heresy

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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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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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Strange fire.

I am sure some of the people in the following two videos sincerely believe that they are participating in a form of “worship” that is acceptable to God. I grieve for them, especially the young, because I was there not too long ago myself. With very limited Biblical literacy and understanding, I too was swept up in all the emotion that these kinds of “shows” are designed to create. I was front and center to the wolves in the pulpits and the snakes with the guitars who were drumming up false fire and false excitement because the Holy Spirit was not in it.

VIDEO 1

The deep doctrinal truths found in the lyrics of Rick Pino’s worship music reflects the deep doctrinal truths found in Todd Bentley’s messages.

If you can get through the first 4 minutes of annoyingly juvenile repetitious “worship,” you get even more annoyingly juvenile repetitious “worship.”

HT: Dale McAlpine

See another, more deeply disturbing, Bentley “worship” service here on this previous post.

VIDEO 2

And if the first video isn’t bad enough, Mr. Pino caters to the lusts of the flesh as he takes an 80’s secular song and interjects the name Jesus into it.

“Jesus spins you ’round like a record” (where’s that in Scripture?). But it’s what he makes the people do with their socks–in the name of Jesus–that’s really disturbing.

See more foolishness from Rick Pino here.

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Traffic cop turned false Christ in Russia.

ABC News has an article and a video on this guy that is definitely worth checking out. I also found the following video on YouTube (although not as insightful as the ABC News piece, it is telling).

On a side note, because of the increase in false Christs, and the promise from Scripture that in the end times many will come claiming to be Christ and lead many astray, I’ve decided to create a new category called False Christs.

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How to make your husband a false convert and cause your kids to reject the Christian faith.

Worldly wisdom from a Christian women’s magazine

on a matter already addressed in Scripture.

My wife still receives the magazine Today’s Christian Woman after subscribing to it a couple years ago (before we knew better). TCW is published by Christianity Today (which is a perfect name for it because it bears no resemblance to the Christianity of yesterday). TCW’s target audience is mainstream, affluent, suburban, women of the Laodicean church.

In their latest July/August issue, I came across a little blurb designed to help women get their unregenerate husbands into a church to warm a seat. I decided to reprint the blurb (which was adapted from a book) below for the readers of DefCon to see how far American Christianity has fallen.

Pew Partners.

Wish your spouse spent Sunday mornings with you? Choose a church with these man-friendly characteristics.

* Large congregation

* No denominational affiliation

* Strict Scriptural adherence

* Young, multiracial crowd

* Authoritative, male pastor

* Informal dress

* Modern technology

* Fun services

Adapted from How Women Help Men Find God by David Murrow (Thomas Nelson)

Granted, not all of the suggestions are bad, but the overall theme is what’s of concern (how much poison would you like in your glass of water?).

I can’t help but wonder what a mess this will create if someone follows this and it works. Instead of an unregenerate man who stays at home on Sunday mornings who could still possibly be reached with the gospel one day, you now have an unregenerate man sitting in a circus church on Sunday mornings who was manipulated into church by his wife and had his fleshly needs catered to by the ear-tickling pastor during one of those great modern technological church extravaganza shows.

Furthermore, the husband is now inoculated from the true gospel because he thinks himself in good standing with God because he’s begun attending church, (and no one in that church would dare challenge him to examine himself daily because that would be “judging”).

This spiritual self-deception will only be furthered if the husband ends up repeating a lifeless prayer of salvation after hearing a non-threatening, positive, upbeat, message on the life-lessons of King David during one of those “fun services” in which the pastor coaxed the audience to “try Jesus, He’ll make your life better.”

Sadly, unless a true conversion has taken place, this man will just be “playing church” and everything will remain the same as it was at home before he began attending church. His kids will grow up understanding what a true hypocrite looks like because daddy doesn’t act in church the way he acts throughout the rest of the week. This will more than likely turn his kids off to the Faith and they may rebel and reject Christianity based off this experience of growing up with a fake Christian in their midst.

But what does the Scriptures say about how a godly wife is to handle her unbelieving husband? Surprisingly it makes no mention of church attendance at all:

In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior.  (1 Peter 3:1-2)

Ahh, so according to Scripture, the real work is done in the home–in your everyday life–not in some church that caters to men’s needs.

By following the clear command of Scripture it would be better for the wife to remain faithful to the Lord’s instruction and not compromise, capitulate, and water-down her witness by resorting to manipulation in order to get dad to merely be a presence in a church.

It would be better for her children to grow up seeing the contrast between a godly mother and an ungodly father, and learn from their mother’s steadfast faithfulness to do what is commanded of her in Scripture. The above suggestions from TCW, however, would have the kids grow up with mom the compromiser of the faith, and dad the hypocrite of the faith.

What a train wreck we create when we attempt to do the job of the Holy Spirit and cajole, trick, manipulate, and force people into the kingdom of God via church attendance. But hey, all that matters is you got your “pew partner,” right?

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John Paul II: Our victory is through Mary

From Beggars All, a band of Reformed bloggers. This is for all those who want to walk around with blinders on, and claim that JPII had nothing to do with the movement to proclaim Mary as our Co-Redemptrix:

“‘Be not afraid!’ Christ said to the apostles (cf. Lk 24:36) and to the women (cf. Mt 28:10) after the Resurrection. According to the Gospels, these words were not addressed to Mary. Strong in her faith, she had no fear. Mary’s participation in the victory of Christ became clear to me above all from the experience of my people. Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski told me that his predecessor, Cardinal August Hlond, had spoken these prophetic words as he was dying: ‘The victory, if it comes, will come through Mary.’ During my pastoral ministry in Poland, I saw for myself how those words were coming true.

After my election as Pope, as I became more involved in the problems of the universal Church, I came to have a similar conviction: On this universal level, if victory comes it will be brought by Mary. Christ will conquer through her, because He wants the Church’s victories now and in the future to be linked to her.

I held this conviction even though I did not yet know very much about Fátima. I could see, however, that there was a certain continuity among La Salette, Lourdes, and Fátima-and, in the distant past, our Polish Jasna Góra.

And thus we come to May 13, 1981, when I was wounded by gunshots fired in St. Peter’s Square. At first, I did not pay attention to the fact that the assassination attempt had occurred on the exact anniversary of the day Mary appeared to the three children at Fátima in Portugal and spoke to them the words that now, at the end of this century, seem to be close to their fulfillment.”

-Pope John Paul II in Crossing the Threshold of Hope

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Another sad example of pragmatic church marketing.

For those who read my previous post on horrendous church ads and billboards (found here), I have one more to add. Behold the following sign which declares this church “Ichabod!”

So my question is this: What is the context of the sign?

1. Beatles-style worship.

2. Beatles-led worship (like this Elvis-led worship).

Or

3. The worship of the Beatles.

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Crosstalk: Watch Your Mouth!

Professing Christians with potty mouths and gutter mentalities is one thing, but what happens when it’s a pastor?

On this edition of Crosstalk entitled Watch Your Mouth, Ingrid Schlueter and guest Cathy Mickels discuss this awful trend of worldly humor, coarse jesting, and crude language in the church and spewing from the mouths of those like Mark Driscoll.

Ingrid also discusses the shocking post from Chris Roseborough of A Little Leaven in which he has a post on his other blog Extreme Theology which is less than appropriate. The post in question contains a quote from Bill Cosby that the nature of which should not be found on a Christian blog. Chris’ lapse in judgment is still up on his blog here. I agree with Ingrid on this one Chris, it is highly inappropriate and should be removed.

Ingrid also discusses the twisted love affair some professing Christians have with the world and its profane, vulgar, God-hating entertainers. She addresses a supposed Christian blog that flowingly lavished the late George Carlin with undeserved accolades. Something you’d expect from the world, not Christians who are called to be separate from the world.

I have seen this blog in question and was appalled at the plethora of so-called Christians who honor a man whose life was the antithesis of all that is good, holy, and honorable in God’s sight. You can check out the drivel here and read Ingrid’s post on it here.

All in all, I agree 100% with Ingrid and her guest on this issue. It’s a sad testament to the current state of the bloated, lethargic, worldly, adolescent, social-club that is the church-of-me.

********** Update July 17, 2008 **********

Since the publishing of this post, Chris Roseborough has removed the profanity from his blog and replaced it with “jerk.”

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Why don’t they get it?

Have you ever been perplexed by those who can’t seem to grasp simple axioms? Do you long for the days when people exercised reason and logic? Do you rack your brain trying to figure out how someone can fail to see something that’s so obvious?

Well, I discovered some great insight from the Scriptures on why this happens and I’ve succinctly written it below for your edification. I hope that it helps you when you are banging your head on the wall because the person you’re talking to seems completely incapable of accepting even elementary truths. When you find yourself at this point I encourage you to refer to the following:

One’s heart and mind has to first be opened by God to even be able to understand the Scriptures (Luke 24:25, Acts 16:14, 1 John 5:20) because the carnal man cannot accept the things of God (1 Corinthians 2:14) and even as he’s perishing he considers the preaching of the cross to be foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:18).

It is God and God alone who grants the repentance necessary that leads to the knowledge of the truth (2 Timothy 2:25). No one gets to the Father except through the Son (John 14:6) but no one can come to the Son unless the Father draws them (John 6:44) and grants it (John 6:65).

The Son also draws men unto Himself (John 12:32) and we don’t control who is drawn because all that the Father gives to Christ will come (John 6:37, 6:39, 17:2, 17:24).

When we keep these essential truths present in our mind we will be less likely to try to argue, debate, or manipulate someone into Heaven.

For your convenience I’ve incorporated the above into the printable Bible Reference Notes found here.


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All roads may not lead to Rome, but according to the pope, only Rome leads to Heaven.

Someone needs to report this to the Tolerance Police, the Federal Bureau of Religious Unity, and the Ecumenical One World Religion Patrol.

In this day and age of unity at all costs and ultra-tolerance at the cost of truth, the pope is not very “tolerant” of other beliefs. Pope Benedict XVI has affirmed that Christian Churches are defective, not true Churches, and that the only road to salvation goes through Rome. Sounds like someone needs to attend state-sponsored sensitivity training classes for the purpose of re-education.

In spite of this, however, I have to give him credit. At least he was sticking to his guns when he affirmed his position (no matter how in error he is). It is refreshing to see someone not completely cower under the influences of compromise and one world religious unity, (even if he is an enemy to the real Christian Church).

From the Fox News article:

“Pope Benedict XVI reasserted the primacy of the Roman Catholic Church, approving a document released Tuesday that says other Christian communities are either defective or not true churches and Catholicism provides the only true path to salvation.”

Read more here.

I wonder what the pied pipers of ecumenicalism from this post (Tom and Ricky) have to say about this.

Source: Social Hazard

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Tullian on Todd.

on

Way to go Pastor Tchividjian! I’ve always liked Tullian’s preaching and his stance on this controversial issue (in spite of an inevitable backlash) shows that there are still some willing to take a stand.

“We increase our scrutiny of people like Hugh Hefner, and we decrease our evaluation of people like Todd Bentley just because he comes in the name of Jesus,” Tullian Tchividjian told The Good News. “Hugh Hefner is not nearly as dangerous to the church as someone like this.”

Source: Between Two Worlds

“I have no problem going on record and saying this guy is a false prophet … with a capital ‘F,’” says Tullian Tchividjian, grandson of Billy and Ruth Graham and pastor of New City Church in Margate, Fla. “And it shouldn’t surprise any of us because the Bible warns us about this from cover to cover. John Piper once said that Satan does not tempt us with poison, but with apple pie.”

Source: The Good News

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Laodicean-style church marketing: Manipulating the unregenerate with free gas.

In this day and age of “anything goes” church marketing (like these church advertisements), offering free gas to get people into church no longer surprises me . . .

. . . because for some reason hirelings think that they can somehow manipulate conversions . . .

. . . even if they have to use potty humor to advertise . . .

. . . because after all, the end [false conversions] now justify the means [anything that appeals to the lust of the eyes and the lust of the flesh]. Welcome to Laodicea!

If it’s true that what you draw them with is what you keep them with, it looks like things could get pretty expensive at over 4 dollars a gallon.

“If you’re preaching to consumers rather than disciples you got to keep their attention and that requires constant innovation. They have to have something new and different every time you get together or you’re going to lose them.”  – Kim Riddlebarger

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I didn’t realize Mormons and Word of Faith Charismatics had so much in common.

Do you see any similarities between Mormonism and Charismatics in the following quote from LDS prophet Brigham Young? Aren’t these the same “symptoms” that Charismatics cite as proof of being baptized in the Holy Spirit (and thus, salvation)? Of course, to be fair, the Charismatics don’t believe a person’s blood literally changes when the Holy Spirit comes upon them, but I’m confident that most Mormons don’t believe that now either (darn those advances in science and human anatomy not foreseen by LDS prophets of old).

“Again, if a pure Gentile firmly believes the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and yields obedience to it, in such a case I will give you the words of the Prophet Joseph—’When the Lord pours out the Holy Ghost upon that individual he will have spasms, and you would think that he was going into fits.’ Joseph said that the Gentile blood was actually cleansed out of their veins, and the blood of Jacob made to circulate in them; and the revolution and change in the system were so great that it caused the beholder to think they were going into fits. If any of the Gentiles will believe, we will lay our hands upon them that they may receive the Holy Ghost, and the Lord will make them of the house of Israel. Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, Volume 2, Page 269, 1855

Good thing Brigham Young was just giving his opinion and not speaking as a prophet when he quoted Joseph Smith who must have been giving his opinion and not acting as a prophet when he said this!

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When the church stops being the church.

What would happen if you went into your local Carvel, Baskin Robbins, or Dairy Queen and were told that they no longer serve ice cream?

What would happen if you went to your local quickie lube-change location and they advised you that they no longer do oil changes.

What if you went to your local library and the librarian informed you that they no longer lend out books?

Would you not likely wonder why these places remain open if their main staple and reason for existence is no longer offered?

Well, would you believe me if I told you that this is exactly what’s happening in some Western churches? Although these churches left their primary purpose for existence (to glorify God) long ago, they are now ceasing to provide their other main purpose for existence: The preaching of the Gospel.

Welcome to the new age of pseudo-Christianity in which the “church” is no longer in the business of preaching the Gospel or converting souls!

Don’t believe it’s possible? Think it would be like Starbucks refusing to sell coffee? Well, check out the following three examples.

EXHIBIT A:

At St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church in California, their page on What is Our Mission? boldly declares:

Our emphasis is not on converting souls to Jesus so that individuals will be rescued from hell. Our emphasis is on partnership with Jesus Christ, and our challenge as followers of Jesus is to live our lives his way—believing in what he believed in, loving what he loved, opposing what he opposed.

This is what you get when a heretical, apostate, liberal church is too busy caring for the environment and boasting about being “an inclusive community with open arms and open minds” (code for we ignore God’s clear teachings against homosexuality), instead of following the commands of Jesus and seeking the salvation of men. Hmmm, kind of reminds me of Romans 1:18-32.


EXHIBIT B:

At a Calvary Chapel in Nevada, their “motorcycle ministry” has a page with the following:

Are You thinking? “Hey I like to ride [motorcycles] but that Jesus stuff is not for me”. No worries, we offer a safe group riding environment free of alcohol and drugs. We promise not to “preach” to you but please know if you need prayer we can pray with you and if you have any questions we will gladly answer them.

That “Jesus stuff“??? We expect the world to speak in such a flippant manner about the sacred and holy things of God, but a church? Seriously, is this any way for a church to be speaking about our Lord and Savior? Could a truly regenerated believer refer to their Savior and the one true Faith with such disrespect? And bear in mind that this is coming from an extension of Calvary Chapel that’s identified as a “ministry.”

Sadly, it doesn’t surprise me the least bit that a “church ministry” that refers to the precious Lamb that was slain (and His Bride) as “that Jesus Stuff” would then have to post the following disclaimer for participants in their church “motorcycle ministry” rides:

* Requirements to join us in an open ride: Maintain Current motorcycle endorsement (not permit), registration and insurance as required by law. PLEASE NO ALCOHOL OR DRUGS. Thank You!

Shouldn’t no alcohol and drugs be a foregone conclusion for a “church ministry”? I wonder if Chuck Smith knows about this.

***** UPDATE *****

Since the publishing of this post, Calvary Chapel has changed their candid “Jesus stuff” remark so as to not be so revealing. But being unequally yoked for the sake of hanging out to ride bikes together is apparently still acceptable.

EXHIBIT C:

According to The Christian Post, the recent Episcopal gathering in Baltimore, Maryland for the Everyone, Everywhere World Mission Conference had the following startling revelation on evangelism:

On day two of the conference, the Rev. Paul-Gordon Chandler, an Episcopal missionary and author, spoke about working with Muslims. He urged participants to “bridge this chasm of misunderstanding” between Christianity and Islam by not focusing on converting the Muslim, but rather to form an interfaith friendship that explores the commonality between the two faiths.

Chandler said Muslims who are pressured into converting to Christianity suffer what he calls a “total break with society.” He gave as example real stories of Christian converts from Islam in Senegal who were exiled from their community when they followed Christ.

“They ended up getting Jesus, but the rest of their life was hell,” said Chandler, who had lived in Senegal with his parents who were Christian missionaries.

The Episcopal missionary recommended Christians to use the Five Pillars of Islam to introduce the common religious heritage between Christianity and Islam when approaching Muslims. The central common factor is that Jesus was a Middle Eastern man whom Islam reveres.

So what you’re saying “Reverend” Chandler is that the best way to love a Muslim is to let him die in his sins and burn in Hell forever? Wow, what a noble thing to do.

Ichabod!

Ichabod!

Ichabod!

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Street preachers boldly go into the wanna-be anti-Christ’s church and engage the deceived.

For those who watched the videos in this post on the false prophet who claims to be Christ and wondered to yourself how could anyone believe that stuff, here’s your chance to see how this anti-Christ’s followers justify their belief. I haven’t seen this much Scripture twisting since the last time I talked to Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses. Same lies, different cult.

Although there seems to be a lot of disorder, and Scripture is simply thrown back and forth, I do commend these guys for their valiant effort to confront the error of this cult (I wish there were those willing to confront Joseph Smith and Charles Taze Russel when they began their cults).

Parts one and two of the video take place inside the cult’s church building. Parts three and four take place outside. All in all it is a very interesting debate (and I sure do miss that south Florida rain).

Part One:

Part Two:

Part Three:

Part Four: