Occult

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Trusting in God or Commanding Him To Act?

psalm-91-1-2-protection-lg

I was asked the other day if I claimed Psalm 91 for protection over my family. You see, God has seen fit to put my family through the wringer more than once and it seems the pressure over us is increasing. I suppose one could say I have had many opportunities to trust in God and have faith that He will provide.

I do not believe in quoting scripture to force an effect or to force God to do something on my behalf. I believe this is occultic and disrespectful in His eyes.

I told the person that I proclaim the sovereignty of God over my family and trust He knows what He’s doing.

I think this sort of mentality comes from the thought process that anything bad comes from the devil and anything good comes from God. This is so not scriptural. God rains on the just and the unjust. God brings sickness and disease upon His saints and has never promised we would have an easy ride with life. Quite the contrary.

“Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.”

Acts 14. 22

It is our destiny to endure tribulation in order to be conformed into the image of our Savior. We are also told that we are to count it all joy when we experience trials and tests (James 1.2). Why because in enduring trials, we learn to act and respond and to live like Christ. We all lack patience. We all need more patience. How does one develop patience? Through being patient. That comes through enduring trials and tests. A sailor will not become better at his trade unless he gets his boat out on the sea and endures some rough sailing. An athlete won’t develop himself unless he continually tests his ability and trains his muscles. A Christian will not become more like Christ unless he is put to the test, hammered on the anvil of life, and purified of his sinful nature.

Or do we claim protection and success over our lives by taking scripture out of context and demanding God do something to fix our circumstances?

One respects God and gives Him the glory He deserves the other reduces Him to a cosmic bellhop placed in our lives to do our bidding.

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Accidental Similarities?

borg_queenpope_benedict_

This is the tale of two organizations with eerie similarities in how they evolved through the years. One is fictional, the other quite real. As far as we know, these similarities are not intentional, though this author believes in a Sovereign God – meaning there are no coincidences.

Nobody knows for certain the origin of either organization. Both entities appeared in time and “history” was filled in after the fact to varying degrees. They gave rise to charismatic, authoritarian leaders whose power was rarely challenged. Each leader provides communications to the respective “collective”, insuring each “drone” has the official message, disregarding any information that may contradict it regardless of veracity.

The first encounter locals had with either resulted in the same outcome: death or being assimilated. With each assimilation, the conquering organization was changed, having taken on various characteristics of the culture it conquered. As time went by, the original culture of each organization resulted in something that was not true to either their beginnings or the cultures from which they assimilated new converts.

They each proclaimed that they, alone, represented the best hope for civilization – claiming to be the only legitimate culture into which all would be assimilated or disposed of. Each left a path of wreckage and death in their wake, blind to the needs of outsiders and blind to the errors of their ways and beliefs.

Here now, is a concise comparison between these two cultures. My goal is to make clear the old truism: truth is stranger than fiction.

Chart 1
Chart 2
chart 3

Note: No sources are listed, as fans of the Borg know their stuff and likely are not put off by this little article and Roman Catholics have their own sources and would not condescend to read anything I might suggest. So this document stands on its own, as my personal perspective, not needing to be defended against the Romans nor explained to the Reformed.

With the Pope’s latest visit to the US (this was written in 2008), I’ve begun to notice certain similarities between him, and Batman…

1. Both use an assumed identity.

2. Both costumes include headwear.

3. Both costumes include a cape.

4. Both assisted by young boys.

5. Batmobile/Popemobile

6. Both control vast economic empires, handed down to them by a previous “father figure.”

7. Both live in huge mansions.

8. Both have dark events in their pasts, which they would rather not discuss.

9. Both have an aging English butler, who’s been in the family for decades.

10. Batsignal in the sky over City Hall summons Batman. White smoke in the sky over the Vatican summons a new Pope.

11. The Batplane/Popeplane

12. The Batcave/Underground Tunnels at the vatican

Let it be known that I do not hate Roman Catholics. I hate false doctrine that denies essential Christian Truths whether it is proclaimed by Catholics, Hindus, Episcopalians, Southern Baptists, or my own self. For this a Truth – God (by this I mean the Great I AM of the Bible) alone is without false ways.

All blessing and glory and honor and power be unto the Lamb of God! Christ is risen – He has conquered sin and death and saved His chosen ones by His grace, lest anyone boast in the flesh.

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God’s Story

God’s Story  Gods Story

A review by Stuart Brogden

 

This book is subtitled, A Student’s Guide to Church History. As one who has greatly benefited from studying church history, I was most eager to read this book as I think all Christians would learn much that is helpful by such a study. In the introduction, Brian Cosby says “knowing church history helps explain our identity … helps explain the present … guards us from repeating mistakes … testifies to God’s powerful working as HIS STORY.” Studying church history done well will have much in common with the historical narratives in Scripture – showing the brute truth about God’s people: redeemed sinners who still struggle with sin and obey with less than perfection.

 

In chapters 2 – 10, our author provides a quick overview of the history of God’s people from Genesis through the Great Awakening, giving details that should whet the appetite of any young – or older Christian – to discover more about the providential care for His people in all ages.

 

The last couple of chapters provide a warning to all who might be drawn aside from the study of the Scriptures. Church history shows that those who do not cling to the Bible as the Word of God inevitably drift to using human wisdom to determine eternal outcomes. In the 11th chapter (they are not numbered), Cosby details four categories of abandonment of Scriptures as the rule for life and godliness, with shipwrecks of faith being the inevitable outcome. First, he describes revivalism, headlined by Charles Finney – who gave us altar calls and myriad “new measures”. Dispensationalism arrived at about the same time. Second, Cosby tells us about liberalism – which denies the inerrancy and inspiration of Scripture. This leads professing Christians to deny the virgin birth, the creation account, and pretty much anything essential to the Christian faith. He names people so we will recognize them when we read other documents, so we are properly warned. Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768-1834) is known as the “Father of Modern Liberal Theology” and had many followers, including Henry Ward Beecher, Adolf von Harnack, Albrecht Ritschl, Harry Emerson Fosdick, Rudolf Bultmann, Paul Tillich, John Hick, and John Shelby Spong.

 

The third abandonment of Scripture is cults, which are typified by the Latter Day Saints and Jehovah’s Witnesses. Both of these cults have a heretical view of Jesus and the trinity, each has their own twisted version of the Bible. These factual departures from the Word of God does not stop millions of people from following these cults and leading many to a certain doom apart from Christ. The fourth and last category is evolution. I was happy to see this listed, as I have come to see this view as particularly incompatible with Christianity, yet accepted by many Christians who are too impressed by what men call science. There is no evidence of any evolutionary change in kinds – from non-dog to dog, etc. All the “proof experiments” document that environmental adaptation (known as micro-evolution) is common. Change in kind (macro-evolution) has never been documented, much less has evolution been shown to be the cause for the origin of any species.

 

The last chapter is a review of four influences in the 20th century that have encouraged or derailed many Christians: fundamentalism (reaffirming the essentials of the Christian faith), neo-orthodoxy (the Bible becomes the Word of God when used by God to draw a sinner to faith), Pentecostalism (a focus on experience rather than Truth), and evangelicalism (emphasizing the historic Protestant theological convictions). This last also brought a mixture of revivalism and new measures as churches experimented with different forms of entertainment worship.

 

This excellent book finishes with an exhortation from the author that should encourage every Christian, young or old:

 

As we look back through the history of the Christian church, we see God’s faithfulness to preserve his people in spite of their sin and rebellion against his truth. We see a great cloud of witnesses, generations of those who have embraced Christ by faith, beckoning us onward as we will one day be translated from the Church Militant to the Church Triumphant. And until that day comes, we pray, “Come quickly, Lord Jesus!”

 

I say amen!

 

This is a very good book, easy to grab hold of. Parents should put this in front of their children, read it with them and discuss the attributes of God and the sinfulness of man that are always on display. This latter ought remind that none but Jesus does helpless sinners good. Flee to Him. This book shows us the way.

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BE STILL: CONTEMPLATIVE OR LISTENING PRAYER 7 PSALM 46:10

By Larry DeBruyn.

Bible Interpretation 101 teaches that every text without a context is pretext. Extracting Psalm 46:10 to be an endorsement of meditative-listening prayer is just such a pretext. Here’s why.

After reading Ephesians 1:15-23 (lectio divina, i.e. Latin for reading sacred things) at the Passion 2012 conference, and while standing on stage with the other keynote speakers beneath a giant screen reading Jesus, speak to me,
Beth Moore tells the audience:
Without any comment please, let’s pause and be still,
and ask Jesus to speak His word to us.
Held in Atlanta, GA, last January 1-3, at the Georgia Dome, and attended by over 42,000 college age youth, one can observe Lecrae (a converted rap and Hip Hop artist), Francis Chan, Louie Giglio and John Piper, along with thousands of youth, participating in the mystical practice of contemplative or “listening” prayer at Moore’s behest, and this despite the fact that Scripture provides no instruction or any illustration for engaging in such a “spiritual” activity.[1] 
“Be still, and know that I am God . . .” (Psalm 46:10)

Those promoting contemplative or “listening” prayer refer to this Scripture as a biblical endorsement for pursuing this spiritual discipline. As a precondition for experiencing Soul-to-soul communication from God, contemplative Christians advocate cultivating quietude for the purpose of creating a spiritual tabula rasa(i.e., Latin for blank slate) in which personal communication from God can be received. Influential Christian leaders and spiritual directors encourage listening prayer (praying without words) as a means to experience ”God’s guidance in everyday life.” At face value, Psalm 46 verse 10 appears to endorse this increasingly popular but ancient and mystical way to pray.

Read the rest of the article here.

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BETH MOORE AND JOHN PIPER LEAD LECTIO DIVINA-LITE AT PASSION 2012

BETH MOORE AND JOHN PIPER LEAD LECTIO DIVINA-LITE AT PASSION 2012

By on Jan 6, 2012 in AM Missives, Current Issues, Features, Southern Baptist Convention Note: videos that should make you weep are on Ken’s web site at the link above.

Apprising Ministries has been warning for years concerning the evil effects of the neo-liberal in the Emerging Church aka the Emergent Church.

It’s an incontrovertible fact that right from its hatching in hell corrupt Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism (CSM), such as that taught by Living Spiritual Teacher and Quaker mystic Richard Foster along with his spiritual twin and Southern Baptist minister Dallas Willard, was a core doctrine.

Spreading as a spiritual cancer throughout apostatizing evangelicalism, we even see that it’s slithered all the way into the New Calvinst neo-reformed camp e.g. as in Acts 29 Network And Reformed Counter Reformation Spirituality? One of the fruits of CSM is a blurring of doctrinal lines, which is particularly dangerous in this time of postmodernism and growing spiritual blindness.

It’s also giving rise to a rebirth of Pietism; this isn’t surprising when you consider that CSM flowered in the antibiblical monastic traditions of apostate Roman Catholicism. As the evangelical fad of CSM expands there’s a decided charismania also developing, which is producing a syncretism where Word Faith heretics like Joel Osteen and T.D. Jakes are essentially considered mainstream now. With all of this has come more and more people claiming to have direct experience with God.

The end result is making the climate more condusive for things like Beth Moore Recommending “Jesus Calling” Book Claiming Direct Divine Revelation. This is the backdrop upon which to better see what’s happening as you watch the video clips to follow below from the Passion 2012 Conference. This conference has been going on in Atlanta, and was largely aimed at young adults and students.

Hosted by Louis Giglio, pastor of Passion City Church in Atlanta, Passion featured an interesting lineup of speakers such Francis Chan, Beth Moore and New Calvinist mentor John Piper. Not surpisingly the conference had a distinctive charismatic and even contemplative flair; e.g. prayer walking. After one session the crowd was urged to break into “love groups” and go out to pray and “take back the city of Atlanta.”

Years of emerging bombardment of pro-CSM propaganda aimed at younger sectors of the Christian community fired right out of evangelical publishing houses has also had much effect upon the broader culture of the more charismatic/emotion-driven side of the church visible as well. To serve as an illustration, below we have SBC Lifeway-sponsored Beth Moore praising an apostate (at best) Roman Catholic mystic and the crown jewel of CSM.

If you didn’t know, this is a form of meditation in an altered state of consciousness commonly known as Contemplative/Centering Prayer (CCP):

Moore’s admitted practice of some form of CCP, which is actually divination, has opened her up to even receive direct revelation and visions from God. Below from a 2002 series called Believing God, available right now at Lifeway’s website, Moore describes a vision God gave her concerning His Church.

Sounding not too unlike Word Faith wingnuts she tells us God took her into some kind of dimension where she was able to see the Body of Christ as Jesus sees it:

Apparently the Protestant Reformation was really some sort of horrible mistake because Moore’s Jesus sees the Roman Catholic Church as another Christian denomination. This becomes clear below as Moore demonstrates what she saw in her vision from God:

Yet despite this obviously false vision ten years ago, there was Beth Moore preaching to thousands alongside New Calvinists John Piper and Francis Chan. I guess we really should expect this because Piper has told us before: “I’m Happy To Learn From Beth Moore.”

Who knows, perhaps he even shares Moore’s view that men like John MacArthur are guilty of teaching extreme error in the Body of Christ:

By the way, the other extreme teaching in the Body of Christ that Beth Moore sees is what she calls “sensationalism.” Something I personally think she’s now become involved in. The CSM being dabbled with now in mainstream evangelicalism is producing a rebirth of Pietism; an emotional, sentimental, emotion-driven form of worship. What you saw at Passion 2012.

Christian apologist Bob DeWaay is dead-on-target as he explains:

Pietism is difficult to define because it can be taught and practiced in an unlimited number of ways. Some versions appear to be innocuous while others are so radical that most people would see that something is wrong. I now know that no version of pietism is actually innocuous. If a teaching is called pietism but teaches no more than what God has always used to sanctify Christians, then it is not really pietism. Real pietism always harms those who embrace it.

The essence of pietism is this: It is a practice designed to lead to an experience that purports to give one an elite or special status compared to ordinary Christians. The Bible addresses this error in the book of Colossians. The false teachers in Colossae claimed to have the secret to a superior Christian experience that would cause people to rise above the bad “fate” they feared. Paul went on to explain that they already had everything they needed through Christ and His work on the cross. Another way of stating this is: If after having fully trusted Christ’s finished work on the cross, you are told that you are still lacking something, you are being taught pietism.

Church history is littered with misguided pietistic movements. Many of them are linked with mysticism… Pietism can be practiced many ways including enforced solitude, asceticism of various forms, man made religious practices, legalism, submission to human authorities who claim special status, and many other practices and teachings.
(Online source)

In closing this, for now, I’ll show you something that gives us real cause for concern in the seeming dangerous drift of Beth Moore and John Piper. Following are clips from Session 5 of Passion 2012 where we were to enter into the silence to let God speak to us, not only through Scripture, but directly inside of us as well. However, this is language actually straight out of CSM and can also refer to the TM-lite of CCP.

Beth Moore, John Piper et al each took turns reading from the Book of Ephesians; then they each would ask for silence and say something along the lines of: “Be still and let Jesus speak to you.” This is Beth Moore:

Now John Piper:

Finally, here’s Louis Giglio closing out Session 5. Any doubt about what’s been going on in the silence is dispelled at :20 below. To all but the most naive it will become clear to you that, contra the proper Christian spirituality of sola Scriptura, Giglio is talking about direct encounters with God in addition to Holy Scriptura:

“How many of you heard the voice of God speak specifically, clearly, directly, and personally, to you? Can you just put a hand up? I’d like you to share it. Can you put a hand up for a minute?

Just want you to look around; that’s people saying, “God Almighty (pause) the Maker of heaven (pause) the one Who’s sitting on the only throne (pause) that’s not under threat (long pause, audience cheers)—He spoke to me. He spoke to me.”

“God spoke to me.” (long pause) Don’t let the voice of the darkness, tell you that you are not (pause) worth (pause) that God would not speak to you. (pause) Don’t let him tell you, you don’t matter. (pause) God spoke to you.

Perhaps this is why more and more in the charismatic camp have been embracing the Roman Catholic Church as another Christian denomination; like Rome, they now also have the Bible…plus…

 

See also:

THE PUSH FOR A ROMAN CATHOLIC DENOMINATION AND THE SBC’S RUSSELL MOORE

CHARLES SPURGEON: THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IS THE MASTERPIECE OF SATAN AND THE QUEEN OF INIQUITY

LET’S LOOK AT THE GOSPEL

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New Age vs Christianity

New Age vs Christianity

 

Naturalism

New Age

Christianity
God God does not exist; belief in God results from superstition Pantheism: God is impersonal; is above good and evil; everything is God God is the triune, eternal, personal, almighty, sovereign, all-knowing, loving, just and holy Creator
Metaphysics The natural order is eternal, self-sufficient and uncreated. It is ultimately matter/energy The world is divine The world was created by God
Epistemology Human sense experience; the scientific method Truth lies within every human; it is attained through states and mystical consciousness Truth has objective standing; it is independent of human desire; functional view of truth is false. Humans can know because God created them as rational creatures
Ethics Ethics is relative Ethics is relative Ethics is not relative. The moral law grounded in the being of God
Humans Humans are highly evolved animals Humans are spiritual beings who are gods Humans are creatures made in the image of God
Basic Human Problems Superstition and ignorance Ignorance of our true human potential Sinners in rebellion against God
Solution to the Human Problem Scientific advancement and technology Transformation of consciousness Salvation by faith in the finished work of Christ
Death The end of human existence An illusion; the entrance to the next life The end of our earthly life; eternal life for the believer and eternal wrath for the unbeliever
Jesus Christ A merely human teacher One of many gurus or master teachers from history The unique incarnation of God; the only Lord and Savior

 

Taken from Worldviews in Conflict by Ronald H., Nash, pages 139 & 140; slightly modified.

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Who is the Anti-Christ?

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” II Thessalonians 2:3 & 4

“The Pope is of so great dignity, and so exalted that he is not a mere man, but as it were God, and the vicar of God.” Ferraris Ecclesiastical dictionary 

“All names which in the Scriptures are applied to Christ, by virtue of which it is established that He is over the church, all the same names are applied to the Pope.”
On the Authority of the Councils, book 2, chapter 17

“The Pope and God are the same, so he has all power in Heaven and earth.” Pope Pius V, quoted in Barclay, Chapter XXVII, p. 218, “Cities Petrus Bertanous”.

“…the Pope is as it were God on earth, sole sovereign of the faithful of Christ, chief of kings, having plenitude of power.” Lucius Ferraris

“For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.” II Corinthians 11:13-15

“The Pope takes the place of Jesus Christ on earth…by divine right the Pope has supreme and full power in faith, in morals over each and every pastor and his flock. He is the true vicar, the head of the entire church, the father and teacher of all Christians. He is the infallible ruler, the founder of dogmas, the author of and the judge of councils; the universal ruler of truth, the arbiter of the world, the supreme judge of heaven and earth, the judge of all, being judged by no one, God himself on earth.” Quoted in the New York Catechism.

“But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” Galatians 1:8

These words are written in the Roman Canon Law 1685: “To believe that our Lord God the Pope has not the power to decree as he is decreed, is to be deemed heretical.”

‘Father’ A. Pereira says: “It is quite certain that Popes have never approved or rejected this title ‘Lord God the Pope,’ for the passage in the gloss referred to appears in the edition of the Canon Law published in Rome in 1580 by Gregory XIII.”

“And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.” Revelation 13:6

Writers on the Canon Law say, “The Pope and God are the same, so he has all power in heaven and earth.”

“The Pope is not only the representative of Jesus Christ, he is Jesus Christ himself, hidden under the veil of flesh.” Catholic National, July 1895

This is but a ‘drop in the bucket’ as to what information is out there that confirms the prophetic scriptures, that the ‘little horn’, the ‘beast’, the ‘man of sin’, the ‘son of perdition’ and the ‘Antichrist’ are none other than the Pope of Rome (a successive reign) throughout history.

Behold the ‘mystery of iniquity’ which has clouded the minds of the entire world, that Almighty God’s worst enemy upon the earth is lauded, praised and venerated [worshipped] by secular and ‘Christian’ leaders alike!

(posted by Bill Hoffmann, Belize, Central America on an Arminian blog)

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Quotes (861)

“Anything that partakes of the nature of swamping our personality out of our control is never of God. Do we ever find a time in the life of our Lord when He was carried beyond His control? Never once. Do we ever find Him in a spiritual panic, crediting God with it? Never once; and the one great marvel of the work of the Holy Ghost is that the sanity of Jesus Christ is stamped on every bit of it.”

[…]

“Nowadays, people seem to have an idea that these ecstatic, visionary, excitable, lunatic moments glorify God; they do not, they give an opportunity to the devil. The one thing Jesus Christ did when He came in contact with lunacy was to heal it, and the greatest work of the devil is that he is producing lunacy in the name of God all over the world in the spiritual realm, making people who knew God go off on tangents…Beware of being carried off into any kind of spiritual ecstasy either in private or in public. There is nothing about ecstasy in these verses: ‘Thou shalt love the Lord they God with all thy heart.'”

Oswald Chambers
1874-1917

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Quotes (814)

“The whole strength of the personal life, the personal spirit, is to be so gripped by the Spirit of God that we begin to comprehend His meaning. It is always risky to use a phrase with a fringe, a phrase that has a kernel of definite meaning but a fringe of something that is not definite. The way we get off on the fringe is by ecstasy, and ecstasies may mean anything from the devil to God. An ecstasy is something that takes us clear beyond our own control and we do not know what we are doing, whether we are being inspired by God or the devil, whether we are jabbering with angels’ tongues or demons’.

When you come to the words of Our Lord or of the apostle Paul the one great safeguard is the absolute sanity of the whole thing. “…that ye may be able to comprehend…and to know”–there is no ecstasy there, no being carried out of yourself into a swoon, no danger of what the mystics of the Middle Ages called ‘Quietism’, no dangers of losing the conditions of morality.”

Oswald Chambers
1874-1917

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Quotes (789)

“As long as we use the image of our experience, of our feelings, of our answers to prayer, we shall never begin to understand what the apostle Paul means when he says, “It is no longer I who lives, but Christ lives in me.”

The whole exercise of humanity’s essential reason is drawing on God as the source of life. The hindrance comes when we begin to keep sensuous images spiritually in our minds. Those of us who have never had visions or ecstasies ought to be very thankful. Visions, and any emotions at all, are the greatest snare to a spiritual life, because when we get them we are apt to build them round our reasoning, and our reasoning round them, and go no further.”

Oswald Chambers
1874-1917

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Quotes (780)

“There are hidden perils in our life with God whenever we disobey Him. If we are not obeying God physically we experience a craving for drugs, not only physical drugs out of a bottle, but drugs in certain types of meetings and certain types of company—anything that keeps away the realisation that the habits of the bodily life are not in accordance with what is God’s will.

If in the providence of God, obedience to God takes me into contact with people and surroundings that are wrong and bad, I may be perfectly certain that God will guard me; but if I go there out of curiosity, God does not guard me, and the tendency is to “drug” it over—“I went with a good idea to try and find out about these things.” Well, you plainly had no business to go, and you know you had no business to go because the Spirit of God is absolutely honest.

The whole thing starts from disobedience on a little point. We wanted to utilise God’s grace for our own purposes, to use God’s gifts for our own reasoning out of things in a particular way.”

Oswald Chambers
1874-1917

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Why we do what we do

question-mark

Many people who visit DefCon come here seeking truth. They have heard lies and stories told by those who claim to be shepherds and pastors, only to find they have been lied to and misled. Others are new Christians who are looking for help to understand what is truth, where to find it, who can be trusted, and who to should be avoided at all costs.

Then there are some who come here from a mindset, a philosophy, a religion, that is opposed to the truth of God. They are Mormon or Jehovah’s Witness or Emegerent or postmodern or they come from the prospoerity gospel, and so on and so forth. Or they may come from The Church of the Fluffybunny–those churches where they would not DARE speak biblical truth, lest somebody’s feelings get hurt. They would not DARE talk about sin, lest somebody’s self-esteem be injured. They are from an all-inclusive, seeker-sensitive, porpoise-drivel, Osteen/Warren/Schuller/Ed Young type church where truth is simply whatever you want it to be.

So, this person comes to DefCon, sees that we are not afraid of offending anyone, knowing that the cross is “to the Jews a stumblingblock, and to the Greeks foolishness” (1st Corinthians 1:23). And they see us tear down the foolishness of these “little boy preachers,” and compare/contrast what they say against the Scripture. And the accusations come flying. We are “Pharisees.” We are “judgmental.” We are “putting God in a box.” We are “the only ones who know the truth.” We have never “talked to God.” etc. etc. etc

At this point, the question becomes: “Why do we do what we do.” That’s what you’re about to find out. Let me tell you in a parable.

Suppose I served a master who was married to a young bride. This bride is not always wise when it came to the ways of the world (Matthew 10:16). Now, my master is going on a long trip, and will not be back for a long time (John 16:16). While my master is gone, he has entrusted me with the care of his bride (1st Timothy 3:15). I promise that I will look after her, watch over her, and let nothing happen to her. I promise to let no one do violence to her or despoil her (Acts 20:28). After all, my master has gone to great lengths to keep her pure (Ephesians 5:27).

Shortly thereafter, a young man comes knocking at the door. He is a finely-dressed, good-looking, well-spoken young man. But I also know he is not as he seems. Yet, when He asks to come in, I let him in. After all, I don’t want to offend him or make him feel bad or unwelcome. Then I step out to go to the store, leaving the young man alone with my master’s young bride. When I return, the young man is gone. I go upstairs to find my master’s young bride in the bedroom. Her face is bruised, her clothes are torn. She is crying and inconsolable. I know what has happened. I also know that it is my fault that it happened, because I left her alone with someone whose intentions were evil–and I knew it. I have done evil by allowing this evil to be done–all the while thinking my master will never know (Psalm 10:11).

But, my master does know. He has cameras all over the house. He can see everything that happens (Hebrews 4:13). And He has seen that I left His bride with a man who was good-looking outside, but evil resided within him (Matthew 7:15). When He finally returns, will He be angry? I dare say He would be extremely angry for allowing such evil to be done to his bride (Jeremiah 23:1). He would be furious with me for allowing His bride to fall prey to someone that I knew good and well was evil throughout (James 4:17). And He would beat me severely for my disobedience (Luke 12:47).

On the other hand, suppose when that young man came to the door, I knew his intentions (Hebrews 4:12). And instead of letting him in, I proclaimed to the entire neighborhood that he was evil (Philippians 3:17-19). I let it be known to all who could hear that this man who looked so dashing and charming was a snake on the inside (Romans 16:17-18). Thus warned, men kept their brides hidden from him, and would not so much as open the door to him (2nd John 1:9-11). And when my master returned, He would reward me for my obedience (2nd Samuel 22:21; Revelation 22:12).

That, friend, is why we do what we do. Because there are many good-looking, fine-sounding religions that are just waiting to find their way into the true church and wreak havoc upon her. We, with every breath in us, will fight to never let that happen! And will warn everyone we can so they do not fall prey.

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Rob Bell invites heretical mystic woman to speak

 

Phyllis Tickle (She’s the one on the right. And yes, that’s her name, and that’s what she does to the ears) was invited to speak at a pagan shrine in Grand Rapids, MI recently. The shrine to the gods is headed by emergent guru Rob Bell, and was host to this woman who quoted all kinds of “Christian” msytics and heretics–but precious little Scripture. In fact, she calls those of us who do believe the truth of Scripture “fools” for daring to examine the filth she is spewing. It’s over at A Little Leaven; stomach it if you can. If you thought Mark Driscoll’s take on Song of Solomon was weird, wait till you hear how whacky this woman gets right before the 7:00 mark.

For those of you who come down on us for opposing “Christian” mystics and those who teach “contemplative prayer” &c, as well as exposing the people who quote them (all the while claiming to be Christian)–now do you see the danger that comes with following those heretics? This is the kind of drivel you get when you follow mystical enchanters instead of the One True God and His Christ. And when yolu follow someone like Rob Bell.

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Todd Bentley exposed as fraud

Macs-for-Dummies

Unfortunately, we don’t have a category here called “News of the Obvious.” Because if we did, this would be at the top of the list. As if we needed any further proof that Todd Bentley was a liar, conniver, charlatan, false prophet, etc–in addition to the kicking, kneeing, motorcycle boots to the face, and all the other shenanigans that with the Bentley Brothers and Joyner and Branham Flying Circus™, here is a story about the list of those whom Todd Bentley Ministries claimed were MIRACULOUSLY HEALED!!

However, there’s a problem with some of those who were supposedly “healed.”

What’s the problem, you ask?

They’re dead.

I kid you not. From World Magazine (via A Little Leaven) [emphases mine]:

[W]hen [Christopher] Fogle got severe cancer, his relaxing fishing trips, which he sometimes took with his children, ended. It was a devastating blow for the active 45-year-old. But for Todd Bentley, television preacher and self-proclaimed healer, the cancer represented an opportunity to “proclaim the glory of God.” [Or was it more to proclaim “The glory of Todd“?–Ed.] At the height of what many called a revival, WORLD asked Bentley to talk about the healings, like Fogle’s, and asked for a list of people who had been healed at the services. His associates told me Bentley was out of the country and a list could not be produced. But six weeks and more than a dozen requests later, the ministry eventually sent a list of 13 names. Fogle was No. 12 on the list, along with this note: “Healed through the Outpouring and is back to fishing.”

That was on Aug. 8, 2008. There was just one problem. Two weeks earlier, on July 22, Christopher A. Fogle—according to his obituary in the Keokuk (Iowa) Daily Gate City, “left this life . . . after a courageous battle with cancer.”

Oops. But the fraud doesn’t end there. Read on [emphases mine]:

A review of the list nearly one year later reveals that Fogle is not the only person “healed” who is now dead. When I called Phyllis Mills, of Trinity, N.C., on April 22, to hear the testimony of her healing, a polite family member said, “Phyllis passed away a few days ago. In fact, we’re on our way to her funeral now.”

Any more? Yep [emphases mine]:

Another problem with Bentley’s list is that some of the healings, even if legitimate, didn’t happen at Bentley’s services. Gaila Smith, 53, of Yerington, Nev., was diagnosed with breast cancer 10 years ago, at age 43, and had what she called a “total mastectomy” at that time. But the cancer had spread to her liver. Over the next decade she endured more rounds of chemotherapy, the latest one ending in December. She eventually attended a women’s conference, where “God touched me,” she said. She says she was healed at the women’s conference, but when she attended Bentley’s meetings in Lakeland, they asked, “If you had experienced a miraculous healing, come forward.”Smith went forward and told her story, and she ended up on Bentley’s list, with this note: “Healed of breast cancer that had spread to liver. Totally healed in Florida, all scans are now clear.”

Not only did any healing take place elsewhere, Smith now admits that the scans are not now clear. “The doctors tell me that my numbers are going up,” said Smith, who told me that she, too, had a healing ministry. “But we don’t buy into that. That’s a fact, but it’s not the truth. The truth is that I’ve been healed.”

It’s a fact, but it’s not the truth. So if I say my bald head “is a fact but not the truth,” does that mean I have hair up there? But, he does have his supporters [emphases mine]:

“We don’t regret our time there at all. We saw many miracle signs and wonders. The Lord knew what was going to happen, but he chose Todd anyway. And there are still fires burning all over the world. How can you argue with that?”

Still fires burning all over the world. Hmmm, I was starting to wonder why I keep smelling sulfur.

And the downward spiral that is Todd Bentley continues. All that “counseling” he was going through because he is such a “man of God?” Man of God, huh? What kind of “man of God” does this sound like [emphases mine]:

In November, the Fresh Fire board said that Bentley was “not submitting” to the counseling and restoration process and that he was guilty of adultery…..On March 9, 2009, [it was] announced that Todd had remarried—to the same “former employee” with whom he had had the inappropriate relationship.

In clear violation of the word of God that he was supposed to be so dedicated to. Except, he was NOT committed to the word of God. He was too busy being led around blindly by “angels.” Of course, those weren’t God’s angels who were leading him through darkness. If only Fresh Fire had shown that kind of sense before this circus got out of hand. But, hey, since he’s going to be restored to the charismatic circus, why not learn from the worst [emphases mine]:

Bentley relocated to Ft. Mill, S.C., where according to statements he is undergoing a “restoration process” under the direction of controversial charismatic ministry leader [and rank heretic–Ed.] Rick Joyner…..Joyner admitted that Bentley’s remarriage was “wrong and premature,” but he said that Bentley’s restoration process would continue.

Expect the Bentley excuse train to start firing up the locomotive any time now.

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Bezel333: “21st Century signs and wonders”

Once again, Bezel uncovers the truth using a little thing called “Scripture” to debunk the claims made by the Satanic signs and lying wonders crowd who take God out of the box and make Him dance like He’s their own little puppet.

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Quiz for 1/26/2009

OK, here is another quiz for you.

The question this time is, what kind of worship is the following quote describing? And, as usual, no fair Googling.

“The emphasis [is on] psychophysical relatedness and subjective experience…The transcendence of the deity is overcome in the ecstasy of feeling. Sensory participation  is featured. Images are necessary-the bolder, the more colorful, the more sensational, the better. Music and dance become the means for drawing persons out of their private diversities and merging them into a mass response…worship [is] reduced to the spiritual stature of the worshipper. Its canons are that it should be interesting, relevant, and exciting.”

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Walter Martin debates Wiccans on the Phil Donahue Show.

Here’s a blast from the past. On this episode of the Phil Donahue show Walter Martin debates two Wiccans. Some of the most interesting comments come from audience members and callers who should know better (like the Baptist and the Catholic).

Although I don’t necessarily agree with Dr. Martin’s affirming remark about Charismatics, I must give him a break because the Charismatics of thirty years ago paled in comparison to the circus we have today.

Unfortunately these two video clips only contain parts of this talk show. If anyone knows where to view the entire episode, please let me know.

Part One:

Part Two: