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

Formula One Driver Under Fire For Telling Nephew ‘Boys Don’t Wear Princess Dresses!’

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(Dailywire) Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton is on the receiving end of internet leftists’ wrath for telling his young nephew that “boys don’t wear princess dresses.”

Hamilton recently posted a video of his nephew dressed in full-on princess attire, apparently after receiving the dress, shoes and accessories as Christmas gifts. “I’m so sad right now. Look at my nephew,” the driver starts the video, camera pointed to himself. “Why are you wearing a princess dress? Is this what you got for Christmas?” Hamilton asks the boy.  View article →

Speaking What Is Right

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching ∙

After the LORD had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has (Job 42:7).

Perhaps we are surprised that in this account God affirms that Job was right in what he said about Him. We have never seen any recognition up to this time that Job had said right things. In fact, much of the book is aimed at pointing out that Job was wrong in his attitude about God. Although both Job and his friends say some wonderfully true things about God, and there are great passages of brilliance and glory that depict something of His power, beauty, and wisdom, Job himself admitted that he spoke in ignorance and folly, and he repents of this and puts his hand on his mouth. So it is rather surprising that God twice admits that Job has said that which is right about Him. View article →

Pastors: Stop Trying to be Popular

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , ,

The good news about Christ can only be appreciated with the bad news as the backdrop. There are times when the saints must be fed, and there are times when the sinners must be warned (C.H. Spurgeon).

(Shane Idelman – ChristianHeadlines)  A few years back, I listened in astonishment as some​ prominent “Christian” leaders talked about replacing “preaching” with “having a conversation.”

At first, I thought that they might be confusing individual conversations with how we should speak to the masses, but I was wrong. They felt that we should stop “preaching” from the pulpit and start being more passive and less confrontational. Never mind the fact that Jesus said, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent” (Luke 4:43). But according to many, it’s time to replace the pulpit with a couch and preaching with conversing. Continue reading →

The Shepherds’ Gospel

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Called Out Of Darkness Into Light

The Christmas story just wouldn’t be the same without the shepherds, would it? Just a bunch of blue collar guys out doing their jobs one night, when God stepped in and gave them a story they’d be telling for the rest of their lives. We don’t know their names or how many of them there were, but they’re more than just pieces of our nativity sets. They’re a picture of the gospel.

The shepherds had no idea God would reveal His Son to them that night. They were just going about their lives, day in and day out, oblivious, until God intervened and brought them the good news of Christ. In a similar way, the Bible says that we walk through life day after day, dead in our trespasses and sins, until that glorious moment when God draws us to Himself, opens our eyes to the gospel, and makes us alive in Christ.  View article →

In A World of ‘Authentic’ ‘Journeys,’ There’s Always First Things

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ ,

(Carl Trueman – First Things) One of the sad things about writing my annual contribution to the First Things end-of-year appeal is that there is always some news headline that indicates why the print magazine and its online content are important. And this year is no exception, with the news that a Roman Catholic priest in Wisconsin has come out as gay, to a standing ovation from his parishioners.

Debates about whether or not same-sex attraction is sinful rage on in Christian circles—but that is not what interests me in this story. Rather, I am interested in the blithe way in which many of the present age’s heterodoxies concerning human personhood are widely accepted as normative. View article →

Handling Stress

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ ,

(Brent Aucoin – Answers In Genesis) Our primary goal in handling life’s pressures is to learn how to depend upon God and please Him, not simply get rid of stresses.

The economy, unemployment, terrorism, politics, finances, moral decline, major sickness, a prodigal child, an unhealthy marriage—for most of us, contemplating any one of these pressures will knot our stomach. We become uneasy and tense. Our soul ceases to be quiet like the still waters but instead becomes deafeningly noisy like a wailing infant. In other words, we are “stressed.” View article →

Swarthmore College Introduces ‘Queering the Bible’ Course

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(Breitbart) Next fall, the prestigious Swarthmore College will introduce a course called “Queering the Bible.”

The course, which will launch in the fall of 2018 through Swarthmore’s religion department, will examine the Bible through a queer lens. It will examine issues of sex, gender, and identity as they present themselves in one of human history’s most influential texts. View article →

Your God Is Too Small

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

God is exalted in his power. Who is a teacher like him? (Job 36:22).

Elihu’s final word to Job is a great and beautiful passage in which he sets forth in marvelous language the glory of God. It runs from chapter 35:22 through chapter 37. First, God is beyond human instruction. Notice how he begins: God is exalted in his power. Who is a teacher like him? Then, he reveals another important fact in chapter 36:26: God is beyond human understanding: How great is God beyond our understanding! Finally, Elihu reveals in 36:30-31 that God acts beyond the rigid categories and reasons of humans: See how he scatters his lightning about him, bathing the depths of the sea. This is the way he governs the nations and provides food in abundance. God uses His natural powers for both blessing and judgment alike. View article →

Supreme Court Will Decide if Illegal Immigrants Have a ‘Right’ to Abortion

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(LifeNews.com) Veteran Supreme Court reporter Lyle Denniston reported today that the Supreme has decided to “move ahead on the dispute over teen abortions.” He is referring to the case of three undocumented pregnant girls whom the ACLU has so far successfully argued ought to be allowed to abort. Denniston begins:

The Supreme Court plans to take up at its first private conference in the new year the intense, ongoing fight over an unsettled constitutional question – do undocumented immigrant teenagers who are pregnant have a right to an abortion? …  View article →

The ‘Bethel Board’-Encounter God With This New Game! (No, it’s NOT a Ouija Board, You Religious Pharisee)

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Satire ∙ , , ,

Is there a link between Bethel Church in Redding CA and occultism as some discernment ministries have been reporting (here)? Steven Kozar of Messed Up Church presents the shocking evidence that the claims made by discerners are indeed true. Here’s Kozar’s report:

We all know how important it is to have massive encounters with God, right? Well, now it can be fun, too! Introducing the brand new board game from Bethel Church in Redding, California: “The Bethel Board!” (And it’s just in time for Christmas!) View article →

Free All ‘Trans’ Prisoners and Abolish Birth Certificates, Lobby Group Demands

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(Christian Institute) All transsexual prisoners should be released, children should be allowed unrestricted access to hormone blockers and birth certificates should be banned, transsexual campaigners are demanding.

In its manifesto, the Edinburgh chapter of the national Action for Trans Health (ATH) group, which has previously called for ‘radical violence’, said: “This is war, and we will win”.

The national body was handed a public platform when it gave oral evidence to an influential committee of MPs, while its founder has reportedly trained hundreds of NHS staff. View article →

Christmas: Not the Beginning of Jesus’ Existence

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

A frequently heard phrase this time of year is the “birth of Jesus.” And that’s good. But, it’s possible to miscommunicate something essential about Christ. Typically, when we mention someone’s birth, we think of it as the beginning of the individual’s existence. Obviously conception marks the beginning of existence, but for convenience sake (and avoidance of some awkward conversations) we do not celebrate one’s conception day, but birthday. You get the idea. View article →

It’s Christmas! ‘Harry Potter’ Visits ‘The Shack’

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , , ,

Photo credit: Herescope

Who are we going to allow to define God, New Ager Wm. Paul Young and promoter of witchcraft J.K Rowling…or the Lord Jesus Christ? Following is Pastor Larry DeBruyn’s response in a piece he penned for Herescope:

Looks like the concept of “god” in the book and movie The Shack is spreading. Fiction and fantasy have merged. J.K. Rowling, author of the occult Harry Potter series of books, popular reading among even many Christians, has announced that like The Shack, she believes “God is a Black Woman.” (Rowling’s declaration, as well as The Shack‘s fiction, reminds me of The Black Madonna.) Continue reading →

CNN Promotes Children’s Book with Gay-Married Santa Claus

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(Breitbart) CNN’s relentless campaign to destroy the innocence of young children marched on this weekend with a lengthy Sunday morning New Day segment promoting a children’s book that depicts Santa Claus as a homosexual who is married to another man.

Above a chyron that read, “Children’s Holiday Book Explores Race, Homosexuality,” New Day co-anchor Christi Paul declared the book a “fresh, new twist” and then appeared to lament the fact that “there are some families though, tsk, not so happy about the book’s maybe not so hidden agenda.” View article →

Did a False Teacher Heal You?

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , , ,

(Costi Hinn – Defining Deception) A few years ago an excited woman in her 20’s ran up to me one Sunday at church – she was a newer attendee who had been kicking the tires on our church for a few weeks when my last name must have clicked. It’s not like we talk about it every Sunday at Mission Bible –  our members don’t really care. We have a lot of important ministry to do and I’m just another one of the pastors. But sometimes it comes out in conversations and you never know what you’re going to get. Angry ex-faith-healer-enthusiast who threatens a shake down if I don’t pay them back what my uncle stole from them?  Excited believer who came out of the jaws of deception like me? It’s hit or miss. Continue reading →

Pennsylvania ‘Pro-Life’ Bill Would Have Allowed Dismemberment of Unborn if Baby Killed First

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(Christian News) Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed on Monday a bill that would have banned abortions after 20 weeks, but also would have allowed dismemberment of the unborn up to that point as long as the baby was first killed by another method, such as being “injected by saline to cause its death before its arms and legs are ripped off.” View article →

Doing Church Away from Church isn’t Church

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , ,

Church means something specific in the New Testament.

(Eric Davis – The Cripplegate) Maybe you’ve heard it. “We can’t make it to church today, so we’ll just do church as a family.” “I can just do church on a hike this morning in God’s creation.” “The church is really the people, so we can do church wherever. God is everywhere, after all.”

Do we really need to go to a building on a certain day for it to count as doing church? If so, isn’t that legalistic?

Continue reading →

Bethel’s house of cards; tarot-rists leading people to Baal/Jezebel by practicing occultism in God’s name

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , ,

(Churchwatch Central) If the people of Bethel really read their bibles, they would notice that Jesus was very judgmental at times. Consider these words of Jesus to one of the churches in Revelation:

“But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.” Revelation 2:20

Continue reading →

College Drinking Culture Must Change — Our Kids’ Lives Are at Stake

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , ,

Our nation’s college students are abusing alcohol and other drugs in ways that threaten their health, their safety, and their academic success.

(Michael A. Fitts – Lifezette) This is the time of year that many college students return home to see family and friends, and to face nosy but well-meaning questions about school. Just as everyone at the holiday table will press them for information, students will be trying to assert some independence. View article →

Computer models of global warming proven wrong

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(World) In the midst of gloom-and-doom predictions of rapid climate change, a recent study shows computer models grossly overestimate the rate of global warming. The study, published in the Asia-Pacific Journal of Atmospheric Sciences, shows real-world climate change over the past 38 years is 0.096 degrees Celsius, about half of what computer models predict. View article →

Does Jesus’ Reference to Eunuchs Affirm Transgender People?

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , ,

(A. Philip Brown, II Answers In Genesis) In a recent Huffington Post article, Mark Olmstead claims that, according to Jesus, some people are born transgender and that expressing transgender identity behaviorally is no big deal. In Olmstead’s view, people who panic, demonize, or make a fuss about nontraditional categories of gender expression should just “get over it.” To justify his claim, Olmstead appeals to Jesus’ statement regarding eunuchs in Matthew 19:12 (NASB). Specifically, he asserts that the phrase “eunuchs, who were born so from their mother’s womb” may legitimately be understood to include traditional eunuchs, intersex persons, and transgender persons.

Continue reading →

Catholic League: ‘Homosexuals Committed Most of the Abuse’

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(CNS News) Commenting on an Australian commission report that recommends ending mandatory celibacy of priests in the Catholic Church to apparently curtail sexual abuse, Catholic League President Bill Donohue said this possibly is Australia’s way of saying there are too many homosexuals in the Catholic clergy, and he added that in the United States “homosexuals committed most of the abuse” in the church over the last 50 years.  View article →

California Health Officials Release Guidelines To Avoid Cellphone Radiation

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(CBS San Francisco) California health officials have a new message for cellphone users.

For the first time ever, the California Department of Public Health has released guidelines about harmful cellphone radiation and how you can avoid it.

Dr. Karen Smith with the California Department Of Public Health said, “We recognize that there are a lot of people in the general public that have some concerns about their cellphones and whether using a cellphone is safe.”  View article →

Federal Judge Blocks Trump Administration’s Rollback of Obamacare’s HHS Contraceptive Mandate

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(Breitbart) A federal judge in Pennsylvania has blocked the Trump administration’s new rule on Obamacare’s contraceptive mandate that exempts employers with religious or moral objections to providing contraception and abortion-inducing drugs and devices to employees through health insurance plans.

U.S. District Judge Wendy Beetlestone, an Obama appointee, said Friday that the state was “likely to suffer serious and irreparable harm” if she did not order a preliminary injunction.   View article →