While some Christians still get upset enough with government to contract their congressmen and talk about throwing the bums out of office, it seems that many Christians do nothing about the wolves in sheep’s clothing that have infiltrated their own churches.

The threat comes from postmodern leaders with its redefining of Christianity and the Bible. The threat is also known as the Emergent Church. The Emergent Movement now threatens to subvert once evangelical denominations. The Emergent movement is now a major emerging threat in the Nazarene denomination and is also a big threat in Baptists churches and others.

If you do not know what the big deal is about from this Emergent threat click on the link above and read the articles from Eric Bager and find out. Here is also a fair article that generally explains the Emergent Church movement. Not everything about being relevant with the postmodern people of our culture is bad but we must never compromise on the essentials. The Bible must be the final authority for our faith and practice.

Just to point out one example how postmodernism subtly infects the church, I read an article today by Dave Welch on a conservative Christian website about how the Church should hate. The article was talking about the Church hating the same things that God hates. I agree with what Welch said in the article and I am sure Welch does not believe in emergent teaching at all. However, in the article where it quotes what God hates instead of using the Bible, Welch quotes from “The Message”. The Message might be the most postmodern relevant bad paraphrase of the Bible in existence today but it certainly is not the Bible. Are not the six things that God hates clear enough in a real translation that one has to resort to quoting from bad paraphrases of the Bible? Why would an astute Christian even quote from “The Message” anyway? Eugene Peterson the author of “The Message” has no discernment to interpret the Bible because if he had any biblical discernment he would not have endorsed the cover of the heretical postmodern book called “The Shack” ?

Seems to me that the great apostasy is well underway in our church buildings. The wolves in sheep’s clothing are standing in the pulpits and the sheep sitting in the pews do not have enough biblical knowledge to discern the difference between the true gospel and what these men preach. They just follow and approve of everything their pastors do.  After all, these are men of G–O–D.

One example of postmodernism in the seeker movement is Saddleback’s Rick Warren.  I guess he has not been wishy washy enough on all his national platform opportunities already, now he is now going to speak at a Muslim convention to forty thousand Muslims. Now, that would be a great opportunity for a real Christian to give the gospel of Jesus Christ but if Rick Warren gives the gospel at that Muslim convention I will repent and send his church a large donation. I wish he would do that but you know that he won’t, so why is he called America’s pastor? Does he reflect the American Church? Why are Christians even following him? What is our great commission? Seems that most Christians no longer know. What would Paul do (WWPD)? If Paul got the opportunity to speak to Muslims and the world would he talk about what Warren will?  Warren will probably speak on interfaith cooperation and how we all worship the same God. If that is true then why did millions of Christians die for the  gospel of Christ?

If the salt has lost its savior it is good for nothing but to be trampled down and that is why hate speech laws will be passed that will trample down the church in America. “Christians” can only blame themselves.

We need to throw the bums out of our churches and Christian leadership first. Then maybe we will deserve a better government. Don’t expect any grass roots movement to change America if we cannot even get the pew sitters in our churches to install biblical pastors that will preach the gospel of Christ.

One might wonder how this Emergent Church is reaching postmodern young people that they say their programs are designed for? It is not! Churches have lost their youth even with all their postmodern youth pastors and programs. Two thirds of teenagers in Britian now say they do not believe in God. What does that say about how the Church is reaching people with the gospel and the future of Christianity?

It is not that bad in America yet but all polls say it is rapidly heading in that direction. In fact, the majority of church youth that claim to be born again Christians lose their faith by the time they graduate from college. Any astute Christian should know that it is a sin for parents to willing send their kids to our government run schools where they will certainly be brainwashed with godless philosophies of humanistic and demonically inspired men. So why do most pastors not even realize this and teach this to their congregations and suggest alternatives? Could it be because they have become part of the problem with their own emerging postmodern moral relativism?

This great article with many examples of what Jesus taught should put an end to postmodern and liberal speculations that claim biblical interpretations different from what the author of all scripture taught.

The fact that is will not put a end to their increasingly demented claims only proves that they have a different teaching then the Master that they claim to follow. So knowing these things why would any true follower of Jesus Christ put any stock in their claims? These unstable people  contradicting what Jesus Himself clearly taught need to be removed from teaching positions wherever they are found in the Church.

The Greatest Expert on the Scriptures Who Ever Lived And His View of the Bible

The Greatest Expert on the Scriptures Who Ever Lived And His View of the Bible

By Chris Rosebrough

Modern and Post-Modern Liberals (Emergents) and their higher-critic and deconstructionist co-belligerents have an almost obsessive preoccupation with undermining, impugning, and maligning God’s Word. They incessantly attack the inerrancy, historicity and sufficiency of scripture and their attacks are getting bolder by the day. These people appear driven to reduce the Bible into a mere human product that is nothing more than man-made mythological narratives. Stories of pristine gardens, Adam and Eve, forbidden fruit, a world-wide flood, the ark, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorra, and a prophet being swallowed by a big fish are too silly and childish to be believed as actual historical events by this growing Liberal resurgence.

Before you fall for these so-called progressives and their post-modern re-imaginations of the scriptures you should consider Jesus’ opinion and views of the Bible. As you will see, Jesus had much to say about the scriptures and anyone who calls themselves a Christ-follower would do well to consider Jesus’ views of God’s Word before they attack or impugn it.

Jesus’ Credentials

Before we look at Jesus’ opinion of the scriptures it would be prudent for us to first be reminded of Jesus’ credentials and His authority regarding the scriptures.

When we examine the eyewitness testimony concerning Jesus that is recorded for us in the contents of the four biographies (Gospels) of the New Testament we learn that Jesus Christ claimed to be none other than the One True God in human flesh. Any nut or lunatic can claim to be God but proving such a claim is a whole other issue. Fact is, Jesus proved His claims to deity by raising Himself from the dead three days after He was crucified under Pontius Pilate.[1] The men who authored the New Testament documents were also eyewitnesses of Jesus’ life, teachings, miracles and His bodily resurrection from the dead.

Since Jesus proved His claim to being the One True God in human flesh by raising Himself from the dead, there is no greater authority, living or dead on the subject of the Bible than Him. There is no modern scholar or Biblical critic, regardless of the number of degrees that he or she may hold who can speak with greater authority on the subject of the Word of God than Jesus Christ. Therefore, if you call yourself a Christian or a Christ-Follower then you would do well to pay close attention to what Jesus believed and taught regarding both the Old and New Testament Scriptures and bring your thinking and convictions in line with His.

Full article

This article tells me that many Americans claiming to be Christians are really biblical illiterate Laodiceans. Of course true Christians should already be aware that few people these days claiming to be Christians have any in-depth knowledge of the Bible.

Look at the figures in this article on people under the age of twenty-five. The article says 82 percent of young people believe in smorgasbord religion. If these people are the future of this nation I do not have to say God help us because He won’t. Any wonder why our nation is going down the tubes?

Those who pick and choose their own truth to believe are typical postmodern religious morons. Don’t confuse them with Christians. You might also consider how church teachers and preachers and parents could be doing their jobs in religious education when 4/5 of the youth have buffet religion. The truth is they are not bringing up their kids in the way they should go. Some might blame the brainwashing of our youth in our public schools and of course there is plenty of blame to be put there, but then why do Christians continue to allow the state to corrupt their kids? The Seneca Indians in this area are raising a bigger stink with state government over cigarette taxes then Christians do over the life and soul of their own children.

Most Americans Pick and Choose Religious Beliefs

Among those who describe themselves as Christians, for instance, nearly half believe that Satan does not exist, one-third say that Jesus sinned when He was on earth, two-fifths say they do not have a responsibility to share the Gospel with others, and one-quarter dismiss the idea that the Bible is accurate in all of its teachings – beliefs that are contrary to most church teachings.

George Barna, founder of The Barna Group, commented on the findings saying that a growing number of people are serving as their own “theologian-in-residence,” resulting in Americans embracing an “unpredictable and contradictory body of beliefs.”

He pointed out that millions of people who consider themselves as Christians who believe the Bible is totally accurate in all its teaching also contend at the same time that Jesus Christ sinned.

Others, the researcher noted, say they believe they will receive eternal salvation because they confessed their sins and accepted Christ as their savior, but they also believe that a person can do enough good works to earn eternal salvation.

Americans today, Barna observed, are “more likely to pit a variety of non-Christian options against various Christian-based views.”

“This has resulted in an abundance of unique worldviews based on personal combinations of theology drawn from a smattering of world religions such as Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism, and Islam as well as secularism,” he said.

Leading the pack of pick and choose your religious beliefs are people under the age of 25. More than four out of five (82 percent) of them say they develop their own combination of beliefs rather than adopt a set offered by a church.

Full Article

America is heading for a train wreck sure enough because the lights are out at the switch yard and America is traveling the wrong way on a one way track. The train wreck now seems inevitable unless someone turns on the lights so America sees the signs and quickly reverses direction.

If the light from God’s people are hidden under a bushel they cannot cast out the darkness. Some pastors and leaders in Christianity are the bushels hiding the light. The only way for lights to shine is to get out from under the bushels.

Dave Daubenmire — Turn on the Lights

So, where do we go from here? I don’t think we can do much to limit the damage, but we can begin to prepare now for the clean-up. We must return the light of the Gospel to America’s churches. I say enough, already of the foolishness. America cannot survive any more of the Humanistic gospel, the prosperity gospel, the seeker sensitive gospel, and the emergent gospel. We must return to a Gospel of right and wrong, sin and death, heaven and hell, of judgment and grace.

Judgment must begin in the House of God. It is time to restore the salt and do away with the sugar.

Are you ready to pay the price? Are you ready to stand up for Truth? Are you ready to be a soldier of the Cross? Are you prepared to fight the good fight of faith?

I hear a lot of talk about “taking America back.” It won’t be easy. But if we have any chance at all we must begin by taking Christianity back. We must reclaim our churches and restore our pulpits.

We must demand of our preachers a sin-hating Gospel.

Stop complaining about what we permit. Truth conquers lies, grace trumps judgment, and light destroys darkness.

Are you looking for a better America? Then it is time to turn on the light. Our pastors will never see the light until we turn up the heat. Stop looking for someone else to do the dirty work. Stand up, and speak up.

Light a match. Blow on the coals. Make a spark. Stop waiting on the pulpit to blaze and start a fire in the pew. The only way it can get darker is for the flames to get dimmer.

“It does not take a majority to prevail…but rather an irate, tireless minority, who keep on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men.” (Samuel Adams)

Full article

This article makes the case that modern day liberals are into the same pagan practices as the people who worshiped the half-bull and half-man idol of Baal in ancient times. Modern liberals have rejected the God of the Bible and replaced Him with a half-bull and half-ass idol of himself.

Today’s Baal worshipers

Modern liberalism deviates little from its ancient predecessor. While its macabre rituals have been sanitized with flowery and euphemistic terms of art, its core tenets and practices remain eerily similar. The worship of “fertility” has been replaced with worship of “reproductive freedom” or “choice.” Child sacrifice via burnt offering has been updated, ever so slightly, to become child sacrifice by way of abortion. The ritualistic promotion, practice and celebration of both heterosexual and homosexual immorality and promiscuity have been carefully whitewashed – yet wholeheartedly embraced – by the cults of radical feminism, militant “gay rights” and “comprehensive sex education.” And, the pantheistic worship of “mother earth” has been substituted – in name only – for radical environmentalism.

But it’s not just self-styled “progressives” or secular humanists who have adopted the fundamental pillars of Baalism. In these postmodern times, we’ve also been graced, regrettably, by the advent of counter-biblical “emergent Christianity” or “quasi-Christianity,” as I prefer to call it.

This is merely liberalism all dolled up and gratuitously stamped “Christian.” It’s a way for left-wing ideologues to have their “religion” cake and eat it too. Under the guise of “social justice,” its adherents often support – or at least rationalize – the same pro-homosexual, pro-abortion and radical environmental policies pushed by the modern-day Baal worshiper.

Nonetheless, the aforementioned pillars of postmodern Baalism – abortion, sexual relativism and radical environmentalism – will almost certainly make rapid headway over the next four to eight years, with or without help from the Christian left. The gods of liberalism have a new high priest in Barack Obama, and enjoy many devout followers in the Democratic-controlled Congress, liberal media and halls of academia.

Both Obama’s social agenda and that of the 111th Congress are rife with unfettered pro-abortion, freedom-chilling, pro-homosexual and power-grabbing environmentalist objectives. The same kind of “hope, action and change,” I suppose, that was swallowed up by the Baalist Canaanites of old.

So, today’s liberalism is really just a very old book with a shiny new cover. A philosophy rooted in ancient pagan traditions, of which there is naught to be proud.

There’s “nothing new under the sun,” indeed.

Full article

Even the media watchdogs of Christianity are writing reviews of the occult film “Twilight” that encourages or at least does not discourage Christians from seeing the movie. It like the reviewers themselves are cast members of the Night of the Living Dead.

I guess one can say that many organizations have reached the twilight of Christian discernment when Christians are not only not condemning these occult films they are encouraging Christian children to see them by their reviews and by building bible studies around them. It seems that they think it is okay to encourage kids to get into occult books and films if they also contain some basic human moral values. This is the typical postmodern relativism that has infected Christianity and it is why we are losing our youth.

Now because of the success of Twilight there will be movie sequels based on this satanic woman’s books that I understand just gets progressively more demonic. Christian kids will now be brought into a whole new level of the occult because parents and Christian organization no longer possess any Christian discernment.

Any wonder why Jesus barfs up the Laodicean church? What did Jesus say about those who allow offenses to come to these little ones?

Caryl Productions with Cult & Occult Expert Caryl Matrisciana – The “Twilight” Phenomena

Incredibly, this Christmas Season, when Jesus, the Light of the world used to be highlighted by the Church, many Churched and Christian ministries are promoting another light, “Twilight” the movie!

Based on Mormon, Stephenie Meyer’s 4-book “vampire romance” series, the Twilight movie was released last week (Nov 21, 2008) in 3419 cinema theaters across the nation and grossed over $70 million its first weekend. It’s the hottest pop culture phenomenon since Harry Potter mania.

Twilight takes occult darkness, introduced in Potter, to deeper, decadent fathoms: overt vampirism, acceptable blood-sucking (in this movie its only animal blood – later? Wait and see!) and sexual lust for the possessed soul (made appealing in its fictionalized form!). The books, akin to the Potter’s series, promote and familiarize their audience with magick, Wicca, supernatural powers and demon possession.

But what is beyond alarming is that Christians are seduced by satanic deception and have succumbed to Twilight’s fascination of dark wisdom, a power Scripture warns against – loving evil more than good (Psalm 52:3), and placing what the world admires before what God requires.

Focus on the Family, Christianity Today, The Catholic News Service, Christian Stay at Home Moms and Christian Teen Magazine are among some of the Christian groups who’ve been misled by occult delusion, and instead of warning Christians of its dangers, have compromised its lying message. “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness…. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!” Isaiah 5:20-21

The church and Christians are being deceived by many new-age occult philosophies and are promoting them as compatible with “Christian” ideals. To name just a few: The Secret came out in 2006, A Course in Miracles and the movie The Golden Compass in 2007. The seventh book in the Harry Potter series was released in 2007. In 2008, there was The Shack and the Oprah Winfrey endorsed book The New Earth.

Meyer, a Mormon mother of three, states that some of her inspiration in writing her vampire saga came from a band of musicians called Marjorie Fair. “For New Moon, they were absolutely essential. They can put you into a suicidal state faster than anything I know . . . Their songs really made it beautiful for me.” Also an inspiration for one of her characters was a band called My Chemical Romance. She states, “It’s someone . . . who just wants to go out and blow things up.” See mind blowing information about the music industry and a shocking spirituality many are involved in.

Scaringly, Meyer’s fictional character Edward took on the “terrifying” form of “real” spirit when it leapt from the pages of her saga and communicated with her in a dream. She says she had an additional dream after Twilight was finished when her vampire character Edward came to visit and speak to her. The Edward who visited her in the night told her she’d got it all wrong because he DID drink human blood, and could not “live” on ONLY animal blood as she wrote in the story. She said, “We had this conversation and he was terrifying.”

one wonders, how many churches and church youth groups are getting involved in a Bible study based on the Twilight series? And, how many Christians are getting trapped into the new emergent-style deception of Hegelian “dialoging”? How many realize this type of “dialectic” group thinking (conversation) is an attempt to compromise Christian faith based on God’s absolute truths with the idea that Truth is relative and shifts? God’s ways and thoughts are not open to discussion! Jesus said “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (Jn. 14:6).

t is deeply disturbing that Christians and youth leaders are undiscerning in biblical doctrine validating Christian youth to participate in vampirism, which is idol worship. Col 2:18-19 warns, “Do not let anyone who delights in….the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions.”

Unfortunately, many churches and Christian organizations downplay the reality of the supernatural war being waged by “dead” spirits and neglect the reality of abusive spiritual warfare by demonic authorities. If only those who confess Jesus Christ as their Lord would learn to “abide” in His Spirit and “know” Him through HIS word then they would be better equipped to discern error from truth, and get involved in the “good fight” we are called to, and WARN against rather than encourage fads like Twilight.

Full article

Tony Jones and many other Emergent Church Movement leaders continue to conform to the thinking of an increasingly demented world. If these ECM leaders cannot accept or understand the doctrines the Bible clearly teaches why should anyone in true Christianity even regard them as Christians? They are corrupting the youth of Christians but apparently some Christians think we should just accommodate them and allow them to continue. What would Paul say? It is time for Christian Church leaders to totally separate from these heretical leaders and to regard them as pagans.

1 Ti 6:3  If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness;
4  He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings,
5  Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.

Christian Worldview Network – Brannon Howse – Tony Jones’ continuous leftward slide into apostasy

Evidently Tony Jones doesn’t believe in God’s transforming power as he has now
concluded that Christians must embrace homosexuality:

“I now believe that GLBTQ can live lives in accord with biblical
Christianity (at least as much as any of us can!) and that their
monogamy can and should be sanctioned and blessed by church and state.”

“Liberalism…is not Christianity at all, or, at best, a corrupt version. As J. Gresham Machen argued so eloquently in the last century, liberal Christianity has many appealing features, and much to commend it. In many ways it is a quite fascinating and alluring religion. It even uses all the language of Christianity and holds Jesus in high esteem. But for all that, liberal Christianity just isn’t Christianity. Indeed, Machen argued, it’s not even close.” [4]

Tony Jones’ version of Christianity is corrupt. What he professes is not the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. In fact, the ECM has all the earmarks of a cult – what Dr. Walter Martin called the “cult of liberal theology.”

should conservative Christians worry about the ECM’s unorthodox teaching and their continual attacks against the historic fundamentals of the faith? Would it be better to just ignore these people and pray that the movement will soon fade away? Or should we fight it tooth and nail?

“Let’s not be confused here nor be too hasty to dismiss Tony Jones’ influence not only within the emergent church, but within the broader professing church itself. It’s easy to think; “Well, he’s only one guy and there is a lot of bad teaching out there”, but if you’re a discerning Christian you will have noticed by now that the post-modern vain philosophies of the emergent/emerging church are deeply infecting the Biblically illiterate youth of our day who are being fed a steady diet of spiritual poison while sitting under the teaching of hirelings. Men like Tony Jones, Doug Pagitt, Rob Bell, Dan Kimball and Brian McLaren are influencing an entire generation to embrace vain traditions and a re-imagined theology that runs contrary to the historic, orthodox tenets which are fundamental to the Christian faith itself! This is nothing less than a Counter-Reformation!” [8]

I’ll close with a quote from renowned theologian, Dr. R.C. Sproul:

In every age the church is threatened by heresy, and heresy is bound up in false doctrine. It is the desire of all heretics to minimize the importance of doctrine. When doctrine is minimized, heresy can exercise itself without restraint.

Full article

Brannon House gives a very good explanation of how three different demonically inspired worldviews have merged to create what he calls “One-World Spirituality”. After you read this article you will have a much better understanding of where Oprah, Obama, Al Gore,Tolle are leading the world via the lies from Media, Educational systems, Radical Environmentalism, Emergent Church, WCC, CFR, UN etc.

Over half of America now is under the influence of this new worldview and that includes most of those who call themselves Christians. All of the three worldviews are incompatible with Christianity and when combined they are not only hostile toward Bible believers they also have the power to carry out hostility and persecution on those who oppose them. The root teaching of all of the worldviews can be traced back to people influenced by paganism and the occult.

Christian Worldview Network – Brannon Howse – One World Spirituality: Three Worldviews Merge

Dr. Carlson and I agreed that there are three worldviews that have merged to create a worldview I call One-World Spirituality. These worldviews are evolutionary humanism, Hindu pantheism, and occultism. The theology of this worldview is pantheism, the philosophy is pagan spirituality, the biology is Darwinian evolution, the economic system is socialism, their politics is globalism, and the activism of their worldview is centered on radical environmentalism and political correctness (cultural Marxism). The goals of this One-World Spirituality are a one-world government, a one-world religion, and a one-world economic system.

A belief and commitment to the exclusivity of Jesus Christ in a world of religions is now politically incorrect and does not conform to the mandates of cultural Marxism. The Associated Pressed reported on June 23, 2008 that a June 2008 report released by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life found that “57% of evangelical church attenders said they believe many religions can lead to eternal life. In all, 70 percent of Americans with a religious affiliation shared that view and 68 percent said there is more than one true way to interpret the teachings of their own religion.” Of course anyone that beliefs this is not really an evangelical Christian. However this report reveals that a Biblical worldview is now the minority worldview in America.

Whether they realize it or not, leaders from business, government, and organized religion are embracing One-World Spirituality. Many within the Emergent Church engage in pagan spirituality, promote pantheism and globalism, and praise the economic worldview of Karl Marx.

Perhaps one of the most visible American politicians who is living out this One-World Spirituality is former Vice President Al Gore. Gore is a former Southern Baptist turned New Ager who has embraced pantheism, pagan spirituality, socialism, and globalism and who is using radical environmentalism to bring his worldview to bear on America and the world.

Full article

I ran across a couple of good articles on the postmodern emergent church movement. First Norman L. Geisler wrote a really brilliant article on this movement. This is probably the most informative article about the emergent movement that I have ever seen

Below is just the first paragraph of the article but the whole article is packed with Geisler’s brilliant logical way of presenting information

There is one key influence on the Emergent Church movement—postmodernism. While not all Emegents accept all premises of post-modernism, nonetheless, they all breathe the same air. Post modernism embraces the following characteristics: 1) The “Death of God”—Atheism; 2) The death of objective truth—Relativism; 3) The death of exclusive truth—Pluralism; 4) Death of objective meaning—Conventionalism; 5) The death of thinking (logic)—Anti-Foundationalism; 6) The death of objective interpretation—Deconstructionism, and 7) the death of objective values—Subjectivism.
From post-modernism Emergents devise the following key ideas: They consider themselves: 1)Post-Protestant; 2)Post-Orthodox; 3)Post-Denominational; 4)Post-Doctrinal; 5) Post-Individual; 6) Post-Foundational; 7) Post-Creedal; 8 )
Post-Rational, and 8)Post-Absolute. It is noteworthy that “post” is a euphemism for “anti.” So, in reality they are against all these things and more.
Full article

Next Jan Markel wrote an article Will the Emergent Church submerge yours. Jan’s article puts together some bullet statements on the warning signs of a church that is buying into the Emergent movement. If your seeing them you need to do what you can to change the postmodern thinking and if you cannot get leaders in your church to stay on solid ground you may have to relocate.

I think one key point is what they believe about Bible prophecy if they think it all happened in the past and the Church is Israel and that you need to help bring in a socialistic kingdom on earth here and now, you probably are in a very liberal mainline Church or your in a postmodern emergent church or both.

What would you think if you went to a physician and he purposely make things up as he went along in regards to your medical treatment? He called himself a Board Certified Purpose Driven specialist. Whatever he think works is the best treatment.

What if you took a formal English course because it was a required course for your advancement and the professor taught you ghetto slang instead? He said you need to be able to be able to communicate with the underclass.

What if you were blind and the word scanner paraphrased the words out of your calculus text book because the program designer believed that truth is relative?

What if you go to Bible college to learn the Bible and they teach you how to do everything but learn proper biblical exegesis. Guess what, the latter is happening all over this country.

Christian Worldview Network – Brannon Howse – Pastoral Malpractice and the Visible Church

Suppose you were to contract a potentially serious medical condition and went to see a doctor. Upon asking him details about the diagnosis and medical consequences you found out that he does not take medical literature literally. In addition, he has not kept up on the latest medical research and has been out of medical school for several decades. He prefers to make his patients happy and comfortable rather than to force them to confront the truth about their health condition. Would you see such a doctor? Neither would I. Such a doctor eventually could be found guilty of malpractice.

I have assumed in Warren’s case that he indeed has the tools to perform sound exegesis. Some of the other leaders of large congregations—Bill Hybels, Robert Schuller, or Joel Osteen—likely are capable of doing sound Biblical exegesis and correctly applying the Bible to the lives of those who attend their churches. But sadly they often do not use sound exegesis—or even use the Bible as the main source of their messages.

Pastor Warren may be correct that you cannot do both—expound important Biblical topics and appear attractive to seekers at the same time. But I disagree completely with the idea that we must appear attractive to lost sinners. We need to preach Christ to lost sinners so that they can know the terms of the gospel. That is the only valid “diagnosis” that will do them any good. In the book of Acts this was done up front, and not through a back door after presenting an alternative that would seem attractive to people in their lost state.

The Bible does not give pastors the liberty to handle the Bible in a sloppy manner.

The issue of motivation to develop the skills and use the tools to perform Biblical exegesis also has reached seminaries. Because of a growing lethargy concerning Biblical interpretation and sound doctrine, many have turned to such sidetracks as “marriage and family therapy” or deceptive mysticism such as “spiritual formation.” Young people from around the country have written us stating that they want to go into the ministry but cannot find a school where they can gain a solid theological education without being subjected to postmodernism, mysticism, the therapeutic gospel, or church growth theory. If many churches are not looking for those who “labor in word and doctrine,” seminaries have little market to train people to do just that. So we find ourselves in the lamentable situation where young people who want to be godly pastors trained with the tools to accurately handle the Bible have difficulty finding a place to be educated, and those who actually do find such an education have difficulty finding churches that want them. As a result, our evangelical movement has grown accustomed to pastoral malpractice as though it were the norm.

The standards are strict and generally well observed for those who treat our bodies and cure our physical ailments. But the standards for those who care for our souls have fallen woefully short.

Full article

According to Julia Duin evangelicals are fleeing their churches and not attending on Sunday. There are probably several things going on here besides Duin not counting some non denominational churches that are growing. Has anyone considered that maybe half of the people in the seeker friendly churches that are now so prominent across America were never Christians in the first place? They were brought in by hype and great expectation for a purpose driven life but they never believed or were given the gospel of Salvation that defines a Christian.

Let me make a few observations. I occasionally attended a large mega church in St Louis and the pastor realized that even through he was having alter calls and scores of people were emotionally coming to the alter each Sunday for salvation or renewal the church was no longer growing. He realized the people were going out the back door as fast as they went in the front door. He soon changed to follow the format of Willow Creek Church and adopted the seeker sensitive church growth model. He no longer gave alter calls and did not present a dynamic gospel message on Sundays but mainly presented an entertainment packed gospel light service that would appeal to young professionals. Now almost two decades later the Church still has about the same attendance numbers as it had before he switched to the Creeker format but the people in attendance today are almost a completely different membership. In others words in 15 or so years there has been a ninety percent turnover in the membership. He replaced a church of fervent believers with all Baby Boomer Evangelicals and seekers.

This has been going on in many seeker sensitive churches across the country. They cater to the unbelievers and lose their core Church membership. They pad their church board with those who will agree with the pastor’s seeker model and drive out the leadership that wish to retain biblical teaching on Sunday. In addition, the seekers are not going to the mid week services to learn the gospel of salvation like the leadership had hoped. So the seekers stick around for a little while and also leave out the back door seldom to be seen again

Even Bill Hybells the father of the Creeker Movement of churches has recently admitted that the seeker sensitive church growth model has been a failure. He said it did not produce mature Christians. He and others are now rethinking everything and probably looking for a new gimmick to bring people in and keep them in attendance. The whole Emergent Church movement is doing likewise.

The problem is that the Body of Christ is not grown through gimmicks and entertainment services. It is grown through conversion to Jesus Christ through hearing and believing the gospel and this does not happen unless the gospel is given and the Holy Spirit draws them (not Elvis impersonators). Gimmicks of the church might get people to attend on Sundays for awhile but that wears off and most soon leave.

Also, the local church spiritual health is not based on numbers. It is based on Spirit indwelt Christians with gifts of the Spirit that are using these gifts for the good of the whole Body. The Body does not even have to be in Sunday attendance for that to happen. The Church needs to work beyond the four walls that many assembly in on Sunday. Much too often those who do attend each Sunday think that have done their Christian service and their calling because they attended the Sunday gathering service. No. They have just attended a Sunday gathering service. If you want to do what Christians were called to do you need to be helping to fulfill the great commission using your gifts to build up the Body of Christ in order for the Body of Christ (the Church) to actually fulfill the great commission. Grow the membership in the Body of Christ and the Church will be attending and it will be doing its job. This does not happen just on Sunday but every day of the week and that job will never primarily be done under the roofs of church building.

The buildings are primarily there for the use of the Church not for the use of unbelievers. I have encountered many Bible believing Christians that will not attend a Church building because of what they feel goes on under these roofs and we all know that their arguments are often valid. So the solution might be for pastors to start looking more at third world models where the Church is actually living out Christianity daily rather than the latest Madison Ave westernized two hour Sunday media event model.

I believe if all the big Church buildings in America disappeared the Church in America would be much more effective and dynamic being a Church that goes out into the streets.

Sunday Morning, Staying Home

According to Julia Duin, a religion reporter for the Washington Times, more and more evangelicals are in fact fleeing their churches. Indeed, Ms. Duin regards church-quitting, at least among evangelicals, as nothing less than an epidemic. The problem, in her view, is not in the souls of the church quitters but in the character of the churches they choose to leave. “Something,” she observes, “is not right with . . . evangelical church life.”

The faults she points to–relying on her own reporting and survey data–are many. They are surprising, too, running counter to the stereotype of evangelicals bonding happily in their churches. She reports, among other things: a lack of a feeling of community among church members, inducing loneliness and boredom; church teaching that fails to go beyond the basics of the faith or to reach members grappling with suffering or unanswered prayer; pastors who are either out of touch with their parishioners or themselves unhappy, or who fail to shepherd their flocks, or who are caught up in scandal, or who try to control the lives of church members in a high-handed way. She claims that many churches have “inefficient leadership models” and that many, preoccupied with the care of families, neglect single people.

According to Ms. Duin, churches dedicated to making disciples will “do well in this era of dumbed-down, purpose-driven, seeker-friendly Christianity.” But is that really true? From a theological perspective, there is no guarantee that churches will prosper as they attempt to make disciples–if we judge prosperity by church membership alone. A church might conscientiously carry out its biblical tasks and yet, by measures of popularity, do poorly in this world. Such a church would not be doing right if it adjusted its mission for the sake of higher attendance records.

Full article

I always said wait until the counterculture hippies grew up and they got into positions of power. Well that day has arrived and they have taken control of the education system, political system, national media, and the religious systems of America. They also produced postmodern brainwashed children who now believe themselves to be the norm. So unless real Christians and real conservatives win this cultural war it is the end of this nation. When the far left hippies and their offspring gain total control they will embrace a totally pagan fascist world system. Woe to any who oppose them.

Had anyone said that America would decline this rapidly fifty years ago people would have thought you were smoking dope. Now half of our society is smoking dope or worse and they all think that they are perfectly sane. The Democrat running for President even claimed to be a crack user himself but does anyone care? The Democrat running for President never distinguished himself in any position he ever held but does anyone care? The hippies and their offspring just want change toward a secular idealism that is not possible with man’s evil nature. They like murder of the unborn being their own choice, so they all hail the Obamanation. They like it that homosexuality is destroying morality in America so they will have no moral restraints, so they all hail the Obamanation. They think Christianity is creating a world utopia on earth for people to continue in their abominations, so they all hail the Obamanation. All the idol worshipers now worship the Obamanation because he has the same demented values of the old hippies and their young offspring.

Christian Worldview Network – Brannon Howse – Jezebel and the Cultural Creatives

The Emergent Village and “progressive” Christian liberalism are but a drop in the progressive bucket. To their left, “cultural creatives” or “new progressives” are brimming over with an optimistic vision for taking political power.

Who are the “cultural creatives”? They define themselves as the “organic food-buying, national-health-care-supporting, yoga-practicing, misunderstood counter-culturalists.” According to the high-end spirituality magazine, What Is Enlightenment? (August/October, 2008), their ranks continue to swell, thanks to Al Gore’s movie, Barack Obama’s “change”, and Eckhardt Tolle and Oprah Winfrey’s “New Earth” webinar (see NC #47). This movement favors “ecological sustainability (read: green collectivism), non-traditional spirituality (neo-pagan religion), civil rights (rights for all sexual expressions) and grassroots politics (non-democratic, non-governmental organizations working under the geo-political umbrella of the United Nations). They also distinguish themselves from “modernism” (secular humanism) and “traditionalism” (Christianity).

Their appearance is of immense historical and religious significance. They explicitly identify themselves as inheritors of the “values revolution [of] the Sixties [that] is still developing and maturing.”

They are the maturing fruit of a development that no one expected. We all thought the Sixties was an ephemeral social event driven by marginal drop-out hippies. Whoops, they dropped back in! In the Left Coast New Age spirituality we witnessed the first signs of a major religious and social revolution. Its conquering march through the institutions has established as normative a worldview of drug-aided mystical, neo-pagan spirituality, radical egalitarianism and total sexual license. The marginal cult has now morphed into a master plan, a full-blown all-inclusive spiritual worldview to transform every aspect of life on the planet. The bizarre views of the Sixties counter-culturalists, though few knew it, signaled the disturbing germination, in “Christian” America, of the age-old alternative to biblical theism, namely spiritual paganism.

Full article

The article I link to in this post says a lot and not just about contemplative prayer. It explains the demonic deceptions that are going on in many churches today in the name of being relevant to our postmodern society. I doubt that there are many large evangelical churches that are not to some extent being negatively influenced by this by either the pastor, some assistant pastor or one or more lay leaders. Certain influential national leaders are mixing various amounts of poison wrapped in Christian speak and Christian sounding programs and many are buying into their deadly deceptions because they never hear any biblical counter argument.

Someone needs to form an expense paid national conference for top pastors and evangelical leaders where they would hear the arguments of authors like John MacArthur, Roger Oakland, Dave Hunt, Bob DeWaay etc. to educate the church leadership on the doctrines of demons now being introduced in most large churches. Then the conference should be put on a internet site and on DVD and a copy should be given to all lay leaders in the church. We need some some Christian foundation or a group of discerning churches to fund this. If certain churches can put together postmodern rethinking and shifting conferences you would think that someone could also put together a biblical thinking conference to counter them.

Beware of This Doctrine of Demons

It’s called “contemplative” or “centering” prayer and if you haven’t heard about it yet, chances are unfortunately good that you will soon. It’s invading churches like a virus in which submicroscopic pathogens contaminate the body many hours or days before the victim is aware of its presence.
Contemplative prayer is one of a number of ancient mystical practices or spiritual disciplines, as their proponents refer to them, which are being encouraged at an alarming rate by evangelical churches. It is all part of something called Spiritual Formation and the Emergent Church, a movement that as John MacArthur states in his book, The Truth war, is subtly changing the beliefs and doctrines of the evangelical church as we know it.

In its pure form, contemplative prayer is practiced by sitting still, quieting, and concentrating on your breathing and repeating a word of choice (maybe the name Jesus, for instance) over and over again. You’re to concentrate on that word and your breathing, and work to eliminate all thoughts from your mind. Over a period of maybe 20 minutes — and with practice — you can enter into “the silence.” Your mind is blank. You have, in fact, hypnotized yourself. And it is in “the silence” where “God” allegedly speaks to you.

According to the testimony of one former, now-redeemed New Ager I recently read this is the exact method used by New Agers and Eastern mystics to enter an altered state of consciousness that opens a person up to demonic influence. Ray Yungen, author of the book, A Time of Departing, confirms this and says, “Unknown to most people, a blank mind in a meditative state is all that is necessary for contact with a spirit guide.” He also points out, “Those who lack discernment are at great risk.”

Read full article

Peter Jones has it right in this article. Pseudo Christianity will again be going to war again against those true Christians who actually believe the Bible. When the youth of those going to the churches of today grow up (many of them already have) will those four percent that still believe the Bible actually be tolerated by Christianity? Of course not. Pseudo Christianity has persecuted the Church before in history and it will do it again. Christianity is now progressing to enable the coming postmodern inquisitions.

The persecution at the fifth seal of Revelation comes from the religious Harlot not the Antichrist because at this point he has not even arrived on the scene. I believe the Trumpet Judgments are the Lamb’s response to a world that persecuted His Saints. Then the religious Harlot in turn will be destroyed by the Beast she rode.

The ostracizing of Bible believing Christians has already started with “Christian” leaders calling believers that hold to the fundamentals of the faith dangerous and biblical doctrine divisive. In the “tolerant” “politically correct” world of the next decade the Bible will be rewritten, and redefined to accommodate sinful lifestyles. They will outlaw uncensored literal interpretations of the Bible that might offend anyone.

At that point those who speak against politically correct sins of society will be charged with hate speech. The truths of the Bible and true Christianity will be replaced with a world harlot religion where everyone is free do what is right in their own eyes as long as they do not offend or proselytize someone else. All world beliefs including paganism will have equal standing but any religion that claims some exclusive way to God or that offends someone’s self esteem will be called intolerant and will be outlawed.

At that point, which is not that far off, there will be no more reason for the true Church to be here on earth.

Christian Worldview Network – Brannon Howse – New “Progressive Christianity”: An Old Liberal Swindle

Much of what Progressive Christians believe fits with the principles of the radical Emergent Village, emerging from Evangelicalism. Indeed, Liberal Progressives intentionally include “the more progressive evangelicals” in their ranks. In their descriptions of a “generous way” of “following Jesus” (not Christ, for Christ is far too “Christian”), the “progressives” echo Brian McLaren’s A Generous Orthodoxy, in which he calls himself “a Jesus follower.” They focus on Jesus as a mystical human being for all the religions. This is not Jesus, the God/man and Savior, for their “progressive” religion denies sin, claims no unique means of salvation, and, like McLaren, accepts all: “believers, agnostics, atheists and all sexual orientations and gender identities.”

Though “all-inclusive,” Progressives abhor the “modern heresy of fundamentalist Christianity.” Though rejecting absolute truth, they define their “god” as “absolute love, justice, and peace,” rejoicing to find their new absolutism in the “godless European Union with its insistence on equal justice for women and gay people.” The absolute mess which is present-day Europe, held up as the ideal for the future of America and the planet, ought to fill us with despair!

Progressives are euphoric as they ride a new social wave of all-inclusive social justice globalism, for it provides a timely pretext to justify their basic unbelief about the Christian Gospel. With undisguised optimism they believe their time has come, in two ways:

1. they rejoice in the theological implosion of historic Christianity, and, for the good of the planet, you understand, salivate over the fact that only “four percent of Bible believing teenagers will be Bible-believing Christians as adults”;

2. they are eager to capitalize on, and I quote, “a historic opportunity to seize the country’s foundational narratives about itself, and recast them in a way that opens doors to the [global] future we seek.” Is this what the political Left, which also now describes itself as “progressive” and claims to be “Christian,” really means by “change”?

As the third millennium began, Frederic Baue (The Spiritual Society) predicted the coming of “a phase of Western or world civilization that is innately religious but hostile to Christianity…or worse, a dominant but false church that brings all of its forces to bear against the truth of God’s Word.”

Is “Christian” liberalism beginning to join with spiritual pagans and activist courts, to demonize, marginalize, and ultimately silence the biblical message by defining the Gospel as a global hate crime?

Is America now under judgment? When are acts of God acts of God? Has America done anything worthy of judgment? You be the judge.

• So far this year we are involved in two foreign wars with another war being a distinct possibility.
• We have had unprecedented numbers of tornadoes.
• The Mid-West floods have been catastrophic.
• More of California has burned this year then in any year in history and the fires are still burning with a fire season that still has a long way to go

On the Economic Front.

• Falling Real estate values have caused the greatest financial crises since the great depression.
• Tens of millions are losing equity in there homes, millions are losing their homes.
• The stock market is down 20 percent and pension funds and insurance will also lose at least that much value.
• Banks, brokerage firms and corporations are failing and need to be bailed out by the government.
• The U.S. dollar is the weakest it has been in modern times.
• Gasoline prices are four times what they were a few years ago.
• Heating bills will be much higher this winter.
• All electric bills are about to shoot up about twenty percent in one year.
• Food prices are up 10 to 20 percent this year.
• Inflation across the board is the worst in years and most of the costs have not even been passed through yet.
• Services in the U.S. are becoming unreliable.
• Unemployment is on the rise and it is going to get much higher.
• Due to falling revenues state and local governments are going to run into major deficit problems

Crime and amorality

• Gangs have taken over much of our inner cities.
• Drug trafficking is epidemic.
• Illegal drugs are used by a very large percentage of our population.
• 2.2 million people are in prison in this nation. This is the highest incarceration rate in the world.
• There are 10 to 20 million people in this country illegally.
• One in four adults in the U.S. has a VD. Homosexual males have a ten year shorter life span, yet, the pushing of homosexuality and sexual promiscuity is all over the media and sexual perversion is taught in our schools as normal healthy lifestyles and this is forced on suggestible children.
• Homosexual marriage is now legal in two states.
• There have been 50 million abortions in the U.S. and taxpayers in one way or another are paying much of the cost. Much of the black population in the U.S. is being aborted but most black leaders keep promoting it.
• Scams and rip-off schemes are epidemic especially on the Internet.

Politics.

• Congress has a nine percent approval rating.
• Judges are legislating law from the bench contrary to the Constitution.
• Special interest groups control almost all politicians and it is now almost impossible to get incumbents out of office.
• Thanks to the voters we have two choices for the President that want more globalism and more socialism. Both will bring in a liberal supreme court. Both will pass hate speech laws that will negatively impact Christians.

Religion.

• A generation of seeker friendly services has watered down much of what is left of Evangelical Christianity.
• The Emergent movement is redefining biblical truths and downplaying biblical doctrine.
• Most claiming to be Christians are biblically illiterate not having read through the Bible even once in their lives, far less have understanding of the passages in context.
• People flaunting their sins are put in church leadership roles.
• Psychology theories originated from the occult have corrupted much Christian counseling and other programs.
• New Age pagan thought is now all over the media and is being accepted by many claiming to be Christians.
• Much of the youth is leaving Christianity for postmodern relativism

If God were to continue judging this nation what might our immediate future hold?

• The economy would continue to decline.
• Hyperinflation is a very real possibility.
• Unemployment may become a very serious issue.
• There could be much greater weather related storms, droughts and crop failures.
• Major earthquakes would become likely.
• Major volcanic activity is certainly possible.
• Leadership in government could continue to get worse (even lower then scraping the bottom).
• Terrorist attacks would become likely.
• Hate speech laws will be passed and constitutional freedoms will be redefined by the courts. Government tyranny will become a major issue.
• A nuclear electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack may happen. It would leave the nation helpless without electric for months or years. (This would be the ultimate judgment it would most likely bring the complete collapse of our society).
• The complete collapse of our economic system is possible.
• Collapse of our social system and declining into anarchy is possible.
• The break up of the Union is possible.

The Bible says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Don’t you think it would be wise for people in this nation to fear the Lord instead of Him having to send correction because we will not do what is right?