Commentary, analysis and opinion.

Oleo on the buffet line is not what your women’s ministries need.

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Berean Research takes on women’s ministry celebs and their counterfeit conferences where women who attend leave spiritually famished because they were not fed the Word of God. Do these sorts of events help women grow spiritually? Not so much says Amy. She writes:

Not to sound too needy, but we women are hungry, and we want to be fed often, and now!

If I may speak just for a second for the whole group: most of us don’t know why we are starving or what we are hungry for.

The problem is, we’re likely to get a good rush from experiences and feelings. But those things aren’t real food. They’re like the Oleo our moms and grandmas used; a cheap counterfeit that’s dangerously bad for your health – even in small quantities.

Unfortunately that’s what most mega conferences for women are all about. Cheap thrills from famous ladies I’ll call “celebritistas,” who’ve made a lot of money serving up empty promises of a better life than you’re living now. Chills that go up your spine, a liver shiver or two, and then it’s over. You’re left with the usual conference confetti of expensive books and endless email ads inviting you to the next experience.

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Beth Moore launching a new TV program on TBN

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From Berean Research:

Elizabeth Prada of The End Times reports that Bible teacher and author Beth Moore, a Southern Baptist, will make her debut on a weekly television program on the Trinity Broadcasting Network. TBN was founded by Word of Faith heretics Paul and Jan Crouch. Many high-profile Christians choose not to appear on TBN because they believe that doing so would be akin to dancing with the devil.

So it is curious that Beth Moore will be doing a weekly show on TBN. Prada fills us in on the details.

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Will True Christians Please Stand Up?

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From Berean Research:

C.H. Fisher of TruthKeepers has a challenge for professing Christians: Don’t let this be the generation that sits idly by while evil darkens every sacred truth with lies.

ChristianityIf anyone believes that it is easy to maintain a stand against the encroaching darkness, let me offer a bit of testimony here. It is not easy at all. Oh, it’s easy to make the stand, but maintaining it is quite another matter. I’ve been at this for 35 years, and it has not gotten easier. I’m not going to get into all the details lest someone thinks that I’m setting the table for a pity party. I just want people to know that they are to expect the opposition to be fierce when they stand for truth and righteousness. That’s why many have quit standing and many more will not even make an attempt to stand.

However, one day we will all be called before God’s Judgment Throne to give an account of our lives here on earth. There are all sorts of doctrines that people can hide behind to avoid being alarmed at that prospect. However, Christ clearly said that “whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:33) In my opinion, not to oppose the evil that denies Him before the masses makes the guilty Christian culpable with that denial.

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From NYC to Harvard: The War On Asian Success

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Betsy McCaughey, columnist for the New York Post, fills us in on the far left’s abominable treatment of Asian students.

The year 2015 was a dismal one for American public education — at least by the numbers.

But don’t blame the kids. Parents are missing in action.

Except most Asian-American parents, that is. They tend to oversee their children’s homework, stress the importance of earning high grades and instill the belief that hard work is the ticket to a better life.

And it pays off. Their children are soaring academically.

The outrage is that instead of embracing the example of these Asian families, school authorities and non-Asian parents want to rig the system to hold them back. It’s happening here in New York City, in suburban New Jersey and across the nation.

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Christ Hidden in Our Schools, While Muhammad Roams the Halls Freely

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From Berean Research:

It should come as no surprise that Christian practices are outlawed in Muslim countries, but it is pretty shocking to see this sort of thing happening in America. Under the guise of separation of church and state, the celebration of Christmas, which is a federal holiday, is taboo in many of our tax-payer funded public schools. Yet some educators see no problem promoting Islam even though it’s a religion. The question is, why allow schools to censor Christianity and promote Islam?

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Franklin Graham quits GOP, says America “in trouble” unless more Christians in office

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From Berean Research:

Rev. Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham, is unhappy with the way things are going in America. What will solve the problem? He believes that if “godly men and women” get involved in the political process they can “change this wicked system.” How are we to determine if a person is “godly”? The article doesn’t tell us. Rev. Graham is quoted as saying that he’d like to see people who have “biblical values” run for office. Certainly he knows that having biblical values does not mean a person is an authentic Christian. There are untold numbers of counterfeit Christians in America! In fact, many of them already hold public office and are the CEO’s of megachurches. Likewise, counterfeits run ginormous “Christian” organizations. One example of a “Christian” politician is our president, Barack Obama. An example of a megachurch CEO is “America’s Pastor” Rick Warren. Do you see the dilemma?

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Christmas: Christ in you

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By Jim Stitzinger

The Cripplegate blog

The concerts are over and candle-light services are nearly complete. No more caroling, food drives, corporate holiday parties and the sound of Salvation army bells are quickly fading. The world will soon say goodbye to “the holidays” and will soon pivot its attention to New Year’s and Super Bowls.

The world may soon have Christmas almost in it’s rear view mirror, but for Christ’s church the wonder and joy of Christmas never ends. Isaiah prophesied that a virgin will conceive and bear a Son whose name will be Immanuel, God with us. He came to earth that day, and remains with us in every day. The Creator of the universe stepped aside from the full display of His majestic glory and dove headlong into His creation.

The day Christ was born slipped by, uncelebrated throughout the world. It was not for lack of Instagram, satellite communication or weak cell phone coverage. It was not because the postal service lost His birth announcement or a webpage failed to update. Christ entered time and space as planned. The seclusion from the abusive prying eyes of the world kept King Herod from carrying out yet another satanic attempt to assassinate the Savior.

Beyond the safety of our Savior, the world did not see the eternal significance of the first Christmas for the same reason that it cannot understand Christmas today. “The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4). Eyes that are blind to the truth can never see the glory of the Savior who was born.

The world cannot see Jesus, but the world can see Jesus in you.

Here are five windows through which those without hope are able to see Jesus in our lives:
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Do Christians and Muslims Worship the Same God?

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Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, has addressed the controversy that ignited when a Wheaton College professor decided to “wear a traditional Muslim hijab over the holiday season in order to symbolize solidarity with her Muslim neighbors,” and “asserted that Christians and Muslims worship the same God.”

Dr. Mohler opined:

Hard times come with hard questions, and our cultural context exerts enormous pressure on Christians to affirm common ground at the expense of theological differences. But the cost of getting this question wrong is the loss of the Gospel. Christians affirm the image of God in every single human being and we must obey Christ as we love all people everywhere as our neighbor. Love of neighbor also demands that we tell our neighbor the truth concerning Christ as the only way to truly know the Father.

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The Gospel According to Rudolph

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By Daniel Emory Price

RudolphRudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer had a very shiny nose. And if you ever saw it, you would even say it glows All of the other reindeer used to laugh and call him names. They never let poor Rudolph join in any reindeer games

Then one foggy Christmas Eve, Santa came to say: “Rudolph with your nose so bright, won’t you guide my sleigh tonight?”

Then how all the reindeer loved him, as they shouted out with glee: “Rudolph the red-nose Reindeer, you’ll go down in history!”

We all love a good story when the underdog comes out on top. We love Rocky winning the title round, Hoosiers taking the championship, Luke Skywalker blowing up the Death Star, and yes, even Rudolph guiding Santa’s sleigh in the fog. And Rudolph gets the added bonus of having the object of his ridicule turn into the only hope for his haters. And man—we love that.

We love it because we’re all theologians of glory. It’s a tough default theological position to fight. How dare those other reindeer laugh at poor Rudolph! How dare they not let him join in their games! What happened to Santa? Why does he allow this bullying? Rudolph could really use some of that legalistic, naughty or nice, reward or punishment ethic dumped on Dancer and Prancer for a change.

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H/T Chris Rosebrough

Star Wars and the Ancient Religion

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From Berean Research:

Peter Jones of Truthxcange examines the pagan worldview entrenched in Star Wars. George Lucas, the creator of the Star Wars saga, wanted to “produce a children’s fairy tale set in outer space as a ‘teaching tool’ for the re-creation of ‘the classic cosmic mysteries,’” says Jones. Lucas succeeded, big time. There’s no denying that his New Age worldview, which is decidedly pagan, has been embraced by many fans of the hit series. As a result of the film makers’ brilliant marketing strategy, most people in America have heard of Yoda, Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. You’d have to be living on another planet far, far away not to have heard the phrase “may the Force be with you!” Try as they might, parents know that it is almost impossible to shield their kids from the Star Wars marketing machine.

So with all this in mind, how should those with a Christian worldview handle Star Wars? Dr. Jones offers some excellent advice.

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Hillsong Church Rendition of “Silent Night” Features Roaring 20’s Flappers In Nightclub Setting

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From Berean Research:

Over at Now the End Begins, blogger Geoffrey Grider fills us in on Hillsong Church’s Christmas extravaganza that includes nearly naked “drummer boys” and songs about Santa Claus and Rudolf. Grider lamented: “It’s just not a proper celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ without roaring 20’s flappers, rock bands, hoochie coochie dancers, laser light shows and lots and lots of leg in a nightclub setting. Happy Birthday, Jesus, hope you like it.”

The question is: Does Hillsong Church’s production in any way honor God?

Um, no. Watch the Youtube video of Hillsong’s 2014 version of Silent Night, Holy Night and decide for yourself.

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Oh good grief! School district censors Charlie Brown Christmas

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Charlie Brown ChristmasThere’s a ban on the Baby Jesus in Johnson County Kentucky. Todd Starnes, host of Fox News and Commentary, informs us that that an elementary school was instructed to remove a scene where Linus shares the true meaning of Christmas by reading from the Gospel of Luke. Starnes laments:

There are some days when this anti-Christmas nonsense is enough to make you deck somebody’s halls.

The latest yuletide lunacy comes from Johnson County, Kentucky where the school district has censored an elementary school presentation of “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”

The district also ordered other schools to remove all religious references from their upcoming Christmas productions.

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Word of Faith False Teacher Joyce Meyer’s Shocking Doctrine and Heresy

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From Berean Research:

For those who haven’t heard this before, Christian celeb Joyce Meyer is a false teacher. In 2011 Fran Sankey of Tower of Truth Ministries and host of Test All Things radio broadcast discussed Mrs. Meyer’s unbiblical and problematic teaching on her program. We’re posting the transcript, which is well worth the read for anyone who is in the dark about this woman. To listen to the show, scroll down to the end for the link. Sankey begins with some background on Mrs. Meyer and then fills us in on the reasons that some of her teaching is considered heretical. You don’t have to take Sankey’s word for it. Listen to the sound clips of Joyce Meyer she has provided.

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LGBT Activists Fight State Law That Protects Believers Against Gay Marriage

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Mark David Hall of The Daily Signal writes:

Gay marriageHistorically, Democrats and Republicans have agreed that religious liberty is a core American value that should be protected whenever possible. Yet over the past decade, this consensus has come under increasing assault from the left.

A recent manifestation of this hostility to people of faith is a Dec. 9 lawsuit challenging a North Carolina statute (known as Senate Bill 2) that accommodates state magistrates and clerks whose sincere religious objections prevent them from solemnizing or licensing certain marriages allowed by law. According to Equality North Carolina, an LGBT advocacy group that plans to draw attention to the lawsuit along with the Campaign for Southern Equality, the law “allows magistrates who do not believe in marriage equality to renounce their judicial oath to uphold and evenly apply the United States Constitution.”

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New Vatican document reflects on relations between Catholics, Jews

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From Berean Research:

In a piece over at Catholic News Service – an important read – Cindy Wooden writes:

Catholics are called to witness to their faith in Jesus before all people, including Jews, but the Catholic Church “neither conducts nor supports” any institutional missionary initiative directed toward Jews, says a new document from a Vatican commission.”

How God will save the Jews if they do not explicitly believe in Christ is “an unfathomable divine mystery,” but one which must be affirmed since Catholics believe that God is faithful to his promises and therefore never revoked his covenant with the Jewish people, it says.

More in a moment.

Keep in mind that the apostate Roman Catholic Church (RCC) can say anything it wishes because they say that they alone have the right to interpret Scripture. The RCC “claims to be the one true Church as established by Jesus and His apostles. However, an examination of the doctrines upheld and taught by the RCC demonstrates that it stands in contrast with – and even in opposition to – biblical Christianity. (Source)

As you will see in this piece, it matters not to the Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews that the Bible makes it abundantly clear that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ. The RCC conveniently ignores the Apostle Paul’s very words: “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” (Romans 10:9, 10) And they ignore verse 13, where Paul confirms that the Old Testament promise that “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” is fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Even worse, the RCC also chooses to ignore the words of Jesus in John 14:6: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

“No one” bears repeating.

Now, continuing where we left off:

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Influence of Churches, Once Dominant, Now Waning in South

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According to Jay Reeves of the Associated Press:

Prayers said and the closing hymn sung, tea-drinking churchgoers fill Marble City Grill for Sunday lunch. But hard on their heels comes the afternoon crowd: craft beer-drinking, NFL-watching football fans.

Such a scene would have been impossible just months ago because Sunday alcohol sales were long illegal in Sylacauga, hometown of both the actor who played TV’s Gomer Pyle and the white marble used to construct the U.S. Supreme Court building. While the central Alabama city of 12,700 has only one hospital, four public schools and 21 red lights, the chamber of commerce directory lists 78 churches.

Yet few were surprised when residents voted overwhelmingly in September to legalize Sunday alcohol sales. Churches lacked either the heart or influence to stop it.

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Paris Conference Leaders Want You to Think the Planet Is Facing a Climate Change Crisis. That’s Not True.

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According to Nicholas Loris of The Daily Signal:

Leaders from around the world, including President Barack Obama, have been saying that the COP21, also known as the Paris climate conference, is the last best hope to save the planet from catastrophic warming.

Evidence and observed data, however, suggest otherwise.

History shows us that this isn’t the only time international leaders have cried that the sky is falling when it comes to global warming.

French President François Hollande said last week that “[n]ever have the stakes of an international meeting been so high, since what is at stake is the future of the planet, the future of life.”

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Bermuda Hotel Cancels Heritage Scholar’s Speeches on Same-Sex Marriage for Being “Anti-Diversity”

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According to The Daily Signal:

Marriage

A Bermuda hotel canceled two events this week because the organizers believe marriage is the union of a man and a woman.

Ryan T. Anderson, a senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation, was scheduled to speak on marriage at public forums Tuesday and Wednesday at the hotel in Pembroke Parish, Bermuda. But the hotel canceled the events, calling Anderson and others who hold his views “anti-diversity.”

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God’s New Sound

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From Berean Research:

Kudos to Herescope’s researchers for their willingness to tackle topics many discernment ministries won’t touch. After reading “Part 11: The Physics of Heaven* A Serial Book Review & Theological Interaction” penned by Pastor Larry DeBruyn, you’ll understand why some researches shy away from esoteric topics such as the so-called “physics of heaven.” This is no easy concept to grasp. Even so, pastor DeBruyn does a stellar job conveying what it all means and why we should not take this sort of thing seriously. The book was written by Larry Randolph. Randolph embraces New Apostolic Reformation’s highly unbiblical theology. His teaching is utter nonsense. Take a look at a couple of quotes from the article:

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Obama Apologizing to the World for US on Climate Is Ridiculous

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Economist Nicholis Loris of The Daily Signal writes:

President Obama’s opening remarks at the Paris climate agreement were effectively an apology for industrial progress. At the kickoff of the talks, Obama remarked, “I’ve come here personally, as the leader of the world’s largest economy and the second-largest emitter, to say that the United States of America not only recognizes our role in creating this problem; we embrace our responsibility to do something about it.”

Obama should not be apologizing for the economic growth that dramatically improved Americans’ and much of the world’s quality of life. Instead, the president should apologize for pushing costly and ineffective climate policies that will make us worse off and trap the world’s poorest citizens in poverty.

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Bullets For All

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“What painful irony!” notes Peter Jones of truthxchange. “Spiritually-ignorant young people, foolishly worshiping “the great Satan,” singing as they die; “I will love the Devil and his song,” butchered in cold blood by religiously-driven Islamist jihadists claiming to serve Allah destroying the “great Satan,” in actions of clearly Satanic inspiration.”

Dr. Jones writes:

What distressing symbolism. The gruesome scene of 89 young Europeans mercilessly gunned down in a Paris theatre by equally youthful radical Muslim assassins will forever be etched on our minds, for it provides an ominous image of our global future.

I am reminded of a recent book by a personal friend, the Anglican Evangelical Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali, whose Pakistani family has roots in both Islam and Christianity. The title of his book is truly prophetic: Triple Jeopardy for the West: Aggressive Secularism, Radical Islamism and Multiculturalism (Bloomsbury, 2012). These three elements all came together with astounding clarity on that woeful night of November 13, 2015 in what now clearly represents a “triple jeopardy for the West.”

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Obama Apologizing to the World for US on Climate Is Ridiculous

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The Daily Signal reports:

President Obama’s opening remarks at the Paris climate agreement were effectively an apology for industrial progress. At the kickoff of the talks Obama remarked, “I’ve come here personally, as the leader of the world’s largest economy and the second-largest emitter to say that the United States of America not only recognizes our role in creating this problem, we embrace our responsibility to do something about it.”

Obama should not be apologizing for the economic growth that dramatically improved Americans’ and much of the world’s quality of life. Instead, the president should apologize for pushing costly and ineffective climate policies that will make us worse off and trap the world’s poorest citizens in poverty.

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University president rebukes “self-absorbed, narcissistic” students

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Todd Starnes, host of Fox News & Commentary, has the story:

A chapel sermon on love left a student at Oklahoma Wesleyan University (OKWU), feeling “offended” and “victimized.”

But instead of capitulating to the offended young scholar at the evangelical Christian university of the Wesleyan Church, OKWU President Everett Piper pushed back with a blistering rebuke of what he called “self-absorbed and narcissistic” students in a blog post on the university’s website.

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Banning the Lord’s Prayer from cinemas is nonsense on stilts

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In a piece over at theguardian, columnist Giles Fraser declared: “So a peaceful Christian ad can’t accompany the new Star Wars film? The whole thing stinks of bureaucratic and commercial cowardice.”

He writes:

YodaIn the 2001 census, 390,000 people identified their religious conviction as Jedi. By the time of the 2011 census, that number had dropped by over half to around 177,000. Perhaps the new Star Wars film will boost their number – after all, this film is subtitled “the force awakens”.

But when this film is released in the runup to Christmas, the executives at the UK’s leading cinemas have decided in their wisdom that an advertisement featuring the Lord’s Prayer is to be banned from their screens. Apparently, the Jedi religion is fit for the big screen, but the Christian one is not.

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