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

Resolutions: 6 Ways God Could Sanctify You in the New Year

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , ,

Should Christians make New Year’s resolutions? “Is it OK to set a goal to get a certain area of our lives under better control?” asks Bible study author, speaker and blogger Michelle Lesley. In this piece, Lesley offers 6 ways for believers who desire to achieve conformity to the image of God to get there this year. One thing on the list that shouldn’t surprise anyone is daily prayer time, as prayer brings believers into conformity to God’s will in their lives.  So she suggests that God’s people set a daily block of time aside and communicate with Him through prayer.

Here are 5 more goals Michelle Lesley urges Christians to consider: Continue reading →

Leftists Declare War on Thomas the Train

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ ,

(Gamaliel Isaac – American Thinker) A conservative cynic from birth, I foolishly thought I had seen it all when it came to leftist madness. But then I saw, posted on CNN’s website, “Why kids love ‘fascist’ cartoons like ‘Paw Patrol’ and ‘Thomas’.” The article referenced several other articles that described Thomas as “a premodern corporate-totalitarian dystopia,” “imperialist racist and sinister,” and “classist, sexist, and anti-environmentalist.”

This caught my attention because my six-year-old boy — like children all over the world — loves stories of Thomas the Train. I recently took my children to Thomasland in Massachusetts and now my boy wants to visit the Thomasland in Japan. The Thomas cartoon is so popular that 1 billion dollars of merchandise related to the show is sold every year. Continue reading →

Seven Celebrities Who Made Fools of Themselves in 2017

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ , , ,

(Zachery Leeman – LifeZette) Prominent Hollywood figures spread fake news, bullied kids, tried (and failed) to take the moral high ground — and plenty more

The year 2017 was hardly a “best foot forward” period for Hollywood celebs.

The entertainment industry became increasingly political and aggressive toward average Americans during the first year of the Trump presidency — and celebs made fools of themselves as they abandoned common sense amid their red-hot anger over the results of the 2016 presidential election.  View article →

The Top 10 Child Corruption Trends of 2017

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , , ,

(Linda Harvey – Mission America) As we look back on 2017, how did our children fare?

Unfortunately, the risk to America’s youth of deliberate corruption is escalating and along with that, the responsibility of parents and public officials to change this picture.

I am not trying to overly sensationalize what’s happening. The facts alone do that. My goal is motivation with prayer points and action steps. Folks, prayer alone is not enough. We must get involved, confront this evil and make it go away.

Here are my Top Ten Child Corruption Trends during last year, hoping they do not continue: Continue reading →

Open Occultism and Millennial Magik

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , ,

Here’s an idea. Instead of Christian missionaries heading off to third world countries to evangelize the lost, why not remain at home and evangelize college students. As it turns out, many institutions of higher learning promote paganism; thus, a large number of college educated millennials have bought into pagan beliefs, hook line and sinker. They’re involved in occult practices like astrology, tarot card reading, aura reading, palmistry, Runes, charms, potions, they play the Ouija board game and so on and so forth. In other words, college students are practicing the magik arts, what is commonly called witchcraft. Continue reading →

Where Is Wisdom?

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

But where can wisdom be found? Where does understanding dwell? Man does not comprehend its worth; it cannot be found in the land of the living (Job 28:12-13).

Job points out the elusiveness of wisdom. What is this wisdom Job is talking about? All through this book we have been confronted with the question, Why does God treat Job this way? But we have information that Job does not have. He has no knowledge of Satan’s challenge to God regarding him, and so his questioning is even deeper than ours. But we often feel this way ourselves. …  View article →

Christian Research Network 2017 Top 10 Articles

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ ,

The following are Christian Research Network’s 2017 top 10 posts. But before we get to that, we want to thank those of you who use CRN, not just to do Research, but to start your day with our Devotion/teaching, or simply to catch up on the News.  Or you might visit CRN to read an informative Opinion piece so that you’ll be up on what’s affecting/infecting the visible Church. It doesn’t matter what your reason is, we’re grateful!  And because many of you share whatever happens to grab your attention, we know CRN’s on the right track!

From the beginning, the aim of this blog has been to direct readers back to Jesus Christ and His life, death and resurrection for sinners, as revealed in the scriptures. Nothing will change in that regard — but other changes are definitely coming in 2018 — so stay turned!

2017 TOP 10 ARTICLES 

1.     Insight Into the Lunacy of Bethel Supernatural School of Ministry

2.     Joyce Meyer Teaching the ‘Relationship Over Religion’ Heresy

3.     Saddleback Church Statement Appears to Downplay Role of Alleged Molester Ruben Meulenberg

4.     Saddleback Youth worker Reuben Meulenberg Charged With 5 Felony Counts – Saddleback Remaining Tight Lipped On Staff Issue

5.     Bible Answer Man Hank Hanegraaff Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy

6.     The Beth Moore Cornucopia of False Doctrine, Mysticism, and Impasioned Frenzy

7.     Who Cares About Hillsong Pastor Carl Lentz Slamming Shots With Justin Bieber

8.     The Photo That Lost Radio’s ‘Bible Answer Man’ Thousands of Listeners

9.     Hillsong, Bethel Music and the Great Seduction

10.  5 Most Ridiculous Books to Ever Become Christian Bestsellers

2017 TOP 10 ARTICLES WITH THE MOST HITS — some of these articles were posted several years ago. They’re still relevant today.   Continue reading →

The Five Biggest Pop Culture Stories of the Year

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ , ,

(LifeZette) From Hollywood scandals with stars like Kevin Spacey to celebs taking their Trump hate too far, it’s been a shocking time

This was the year that never slowed down or quieted down — especially in the world of pop culture.

It’s also hard these days for a news story of almost any kind to pass without a reaction from a celebrity in one way or another.

There are arguably more eyes on the entertainment industry than ever before, and the easier access to content and social media bridges the gap between consumer and creator today — so pop culture stories are more widely spread and consumed by Americans now. View article →

‘We’ve Prayed About It’: Professing ‘Christian’ Couple Refuses Woman’s Pleas Not to Abort Baby

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ ,

(Christian News Network) A viral video posted to social media on Friday shows a man and woman who professed to be Christians declining a woman’s pleas not to abort their baby, stating that the child would interfere with their plans and that they had “prayed about” the matter.

While the background behind the video, such as the location of the recording, has not been divulged, the footage captures the nearly seven-minute conversation between the young couple and a woman named Kate. View article →

Trump White House Celebrates 50 Years of Kenneth Copeland’s Ministry

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ , , ,

(Pulpit & Pen News – Important) With Paula White as Trump’s closest religious adviser, it’s been odd to watch his proximity to the strangest of religious leaders. Donald Trump and America’s craziest charismatics make for strange bed-fellows (a term one has to use cautiously, given the frequency with which Paula White changes literal bed-fellows, from her public affair with already-married Benny Hinn to her serial divorce and remarriages). Having been purportedly led to Christ by Paula White herself, Trump has made a showing of the support he’s enjoyed from Jim Bakker to Rodney Howard- Browne (both of whom have been invited to the White House). Most recently, he has shown his support of Kenneth Copeland. View article →

New Research Shows Increased Risks of Same-sex Parenting

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ , ,

This article is posted for informational purposes and not as an endorsement of ChristianHeadlines.com

Contrary to the narrative pushed by academia and the mainstream media, there is increasing evidence that same-sex parenting has negative effects on children.

An article published last month by Catholic University of America sociology professor Paul Sullins found children with same-sex parents suffer emotional problems two to three times as often as children raised by opposite-sex parents. View article →

Disney Staff Can Enter Your Hotel Room for Any Purpose

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙

Well this is disturbing. According to LifeZette:

Walt Disney World has rolled out an updated security policy requiring its staff to enter guests’ hotel rooms daily, according to a report in Walt Disney World Today (WDWT). And a related policy includes replacing the traditional “Do Not Disturb” doorknob tags with tags reading “Room Occupied.”

Regardless of the presence or absence of any tag, Disney’s terms of service now state that “the hotel and its staff reserve the right to enter your room for any purposes.” Continue reading →

Evangelical rebel Jen Hatmaker deserved more from Politico than a puff piece

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , , ,

Journalist and author Julia Duin argues that Politico’s recent piece on “evangelical” Jen Hatmaker, who has become firmly ensconced in the Religious Left, didn’t get anywhere near the same scrutiny as those on the Religious Right receive in the articles written about them. “Why didn’t the writer of this fluff maintain at least some journalistic distance from her subject?” demands Duin. “There was zero attempt (that I could discern) to get an opposing point of view and whoever edited it didn’t demand even a hint of objectivity from the reporter.”

In this piece over at Get Religion, Duin reveals why a large number of evangelical women feel betrayed by the woman they were led to believe shared their biblical worldview. She writes: Continue reading →

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

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ , ,

(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

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

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

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ ,

(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 →