Commentary, analysis and opinion.

Michael Brown Can’t Defend ‘Sneaky Squid Spirit’–Repeatedly Changes the Subject

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , , ,

From Museum of Idolatry:

As he always does, Michael Brown says he wants to hear the thoughts of callers so he can “have a conversation,” but he interrupts Chris Rosebrough and totally changes the topic and turns this into a domineering diatribe to prop up his favorite hyper-charismatic doctrines. Brown fully supports crazy false teachers like Jennifer LeClaire, but becomes very ambiguous whenever he’s confronted with the facts. He will not look into a single idiotic false prophecy from LeClaire or anybody else. He never does any actual research on the people he supports; people like Rick Joyner, Bill Johnson and Jennifer LeClaire. He’s a hyper-charismatic cheerleader with a big microphone and a very gullible audience.

View article →

Kris Vallotton: Prosperity Preacher Exchanging Love for Wealth

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , , ,

NAR heretic Kris Vallotton actually teaches that God wants His people to be wealthy in spite of all the scriptures that say just the opposite.  Here’s an example of how wealth corrupts people:

Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. — James 5: 1-5

Steven Kozar of Messed Up Church presents the details of Kris Vallotton’s highly unbiblical agenda which includes Vallotton’s list of 8 things that he believes will determine if a person has a poverty mindset or a wealthy mindset.  Kozar writes:

If you want to tickle itching ears with a prosperity/Word of Faith message it helps if you can talk out of both sides of your mouth. Vallotton is an expert. He begins his article by saying:

“Do you know that God wants you to be wealthy? It may be contrary to what we’re usually taught in the church, but I believe that wealth is a sign of God’s blessing in your life, and it’s how we are made to live as children of the living King! Think about it, if your Dad rules the world, then you are royalty on this earth and have access to everything He has access to.”

View article →

Humanism Recognized as a Religion by US Government

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , ,

It is no secret that humanists are aggressively pushing their secular humanist religion on children. Supposedly humanists are “fighting for kids not to be taught religious beliefs,” says Ken Ham. “In reality, they have brainwashed the nation’s leaders into passing legislation to protect the teaching of the secular humanist religion to America’s children.” Ham reports what atheists are up to in a piece over at Answers in Genesis. He writes:

The Department of Defense recently updated its list of recognized religions from just over 100 to 221—including a formal recognition of humanism as religion. This move reportedly

means servicemen and women who are adherents of small faith groups are now guaranteed the same rights, privileges and protections granted to their peers who are members of larger faith groups.

Apparently the new designation “was lauded by humanist organizations, which have been pushing for full recognition, including their own chaplains, for 10 years.” The Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers is “ready with ‘chaplain outreach’ to help train military chaplains in humanist beliefs and needs.” Of course, a humanist cannot offer any real hope to anyone. They really have no message except that this life is all there is and that the only hope is in humanity (which the Bible describes as desperately wicked and full of sin [Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 3:23], a fact that is easily seen now and throughout history).

View article →

 

How much should ‘associations’ factor into my assessment of whether a teacher is false or not?

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ ,

What do Billy Graham, Ravi Zacharais, Beth Moore and David Jeremiah have in common? They’ve associated with wolves who lead the sheep astray and they’re unrepentant about their associations.  Elizabeth Prata lays out why Christian leaders must not be careless when it comes to their associations.  As a Berean it’s up to you to check out the people evangelical celebs choose to associate with.  For example, when it comes to any sort of gathering, who’s name will appear on the marque with a person you admire? Prata advises

when we look at a leader or teacher’s associations, don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater. We have to take a prayerful & measured look when we’re looking at secondary circumstances like who is hanging around our author or preacher or teacher.

Elizabeth Prata has a lot more to say on this subject over at The End Time blog:

A woman asked me recently whether she should read a certain book because the preface to the book was written by a false teacher, though the book itself was written by a solid teacher.

I’m glad that people are aware that associations can harm a reputation and can also be an indicator of future doctrinal problems in a leader or teacher. Associations do matter.

The pure and the polluted share nothing in common ultimately. And the people of God cannot form intimate relationships with those who don’t belong to God. All relationships like that are superficial. You cannot make a meaningful relationship with an enemy of the gospel. They live in a different world with a different and completely hostile and antagonistic leader. Separating from Unbelievers part 1

View article →

The Hottest Thing at Church Today

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , ,

According to a new study, what people want in a church is changing.  Blogger, author and book reviewer Tim Challies expresses his concern that pastors will give their congregants what they want but “they will do so not on the basis of biblical convictions, but on the basis of pragmatism.” In other words, pragmatism or “whatever works” to get people to come to church, will be what drives preachers to adopt what appears to be a hot new trend in the visible Church. Challies writes:

According to a new study by Gallup, the hottest thing at church today is not the worship and not the pastor. It’s not the smoke and lights and it’s not the hip and relevant youth programs. It’s not even the organic, fair trade coffee at the cafe. The hottest thing at church today is the preaching. Not only is it the preaching, but a very specific form of it—preaching based on the Bible. And just like that, decades of church growth bunkum is thrown under the bus. As Christianity Today says, “Despite a new wave of contemporary church buzzwords like relational, relevant, and intentional, people who show up on Sundays are looking for the same thing that has long anchored most services: preaching centered on the Bible.” Praise God.

View article →

 

How This Tiny Baby Gave of Herself to Others

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ ,

Katie Nations of LifeZette has the story:

Imagine carrying a child knowing she will be born only to die almost immediately.

That’s exactly what Royce and Keri Young of Oklahoma chose to do for their daughter, Eva. The Youngs’ unborn daughter was diagnosed with anencephaly when Keri Young was 19 weeks pregnant. The unborn baby had no brain.

Rather than terminating the pregnancy, which would have been heartbreaking but, to some, understandable — Royce and Keri Young chose life. They saw the opportunity to give others a chance through organ donation. They embraced the opportunity to allow their Eva — a name that means “giver of life” — to grow to term.

View article →

The Courage to Be Reformed

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ ,

According to Burk Parsons of Ligonier Ministries, those who are truly Reformed will find it impossible “to remain a ‘closet Calvinist,'” and “impossible to remain Reformed without anyone knowing it—it will inevitably come out.” Parsons states his reason for saying this in a piece he wrote for Tabletalk magazine.  He writes:

When we come to grasp Reformed theology, it’s not only our understanding of salvation that changes, but our understanding of everything. It’s for this reason that when people wrestle through the rudimentary doctrines of Reformed theology and come to comprehend them, they often feel like they have been converted a second time. In fact, as many have admitted to me, the reality is that some have been converted for the very first time. It was through their examination of Reformed theology that they came face-to-face with the stark reality of their radical corruption and deadness in sin, God’s unconditional election of His own and condemnation of others, Christ’s actual accomplishment of redemption for His people, the Holy Spirit’s effectual grace, the reason they persevere by God’s preserving grace, and God’s covenantal way of working in all of history for His glory. When people realize that ultimately, they didn’t choose God, but He chose them, they naturally come to a point of humble admission of the amazing grace of God toward them. …  It’s only then, when we recognize what wretches we really are, that we can truly sing “Amazing Grace.” And that is precisely what Reformed theology does: it transforms us from the inside out and leads us to sing—it leads us to worship our sovereign and triune, gracious, and loving God in all of life, not just on Sundays but every day and in all of life. Reformed theology isn’t just a badge we wear when being Reformed is popular and cool, it’s a theology that we live and breathe, confess, and defend even when it’s under attack.

View article →

Study Shows Only 10% of Americans Have a Biblical Worldview

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ ,

Avery Foley of Answers in Genesis has the report:

Despite the growing number of religiously unaffiliated people, over 70% of Americans still claim to be Christians. Yet only 46% of US adults would say they have a biblical worldview. But do almost half of Americans really possess a biblical framework through which they view the world?

Survey: Do You Think and Act Biblically?

The American Culture and Faith Institute (ACFI) recently conducted nationwide surveys of over 6,000 people to determine how many Americans have a biblical worldview—that is, how many Americans use the Bible as their filter for reality, to determine right from wrong, and to shape their beliefs, attitudes, and actions. Research shows that nearly half of Americans believe they have a biblical worldview, but, not surprisingly, this in-depth ACFI study showed that a substantially smaller number than 46% actually hold to basic biblical beliefs and practice what God’s Word teaches.

View article →

Cryogenically frozen brains will be ‘woken up’ and transplanted in donor bodies within three years, claims surgeon

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ ,

According Sarah Knapton of The Telegraph, there are hundreds of people who have paid big bucks to have their brains frozen upon death in the hope of being transplanted into a donor body in the future.  “The head transplant gives us the first insight into whether there is an afterlife, a heaven, a hearafter,” says Professor Sergio Canavero, Director of the Turin Advanced Neuromodulation Group, the group that will soon attempt the first human head resurrection.  Knapton writes:

People who have had their brains cryogenically frozen could be ‘woken up’ within three years, a pioneering Italian surgeon has claimed.

Professor Sergio Canavero, Director of the Turin Advanced Neuromodulation Group, is aiming to carry out the first human head transplant within 10 months and then wants to begin trials on brain transplants.

If the procedures are successful, he believes that frozen brains could be thawed and inserted into a donor body.

View article →

Listening to God’s Word in the Church

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ ,

Johnathan Leeman of Ligonier Ministries suggests seven reasons the Christian’s growth should be centered on listening to God’s Word in the context of the local church. He writes:

If spiritual life comes through the Word of God (Isa. 55:10–11; Rom. 10:17; James 1:21; 1 Peter 1:23), why not skip church with all its hassles and just devote yourself to studying the Bible? Think of the time you would save, not to mention the relational trouble.

Or, better, why not download the three best podcast preachers every week and listen to them? Chances are that they are better preachers than old Pastor Bob down the street anyway. Can I get an “Amen”?

I suspect most Christians would have a vague sense that there is something wrong with this counsel. But the fact that we expect so little from our preachers in terms of biblical exposition, the fact that precious few seconds are devoted to actually reading the Bible in our weekly gatherings, the fact that we give scarcely a thought to not staying up late Saturday night so that we’re not drifting off in the middle of Sunday’s sermon all suggest that we don’t really apprehend the tight link between listening to the Word in church and our individual and corporate growth as Christians.

View article →

 

The Heart of the Hanegraaff Hubbub: Dethroning the God of Your Personal Experiences

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , , ,

Bible study author, speaker and blogger Michelle Lesley weighs in on the recent controversy that arose when the announcement came that the president of evangelical apologetics ministry Christian Research Institute (CRI), founded by the late Dr. Walter Martin, had been chrismated into the apostate Greek Orthodox Church.  Lesley writes:

Hank Hanegraaff, the Bible Answer Man. If you hadn’t heard of him before, you probably have by now. President of the Christian Research Institute, author of over twenty books, and host of the popular Bible Answer Man radio call in show, Hanegraaff has been highly regarded in the field of apologetics for years.

Until recently, that is, when he publicly announced that he had been chrismated into the Greek Orthodox church he had been attending for about two years.

Why? Because the Greek Orthodox church holds many beliefs which conflict with Scripture in much the same way, and on some of the same issues, the Roman Catholic church’s beliefs conflict with Scripture.

View article →

Feds Search Headquarters of Televangelist Benny Hinn

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ ,

Researcher Barry Bowen informs us that the Federal Government is showing a new willingness to investigate religious fraud, starting with Word of Faith prosperity preacher Benny Hinn. Here’s Bowen’s report:

For two straight days IRS investigators and postal inspectors have been carting away boxes of possible evidence of fraud from televangelist Benny Hinn’s headquarters in Grapevine, Texas.

Local Dallas media have pounced on the news story with reporters tweeting the latest sparse details.

Dallas Morning News: IRS investigators search televangelist Benny Hinn’s offices in Grapevine WFAA: IRS raids televangelist Benny Hinn’s office in Grapevine

Here are five points worth thinking about regarding the Hinn story.

The IRS is showing a new willingness to investigate religious financial fraud.

The IRS and other federal agencies rarely investigated religious fraud during the Obama administration. In fact, the last time a televangelist was prosecuted by the IRS occurred during George W. Bush’s presidency. Mac Hammond’s case was  thrown out by the courts in November 2008 and the Obama administration failed to adopt new guidelines for church audits or to investigate numerous allegations of fraud uncovered by religious watchdog Trinity Foundation.

View article →

The Deception Of Bruce Jenner And The Olympic Committee

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , ,

According to Steve McConkey, president of 4 Winds Christian Athletics, Bruce “Caitlyn” Jenner neglected to tell  Fox News host Tucker Carlson during an interview that hormones do not reverse the size of bone and muscles which gives male athletes a clear advantage over female athletes. “So a retired 6-10 NBA male player can play women’s basketball at the Olympics without a reduction in size, only a year of hormone therapy,” says McConkey.  Following is an excerpt of the interview from a piece he penned for Canada Free Press:

Carlson: “A transgender woman just won a major weightlifting title. Some people said, well, this is someone who has a massive physical advantage over the other entrants in that contest. It seemed like a real thing to me.”

Jenner: “The Olympic Committee is way ahead of the rest of the world when it comes to dealing with identifying transgender issues in competing. Back when I was competing in the 70s, all the women had saliva tests to make sure their in their DNA they were female. We had the East German women and the Soviet women and all that kind of stuff. Well, since then, there has been a lot of gender non-conforming. We don’t quite know where they fit into the athletic world. And the Olympic Committee has done 20 years of studies on issues of hormone levels of whether you need gender confirmation surgery, what can you do as a trans person to be able to compete as your authentic self. And they’ve come up with guidelines. If you meet those guidelines, you can compete. And obviously this woman did.”

Carlson: “Do you think it’s fair?”

Jenner: “Yes, I think it’s totally fair. If the Olympic Committee thinks it’s fair, I’m fine with it. Yes, because there’s no big advantage.”

View article →

Trump’s 100 days: An executive success

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , ,

Byron York of Washington Examiner evaluates Donald Trump’s successes and failures in his first 100 days in office:

Of course Donald Trump over-promised for his first 100 days. What presidential candidate hasn’t?

During last year’s campaign, Trump spoke frequently of all the things he would do almost immediately upon entering the Oval Office. He’d repeal Obamacare, reform the tax code, destroy ISIS, build a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border, fix the nation’s roads and bridges, take care of veterans, deport criminal illegal immigrants, and much, much more.

By the last weeks of the campaign, Trump actually dialed back some of his promises. On October 22, he traveled to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania to announce his “Contract with the American Voter,” which formalized his pledges for the first 100 days.

View article →

Mormon Leader: More Dead People Should be Baptized

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ ,

According to a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints governing body, baptizing the dead “saves not just the dead; it saves all of us.” These are “proxy baptisms” and Mormons do them on behalf of the dead. In The Briefing, Albert Mohler points out that “No historic Christian church has ever observed the baptism on behalf of the dead. But it does make perfect sense in Mormonism, where spirits are created beings, God himself is a created being, where God is, spirit beings may one day be, and where very clearly there is the opportunity for those on the other side of death to embrace their own Mormon baptism and thus to receive the blessings the church teaches come along with that baptism.”

Now to TIME magazine’s report:

Mormon leaders reminded church members Saturday about the importance of performing ceremonial baptisms on dead ancestors who didn’t receive the ordinance while alive.

Henry Eyring told a worldwide audience during a twice-yearly Mormon conference that God wants all his children to come “home again.” He encouraged listeners to use the religion’s massive genealogical database to trace their roots.

Ceremonial baptisms occur when a member brings an ancestor’s name to a temple. Mormons believe the ritual allows deceased people a way to the afterlife if they choose to accept it. The belief that families are sealed for eternity is one of the faith’s core tenets.

View article →

See our Research Paper on Mormonism

Sufficiency of Scripture

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ ,

Does the Christian need additional revelations, visions, words of prophecy, or insights from modern psychology?  Some people think so.  No, says Berean Research. Scripture is sufficient.  Here’s why:

Did you know that the Bible is all we need to equip us for a life of faith and service? It’s true! And in fact the doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture is a fundamental tenet of the Christian faith. Sadly, it’s a tenet that has long been under viscous attack from within our own visible, modern churches.

But be assured that no other writings are needed for the Gospel to be understood, nor are any other writings required to equip us for a life of faith. Everything else – entertainment, extra-biblical revelations, mysticism, spiritual deliverance ministries and some forms of psychological counseling all declare that the Bible and its precepts are not enough. But Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me” (John 10:27). His voice is found in every word of the Word; the Scriptures are His voice, completely and utterly sufficient.

Consider 2 Timothy 3:15–17:

View article →

7 Reasons Church is Not Optional and Non-Negotiable for Christians

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ ,

According to author, speaker and Bible teacher Michelle Lesley, for Christians, being joined to a local church is not optional — it’s a must! Why? “Well, Jesus founded the church,” says Michelle. Moreover, “Jesus is the head of the church. Jesus loves the church. Jesus died for the church. Jesus is the Savior of the church. Jesus nourishes, cherishes, and sanctifies the church.” So she wonders how any Bible believing Christian could claim to love and follow Jesus “and yet cavalierly toss aside something He values so much that He laid His life down for it?” Ever considered that, brethren?

Michelle concludes: “If you really love Jesus, you’ll value the things He values, and, clearly, He values the church.”

Now listen as Michelle Lesley offers 7 reasons Christians must not forsake the assembly:

It’s a disturbing trend that’s spreading like the plague, especially among women who claim to be believers:

“I’m a Christian but I refuse to attend church.”

These aren’t women who can’t attend church due to health reasons, caring for an ill or disabled loved one, who have no other choice but to work on Sundays, or who live in an area with no reasonably doctrinally sound church to attend. They’re women who could get plugged in to a decent local church, but intentionally shun the body of Christ.

Usually, the decision to opt out of church boils down to one of two scenarios: a) a believer who was hurt by a previous church and yet isn’t ready to risk being hurt again or b) someone (often a false convert) who doesn’t grasp the concept that being joyfully joined to a local body of believers is part of what defines someone as a Christian.

View article →

 

 

Kong Hee apologises for ‘unwise decisions’, to begin jail term on Apr 21

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , , ,

Kong Hee is on his way to jail for his “unwise decision” to line his pockets with money that belonged to City Harvest Church (CHC). So Pastor Hee released an apology. Channel News Asia reports:

City Harvest Church founder Kong Hee has issued an apology to his church and the public for “unwise decisions” he had made in the past.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday night (Apr 19), Kong said: “I am truly sorry … I am filled with grief and regret over my mistakes and I sincerely ask for your forgiveness.”

For the rest of the story and to read Hee’s apology, visit CNA.

Now this from Churchwatch Central (CWC), a group of “churchwatchers” who have done some excellent reporting on Kong Hee and his leadership’s pilfering of church funds; likewise the church’s ties to the New Apostolic Reformation. CWC and Chris Rosebrough of Fighting for the Faith have exposed Kong Hee’s church (here) as “a dangerous cult that threatens the Christian faith and the well-being of citizens of Singapore.”

CHC Management Board reacts to Kong Hee’s sentence

“We pronounce deliverance in Jesus name. Not one night will this fair head spend behind bars.” Prophet Phil Pringle, CHC Advisory Pastor – Photo credit Churchwatch Central

From CHC Management Board, we read Aries Zulkarnain’s media release in which he states:

“We put our trust in God that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”

This statement is a paraphrase of Romans 8:28

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

Sadly this scripture barely resembles the lives of Kong Hee, or his leadership. However it does reflect the lives of those who have left CHC after clearly questioning CHC’s teachings and practices.

What Zulkarnain quoted is exactly what CHC has not done.

If CHC put their faith in God, why is their founder, and his senior leaders, going to jail?

This is why things have NOT worked out for the good of CHC and why it has NOT worked for the six accused. If “God works for the good of those who love Him,” why are six leaders from CHC  going to jail?

View article →

 

We Are Now Offering Mentoring to Lifeway Executives

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , ,

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that high-profile Christian business men would “leverage their ‘success’ as executives to project themselves as expert advice-givers to pastors,” as Ed Stetzer and Thom Rainer are doing. What is surprising, though, is that pastors would be interested in receiving advice on pastoring from business executives. According to Gideon Knox, both Stetzer and Reiner are into career coaching.  The term for this is “life coach.” For those who don’t know, life coaching has its roots in the “Human Potential” movement which blends secularism and religion to help people achieve their goals. The aim is to cultivate “extraordinary potential that its advocates believe to lie largely untapped in all people.” This movement is New Age at its core.

Gideon Knox of Pulpit & Pen shares why he thinks Christian leaders have adopted secular humanistic philosophy and are promoting what is clearly an anti-God philosophy to the Body of Christ. He writes:

Thom Rainer, President of Lifeway ‘Christian’ Resources, believes so much in the principle of Biblical mentorship that he has offered to indiscriminately mentor people for the low low price of only $249.47 per month. To be fair, that price is for the Platinum Mentorship Program, in which you’ll actually be entitled to having a video conference call with Rainer (not one-on-one, obviously). But if you would settle for being put on his email list (there’s a disclaimer that he doesn’t guarantee he’ll respond to an email), you can enroll in the Premium Package for only 49.97 per month.

View article →

Fox Bets on Humor and Conflict as It Enters a New Era

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙

According to Eddie Zipperer of LifeZette, with Bill O’Reilly’s exit, Fox News will focus on a new generation of viewers — and will deploy a lot more humor.  Zipperer writes:

He was there when Fox News was born 21 years ago. For 15 years, he dominated the 8 p.m. time slot. Now, in the wake of a sexual harassment scandal that scared away advertisers, Fox News is Killing Bill O’Reilly, so to speak — or his show, anyway. The move is the crescendo to what has already been a year of musical anchor chairs at the cable network. Just a few months ago, it was Greta Van Susteren at 7 p.m., Bill O’Reilly at 8 p.m., and Megyn Kelly at 9 p.m. Roger Ailes was still the head honcho, and Tucker Carlson was an irregular contributor to the Fox & Friends weekend jayvee team.

Harken back to those old days in your mind. To set the scene, it was a time when progressives couldn’t decide if they would call Bill Clinton something classy like “first gentleman” or something fun like “first dude.” Back then people still thought Nate Silver could use math to see the future, and the term Brexit made progressives laugh instead of cry.

View article →

 

Visiting Hank Hanegraaff’s New Greek Orthodox Church

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , ,

After attending a service at St. Nektarios Greek Orthodox Church, Jeff Maples of Pulpit & Pen made this observation: A lost person could not walk into this church and walk out a changed man. It was literally a Pagan practice. Like a seance. Pure witchcraft was going on in this place.

Now read about Maples experience during a recent St. Nektarios church service:

One of the biggest complaints against Pulpit & Pen we get consistently is that we somehow don’t “have all our facts,” or are “misrepresenting” someone or something. I received countless emails claiming that I “misrepresented” Greek Orthodoxy in my recent posts regarding Hank Hanegraaff and that I should do more research. Well, what better way to research than to go straight to the source in person? Saturday, April 15, known as Holy Saturday in the Orthodox tradition, I along with a couple of friends went to visit St. Nektarios Greek Orthodox Church in Charlotte, NC–the church that Hanegraaff was recently chrismated in. The service began at 11:30 pm, and was still going strong showing no signs of slowing down when we decided to leave at around 2:00 am. While we hoped to have the opportunity to confront Hanegraaff in person, being that we all had to get up early the next morning to worship the living God on Easter morning, we decided to call it a night early. However, there are quite a few things that we can take away from this experience in this church.

View article →

Does God Condemn Debate?

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , ,

Jeremiah Johnson of Grace to You asks: Should we or shouldn’t we debate our doctrinal differences?

Many believers argue that our focus should be on what we agree on, and that we must set aside anything we disagree on. So does that mean we should ignore our differences with those who teach universalism?  What about those who teach the word-faith prosperity gospel…NAR/dominionist theology…Eastern mysticism…ignore these folks, too? Should we let slide sins such as fornication, adultery, homosexuality and abortion for the sake of unity?

Johnson argues that we must do as Paul instructs us in 2 Timothy 2:14 and hold fast to sound doctrine.  He includes the following quote from Dr. John MacArthur:

Paul’s purpose was to motivate and encourage Timothy to keep a firm grasp on that truth himself and to pass it on to others who would do likewise … It is only with a thorough knowledge of God’s truth that falsehood and deceit can be recognized, resisted, and opposed. . . .

So back to the question at hand: Does God condemn debate? Let’s find out…

Almost twenty years ago, during Moody Bible Institute’s Founder’s Week conference, I heard Jim Cymbala make the following plea for unity:

Think of the division right now in the Body of Christ. We have all these names that don’t exist to God: Baptist, Presbyterian, Nazarene, Pentecostal, Charismatic. God doesn’t have any idea what any of them mean, because He only has one Body. . . . He has one Body—the Body of the Lord Jesus Christ. Evangelical—evangelical doesn’t even exist to God. We’re using words that aren’t in the Bible. We’re thumping the Bible and being unbiblical while we’re thumping it. He only has—there’s one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one Body. And He doesn’t like us dividing up His Body. 

In the moment, it struck me as nonsense. Of course God knows what our denominational titles mean; of course He understands where the doctrinal lines have been drawn in the sand.

View article →

 

Why We Can’t Assume Hank Hanegraaff is Saved and We Should Evangelize Him

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , , ,

As previously reported (here and here), Hank Hanegraaff shocked many in the evangelical community by converting to Greek Orthodoxy.  When the news hit, Jeff Maples wrote a piece for Pulpit & Pen entitled “The Bible Answer Man, Hank Hanegraaff, Leaves the Christian Faith?” Not surprisingly, Hank’s fans were put out with Maples for suggesting that he had left the faith.  Following is Maple’s response to his critics:

In the recent controversy surrounding Hank Hanegraaff, the ‘Bible Answer Man,’ and his conversion to Greek Orthodoxy, I received numerous, literally hundreds upon hundreds, of emails and messages, asking me to retract my claim that Hanegraaff has departed the Christian faith and telling me that I went too far by saying this. Pulpit & Pen has been accused of being “always cantankerous” to “using a bazooka” against Hanegraaff and “judging his heart.”

The issue here, however, is not of judging Hanegraaff’s heart. This is not something we, as Christians, can do. We can, however, judge them by their fruits (Matthew 7:16-20), and this is what we have done.

Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. –2 Corinthians 4:1-2

View article →

10 Signs of a Cultic Church

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , ,

From Berean Research:

Cross Examined has a piece by Brian Chilton who asks: “How does one know that a church has the characteristics of a cultic church?” Good question.  According to Chilton, there is a difference between a cult and a cultic church and he gives some signs of cultic churches. So we want you to know what those distinctions are. We’ve included links for further study at the end that will help you grow in your faith:

#2 Personal interpretations are held to an equal or higher view than biblical truth. A good example of a cultic church would be Bethel Church in Redding, CA

A few weeks back, I was troubled to hear about a Word of Faith congregation in Spindale, North Carolina, that was guilty of abusing its members. Reports included young children being punched by the leadership while being called Satanists. Jane Whaley and her husband are at the center of these accusations. The full report can be accessed here.

Unfortunately, cultic churches abound. Just last night, a guest pastor from the Philippines spoke about particular cults in his land. He noted that one cult did not allow the congregants to open their Bibles as everything had to be interpreted by the leadership. Churches like these are identified as cultic churches as contrasted with authentic churches. Authentic churches are the body of Christ. They are the assemblies of baptized believers who fully adopt biblical principles and have the freedom to grow and develop in their relationship with Christ.

View article →