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

Jesus Calling Devotional Bible?–Putting Words in Jesus’ Mouth–And in the Bible

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From Berean Research:

The blockbuster book Jesus Calling has sold more the 15 million copies.  Jesus Calling was published in 2004 and has remained on bestseller lists ever since.  According to the book’s publisher, “After many years of writing her own words in her prayer journal, missionary Sarah Young decided to be more attentive to the Savior’s voice and begin listening for what He was saying. So with pen in hand, she embarked on a journey that forever changed her—and many others around the world.  In these powerful pages are the words and Scriptures Jesus lovingly laid on her heart.”

The Jesus of Scripture?  Really?

Not according to blogger and pastor Tim Challies.  “Far and away the most troubling aspect of the book,” says Challies “is its very premise—that Sarah Young hears from Jesus and then dutifully brings his messages to her readers. Jesus Calling makes the boldest, gutsiest, and, to my mind, most arrogant claim of any book ever to be considered Christian.”

It’s shocking that a dangerous “Christian” book has become a cottage industry.  As a result of its popularity we now have various studies, devotionals, children’s books and the Jesus Calling Devotional Bible.

In 2014 Warren B. Smith tackled the Jesus Calling Devotional Bible in a booklet he wrote.  In it he lays to rest the notion that the voice Sarah Young hears is that of the Jesus Christ of Scripture. Smith’s booklet can be found on My Word Like Fire — a must read!

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North Carolina Lawmakers, Governor Overturn Charlotte’s Controversial “Bathroom Bill”

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Christian News Network reports:

Lawmakers in North Carolina passed legislation to overturn Charlotte’s controversial “bathroom bill” on Wednesday, sending the statute to the desk of Gov. Pat McCrory, who promptly signed the measure into law.

“The basic expectation of privacy in the most personal of settings, a restroom or locker room, for each gender was violated by government overreach and intrusion by the mayor and city council of Charlotte,” McCrory said in a statement.

As previously reported, despite hours of testimony largely in opposition of the proposal, the Charlotte City Council voted 7-4 last month to expand the city’s non-discrimination ordinance to add provisions for homosexuals and those who identify as the opposite sex—including in regard to restroom and locker room use.

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Coral Ridge Elders Knew of Tullian Tchividjian’s Affair With Married Woman, Advised Him to Keep Secret, Source Alleges

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As previously reported, Tullian Tchividjian was fired from his job at Willow Creek Church in Florida last week after confessing to a second adulterous affair.  Christian Post, a site CRN doesn’t recommend because of its promotion of false teachers, reports that Tchividjian’s first affair was discovered and kept a secret. Following is excerpted from CP’s report:

Photo credit: Twitter

Photo credit: Twitter

Tchividjian landed a job at Willow Creek Church last September, some two months after he resigned from Coral Ridge due to another confessed extramarital affair he said was triggered by the infidelity of his now ex-wife, Kim.

“As many of you know, I returned from a trip a few months back and discovered that my wife was having an affair. Heartbroken and devastated, I informed our church leadership and requested a sabbatical to focus exclusively on my marriage and family. As her affair continued, we separated. Sadly and embarrassingly, I subsequently sought comfort in a friend and developed an inappropriate relationship myself,” he wrote in a statement to The Washington Post last June.

His latest revelation, however, significantly disrupts that narrative and created a lot of problems for those who have been trying to help him but were kept in the dark.

This story has more twists and turns than the Snake River.  CP’s Leonardo Blair begins his report by informing us that:

At least two elders at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Florida allegedly had knowledge that their former pastor, Tullian Tchividjian, grandson to evangelical icon Billy Graham, had engaged in an adulterous affair with a married member of his flock and advised him to keep it secret from his wife.

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Obama administration engaged in secret talks to pay Iran nearly $2 billion

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Fox News reports:

The Obama administration has spent three years engaged in secret talks with Iran that resulted in the payment of nearly $2 billion in taxpayer funds to the Islamic Republic, with more payouts likely to come in the future, according to a recent letter issued by the State Department and obtained exclusively by the Washington Free Beacon.

The administration’s disclosure came in response to an inquiry launched in January by Rep. Mike Pompeo (R., Kan.), who was seeking further information about the Obama administration’s payment of $1.7 billion in taxpayer funds to Iran, which many viewed as a “ransom payment” for Iran’s release that month of several U.S. hostages.

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Glenn Beck: Evangelicals Not Listening to “Their God”

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Jeff Maples of Pulpit & Pen has the story as well as the video:

Glenn Beck & Ted Cruz. Photo credit: WND.com

Glenn Beck & Ted Cruz. Photo credit: WND.com

At a Utah rally with Glenn Beck supporting Ted Cruz last week, Glenn Beck gave a speech declaring that Ted Cruz was the fulfillment of the Mormon White Horse Prophecy. The Mormon University, Brigham Young, explains the prophecy likes this:

Will the Constitution be destroyed? No; it will be held inviolate by this people; and, as Joseph Smith said, “The time will come when the destiny of the nation will hang upon a single thread. At that critical juncture, this people will step forth and save it from the threatened destruction.”

At another Rally in Salt Lake City, Utah, Beck, in shocking admission it seems, implies that Mormons and Evangelicals worship a different God. He states:

Utah has an incredible opportunity. So many Christians have been standing up. But all throughout the South the Evangelicals are not listening to their God. Let us raise a standard in Utah.

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See CRN’s  research paper on Mormonism

College of Pediatricians Calls Transgender Ideology “Child Abuse”

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According to Breitbart:

The American College of Pediatricians warns educators and legislators that “a life of chemical and surgical impersonation of the opposite sex” is dangerous for children.

In a strongly worded statement issued today, the professional association of pediatricians says “a person’s belief that he or she is something they are not is, at best, a sign of confused thinking.” It describes such thinking as problem that exists in the mind and not the body and “it should be treated as such.”

The college of pediatricians is joining a heated debate that increasingly pits concerned parents against school teachers, administrators, legislators, and transsexual advocates who are pushing the trans agenda in grade-schools, city governments, state governments, and the federal government.

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Captured Paris Attack Suspect Reportedly Planned New Acts in Brussels

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Christian News Network reports:

The top suspect in last year’s Paris attacks told investigators after he was captured that he was planning new operations from Brussels and possibly had access to several weapons, Belgium’s foreign minister said Sunday.

Salah Abdeslam had claimed that “he was ready to restart something from Brussels, and it’s maybe the reality,” Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said.

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Women in Combat

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In this hard-hitting piece Bible study author, speaker and blogger Michelle Lesley urges Christian men to “gird up, gear up, and stand up.”  Why?  “Because some women in combat are wounded, battle fatigued, and in need of some R&R.”

Women in combatOver the last few months, there’s been a lot of talk about the possibility of future U.S. military drafts including young women in addition to young men. I’ve admired godly male friends who have spoken out vehemently against this and expressed concern about the government trying to press their daughters or wives into service. Some even vowed to lay their lives down protecting their women from having to face the horrors and dangers of war.

But I wonder if these men – husbands, fathers, pastors, elders – know that many of their wives, daughters, and sisters in Christ are already in the trenches fighting off the enemy with every ounce of our strength and every weapon at our disposal.

It’s not a war for territory or political control or freedom from dictatorial tyranny.

It’s a battle for the purity of the Bride. And the souls of our sisters.

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Candace Cameron Bure Blasts Fuller House Critics as “Ridiculous,” Posts Lustful Kiss From Show

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According to Christian News Network some of Bure’s fans are not on board with her new show.  One fan commented: “I’m a little disappointed with the show.  There are sexual references, immodest clothing, and you even said a curse word. It makes me sad.”:

Unrepentant talk show host and actress Candace Cameron Bure is taking issue with “negativity” and “religious debates” from her fans who are flooding her social media pages with concern about the content in “Fuller House”—a restart of the 80’s show “Full House”—which features immodesty, lesbian kissing, sexual and alcoholic references and other controversial content. Days after calling for an end, she posted a photograph of a scene where she jumps on a man who is not her husband and passionately kisses him.

“This is getting ridiculous!!” she fumed last Saturday, next to a cartoon of an annoyed Cameron Bure saying “c’mon.” “STOP having religious debates about me and my family on my comments thread after EVERY single photo I post when they have nothing to do with the picture!”

Cameron Bure instructed fans to ignore negative comments and to take the talk elsewhere.

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Scalia’s death a blow to Obamacare contraception challengers

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Reuters reports:

Christian groups asking the U.S. Supreme Court to exempt them from the requirement to provide insurance covering contraception under President Barack Obama’s healthcare law face an uphill battle following Justice Antonin Scalia’s death last month.

The remaining eight justices will consider seven related cases on whether nonprofit groups that oppose the requirement on religious grounds can object under a U.S. law called the Religious Freedom Restoration Act to a compromise version of the requirement offered by the Obama administration.

Among those mounting objections are the Little Sisters of the Poor, an order of Roman Catholic nuns that runs care homes for the elderly.

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Salt Lake Tribune–“Cruz in Utah: Glenn Beck Says He’s Fulfillment of Mormon Prophecy”

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The headline appeared over at Breitbart followed by:

Lee Davidson wrote the following article in the Salt Lake Tribune bout Republican candidate Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) rallies today in Utah:

Cruz also basked in the praise of two big-name Mormons: former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney and conservative talk show host Glenn Beck.

[…]

Beck, a Mormon and conservative radio talk show host, said he always vows to be the worst enemy of politicians who do not keep promises. “I don’t have any friends in Washington except these two,” he said about Cruz and Lee. He added they are the first politicians he has even endorsed.

Beck said that he, like many Mormons, believe in a prophecy that the Constitution will hang by a thread in the last days. He said he believes that now is that time, and people like Lee and Cruz will save it.

Read the rest here.

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Read our research paper on Mormonism

Charismatic Gullibility, Dr. Michael Brown and Discernment

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In this piece over at Pulpit & Pen, JD Hall explores the increasing lack of discernment in the visible Church due to the popularity of the Charismatic movement.  Hall asserts that “charismania” is the “convoluted mess that Brown identifies himself with.”

Michael Brown

Photo credit: Twitter

“I am an unashamed Pentecostal/charismatic believer, a lifelong tongues speaker (since Jan. 24, 1972), one of the four principle leaders who served in the Brownsville Revival, the author of an in-depth, scholarly treatment of divine healing, the man who wrote Authentic Fire in response to Pastor John MacArthur’s Strange Fire…yet I am terribly ashamed of our folly, our gullibility, our lack of discernment, our failure to test all things by the Word, our carnality and our openness to being duped, deceived and defrauded.”

Dr. Michael Brown, a charismatic scholar and apologist, has written for Charisma Mag what is effectively a rebuke of some in the charismatic movement who are “gullible.” To be clear, Brown isn’t turning in his charismatic credentials, as you can see above. Brown references himself as one of the four principle leaders of the Brownsville Revival in an attempt to bolster his claims as a charismatic, which are already well-established. He also references himself as a lifelong tongue speaker and critic of John MacArthur (whose claims, he goes on to say, are “imbalanced” and “inaccurate”).

Brown’s chief contention concerning the gullibility plaguing charismaticism is corrupt fundraising among charismatic televangelists (although he reiterates that he does believe in “sowing and reaping”). Brown mentions a televangelist who used time at the Garden of Gethsemane to plea for money, a “prophet” guaranteeing provision in an upcoming famine in exchange for an offering, and other abuses designed to rake in cash. Brown did not name names in the process, saying instead that he was committed to reaching out to the offenders personally.

Brown ends with a hopeful admission, “It is high time for this nonsense to stop, beginning with each of us reading this article (me included) searching our own hearts and lives.”

Well, amen and amen.

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The GOP Sellout Continues

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Genevieve Wood of The Daily Signal brings us up to speed as to why a large number of conservative Republicans are done with the GOP establishment:

To watch the recent happenings on Capitol Hill, you would think this was just another typical presidential election year—a few bumps here and there, but no sign of a major shake-up, no indication voters were in revolt, nothing to suggest business as usual in Washington was perhaps falling out of fashion among the American public.

What else explains the lackluster, uninspiring, and, I would suggest, “sell out your base” agenda of GOP congressional leadership?

For example, the Senate GOP sold out its base on the issue of Common Core this week. Despite the fact Republicans have a majority in the Senate, seven members of the GOP joined a majority of Democrats to confirm President Barack Obama’s nominee, John B. King, Jr. as education secretary. King is an avowed supporter of Common Core and other top-down, government-knows best, education policies.

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Online discernment ministries — the new lepers

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In March of 2016 JD Hall wrote a blog post entitled “No More Discernment. Seriously.” In it he shared that he is tired. Tired of what? For one thing he’s “tired of seeing the flock of God ripped apart lamb by lamb and limb by limb and be left in a bloody pile of wool for their pastors to find on Sunday morning.”  As I read his graphic description I thought to myself, “Gee, I wish I had said that.”  Oh wait!  I have.  For close to twenty years I’ve reported on, among other things, false teaching in the Church.  I’ve detailed how apostates wormed their way in via magical mystical practices such as contemplative prayer…lectio divina…prayer circles…yoga.  Likewise, New Age/New Thought, the cults, the occult and even far-left political ideology (cultural Marxism). My [former] partner at Berean Research, Amy Spreeman, has been involved in discernment work for over six years. Are we tired?  You betcha!  Will we throw in the towel? Nope.  We’ll continue sounding the alarm as long as the Lord allows.

Discernment is not for the feint of heart, as you will see in JD’s piece.  I urge you to read it in its entirety. And then pray for those of us in ODM — that’s shorthand for “online discernment ministry” a term coined by Emergent Church leaders “and once it’s been slapped upon a given website, it then becomes one of the new lepers,” said the late Ken Silva who was a pioneer in online apologetics and discernment work.  View article →

Billy Graham’s Grandson Tullian Tchividjian Fired by Willow Creek After Confessing Another Affair

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According to Christian News Network the affair “occurred before the last affair he confessed—and before he discovered that his wife was in a relationship with another man.”

Photo credit: Twitter

Photo credit: Twitter

Just over six months after hiring him as the Director of Ministry Development following his resignation as lead pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church upon admission of an affair, Florida’s Willow Creek Church has fired Tullian Tchividjian, the grandson of Billy Graham, as he has now confessed to a second inappropriate relationship.

As previously reported, Tchividjian, 43, the son of Virginia Graham, took over the pulpit of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in 2009 following the passing of founder D. James Kennedy. However, the selection divided the congregation, as some approved and others disapproved of his leadership. Several months after he accepted the job, Kennedy’s daughter and others began calling for his removal.

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St. Patrick not “a closet Baptist”

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According to Baptist Press:

Saint Patrick's Day

In William Cathcart’s “Baptist Encyclopedia,” a catalog of Baptist doctrines, organizations and individuals, there is a surprising entry under the letter P: “Patrick, Saint, the Apostle of Ireland.”

However,

Two contemporary Baptist historians told Baptist Press that Patrick was not, in fact, a nascent Baptist, but those who sought to claim him as one rightly noted the error of associating him with the modern Roman Catholic Church.

 

“There is a romance about [Patrick],” said Michael Haykin a Southern Baptist Theological Seminary professor who has written a book about Patrick. “During the 19th century, with the rise of Landmarkism, there was a desire to claim as many people as Baptists as possible. In some respects, Patrick falls easily into that [classification]. He was almost definitely baptizing people by immersion. But he was almost definitely not a congregationalist — which we would view as central to being a Baptist.”

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Gay Rights Groups Urge NCAA to End Ties to Colleges Requesting Title IX Waiver

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Inside Higher Ed reports on the LGBT’s push to defund any religious-based institution that refuses to join the moral revolution and stands against the radical LGBT agenda:

In a letter sent to the National Collegiate Athletic Association on Wednesday, more than 80 lesbian, gay and transgender organizations urged the NCAA to “divest from all religious-based institutions” that discriminate against transgender students. In 2014, the U.S. Department of Education extended Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the civil rights law that prohibits gender discrimination on campuses, to include transgender students. ,,,

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Growing Number of Major U.S. Corporations Embracing Eastern Meditation Practices

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From Berean Research:

America is up to its eyeballs in Eastern mysticism.  What does the Lord God have to say about adopting pagan practices?  Plenty:

When you come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD. And because of these abominations the LORD your God is driving them out before you. You shall be blameless before the LORD your God, for these nations, which you are about to dispossess, listen to fortune-tellers and to diviners. But as for you, the LORD your God has not allowed you to do this.”  Leviticus 18:1-1

In other words, God’s people are not to involve themselves in any Americanized version of Eastern mysticism.  Period.

Garrett Haley, who penned the piece I’m posting here, quotes from a blog post titled “The Subtle Body—Should Christians Practice Yoga?” by Albert Mohler of Southern Baptist theological Seminary:

There is nothing wrong with physical exercise, and yoga positions in themselves are not the main issue.  But these positions are teaching postures with a spiritual purpose.

Mohler concludes:

Christians who practice yoga are embracing, or at minimum flirting with, a spiritual practice that threatens to transform their own spiritual lives into a “post-Christian, spiritually polyglot” reality.  Should any Christian willingly risk that?”

Now to Garrett Haley’s report:

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Coke joins coalition fighting for LGBT equality

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Atlanta Journal Constitution reports:

Coca ColaCoca-Cola is a member of the newly formed Business Coalition for the Equality Act, a group of 60 prominent employers that are officially backing the Human Rights Campaign’s efforts to add federal protections for the LGBT community.

Coke joins other notable giants such as Apple, Nike, Target, Google, Amazon, Best Buy and Coke’s beverage industry rival Pepsi in the coalition. HRC said coalition members represent 4.2 million employees, have combined revenue of $1.9 trillion and have operations in all 50 states.

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Jerry Falwell Jr. Compares Donald Trump to King David, Talks About Watching Elton John Together on Private Jet

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According to Christian News Network:

With presidential campaigning in full force, Jerry Falwell Jr., president of what heralds itself as the world’s largest Christian university, is defending and cozying up to the lead contender on the Republican ticket, recently recalling to the university newspaper how he and Trump watched an Elton John concert together on the billionaire’s private jet—a man whose sins he dismissed by comparison to God’s appointment of King David.

As previously reported, Falwell has repeatedly sought to assure the American people of the mud-slinging, foul-mouthed candidate’s Christianity, pointing to the candidate’s good deeds as being the “fruit” that Jesus spoke of that characterizes a man who is born again.

“I’ve seen his generosity to strangers, to his employees, his warm relationship with his children,” he said on CNN’s “Legal View With Ashleigh Banfield” last month. “I’m convinced he’s a Christian. I believe he has faith in Jesus Christ.”

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Christian celebs want to unite the Body of Christ with….wolves?

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From Berean Research:

Bud Ahlheim of Pulpit & Pen fills us in on The Gathering, an upcoming event where wolves in sheep’s clothing posing as Christians and a few of what I refer to as the low-information evangelical (LIE) will be gathering to “unite the Body of Christ in America.”  Why do LIEs wish to unite believers with those who teach doctrines of demons?

Please tell me how these sorts of events glorify God.  And how. pray tell, do they help those who are seeking Truth?  Speakers at The Gathering include Church leaders such as Ronnie Floyd, Jack Graham (SBC), Kay Arthur (noted Bible teacher) and Anne Graham Lotz (on behalf of Billy Graham) who, for reasons known only to them, choose to gather with WOLVES such as Kenneth Copeland, Robert Morris (Word of Faith) and Samuel Rodriguez (NAR).

What’ll it take to get LIE celebs to guard against error?

Ahlheim writes:

Southern Baptist Convention President Ronnie “Armani” Floyd is at it again. He’s attending yet another ecumenical conference; this one is advertised as “a solemn assembly”. It has been dubbed “The Gathering” and a gathering it is.  It’s a whose who of evangelical outlaws, in-laws, crooks, and straights.  Apparently, the main requirements to be apart of this “solemn assembly” are the ability to use “God” in a sentence and attract a million dollar following. The ability to use God’s name correctly is apparently optional.  The website for the event, which is evocative of some new age, mystical conclave, can be seen HERE.  By the time Floyd attends this event, which is scheduled for September 21, 2016, he will (thankfully) no longer be the President of the Southern Baptist Convention. Yet his willing participation in this rogue’s gallery gathering brings great harm to the witness of the Southern Baptist Convention.

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Utah Senate Approves Bill Requiring Abortionists to Give Anesthesia to Babies Being Murdered

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According to Christian News Network:

Baby in the womb Senators in Utah have approved a bill that would require abortionists in the state to give anesthesia to unborn babies so they cannot feel pain as they are murdered.

“Let’s call it what it is: It is killing babies, and if we’re going to kill that baby, we ought to have the humanity to protect them from pain,” bill author Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, said on the Senate floor.

On Friday, the Senate voted 19-5 in favor of Bramble’s bill, S.B. 234, which applies to babies five months in gestation or older.

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Palin Cancels Trump Event After Husband in “Serious” Snow Machine Crash

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According to NBC News:

Sarah and Todd PalinSarah Palin canceled a campaign stop for Donald Trump in Florida on Monday after her husband Todd was injured in a snowmobile crash in Alaska.

A source told NBC News that Todd Palin was in “a very serious” crash Sunday night and is currently hospitalized in intensive care.

In a brief unplanned appearance before Trump’s afternoon event in Tampa, Palin referenced the “little wreck” and thanked audience members for their prayers.

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28 Things You Didn’t Know About “Christian” Psychology

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From Berean Research:

When it comes to what’s called psychology in the Church, Matt Tarr of ParkingSpace23 believes that much of what’s termed “Christian” psychology operates on a theology of man that’s antithetical to a biblical worldview.  According to Tarr, so-called “Christian” counseling “largely espouses a form of positivism (or neopositivism), optimism, and a philosophy of self-esteem that contradicts a biblical view of man’s wretched, sinful condition.”

Pastor Tarr’s view is that the Bible believing Christian who’s in need of counseling must look for a person with a biblical view of mankind.  Moreover, Christians must not heed the advice of someone who’s steeped in the unbiblical philosophy of self-esteem because it’s anti-theology.

Counseling

Like any pastor, I make it a major discipline in my life to read a lot. I must; I cannot allow my tools to grow dull. And, like any pastor SHOULD, I spend a significant portion of my week counseling the flock of God. Of course, that means a significant portion of my regular readings come from books on counseling. At any given time, I’m always working through five or more books to help me diagnose the soul and apply biblical principles to the hearts of the hurting, weary, or fainthearted. It is in fact a sad reality that many pastors have absolved themselves from the responsibility to counsel. Some because it isn’t a priority and they don’t make the time. Others because they have actually been taught not to by their colleges and seminaries. And a few don’t feel adequately equipped. Whatever the reason, pastors who don’t counsel their flock refer their sheep to another authority: human philosophy.

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Mark Driscoll will resurrect his ministry with Easter Sunday “gathering” in Arizona

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As previously reported, disgraced “pastor” Mark Driscoll recently had a RICO law suit filed against him alleging that while he was the CEO of Mars Hill Church in Seattle he “engaged in a pattern of racketeering activity so deeply embedded, pervasive and continuous, that it was effectively institutionalized as a business practice, thereby corrupting the very mission Plaintiffs and other donors believed they were supporting.” With this in mind, we have an update on the Driscoll saga from the Seattle Times: 

Ex-Mars Hill Church senior pastor Mark Driscoll, relocated in Arizona, will launch the first “gathering” of his new Trinity Church on Easter Sunday at the Glass and Garden Drive-In Church in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The newly launched Driscoll congregation has signed a rental contract for the 50-year-old church, which opened on Easter Sunday in 1966.  The official launch of the church has not yet been announced.

The resurrection of Driscoll’s ministry at Easter comes less than two weeks after four former members of his now-defunct Mars Hill Church filed a racketeering suit against Driscoll and a top aide.

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