Author Archives: Marsha West

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

5 Myths About The Armor Of God

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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

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(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

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , , , , , , , , , ,

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’

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“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

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“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

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“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

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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

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“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’

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“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?

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“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

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“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?

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(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?

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“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’

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(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

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(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?

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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 →

Kids as young as 11 told to define hardcore porn for homework

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“Luckily I found the work otherwise she would have typed this stuff into Google and you know what would have come up and that makes me feel sick. I felt sick thinking she was going to go onto the computer to search it up.”

(The Christian Institute)  Parents in Hull are “disgusted” after children as young as eleven were asked to consider different types of pornography and other inappropriate topics for homework. Continue reading →

Dr. Fauci: We Can’t Stay Coronavirus Closed Without ‘Irreparable Harm’

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“While some in the capital cocktail set see Dr. Fauci as a sex symbol, he has been a panic peddler during much of this crisis. For instance, May 13, 2020: As states reopened, Dr. Fauci warned of “needless suffering and death” if states move too fast.”

(Bryan Preston – PJ Media) Dr. Anthony Fauci appeared for interviews Friday and dropped a grenade into the nation’s reopening conversation. Continue reading →

‘A Year’s Worth of Suicide Attempts in the Last Four Weeks’: California Doctor Calls for End to Lockdown

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California governor Gavin Newsom is currently putting his state through a phased reopening, with counties in the Bay Area moving slower than other parts of the state. On Tuesday, the Department of Justice warned Newsom in a letter that his state’s banning of in-person worship “facially discriminates against religious exercise.”

(Tobias Hoonhout – National Review)  The doctor in charge of a Bay Area, Calif. trauma center said the state should end its lockdown orders after an “unprecedented” spike in suicide attempts amid the coronavirus pandemic. Continue reading →

Adam’s Fall and God’s Response

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching ∙

Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men” (v. 18).  – Romans 5:12–21

Romans 5:12–21 is a key passage for understanding God’s plan of salvation, for it says that Adam “was a type of the one to come,” even Jesus Christ (v. 14). Knowing something of the consequences of Adam’s failure will therefore help us know why Christ suffered, died, and was resurrected (Mark 8:31). Continue reading →

Trump announces that houses of worship are ‘essential,’ calls on governors to open them up

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“The announcement comes after Trump has been hearing concerns of faith leaders who are unable to hold Sunday services due to coronavirus restrictions at a time when their parishioners are grappling with the crisis. Families may be grieving the loss of loved ones from the virus or struggling with job loss but unable to seek respite in their places of worship.”

(Fox News) President Trump on Friday announced that new Centers for Disease Control guidance will classify houses of worship as “essential,” as he called on governors to allow them to open “right now” after being closed during the coronavirus lockdowns. Continue reading →

Beth Moore and double standards for Joe Biden?

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“If Moore is consistent, and her allegations about the evangelical culture are true, will her apparent “disregard” of Biden’s accuser “enable” Biden’s rise?  Moore admitted that “the target of her scorn is an evangelical culture that downplays the voices and experiences of women.” But is she not contributing to the very culture to which she speaks of with her own silence as to the allegation against presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden?”

(Laura Murphy – Voices)  Beth Moore, the bestselling Bible study teacher, author, and public speaker, tweeted to her 900,000 followers the above sentiments four years ago in her response to the Trump “Access Hollywood” tape.… Continue reading →

No Bailouts for Corrupt Blue States That Keep Running In the Red

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“California, for instance, has an unfunded liability of its pension system of over $1.3 trillion. When you add the nearly $500 billion in outstanding bonds, state taxpayers will ultimately have to fork over nearly $2 trillion to cover the costs, which will only increase in the coming years. At the same time, Gov. Gavin Newsom is keeping much of the economy closed and is demanding millions in federal funds be given away to illegal immigrants.”

(Bryan Preston – PJ Media)  Once in a lifetime, and sometimes not even that often, a crisis comes along that requires extreme measures. Continue reading →