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 secures victory in Electoral College, as bid to flip electors flops

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According to Fox News:

President-elect Donald Trump won more than enough votes in the Electoral College on Monday to secure his White House victory, as the latest – and perhaps last – stop-Trump movement failed to gain traction in state capitals.

A fervent push by anti-Trump forces to persuade electors to defect had turned the normally mundane civic procedure into high drama.

But the representatives designated to cast ballots in accordance with their states’ Nov. 8 decision mostly adhered to the results of the election. With several states still voting, Trump had 304 votes and Hillary Clinton had 169.

It takes 270 Electoral College votes to win the presidency. Texas put Trump over the top, despite two Republican electors casting protest votes.

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At least 9 dead after truck plows into crowded Christmas market in Berlin; attack believed

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Fox News reports:

A truck plowed into a crowded Christmas market in Berlin on Monday killing at least nine people and injuring more than 50 people, police said.

Police said on Twitter that the truck rammed into the market outside the capital’s popular Christmas market at the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church on Monday evening.

At first glance, police said the incident appears to be an attack, but an investigation is underway, DPA reported.

Bild newspaper posted a picture of a large Scania truck with its windshield smashed out on the sidewalk alongside the market.

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‘Bad Beer or No Beer?’ R.C. Sproul, Jr., Who Advocated ‘Drinking Well,’ Arrested for Felony DUI

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Christian News Network has the story on what might be the reason R.C. Sproul Jr. suddenly resigned from his positions at Ligonier Ministries and Reformation Bible College:

Prominent Reformed theologian, author, speaker and former Presbyterian elder Dr. R.C. Sproul Jr., who once stated that one of his “favorite intellectual debates” is “[i]s bad beer better than no beer?” has resigned from his positions at his father’s Ligonier Ministries and Reformation Bible College a week after being arrested on felony DUI charges.

Ligonier Ministries released a statement about Sproul’s resignation on Monday, but only marked the departure as being for “personal reasons.”

“Last Friday, the board of directors of Ligonier Ministries and Reformation Bible College received and affirmed the resignation of Dr. R.C. Sproul Jr. He is stepping away from his duties at the ministry and the college for personal reasons,” it wrote. “This was communicated by phone to his father, Dr. R.C. Sproul, the founder of Ligonier Ministries and chancellor of Reformation Bible College, and it was later communicated in writing to the entire board of directors of Ligonier Ministries.”

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Liberty University to Open First On-Campus Firing Range in Nation

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Christian News Network reports:

Liberty University, which heralds itself as the world’s largest Christian university, is set to become the first educational institution in the nation to open an on-campus firing range.

“We have a very pro-Second Amendment student body,” President Jerry Falwell told the Washington Post this week.

He said that one of the reasons for the shooting range is because he believes those with malicious intent are more likely to carry out their attacks at facilities that are marked as “gun free zones.”

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R.C. Sproul Jr. Resigned From Ligonier Ministries After Felonious DUI Arrest With Minor in Vehicle

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Christian Post, a site we do not recommend, discloses the personal reasons R.C. Sproul Jr. resigned from Ligonier Ministries and Reformation Bible College:

Just over a week before he resigned from Ligonier Ministries for “personal reasons,” R.C. Sproul Jr., whose father Robert Charles Sproul founded the teaching fellowship ministry, was arrested in Indiana for driving under the influence with a minor in his vehicle.

A summary of the charges against Sproul provided by the Indiana court system shows that he was charged on four counts on Nov. 29.

Sproul was charge with two class A misdemeanors: operating a vehicle with alcohol concentration equivalent to .15 or more, and operating a vehicle while intoxicated, endangering a person. Under Indiana law both charges attract up to 365 days of jail time, probation for a year, and the suspension of a driver license for up to two years.

A summary of the charges against Sproul provided by the Indiana court system shows that he was charged on four counts on Nov. 29.

Sproul was charge with two class A misdemeanors: operating a vehicle with alcohol concentration equivalent to .15 or more, and operating a vehicle while intoxicated, endangering a person. Under Indiana law both charges attract up to 365 days of jail time, probation for a year, and the suspension of a driver license for up to two years.

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Must We Believe the Virgin Birth?

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The question is addressed to all those who profess faith in Jesus Christ.  Albert Mohler, president of Baptist Theological Seminary, penned this piece in 2010. His question requires a yes or no answer; either we believe Mary was a virgin when she was found to be with child through the power of the Holy Spirit, or we choose to reject the narrative found in the gospels and chalk it up, as some do, to a “pious legend.”  Dr. Mohler answers the question:

In one of his columns for The New York Times, Nicholas Kristof once pointed to belief in the Virgin Birth as evidence that conservative Christians are “less intellectual.” Are we saddled with an untenable doctrine? Is belief in the Virgin Birth really necessary?

Kristof is absolutely aghast that so many Americans believe in the Virgin Birth. “The faith in the Virgin Birth reflects the way American Christianity is becoming less intellectual and more mystical over time,” he explains, and the percentage of Americans who believe in the Virgin Birth “actually rose five points in the latest poll.” Yikes! Is this evidence of secular backsliding?

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Of Course Russia Meddles in Our Elections — But the ‘Hacking’ Claim Is a Farce

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Andrew C. McCarthy of National Review tackles the burning question: Did Russian hackers try to influence the election?  He writes:

They hypocrisy oozing from the peddling of this week’s narrative about Russian “meddling” in the U.S. presidential election is thick even by the sorry standards of modern American politics.

I feel entitled to be amused, having maintained, through a decade of bipartisan idiocy, that Putin’s thug-ocracy is an enemy of the United States: from the Bush-administration howler that Russia is our “strategic partner,” through eight years of the Obama-Hillary “reset”; from Obama’s mumbling as Putin annexed Crimea and other swathes of Ukraine (after Obama, as a senator, joined with senior Republicans to disarm Ukraine), through Bush’s mumbling as Putin annexed swathes of Georgia. I saw Russia as a major problem long before it began violating the “new START” treaty that Obama signed and Republicans approved; before Secretary Clinton helped Putin cronies acquire a major slice of American uranium stock; and before Obama’s promise to Vlad (communicated through Putin-puppet Medvedev) that he’d have “more flexibility” to cut deals after the 2012 election.

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Human Trials Envisioned After Scientists Reverse Aging In Mammals

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According to The Telegraph:

An end to grey hair and crows-feet could be just 10 years away after scientists showed it is possible to reverse ageing in animals.

Using a new technique which takes adult cells back to their embryonic form, US researchers at the Salk Institute in California, showed it was possible to reverse ageing in mice, allowing the animals to not only look younger, but live for 30 per cent longer.

The technique involves stimulating four genes which are particularly active during development in the womb. It was also found to work to turn the clock back on human skin cells in the lab, making them look and behave younger.

Scientists hope to eventually create a drug which can mimic the effect of the found genes which could be taken to slow down, and even reverse the ageing process. They say it will take around 10 years to get to human trials.

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Obama Tries to Trump-Proof Planned Parenthood Funding

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“Outgoing president bullies states to keep money flowing to abortion provider,” says Jim Stinson of LifeZette. He writes:

President Obama is moving aggressively to protect the flow of revenue to Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers before he leaves office.

Obama has finalized a rule that would benefit Planned Parenthood and protect abortion providers from the democratic grant-making process in the states.

Lawmakers have vowed to reverse the rule.

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Clayton Jennings Ends ‘Restoration’ Process, Says Mentor Tony Nolan

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As previously reported, self-described evangelist Clayton Jennings had his “ministerial credentials” revoked after confessing to, among other things, luring women into sexual sin.  Jennings agreed to enter a restoration process but apparently it was short lived.  According to Polemics Report:

In a tweet sent out on December 12, Tony Nolan notified the public that his disgraced mentee, Clayton Jennings, had abandoned the process of ‘restoration’ and repentance that they advertised together in a mutual video put out several weeks ago and posted to their social media accounts.

 

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Jennings is a popular youth-oriented evangelist who used social media as a springboard for his rise on the evangelical lecture circuit. Jennings, who fancies himself a “poet” in the genre of “spoken word” was first written about by Pulpit & Pen in September of 2015 in a post that highlighted his very apparent charming of the fairer sex and borderline lasciviousness that weaved its way through his gimmicky appeal. While the post did not accuse Jennings of impropriety, it did raise a very explicit red flag that this man – given everything that could be seen publicly – was possibly leading women to his charms more so than to Christ.

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Congress Passes ‘International Religious Freedom Act’ to Combat Persecution Worldwide

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Christian News Network reports:

Congress passed a bill this week that aims to give the White House and State Department improved tools to address religious persecution worldwide.

The Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act had been introduced in the House last year by Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., and then in the Senate this year by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. The bi-partisan-backed bill first passed the House in May and then came before the Senate this month, where it passed unanimously.

It is named after former Congressman Frank Wolf, who first helmed the International Religious Freedom Act in 1998, and is stated to expand upon his work.

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Yet Another Criminal Referral for Planned Parenthood and its Affiliates

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Last year, Center for Medical Progress undercover videos revealed that Planned Parenthood affiliates were illegally profiting from the sale of fetal tissue. So now the government will finally investigate for possible prosecution.  According to Alexandra Desanctis of National Review:

Photo credit: Godspeak Calvary Chapel

Senator Chuck Grassley, who serves as the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, announced this afternoon that he has referred Planned Parenthood for America and several of its local affiliates to the FBI and the Justice Department for investigation and possible prosecution. These referrals are the result of Grassley’s ongoing investigation into the group’s involvement in fetal-tissue transfers and violations of federal law related to the fetal-tissue trafficking industry.

“I don’t take lightly making a criminal referral,” Grassley said in a release Tuesday afternoon. “But, the seeming disregard for the law by these entities has been fueled by decades of utter failure by the Justice Department to enforce it.”

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Bishop of Lincoln: No Communion For Divorced/Remarried Catholics

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According to Michael W. Chapman of CNSNews, “The Pope’s letter, Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love) is ambiguous in several areas and apparently leaves open the possibility for divorced/remarried Catholics to receive Communion, which is contrary to millennia-old Church teaching.” Pope Francis, who is supposedly Christ’s representative on earth, has yet to clear up the ambiguity.  Chapman writes:

Although not a few Catholic bishops and lay theologians have asked Pope Francis to clearly state whether his letter on the family, Amoris Laetitia, permits divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Holy Communion at Mass, Bishop James Conley, who heads the Diocese of Lincoln, Neb., has made it crystal clear to all his priests that couples in such situations — objectively in a state of adultery — are not to receive the sacrament.

“The Lord calls those who are divorced and civilly remarried, or who are cohabiting, to continence,” said Bishop Conley in a Dec. 5 letter to the priests in his diocese. “Like every person conscious of grave sin, divorced and civilly remarried Catholics who engage in ongoing sexual relationships may not approach Holy Communion.”

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See our Research Paper on Roman Catholicism

Republican Gov. John Kasich Vetoes Bill Banning Abortion When Heartbeat Detected, Signs 20-Week Ban

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According to Christian News Network:

Republican governor and former presidential candidate John Kasich vetoed a bill on Tuesday that would have banned abortion when a heartbeat is detected, while signing into law legislation that bans abortion after 20 weeks gestation.

“Certain provisions … are clearly contrary to the Supreme Court of the United States’ current rulings on abortion,” he said in an explanatory statement released by his office.

As previously reported, the Unborn Heartbeat Protection Act was approved by the Senate 21-10 last Tuesday, being attached as an amendment to a child abuse bill. It then passed the House 56-39.

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Hillsong & Worship: The Gospel According to Hillsong

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Cameron Buettel & Jeremiah Johnson of Grace to You offer examples of “the doctrinal maladies that plague most of the Hillsong catalogue—malpractice, man-centeredness, and missing information.”  According to Buettel and Johnson a man-centered worldview permeates almost all of Hillsong’s music and they illustrate just how bad it is.  The duo admits that “Hillsong has probably done a better job than anyone else in filling the musical void that many modern churches have experienced. Their songs are catchy, their musicians are excellent, and their songwriters know how to ‘sound Christian’ enough to salve the consciences of all in attendance.”  However, they stated in a postscript that there’s “an unhealthy emphasis on the experience of their performances over the substance of what they’re proclaiming through their songs.”

In this piece they begin with the lyrics to “Only Wanna Sing” to show Hillsong’s “confused doctrinal perspective”:

This is no performance Lord, I pray it’s worship Empty words I can’t afford I’m not chasing feelings That’s not why I’m singing You’re the reason for my song

And I only wanna sing If I sing with everything If I sing for you, my King

I can’t imagine why I would do this all for hype Cause it’s all to lift You high

At this point in the song—titled “Only Wanna Sing”—the music soars, the strobe lights fire up, and everyone on stage and in the crowd begins to dance with reckless abandon.

The irony is hard to miss.

That song—by the band Hillsong Young and Free—epitomizes many of the issues with much of Hillsong’s worship music: vague lyrical content, confused doctrinal perspectives, and an emphasis on style over substance.

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R.C. Sproul Jr. resigns from Ligonier Ministries

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According to a statement on Ligonier’s website, R.C. Sproul Jr. has resigned from Ligonier Ministries and Reformation Bible College.  No details were given.

A Statement Concerning Dr. R.C.Sproul Jr.

DECEMBER 12, 2016

Last Friday, the board of directors of Ligonier Ministries and Reformation Bible College received and affirmed the resignation of Dr. R.C. Sproul Jr. He is stepping away from his duties at the ministry and the college for personal reasons. This was communicated by phone to his father, Dr. R.C. Sproul, the founder of Ligonier Ministries and chancellor of Reformation Bible College, and it was later communicated in writing to the entire board of directors of Ligonier Ministries.

We support the Sproul family and give thanks for the many edifying contributions of Dr. Sproul Jr. over the years through his work at the ministry and the college. We believe he will be well cared for by his church during this time of transition, and we pray for him in his future endeavors.

GRACE board releases statement saying they stand with victims of Tullian Tchividjian

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From Berean Research:

The Board of Directors of Godly Response to Abuse in Church Environments (GRACE) released a statement addressing the Tullian Tchividjian sexual misconduct scandal. According to their Facebook page: The Mission of GRACE is to empower the Christian community through to recognize, confront, and respond to the sin of child sexual abuse.

We’re including GRACE’s statement as well as a list of its board members that includes Tullian’s brother, Boz, his uncle, Emmanuel and Michael Reagan, son of President Ronald Reagan:

Statement from the GRACE Board of Directors The GRACE board is deeply disturbed about the revelations of sexual misconduct by Tullian Tchividjian. As an organization that deals with the abuse of God’s lambs and the damage silence causes we feel compelled to speak. We believe that no material institution is more sacred to God than His lambs – be it church or mission or family. Institutions ordained by God were destroyed at His hand when they became corrupt. Given that we must be what He calls His people to be or we too will have chosen silence and darkness over truth and light.

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Microsoft Holiday Ad Celebrates Left-Wing Causes

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LifeZette reports:

To celebrate the “spirit of the holidays,” Microsoft released an ad this week best described as a collage of Left-wing pet causes. The commercial features sympathetic images and anecdotes for Black Lives Matter, Syrian refugees, transgender activism and more general LGBT issues.

In a likely allusion to the 2016 election, Microsoft says the year “has been challenging for many” because “much of what we hear in the news can be negative.”

“We wanted to lift people up and remind them that ordinary people can make a difference,” Microsoft’s description of the ad reads on YouTube. “”Our message focuses on the spirit of the holidays, people coming together and celebrating what is good and right with the world—what unites us, instead of what divides us,” claims the ad’s description.

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‘Basic Biological Truths’: Arkansas Supreme Court Overturns Ruling Allowing Lesbians to Be Listed on Birth Certificates

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Christian News Network reports:

The Supreme Court of Arkansas has overturned a lower court ruling that allowed lesbian partners to be recognized on birth certificates even though they are not the biological parent, stating that it is not unconstitutional to “acknowledge basic biological truths.”

“What is before this court is a narrow issue of whether the birth-certificate statutes as written deny the appellees due process,” Justice Josephine Linker Hart wrote on behalf of the majority. “In the situation involving the female spouse of a biological mother, the female spouse does not have the same biological nexus to the child that the biological mother or the biological father has. It does not violate equal protection to acknowledge basic biological truths.”

As previously reported, six lesbians had filed suit last year against the Arkansas Health Department’s Vital Statistics Bureau after it declined to recognize both women as the parents on the birth certificates, which they sought to do in order to obtain insurance coverage for the children.

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‘Highlights’ kids magazine to include same-sex families after flak from gays

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LifeSite News reports:

One homosexual’s complaint to Highlights for Children will result in the inclusion of same-sex families in its magazines with an audience as young as pre-toddlers.

Rod Dreher, an Orthodox Christian columnist for the American Conservative, exposed a concerned parent’s dialogue with the children’s magazine, which shows that after gay activist pressure Highlights will now depict homosexuals as “family.”

The unnamed Dreher informant shared her correspondence with Highlights editors, who publish the magazine Hello for 0-2 year-olds, High Five for 2-6 year-olds, and Highlights for ages 6-12.

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YET ANOTHER MAINSTREAM FAKE NEWS SITE BUSTED – YAHOO PUBLISHES FAKE NEWS STORY ABOUT HILLARY VOTES

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According to Liberty News:

The mainstream fake media saga continues…

It’s amazing to watch this situation unfold. The MFM (mainstream fake media) started this whole fake news drama and it backfired in a way they never saw coming. Because, of course, when you live in a glass house you should never throw stones.

The MFM threw stones and now their house is crumbling. Case in point:

A Founding Father of Fake News Brian Williams Airs Segment Decrying… Fake News

Washington Post Admits it Faked a News Story About Fake News

CNN Busted Faking a News Story Alleging Conservative Blogger Faked the News

Sheriff Clarke Slams MFM Over Fake News

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Eastern Europe Is a Powder Keg Ready to Explode

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The Daily Signal’s Nolan Peterson reports that tensions between Russia and Ukraine have neared a boiling point:

KYIV, Ukraine—A planned missile test over the Black Sea spurs a Kremlin threat to shoot down the missiles and possibly target the launch sites.

An eleventh-hour compromise is reached, defusing an act of brinkmanship, which could have sparked an all-out war.

An episode between NATO and Moscow during the Cold War? Or, perhaps, the latest chapter in the contemporary conflict between NATO and Russia, which some have dubbed a “new” Cold War?

Rather, the aforementioned sequence of events was the most recent episode in a nearly 3-year-old conflict, in which Russia and Ukraine—the two countries with the largest land armies in Europe—have repeatedly tiptoed to the edge of all-out war.

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‘Pope’ Prays in Observance of Catholic Belief Mary Was Conceived Sinless: ‘You Free Us From Stain of Sin’

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Christian News Network reports:

In one of the feasts and celebrations marked on the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar leading up to Christmas, Catholics around the world observed the Feast of Immaculate Conception on Thursday, a day in which those who follow the religion commemorate their belief that Mary was conceived without sin.

Jorge Bergoglio, also known as Pope Francis, made his fourth visit to the “Column of the Immaculate Conception” in the Piazza di Spagna to pay homage to Mary and to pray that she would give protection and blessings.

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See our Research Paper on Roman Catholicism