A sobering reminder that most Christians in this world are not experiencing their Best Life Now.
Rasheed Masih was murdered with axes by six Muslims for refusing to convert to Islam. Arshed Masih was burned alive in front of a police station for refusing to recant his faith and his wife was raped by a police officer (article found here).
DefCon is not a political blog. We do, however, touch on political topics when appropriate. See past posts such as Has the Religious Right Lost Its Voice in American Politics? and The Fall of the United States of Rome for examples.
I recently found the following piece that was written by VA Voter back on October 22, 2007. I found it here on Free Republic.com and felt compelled to share it with the readers of this blog. Although America was originally a republic, there is little doubt it has since morphed into a democracy.
VA Voter’s post is very eye-opening but since its posting I have received information that those who the quotes are attributed to never made them. I do not wish to promulgate error, and sincerely apologize if this re-posting of VA Voter’s piece mislead anyone.
With that said, I will allow the following quote (from the original thread I procured this from) to stand. Regardless of whoever the original source of the following quote is from, I think it is very thought-provoking and is further proof that Believers should not trust in such temporal things as horses and chariots, but we should trust in the eternal name of our Lord (Psalm 20:7).
A Democracy is always temporary in nature:
‘A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government’
‘A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury’
‘From that moment on, the majority always vote for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship’
‘The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years’
‘During those 200 years, those nations always progressed through the following sequence:
1. From bondage to spiritual faith;
2. From spiritual faith to great courage;
3. From courage to liberty;
4. From liberty to abundance;
5. From abundance to complacency;
6. From complacency to apathy;
7. From apathy to dependence;
8. From dependence back into bondage’
And finally, I wanted to leave you with a quote that’s been attributed to Winston Churchill:
The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.
An insider finally admits what we’ve known all along.
Sex abuse scandals in the Roman Catholic Church are proof that that “the Devil is at work inside the Vatican”, according to the Holy See’s chief exorcist.
Father Gabriele Amorth, 85, who has been the Vatican’s chief exorcist for 25 years and says he has dealt with 70,000 cases of demonic possession, said that the consequences of satanic infiltration included power struggles at the Vatican as well as “cardinals who do not believe in Jesus, and bishops who are linked to the Demon”.
Check out the news piece from The Times Online.
Another health, wealth, and prosperity preacher is headed to divorce court. According to this report from Fox News, Suzanne Hinn, wife of heretic faith healer Benny Hinn . . .
Filed papers in Orange County Superior Court on Feb. 1, citing irreconcilable differences.
The LA Times is also reporting that the request for divorce came “without notice.”
Benny can now join the growing list of divorced (or living depraved) big name preachers like Ted Haggard, Todd Bentley, Juanita Bynum, and Paula White.
For those of you not familiar with Suzanne Hinn, back in September 2007 DefCon featured the following video of her “preaching.”
Thanks for the heads-up Lyn
The Sun is reporting yet another big name entertainer who has gotten too big for his britches. Openly homosexual musician Elton John claims that:
“I think Jesus was a compassionate, super-intelligent gay man who understood human problems.”
But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. “For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” Matthew 12:36-37
It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Hebrews 10:31
I’m sure this will upset the applecart of those who see no problem with having one foot in the church and the other foot in the world (namely its entertainment), but for anyone who plans on seeing the film Avatar, below is some food for thought from Doug Phillips. And for those who have seen it, here’s what you’ve exposed yourself (and possibly your family) to:
Twelve Things I learned From Avatar: A Worldview Review of the Top Film of 2010
There is so much that could be said about James Cameron’s riveting and technologically advanced blockbuster, Avatar, but I thought it would be helpful to very simply distill some of the most important messages I learned from this film which is now the highest grossing film in all of history, and which will likely be the most popular film of 2010. Below are the headlines from a forthcoming review of the film:
- We can experience liberty when our spirits possess alien bodies.
- Business men are evil because they rape the earth for profit.
- It is noble to be a savage.
- The earth is our mother.
- God is female.
- Animals are our brothers.
- In noble cultures women are the spiritual leaders.
- Nudity is freedom.
- Heroes have foul mouths.
- Shamanism and demonic possession is a means for healing.
- Enlightened cultures are spiritually unified with animals and plants.
- Men are born-again as they commune with the earth.
Bonus Lessons From Hollywood:
- Pantheism is the religion of the Hollywood elite.
- Darwinism, with its emphasis on evolution as the defining process for understanding the universe, is at the heart of Hollywood pantheism.
- A primary mission of Hollywood pantheism is to destroy the Dominion Mandate, the doctrine of Creation and the Creator/creature distinctive detailed in the Bible.
- Science fiction is the primary genre used as an evangelism tool for Hollywood’s religion of pantheism.
- Films are more important than schools, pulpits or politics, for training disciples of this new Hollywood religion.
Bonus Lessons About Christians and Hollywood:
- Most professing Christians will check their spiritual discernment at the door of a movie theater for a cheap thrill.
- Most professing Christians love fantasy more than reality.
- Fantasy books, films and television shows have trained professing Christians to be polytheists—individuals who believe that you can worship many gods at the same time—in this case, the gods of pantheism and the gods of Christianity.
- Most professing Christians have greater delight in a pantheistic Hollywood film about non-reality, than in reading the Bible or hearing a sermon about truth.
Hollywood understands that the demographic of film consumption by non-Christians and Christians is essentially the same—both look to Hollywood for a fatty diet of entertainment to help them escape from reality. – Doug Phillips on February 15, 2010
Just when you think you’ve seen it all, the pied pipers of the mile-wide, inch-deep church in America drop one rung lower on the ladder as they continue to lead the masses of goats down the broad path of destruction.
I thought the pragmatism of Laodicean evangelism techniques couldn’t shock me anymore but this article from the New York Times has left me speechless. Here are a few quotes form the article:
Recruitment efforts at the churches, which are predominantly white, involve fight night television viewing parties and lecture series that use ultimate fighting to explain how Christ fought for what he believed in. Other ministers go further, hosting or participating in live events. The goal, these pastors say, is to inject some machismo into their ministries — and into the image of Jesus — in the hope of making Christianity more appealing. “Compassion and love — we agree with all that stuff, too,” said Brandon Beals, 37, the lead pastor at Canyon Creek Church outside of Seattle. “But what led me to find Christ was that Jesus was a fighter.”
The sport is seen as a legitimate outreach tool by the youth ministry affiliate of the National Association of Evangelicals, which represents more than 45,000 churches.
Nondenominational evangelical churches have a long history of using popular culture — rock music, skateboarding and even yoga — to reach new followers. Yet even among more experimental sects, mixed martial arts has critics.
I can’t even begin to imagine what will come next in the name of “evangelism.”
For more, checkout this post too.
UPDATED from February 1, 2009: How ironic!! Exactly one year ago to the date, comes this update on the Crystal Tower of Babel. Apparently, the downturn in the economy may not be such a bad thing. I posted a while back that Rod Parsley is hemorrhaging cash. Just goes to show, when you base your “ministry” on how many unsuspecting people you can fleece out of their hard-earned money, it’s a pyramid scheme that’s bound to come crashing down. Well, now, it looks like the ungodly empire built by Mr. Self-Esteem himself is about to circle the drain:
The Crystal Cathedral, the Garden Grove megachurch, is laying off 50 workers, selling surplus property and may pull its “Hour of Power” television show in up to eight markets because of a precipitous drop in contributions.
The 7,000-member church also has canceled its “Glory of Easter” pageant, a popular reenactment of the life and death of Jesus Christ, which sold tens of thousands of tickets each year. “This cuts to the heart of our ministry,” said spokesman John Charles. “It is sad news.”
Charles said the church’s revenue sank 27% from roughly $30 million in 2008 to $22 million in 2009. Anticipating a drop in 2010 revenue, he added, “If it maintains, that would be fine, but we don’t have a crystal ball, so we are cutting.”
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Apparently, the Robert Schuller empire, symbolized by the Crystal Tower of Babel Cathedral and built by the ultimate ultra-feel good pastor, the one who built a monument to man, whose shimmering building commemorates the gospel of Satan, is about to come crumbling down. (NOTE–link no longer works. sorry). One word describes this news:
It is a good thing that this man-made facade of a church should dissolve into dust. It is a good thing that this empire, built on the lie of universal salvation, should return to the dung heap from which it came. Just like the Tower of Babel, which was built for men to worship the “God” of their own making, so was this abomination of man’s making built to worship a fuzzy-wuzzy “God” who is not holy, is not righteous, and is not even real.
Once one of the nation’s most popular televangelists, the Rev. Robert H. Schuller is watching his life’s work crumble.
His son and recent successor, the Rev. Robert A. Schuller, has abruptly resigned as senior pastor of the Crystal Cathedral. The shimmering, glass-walled megachurch is home to the “Hour of Power” broadcast, an evangelism staple that’s been on the air for more than three decades.
The church is in financial turmoil: It plans to sell more than $65 million worth of its Orange County property to pay off debt. Revenue dropped by nearly $5 million last year, according to a recent letter from the elder Schuller to elite donors. In the letter, Schuller Sr. implored the Eagle’s Club members — who supply 30 percent of the church’s revenue — for donations and hinted that the show might go off the air without their support.
If Robert Schuller continues to preach a God who will save everybody, and that we are not sinners, and that we will all go to heaven–in other words, if he continues preaching a different gospel–then when he dies, he will suffer a much greater fate than watching his private Tower of Babel fall to the ground.
Galatians 1:8-9–But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.
Recently Joel Osteen “blessed” Annise Parker, the new mayor of Houston, Texas who is openly homosexual. (See articles here, here, and here.)
“… We ask that everything we do would bring honor to you … and we just lift up especially Mayor Annise Parker. … Lord, we thank you just for raising her up and just for your goodness, your mercy in her life, and just for supernatural wisdom, Father. We honor her today and our other officials, and Lord, we count it a joy and honor to be here in your presence with all of our friends and we just thank you for this day. In Jesus name, amen.”
This is as mind boggling as the wolf who “blessed” an abortion mill, calling it “sacred ground.”
Ingrid Schlueter hits the nail on the head regarding Joel Osteen with this excerpt from her commentary:
We bring honor to God by asking Him to bless a woman who is living in conduct that He calls an “abomination”? Does Joel Osteen even possess a Bible?
Martin Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) offers a sobering warning from the grave:
If the West goes down and is defeated, it will be for one reason only: internal rot . . . If we continue to spend our lives in jollification, doing less and less work, demanding more and more money, more and more pleasure and so-called happiness, more and more indulgence of the lusts of the flesh, with a refusal to accept our responsibilities, there is but one inevitable result—complete and abject failure. Why did the Goths and Vandals and other barbarians conquer the ancient Roman Empire? Was it by superior military power? Of course not! Historians know that there is only one answer: the fall of Rome came because of the spirit of indulgence that had invaded the Roman world—the games, the pleasures, the baths. The moral rot that had entered into the heart of the Roman Empire was the cause of Rome’s “decline and fall.” It was not superior power from the outside, but internal rot that was Rome’s ruination. And the really alarming fact today is that we are witnessing a similar declension in this and most other Western countries. This slackness, this indiscipline, the whole outlook and spirit is characteristic of a period of decadence. The pleasure mania, the sports mania, the drink and drug mania have gripped the masses.
For once I don’t want to over-analyze this. I just want to enjoy it for what Brit Hume said. It is shockingly frank and shockingly great for someone on TV to say something like this. Tiger Woods needs to turn to the Christian faith. He needs his sins forgiven more than he needs his next breath. I thank Brit Hume for his political incorrectness and truthfulness.
Mark Cahill has witnessed to Tiger Woods, so we know that the biblical seed of the gospel has been planted, and we can pray for it to grow.
The following is a very disturbing story out of Virginia. A story that shows just how depraved the human heart truly is. And, how some politicians don’t care, just so long as they get re-elected. And, if this story gets enough national attention, it may just give us a glimpse into the mindset of many. From HotAir via Ingrid Schlueter at CrossTalk:
This may be the worst story of the year, at least in reference to domestic policy and crime. How bad is it? When Matt of Creative Minority Report tipped me to it this morning, I had to track it down to make sure it was on the level. A woman in Campbell County, Virginia smothered her newborn infant, and police are powerless to do anything about it:
That’s right. Even though this child had fully exited the womb. Even though this child was fully capable of living on its own. Even though this child, by all rights, should have been protected like any other human being. The fact that the umbilical cord was still attached and the placenta had not been expelled means, in the minds of some sick, twisted, perverted minds, that this was not, in fact, a human being. And so this woman gets away with murdering her child because of a loophole in Virginia law. And this was not the first time something like this had happened there:
The Campbell County Sheriff’s Office and Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office worked unsuccessfully to get the law changed after another baby died in the county in a similar case. Emerson says they asked two delegates and one state senator to take the issue up in the General Assembly.
And since this was not the first time, the state legislators and other law-making bodies in the state would have been more than quick to close that loophole……or not:
Emerson says they asked two delegates and one state senator to take the issue up in the General Assembly. He says the three lawmakers refused because they felt the issue was too close to the abortion issue.
The reason this loophole is still in place can be summed up in one word: VOTES. These greedy politicians who are so ensconced in their thrones that they couldn’t fathom losing their power and going out to actually get a real job, have allowed an innocent baby to be destroyed by a woman who didn’t want to be “punished with a baby.” Thank you, Earl Warren and company. Thank you Planned Parenthood. Thank you Margaret Sanger.
And the downfall of civilization continues.
The world in which we live today is indeed a brave new world. One in which the majority of the masses have been lulled into sleep by the many “narcotics” lavished upon them in the form of endless entertainment, constant distraction, material excess and trivial pursuits. Because of this the people, including sadly the majority of Christians, are totally ignorant to the growing evil in our day. Instead, they “buy” whatever their favorite TV or news media sells them (usually Fox or Faux News) thinking they possess the high moral ground as they look down their noses on the dark side (i.e. CNN). This being witnessed to as Christians will constantly decry the evil of one party, i.e. the Democrats, yet cover their ears and eyes and ignore the same evils in the Republican ranks. (No different really than how many will decry the sin of the world – think Manhattan Declaration, yet fail to address it within their church).
All of this is terribly hypocritical, yet election after election it is the same old story for most “evangelicals” as they cheer for the Republican regardless of their policies, voting record, globalist agenda, personal indiscretions, etc., and lambast their opponent even if said person is more Constitutionally sound. I witnessed this in the last Presidential election where I tried to point people to the ignominious facts about the Republican candidate, and advocate Chuck Baldwin, but all of this fell on deaf ears as I was hit with the “lesser of two evils” argument. The persons advocating this position failing to see that the lesser of two evils (which may not really be less but only appear to be so) is still evil.
But, this is the system we have been raised in and how we have been conditioned to formulate our beliefs. Beliefs that for the majority have not been forged by independent and analytical thought, but rather by blindly believing what is heard on the radio or viewed on TV. And once these beliefs are set in the individual’s mind, they become harder than concrete. It is because of this that most will never take the time to look beyond the mass-media rhetoric of our day and to conduct independent research; something which often will lead to places many simply do not want to go to. Hence, most will never pull anchor and set sail to venture out into the raging sea of independent thought, but will rather choose to play it safe and harbor in the calm waters of the port city of “ignorance is bliss.”
And then there is the entertainment that lulls most Christians into a Laodicean and lackadaisical state where all that matters is what new album their CCM artist is going to release, how their sports team is doing, or what movie they will go to see on Friday night. Here, I can think of no greater admonition than that given by the apostle Paul to the Roman church where he wrote,
And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. (Rom 13:11-14)
It is indeed high time to awake out of our sleep. For me, this happened at least in part a few years after 9-11. Something I cannot attribute to myself but to God for I was in a flag-waving slumber just like the majority of American Christians. This, as I accepted the party line without thinking and analyzing the facts that were in plain sight. Facts that led to places that I really did not want to go to, but often this is where the truth will take you.
This takes me to the point of this post which was precipitated by an article I read today. It is from a worldly viewpoint, but as is often the case, “…the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.” (Luke 16:8) I believe many will profit if they take the time to read it to get a perspective on things you will not often hear. Certainly not from the controlled news media, nor sadly from the majority of the 501c-3 shackled pastors.
The article examines our world today and compares it with Aldous Huxley’s 1931 novel, Brave New World. A world that we amazingly find ourselves more and more living in. A world that worse yet more and more Christians are falling in love with and being intoxicated with; in love with the sports, in love with the entertainment, in love with the musicians, in love with science, in love with the art, in love with the commercialism; in short, in love with the world we are commanded to hate. And it is this sordid love affair that blinds us to the sin around us, keeps us from being diligent in the things of the Lord, and often has us speaking well of evil doers.
My prayer is that we might heed the admonition of the Holy Spirit and awake from our slumber. For it is not until one is awaked that they can begin to perceive the reality of the world around them. This we must do because of all of us time is indeed short.
The article, Brave New World 2009 by James Quinn can be read here.
Also, I encourage folks to read Paul Proctor’s articles that many times focus on issues in the church as we do here at DefCon, but also include articles on our world covering topics such as globalism. Also recommended are Chuck Baldwin’s articles where you will get a perspective not heard from many pastors. Finally, thanks to a DefCon poster, I became aware of a pastor (Robert Read) preaching some excellent messages on entertainment, music, and the like. For the one on entertainment, you can listen here.
Anyone who has spent any time doing street evangelism knows how discouraging it can be at times. A book I’m reading by Ken Ham and Brit Beemer entitled Already Gone: Why Your Kids Will Quit Church And What You Can Do To Stop It helps us to better understand just why evangelism in America is like pushing water up a hill.
For this book 1,000 people in their twenties who used to regularly attend church–as kids and teens (including Sunday school and youth groups) but who no longer darken the door of a church–were polled on the various reasons they no longer attend. Those polled were asked 78 questions in all but one of the more revealing responses came from this question:
Do you believe you are saved and will go to heaven upon death?
Of the group who never attends church: 58.7% said yes.
Of the group who attends church on Christmas and Easter only: 72.2% said yes.
Perhaps this sheds a little light on why it is so difficult to reach the “churched” and “unchurched” with the true gospel of Jesus Christ. You can’t convince a sick man to have an operation if he fails to recognize his illness.
After a class was instructed to sketch something that reminded them of the Christmas holiday, one student drew a crucifix. Apparently, however, according to the godless government-run public school, not only did Christ’s birth have nothing to do with His birth (like they know anything about theology anyway), but it also warranted this child’s removal from school and necessitated a psychological evaluation. Read more about this shocking story from Massachusetts.
Welcome to a brave new world.
As a follow-up to Fourpointer’s post from two days ago, I want to direct your attention to a situation that has arisen between Perry Noble’s church and Dr. James Duncan, a vocal critic of Noble.
I will not attempt to rehash the ugly situation here, but will direct you to the following piece written by Dr. Duncan on the matter: Holy Rage at the Spring
I also highly recommend a fantastic two-part podcast from Pirate Christian Radio on this situation. In the first half of part one of this podcast Chris Rosebrough interviews Dr. Duncan regarding the character assassination and wholly unbiblical and non-Christian acts perpetrated against Dr. Duncan by staff of NewsSpring in retaliation to his vocal opposition to Noble. The second half of part one concludes with Rosebrough’s critique of a Perry Noble sermon. Part two of the podcast is Rosebrough’s continuation of this critique.
You can download the podcasts here:
Perry Noble’s employees assassinate the character of a critic: Part One
Perry Noble’s employees assassinate the character of a critic: Part Two
Frankly, I am not surprised that this whole awful situation has transpired. The current culture that’s being fostered in such churches as NewSpring is that the leader is not to be questioned. When the cults act this way it’s identified as a sign of conditioning and thought-control, but when mega-churches act this way we’re supposed to shut up because Noble’s god told him that those outside of his church who criticize him are jackasses and are to be ignored.
The intolerance and anger that comes from Noble is nothing that his critics should be surprised at. After all, this is the guy, if you’ll recall, who gave a tongue-lashing to his own congregation for expecting their pastor to . . . . well, be a pastor.
Welcome to Laodicea, where peace is defined as the absence of all opposition.
In the news: The Duggar’s welcome child number 19 and a feminist who wants the planet to adopt China’s limited child policy (video).
A few days ago I entered the book section of a local Wal-Mart and was shocked to see a large section of books on Mormonism. And no, this Wal-Mart was not in Utah.
I then checked the internet and discovered they even sell Mormonism’s plagiarized piece of fiction known as the Book of Mormon online. (To understand more about the Book of Mormon check out this excellent documentary.)
I never thought I’d see the day when a major retailer would carry cult literature. I suppose this isn’t much of stretch for Wal-Mart, though. They’ve been selling Rick Warren, Joel Osteen, and Joyce Meyer for years.
I wonder if the Jehovah’s Witnesses will demand their place on Wal-Mart’s bookshelves next.
Apparently First Baptist Dallas has chosen to spend that amount of money on a church building. Of course, had this news come out sooner I would have certainly included it in my post How To Know If Your Church Isn’t Spending Enough On Missions.
Here’s a quote from The Church Report article on this $130 million dollar church project:
DALLAS,TX– The congregation of First Baptist Church Dallas today overwhelmingly affirmed recommended plans to proceed with a $130 million capital campaign to build an expansive new 1.5 million square foot, state-of-the-art campus, making it the largest church building program in modern history, according to church fundraising experts.
The CrossTalk Blog quotes house-church pastor, Ken Eastburn who hits the proverbial nail on the head:
“If the church is to be God’s plan for the world, the vessel by which the Good News of his redemption spreads, we are going to need to learn how to reach out to culture without becoming it. Expensive buildings don’t scream ‘we have been redeemed,’ they scream, ‘we are just like you.’ And that certainly isn’t the message that Jesus was nailed to a cross for.”
Pastor Ken Eastburn also lists on his blog some of the amenities that this new church building is expecting to have:
- 1.5 million square feet
- LEED certified (its green and energy efficient)
- Glass structure
- Stone water tower topped with a luminescent cross
- Common area for downtown residents and guests
- 3,000 seat worship center (on the second story)
- 7 high-definition screens
- Choir and Orchestra pit
- Senior adult education center (under the sanctuary)
- 300-space underground parking garage
- 6-story education building for children/youth ministries
- 2 side-by-side gymnasiums
- Children’s play areas
- Outdoor concert space
- Adjacent parking garage with 500-plus parking spaces
After pondering yet another example of the staggering excess of American Christianity, this story would not be complete without directing your attention to the short video on this previous DefCon post (a video that I have not been able to bring myself to watching twice). It serves to do the above story justice by way of a necessary comparison and a much needed, sobering, priority-correcting, reality check.
Yet one more reason to support your local home school: a public school in North Carolina was actually selling grades. It reminds me of the Roman Catholic organization who sells indulgences; but I digress.
Here’s a quote from the news article:
“To my mind, it’s the integrity of the educational enterprise that’s at stake here,” said Daniel Wueste, director of the Rutland Institute for Ethics.
I’m sorry to report, Daniel, but you’re a little late. The integrity of government education was lost a long time ago.
Christ Alone Wyoming 