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

‘Pope Francis’ Meets With Mormon Leader Russell Nelson, Discusses ‘Mutual Concerns’ Over Societal Issues

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…last month, Bergoglio met with Islamic Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb in Abu Dhabi, where he jointly signed the “Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together.”  The document “asserts that “the diversity of religions … are willed by God,” and that men should not be “forced to adhere to a certain religion or culture.”

(Heather Clark – Christian News Network)  Jorge Bergoglio, the leader of Roman Catholicism, met on Saturday with Mormon leader Russell Nelson and Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The two discussed their “mutual concerns” about various societal issues, and exchanged gifts, which included Bergoglio’s writings on the Islamic religion. Some opine that the meeting is another example of the Vatican’s goal to forge a one world religion. Continue reading →

The Crisis and Comfort of Romans 7

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“We must…become honest about our struggle with sin and cling to the work of Jesus Christ our Lord as our hope now and for all eternity.”

(Josh Buice – Delivered By Grace)  Yesterday, in our series through Romans, I had the privilege to preach the concluding verses (24-25) of Romans chapter seven. As you may know, the seventh chapter of Romans is one of the most difficult passages to interpret in all of Romans—indeed in all of the Bible. There are many questions to answer including identifying the “I” of the chapter and explaining the relevance of the law of God for new covenant Christians. Continue reading →

Former Harvest Employees Say James MacDonald Lived Large on Church’s Dime

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“These expenditures were in addition to MacDonald’s salary, which the church continues to keep private. However, Dave Corning, a founding elder who chaired the elder board for 21 years, told me that in 2009, MacDonald was making a combined $550,000 from both the church and Walk in the Word, MacDonald’s broadcast ministry.”

(Julie Roys)  In 2015, James MacDonald went on a worldwide missions trip that was so stressful, he needed a safari in South Africa to help him recover from it. At least, that’s what MacDonald, the recently-fired founder of Harvest Bible Chapel, claimed to justify the church paying for the safari for him and two others, according to his bodyguard at the time, Jacob Ross.

But that’s not all. Continue reading →

ICE now detaining 50,000 in all-time high, and yet Congress continues to oppose POTUS Trump’s emergency declaration

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“So the Northern Triangle governments have said to us – they will say to you – ‘please send us our children back. We want them reunited with our families and communities here.’”

(Jon Dougherty – The National Sentinel)  The number of people being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement has reached an all-time high of 50,000 as migrants from Central America and Mexico continue to stream towards the United States, deepening the humanitarian crisis. Continue reading →

Taken Captive By False Teachers & False Doctrines – 10 signs

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“The captivated are desperate to alleviate the cares of this world, or increase their comforts in this world. Promises of breakthrough, healing, favour, pleasant “suddenlies,” transfers of wealth, supernatural encounters and miracles, entice those with itching ears or troubled souls. Like clouds without water false teachers fail to deliver. They promise their followers an encounter with God, but instead deliver an emotional experience or Kundalini spirit.” 

(Rick Becker – Famine In The Land)  We’re closer to the end. Some would have us believe the greatest revival the world has ever seen is upon us, but scripture teaches the opposite. There will be false anointed ones, a departure from the faith, apostasy, and doctrines of demons will deceive many within the visible church. Those within the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) ignore what scripture teaches, they are hoping to be activated by a super apostle and be a part of a new breed of revivalist that will walk through walls, raise the dead, and conquer the seven spheres of society. These deluded folk have not been activated, but captivated by false teachers and false doctrines: Continue reading →

Trump plans to implement transgender military ban after court ruling

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Obama declared in 2016 that transgender service members would be allowed to serve openly, but President Trump announced a reversal to that policy in 2017, saying that transgender troops would be prohibited from serving “in any capacity.”

(Tal Axelrod – The Hill)  The Trump administration signaled Friday it intends to implement a ban on transgender people serving in the military after a federal court struck down the last injunction against the policy the previous day. Continue reading →

Sin Is Cosmic Treason

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“The sinfulness of sin” sounds like a vacuous redundancy that adds no information to the subject under discussion. However, the necessity of speaking of the sinfulness of sin has been thrust upon us by a culture and even a church that has diminished the significance of sin itself. Sin is communicated in our day in terms of making mistakes or of making poor choices. When I take an examination or a spelling test,if I make a mistake, I miss a particular word. It is one thing to make a mistake.It is another to look at my neighbor’s paper and copy his answers in order to make a good grade. In this case, my mistake has risen to the level of a moral transgression. Though sin may be involved in making mistakes as a result of slothfulness in preparation, nevertheless, the act of cheating takes the exercise to a more serious level. Calling sin “making poor choices” is true, but it is also a euphemism that can discount the severity of the action. The decision to sin is indeed a poor one, but once again, it is more than a mistake. It is an act of moral transgression.  Continue reading →

Why Are Young Christians Leaving the Church? It’s Simple Math

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“Make no mistake about it, the university setting will likely be a battlefield populated with people opposed to Christianity.”

(J. Warner Wallace – Cold Case Christianity)  Several years ago I had the opportunity to speak to an engaging group of Christians in Elgin, Iowa at the First Baptist Church of Elgin. The congregation was a wonderful combination of young families and older members who understand the challenges facing the younger Christians in their midst. I shared the overwhelming statistics chronicling the growing number of young Christians leaving the church during their college years, but many in the audience had already seen the departure firsthand. … Continue reading →

Top Democrat Tells Holocaust Survivors To Check Their Privilege

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According to Rep. James Clyburn’s logic, it’s OK to hate Jews if you rank higher than them on the pyramid of victimhood.

(Madeline Osburn – The Federalist)  Democratic Whip Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) defended his colleague Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) by reasoning that she is higher than Jews on the pyramid of intersectionality. In an interview with The Hill on Wednesday, Clyburn trivialized Holocaust survivors when he implied that Omar’s time in a Kenyan refugee camp outweighed the experiences of Jews. Continue reading →

‘A Consuming Fire’: Holiness, Wrath, and Justice

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“How often do we pastors give God equally profane worship when we dare to come into His presence without considering Him as holy, without seeing our primary responsibility in our celebration of worship as displaying the glory of God, revealing His majesty before the whole congregation? We need to think on this.”

(R.C. Sproul)  WE LIVE IN A CULTURE WHERE THE VAST MAJORITY of the people occasionally gives lip service to the existence of God but almost never regards Him as holy. If some do acknowledge that He is holy, very few add to that holiness any idea of divine justice. And if we are able to find a handful of people who agree that God is both holy and just, it is next to impossible to find someone who will add to these elements the idea that God is wrathful. Continue reading →

LDS Church, de-emphasizing those three letters, unveils a new internet address with more changes on the way

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The title should be “LDS Cult” because that’s what the organization is. This cult is hoping to re-imagine itself by de-emphasizing “LDS” and “Mormon” and calling itself the “Church of Jesus Christ.” But that doesn’t change the fact that Mormonism is not in any way shape or form a Christian organization as it falsely claims, for the reason that Mormons reject the deity of Christ! They also reject the doctrine of the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Ghost are three separate gods, say Mormons) and teach that Jesus was the first born son of Heavenly Father (Elohim) and Heavenly Mother. Mormons also believe that Jesus was the spirit brother of Lucifer, the second born son of the heavenly couple. Now to the article over at The Salt Lake City Tribune: Continue reading →

James MacDonald Recording Reveals Ungodly Evangelical ‘Celebrity Machine’

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“For the past year, I’ve been writing about the evangelical “celebrity machine” or “industrial complex”—a network of Christian media, publishers, and ministry “partners,” which rely on each other for promotion, book deals, conference invites, networking, and income. In the best of all possible worlds, this “machine” would be leveraged to inspire vision, support important initiatives, and hold Christian public figures accountable.  But as the MacDonald recording reveals in perhaps the most grotesque fashion I’ve ever witnessed, the machine is often used to protect the powerful and to crush truthtellers.”

(Julie Roys)  About two weeks ago, Mancow Muller aired vile, recorded comments by James MacDonald on his Chicago radio show on WLS/AM890. This shocked the Christian community and prompted Harvest Bible Chapel to fire MacDonald. Yet MacDonald’s comments apparently didn’t shock Johnnie Moore. Continue reading →

Rank-and-file Dems revolt against Pelosi over resolution to condemn anti-Semitism

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Fox News has been told that the Democratic caucus is trying to get the language of the proposed anti-Semitism language “right,” and that there is concern about mentioning Omar by name — a non-starter for many members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

(Gregg Re – Fox News)  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is “taken aback” by the growing dissent and anger among rank-and-file Democrats over a possible resolution to formally condemn anti-Semitism, a Democratic source told Fox News on Wednesday — highlighting Pelosi’s tenuous grip on control over the House and underscoring the growing power of the party’s nascent far-left progressive wing. Continue reading →

Same-Sex Relationships: Sorry Bishop, But The Meaning Of Holiness Does Not Change From Generation To Generation

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“The idea that God has revealed a different standard today is equally flawed. The Holy Spirit is himself God, and just as unchanging as God the Father. He cannot reveal something to be holy today that was condemned as unholy in the Scriptures that he breathed-out. The Holy Spirit is not a liar, and he has not learned anything new about human sexuality in the two thousand years since the closure of the Canon.”

(John Stevens – johnstevens.com)  One of the notable features of the debate raging in the Church of England over issues of human sexuality is the poor theological arguments used by those in favour of revising the historic position of the church, which reflects the clear Biblical teaching that sex is only appropriate for heterosexual marriage and that sex is determined by biology at birth. Continue reading →

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

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“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

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“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

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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

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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

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“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

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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’

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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

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“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

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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 →