Commentary, analysis and opinion.

Regarding the James White-Michael Brown Connection

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Phil Johnson, Executive Director of Grace to You, weighs in on the White-Brown controversy. He writes:

It seems this week’s episode of “Too Wretched for Radio” unleashed a minor Tweetstorm. A few points have been raised that apparently still need clarification:

  1. It does not trouble me that James White and Michael Brown are friends. As far as their personal relationship is concerned, it surely holds some potential for good. Indeed, Dr. Brown could use more friends whose theological convictions are rooted in Scripture rather than the latest “fresh word” from the mouths of demonstrably false prophets in Redding, CA; Sydney, Australia; Kansas City; TBN; the NAR; or some other nest of charismatic extremism. Continue reading →

Moody Bible Institute President, COO Resign Amid Board’s ‘Unanimous Decision’ for ‘New Season of Leadership’

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(Christian News Network) “Moody Radio host Julie Roys also recently published an article asserting, among other allegations, that the school was not being vigilant to root out liberal professors, that it had allowed an official to violate Moody’s bylaws and that it was ‘fostering an atmosphere of fear and intimidation.’”

The president and COO of Moody Bible Institute have submitted their resignations amid controversy over the direction of the historic institution, and in light of the board’s “unanimous decision” for “new leadership.”  View article →

Putting the Evangel in Evangelicalism

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Pastrix Paula White, Pastor Robert Jeffress and other religious leaders praying for  then presidential GOP candidate Donald Trump.

Why do so many people who outright reject the Christian worldview and choose to live like heathens self-identify as evangelical Christians? For this reason, many Christians, especially in the Reformed camp, say that the label “evangelical” has outlived its purpose. The term has become identified with the Christian Right. Tim Challies reminds us that a large number of evangelicals are not on board with “the alignment of major Evangelical leaders with President Trump and also the stretching of the label to people who functionally deny the ‘evangel’ (good news) at the heart of the word.” (Source) Continue reading →

Themes (or Challenges) for Reformed Christians in 2018

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Blogger, author and book reviewer Tim Challies asks: What themes do you think will be prominent among Reformed people in 2018?

In the following blog post, Challies offers his own ideas and addresses his top three, beginning with “Further Defining Complementarianism,” the view that God calls men, not women, to be the leaders in the home and the church. (1 Tim. 2:12). Those who hold this view insist that women cannot be pastors. Not surprisingly, women having authority over men has become a highly contentious issue in the Church; thus it’s #1 on the list.

So now to what Tim Challies believes are going to be the top three challenges for the Reformed Church in 2018: Continue reading →

Heresy Hunters Guide (Part 1): Why God has called Christians to be ‘Heresy Hunters’.

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(Churchwatch Central) Christians are called to love Jesus the way he asked us to:

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” John 14:15

Sadly, not only do many Christians neglect this command in the church today, the results of ignoring Jesus’ Words regarding false teachers has spiritual consequences:

  1. Unloving towards both God and neighbour;
  2. Exposing the church to more apostacy;
  3. Representing a bad witness to a lost and dying world;
  4. Spiritually harming many people in the church and in the community;
  5. Watering down and complicating the simplicity of the gospel and the Christian confession of faith;
  6. Making evangelism harder regarding new converts finding safe churches where the gospel is not tainted by false teaching or associated with false teachers.

Continue reading →

The Gatekeepers of False Teachers Calling Out Renowned Christian Apologist

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The blog, Bible Thumping Wingnut (BTWN) has shown Christian apologist James White of Alpha and Omega Ministries to be in “sinful error,” according to Pulpit & Pen:

He has gone from doing some merely unwise things to clearly sinful things, and he is digging in as hard and fast as he can go while beginning to disqualify himself from Christian ministry right before our eyes. White has resorted to ad hominem attacks, sadly against some of the very leaders who have defended him in the past. He seems unwilling to listen to those who are well aware of Michael Brown’s errors and the dangers of the New Apostolic Reformation. Most are beginning to see it. Continue reading →

Why You Should Stay Married? And How? Part 1

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(Matt Recker – Proclaim & Defend) Many believers who have been married for years and who may even know intellectually all that the Bible says on this matter, still often end up divorcing their spouse. Others reading this may want to know this about their marriage: is there any hope? There is a tremendous spiritual battle for our homes today and sadly, many divorces split Christian homes every year.

For many men, the command to love their wife sounds like an invitation to step on a nail. For many women, the command to submit to their husband may sound like an invitation to jump off a cliff. For others, remaining in their marriage sounds like banging their head against the wall when they already have a migraine headache. While this blog is not an attempt to give a comprehensive view of marriage and divorce, I hope this will give fresh hope for those struggling in marriage and help to all in seeing the permanency of the marriage covenant. Continue reading →

The hidden pitfall of Bill Johnson’s ‘Red Letter Revival’

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Holly Pivec summarizes the three ways NAR “Super Apostle” Bill Johnson, senior pastor of the notorious Bethel Church in Redding CA, seeks to discover WIFD — what the Father is doing. Not surprisingly there’s a danger in what Johnson is doing as you will see in Pivec’s piece over at Spirit of Error. She writes:

Yesterday I read chapter 8 of Bill Johnson’s book Hosting the Presence: Unveiling Heaven’s Agenda. In this chapter, titled “Red-Letter Revival,” Johnson teaches that Jesus is the standard for people to follow — his words, his life, and his ministry. And Jesus’ primary mission, writes Johnson, was to reveal God the Father by doing only what he saw the Father doing. Continue reading →

A new generation of L.A. Satanists finds community in blasphemous times

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In these times, a lot of people want to not feel helpless. And Lucifer was the original rebel angel.— Zachary James

(August Brown – Los Angeles Times) In November, in the candlelit basement of a house just above the Silver Lake Reservoir, Alexandra James walked over to an altar where her husband, Zachary, waited near a bleached human skull, teeth locked in eternal rictus. From the altar, she lifted a sword and drew points across his chest while a circle of onlookers watched solemnly (well, a few giggled too). An organist played eerie minor key chords and Alexandra turned to face the group.

“On this altar we consecrate swords to direct the fire of our unholy will,” she said. “A human skull, symbol of death. The great mother Lilith created us all, and will destroy us all.” View article →

Day After Elephant Room 3, Michael Brown Whitewashes Christian Tarot Cards

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One day after being Whitewashed by James White at Elephant Room 3, Michael Brown went on his program and Whitewashed ‘Christian tarot cards.’ As explained at Polemics Report, to “Whitewash” something means “to exonerate by means of a perfunctory investigation or through biased presentation of data.”

As we have demonstrated tirelessly, Michael Brown never has enough time to discern whether something is false or true (James White, similarly, said at Elephant Room 3 that he couldn’t confirm or deny the heresies of Heidi Baker, Lou Engle, Rick Joyner or other NAR apostles because he wasn’t familiar with them). Michael Brown – even four years after appearing on Benny Hinn’s program – has still not found enough time to make a judgment call on him. The latest charismatic scheme for which Brown says, “Nothing to see here, move along, Christian” is the Christian tarot card scheme. Continue reading →

Bethel’s Creative Arts pastor denounces Christalignment’s Destiny Card tarot practice and confesses to creating Destiny Cards

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(Churchwatch Central) While Bethel pastor Kris Vallotton retracted his denouncement of Christalignment’s Destiny Card tarot practices, Theresa Dedmon (who at first endorsed the use of Destiny Cards) has now clarified on her blog that although she came up with the idea of ‘Destiny Cards’, they were originally created for a different use.

It is true Dedmon is playing semantics claiming that her Destiny Cards were to be like Hallmark cards. (Hallmark cards don’t ‘call out the gold in others, and prophesy life and encouragement to them’.) Continue reading →

Rick Warren is the wrong choice for spokesman of the Museum of the Bible

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Apprising Ministries photo

Sandy Simpson of Deception In The Church has written a commentary on the 430,000-square-foot Museum of the Bible in Washington DC. Simpson has some serious concerns about some the museum’s board members, including false teacher Rick Warren. And he presents plenty of evidence to back up his concerns. He writes:

Let me start out by stating that I am all in favor of a museum that shows the historicity of the Bible.  If it weren’t for some of the people involved this would be a valuable resource.  But I don’t support giving credibility to Rick Warren and his friends in support of the Museum of the Bible.  Warren has become the de facto spokesman for this effort.  It is great they are featuring texts and archeological information about the Bible.  But I believe Warren is doing this to set himself up as an authority on the Bible when he is actually guilty, on many counts, of not only disobeying it but of twisting it out of all recognition. … Continue reading →

Brown muddies the waters – damaging James White’s reputation?

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(Churchwatch Central) Dr James White is in serious damage control after his recent program featuring NAR Apostle Michael Brown. At the bottom of this article, you can see further evidence of this on his Facebook page.

James White has refused to factually address the evidence presented to him about Michael Brown’s involvement in the NAR (as a NAR Apostle) and Brown’s NAR theological heresies. Here is the documented evidence of Michael Brown lying about his involvement in the NAR. We encourage you to compare these links to the accusations of James White and Michael Brown. The evidence speaks for itself: Continue reading →

What Worldview Does the Maker of Star Wars Movies Want You to Accept?

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(Wintery Knight) I heard that there was a new Star Wars movie out, and that many of my Christian friends were going to see it. I passed on it, because there is something about that whole series that is creepy to me.

It looks like my concerns have some justification. I noticed a couple of reviews of the movie from Come Reason Ministries and Bnonn Tennant.

Here are 3 points that Lenny makes at Come Reason: (H/T Brian)

  1. Faith and tradition are disposable
  2. You don’t really need to put in years of work to be competent
  3. Men are inconsequential

All three points he makes seem to me to be exactly what the movie communicates, but I want to focus on point #3: Continue reading →

Michael Brown to Take Part in Upcoming Toronto Blessing NAR Conference

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(Pulpit & Pen News) Michael Brown, the charismaniac apologist who is affirmed as an orthodox Christian believer – to be promoted to the church – by Dr. James White, is appearing at the “Light the Fire Again 2018” Conference. It is associated with the Toronto Blessing. In fact, it’s the first thing you see on the website.

It advertises itself – as you can see above – as the “site of the Toronto Blessing.” The advertisement encourages people to come and be “a part of a historic gathering of leaders from the great global moves of God at the close of the last century,” referencing the Toronto Blessing and the development of the New Apostolic Reformation. Continue reading →

Michael Brown attacks Christian authors & defends NAR cult

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Churchwatch Central’s title for their article is “What Michael Brown is hiding from his audience (Part 1): Attacking Christian authors; contends for NAR gospel.” Thus far there are 4 articles in the series. We’re posting part 1 and providing links for those who wish to read CWC’s entire series:  Part 2,  Part 3,  Part 4.

Now to CWC’s exposé on Dr. Michael Brown:

This year, a controversial book has been published and caused a ruckus in the Christian media scene. The book is called, ‘The Rise of Network Christianity: How Independent Leaders Are Changing the Religious Landscape’. It was written by Brad Christerson and Richard Flory. Continue reading →

Fact Checking the Worldview Weekend Newsletter

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Brannon Howse of Worldview Weekend (WVW) is under fire once again. Those of you who are unfamiliar with what’s been going on can read about it here.  The reason for the latest brouhaha is that Howse allegedly failed to fact check before sending his WVW newsletter to thousands of subscribers. There are a lot of twists and turns in this story. Find out the details over at Pulpit & Pen:

Well, the financial solicitation letter newsletter for Worldview Weekend has made its way out to their supporters, and to a few people who are not supporters, which is why we have it. It has all the doom and gloom, Elijah-complex sensationalism that one would expect from any ministry selling survival supplies. You may not know it, but Brannon Howse is the last line of defense against the Muslim hordes invading our shores and churches in a global jihad. That’s right. He and his supporters are the last line of defense – unquote – against the imminent Islamocalypse. Continue reading →

Copeland affirms ‘little gods’ doctrine: Todd White claiming he is a ‘god’ (New Breed) in human flesh

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(Churchwatch Central) This is the New Order of the Latter Rain and New Apostolic Reformation heresy that teaches when people are spiritually baptized by this demonic ‘spirit’, they become Sons of God, little Gods or Kings Kids (like Jesus).

Copeland Ministries uploaded an interview on YouTube between Tim Fox and Todd White. In this interview, Todd White recalled his experience ministering to people in a hospital. Remember that Todd White is a ‘little god’, a New Breed:

The ‘New Breed’ Among Us (Part 3): Todd White.

While he later claims he preached ‘the cross’ to them, this was the first thing that came out of his mouth to explain how one is set free from sickness, disease and circumstances: View article →

Resolutions: 6 Ways God Could Sanctify You in the New Year

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Should Christians make New Year’s resolutions? “Is it OK to set a goal to get a certain area of our lives under better control?” asks Bible study author, speaker and blogger Michelle Lesley. In this piece, Lesley offers 6 ways for believers who desire to achieve conformity to the image of God to get there this year. One thing on the list that shouldn’t surprise anyone is daily prayer time, as prayer brings believers into conformity to God’s will in their lives.  So she suggests that God’s people set a daily block of time aside and communicate with Him through prayer.

Here are 5 more goals Michelle Lesley urges Christians to consider: Continue reading →

Leftists Declare War on Thomas the Train

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(Gamaliel Isaac – American Thinker) A conservative cynic from birth, I foolishly thought I had seen it all when it came to leftist madness. But then I saw, posted on CNN’s website, “Why kids love ‘fascist’ cartoons like ‘Paw Patrol’ and ‘Thomas’.” The article referenced several other articles that described Thomas as “a premodern corporate-totalitarian dystopia,” “imperialist racist and sinister,” and “classist, sexist, and anti-environmentalist.”

This caught my attention because my six-year-old boy — like children all over the world — loves stories of Thomas the Train. I recently took my children to Thomasland in Massachusetts and now my boy wants to visit the Thomasland in Japan. The Thomas cartoon is so popular that 1 billion dollars of merchandise related to the show is sold every year. Continue reading →

The Top 10 Child Corruption Trends of 2017

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(Linda Harvey – Mission America) As we look back on 2017, how did our children fare?

Unfortunately, the risk to America’s youth of deliberate corruption is escalating and along with that, the responsibility of parents and public officials to change this picture.

I am not trying to overly sensationalize what’s happening. The facts alone do that. My goal is motivation with prayer points and action steps. Folks, prayer alone is not enough. We must get involved, confront this evil and make it go away.

Here are my Top Ten Child Corruption Trends during last year, hoping they do not continue: Continue reading →

Open Occultism and Millennial Magik

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Here’s an idea. Instead of Christian missionaries heading off to third world countries to evangelize the lost, why not remain at home and evangelize college students. As it turns out, many institutions of higher learning promote paganism; thus, a large number of college educated millennials have bought into pagan beliefs, hook line and sinker. They’re involved in occult practices like astrology, tarot card reading, aura reading, palmistry, Runes, charms, potions, they play the Ouija board game and so on and so forth. In other words, college students are practicing the magik arts, what is commonly called witchcraft. Continue reading →

Evangelical rebel Jen Hatmaker deserved more from Politico than a puff piece

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Journalist and author Julia Duin argues that Politico’s recent piece on “evangelical” Jen Hatmaker, who has become firmly ensconced in the Religious Left, didn’t get anywhere near the same scrutiny as those on the Religious Right receive in the articles written about them. “Why didn’t the writer of this fluff maintain at least some journalistic distance from her subject?” demands Duin. “There was zero attempt (that I could discern) to get an opposing point of view and whoever edited it didn’t demand even a hint of objectivity from the reporter.”

In this piece over at Get Religion, Duin reveals why a large number of evangelical women feel betrayed by the woman they were led to believe shared their biblical worldview. She writes: Continue reading →

Pastors: Stop Trying to be Popular

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The good news about Christ can only be appreciated with the bad news as the backdrop. There are times when the saints must be fed, and there are times when the sinners must be warned (C.H. Spurgeon).

(Shane Idelman – ChristianHeadlines)  A few years back, I listened in astonishment as some​ prominent “Christian” leaders talked about replacing “preaching” with “having a conversation.”

At first, I thought that they might be confusing individual conversations with how we should speak to the masses, but I was wrong. They felt that we should stop “preaching” from the pulpit and start being more passive and less confrontational. Never mind the fact that Jesus said, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent” (Luke 4:43). But according to many, it’s time to replace the pulpit with a couch and preaching with conversing. Continue reading →

In A World of ‘Authentic’ ‘Journeys,’ There’s Always First Things

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(Carl Trueman – First Things) One of the sad things about writing my annual contribution to the First Things end-of-year appeal is that there is always some news headline that indicates why the print magazine and its online content are important. And this year is no exception, with the news that a Roman Catholic priest in Wisconsin has come out as gay, to a standing ovation from his parishioners.

Debates about whether or not same-sex attraction is sinful rage on in Christian circles—but that is not what interests me in this story. Rather, I am interested in the blithe way in which many of the present age’s heterodoxies concerning human personhood are widely accepted as normative. View article →