Glenn Beck’s “Divine [Mormon] Destiny.”

Below is a fantastic article by Brannon Howse on Glenn Beck’s upcoming “Divine Destiny” gathering. This article is definitely a must-read, especially for those Christians who still mix politics (the affairs of this world) with the church (the affairs of God).

Following Glenn Beck’s Divine Destiny or God’s Word
By Brannon S. Howse

Would you approve or disapprove if some of America’s evangelical pastors and religious leaders announced they were going to show up at “Oprah’s Divine Destiny” meeting at the Kennedy Center for an evening that would include uplifting music and nationally-known religious figures from all faiths as they unite in prayer and recite historical speeches? Would it concern you if you knew that on her radio program Oprah has taught the book called A Course in Miracles written by Helen Schucman? This book and the workbook include such quotes as:

“A slain Christ has no meaning.”
“The recognition of God is the recognition of yourself.”
“Do not make the pathetic error of ‘clinging to the old rugged cross’.”
“My salvation comes from me.”

True Bible-believing Christians would not approve of evangelical pastors and leaders uniting with Oprah in a self-described, religious and spiritual meeting. Why? Because most Biblically thinking Christians do not agree with Oprah’s liberal politics and they know that the truth of God’s Word and Oprah’s pagan spirituality do not mix.

However, many of these same Christians will have no problem when some of America’s evangelical pastors join radio personality and television host Glenn Beck for a spiritual program, because unlike Oprah, they share Beck’s conservative, political views. To many it makes no matter that Beck is a self-described Mormon because his political views trump his religious views and for this reason many will justify taking part in “Glenn Becks Divine Destiny” program at the Kennedy Center on August 27th.

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Praying for Rose Marie.

I first met Rose Marie a few years ago. She is a 20-something nun who works a booth at the local fair. Since she travels around selling Rome’s idolatrous wares and trinkets, I hadn’t seen her since that first meeting. However, she was back in town and I saw her yesterday at this year’s fair. When I approached her she immediately recognized me.

Rose Marie, or as I’m sure she prefers to be called, Sister Rose Marie, is still relying on her own efforts to save her from the coming wrath of God.

I only had a chance to chat with her for about a minute or two this time, but I am researching a way to correspond with her like a pen-pal. If this does not materialize, then I’ll have to wait another year to have an opportunity to speak with her.

I ask that the readers of DefCon please keep this precious young lady (who has devoted her life to a dead religion of works in hopes to find favor with God) in your prayers. To read a brief post on my first encounter with Rose Marie from 2007, check out: A conversation with a nun in the most unlikeliest of places.

Mormon sues LDS organization for injury he received while performing an unbiblical task.

A Las Vegas man is suing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for medical expenses after he injured his back in 2007 performing baptisms for the dead.

In a civil suit filed in 3rd District Court on Wednesday, Daniel Dastrup claims he suffered a severe herniated disk in his lumbar spine after performing about 200 baptisms on Aug. 25, 2007. The then 25-year-old claims some of the young men and women he completely immersed in water in the name of the dead weighed as much as 250 pounds.

Read the entire article here.

Goodbye grandpa.

On August 03, 2010, while lying in bed nursing a 102 degree fever, I received a call that my grandfather (who was in the hospital recovering from a minor operation) had stopped breathing on two separate occasions but they were able to resuscitate him both times.

When I arrived at the hospital he was on a ventilator (tube down his throat feeding him oxygen) in addition to a myriad of other tubes and wires, and loaded with a plethora of medications—all of which were keeping him alive.

The following day tests confirmed that his condition was only growing worse and that his organs were beginning to shut down. It was unanimous: his wife and family decided that there was no need to artificially prolong the inevitable.

The day I’ve always dreaded arrived on the evening of August 04, 2010. With his family by his side, my grandfather slipped into a Christless eternity, ending his life of eighty-three years on earth.

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Quotes (790)

Before the mountains were brought forth – or the earth and world were formed, from everlasting Jesus Christ was, like the Father, very God. From the beginning He was foreordained to be the Savior of sinners. He was always the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, without whose blood there could be no remission. The same Jesus, to whom alone we may look for salvation, that same Jesus was the only hope of Abel and Enoch and Noah and Abraham and all the patriarchs; what we are privileged to see distinctly they doubtless saw indistinctly – but the Savior both we and they rest upon is one. It was Christ Jesus who was foretold in all the prophets, and foreshadowed and represented in all the law – the daily sacrifice of the lamb, the cities of refuge, the brazen serpent, all these were so many emblems to Israel of that Redeemer who was yet to come, and without whom no man could be saved. There never was but one road to heaven: Jesus Christ was the way, the truth and the life yesterday as well as today.

– J. C. Ryle

1816 – 1900

Quotes (788)

Here’s the great fall out of the evangelical church: “People aren’t getting it [the gospel], let’s make it more understandable.”

“I know, let’s get a neat package we could sell at Life Way. We could call it the ABCs. Surely they could understand that.”

“I know, we’ll do a twelve step formula. Boy, if they get up to the twelfth step then they’ll get it.”

“I know, we’ll write it up in such a way, I know—we’ll sell it to the church—‘How to Share Your Faith Without Fear.’ And we’ll make it real easy where we don’t offend nobody, and it’s not hard for us, and everybody’d be happy, and we’ll all gather ‘round at the end of the service we’ll bow our head and close our eyes, nobody look around, everybody wave your hand, come to the front, pray this prayer, we’ll dunk you in the water, and we won’t see you again till we meet you in Hell.”

-Randall Easter

Sermon of the week: “Creation, Day 6” by John MacArthur.

John MacArthur Your sermon of the week is Creation, Day 6 by John MacArthur (three parts) from his series The Battle for the Beginning. We’ve been featuring this series every other week. The next installment will be in two weeks.

Creation, Day 6 (Part One)

Creation, Day 6 (Part Two)

Creation, Day 6 (Part Three)

Quotes (787)

The thick pollutions of thine abominable [Roman Catholic] church forbid the idea of descent from any apostle but the traitor Judas.

– Charles Spurgeon

1834 – 1892

Another ten (very) quick questions for Jehovah’s Witnesses.

You’ve seen Ten (very) quick questions for Jehovah’s Witnesses and you’ve also enjoyed Ten more (very) quick questions for Jehovah’s Witnesses. Well here’s the next installment:

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Reinventing themselves . . . once again.

Ever-reinventing and re-polishing themselves till they get it right, the LDS church is back at the drawing board once again. This news article from BNet highlights the latest product of the LDS propaganda machine: Pathetic pandering to the culture.

Notice how he claims the LDS church “teaches good principles?” Since when do “good principles” save a man? Did you also notice how he said the LDS church makes a bad person good and a good person better? This is just further proof that this organization doesn’t preach the Gospel, nor even remotely understands it. True Biblical Christianity does not make a bad person good and a good person better, it takes a dead man and makes him alive; it takes an enemy of God and makes him an heir.

But being a cult does have its benefits though, because since truth to a Mormon is subjective and ever-changing, what was “truth” yesterday, is now relegated to:

We have new revelation.

We don’t teach that anymore.

We don’t believe that anymore.

That was just that prophet’s personal opinion.

You’ve taken that LDS teaching out of context.

A new prophet supersedes anything a previous prophet says.

You misunderstood what the LDS church was trying to say back then.

Just try to nail us down on something, you’d have better results trying to nail Jello-O to the wall.

In other words, “forget what our history and our doctrine say, this is what we want you to think of us now.”

HT: UTLM.org via Facebook

Sermon of the week: “The War Against Your Soul” by Rick Holland.

“Do the people around you see you as an alien or stranger or do they see you just like them? Same affections, same lives, same movies, same dress, same-same?”

The above quote comes from your sermon of the week by Rick Holland entitled The War Against Your Soul.

Quotes (784)

People seem to forget that all Christ’s sufferings on the cross were fore-ordained. They did not come on Him by chance or accident—they were all planned, counseled, and determined from all eternity. The cross was foreseen in all the provisions of the everlasting Trinity for the salvation of sinners. In the purposes of God the cross was set up from everlasting. Not one throb of pain did Jesus feel, not one precious drop of blood did Jesus shed, which had not been appointed long ago. Infinite wisdom planned that redemption should be by the cross. Infinite wisdom brought Jesus to the cross in due time. He was crucified “by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. (Acts 2:23)”

– J.C. Ryle

1816 – 1900

Quotes (782)

Where the Holy Ghost is, there will always be the habit of earnest private prayer. . . . He that knows nothing of real, living, fervent private prayer, and is content with some old form, or with no prayer at all, is dead before God. He has not the Spirit of Christ!

– J. C. Ryle

1816 – 1900

Cultoons: A dying man on a Mormon’s doorstep.

DefCon is pleased to introduce its first ever Cultoon. If the dialogue in this Cultoon sounds familiar, it was loosely derived from an actual debate featured on this previous post. Enjoy.

Praise music like you’ve never heard before.

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when I say “I think I’m going to throw up?” If you said “kids praise music,” then you must have listened to the Crazy Praize Volume 3 CD. The back of this kids praise CD boasts:

I think I’m gonna throw up. (I know what you’re thinking . . . is this really a praise song?) Of course it is . . . It’s Crazy Praize! (I think I’m gonna throw up – my hands and praise the Lord.) The third volume in this very popular series of wacky praise songs for kids features ten new songs, with equally silly motions guaranteed to produce giggles and guffaws every time. Great for kids worship times, or anytime, these songs are not only fun, but they’re loaded with Scriptural truth to reinforce the message of God’s love and grace in the hearts of children – young and old.

Why “of course” it’s praise music. We’ve been redefining what Christianity is for years, why just stop at doctrine? Why not redefine what praising God means too?

Welcome to Western Christianity where we pull out all the stops to make false converts of kids and inoculate them from the true gospel for the rest of their lives. A world where black is now white, up is now down, hot is now cold, dry is now wet, and juvenile potty humor is now “praising God.” A world where this type of foolishness is quickly becoming the norm, and those who still try to hold to a reverence for God are quickly and summarily dismissed as legalists, judgmental, and Pharisees.  Woe unto us.

Here’s the video to the song (with lyrics). Oh, and even if you can’t make it through the whole three minutes of this song “loaded with Scriptural truth,” be sure to listen to the last ten seconds to really get the feel of “crazy praize.”

This trash is so bad that it makes Rick Pino’s music (see here and here) appear like actual praise and worship.

I’m interested to hear from anyone who has or is using this for their children.


Sermon of the week:”The Authentic Christian” by Angelo Sanchez.

Your sermon of the week is The Authentic Christian by Angelo Sanchez of Community Bible Church (CBCReno.net). In this sermon, Pastor Sanchez covers a subject most pastors won’t touch, and says things most pastors aren’t willing to say, yet is so vitally important to hear.