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

Beth Moore and Sarah Young’s book Jesus Calling insanely popular and insidiously dangerous

“I commend both men to you, but mainly I wanted to set before you the work of Mr. Dale Wilson, of which you may not be aware. His discernment critiques of Beth Moore were early, good, and remain today as a gold standard.” 

(Elizabeth Prata – The End Time)  Title on the site: The King’s Dale: A Commendable Resource for Beth Moore and Sarah Young Critiques and Book Reviews.

The popular definition of insanity is “doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.” For Christians with discernment, insanity is ‘being sure by the Spirit and the Bible, after research and prayer, that so-and-so is false, but literally NO ONE ELSE around you believes it or even entertains the notion for a second.’ Continue reading

As New Evidence of Progressive Bigotry Emerges, Jack Phillips Finally Wins His Case

“I’ve long argued that Justice Kennedy’s “narrow” opinion in Masterpiece Cakeshop was actually more far-reaching than many observers thought — in part because the anti-religious sentiments Kennedy condemned are far more common than many imagine. I’ve seen similar sentiments actually written into campus policies justifying their own acts of anti-religious discrimination.”

(David French – National Review)  Today my former colleagues at the Alliance Defending Freedom announced that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission will dismiss its pending discrimination charge against Masterpiece Cakeshop’s Jack Phillips. … Continue reading

Time To Expose the Radical Gender Ideology

The madness here is simply endless. Not only are more and more children being sucked up into this, but those who try to offer some sanity here – including biological sanity – are being penalised and punished for daring to do so. And now we have a major new growth industry: detransitioning, where those with sex-change regret seek to reverse what they have had done to themselves.

(Bill Muehlenberg – Cultural Warch)  The times they are a changin’, as Bob Dylan once crooned. No question about that. I have seen plenty of major changes during the course of my rather short lifetime. The world a century ago looked far, far different than it does today. Continue reading

Sarah Sanders’s Fiery Monday Night Statement for Jerry Nadler

Even Trump critics like former Ohio Gov. John Kasich sense a sinister motive here. Kasich noted on CNN Tuesday that some of these investigations are legitimate, but ultimately, the Democrats’ purpose is to “weaken Donald Trump and make sure he doesn’t get re-elected.” 

(Cortney O’Brien – Townhall)  Democrats have not been shy about their priorities in this 116th Congress. The chairmen of some of the most powerful committees on the hill have begun the year by launching investigations into President Trump. They are going after his finances, his business dealings, his election win, and, of course, his relationship to Russia. Continue reading

When being a Christian isn’t ‘decent’ anymore

“We need to be ready to love our neighbors and our enemies and to bear witness in a culture that is increasingly hostile toward us. Christians may someday face fines and other penalties for their convictions on marriage.” 

(Denny Burk)  I woke up this morning to a troubling Op-Ed in The Washington Post by Cynthia Nixon. The entire article is a call for an end to civility toward anyone who holds Christian convictions about sexuality. In particular, the essay responds to the fact that former Vice-President Joe Biden recently referred to current Vice-President Mike Pence as a “decent man.” Nixon unloads on Biden for this flash of tolerance and civility, arguing that Mike Pence’s Christian convictions about sexuality are worthy of the severest public outrage and opprobrium. She writes, Continue reading

LGBT Researcher With Ties to TGC and ERLC to be Keynote Speaker at ‘Gay Christian’ Conference

Yarhouse gleefully announced he would be the final keynote speaker at the infamous Revoice conference — a “gay Christian” conference that has been denounced by the wider Evangelical community.

(Jeff Maples – Reformation Charlotte)  Mark Yarhouse is famously known for his extensive “research” into various sexually deviant behaviors, their causes, and his approach to dealing with them when they arise. Yarhouse is the author of the book Do Ask, Do Tell, Let’s Talk: Why and How Christians Should Have Gay Friends, which is promoted by the Southern Baptist Religious Liberty Commission which discusses various methods of embracing the homosexual as a friend and a fellow Christian. Continue reading

Trump Will Sign Executive Order ‘Requiring Colleges and Universities to Support Free Speech’

Williams, who works for the conservative Leadership Institute, thanked the president: “It’s great that I’m being recognized, but there are so many conservative students who are facing discrimination and harassment and worse if they dare to speak up on campus. So I’m glad that we could bring this to the forefront.” 

(Susan Jones – CNSNews) – During a two-hour speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday, President Trump hailed the young conservative activist who was punched in the face at the University of California, Berkeley campus on Feb. 19. Continue reading

Walmart Releases ‘Love Is in the Aisle’ Video Depicting Two Men Meeting Up for ‘Blind Date’ at Store

I think it would be so awesome if during pride month all the associates wore rainbow vest or pins!” one commenter wrote. “That sure is a great idea,” Walmart responded, giving a thumbs up.

(Heather Clark – Christian News Network) “He’s Pat. He’s Andy. They’re going on a blind date at their local Walmart to see if love is in the aisle,” states a controversial video recently posted to social media by mega-retailer Walmart.

The Facebook post is one of three “Love Is in the Aisle” videos released by Walmart in February, which depict single shoppers meeting up to go on a blind date at the store. Continue reading

Southern Baptists have a problem with God

An honest examination of Southern Baptist churches reveals a much deeper problem than even sexual abuse. The real problem is spiritual before it is moral. That is, Southern Baptists have a problem with God. They trumpet their affirmation of the inerrancy of Scripture and unhesitatingly call it the written Word of God. Yet, at the same time the overwhelming majority of their churches blatantly defy the God of that Word.

(Tom Ascol – Founders Ministries)  The first story by the Houston Chronicle on sexual abuse within Southern Baptist churches and entities is horrific to read. The information that the authors compiled into a database was gathered primarily from public sources. The power of having all of that data from the last twenty years in one place is that the breadth and depth of the problem becomes undeniable. Continue reading

The Gospel Coalition’s Christian ‘Gay Celibacy’ Movement is a Biblical Farce

“Sam Allberry is one of the founders of the same-sex ministry, Living Out, which has an article on its website entitled Celibate Same-Sex Couples that the author essentially says that homosexuals of the same sex can live together — even be physically intimate with each other — so long as it doesn’t involve penetrative sex. …”

(Jeff Maples – Reformation Charlotte)  Unless your head has been stuck under a rock for the last few years, you’ve noticed a massive paradigm shift in Evangelical Christianity calling on Christians to embrace a new ideology — “gay celibacy.” Largely promoted from liberal outlets like The Gospel Coalition (TGC) and the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, the movement teaches that that people who experience attraction to others of the same sex need not be concerned, so long as they remain celibate. Continue reading

Willow Creek Investigation: Allegations Against Bill Hybels Are Credible

Independent Advisory Group releases report backing claims of pastor’s “sexually inappropriate words and actions.”

(Kate Shellnutt – Christianity Today)  An independent investigation has concluded that the sexual harassment allegations that led to Bill Hybels’s resignation last year are credible, based on a six-month investigation into the claims against the senior pastor and into Willow Creek Community Church (WCCC) and the Willow Creek Association (WCA). Continue reading

Ray Ortlund Suggests ‘God No Longer Matters’ to People Who Voted for Trump

“Here in lies the vastly obvious difference. Donald Trump is NOT translating his personal immorality into national policy.”

(Jeff Maples – Reformation Charlotte)  The Never-Trump movement in Evangelical Christianity is not a new phenomenon. It started well before Donald Trump was ever elected into the U.S. Presidency. A movement spearheaded largely by Russell Moore of the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), the vast majority of the TGC wing of Evangelicalism — who, for the most part, are incapable of thinking for themselves — have followed Moore’s footsteps with their tails wagging. Continue reading

House Democrats To Open Official Probe Into Trump’s Attacks On ‘Fake News’ Media

“House Democrats reportedly are planning to open an official investigation into alleged abuses of power by President Trump for attacking the media, as well as the Justice Department and the FBI.”

(Joseph Curl – Daily Wire) “Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter,” said the president of the United States — 200 years ago (Thomas Jefferson). Continue reading

Record-Breaking 24-Week-Old Premature Baby Weighing Only as Much as an Onion Goes Home Healthy

Researchers examined 4,500 babies between 2000 and 2011 and found a “small but significant drop in fatalities for babies born between 23 and 37 weeks gestation,”

(Micaiah Bilger – LifeNews)  An infant born weighing less than 10 ounces is home from the hospital and doing well after his record-breaking survival.

Doctors at Keio University Hospital in Japan believe the boy is the smallest premature baby ever to survive, CBS News reports. His weight, 268 grams, is about the same as an average onion. Continue reading

More Than 100 House Dems: Our Healthcare Bill Will Outlaw Private Coverage, Eliminate Up to Two Million Jobs, and Cover Abortion

“For years, Democrats have attacked Republicans for “ending Medicare as we know it,” often resorting to demagoguery and falsehoods. This scheme would literally end Medicare, creating a brand new, massive entitlement that seniors and Medicaid recipients would have no choice but to join.” 

(Guy Benson – Townhall)  More than 100 House Democrats — nearly half of the new majority — have signed on to a new single-payer healthcare bill that supporters describe as “battle ready.”  If by “battle ready,” they mean, “extremely controversial, deeply politically risky, and totally bereft of any acknowledgement of the proposal’s eye-poppingly exorbitant costs,” they’re undoubtedly correct.  Politico’s story on the legislation is full of extraordinary tidbits and quotes.  Here are some of the most important facts we’ve learned: Continue reading

How Is Abortion AFTER Birth Not News?

“Network coverage of this vote in the first 24 hours? Zero on ABC, CBS, and NBC. Hours after this vote, Sanders appeared in an hour-long “town hall” on CNN without a single question on this. Warren was interviewed by Chris Hayes for 11 minutes on MSNBC, and no question.” 

(Brent Bozell – NewsBusters)  Late in the afternoon on February 25, extremist Senate Democrats voted in favor of legalized infanticide. In the wake of Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s bizarre remarks in a radio interview extending the “right to choose” to after-birth abortion (or medical neglect), Sen. Ben Sasse authored the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act.  Continue reading

Does This String of Incredible Coincidences Connect Dr. Michael Brown to the NAR?

“Dr. Michael Brown has made it clear that he rejects some of the beliefs of this NAR group, like the specific dominionist beliefs that most of them hold to, and the belief that modern day apostles are somehow authoritative like the New Testament Apostles. We are happy to know where he stands on these issues.  But in most other matters, it seems that Dr. Michael Brown has a lot in common with these people. He wants all of the other connections to be seen as coincidences. That’s a LOT of coincidences.”

(Steven Kozar – Messed Up Church)  Dr. Michael Brown is trying very hard to make it appear like the New Apostolic Reformation barely even exists. He’s recently completed an entire program devoted to distancing himself from the movement he doesn’t think is real. In the process of describing the thing he doesn’t believe exists, he ends up explaining some of the core beliefs of the movement itself… you know, the movement that doesn’t really exist. Continue reading

No, Women, You Are Not Called to Preach!

False teachers Beth Moore & Joyce Meyer

“The vast majority of these lady preachers aren’t just preaching to women anyway. Women — like Beth Moore and Priscila Shirer — are mainstream preachers. Their audiences consist of as many men as women.”

(Jeff Maples – Reformation Charlotte)  From Beth Moore to Christine Caine, from Joyce Meyer to Priscilla Shirer — women, women everywhere, are standing up and drawing crowds to preach. The phenomenon, which is historically scarce throughout the entirety of Church history, is gaining a lot of traction. I’m going to argue that the primary reason that women are drawn to preaching is not actually a love for God’s word, but a hatred of it. Continue reading

Priscilla Shirer, Contemplative Mystic Seeker-Sensitive False Teacher

“Nowhere in Scripture does it teach that we must expect and anticipate the divine voice of God ringing in our ears and heart. Scripture is clear that the Word of God, as once and for all delivered to the saints (Jude 1:3), sufficient for our salvation and instruction in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16). But apparently, that’s not enough for Priscilla.”

(Jeff Maples – Reformation Charlotte)  Priscilla Shirer is a good friend and a disciple of well-known prophet-preacher Beth Moore and daughter of the Pelagian heretic, Tony Evans. Besides the fact that women preaching and teaching men in the church is unbiblical (read more about that here), these two women regularly claim to receive extra-biblical revelation from God and promote other unbiblical practices such as mysticism, and contemplative prayer.

Shirer was a participant in the heretical DVD on contemplative prayer, Be Still, and she even addresses this criticism on her web page. Though at first glance it may sound like she supports a biblical view of prayer, looking deeper into what she is saying, it becomes clear that she doesn’t understand what biblical prayer and meditation are.

In her FAQ she says,

By participating in the Be Still project, we by no means meant to convey our agreement with the theological viewpoints and positions of other participants yet we did believe (and still do) in the over-arching theme of the resource and that is why I agreed to do it.

This is a contradictory statement. The theological viewpoints and positions of the participants are the over-arching theme of the DVD, and she says she supports it.

She then goes on to say,

The Psalmist himself said that not only would he bring his requests to God in prayer but then “wait expectantly” (Psalm 5:3) for God’s response. The prophet Habakkuk mirrors this philosophy of prayer when he says that after speaking to God he would then “climb up on the watchtower and wait to see what the Lord will say to me.” (Habakkuk 2:1). We are a proponent of the Christian encountering God in a fresh way that is relevant to his or her life, and we believe this can occur when we wait for God quietly with our Bibles outspread before us. As we ponder His Word, the Holy Spirit applies it to the circumstances of our lives.

Here, she equates the way the Old Testament prophets received revelation from God to how Christians are meant to study God’s Word–by being still and waiting. The fact that she goes on to say that we do this with our Bibles open before us doesn’t change anything. Yes, it is true that we receive our revelation from God only through Scripture, if you look closely, this is not what she’s saying. We don’t study God’s word by opening it and pondering a piece of Scripture and sitting silently waiting for God to speak to us. We study Scripture through vigorous intellectual reading, one-way prayer as taught in Scripture, and the application of his Word in our daily lives.

Meditating on God’s Word, by Biblical definition, means to fill our minds with it, memorize it, and study and practice it regularly so that it becomes ingrained into who we are. A golf player does not become a better golf player by sitting down in front of a ball, meditating on it and contemplating it. He becomes better by actively practicing it, and applying his knowledge daily.

Despite her attempt to brush off the accusations of promoting and practicing mysticism, this isn’t the only time she’s been involved in this activity. She has written at least two booklets in which she claims that mature Christians should be able to hear audible voices from God. In her booklet, Is That You God, she writes:

Before you read any further, let me assure you of an important point. To not speak contradicts God’s nature. The second person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ, is called the Word (see John 1:1). That designation stands at odds with silence. God loved you enough to die for you; He loves you enough to communicate with you. The Lord can and will speak to you if you’ve placed your faith in Jesus. First, however, you must expect and anticipate that the divine voice of God can ring in your ears and heart.

Nowhere in Scripture does it teach that we must expect and anticipate the divine voice of God ringing in our ears and heart. Scripture is clear that the Word of God, as once and for all delivered to the saints (Jude 1:3), sufficient for our salvation and instruction in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16). But apparently, that’s not enough for Priscilla. In Day 4 of Week 2 in her Bible study on her Book, He Speaks To Me, she writes:

How can we consistently hear God’s voice? We must take the focus off ourselves, looking instead to His glory and priorities, meditating on His attributes. To worship God appropriately, we also need to grasp His acceptance. As long as we feel condemned, we will have difficulty hearing God speak.

Again, she seems to believe that God speaks to our hearts in other ways besides Scripture. The Bible doesn’t teach us that we can hear God speak to us as long as we don’t feel condemned, and focus on his priorities and attributes. Paul says in Hebrews 1:1-2

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.

The key here is the past tense, “has spoken.” God has already spoken to us through the revelation of Jesus Christ, and his revelation has been recorded by the writers of the New Testament canon. Though God uses the Holy Spirit to illumine the Word of God for us today and interpret it for us, he does not speak directly to us through any other means than the closed canon of Scripture.

Priscilla Shirer teaches contrary to Scripture — she teaches Eastern mysticism and other unbiblical behaviors. Besides the fact that she’s a lady-preacher who shouldn’t be handling the Word of God in front of an audience period– let alone an audience with men, she mishandles the text egregiously enough to be marked as a false teacher, and should be avoided.

Posted with permission.

Priscilla Shirer, Contemplative Mystic Seeker-Sensitive False Teacher (disntr.com)

Research:

Priscilla Shirer

Contemplative Prayer

United Methodist Church upholds position against homosexuality, same-sex marriage

“The Bible tells us that we need to stay faithful to the Word.  It’s God’s plan, it’s the will of God, it is the biblical way.”

(Michael Gryboski – Christian Post)  The United Methodist Church will maintain its official position that homosexuality is contrary to Christian teaching, in a decision following days of contentious debate over the issue.

For the past several years, the UMC has been embroiled in an emotional debate over whether to change its stance, as outlined in its Book of Discipline, labeling homosexuality “incompatible with Christian teaching.” Continue reading

Academic stopped from researching ‘sex-swap regret’ says accusations of ‘transphobia’ are stifling debate

In October a group of 54 academics wrote a letter to The Guardian, outlining their concerns about “the suppression of proper academic analysis and discussion of the social phenomenon of transgenderism”.

(The Christian Institute)  An academic has challenged a decision by Bath Spa University to refuse him permission to research trans regret.

Psychotherapist James Caspian wanted to study people who had undergone ‘sex-change’ operations only to later regret their decision and seek to reverse their transition. Continue reading

You Can No Longer Be A Decent Person And A Democrat

“In just over a decade and a half, Democrats have gone from “safe, legal, and rare abortions” to “kill ’em all and don’t stop when they’re born.” Many of us warned that the first slogan would lead eventually to the second. We take no pleasure in our vindication.”

(Matt Walsh – Daily Wire)  Last night, Senate Democrats blocked a bill called the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Act. The media tells us that this was an “anti-abortion” bill. The blood-drenched scumbags of NARAL call it an “extremist” and “anti-choice” bill. Elizabeth Warren calls it an attack on women. It was none of those things. Continue reading

Dems block ‘born alive’ bill to provide medical care to infants who survive failed abortions

“The bill, which exempted the mother involved in the birth from prosecution, also would have required practitioners to “ensure that the child born alive is immediately transported and admitted to a hospital.” It prescribed a possible term of imprisonment of up to five years for violations, not including penalties for first-degree murder that could have applied.”

(Fox News)  Senate Democrats on Monday blocked a Republican bill that would have threatened prison time for doctors who don’t try saving the life of infants born alive during failed abortions, leading conservatives to wonder openly whether Democrats were embracing “infanticide” to appeal to left-wing voters. Continue reading