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

Australian Cardinal Pell convicted of molesting 2 choirboys

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“The revelations came in the same month that the Vatican announced Francis approved the expulsion from the priesthood of a former high-ranking American cardinal, Theodore McCarrick, for sexual abuse of minors and adults.”

(Rod McGuirk – Associated Press)  The most senior Catholic cleric ever charged with child sex abuse has been convicted of molesting two choirboys moments after celebrating Mass, dealing a new blow to the Catholic hierarchy’s credibility after a year of global revelations of abuse and cover-up. Continue reading →

Jussie Smollett, Fake Hate Crimes, and a Biblical Perspective

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“It pays to be a victim. Sympathy is the currency of narcissists. It makes people feel good to receive sympathy and turns victims into instantaneous heroes for no reason other than that they were victimized (which feeds the narcissism). Likewise, showering sympathy upon the allegedly oppressed signals virtue which, again, makes narcissists feel good about themselves.”

(JD Hall – Pulpit & Pen)  Jussie Smollett will forever be known as the celebrity who put a noose around his own neck, paid his friends to lightly beat him up, and falsely claimed that MAGA hat-wearing Cretans gave him a racist and homophobic working-over. Fewer will remember the name of ‘Charlie’ Rogers, a lesbian from Lincoln, Nebraska, who carved a cross on her chest and falsely claimed that she was beaten for being a sodomite. Fewer still will know the names of hundreds – if not thousands – of fraudsters who wrongly claim to be the victims of so-called “hate crimes.” Continue reading →

Witchcraft, Lies and Football

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Gisele wrote in a recent Instagram post, “Words have power. If love and kindness lie behind these words, they become charged with positivity and can have a magical effect. But if thoughts and words arise from anger or jealousy, they can do a lot of damage….”

(Linda Harvey – Mission: America)  So Tom Brady says his wife is a witch and her rituals helped the Patriots win the Super Bowl.

But she’s a “good witch, “ Brady laughingly told the media. There’s actually no such thing and Brady’s reckless ignorance will now help promote witchcraft and sorcery to an American public that’s already confused enough. Continue reading →

New poll finds “dramatic shift” on abortion attitudes

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“This has been a measure that has been so stable over time. To see that kind of change was surprising. And the increased discussion [of late-term abortion] in the public forum in the past month appears to have made the biggest difference in how people identify on the issue.”

(Alayna Treene – Axios)  The recent debate over “late-term abortion,” fueled by state measures in New York and Virginia that loosened, or sought to loosen, abortion restrictions toward the end of a woman’s pregnancy, has caused “a dramatic shift” in public attitudes towards abortion policy, according to Barbara Carvalho who directed a new Marist poll, commissioned by the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic organization. Continue reading →

To Protect Our Culture We Must Protect Our Children

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“The rights and wellbeing of children should be at the top of the list here, but sadly this is not the case. The whims, lusts and desires of adults are trumping the needs of children, and they are paying a big price as a result. And as a consequence, society is paying a big price as well.”

(Bill Muehlenberg – Cultural Watch)  Some 2000 years ago the Roman scholar Pliny the Elder very wisely said this: “What we do to our children, they will do to society.” In a very similar vein Karl Menninger much more recently put it this way: “What’s done to children, they will do to society.” Continue reading →

Trump’s HHS Department Bars Abortion Facilities From Federal Family Planning Funding

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“Not only will Planned Parenthood entities that currently receive Title X funding not be allowed to provide family planning services in the same building in which abortions are performed, those locations that do not perform abortions are additionally barred from referring any woman for a termination—or even promoting abortion as a method of family planning.”

(Heather Clark – Christian News Network)  The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced the finalization of its rule changes to the federal Title X family planning services funding program, which will disqualify abortion facilities, such as those run by Planned Parenthood, from receiving federal funds, as well as any locations that promote, support or refer for abortions. Continue reading →

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is an economic illiterate — And that’s bad news for America

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“Ocasio-Cortez does not seem to understand that by helping to drive Amazon away, she did not save New York $3 billion; she cost New York $27 billion. There is a difference between having bad ideas and not grasping basic facts. Reasonable people can disagree about whether New York should have offered Amazon $3 billion in tax incentives — or anything at all — to build its headquarters in the city. But that is different from not understanding that New York is not writing a $3 billion check to Amazon.”

(Mark Thiessen – Fox News)  The left complains that conservatives are “obsessing” over Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Well, there is a reason for that: Ocasio-Cortez is driving the agenda of today’s Democratic Party— and her economic illiteracy is dangerous. Continue reading →

Embracing a New-Age Charismatic Worship on Sunday Mornings

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“When you walk into any modern Evangelical church, the airwaves are filled with the sounds of electric guitars, drums, and a multitude of instrumental riffs that tickle the ears of hundreds, even thousands of people who stand with their hands in the air swaying back and forth.”

(Jeff Maples – Reformation Charlotte)  There was something peculiar about the old hymns that churches would embrace and sing together on Sunday mornings. For the most part, they were rich in doctrine — they actually communicated something to the congregation. They were exegetical, they told us who God is and about what He has done. It was in response to this rich theology and the knowledge of God that the congregation responded in praise and worship. Continue reading →

From Trayvon to Jussie — Poll Shows Media Hoaxes Killed Race Relations

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“Although exonerated in a court of law, Zimmerman was tried and convicted by the media using lies, fabricated evidence, and outright racism; and to their forever disgrace, President Obama and the Democrats milked this hoax for all it was worth.”

(John Nolte – Breitbart)   Gallup began polling opinions of race relations back in 2001. At that point, 70 percent of black Americans graded race relations as “very good” or “somewhat good,” while 62 percent of white people agreed.

Think about that… Eighteen years ago, black people were more satisfied with race relations than white people. Continue reading →

From Mars Hill to Harvest: Hope for a Wounded Church

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“While Harvest and Willow Creek represent two recent, prominent examples in the Chicago area, abuses of power and church mismanagement happen across denominations and in churches of all sizes. Plenty in the pews have been left with the twisted grief of watching once-respected leaders leave their positions and facing the reality of a church in crisis.”

(Kate Shellnutt – Christianity Today) Last weekend was the first time Harvest Bible Chapel gathered for worship without James MacDonald as its senior pastor. Continue reading →

James MacDonald’s Sons Resign As Shakeup at Harvest Continues

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The MacDonald’s sons resignation letters as well as the letter to the elders are included in Julie Roys’ piece. Here’s her report:

The shakeup at Harvest Bible Chapel continued tonight as the sons of founder James MacDonald, who was fired last week, offered their resignations.

In his resignation letter, Lead Pastor Luke MacDonald said his “professional dream” had been “to one day grow to be the Senior Pastor of the church.” But he added that “conversations with elders and staff” had made it clear that he “should move forward to whatever God has next.” Continue reading →

God’s Book & God’s Voice

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Some people who claim they’ve been to heaven say they’ve actually met God and/or Jesus…a couple of the Twelve Apostles…a few prophets…family members…only to be sent back to Earth to tell of their experience. Clint Archer of The Cripplegate offers 3 reasons why you shouldn’t envy those who claim they’ve been to heaven. He writes:

Not many people see heaven and live to tell about it. In Scripture, those who may have (Lazarus, Paul, and the girl we call Tabitha), never recorded a word of what they saw. Only John’s Revelation was given for the church. But among certain Christian circles, extraordinary claims of a trip to heaven are accepted as true. Continue reading →

Will More Teachers Smash Boundaries Under Compulsory ‘LGBTQ’ Lessons?

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“The planned “diversity week” was scrubbed, praise God, because of the push-back by concerned parents led by a social worker mom who blew the lid off the planned corruption.”

(Linda Harvey – Mission: America) The door is now wide open in many public schools for corrupting teachers to enter and poison the minds and bodies of impressionable children.

Most teachers try to do what’s right, but with so-called “non-discrimination” school policies in place, sexually immoral adults or pro-abortion/“LGBTQ” activists cannot be barred from classroom access to children. Continue reading →

What to Do with A Gay Priest

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“Sam Allberry is quite busy running around with Ravi Zacharias International Ministries doing all he can to convince the church that it needs to affirm celibate homosexuals. Of course, the term employed in this project is Same-Sex Attracted. He knows that evangelicals will have a hard time swallowing the stigmatized word “homosexual.” And so, he uses one that is greatly watered down in an attempt to change the mindset of the older generations. Allberry has included in his efforts an attempt to legitimize the category of gender dysphoria. And again, the goal is to provide a degree of affirmation.”

(Ed Dingess – Reformation Charlotte)   To be fair, Sam Allberry says there is a difference between same sex attraction and being gay. I just happen not to agree with him on this point. Continue reading →

Autopsy of a Dead Coup

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“CNN soon proved that it is no longer a news organization at all—as reporters like Gloria Borger, Chris Cuomo, Eric Lichtblau, Manu Raju, Brian Rokus, Jake Tapper, Jeff Zeleny, and teams such as Jim Sciutto, Carl Bernstein, and Marshall Cohen as well as Thomas Frank, and Lex Harris all trafficked in false rumors and unproven gossip detrimental to Trump, while hosts and guest hosts such as Reza Aslan, the late Anthony Bourdain, and Anderson Cooper stooped to obscenity and grossness to attack Trump.”

(Victor Davis Hanson – American Greatness)  The illegal effort to destroy the 2016 Trump campaign by Hillary Clinton campaign’s use of funds to create, disseminate among court media, and then salt among high Obama administration officials, a fabricated, opposition smear dossier failed. Continue reading →

Liberal Lutheran pastor melts purity rings into vagina sculpture, presents it to Gloria Steinem

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Nadia Bolz-Weber presents feminist Gloria Steinem with sculpture made of melted-down purity rings.

“The controversial pastor, who has defended the use of so-called “ethically sourced porn,” first announced her art project at the 2018 Makers Conference, where she explained she wants to “take down” the “church’s teachings around sex” and evangelical purity culture.”

(Leah MarieAnn Klett – Christian Post)  Liberal Lutheran Pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber unveiled a sculpture of a [vagina] made entirely of old purity rings to protest evangelical purity culture and presented it to pro-abortion second-wave feminist Gloria Steinem.

Bolz-Weber, the founding pastor of Denver’s House for All Sinners and Saints, showed off the sculpture — which was made by melting down the old jewelry — during the 2019 Makers Conference last week. Continue reading →

Chairman of Harvest’s Elder Board Resigns; Executive Committee to Resign Soon

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Disgraced pastor James MacDonald

“Sperling admitted that over the years, various former elders, staff, and members of the church had complained about James MacDonald’s behavior and “its overall effect on Harvest’s culture.” He added that “part of the complexity” concerning the elders response to those complaints was MacDonald’s occasional willingness to submit to increased accountability.”

(Julie Roys) Admitting that they had “collectively failed” to oversee the church properly, the five-member executive committee of elders at Harvest Bible Chapel tonight announced that they will all be resigning over the next few months and a replacement executive committee will be put in place. Continue reading →

Not ‘All Americans’ Are ‘Proud That We Have More Women In The Workforce Than Ever Before’

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“Believe it or not, there are still many women and men who do not agree. We all acknowledge that with enough money and/or familial support, a woman can raise fine children and maintain a happy home and a loving marriage. Nevertheless, we also know that doing all three is difficult enough when a woman devotes full time to those three goals. But when a woman works outside the home, devoting full time to home and family is impossible.”

(Dennis Prager – Daily Wire)  In his State of the Union address, President Trump announced, “All Americans can be proud that we have more women in the workforce than ever before.” It was one of the few times he received a standing ovation from both Democrats and Republicans. Continue reading →

McCabe, Rosenstein and the real truth about the 25th Amendment coup attempt

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 Andrew McCabe, former deputy director of the FBI.

“The truth is somewhere in the middle: The conversation was no joke, but the idea was lunacy.”

(Andrew C. McCarthy – Fox News)  Ever wonder why people hate lawyers? Consider Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s non-denial denial of his participation in discussions of an attempted coup against the duly elected president of the United States.

The story is being given a second life thanks to the hype surrounding the rollout of a new book by Andrew McCabe, the former deputy director of the FBI. Continue reading →

Gay Priest at Ravi Zacharias Event: Jesus Had Dysphoria, Body Issues

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Allberry makes the case that the warrior, King David, was effeminate. He claims that the Bible says David was beautiful in a feminine way, and because he wrote poetry, David likely had some gender identity issues.

(JD Hall – Pulpit & Pen)  Ravi Zacharias hosted Sam Alberry yesterday, who spoke at the event to explain “How To Know Your Gender.” The answer was not as simple as, “Do a DNA test.” … Continue reading →

Leading Southern Baptist apologizes for supporting leader, church at center of sex abuse scandal

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“What I did was wrong and caused hurt to the victims and survivors who felt that their experience had been trivialized and dismissed. And I grieve that, I apologize for that, it was wrong. I would never make such a comment again.”

(Robert Downan – Houston Chronicle)  A leading Southern Baptist figure on Thursday apologized for supporting a religious leader who was accused of helping conceal sexual abuses at his former church, and for making a joke that he said downplayed the severity of the allegations. Continue reading →