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

Trump Administration to Keep Intact Obama Order on Homosexual, Transgender Protections

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According to Christian News:

The Trump administration announced on Tuesday that it plans to retain Barack Obama’s 2014 order banning federal contractors from engaging in “discrimination” in employment matters against homosexual and transgendered persons.

“President Trump continues to be respectful and supportive of LGBTQ rights, just as he was throughout the election,” the White House said in a statement. “The president is proud to have been the first ever GOP nominee to mention the LGBTQ community in his nomination acceptance speech, pledging then to protect the community from violence and oppression.”

“The executive order signed in 2014, which protects employees from anti-LGBTQ workplace discrimination while working for federal contractors, will remain intact at the direction of President Donald J. Trump,” it outlined.

Obama’s order, #13672, amended a 1969 order by then-President Richard Nixon which prohibited federal contractors from discriminating based on “race, color, religion, sex, national origin, handicap and age,” as well as a 1998 order from then-President Bill Clinton adding “sexual orientation” to the list.

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NAR Prophets claim the three streams will be one

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Berean Research reports on what the NAR “apostles” and “prophets” are up to that includes some really bizarre “prophetic utterances.” Sadly, a growing number of undiscerning Christians are becoming followers of these wolves in sheep’s clothing. Video is provided for those who have a strong stomach:

What’s with the streams?

Several “thus saith the Lord” prophecies about three hyper-Charismatic, New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) empires merging is interesting, given it is coming from several different “prophets.”  The predictions alleged to come straight from God’s own mouth say that the three conglomerates, Bill Johnson’s Bethel Church in Redding, California, Mike Bickle’s International House of Prayer (IHOP) empire, and the Toronto church are three rivers that must flow into one.

The original oracle was spawned several years ago by Patricia Bootsma, lead pastorix at the Airport Campus church at Catch The Fire Toronto.

Here’s prophetess Carol Arnott recapping that “word,” stating that Bootsma told her: “Carol, the three rivers, Kansas City, Redding and Toronto, must come together. The three rivers must come together for what God wants to do in this next move,” Arnott remembered. source  (Careful; watching past the first 30 seconds will keep you up at night.)

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Trump Threatens to Cancel Berkeley Federal Funds After Riots Shut Down Event

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Last night unhinged liberal students started a riot to shut down free speech at the University of California-Berkeley.  Breitbart reports on the sad state of college campuses in our nation.

President Donald Trump reacted to the massive rioting at UC-Berkeley in response to a scheduled campus speech by Breitbart News editor Milo Yiannopoulos.

“If U.C. Berkeley does not allow free speech and practices violence on innocent people with a different point of view – NO FEDERAL FUNDS?” Trump wrote on Twitter early Thursday morning.

News of the rioting made cable news last night as students smashed ATMs and bank windows, looted a Starbucks,beat Trump supporters, pepper sprayed innocent individuals, and set fires in the street. Others spray painted the words “Kill Trump” on storefronts.

The speech was canceled by UC-Berkeley police as security failed. Yiannopoulos was evacuated from the area.

“The left is profoundly antithetical to free speech these days, does not want to hear alternative points of view, and will do anything to shut it down,” Yiannopoulos told Fox News host Tucker Carlson in an interview on Wednesday night. “My point is being proven over and over and over again.”

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Tongues: The Final Word … Was Not Ecstatic Gibberish

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Bud Ahlheim of Pulpit & Pen tackles the speaking in tongues debate. Is the gift of tongues extant today? Are the tongues being manifested today the same as the tongues in the New Testament? Must the hearer understand the utterance?  Ahlheim answers these questions and many others.  He writes:

Right now, today, there are more than 670 million people on the planet who claim adherence to charismatic theology. They outnumber non-charismatic evangelicals almost two-to-one. While the theological perspective of the charismatic movement is an interpretation of Scripture which claims to validate the continuation of the apostolic “signs and wonders” gifts of the Holy Spirit, the overwhelming practical feature of charismatic churches is the modern exhibition of “tongues.”  As Morgan Freeman said, tongue-speaking practitioners believe they are speaking “the language of heaven.”

The sheer preponderance of the practice of tongues in the modern church, considered in light of the warning from Christ about the wide, easy gate that leads to destruction, (Matthew 7:13-14) demands that the practice must be given diligent, Berean-like examination against what Scripture actually teaches. We must know if what we see in the charismatic movement is an authentic feature of the narrow, hard way, or whether it is merely an emotionally appealing trait of the wide path deceptively introduced by an enemy who seeks to “steal, kill, and destroy.” (John 10:10)  The author of Hebrews provides the weighty admonition that we “must pay closer attention” to the revelation of divine truth given “by his Son.”

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Silence: movie promotes Contemplative Spirituality and sanctions apostasy

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C.H. Fisher over at Truthkeepers reviews “Silence” that hit theaters this past December. He points out that what many people, including professing Christians, will miss is that, although the film is presented as true Christianity, it is actually Roman Catholicism  which Fisher demonstrates in his review:

“Silence” is the latest movie by Martin Scorsese, who also produced “The Last Temptation of Christ.” I have read several reviews by professing Christians who are recommending it without reservations. Additionally, the Dove Foundation awarded the movie 4 out of 5 doves. Charisma News asks, “Is Martin Scorsese’s ‘Silence’ Prophetic?” CBN also presented a rave review. Christianity Today entitled its review, “Scorsese’s ‘Silence’ Asks What It Really Costs to Follow Jesus.”

Another review in CT is entitled, “Silence Review: Hollywood’s Gift To The Church That Might Just Save Your Faith.” And what is the message of “Silence” that might save your life? The message of the movie is antithetical to true faith.

The title of Lumindeo’s review of the movie is, “Silence—A Christian’s Contemplative Guide.” [1] In the “About” section of the Lumindeo website it is described as “a network created by and for passionate followers of Jesus Christ.” If Lumindeo consists of passionate followers of Jesus Christ, why don’t they know that Christianity never grew in apostasy, but always in persecution and martyrdom?

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See our Research Papers on Roman Catholicism and Contemplative Prayer

Trump Chooses Episcopalian Neil Gorsuch as U.S. Supreme Court Nominee

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Christian News reports:

President Trump has announced that he has nominated 10th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Neil Gorsuch to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court as the replacement for the late Justice Antonin Scalia.

“Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline and has earned bipartisan support,” Trump stated in introducing his pick to the public Tuesday night.

“Mr. President, I am honored and I am humbled. Thank you very much,” Gorsuch, an Episcopalian, said to applause in accepting the nomination.

Gorsuch, now 49, had been nominated to the 10th Circuit in 2006 by then-President George W. Bush. He was a graduate of Harvard Law School and has a PhD. from Oxford. He served as a clerk under current Justice Anthony Kennedy.

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Why We Should Not Fear Satan and Demons

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Crossway has a post by John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue that’s adapted from “Biblical Doctrine: A Systematic Summary of Bible Truth”:

Are Demons in the World Today?

Why do demons sometimes receive so much attention from the media? Are the reports biblically correct, or are they just the musings of uninformed people who see a demon behind every bush and under every rock? Has demon activity accelerated in the world? How can one know which concepts are biblically accurate and which are not?

This subject deserves a full-length book, but it will only be summarized here. Consider several preliminary, general observations:

  1. We affirm the historical reality of Satan and demons, both in the past and in the present, as verified by the Bible.
  2. We affirm that the Bible admonishes Christians to expect Satan and demons to operate now much as they did in both Old Testament and New Testament times (1 Pet. 5:6–11).
  3. We affirm that the Bible teaches that, in living out the Christian life, one will experience real spiritual battle with Satan and his army of demons.
  4. We affirm that Scripture alone, independent of personal experience or clinical data, will truthfully determine the reality of demonic experiences and provide an understanding of encounters with Satan and demons.
  5. We affirm that instructions in the New Testament Epistles on how to conduct spiritual warfare were not limited to the first century (Eph. 6:10–20).

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Scientists Have Unlocked the Code That Turns Genes On and Off

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Now that scientists have gene editing ability they’ll have the means to practice eugenics. To make this discovery easier for the public to swallow, researchers prefer telling us that they’ll be able to find ways to prevent diseases….if that’s truly their goal. Time will tell what our future holds. Futurism has the story:

A DNA sequence code critical to our understanding of how human genes are turned on and off has just been unlocked by a team of scientists. Molecular biologists refer to this code as the “human initiator.” Ever since it was first observed back in the 80s, the human initiator was believed to play a significant role in gene activation, given that it commonly occurs at the start sites of genes.

Since then, numerous attempts were made to sequence the elusive code—but none were able to do so successfully until today, when scientists from University of California – San Diego were able to confirm the code responsible for initiating transcription and regulation of more than half of human genes.

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Boy Scouts Will Allow Transgender Children

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Associated Press reports:

The Boy Scouts of America announced Monday that it will allow transgender children who identify as boys to enroll in its boys only programs.

The organization said it had made the decision to begin basing enrollment in its boys-only programs on the gender a child or parent lists on the application to become a scout. The Boy Scouts had previously held a policy that relied on the gender listed on a child’s birth certificate for those programs.

The organization’s leadership had considered a recent case in Secaucus, New Jersey, where an 8-year-old transgender child had been asked to leave his Scout troop after parents and leaders found out he is transgender. But the statement issued Monday said the change was made because of the larger conversation about gender identity going on around the country.

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Refugee Hysteria Obscures Order’s Reasonable Goal

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Dan Cadman expresses his disapproval of the “apocalyptic rhetoric and rowdy protests” that were held over what he believes are sensible safety precautions by the White House.  The writer admits:

The White House might have done a better job of rolling out this EO and so avoided some of the trauma and drama…

But!

in the end, it affected a total (at current figures) of 173 persons denied boarding and 109 held up at entry ports out of the hundreds of thousands who entered the United States in the past couple of days. Most of those 109 were kept a period of hours and then released.

Cadman puts the kerfuffle in perspective in a piece he wrote for LifeZette:

Following promulgation of the most recent executive order from the White House, establishing a 90-day suspension for visa issuance or entry into the U.S. of alien nationals from certain specified high-risk countries (Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen), all hell broke loose.

Actually, the EO contains many significant facets, but most of them got lost in the shouting that prevailed.

Rowdy demonstrations were held at international airports and city centers in various parts of the country; international leaders issued solemn denunciations; three lawsuits were filed and temporary stays issued to enjoin that part of the EO which might result in actual removal of an alien who was in transit when it was issued, and arrived subsequently at a port of entry, and one even to enjoin detention and directing Customs and Border Protection to tell airlines to permit affected travelers to board — although both are probably judicial overreach given the government’s broad powers at U.S. borders.

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Responses to the Most Frequently Raised Discernment Objections

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Bible study author, speaker and blogger Michelle Lesley responds to those who take her to task for “naming names.” Her answer to #6 “You’re being unkind, unloving, ungodly, divisive, hateful, self-righteous, mean, critical, etc. for calling out false teachers” is spot on.  You will find Michelle’s responses to the opposition a great help in contending with scoffers.  She writes:

Discernment- it’s a dirty job, but somebody’s gotta do it. While I’m a women’s discipleship blogger rather than a discernment blogger, discernment is part of discipleship. And it’s sorely lacking among Christian women today, which is why it’s regularly featured in my writing.

I’ve been very encouraged by the hundreds of e-mails, messages, and comments I’ve received from women who have turned away from false teachers or helped their loved ones and churches to forsake false doctrine because of something I have written. (I claim absolutely no credit for that. God and His word get all the glory. He is the one who changes hearts, not me.) It’s such a blessing to hear from so many women who are actively pursuing Christ and the truth of His word.

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Chili’s Cancels ‘Give Back’ Fundraiser for Planned Parenthood Affiliate Following Complaints

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Christian News reports what can happen when patrons express their displeasure:

The restaurant chain Chili’s has canceled a fundraiser set up by a franchise partner for an affiliate of the abortion giant Planned Parenthood after receiving complaints over the matter.

Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky had announced on social media last week that supporters throughout the two states could present a voucher when dining at Chili’s and 15 percent of their pre-tax purchase would be donated to Planned Parenthood.

The promotion was a part of Chili’s “Give Back” program.

“Here’s why you should go to happy hour,” the organization wrote. “Show this flyer at any Chili’s Bar and Grill in Indiana and Kentucky, and the restaurant will donate 15% of your check to PPINK! The promotion lasts now through March.”

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Trump: Christian Refugees ‘Horribly Treated,’ ‘We Are Going to Help Them’

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Breitbart reports:

In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network recorded on Thursday, but set to air in full on Sunday, President Trump said Christian refugees have been “horribly treated” and “we are going to help them.”

“The refugee changes that you’re looking to make, as it relates to persecuted Christians, do you see them as kind of a priority here?” CBN’s David Brody asked the President.

“Yes,” Trump replied. “They’ve been horribly treated.”

“Do you know if you were a Christian in Syria it was impossible – or at least very, very tough – to get in to the United States?” he asked. “If you were a Muslim, you could come in. But if you were Christian, it was almost impossible.”

“And the reason that was so unfair, is that everybody was persecuted in all fairness, they were chopping off the heads of everybody, but more so the Christians. I thought it was very, very unfair,” Trump continued. “So we are going to help them.”

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Researchers Experiment Creation of Human-Pig ‘Chimera Embryos’ to Address Shortage of Donor Organs

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According to Christian News:

Photo credit: The Scientist

A team of biologists at the Salk Institute in California has reportedly created the first-ever human-pig chimeras in an effort to test the idea of growing organs in animals that can later be used in human transplants.

“This biomedical advance has long been a dream and a quandary for scientists hoping to address a critical shortage of donor organs,” National Geographic writes. “Every ten minutes, a person is added to the national waiting list for organ transplants. And every day, 22 people on that list die without the organ they need. What if, rather than relying on a generous donor, you could grow a custom organ inside an animal instead?”

The concept of creating the hybrids, which are less than .001 percent human, involves injecting human stem cells collected from the patient’s skin inside of a small pig embryo, which is then implanted in a sow. The organ, grown for one month, would then be harvested from the pig and transplanted into the waiting patient.

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Trump Kicks Off a Pro-Life Presidency

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LifeZette reports:

Photo credit: LifeNews

On Friday, Vice-President Mike Pence became the first vice-president or president to address the March for Life in its 44-year history.

“Life is winning in America,” Pence boomed to a thrilled exuberant crowd. “Life is winning again,” he repeated. “We will not rest until we restore a culture of life in America” Mr. Pence said, a statement that was met by deafening cheers.

“We will continue to win the hearts and minds of the rising generation if our hearts first break for young mothers and their unborn children,” he promised.

The importance of a senior administration official — the vice president himself no less — addressing the March for Life, and the support the march has received from Trump himself cannot be overstated.

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Heresy-neutics: A Review of ‘Destined To Win’ by Kris Vallotton

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Bud Ahlheim of Pulpit & Pen reviews a book by “noted prophetic voice” Kris Vallotton whose the Senior Associate Leader of the nefarious Bethel Church in Redding, CA.

The endorsements alone are enough to warrant a “Warning: Heretical & Hermeneutical Danger Ahead” notice on its cover.  With glowing endorsements from the likes of “apostle” Mike Bickle, Jesus Culture founder Banning Liebscher, Ted Dekker, Che Ahn, Heidi Baker, and Shawn Bolz, there is little doubt that Destined To Win is borne of a “wide path” false theology.  Add the obligatory laudation from Vallotton’s cohort in charlatanry, Bill Johnson – whom Vallotton compares to Moses – and the assurance that the book will distort and defile the truth of God is more manifest than fake Holy Ghost gold dust blowing through Bethel Church’s air ducts.

Kris Vallotton, the author of this “everything God does is about you” tome, is the “senior associate leader of Bethel Church and co-founder of Bethel School of Ministry, where he has served with Bill Johnson for more than three decades.”  This just goes to prove that one can spend decades in the “Jesus biz,” presumably surrounded by Bibles, (serving primarily as visual aids to prop up the “Christianized” illusion of Bethel’s otherwise heretical endeavors) and still not apprehend Biblical truth.  As Jesus told Nicodemus, “You must be born again.”  (John 3:7)

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Forty-Four Years and Sixty Million Dead Babies

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Conservative radio host and activist Chuck Baldwin penned a provocative blog post to bring attention to the 60 million womb babies who have lost their lives to abortionists since Roe v Wade became the law of the land.  Baldwin believes the slaughter of babies could have been stopped decades ago. In his piece he lays into the Republican Party and pro-life groups like Focus On The Family and National Right To Life Committee for their opposition to former Senator Ron Paul’s “Sanctity of Life” Act and state personhood bills. Their reasoning? “Since it was a Supreme Court ruling that instituted abortion-on-demand, we must wait for the U.S. Supreme Court to issue a ruling reversing the decision.”

Balderdash! says Baldwin. He writes:

Last Sunday, January 22, was the forty-fourth anniversary of the Roe v Wade and Doe v Bolton Supreme Court decisions legalizing abortion-on-demand. Since those dreadful decisions, nearly sixty million helpless, innocent unborn babies have been mercilessly slaughtered in the wombs of their mothers.

Think about it: an American fifty years of age or younger has no conscious recollection of a country where abortion-on-demand was NOT legal. And the truth is, both major parties and the vast majority of America’s pastors and churches are equally culpable for this slaughter of innocents.

The Republican Party touts itself as being “pro-life.” The claim is so much hot air. The GOP controlled the entire federal government for six of G.W. Bush’s eight years in office. They did nothing about Roe. This in spite of the fact that every year Congressman Ron Paul would introduce the “Sanctity of Life” Act; and every year the GOP leadership in Congress let the bill collect dust in the document room and die. And President Bush never once voiced his support for the bill. NOT ONCE. The bill was never voted on by a congressional committee, much less by the Congress as a whole.

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ISIS magazine calls for attack on First Baptist Dallas

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First Baptist church is led by Pastor Robert Jeffress who’s one of the Religious Right leaders that vigorously campaigned for Donald Trump and helped get him elected. According to Dallas News:

Islamic State radicals have named Dallas’ First Baptist church as a potential target for an attack.

A digital ISIS propaganda magazine, Rumiyah, earlier this month included photos of the downtown church in an article urging ISIS followers to carry out arson attacks, according to KXAS-TV (NBC5).

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Top Divinity Schools: Use Gender-Neutral Language to Refer to God

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Um, in John 1:18 the Lord Jesus refers to God as Father not mother. And His prayers began with Father not mother.  More importantly, it was God who chose to reveal Himself as male as we find only masculine pronouns in Scripture.  But in spite of all this, some divinity schools have made the decision to avoid gender specific pronouns when discussing God and suggest using the term God and Godself instead of God with himself. Katherine Timpf takes issue with America’s obsession over political correctness in a piece she penned for National Review. She writes:

The divinity schools at Duke and Vanderbilt Universities have instructed their professors to start using more “inclusive” language when referring to God because the masculine pronouns “have served as a cornerstone of the patriarchy.” For example: This year’s divinity course catalogue at Vanderbilt tells professors to give “consistent attention to the use of inclusive language, especially in relation to the Divine,” because the school “commits continuously and explicitly to include gender as an analyzed category and to mitigate sexism.”

“It is up to the individual professor’s interpretation for their classes and is suggestive rather than mandatory,” the associate dean for academic affairs at Vanderbilt’s divinity school, Melissa Snarr, said in an e-mail to Heat Street. Now, that may sound fair, but in many cases, it’s really not up to the professor. For example, if we are talking about the Christian God, every single reference to Him in the Bible uses a masculine pronoun . . . which kind of gives you the vibe that Christians have decided that their god is a dude. The fact is, teaching anything else would be giving inaccurate information — which is what makes Duke’s particular guidelines even more absurd.

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Apostate ‘Elder Team’ Welcomes Homosexuals ‘In Any and All Levels of Leadership’ After ‘Seeking Unity’

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Christian News reports:

Members of the elder team of Denver Community Church (DCC) announced this week that following a two-year discussion period, and out of a desire to “seek unity,” they have decided to allow homosexuals and transgenders to have full inclusion, permitting them to serve “in any and all levels of leadership.”

DCC is led by Michael Hidalgo, and its elders are comprised of both men and women who “have determined to live in the ways of Jesus,” according to the DCC website.

On Sunday, members of the elder team announced to the congregation that they have decided to allow homosexuals and transgenders to serve in leadership roles. They also released a public video the following day explaining the announcement, as well as the two-year discussion period that led to their conclusion.

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Abortion Science: Heartbeats Are Imaginary, Unborn Babies Aren’t Alive, And Ultrasounds Are Just Tools Of The Patriarchy

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Sean Davis of The Federalist goes after the writer of a featured piece in The Atlantic who makes the ludicrous claim that a baby growing in its mother’s womb is not actually a baby and that the baby isn’t really alive. Davis writes:

Forget the war on babies. The abortion industry has a new enemy: ultrasounds. In a bizarre and rambling 2,600-word feature piece published on Tuesday, The Atlantic writer Moira Weigel took a sledgehammer to basic science and then did her best to vacuum its brains out before anyone could figure out what just happened.

The article’s headline is bad enough—”How the Ultrasound Pushed the Idea That a Fetus Is a Person”—but its subhed is the real work of art: “The technology has been used to create an ‘imaginary’ heartbeat and sped-up videos that falsely depict a response to stimulus.”

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God Hates Deceit

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According to blogger and author Tim Challies, “God reserves words like ‘hate,’ ‘abomination,’ and ‘despise’ to describe the sins for which he has the greatest revulsion. In his series on the things God hates, Challies delves into God’s hatred for deceit. Deceit, he says, “is the natural condition of those whose hearts are in rebellion against God.” Moreover, “deceit is a sure sign of our depravity.” In this installment, Tim Challies walks us through what it looks like when a person is in rebellion against God. He writes:

The Bible leaves no doubt that God hates deceit. Three times in the book of Proverbs he states it bluntly. In Proverbs 6 we read a list of “six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him,” and two of them relate to deceit: “a lying tongue” and “a false witness who breathes out lies” (17, 19). Proverbs 12:22 echoes the theme: “Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, but those who act faithfully are his delight” (Proverbs 12:22).

Zechariah adds that God hates the kind of deceit that takes shape in false oaths, saying, “do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the LORD” (Zechariah 8:17). As we assemble the evidence, it becomes clear: God hates any concealment of the truth, any denial of the truth, or any misrepresentation of the truth.

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US House Votes to Permanently Ban Taxpayer Funding of Abortion

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Christian News reports:

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act on Tuesday, essentially placing a permanent ban on taxpayer funding of abortions, as outlined in the Hyde Amendment. The matter now moves to the Senate for consideration.

The Act had been introduced by Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, a longtime supporter of the Amendment, which was first passed in 1976 to ban the use of Medicaid funds for abortion, with the exceptions of rape, incest and the life of the mother. Noting peer reviewed studies, Smith says that the Amendment has saved two million lives since its inception.

“Two million people who would have been aborted instead survived because public funds were unavailable to effectuate their violent demise, while their mothers benefited from prenatal health care and support,” Smith said on the House floor prior to the vote. “Two million survivors have had the opportunity to live and enjoy the first and most basic of all human rights—the right to life.”

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Jerry Falwell Jr Embraces Prosperity Impastor, Paula White, calls Discerning Christians ‘Pharisaical’ and ‘Self-Righteous’

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According to the Polemics Report:

Jerry Falwell Junior ascended to the stage while a chant originating on the Jerry Springer show of “Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!” came from the crowd. He would then introduce the Word-of-Faith impastor, prosperity gospel teacher, and former mistress of Benny Hinn, and do so as though she were a sister in Christ.

Falwell would then go on to interview White’s third husband, who is a musician for the rock band, Journey, and who replaced her second husband – pastor Randy White – just a few years ago. White’s rockstar husband, Jonathan Cain, spoke of God’s anointing on his music career, and credited Jesus with his success. Cain’s musical career, with which he credits God, includes songs with lyrics like…

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Have Christians lost the art of biblical discernment?

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By Marsha West

What exactly is discernment? It means “to distinguish, to separate out by diligent search, to examine.”

Search…examine… “Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” (Acts 17:11, emphasis added) The Berean Christians didn’t take Paul’s word for anything. They listened to his teaching and then they went to the scriptures to see if what he taught was true.  Because the Bereans checked Paul’s teaching against Scripture, he commended them saying that they were “more noble than those in Thessalonica.”

Christians who are spiritually discerning are able to properly distinguish between true and false teaching. Those with discernment have wisdom. Moreover, in the Bible we’re told that a true believer possesses the mind of Christ. “The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. ‘For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:15-16)

According to Bible expositor Matthew Henry:

The apostles were not guided by worldly principles. They had the revelation of these things from the Spirit of God, and the saving impression of them from the same Spirit. These things they declared in plain, simple language, taught by the Holy Spirit, totally different from the affected oratory or enticing words of man’s wisdom. The natural man, the wise man of the world, receives not the things of the Spirit of God. The pride of carnal reasoning is really as much opposed to spirituality, as the basest sensuality. The sanctified mind discerns the real beauties of holiness, but the power of discerning and judging about common and natural things is not lost. But the carnal man is a stranger to the principles, and pleasures, and actings of the Divine life. The spiritual man only, is the person to whom God gives the knowledge of his will. … And the apostles were enabled by his Spirit to make known his mind. In the Holy Scriptures, the mind of Christ, and the mind of God in Christ, are fully made known to us. It is the great privilege of Christians, that they have the mind of Christ revealed to them by his Spirit. They experience his sanctifying power in their hearts, and bring forth good fruits in their lives. (Source – bold added)

Only the spiritual man (regenerate) possesses the knowledge of God’s will….because he has the mind of Christ.  Henry calls to our attention that it is through reading the scriptures that the spiritual man receives the knowledge of His will.

Before we move on, we must add a word of caution from blogger and author Tim Challies.  Speaking on discernment in “How can I increase my spiritual discernment?” he wrote:

Some have mistakenly defined spiritual discernment as a God-given awareness of evil or good spiritual presences—the ability to tell if a demon is in the room. While some people may possess this capability, it is not the biblical meaning of discernment. Spiritual discernment ultimately has to do with wisdom and the ability to distinguish truth from error.

So – how do Christians grow in spiritual discernment?  Two ways.  By allowing the Holy Spirit to be their guiding light; likewise, thorough carefully studying the Bible.

What should we do to determine if a person’s teaching is unbiblical? We are commanded to test what’s being taught. In fact, Paul urges believers to “test everything; hold fast what is good.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21) Likewise, John encourages us to “test the spirits to see whether they are from God.” How does one test a spirit?  By reading the scriptures, in context, for that’s where Truth is found. Why is “testing” so important? “For many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1) False prophets/teachers distort the truth….which is why the Bible refers to them as false teachers and wolves in sheep’s clothing.  It’s no exaggeration to say that a large number of charlatans knowingly—and without a smidgeon of guilt–lie through their teeth. Admittedly, examining someone’s teaching is no easy task.  But nowhere in Scripture are we told that it should be left to “professionals”; it is clearly our responsibility.

We mustn’t ignore the fact that any teaching that fails to line up with what the scriptures say is not from God! And if the Bible’s not the source of his/her teaching, most likely its source is the “spiritual forces of evil in heavenly places.”  Satan’s not called the father of lies because he’s a truth teller!

Far too many Christians rely on the discernment of other believers, like those of us involved in online discernment ministries. It’s okay to learn from each other (iron sharpens iron) but, again, we must do as the Bereans did – test!  Regrettably, when it comes to testing for errors, a growing number of professing Christians deserve a failing grade.

Because so many people spend a huge amount of time on one form of technology or another, it’s easy to see why the views so many evangelicals hold is derived from TV preachers, radio/podcast personalities, best-selling books, popular bloggers and even social media. Many individuals who claim to be evangelicals search religious TV networks such as TBN, Daystar and God TV looking for a spiritual fix.  Unbeknownst to them, they’re exposed to rank heresy taught by Word of Faith (WoF) teachers like Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, Paula White, Joyce Meyer, Fred Price, Creflo Dollar as well as “life coach” Joel Osteen.

If Christians would take the time to test those mentioned above, they’d discover that their teaching is decidedly unbiblical. The fact of the matter is that WoF is a theological cult. What often happens when this fact is pointed out to those who have bought into the teaching of these wolves is that they become defensive, even enraged, take aim and “shoot the messenger.”  Sadly, many professing Christians prefer to hold onto their conspiracy theories, unbiblical philosophies and their distorted view of Scripture than spend time studying the Bible, in context.  As the saying goes: Context, context, context!  Why?  For the reason that taking a verse out of its proper context leads to error. According to 2 Timothy 3:16, all Scripture is “God-breathed” which means that the words on the page are inspired by or come directly from God, not from the writers.  We’re commanded to read, study, and understand God’s Word.  But first we must pray and ask the Holy Spirit for guidance so that we are able to discern the things of God. (1 Corinthians 2:14) In John 16:13 we learn that the Spirit of truth guides us into all truth.

What about believers who claim that they hear directly from God, those who say “God spoke to me”…“God told me” to do …”I felt led to”…I sensed that God wanted me to___”  You fill in the blank.  “There is no divining of the will of God through feelings or extra-biblical visions or pictures that appear in our minds or voices we hear,” says Mike Ratliff. “God will never violate the truths He has given to us in His Word.”

Televangelists, who pretend to have a direct pipeline to God, prance around in front of the TV camera, claiming to hear a “word from the Lord.” At the risk of sounding divisive, most televangelists teach outright heresy (I can prove it), so why would God speak to them at all? Frauds should not expect to hear from God; they should expect to be rebuked by God.

What are we to do about false teachers?  We are to “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. (Ephesians 5:11) To expose means “to reprove with conviction upon the offender,” says Ratliff.  So we must point out to the offender their error.  And if they do not listen and repent? Then we “prove to the Body of Christ that this is so using the Word of God to show how they are not being obedient to God.” (Source)

The goal for every Christian is to eliminate aberrant and heretical teaching and all that this includes from Christ’s church. The only way for this to happen is for each of us to become a Berean.  So with this I mind, those who love the Lord Jesus must “contend [fight in its defense] for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” (Jude 1:3)

I’ll close with a quote from Dr. Albert Mohler:

The tragedy that evangelicals have lost the art of biblical discernment must be traced to a disastrous loss of biblical knowledge. Discernment cannot survive without doctrine.

Research

Discernment

CRN has compiled a list of false teachers and several other professing Christians we’ve warned you about over the years. The list also contains those we must keep an eye on plus movements, organizations and “frauds, phonies and money-grubbing religious quacks” to mark and avoid as per Romans 16:17-18

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