Commentary, analysis and opinion.

Pitiable Capitulating Pro-Family Leaders – Part 1 (Reprise)

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In their zeal to defeat liberalism and to bring a modicum of sanity back to America, Christian Right leaders joined forces with those who profess to know and serve God but who are in fact wolves in sheep’s clothing. As a result, the Christian Right is teaming with wolves.

By Marsha West (First published 3/24/15)

Religious Right, Christian Right, religious conservatives, “values voters” and evangelicals are a few of the titles given to the social and or political groups that wish to hang on to the “traditional family values” (TFV) that are passed on from one generation to the next.  These values are defined as “the moral and ethical principles traditionally upheld and transmitted within a family, [such as] honesty, loyalty, industry, and faith.”  How they go about this maintenance effort varies drastically.  The most radical of these believe they have a mandate from God to occupy all secular institutions and dominate the political process until Christ returns.  Unfortunately many evangelicals are participating in this seemingly godly effort, unaware of what’s going on behind the scenes.  They’re blindly following Christian Right (CR) leaders down some very dangerous paths.

All In The Family

TFV has its roots in the Bible and is derived from the Ten Commandments.  So for Christians there’s nothing wrong with having a desire to hang on to family values, especially when it comes to adopting ethical principles taught in Scripture.  In our post-modern culture, however, a growing number of liberal Americans are moral relativists.  For these folks there are no moral absolutes and culture, not the Bible, determines right from wrong.

The moral free fall America’s now in stems from the culture war of the 1960s.  Expressions such as “anything goes” “if it feels good do it” “sex, drugs and rock and roll” describe the mind-set of the hippie generation.  The counter culture movement grew legs in the 1960’s, sprinted into the 21st Century, and continues to gain momentum to this day.  The 60’s revolution was actually America’s rebellion against the God of the Bible.  Unfortunately much of what was generated then lives on today.  I’ll touch on that in a moment.

The problem isn’t with the folks who care about TFV; it lies with some—not all–of the organizations that are fighting on the front lines of the culture war battlefield.  In their zeal to defeat liberalism and to bring a modicum of sanity back to America, the CR joined forces with outright heretics, blurring the line that separates orthodoxy from heresy.  At one time evangelical was used to differentiate Protestantism from Roman Catholicism and Orthodox Christianity.

In today’s culture evangelicals are identified with far right Republicans.  It is true, this might be an accurate comparison for some, but by definition an evangelical is a believer who holds that Scripture is the infallible, inerrant, inspired Word of God and the authority by which they live their lives; likewise evangelicals believe in the Trinity, the deity of Christ, what the Bible says about sin, and of course salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. (Ephesians 2:8) In other words, evangelicals held to the fundamentals of the faith. They shared the Gospel of Christ with the lost as they were commanded to do. (Matthew 28:18–20; Acts 1:8, 1 Peter 3:15)  They believed that people are dead in their sins and in need of a Savior.  As I implied, for some self-professed evangelicals, these actions are no longer part of their mandate.  I say self-professed, mainly because the name evangelical has been hijacked by liberals who say they’re Christians even though they reject many of the fundamentals of the faith.  Liberals would never “push their religious views” on someone else.  You might ask why they choose not to share the gospel.  From their point of view, Christians don’t have a personal responsibility to share their faith because they believe it’s possible for the Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, etc., to remain in his/her religion and still be saved.  My point is, when someone says they’re an evangelical in today’s world, it doesn’t really tell you anything.

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What is the Prophetic-Apostolic Movement?

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Churchwatch Central has put together a summary of New Apostolic Reformation pioneers Bob Jones, Mike Bickle, C. Peter Wagner and John Wimber.

NAR false teachers “Apostle” Bill Johnson & “Prophet” Mike Bickle

We’ve already provided a simplistic overview of the Shepherding/Discipleship Movement (SDM) in the 1970s. This time we would like to turn your attention to the Prophetic-Apostolic Movement (PAM). 

Mike Bickle has done the body of Christ a massive favor by advertising the historical foundations of his iHOP movement through these sessions and resources. In the attached resources you will hear:

  1. Their experiences with the ‘Dominus’ Jesus and the ‘Don’ Jesus,
  2. How they helped pioneer the APM, with leaders such as John Wimber,
  3. How the Apostles of the Vineyard Movement worked with the Prophets of the Kansas City Prophetic Movement to further establish their governance over the visible church,
  4. Countless bizarre prophecies and experiences from Mike Bickle, Bob Jones and other false prophets and leaders.

Although Wimber and Wagner played a significant role in developing the Apostolic Movement through the Vineyard Movement (US) and New Wine Movement (UK) in the 1980s, our focus will be more on the Prophetic Movement in Kansas City, led by Bickle and Jones.

This article exists so people can hear. for themselves, Bob Jones and Mike Bickle talk about iHOP’s creepy beginnings. Back in the early 1980s, it was known as the Kansas City Fellowship (KCF). It later became the Kansas City Prophets (KCP) prophetic movement which helped bring into fruition other movements, mainly the iHOP movement. We will also include an important work of a man who helped exposed the dangers of this dangerous part of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR).

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Parents: If your church is ‘Turning Orange…’

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From Berean Research:

Has your church “turned Orange?” If your children’s ministry leaders have suddenly put your children’s discipleship in the hands of Andy Stanley’s “Orange Strategy,” you’re going to want to investigate what this program is – and more importantly what it is NOT.

After publishing my article on Naomi’s Table this week, I received this letter, which is why I am sharing the Orange warning here:

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Ten transgender truths for legislators and concerned citizens

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The LGBTQ community and its supporters will surely get their knickers in a knot over this piece by Selwyn Duke that’s posted over at RenewAmerica. Why? Because they become incensed when people learn what’s true and what’s not true about LGBTQ people. Radical homosexuals have mastered the art of hiding the truth from the public.

Find out more about the homosexual agenda here. 

Now listen to Selwyn Duke present the hard facts on transgenderism. He writes:

Whether you’re a lawmaker considering a “bathroom bill” or some other “transgender”-oriented legislation, or a citizen pondering a vote influencing the matter, you need the facts. The following are 10 “transgender” truths:

  • There is no sound science behind the transgender agenda. No “expert” can point to any physiological markers, in any given case, proving that at issue is a biological phenomenon and not a purely psychological one.

  • The “transgender” diagnosis is based purely on feelings relating to what’s called strong “cross-gender identification.” It’s no different from a cardiologist performing bypass surgery on a patient – without conducting any medical tests confirming heart disease’s presence – based solely on the person claiming he feels as if he has clogged arteries. Yet on this basis alone a psychiatrist may recommend that a child live as a member of the opposite sex and even, at some point, have body-rending “gender-reassignment surgery” (read: mutilation).

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“The Gospel according to Glennon”: What gospel?

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This is the title of a piece published in Elle magazine. Denny Burk, Professor of Biblical Studies at Boyce College, added “what gospel” to the title because the author, Ruth S. Barrett, wasn’t talking about the true Gospel of Jesus Christ, as Burk makes clear in his blog post. But before we get to that, you need to know that in November 2016 we reported that “Christian” blogger Glennon Doyle Melton came out as a lesbian.  At that time Doyle Melton was thought of as a “truth teller, someone who had helped countless people through her online community, Momastery, and in her work with Together Rising.”   She was known for her honesty about alcohol addiction, anxiety, depression, an eating disorder and, not surprisingly, her dysfunctional marriage to Craig.  Due in part to his serial infidelity, Glennon filed for divorce.  Shortly thereafter she began dating soccer star Abby Wambach. The couple tied the knot in May. Many people, including professing Christians, celebrated her “coming out.” And when she “married” her lesbian lover, a lot of folks, including those same Christians, celebrated their union.

Denny Burk wonders if people would be celebrating the divorce in the same way if she had left her husband for another man. “Probably not,” he says. Why? “Because ‘coming-out’ and embracing gay identity is seen as sacrosanct in our culture–even more holy than the covenant of marriage. Even more important than maintaining one’s wedding vows.”

So with the stage set, here’s Denny Burk’s take on Confused mommy-blogger Glennon Doyle Melton.  View article →

Related:

Would the Son of God Contradict the Father? by Marsha West

Berean Research’s White Paper on the Homosexual Agenda

Hey Bill Johnson and Bethel Church, God Put Himself in a Box Called ‘Bible’

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Conservative evangelicals are often accused by charismatics of having a tendency to box God up.  One charismatic whose mission it is to un-box God is New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) “Super Apostle” Bill Johnson, senior pastor of Bethel Church in Redding, CA. Anthony Wood of Mission Bible Church in Tustin, CA quotes Johnson as saying that “to follow Him we must be willing to follow off the map – to go beyond what we know.” Those who listen to him are encouraged to believe that “God colors outside the lines.” As you’re about to see, Wood vehemently disagrees with Johnson’s portrayal of the Creator of the universe as loosey-goosey.  He also takes issue with Bethel Church’s “special blessings” that include “falling feathers, walking with angels, gold dust, animal growling, raising the dead, and miraculous healings.” Wood writes:

I receive emails from people around the world who are deeply confused and frightened by the teaching and supposed “miracle” ministry of Bill Johnson, Bethel Church, and Jesus Culture in Redding California. Many of these emails are from well meaning friends and family who have a loved one “immersed” in Bethel culture who won’t respond to their basic appeals for biblical clarity. Interestingly, time and again these lost sheep influenced by Bethel provide the same response to inquisitors.

“We don’t put God in a box.”

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North Carolina County Approves Resolution Recognizing ‘Month of Ramadan’

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Religious favoritism? One commissioner who voted against the resolution thinks so. Jim Pickett complained in an email: “To the best of my knowledge we have never (and I don’t think it would be proper) adopted a resolution in support of Lent … Easter, Christmas, Hanukkah, Passover, Yom Kippur, Pioneer Day for Mormons, or Diwali.” Christian News has the story:

Commissioners over one county in North Carolina have approved a resolution recognizing June as the “Month of Ramadan.”

The Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners adopted the resolution on Tuesday, with six in favor and three against.

“Ramadan is a sacred time that commemorates the revelation of the Quran to the prophet Mohammad, and encourages fasting, prayer, reflection, God consciousness and gratitude,” the resolution reads. “[E]ach day of fasting teaches the soul to struggle with the self, persevere, be patient and to forgive and love.”

It asserts that Islam is a part of America’s history and that Muslims should be recognized for their contributions.

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Insight into the lunacy of Bethel Supernatural School of Ministry.

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From Churchwatch Central:

“Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.” Ephesians 5:11

Phil Johnson of Grace To You made this observation about Bethel Church back in April 2016 – “Bethel constitutes a whole different message from biblical Christianity,” one that is “totally devoid of any true and consistent proclamation of the gospel.” (Source)

From Bethel Supernatural School of Ministry:

10 Ways to Be Activated in the Supernatural

You are a light to the world! You are “a city that is set on a hill [that] cannot be hidden” (Matthew 5:14). Indeed, you are not called to hide the love, power, and freedom that is inside you. Instead, you are destined to shine brightly so the world can see your good works and bring glory to your Father in heaven.

Today, we want to share ten activations that will help your students grow in their relationships with the Holy Spirit and reveal the light of the kingdom. These activations will challenge them to develop spiritual gifts and usher them into powerful encounters with God.

As your students step out in risk, remind them that nothing is impossible with God (Matthew 19:26). May they be led to shine brightly in your city!

View article!

Womb with a view: Fetuses can recognize faces while still inside mom

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Doyle Rice of USA Today informs us that this new research is the first to show that it is possible to explore sight and cognition in babies inside their mother’s womb. According to a new peer reviewed study, a “collection of cells” a “potential person” a “fetus” has cognitive and visual ability at 34 weeks. It’s going to be interesting to see how pro-aborts, especially those who call themselves Progressive Christians, will handle this very credible scientific research. We hope and pray that this unbiased study will help those who are all for a women’s right to choose to abort what they deem a “potential person” will come to their senses.

Now to Doyle Rice’s story:

We know babies love looking at the faces of their mom or dad. Now, for the first time, researchers have discovered that this preference develops in the womb several weeks before birth, according to a study published Thursday.

By projecting light through the uterine wall of pregnant mothers, British scientists found that 34-week-old fetuses will turn their heads to look at face-like images.

“We have shown the fetus can distinguish between different shapes, preferring to track face-like over non-face-like shapes,” said psychologist Vincent Reid of Lancaster University in the United Kingdom, a co-author of the study. “This preference has been recognized in babies for many decades, but until now exploring fetal vision has not been attempted.”

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Leading liberals develop blueprint to expand ‘deep state’ and undercut Trump

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Ryan Lovelace of Washington Examiner reports that a meeting of the far-left American Constitution Society was held to discuss how to encourage the “deep state” to undermine President Donald Trump. He writes:

Forlorn liberals took refuge at the American Constitution Society’s national convention in Washington this week, discussing whether to encourage the growth of the “deep state” resistance inside the government or fight President Trump from outside.

“The election of Donald Trump was an assault on the federal bureaucracy,” William Yeomans said to a room full of students and civil servants, including those recently displaced by Trump’s administration. “His values are simply not consistent with the values of people who are committed to public service and who believe deeply in the importance of public service.”

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We Need Discernment Ministries? Yes Absolutely!

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I stumbled upon this gem over at Apprising Ministries that was penned in 2005 by G. Richard Fisher of Personal Freedom Outreach. Ken Silva ran across Fisher’s piece and posted it on AM in 2011. In it Fisher presents his view of why discernment ministries are necessary. For example, discernment ministries like AM and PFO hammer home the fact that the Word of Faith movement is not biblical Christianity — it is a theological cult.  WoF “may superficially speak of Christ,” says Fisher, “but their Christology of a born-again Jesus who suffered in hell, denies the Christ of the Bible and is rank heresy. Using Christian words and defining them in non-Christian ways is the essence of deception and cultism.”

With this background in mind, listen as Richard Fisher argues why online apologetics and discernment ministries are important. He writes:

In a day of pluralism and tolerance, apologetic and discernment ministries are viewed by some as anti­quated, unneeded, and in the way of getting together and getting along.

In a day when unity is put far above truth, counter-cult ministries are seen as passé and even obstructionist.

Televangelists and Word Faith teachers can draw tens of thousands to their meetings while discernment confer­ences struggle to get a hundred. Truth, dear thinking, and biblical precision are definitely not in, and heresies are gaining popularity. Orthodoxy is out and false doctrine is in vogue.

Of course, there are many reasons for this: Men love darkness rather than light. We have an unseen enemy who goes about like a roaring lion. And liberalism has so eroded confidence in Scripture that many are turning to mysticism and experience. Subjectivism is the drug of choice. Many of the religious are addicted to their own adrenaline.

Truth be known, the deception is getting deeper and more subtle. This only underscores the need for organi­zations such as Personal Freedom Outreach. Someone needs to sound the alarm. Without discernment minis­tries, who will do it?

The evangelical Church has tried so hard to be relevant to the world that it is becoming irrelevant. Rather than compromise with the dominant culture, we need to stand more strongly for our distinctives and distinctiveness.

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 Berean Research has an excellent White Paper on Discernment.

Purpose Driven Dismantling of Christianity

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By Marsha West

Posted below is part 3 of a column I wrote for RenewAmerica in 2011 in which I revealed that religious syncretism (a blending of many different belief systems) has virtually reshaped the visible Church.  I wasn’t alone in pointing out this fact. There were many others in the online apologetics and discernment ministries who were sounding the alarm. In light of what is going on in many churches, it is clear that the warning cry of “discerners” has been largely ignored and now the visible church is in considerable disarray. Not only were we not listened to, we’ve been marginalized, and in some cases hated, for exposing the apostasy that has changed the face of evangelicalism.

The dismantling of historic, orthodox, biblical Christianity has continued at break-neck speed to the point where the visible Church has become a haven for hirelings and goats who’ve set about butting the sheep out the church’s back door.

My primary focus for part 3 of the series is to show how Gnosticism and Man-Centered Psychology has gotten a firm grip on Christendom.  How did this happen?  In large part it happened because undiscerning Church leaders thought it was a good idea to adopt the Rick Warren “Purpose Driven” marketing strategy to grow their churches.

This short intro sets the stage for part 3 of “Purpose Driven Dismantling of Christianity.”

This overview of what I have termed Syncretism Stew shows a diabolically inspired supermarket of truth and error in the postmodern Church.  What we’re witnessing is a shopping cart overflowing with false teaching.  Aisle 1-Mysticism Madness; aisle 2-Charismatic Confusion; aisle 3-Pentecostal Pandemonium; aisle 4- Enlightened Emergents; aisle 5- Purpose-driven Pragmatism; aisle 6-Secular Strategies…to suck in seekers; aisle 7-Twelve-steps…to “group think”; aisle 8-Preposterous Pop Psychology; aisle 9- Discernment Disintegration; aisle 10-Predatory Pastors.  On and on it goes.

The Body of Christ trusts its Shepherds to feed them healthy nutritious foods, yet many of them are literally starving their sheep to death!  A diet of “Bible Light” does not nourish the soul – it causes spiritual malnutrition!  A shepherd’s job is to lead the flock in Christian life and faith.

ANCIENT GNOSTICISM RESURRECTED

What Paul came up against in the early church was Gnosticism (from the Greek word knowledge) which was a heretical philosophy of religion. The Gnostics were harmful because outwardly they were so similar but what they taught was a complete distortion of the truth.  For one thing, they insisted that important secret knowledge was hidden from most believers. They, of course, were the enlightened ones. The Apostles taught just the opposite: Christ is the only knowledge—the only truth–a believer needs.

In his book The Gnostic Empire Strikes Back, Peter Jones offers this insight into Gnosticism:

In ancient Athens, instead of bookstores and “centers” the discriminating “very religious” shopper was offered altars, all with their own “mysteries,” spiritual techniques, promises of better life from priest or priestess gurus in the “knosis.”… While the early church fathers found proof of the Gnostics’ fraudulent theology in their manifold contradictory systems and opposing doctrines, the Gnostics congratulated themselves on the great richness of their diversity and their tolerance of many approaches to truth. [1]

Jones goes on to say that Gnosticism was a “kaleidoscopic mixture of many varied traditions.”  In a word, syncretism.

Sincere followers of Jesus Christ should have a clear understanding of what has taken place in the Church because the Syncretism Stew they’re ingesting is not the “faith which was once delivered unto the saints.”  Christians are being fed a different Gospel – a counterfeit Christianity.  Sniff the air.  Do you smell the sulfur?  Yes, you do!  A New Kind of Christianity emerged from the pit of hell!

MAN-CENTERED PSYCHOLOGY

Many Christians feel that the church has abandoned them, so they turn to psychology and psychotherapy for help.  “The term psychotherapy — informally known as “the talking cure” — encompasses a variety of approaches to helping people identify, understand, and cope with the dynamics of their mental and emotional states, individually and in social interaction. ” [2]

Most Christians are unfamiliar with infamous psychiatrist Carl G. Jung.  Moreover, they are unaware that Jungian psychotherapy is taught in Christian seminaries.  Even Christians who have heard of him are unaware that Jung was immersed in the occult and did his doctoral thesis on parapsychology and conducted seminars on the teachings of Catholic mystic Ignatius Loyola.  In his article “Confronting Neopaganism in the Culture and the Church,” Peter Jones further enlightens us on Jung:

One writer on Jung says without overstatement that Carl Jung is the Father of Neo-Gnosticism and the New Age Movement. [A contemporary philosopher, Richard Wolin, Distinguished Professor at the Graduate Center, City University of New York, believes that “…since the 1970s Jung’s influence on spiritual currents of the New Age movement has been enormous. It may only be a slight exaggeration to say scratch a witch and underneath you will find a Jungian.

Later in the article Jones says this:

Jung calls Christian orthodoxy “systematic blindness” in insisting that God is outside of man, unaware of “this inner deity revealing itself from the depths of the soul.

Some churches are so enamored with psychology that members are given the Meyers-Briggs personality quiz (based on Jung’s theories) to identify their spiritual gifts and recruited into unbiblical Twelve-step programs.  Believers are seeking help from biblical counseling, “Christian psychologists,” Christian self-help books, and nonChristians such as Oprah, Dr. Oz and Dr. Phil!  The authors are getting rich off Christians who purchase their books!

Don Matzat puts forth the threat that modern psychology poses to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and suggests that:

Christian denominations who are concerned by the intrusion of modern psychology into their ranks should appoint a standing-committee made up of apologetic researchers, experts in the occult, and orthodox pastors and lay-people who are academically trained in psychology. It would be the task of this committee to do the research that most busy pastors are unable to do and to offer to the church their conclusions and opinions concerning some of the deceptive offerings of modern psychology.  [3]

MAN-CENTERED SELF-ESTEEM

Standing before a crowd of devout Muslims with the Grand Mufti, I know that we’re all doing God’s work together. Standing on the edge of a new millennium, we’re laboring hand in hand to repair the breach.

I believe in positive thinking. It is almost as important as the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  — Robert Schuller

Robert Schuller, host of the “Hour of Power” weekly television show, is known for possibility thinking. “For Schuller — faith’ is a power of the mind and ‘God’ is merely a placebo that helps one ‘believe’ and thereby activate mind power. For example, on an Amway tape, Schuller exults, ‘You don’t know the power you have within you! … You make the world into anything you choose.’ It is Babel again, only in a more sophisticated form. The power of thinking becomes the magic stairway that leads to the paradise where all one’s wishes can be fulfilled — nothing but an ‘evangelical’ form of Christian Science or Science of Mind! (6/93, The Berean Call).”

In the early days of his ministry Dr. Schuller used mass communication such as radio, television, and creative marketing techniques to find out what people wanted in a church. What he discovered was that nonbelievers did not want to hear about sin and salvation; they wanted their emotional needs met. This was right up Schuller’s alley, as he believes sin is a lack of self-esteem. To accommodate the emotionally needy crowd he reinterprets God’s Word to conform to his self-esteem philosophy.

Schuller’s marketing methods laid the foundation for the Church Growth movement. He claims to have launched the megachurch movement through his Institute for Successful Church Leading.  Schuller chirped:

Here ministers are inspired to believe in their dreams and to present the good news of the gospel in positive terms. And some of those students are well-known. Bill Hybels now pastors the largest church, I think, in the United States, the Willow Creek Community Church. Bill has often said that there probably would not be a Willow Creek Church if he hadn’t been able to come to our pastor’s institute here. I’m so proud of him.” Rick Warren was also a frequent visitor of the Institute.  “And there’s Rick Warren, a pastor who today is phenomenal. He came to our institute time after time.”[4]

Robert Schuller is a popular preacher and influences many people. Nevertheless, he’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Why? Because he bases his theology on what people want to hear rather than on God’s Word.

“Schuller’s false teaching,” warned David Cloud, “is an extremely serious matter in light of his wide influence. His was the most popular religion television broadcast in America for many years. His books sell by the millions. He appears with presidents. His self-esteem Christianity has been adopted by multitudes. These believe they are Christians; they attend churches; but in reality they worship a false christ and follow a false gospel. Robert Schuller and his mentor, the late Norman Vincent Peale, are two of the key culprits in promoting this error.”

HOW TO GROW A CHURCH MAN’S WAY

Photo credit Radically Christian

Rick Warren, mentioned in part 2, is the author of the best-selling books, “The Purpose Driven Church” and “The Purpose Driven Life,” was inspired by Robert Schuller’s success. According to PurposeDrivenLife.com, Warren’s books “are known for explaining theology in understandable ways and have been translated into more than 50 languages. Dr. Warren says he teaches theology without using theological terms and telling people it is theology.”

On Saddleback.com we learn that more than 200,000 church leaders from around the world have been trained in Saddleback’s purpose-driven philosophy.

It was Robert Schuller’s success that led Rick Warren to the founder of modern management, the late Peter Drucker.  Warren went to Drucker for advice.  “Under Drucker’s tutelage, Warren’s own success as a spiritual entrepreneur has been considerable. Saddleback has grown to 15,000 members and has helped start another 60 churches throughout the world. Warren’s 2001 book, The Purpose-Driven Life, is this decade’s best seller with 19.5 million copies sold so far and compiling at the rate of 500,000 per month. [5] (Update: PDL has sold 25 million copies and is the best-selling hardback book in American history.)

Drucker believed that business and nonprofit partnerships cannot work “unless they are seen as investments focusing on results – primarily social rather than financial results – achieving clear, and preferably measurable results.”

Rick Warren said of Peter Drucker: “[H]e’s my mentor. I’ve spent 20 years under his tutelage learning about leadership from him.”  He also learned how to go about building a megachurch from Drucker. Was building megachurches really necessary, though?  Do we really need 25,000 people attending one church?  Is a small church less effective than a large church?  Our Lord Jesus Christ made it clear that He would build (grow) a church:

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Mat 16:18). (Emphasis added)

Largely due to the popularity of Rick Warren’s purpose-driven books, the Church Growth movement has swept through Christendom like a Kansas tornado, ushering in a ‘new paradigm’ of transformational leadership to meet the challenge of the new Century.  Not everyone is on board including conservative Christians who caution that, “Purpose-driven is a ‘one size fits all’ plan and program.  It is the ultimate ecumenical tool.”

Cathy Lynn Grossman of USA Today informs us that, “Warren is part of the ultra-conservative Southern Baptist Convention, and all his senior staff sign on to the SBC’s doctrines, such as the literal and infallible Bible and exclusion of women as senior pastors.”  [6]

Rick Warren an ultra-conservative?  I laid that myth to rest in Part 2.

Ultra conservative Christians are sometimes referred to as “fundamentalist.”  Speaking at the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, May 23, 2005, Warren made the following statement regarding Christian fundamentalism:

Now the word ‘fundamentalist’ actually comes from a document in the 1920s called the Five Fundamentals of the Faith. And it is a very legalistic, narrow view of Christianity, and when I say there are very few fundamentalists, I mean in the sense that they are all actually called fundamentalist churches, and those would be quite small. There are no large ones.  I am an evangelical. I’m not a member of the [ultra-conservative] religious right and I’m not a fundamentalist …Today there really aren’t that many Fundamentalists left; I don’t know if you know that or not, but they are such a minority; there aren’t that many Fundamentalists left in America.

Are the “five fundamentals” a legalistic, narrow view of Christianity?  No!  The term fundamentalist came from a series of books called “The Fundamentals” that was published from 1910-1915.  Actually the series did not promote “five fundamentals” but rather dozens of fundamentals. The Five Fundamentals of Faith that have been accepted by Christians throughout history are: 1) the Deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, 2) the Virgin Birth of Christ, 3) the doctrine of Penal Substitutionary Atonement, 4) the bodily resurrection of Jesus, 5) the inerrancy of Scripture.

If someone is indeed a Christian, he or she cannot deny the essential doctrines of Christianity as this is what separates Christianity from other religions.

Further, the USA Today article informs us (not on purpose) that Warren’s pastor-training programs promote ecumenism.  Catholics, Methodists, Mormons, Jews and ordained women and anyone who can breathe are welcome.  “I’m not going to get into a debate over the non-essentials [trivials].  I won’t try to change other denominations. Why be divisive?’ he asks, citing as his model Billy Graham, ‘a statesman for Christ ministering across barriers.” [7]

Why be divisive?  Rick Warren is being divisive by teaming up with New Age occultists for his weight loss program The Daniel Plan…serving on the advisory board of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation (Blair is a Fabian Socialist)…offering PDL training to apostates and cultists so that they’ll achieve phenomenal success in spreading their message.   

I’ll close this with an excerpt from Purpose-Driven “No Matter What it Costs” :

Rick Warren was interviewed by The Dallas Morning News before he spoke at the Global Day of Prayer event, held on May 15, 2005. He was asked:

“You’ve become a very popular public speaker. As you’ve traveled, have you noticed any local differences in how your message is received?”

His response was:

Not at all.… It’s cross-cultural – I get letters from Hindus, from Muslims. [The Purpose Driven Life] didn’t get niched as a religious book.

Read Part 1 & Part 2

Footnotes:

  1. The Gnostic Empire Strikes Back: The Old Heresy for the New Age, page 20—By Peter Jones, professor of New Testament at Westminster Seminary California
  2. Psychology and the Church (Part One): Laying a Foundation for Discernment–By Bob and Gretchen Passantino
  3. The Intrusion of Psychology into Christian Theology–By Don Matzat
  4. Setting Richard Abanes Straight on my Rick Warren “Attack” –By Ken Silva
  5. Peter Drucker On Leadership—By Rich Karlgaard
  6. “This evangelist has a ‘Purpose’”–By Cathy Lynn Grossman, USA TODAY,
  7. Ibid.

Copyright by Marsha West, 2011.

Saddleback Youth Worker Ruben Meulenberg Charged With 5 Felony Counts – Saddleback Remaining Tight Lipped on Staff Issue

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On May 30, CRN posted a piece by Lighthouse Trails titled “Saddleback Church Statement Appears to Downplay Role of Molester Ruben Meulenberg.”  In it we stated:

Saddleback downplayed alleged child molester Ruben Meulenberg’s role at the church and it appears that he has been quite involved at Saddleback….and so are his parents, Abraham and Marieke. In fact, Abraham is a pastor in charge of interfaith outreach and was involved with Rick Warren’s efforts to form alliances with the Muslim community. So it seems there could be more here than meets the eye.”

As of this date, Rick Warren has not made a public statement.  Since the news broke, LHT has been following the story.  Here’s an update:

Ruben Meulenberg, the youth worker at Saddleback Church who was arrested for allegedly molesting two 14-year-old boys at Saddleback, has been charged with 5 felonies related to the molestation of the boys. At least one of the boys was 13 when the abuse began.

The following public information on the case has been released by the Orange County District Attorney’s office:

Case #17HF070 

  • Three felony counts of lewd acts on a child
  • Two felony counts of lewd acts on a child under 14-year-old
  • the above charges are given a Sentencing Enhancement for multiple victims (source)

Circumstances of the Case * At the time of the crime, Meulenberg is accused of being a volunteer youth mentor at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest in a position of trust with access to children. * Between May 2016 and May 2017, Meulenberg is accused of committing lewd acts on 13-year-old boys John Doe 1 and John Doe 2, both on and off church property. * Between May 18, 2017, and May 22, 2017, the defendant is again accused of sexually molesting the victims, who were then 14 years old. * On May 24, 2017, a Saddleback Church representative reported suspected inappropriate conduct to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD), who investigated this case. * Meulenberg was arrested by OCSD on Thursday, May 25, 2017. * Prosecutor: Deputy District Attorney Courtney Thom, Sexual Assault Unit

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Five Key Takeaways from Comey Show on Capitol Hill

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Brendan Kirby reports that fired FBI director James Comey, who we just learned is a leaker, doubted Donald Trump’s honesty but confirmed that the president never attempted to quash the Russia probe.  In a piece over at LifeZette, Kirby lays out what he deems to be the main takeways of Comey’s testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee. He writes:

Former FBI Director James Comey said Thursday that he doubted President Donald Trump’s honesty and suggested that he made inappropriate requests of him regarding fired National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.

At the same time, Comey reiterated before the Senate Intelligence Committee his written testimony, released Wednesday, that he had volunteered to Trump he was not a subject of the FBI’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election campaign. He also testified that Trump never asked him to stop the counterintelligence investigation.

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The Tyranny of Decadence

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Society is experiencing the same sort of moral anarchy that occurred when the Weimar Republic ruled Germany and liberal ideas and pleasure seeking became the norm. Dr. Peter Jones is the Executive Director of truthXchange and one of the world’s foremost experts on paganism.  According to Dr. Jones, there has been a pagan transformation of the West, starting with the sexual revolution of the 60’s — and what the change agents have in mind is far worse than any of us can imagine.  He believes the battle for the spiritual health of our children has just begun.

In his latest blog post, Dr. Jones gives us a glimpse of what liberals have in store for the culture; likewise for Christians.  He writes:

In our present world, decadence is replacing decency. For the sake of personal freedom our culture sanctions a sexual revolution that German sociologist, Gabriele Kuby believes “will quite possibly prove to be the most destructive revolution in history.”  She goes on to state that “the extent to which that satanic system will go for [sexual] freedom…is nowhere better seen than in abortions.” Someone has said: “Abortion is the willingness to kill for the sake of the willingness to copulate.”

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Syphilis cases hit highest level since 1949 amid rise in men who have sex with men

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Websites which help people find hook ups may be fueling a rise in unprotected sex. The Telegraph has a story titled “Syphilis cases hit highest level since 1949 amid rise in men who have risky sex.” Laura Donnelly cautions that most cases were associated with transmission in gay, bisexual or other men who have sex with men.  According to the report:

Syphilis cases have reached the highest level since 1949 following a rise in unsafe sex as fears about HIV have faded, new figures suggest.

The official data shows the number of diagnoses has doubled in five years, with most cases occuring in gay and bisexual men.

It follows warnings from health officials that risky sexual behaviours – including unprotected activity, “chem sex,” the use of “hookup” apps such as Grindr – and “poz” parties where HIV positive men select sexual partners – are fuelling the rise.

The figures from Public Health England show 5,920 syphilis diagnoses in 2016 – a rise of 12 per cent in one year, and a near doubling from 3,001 cases in 2012.

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Idolatry and the False Prophet of Rome

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Mike Gendron of Proclaiming the Gospel shares a prayer by “Pope” Francis who believes that God hears the prayers of those who pray to a stone statue:

Calling himself a pilgrim with the pilgrims, Pope Francis asked “which Mary” did the crowds come to honor? The Mary who is “a teacher of the spiritual life, the first to follow Jesus on the ‘narrow way’ of the cross by giving us an example, or a lady ‘unapproachable’ and impossible to imitate?” He then bowed down before a statue of Mary and offered it a golden rose.

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Check out our Research Paper on Roman Catholicism

A View More Troubling Than Pro-Choice

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Even Christians will tell you that they’re personally against having an abortion but they think abortion should remain legal. Alan Schlemon of Stand To Reason explains why he believes this view is “even more disturbing than the view held by the ardent pro-choice advocate who works at Planned Parenthood.” He writes:

Most people are familiar with the two traditional positions on abortion: pro-life and pro-choice (I’m not comfortable with these terms, but let’s go with them now for the sake of simplicity). There’s a somewhat in-between view, however, that is troubling. I call it the modified pro-choice position. The person who holds this view believes the unborn is a valuable human being, so they are pro-life in that sense. They still feel, however, that the law should permit women the right to choose an abortion. Their view is expressed by the statement, “I’m personally against abortion, but I don’t think we should make it illegal.”

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What Your Church Needs to Know Before Doing a Priscilla Shirer Study

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We have warned our readers about popular speaker, author and Bible study teacher Priscilla Shirer a number of times (here) for the reason that some of her teaching is dangerous. For one thing, Shirer is a proponent of unbiblical contemplative prayer. In a piece over at Lighthouse Trails, we learn that she’s promoting Jan Johnson who also encourages her followers to adopt practices that stem from Roman Catholic mysticism.

According to LHT: In her book, Invitation to the Jesus Life: Experiments in Christlikeness, Johnson shows her resonance with a number of contemplative figures with quotes by and references to them.  One particular name that jumps out is New Age sympathizer Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.

LHT begins with these quotes:

Roman Catholic mystic Teresa of Avila

The repetition [of a word or phrase] can in fact be soothing and very freeing, helping us, as [Roman Catholic mystic] Nouwen says, “to empty out our crowded interior life and create the quiet space where we can dwell with God.”—Jan Johnson, When the Soul Listens, p. 93

Years ago, I got a chance to meet Jan Johnson. . . . I was encouraged and redirected in so many ways. As a young woman trying to navigate the ins and outs of my relationship with the Lord, Ms. Jan spoke wisdom into my life that was extremely pivotal in my life—personally and in ministry.—Priscilla Shirer (emphasis added; http://www.goingbeyond.com/blog/wisbits; quoted in 2010 and still up on Shirer’s website)

This week, our office received a call from a woman who was concerned that her church is going to be doing a study using material by Priscilla Shirer. Our caller wanted to get some information she can show her pastor as to why her church should not be doing a Priscilla Shirer study. Because Priscilla Shirer is a contemplative proponent, we concur with our caller’s concerns. In John Lanagan’s booklet,  Beth Moore & Priscilla Shirer – Their History of Contemplative Prayer, Lanagan shows how both Moore and Shirer have been advocates of contemplative spirituality for quite some time. In that booklet, and this is what we want to focus on in this article, Lanagan discusses a woman named Jan Johnson. Because Priscilla Shirer embraces and has gleaned spiritually from Johnson, we need to take a closer look at what Johnson believes.   View article →

Why You Should Be Skeptical of Global Warming Alarmists

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According to Terry Jarrett of LifeZette the cause of so-called global warming may be solar activity, not carbon dioxide as we’ve been led to believe. Jarrett writes:

When it comes to the global warming debate, both alarmists and critics agree on one thing: The earth has warmed by roughly 0.8 degrees Celsius over the past 150 years. It’s the cause of this warming, however, that remains in dispute. And while the public is constantly bombarded with messages about the evils of carbon dioxide emissions, there are actually compelling reasons to believe that contemporary global warming has been driven by rising solar output, not carbon dioxide.

To start with the basics, when the sun’s ultraviolet radiation strikes the earth’s surface, it is re-emitted as heat in the form of infrared radiation (IR). Carbon dioxide is one of the atmospheric gases that absorb and re-radiate this heat.

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The photo that lost radio’s ‘Bible Answer Man’ thousands of listeners

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According to Tim Funk of Charlotte Observer, between 100 and 150 radio stations dropped BAM from their daily lineups. “That picture of Hank kneeling before a Greek Orthodox priest – that was hard for many evangelicals to see,” said Mike Carbone, chief operating officer at The Truth Network.  TTN dropped BAM from six of its stations, including those in Charlotte and Raleigh. “Hank is as likable a guy as you’ll find,” said Carbone, “but we were not able to go where he was going.”

CRN posted several stories on Hanegraaf’s shocking conversion to Eastern Orthodoxy that can be read here.  Now to Tim Funk’s report:

For nearly three decades, Hank Hanegraaff has been the “Bible Answer Man” to millions of evangelical Christians who tune in to his Charlotte-based radio program with questions – big and small – about Scripture.

“What does the Bible teach about debt?” they ask him. “When is divorce permissible?” And – the question that gets asked the most – “Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?”

Two months ago, Hanegraaff, whose faith had long been focused on exploring the truth of a book, went through a different kind of religious experience. It was, he says, “one of the premiere moments in my life.”

On Palm Sunday, he and wife Kathy and two of their 12 children were “chrismated,” or confirmed, at St. Nektarios Greek Orthodox Church in southeast Charlotte. During the sacramental rite, a priest anointed them with oil and invoked the Holy Spirit.

And then …

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Hollywood Suffers Meltdown Over Paris Climate Move

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Todd Starnes, host of Fox News & Commentary, reports that Hollywood’s so-called esteemed ‘scientists’ fear President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord will put us on a “slippery slope to the hothouse.” He writes:

“Today, our planet suffered,” tweeted Leonardo DiCaprio.

President Trump’s decision to withdraw the Paris Climate Accord has sparked widespread hysteria in juice bars and luxury spas across Hollywood.

As a candidate, Trump vowed to “cancel” the Paris climate deal – slamming what he called “draconian climate rules.”

“The Paris accord is very unfair at the highest level to the United States,” the president told a gathering Thursday in the Rose Garden.

House Speaker Paul Ryan praised the president’s decision and thanked him for “withdrawing from this bad deal.”

“The Paris climate agreement was simply a raw deal for America,” Ryan said. “Signed by President Obama without Senate ratification, it would have driven up the cost of energy, hitting middle-class and low-income Americans the hardest.”

But some of Hollywood’s most esteemed scientists fear the president’s decision will put the nation on a slippery slope to the hothouse – an apocalyptic future with melting igloos and polar bears unable to put their Coca-Colas on ice.

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Heresy Hunter’s Open letter to Michael Brown…

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In letter posted a few days ago, Churchwatch Central (CWC) had a lot to say to Dr. Michael Brown, who is a charismatic, for calling those of us who are involved in online apologetics and discernment ministries “self-appointed heresy hunters.” Actually, what we are is “wolf hunters.” The name fits, as we’re the ones who go after wolves in sheep’s clothing who are savaging the sheep.  Some of those we call out are New Apostolic Reformation self-appointed prophets and apostles who’ve introduced every heresy imaginable into the visible Church. In short, wolf hunters report on anyone who doesn’t hold to the essential doctrines of the Christian faith.

See also Discernment is rooted in maturity in Christ by Mike Ratliff

Wolf hunters fear God, not man; thus, we will often “names names.” One of the names we’ve brought to the attention of the Christian community is prominent apologist Michael Brown (here).  Why?  For sending wolves into sheep pens.  Dr. Brown responded to what some bloggers were reporting about him — and CWC has hit back.

Dear Dr. Brown,

Recently you took aim at Christians and labeled them as, “self-appointed heresy hunters” who “are like a doctor who amputated his patient’s head because the patient needed eye-glasses.” You went as far as to painting them to be “like the hypocrites Jesus spoke of who strained out a gnat yet swallowed a camel.” You’ve unfairly stereotyped them by claiming they are “damning some of God’s children to hell because of a difference over a non-essential doctrine or practice.”

We already know what you think about us with your false accusations and your fallacious arguments as to ignore the claims about you and your theological practices and leanings. Yet you hold to an ideal in hoping “God reveal to them the fullness of His truth and love, and may the discover the fullness of the Spirit’s power.”

Do you sincerely want that desire to come to pass? Then keep supporting your NAR Apostle and Prophet friends. Keep strengthening the “relational structures” of your NAR network and keep promoting a culture of ‘unity’ at the expense of love and truth.

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Illinois Purges Social Workers and Foster Families Who Don’t ‘Facilitate’ Transgenderism

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According to Mary Hasson of The Federalist, the Illinois’s child welfare agency has ordered staff to ‘affirm’ gender ideology and ‘facilitate’ LGBT identities for kids or they’ll be fired. She writes:

The science-deniers are running the LGBTQ show over at the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), and dissenters will not be tolerated.

The department’s new “enhanced” policies promoting the “well-being of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer/Questioning (LGBTQ) children and youth in the Department’s care” ratchet in one direction only: encouraging children towards LGBTQ identities. DCFS has drawn a rainbow-colored line in the sand, announcing it “will not tolerate exposing LGBTQ children and youth to staff/providers who are not supportive of children and youths’ right to self-determination of sexual/gender identity.”

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Right Begins to Fight: Conservatives Launch Offensive Against ‘Hate TV’

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According to Lifezette an ‘Army of activists’ have mobilized to end the attempted ‘character assassination’ of conservative Fox News host Sean Hannity. Margaret Menge reports what’s going on:

Conservative groups are going on the offensive following the near takedown of Fox News host Sean Hannity and are pledging to use an “army” of activists to stop the left-wing media’s attempts at character assassination.

“Every network and cable news channel is today on notice that the MRC will be closely monitoring their leftist opinion programs and informing their advertisers and the American public when these programs and hosts go beyond political commentary and engage in smear, hate, and political extremism,” Brent Bozell of the Media Research Center said on Wednesday in announcing his organization’s launch of a new campaign.

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