church

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Quotes (353)

We must never let doctrinal error go unabated because it dishonors God and deceives the unsuspecting. It defiles the conscience, corrupts the heart, and destroys the soul. According to Scripture, that which flows from the lips of false teachers includes: “strange doctrines,” “commandments of men,” “doctrines of devils,” “damnable heresies,” “traditions of men,” “lies,” “falsehood,” “vain deceit,” and “deceptive philosophy.” Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord at all times and in all cases (Prov. 12:22). Knowing the fruit of false teachers, we must earnestly contend against them.

– Mike Gendron

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Happy 100,000th.

Today DefCon received its 100,000th hit since its inception on April 15th, (three and a half months ago). I want to thank all the faithful readers who have helped us reach this milestone, and I want to thank the contributors that have been faithful to the cause of defending truth and contending for the faith.

To mark this celebration I’ve changed the appearance of DefCon. I think the new look is clearer and a little crisper to the eyes. I trust that if you don’t immediately fall in love with it, it will eventually grow on you.

Thanks to all of you for all of your support.

– The Pilgrim


P.S. As you can see, I’m still working on the perfect header. So the header you see now may not be the header you see tomorrow . . . or even ten minutes from now.

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The heretic and the not-so-good apologist.

What do you get when a heretic and a not-so-good apologist duke it out on the topic of Hell’s existence? You get a debate that leaves you feeling a little empty . . . like a fantastic opportunity was lost.

The one defending the truth of the doctrine of Hell tries with all his might, but I think he was a poor choice to represent the case for Hell. What do you think?

Debate Part One

Debate Part Two

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Movie Review: “The Search for the Real Mt. Sinai.”

mt-sinai-two-3d.jpg In this documentary two explorers take you to the real location of Mt. Sinai and they have photographic and video proof that this is where the Israelites camped, where Moses ascended the mountain, and where God gave him the Ten Commandments.

This is an amazing documentary that challenges the traditional theory of Mt. Sinai’s location. I highly recommend this video (I’ve watched it more than once). It is a must-see, and it will increase your faith in the authenticity of the Biblical account of Moses’ encounter with God.

Here’s the trailer:

Below is a video excerpt:

See also, the related video: The Mystery of the Ark of the Covenant.

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Sermon of the week: “The Present Effects of Trembling at the Wrath of God” by John Piper.

Your sermon of the week is The Present Effects of Trembling at the Wrath of God preached only as John Piper can. You can also watch the video or read the transcript by clicking here.

This sermon is actually part two of his teaching on God’s wrath (part one can be found here).

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The theology (or lack thereof) of Unitarian Universalists.

After hearing about the recent tragedy (caused by the evil of man’s wicked heart) at a U.U. gathering in Tennessee (and FourPointer’s post on the incident found here), I did a little looking into what this group is about and thought I’d share my discoveries with you. The following information was obtained here.

What do the Unitarian Universalists reject?

The One true God

We do not have a defined doctrine of God. Members are free to develop individual concepts of God that are meaningful to them. They are also free to reject the term and concept altogether. Most of us do not believe in a supernatural, supreme being who can directly intervene in and alter human life or the mechanism of the natural world. Many believe in a spirit of life or a power within themselves, which some choose to call God.

Jesus Christ

We do not believe that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin, performed miracles and was resurrected from death. We do admire and respect the way he lived, the power of his love, the force of his example and his system of values. Most UUs regard Jesus as one of several important moral and ethical teachers who have shown humans how to live a life of love, service and compassion. Though some of us may question whether Jesus was an actual historical figure, we believe his teachings are of significant moral value.

A primary way we differ [from Christians] is that we do not regard Jesus as a unique revelation of God. Most UUs (even UU Christians) would reject a literal interpretation of accepted Christian beliefs such as the Virgin Birth, the miracles of Jesus and the Resurrection. While UU Christians would accept a symbolic interpretation of these events, most UUs view Jesus as a moral and ethical teacher and no more than that.

The Bible

We regard the Bible as one of many important religious texts but do not consider it unique or exclusive in any way. We do not interpret it literally. We think some parts of it offer more truth and relevance than other parts. Although UUs respect the Bible and regard some of its content as great literature, it is not a central document in our religion.

Life after death, and Heaven & Hell

Very few UUs believe in a continuing, individualized existence after physical death. Even fewer believe in the physical existence of places called heaven or hell where one goes after dying. Since there is no way to know for sure if we go any place when we die, very few, if any of us believe in the physical existence of a place called heaven or hell.

Sin

We do not believe that a person is born and enslaved in the manner that the doctrine of Original Sin teaches. You could attend a UU church for years and seldom hear the word sin.

Salvation and the need for a redeemer

Salvation is not a word we use frequently. We do not believe people are born into a state of sin from which they must be saved in order to avoid spending an eternity suffering in hell. Since we believe in neither original sin nor hell, we do not feel a need to be saved from either. No. We believe we should be judged by how well we live our lives and serve others, not in what a redeemer will do for us. We respect religious and spiritual leaders such as Jesus, Moses and Buddha for what they can teach us about living, not as redeemers in the traditional sense.

So, what do the Unitarian Universalists believe, accept, and affirm?

Evolution

We believe that more complex life forms have evolved from less complex life forms.

The wholesale slaughter of the unborn

As an institution, we are strongly pro-choice, as are most individual UUs.

All religions have truth

We believe there is wisdom in most, if not all, of the world’s religions. We feel each is valuable for what it can tell us about ourselves and our world, and how its members find religious meaning and direction.

Social issues

Recent issues include: clean sources of energy, fossil fuels, energy conservation, pollution, abortion, gun control, immigration, hunger, the homeless, racism, nuclear arms proliferation, and health care.

I also found out what a U.U. “church service” is like.

Our typical service follows a Protestant structure: hymns, readings, meditation, singing by the choir, organ music and a sermon. Although the service’s format is similar to a Protestant church, the content is quite different. God or Jesus is hardly ever mentioned and rarely are there Bible readings. Though the words prior to the meditation might sound like a prayer, they are not addressed to and do not request the support, inspiration, help or blessing of a supernatural deity.

And finally, the following videos should also prove to be very informative as to what this group believes:

TV Commercial

The puppet show explanation

The deliberate twisting of the Biblical account of Adam and Eve

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God will never bless a nation that does this.

It’s amazing what you’ll find in a dumpster in America . . . and we still have the audacity to ask God to bless America. You might as well take all those “God Bless America” bumper stickers off your cars because God will never continue to bless a nation that does what we do.

On Slice of Laodicea, Ingrid quoted Dr. Monica Miller in her article on what was found in their local abortion clinic dumpster. Here are two excerpts from Dr. Miller’s comments as quoted on Slice:

Quote One:
Our April 5th search of the Woman’s Advisory dumpster was the first time we found the remains of aborted babies from that clinic. As we separated out the blood-soaked blue-colored surgical papers, my student, John Brick, was the first to see the foot, about three quarters of an inch in length. We also found other body parts from other aborted babies, eyes, rib cages, spinal columns, eyes out of their sockets — the remains of human beings mixed in with blood saturated trash. We found fetal tissue sticking to a blood-stained McDonald’s hamburger bag.
Quote Two:
When we unwrapped the bloody surgical papers and saw the remains of the babies we delved into a secret world. When I looked at the dismembered bodies I saw human beings who died a violent death. What does the abortionist see? It is a mystery, how I can see one thing and he another. These unwanted aborted unborn were consigned to the trash in the darkness of a dumpster — never to be seen, never to be known. When we took them out of the trash we discovered their secret — the secret of their hidden lives — their hidden deaths. We also saw first-hand the most unseemly — most sordid side of the abortion practice.
To read the entire post on this, click here.
And here’s the video.

God, have mercy on us.
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Quotes (349)

ryle.jpg It may be that a certain profession of religion has become so fashionable and comparatively easy in the present age that the streams which were once narrow and deep have become wide and shallow, and what we have gained in outward show we have lost in quality. It may be that the vast increase of wealth in the last twenty-five years has insensibly introduced a plague of worldliness, and self-indulgence, and love of ease into social life. What were once called luxuries are now comforts and necessaries, and self-denial and “enduring hardness” are consequently little known.

– J.C. Ryle

1816 – 1900

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Does anyone else see the similarities?

I discovered the following comparison chart on the blog End Times Deception.

Toronto/Brownsville/Lakeland

Manifestations

Kundalini Yoga

Manifestations
Uncontrollable laughter Laughing and weeping are as unintentional and uncontrollable as hiccoughs
Jerking, tremors, shaking Jerking, tremors, shaking
Involuntary body movements Postures or moving one’s body in unusual ways
Spontaneous trance states Spontaneous trance states
Making animal noises, roaring, barking, mooing Spontaneous vocalizations
Muscle twitches or spasms Muscle twitches or spasms
Guidance through inner voice falsely thought to be God. False visions and dreams Guidance through inner voices, visions, dreams
Being “drunk in the spirit” Mental confusion, difficulty concentrating
Feeling rushes, heat, electricity Energy rushes, electricity circulating in the body
Many fleshly sensations Vibrating, tingling sensations
Supernatural smelling of scents Experiencing the smell of flowers, incense
Out-of-body experiences Out-of-body experiences
How one receives this “blessing”
Impartation through the laying on of hands		 How one receives Kundalini Awakening
Through the laying on of hands during “Shakti-pat” initiation
Who can administer this “blessing”?
Anyone who has received the false anointing		 Who can give Shakti-pat?
Anyone who has received the ability from the Guru or one of his disciples

Read more about it here.

And for those who want to see a video comparison, I found the following videos on YouTube:

Can anyone tell the difference between the things being done in the next video by this charismatic, energetic, Alex P. Keaton look-a-like named Dr. Richard Bartlett who’s peddling the New Age, and what Todd Bentley and other Word of Faith, self-proclaimed prophets of God are doing? The similarities are striking.

I suppose I shouldn’t “touch” this guy because he’s obviously performing “signs and wonders,” and to millions of biblically illiterate experience-chasers, this proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that he’s anointed.

Dr. Bartlett even has testimonials like faith healers have.

Here is some additional material.

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Quotes (347)

And lest you think that your sins do not deserve this kind of wrath, ponder these four things:

  1. It was one sin alone that brought the entire world under the judgment of God, and brought death upon all people (Genesis 2:17; Romans 5:12). And you have not committed one sin, but tens of thousands of sins.
  2. Consider James 2:10, “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.” Not only have you sinned tens of thousands of times, but each one had in it the breaking of the entire law of God.
  3. Consider Galatians 3:10, “For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.’” The wrath of God’s curse falls on us for not obeying all that is commanded. One failure and the curse falls.
  4. Consider that any offense and any dishonor to an infinitely honorable and infinitely worthy God, is an infinite offense and an infinite dishonor. Therefore, an infinite punishment is deserved.

– John Piper

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Quotes (346)

John MacArthur Apostasy can have far-reaching and disastrous effects on an entire congregation’s spiritual health. When false teaching goes unchallenged, it breeds more confusion and draws still more shallow and insincere people into the fold. If not vigorously resisted, apostasy will spread like leaven through seminaries, denominations, missions agencies, and other Christian institutions. False teaching thus attacks the church like a parasite, affecting our corporate testimony, inoculating people against the real truth of the gospel, proliferating false and halfhearted “disciples,” and filling the church with people who are actually unbelievers. By such means, entire churches and denominations have been taken over by apostasy.

– John MacArthur

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Sad news from Old Truth.

Jim Bublitz of Old Truth has published his last post (for at least a long time) due to his health taking a serious turn for the worst. You can read his last post here. Please keep Jim in prayer as he suffers daily and still has to face incredible struggles in the future.

I fondly remember stumbling upon Jim’s discernment/reformed blog Old Truth just over a year ago, and it encouraged me tremendously. At the time God was doing a work on my heart and was calling me to come out of the circus church. However, I was beginning to think there was something wrong with me because I was surrounded by lukewarm professing Christians who did not hunger and thirst for holiness. Instead, these people only wanted to have their ears tickled by the oh-so-funny pastor and they would get a glazed look in their eyes when I spoke of anything other than superficial trivialities around the pastry table after service. I truly had no one to “fellowship” with.

It was refreshing to come across Jim’s blog and it assured me that–although I was physically without other iron to sharpen iron–the work God was doing in me was real and there were (and are) many others in the Body out there who God has also called out of Churchianity, and we can encourage each other even if we’re on the other side of the world.

Old Truth, along with some other blogs, inspired me to start Reformation Nation and eventually this blog, Defending. Contending. Thanks for all you’ve done Jim!