About Marsha West

Marsha West is the owner and managing editor of Christian Research Network, Apprising Ministries (the late Ken Silva’s blog) and On Solid Rock Resources. She is also co-founder of Berean Research. For two decades Marsha was the owner and managing editor of Email Brigade website as well as the EMB News Report, a bi-weekly email report for conservative people of faith. For many years Marsha was a regular contributor to several blogs including CRN, RenewAmerica, News With Views and Web Commantary as well as popular websites she no longer endorses: American Family Association, Worldview Weekend, Stand Up For The Truth, The Christian Post and Christian Headlines. Although Marsha still blogs, her primary focus is CRN. Marsha also writes Research Papers (White Papers) on various topics that are published on CRN, Berean Research and On Solid Rock Resources. Visit Marsha’s other sites: On Solid Rock Resources https://www.onsolidrockresources.com/ Apprising Ministries http://apprising.org Marsha’s RenewAmerica Column http://renewamerica.com/columns/mwest Marsha’s Facebook Page http://facebook.com/marsha.west.77

There Is No Such Thing as Virtual Lord’s Supper

“The Lord’s Supper, like baptism, is not a private event. It’s public and is one of the two ordinances given to God’s Church. In 1 Corinthians 10:17, Paul writes these words, “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.” The church publicly gathered in the presence of one another are called to be served together from the same bread—indicating their unity in Christ. This cannot be accomplished as a pastor looks at a camera and gives directions to people in their homes. The assembly of God’s people is necessitated in order to fulfill God’s plan for the Lord’s Supper.”

(Josh Buice – Delivered By Grace) One of the most intimate services we will hold until we dwell in the presence of our God in eternity is the Lord’s Supper. It points us to the body and blood of Jesus which unites us together in love and directs our attention to the promise of Jesus’ triumphant return when our King shall descend in glory. So, what about COVID-19 communion? Continue reading

Bin Laden Killer SEAL Rob O’Neill’s Take on Rioters: ‘I Can’t Believe I Fought to Protect You’

“I despise racism, I despise police brutality and it kills me that politically-funded terrorists are doing this on the shoulders of both.”

(Victoria Taft – PJ Media)  The nation watched with disgust Friday night as rioters took to the streets of Minneapolis, Washington,  DC, Atlanta, Los Angeles as well as the usual suspects in Oakland and Portland over the killing of George Floyd while in police custody. Nothing says grief-stricken like boosting some free s*it and burning buildings. Watching with the rest of the nation was Rob O’Neill, the retired Navy SEAL who helped send Osama bin Laden to paradise to collect his 72 raisins (not a typo). Continue reading

A specter is haunting America — the specter of socialism

The conservatives and libertarians keep chanting, “Socialism doesn’t work,” and they produce charts and tables to prove it. The socialists glance over the charts and tables and then they clamor for more socialism. They don’t care about data because no amount of data can refute a dream. The socialist mantra is, “We don’t care if it hasn’t worked. We will figure out a way to make it work.”  The critics are focused on yesterday, while the socialists are all about tomorrow. Owen Jones expresses this futuristic hope, “A socialist society…doesn’t exist yet, but one day it must.”

(Dinesh D’Souza – Breitbart)  We have gotten a nasty preview of it during the Coronavirus epidemic.  We’ve experienced empty shelves, food shortages, limits on what you can buy, and also the attack on civil liberties, on freedom of assembly, on religious liberty, on privacy. So we’ve endured on a temporary basis what, under socialism, we are likely to endure on a permanent basis. Continue reading

New Testament teaching on the place and purpose of civil government

Civil Government

“For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you.” – Romans 13:1–3

Romans 13 gives us the definitive New Testament teaching on the place and purpose of the civil government. Paul begins by telling us that “everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities,” because these “have been established by God. Continue reading

The Passion Translation author: ‘We are the Reincarnation of Jesus Christ’

“The Revelation 12 Virgin Bride will give birth to a Man-Child company. a corporate expression, one has become the many, the seed has now fallen into the ground and died but is now bearing many seeds, there’s a many seeded Christ.” 

(John Lanagan – The Word Like Fire)  “We are the Word made flesh again. We are the Reincarnation of Jesus Christ.”

“Christ is no longer a man. He’s a people. You and I carry like Mary. We will bring forth the Christ. The Second Coming is the Becoming of the Lord.” Continue reading

Lessons from COVID: Death is Certain

…through the Coronavirus, God is awakening in our consciences the reality that death is certain. The crowds come to Jesus for an explanation of these two tragedies. But He turns to the crowds, and, as it were, He turns to us and says, in effect, “These have already died. Time is up for them. What about you? Don’t you realize that your death is certain? Are you ready to face it?”

(Mike Riccardi – The Cripplegate)  The Coronavirus has taken us all by surprise. January and February seem like a lifetime ago, and who could have predicted then how drastically our world would change in just a matter of weeks?… Continue reading

EXPLAINED: The scandal at Al Mohler’s Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

“Mohler’s actions toward Fuller, Dr. Jim Orrick and Dr. Mark Coppenger speaks volumes about Mohler’s commitment to truth. Mohler weeded out conservative voices and promoted voices spewing the talking points of Identity Politics.”

(Capstone Report)  The scandal rocking Al Mohler’s Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) threatens Mohler’s legacy. It has exposed him as a political dissembler—a man willing to force desperate former employees turned out of work during the height of the Coronavirus Pandemic to sign a secret NDA muzzling them for life. Continue reading

5 Myths About The Armor Of God

This assumption, however, misses the fact that each of the pieces of armor that Paul describes has a rich background in the Old Testament, where they quite literally describe “God’s Armor”: the armor that God himself dons to rescue his people. It is the Old Testament and not the Roman legionary that provided Paul with his inspiration—and if we miss this background, we may easily misinterpret and misapply the various pieces of the armor.

By Iain M. Duguid

Myth #1: Life is a picnic.  Even though all the evidence is to the contrary, we often seem to believe that life here on earth is—or at least ought to be—easy. In reality, however, life is hard—often very, very hard…. Continue reading

A third of Americans now show signs of clinical anxiety or depression, Census Bureau finds

(SF Gate)  A third of Americans are showing signs of clinical anxiety or depression, Census Bureau data shows, the most definitive and alarming sign yet of the psychological toll exacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

When asked questions normally used to screen patients for mental health problems, 24% showed clinically significant symptoms of major depressive disorder and 30% showed symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder. Continue reading

Pixar Short Animated Film ‘Out’ on Disney+ Features Studio’s First Homosexual Main Character

According to viewers, the production includes a scene depicting the two men kissing. Because of such, the film might be rated PG-13 and not viewable by smaller children without parental permission in households where the account has been set to “kids profile.”

(Heather Clark – Christian News)  Calling the story “heartwarming,” Disney+ announced on Thursday the release of a new Pixar short film, which centers on the story of a man named Greg who is nervous about revealing to his parents that he is in a relationship with another man. While some have praised the production, others lament that such material aims to normalize sin in impressionable minds. Continue reading

Amazon Is ‘Expressing Public and Open Hostility Toward Conservative and Religious Organizations’

“As I reported both here at PJ Media and in my book Making Hate Pay: The Corruption of the Southern Poverty Law Center, the SPLC began as a noble civil rights organization. Yet over the years, the SPLC drifted from its original mission of helping poor people in the South to bankrupting the Ku Klux Klan and eventually to exaggerating hate to scare donors into ponying up cash.”

(Tyler O’Neil – PJ Media)  On Wednesday, Amazon.com shareholders rejected a proposal to study viewpoint discrimination at the Big Tech company. Conservative shareholders voiced concerns about viewpoint discrimination, citing certain Amazon’s banning of certain books and the company’s use of the scandal-plagued far-left smear factory the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) as a gatekeeper on its charity platform AmazonSmile…. Continue reading

Jen Hatmaker Says ‘LGBTQ Christians’ Preach in Her Church, Calls For Mass Exodus of Conservative Denoms

“Hatmaker conflates freedom in Christ with freedom to sin. Her version of “freedom” is actually a bondage to sin — an inability to escape sin and its consequences — and she inflicts this eternal damnation upon those who need to be set free.”

(Jeff Maples – Reformation Charlotte)  Jen Hatmaker, who first publicly renounced Christianity in an interview with Jonathan Merritt — a gay activist and son of former Southern Baptist Convention president, James Merritt — and says she first questioned Evangelical Christianity because gay people couldn’t have sex with each other, is now calling for a mass exodus from conservative, biblical denominations. Continue reading

Why Joe Biden can do no wrong

“Critics have expressed disgust at Trump saying that he could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot someone and would not lose any voters. Yet they now afford Biden the same immunity even if he starts snacking on boiled babies.” 

(Jonathan Turley – The Hill)   One columnist declared that Joe Biden could boil babies but she would still vote for him. Feminist leaders said they believe he raped a Senate staffer but they still endorse him…. Continue reading

Democrats ‘Dreading’ Election Scenario Predicted By Obama’s Top Economist: ‘Best’ U.S. ‘Economic Data’ In History About To Happen

Larry Kudlow, the head of the White House National Economic Council, told Politico that he “totally agree[s]” with the analysis that Furman presented to political officials last month, adding, “Q3 may be the single best GDP quarter since regular data. 2nd half super big growth, transitioning to 4% or more in 2021.”

(Ryan Saavedra – Daily Wire)  Democrats are reportedly panicking over an election scenario prediction by Harvard professor Jason Furman, a top economist in the Obama administration, who said last month that the United States is about to the see the “best economic data” in its history. Continue reading

A short guide to justifying re-lockdown: Or why the media is so desperate to turn good COVID-19 news into bad

“Expect the following additional strategies this summer, besides the creative massaging of good tidings into bad.”

(Heather Mac Donald – American Spectator)  Fear is gripping the American public health and media establishments: they are losing control. States are belatedly (and far too tentatively) easing their coronavirus lockdowns, many without having met the absurd CDC benchmarks for doing so. Customers are joyfully returning to previously shuttered restaurants and parks, some even discarding that symbol of subjugation: the outdoor mask. Continue reading

Todd White Given Copy of ‘American Gospel’ Movie: Calls it ‘Demonically Inspired’

“And to no one’s surprise, the enigmatic enabler Dr. Michael Brown himself lauds heaps of praise on Todd White, taking a photo with him and marveling that he has “a wonderful heart for the Lord” despite ALL EVIDENCE TO THE CONTRARY.”

(Dustin Germain – PNP)  A video made the rounds late last night which features arch-heretic Todd White reacting – less than positively – at finding out he was featured in the American Gospel movie. The film was given to him by a friend, who was hoping he would repent of his theological chicanery, but it was not to be so. Continue reading

Does This CDC Study Deliver the Knockout Blow in the COVID Lockdown Debate?

“Does this CDC study deliver a death blow to those who want to stay inside until there’s a cure? Probably not, but to the wider electorate—It’s could be quite a different take, especially those running family-owned businesses who have been brutalized by this pandemic. These folks would rather risk infection than lose everything, and based on this new data set, I don’t blame them.”

(Matt Vespa – Townhall)  For weeks, the nation’s economy has been under lockdown to curb the spread of the Wuhan Coronavirus. It’s contagious. That’s true, but in the span of a few days, the entire COVID narrative has virtually collapsed…. Continue reading

The Lockdown, Evangelicals and the Afterlife: A Response to Steven Pinker

“Do evangelicals love their children and grandchildren less than atheists? Do evangelicals not do everything possible to save lives? There are evangelical hospitals and doctors serving in the poorest countries in the world. Where are the atheist hospitals?”

(Dennis Prager – Townhall)  Harvard professor of psychology Steven Pinker tweeted last week:

“Belief in an afterlife is a malignant delusion, since it devalues actual lives and discourages action that would make them longer, safer, and happier. Exhibit A: What’s really behind Republicans wanting a swift reopening? Evangelicals.” Continue reading

Wear gloves, or wash hands to avoid coronavirus?

(Fox News)  As state-mandated coronavirus lockdowns are slowly ending in the U.S., an important factor remains what’s the best way to prevent from catching the virus or spreading it to others — if you decide to venture out into public spaces.

The virus is currently known to spread mainly from person to person within close contact through respiratory droplets in the air, however, a March study from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)…. Continue reading

What Is Discernment?

“Discernment functions as a key to Christian freedom. The zealous but undiscerning Christian becomes enslaved—to others, to his own uneducated conscience, to an unbiblical pattern of life. Growth in discernment sets us free from such bondage, enabling us to distinguish practices that may be helpful in some circumstances from those that are mandated in all circumstances.” 

(Sinclair Ferguson – Ligonier Ministries)  Someone I know recently expressed an opinion that surprised and in some ways disappointed me. I said to myself, “I thought he would have more discernment than that.” Continue reading

EU: ‘End of American-led’ World and Rise of China ‘Happening Before Our Eyes’

(Breitbart) The European Union’s top diplomat has called for the bloc to have a “more robust strategy” toward China amid signs that Asia is replacing the United States as the centre of global power.

EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell told a gathering of German ambassadors on Monday that “analysts have long talked about the end of an American-led system and the arrival of an Asian century.”

“This is now happening in front of our eyes,” he said. Continue reading

500 Doctors Tell Trump To End COVID-19 Shutdown, Warn It Will Cause More Deaths

(Joseph Curl – Daily Wire)  On March 22, President Trump took to Twitter and typed out a message in all-caps: “WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF. AT THE END OF THE 15 DAY PERIOD, WE WILL MAKE A DECISION AS TO WHICH WAY WE WANT TO GO!”

That was more than a month ago. And while all 50 states have begun to take some steps toward reopening shuttered businesses and closed restaurants, the pace is achingly slow. Continue reading

Is Your Congregation An Oasis Or A Mirage?

Without the pure preaching of the gospel a congregation is not an oasis. It is only a mirage, which has nothing to offer the pilgrim but more heat and sand when what the sojourner needs is relief from the heat and the water of life. This is a basic point and obvious but it bears repeating because throughout the history of the church she has often lost sight of her prime mission. In our age congregations busily make themselves attractive in a dozen different ways but forget the one thing that makes them a true church: the gospel.

(R. Scott Clark- Heidelblog)  When I was boy we made frequent pilgrimages to my grandparent’s farm in Southwestern Kansas. That is where I learned to drive, put up fence, buck bales of hay, and chew tobacco. I do not recommend the latter. On the trip, on a really hot day, a mirage would appear in the distance. The road seemed to melt ahead of us as heat waves rose from the asphalt. Continue reading