for their families. Hundreds of them are on a street corner here every night asking for help.
Yes, the killing of any children is heartbreaking to God. I don't know of one true Christ-follower who would be for the killing of innocent lives. This is a world in conflict and that conflict breaks God's heart.
I can't make you believe I'm on Jesus' side. In fact, Jesus doesn't take sides. He stands in righteousness and invites us to stand with Him. I stand with Jesus because of His love for me and nothing I've done. I will continue to miss the mark in my life but am thankful for God's grace. I look forward to a day when there will be no more tears (Rev. 21). - Blessings, Karl
On Tue, Jan 5, 2010 at 10:53 AM
Karl, thank you for dialoging with me. I agree that Jesus does not take sides. But He has given us the principles to follow. I admit that I'm a black and white type of guy. I have a tough time seeing things in gray. What about the inhumane treatment of Palestinians at the hands of Israel? Just one year ago over 300 innocent Palestinian children in Gaza were brutally murdered by the Israelis yet there is no outrage from the "angry evangelicalism" crowd for justice while the "world" is questioning what the Israelis did (The Goldstone Report, etc.). Are the Palestinians not crying out for justice like your Iranian friends who have suffered at the hands of a tyrannical government?
Your statement, "The world is rejecting 'angry evangelicalism'." struck me because I wrote about it last August to our Pastor Jamie Rasmussen4. I didn't call it "Angry Evangelicalism" but rather, referred to it as "Dispensationalism on Steroids" which is a euphemism for "Christian Zionism". You'll see in my letter to Pastor Jaime a few examples of "angry evangelicalism." For example, I included a piece ("The Internet Never Lies...But People, Do" [internet link is in the pdf file and can be accessed if you are on the internet]). I wrote about a very hateful and untrue email about Muslims that was sent to me by one of my brothers-in-Christ at SBC.
Karl, I think you need a clear statement of what you mean by "The world is rejecting 'angry evangelicalism'" or remove mention of it from your sermons. Who knows, there may be one more person in a pew that might ponder on your point and want to find out what exactly you mean when he hears you at his church. Yes, I think ultimately the world will reject "angry evangelicalism" because it's not on God's side, as I see it. But in the mean time, there's still a lot of work to be done by us mere mortal, followers of Christ. - Toward the Strait Gate, Tom Compton
P.S. if you would like to witness "angry evangelicals" take a look at our YouTube video. Included in the video is a short interview with a CZ (Christian Zionist) woman who is attending a Christians United For Israel (John Hagee) event - "A Night to Honor Israel" , that defines "angry evangelicalism": http://www.youtube.com/WHTTdotORG#p/a/u/2/m8q0TKHbEck. My mission (We Hold These Truths - http://www.whtt.org) is to help rescue Christians trapped in un-Christ-like, religious dogma exemplified by "angry evangelicalism" and Christian Zionism.
On Tue, Jan 5, 2010 at 12:22 PM
Tom, I agree that explaining more what is meant by my terms is really important. - Thanks much for the inputs. Karl
I’m still not sure if Karl Clauson wants to know what “angry evangelicalism” means. It’s possible he doesn’t want to define it too exactly for fear that evangelicals listening to him might sense that he is talking about them and want to bar him from coming to their church again. The encouraging thing for me is that statements like this from an evangelical may mean there is an awakening5 to the dangerous effects of Christian Zionism, “Dispensationalism on Steroids” or “Angry Evangelicalism,” whatever you want to call it. In 2007, 34 prominent evangelical leaders wrote a letter6 & 7 to then President George Bush urging him to “to reinvigorate the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations to achieve a lasting peace in the region. We affirm your clear call for a two-state solution.” This flies in the face of the widely held, dispensational/Christian Zionist belief among evangelical Christians that only the Jews are entitled to the land in Israel and, therefore, giving any land to Palestinians would be against the will of God. Contrast this with the Apostle Paul’s admonition to followers of Christ in Colossians 3: 9-11 –“Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.” So, how can there be a difference between a Jew and gentile in the eyes of God, today?
1 Alaska Supertation, 3/22/08: http://www.aksuperstation.com/news/local/16904061.html
2 Karl Clauson’s sermon can be viewed at: http://scottsdalebible.com/sermons/imagine-awakening
3 Nov. 2, 2008 sermon: “Doing Good When Nobody Cares” by Jamie Rasmussen: http://scottsdalebible.com/sermons/doing-good-when-nobody-cares
4 Letter to Jamie Rasmussen, SBC by Tom Compton 8/4/09: http://whtt.org/images/PW-20090804-Rasmussen.pdf
5 See Chuck Carlson’s article, “Christian Zionism on the Skids; Rick Warren to the Rescue?” –
http://whtt.org/index.php?news=2&id=3361. Also, listen to his interview on The Liberty Hour – “The end of Christian Zionism, or, Just a Facelift?” - http://thelibertyhour.podbean.com/2009/12/17/the-liberty-hour-podcast-dec-17-2009/
6 Letter to President Bush from Evangelical Leaders, July 29, 2007: http://whtt.org/index.php?news=2&id=1635
7 “The Beginning of the End of Christian Zionism,” an analysis of the 7/29/07 letter from the 34 Evangelical leaders to President Bush
by Chuck Carlson: http://whtt.org/index.php?news=2&id=1739
