Commentary, analysis and opinion.

A Naked Emperor in the Southern Baptist Convention

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How long will it take before the Southern Baptist Convention disqualifies and/or disciplines some of its leaders such as Rick Warren, Andy Stanley & Beth Moore who are in blatant unrepentant sin, wonders Bible study author, speaker and blogger Michelle Lesley. “Is there any amount of sin these pastors and teachers, and those like them, can commit that will cause those in SBC leadership to pull their materials off the shelves of LifeWay, deny them a seat at the table, and urge them to repent and step down from their positions?” The answer is that the SBC has chosen to let sleeping dogs lie. So it appears that SBC celebs who remain in unrepentant sin will not suffer any consequences whatsoever. At least not from the SBC’s hierarchy. Continue reading →

The American Cultural Revolution

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(Erick Erickson – Dailywire) “What we are seeing is an American Culture Revolution, unleashed by a narrow-minded group of leftists who have more in common with Mao than Washington. They have become dominant in the American media and have systematically purged conservative voices from the air and print. Conservative thought is more and more relegated to a ghetto and should any prominent conservative try to leave the ghetto, the leftwing mob will take action to destroy them.”

Kevin Williamson has been fired by The Atlantic. Williamson is one of the great conservative intellectuals of our times. He has a keen wit and frequently engages in heterodox opinions that make his writing and thinking intriguing. For a decade he wrote at William F. Buckley’s National Review until hired away last week by Jeffrey Goldberg, the Editor of The Atlantic. Continue reading →

U.S. Cardinal: Pope’s ‘No Hell’ Comments a ‘Profound Scandal’

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(Michael W. Chapman – CNSNews)  Commenting on the worldwide reaction to Pope Francis’ interview with his longtime atheist friend, Eugenio Scalfari, in which the latter claimed the Pope said there is no Hell and that the souls of the damned are not eternal, Cardinal Burke, an American who serves on the Vatican’s highest court, said the situation was “beyond tolerable” and “a source of profound scandal.”

Cardinal Burke also criticized the Vatican’s response to the scandal as “strongly inadequate” because the Vatican did not say Pope Francis rejcts these “heretical ideas.” Continue reading →

Invalid reasons for staying in a church you know teaches false doctrine

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Recently we posted “10 invalid arguments in defense of false teachers” by Rick Becker. Now Becker lays out 8 reasons believers shouldn’t remain in a church. One of the reasons people often cite for staying is that they feel they play a valuable role in the church, such as secretary, worship leader, Bible teacher, or even one of the pastors. Becker isn’t buying it.  He believes that those who stay are compromising. So, your choice “is between contending for the faith, or remaining content with a distortion of the faith.” You can read Becker’s piece over at Famine In The Land: Continue reading →

Scammed by a Black, a Woman, and Now a 17-Year-Old

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(Lloyd Marcus – American Thinker) “My fellow Americans, leftists view you only as pawns.  Your lives are mere tools to use to further their anti-God, anti-freedom, and anti-America agendas.  Leftists are willing to sacrifice your well-being, best interests, and lives to further their extreme causes and ideas.  This is why leftists use everything that happens in life – every accident, every tragic event, even the weather, to move the ball toward their goal.”

The I.D. (Investigation Discovery) channel re-enacts real-life crime stories.  I watched two stories in which single female homeowners heard men breaking into their homes. … Continue reading →

Beth Moore’s Legalism: A Discernment Lesson applicable to any teacher

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Elizabeth Prata of The End Time reminds us that popular Bible study teacher, author, and speaker Beth Moore’s theology is off the rails. (Prata has a page on her blog that contains past critiques of Mrs. Moore’s teaching.)  In this piece she addresses Moore’s legalism and admonishes us not to listen to Moore “or any teacher who imposes conditions on your walk that are absent from the Bible. Or who uses absolute words like unless, can’t, always, never, all the time, and so on.”  In this “refresher course” Elizabeth Prata once again takes on Beth Moore:

I have written about Beth Moore’s legalism in the past (2011). It’s hard to believe that was 7 years ago. Here is a refresher course on how, while seeming to speak a Gospel-infused sermon, Beth Moore’s speeches are really just a try harder legalism. This is a lesson in discernment. Continue reading →

MLM-ing Essential Oils at Church

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Bible study author, speaker and blogger, Michelle Lesley, responds to a question from her Mailbag: Our church has recently had a visitor come who is now promoting essential oils to the women who are flocking to a class she is having in one of their homes. This makes me very uncomfortable as it appears (to me) that she has visited to increase her MLM [multi-level marketing] customer base while touting medicinal cures via essential oils. Do you have any research on this?

Sounds like a multi-level mess! There are several different issues going on here, so let’s dig in… Continue reading →

Pope: Christians Should Feel Shame for Global Strife

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(Robert Spencer – Frontpage) “In speaking of those who have left the world ‘fractured by divisions and wars,’ Pope Francis doesn’t seem to have said a word about the religion that actually teaches that believers should wage war against and subjugate unbelievers. But of course, about that religion he has said, ‘Authentic Islam and the proper reading of the Koran are opposed to every form of violence.’”

Never missing an opportunity to confuse, disappoint, and demoralize the Catholic faithful, Pope Francis, according to the Latin American Herald Tribune, said on Good Friday that “Christians ought to express shame for the actions of those who are leaving future generations a world ‘fractured by divisions and wars.’” Continue reading →

What Does Jesus’ Death Accomplish?

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(Stacie McKeever – Answers In Genesis) If Jesus suffered the punishment for death on our behalf, why do we still die?

Consider further the following:

  • Our sins are removed from us as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12).
  • We are set free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:1–4), yet we continue to sin (Paul chronicled his struggle in Romans 7).
  • Jesus “has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows” (Isaiah 53:4), yet many continue to suffer from horrible illnesses even after they receive the gift of eternal life.
  • The kingdom of God is one of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17), yet we continue to cry and experience great sorrow.

Continue reading →

Jordan Peterson, Jung, and Hope for the Faint-Hearted

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Who is Jordan Peterson? If you don’t already know, you will, as he’s the West’s “hottest intellectual.”  Dr. Peterson’s website informs us that he’s a Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto, a clinical psychologist, a public speaker, and the and author of “12 Rules For Life: An Antidote to Chaos.” He’s become a regular guest on the popular  Fox News show Tucker Carlson Tonight and perhaps other Fox shows as well.  Because of his popularity among people of faith, Dr. Peter Jones thought it was important to put up a warning flag about this man. What you’ll learn about him may surprise you. For one thing, he’s a big fan of famous Swiss psychologist and occultist Carl Jung.  Why does this matter? You’re about to find out. Continue reading →

Pope Francis: ‘There Is No Hell’

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(Michael W. Chapman – CNSNews) In another interview with his longtime atheist friend, Eugenio Scalfari, Pope Francis claims that Hell does not exist and that condemned souls just “disappear.” This is a denial of the 2,000-year-old teaching of the Catholic Church about the reality of Hell and the eternal existence of the soul.

The interview between Scalfari and the Pope was published March 28, 2018 in La Repubblica. The relevant section on Hell was translated by the highly respected web log, Rorate Caeli. Continue reading →

Sin Didn’t Kill Jesus—God Did

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(Tim Challies) This sponsored post is adapted from The Gospel According to God: Rediscovering the Most Remarkable Chapter in the Old Testament by John MacArthur—a book explaining the prophetic words of Isaiah 53 verse by verse, highlighting important connections to the history of Israel, the New Testament, and our lives today.

A Shocking Truth

The reality of Christ’s vicarious, substitutionary death on our behalf is the heart of the gospel according to God—the central theme of Isaiah 53. Continue reading →

‘Roseanne’ BLOWS UP In The Ratings. Trump Supporters Cheer. But There’s One Really Big Problem For Conservatives.

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(Ben Shapiro – Dailywire) On Tuesday night, Roseanne’s reboot premiered — and it blew up in the ratings. Fully 18.2 million Americans between the ages of 18-49 watched the show. It received a 5.1 rating. It was the best Tuesday night premier for ABC since 2006. Americans tuned in in shocking numbers.

Many conservatives are overjoyed at this — they see it as a cultural moment of great import, because Roseanne’s character is a Trump supporter. She shellacks Hillary on the show. Her sister, a purported Hillary supporter, couldn’t even bring herself to vote Hillary — she voted for Jill Stein. Continue reading →

March for Our Lives Says Gov’t Is Our Savior — It’s Not

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(Michael Anthony – FaithZette) Be very aware of what this movement is about — and how many of our freedoms are under threat

Let’s get something straight quickly, as the March for Our Lives events all across the country on Saturday, March 24, 2018, continue to spur discussion and debate: It’s not the federal government’s job to create freedom, but rather to get out of the way and let freedom happen.

Freedom comes from God, not the government.

More and more, the federal government appears to be replacing God — and so many people seem to love it. Continue reading →

Come Out From Them and Be Separate

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Here’s Mike Riccardi’s latest installment of a series he’s writing on those “whom the faithful Christian minister may legitimately partner with in ministry,” a series we highly recommend. In this installment he urges Bible believers not to unite in ministry with the world, “even that part of the world that goes to church and calls themselves worshipers of Jesus.” He describes who these people are and explains why we shouldn’t even pray with them, and that includes those who identify as Roman Catholics. In Riccardi’s view it’s unthinkable to join hands and pray with apostates. It’s also unbiblical, as you will see in his piece over at The Cripplegate. He writes: Continue reading →

Nunes: We Found Links Between Clinton, the Democrat Party, and Russia

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(The Western Journal) As Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Trump-Russia collusion continues to bear down on Washington, one House Intelligence Committee member stated that it was not Republicans America had to worry about, but Democrats.

House Chairman Devin Nunes spoke to Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo on “Sunday Morning Features” to reveal who he claims to be the true antagonist in the collusion between Russia and the U.S.

“We’ve been listening for over a year to the Democrats in this country scare the American people saying they have evidence of collusion with the Russians — no they don’t,” Nunes said. “We also found no collusion between the Trump campaign,” he added. “But we did find links between the Clinton [campaign] and the Democratic Party to the Russians.” View article →

After years of inquiries, Willow Creek pastor denies misconduct allegations

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(Manya Brachear Pashman and Jeff Coen – Chicago Tribune) “Many of the women who spoke with the Tribune were loath to come forward for fear of betraying a man who had encouraged their leadership in a way that no other pastor had before and undermining a ministry that has transformed thousands of lives. But when they heard there were other women who had similar stories to tell, even in the last year, they said their silence could not last.”

Last October, the Rev. Bill Hybels stood before worshippers at his packed sanctuary and made a stunning announcement. After 42 years building northwest suburban Willow Creek Community Church into one of the nation’s most iconic and influential churches, Hybels was planning to step down as senior pastor. Continue reading →

The Republicans Are Still Funding The Abortion Industry Because They Are Cowardly Buffoons

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Trump signed the bill.

(Matt Walsh – Dailywire, 3/22/18) “They passed tax reform. Hooray. Who cares? My money is funding the mass execution of human children. They haven’t done anything about that. They haven’t really tried. They are frauds. They are cowards.”

Republicans in the House passed a trillion-dollar spending bill yesterday. It fully funds Planned Parenthood. Another half a billion dollars to an organization that slaughters 300,000 babies a year. The GOP is now well into its second year in power — controlling the House, Senate, and Presidency — and Planned Parenthood is still making hundreds of millions of dollars from the taxpayers. Continue reading →

Are Catholic Francis Critics Becoming Protestant? Priest Prays Imprecatory Prayer Against Pope Francis

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(Pulpit & Pen) In a startling move, a Romanist priest has preached a homily in which he relayed an imprecatory prayer for Pope Francis, contingent upon Francis’ obedience to God.

An imprecatory prayer is a statement to God asking for judgment upon another individual. The word, “imprecate,” is a verb that means, “to invoke harm upon or curse.” We see examples of imprecatory prayers in Scripture, and they include Psalm 55, Psalm 69, and Psalm 109, in which David or another Psalmist petitions God to distribute justice upon his enemies. … Continue reading →

Fighting Off the Wolves

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The Apostles weren’t afraid to speak the truth boldly about those who teach falsely in order to protect the sheep of God. For example, Peter said of wolves in sheep’s clothing:

“They count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, while they feast with you. They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children! Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray.” – Peter, 2 Peter 2:13b-15a

Ouch! Continue reading →