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

Shawn Bolz teaches children how to channel God’s ‘voice’

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According to Berean Research:

gods-word-endures-foreverOn January 21st in Los Angeles, author and “prophet” Shawn Bolz will teach hundreds of children to close their eyes, listen for “God’s voice,” and write down what He says.  The event at Glendale Baptist Church costs $50 per child. Below is a short, shocking promotional video in which Bolz instructs the children to close their eyes and listen for God’s voice.

“If you don’t hear anything, it’s okay, you’re trying. That’s the biggest thing. You’re trying to engage with God.”

Then he does a prophetic prediction for a girl in the audience named Kaylee, who Bolz says is going to do great things for God. “Wow, God does speak and He knows things about you.”

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Alito Quotes Bob Dylan on Religious Freedom: ‘It’s Not Dark Yet, But It’s Getting There’

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CNSNews reports:

justice-alitoSupreme Court Justice Samuel Alito opened the national convention of the Federalist Society in Washington, D.C., Thursday with a moving tribute to the late Justice Antonin Scalia but also warned of “unprecedented challenges to our constitutional structure” and that freedom of religion is in “greater danger.”

“Freedom of religion is in greater danger,” Alito cautioned, saying “I am reminded of a song by the latest recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature: it’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there.”

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War On Cash Intensifies: Citibank To Stop Accepting Cash At Some Branches

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ZeroHedge reports:

moneyLess than a week after India’s surprise move to scrap its highest denomination cash notes, another front in the War on Cash has intensified down under in Australia.

Yesterday, banking giant UBS proposed that eliminating Australia’s $100 and $50 bills would be “good for the economy and good for the banks.”

(How convenient that a bank would propose something that’s good for banks!)

This isn’t the first time that the financial establishment has pushed for a cashless society in Australia (or anywhere else).

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Yes, You’re Right, Colleges Are Liberal Bubbles. Here’s the Data.

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According to The Chronicle of Higher Education:

Child blowing bubblesCampuses tend to be viewed as enclaves of liberalism — bubbles or oases, depending on your view, set apart from the rest of America.

In the counties that are home to public flagship universities, only nine favored Donald J. Trump over Hillary Clinton, according to a Chronicle analysis of voting data. In the 49 counties included in the analysis, Mrs. Clinton beat Mr. Trump, on average, by about 18 percentage points. In counties with a public flagship, the percentage of voters favoring Mrs. Clinton was 11 points, on average, higher than her statewide percentage.

Alaska was excluded from the analysis because it does not have county-level election data from the 2016 presidential election. Some states have more than one campus that serves a flagship role; to keep the analysis simple, we selected only one from each of the other 49 states.

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Hillsong’s Carl Lentz Clarifies Answer to Oprah if Only Christians Can Be in Relationship With God

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Christian News Network has the story:

love-2Hipster Hillsong NYC leader Carl Lentz recently clarified his response to talk show host Oprah Winfrey, who had asked Lentz on her “Super Soul Sunday” program if only Christians can be in relationship with God.

“Do you believe that only Christians can be in a relationship with God?” Winfrey asked in a program that aired on Oct. 16.

“No,” Lentz replied. “I believe that when Jesus said that ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life’—the way I read that, Jesus said that He is the road marker, He is the map.”

“So, I think that God loves people so much that whether they accept or reject Him, He’s still gracious, and He’s still moving, and He’s still giving you massive red blinking lights, for chances to take a right turn where maybe you’d take a left,” he continued. “But I believe God loves people, and that’s what this whole gospel is based on—it’s love. You take the love out of it, we’ve got a moral book.”

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Is Michael Brown Hiding His New Apostolic Identity?

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Jeff Maples of Pulpit & Pen asks a good question.  Many people would like to know the answer.  Should we believe that prominent apologist Michael Brown is deeply embedded in the New Apostolic Reformation cult, as Maples claims?   In this piece, Maples presents the evidence for his suspicions:

ConfusedDr. Michael Brown, the host of the nationally syndicated radio show, Line of Fire and Vice President of FIRE School of Ministry, is well-known as an apologist for modern day Montanism. Montanism is a heresy that arose early in church history, founded by its leader, Montanus, that manifests today in Pentecostalism, Charismatic churches, and most notably in the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) founded by the late C. Peter Wagner.

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Netanyahu: Looking Forward To Working With Trump On Twin Interests Of Peace, Security

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Breitbart reports:

benjamin-netanyahuPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he is looking forward to working with President-elect Donald Trump on “the twin interests of peace and security.” “I, for one, find great encouragement in the fact that there’s this continuity of friendship,” Netanyahu said.

In a satellite address to the Jewish Federations of North America’s annual General Assembly in Washington on Tuesday, Netanyahu urged President Barack Obama to continue America’s “longstanding policy” of supporting direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, and not pursue other avenues. Israel is concerned that Obama will use his final days in office to push for a UN Security Council resolution that will impose a two-state solution to the conflict.

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The Left’s New Trump Red Herring: Stephen Bannon

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According to Edmund Kozak of LifeZette, “The reason for this barrage of Bannon-bashing is painfully apparent. Trump’s victory having proved that the ‘racist’ label no longer carries the power to shame their opponents into silence, the Left is seeing if they fare any better with the more specific ‘anti-Semitic’ and ‘white nationalist.'” Kozak writes:

cryingLiberals across the country are throwing a hissy fit in response to the news that Donald Trump appointed former Breitbart News Chairman Stephen K. Bannon as his chief strategist.

Why, the unaware observer might ask? Well, according to the progressive punditry and their legions of easily triggered millennial supporters, Bannon is both an anti-Semite and a white supremacist.

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Grace to You is a supplement, not a substitute

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What is John MacArthur’s position on the Grace to You online church services as a substitute for a believer’s hometown church?  GTY’s Jeremiah Johnson asked Dr. MacArthur what he thinks about this trend.  He writes:

John-Press-04Consider for a moment some of the tremendous privileges and blessings the Internet and technology affords believers these days.

Today we have the easiest and freest access to faithful Bible teaching that the church has ever enjoyed. On radio and streaming online, you can hear faithful expositors exalt and explain God’s Word at any time of the day or night. Moreover, you can dig through church history into the teaching legacies of godly men who helped protect and preserve the faith we hold so dear. And through the advent of smartphones, tablets, and other devices we routinely carry today, that immense wealth of Bible teaching and spiritual wisdom is never more than a couple taps away.

However, those technological advancements can actually short circuit the life of the church. Many believers today think they can get the teaching and worship they need from a church through ministries online. In fact, some people have told us bluntly that Grace to You has become their church.

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Conservative cardinals challenge Pope over teachings on family

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According to Reuters:

Pope FrancisFour conservative Roman Catholic cardinals on Monday made a rare public challenge to Pope Francis over some of his teachings in a major document on the family, accusing him of sowing confusion on important moral issues.

The cardinals – two Germans, an Italian, and an American – said they had gone public with their letter to the pope because he had not responded.

The pope has clashed before with conservatives who worry he is weakening Roman Catholic rules on moral issues such as homosexuality and divorce while focusing on social problems such as climate change and economic inequality.

At issue are some of the teachings in a 260-page treatise called “Amoris Laetitia” (The Joy of Love), a cornerstone document of Francis’ attempt to make the 1.2 billion-member Church more inclusive and less condemning.

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See our Research Paper on Roman Catholicism

Scientists Discover Musical Complexity in Birds That ‘Utterly Defies Evolutionary Predictions’

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Christian News Network reports:

bird-robinScientists have found that many birds exhibit strikingly human-like musical principles in their songs—a revelation that may be difficult for evolutionists to explain.

In a paper published in “Royal Society Open Science,” an international team of researchers share their findings from a thorough analysis of bird songs. The scientists focused on the singing performances of Australian pied butcherbirds, whose songs are so complex and skillful that even composers have taken notice.

“Their songs are ideal for studying regularity across levels of song structure because song units (notes, phrases) are both complex and easy to identify,” the scientists wrote in their report. “Butcherbird vocalizations can be similar in sound to a piping flute, a cornet or an organ and also have inspired composers (such as Olivier Messiaen), who have referred to timbre, contour, gesture, rhythm, repetition, scales and formal structure as meaningful parameters of butcherbird vocalizations.”

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One Third of Households Victimized by Violent Crime in Past Year

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According to Breitbart:

crimeNearly one-third of U.S. households (29 percent) contain a family member victimized by violent crime in the last year, according to Gallup. The survey reveals that Americans’ “direct experience” with crime is at a 16-year high.

Seventeen percent said they or someone in their home had money or property stolen, while 14 percent said they had property, including their home or vehicle, vandalized. Another five percent said they had their car broken into and four percent said they or someone in their household had a car stolen from them.

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Another real, raw, ‘Christian’ mommy blogger comes out

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Berean Research has the story of yet another “Christian” who’s in rebellion against God:

Now that Jen Hatmaker has made Christian and Gay Okay, another popular blogger many Christian women follow announced on Facebook and Twitter that she has a new girlfriend. The Washington Post picked it up over the weekend:

Christian author Glennon Doyle Melton — known as the “ultimate confessional writer” for her honest portrayals of her struggling marriage, addiction and eating disorder — has opened up with another big revelation.

She is dating again, her new partner is a woman and that woman is celebrity soccer champ Abby Wambach.

The blonde pair smiled together in a photo posted Sunday night on the Momastery blogger and mom of three’s Facebook page. “Oh my God, she is so good to me. She loves me for all the things I’ve always wanted to be loved for. She’s just my favorite. My person,” wrote Melton, best known for her 2014 New York Times bestseller “Carry On, Warrior: The Power of Embracing Your Messy, Beautiful Life” and 2016 memoir “Love Warrior,” an Oprah Book Club pick.

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Professor on Ultrasound Requirement for Abortion: ‘Could Be Compared to a State-sanctioned Rape’

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According to CNSNews:

ultrasoundA law professor from University of California Irvine said on Friday that the requirement by some states that women have a transvaginal ultrasound before getting an abortion can be compared to “state-sanctioned rape.”

“The broad scope of the kinds of efforts that have been taken to undermine woman’s reproductive health are really quite expansive, right? The vaginal ultrasounds that are really like, could be compared to a state-sanctioned rape,” said Prof. Michele Goodwin at a symposium at Georgetown University Law Center, which focused on the pro-abortion movement.

The event, “Dismantling Reproductive Injustices; The Hyde Amendment and Criminalization of Self-Induced Abortion,” featured Goodwin and other pro-abortion advocates who seek abortion-on-demand and taxpayer-funded abortion through federal health programs.

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Trump repeats vow to build border wall, but admits ‘there could be some fencing’

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In a television interview, President-elect Trump said of “Crooked Hillary” and her husband, “I don’t want to hurt them, I don’t want to hurt them.  They’re, they’re good people. I don’t want to hurt them.” It would appear that he may not be interested in appointing a special prosecutor to probe Mrs. Clinton’s “situation.”  According to Andrew C. McCarthy in a piece over at National Review, “A prosecution of Clinton would provoke Democratic outrage, which means media outrage, which, in turn, means Republican panic.”

Fox News has the “60 Minutes” interview:

donald-trump-6President-elect Donald Trump, in his first television interview since his surprise election victory, repeated his vows to build a wall across America’s southern border, deport criminal illegal aliens, and repeal and replace ObamaCare.

But Trump also appeared to back off from commiting to build a solid wall, telling CBS’ “60 Minutes” the barrier might look more like a fence in spots.

“Certain areas, a wall is more appropriate,” Trump told interviewer Lesley Stahl. “I’m very good at this, it’s called construction.”

Trump emphasized that securing the border is his very first immigration priority, but he also promised to deport people living in the country illegally who had committed crimes beyond their immigration offenses.

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Five-Month-Old Girl Wows World After Spending 17 Years as Frozen Embryo

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Christian News Network reports:

Human embryoA five-month-old baby girl is wowing the world as her adoptive par ents are sharing the story of how their Snowflake baby was a frozen embryo for 17 years before her birth.

Elizabeth and Marty Wilson turned to Nightlight Christian Adoptions a few years ago after having difficulty conceiving again following the birth of their first child. The organization, established in 1997, runs the “Snowflake Adoption Program” to provide a means for remaining embryos from IVF procedures to be utilized instead of destroyed.

“Over 1,100 families have donated their remaining embryos through Snowflakes (sometimes referred to as leftover, excess, unused embryos)– allowing them to choose the family for their embryo gift,” Nighlight outlines on its website.

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Scenes from the liberal meltdown

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New York Post Editorial Board reports:

trump-protestorsDays after Donald Trump stunned the world by winning the presidency, liberal America remains in the throes of a massive mental and emotional meltdown.

Anti-Trump protests have spread to more cities and continue to turn violent. In Portland Thursday night, rioters stoned police and vandalized businesses and cars.

Anyone expressing support for Trump has become the target of unrestrained venom: There are calls to boycott New Balance — its sneakers have been publicly burned — because an official said Trump would be better on trade issues.

Meanwhile, the CEO of Grubhub, the online food-delivery service, demanded that employees who agree with Trump resign, because “you have no place here.” (He had to retreat: His lawyers read him the First Amendment and noted that political discrimination also violates California law.)

This is just vicious stuff. But for pure pathos crossing into the absurd, we turn (as usual) to the college campus. Consider:

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Calvary Chapel Association: Ready to move on?

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CRN has published several articles regarding what has transpired at Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa since the death of  its founder Chuck Smith.  Pastor Smith’s son-in-law, Brian Brodersen, is now at the helm of CCCM.  Many in the Calvary Chapel movement feel that Brodersen has gone off the reservation. Berean Research has been closely following the story.  Here’s BR’s latest report:

Calvary ChapelIt’s been a tough few weeks for the Calvary Chapel movement. Many are now asking themselves, among other things, if their churches need to find a new name to call themselves.  Mark Jeffries over at Emergent Watch has been following last week’s Brian Brodersen split from the Calvary Chapel Association, noting that Brodersen’s Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa legally owns the dove logo and the Calvary Chapel name itself, along with significant financial holdings.

In other words, the pastor is taking his whole ball of wax and going home, leaving the 1,600 other Calvary Churches uncertain if they can even legally call themselves Calvary any longer.

Jeffries reports that there are many more facts that most Christians are unaware of:

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Honor the Lord, Remember the Vet

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Denny Autrey of Theological Matters reminds us that today, Nov. 11, 2016, is a day of remembrance. Why is this day significant and what are Americans to remember?

tomb-of-the-unknown-soldier

Words are significant to the expression of language in the art of communication, just as dates are significant to the cycle of one’s life. Each year, some days are more important in meaning than others. We remember our birthday; hopefully, our wedding anniversary; and, without question, the birth of our children. Holidays abound, yet their remembrance is scheduled for us.

Memory is significant. It is a gift that brings to mind actions and events that shape our lives and impact our future. For “The Greatest Generation,” every American will remember exactly where they were and what they were doing on the fateful day of Dec. 7, 1941, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. In like fashion, for this generation, Sept. 11, 2001, will live as a day of infamy in the annals of American history. Scripture records that “the memory of the righteous is blessed” (Proverbs 10:7). Thus, the act of remembrance is designed to be a blessing to the people of God.

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Chelsea Clinton being groomed to run for Congress

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According to New York Post:

chelsea-clintonWhile some pundits are declaring the Clinton political dynasty dead, sources tell us that it is far from over. Chelsea Clinton is being groomed for the New York seat held by Rep. Nita Lowey.

Chelsea could run for the seat in NYC’s 17th Congressional District once Lowey, a respected, 79-year-old career politician with nearly 30 years in office, decides to retire, we have exclusively learned.

Lowey’s district includes parts of Rockland and Westchester counties and, conveniently, Chappaqua, the Clinton family home base.

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It’s the Culture, Stupid

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In this piece over at News With Views, Lee Duigon tackles moral relativism.  Duigon points out that for many people “there’s no true truth, there’s only ‘your truth’ and ‘my truth.’” And when a culture turns away from moral truth and moral facts, the inevitable result is that people will revel in “waste, violence and perversion.”  Listen to what he has to say about education, entertainment and sports:

Truth - falseI had to write this column before Election Day, but you won’t see it until afterward. Anyway, by now you’ve probably had enough.

Even more important than elections is the condition of our culture. We can’t screw up our culture and expect that everything else will be okay. In fact, our politics and our economy are the way they are because our popular culture is a mess.

Movies, TV shows, music videos; best-sellers, worst-sellers, and comic books; big sports and little sports: this is our popular culture, most of which we like to call “entertainment.” This is what we pump into our heads every day, hour after hour. This is how we educate ourselves.

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What the future of marijuana legalization could look like under President Trump

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Washington Post reports:

MarijuanaAmericans wake up this morning to find a drug policy landscape radically altered from yesterday. California, Massachusetts and Nevada have legalized recreational marijuana, while voters in a handful of Southern and deeply conservative states embraced medical marijuana with open arms.

Regardless of how a still-contested legalization vote turns out in Maine, more than 1 in 5 Americans now live in states where the recreational use of marijuana is, or soon will be, legal.

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US military successfully tests electrical brain stimulation to enhance staff skills

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According to The Guardian scientists are using soldiers for medical experiments to increase brain efficiency. The long-term medical effects are unknown:

brainUS military scientists have used electrical brain stimulators to enhance mental skills of staff, in research that aims to boost the performance of air crews, drone operators and others in the armed forces’ most demanding roles.

The successful tests of the devices pave the way for servicemen and women to be wired up at critical times of duty, so that electrical pulses can be beamed into their brains to improve their effectiveness in high pressure situations.

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Pot, Guns, and the Minimum Wage: Some Ballot Questions That Matter

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The Daily Signal fills us in on state ballot initiatives:

Marijuana 2In addition to casting their votes for president Tuesday, millions of Americans had the chance to weigh in on ballot questions in their respective states.

The measures range from legalization of medical and recreational marijuana, on the ballot in nine states, to increases in the minimum wage—on the ballot in four.

Voters in Colorado faced controversial proposals to create a single-payer system of health care and legalize physician-assisted suicide, while Massachusetts voters considered a measure to lift a cap on the number of charter schools in the state.

Here are some highlights of votes across the country on such ballot initiatives, in unofficial and sometimes incomplete results:

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