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

Francis Chan, Speaking of His Critics, Says, ‘Touch Not the Lord’s Anointed.’

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Before you read Pulpit & Pen’s post, I must take you to the not so distant past, to a piece I penned in 2014, where I revealed the following about popular “Reformed” preacher Francis Chan:

It’s important to note that last year Reformed pastor, author and conference speaker Francis Chan spoke at Onething where he declared “I love Mike Bickle.” Chan took a lot of heat for agreeing to speak at the conference. When friends and fans urged him to decline the invite, he admitted that he didn’t know much about Mike Bickle and IHOP so,

I kinda went on the Internet and started looking things up.

Whatever he found caused him to fall in love: Continue reading →

Vatican media chief resigns over doctored letter scandal

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(Nicole Winfield – RNS) The head of the Vatican’s communications department has resigned over a scandal about a letter from the retired pope that the communications chief mischaracterized in public and then had digitally manipulated in a photograph sent to the media.

The Vatican said Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Monsignor Dario Vigano on Wednesday (March 21) and named his deputy, Monsignor Lucio Adrian Ruiz, to run the Secretariat for Communications.   View article →      …     Disclaimer

Dangers of the Hebrew Roots Movement

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The primary heresy in Hebrew Roots Movement (HRM) beliefs is that Christians must keep the Torah. HRM holds the view that Christ’s death on the cross did not end the Mosaic Covenant, His death renewed it. But is the Torah the foundation of Christianity? Should believers observe the Mosiac laws? In this piece, Tim Chaffey of Answers In Genesis examines HRM and reveals the dangers of the movement.  He writes:

The Hebrew Roots Movement has influenced hundreds of thousands of Christians in recent decades, and many more have encountered arguments from those in that group. The movement places a strong emphasis on Hebrew traditions and the Mosaic law. This article will describe the nature of the Hebrew Roots Movement, examine some of its major beliefs in light of relevant biblical passages, and challenge those who have been influenced by its teachings. Continue reading →

Mississippi imposes toughest abortion ban in US; clinic sues, hearing set

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(Clarion Ledger) Mississippi moved quickly toward a legal confrontation over the nation’s most restrictive abortion law Monday.

Within six hours, the governor signed a bill banning most abortions after 15 weeks of gestation, the state’s lone abortion clinic sued, and a federal judge set a Tuesday morning hearing to consider blocking the restrictions.

Abortion opponents sought the confrontation, hoping federal courts will ultimately prohibit abortions before a fetus is viable. Current federal law blocks such restrictions by states. View article →

IRS Documented 1.3M Identity Thefts by Illegal Aliens; Can’t Say It Referred Any for Prosecution

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(Terrence P. Jeffrey – CNSNews) – The Internal Revenue Service in 2011 through 2016 documented more than 1.3 million cases of identity theft perpetrated by illegal aliens whom the IRS had given Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITIN), which are only given to people who are ineligible to work in the United States or receive Social Security Numbers, according to information published by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).

However, in response to inquiries from CNSNews.com, the IRS could not say if it had referred even one of these cases for criminal prosecution. View article →

The Basic Spirituality of Yoga

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In an article I penned in 2010 titled A subtle and dangerous shift in Christianity I expressed my concerns over churches that were offering “Christian yoga”:

It seems everyone’s practicing yoga meditation these days. Physicians recommend it to their patients which means it’s beneficial…right? Meditation is said to relieve stress, anxiety, hypertension, acne and post-nasal drip, so go for it! Just tighten those abdominal muscles, inhale deeply and chant Maaaaaaaaa all in one breath and your concerns will drift away like a feather floating on the wind…

But what if you’re a Christian? Should you practice the same sorts of things as Buddhist, Hindus and New Agers? Continue reading →

Judge Who Blocked Ohio Ban on Abortions of Babies With Down Syndrome Was a Planned Parenthood President

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(LifeNews) Pro-life advocates are calling out the bias of a federal judge who struck down an Ohio non-discrimination law that bans abortions on unborn babies with Down syndrome.

U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Black issued a preliminary injunction against the law Wednesday, arguing federal law is “crystal clear” that states may not prohibit abortions before viability.

While the ruling drew widespread attention, few mainstream news outlets mentioned that Black has very strong ties to Planned Parenthood, one of the groups challenging the law. [crn_lik url=”http://www.lifenews.com/2018/03/17/judge-who-blocked-ohio-ban-on-abortions-of-babies-with-down-syndrome-was-a-planned-parenthood-president/”]

10 invalid arguments in defense of false teachers

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Rick Becker begins his piece with,

Scripture warns us that in the last days some will depart from the faith, and be deceived by evil spirits and teachings of demons. Those who teach false doctrines are not on the fringes of Christianity, they are in the center in the form of the Evangelical Industrial Complex.  Bethel, Hillsong and other NAR “churches” have infested the visible church like gangrene.  Those who are saved from this deception, try to warn their friends and family still caught up in the quagmire of celebrity teachers and false doctrines.  When we warn them of the precarious position they are in, they usually resort to arguments we are all familiar with. This post deals with some of those questions. Continue reading →

Judge Halts Ohio Ban on Aborting Down Syndrome Babies, Says They’re Not People Yet, Only ‘Potential’ Lives

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(Christian News Network) A federal judge appointed to the bench by then-President Barack Obama has granted a preliminary injunction against an Ohio law that banned mothers from killing their unborn child just because he or she has Down syndrome.

“The State cannot dictate what factors a woman is permitted to consider in making her choice,” wrote U.S. District Judge Timothy Black on Wednesday. “The State’s attempt to carve out exceptions to a categorical right where none exist fails as a matter of law.” View article →

Vatican Caught Photoshopping, Forging Documents

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(Pulpit & Pen News) No, the headline is not a repeat from the year 1073. After Pope Francis began condemning so-called “Fake News,” the Vatican has been caught red-handed, forging documents and issuing the photoshopped fakes in press releases. The story began as the Vatican began lauding a letter written by Pope Benedict on February 7, and sent to the Vatican’s prefect of the Secretariat for Communications. As Pope Francis is increasingly accused of heresy because of his Amoris Laetitia statement, in which he softens the traditional Romanist tone on divorce and traditional marriage (which has been used by Romanists the world over to embrace very non-Romanist ideas on human sexuality), it has caused many people to wonder what the former Pope is thinking about the current Pope, a historical phenomenon caused by Pope Benedict retiring in 2013, whereas historically, most Popes die in office, either from natural causes or from being murdered and/or deposed by their successors. … Continue reading →

No One Else Like Him

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching ∙

I have no one else like him, who will show genuine concern for your welfare. Phil 2:20

We meet two friends of the Apostle Paul in this last half of chapter two. These were real men who quite unconsciously display the character of Jesus Christ, excellent examples of all Paul has been writing about.

First we meet Timothy in verses 19-24. As Paul writes about him we see that the underlying quality that marks the man is Jesus Christ. We see that Timothy is an exceptional man. Continue reading on Ray Stedman Daily Devotions

The entertainment-driven church

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Charles Spurgeon once said of church: If you have to give a carnival to get people to come to church, then you will have to keep giving carnivals to keep them coming back.

So, why would church leaders want people to come to a Sunday worship service to be entertained? In the 1800’s, Spurgeon saw the entertainment-driven church looming on the horizon when he was preaching and he spoke out against it. Today the goats who fill the chairs expect their church experience to be entertaining. And if it isn’t? They’re out of there! Continue reading →

What Happens When Moral Monstrosity Is Socially Approved?

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(Ben Shapiro – National Review) “Marcus takes solace in her immorality by citing that of others — “I am not alone. More than two-thirds of American women choose abortion in such circumstances.” But immoral behavior isn’t made moral by its commonness. Slavery was once common. That did not make it any more justifiable.”

In 1961, Stanley Milgram of Yale University came up with an idea for an experiment. The purpose: to determine how many law-abiding, civilized people would torture their fellows simply in order to follow basic orders. … Continue reading →

The Crisis of Fatherless Shooters

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(Emilie Kao – The Daily Signal) In the wake of the Parkland massacre, the age-old question, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” has a newfound relevance.

As another mass school shooting stuns Americans, it is time to talk about not just how to protect students from shooters, but also about what must happen so that fewer students become shooters in the first place.

It is crucial to talk about how more American children can grow up with the emotional, psychological, and spiritual security that comes from relationships where one is deeply cared for, connected, and known. Continue reading →

Beth Moore Says Fighting Donald Trump is A Fight for the Faith

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(Pulpit & Pen) Beth Moore, who is a wildly popular female Bible teacher heavily promoted in evangelical circles and aligned with the Southern Baptist Convention’s Lifeway Christian Resources, has steadily been opposing President Donald Trump since his presidential primary. She is not on record ever having opposed President Barack Obama.

Moore, who claims to hear audibly from God – going so far as writing down what she says God specifically told her – said in a tweet this week that getting political was necessary because of the “mountain of manure hitting the fan” and that for her and others it is a “fight for the faith.” … Continue reading →

Catholic Archbishop Says Pedophilia Is ‘Spiritual Encounter With God’

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(YourNewsWire) One of the highest-ranking officials in the Catholic Church says sexually abused children can experience “a spiritual encounter with God through the priest” while being molested.

Australia’s most powerful clergy, Archbishop of Melbourne Denis Hart, says the Catholic practice of confession is satisfactory for dealing with pedophilia in the church as it helps priests absolve “their own guilt” after sexually abusing children. Continue reading →

Rev. Graham Shares 1 Question He Would Have Asked Stephen Hawking, in 1 Hour Gets 5,000 Shares

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(Western Journal) Christian evangelist Franklin Graham wished he could have asked world-renowned physicist Stephen Hawking one question before his death on Wednesday at 76 regarding the existence of God.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Graham shared an article from USA Today titled, “Heaven ‘is a fairy story’: This is what Stephen Hawking says happens when people die.”  View article →

Outspoken atheist Stephen Hawking has died

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(Danny R. Faulkner – Answers In Genesis) “Before we understand science, it is natural to believe that God created the universe. But now science offers a more convincing explanation. What I meant by “we would know the mind of God” is, we would know everything that God would know, if there were a God, which there isn’t. I’m an atheist.” – Stephen Hawking

Stephen Hawking 1942–2018

Famed British astrophysicist Stephen Hawking died today. Interestingly, Albert Einstein was born on the same date in 1879. Furthermore, both men died shortly after their 76th birthdays. These facts wouldn’t be remarkable if their work and writings were not so intimately related. Continue reading →

Sorry, Ladies! Mother’s Day Is Going Gender Neutral

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(DailyWire) Waitrose, a high-end grocery store chain in the United Kingdom, is going “gender neutral” for Mother’s Day (known there as “Mothering Sunday”), offering a series of cards that are “gender neutral,” just in case your mum happens to be your dad, or she prefers to be known by a series of unconventional pronouns.

The purpose of the shift, Waitrose says, is to make the holiday more “transgender friendly,” reports The Times UK. Since gender is just a fluid concept, why use an archaic word like, “mother” to represent a specific relationship a child has with its primary caregiver (or, in the case of families who don’t abide by traditional gender norms, its secondary caregiver)? View article →

Transgender employees vs. Christian business owners

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(World) On the eve of International Women’s Day, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of a man who identifies as a woman, ignoring appeals to religious liberty and declaring that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 applies to those undergoing gender “transitioning.”

Wednesday’s decision marks the third time a federal appeals court has expanded the Title VII definition of “sex” beyond biological manhood and womanhood. Within the last year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th and 2nd circuits both ruled that “sex” includes sexual orientation. Those decisions, until the U.S. Supreme Court intervenes, stand as law, and employers in 10 states are required to recognize sexual identities as protected classes  View article →

Record-Breaking Crowd of 100,000 Pro-Life People Rally in Ireland Against Legalizing Abortion

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(LifeNews) Save the 8th has said that its campaign is “energised and motivated ” by the huge attendance at today’s Rally for Life in Dublin, which saw up to 100,000 people take to the streets to reject the Government’s plan for a UK-style abortion regime in Ireland.

Niamh Uí Bhriain of Save the 8th said that the crowds who thronged Dublin city centre showed that the government’s abortion proposal had woken a sleeping giant and that the campaign now expected a surge in volunteers to work towards a No vote in the abortion referendum in May. View article →