We’ve frequently written about heretical ideas, the question might arise — why do you focus so much on these fringe ideas, can’t we all just looooove each other? What happened to the big tent?
Post-modern philosophy may be the latest fad in “Christian” circles (emerging-this, post-that, beyond-whatever, neo-something, social justice, etc.), but when an author complains about what he calls “neo-fundamentalism”, he actually reveals why post-modern philosophy fails so spectacularly (although he probably didn’t mean to).
Rachel Held Evans reviews “The Bible Made Impossible”, what appears to be a fairly liberal book (stay-tuned for the stunning—if honest—goal of the author).
I’m not a big fan of resolutions because very few people manage to keep them, as can be seen by the glut of used exercise equipment around February each year.
We’re continually amazed at attempts by “Christians” to subvert the clear Word of the Bible. Well, not really, as heretics have attempted to deceive Christians since the founding of the church. Rather we’re amazed the church won’t recognize these false un-Biblical ideas for what they are, perhaps because many Christians are Bible illiterate.
At the end of the year it’s popular to do a year-end review, so for the benefit of new subscribers who missed some postings we present popular ones from the last 12 months.
For our email subscribers, a special tip of the hat to say thanks for reading.
Tim Tebow stirred up some controversy without doing much, just by living his life as he likely always has. As always, you’re free to ignore him if you wish … to paraphrase the (in)famous pro-abortion saying “Don’t like Tebow? Then don’t watch him”.
The first or second most popular article on this site over the last decade remains Can You Lose Your Salvation?, and while I don’t track email trends, the subject certainly gets much email attention also. One area I haven’t written on involves the idea once you desire to get back from a carnal life how the heck are you supposed to begin?
Paul and Gideon aren’t two people normally associated with each other. Yet when reading the Bible, sometimes a connection appears between two people or events you never thought of before.
It’s no surprise Jim Wallis’ radical group Sojourners doesn’t like the Tea-Party (Wallis calls the Tea-Party un-Christian), but loves the “Occupy” protesters. On the blog the question arose, is the Occupy protest spiritual? The opinion from Wallis’ Sojourners certainly isn’t surprising.
Many so-called “pastors” or teachers don’t exactly proclaim what the Bible does. Some add, some deny, some change meanings. How should a Christian handle those who claim to follow the Bible, yet really don’t?
Christians will soon have to make a choice: follow the phony reality of The Matrix, or stand on the rock of God’s Word. Unfortunately, those calling for Christians to accept man’s philosophy miss an important point: man’s best ideas continually change — remember when using leaches was considered good medicine?
Sojourners (Jim Wallis and co.) got into a bit of hot water when they rejected an advertisement sponsored by a gay-rights group. Since Sojourners promotes policies of the left, the group become upset with Wallis’ Sojourners (Sojourners later accepted another ad from the group, so the controversy appears to have diminished a bit). The question remains, what exactly does a liberal “Christian” believe?
Politics will always be a rough-and-tumble business with heated debates and strong emotions. However, if you’re going to engage in political discussion (and you should as a steward of the country), you must be prepared to take advantage of any situation which presents itself.
That got your attention, didn’t it? Jesus wants lower taxes, less welfare, a balanced budget, reduction of the debt, loves Reagan and Bush, but Clinton and Obama not so much.
Prove it wrong using the Bible.
Very few people would disagree public education is anything other than a failure as it gets worse and worse. A new study proves college fails in the most important idea to teach: learning how to learn, with logic and critical thinking.
Chuck Missler says never underestimate a person’s ability to rationalize, or justify the unjustifiable, or attempt (poorly) to reconcile contradictory beliefs.
Acceptability may not depend on some standard, but rather the subject of the action. Double standards arrive due to an application of dialectic thought, more commonly known as group-think. If the group thinks it’s bad, it’s bad, and if good, it’s good, failing to consider absolute standards of morality.
In other words, even among those calling themselves “Christians”, critical thinking skills and logic frequently lack, instead following the herd.
Christians seem to fight over anything and everything. Chuck Missler asks why Christians organize their firing squads in circles. Today’s buzzword bingo involves Complimentarian and Egalitarian, or the proper role of men and women. We’ve discussed it before, but it’s surprising how many people reject what the Bible states, creating their own religion.
Last week a tragic event occurred as a person was struck and killed by a train. As it turns out, video from the train (no, I don’t think—and hope—it’s not public) revealed the person walked to the middle of the tracks, closed their eyes, and waited to be hit.
Homeschooling can be a touchy subject — both in the church and out. NBC ran a series of articles on homeschooling and reading the discussion you’ll find it’s a topic with virtually no agreement, heated discussions, and (in some cases) a complete lack of evidence supporting opinions. You’ll hear the following arguments:
If you watch cable news at all (no matter the channel), you’ve heard of Jim Wallis and the issue of “social justice” pop up. Mr. Wallis appears on MSNBC, Huffington Post and of course his own blog. No matter your leanings, you’ve likely heard his comments about social justice and the Gospel; allow Jim Wallis to define the gospel the way he sees it:
Captain, we’re drifting into dangerous waters! All hands on deck! Sound the alarm!
Perhaps nothing differentiates “modern” (read that: liberal) and traditional Christianity more than the role of men and women. Those promoting a modern social justice version discard parts of the Bible not fitting their position, frequently by arguing those parts have historical meaning only. Does that make sense? Can we pick and choose what is God’s Word and what isn’t? If so, how can that be done, and who gets to make the rules (since it isn’t God)?
In our previous article on Christians, the tea-party, and Libertarianism (prompted by Reverend Jim Wallis’ article disparaging the tea-party movement) one area left un-discussed was the issue of Christians and Romans 13. Since it can be used it to justify particular actions by government, it’s time to take a look to see what it says in context. First, Mr. Wallis’ argument.
A White House adviser (Jim Wallis) compares the Tea Party to libertarian philosophy, proclaiming it “un-Christian” in support of his brand of “social justice”, even attempting to use Jesus’ words to support his opinion. His article raises many questions:
For some reason, atheists aren’t happy unless they convert religious people to their dogma. Why? I don’t know, but they frequently display intolerance, expressing a deep conviction to win converts to the religion of atheism. Here’s a statement which isn’t very remarkable, except for the revelation of the methods atheists should use to win converts.
In Justice by Alan Sears describes a story similar to Orwell’s “1984”, but relating to first amendment freedoms, specifically religious freedoms. This issue remains at the forefront today, whether it’s speaking on your beliefs, religious displays, so-called “hate speech”, and more. The book considers what might happen if today’s politically correct movement continues to grow.
Not everyone with the title “pastor” behind their name is trustworthy. That should be obvious, but many fall victim to the “appeal to authority” problem, where someone appearing as an authority has their beliefs accepted without challenge.
Rick Warren must enjoy controversy, or at least subscribe to the “no publicity is bad publicity” view as his latest issue stems from his end of the year plea for members to donate $1 Million dollars over a few days to clear a deficit in his budget.
With 10% of our church family out of work due to the recession, our expenses in caring for our community in 2009 rose dramatically while our income stagnated. Still, with wise management, we’ve stayed close to our budget all year. Then this last weekend the bottom dropped out.
On the last weekend of 2009, our total offerings were less than half of what we normally receive — leaving us $900,000 in the red for the year, unless you help make up the difference today and tomorrow.
Test all things; hold fast what is good. (1 Thessalonians 5:21 NKJV)
Physicists tell us we live in 10 dimensions; we experience only 4 (3 spatial dimensions plus time). Thus, we experience only a part of the world around us. It’s easy to dismiss the other dimensions as part of a strange science fiction novel, but they are no less real than the dimensions we commonly experience. We frequently have a problem with reality verses fantasy. For example, we think of tables, chairs, etc as “solid”, yet physics tells us this isn’t so. Much more emptiness is inside an atom than matter — matter is almost entirely empty space. So our concept of “solid” is only a reality of our perception, the “real” reality is much different.
The Manhattan Declaration continues to make people nervous. As we mentioned before in our discussion should a Christian sign the Manhattan Declaration, it’s not so much if you sign or not, but your attitude towards the concepts it contains. Yet some still don’t like the principles and choose to divide over it — even using faulty analysis in the process.
I recently received an email asking about living with a legalistic spouse and the difficulties it can cause — especially with other family and children. (Note: I received it via the contact form and the person didn’t include an email address — if the person sending it reads this, contact me again and provide an email address).
Q: How does a Christian live with a legalistic spouse?
Just a bit short of 100,000 signers have chosen to become involved in the Manhattan Declaration. It’s getting to be another of those 15-minutes-of-fame ideas frequently blowing throw the church (way too often) — like “A Purpose Driven Life”, “The Prayer of Jabez”, Bible codes, and so on.
During election seasons the question always arises — how involved should a Christian be in political matters? And how should they determine how to vote?
First off, there’s much more than national races. State, local, school boards, mayor, and so on. How should a Christian determine how/who to vote for? What criteria should be used to determine a vote?
Paul wrote the troubled church at Corinth on a wide range of issues including divisions, marriage and divorce, social occasions and more, but sadly in the last 2,000 years the church refuses to learn the lessons. Exhibit “A” in the we-never-learn category:
Ever notice things don’t often work out the way you want? Me too. Most people wonder why their plans don’t work out — after all, we’ve been praying for years, why isn’t God answering? I’ve got good ideas here, Lord, why don’t you try this? Why isn’t God doing something? Anything? Where is the abundant life Jesus promised?
A prophet in the Bible had the same problem: Habakkuk.
So you wanna go back to Egypt, where it’s warm and secure. Are you sorry you bought the one way ticket when you thought you were sure?
It’s strange how we only remember the good parts of the “good ol’ days”; all the bad events become lost in the vast space of gray matter. Perhaps that’s why drug addicts have a hard time shaking the habit — it’s because they forgot the hangovers, jail time, and wasting all their money on a stupid habit that takes and takes but never gives back.
Who’s in your boat? What a strange question — I don’t have a boat, don’t need a boat, don’t want a boat. As we shall see, it’s a vital question to ask if we are to grow in our Christian walk. The stories in the Gospels about the apostles present more than history; they illustrate lessons we should learn. Taking the time to study them in detail provides many lessons for us. The story you’re about to read is real; none of the names have been changed because only one was innocent. We’ll pick up the story on a typical day after Jesus finished teaching the multitudes following Him, as Jesus and the disciples are left alone to travel to their next location.
There comes a time in everyone’s life when they are at the crossroads — standing at the “Y” in the road — before them two different paths. You can only choose one path, and it’s clear these paths lead in different directions in different ways. As the crisp autumn breeze blows in your face, you must decide which path to choose. Winter is coming soon, and you can’t stay here forever. You must make a choice. You can’t see very far down either road, and each looks similar, yet different. One slopes gently downward, it’s path covered with small stones which crunch under your feet. It’s a wide path, and looks well traveled by many people before you. Curious though, no one is around to ask about it. You hear the wind whistling through the evergreen trees as you study this path, trying to decide if you should take it or not.
We’re both like Simon we still live in a state of denial. Although we’d both like to go to heaven we feel surprised about the trial. But the suffering Christ did accomplished something and the worst all turned out right. Go and find out in Hebrews chapter 5 — verses 7 through 9. (Every Crown has It’s thorn” Apologetix CD “Spoofernatural”)
Life is hard. I tend to write about trials because that’s real life; life stinks sometimes (honest, I don’t make this stuff up). Many times we face a situation and must decide which way to go — the easy way or the hard way? It’s easier to take the wide path than stand your ground. Yet how would Jesus handle the same situation? Would He bail out? Or stay the course? Would He think of others? Or Himself?
As the federal deficit passes the trillion dollar mark (quadrupling since last year), and expected to go higher before the end of the year as Congress and the administration ponder yet more spending, how much is a trillion dollars?
July 4 isn’t just about NASCAR, hot dogs and soda. How many people take the time to remember those events over 200 years ago? The founding document of the country?
When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
With all the talk of economic depression, stimulus, sub-prime mortgages — and of course all the political grandstanding, finger pointing, and attempts to use the situation to further political agendas, most people have a simple question:
How did the country get in this mess?
Current Events frequently cause problems for some as they fail to understand the nature of God and man’s relationship to the Deity. The following typical blog post comes from someone questioning God’s grace and character:
After the events of September 11th everyone eagerly awaited the President’s state of the union address. Everyone knew the main topic; most knew the points he would bring up. However, early in his speech he made the following statement:
We’ve come to know truths that we will never question: Evil is real, and it must be opposed.
A strange figure stands in the middle of the river up to his waist, the muddy brown water swirling around his legs. He’s got long, wild hair - and is that a grasshopper you see sticking out of his mouth? No matter — this guy’s not going to get voted most Mr. congeniality. His simple tunic is bound with a broad leather belt. This guy doesn’t look like he’s ever seen the inside of a house, much less a tailor. His eyes are like fire, and so are his words.
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. (James 1:2-3 NKJV)
I’ve come to the conclusion James is a nutcase. His ship is not firmly tied to the pier. His bread is not cooked in the middle. His six-pack is missing the little plastic thingy. Joy in trials? Ha! What a psycho. This one verse is enough to write off this Jesus thing and Christians in general. They must be a crazy mixed-up group of people to believe this junk.
Whooooosh - clang - echo. Nothing else in the world sounds like that. Sure, she’d herd that noise on TV so many times she’d lost count, but it’s different when you’re on the other side as the cell door slams shut. Whitney slumped down in her cot and stared across the 10-foot square cell at her bunk-mate — a large black woman who out-weighed her by at least forty pounds and had a several inch height advantage as well. Hearing all the stories about prison life makes a person wonder — so she nervously tried to cover up the swastika tattoo on her leg, hoping her bunk-mate wouldn’t notice. She didn’t — yet at least. Somebody must be getting a good laugh right now looking at these two; she’d like to get at the person who arranged a racist, nazi-loving person to bunk with a large black woman.
Two deadly diseases? I want to hear about uplifting, positive things, not anything negative like disease, and certainly not deadly ones. Yet there are times we must act as a watchman in a tower, warning the citizens of impending attacks by the enemy. Suppose the lookout said “I don’t want to put anyone on a bummer by announcing the enemy is coming, so I’ll just let them sleep a little more”. If a lookout did that, they were not doing their job. Sometimes we have to deal with some unpleasant things for our own good.
If you’ve never heard of the Deutero-Isaiah hypothesis, it’s the modern belief Isaiah didn’t write the book bearing his name — actually multiple authors wrote parts and those anonymous authors became compiled much later into one book called Isaiah. Most commonly, the theory states two authors wrote the book (less commonly, three authors) as web sites about the theory frequently state:
In spite of the lack of concrete evidence that any part of Isaiah ever existed without any other part as far back as the 200’s BC, the dogma of most scholarship today is that two or more individuals authored Isaiah. This perspective arose, most notably in the deistic[1] climate of 18th century Europe. J. C. Doederlein, one of the earliest to argue for a second author,[2] said explicitly that since Isaiah could not have forseen the fall of Jerusalem, the 70 year captivity, the return or Cyrus, Isaiah could not have written those chapters making such claims (e.g. chapters 40-66). Since this time, others have advanced arguments in support of dual or even multiple authorship.
Contrary to the popular teaching of value relativism, right and wrong do exist — even fake TV Characters know it.
Right and wrong do exist. Just because you don’t know what the right answer is—maybe there’s even no way you could know what the right answer is—doesn’t make your answer right or even okay. It’s much simpler than that. It’s just plain wrong. (“House” — the TV Show Season One, Episode 121 “Three Stories”)
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