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

Could your views on God and immigration be changed by using MAGNETS?

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙

Daily Mail fills us in on the latest scientific discovery: transcranial magnetic stimulation. Participants in the study claim their belief in God dropped by a third. Atheists will be thrilled by the news.:

Psychologists have discovered it’s possible to significantly change a person’s beliefs simply by targeting their brain with magnets.

Using what’s known as transcranial magnetic stimulation, the researchers were able to temporarily shut down the part of the brain associated with detecting and solving problems.

People who were subjected to this treatment reported that their belief in God dropped by a third following the stimulation, while there was an increase in positive feelings towards immigrants.

View article →

Pope asks forgiveness after sex scandals rock Vatican and Rome

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ , , ,

The sin of homosexuality continues to plague the Roman Catholic Church. According to a Reuters report:

Pope Francis asked for forgiveness on Wednesday for scandals at the Vatican and in Rome, an apparent reference to two cases of priests and gay sex revealed this month during a major meeting of bishops.

“Today … in the name of the Church, I ask you for forgiveness for the scandals that have occurred recently either in Rome or in the Vatican,” Francis said in unprepared remarks during his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square.

“I ask you for forgiveness,” he said before tens of thousands of people, who broke into applause. The pope then read his prepared address and did not elaborate.

View article →

Read our research paper on Roman Catholicism

Should Type-R Charismatics Get A Free Pass?

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , ,

Strange FireIn October 2013 Grace to You (GTY) hosted the Strange Fire conference at Grace Community Church to launch John MacArthur’s book Strange Fire. The conference critiqued those on the fringe of the charismatic movement who flagrantly misrepresent the work of the Holy Spirit. The conference caused quite a stir, to say the least. But that was two years ago. Seems GTY is not going to let sleeping dogs lie:

While the response to the conference was overwhelming, many of the issues that were raised have yet to be seriously acted upon. Our goal is to fan the flames of this important discussion and continue the call for discernment and discipline in the charismatic movement. To that end, we want to rerun some of the important articles from before and after the conference, and encourage you to visit the Strange Fire website for all the sermons, articles, and videos from that landmark event.

The first person to fan the flames is Phil Johnson, executive director of Grace to You.

View article →

“A shocking form of evil”: Stabbing attacks sweep Israel

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ , ,

Christian Examiner reports:

Rumors of a third intifada, or Palestinian uprising, are growing amid a rash of stabbing attacks by Palestinians that have occurred, centering on Jerusalem, throughout October.

On Monday, a 13-year-old Jewish boy riding his bike in his neighborhood was stabbed multiple times by 13-year-old and a 17-year-old Palestinians, the Jerusalem Post reports. The younger Palestinian teen was subdued by a car driven by a passerby, while the older, who also stabbed a nearby 24-year-old Jewish man, was killed by police.

“Police continue to step up security and will continue to prevent or neutralize terrorists who carry out attacks,” said Jerusalem police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld, who has tweeted updates about the incidents.

View article →

Obama Asks Novelist About “Suspicious” Christians with “Us Versus Them” Mentality

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ ,

Christian News Network reports:

Following release of interview footage with Barack Obama and Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Marilynne Robinson, some are expressing concern about Obama’s remarks regarding those of the Christian faith.

“Tell me a little bit about how your interest in Christianity converges with your concerns about democracy,” Obama asked Robinson, being the interviewer.

“Well, I believe that people are images of God. There’s no alternative that is theologically respectable to treating people in terms of that understanding,” the novelist replied. “It seems to me as if democracy is the logical, the inevitable consequence of this kind of religious humanism at its highest level. And it [applies] to everyone. It’s the human image. It’s not any loyalty or tradition or anything else; it’s being human that enlists the respect, the love of God being implied in it.”

View article →

Historic discovery: Archaeologists find Biblical city Sodom which was “destroyed by God”

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ , ,

According to Express:

A decade of digs at the site to the east of Jordan have established the remains of a large Bronze Age city, that experts suspect is Sodom.

According to the Bible, the city was destroyed alongside Gomorrah, as a judgement from God because of its residents involvement in vice and homosexuality which were considered deviant at the time.

A large amount of the city has now been revealed after 10 years, including defences and many plazas connected by roads, and it appears it was abandoned for 700 years before being reoccupied.

View article →

VIDEO: “Apostle” Bill Johnson’s Bethel Church…Heidi Baker…demonic impartation

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ , ,

From Churchwatch Central:

This footage of Heidi Baker (of Iris Global) was filmed at Bethel Church of Redding, California. It is important to remember that many churches around the world are influenced by these ministries (including Hillsong and C3).

After watching the contents of the below video, the obvious question is this: Why would parents want their kids involved or associated with these people?

Warning: This footage may disturb some viewers!

“Church of Lucifer” to Open in Texas

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ ,

According to Christian News Network:

The first “Church of Lucifer” is set to open later this month in a small town outside of Houston, Texas.

“Never in history has anything like this has happened before: an open to the public home for the Left Hand Path, a church dedicated to the mental freedom of all mankind, a home for all those who are not conformists to the common way of thought, and a temple to the higher self!” the website for the organization reads. “This is the first steps to a new age.”

View article

Unrepentant Creflo Dollar still says Jesus died to make us rich

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ ,

From Berean Research:

A couple of days ago Berean Research editor posted this story (here) and it went viral. Amy later posted a video of Creflo Dollar actually dancing around on dollars (here). She lamented that, “when I saw that someone captured yet another horrific, blasphemous lie on social media this morning, I just about fainted: ‘Jesus bled and died for us so that we can lay claim to the promise of financial prosperity.'” BR was right in saying that this is a blasphemous lie.

Well, the prosperity preacher is digging in his heals, as you will see in this piece over at Christian Today. Mark Woods has the latest as well as Dollar’s theological position:

View article

Rebel cardinals accuse pope of stacking synod cards

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ , ,

The Global Post reports:

Pope FrancisConservative cardinals have accused Pope Francis of stacking the cards against them in an ongoing battle over issues including the Church’s approach to gays and to divorced and remarried believers, it emerged Monday.

In a letter sent to the pontiff on October 5, the opening day of a Church synod on the family, a group of cardinals described procedures for three weeks of discussions as “designed to facilitate predetermined results on important disputed questions.”

The ostensibly private (but quickly leaked) letter was delivered to the pope by Australian Cardinal George Pell and reportedly signed by peers including the archbishops of Toronto and New York, Thomas Collins and Timothy Dolan, and arch-Vatican conservative Carlo Caffarra, the archbishop of Bologna.

View article

Check out our research paper on Roman Catholicism!

Skeptical Climate Change Is Real? These 20 Academics Think You Should Be Prosecuted

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ , ,

The Daily Signal reports:

Are you skeptical of human-caused global warming or climate change like many respected scientists and climate experts? Then you should be prosecuted like a Mafia mob boss, according to 20 academics at ivory towers like Columbia, Rutgers, and the University of Washington.

Apparently, these professors either don’t believe in the First Amendment or are profoundly ignorant of the basic rights it protects. They recently wrote an open letter to President Barack Obama and Attorney General Loretta Lynch asking for anyone who questions the climate-change dogma to be criminally prosecuted under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act because they have “knowingly deceived the American people about the risks of climate change.”

View article

Obama’s former pastor accuses Israel of practising apartheid

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ , ,

According to Christian Today:

Palestinians fighting to keep their homeland are facing “one of the most egregious injustices in the 20th and 21st centuries,” a controversial pastor linked to President Obama claimed this weekend.

Rev Jeremiah Wright led Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago from 1972 to 2008, and was once Barack Obama’s long-time pastor. The President resigned his membership of the church in May 2008 after intense media scrutiny of some of Wright’s more controversial statements, including his assertion that the US government had “failed the vast majority of her citizens of African descent” and should be damned.

View article

Homosexuality “may be triggered by environment after birth”

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ ,

According to The Telegraph:

Homosexuality may be triggered by environmental factors during childhood after scientists found that genetic changes which happen after birth can determine whether a man is straight or gay.

The finding is highly controversial because it suggests that some men are not born gay, but are turned homosexual by their surroundings. It also raises privacy concerns that medical records could reveal sexuality.

View article

The occult practice of automatic writing and A.A.’s twelve steps

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , ,

Most people are unaware that A.A.’s co-founder Bill Wilson received the details of the 12 Steps through spirit dictation. John Lanagan of My Word Like Fire has taken the time to research A.A.’s beginnings. Following is a smidgen of what he has uncovered over the years:

It’s too late. Alcoholics Anonymous has served its purpose. That purpose has been to weaken the church, dilute the theology of Christians exposed to the 12 Step religion, and to point unbelievers away from Christ.

Through A.A. and other 12 Step groups, millions of Christians have placed Christ in a modern day pantheon, a temple of many gods, and have become used to worshiping with non-Christians. (2 Corinthians 6:14-17)

Although frequently (and wrongly) portrayed as Christians, Bill Wilson and A.A. co-founder Dr. Bob Smith delved deeply into the biblically forbidden practice of spiritualism.

View article →

Heartland fury as university renovates chapel to accommodate Muslims

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ ,

On the heals of a report over at Breitbart, World’s First Lesbian Bishop Calls for Church to Remove Crosses, to Install Muslim Prayer Space, Todd Starnes, host of Fox News and Commentary, fills us in on the “Christian cleansing” going on at Wichita State:

A decision to make a university’s chapel “faith neutral” to accommodate Muslim students has created great angst in the nation’s Heartland after critics were accused of being Islamophobic.

Last May, Wichita State University ordered workers to remove all the pews and an altar inside the Harvey D. Grace Memorial Chapel. The pews were ripped from the floor and replaced with portable chairs to make room for Muslim prayer rugs.

“Under the terms of Mrs. Harvey D. Grace’s gift to the university in her will, ‘This chapel will be open to all creeds and to all races of people,’” WSU President John Bardo said in a statement. “Our goal should be exactly what Mrs. Grace set out to do in her gift, to have an all faiths chapel that is welcoming to all religious groups on campus.”

View article →

Creflo Dollar and the case of the missing Facebook post

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ , ,

Berean Research has a couple of posts on Word of faith heretic Creflo Dollar that people must see to believe. The first post is titled: Creflo Dollar removes posts claiming Jesus died to give us “financial prosperity.” BR reports what happened:

I am a huge proponent of screencap. Capturing an image before a false teacher or wolf or talk show host or author realizes he’s been caught pedaling falsehoods is often the only way sheep will realize just how deceitful their beloved Christian celebrities really are. So when I saw that someone had captured yet another horrific, blasphemous lie on social media this morning, I just about fainted: “Jesus bled and died for us so that we can lay claim to the promise of financial prosperity.”

View article →

She also posted a video of Dollar doing the money dance:

If you’ve never seen this video of prosperity preachers Creflo Dollar and LeRoy Thompson dancing across their stage on the dollar bills of congregants, you’d best gird your loins first with truth:

View article →

Unrepentant Apocalyptic False Prophet Shrugs Off World Not Being “Annihilated” by Fire Wednesday

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙

According to Christian Research Network:

fortune tellerThe leader of a Pennsylvania-based group that followed the late Harold Camping, a radio host who made numerous false predictions about the end of the world, is shrugging off his incorrect prognostication that the Earth would be “annihilated” by fire on Wednesday.

“Since it is now October 8th it is now obvious that we were incorrect regarding the world’s ending on the 7th,” wrote eBible Fellowship leader Chris McCann in an online note on Thursday. “Did we lie? No.”

View article →

University of Toronto Dumps Transgender Bathrooms After Peeping Incidents

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙

The Daily Wire reports this not so surprising story:

The administration at the University of Toronto was recently enlightened on why two separate washrooms are generally established for men and women sharing co-ed residencies.

The University is temporarily changing its policy on gender-neutral bathrooms after two separate incidents of “voyeurism” were reported on campus September 15 and 19. Male students within the University’s Whitney Hall student residence were caught holding their cellphones over female students’ shower stalls and filming them as they showered.

View article →

Vatican Considers Ordaining Female Deacons

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ ,

According to Christian Headlines:

Popping eyesThe most controversial proposal floated so far at the high-level, high-stakes Vatican summit on church teachings on the family had nothing to do with gays or divorce, but instead ordaining women — not as priests, but as deacons.

Still, even that suggestion — made by a Canadian archbishop on Tuesday (Oct. 6), near the start of the closely watched, three-week synod called by Pope Francis — was considered eye-popping.

View article →

Pope’s U.S. visit was PR bonanza for Catholic Church

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ , ,

Christian Examiner reports:

A new survey from the Pew Research Center, conducted after the visit of Pope Francis to the United States in September, shows the Catholic leader was instrumental in giving Americans a more positive image of the Catholic Church.

According to Pew, Francis helped generate “good will” among most Americans, and even among “ideological liberals and moderates, along with Democrats.”

View article →

Bethel Redding youth leader says Jesus asked him for forgiveness!

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ , ,

John Lanagan of My Word Like Fire gives us the details:

Train wreckBeloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. (Jude 1:3)

One more in a long train wreck of false claims and teachings from Bethel Redding. This youth leader states that in a vision Jesus picked him up, began to weep, and asked his forgiveness.

If you can’t find a passage in the Bible where Christ asks us to forgive Him, it is because it is not in the Bible.

What about the people who heard the youth leader claim this from the pulpit? Who will help them? Other Bethel leaders?

Not likely.

View article →

Christian Missionaries Crucified by ISIS After Refusing to Deny Christ

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ , , ,

According to Christian News Network:

Ten Christian missionaries and a 12-year-old boy lost their lives in August after they were executed by the barbaric Islamic group ISIS because they refused to deny Christ.

Christian Aid Mission (CAM) reports that on Aug. 7th, the indigenous missionaries were captured near Aleppo, Syria after rejecting advice by their ministry director to leave the area due to violence. The men chose to stay to share the gospel with those suffering from the ISIS insurgency.

View article →

WORLD’S FIRST LESBIAN BISHOP CALLS FOR CHURCH TO REMOVE CROSSES, TO INSTALL MUSLIM PRAYER SPACE

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ , ,

Here’s what happens when liberal lesbians become Bishops. Eva Brunne, who is the bishop of a Swedish church, believes that “removing Christian symbols from the church and preparing the building for Muslim prayer doesn’t make a priest any less a defender of the faith.” Breitbart has the full report:

The Bishop of Stockholm has proposed a church in her diocese remove all signs of the cross and put down markings showing the direction to Mecca for the benefit of Muslim worshippers.

Eva Brunne, who was made the world’s first openly lesbian bishop by the church of Sweden in 2009, and has a young son with her wife and fellow lesbian priest Gunilla Linden, made the suggestion to make those of other faiths more welcome.

View article →

Islamic State militants blow up ancient Arch of Triumph in Palmyra

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ ,

Yahoo News has this report from Reuters:

State militants have blown up the Arch of Triumph, a major monument in the 2,000-year-old Roman city of Palmyra, Syria’s antiquities chief said on Sunday, after they destroyed two ancient temples at the central Syrian site in recent months.

Maamoun Abdulkarim told Reuters that sources in Palmyra had confirmed that the Arch of Triumph, a jewel in the exquisite collection of ruins in the oasis city, had been blown up.

View article →