Apostasy/Lukewarm

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George Bush proves once and for all, that he’s not a Christian.

Finally, George Bush (indirectly) denies he’s a Christian by (directly) claiming that we (including non-Christians) all worship the same God (except terrorists of course) and that even non-Christians will get to Heaven–just by a different route.

I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no one comes to the Father but by Me. – Jesus Christ (John 14:6)

I wonder if all the Christian bookstores are going to pull their stacks of George Bush books from their shelves now?

HT: A Little Leaven

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Can you guess where this verse is?

 

Can you cite me the book, chapter, and verse where the following passage can be found from The Message?

“How well God must like you–you don’t hang out at Sin Saloon, you don’t slink along Dead-End Road, you don’t go to Smart-Mouth College.”

Does this even seem vaguely familiar to you?

This would be funny if it weren’t so sad. Sad because people actually consider The Message to be a legitimate Bible “translation.” Rick Warren quotes from it often and XXXChurch passes it out as their “Jesus Loves Porn Stars” Bible.

To see the answer click here.


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Do you support your local Christian bookstore?

My recent visit to a local Christian bookstore got me thinking about something and I thought I’d pose the question to the readers of this blog:

Do you patronize your local Christian Bookstore? By patronize I specifically mean, do you make purchases from your local Christian bookstore?

Here are my thoughts:

The Christian bookstore can be a light in the darkness of a somewhat spiritual desert in some communities. There are people who stumble into such establishments who would never darken the doors of a church. Usually the owner, (and workers), are professing Christians who could help lead a lost soul to Jesus Christ.

On the other hand, every Christian bookstore that I’ve been in sells tons of literature and books that contain enough heresy to lead any seeking soul who finds them to Hell. Alongside great books of the Christian faith can be found almost every purveyor of false doctrine, every wind of doctrine, and every doctrine of demons imaginable.

So the question arises, how much poison is permissible in your glass of water? Do you support such a den of heresy? If so, why? If not, why?

See this follow-up post.

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Ryhmes with “funny,” “honey,” and “bunny.”

Recently I was changing the channel of a television set at a convalescent facility I was at when I came across Mike Murdoch who was holding one of his own books as he was preaching (not the Bible). And guess what he was talking about? It was the very same thing he was talking about when I came across him on TV back in October (see this previous post). I’ll give you one guess and three hints as to what he was talking about–what his “gospel” is. Se if you can guess correctly.

Hint 1: It rhymes with “funny.”

Hint 2: It rhymes with “honey.”

Hint 3: It rhymes with “bunny.”

As a side note, the video below is an update on another wolf leading the flock astray: Kenneth Copeland.

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Denying Hell: The bandwagon is getting quite full.

The topic of Hell came up in another post (read the comments here). One commenter–a Mormon–has found himself on the side of Universalists, Agnostics, Atheists, Wiccans, Jehovah’s Witness and Carlton Pearson in either down-playing, altering or denying the existence of Hell. Regardless of whether this is just his personal view or the LDS organization’s new PR move, either way, the denial of hell is beginning to gain in popularity.

For clarification, the denial of the doctrine of Hell doesn’t have to be confined to denying the existence of Hell. There are multiple ways of twisting, spinning, and distorting Scripture all while asking, “Hath God really said?” These include questioning the duration, the type of punishment, the degree of punishment, adding the teaching of purgatory to it, denying that most people will find themselves there (usually preceded with “A Loving god would never do that,” or “My god would never do that“), etc.

As the ecumenical movement gains momentum we find more and more beliefs merge in areas where they once found themselves in disagreement. The doctrine of Hell is yet another “politically incorrect” orthodox teaching of Christianity that is being discarded for the more modern, God-light view shared by an ever-increasing number. As people continue to form a personal, conscience-easing god in their own image tailored to suit their own tastes, we will continue to see more and more people denying biblical doctrines such as Hell. It usually starts with “I just can’t believe ______ ” fill in the blank.

Compromising biblical doctrines (like the deity of Christ, the atonement of Christ’s shed blood, the Trinity, the authority of holy Scripture, etc.) are frequently being done now in the name of the new Greatest Commandment: Unity.

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Whatever happened to holiness . . . in the Church?

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There’s no way around it. The current state of the church in America is lukewarm at best, and apostate at worst. The modern visible Church bears little resemblance to the Church of the first century or even the Church of a century ago. The modern Church has blended so much and so well with the world that no one can tell the two apart.

Today, we have a brand of “Christianity” for every taste, sin and vice imaginable. Churches have thrown out the preaching of the Gospel and are are now catering to those who have one foot in the Church and the other foot in the world. People who refuse to deny themselves and take up their crosses (Mark 8:34), crucify their old self (Romans 6:6 & Galatians 2:20), sever their friendships with the world (James 4:4 & 1 John 2:15), and separate themselves (2 Corinthians 6:17), can now have their cake and eat it too. They can have their Churchianity and feed their insatiable lusts of the flesh at the same time. Welcome to the “Christian” Vanity Fair.

Whether your vice is a love for the Beatles, Elvis, The Spice Girls, Michael Jackson, Garth Brooks, heavy metal rock concerts, hip hop culture, rockabilly hot rods, clowns, poker, Las Vegas, bars, all things Gothic, homosexuality, pastors with “hot wives,” jokes with sexual innuendos, Hooters waitresses, an unhealthy fascination with earth worship environmentalism, narcissistic pastors who missed their callings to be video jockeys on MTV, making light of the Savior, Marijuana consumption, television, desire to be a rock star (but can’t make it big time), bathroom humor, psychics (and their magic soap), BMX stunt shows (and the gospel of bike safety), kick-boxing, belly dancing, aerobics, wrestling, Harry Potter, scantly clad dancers at Christian concerts, feminist goddes worship, get-rich-quick schemes, winning prizes, a 30-foot inflatable sex organ as a ministry tool, apostate sermon series’ entitled God Loves Sex, and all other sermons that have little to do with God and a lot to do with sex.

Now who wouldn’t want to attend churches and events like these if their Christianity consists of checking off “Church” on their list of things to do to be in good favor with God? If they have to sit through church they might as well be entertained.

Even this church boasts that they’re “fun, exciting, powerful, and relevant.” (They also happen to display a nuclear mushroom cloud on their website for some unknown reason). So, when did Christianity become all about YOU? When did the Church begin to cater to nothing but YOU?

Well, with all the frivolity happening in the Church today, I decided to illustrate the difference between what passes as Christianity today (as seen above) with Christianity from the past. The following excerpt from the Voice of the Martyr’s book, Jesus Freaks will serve as Exhibit A. Let this example speak for itself between now and then–what Christians live for now, compared to what they died for then.

The day of their victory dawned, and the martyrs went from the prison to the amphitheater as if they were on their way to heaven. Their faces were radiant. Perpetua followed at a gentle pace, as a great lady of Christ. The power of her gaze forced the spectators to lower their eyes. She sang a hymn of triumph.

At the beginning of the show, two of the men were attacked by a leopard and then mauled by a bear. A wild boar was then let loose on Saturus, but the boar turned on the one who unleashed him, goring him in the stomach. Saturus was only dragged on the sand. Then he was tied up on the bridge in front of a bear, but the bear refused to come out of his den. So for the second time Saturus was left unhurt.

Perpetua and a young woman named Felicitas were put in the arena with a bull. Felicitas fell, seriously wounded. Perpetua was tossed in the air, and her robe was torn. As soon as she got up, she ran to Felicitas and gently raised her from the ground. When the bull refused to attack them again, they were removed from the arena.

The show was almost over; Saturus was put in the arena one last time, the leopard was let loose, and with one bite, Saturus was mortally wounded.

Finally, those who were still alive were brought back in to be killed by gladiators. First, they gave one another the kiss of peace. Then all remained still and received the sword in silence. Perpetua was assigned a young, untried gladiator, who was not used to such scenes of violence. He stabbed her weakly several times between the ribs, but did not kill her, so Perpetua guided his wavering hand to her throat. (Pages 301-302)

The official song of Reformation Nation, At The Crossroads, should be an anthem for the Church today.

 

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Reverend Larry Phillips blesses a new abortion clinic, declaring it “sacred and holy.”


This is an unbelievable story coming out of New York.

The “Reverend” Larry Phillips of Emmanuel Baptist-Friedens United Church of Christ has “blessed” a new Planned Parenthood abortion mill in a ceremony that has been called “Sacred Ground.”

From the news:

To commemorate Tuesday’s 35th anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling that affirmed a woman’s right to an abortion, clergy blessed this city’s new Planned Parenthood clinic in a ceremony dubbed “On Sacred Ground.”

“Today is more than about the building and about bricks and mortar,” Planned Parenthood spokeswoman Linda Scharf said. “It’s a blessing to demonstrate the support of the clergy.”

The reverend declared that the new abortion mill is:

“Sacred and holy . . . where women’s voices and stories are welcomed, valued and affirmed; sacred ground where women are treated with dignity, supported in their role as moral decision-makers . . . sacred ground where the violent voices of hatred and oppression are quelled.”

Read more about it by clicking here, here, and here.

They band themselves together against the life of the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.

Psalm 94:21

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Rob Bell: The Bible is a human product?

bell.jpg In a November 2004 Christianity Today article entitled The Emergent Mystique, influential pastor Rob Bell and his wife were interviewed. They had some very eye-opening things to say about the Bible.

“This is not just the same old message with new methods,” Rob says. “We’re rediscovering Christianity as an Eastern religion, as a way of life. Legal metaphors for faith don’t deliver a way of life. We grew up in churches where people knew the nine verses why we don’t speak in tongues, but had never experienced the overwhelming presence of God.”

In fact, as the Bells describe it, after launching Mars Hill in 1999, they found themselves increasingly uncomfortable with church. “Life in the church had become so small,” Kristen says. “It had worked for me for a long time. Then it stopped working.” The Bells started questioning their assumptions about the Bible itself—”discovering the Bible as a human product,” as Rob puts it, rather than the product of divine fiat. “The Bible is still in the center for us,” Rob says, “but it’s a different kind of center. We want to embrace mystery, rather than conquer it.”

“I grew up thinking that we’ve figured out the Bible,” Kristen says, “that we knew what it means. Now I have no idea what most of it means. And yet I feel like life is big again—like life used to be black and white, and now it’s in color.”

Read the whole article here.

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The Graham Formula.

Check out this 30-minute video (broken into 7 segments) examining the evolution of the “alter-call” and “salvation prayer,” and how these two man-made, man-centered evangelism techniques are producing countless false converts. I certainly didn’t agree with everything in this 7-part video (I think they handled Finney and Graham’s contributions to these errors way too lightly) but for the most part this series is right on the money! What do you think?

Part One:

Part Two:

Part Three:

Part Four:

Part Five:

Part Six:

Part Seven:

HT: Joie de Vivre

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Unlike peanutbutter and chocolate, some things were never meant to be together.

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Introducing Ultimate Christian Wrestling.

Those over at Wrestling for Jesus put on a blasphemous wrestling show featuring Jesus as a wrestler fighting evil. All of this, of course, is done to reach those who wouldn’t go to church anyway . . . right?

I wish more Christians would understand that those in the world are not dumb. They understand when they’re being pandered to. It’s this kind of stuff that only reinforces people’s aversion to “church.”

What you draw them with is what you draw them to.

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What does a church and a nuclear mushroom cloud have in common?

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I have no idea and was hoping that you could tell me!

River City Church on their “I’m new, what should I expect?” page boasts that they are “fun, exciting, powerful, and relevant.” But why the mushroom cloud?

Are they attempting to equate that they are somehow as powerful as a nuclear explosion? I don’t see the connection.

Perhaps what they’re trying to say is: Whenever a nuclear device detonates, it drastically changes the world around it for the worse. In the same way, when we (another seeker-friendly, market-driven, shallow church) come to your neighborhood we leave a lasting and devastating spiritual impact by creating countless false converts.

If that’s the similarity that this church is trying to convey, then I’d have to agree with them. The spiritual debris that churches like this leave in their wake is similar to the human debris a nuclear bomb leaves in its wake. Both a nuclear blast and a candy-coated “gospel” destroy the lives of anyone that is near them, and their effects can be measured far from where they originated.

Maybe that’s precisely the message that they’re trying get across. What do you think?

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Will the prosperity “gospel” float in flooded Fernley, Nevada?

Do you think that this happened because the residents simply “didn’t have enough faith?” Somehow I believe that these folks aren’t having their “best life now.” It takes times like this to see what a folly the false prosperity “gospel” truly is. fernley-flood.jpg

Here’s more examples of how the prosperity “gospel” is an utter failure outside an affluent industrialized Western country during times of prosperity.