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.
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.
By observing their reaction to someone preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
In this actions-speak-louder-than-words and the-proof-is-in-the-pudding post from Tony Miano, you can check out for yourself the way Bentley-ites react to the preaching of the Gospel.
It’s very revealing; the Gospel is an obvious stumbling block to them. Read all about what happened when Tony Miano tried sharing the Gospel to Bentley-ites (including pictures and audio) inhis post here.
Here’s an excerpt:
So, people go to Lakeland and the Galen Center, and other places around the world to “get some” of what Bentley and others are offering. They “repent and believe,” so to speak, and then Jesus is quickly brushed aside for what they really came to receive–manifestations, spirits, angels, healing, predictions about a better life, and a spiritual shot in the arm.
Thanks to Loretta Heiden for making me aware of this (and by the way, I love the new header on your blog).
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?
The unregenerate do not really believe in the holiness of God. Their concept of His character is altogether one-sided. They fondly hope that His mercy will override everything else. . . . They think only of a god patterned after their own evil hearts, hence their continuance in a course of mad folly.
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
The Church in contemporary America does not need more strategies, steps, or keys to the Christian life. The Church needs truth, and more specifically, the great foundational truths of historical Christianity.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not only a book which was once spoken, but a book which is now speaking.
Your sermon of the week is: The Believer’s Frustration and Discovery by Brian Borgman of Grace Community Church. It is a timely message for those struggling with sin as the Apostle Paul spoke about in Romans 7. Pastor Borgman provides comfort and assurance to the believer who is wrestling with sin, whereas he extends a warning to those who have no compulsion to resist (nor are even cognizant of) their sin, and that it’s perhaps because they’re not born again. Overall, this is a very good message.
The emotions are disturbed and perverted. Some hearts smolder with constant anger and hatred; others are tormented day and night by senseless fears. Multitudes laugh at things that ought to make them weep, while others burst into tears for no apparent reason. Such are the deep and all-pervasive disturbances to the human personality caused, either directly or indirectly, by sin.
The gospel is unpalatable to the natural man, for it declares him lost and undone. It declares him helpless. It strips him of his boasted good life and exposes his pitiful boast of keeping the golden rule. It leaves him with no hope except to cry out, “God, be merciful to me a sinner.”
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.
Christ Alone Wyoming 