Commentary, analysis and opinion.

Hillsong exposing their Chrislamic, Roman Catholic agenda

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Terry Crist, senior Pastor of City of Grace as well as the Chair of the Governor’s Council of Faith and Community Partnerships in AZ, shares Hillsong’s agenda in a must watch video.  Following is an excerpt from the transcript:

Isaiah 52, verse 8 says, ‘when the Watchman sing together, then they shall see eye to eye’. So many times we tend focus on what divides us, instead of the man who unites us. Jesus is that God man, who calls us all to himself, and when we respond to that something transcendent happens, something that unites us at a place so much deeper than just mere agreement. And out of that unity comes a shared mission, out of that comes a shared transformation, and that’s really at the core of my heart, my heart longs for the day when we work together and we worship together and out of that we transform our city together, to the glory of God. (emphasis added)

How…ecumenical.  How…New Age.  How…unbiblical.  Note that Crist has spouted 4 Emergent Church buzzwords: transcendent, unity, mission and transformation, i.e. enlightenment.

So with this backdrop in mind, Churchwatch Central enlightens us on what’s going on with the infamous Hillsong Church.  As previously reported, Hillsong has been in the news for all sorts of reasons, including Brian Houston’s cover-up of his father’s pedophilia.   It is also concerning that Hillsong has been propagating a seeker-driven version of the Word of Faith prosperity gospel around the globe.  Now we learn from our friends over at Churchwatch Central that Hillsong has drifted into “Chrislam” and Roman Catholicism.

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Targeting Target

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Rod Dreher of The America Conservative reveals the way in which Target has chosen to handle the controversy that erupted after customers found out that Target’s bathroom policy allows for men who identify as women to use the ladies room and changing room. Dreher includes a letter from a mom who’s 14 year-old daughter was in the NYC Parks Department locker room after swim practice when a middle-aged man sauntered out of the showers wrapped in a towel. Dreher writes:

Andy Park, a gay Florida man, walked into a Target store to test its new bathroom policies. He said he was dressed like a male (you can’t see him in the clip), and had two days of beard stubble. He asks the store’s manager if he can use the women’s room. The manager says sure, and if any women have a problem with that, the store will speak to them about it. Read a news story about it here — with dialogue from the clip — and Target’s response, standing by its policy.

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Stunned Cruz supporters ask: What happened?

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Byron York of Washington Examiner lays out the reasons Ted Cruz dropped out of the race.  Did Cruz make a decision to get out even before Indiana?  According to York:

Hours before the Cruz campaign’s election-night event, the buzz was that Ted Cruz would deliver “somber” remarks. “Somber” became the word of the moment as people who were inside the Cruz structure, but not high-up enough to know what was going on, tried to figure out what would happen.

The room at the Crowne Plaza Hotel slowly filled with Cruz volunteers, many of whom had come to Indiana from out of state because they believed strongly in Cruz. Some came thinking Cruz would win the primary. Even those who worried he would lose Indiana were sure he would vow to fight on to the convention.

But there were clues that Cruz had decided otherwise. A lot of Cruz staff, who normally worked at headquarters in Houston and who rarely if ever traveled with him, were there in Indianapolis. Why would so many travel for this particular event?

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Connecting the NAR dots: Gumbel, Brodersen and the Neo-Calvary emergence

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Berean Research connects the dots for us:

Yes, London is the hot spot for next week’s big gathering of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) leaders, peddling their latest “words from God” and visions from the realms of glory.

Before you say “ho hum, another heretic convention,” let me point out what makes it newsworthy. These are the false teachers now being embraced by some mighty big church hitters from several mainline denominations.

The Empowerment 21 Conference May 11-13 showcases all the usual cast of prophets and prophetesses, plus one more: Nicky Gumbel, the Vicar of Holy Trinity Brompton.  This should make those in the Calvary Chapel movement squirm, as it points to yet another recent signpost of a departure from Chuck Smith’s original standards and doctrinal distinctives — not to mention warnings against these dangerous wolves.

NAR “apostles” are as phony as a three-dollar bill

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From Berean Research:

In their blogpost “The Apostles Who Don’t Do Anything,” Cameron Buettel and Jeremiah Johnson of Grace to You team up to answer the question many folks have been asking: Does the Church have modern-day apostles as NAR top dogs purport?  And if what they say is true, who determines when God has commissioned someone as an apostle?

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Cold Hard Facts On Cults

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Marsha West, General Editor CRN

Marsha West, General Editor CRN

Several years ago I penned a piece entitled “Caught up in a cult?”  My concern at the time was that a growing number of people were being drawn into cults and cult-like groups that call themselves Christian.  They had no clue that they’d strayed off The Safe Path into The Deep Weeds.  So I laid out what a cult is and listed several groups to beware of.  Several years later the numbers of people in cults has increased.  The main reason is that there’s a famine of spiritual discernment in the land.

Many so-called evangelical Christians do not know the Truth.  Why?  Largely because they have little or no interest in reading and studying their bibles. Moreover, a growing number of Christians have abandoned the essential doctrines of the faith altogether.  You know things are bad when a believer’s theology is “experience based” rather than based on God’s written Word.  Doctrine, after all, is divisive.  Several years ago, our late brother Ken Silva of Apprising Ministries lamented: “People are drifting into a highly subjective murky mysticism where one decides truth about God by what they ‘feel.’”

One troubling fact is that our younger generation—especially Millennials–have bowed down to the idols of moral relativism, political correctness and tolerance.  Wanting to be seen as “loving” and “tolerant,” Christian Millennials have adopted liberalism’s social justice gospel to avoid offending their neighbor.  They haven’t a clue that the social justice gospel (social action and involvement in issues of justice) saves no one.  Even worse, they completely miss the fact that the true Gospel of Christ has always been, and will continue to be, an offense to the unredeemed mind!

So a word of warning.  Christians who wander away from the safety of the sheep pen to explore The Deep Weeds may find themselves in a den of wolves.  Once inside the wolf den, there’s no easy escape.

Before I move on, I’d like readers to know that those of us involved in a counter-cult ministry oppose anyone, including Christian luminaries, who besmirches the Name of Jesus Christ.  Likewise, we’re concerned for our brethren who’ve been drawn into apostasy and our desire is to lead them out of The Deep Weeds onto The Safe Path.  To that end, the research material at the bottom of the page will help Bereans determine if a group is biblically sound.

“Caught Up In A Cult?”  (2010)

Countless people are caught up in cults and cult-like groups.  To avoid being one of them you must become familiar with the nature of a cult and their schemes. Granted, there are no easy answers to the question, “What exactly is a cult?” But there are some cold hard facts that most people are unaware of.

One thing you can count on is that some of your relatives, friends, neighbors and even the friendly face who checks your groceries at the local market may be caught up in a cult or a cult-like group.

Cult typically refers to “A system of intense religious veneration of a particular person, idea, or object, especially one considered spurious or irrational by traditional religious bodies; as, the Moonie cult.” Add to that: “A strong devotion or interest in a particular person, idea or thing without religious associations, or the people holding such an interest; as, the cult of James Dean; the cult of personality in totalitarian societies.”

Probably the most well-known pseudo-Christian cults are Jehovah’s Witnesses (JWs), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism) and Christian Science, but there are a whole host of other pseudo-Christian cults.  Some members of these cults may find my assertion humorous.  Others may even become angry.  Sorry about that, however, Christians are not called to be nice; we are called to speak the truth in love and to “contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3).

Here’s the truth.  JWs, Mormons and Christian Scientists claim to be Christians yet they deny fundamental Christian doctrine and manipulate the Scriptures to fit in with their own beliefs.  From the Church’s perspective, which is what really matters, these groups have deviated from the historic, orthodox teachings that are derived from the Holy Scriptures and confirmed through the ancient ecumenical creeds.  Thus, people in these cults aren’t true Christians.  This should come as no surprise. After all, they’ve had to defend their spurious beliefs for decades.

Christians are not the only ones caught up in cults.  Pagans, agnostics and atheists may very well be involved in a destructive cult or cult-like group and not even realize it.  For example, devotees of any of the following groups, movements, theories, celebrities, can be exposed to mind control techniques and even open themselves up to the world of the occult!  Here’s a short list to ponder: (Warning! Not for the easily offended.)

  • New Age movement (occultism 101…magic, psychic phenomena, astral travel, divination, tarot cards, astrology, reincarnation…and a whole lot more)
  • New Apostolic Reformation/Dominionism. NAR teaches Kingdom Now theology, which humanizes God and deifies man, believes in the restoration of apostles and prophets, and has as its goal to take dominion over the seven mountains of influence, i.e. the 7 Mountain Mandate. Also called Latter Rain, Joel’s Army, Third Way and Manifest Sons of God. Beware of Elijah’s List & Kansas City Prophets (IHOP), plus the Charismatic Renewal. Bethel Church in Redding CA is a full-blown NAR church.
  • Spiritual Warfare movement (deliverance from demonic strongholds, casting out demons, binding territorial spirits, strategic level prayer)
  • Spirituality (current term for New Age, occult beliefs)
  • Eastern mysticism (pantheistic, the opposite of Sola Scriptura…Spiritual Formation (spiritual disciplines), Centering Prayer (contemplative spirituality, breath prayers, The Silence, labyrinth, Lectio Divina, mindfulness)
  • Secret or hidden wisdom, secret oaths (Gnosticism, Freemasonry – occultism)
  • Oprah Winfrey (New Age guru who claims to be a Christian but denies that Jesus Christ is the only way to God, also promotes/practices occultism)
  • Wicca/witchcraft (occult-sorcery-neopaganism)
  • Secret organizations (Freemasonry, Ku Klux Klan, New World Order, Builderberg)
  • Radical political/social groups/activists (LGBTQ, Black Lives Matter, feminists, environmentalists, animal rights, abortion)
  • Global warming, climate change, climate crisis (mind manipulation)
  • Self-improvement (personal transformation)
  • Holistic Health movement (occultism)
  • Esoteric groups (UFO’s, Mind Science, Mind Therapy, Transhumanism)
  • Multi-level Marketing (mind manipulation)
  • Alcoholics Anonymous (12-steps – occultism)
  • Advertisements (mind manipulation)
  • K-12 education, academia (mind manipulation)
  • Darwinian evolution (dare to question “settled science” and see what happens)
  • Marxism
  • Nephilim (Genesis flood, pseudo-humans, space alien)

For the record, some of the above-mentioned groups may not be bona fide cults. But they’re not averse to using mind manipulation techniques as a means to an end – and this is what the cults do! Granted, some cults or cult-like groups may not be psychologically harmful. However, for the true Christian it can be spiritually damaging to become involved in any sort of occult practice. And it’s spiritually harmful to follow the teachings of charismatic cult-like leaders whose teaching is decidedly unorthodox. The Bible calls these men and women false prophets. (Jer 5:31).

Some people will believe almost anything, regardless of its absurdity. When confronted with the facts they refuse to listen. Why? Because knowing the truth could deflate their fantasy world so they choose to remain in denial. This is why religious/spiritual gurus, social activists, the media, advertisers, celebrities, doctors, dispensers of pills/vitamins, multi-level marketing groups and powerful political leaders have such an easy time sucking people in – then sucking the life blood out of them! Take est for example. Chances are you haven’t heard of est, as it was big in the late 60s. I don’t have the space to go into the details, but the trainers used mind manipulation techniques on willing participants during feel good weekend seminars. “We’re going to tear you down and put you back together.” Critics of the training called it a cult. Eventually the organization changed its name to Landmark Education and now promotes The Landmark Forum…but only the name has changed.

I’d be remiss not to mention the cult of liberalism a.k.a. progressivism. Liberals/progressives fit right in with groups that have a “strong devotion or interest in a particular person, idea or thing without religious associations [but not always], or the people holding such an interest.”

Ever notice how your liberal/progressive friends refuse to look at both sides an issue? An area of thought where this approach prevails is so-called global warming. The eco-crowd believes that the evidence for global warming is compelling and that scientists on their side of the debate are the best and the brightest. Scientists who deny that global warming is manmade are marginalized and often smeared. Dare to present the opposing side’s views, which is compelling, and the “warmests” just plug their ears.

Liberals/progressives continually carp about narrow-minded unenlightened knuckle dragging people of faith while they walk in lock step with their own spiritual gurus and pay homage to radical activists. And by the way, some of these radicals are our congressional representatives who focus on their leftist social agenda and really don’t give a rip about their constituent’s desires.

But this isn’t about the cult of liberalism; it’s about pseudo Christian cults that are reaching around the globe to suck people in.

Admittedly, it’s not always easy to tell the genuine from the counterfeit, even for the discerning Christian. A common mark of a “Christian” cult is the manipulation of Scripture:

The Bible is twisted to fit the leader or group’s interpretation. Private interpretations are forbidden because the leader of the cult is the only one, of course, who is able to understand God’s voice properly. Their teachings distort the historic, orthodox claims of Christianity. [2]

Another mark of a cult (religious or otherwise) is the use of thought control techniques on the unsuspecting:

There is little concern for individual thought and development. Education is usually discouraged while the convert is bombarded with the cult’s doctrine and literature. Members are called to leave or neglect their old family and life-style for a brand new one. [3]

Cults typically manipulate reality:

They tend to have an exclusive “us”/”them” mentality in which society and old associates are all out to get them. Anyone outside of the group is suspect. [4]

What does the Bible say about those who stray from the truth?

Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. (Mat. 7:13-14).

Why do so many seemingly intelligent people end up in a cult? Principally because their hearts have been hardened by sin. (Eph. 4:18) Thus, they are easily led into a cult because of pride, or whatever else, and they allow themselves to follow teachers or teachings rather than the God of the Bible. “There is a real church and a real work for God,” says Mike Oppenheimer of Let Us Reason. “The difference is in the motivation – the why they do it. The cults do things for rewards and good standing in the church, the real Christian does it because they love God and are motivated by love to people having real compassion. The cults become offended when you speak ill of them or their teacher or teachings and become emotional. The real Christian does not take offense and they know it is the Lords [sic] battle not theirs.” [5]

Indeed. The believer is to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, only the Holy Spirit can change a person’s heart. (1 Cor. 15:1-4) It is the work of the Holy Spirit that regenerates us, convicts us of our sin, and brings us to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Cor. 3:6)

Oppenheimer continues:

The other difference is in teachings, about the person of Christ, the gospel, even the Bible itself. Although cults may use the Bible they have a false understanding of God and salvation and the way we are to relate to Him. [6]

So according to Mike, cults receive their understanding of the Bible from an exhaustive study of their own books and from their teachers, but not from using main stream Christian resources and Bible study tools to better understand the Word of God. Hence, they’re unaware of what historic Christianity really teaches. He also points out that cults will “focus on the minor things and make them major ones and make the major things minor. When this happens doctrines that are not core teachings become amplified and used to make the group exclusive and unique.”

It’s a sad fact that most professing Christians are not well-read on the cults. Some do believe that the JWs and Mormons are non-Christian cults but they’re unable to articulate why they believe this. I don’t mean to pile on the JWs and Mormons but the reason these groups fall in the category of a pseudo Christian cult is, as I stated earlier, they claim to be Christians even though they outright deny many of the essentials of the faith. There is no doubt whatsoever that Mormon theology is incompatible with Christian theology. A mouse in a cookie jar is not a cookie!

Sadly, some people do not protect themselves against wolves in sheep’s clothing. Those who are in destructive cults fail to ask questions. They’re too trusting.

People should want to know the truth – no matter where it leads. So here’s a word of advice. Before committing to anything or getting involved in any sort of group, do your homework. In other words, investigate – dig, examine, study, ask probing questions and demand answers. You have that right!

I’ll close with 2 Cor. 4:3-4:

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

One last thing. It is of the utmost importance for God’s people start to “test the spirits to see whether they are from God.” (1 John 4:1) Even a little error can be dangerous. Paul pointed out that “a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough.” (Gal. 5:9) So examine everyone’s teaching!

Notes:

[1] Definition of cult – define.com

[2] What are the common characteristics of cults? – Christian Research Institute

[3] Ibid

[4] Ibid

[5] How Did I Get Here? – Let Us Reason Ministries/Mike Oppenheimer

[6] Ibid

Additional Reading:

Rightly Interpreting the Bible By Ron Rhodes

The Challenge of the Cults and New Religions: The Essential Guide to Their History, Their Doctrine, and Our Response – Book by Ron Rhodes

Mormonism aka Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS)

Jehovah’s Witnesses aka Watchtower Society 

© Marsha West – updated 4/2024

We all lie, scientists say, but politicians even more so

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Deception starts early.  One researcher says that children learn to lie around 3 years old, “often when they realize that other people don’t know what they are thinking.”  Not surprisingly lying comes naturally to youngsters.  According to Seth Borenstein of The Associated Press, it takes more energy to lie than to tell the truth. He writes:

Pinocchio We watch with fascination as candidates for the world’s most powerful job trade falsehoods and allegations of dishonesty.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump routinely calls rival Ted Cruz “Lyin’ Ted.” Cruz retorts: “Falsely accusing someone of lying is itself a lie and something Donald does daily.”

News organizations such as The Associated Press and PolitiFact dedicate enormous resources to separating candidates’ truthful wheat from their dishonest chaff.

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Emotional manipulators: The truth must die

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Heads up, brethren! Berean Research has some disturbing news to report:

I’m about to share complete blasphemy with you, wrapped and bound snugly in the heartstrings of emotionalism and self esteem. Before you see this in your youth group, in your women’s Bible study, on your timeline, or even from the Jumbotron at your church, I hope you see it here first.

I post this story as a preemptive strike against those who will perpetuate the lies of the enemy of our souls. Thy do it beautifully, with skilled manipulation cloaked in tears. If a wolf cries real tears, then what they are saying must be true, right? After all, God judges the heart, and this wolf’s heart is humble.

If that sounds harsh, I don’t mean it to be. You see, the battle for truth is very real, and very wicked. The enemy’s tactics are as old as “Hath God really said?”

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Calvary Chapel, Bill Hybels, and Jesuit Mysticism

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From Berean Research:

Roger Oakland of Understand the Times International says that Calvary Chapel has a new found connection with Bill Hybels, one of the architects of the seeker-sensitive movement.  Oakland wonders how big of an impact this union will have.  There’s a program Willow Creek implemented by Bill Hybels’ son-in-law Aaron Niequist called The Practice that Oakland sees as “the epitome of all that is emergent.”

What about Calvary Chapel’s connection to The Practice and contemplative prayer? Will this connect Calvary Chapel to the spiritual formation practices promoted by the Jesuits?  So many questions…

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In the Market for Fetal Body Parts, a Baby’s Brain Sells for $3,340

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Kelsey Harkness of The Daily Signal gives us a rundown on the dollar value of baby body parts abortion mills are offering for sale:

Photo: Kelsey Lucas/Visualsey/The Daily Signal

Photo: Kelsey Lucas/Visualsey/The Daily Signal

Republicans on the special House panel investigating the transfer of fetal tissue from aborted babies will present evidence in a hearing today that breaks down the price per body part.

With release of this evidence, Republicans say, they have enough documentation to show that several abortion clinics and middleman procurement businesses may have violated federal law.

“It is just horrifying,” Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., who leads the House’s investigation of the fetal tissue industry, told The Daily Signal. “They are putting a dollar value on these organs from these children—unborn children that have been aborted. It is just beyond belief.”

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Discernment Challenge: If you see something, say something!

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From Berean Research:

Every week it seems, Marsha and I receive at least a couple of messages from women who are fraught with angst over a social media post from their friend, relative or church that promotes a false teacher. “What should I do? Should I say something?”

For me there is only one answer: Yes! You can’t not say something. To say nothing is to let your loved one walk headfirst into the blast zone of a terrorist with only one thing on his/her mind: To take out as many sheep as possible.

“But how?” is the next question. What they’re really asking is, “How can I take the least amount of risk to myself so I don’t have to be that Christian?”

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The Re-Education Camps We Call Universities

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From Berean Research:

News media critic Cliff Kincaid of Accuracy In Media pulls no punches as he goes after those who administer what he considers “Marxist re-education camps.”  Now is the time, he says, for taxpayers to “revolt against the socialism that rules higher education in America.”  The fact that socialism rules higher education should come as no surprise to anyone for the reason that the American people are fully aware that liberals have infiltrated academia and that their agenda is to indoctrinate students into the Secular Humanist worldview. The logic behind this is that parents have no clue how to raise their own children, so move over and allow the experts to have a go at it.

Recently Kincaid was uninvited from a left-right debate because a professor alleged that he is an “unrepentant propagandist for extremist right-wing causes.”  Well, he is definitely an unrepentant right-winger.  But isn’t the purpose of a debate to present opposing points of view?  Not since the socialists took over!  They’re going all out to see that students will never hear the conservative position.

With this background in mind, here’s Cliff Kincaid’s report:

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Liberal AGs Have Begun a War Against the First Amendment

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According to Kim Holmes of The Daily Signal, liberals see too much freedom of speech as injurious to their cause. Thus, they’re pulling out all the stops to squash freedom of expression. Holmes writes:

Last week, a line was crossed in the ongoing campaign of liberals to criminalize freedom of expression. The attorney general of the U.S. Virgin Islands subpoenaed a decade of materials and work by a private advocacy group that had dared to question the orthodoxy of climate change.

The group is the Competitive Enterprise Institute, and the attorney general is Claude E. Walker, who had recently signed on to a campaign of over a dozen attorneys general to ferret out so-called climate change “deniers.” It is possible that CEI was being targeted by Walker precisely because one of its attorneys, Hans Bader, had criticized New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who was leading the campaign.

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Todd Bentley posts “proof” of angel feathers and gem stones

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One of the NAR/Dominionist’s lying prophets declares that “Revival is in the air and I know as the wind of the Spirit blows it will spread everywhere quickly! This revival season will be a moving revival touching coast to coast.”

So if the Prophet Todd’s coast to coast revival falls flat, will NAR leaders declare this man a false prophet?

CRN has been warning the brethren for years about this diabolical movement and its modern day “apostles” and “prophets.”  Unfortunately Todd Bentley, who’s the worst of the worst, somehow manages to draw undiscerning Christians into his web of deception. Berean Research has the latest:

Romans 16:17 tells us to mark and avoid false teachers. Todd Bentley has been marked and (hopefully) avoided by most discerning Christians, but unfortunately he claims millions of followers around the world who are impressed by his “miracles.” Now he has snapped a photo of something that allegedly fell from the ceiling. (Why do these miracles only happen at apostate NAR churches, like Bethel Redding?)

I guess it’s pretty common these days. Ho-hum:

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Evangelicals divided, a movement fractured, Part 2

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Marsha West, General Editor CRN

Marsha West, General Editor CRN

In part one I examined the term “evangelical” and laid out what true evangelicals believe and why they believe it.  Admittedly the movement has evolved largely because of pragmatism – whatever works.  Pragmatism has resulted in the gospel of Jesus Christ that’s set forth in the scriptures being watered down and a false Gospel with its Christless Christianity being spread far and wide.  In our postmodern world it is rapidly becoming something other than what Jesus himself declared in Matthew 28:16-20.

What the true gospel has been replaced with is the social gospel, i.e. theological liberalism.  Why did it change?  Because the liberal agenda cannot be accomplished without change.

Liberals are all about feeling good about themselves.  As such they’ve got an unquenchable desire to do “good works” to make themselves feel good. To the liberal, or post-evangelical aka emergent, it matters not what the Bible says; what matters most is how they feel about things.  I mean, it’s all about self-esteem, right?  So it’s not surprising that feelings trump even the God-breathed words in Scripture.  It matters not that the Holy Spirit inspired the writers of the Bible because what He said in the old days has become irrelevant.

Liberals believe they’ve come to a new understanding of what the Bible does and doesn’t reveal so it’s incumbent upon them to bring that dusty ol’ book out of the stone age and see to it that it blends nicely with our enlightened culture.  To that end, post-evangelical/emergents have taken it upon themselves to apply a new meaning to anything in the scriptures that might offend someone’s sensibilities.  After all, the post-evangelical/emergent’s political and social agenda takes priority over everything else, even if it means they have to modify the writings of men who actually observed and reported on events that took place several thousand years ago – the eye witness accounts!

The thinking goes that if the Bible says something that doesn’t make me feel good about myself or hurts my feelings, then I am entitled to completely ignore it.  Or… I can twist the intended meaning until it says what I want it to say.

People who do this have a very low view of Scripture.  Moreover, they have no understanding of sin and the holiness of God.

Too Many Cooks Spoil The Stew

Also responsible for what theologian Michael Horton called “theological ambiguity” in evangelicalism is a witch’s brew of syncretism stew.  As I stated in the first installment, one of the main ingredients in this concoction is discernment disintegration.  A good way to ruin any recipe is to allow a lot of cooks to add their own ingredients to the pot because the stew becomes unpalatable!  In the case of the Bible, the recipe is already perfect!

Before I move on, it’s important for readers to understand that the truth of the Gospel is inherently offensive to the unsaved. To try to make it palatable to those who are dead in their sins requires completely changing the message.  But wait!  That is exactly what post-evangelical/emergents are bent on doing.  I repeat. They have no understanding of sin and the holiness of God.  “Sin is desperately wicked,” says Todd Pruitt.  “It is mutiny against God. It is a rejection of his Lordship and love. Therefore sin and its consequences must never be trivialized (Gen 3; Rom 1:18ff, 6:23).”

2016 Presidential Campaign

In our current presidential election cycle we hear the term evangelical used daily.  An example of this use comes when pundits talk about the self-proclaimed evangelical, deal maker and billionaire, Donald Trump. It’s said that he’s garnering significant support from “evangelicals.”  I’m not going to spend a lot of time on all the distasteful things Donald Trump has said and done during the campaign.  But I do need to point out a few for the purpose of showing that his moral values aren’t in sync with the values of conservative evangelicals.

It’s no secret that Trump has had serial marriages, that he betrayed his first wife (the mother of three of his children) and then dumped her and married his mistress, a marriage that lasted six years. He’s also been frank about bedding other men’s wives.  There’s talk of questionable business dealings and his comment that Planned Parenthood, which has profited off the murder and dismemberment of innocent womb babies, does “good work,” which is odd for a man who declares himself to be pro-life.  In regards to the “marriage” of Elton John and David Furnish he chirped, “If two people dig each other, they dig each other. I’m very happy for them.”  He admits that he’s “always been greedy” and we all know he has a foul mouth.  During debates he verbally assaults his opponents, saying such childish things as “You’re ugly and your mother dresses you funny,” and “Liar, liar, pants on fire.”  Well, those weren’t his exact words – but close enough.

Now, if Donald Trump is a born again (regenerate) Christian, he’ll understand that his past behavior is sinful and that the sins he committed were against God — ultimately every sin is against God. (Psalm 51:4)  Therefore, he must humble himself and plead for forgiveness.  “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (1 John 1:9,10)  This is the mark of a truly regenerate person.

When he was asked if he had ever repented of his sins his response was, “I’m not sure I have, I just go and try and do a better job from there. I don’t think so. I think I if I do something wrong I think I just try and make it right. I don’t bring God into that picture. I don’t.”  This is Donald Trump’s worldview, straight from the horse’s mouth.  His view is works based, I don’t need God, I can do it myself.  “I Am.”

Sin And Repentance…Not So Much

Trump’s not alone.  A whole host of professing evangelicals share his worldview.  As for sin, they either don’t grasp the meaning of sin and why it’s necessary to repent…or they figure they’ll repeat a certain sin so why bother?  I suggest that not having a genuine desire to eliminate sin from one’s life and a strong need to repent when one does sin, shows a blatant disregard for how God looks at sin.

I know, I know, he who is without sin cast the first stone.  Relax.  I’m not condemning Donald Trump or anyone else to hell.  Only God can make that determination.  I get that.  So why do I bring up Trump’s past?  As a reminder to my brethren that he has done many things that offend God. Everyone has.  But Donald Trump is a professing Christian who has sin in his life and there’s been no repentance.  What’s keeping him from doing that?

Well, he says he hasn’t done anything that requires repentance, even though the Bible says “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) During an interview he admitted that he can’t remember ever asking God for forgiveness or needing to.  Is this the mindset of an evangelical Christian? According to the definition of a true evangelical, it’s not.

Donald Trump is what I would call a good deed doer.  People who do good deeds think they’re all in with God (high five!) and they don’t feel the need to repent.  Why should they when a loving God—and He’s that—overlooks their sins because of all the good they do.   Good deed doers believe their generosity will cover any past, present, or future sins they commit.  They view God as a big smiley face in the sky.

But I digress.

Character Counts

Following are just a few reasons evangelicals ignore Donald Trump’s peccadilloes:

  • He’s the only candidate that can beat Hillary Clinton.
  • The Religious Right aka Christian Right lost battle after battle in the fight to reclaim America for Christ and now they want a tough guy to fight for them.
  • They want to punish a traitorous GOP establishment by electing an outsider.
  • They’re not electing a pastor in chief, they’re electing a commander in chief. (Securing the border and having a strong military is more important than a man’s character?)
  • He’s seen as a modern day Cyrus, the pagan king who freed the Jews from 70 years of captivity and allowed them to return to Israel – and they prospered.

Let’s face facts.  Any so-called evangelical who’s not concerned with a person’s moral character is at best a nominal Christian and at worst a false convert.  This should come as no surprise as liberals, wolves, and wingnuts have managed to grab the reins of the evangelical movement and corrupt it from within.  Thus, syncretism stew.  The result of the cultural shift in this country is that true evangelicals can no longer take comfort in knowing that there are millions of people that share their values.  Why? Because chances are it is no longer the case and even if it was it would be impossible to know.

On a more positive note, we can take comfort in the fact that God is on the throne.  The Bible tells us that our omnipotent sovereign God removes kings and sets up kings. (Daniel 2:21, Rom 13:1) There has never been a ruler on Planet Earth that God did not establish. No Bible believing Christian would entertain the idea that the Lord gasped and said, “No way!” when Nero became Emperor.

The Bible clearly teaches the criteria for choosing a leader:

Choose for your tribes wise, understanding, and experienced men, and I will appoint them as your heads. (emphasis added) (Deuteronomy 1:13)

When Voting

Keep in mind that it is wiser to vote for a candidate who’s committed to ridding America of some of the evils we face than to stay home because the person falls short in some areas.  One evil we face is the murder of the unborn. We know that Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, who at this juncture have the best chance of winning the nomination, are pro-life. On the other hand, Hillary Clinton, who will probably become the Democratic nominee, will never protect the life of the unborn.  Both Trump and Cruz have promised to protect the unborn.  Most assuredly many more babies will die if there is another Democrat in the White House.  Okay, take a deep breath…it is my opinion that voting for the lesser of the two evils is not a compromise. Listen to what apologist Greg Koukl of Stand to Reason says on this weighty subject in “When Compromising Is Not a Compromise”:

The possible question we’re faced with is this: If we were forced to choose between feeling or looking virtuous but having no actual effect, or appearing ignoble but accomplishing some good, which path should we take? When we must choose one or the other, are we obliged by God to make a moral statement or to have a moral impact?

Goodness requires more than making a moral statement. Rather, it requires having a moral impact. Jesus condemned Jews who abused the practice of Corban (Mark 7:11), a pledge to God that appeared righteousness, but helped no one. Let me be clear: The motives of pro-lifers voting “consistently pro-life” are different from those who used the practice of Corban as a religious cloak for avarice. However, the result is the same: moral statements with no moral impact….

In other words, it’s better to choose someone who is committed to eliminating some of the evil, than contributing to the victory of one who is not committed to eliminating any of the evil but, on the contrary, will promote it. This is not a compromise. This is good moral thinking. (H/T Bill Muehlenberg)

Choose wisely, brethren.

Part 1

Recommended: 

Extra Biblical Methods By Cameron Buettel and Jeremiah Johnson

John MacArthur addresses comments by evangelicalism’s most famous evangelist, Billy Graham, that are clearly out of sync with the biblical gospel.

An Evangelical Leader Makes Trump His Golden Calf By Steve Deace

Phil Johnson: “’Evangelical’ support for Trump proves the American evangelical movement isn’t truly_evangelical_ in any historic sense of the word”

Resolution On Moral Character On Public Officials—Southern Baptist Convention

God’s Will in the 2016 US Election By Kathleen Peck

Copyright 2016 Marsha West.

8 Questions for PayPal on Its Decision to Boycott North Carolina

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On April 5th PayPal’s CEO announced that the company was no longer going to open a new operations center in Charlotte, N.C., because “legislation has been abruptly enacted by the state of North Carolina that invalidates protections of the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender citizens and denies these members of our community equal rights under the law.”  Katrina Trinko of The Daily Signal wonders if PayPal will also oppose discrimination that people of faith face in America. In question 7 Trinko asks:

Does PayPal intend to leave and/or not start company operations in states such as Oregon, where Aaron and Melissa Klein paid a $135,000 fine for not baking a cake for a same-sex couple, or New York, where Robert and Cynthia Gifford have been forced to change their wedding business because they won’t host same-sex weddings at their home? If not, why?

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Why Mike Bickle’s IHOP Needs A Warning Label For Teens

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“One of the most concerning phenomena I’ve seen in terms of false movements is the manifestation of spirits – familiar spirits – masquerading as the Holy Spirit,” says Amy of Berean Research. “I’ve been reporting about and warning of the dangerous teaching of Mike Bickle’s spiritual influence over young vulnerable students, many of whom are willing to give up everything just to come live at his campus at IHOP (International House of Prayer) in Kansas City.”

Included in Amy’s piece are “the most disturbing images you will ever see.”

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16 Democrat AGs Begin Inquisition Against “Climate Change Disbelievers”

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According to Hans von Spakovsky of The Daily Signal “we now have a new inquisition underway in America in the 21st century—something that would have seemed unimaginable not too long ago,” He explains:

Beginning in 1478, the Spanish Inquisition systematically silenced any citizen who held views that did not align with the king’s. Using the powerful arm of the government, the grand inquisitor, Tomas de Torquemada, and his henchmen sought out all those who held religious, scientific, or moral views that conflicted with the monarch’s, punishing the “heretics” with jail sentences; property confiscation; fines; and in severe cases, torture and execution.

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Extrabiblical Methods

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Writing for Grace to You, Cameron Buettel and Jeremiah Johnson examine the pervasiveness of pragmatism in the visible Church.  Because of the pragmatic approach to “doing church” we now have “seeker-sensitive gurus…devoted to developing the latest and greatest formula for selling the gospel. Every aspect of the church experience, from the style of music and teaching to design aesthetics—even the kind of clothes the pastor wears—are carefully chosen to make the message as user-friendly and enticing as possible.”

So, should Bible believing Christians fight back against the pragmatic incursion in our churches? Listen to what Buettel and Johnson have to say.

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7 Mountain Politics and Theology

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Seven MountainsWhat is “7 Mountains” theology?  Supposedly there are “7 mountains” of global society – Media, Government, Education, Economy, Religion, Entertainment and Family. Conquering these areas of influence is the key to taking a nation for the kingdom of God.  The 7 Mountain mandate is the brainchild of the Dominionist movement.  Over the years Dominionists have gone by many names including Latter Rain/Kingdom Now /Joel’s Army/Manifest Sons of God and most recently the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR).  Modern day “apostles” and “prophets” have a plan to aggressively “retake the reins of our country” for Christ. In other words, they believe that Christians must occupy and subdue the world as God’s stewards of the earth.  Moreover these people believe it is a Christian’s duty to go into the world using “spiritual warfare” tactics to crush evil before Jesus Christ’s final return.

So guess who’s one of the movers and shakers in the apostate NAR movement?  None other than “apostle” Rafael Cruz.  For those who don’t know who this man is, he’s Sen. Ted Cruz’s father.

With this background in mind, take a look at Herescope’s brief overview of the 2016 presidential campaign.

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Transgender plea or demand?

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Bob Stith of Family and Gender Issues Ministries deals with transgender people’s push for restroom access to whichever sex a person chooses for themselves.  Stith points out that “when transgender rights advocates refuse the privacy of separate restrooms or dressing rooms, it becomes more than a plea for accommodation — but a demand.” In light of the fact that our PC media will not report the full story, how are Americans supposed to make a reasoned decision on contentious issues such as this one when they don’t know all the facts?  Well, Bob Stith knows the facts and he lays them out for us:

A major article on the transgender controversy over restroom access was posted during the Easter weekend by my local newspaper, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. As is typical of most media, it was couched entirely as an LGBT rights issue.

No scientist or conservative cultural commentator was quoted on whether to allow restroom access for whichever sex an individual may select.

This makes it very difficult for the average citizen to make a reasoned decision, as was demonstrated in the media frenzy concerning Bruce Jenner. Praise was heaped on him from virtually every form of media.

Serious journalism, however, would have included interviews with men like Paul McHugh, the former psychiatrist-in-chief for Johns Hopkins Hospital and its current distinguished service professor of psychiatry. Dr. McHugh was a pioneer in transgender surgeries but stopped doing them and urged others to stop. The reason? Dr. McHugh and others actually had studied the surgery’s long-term effects.

McHugh concluded this was an attempt to treat a psychological problem with a surgical solution — and it wasn’t working. It still isn’t.

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Evangelicals divided, a movement fractured, Part 1

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By Marsha West

Evangelicalism as a movement is rushing headlong toward theological ambiguity, which is another way of saying apostasy. ~ Michael Horton 

The failure of modern evangelicalism is the failure to understand the holiness of God. ~ R.C. Sproul 

At one time the word evangelical was used to differentiate Protestantism from Roman Catholicism and the Orthodox Church. For decades evangelicals were often identified with the right-wing of the Republican party as well as the Christian Right.  But that ain’t necessarily so anymore.

At one time most evangelicals were primarily interested in electing candidates with Judeo-Christian values….until Purpose-driven pragmatism slithered into the visible Church.  Just like the typical pragmatist, Christian pragmatists hold that “the value of something is established by its practicality, functionality, and usefulness. Therefore, that which is impractical is rejected as having lesser value or no value as compared to that which works. Pragmatism has been considered in various fields of study such as law, politics, psychology, religion, and education.” (Source)

So now there’s a battle brewing between the conservatives and the pragmatists.  Conservatives insist on applying the “values voter” litmus test to candidates while pragmatists insist on supporting candidates who, they believe, would tenaciously push the conservative agenda through Congress. A candidate’s morals and character is of no particular concern.

Just to be clear, the pragmatist will always insist on compromise.

A Witch’s Brew

Several years ago I penned a piece that I hoped would help explain the downgrade in the Church.  I thought supermarket shopping would be a clever way to paint a word picture. In my piece I pointed out that there’s a “diabolically inspired supermarket of truth and error in the postmodern Church.”  So take a stroll with me, once again, up and down the Aisles as we shop for the ingredients to make Syncretism Stew….

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.

And I added this reminder:

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. (Source)

Tragic, isn’t it?

Loose Definitions of Evangelical

Syncretism in evangelicalism started happening when elements of various religious beliefs were integrated into mainline denominations. As syncretism spreads, creeds, confessions and doctrine get tossed aside resulting in a fundamental change of beliefs. When Truth declines, false teaching flourishes. The wily serpent uses syncretism to separate God from His people.

Before I move away from syncretism, I want to stress that evangelicals have been assimilated into the world because of it.  More on how assimilation happens in a moment.

So, has evangelical lost its meaning as some suggest?  Or is it still possible to nail down the term?  The answer is yes and yes.  But in order to fully understand what it means we must go back in time to when the movement first began.  It is my hope that after reading this article with the simply stated facts it contains and perusing the research articles which are linked, the reader will come to know what evangelical originally stood for; likewise, those who identify as “evangelical Christian” will know if they can truthfully make that claim.

Uber liberal Washington Post’s Michelle Boorstein wrote a piece entitled “Why Donald Trump is tearing evangelicals apart.” In it she quotes David Kinnaman, president of the Christian research firm Barna.  “Loose definitions of ‘evangelical,’” says Boorstein, “have ballooned the group’s size from a more accurate 7 to 11 percent of the U.S. population to roughly a quarter. Author of a new book about how conservative Christians feel sidelined, Kinnaman said he has talked with and appeared before thousands of people in recent weeks on his book tour “and I’ve not found a single person supporting Trump. How is he a thing among evangelicals?”

According to Boorstein:

Kinnaman said this election “is the most tribal election we’ve ever seen” and will redraw future evangelical lines. Institutional evangelicalism, he said, doesn’t want this because they like the political and cultural power that comes with being perceived as huge.

But, he said, “We can’t have our cake and eat it too. We want to be big, but not too big as to be associated with all that’s wrong with Christianity.”

Kinnaman’s recent experience where he couldn’t find a conservative Christian that supported Donald Trump could representative of much larger population.  I’ll leave that question and the 2016 election until part 2.

What Evangelicals Believe And Why They Believe It 

By definition an evangelical is a Bible believing Christian.  A true evangelical holds that Scripture is the infallible, inerrant, inspired by the Holy Spirit Word of God.  The written Word is the authority by which he lives his life – his “final court of arbitration,” so to speak.

 

A true evangelical holds to the essential doctrines of the faith which are:

  • The Deity of Christ
  • Salvation by grace alone
  • Resurrection of Christ
  • The gospel
  • Monotheism

Secondary essentials:

  • Jesus is the only way to salvation
  • Jesus’ virgin birth
  • The doctrine of the Trinity

A true evangelical believes the Bible’s teaching on sin and repentance:

We are saved from our sins by trusting in Christ, who bore our sins in His body on the cross (1 Pet 2:24)–not by ceasing sin and doing what is right. When we receive Christ (John 1:12) we are then justified by faith (Rom. 3:28, 4:5, 5:1), and it is the work of God to regenerate us which then enables us to turn from our sins. Therefore, repentance is the result of regeneration (salvation)–not the cause of it. (Source)

In the early stages of the evangelical movement professing evangelicals held the view that Christ had commissioned His followers to evangelize unbelievers through the preaching of the Gospel — salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. (Ephesians 2:8)  The term for this is the Great Commission:

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.  And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’ (Mat 28:16-20)   See also Acts 1:8 and 1 Peter 3:15

The true evangelical Christian believes and acts appropriately on all of the above.

An excerpt from a piece titled “The Alignment of New Evangelicals with Apostasy” expands on who an evangelical is and comments on changes that have been occurring over the past 50 plus years to individuals who are categorized as such:

A person calling himself Evangelical is professing to be committed to the Gospel of Christ as proclaimed in Scripture. The true Gospel demands separation from all who teach another Gospel. As the Apostle declared, “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” … “Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.”  Without such separation the name Evangelical signifies nothing. “New Evangelicalism”, which willingly compromises with and accommodates another Gospel, has gained ground everywhere, beginning in the early 1960s. Since then, the Evangelical world has changed beyond recognition.

Post-Evangelicals

What many people are unaware of is that the word evangelical has been hijacked by liberals/progressives who make no bones about the fact that they out right reject some of the essential doctrines of the faith mentioned above.  Because they’re liberals or, as they prefer, post-evangelicals, they deem the Bible’s moral decrees old-fashioned, out-of-date, passé.  Moreover, they no longer try to present the Gospel of Christ as a truth claim as they’re partial to a more relative understanding of truth.  Because post-evangelicals are steeped in political correctness and pragmatism, they’d never dream of pushing their religious views on someone else, thus they choose not to share the Gospel with the lost.  To them it’s no big deal for Hindus, Buddhists and Muslims to remain in their religion for the reason that, to enter heaven, trusting in Christ for salvation isn’t a “must” despite the fact that Jesus clearly stated: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)  When Jesus said “No one,” He meant no one. 

Many post-evangelicals are universalists.  The universalist believes that God so loved the world that He intends to save everybody who ever lived; likewise, upon death each and every one of us loveable creatures will join Him in heaven – and that includes the unrepentant sinner who hasn’t trusted in Christ for salvation. Hell?  Haha, the joke’s on those nasty fundamentalist Christians who believe in it. Hell doesn’t exist, say many post-evangelicals.

It should come as no surprise that post-evangelicals support left wing political policies and causes. In fact, many of them hold the opposite views of conservative evangelicals.  For example, they support abortion on demand…gun control…the LGBT’s radical agenda which includes same-sex “marriage”…redistribution of wealth…women’s equality…oppose capital punishment…social justice causes…the list goes on.

Confusing isn’t it?  The point I’m making is that in this culture when someone says “I’m an evangelical,” it doesn’t really tell us anything.

Evangelical Assimilation

In Evangelicals Are Politically Irrelevant Fay Voshell helps us to better understand our confusion while at the same time reflecting on how we got to where we now are:

The evangelical call to confront the corruption of culture rather than to rationalize and to assimilate it has been badly weakened over decades. Many evangelicals have absorbed and imitated the celebrity and secularist political culture, swimming with the tide rather than against it.

How did the assimilation of evangelicals into the secularist word happen?

It happened much as the Hellenization of the Jews of the Diaspora occurred. Alexander the Great and his successors insisted Jews assimilate into Greek culture. Circumcision, a religious rite considered barbaric mutilation by the Greeks, was forbidden; Jewish youths were expected to compete naked in Greek games; Jewish holidays were renamed and celebration of them forbidden. Under Antiochus, the Torah was banned under threat of death, and the Sabbath was not to be observed. Much pressure was put on the Jews, who were considered an indigestible cultural subgroup as long as they retained their religious differences, to convert to Greek ways. Many did, seeing that if success was to be had in the Seleucid world, capitulation to Greek mores was necessary. (emphasis added)

Christians in America have been under similar pressure. They have seen their children forbidden to read the bible in public schools, forced to accept “gender free” bathrooms in which ten-year-old girls are to share restroom facilities with grown men who have declared themselves women; seen their holiday celebrating the birth of Christ turned into a secularist Saturnalia; watched as their college-age youths are ordered to stomp on pictures of Jesus, and seen their children forced to study and to recite the tenets of the Muslim faith.

At work, evangelicals are under constant pressure to be silent about their faith and to stifle talk of sexual morality under threat of losing their jobs or businesses because of so-called “hate speech.” It has been easier to stay silent or to capitulate to the multicultural, secularist world view.

In large numbers, evangelicals have surrendered rather than fight.

I’ll wind this up with a quote from Mike Ratliff of Possessing the Treasure:

Christian authenticity is a set of marks of genuineness. Christ said that we can tell false Christians from real Christians by their fruit. There is fruit that real Christians produce that false Christians cannot. Even those who are in the fires of tribulation, fighting deadly battles against their sin nature will be growing in these areas. Their visible fruit may be small or even embryonic, but it will be there. However, the false believer, since he or she has not the Holy Spirit nor are they regenerate, cannot bear this fruit. It grows only in the hearts of those God has touched with His grace unto the New Birth. (Source)

 Part 2 

Recommended Reading:

John MacArthur addresses comments by evangelicalism’s most famous evangelist, Billy Graham, that are clearly out of sync with the biblical gospel.

Biblical Fundamentalism By Gary Gilley

An Evangelical Leader Makes Trump His Golden Calf By Steve Deace

Phil Johnson: “’Evangelical’ support for Trump proves the American evangelical movement isn’t truly_evangelical_ in any historic sense of the word”

Resolution On Moral Character On Public Officials—Southern Baptist Convention

God’s Will in the 2016 US Election By Kathleen Peck

Copyright by Marsha West, 2016.  All rights reserved.

 

British Christians must start to think and act like a minority

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According to Tim Stanley of The Spectator, a major London magazine,“One of the jobs of Christians in the next few decades will simply be to preserve – keep the churches open, keep the assemblies going, keep the Church of England’s role as the national church.”  Stanley fills us in on the sad state of affairs in the UK:

Rights compete for privileged status in a liberal society. The right to redefine one’s gender, for instance, conflicts with a woman’s right to undress in a room reserved strictly for women. The right to speak one’s mind on campus comes up against the right of students to live free from unwelcome opinions. And the right to articulate a deeply held religious belief crashes headlong into the right of a whole smorgasbord of groups who don’t want to hear it.

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Glenn Beck: Evangelicals Not Listening to “Their God”

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Jeff Maples of Pulpit & Pen has the story as well as the video:

Glenn Beck & Ted Cruz. Photo credit: WND.com

Glenn Beck & Ted Cruz. Photo credit: WND.com

At a Utah rally with Glenn Beck supporting Ted Cruz last week, Glenn Beck gave a speech declaring that Ted Cruz was the fulfillment of the Mormon White Horse Prophecy. The Mormon University, Brigham Young, explains the prophecy likes this:

Will the Constitution be destroyed? No; it will be held inviolate by this people; and, as Joseph Smith said, “The time will come when the destiny of the nation will hang upon a single thread. At that critical juncture, this people will step forth and save it from the threatened destruction.”

At another Rally in Salt Lake City, Utah, Beck, in shocking admission it seems, implies that Mormons and Evangelicals worship a different God. He states:

Utah has an incredible opportunity. So many Christians have been standing up. But all throughout the South the Evangelicals are not listening to their God. Let us raise a standard in Utah.

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See CRN’s  research paper on Mormonism

Women in Combat

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In this hard-hitting piece Bible study author, speaker and blogger Michelle Lesley urges Christian men to “gird up, gear up, and stand up.”  Why?  “Because some women in combat are wounded, battle fatigued, and in need of some R&R.”

Women in combatOver the last few months, there’s been a lot of talk about the possibility of future U.S. military drafts including young women in addition to young men. I’ve admired godly male friends who have spoken out vehemently against this and expressed concern about the government trying to press their daughters or wives into service. Some even vowed to lay their lives down protecting their women from having to face the horrors and dangers of war.

But I wonder if these men – husbands, fathers, pastors, elders – know that many of their wives, daughters, and sisters in Christ are already in the trenches fighting off the enemy with every ounce of our strength and every weapon at our disposal.

It’s not a war for territory or political control or freedom from dictatorial tyranny.

It’s a battle for the purity of the Bride. And the souls of our sisters.

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