November 24, 2009
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Dear Friends,
I wanted to do a brief update on my mom and to share a goal with you that a friend suggested.
Mom’s red blood cell count continues to drop. She is tanked out on iron and had to go off of it. Due to the fact that she continues to have increased bone pain, she will have bone scans done to make sure there is no uptake in cancer.
I was sharing with a dear brother that I never intended for this blog to become a means of any kind of monetary support for my mom. He made a suggestion that I try to raise donations for my mom during the month of December and to remove the banner. I would then give the donations to my mom on Christmas day as a surprise. So beginning today, all donations received through December 24th will be given to my mom on Christmas day. I will still post updates on my mother’s health situation, good or bad. Mom is now in her 19th month of oral chemotherapy. She has 65 more months to go. I am going to post this over the next four Mondays and then remove it and the banner as well.
For those that would like to donate please CLICK HERE.
We want to thank everyone who has prayed, sent letters and cards of encouragement, and for all who have given in a tangible way. All gifts have been received as unto the Lord. The sovereignty of our Lord is amazing and the love of His children will never be forgotten. We are truly humbled and grateful.
I will close with a few Bible verses that my mom and dad refer to often:
Hebrews 13:14 ~ For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.
2 Corinthians 4:17-18 ~ For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
Colossians 3:1-3 ~ If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
2 Corinthians 12:10 ~ For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
November 24, 2009
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Dr. John MacArthur has weighed in on what Apprising Ministries began to discuss in The Manhattan Declaration Of Christian Conscience.
At Shepherd’s Fellowship MacArthur begins:
Here are the main reasons I am not signing the Manhattan Declaration, even though a few men whom I love and respect have already affixed their names to it:…
Although I obviously agree with the document’s opposition to same-sex marriage, abortion, and other key moral problems threatening our culture, the document falls far short of identifying the one true and ultimate remedy for all of humanity’s moral ills: the gospel.
The gospel is barely mentioned in the Declaration… (Online source)
You can read the entirety of John MacArthur’s statement re. The Manhattan Declaration right here.
November 24, 2009
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HT: The Reformed Stooge
Redemption
A Rebel’s Guide To Joy
November 24, 2009
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Apprising Ministries has pointed out in recent articles like Evangelicalism Becoming Another Religion Entirely that Satan has been busy saturating throughout the very dry forest of intellectual evangelical churchianity, so easily passing for Christianity these days in alleged postmodern [read: relativistic] America, highly flammable Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism—which first flowered in apostate Roman Catholicism.
You need to realize that very rough spiritual waters lie dead ahead because we are beginning to witness 1 Peter 4:17 judgments as Christ begins shaking His Church. Because of what you’ll hear in the video below, the time has come in the American Christian Church for division; for a reformation every bit the same as when Luther stood hammer in hand. And it contributes to the reason why I shared what I did in Christian Soldiers Standing Up For Jesus?
Sadly, the truth is we now see widespread acceptance of the egregiously ecumenical Emerging Church aka Emergent Church, which is a cult of postliberalism—now morphing into Emergence Christianity (EC). At its corrupt heart the EC is an attack on Sola Scriptura because it has CSM, as taught by “key mentors” Living Spiritual Teacher and Quaker mystic Richard Foster and his spiritual twin Southern Baptist minister Dallas Willard, as a core doctrine.
As I just told you in Evangelicalism Becoming Another Religion Entirely the EC would serve a Trojan Horse from which Satan would unload his spurious CSM, now spreading under the guise of Spiritual Formation. If you want a good current illustration, then make the time to listen to Crosstalk: Ingrid Schlueter And Bob DeWaay On Buddhists At Bethel University. And when you add in the centered on the self sentimentalism of Purpose Driven Pope Rick Warren, you have the leaven of the disaster below…
HT: DefCon
See also:
SBC PROTESTANT PASTOR RICK WARREN DOUBLE-MINDED ON THE REFORMATION AND ROMAN CATHOLICISM
PUTTING BRIAN MCLAREN IN HIS PLACE
THE MANHATTAN DECLARATION OF CHRISTIAN CONSCIENCE
IS ROB BELL EVANGELICAL?
DONALD WHITNEY AND EVANGELICAL CONTEMPLATIVE SPIRITUALITY/MYSTICISM
DISCIPLINES TO DECEPTION IN SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION
“INWARD JOURNEY” ESPOUSED BY RICHARD FOSTER IS A FORM OF DIVINATION
November 24, 2009
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A classic verse of Scripture concerning the nature of the Messiah (Hebrew—Mashiyach), or the Christ (Greek—Christos), is Isaiah 9:6 — For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. And it is also a passage of Holy Scripture that is vehemently attacked by the Watchtower Bible And Tract Society (WBTS), also known as the Jehovah’s Witnesses (JW), in an attempt to obscure and ultimately deny the Deity of our Lord, Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
However, as we read this verse it immediately becomes evident that we are not dealing with a mere human being here. Clearly this child will be much more than that as He is called Mighty God and Everlasting Father. It should be noted that Everlasting Father could be better translated, “The Eternal Father,” as it is in Tanakh-The Holy Scriptures, which is published by the Jewish Publication Society, and “represents the collaboration of academic scholars with rabbis from the three largest branches of organized Jewish religious life in America” (Preface, xv).
In their classic work Jamieson, Fausset and Brown comment on the title Everlasting Father: “This marks [the Messiah]…lit. [as] ‘The Father of eternity’…” (Vol. 2, 594). Everlasting Father will also remind the serious Bible student of Psalm 90:2 — Before the mountains were born or You brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting You are God. When this verse is cross-referenced with John 1:3 and Colossians 1:16, we will see that we are indeed talking about the Deity of Jesus Christ.
Dr. John Martin of Dallas Theological Seminary further points out:
[The Messiah] is also the Mighty God (cf. 10:21). Some have suggested that this simply means “a god-like person” or hero. But in context it becomes clear Isaiah meant much more than that, for he had already spoken of the Messiah do-ing what no other person had been able to do (e.g., 9:2-5). Isaiah understood that the Messiah was to be God in some sense of the term” (The Bible Knowledge Commentary, OT, 1053).
This is confirmed by what Isaiah had previously written in Is. 7:14 — Therefore the Lord [adonai in the Hebrew] Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel (NIV). When this verse is thwn cross-checked with Matthew 1:22-23 we find the name Immanuel means, “God with us,” and that this passage of Holy Scripture is speaking of Christ Jesus of Nazareth.
The WBS does concede here that Isaiah 9:6 is fulfilled in the man Jesus of Nazareth, and that He is the Messiah. However, they then argue that Christ Jesus is Mighty God, but that He is not Jehovah—the Almighty God—because the text of Isaiah doesn’t have “the” in it. The truth remains though, that the Bible itself knows nothing of an Almighty God, as opposed to some lesser “Mighty” God.
In fact, the distinguishing religious characteristic of the nation of Israel in Old Testament times was their monotheism (i.e. belief in one God). In stark contrast to all other cultures around them at the time who were polytheistic (i.e. belief in many gods), the Jews worshipped the one true LORD God Almighty of the Bible.
The absolute truth remains that no amount of fanciful eisegesis can ever get around the incontrovertible fact that the Old Testament teaches monotheism. Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one (Deuteronomy 6:4, literal Hebrew). And even the New World Translation (NWT), published by the WBTS agrees — Listen, O Israel: Jehovah our God is one Jehovah.
Norman Geisler and Ron Rhodes now point out the WBS error when they say:
The folly of the Watchtower position is at once evident in the fact that Jehovah himself is called a “Mighty God” in the very next chapter of Isaiah (10:21). That both Jehovah and Jesus are called “Mighty God” in the same book within the same section demonstrates their equality.
A good cross-reference is Isaiah 40:3, where Jesus is prophetically called both “Mighty God” (Elohim) and Jehovah (Yahweh): “A voice is calling, ‘Clear the way for the LORD [Yahweh] in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God [Elohim]’” (NASB; cf. John 1:23). Clearly Jesus is not a lesser God than the Father (When Cultists Ask, 78, 79).
As far as “the” not being in the text of Is. 9:6, “Mighty God” translates the Hebrew El Gibbor, which literally means, “God of Might.” This term is applied to Jehovah in Isaiah 10:21, also without “the” in the original text — A remnant will return, a remnant of Jacob will return to [the] Mighty God. The NWT itself reads — A mere remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the Mighty God. In both of these verses, Isaiah 9:6 and 10:21, the construction of the Hebrew is exactly the same — El Gibbor, “God of Might.”
We know from Holy Scripture that “the LORD” — Jehovah — is the God of Jacob. And he [Jehovah] went on to say: “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob (Exodus 3:6, NWT). And then, in Isaiah 45:21-22 the LORD is clear and emphatic that there is only one God period, and that He is the only Savior. Is it not I, Jehovah, besides whom there is no other God; a righteous God and a Savior, there being none excepting me? Turn to me and be saved, all YOU [at the] ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no one else (NWT).
One of the most important rules when we attempt to interpret the Bible is to let the text speak in its plainest sense. In other words, as we read Is. 45:21-22, what is Isaiah attempting to explain to us? When he writes that besides Jehovah there is no other God, it becomes clear that he means to tell us that there is only one God by nature. Jehovah Himself reiterates this in verse 22 when He announces I am God, and there is no one else. Apart from further indoctrination, no one would ever come to the conclusion that there is more than one God from reading Is. 9:6, 10:21 and/or 45:21-22.
Dr. Walter Martin (1928-1989), author of The Kingdom of the Cults is quite correct when he wrote:
Isaiah 9:6 in the Hebrew Bible is one of the most powerful verses in the Old Testament in proving the deity of Christ, for it incontestably declares that Jehovah himself planned to appear in human form. The verse clearly states that all government will rest upon the “child born” and the “son given,” whose identity is revealed in the very terms used to describe his attributes.
Isaiah, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, describes Christ as “Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” — all attributes of God alone. The term “Mighty God” is itself indicative of Jehovah, since not only is He the only God (Isaiah 43:10-11), but the term mighty is applied to Him alone
in relation to His deity (107, 108).
In conclusion—the Christian always need be mindful that Christ died for His children who may be Jehohah’s Witnesses trapped within the WBTS. And it’s also helpful to remember that the characteristics of all non-Christian cults includes a denial of the full Deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, as well as some type of a teaching system designed to indoctrinate its followers into their peculiar set of beliefs.
The most important issue is this: The JW has been deceived by the WBTS (see—2 Corinthians 11:13-15) into believing in a different Jesus (see—2 Corinthians 11:4) and in a different gospel (see—Galatians 1:6-9). And as such, they are desperately in need of a saving relationship with the true Jesus of the historic revelation found in the Bible.
It’s our job as ambassadors of Christ to faithfully proclaim to all men everywhere that Jehovah God has said — Furthermore, there is no salvation in anyone else, for there is not another name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must get saved (Acts 4:12, NWT). The wise man is going to ask — “What is that name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must get saved?”
And the all-important answer is found just two verses before in verse 10 — it is by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazareth.
November 24, 2009
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Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10, NASB)
Emerging Church Leader On The Offensive
The Lord has been pleased to raise Apprising Ministries up among the leading online apologetics and discernment ministries in the area of tracking the egregiously ecumenical Emerging Church aka Emergent Church, which is a cult of postliberalism—now morphing into Emergence Christianity (EC).
Today leading EC guru Brian McLaren apparently got up on the wrong side of the carpet after some Buddhist-style Contemplative/Centering Prayer and wrote a post entitled Discernment websites; and oddly enough, the URL is: http://www.brianmclaren.net/archives/blog/if-you-believe-homosexuality-is.html.
McLaren begins his little spiritual temper tantrum:
I wonder if some of the “discernment websites” that enjoy featuring and critiquing the work of many of my friends and me would be willing to host some discussion on this bill currently proposed in the Ugandan parliament.
I’d be interested in reading whether participants in those blogs agree with the Ugandan bill, and if not, why not. (Online source)
It’s interesting this “minister” would place quotations around “discernment websites.” Well, as one of said sites, I can tell McLaren that I personally do not at all ”enjoy featuring and critiquing the work” of any of these postliberal rebels against the final authority of God’s Word. The Lord knows that I’d much rather go back to apologetics and evangelizing those lost in the kingdom of the cults.
However, as I said e.g. in Christian Soldiers Standing Up For Jesus?, there are very rough spiritual waters dead ahead in the church visible specifically because of the now widespread acceptance of this EC cult within mainstream evangelicalism; for example, McLaren’s friends such as heretical Tony Jones, “theologian in residence” at the EC church of his equally heretical quasi-universalist pastor Doug Pagitt.
You need to understand that fellow EC myth musers like Rob Bell and his new co-teaching pastor Shane Hipps are no longer on the fringe of the mainstream—such as these are now considered evangelicals—despite their teaching classic neo-Gnostic mysticism, which I’ve shown you in Through Rob Bell “The Great Enlightened Ones” Tell Us Man Has Divine Greatness and Silence Shane Hipps.
First, let’s not kid ourselves; McLaren and company do plenty of their critiquing concerning what Dr. Walter Martin (1928-1989) so often called “the historic orthodox Christian faith.” And secondly, the EC really doesn’t want to have to deal with the exclusive message of the Cross; rather, as McLaren says in plugging his latest book (yeah, very counter-culture, eh), they want a new kind of Christianity.
But it really is as my friend and Christian apologist Chris Rosebrough, who hosts Fighting for the Faith on his Pirate Christian Radio network, has pointed out re. Pagitt’s latest book. It would be more to the point if, rather than the title A Christianity Worth Believing, considering what Pagitt preaches within a more apt moniker is: The Christianity I Cobbled Together In My Basement Last Night.
You see, those of us who have been studying the EC like Bob DeWaay, author of the excellent book The Emergent Church: Undefining Christianity, know that those in the EC don’t really have a new kind, singular, of Christianity; rather, it’s more like Emergent Christianities, as in true narcissistic postmodern fashion these in love with the self simply choose their beliefs just as one does at a smörgåsbord.
Today at the Crosstalk Blog Ingrid Schlueter, another friend of mine, really gets to the heart of the matter with McLaren et al in her post Brian McLaren Paints Critics as Gay-Hating Bigots. Schlueter is dead-on-target as she writes:
Emergent author Brian McLaren doesn’t believe in a literal Second Comingof Jesus. He has problems with the penal substitutionary atonement of Jesus on the cross. A literal hell with eternal torment for those who reject Christ? Not likely. The Genesis account of the fall of man? Not true. But instead of addressing his own spiritual rebellion, Brian appears to want to paint his critics as bigots. In a recent blog post, McLaren demands that what he calls “discernment websites” (he used the quote marks) address an African country’s attempts to codify severe penalties for homosexuality into law. He seems to imply that these same “discernment ministries” would automatically support the arrest and execution of gays by Uganda.
I’m not sure what influence McLaren was under while blogging, but for the record, Brian, that’s a pretty nasty strategy to use against those who point to your heretical doctrinal views. While emergents supposedly are intellectual, open-minded people who enjoy conversations with subtle nuances and lots of mystery, McLaren actually sees things in black and white. Anyone who is not willing to jettison cardinal doctrine and embrace his “new kind of Christianity” is painted as ready to commit hate crimes and would support mistreating gays. What an appallingly dishonestway to deal with your critics, McLaren… (Online source)
You May Be Surprised To Find Out Who The Real Bigots Actually Are
The problem for McLaren and his EC ilk is no one credible is pushing “hate” at the GLBTQ community. As a matter of fact, in Adele Sakler And Ken Silva you’ll see an email exchange I recently had with her. Adele Sakler aka Existential Punk happens to be a practicing lesbian “Christ-follower” heading up Queermergent, and identifies herself with the Outlaw Preachers of gay affirming “pastor” Jay Bakker.
McLaren may wish to know, as I told Adele, it’d be wise to be careful not to just assume that I’m some narrow-minded fundamentalist bigot who hates GLBTQ people; because I’m really not, and, I don’t. Further, prior to being saved, I was a stand-up comic and professional musician living for years in Long Beach, and performing all around the Los Angeles area, so there really isn’t much I haven’t seen.
The fact is, I have many gay friends, one of which was my boss when I worked closely with him in a group home for people who are developmentally challenged. And believe me, he was very out about his sexuality. In fact, we’d joke about it all the time; we got along great and I even visited with him, as well as his partner, at their home many times. Also, my niece is out concerning her homosexuality.
So you see, strictly on a personal level, one’s sexual orientation doesn’t matter to me at all. But now let’s turn the focus where it ought to be with men like McLaren; as one Jesus called to be one of His pastor-teachers, I have an obligation to proclaim His Word. And now, because these men I mentioned earlier make the same claim, then so do they; when I critique them, I write as one of their peers.
And the Bible tells us with crystalline clarity that having sexual relations with another of the same sex i.e homosexuality is a deviant lifestyle of sexual immorality because, as I just showed in Jesus Defines Marriage For Red Letter Christians, same-sex sexual relations will always remain outside of marriage. The problem for people like McLaren is he just doesn’t really believe what Jesus said.
My point was pretty clear when I asked the question: But Do Emergence Christianity And Brian McLaren Really Love Gay People? When all their verbose rhetoric fades, the answer is a resounding no, they don’t. So I say the real “constructive action” now needs to come from supposedly superior “Christians” like Brian McLaren who love to pose before the world as if they are such loving people.
When the truth is, they are the ones acting in hate toward precious GLBTQ people, for whom Christ died, as they practice what I call homopression by not loving them enough to stop lying to them. No, I’m not the bigot; men like McLaren are by withholding the genuine Gospel of Jesus Christ from GLBTQ people, and therefore, just leaving them trapped in their sin of practicing sexual immorality.
See also:
BRIAN MCLAREN ON RELIGIOUS INSANITY AND EVANGELICAL COWARDICE
THE SIN OF HOMOSEXUALITY IS DIFFERENT
WHY NO CONDEMNATION FOR CHRISTIANS WHO ARE HOMOPRESSIVE?
HOMOPRESSIVE AS JAY BAKKER
ROB BELL, PETER ROLLINS, AND QUEERMERGENT’S ADELE SAKLER
EMERGING CHURCH AND ADELE SAKLER TRANSFORM GAY AGENDA IN EVANGELICALISM
GROWING GAY AGENDA IN EVANGELICALISM
November 24, 2009
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Here is video #2 from the archive for this week.
“Does Your Church Only Teach Parts of the Truth?”
“A half-truth masquerading as the whole truth becomes a complete untruth.”
- J.I. Packer
CrossTV
November 24, 2009
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Steve Camp has written an excellent post on his site Camponthis entitled “He Must Increase – I Must Decrease….challenging protestant popery and the cult of personality within the pastorate.”
He begins:
I was speaking with a friend of mine recently who asked an intriguing question: "why is it that it seems that most famous pastors of large [...]
November 24, 2009
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Here are some fascinating quotes from Joseph Smith at CARM. I’ve asked about some of these when witnessing to Mormons, but they’re pretty good abou dancing around them. Better to stick to sharing the true Gospel with them first and foremost, then discussing specifics about their beliefs. Otherwisse, we find ourselves down endless rabbit trails and fruitless debate.
Joseph Smith boasted that he did more than Jesus to keep a church together.
“God is in the still small voice. In all these affidavits, indictments, it is all of the devil–all corruption. Come on! ye prosecutors! ye false swearers! All hell, boil over! Ye burning mountains, roll down your lava! for I will come out on the top at last. I have more to boast of than ever any man had. I am the only man that has ever been able to keep a whole church together since the days of Adam. A large majority of the whole have stood by me. Neither Paul, John, Peter, nor Jesus ever did it. I boast that no man ever did such a work as I. The followers of Jesus ran away from Him; but the Latter-day Saints never ran away from me yet . . . ” (History of the Church, vol. 6, p. 408-409). Click here to see this quote in context.
Joseph Smith said the Book of Mormon was more correct than the Bible.
“I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book,” (History of the Church, vol. 4, p. 461).
Joseph Smith made a false prophecy (one of several).
“. . .I prophesy in the name of the Lord God of Israel, unless the United States redress the wrongs committed upon the Saints in the state of Missouri and punish the crimes committed by her officers that in a few years the government will be utterly overthrown and wasted, and there will not be so much as a potsherd left . . . ” (History of the Church, vol. 5, p. 394). Click here to see this quote in context.
Joseph Smith said mothers have babies in eternity and some are on thrones.
“A question may be asked, ‘Will mothers have their children in eternity?’ Yes! Yes! Mothers, you shall have your children,” (Journal of Discourses, vol. 6, p. 10). “Eternity is full of thrones, upon which dwell thousands of children reigning on thrones of glory, with not one cubit added to their stature,” (Journal of Discourses, vol. 6, p. 10).
Joseph Smith said there are many gods.
“Hence, the doctrine of a plurality of Gods is as prominent in the Bible as any other doctrine. It is all over the face of the Bible . . . Paul says there are Gods many and Lords many . . . but to us there is but one God–that is pertaining to us; and he is in all and through all,” (History of the Church, vol. 6, p. 474). “In the beginning, the head of the Gods called a council of the Gods; and they came together and concocted a plan to create the world and people it,” (Journal of Discourses, vol. 6, p. 5).
Joseph Smith said the Trinity is three gods.
“I have always declared God to be a distinct personage, Jesus Christ a separate and distinct personage from God the Father, and the Holy Ghost was a distinct personage and a Spirit: and these three constitute three distinct personages and three Gods,” (Teachings of Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 370).
Joseph Smith said God was once a man.
“God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted Man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens…I say, if you were to see him to-day, you would see him like a man in form — like yourselves, in all the person, image, and very form as a man….it is necessary that we should understand the character and being of God, and how he came to be so; for I am going to tell you how God came to be God. We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity, I will refute that idea, and will take away and do away the veil, so that you may see….and that he was once a man like us; yea, that God himself the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth the same as Jesus Christ himself did.” (Journal of Discourses, vol. 6, p. 3).
Joseph Smith said our greatest responsibility is to seek after our dead.
“The greatest responsibility in this world that God has laid upon us is to seek after our dead,” (Journal of Discourses, vol. 6, p. 7).
Joseph Smith said that there are men living on the moon who dress like Quakers and live to be nearly 1000 years old.
Since he was wrong about the moon, is it safe to trust him regarding the way to Heaven? (The Young Woman’s Journal, vol. 3, p. 263-264. See reprint in Mormonism — Shadow or Reality? by Jerald and Sandra Tanner, p. 4.)
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November 24, 2009
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Last night I watched an amazing presentation by David Barton, founder and president of Wallbuilders, which is:
“an organization dedicated to presenting America’s forgotten history and heroes, with an emphasis on the moral, religious, and constitutional foundation on which America was built – a foundation which, in recent years, has been seriously attacked and undermined. In [...]
November 24, 2009
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In the Apprising Ministries post The Manhattan Declaration Of Christian Conscience I shared my questions concerning this declaration. Here I give you the link to what Dr. James White of Alpha & Omega Ministries had to say.
White shares:
There is much in this document that any serious-minded Christian not only can agree with, but simply must agree with. There is no question that the forces of secularism are moving quickly, under the guise of “social advancement” and “equal rights,” to attack, denigrate, and, in their highest hopes and aspirations, relegate the Christian worldview to the trash heap of history. Evil men, and women, hold positions of power in Western societies, and since it is inevitably true that the Christian witness enrages those who love the darkness (John 7:7), they are doing all they can to subvert and silence that witness which so exposes their consciences.
The general statements of the document relating to life, abortion, marriage, sexuality, and religious liberty, are well stated and timely. There is something reassuring in realizing that the concerns we have had are shared across a broad spectrum. But there are a number of troubling things that I cannot get past in examining this document and considering its implications… There is no question that all believers need to think seriously about the issues raised by this declaration. But what is the only solution to these issues? Is the solution to be found in presenting a unified front that implicitly says “the gospel does not unite us, but that is not important enough to divide us”?
I do not think so. What is the only power given to the church to change hearts and minds? United political power? Or the gospel that is trampled under foot by every Roman Catholic priest when he “re-presents” the sacrifice of Christ upon the Roman altar, pretending to be a priest, an “alter Christus”? Am I glad when a Roman clergyman calls abortion murder? Of course. But it exhibits a real confusion, and not a small amount of cowardice, it seems, to stop identifying the man’s false gospel and false teaching simply because you are glad to have a few more on the “right” side of a vitally important social issue… (Online source)
You can read James White’s post in its entirety right here.
November 24, 2009
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(Click here to download the first chapter of Bruce Wilkinson’s book, You Were Born for This.)
(Click on the following to read my earlier posts on the text: Title & Table of Contents, Table of Contents addendum, Testimonials, 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12, 13, the final grade for the text, and my initial public challenge to Bruce Wilkinson.)
Dear Bruce,
Happy Tuesday! By now, you may think that this is some kind of personal attack or something. While it’s true that I’ve spent a lot of time and effort writing about your book, You Were Born for This, I assure you (and your co-author, your publisher, and anyone else reading) that this is not personal in the least. An apologist must dig into a matter, lovingly and unapologetically. (Pun intended.)
Yesterday, I wrote about the fact that, since we can’t really have a conversation unless I personally hear from you, the best I can do is careful conjecture. I then proceeded to address “question #1,” which had to do with the problem of writing so generically that your text applies to both non-believers and believers. (The obvious problem? God’s Word is always clearly writing to unbelievers or believers, and never muddies the waters in between.)
One question down, four to go!
2) Your definition of a “miracle,” which is the main topic of your text, is not biblical. What you describe as miracles in your book are defined as good deeds in the Bible. Why change the terms when the Bible (and 2,000 years of solid Christian teaching) has always understood the clear difference between miracles and good deeds?
Probable Reason: Sell more copies. (Yeah, I know. I wrote that as a reason for yesterday’s question, but it applies here, too, I’m afraid.) Think about it, though.
Good deeds seem so…boring. God can use me to do His good deeds. Sounds almost passé in a way, next to miracles! WOW! When I think of miracles, I think of Moses parting the Red Sea and Jesus bringing Lazarus back from the dead. You’re saying I can be part of God’s miracle delivery system? Where do I sign up?
Premise: You Were Born for This teaches that we can be used by God to “deliver miracles” in the lives of others.
Problem #1: You’re violating the clear warning found in Revelation 22:18-19. “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” (KJV)
I wrote extensively about this weeks ago. Look at the number of times that pastors and teachers and religious leaders take a biblical term and twist it so far out of context that it means something completely new and different. Typically, a big hullabaloo results, as the fellow believes he has now uncovered some new revelation or some new profound teaching that gets many people interested and excited. Unfortunately, we know that the end result is always the same: man jumps on yet another religious bandwagon, leading him further and further away God, all the while offending the very God he believes he is serving.
Back to Rev. 22:18-19. If you don’t perceive replacing the term “good deed” with “miracle” as the same as “taking away” and “adding,” (which is what Rev. 22 speaks about), then your very souls are on dangerous ground. Please repent of these teachings, Bruce, for they are more dangerous than you realize.
Problem #2: This particular reworking of the definition of miracle will undoubtedly result in people being drawn to power in the same way that way bees are drawn to honey.
Bruce, why are the cults so popular with people? Because the leaders draw people in with the promise of seeing God’s mighty power at work in their lives. Satan has used, over the last two millennia, countless religious programs to entice non-believers and believers alike to jump aboard the Powerful Works Express.
It literally blinds them to the truth, which (by the way) is so unlike the true power of the Holy Spirit, who quietly calls and draws out those who would respond to the things of God unto salvation. It’s so unlike God’s ways and His program for this human race that one has to ask if you’re even familiar with this particular trap that has afforded Satan so much success.
You’re a very influential and respected Bible teacher, Bruce, yet you write as though this particular concern is off your radar completely. How is this possible?
Chris
PS Newcomers should at least take the time to read my initial public challenge to Bruce, along with some of the links to individual page analyses at the top of this post. Always be thorough and responsible in your reading, writing and speaking!
PPS For new readers, my earlier analyses of Jesus Wants to Save Christians: A Manifesto for the Church in Exile (by Rob Bell and Don Golden) is available for free download. Simply click on my title, Clear as a Bell, and decide for yourself whether or not Bell’s teachings match those found in God’s Word.
November 24, 2009
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Isaiah 55:1-13, ESV | Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters;
and he who has no money, come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat [...]
November 24, 2009
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“I want my name on that list. I surrendered no conviction or confessional integrity to sign that statement. No one asked me to compromise in any manner. I was encouraged that we could stand together to make clear that to come for one of us on these issues is to come for all. At the end of the day, I did not want my name missing from that list when folks look to see just who was willing to be listed.”
-Albert Mohler,
read the entire post here………………………………………………………………………………
“There is no question that all believers need to think seriously about the issues raised by this declaration. But what is the only solution to these issues? Is the solution to be found in presenting a unified front that implicitly says “the gospel does not unite us, but that is not important enough to divide us”? I do not think so.
What is the only power given to the church to change hearts and minds? United political power? Or the gospel that is trampled under foot by every Roman Catholic priest when he “re-presents” the sacrifice of Christ upon the Roman altar, pretending to be a priest, an “alter Christus”? Am I glad when a Roman clergyman calls abortion murder? Of course. But it exhibits a real confusion, and not a small amount of cowardice, it seems, to stop identifying the man’s false gospel and false teaching simply because you are glad to have a few more on the “right” side of a vitally important social issue.”
-James R. White,
read the entire post here
November 24, 2009
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“The mark of a saint, a child of God, is not that we have attained or are perfect but that we long for Christ, we thirst like hungry babies for his word and fellowship and power. No Christian is satisfied with his present condition. We are hungry and the more we taste the hungrier we get for Jesus. His value does not diminish with time – it increases. And the better we know Him the more we love him. And when we finally enter into his presence with rejoicing our endless song will be, ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.’ Your mouth is always full of praises for what you value most. ‘To you who believe he is precious.’“
-John Piper
Apprising Ministries
