What You Need to Tell Your Local Public School Officials About Children and Mindfulness Meditation

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , ,

From Berean Research:

In a piece we posted by Pam Frost titled  The Interface of Medieval Mysticism and Buddhist Mindfulness Meditation we wrote in the intro:

What is the goal of mysticism? According to [Pam] Frost, “the goal is ‘to alter one’s perception of reality, redefining the self, the world, and the Divine according to mystical intuitions of Universal Consciousness as Ultimate Reality. Thus mysticism serves as the basis for a collective spirituality that transcends religious distinctions and is therefore the force behind the growing interfaith movement in which ‘Christian’ mysticism plays an important role.”

Research shows that there are dangers associated with mindfulness and meditation. We’re posting a piece by Lighthouse Trails (LHT) that includes a list of some of those dangers. Now to the obvious question: Why are public schools teaching children to do something that can cause them harm? Two examples are visual hallucinations and psychotic depression — and there are many more dangers listed.

LHT has put together an outline of how to address this issue with school officials:

Today we received a call from a concerned woman who found out that a local public school was about to introduce mindfulness meditation to children at the school. She called the school and has been granted a 5-minute time slot at an upcoming school meeting to explain why the school should not teach mindfulness meditation to children. During our phone conversation with the concerned woman, we developed a short outline of how to address this issue with school officials. Meditation (and Yoga) will soon be practiced in most public schools in America. …

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What Does Russell Moore and These Leftist God-Haters Have in Common? More Than You Might Expect…

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According to Pulpit & Pen News:

Vice, which is among the top one hundred websites in America, ran an article about “The Woke Young People Trying to Make Christianity Cool Again.”  The term, Woke, is urban slang originating with the pop-culture film, The Matrix, and refers to someone who has been awakened to the important cultural realities around them (for those of you not hip enough to dig their jive). Highlighted in the article are five up-and-coming “Christian” leaders who are breaking stereotypes about evangelicals not being bleeding heart, gay-affirming, environmentalist Marxists.

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To the ones who love God, He works all things together for their good according to His purpose

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

28 And we know that to the ones who love God, He works all things together for their good according to His purpose. Romans 8:28 (translated from the NA28 Greek text)

In last night’s post, God’s purpose in our discouragement, I shared a great deal of how God had used my circumstances over the last several years, in and out of the fires of tribulation, to transform me according to His will. I shared how this should be an encouragement for us not a discouragement. In this post, we will look at some of those “circumstances” in greater detail. View article →

Three Bad Arguments against Life Beginning at Conception

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , ,

In a piece over at Stand to Reason, Amy K. Hall lists three ways pro-aborts use to try and convince us that life doesn’t begin at conception and that embryonic humans are not valuable human beings. Anyone who has a heart will find their reasoning both infuriating and horrifying. Hall writes:

A recent article on Romper argues “3 Ways Science Proves Life Doesn’t Begin at Conception,” and the arguments are not good ones. To begin with, the author is not actually arguing that embryonic humans are not alive (this is clear, since she also argues we should be allowed to kill them). Rather, she’s arguing that these reasons prove embryonic human beings are not valuablehuman life.

To test whether her reasons prove embryonic human beings are not valuable—i.e., 1) many embryos die, 2) many embryos have genetic abnormalities, and 3) embryos can’t survive without receiving sustenance from another human being—I’ve slightly adjusted the words of the three points in her article in order to apply her value-determining principles to newborns. Since we’re not used to hearing these arguments made about newborns, you’ll hear them with fresh ears, which should provide some clarity. See if you find them convincing.

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Who is Rodney Howard-Browne? Meet the Holy Ghost Bartender

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , ,

Pulpit & Pen News examines the teaching of New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) wingnut Rodney Howard-Browne:

There’s a reason you need to know Rodney Howard- Browne. That reason will be made known soon. In the meantime, we bring you this short expose’ on Browne so that you can be apprised of this dangerous enemy of Christ.

Brown is the pastor of The River at Tampa Bay and is head of a parachurch ministry called revival Ministries International. He is from South Africa, came to the United States in 1987, and currently lives in Florida.  Browne received notoriety in 1999 when revivals he was hosting in upstate New York spread to Canada. He was involved in the Lakeland Revival and the Toronto Blessing. Browne is best known as the “Holy Ghost Bartender” because the manifestations of demonic power that emanate from his services causes the congregation – and Browne himself – to appear drunken. Also associated with Browne are fits of “Holy laughter,” in which people laugh uncontrollably. Although the laughter and drunkenness manifestation did not begin with Browne (Hagin also engaged in such chicanery), it is the most prominent feature of his ministry. First, a video from the proto-laughing-drunk, Kenneth Hagin.

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What is The ‘Vision of the Waves’?

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , ,

From Churchwatch Central:

While traveling in the Bahamas in 1956 as part of a gospel quartet, NAR Apostle Loren Cunningham claimed to receive a vision from God. It is often known as the ‘Vision of the Waves’.

Not only did this vision help launch his YWAM movement, it inspired many Charismatic/NARismatic leaders to try and get a vision from God to do similar mission work. Below is a video of Loren Cunningham talking about this vision – but also notice his theology.

Right from the beginning, we can say whatever gave him this vision was not of God but most likely from Satan himself. The reason for this claim is the false NAR gospel, the false NAR Jesus and the NAR mantras that accompany his theology in the remaining part of the second video.

We will be referring back to this vision in future articles. In the mean time, we hope you find the video and transcript below informative.

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God’s purpose in our discouragement

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

23 Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him. Genesis 40:23 (NASB)

My natural tendency is to heartily participate in self-pity, outrage, and unforgiveness thereby opening doors in my heart that Satan enters causing me to become discouraged. When this happens to me, I find that my circumstances drive me to become very negative and impatient. I suppose that this is one of my besetting sins which clings closely to me, ready to cut in on me causing me to drop out of the race God has set before me to run with endurance. (Hebrews 12:1-2) My sense of joy that strengthens me as I run this race comes from looking unto Jesus. My focus has dropped from Him to me and my circumstances. When this happens the slide into self-absorption is very quick. I suddenly find myself in this ugly spiritually flat mood whose fuel seems to be anger. I have often pondered how this happens. Prior to my personal restoration in 2004-2005 I was probably in this mood or mode the majority of the time. Since then, however, these falls into this dark ditch have been rare enough so that when I find myself there I am very surprised. Now, I implore the Lord and ask why this has happened. Why am I so full of joy on Tuesday and so fleshly and down on Wednesday? View article →

Texas defends dismemberment abortion ban

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ ,

Does it matter that womb babies don’t receive a humane death? Clearly it doesn’t matter to abortion mill and seller of harvested body parts Planned Parenthood, as you will see in Samantha Gobba’s story over at World. She writes:

Should abortionists be allowed to end the life of an unborn baby by pulling it apart, or should they remove it piecemeal only after its heart has stopped beating?

The answer, at least in Texas, depends on the outcome of a trial concluded last week over a new state law banning dismemberment abortions. The law, passed in June, requires abortionists to use other methods besides dismemberment—such as clipping the umbilical cord or injecting digoxin or potassium chloride to stop the baby’s heart—before removing it from its mother’s womb.

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Lessons From a Scandal of Hollywood Sized Proportions

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , ,

It’s hard to imagine anyone who watches the news not knowing about the accusations of sexual harassment, and in some cases rape, against Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Dustin Hoffman and several other heavy-hitters who work in the entertainment industry. Jordan Standridge of The Cripplegate challenges Christians to learn from these situations and think through how we can stop these kind of things from happening. To that end, Standridge lays out three key issues with King David at the time of his sin with Bathsheba that will help us in our fight against sin and temptation. He writes:

We keep getting flooded with story after story of people who knew the Harvey Weinsteins and Kevin Spaceys of the world were up to no good, and yet no one seemed to have the courage to say anything. A quick look at all the scandals in the Roman Catholic church or the Penn State situation shows that this problem is pervasive throughout, not only America but the entire world.

As we keep seeing these people be exposed for their gross sin, we can’t help but be reminded of another man, one more near and dear to our hearts as believers, and the incredibly shocking sin that he did which is exposed in the Bible.

It’s fascinating to think about how easily David’s sin could have been prevented.

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Related: Hollywood’s Plunge Into the Bottomless Pit

Australians Vote in Favor of Same-Sex ‘Marriage’ in Nationwide Postal Survey

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Christian News reports:

Australians have voted emphatically in support of same-sex marriage, paving the way for parliament to legalize homosexual unions before the end of the year.

Some 61.6 percent of the more than 12 million people who took part in the government-run postal survey backed same-sex “marriage,” with 38.4 percent against, the Australian Bureau of Statistics announced on Wednesday. While the voluntary survey doesn’t legally bind parliament, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the public “overwhelmingly” backed changing the law and urged lawmakers to respect the outcome.

“We must respect the voice of the people,” Turnbull told reporters in Canberra. “We asked them for their opinion and they have given it to us. It is unequivocal. It is overwhelming.”

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Boldness is not insolence

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

7 Of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God having been given to me according to the working of his power. 8 To me, the least of all the saints, this grace was given to the gentiles to preach the unsearchable wealth of Christ 9 and to enlighten all men as to what is the stewardship of the mystery hidden from the ages in God, the one who created all things 10 that it might be made known now to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenlies through the Church the many faceted wisdom of God 11 according to the plan of the ages, which he made in Christ Jesus our Lord 12 in whom we have boldness and access in confidence through faith in him. 13 Therefore, I ask you not to despair concerning my afflictions for you, which is for your glory. Ephesians 3:7-13 (translated from the NA28 Greek text)

If you have been reading our last several posts then you know that God has had me focusing quite a bit on humility contrasted with pride. Pride in Christians is never right. However, if we are honest, we must all agree that that there is a growing disrespect for God in today’s various teachings on prayer along with current expressions in contemporary worship. My brethren, these things are products of pride! While boldness does mean that those who are truly in Christ need not have any inhibitions as they come before God, they must still never forget that God is God. To treat God as if he is a “buddy,” to bring him down to our level in any way, is truly blasphemous. It is insolence in action to do any other than respect and worship God as he deserves. He is not our “buddy” or “pal,” but our heavenly Father and our God. What does it mean to come before him in boldness while not being insolent? View article →

Perry Noble Uses Filthy Hollywood PR Guy to Threaten P&P With Legal Action; Takes Article Offline

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Before we get to the Pulpit & Pen story, Berean Research reports that there have been some significant developments in Perry Noble’s threat to bring legal action against P&P.  The Christian community should be made aware of what’s going on, as this is very troubling. Berean Research informs us that,

This is a developing story. Whatever your opinion on the elements of the article, the most disturbing of all is the idea that anyone could remove a blogger’s post from his or her site without that blogger or site owner knowing. Updates will be posted here.

Now to P&P’s report:

That’s a first. A post we published about Perry Noble threatening us with legal action completely disappeared from our website. It has also been taken down from Church Watch Central, a site that also ran the story. We reached out to Church Watch Central, and they were told that we (that is, Pulpit & Pen) removed the article because they brought legal action against us and we agreed it was erroneous. That did not happen. Not only did they not bring legal action (they only threatened it), we did not take the article down. Frederick’s outfit lied. The article they threatened us about, in fact, is still up online.   View article →

Related: Has Facebook Become the New Confessional?

ABC, NBC, CBS Confronted with ‘Alarming’ Proof of Bias by House Media Fairness Caucus

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CNSNews reports:

The Media Research Center-documented “depth of bias” by broadcast networks is putting the nation’s very democracy at risk, the leaders of the House Media Fairness Caucus said in letters to the presidents of ABC, CBS and NBC News Thursday, rebuking their lack of coverage of the Russian Uranium One scandal.

In their letter, Caucus co-chairmen Reps. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), Alex Mooney (R-WV) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND) detail how “The Hill reported that Russian nuclear officials had routed millions of dollars to the Clinton Foundation while Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State, a role critical to the sale of Uranium One to the Russian state-controlled firm Rosatom. The House Intelligence Committee, along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, opened an investigation into this deal.”

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Cross-Dressing ‘Queer Role Models’ Read to Toddlers to Stop ‘Hate Crimes’

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In the UK grown men dressed as caricatures of women that are commonly called street walkers are being brought into nursery schools as “queer role models” for two and three-year-olds. Breitbart reports that “In The Times, veteran journalist Janice Turner said children in Britain are being ‘sacrificed’ to appease the transgender lobby, pointing to the huge rise in children attending clinics for “gender identity issues.”

In October we reported that in this country a very scary looking drag queen dressed as a “Killer Klown from Outer Space” recently read to children at the Michelle Obama Neighborhood Library for “LGBTQ History Month.”

A few months ago we reported that the Canadian parents of an 8-year-old boy encouraged their young son, who goes by the name of “Lactatia,” to become a drag queen. During an interview the boy said that if one’s parents will not allow them to be a drag queen, “you need new parents.”

Now to Breitbart’s story on what recently happened in the UK:

Drag Queen Story Time (DQST) holds sessions at taxpayer-funded schools, community centres, and libraries at which children learn songs about “transgender” teddy bears, as cross-dressers teach about homophobia, misogyny, and racism, and read books which promote ‘queer’ and LGBT lifestyles.

The project  — which nursery bosses say will help children “see people who defy rigid gender restrictions”  — is to hold sessions at seven nurseries run by the London Early Years Foundation (LEYF) over the winter, which if successful will be rolled out across all the foundation’s 37 sites, the Mail on Sunday reports.

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Forgiveness and perseverance

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

17 One day He was teaching; and there were some Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing. 18 And some men were carrying on a bed a man who was paralyzed; and they were trying to bring him in and to set him down in front of Him. 19 But not finding any way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down through the tiles with his stretcher, into the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus. 20 Seeing their faith, He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.” 21 The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” Luke 5:17-21 (NASB) 

I have known many people over the years who professed to be Christians, but who held to doctrines that placed the burden and veracity of their salvation on themselves. For the first 20 or so years of my walk with the Lord, I was a member in 4 different Southern Baptist churches in two states. The SBC is not a denomination of churches that are consistent across the board on doctrine. There are Reformed and Arminian Churches in the convention along with everything in between. In fact, until God woke me up and drew me into the light in 2004 I really had no idea what the difference was. I had never heard of Arminianism. I had only heard of Calvinism in World History classes.  However, as I studied doctrine I found to my great surprise that my own personal doctrine of salvation was a mishmash of Calvinism and Arminianism. Most non-Reformed Southern Baptists believe in a ‘doctrine’ of ‘Once Saved, Always Saved.’ It is not the same thing as the Reformed doctrine of ‘The Perseverance of the Saints.’ The former appears to be a holdover from the old days of the Baptist churches that were predominately Reformed in their doctrine. View article →

What Do I See? False Prophets Everywhere — Not a Lucid Word to Spare

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , , ,

From Berean Research:

According to false prophetess Jennifer LeClaire, “If you can see it, you can have it. Once you see My [referring to God] promises through the eyes of faith–really see them–you can obtain them; you can pull them down from the spirit realm into your life’s reality.” And this is in the Bible…where, exactly? What does that even mean?  What the self-professed prophetess is telling her followers is that they can visualize God’s promises and somehow “pull them down from the spirit realm” and what they “pull down” will become a reality. Where on earth does she come up with this stuff?  Oh, I know. She heard the Lord say it: “What do you see? If you can see it, you can have it,” saith the LORD.

Shouldn’t all new prophetic words that people like LeClaire credit God with saying become a part of His written Word? Assuming that what God allegedly says to modern day prophets was to be added to the Bible, would we then title this new book New Revelations of Jesus Christ?

Joking aside, because NAR prophets prophesy falsely, a more appropriate title would be: Fake News.

With this in mind, Anthony Wade of 8:28 Ministries brings to light a few false prophecies uttered by Jennifer LeClaire and Mark Taylor for Fake News consideration: 

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel, who are prophesying, and say to those who prophesy from their own hearts: ‘Hear the word of the Lord!’ Thus says the Lord God, Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! Your prophets have been like jackals among ruins, O Israel. You have not gone up into the breaches, or built up a wall for the house of Israel, that it might stand in battle in the day of the Lord. They have seen false visions and lying divinations. They say, ‘Declares the Lord,’ when the Lord has not sent them, and yet they expect him to fulfill their word. Have you not seen a false vision and uttered a lying divination, whenever you have said, ‘Declares the Lord,’ although I have not spoken?” — Ezekiel 13: 1-7 (ESV)

The Bible provides us with so many parallels to draw from and learn. Ecclesiastes says there is nothing new under the sun. … [continue reading]  View article →

Former Facebook president Sean Parker: ‘God only knows what it’s doing to our children’s brains’

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Matthew Field of The Telegraph explains:

Facebook has been attacked by one of its founding members for “exploiting a vulnerability in human psychology” and putting children’s mental health at risk.

Sean Parker, the former president of Facebook who joined Mark Zuckerberg’s company in its first months, said the company’s founders intentionally built the site to consume as much human attention as possible.

Parker, who has made billions as an early shareholder in the social network, also criticised Facebook’s effect on children. “It literally changes your relationship with society, with each other,” he told newsite Axios. “It probably interferes with productivity in weird ways. God only knows what it’s doing to our children’s brains.”

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Here I Am to Worhsip (with Heretics): Chris Tomlin Plans Worship Night with Cultists

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Pulpit & Pen News reports:

We Fall Down. Your Grace is Enough. Here I am to Worship.

These are all songs that Chris Tomlin has written and/or performed. Some of them are very, very good songs. Tomlin is the Texas-based Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) star who was once a staff member at Austin Stone Community Church and is currently the worship leader at Louie Giglio’s Passion City Church in Atlanta. He is, by all accounts, a wonderful performer.

However, Tomlin is headlining a “worship night” sponsored by KLOVE and AiR1, and is partnering in the process with several cultists and non-Christians. His website says the point of the the night is to “bring unity to the church” and is actually part of a larger tour in April and May. Performers include a number of CCM stars. However, several of those CCM stars fail at the middle “C” and do not represent the Biblical church, which Tomlin ostensibly seeks to unify.

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Be ready for every good deed

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

1 Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. Romans 13:1-2 (NASB) 

There are some who teach that our salvation is something of a crapshoot. Oh, they don’t ‘use words like crapshoot to describe their Soteriology, but their insistence that a person’s salvation is a mere decision means that their approach to the Gospel is one of mood and emotion manipulation that can be resisted by a person and, therefore, results in nothing more than some emotional decisions amidst many equally emotional rejections. Is this the means that God uses in the building of His Church? View article →

Humility is the mark of a genuine disciple

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

17 So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; 20 always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; 21 and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ. Ephesians 5:17-21 (NASB) 

Arrogance, boasting, retaliation, and self-protection are just a few of the fruits of Human pride. The natural mind exalts pride while demeaning humility. Timidity is often confused with humility. Timidity is actually a fruit of pride and is a form of fear. It is the method pride uses for self-protection. On the other hand, boldness is often confused with pride. Biblical boldness is actually a fruit of humility. Biblical boldness is the method humility utilizes in our obedience to God. It is an expression of self-denial as our flesh is crucified as we submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

When we are bold as we obey our Lord we are often accused of being full of pride. Those opposed to our message use this argument as we proclaim the truth and refuse to compromise with those insisting that Christianity must contain multiple versions of “truth.” As Elijah stood in the gap against overwhelming numbers as well as spiritual oppression, we must remain humble and bold. If we become timid then we are operating from a base of fear and will become self-protective and will not obey God nor stand for His truth. View article →

Perry Noble Threatens Pulpit & Pen With Legal Action

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From Berean Research:

UPDATE: There have been some significant developments in this story. According to P&P, the original post regarding Perry Noble’s “public relations and crisis manager” threatening legal action against P&P  has mysteriously disappeared from the site.

P&P describes what happened in the past few hours here, and includes the original article that was removed:

“That’s a first. A post we published about Perry Noble threatening us with legal action completely disappeared from our website. It has also been taken down from Church Watch Central, a site that also ran the story. We reached out to Church Watch Central, and they were told that we (that is, Pulpit & Pen) removed the article because they brought legal action against us and we agreed it was erroneous. That did not happen. Not only did they not bring legal action (they only threatened it), we did not take the article down. Frederick’s outfit lied. The article they threatened us about, in fact, is still up online.”   READ MORE HERE

This is a developing story. Whatever your opinion on the elements of the article, the most disturbing of all is the idea that anyone could remove a blogger’s post from his or her site without that blogger or site owner knowing. Updates will be posted here.

Posted 11/11/17

From Berean Research:

Berean Research has done some research into the “public relations and crisis manager” that’s threatening Pulpit & Pen with legal action, Hunter Frederick. According to  P&P:

She explains in her post, “Crisis Managed?,” that Frederick needs “to know they are repentant before [he] will work with them.”…“I called Frederick yesterday to ask him about his newest client, Tullian Tchividjian. After losing his ministry job last week, the former pastor contacted the agency, and on Monday, Frederick took him under counsel.”

So now Hunter Frederick has taken disgraced former pastor Perry Noble under counsel and, as you will see, Frederick’s now threatening P&P with legal action if they refuse to back off from telling the truth about Mr. Noble. Here’s what’s going on:

Perry Noble is the (formerly?) drunken pastor who played Highway to Hell on Easter Sunday, cussed at his church members for wanting discipleship, was rebuked by his denomination for butchering the Ten Commandments, and who was released from his megachurch ministry position for unrepentance regarding alcohol and what appears to be marital indiscretions. Recently, we brought to you news of his divorce. Prior to that, we brought to you news that he was launching a ministry to help pastors grow their churches through what is essentially a business model.

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Michael Brown Lends Lentz A Spine?

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , , ,

Noted apologist Dr. Michael Brown has a habit of appealing to the personal relationship he has with false teachers to justify their unbiblical teachings, practices and behaviors, often standing with them in their error. Now Dr. Brown feels the need to try and justify Hillsong New York “pastor” Carl Lentz’s comment on whether or not abortion is a sin. When asked by Joy Bahar of ABC’s “The View” if abortion is a sin, the hip cool shepherd of the sheep’s responded by saying that “God is the judge.” Lentz remarked that he would prefer knowing a person’s name and beliefs before determining whether or not they have sinned.

Churchwatch Central chides Dr. Brown for trying to justify Lentz’s lack of spine when responding to the abortion question:

“You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.” Luke 16:8

Michael Brown recently defended Carl Lentz’ recent unjustifiable comments on ‘The View’ over the issue of abortion. Lentz compromised himself discussing the Christian stance of murdering infants in the womb. After being soundly lambasted on social media by fellow Christians, Lentz did not apologize (as most Christians would) – he simply JUSTIFIED his behavior.

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America’s Veterans: Six Ways They Unite Us

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙

Harry Wedewer, who is a retired U.S. Navy Commander, says that when he researched his father’s WWII combat experience and his recovery from grievous wounds it gave him a whole new perspective. Wedewer hopes his father’s story will resonate on this solemn occasion:

It’s been said that our nation’s military is detached from the citizenry it serves. This is not something I previously thought about, although I am a second-generation veteran, and my son and a nephew are currently on active duty. But researching my father’s World War II combat experience and his subsequent recovery from grievous wounds — he is a double amputee and blind — has given me a different perspective.

If my father’s experience is any guide, a veteran’s life is one that embodies unifying, uniquely American themes.

So in addition to a day of remembrance, Veterans Day can also be a celebration of at least six themes that unite us with our military and, more broadly, with our families and fellow citizens — themes I discovered while researching my father’s story and that I hope resonate on this solemn occasion.

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What Is the Greatest of All Protestant ‘Heresies’?

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

Let us begin with a church history exam question. Cardinal Robert Bellarmine (1542–1621) was a figure not to be taken lightly. He was Pope Clement VIII’s personal theologian and one of the most able figures in the Counter-Reformation movement within sixteenth-century Roman Catholicism. On one occasion, he wrote: “The greatest of all Protestant heresies is _______ .” Complete, explain, and discuss Bellarmine’s statement.

How would you answer? What is the greatest of all Protestant heresies? Perhaps justification by faith? Perhaps Scripture alone, or one of the other Reformation watchwords?

Those answers make logical sense. But none of them completes Bellarmine’s sentence. What he wrote was: “The greatest of all Protestant heresies is assurance.”  View article →

Season of the Witch

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , ,

From Berean Research:

I’m adding this piece by Michelle Goldberg to Berean Research’s ever growing list of White Paper articles on Occult – Sorcery. According to Goldberg, people’s interest in organized religion is waning while occultism, i.e. witchcraft and astrology, is becoming normalized, especially among millennials. What she finds interesting is that more and more people are using occult practices to deal with their woes. “When traditional institutions and beliefs collapse and people are caught between cultural despair and cosmic hopes, they often turn to magic.” And when people are in a state of despair during times of social crisis, occultism gains currency, says Goldberg.  She goes on to say that today’s social crisis has a growing number of people embracing new forms of mysticism, especially those who see the election of Donald J. Trump as a calamity. In other words, liberals.

In my intro to More students, young Americans turn to paganism I explained what witches believe:

those who practice witchcraft (Wicca) have “monistic and pantheistic beliefs that all living things are of equal value. … Humans have no special place, nor are they made in God’s image. … Wiccans believe that they possess divine power within themselves and that they are gods and goddesses. …Consciousness can and should be altered through rite and ritual.”

Therefore, Christians must flee from any sort of pagan practice. Deut 18:10-14

Goldberg’s piece is published over at the liberal New York Times:

On a Wednesday evening last week, I sat in on a class called “Witchcraft 101: Curses, Hexes and Jinxes,” at Catland, a fashionable occult boutique in Bushwick, Brooklyn. More than a dozen people, most of them young women, sat in folding chairs in the store’s black-walled event space. The instructor was one of Catland’s co-owners, Dakota Bracciale, a charismatic, foul-mouthed 28-year-old former M.A.C. makeup artist dressed in flowing black, with a beard and long, lavender nails.

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