Sola Sisters

[UPDATED 2020] Christians and Conspiracy Theories (Compiled)

2020-03-11T14:39:00.000-04:00

Posted by Christine Pack

Below is a compilation of articles on Christians and Conspiracy Theories. These articles were written in order to biblically address the reality of conspiracy theory websites that Christians are sometimes drawn to, but which we feel are unbiblical and cause Christians to become unbalanced and unsteady in their walks. Be blessed.

➤ Christians and Conspiracy Theories (Part 1) - Katy Perry, the 2015 Super Bowl halftime performances, Now The End Begins website

➤ Christians and Conspiracy Theories (Part 2) - Madonna, the 2015 Grammys

➤ Christians and Conspiracy Theories (Part 3) - Dark Times, Truth, Lies and Where Christians Should Put Their Focus

➤ Christians and Conspiracy Theories (Part 4) - Witnessing, Romans 1 and An Appeal

➤ Christians and Conspiracy Theories (Part 5) - A Biblical Response (CONCLUSION)

Additional Resources

The Christian and Conspiracy Theories (Ken Samples, Issues Etc.)

Coronavirus Conspiracy Theories (Ken Samples, Issues Etc.)

Thinking Through Big Government Conspiracy Theories (Ken Samples, Reasons To Believe)

Asking Four Questions: Evaluating Conspiracy Theories (Ken Samples, Reasons To Believe)

Conspiracy Theories Are Bunk (Dr R Scott Clark, Heidelblog)

David Rockefeller, the New World Order, and the Necessity of Verifying Internet Quotes (Nick Peters)

Why Creation Ministries International Rejects ‘Conspiracy’ Theorizing (Drs Robert Carter and Jonathan Sarfati, Creation Ministries International)

Something To Consider: God Calls Us To Wisdom, Not Conspiracy Theories (Joseph Hamrick, Herald Banner)

How Should Christians Respond to Conspiracy Theories? (Dr Al Mohler)

What should Christians make of the conspiracy theories surrounding Coronavirus? (Pastor Tom Drion, GraceLife London)

Facebook Discussions

Symbols and conspiracy theories, and the proper place for them in the Christian walk (9-30-13)

Conspiracy theory films (12-2-13)

Conspiracy theories and the Christian (12-31-13)

Warning about Now The End Begins conspiracy website (2-2-15)

Christians and conspiracy theories, the New Age, Jesuits, Illuminati (2-4-15)

Christians and conspiracy theories, Madonna, Katy Perry, symbols and conspiracy theories (2-4-15)

Christians and conspiracy theories, 2015 Grammys (2-9-15)

Christian and conspiracy theories, the Christian and witnessing (2-11-15)

The LORD bless you and keep you.....

2016-04-26T20:28:00.000-04:00

Posted by Sola Sisters (Originally published March 2015)

Effective today, the Sola Sisters website and Facebook wall will no longer be active. While we will no longer be publishing articles, we are still available via private message through our Facebook wall if anyone has questions or is seeking counsel. To reach us, please feel free to message either Christine Pack or Cathy Mathews there.

Even though our Facebook wall will no longer be active, we will be leaving it up as a resource, as we have covered many, many topics in the past few years. To access the resources on the Facebook wall, or to search for a subject, use a Google search engine, type "sola sisters" with quote marks, and then put in the topic you are searching for (I've attached an example of this below). The Google search engine will often pull up articles we've written on the website here, as well as Facebook posts we've made where we have had more in-depth discussions.

Please also note that Marcia Montenegro, who has graciously and generously served as an administrator on the Sola Sisters Facebook wall, will still be active on her own Facebook page and website (both entitled "Christian Answers For The New Age"). We encourage you to avail yourself of the resources there. Marcia's Facebook wall is here and her website is here.

Our time here has been such a rich blessing to us. So many of our sisters (and brothers) who have interacted with us have sharpened and encouraged us. Thank you.

"The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace." (Numbers 6:24-26)

Pastoring 101

2015-08-20T23:00:00.000-04:00

photo credit: wolf4max via photopin cc

Here's what should happen when seminary students show up for their first day of class: they are handed two live sheep. The professor then tells them this: Your assignment is to look after these sheep for the next semester. You are to feed them, care for them, tend them, comb their fur, and protect them from wolves. If at the end of the semester you return both of these sheep to me, alive and in good condition (i.e, they are not frightened, malnourished, missing any limbs or half drowned because you left them alone and they fell into the river), then next semester you will have earned the right to graduate to the next step: learning how to minister to actual people.

1 Timothy 3:1-13 - Qualifications for Overseers and Deacons

Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task. Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.

In the same way, deacons are to be worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons.

In the same way, the women are to be worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything.

A deacon must be faithful to his wife and must manage his children and his household well. Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Titus 1:5-10 - Qualifications for Elders

This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you— if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

ARTICLES

Hope For Christians Who Have Been Spiritually Abused

Painful Exits and Smear Campaigns: Treatment of Those Who Leave Spiritually Abusive Churches

What Is Spiritual Abuse? (Got Questions?)

Warning Signs of Spiritual Abuse - Part 1 (Pastor Mike Fehlauer)

Warning Signs of Spiritual Abuse - Part 2 (Pastor Mike Fehlauer)

Warning Signs of Spiritual Abuse - Part 3 (Pastor Mike Fehlauer)

The Cult Church

What Do Some Churches and Cults Have In Common? Spiritually Abusive Systems

Confronting Abusive Church Leaders (Apprising Ministries)

BOOKS

Churches That Abuse (Dr. Ronald M. Enroth)

Recovering From Churches That Abuse (Dr. Ronald M. Enroth)

Exposing Spiritual Abuse (Pastor Mike Fehlauer)

The Heresy of Mind Control: Recognizing Con Artists, Tyrants and Spiritual Abusers in Leadership (Stephen Martin)

The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse: Recognizing and Escaping Spiritual Manipulation and False Spiritual Authority Within the Church (David Johnson and Jeff VanVonderen)

For J.T.P. - The Forbidden Chapter in the Tanakh...

2015-03-29T08:00:00.000-04:00

Posted by Christine Pack

Is God Finished With The Jews?

The Apostle Paul, a Jew who had converted to Christianity, wrote a great deal of the Christian New Testament. Paul loved his fellow Jews so much, and desired so much for them to come to saving faith in the Messiah, that he wished he could have given his own life in order for the Jews to be saved:

"I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises, whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen." (Romans 9:1-5)

"Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for (the Jews) is for their salvation. For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes." (Romans 10:1-4)

But just as God said He would, after the Jewish people rejected (and crucified) the Messiah God sent them, He went outside of his chosen people with the gospel proclamation. From Romans 10:

"But I say, surely Israel did not know, did they? First Moses says, 'I will make you jealous by that which is not a nation, by a nation without understanding will I anger you.' And Isaiah is very bold and says, 'I was found by those who did not seek Me, I became manifest to those who did not ask for Me.' But as for Israel He says, 'All the day long I have stretched out My hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.'" (Romans 10:19-21)

God went outside of the Jewish nation, not because He no longer loved them, but because:

(1) He was being merciful to all the other lost, pagan people groups of the world in offering them the way of salvation, and

(2) He desired to provoke the Jews to be jealous again for God's love, when they saw how great his mercy was.

Does this mean God is forever finished with the Jews? No! Many Christians today believe that God, in the very final days and after having thrown wide open the way of salvation for two thousand years to all the pagan (Gentile) people groups of the world, will bring back into the faith his beloved Jews, based on this passage from Romans 11:

"For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written:

'The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob. This is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins.'

From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God’s choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers; for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience, so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy. For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all." (Romans 11:25-32)

Do you know any Jews? Keep telling them this, and keep praying for them. God is not done with them yet.

The Forbidden Chapter in the Tanakh

Even today, there is evidence that God is once again moving among the Jewish people. The video at the link below is entitled "The Forbidden Chapter In The Tanakh" and refers to the 53rd chapter of the book of Isaiah. The 53rd chapter in Isaiah is referred to as "forbidden" not because this passage has been deleted from the Jewish Old Testament (Tanakh), but because it is removed (forbidden, hidden away) from the regular readings in the synagogues today. But why? More on the "why" later; for now, please just take a few minutes to watch this video, which is linked in the caption of the picture below. It is very encouraging.

Isaiah 53 clearly prophesied a Messiah to come, a Messiah who would suffer and die (make atonement) for the sins of His people. From Isaiah 53:

"He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows." (verse 4)

"He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities." (verse 5)

"Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed." (verse 5)

"But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on him." (verse 6)

"By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?" (verse 8)

"When his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days." (verse 10)

"By his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities." (verse 11)

"He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." (verse 12)

Today's Jews reject this understanding of the Messiah, and which Isaiah 53 proclaims in plain language. But you have just read it for yourself. Does it not say that a servant (Isaiah 52:13) will come forth, and will make atonement for sinners?

One view held by Jews today is that this passage is an allegorization of the Jewish nation, that the Jewish nation is the "suffering servant."

Another view is that the person referenced in this passage referred only to the human, infant son of the king ruling at that time. But how can a mere human make a substitutionary atonement for sinners, as this passage from Isaiah states? We know by plain common sense that an ordinary human being can't offer up his life as atonement for other people's sins, right?

However, because Isaiah 53 is so controversial within Jewish circles, this passage is deleted from the regular readings in the synagogues. And those few Jewish leaders and writers who do try to address this passage are forced to twist and allegorize it in a way that doesn't even make sense. But just watch the Jews in the video above who are reading this passage for the very first time, without having their minds tainted with a skewed version of what this passage means. It means what it means! They can see that instantly.

Messiah Is Prophesied In Other Old Testament Passages

Prophesies about the Messiah were not just in Isaiah 53. Consider also Daniel 9, where it was prophesied that the person of the Messiah had to come before the second destruction of the temple (and that occurred in 70 A.D.).

And Micah 5 said that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. None of these passages *work* for the view held today by Christ-rejecting Jews who want to allegorize the nation of Israel into somehow being the Messiah for the world in a corporate way. The nation of Israel wasn't "born" in Bethlehem; how could it be? The nation of Israel were first a pagan people group whom God in his great mercy selected out of a lost world to be His own. They didn't come from Bethlehem, they came from Ur (modern day Iraq), out of a pagan people group associated with moon worship.

This is the gospel message that the Old Testament tells: God had so much love for the humans He made in His own image that He used the Jews, the pagan people He chose out of all the pagan cultures of the world, to be His people, and through whom the Messiah, a Saviour, would someday come. He meant for the Jews to be a light to the nations. But He also knew beforehand that even though He (God) had given many, many prophecies that could only point to Jesus as the culmination of all of redemptive history, that the Jews would reject this Messiah. Their Messiah. Was this a horrible accident? No, it was so that God, in an almost infinite display of mercy, could then open up the gospel message to the rest of the world. But He's not done with Israel. One day He will enfold them back into His family, and they will again be sons and daughters of God.

Look at that beautiful video linked above. Jews who haven't been conditioned to twist themselves like pretzels and jump through hoops in order to allegorize Isaiah 53 into the nation of Israel know instantly, upon a plain reading of the passage, that it is describing and pointing to a person, not a nation. And that this Person had to, somehow, have the constitution to be able to withstand upon the Cross, in some mysterious way, the eternal hell of each and every person saved. This required a Person possessing a supernatural nature, because no-one who was only human could have borne that kind of suffering. And yet this Person also had to be human, in order to be mankind's representative. Jesus was both fully God and fully Divine. Adam represented us corporately in the Garden.....and he failed. Christ came and represented us corporately on the Cross.....and He did NOT fail.

God gave us the Law so that we would know what His standard for holiness was and is. It is perfection. It is not trying real hard to be good enough. It's not hoping that we have enough good deeds to offset our sins. It is not even just praying and asking for forgiveness. God set up a very specific way of approaching him in the Old Testament, and that was a sacrificial system whereby an animal was killed in place of the human who deserved death for his sin. God is holy-holy-HOLY, and sin is serious. God set up this system and gave us the Law so that no serious seeker could look at these things and say, God doesn't really think sin is a big deal. God doesn't really care how I approach Him. And besides, I am a good person. I have kept God's Laws perfectly. I don't need a Saviour. I can save myself.

We're sinners. We've all broken these Laws. We've all lied. We've all stolen. We've all taken the Lord's name in vain. We've all coveted. We've all had impure thoughts.

And yet, Jesus accomplished on the Cross what God set out in eternity past to do, and that was to atone for sins, so that those stained with sin could be cleansed, washed clean, made holy and righteous in God's eyes.

"'Come now, and let us reason together,' says the Lord. 'Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool.'" (Isaiah 1:18)

It takes humility to look at one's own heart and admit that no good thing dwells there. That you need a Saviour. But run to Him today! Believe on Christ, as the sinless, perfect One who lived a pure life of righteousness on your behalf, in order to give himself up as your ransom. Will today be the day of salvation for you? The Bible closes with a beautiful plea, and a promise; a plea, to come, freely, and take what the Lord offers. You don't have to pay a price, and if you did, you couldn't afford it. Jesus paid the price on your behalf.

"Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb.....The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come.' And let the one who hears say, 'Come.' And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost." (Rev 22:1, 17)

"And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book.” (Rev 22:7)

Additional Resources

What Is Progressive Revelation? (Got Questions?)

More.....and more.....and more archaeological evidence of the early canonicity of the New Testament

Discrepancies Between the Gospel Accounts? Not So Fast..... (Answers in Genesis)

Problems With Bestselling Book "Jesus Calling"

2015-03-13T14:50:00.000-04:00

Posted by Christine Pack

Did Author Sarah Young Write Jesus Calling Using Occultic Practice of Automatic Writing?

The bestselling book Jesus Calling was almost surely written through the occultic practice of "Automatic Writing." A shocking claim? All right, then, I will grant that some of the book could have come from the author's own imagination. However, I also believe it is entirely possible that the book is truly from the spiritual realm; only, it is not the Jesus of the Bible with whom the author got in touch, but rather a demon. And I'm saying this not as just a Christian researcher, but as a former New Ager who practiced Automatic Writing. I should also point out that Christians don't get to flip some switch somewhere and turn occultic practices into biblical practices just by adding biblical terminology to what they are doing.

Automatic Writing is an occultic practice that is a form of divination, a practice that is expressly forbidden by God (see Deut 18). Author Sarah Young recounts how she decided to write the book Jesus Calling:

"My journey began with a devotional book (God Calling) written in the 1930s by two women who practiced waiting in God’s Presence, writing the messages they received as they 'listened.' About a year after I started reading this book, I began to wonder if I too could receive messages during my times of communing with God. . . . So I decided to 'listen' to God with pen in hand, writing down whatever I sensed He was saying." (from a Question and Answer session with Sarah Young, CBN)

Now compare Young's description about how she decided to write Jesus Calling to the practice of Automatic Writing as written about in Wikipedia*

"Automatic writing or psychography is an alleged psychic ability allowing a person to produce written words without consciously writing. The words are claimed to arise from a subconscious, spiritual or supernatural source." (source)

* NOTE: Don't be hating on me for using Wikipedia. I didn't want to link to a New Age source, and sometimes Wiki actually does get things right, as they do in this instance.

Nowhere in Scripture are Christians told to do as Sarah Young did when writing her book, and that is to sit with pen in hand waiting for a form of channeled dictation from "Jesus." We are to read the Bible, seek to understand it in its proper context, believe it, accept it by faith as truth, and and pray for the enabling power of the Holy Spirit to walk in obedience where we are commanded to take action. But no zoned-out trance states seeking a "fresh" word from God, no. A thousand times no.

For more on the practice of Automatic Writing in Jesus Calling, please read this article by Marcia Montenegro. Like me, Marcia is a former New Ager (she was a professional astrologer). Marcia, who has a Masters degree in Religion from Southern Evangelical Seminary, is now a born again believer in full time apologetics ministry.

You can also read more about this in our article here - Sarah Young's Bestseller Jesus Calling: An Overactive Imagination or a Demon?

“When you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the detestable things of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For whoever does these things is detestable to the Lord; and because of these detestable things the Lord your God will drive them out before you. You shall be blameless before the Lord your God. For those nations, which you shall dispossess, listen to those who practice witchcraft and to diviners, but as for you, the Lord your God has not allowed you to do so.” (Deut 18:9-14)

"Another Jesus"

"The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out. Whenever he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. They will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him; for they don’t know the voice of strangers...... My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." (John 10:3-5, 27, my emphasis)

The "voice" of the "Jesus" in Jesus Calling does not match the "voice" of the Jesus of the Bible. It just doesn't. And Christians who are very familiar with Scripture know this. If you're not sure about this, just pick up the Bible and read through any one of the gospel accounts. If you do so, you will realize that the "Jesus" of Jesus Calling is not the Jesus of the Bible.......he is "another Jesus," one that the Apostle Paul warned us about receiving and accepting in the second book of Corinthians:

"For if someone comes along and preaches another Jesus than the one we preached, or should you receive a different spirit from the one you received or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you are all too willing to listen." (2 Corinthians 11:4)

In fact, not only is the "voice" of the "Jesus" in Jesus Calling not the "voice" of the Bible's Jesus, but it speaks in a way that is remarkably similar to the demonic spirits I was in touch with while in the New Age. Satan is the father of lies, and has been from the beginning, which means that he, and his demonic legion, have no moral constraints about lying and deceiving those playing around in the supernatural realm, as I was. What this means is that when I was communicating with demons as a New Ager, they didn't identify themselves as demons. Spooky music didn't start playing, and green smoke didn't ooze under the door when they showed up, like we see in the movies. They had beautiful names, and they professed to me to care for me, and to desire to help me grow spiritually. They had a very smooth, soothing way of communicating. (The more Bibley term for that would be 'ear tickling.')

When these demons communicated to me, they would often say 'Trust me' or 'Trust us,' a phrase ('Trust me') that is also often used by the false 'Jesus' in Jesus Calling. If you read through the book, you will see that phrase used repeatedly, yet that is not something that Jesus uttered on a regular basis during his earthly ministry or elsewhere in the Bible, even though we are to trust in the Lord. I think the repetition of this phrase is used by demons to lull humans into, well, trusting them, since their obvious aim is to deceive us and confuse us as they are in the process of communicating to us things that are contrary to what the Bible teaches us about Jesus and God. Their ultimate goal, obviously, is to turn us away from the Jesus of the Bible. And to do this, they often masquerade, as we are told they would, as 'angels of light' (2 Cor 11:14)."

What's Missing From Jesus Calling?

Jesus's mission was not social justice, nor was it primarily to model to us how to live a good life (i.e., the social justice "Jesus," the emergent "Jesus," the liberal "Jesus," the Jen Hatmaker "Jesus").

Jesus's mission was not to give us our best life now, or to give us practical life skills in order to enhance and enrich our lives (i.e., the Word of Faith "Jesus," the seeker sensitive "Jesus").

Jesus's mission was not to give us ooey-gooey feelings about Him or about ourselves (the Ann Voskamp "Jesus," the Beth Moore "Jesus," the pop-psychology "Jesus").

Jesus's mission was not to lend his name to the vague New Age term "Christ consciousness," which in the New Age, is the term used to describe a person who is evolving spiritually on their own, through various New Age practices. (i.e., "Robert developed his 'Christ consciousness' through meditation, vegetarianism and learning to avoid bad relationships.")

The Jesus of the Bible is the eternally existent God-man who chose to leave his glory above and be born of a virgin into this sin-sick world in order to undertake a very particular mission, a mission for which "He set his face like flint" (Luke 9:51) in order to accomplish it. His mission was to fulfill all righteousness on the behalf of sinners, and then to offer up his perfect life, by dying on a Roman cross, as a sacrifice for sin. This was his mission, and it is anchored in history both by the historical accounts in the Bible and by extra-biblical accounts form historians living at the time of Jesus. Jesus was a real person, and he incarnated for a very specific purpose, and that was to save sinners.

Proclaiming God's holy, righteous wrath against sin and sinners, and calling sinners to repentance and saving faith in his finished work on the cross was the primary focus of Jesus's earthly ministry.

All of these things are important to bear in mind when evaluating any ministry, any website, any book or any teacher. How is Jesus talked about? What about the cross? What about the gospel message, of how it is that sinful man is reconciled to a high and holy God? Is this front and center in the ministry? Or is it barely mentioned, a sidenote, a cameo?

All that to say this: God's righteous wrath against sinners and the cross do have a cameo appearance here and there in the book Jesus Calling, but only in the way that, say, a movie studio might heavily advertise a well-known actor who has a cameo in a movie. Did you blink? You might have missed his screen time. Well, that's how much screen time sin, God's righteous wrath against sinners, the cross and the atonement get in Jesus Calling. Don't blink, or you'll miss it.

Final Thoughts

"And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light." (2 Cor 11:14)

We've written before about the fact that deception is, well, deceptive. Isn't that the whole point of deception? Deception doesn't announce itself, and give warning that something is afoot. Spooky music won't be playing in the background. Deception can take place anytime and anywhere. It can happen:

......while you are sitting in the cozy nook of your favorite Bible study area in your own home;

.....through a book recommended by your best friend or Bible study teacher;

...... in Christian bookstores, because the same bookstores that carry Bibles and wonderfully edifying Bible commentaries and study guides also carry books by false teachers who preach "another Jesus" (2 Cor 11:4) and "another gospel" (Gal 1:8, 2 Cor 11:4).

Deception is tricky......cagey......clever.....beguiling: deceptive. We must remember that we are in a spiritual battle, and that Satan is a roaring lion, prowling the earth seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). We must therefore study the Bible diligently in order to present ourselves approved unto God as those who are able to accurately handle the word of truth (2 Tim 2:15). This means that we must be prepared to hold up all things taught in the name of God to the actual word of God. And these biblical exhortations to test all things include even runaway bestsellers like Jesus Calling. Christian women, be on guard.

Additional Resources

Jesus Calling by Sarah Young: WUI (Writing Under the Influence) (Marcia Montenegro)

Toxic Devotion: A Review of Sarah Young's Jesus Calling (Critical Issues Commentary, Pastor Bob DeWaay)

Sarah Young's Bestseller Jesus Calling: An Overactive Imagination or a Demon? (Sola Sisters)

Warning About Bestseller Jesus Calling (Sola Sisters)

Tim Challies Reviews Jesus Calling (Challies)

Beth Moore Recommends Jesus Calling Book (Apprising)

Justin Peters on Jesus Calling (10 minute YouTube video)

What Is Automatic Writing? (Wikipedia)

What Does the Bible Say About Channeling? (Got Questions?)

What Does the Bible Say About Divination? (Got Questions?)

"Another Jesus" Calling (book by former New Ager Warren Smith)

Thomas Nelson Publishers Creatively Edit Jesus Calling (Stand Up For The Truth)

Is Jesus Calling A Wrong Number? A Book Review (Stand Up For The Truth)

Changing Jesus Calling: Damage Control For a False Christ (Stand Up For The Truth)

Jesus Calling: Whitewashing The Red Flags (Stand Up For The Truth)

Is Deception Calling? A review of Jesus Calling by Sarah Young (Stand Up For The Truth)

Interviews With Sarah Young

Question and Answer Session with Sarah Young (Christian Broadcasting Network-CBN) (more about God Calling here)

Meet Sarah Young (Christian Retailing, Aug 18, 2010) (Young cites the New Age book God Calling as influential)

Sarah Young: Amid Suffering, Devotion (Publishers Weekly, Nov 14, 2012)

Sola Sisters Facebook Wall Discussion Threads

Jesus Calling Storybook for children - Mar 18, 2013

Former New Ager Warren Smith discusses Jesus Calling - Nov 18, 2013

False "Jesus" flatters in Jesus Calling - Dec 14, 2013

Deceptive nature of demons, Jesus Calling - Dec 30, 2014

Jesus Calling: An overactive imagination....or a demon? - Dec 31, 2014

The demonic "voice" of Jesus Calling, friends don't let friends read Jesus Calling - Mar 11, 2015

Jesus Calling, occultic practice of Automatic Writing - Mar 11, 2015

Jesus's mission - Mar 12, 2015

The "voice" of the "Jesus" in Jesus Calling vs. the "voice" of the Jesus of the Bible - Mar 13, 2015

Responding Biblically To The LGBT Agenda

2015-03-01T08:00:00.000-05:00

Posted by Christine Pack

A recent Christian conference entitled "The Bible and Homosexuality" addressed the LGBT agenda, including how Christians should respond to the issue of homosexuality in today's culture. This conference was held at Truth Community Church in Cincinnati, OH, July of 2015. I can't recommend this series enough. The sessions include:

(1) Refuting 5 Myths About Homosexuality
(2) Why Is Homosexuality Wrong?
(3) Scripture, Shellfish and Homosexual Sin
(4) Addressing The Heart of Same Sex Attraction
(5) The Future of the Church and Homosexuality

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

■ Former transgender (now born again Christian) gives testimony (Diamond Dee)

■ Bruce Jenner Believes A Lie - James White discusses Bruce Jenner's decision to have surgery on himself in an attempt to turn himself into a woman. Bruce Jenner, a former Olympic athlete, is now famous for something else: being the "face" of today's wildly popular transgender movement. "Transgender," you see, is the sanitized, media-friendly term for the surgical procedures that a person willingly chooses to go through in an attempt to change gender. Dr. White rightly points out that this process is really self mutilation. In short, Bruce Jenner is believing a lie. This program is sad to listen to, but my prayer is that those struggling with sexual orientation will first of all read what the Bible has to say about sin, and read about God's holy nature, and then will repent and believe on Christ's atoning sacrifice. When this happens, a person is given a new heart ❤→❤ and new desires, to the great praise and glory of a merciful God who saves, and transforms, lost sinners. (Dr James White, Alpha and Omega Ministries)

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, all things have become new." (2 Cor 5:17)

■ James White On Same-Sex Marriage and the LGBT Agenda - This link is to another interview with Dr James White. This interview, which kicked off the (rebooted) Iron Sharpens Iron show, is a sobering look at same-sex marriage, the current climate and the relentless push by the LGBT to normalize all gender issues. Show host Chris Arnzen and Dr White also get into other general discussion about the LGBT agenda and how Christians should respond to it, and how we should also start thinking about the future. (Chris Arnzen with Dr James White, Iron Sharpens Iron)

■ Gay Christianity Refuted - Here is a link to a 2-part show by Dr. James White which addresses the claims made by an attractive and articulate homosexual young man named Matthew Vines. For those who don't know who he is, Vines claims to be both unrepentantly homosexual and Christian. (Dr James White, Alpha and Omega Ministries)

■ A Believing Response To Matthew Vines' 40 Questions - This is James White's kind and thoroughly biblical response to an article entitled 40 Questions For Christians Who Oppose Marriage Equality, by Matthew Vines. Vines is a professing Christian who is unrepentantly homosexual who believes that he can harmonize his homosexual lifestyle with Christianity. (Dr James White, Alpha and Omega Ministries)

■ Which Way, Evangelicals? There is Nowhere to Hide and New OSHA Regulations Christians Need To Be Aware Of (Dr Al Mohler)

■ How to Survive A Cultural Crisis - This is a great article for retraining our thinking to be more biblical, and contains the following points: (1) Understand that persecution is normal for Christians, and (2) Eschew utopianism and too much of a trust in Christian activism. And if there's anyone who is aware of the dangers of trusting too heavily in Christian activism, it is Mark Dever, located as he is, in our nation's capitol. (Mark Dever, Capitol Hill Baptist Church)

■ Responding To The Homosexualizing of America (Ray Comfort, Living Waters)

■ Answering the Tough Questions Asked by Homosexuals (Dr Michael Brown)

■ How Should A Christian Live In A Culture Given Over To A Depraved Mind? (Sola Sisters)

■ True Christians Don't Hate Homosexuals (Adam4d)

■ Does The Bible Approve of Homosexuality? (Answers In Genesis)

■ How Can Homosexuality Be Wrong If It Doesn't Harm Anyone? (The Gospel Coalition)

■ Interview with Christian Bakery Owners Who Were Sued For Not Making a Wedding Cake For a Same Sex Marriage (The Church Boys)

■ A Christian Response When Homosexuals Throw Leviticus at You (Junction City)

■ TransNorway - Sexualizing Children / Training Children To Reject The Genders They Were Born With [WARNING: Graphic images and explicit language]

Former Homosexuals / Transgenders Find Forgiveness, Deliverance From Former Lifestyle

■ Former Lesbian Activist Professor Finds God, Leaves Her Former Lifestyle (Rosaria Butterfield, The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert)

■ Former Transsexual Walt Heyer Warns Bruce Jenner That Regret Is Coming (Breitbart)

■ Jesus Christ Saved Me From 27 Years of Homosexuality (David Upton, I'll Be Honest blog)

■ Transgender Realizes He Made A Mistake, Gives His Testimony

Scientific Evidence That There Is No "Gay Gene"

Excerpt from the article: Are Homosexual People Really Born Gay?

“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.” – Joseph Goebbels........Since the early 1970s, homosexual people have increasingly claimed that they were “born gay” and that, therefore, they could not change even if they wanted to. In the gay community itself more than 90% of gays now believe genes are a significant factor in their orientation—a ten-fold increase in fifty years (1). By repeating this claim over and over again for decades now, they have managed to win over a large percentage of heterosexual “believers” to their cause, without any substantial basis in fact to validate the claim that they were “born that way.”

The Latest In Scientific Research: There Is Not Gay Gene

Eight Major Identical Twin Studies Prove Homosexuality Is Not Genetic

The Genetics of Same Sex Attraction

Homosexuals Are Not Born That Way

Documentation of the Depravity / Hopelessness of the Homosexual Lifestyle
[WARNING: Graphic images and explicit language]

■ The Medical Consequences of the Homosexual Lifestyle (DC Clothesline)

■ Brought to You by Walmart: New York City ‘Gay Pride’ Parade Exposes Kids to Nudity, Lewdness, Vulgarity, even an Sado/Masochism Float (Americans For Truth About Homosexuality)

■ The Transgender Con? Many “Transgender” People Regret Switch - This link is to an article that exposes the high suicide rate among transgenders, a topic which is rarely mentioned in the liberal media, but is nonetheless true. (The New American)

Strong Warning About the IF: Gathering Conferences

2015-02-20T11:13:00.000-05:00

Posted by Christine Pack

The very popular IF: Gathering franchise is a Christian women's conference that teaches to solid out crowds across the nation. The speakers are often very gifted in speaking, and very artfully share about their "messy" lives and their Christian walks ("transparent" and "messy" and "broken" are terms that are used over and over). The Feb 2015 conference was held in Austin, TX, and featured Jen Hatmaker, Ann Voskamp, Christine Caine, Lauren Chandler, and others. The IF: Gatherings feature several women that we have actively warned about in the past:

▪ Christine Caine

▪ Ann Voskamp

But there's a new kid in town. Her name is Jen Hatmaker, and she is taking the evangelical world by storm, at least among Christian women. consider the following:

➤Ann Voskamp's Facebook wall has 292,000 followers

➤Christine Caine's Facebook has almost 375,000 followers

➤But Jen Hatmaker's Facebook account clocks in at a very respectable 340,000 followers

Jenn Hatmaker's Article on Same Sex Marriage

Who is Jen Hatmaker? I've just started looking at her myself, but already, I'm seeing typical emergent double-speak for "I reject the authority of God's word and bend with the culture." But don't take my word for it. Read Hatmaker's recent article on the homosexuality/same-sex marriage issue for yourself - "World Vision, Gay Marriage, and a Different Way Through"

Excerpts:

Here we are again, stumbling through another ancillary brawl regarding gay marriage. If you missed it yesterday, Rich Stearns, CEO of World Vision, a Christian humanitarian organization "dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice," announced a policy change to allow employees in same-sex marriages to be eligible for employment.

(T)he Christian community is not going to reach consensus on gay marriage. Every article, regardless of its position for or against, is the same. The support arguments; same. The rebuttals; same. The circular thinking; same. The responses are fully predictable, the language identical, the interpretations immovable, and after all the energy expended, we discover we are at the same impasse.

This is a fact: Thousands of churches and millions of Christ-followers faithfully read the Scriptures and with thoughtful and academic work come to different conclusions on homosexuality (and countless others). Godly, respectable leaders have exegeted the Bible and there is absolutely not unanimity on its interpretation. There never has been. Historically, Christian theology has always been contextually bound and often inconsistent with itself; an inconvenient truth we prefer to selectively explain.

But regardless of theological bullying, there has never been "one way" to interpret scripture. There has never been "one way" to be a biblical church. Even the early church leaders had severe and lasting disagreements about the nature of God, the Holy Spirit, Jesus, Salvation, Faith, Works, etc.

Consensus is impossible here. So we go to the next level: how do we deal with explosive issues like gay marriage without destroying people, specifically involving this World Vision announcement?

Our Response to the Above Comments Made by Hatmaker

Hatmaker is trying to have it both ways.

- She claims (wrongly) that the Bible hasn't spoken clearly and authoritatively on the issue of homosexuality (Mar 2014 blog post); but then

- She says she personally affirms the traditional (biblical) view of marriage (Apr 2014 blog post).

Jen Hatmaker:

"(T)he Christian community is not going to reach consensus on gay marriage." (Mar 2014 blogpost)

I beg to differ. There are not different positions on homosexuality, as far as Christians are considered: there is one position. The Christian community, the true, Bible-believing Christian community, HAS reached consensus on gay marriage, and that is that it is an abomination in God's eyes.

God is the One who created marriage, so He is the One who gets to define what marriage is. It is not cultures and the shifting whims of new generations who come along who get to determine what marriage is. It's already been defined for us by God.

Other Issues of Concern

Consider also Jenn Hatmaker's unabashed admiration for the Roman Catholic Pope.

Here are our Facebook posts discussing Jenn Hatmaker:

Discussion re: IF: Gathering and Hatmaker 2/15/15

Discussion re: Hatmaker and Homosexuality 2/16/15

More discussion re: Hatmaker and Homosexuality 2/21/15

Additional Resources

Responding Biblically to the Homosexual Agenda (Pastor Don Green, Truth Community Church)

Rosaria Butterfield: Homosexuality and the Christian Faith (Butterfield is a former lesbian)

Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts: A Christianized Version of "Sexytime" with Ghosts?

Romantic Panentheism: A review of Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts (Bob DeWaay)

A Commentary on Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts (Marcia Montenegro)

Ann Voskamp: Mystical Estrogen (Fighting For The Faith)

Hollywood Actors Give Voice To Nature in Anti-Human Video Series

2015-02-17T12:26:00.001-05:00

Posted by Christine Pack

"They exchanged God’s truth for a lie and worshipped and served the creation rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen." (Romans 1:25)

Conservation International recently released a video series (entitled Nature Is Speaking) designed to promote environmental awareness, but which also contains a strong "anti-human" bias. The series features the voices of Julia Roberts, Harrison Ford, Penelope Cruz, Edward Norton, and others. Listen as Julia Roberts narrates Part 1, as a "Mother Nature" who is self aware, has cognitive function, transcends mankind and can communicate. In other words, a form of Deity.

"Mother Nature" (as voiced by Julia Roberts):

"I've been here for eons. I have fed species greater than you. And I have starved species greater than you. MY oceans. MY soil. MY flowing streams. MY forests. They all can take you or leave you."

I'm a former hard-core, Militant Eco-Greenie, so I know this worldview that these actors are giving voice to from the inside. But these are scary videos!

And here is Harrison Ford, in Part 2, as "The Ocean":

"Humans? They're no different (from any other creature on the earth). I don't owe them a thing. I give. They take. But I can always take back. That's the way it's always been. It's not their planet anyway. Never was, never will be. But humans, they take more than their share.........I'm only going to say this once, if nature isn't kept healthy, humans won't survive."

This worldview, in which God-like characteristics are ascribed to nature, is in distinct contrast to the biblical worldview that our world, and nature, exist and are sustained by our sovereign creator God, and that He alone is the one who ensures that our planet continues. Yes, Christians should not pollute, and should be good stewards of the earth on which they live, but ultimately, it is God who ordains how long this earth will be in existence.

And again, note that the created thing in question here ("The Ocean") is Deified as a transcendent being who is self aware, has cognitive function, and can communicate.

There is a disdain for man that can clearly be heard in these videos. This is in distinct contrast to the biblical view of man, which is that he was made in the image of God, and is endowed with characteristics which animals do not possess, such as imagination, creativity, and spiritual longing. This last characteristic, when not properly fulfilled by knowing and worshiping the Creator, the God of the Bible, will be manifest in one way or another. Humans will worship, and in the end they will either properly worship God, or they will worship lesser things (idols), worship from which they will ultimately never derive happiness and fulfillment. When man rejects God, and chooses instead to worship lesser things, these lesser things can take many forms: nature (as shown in these videos), but also themselves, power, money, pleasure, food, nature, sex, etc., etc. The creative, God-given mind, when not properly submitted to God, will find endless things to pursue and worship.

"Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.'" (Genesis 1:26)

"When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?" (Psalm 8:3-4)

Our children need to understand that when they go into the world, the worldview presented in these videos is the predominant worldview. It's pantheism. Teach them how to strike down worldly wisdom raised up on opposition to God with spiritual, not carnal, weapons (2 Cor 10:5). Train them to explain to the lost that this earth is not our home (Heb 13:14), that God alone numbers our days (Psalm 139:16), and that heavens and the earth will one day pass away, but that God's word will never pass away (Matt 24:35).

God, not Mother Nature, is the Deity who presides over human beings, the earth, our solar system, and the entire universe. He alone causes it, all of it, to hold together, and to exist.

"He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." (Col 1:17)

"For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind." (Isaiah 65:17)

And even more than these truths about the impermanence of this world we live in now, the lost need to be given the life-giving truth of salvation, through repentance and faith in Jesus, and his atoning work done on the Cross on behalf of sinners.

I'm writing this not as one who disdains and looks down on the lost who hold these views, but as a former Militant Eco-Greenie. I was sold out for years to this worldview of nature worship, in which creation is Deified. I was sold out, that is, until someone took the time to patiently share Christ with me. And only then was I able to exchange the worship of created things for the worship of the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

(HT: Marsha West)

Additional Resources

A Graphic Illustration of the Gospel

Pastor Matthew Trewhella: "Tyrannicide - To Kill A Tyrant"

2015-02-13T19:48:00.002-05:00

Posted by Christine Pack

Justin Edwards of airō website has just recently published an excellent article entitled Christian Submission vs Belligerent Discontentment Before Civil Authorities. The article is about Theonomist Matthew Trewhella, and his views on how Christians should live under tyranny. As a side note, Theonomy as a movement within Christendom continues to gather steam and roll along, so I'm glad we have a few Christian men today who are aware of it, and are willing to publicly oppose their views. Here is an excerpt from Justin's article:

"(From Matthew Trewhella's) sermon titled, Tyranicide – To Kill a Tyrant, Trewhella states around minute 24:

'Everyone innately knows that it’s an honest and just thing to depose a tyrant…everyone knows it’s a just and noble thing to do, except of course the effeminate, the culture in which we have in this nation now after much conditioning by the media in our country, and the government schools. And also it doesn’t make no [sic] sense to your average butt-faced Christian who’s been raised in American 20th century Christianity, now 21st century Christianity, because they have no idea '[sarcasm] how could killing, how can anything other than love, have anything to do with God?” Right? Am I right? Of course I’m right. It’s the state of Christianity we live in. But anyone who hasn’t been ruined by those two things – rotten American Christianity or American culture…knows perfectly well it’s honorable and just to kill a tyrant.''"

Contrast Trewhella's view that it is "biblical" and "dutiful" for citizens to assassinate tyrannical kings with:

▪ Daniel, who faithfully served under tyrannical king Nebuchadnezzar, who so valued Daniel that he sought his counsel and honored him (Daniel 2:46-49, Daniel 4:18), and

▪ Mordecai, who faithfully served under tyrannical king Ahasuerus, to the point of warning Ahasuerus about an assassination attempt that Mordecai overheard being plotted against the king (Esther 2:21-23), rather than joining in on the assassination plotting/attempt (as Trewhella counsels)

Wouldn't this be the equivalent of a Christian today serving under our own "tyrannical king" in the form of President Obama? Can we even imagine a Christian of today serving under Obama with such respect and kindness toward him that President Obama knew that this person genuinely cared for him, and knew that he (Obama) could seek him out for wise counsel?

After one of Nebuchadnezzar's dream, which he went to Daniel for interpretation for, Daniel said to wicked king, whom he obviously cared for, that he wished this dream would happen to those opposed to the king, rather than to the king. He genuinely cared for King Nebuchadnezzar......and King Nebuchadnezzar knew it.

Daniel 4:19 - "Daniel, whose name is Belteshazzar, was appalled for a while (after the king told him his dream) as his thoughts alarmed him. The king responded and said, ‘Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its interpretation alarm you.’ Belteshazzar replied, ‘My lord, if only the dream applied to those who hate you and its interpretation to your adversaries!’"

I hear a lot of disdain from politically involved Christians today toward President Obama. Don't get me wrong: I'm a Republican and very conservative and I oppose basically everything that Obama does. But he IS the king/president who has been ordained by God to rule over us, and aren't we commanded to show him respect as our ruler? And above and beyond that, aren't we biblically bound to care for him as a human being who is made in the image of God?

I'm saying all this to express what I am coming to understand about how it is that Christians should live with respect to others. Should we disdain and hate them and talk unkindly about them, like so many do about President Obama? and about Muslims? Or should we live so kindly and peaceably with them and among them that they really do see something in us that is different from the self-seeking and self-gratification that they see in so many others? and they know they can seek us out for truth, integrity and wise counsel (as Nebuchadnezzar did with Daniel, and Ahasuerus did with Mordecai)?

I'll close with one last thought: how do Theonomists reconcile their views with Romans 13, which the Apostle Paul penned while living under the reign of wicked King Nero? a king so wicked and so malevolent toward Christians that he would impale them on stakes, and then line the roads into Rome with them, and set them on fire. This was to show the world what he thought of Christians and how he intended to treat them. But did the Apostle Paul advocate the assassination of King Nero? No. Consider instead that he wrote Romans 13:

"Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed." (Romans 13:1-7)

Here is a recent Facebook discussion on this topic (2-10-15)

Note that in the Facebook discussion above, Pastor Trewhella claimed that his sermon did not "properly convey" what he wanted to say, and that he would never "go around encouraging people to kill government officials."

In response to this statement by Pastor Trewhella, Pastor Phil Johnson of GTY responded thusly:

"Mr. Trewhella's statement 'It’s time for men in this nation to raise up and start killing some tyrants. Plain and simple--' is hardly an insignificant slip of the tongue. It's nice that he's sorry he said it, but it raises a fair question about his fitness for public ministry. And putting a short disclaimer in a 50-comment thread on someone else's FaceBook page hardly fixes the problem. Back in the 1990s......a theonomic Presbyterian (PCA and OPC ordained) minister named Paul Hill was using similar arguments and spouting similar rhetoric specifically with regard to government protection of abortion providers. His life story would be an instructive read for anyone inclined to give credence to Mr. Trewhella's grandiloquence. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Jennings_Hill

I'm also curious about Pastor Trewhella's claim that his statement was misconstrued, and that he would never advocate for tyrannical rulers to be assassinated. If this is the case, what then, did he mean? Consider the following:

If Matricide means to kill your mother, and
If Patricide means to kill your father, and
If Infanticide means to kill your infant,
What does Tyrannicide mean?

Additional Resources

The Fault Lines of Christian Reconstructionism/Theonomy (Sola Sisters)

The Law of God, Theonomy, and Pacifism (Justin Edwards, airō website)

Brother's Keeper.....Some of the Problems With Theonomists (Fred Butler, Hip and Thigh)

Judicial Warfare: The Christian Reconstruction Movement and its Blueprints for Dominion (critique by former Christian Reconstructionist Greg Loren Durand)

Theonomy: A Reformed Baptist Assessment (Sam Waldron)

What Is Dominionism? (Derek Gilbert interviews Sarah Leslie of Herescope, beginning at 1:08:00 mark)

A Biblical Examination of the Dominion Mandate and the Christian Reconstruction Movement (Bob DeWaay)

Moses' Law for Modern Government: The Intellectual and Sociological Origins of the Christian Reconstructionist Movement (Ligon Duncan)

Christian Reconstructionist Leader Doug Phillips of Vision Forum Resigns, Cites Moral Failure [UPDATED]

Doug Phillips, Repentance and Justice (Sola Sisters)

Hall of Shame: Doug Phillips and Vision Forum (Mennoknight)

Rethinking Vision Forum (website)

How God Saves Us In Christ (And Why Legalism Can't Help Us) (Pastor Jeff Crippen)

Why The Law Cannot Sanctify (Romans 7:5-6) (Pastor Kevin Williams)

Facebook Discussions Re: Christian Reconstruction, Theonomy, Patriarchy, Quiverfull, Bill Gothard, the Duggars

Bill Gothard discussion - 7-2-12

Quiverfull / Duggars discussion - 9-21-14

Quiverfull / Patriarchy discussion - 9-24-14

Christian Reconstruction / Theonomy / Quiverfull / Patriarchy discussion - 10-19-14

Secular Articles About Patriarchy/Quiverfull

When Having Kids Is A Religious Experience (ABC News)

Quiverfull: More Children For God's Army (Newsweek writer Kathryn Joyce)

Inside the Duggar Family's Conservative Ideology (Newsweek, Kathryn Joyce)

Miscellaneous Resources

What Is The New Apostolic Reformation? (And Why Should We Be Concerned About It?)

Signs and Wonders Training Camp for Kids? (Stand Up For The Truth)

A Tale of Two Kingdoms (Stand Up For The Truth)

Pastor Carl Trueman: Concerns With Quiverfull/Patriarchy (Sola Sisters)

In-Depth Discussions of Patriarchy with Author and Christian Researcher Karen Campbell:

⁃ Quiverfull/Patriarchy, Part I (9 radio programs)

⁃ Quiverfull Patriarchy, Part II (14 radio programs)

⁃ Militant Fecundity (Aggressively Raising Up A "Christian Army") vs. Seeing Children As A Blessing (4 radio programs)

What Are The Quiverfull and Patriarchy Movements? (Got Questions?)

Christians and Conspiracy Theories: Witnessing, Romans 1 and An Appeal (Part 4)

2015-02-10T17:41:00.000-05:00

Posted by Christine Pack and Cathy Mathews

In the past few days, we've written extensively about Christians and the conspiracy theories, and the wisdom of such a focus. We want to make it clear that just because biblical history records conspiracies doesn't mean that as believers we should study conspiracies. There is plenty of evil in the world that is plain, that we already know of, that we should address. We don't need to decode Katy Perry's or Madonna's or Beyonce's song lyrics according to some conspiracy theory website in order to determine that they are wicked and promoting a wicked lifestyle. It's plain to see from what they have recorded and how they live.

With this is mind, please consider the following two examples for witnessing to the lost:

THE BIBLICAL WAY:

Christian to a lost person: "Did you notice what Katy Perry was singing about in the half-time show? Her lyrics encourage out-of-wedlock sex and homosexuality. God teaches that fidelity in marriage is a blessing and that homosexuality is a sin in his eyes, let me show you.

Lost person: It does? Okay, can you show me that?

contrasted with......

THE CONSPIRACY THEORIST'S WAY:

Christian to a lost person: Did you watch Katy Perry's Super Bowl performance? First of all, she's the woman who rides the beast from Revelation 17. And about that costume, did you notice....(insert four thousand more words here on the costumes, symbols and hand signals of the half-time show)."

Lost person: Zzzzzzzz (asleep)

Romans 1 and Suppressing The Truth In Unrighteousness

The Bible is all we need in terms of understanding why the lost are enslaved to Satan. Romans 1 stands in stark contrast to the claims of conspiracy theorists on how people become enslaved to sin, which is that these symbols, or hand signals, or corporate logos, or whatever, somehow "condition" people to accept Satan's schemes. But this is simply not true. When unconverted people stand before God at their judgment, God will not say:

"You were under Satan's spell because you looked at a symbol. It was a Satanic symbol, but because you didn't take the time to study symbols, and therefore identify one correctly, you were put into bondage under Satan."

Nor will He say:

"Remember that ad you saw in the magazine that time. Well, it had an embedded Satanic message that your subconscious mind saw, and this ensnared you in Satan's trap. Too bad there was nobody schooled in 'visual literacy' that could have pointed this out to you." ('Visual literacy' is a term that was used by a recent commenter to explain why Christians need to study symbols for occult meaning, and warn others about them.)

No....but what God will say is something like this:

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen." (Romans 1:18-25)

They will be condemned because although God makes His existence self-evident and plain to men, they suppress this truth in unrighteousness.

Men love their sin.

This is what binds men to Satan.

Men are not ensnared unknowingly and unwillingly through subliminal messages or imbedded symbols, but are enslaved knowingly and willingly through denying the clear evidence of their Creator and refusing to honor Him as God or give Him thanks. They refuse to come to Him on the terms He has given (faith in His Son Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins).

That's it. And that is God's own prescription for what enslaves people.

God's Children Marked By Love

Given that America has increasingly cast off moral restraint, no-one is denying that there are almost certainly darker times ahead for believers. We're just discouraging the fearmongering websites that cause believers to become, in our experience, angry, paranoid, panicky and mean-spirited when biblically challenged about the wisdom of looking at conspiracy websites. We're not saying all those who frequent conspiracy websites are this way. But Christians are told by God that they WILL be marked by love. Well, many of the conspiracy theorists who have come onto our Facebook wall to debate this in the past few days have been mean, foul-mouthed, unkind, panicky and angry. Those are not the fruits of the Spirit.

A Final Appeal

Let me close with a direct appeal to our friends, the conspiracy theorists: please understand that our desire really is to see Christians who are caught up in conspiratorial thinking to become free from this snare. Because even if it's ALL true, every bit of it, so what? What are you going to do with all this information that you get from your conspiracy websites? Are you going to storm the doors and demand answers? They shoot people at the White House for that. You know that, right? What about the resorts where the world leaders are (allegedly) meeting to conspire evil? You can't get in there, those are gated communities, and even if you could, what would you do? Pass out You Might Be An Illuminati Member If..... pamphlets? They'd cart you off and lock you up in a padded cell.

I mean honestly, what is the point of looking at this stuff, and supposedly "educating yourself" on it all? What is the end-game for it?

What lost people need is not a dissertation on evil. They need Christ. They need the gospel message. They need to be helped to understand what sin is, and then told that they need to repent and believe on Christ for the forgiveness of sins.

Let's keep our eyes on the Christ, and make sure we're keeping our hearts pure, and making sure our time is being wisely spent on the study of the Scriptures, and not in hours of time spent poring over conspiracy websites. Let us strive to remember that this increasingly dark world is not our home, but that we can entrust whatever wickedness is here to the LORD. May we continue to preach Jesus Christ and him crucified. And when souls are saved through the preaching of the gospel, those new believers WILL leave behind the trappings of the world of their own accord, because He who has begun a good work in them will bring it to completion, will He not?

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Tim 3:16-17)

"Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." (Phil 4:8)

"But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." (1 Peter 3:15)

"The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day." (Prov 4:18)

* * * * * * * *

The rest of this series can be read here:

PART 1 - Christians and Conspiracy Theories (Katy Perry, the 2015 Super Bowl halftime performances, Now The End Begins website)

PART 2 - Christians and Conspiracy Theories (Madonna, the 2015 Grammys)

PART 3 - Conspiracy Theories: Dark Times, Truth, Lies and Where Christians Should Put Their Focus

PART 5 - Christians and Conspiracy Theories: A Biblical Response (CONCLUSION)

Additional Resources

Conspiracy Theories Are Bunk (Dr R Scott Clark, Heidelblog)

The Christian and Conspiracy Theories (Ken Samples, Issues Etc.)

David Rockefeller, the New World Order, and the Necessity of Verifying Internet Quotes (Nick Peters)

Why Creation Ministries International Rejects ‘Conspiracy’ Theorizing (Drs Robert Carter and Jonathan Sarfati, Creation Ministries International)

Christians and Conspiracy Theories: A Biblical Response (Part 5 - Conclusion)

2015-02-10T12:05:00.000-05:00

Posted by Christine Pack and Cathy Mathews

Read the rest of our series here:

PART 1 - Christians and Conspiracy Theories (Katy Perry, the 2015 Super Bowl halftime performances, Now The End Begins website)

PART 2 - Christians and Conspiracy Theories (Madonna, the 2015 Grammys)

PART 3 - Christians and Conspiracy Theories (Dark Times, Truth, Lies and Where Christians Should Put Their Focus)

PART 4 - Christians and Conspiracy Theories: Witnessing, Romans 1 and An Appeal

We understand that there are conspiracy theory ministries who are doing what they think is right, and that, for them, that involves decoding conspiracies and showing Christians that symbols are spiritually compromising them and indoctrinating their children into evil.

We are equally passionately about our position, which we believe is the biblical one. We believe we fight this spiritual battle first and foremost by contending for truth (Jude 1:3) and by contending against arguments and vain speculations raised up in opposition to the Lord.

We also believe it is important to warn Christians against putting undue focus on things we're not commanded to. Scriptures by which we are constrained in this area are Ephesians 6:17, Colossians 2:8 and 2 Corinthians 10:3-5:

"Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." (Ephesians 6:17)

"See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ." (Colossians 2:8)

"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ." (2 Cor 10:3-5)

In contrast to those who believe that evil symbols have inherent power to spiritually compromise people, we believe that the Bible is clear that it is ideologies that are transmitted through words which ensnare and spiritually compromise people. Simply put, ours is a battle of ideas and truth claims.

We're not doubting or minimizing the cunning and guile of the devil. We're not saying that evil doesn't exist, and that Satan isn't real. We affirm that evil exists, and that Satan is real, and that he prowls around the earth, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8).

We don't deny that symbols exist. We don't deny that symbols mean certain things to certain people. But just as we cannot know why someone might wear a cross without asking them, we cannot know why they are wearing a different symbol unless we ask them. So instead of spending hours researching the possible meanings, one can simply ask. The meaning of symbols change over time and therefore aren't a fixed reference. What a person believes, confesses, and lives out is what matters. Symbols have no inherent power. Period.

Satan doesn't work his evil through symbols. He works his evil through ideas that are conveyed with words. You don't witness to a lost person ensnared in evil by giving them a dissertation on symbols and the Illuminati. Neither will you find any model or command for that anywhere in scripture. You convey to them, with words, the truth of Jesus Christ and him crucified for the forgiveness of sins.

And when a person is saved, they will leave their wickedness behind on their own accord, in the same way that as a new believer, I (Christine) gathered up 3 garbage bags full of occult materials that I had in my house and destroyed them. I didn't destroy them because they had inherent power, but because they were part of a life that belonged to a person I no longer was. I was born again, with new beliefs, and new desires. The old was gone, and the new had come.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" (2 Cor 5:17)

We urge Christians not to waste time researching symbols and their supposed connections to (alleged) secret societies on fearmongering conspiracy websites that are sensationalistic and only feed the flesh, only to reach conclusions that are already explicitly stated in scripture: people are born wicked and are in the kingdom of darkness and are the children of Satan and enslaved to him and to sin. They will remain in this state until they hear the gospel and are converted and transferred into the Kingdom of light. And when souls are saved, those new believers will leave behind the trappings of the world of their own accord.

Ours is not a battle of flesh and blood, but of truth, ideological truth, which we must use words to communicate. Simply put, we preach Jesus Christ and him crucified for the forgiveness of sins, and this for the salvation of souls, and to the glory of God.

Additional Resources

Conspiracy Theories Are Bunk (Dr R Scott Clark, Heidelblog)

The Christian and Conspiracy Theories (Ken Samples, Issues Etc.)

David Rockefeller, the New World Order, and the Necessity of Verifying Internet Quotes (Nick Peters)

Why Creation Ministries International Rejects ‘Conspiracy’ Theorizing (Drs Robert Carter and Jonathan Sarfati, Creation Ministries International)

Facebook Discussions

Symbols and conspiracy theories, and the proper place for them in the Christian walk (9-30-13)

Conspiracy theory films (12-2-13)

Conspiracy theories and the Christian (12-31-13)

Warning about Now The End Begins conspiracy website (2-2-15)

Christians and conspiracy theories, the New Age, Jesuits, Illuminati (2-4-15)

Christians and conspiracy theories, Madonna, Katy Perry, symbols and conspiracy theories (2-4-15)

Christians and conspiracy theories, 2015 Grammys (2-9-15)

Christians and Conspiracy Theories (Part 2)

2015-02-09T14:00:00.002-05:00

Posted by Sola Sisters

Madonna at the 2015 Grammys

Just when the folks who might have a tendency to be conspiracy minded settled down after the Super Bowl performances, Madonna got "kind of Satanic" a few weeks later at the Grammys by dancing with "a bunch of masked, horned bull-men," according to the on-site MTV reporter. And the conspiracy thinking got another boost in the Christian realm, with articles about these things showing up regularly in my social media feed.

It's interesting to note that the above was reported in a tongue-in-cheek way by MTV, but this doesn't help the conspiracy theorists, whose ability to decode Illuminati conspiracies is very high, but their ability to decode cheeky commentary is apparently non-existent. (Conspiracy theory website Now The End Begins ran with the headline Madonna Dances Over Pit of Horned Demons at 2015 Grammys.)

In reality, Madonna gave a performance that featured a matador theme, and which included horn-hatted dancers who did look something like how we might imagine Satan's minions to look.

There were also other displays of demonic/Satanic imagery at the Grammys, including AC/DC singing "Highway To Hell," which the audience rocked out to while wearing glowy, devil horn hats. These devil hats were passed out to the crowd, who were encouraged to take them home as a keepsake. Sweet, huh?

But my friends, and my fellow Christians, this is not Illuminati indoctrination. This is just celebrities riding the wave of the culture. They love to shock and outdo each other and be outrageous. And besides, I've always had a theory about Madonna, who was raised Roman Catholic, that at heart (besides being a sinner in need of a Saviour), she's just a Catholic schoolgirl who wants to shock the nuns.

To be clear: there's no question about the fact that Madonna lives and promotes a wicked lifestyle. But no, she is not a high level member of the Illuminati.

As Christians, we should respond to the evil that we know of (which is readily known through the content of Madonna's songs and lifestyle), and "overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21).

Also, a note of caution: please do not see this as an opportunity to mock or ridicule Madonna. She is a lost person, living a wicked lifestyle, but at one time "such were some of you" (1 Cor 6:11). Pray for her. Pray for someone to have access to her who can give her the gospel.

The rest of this series is linked below:

PART 1 - Christians and Conspiracy Theories (Katy Perry, the 2015 Super Bowl halftime performances, Now The End Begins website)

PART 3 - Conspiracy Theories: Dark Times, Truth, Lies and Where Christians Should Put Their Focus

PART 4 - Christians and Conspiracy Theories: Witnessing, Romans 1 and An Appeal

PART 5 - CONCLUSION Christians and Conspiracy Theories: A Biblical Response

Conspiracy Theories: Dark Times, Truth, Lies and Where Christians Should Fix Their Focus (Part 3)

2015-02-09T13:54:00.001-05:00

Posted by Sola Sisters

Dark Times

Why do people become fixated on conspiracy theories? And what is going on with those Super Bowl and Grammys and MTV performances? It’s our view that Christians become fixated on conspiracy theories because they want to understand and better navigate the world, which is increasingly dark. But we contend that looking at conspiracy theories is a wrong focus, it’s time poorly spent. For some, the study of conspiracy theories becomes almost a gnostic kind of piety, to be the person who is in the know, the one who has broken the code. But this is pride, and not becoming to the Christian. What the LORD desires for us to know, He gives to us in his Word. We are the finite, created thing; we are not the Creator, and so it is not given to us to know all things.

“The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” (Deuteronomy 29:29)

Obviously, we are living in a wicked time, a time that is becoming more and more wicked with each passing year. Our culture is hyper-sexualized. Many thousands of babies are murdered every year by being aborted. There is rampant fornication and immorality and violence all around us. In short, our culture has cast off all moral restraint. There's not even a pretense of it anymore. And so, it is to be expected that the celebrities this immoral, hyper-sexualized, sensation-seeking culture chooses to build up and idolize will reflect those values (or lack of values). And they do. They sing songs with lyrics that celebrate wickedness, fornication and the latest cause du jour, normalized homosexuality. So should it really be any surprise that the performances of these celebrities at one of the most-viewed events of the year would be over the top in every way? That's what we know and can see plainly, and that's what we should be dealing with. We don't need to deconstruct costumes or hand signals in order to know that the lyrics of Katy Perry's songs are wicked. The lyrics celebrate bisexuality, and we don't need to do any code-cracking on a conspiracy website in order to know whether or not that's wrong. We can know it's wrong from God's word.

And as far as high-level, global conspiracies in the way that conspiracy theorists generally think of them, which interconnect the government, the pharmaceutical industry, the military, past and present world leaders, the banking industry, corporate heads, and even farmers? The very idea not only stretches the bounds of credulity, but it's just simply not possible. (Listen here to an in-depth discussion about conspiracy theories, and why they are not possible as they are commonly thought to exist.) Conspiracies, actual conspiracies, don’t hold together because of human frailty: fear, conscience, pride, etc. As Chuck Colson pointed out in his book “Born Again”, the Watergate conspiracy in which he was involved, an actual political conspiracy that occurred in the late 1970s, demonstrates that conspiracies fall apart or are exposed in relatively short order.

“Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world, and they couldn't keep a lie for three weeks.”

Truth, Lies and Where Christians Should Put Their Focus

In the 1980s, there was a widely circulated rumor that the CEO of Fortune 500 company Procter and Gamble had publicly stated he was donating a portion of Procter and Gamble's profits to the Church of Satan. This rumor took on a life of its own, and was widely repeated and whispered about for years. During this season of slander, the Procter and Gamble logo was also widely deconstructed for evidence revealing the company's (alleged) connection to the Church of Satan. But this rumor, which continues to surface every few years, is completely false. (This article discusses the $19 million dollar lawsuit won by Procter and Gamble against a competing company, Amway, for creating and spreading this falsehood.)

And to go a step further, from a Christian perspective, for Christians to repeat information such as this without verifying it, is to bear false witness (transgression of the 9th Commandment). As we say often here, truth is important, because God is the author of truth. Truth is important to God, and so it ought to be important to us. This means that we have an obligation to verify whether things that we repeat are true or not.

Yet studying symbols, deconstructing hand signs and poring over conspiracy theory sites which put out all manner of outrageous speculation, are a staple among conspiracy theorists. Just put "Illimuniti" into a Google search engine, and see what you get: 45 million stories in a split second (0.25 seconds, to be exact), that's what you get. That's a rabbit hole from which a person might never emerge. But is this where God wants us to put our focus and spend time?

A theory is just that: a theory, a guess, a speculation about something for which there is no proof. By contrast, truth is what we know to be true, and as Christians, we know that God is the author of truth, and also that truth is centered upon the person and work of Christ. Therefore, truth is important.

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” (John 14:6)

“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” (John 17:17)

“But the word of the Lord remains forever. And this word is the good news that was preached to you.” (1 Peter 1:25)

So what do conspiracy theories have to do with truth?

Yes, conspiracies, actual conspiracies and not theories, exist, and the Bible itself mentions conspiracies in several places. Lest we forget, there was a conspiracy to kill Jesus. But the conspiracies mentioned in scripture are only mentioned in passing, and nowhere are Christians exhorted to study them. Please take note of this distinction we’re making between conspiracies (real, mentioned briefly in passing in scripture) and conspiracy theories (speculated about, but not proven).

Where conspiracies are directly addressed in scripture, this is what we are told:

"For the Lord spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: 'Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.'" (Isaiah 8:11-13)

As the passage from Isaiah points out, the Lord of hosts, God, should be our focus.

The Gospel of Matthew also gives us an account of the disciple Peter stepping out of the storm-tossed boat and beginning to walk toward Christ on the water... until he began to sink after taking his eyes off Christ, and putting his focus on the wind which was whipping around him:

“Peter said to Him, ‘Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.’ And Jesus said, ‘Come!’ And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Him. But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?’ When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, ‘You are certainly God’s Son!’” (Matthew 14:28-32)

We also know that God is sovereign, and that nothing that is occurring around us is taking Him by surprise. We can trust Him. We can rest in Him. We belong to the One who knows the end from the beginning. God the Father will give us strength and peace in whatever trials may come. God the Son will give peace to those who abide in him. God the Spirit will give us a sense of peace and comfort.

God the Father - “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble.” (Psalm 46:1) “I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’” (Isaiah 46:10)

God the Son - “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:4-5)

God the Holy Spirit - “But the Comforter, who is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” (John 14:26) “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:29)

What is the fruit that God the Son references in the Gospel of John? It is not the fruit of studying conspiracy theories and explaining them. It is gospel fruit. It is the fruit that comes from sharing Christ with the lost, perhaps even those trying to deconstruct alleged conspiracies as they also attempt to make sense of this world? To those people, we can bring the light and the hope of a Saviour who gave his life “as a ransom for many.” And what is the rest for our souls that is referenced in the Gospel of Matthew? It is rest in knowing that our salvation is secure because of Christ, and that we look not to this world, but toward the world to come.

Conclusion Conclusion

Is there a balanced way for Christians to view conspiracy theories? The answer is yes, there is. Simply put, it involves first and foremost keeping our eyes fixed upon Christ, and then weighing actual evidence, and not just relying on anecdotal accounts or speculation or the first 10 websites provided by a Google search (or in the instance of an Illuminati Google search, the first 45 million websites). Of all people, Christians know that there is real evil in the world, and that we have a real Adversary, a real spiritual presence that is alive and well and active in the world today ("Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." 1 Peter 5:8). But, we also know that a sovereign Lord rules and reigns over all the affairs of man, and that what we are commanded to do is simple: keep our eyes fixed on Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith, contend for truth, love and serve our families and churches, and share the gospel.

The rest of this series is linked below:

PART 1 - Christians and Conspiracy Theories (Katy Perry, the 2015 Super Bowl halftime performances, Now The End Begins website)

PART 2 - Christians and Conspiracy Theories (Madonna, the 2015 Grammys)

PART 4 - Christians and Conspiracy Theories: Witnessing, Romans 1 and An Appeal

PART 5 - CONCLUSION Christians and Conspiracy Theories: A Biblical Response

Kingdom Now? Cultures Being Redeemed? No and no. (A Few Problems With Dominionism)

2015-02-08T18:35:00.004-05:00

Posted by Christine Pack

This article will (hopefully) expose how Dominionism, which is a view held by some Christians, often outworks itself in ways never prescribed by Scripture. Please note that there are often very varied beliefs among Christians who hold Dominionist views. For instance, not all Theonomists will be Christian Reconstructionists, not all Christian Reconstructionists will be Patriarchal, not all Patriarchals will be Quiverfull. However, what undergirds all of these movements or ideologies is their Dominionist worldview, and because of this, there is often a natural dovetailing of ideas between these groups and ideologies. The Dominionist view almost always flows out of the Postmillennial eschatalogical view. And whenever you've got your eschatology driving your Christian walk, you've got a problem.

* * * * * * *

Pastor Tim Keller, author of
Center Church

Kingdom Now ideology, which is a form of Dominionism, is also sometimes buried in concepts such as those taught by Tim Keller. Pastor Keller doesn't use straight up "Kingdom Now" language, but he does talk about "redeeming the culture." But as Christians we know that it is individual souls who are redeemed, not entire cultures.

Tim Keller is a contributor to the aggressively evolutionary think-tank BioLogos (you can read about that here in Ken Ham's article, Misrepresented By Leading Pastor). His "redeeming the culture" view, which has a strong social justice/social gospel slant is espoused in his book Center Church. His article Redemption and the City is excerpted from Center Church, and can be read here. And from the Cripplegate review of Center Church:

"Throughout large portions of (Center Church).......Keller is evaluating positions and approaches to the culture. (Keller) believes that the mission of the church must be balanced between the great commission and (a) cultural mandate to advance human flourishing."

"The mandate (given to the church) is about being witnesses, testifying to the resurrection. The mandate of the church is about testifying to the gospel until He returns (Keller agrees). The mandate of the church is exclusively about testifying and not about establishing ‘shalom’ or cultural renewal in some sort of kingdom sense (Keller doesn’t agree). After receiving the commission to witness, the apostles remain undistracted......Instead of leading the church into cultural renewal, (the apostles) point to the only One who can restore the creation. The apostolic message is repent and believe so that Christ can come and reverse the curse placed on this earth."

"Peter preached that cultural renewal was a work of Christ by virtue of His imminent return as King. Keller, however, believes that our pursuit of cultural renewal, social justice, mercy ministry, and human betterment are based on the fact that Jesus created and redeemed body and spirit."

(Center Church and Common Grace, Cripplegate, my emphasis)

Here is also an interview by a friend of mine (Jonathan Cousar) about Tim Keller. Jonathan attended the church where Tim Keller preaches (Redeemer Presbyterian in NYC) for almost 20 years, and in this interview, he discusses Keller's views, and his attempts to talk about them with Keller.

Interview With A Long-Time Member of Redeemer Presbyterian

Here is one longish (but good) article by Sam Horn of Northland Baptist Bible College that addresses the problems with Tim Keller's "Redeeming the Culture" view.

An Assessment of and Response to Tim Keller’s Theology of the City

Here is a series of articles by Dr. Paul Elliott about Tim Keller's problematic views:

Tim Keller: Dangerously Influential (Part 1)

Tim Keller's Gutless Gospel (Part 2)

Tim Keller's False Gospel: Changing Both the Method and the Message (Part 3)

Tim Keller's False Gospel: A 'Sandwich' Made Without the Bread of Life (Part 4)

Tim Keller's False Gospel: A Point-By-Point Analysis (Part 5)

And here is the entire Cripplegate series of articles reviewing Tim Keller's Center Church:

Center Church: Summary and Contextualization

Center Church and Common Grace

Center Church and The True Church

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Theonomy / Kingdom Now / Dominionism

The Fault Lines of Christian Reconstructionism/Theonomy (Sola Sisters)

Christian Submission vs Belligerent Discontentment Before Civil Authorities (Justin Edwards, airo)

Brother's Keeper.....Some of the Problems With Theonomists (Fred Butler, Hip and Thigh)

What Is Kingdom Now? (Got Questions?)

What Is Dominionism? (Derek Gilbert interviews Sarah Leslie of Herescope, beginning at 1:08:00 mark)

Tim Keller

Tim Keller's Social Justice (Gospel Masquerade)

Tim Keller's Environmental Gospel (Gospel Masquerade)

Redeemer's Tim Keller and the Problems with Ignatius of Loyola (Sola Sisters)

Redeemer's Tim Keller Recommends Ignatius of Loyola? (Sola Sisters)

Ignatius of Loyola, an Examination of His Teachings (Pastor Gary Gilley)

Tim Keller's Redeemer Presbyterian Teaching Mysticism (Sola Sisters)

Pastor Tim Keller Recommends A Book By A Female "Pastor?" (Sola Sisters)

Fifty Shades of Grey? It's Really Just Black and White.

2015-02-08T15:10:00.001-05:00

Posted by Christine Pack

Christians should not read this book or see the movie.

The end.

* * * * * * * * *

"That you may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the middle of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom you shine as lights in the world." (Philippians 2:15)

"For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not children of the night or of the darkness." (1 Thessalonians 5:5)

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things." (Philippians 4:8)

"For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light." (Ephesians 5:8)

"Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us." (1 Peter 2:12)

Additional Resources

7 Lessons From 50 Shades of Grey (Helen Thorne, 2-2-15)

50 Shades of Porn (Tim Challies, 1-22-03)

A Plain Black Bible - No Shades of Grey (Seth Dunn)

Fifty Shades of No Way José (Michelle Lesley)

Fifty Shades of Grey and the Annihilation of Christian Women’s Innocence (Landon Chapman)

A Discussion About Fifty Shades of Grey (Janet Mefferd Show)

Christians and Conspiracy Theories (Part 1)

2015-02-02T17:26:00.000-05:00

Posted by Christine Pack

"For the Lord spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: 'Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.'" (Isaiah 8:11-13)

Yes, the world is wicked. And yes, a lot of that in-your-face wickedness was on display, both visually and lyrically, in many ways during the 2015 Super Bowl half-time show. But as Christians, we have an obligation before the watching world to be steady and wise and biblically grounded in our thinking.

Take for example, an article from the conspiracy-focused website called Now The End Begins, entitled: Ex-Christian Katy Perry Promotes Dark Magic and LGBT Agenda at 2015 Super Bowl Halftime Show. This article, which claims that various performers in the 2015 Super Bowl half-time show were openly broadcasting the intentions of the Illuminati and the New World Order, has been popping up in my Facebook newsfeed all day, having been posted by fellow Christians. For those who have never heard those terms before, the Illuminati and the New World Order are believed to be organizations in which Satan's followers gather in secret to plan evil deeds, but they will occasionally come out into the open, it is believed, to broadcast Satan’s intentions to the world, which they do through various costumes and hand signals. Beyonce making a triangle with her fingers during a stage performance was one widely quoted example of this, and so was Madonna's half-time Super Bowl costume from a few years ago. What are these high level occultists supposed to be broadcasting? The code-breakers can't quite figure it out, but they insist that something evil is going on. From the article:

In the recent years the Super Bowl, almost always the highest-rated and most-watched television broadcast on the planet, has given over it’s famed Halftime Show to trumpet the cause of the New World Order and the Illuminati. And as referenced in our opening bible verse at the top of the story, the Illuminati knows that it is “their hour”, and they are defiantly out in the open. (online source)

But as Christian researcher Marcia Montenegro wrote a few years ago, symbols vary from culture to culture, and don't always mean the same things (read her article entitled Demystifying Symbols here).

These conspiracy sites are concerning for two reasons:

(1) They confuse and mislead Christians about what the occult is. The occult is not about symbols that are embedded in the landscape, and which must be decoded. It is not about tracking conspiracies like a bloodhound, and examining all the (supposedly) dropped-breadcrumb-clues of the Illuminati when they (supposedly) broadcast their intentions, and then unraveling the mystery about what wealthy industrialist knows what world leader, and what they were really (wink wink) doing together at that private resort. (What were they really doing? Planning chem-trail routes and other nefarious evils? No, they were drinking whisky, smoking cigars and comparing their golf scores. That's what they were doing.)

(2) While it is true that evil does exist on a rampant scale, we only need God's word, which is our standard for what is good and holy and righteous, to be able to understand what is wrong and unholy and unrighteous. We don't need to be unraveling conspiracies and trying to figure out if the wealthy elite of the world are getting together to conspire and scheme in smoke-filled rooms. We already know there is evil. We already understand that there is an evil force that is alive and well, and operating in the world, and it is Satan. And we know this from God's word, not from unraveling supposed conspiracies. But, as Christians, we know that truth and light overcome lies and darkness, and so let us take seriously our mandate to proclaim these truths to those taken captive by the world's system.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." (John 1:1-5)

As believers we know that Satan IS a real entity who prowls the earth seeking whom he may devour, and that he always has his willing agents from generation to generation. So it can be tricky coming to a biblical understanding of the right filter through which to see the world. Nonetheless, it's important for Christians to strive to think as biblically as possible in this area, as in all other areas, because not only will our Christians walks be strengthened, but we will become steadier and steadier as we continue to fix our eyes more and more upon Christ “the author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2).

To learn more about the conspiracy mindset, please read some of these Facebook threads in which we discuss the conspiratorial worldview, and why such thinking can so seriously hinder a Christian's walk.

Symbols and conspiracy theories (9-30-13)

Conspiracy theory films (12-2-13)

Conspiracy theories and the Christian (12-31-13)

Be cautious of those teaching a conspiratorial worldview (12-16-13)

King James Onlyism and how it is conspiratorial thinking (9-28-13)

King James Onlyism, Textus Receptus and Jesuit Change Agents.....oh my! (10-1-13)

photo credit: tempusfugate via photopin cc

The rest of this series is linked below:

PART 2 - Christians and Conspiracy Theories (Madonna, the 2015 Grammys)

PART 3 - Conspiracy Theories: Dark Times, Truth, Lies and Where Christians Should Put Their Focus

PART 4 - Christians and Conspiracy Theories: Witnessing, Romans 1 and An Appeal

PART 5 - CONCLUSION Christians and Conspiracy Theories: A Biblical Response

Bible Study Recommendations

2015-01-23T12:02:00.000-05:00

Posted by Christine Pack

photo credit: agent_mikejohnson via photopin cc

When I was newly saved, one of my new Christian friends told me: "Get into a Bible study, and when you are done, get into another one, and keep going." I asked her for how long, and she said, "The rest of your life." What great counsel this was! Learning about God takes a lifetime, and we can also study the Bible for years and years and years, and never fully plumb its depths. It is an amazing book, supernatural in wisdom and power and scope. So don't delay......roll up your sleeves, and get started today. With Amazon Prime (or even plain old Amazon), you can receive your new Bible study in just a few days. So here are my recommendations for getting started:

Precepts Bible Studies (Inductive)

I have learned so much in my Christian walk from doing Precepts studies. This verse by verse method of Bible study, also known as the Inductive Bible Study Method, is for both men and women. I like doing Precepts because I'm a visual learner, and this method forces you to slow down and take your time. I also like the marking up method used in Precepts (a Precepts marking card is shown, right). In fact, before I even discovered Precepts, I had developed my own sort of marking system. Now, after having done Precepts for so long, my system for marking is something of a combination of the Precepts method and my own marking system.

Kay Arthur is probably the most well-known of Precepts Bible teachers for women. I know that there are some concerns about Kay Arthur, and I share those concerns, but on the whole, the Precepts method itself is sound. This Bible study method majors on teaching Christians how to understand, interpret and apply scripture, verse by verse, chapter by chapter. You can't go wrong when you're sticking with straight Bible.

Precepts studies are available here.

Precepts studies for children are available here.

Precept Austin is available here. Precept Austin is an online resource for those using the precepts Bible study method.

Alistair Begg / Truth For Life

Alistair Begg is one of my favorite pastors to listen to. Perhaps it's his charming Scottish brogue that lulls me into thoughts of green meadows, bagpipes and tartan woolens. Nah, I think it's the way he preaches through God's word with such commitment and passion. His lessons are rich, and yet so accessible that my sons (11 and 13) can understand and take in what he's teaching. You can download or listen to Alistair Begg's sermons here.

R.C. Sproul / Ligonier

Dr. R.C. Sproul of Ligonier has also done an overview of the entire Bible, entitled "Dust to Glory" that I am working my way through now. It is excellent. You can begin listening to that series here. And Dr. Sproul, being a Presbyterian, is near and dear to my heart because my own father, who witnessed to me for ten years, is a Presbyterian (PCA) elder. Having grown up Presbyterian (though I no longer am), I have a soft spot for the Presbyterian church, even though it (like very denomination) has its issues. I still know every verse of the hymns I grew up singing at First Presbyterian in Marietta, GA. God bless the Presbys.

Systematic Theology

Don't be intimidated by the term "Systematic Theology." This form of Bible study is simply a way of organizing the Bible into categories in order to be able to study it in a systematic way. You can learn systematic theology through this teaching series by Pastor Ryan Habbena:

Intro and Theology Proper | Christology | Pneumatology | Bibliology | Soteriology, pt1 | Soteriology, pt2 | Soteriology, pt3 | Theories and Extent of the Atonement | Israel and the Church | Eschatology

Additional Resources

Fighter Verses (a scripture memory resource)

Seeds Family Worship: A Recommended Resource

Sons of Korah: A Recommended Resource

Shai Linne: A Recommended Resource

A Few Thoughts On Christian Music

Online Hymns Resources

Sermon Audio Hymns

The Hymnary

The OPC Online Hymnal

Psalms, and the LORD as Our Vindicator

2015-01-21T11:43:00.000-05:00

Posted by Christine Pack

Psalm 35 is one of my favorite Psalms, one I memorized during a particularly difficult trial, in which God was so faithful to me. He always hears and always answers the prayers of those who belong to Him.....always. He is always faithful to me, even in times when I have been distracted and forgetful, and have been a silly little sheep who wanders off. Because He is a loving Father, He will always go and fetch back the one who wanders, in the same way that an earthly parent will keep a watchful eye over his own children, and go after them when they wander (Luke 15:4).

Psalm 35 reveals that we can pray what might, on the surface, appear to be pretty ruthless prayers.

(Verses 4-6)
Let them be put to shame and dishonor
who seek after my life!
Let them be turned back and disappointed
who devise evil against me!
Let them be like chaff before the wind,
with the angel of the Lord driving them away!
Let their way be dark and slippery,
with the angel of the Lord pursuing them!

(Verse 8)
Let destruction come upon him when he does not know it!
And let the net that he hid ensnare him;
let him fall into it—to his destruction!

But contrast the prayers for vindication in this psalm to the way the world thinks about vengeance:

The worldly person, the one who is without God, has to take matters into his own hands. He has no God upon whom he can call, no God who will take up his cause.

The Christian, however, can petition the Almighty God, the LORD of the universe, to take vengeance on his behalf, with the implicit understanding that he, the Christian, will not take matters into his own hands. He will trust in the LORD. The Christian can call upon the LORD, whose attributes of protection and deliverance are contained in his name "Yahweh," and can rest in knowing that the LORD, in His infinite wisdom, will make all things right in His own time. From the Got Questions? website:

"Yahweh is present, accessible, near to those who call on Him for deliverance (Psalm 107:13), forgiveness (Psalm 25:11) and guidance (Psalm 31:3)." (What are the names of God, and what do they mean? - Got Questions?)

Also see: Psalm 135:14 "For the LORD (Yahweh) will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants."

Additional Resources

Sons of Korah, A Recommended Resource

The Psalms (sermon by Dr. R.C. Sproul)

Wisdom for Spiritual People – The Message of The Psalms (sermon by Dr. Mark Dever)

Does the Root Word of "Pharmaceutical" (Pharmakeia/φαρμακεία) Mean That Pharmaceutical Drugs Are Rooted In the Occult/Sorcery?

2015-01-18T00:19:00.000-05:00

Posted by Christine Pack

One claim I am seeing more and more among Christians is that pharmaceutical drugs have their roots in the occult, because of the root word (φαρμακεία) from which the words pharmaceutical/pharmacy are derived.

With this in mind, I would like to exhort my brothers and sisters in Christ to think on this prayerfully, with Bible in hand, and with a clear mind. The word pharmakeia (φαρμακεία) in the Bible has to do with practices that God detests in which divination and contact with evil spirits are used (sorcery). That is not how pharmaceutical drugs of today are created. Drugs today are created using the scientific process of formulating an hypothesis, using double-blind randomized tests, engaging in long-term human trials, and mindfully studying the results in order to isolate a healing mechanism. Once a healing mechanism is located, the product is then categorized as a drug of some kind. Please note: this is all done with the brain, and not through the mystical means of obtaining data from the spirit world whereby the brain is bypassed (the biblical understanding of "sorcery").

Source: Bible Hub

Also, the gospel writer Luke was a doctor ("the beloved physician") who practiced medicine. Scripture does not give us any hint that doctors should be avoided, or that medicine is sinful.

Therefore, we know that our pharmaceutical drugs of today are not bad or evil or associated with witchcraft/sorcery. However, with all substances that are taken for physical healing, there is a risk/reward associated with the substance. Because of the scientific testing done on pharmaceuticals, their risks/benefits are more clearly defined. Alternative treatments, on the other hand, including herbs, don't have as much scientific testing/support. They are also unregulated, which means that virtually any claim can be made about them by the seller, without these claims having to have been scientifically evaluated or substantiated.

Because of that, herb manufacturers make all sorts of claims about the miraculous cures their products supposedly produce, and they rake in lots of money, too. Big Pharma is demonized for being a "for profit" industry. Well, guess what? The Alternative Treatments field is also a "for profit" industry (raking in $34 BILLION per year), only they have no oversight or regulatory committees keeping them in check, like the pharmaceutical industry does.

It is true that there have been some drugs that have been through testing and the approval process that ended up being recalled. But on the whole, the pharmaceutical industry is a blessing, not a curse.

Having said all that, I'm not entirely against herbs; I simply think Christians should approach them knowing first that they lack oversight, regulation and scientific evaluation. The biggest problem I see with herbs is that most people think (wrongly) that herbs, because they are "natural" (if you can even say that about a product that has been dried, condensed, and processed into supplement form), can ONLY help and NEVER do harm. This is not true. There are many accounts of herbal supplements being taken in dosages that are harmful to the body in some way and/or interact in a dangerous way with pharmaceutical drugs someone is already taking. Herbs are not automatically 100% benign just because they once had roots and grew in the ground.

A few articles to consider:

Should Christians go to doctors? (Got Questions?)

Alternative Medicine Is a $34 Billion Industry, But Only One-Third of the Treatments Have Been Tested (Smithsonian Magazine)

The Truth About Nutritional Supplements (Fitness Magazine, 10-01-2009)

Safety and Regulation of Dietary Supplements (NPR radio interview, 7-16-2014)

Herbal Supplements Are Often Not What They Seem (The New York Times)

Alternative Medicine Fraud Warnings: Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Beware the Impurities in ‘Natural’ Supplements (Wall Street Journal)

Dietary and Herbal Supplements Could Interfere With Prescription Drugs (Medical News Today)

5 Risky Herbal Supplements: Even though they're natural, some herbal supplements can be dangerous (WebMD)

Severe liver damage from certain dietary aid supplements (The Examiner)

Safety and Regulation of Dietary Supplements (The Diane Rehm Show)

Alternative medicines are popular, but do any of them really work? (The Washington Post)

Apple founder Steve Jobs 'regretted trying to beat cancer with alternative medicine for so long' (The Telegraph, 10-21-11)

Free online book examining the history of Alternative Treatments (Steve Ransom)

Also, please note that I am not completely against a measured, prayerful, mindful use of some herbs. My husband has a chronic, long-term illness, and we use a protocol of meds + herbs. I am against Christians uncritically taking in any and all claims made about herbs (and other alternative treatments) without looking for science based evidence that supports these claims. And I'm talking long-term clinical trials on humans, not just claims made by pseudoscience websites that base their recommendations on limited petri dish trials. Lots of substances kill cancer cells and germs in a petri dish (gasoline, turpentine, acid, etc.) but that doesn't mean we should ingest them. Herbs and oils are not automatically benign: they can be dangerous if misused and/or used in large dosages.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

The Value and Importance of Scientific Studies

The Biblical Worldview Is The Foundation of Modern Science

The Scientific Method and Why It Matters

Cautions About "Natural" and Alternative Treatments

Natural = Better?

A Caution About "Natural" and Alternative Treatments

A Caution About the Growing Essential Oils Trend

The Unregulated Nature of the Alternative Treatment Industry: Does The Label On The Outside Tell The Truth About What's Inside?

Massive Herbal-Supplement Scam Uncovered: Walmart, Target, GNC Accused of Selling Bogus Products (What's In those Supplements?)

Alternative Medicine: A Mind Blowing Magical Mystery Tour (This is a free, online e-book exposing the unsubstantiated claims [both currently and historically] made about many "natural" remedies)

Wellness: The New Age Trojan Horse in Healthcare (Marcia Montenegro)

Herbal Supplements May Not Mix With Heart Medicines (Mayo Clinic)

5 Risky Herbal Supplements: Even Though They're Natural, Some Herbal Supplements Can Be Dangerous (Web MD)

Apple founder Steve Jobs 'regretted trying to beat cancer with alternative medicine for so long' (The Telegraph, 10-21-11)

Radio Programs Warning About Alternative Supplements

Ingrid Schlueter Interviews Marcia Montenegro and Christine Pack (Crosstalk at VCY America 4/26/11) to Discuss our Wellness Article - you may listen here

Are We All Syncretists Now? A Conversation About Evangelical Christianity and Alternative Medicine with Historian Candy Gunther Brown (Dr. Al Mohler)

Warnings About Essential Oils

The Christian and Essential Oils: A Few Thoughts [UPDATED] (Sola Sisters)

Essential Oils Revisited (Sola Sisters)

Aromatherapy: Biblical Path to Healing or Demonic Deception? (Chuck and Julie Cohen)

A Critique of David Stewart's Healing Oils of the Bible (Marcia Montenegro)

The FDA Warns Young Living, doTERRA Essential Oils Companies To Stop Making Unsubstantiated Claims That The Oils Cure Cancer, Protect Against Ebola (Food and Drug Administration, 9-22-2014)

How To Use Essential Oils: A Step-By-Step Guide (satire, warning: some mild language)

Warnings About Homeopathy

Homeopathy, The Occult and Beyond (Marcia Montenegro)

Sola Sisters Facebook wall - January 1, 2014 (discussion on Homeopathy)

A Warning To Christians About Homeopathy (Sola Sisters)

Meet Hillsong, One of the Fastest Growing Churches In The World

2015-01-16T14:40:00.000-05:00

Posted by Christine Pack

Meet Hillsong, one of the fastest growing churches in the world. Hillsong is based in Australia, and the attached video is of one of their London church services. Some of Hillsong's pastors are: Brian Houston, Carl Lentz and Christine Caine, all of whom are very popular on the conference circuit. Brian Houston is the lead pastor in Australia, and Carl Lentz, who is very popular here in America (and whom Justin Bieber claims as his pastor), heads Hillsong NYC.

If while watching this video, you begin to suffer from frustrative disorder and/or forehead keyboard embedment syndrome, hang in there because you don't want to miss Mr. Sparkle at about the 5:20 mark. He's meant to show us what freedom in Christ looks like.

**Please pray for the church, brothers and sisters, and for saints around the world who are seeking bible teaching and true fellowship, and finding this instead.**

Additional Resources

Brian Houston: "Are you ready for the Word?" (Museum of Idolatry)

Christine Caine fills in for Beth Moore (Apprisng)

Sermon Review: "When Something's Done, Don't Stop" by Brian Houston (Fighting For The Faith)

Sermon Review: "Maker of Miracles" by Christine Caine of Hillsong (Fighting For The Faith)

Sermon Review: "Awareness That Sets You Up to Win" by Brian Houston (Fighting For The Faith)

Sermon Review, "Momentum Attracts" by Brian Houston (Fighting For The Faith)

Sermon Review; "When Ordinary People See" by Brian Houston (Fighting For The Faith)

Sermon Review: "Lack vs. Overflow" by Brian Houston (Fighting For The Faith)

Sermon Review: "Risky Living" by Christine Caine of Hillsong (Fighting For The Faith)

Hillsong pastor Carl Lentz: "Image vs. Substance" (Fighting For The Faith)

Interview of Tanya Levin re: her exposé of Hillsong (Fighting For The Faith)

Hillsong music writer who faked his terminal illness (Fighting For The Faith)

Hillsong Church Watch

A short video by my youngest son

2015-01-07T21:32:00.000-05:00

Posted by Christine Pack

Sarah Young's Bestseller "Jesus Calling": An Overactive Imagination or a Demon?

2014-12-31T14:34:00.001-05:00

Posted by Sola Sisters

Ladies, have you received a copy of the bestselling book Jesus Calling as a gift from a friend? Perhaps you have even bought and given out this book yourself? If so, please continue reading this article, along with the links below so that you can be aware of the serious spiritual problems with this book. Sarah Young, author of Jesus Calling, has characterized her book as "first-person messages from Jesus." In fact, the devotional reads in a conversational manner, albeit a one-sided conversation, in which "Jesus" is purported to be communicating directly to the reader through daily devotionals.

Sarah Young, the author of Jesus Calling, describes the unusual way in which this book came about in an interview with Christian Broadcasting Network:

"My journey began with a devotional book (God Calling) written in the 1930's by two women who practiced waiting in God's Presence, writing the messages they received as they 'listened.' About a year after I started reading this book, I began to wonder if I too could receive messages during my times of communing with God. I had been writing in prayer journals for years, but this was one-way communication: 'monologue.' I knew that God communicates through the Bible (and I treasure His Word), but I wondered what He might say to me personally on a given day. So I decided to 'listen' to God with pen in hand, writing down whatever I sensed He was saying. Of course, I wasn't listening for an audible voice; I was seeking the 'still, small voice' of God in my mind/heart." (Q and A with Sarah Young, CBN)

But the Bible does not tell us to sit quietly and attempt to hear words from God. In fact, what is being described above by Sarah Young is an extremely occultic practice known in occultic circles as "automatic writing." Wikipedia describes this practice thusly:

"Automatic writing or psychography is an alleged psychic ability allowing a person to produce written words without consciously writing. The words are claimed to arise from a subconscious, spiritual or supernatural source." (online source)

We know from God's word that He detests any form of divination, which is what this practice is.

"When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. 10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord; because of these same detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you. 13 You must be blameless before the Lord your God." (Deut 18:9-13)

Now, it is true that God communicated through words in ages past through the prophets of his choosing, but in Hebrews 1:1-2, we are told that:

"In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe."

What this means is that God's communication to us found its complete and final and greatest fulfillment in the final Prophet of his choosing, his own Son, Jesus Christ. After Jesus's earthly ministry, death and resurrection, the biblical office of prophet was forever closed. Could any human prophet after Christ add to his perfect, prophetic ministry? Absolutely not. And yet, there have been myriads of those over the centuries who have claimed to receive revelation from God, and to speak authoritatively (prophetically) on his behalf. That is the case with Sarah Young, though in some interviews, there has been waffling on this when she has been pinned down. Well, she can't have it both ways. Either Jesus is speaking authoritatively through this book to us, or he is not. Which is it? And, if he is, then we all need to get out our Bibles and start stapling these prophetic utterances to the backs of our Bibles, right after the end of Revelation. Does anyone else see the problem with this? I, for one, most certainly do. I see the problem, in fact, in the final words of Revelation:

"I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll." (Rev 22:18-19)

The "Voice" of the "Jesus" in Jesus Calling

The following question was asked in a thread on our Facebook ministry page in which the bestselling book Jesus Calling was being discussed. I thought it was a great question, and I also think it's one that (rightly) occurs to believers when trying to evaluate whether battles are of the flesh/mind or have a more spiritual/demonic component to them. I have therefore written this standalone article highlighting the question and our answer, in the hope that this exchange is edifying for anyone who might have also had this question. Also, I have posted a number of entries from the Jesus Calling devotional that need to read only with great discernment.

QUESTION: How do you distinguish between something fabricated by an overactive imagination and something truly demonic?

OUR RESPONSE: That's a great question, and one that ultimately we can't really know the answer to. However, when I see the ferocity with which professing believers defend the false "Jesus" of Jesus Calling, I tend to strongly suspect that there is a demon or Satan involved, and thus a spiritual component to the battle. Spiritual warfare is a battle of words, concepts and propositional truths, and those who want to defend the false "Jesus" of Jesus Calling are arguing AGAINST Bible truths with worldly concepts (like pragmatism....."It 'worked' for me!") for the right to cling to their false "Jesus."

Also, the "voice" the false Jesus speaks in is remarkably similar to the demonic spirits I was in touch with while in the New Age. Deception isn't always obvious. In fact, I think it's rarely obvious......else, it wouldn't be deceptive, right? When I was communicating with demons as a New Ager, they (obviously) didn't identify themselves as such. Spooky music didn't start playing and green smoke didn't ooze under the door when they showed up, like we see in the movies. They had beautiful names, and they professed to me to care for me and to desire to help me grow spiritually. They had a very smooth, soothing way of communicating. (The more Bibley term for that would be "ear tickling.")

They would often say "Trust me" or "Trust us," a phrase ("Trust me") that is also often used by the false "Jesus" in Jesus Calling. If you read through the book, you will see that phrase used repeatedly, yet that is not something that Jesus uttered on a regular basis during his earthly ministry or elsewhere in the Bible, even though we are to trust in the Lord. I think the repetition of this phrase is used by demons to lull humans into, well, trusting them, since their obvious aim is to deceive us and confuse us as they are in the process of communicating to us things that are contrary to what the Bible teaches us about Jesus and God. Their ultimate goal, obviously, is to turn us away from the Jesus of the Bible. And to do this, they often masquerade, as we are told they would, as "angels of light" (2 Cor 11:14).

"Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light." (2 Cor 11:14)

"But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough." (2 Cor 11:3-4)

"Satan was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies." (John 8:44)

"Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy, the Devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." (1 Peter 5:8)

"For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear." (2 Tim 4:3)

[NOTE: I have posted below a number of entries from the Jesus Calling devotional to show how often the false "Jesus" of Jesus Calling urges the reader to trust him. Please pray before reading these, and please exercise discernment while reading these entries]

Additional Resources

Warning About Popular Book Jesus Calling (Sola Sisters)

Former New Ager Warren Smith Explains That The "Jesus" of Bestseller Jesus Calling Is Not The Jesus of the Bible (Sola Sisters)

Jesus Calling By Sarah Young: W.U.I. (Writing Under the Influence) (Marcia Montenegro, former New Ager and professional astrologer who is now a Christian researcher)

Tim Challies Reviews Jesus Calling (Challies.com)

Toxic Devotion: A Review of Sarah Young's Jesus Calling (Critical Issues Commentary, Pastor Bob DeWaay)

Beth Moore Recommends Jesus Calling Book (Apprising)

"Another Jesus" Calling (book by former New Ager Warren Smith)

Thomas Nelson Publishers Creatively Edit Jesus Calling (Stand Up For The Truth)

Is Jesus Calling A Wrong Number? A Book Review (Stand Up For The Truth)

Changing Jesus Calling: Damage Control For a False Christ (Stand Up For The Truth)

Jesus Calling: Whitewashing The Red Flags (Stand Up For The Truth)

Is Deception Calling? A review of Jesus Calling by Sarah Young (Stand Up For The Truth)

False Teachings About Hearing Audible Words From God Taking Even Deeper Root in Today's Church (Sola Sisters)

Bestseller "Experiencing God" Misleading Christians With "Soft" Mysticism? (Sola Sisters)

Interviews With Sarah Young

Q and A with Sarah Young (Christian Broadcasting Network) (more about God Calling here)

Meet Sarah Young (Christian Retailing, Aug 18, 2010) (Young cites the New Age book God Calling as influential)

Sarah Young: Amid Suffering, Devotion (Publishers Weekly, Nov 14, 2012)

Sola Sisters Facebook Wall Discussions

Discussion about Jesus Calling on the Sola Sisters Facebook wall - Mar 18, 2013

Discussion about Jesus Calling on the Sola Sisters Facebook wall - Nov 18, 2013

Discussion about Jesus Calling on the Sola Sisters Facebook wall - Dec 14, 2013

Discussion about Jesus Calling on the Sola Sisters Facebook wall - Dec 30, 2014

Discussion about Jesus Calling on the Sola Sisters Facebook wall - Dec 31, 2014

Birth of Jesus...How It Might Have Been....

2014-12-20T21:23:00.001-05:00

Posted by Christine Pack

Additional Resources

To Christmas or Not To Christmas.....That Is The Question (Sola Sisters)

Christmas and Christian Liberty (Sola Sisters)

Christmas Is Just a Christianized Pagan Holiday? Not So Fast..... (Sola Sisters)

Should We Have A Christmas Tree? (Got Questions?)

Resources Refuting the Errors of Alexander Hislop

Myths From Hislop: A Call To Examine Facts (Marcia Montenegro, CANA)

Exposé of Alexander Hislop's The Two Babylons (UK Apologetics)

Article by Ralph Woodrow, regarding his previously published book Babylon Mystery Religion, and his public statement of the errors in that book (Woodrow also wrote and published The Babylon Connection? as a corrective to his original book that promulgated the Hislop errors)

Ralph Woodrow’s book, The Babylon Connection?

A point-by-point refutation of some of the major claims by Hislop

Is Easter a pagan word?

Why Christmas on Dec. 25?

Sola Sisters Facebook discussion re: Christmas (12/8/13)

4 Part Series by Dr. Richard P. Bucher

Christmas Is Not Pagan, Part 1 , Overview

Christmas Is Not Pagan, Part 2, Answering the Argument: "Christmas is obviously pagan because there is neither Biblical command nor precedent for celebrating Christ's birth."

Christmas Is Not Pagan, Part 3, Answering the Argument: "The first Christians never observed the celebration of Christ's birth until emperor Constantine in 313 AD officially tolerated Christians."

Christmas Is Not Pagan, Part 4, Answering the Argument: "The date of Christmas (December 25), and its many customs all come from pagan sources. Therefore Christmas is pagan."

God Came Near

2014-12-17T08:56:00.000-05:00

Posted by Christine Pack (originally published 12/10/10)

Christmas was always my guilty pleasure every year as a New Ager. My wiccan-pagan-hindu friends would give me a hard time for putting up a tree and decorating, and not having the "strength of my convictions." But I just always loved the gaiety of the season: the parties, the food, the sparkle, the fun, the decorating. And it seemed so hopeful at heart, this idea that God could have actually come into the world. Impossible, of course, but hopeful.

Once I was born again, of course, Christmas became the most wondrous time of year to me because it was TRUE......God did step into humanity, piercing the veil between the natural and the supernatural, but even more than that, He did it so that wretched men and women could be reconciled to a high and holy God. Amazing!

Soli Deo Gloria.

photo credit: HikingArtist.com via photopin cc

Additional Resources

To Christmas or Not To Christmas.....That Is the Question (Sola Sisters)

Christmas and Christian Liberty (Sola Sisters)

Christmas is Just A Christianized Pagan Celebration? Not So Fast..... (Sola Sisters)

The Glory of Jesus (Sola Sisters)

Christmas Prophecies Fulfilled (Grace To You)

How Christmas Solves The Prophetic Puzzle (Grace To You)

Is There Anything Inherently Sinful or Dangerous in Delebrating Christmas? (Grace To You)

Should Christians Have Christmas Trees? (Grace To You)

The Attack on Christmas (Answers in Genesis)

4 Part Series by Dr. Richard P. Bucher

Christmas Is Not Pagan, Part 1 , Overview

Christmas Is Not Pagan, Part 2, Answering the Argument: "Christmas is obviously pagan because there is neither Biblical command nor precedent for celebrating Christ's birth."

Christmas Is Not Pagan, Part 3, Answering the Argument: "The first Christians never observed the celebration of Christ's birth until emperor Constantine in 313 AD officially tolerated Christians."

Christmas Is Not Pagan, Part 4, Answering the Argument: "The date of Christmas (December 25), and its many customs all come from pagan sources. Therefore Christmas is pagan."

Resources Specifically Refuting the Errors of Alexander Hislop

Myths From Hislop: A Call To Examine Facts (Marcia Montenegro, CANA)

Exposé of Alexander Hislop's The Two Babylons (UK Apologetics)

Ralph Woodrow’s book, The Babylon Connection?

A point-by-point refutation of some of the major claims by Hislop

Mark Driscoll: A Timeline of His Downfall

2014-12-13T23:42:00.000-05:00

Posted by Christine Pack

A Timeline of Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill

Below is a brief timeline of Mars Hill history. This timeline is by no means comprehensive, but merely gives a brief overview of some of what has taken place in the former megachurch Mars Hill under Mark Driscoll. I consider three of the events below to be pivotal moments, and which taken together were the events that caused Christians outside of Mars Hill to sit up and start asking questions about Driscoll. I have highlighted the date of those events in red:

April 1996 - Mark Driscoll founds Mars Hill church in the Seattle, WA area with Leif Moi and Mike Gunn

September 29-30, 2006 - Mark Driscoll, still a relatively unknown pastor, is introduced to the world by respected pastor John Piper at Piper's 2006 Desiring God conference at which Dr. Piper highlights Driscoll as one of his keynote speakers (as of November 2014, Dr. Piper insists he has no regrets in befriending Mark Driscoll, characterizes Driscoll as a good teacher despite "mistakes that Mark may have made" or instances in which "he might have walked out of step with the truth" - transcript of that interview here)

October 2007 - Mark Driscoll moves to change the by-laws of Mars Hill church; the change would consolidate power with Driscoll and a smaller group of elders handpicked by Driscoll. Two highly respected elders (Paul Petry and Bent Meyer) at Mars Hill resist this change, and are fired when they try to hold Driscoll accountable.

2006 - 2012 - Mark Driscoll, who earned a degree in Communications at Washington State University and is an effective speaker with an aggressive, edgy style, skyrockets in popularity. During this time:

▪ Under Driscoll's leadership, Mars Hill is one of the first churches to go "multi-site," in which a pastor's sermons are piped in via video screen.

▪ Driscoll writes several books and is a highly sought after speaker at Christian conferences

▪ Driscoll founds The Resurgence (a Christian resources organization), co-founds The Gospel Coalition (a Christian parachurch organization of prominent Christian leaders), and co-founds Acts 29 (a church planting organization)

January 25, 2012 - Driscoll hosts an event entitled Elephant Room 2 (the first one having been the year prior) in which he features Oneness Pentecostal teacher TD Jakes, who holds to an unbiblical, non-Trinitarian view of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Jakes is also a prosperity/Word of Faith teacher who is known for his lively ability to $hakedown the flock for ca$h. Pastor Chris Rosebrough, an outspoken critic of syncretism and ecumenical alliances, attempts to attend the ER2 event, having paid and registered for it online, but is charged with arrest at the door if he enters the building where the event was taking place. Several Christian writers begin asking questions about why Driscoll, an evangelical Christian, would affirm heretic TD Jakes as a Christian brother at this event (here, here, here, here, here, here, and here). This event proves to be a pivotal point, after which concerns about Driscoll begin to grow as more and more eyes are on him.

March 29, 2012 - Driscoll resigns from The Gospel Coalition (TGC)

Mark Driscoll at Strange Fire

October 18, 2013 - Mark Driscoll stages a bizarre publicity stunt at the Strange Fire conference that backfires on him after security personnel treat Driscoll far more graciously than he apparently anticipated. He leaves the event and begins broadcasting on social media the lie that security personnel had confiscated his materials. In reality, he had handed them over as "a gift" (his words). Video surfaces later that documents the encounter, and shows that Driscoll lied.

November 21, 2013 - Christian talk show host Janet Mefferd interviews Driscoll, and asks him about plagiarism in his newly released book A Call To Resurgence. Mefferd, in preparation for her interview with Driscoll (who is making the rounds on talk shows promoting his new book), had read Driscoll's book prior to her interview with him, and had discovered several instances of plagiarism. Janet came under heavy fire for asking Driscoll these questions, and her show producer ended up resigning in the midst of it.

November 23, 2103 - Dr. Paul David Tripp, a well regarded biblical counselor, joins the Mars Hill Board of Advisors and Accountability (BoAA), a board set up ostensibly to bring accountability to the Mars Hill governance

March 6, 2014 - Pastor Chris Rosebrough of Fighting For the Faith radio reports that Mark Driscoll bought his way onto the New York Times Bestseller List "through anonymous third parties". Warren Throckmorton of Patheos publishes the contract that was in place for artificially inflating book sales for Driscoll's book Real Marriage.

July 30, 2014 - Dr. Paul David Tripp resigns from the Mars Hill BoAA, later calls Mars Hill "the most abusive, coercive ministry culture I’ve ever been involved with"

August 1, 2014 - More allegations of plagiarism by Driscoll emerge. Warren Throckmorton of Patheos publishes a chart that documents plagiarism in seven books authored by Driscoll.

August 8, 2014 - As Driscoll comes increasingly under scrutiny, with some of his actions being called into question by former Acts 29 pastors, the board of Acts 29 removes Mark Driscoll, the man who co-founded the Acts 29 organization, from membership, (video here). Former Acts 29 co-founder Ron Wheeler goes public with concerns about Mark Driscoll (Wheeler's entire open letter to Driscoll here)

August 13, 2014 - NPR (National Public Radio), a secular media outlet, reports that Lifeway Christian Stores have halted sales of Driscoll's newest book (A Call To Resurgence) due to Driscoll's having been "accused of plagiarizing sections of the book and artificially inflating his book sales by bulk-buying copies."

August 21, 2014 - Twenty one former Mars Hill pastors bring formal charges against Mark Driscoll, alleging bullying, abuse of power

August 24, 2014 - Mark Driscoll steps down for 6 week timeout while Mars Hill Board of Accountability (BoA) reviews charges against him

August 28, 2014 - Nine elders at Mars Hill call for a change in Mars Hill by-laws that had been illegally changed by Driscoll in 2007, call for Driscoll to submit to plan for discipline/restoration

October 6, 2014 - All nine elders calling for by-laws change/discipline are gone, having either resigned or been fired

March 2014 - Present - Former Mars Hill pastors, one after the other, begin publicly confessing their sins of bullying, spiritual abuse and/or standing by while such behaviors were taking place during their tenures at Mars Hill (Repentant Pastor website)

October 15, 2014 - Mark Driscoll resigns from Mars Hill church, defiantly claiming however that he is not "disqualified from future ministry"

October 19, 2014 - It is revealed that Mars Hill elders were going to discipline Mark Driscoll, who then resigned rather than be disciplined (listen beginning at the 37 min mark) (Patheos article by Warren Throckmorton here)

Robert Morris welcomes
Mark Driscoll at Gateway Conference

October 20, 2014 - Gateway Word of Faith pastor Robert Morris welcomes Mark Driscoll onto the stage one week after Driscoll's resignation even though Driscoll has fled the discipline process at Mars Hill, and still has not repented and sought forgiveness of those he has abused (video of Mark Driscoll's appearance with Robert Morris can be seen here)

October 31, 2014 - It is announced that Mars Hill will officially dissolve

November 9, 2014 - Driscoll is reported to be considering a return to public ministry, with the help of Word of Faith pastor Robert Morris; former members and elders say he still has not sought to be reconciled to them through the Matthew 18 process

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As noted, this is not an exhaustive article. For a more comprehensive timeline, please see our article Documenting the Problems with Mars Hill Pastor Mark Driscoll, as well as Warren Throckmorton's posts at Patheos.

Additional Resources

Mark Driscoll: A Timeline of His Downfall

Mars Hill Pastor Mark Driscoll Resigns, Claims He Is Not "Disqualified From Future Ministry"

Mark Driscoll Considering New Ministry, Still Has Not Repented, Sought Reconciliation Say Former Members and Elders of Mars Hill

Thoughts On Driscoll and The Biblical Qualifications For A Pastor

John Piper and Mark Driscoll: Lessons Not Learned? (Pyromaniacs)

What John Piper Said When He Finally Addressed the Issue of Mark Driscoll......What We Wish He Had Said Instead

Pastor Chris Rosebrough Deconstructs Robert Morris's "Blessed Life" Teaching, Part 1 and Part 2