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

Norway Officials Place Children Seized From Parents Over “Christian Indoctrination” Up for Adoption

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Christian News Network reports:

Officials in Norway have moved to place five children that were seized from their parents on charges that included “Christian radicalization and indoctrination” up for adoption, reports state.

As previously reported, on Nov. 16 and 17, Norway’s child welfare services, the Barnevernet, seized Marius and Ruth Bodnariu’s two daughters, two sons and their baby, Ezekiel. The two eldest children were reportedly removed from school without their parents knowledge, and then Barnevarnet representatives arrived with police at the Bodnariu home, where welfare services seized the remaining children, minus the baby.

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Prosperity preachers claim private planes prevent flying with “demons” on commercial airlines

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According to Christian Examiner:

Demons - Saint AnthonyKenneth Copeland and Jesse Duplantis – both multi-millionaire preachers of the “name it and claim it” prosperity gospel – have taken to the air to explain their need for private luxury jets, in part because they travel to so many locations weekly, but also so they won’t have to fly with “demons.”

Duplantis said in a five minute video clip Dec. 30 (begin at 2:08) that God revealed to him the need for the private jet in the midst of a flight in his plane, just after a meeting with fellow prosperity preacher Creflo Dollar – the minister who this summer produced a slick marketing video asking his followers to donate $60 million for a new jet.

The board of directors for Dollar’s ministry later apologized for the video, but insisted the luxury aircraft was a legitimate need for the minister.

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Schools must teach Great Britain is a Christian country, secretary says

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According to Christian Examiner:

Great Britain’s education secretary says schools must teach that Britain is a “Christian country,” according to The Telegraph. Education Secretary Nicky Morgan published the new guidelines to “non-faith schools” on Sunday.

The new guidelines also clarify how schools interact with non-religious views after a landmark court decision from the nation’s highest court said the secretary had unlawfully excluded atheism from the school curriculum. The Telegraph reports that Morgan was concerned that atheist groups were using the courts as part of a “creeping ratchet effect” that would one day lead to primary schools being forced to teach children about atheism.

“I am clear that both faith and non-faith schools are completely entitled to prioritize the teaching of religion and faith over non-religious worldviews if they wish,” Morgan said.

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Doctor Loses Appeal of Expulsion from Boston Hospital for Statements About Health Dangers of Homosexuality

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Christian News Network reports:

A Massachusetts urologist has lost his appeal of his expulsion from a Boston hospital for making statements on an internal online portal expressing concern about the health dangers of same-sex sexual activity.

As previously reported, Dr. Paul Church serves as a urology professor at Harvard University and has also had admitting privileges at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, where he has seen patients for nearly the past 30 years. He has additionally participated in medical missions outreaches in Mexico and Africa.

For over the past decade, Church has expressed concern to his colleagues about the hospital’s promotion of homosexual events. He has commented both via email and on the hospital’s internal portal that it is improper to promote lifestyles that are contrary to the goals of the healthcare community, and has been met with allegations that his comments constitute “discrimination and harassment” and are “offensive to BIDMC staff.”

“The evidence is irrefutable that behaviors common within the homosexual community are unhealthy and high risk for a host of serious medical consequences, including STD’s, HIV and AIDS, anal cancer, hepatitis, parasitic intestinal infections, and psychiatric disorders,” Church wrote on the portal on one occasion.

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From NYC to Harvard: The War On Asian Success

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Betsy McCaughey, columnist for the New York Post, fills us in on the far left’s abominable treatment of Asian students.

The year 2015 was a dismal one for American public education — at least by the numbers.

But don’t blame the kids. Parents are missing in action.

Except most Asian-American parents, that is. They tend to oversee their children’s homework, stress the importance of earning high grades and instill the belief that hard work is the ticket to a better life.

And it pays off. Their children are soaring academically.

The outrage is that instead of embracing the example of these Asian families, school authorities and non-Asian parents want to rig the system to hold them back. It’s happening here in New York City, in suburban New Jersey and across the nation.

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Catholic Newspaper Names Plaintiffs in Supreme Court “Gay Marriage” Case “Persons of the Year”

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Christian News Network reports:

A prominent Roman Catholic newspaper has named two of the plaintiffs in the U.S. Supreme Court’s “gay marriage” case that was ruled upon in 2015 as being among their “persons of the year.”

“For their historic roles as plaintiffs in Obergefell v. Hodges and for their faithful public witness as gay Catholics, we name Greg Bourke and Michael DeLe­on NCR’s persons of the year for 2015,” writes the National Catholic Reporter, based out of Kansas City, Missouri, in an editorial published on Monday.

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ISIS alive and well in the hometown of Jesus? Israeli intelligence says “yes”

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Christian Examiner reports:

Israel’s domestic intelligence agency has announced a series of arrests of Arab-Israeli men from Nazareth – the home town of Jesus – after they reportedly pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIS) and plotted attacks in Israel, according to multiple reports from news sources inside and outside of the Jewish state.

All of the men were young Arabs, but citizens of Israel, a spokesman for the intelligence agency Shin Bet said in a statement Dec. 8. The men were reportedly training with military style firearms, meeting in secret and preparing for jihad against “infidels.”

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Oregon bakers pay fine after state seizes their bank accounts

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According to World Magazine:

On Monday, Aaron and Melissa Klein paid the state of Oregon $136,927.07—the fine levied against them for declining to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple in 2013. The payment also included interest accrued since the couple lost their appeal in July.

The Kleins, owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa, had asked the state to postpone collecting the fine while they continued the appeal process. But just weeks before Christmas, the state labor commissioner who brought the case against them seized their bank accounts.

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Evolutionists Startled by “Exceptionally Preserved” Embryos in Ancient Fossils

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Christian News Network reports:

A team of French and Canadian scientists have identified preserved embryos within the eggs of a tiny shrimp-like creature believed to have lived over 500 million years ago, raising questions about both the development of the creatures’ brooding abilities and the likelihood of such delicate materials surviving for thousands of millennia.

Waptia fieldensis is a tiny, shrimp-like arthropod whose fossilized remains were first found 100 years ago in Cambrian layers of fossils in Canada. Now extinct, Waptia was a frail creature that carried the eggs of its young within its own body.

Canadian researchers studying Waptia specimens recently made a startling discovery: despite the fossils’ purported ages, collections of tiny eggs somehow survived within their fossilized bodies. The scientists marveled at the remarkable condition of the creatures, describing them as “exceptionally preserved.”

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Book Review: Priscilla Shirer’s “Fervent”

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From Berean Research:

Priscilla Shirer is an actor, author, speaker, and Bible teacher. As such she has influenced many professing Christians, mostly women. Following her appearance in the hit film War Room, much has been written about her. Some bloggers expressed their concerns about her teaching, and rightly so as some of what she teaches is unbiblical. John Lanagan was one of those who warned the brethren of Shirer’s decent into Christian mysticism in a booklet published by Lighthouse Trails. Even before War Room hit theaters, Bible teacher Erin Benziger expressed her concern in a piece entitled: “True Woman Conference Speaker Priscilla Shirer Hears God’s Still, Small Voice.” Benziger writes:

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Christ Hidden in Our Schools, While Muhammad Roams the Halls Freely

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From Berean Research:

It should come as no surprise that Christian practices are outlawed in Muslim countries, but it is pretty shocking to see this sort of thing happening in America. Under the guise of separation of church and state, the celebration of Christmas, which is a federal holiday, is taboo in many of our tax-payer funded public schools. Yet some educators see no problem promoting Islam even though it’s a religion. The question is, why allow schools to censor Christianity and promote Islam?

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New York City to Fine Employers Who Refer to “Transgendered” Workers by Birth Gender

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Christian News Network reports:

The New York City Commission on Human Rights has announced new guidelines under the city’s Human Rights Law that may impose fines on employers who use masculine pronouns for male workers who wish to identify as women and vice versa.

The Commission released its interpretive guide to the law on Monday, which includes a prohibition on “[i]ntentionally failing to use an individual’s preferred name, pronoun or title,” such as “repeatedly calling a transgender woman ‘him’ or ‘Mr.’ when she has made it clear that she prefers female pronouns and a female title.”

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Franklin Graham quits GOP, says America “in trouble” unless more Christians in office

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From Berean Research:

Rev. Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham, is unhappy with the way things are going in America. What will solve the problem? He believes that if “godly men and women” get involved in the political process they can “change this wicked system.” How are we to determine if a person is “godly”? The article doesn’t tell us. Rev. Graham is quoted as saying that he’d like to see people who have “biblical values” run for office. Certainly he knows that having biblical values does not mean a person is an authentic Christian. There are untold numbers of counterfeit Christians in America! In fact, many of them already hold public office and are the CEO’s of megachurches. Likewise, counterfeits run ginormous “Christian” organizations. One example of a “Christian” politician is our president, Barack Obama. An example of a megachurch CEO is “America’s Pastor” Rick Warren. Do you see the dilemma?

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U.S. to Allow Homosexual Men to Donate Blood if Abstinent for at Least One Year

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According to Christian News Network:

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued its final guidance on allowing homosexual men to donate blood, stating that men should be allowed to do so if they have been abstinent for at least one year.

As previously reported, the FDA first announced its intent to loosen its restrictions on blood donations from homosexual men last year, stating that it would “take the necessary steps to recommend a change to the blood donor deferral period for men who have sex with men from indefinite deferral to one year since the last sexual contact.”

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Christians in China feel full force of authorities’ repression

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The Washington Post reports:

Pastor Su Tianfu slides into the back seat and tells the driver to hit it.

He looks over his shoulder: “Is there anybody following us?”

It is days before Christmas, but instead of working on his sermon, Su is giving his tail the slip.

The slight and soft-spoken Protestant preacher is no stranger to surveillance. Su has worked for years in China’s unregistered “house churches,” and he said he has been interrogated more times than he can count.

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Christmas: Christ in you

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By Jim Stitzinger

The Cripplegate blog

The concerts are over and candle-light services are nearly complete. No more caroling, food drives, corporate holiday parties and the sound of Salvation army bells are quickly fading. The world will soon say goodbye to “the holidays” and will soon pivot its attention to New Year’s and Super Bowls.

The world may soon have Christmas almost in it’s rear view mirror, but for Christ’s church the wonder and joy of Christmas never ends. Isaiah prophesied that a virgin will conceive and bear a Son whose name will be Immanuel, God with us. He came to earth that day, and remains with us in every day. The Creator of the universe stepped aside from the full display of His majestic glory and dove headlong into His creation.

The day Christ was born slipped by, uncelebrated throughout the world. It was not for lack of Instagram, satellite communication or weak cell phone coverage. It was not because the postal service lost His birth announcement or a webpage failed to update. Christ entered time and space as planned. The seclusion from the abusive prying eyes of the world kept King Herod from carrying out yet another satanic attempt to assassinate the Savior.

Beyond the safety of our Savior, the world did not see the eternal significance of the first Christmas for the same reason that it cannot understand Christmas today. “The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4). Eyes that are blind to the truth can never see the glory of the Savior who was born.

The world cannot see Jesus, but the world can see Jesus in you.

Here are five windows through which those without hope are able to see Jesus in our lives:
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Do Christians and Muslims Worship the Same God?

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Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, has addressed the controversy that ignited when a Wheaton College professor decided to “wear a traditional Muslim hijab over the holiday season in order to symbolize solidarity with her Muslim neighbors,” and “asserted that Christians and Muslims worship the same God.”

Dr. Mohler opined:

Hard times come with hard questions, and our cultural context exerts enormous pressure on Christians to affirm common ground at the expense of theological differences. But the cost of getting this question wrong is the loss of the Gospel. Christians affirm the image of God in every single human being and we must obey Christ as we love all people everywhere as our neighbor. Love of neighbor also demands that we tell our neighbor the truth concerning Christ as the only way to truly know the Father.

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The Gospel According to Rudolph

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By Daniel Emory Price

RudolphRudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer had a very shiny nose. And if you ever saw it, you would even say it glows All of the other reindeer used to laugh and call him names. They never let poor Rudolph join in any reindeer games

Then one foggy Christmas Eve, Santa came to say: “Rudolph with your nose so bright, won’t you guide my sleigh tonight?”

Then how all the reindeer loved him, as they shouted out with glee: “Rudolph the red-nose Reindeer, you’ll go down in history!”

We all love a good story when the underdog comes out on top. We love Rocky winning the title round, Hoosiers taking the championship, Luke Skywalker blowing up the Death Star, and yes, even Rudolph guiding Santa’s sleigh in the fog. And Rudolph gets the added bonus of having the object of his ridicule turn into the only hope for his haters. And man—we love that.

We love it because we’re all theologians of glory. It’s a tough default theological position to fight. How dare those other reindeer laugh at poor Rudolph! How dare they not let him join in their games! What happened to Santa? Why does he allow this bullying? Rudolph could really use some of that legalistic, naughty or nice, reward or punishment ethic dumped on Dancer and Prancer for a change.

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H/T Chris Rosebrough

Christianity And LGBT Rights: More Christians Than Ever Say Gays Should Be Accepted By Society

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International Business Times reports:

More American Christians are accepting LGBT people, even if their churches strongly oppose gay and lesbian relationships, according to a Pew Research Center report of U.S. religious beliefs and practices released Friday. While more non-Christians accept gay relationships than Christians, the number of Christians who say LGBT relationships should be accepted and not discouraged has grown by 10 percentage points since 2007, the study found.

Overall, 54 percent of Christians say gay people should be accepted, compared with 76 percent of non-Christians and 83 percent of religiously unaffiliated people. Across the general U.S. population, 62 percent accept gay relationships, up from 50 percent in 2007. Most churches teach gay relationships are an act of sin or “intrinsically disordered,” the Pew study said.

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Billy Graham’s Muslims Are “Saved” Remarks Revived After Son Franklin Opposes “Same God” Professor

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According to Christian News Network:

Billy and Franklin GrahamRemarks from Billy Graham asserting that Muslims and those of other religions who “turn to the only light they have” without consciously trusting Christ are saved—despite clear warning in Scripture—have come back to light after his son Franklin Graham, the president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA), expressed disagreement with a Wheaton professor who contends that Christians and Muslims worship the same God.

As previously reported, associate professor Larycia Hawkins posted to Facebook two photos of herself wearing a hijab earlier this month, and stated in a lengthy explanation that she plans to wear it everywhere she goes during the Advent—including at the professedly Christian college and to church.

“I stand in human solidarity with my Muslim neighbor because we are formed of the same primordial clay, descendants of the same cradle of humankind—a cave in Sterkfontein, South Africa that I had the privilege to descend into to plumb the depths of our common humanity in 2014,” Hawkins wrote.

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Vatican Announces “Mother Teresa” to Be Sainted After Being Credited With “Miracles” After Death

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Christian News Network reports:

Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, also known as “Mother Teresa,” will be sainted next year as she is being credited with the purported healing of two people through what Roman Catholics believe is her intercession after her death, the Vatican announced on Friday.

Jorge Bergoglio, also known as “Pope Francis,” approved a decree on Thursday that Bojaxhiu was responsible for a second miracle 11 years after she died.

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Star Wars and the Ancient Religion

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From Berean Research:

Peter Jones of Truthxcange examines the pagan worldview entrenched in Star Wars. George Lucas, the creator of the Star Wars saga, wanted to “produce a children’s fairy tale set in outer space as a ‘teaching tool’ for the re-creation of ‘the classic cosmic mysteries,’” says Jones. Lucas succeeded, big time. There’s no denying that his New Age worldview, which is decidedly pagan, has been embraced by many fans of the hit series. As a result of the film makers’ brilliant marketing strategy, most people in America have heard of Yoda, Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. You’d have to be living on another planet far, far away not to have heard the phrase “may the Force be with you!” Try as they might, parents know that it is almost impossible to shield their kids from the Star Wars marketing machine.

So with all this in mind, how should those with a Christian worldview handle Star Wars? Dr. Jones offers some excellent advice.

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Hillsong Church Rendition of “Silent Night” Features Roaring 20’s Flappers In Nightclub Setting

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From Berean Research:

Over at Now the End Begins, blogger Geoffrey Grider fills us in on Hillsong Church’s Christmas extravaganza that includes nearly naked “drummer boys” and songs about Santa Claus and Rudolf. Grider lamented: “It’s just not a proper celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ without roaring 20’s flappers, rock bands, hoochie coochie dancers, laser light shows and lots and lots of leg in a nightclub setting. Happy Birthday, Jesus, hope you like it.”

The question is: Does Hillsong Church’s production in any way honor God?

Um, no. Watch the Youtube video of Hillsong’s 2014 version of Silent Night, Holy Night and decide for yourself.

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Wheaton Students Demand Reinstatement of Hijab-Wearing Professor Who Declared “We All Worship Same God”

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Christian News Network reports:

A number of students from a prominent Christian-identified university are demanding that school officials reinstate an associate political science director who posted photos of herself wearing an Islamic hijab, stating that she was doing so to show solidarity with Muslims.

As previously reported, Larycia Hawkins posted to Facebook two photos of herself wearing a hijab last Thursday, and stated in a lengthy explanation that she plans to wear it everywhere she goes during the Advent—including at the Christian college and to church.

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