BibleThumpingWingnut Bonus Episode December 19, 2018
On this episode BTWN plays a recorded conversation between Len Pettis & Tim Hurd.
[Editor’s Note: JD was working on a post entitled, “Lines to Circles” to explain what was wrong with Todd’s video. Then Len and Tim go and post this podcast episode. It sufficiently sums up JD’s thoughts on the subject, and is a good bonus episode of BTWN to listen to]
Supporters of Pulpit & Pen via Patreon (or other financial venues) at the Expositor Level receive free books in the mail every month. Like last month, this month, Patreon Expositors will get TWO books. One will be Christianity & Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen and the other will be Christianity and the Craft (about Freemasonry) by Seth Dunn.
But, for those who won’t receive a free copy of Christianity & Liberalism for supporting P&P, I still want to encourage you to read it. And if you absolutely refuse to read it, I’m just going to spoon-feed you some quotations from Machen that are incredibly poignant for 2018.
J. Gresham Machen was a Presbyterian minister who was born in 1881 and died in 1931. He was a New Testament ministry professor at Princeton, but he revolted against modernism and liberalism in theology and helped to form Westminster Theological Seminary. Today, Westminster Philadelphia itself has succombed to liberalism, as its taken lots of cash of James Riady and has promoted heavily the notion of social religion – the very thing that their founder, Machen, fought against.
He was also pivotal in the formation of The Independent Board for Presbyterian Foreign Missions, the PCA and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.
If only New Calvinists would listen to this Old Calvinist, the current Social Justice debate wouldn’t have to happen.
Consider these quotations from Machen’s book, Christianity and Liberalism.
On Liberalism
“The older evangelism, says the modern liberal preacher, sought to rescue individuals, while the newer evangelism seeks to transform the whole organism of society: the old evangelism was individual, the new evangelism is social.”
“The greatest menace to the Christian Church today comes not from the enemies outside, but from the enemies within; it comes from the presence within the Church of a type of faith and practie that is anti-Christian to the core.”
“But one thing is perfectly plain – whether or not liberals are Christians, it is at any rate perfectly clear that liberalism is not Christianity. And that being the case, it is highly undesirable that liberalism and Christianity should continue to be propagated within the boundaries of the same organization. A separation between the two parties in the church is the crying need of the hour.”
“The plain fact is that liberalism, whether it be true or false, is no mere ‘heresy’ – no mere divergence at isolated points from Christian teaching. On the contrary, it proceeds from a totally different root, and it constitutes, in essentials, a unitary system of its own…Christianity is being attacked from within by a movement which is anti-Christian to the core.”
On Separating from Liberals
“Many indeed are seeking to avoid the separation. Why, they say, may not brethren dwell together in unity? The church, we are told, has room both for liberals and for conservatives. The conservatives may be allowed to remain if they will keep trifling matters in the background and attend chiefly too the ‘weightier matters of the law.’ And among the things thus designated as ‘trifling’ is found the Cross of Christ as a vicarious atonement for sin.”
“The liberal preacher says to the conservative party in the Church: ‘Let us united in the same congregation, since of course, doctrinal differences are trifles.’ But it is the very essense of ‘conservatism’ in the Church to regard doctrinal differences as no trifles but as the matters of supreme moment.”
“The separation of naturalistic liberalism from the evangelical churches would no doubt greatly diminish the size of the churches. But Gideon’s three hundred were more powerful than the thirty-two thousand with which the march against the Midianites began.”
On Subversive Liberalism
“[Subversive liberals] seek a place in the ministry that they may teach what is directly contrary to the Confession of Faith to which they subscribe. For that course of action various excuses are made…if a man desires to combat the message instead of propagating it, he has no right, no matter how false the message may be to, to gain a vantage ground for combating it by making a declaration of his faith which – be it plainly spoke – is not true.”
“The Unitarian Church is frankly and honestly just the kind of church that the liberal preacher desires – namely, a churcch without an authoritative Bible, without doctrinal requirements, and without a creed.”
“If the liberal party, therefore, really obtains control of the Church, evangelical Christians must be prepared to withdraw no matter what it costs. Our Lord has died for us, and surely we must not deny Him for the favor of men.”
On Polemics
“They should not say, in the sense in which some laymen say it, that more time should be devoted to the propagation of Christianity, and less to the defense of Christianity…What they really intend is the discouragement of the whole intellectual defense of the faith. And their words come as a blow in the face of those who are fighting the great battle. As a matter of fact, not less time, but more time, should be devoted to the defense of the gospel. Indeed, truth cannot be stated clearly at all without being set over against error. Thus a large part of the New Testament is polemic; the enunciation of evangelical truth was occasioned by the errors which had arisen in the churches.”
“God has always saved the church. But He has always saved it not by theological pacificsts, but by the sturdy contenders for the truth.
On Keeping Social Justice Out of the Church
“The preacher comes forward, not out of a secret place of mediatation and power, not with the authority of God’s Word permeating his message, not with human wisdom pushed far into the background by the glory of the Cross, but with human opinions about the social problems of the hour or easy solutions of the vast problem of sin. Such is the sermon…Is there no refuge from strife? Is there no place where two or three can gather in Jesus’ name, to forget for the moment all those things that divide nation from nation and from race to race, to forget human pride, to forget the passions of war, to forget the puzzling problems of industrial strife, and to unite in over flowing gratitude at the foot of the Cross? If there be such a place, then that is the house of God and that is the gate of Heaven.”
[Warren Throckmorton] From where I sit in small town PA (usually at a fast food place with good WiFi), it appears that there are some similarities between the last couple of years at Mars Hill Church and the current situation at Harvest Bible Chapel.
Elders and Leadership Style
At MHC, trouble had been brewing for several years over treatment of elders and perceptions from departed members and elders that Mark Driscoll was domineering and unnecessarily harsh. The same perceptions and polarization have occurred at HBC involving their founding pastor James MacDonald.
This morning I became aware of something called the Statement of Record on the HBC website where former and current elders are pledging loyalty to MacDonald. Up to the very end of Mars Hill Church, a core group of elders and members remained committed to Driscoll and expressed animosity toward the elders who brought formal charges against Driscoll.
Also this morning, the Elephant’s Debt blog posted a resignation letter from a former elder and staff member. In the letter, questions are raised about the leadership of MacDonald and financial management of the church. This letter along with the texts and emails posted earlier by Julie Roys remind me of various leaked lettersand formal charges written by current and former MHC elders concerning the leadership of Mark Driscoll.
Many of the concerns seem similar. Driscoll’s charges included allegations of harsh treatment of subordinates, domineering leadership style, and using the church structure to enrich himself. Similar allegations have surfaced regarding HBC and MacDonald.
Driscoll and MacDonald
It should also be noted that Driscoll and MacDonald have a relationship which dates back to the Mars Hill era. MacDonald was on MHC’s Board of Advisors and Accountability. He resigned near the end of the church’s life in 2014. Recently, Julie Roys reported that HBC gave $50,000 to Driscoll’s new church in Phoenix. And who can forget the little trip by MacDonald (on the left) and Driscoll (right) to John MacArthur’s Strange Fire conference.
We They
Another similarity I see is the adversarial relationship between critics and defenders in both situations. There were sharp differences and strong feelings in the MHC camps. The same dynamic is at work here. When MHC responded to public or media questions, they were cagey and defensive. In private, the sides were fierce in opposition. In the HBC case, a lawsuit is in play. This really ratchets up the polarization.
[The Christian Post] The Rev. W. Thomas Faucher, a retired Idaho priest who once claimed to have urinated in communion wine at least once at his church, was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison without parole for what investigators said was the most disturbing child pornography case they had ever seen.
According to the Idaho Statesman, Faucher, 73, who pleaded guilty in September to five felony crimes stemming from amassing thousands of child porn images and videos on his home computer, will also have to register as a sex offender.
He apologized in the courtroom ahead of his sentencing at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise.
I am deeply sorry that I was and have been connected to that in any way,” Faucher said while acknowledging that he now knows child porn is not a victimless crime. “I was one really sick puppy. I screwed up big time … I feel so much remorse and anger.
Detective John Brumbaugh, who’s been on the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force for five years, testified Thursday that he received a cybertip about two images sent from wtfauch@aol.com that was linked to the St. Mary’s Catholic Church website.
Over several months, Brumbaugh said verified chats and emails showed Faucher was “actively seeking interests with gay men, satanic interests” as well as the rape and killing of minors.
As Christmas Day approaches, the familiar sight of the Salvation Army’s red kettles has once again appeared outside of retail outlets all over the United States. As Shoppers approach these stores to make their holiday purchases, Christmas gifts and Christmas dinners, the sound of ringing bells reminds them to share their blessings with the poor by donating to the Salvation Army. Accompany each Kettle bell is a representative of the Salvation Army: sometimes a hired worker and sometimes a volunteer donating his or her time. It is not uncommon to find an entire family giving up its time and standing out in the cold to help the Salvation Army raise money. Local churches often partner with the Salvation Army to provide a force of volunteer labor. Perhaps your church has led you to volunteer to serve the Salvation Army at Christmastime as an act of Christian charity.
If so, it should stop. The Salvation Army is outwardly and purposefully disobedient to Jesus Christ. Many people are unaware that the Salvation Army is not a secular charity (such as the United Way or Goodwill Industries) but an institutional church which claims to be part of the body of Christ. Not only does it offer charity to the poor but it offers membership in the body of Christ to whomever would profess faith and agree to live by its “soldier’s covenant“. The Salvation Army does not, however, offer the professing Christians who join its ranks the opportunity to identify with Christ in baptism or remember the sacrifice of Christ through the Lord’s supper. The Salvation Army has issued the following statement in its handbook, which it defends on its website:
“Early in our history, The Salvation Army was led of God not to observe specific sacraments, that is baptism and the Lord’s Supper, or Holy Communion, as prescribed rituals.”
Before he left this earth, Jesus Christ commanded his church to baptize all those who come to faith:
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
Matthew 28:19-20
Jesus also instituted the Lord’s supper as a remembrance of his sacrifice for his church. As recorded in the gospel of Mark:
While they were eating, He took some bread, and after a blessing He broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is My body.” 23 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24 And He said to them, “This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. 25 Truly I say to you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
Mark 14:22-25
The Salvation Army, in direct disobedience of the Lord Jesus Christ, leads its converts and members away from experiencing the fullness of Christian life. Bible-believing Christians should not stand in partnership with any “church” who so blatantly disregards the instruction of the Lord. The various good works performed by the Salvation Army do not make up for their aberrant doctrines (which are not limited its stances of the Ordinances of the Church), rather they obfuscate them. Christians who are thinking about partnering with the Salvation Army should consider how their own churches could take local action to alleviate material and spiritual poverty, serving the Lord within the bounds of orthodoxy instead of in partnership with an aberrant sect. It’s time for Christians to unring the red kettle bell and stop partnering, in the form of volunteer labor, with the Salvation Army.
Other erroneous Salvation Army practices include teaching that saints can lose their salvation, the ordination of women to the pastorate, and the permissiveness of aborting viable pregnancies in emotionally difficult circumstances. For more information on the Salvation Army see this article.
If your church or pastor is currently partnering with the Salvation Army, please share this article with them.
*Please note that the preceding is my personal opinion. It is not necessarily the opinion of any entity by which I am employed, any church at which I am a member, any church which I attend, or the educational institution at which I am enrolled. Any copyrighted material displayed or referenced is done under the doctrine of fair use.
[Jimmy Hinton] Hillsong Church, known across the globe for its worship music, has been in the spotlight recently. To be honest, I never knew much about Hillsong until 60 Minutes Australia did a special on Frank Houston’s victim, Brett Sengstock, on November 18th. What really caught my interest was that, like me, Brian Houston learned of allegations of abuse against his own father, a pastor who was preaching at the time Brian Houston heard the allegations. I reported my father, a former preacher, to the police. Brian Houston did not report his. I wanted to learn more about this story that keeps making waves across the world because the world is watching those of us in church leadership. How we respond to allegations of abuse matters. It especially matters to victims and their families.
I watched the 60 Minutes story on Brian Houston’s response and also read “Hillsong’s legal response to misleading statements by 60 Minutes.” I found it interesting that Hillsong wasted no time in releasing a statement defending the institution and its founder by correcting statements made in the 60 Minutes episode that aired three days prior. To Brian Houston’s credit, he has spoken in public interviews in the past regarding his father and his story has not changed much. Brian did not, for whatever reason, interview with 60 Minutes and I think he missed an important opportunity to express his sorrow for his father’s victims and to take ownership of his mishandling of his father’s abuse allegations.
It is troubling to me that the church attorneys are so defensive of Brian’s response to the allegations when the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse paints a less flattering picture of how those events unfolded.
Brian Houston did not report the matter to police in 1999 when he was informed that his father had produced a victim in the late 60s/early 70s.
Neither did Pastor Taylor, who first was made aware of the abuse in 1998 by the victim’s mother. Though, to Barbara Taylor’s credit, she worked incredibly hard to get other leaders to respond to the allegations. Nor did evangelist Mudford report, or Pastor McMartin, who was at the time a member of the New South Whales State Executive, or Pastor Alcorn, a member of the National Executive who was called by Pastor McMartin for advice on the matter, or George Aghajanian, the Business Manager of Hills Christian Life Centre who personally told Brian about the allegations against his father.
In fact, on December 22nd of 1999, Brian Houston called a Special Executive Meeting of the Assemblies of God in Australia where 8 were present, including the National Secretary of the Assemblies of God in Australia. None of those present made a report to police. Furthermore, the minutes from that meeting state: “the Assemblies of God in Australia movement would not be notified of the disciplinary action” (against Frank Houston).
In 2000, Frank Houston met with his victim “AHA” (identified now as Brett Sengstock) at a McDonald’s and wrote a figure of $10,000 on a napkin for Brett to sign. Brian Houston mailed the check to Brett in an envelope only containing the signed check and no correspondence. This was because Brett had contacted Brian to say that his father never sent the money he had promised. Brian did not report the payment to anyone within the Assemblies of God and claimed in a public statement in 2014 to Hillsong Church, “There have been reports of money being paid to the victim. Again for clarification, this was between my father and the victim. It had nothing to do with me or Hillsong church.”
Brian, who was the national president of the Assemblies of God in Australia, revoked his dad’s credentials for preaching but never removed him from the church, as far as I can tell. In fact, according to the report Brian and his dad continued to have weekly meetings where they discussed ministry together.
Hillsong released a statement in 2015 in response to the Royal Commission report. They said, “The perpetrator, Frank Houston, was immediately removed from ministry by Pastor Brian and church leadership and never ministered in the church again, ensuring no child was placed in danger. He is now deceased.” The reality is that, by not reporting him to police, by not removing him from the church altogether, and by having conversations about restoring Frank back to ministry, they placed every child in danger. The Royal Commission states, “The minutes also record that Mr. Frank Houston would be invited the ‘Assemblies of God [in Australia] restoration program.” This program was a rehabilitation program designed to restore pastors who had been removed back into the ministry. Fortunately, Pastor Ainge said at that meeting that Frank would not be approved because the “Administration Manual prohibited rehabilitation of paedophiles.”
Though Frank Houston repeatedly raped AHA and multiple other victims, he only “confessed” to one instance of fondling AHA to his son Brian. Pastor Taylor wrote in minutes from their November 28th, 1999 meeting concerning this “confession,” “Frank Houston had confessed to a lesser incident than the truthful one but it was further than I had been able to get.” Though they all knew Frank minimized the abuse to one petty incident of fondling to which Pastor Taylor said, “I did not and do not believe,” nobody ever questioned Frank any further, reported him to police, or made him stand before the church to be publicly held accountable for his crimes.
Even though Brian testified that he was aware in 2000 of 6 additional victims in New Zealand, Frank was still permitted to “retire” from his church in Australia with “a simple statement concerning Frank’s retirement” that was made while he and his wife were on vacation in New Zealand in January 2001. He was paid a retirement package, “which included financial support for him and his wife.” The Royal Commission concluded: “Despite having knowledge that Mr. Frank Houston admitted to sexually abusing AHA, the National Executive allowed Mr. Frank Houston to publicly resign, without damage to his reputation or the reputation of Hillsong Church.”
I could fill many more bullet points. I walked a similar path as Brian Houston when an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor was brought to my attention by one of my father’s victims. As a minister who has walked this path, I struggle to make sense of how the allegations of Frank Houston were handled. Brian testified in 2014 that Brett was 35 or 36 years old when the abuse was discovered, that he was in a brittle state, and that he did not want Brian to report for fear of his story going public. Hillsong Church brought themselves to a new low in their 2015 statement by saying, “The victim was a 36 year old adult when this abuse became known and could have taken the matter to police himself at any time.”
What Brian and Hillsong attorneys omit in their public statements is that the very next month after Brian found out about his father, Pastor Barbara Taylor wrote Brian a letter stating that Brett (AHA) was “so very, very soft” and that “there was a complete change in attitude. . . He wanted to know if I had told you he was thinking of legal proceedings.”
Why, given this new information, did Brian not report? Why make the argument that the victim was in a brittle state and why pay him a sum of $10,000 the following year when you knew he was thinking of legal proceedings? Brett specifically wanted Pastor Taylor to let Brian know that he was ready for legal proceedings, which meant Brett was willing to talk to whomever he needed to seek justice and bring about closure.
It’s important to note that the victim of my father who disclosed to me was not a child. She was an adult in a brittle state and I never expected her to report her own abuser. Furthermore, I too had victims who came forward just days after the first victim disclosed to me and begged me not to report my father, their abuser. It was too late. I wasted no time in reporting it to the police. But that wouldn’t have changed my decision to report anyway. When my father was arrested, those same victims thanked me for standing firm and reporting. When it comes to the sexual abuse and exploitation of minor children, we ministers can’t play judge and jury. Sexual abuse of a minor was a criminal offense in 1999 in Australia and it is still a criminal offense today. We ministers can’t pick and choose which crimes we wish to report, no matter who the offender is.
[HuffPost] Double, double toil and trouble ― watch the rise of witchery bubble. Those interested in religion and spirituality have noticed that 2018 was a landmark year for the visibility of ancient natural religions, and those who are drawn to their principles and practices. Call it the Season of the Witch. While there are male witches, and always have been, the latest upsurge in witchcraft is largely a chick-and-genderfluid thing ― a spiritual seeking turbocharged by affinity with the supernatural and belief in the sacred feminine and the divine androgyne.
Maybe you’ve noticed the resurgence of interest in ethereal songwriter Stevie Nicks and ’90s teen cult fave “The Craft,” and noticed that every time you see your teenage cousin, she’s walking around the house with a smudge stick of white sage and a deck of SerpentFire tarot cards wrapped in a silk scarf. Maybe you saw one of the many news reports about the hex that a group of witches placed on newly appointed Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in a Brooklyn occult shop.
Or perhaps you’ve encountered a few of the numerous articles on the mainstreaming of the witch, like Naomi Fry’s piece for The New Yorker or a spate of recent Newsweekpieces. And if you’re a social media creature, you’ve no doubt observed that via Instagram, Twitter and especially Facebook, witches have taken messaging, organizing and education into their own hands, producing a number of witch-related gathering spots, websites, and books, books and more books. Certainly, not everyone with a pouch full of crystals and a pendulum is a witch ― the #WitchesofInstagram hashtag, which is on over 2 million photos, brings up scores of pictures of practitioners who run the gamut from dabblers sharing jokey memes about being a Leo to lifelong Wiccan artists peddling their painstakingly crafted candle magick wares.
Some women who might have been once attracted to yoga for solace and subtly subversive self-care are seeking stronger brew.
The modern witch, as we would recognize her today, is a mid-20th-century phenomenon, as laid out in a lovely Boston Review piece by journalist Jesse Kindig. “In their 1968 manifesto,” Kindig writes, “the women’s liberation activists from W.I.T.C.H. (Women’s International Terrorist Conspiracy from Hell) proposed that ‘A witch lives and laughs in every woman. She is the free part of each of us.’ It is this history ― from 1486 on ― that explains today’s global feminist protest chant, ‘We are the granddaughters of all the witches you could not burn!’”
That such a heady sentiment ― suggesting, at once, female power, resistance, wile, wisdom, mystery and no small amount of fearlessness ― is finding unprecedented popularity comes as no surprise in our current cultural moment. As an archetype, the witch stands firmly with other women, yet is bowed by no man. She hews to ancient tradition without being called to conform ― an untamed spirit, steeped in social responsibility, who roams free of corporatization, government interference or oppressive boy germs. The witch has always walked among us, only now she’s re-emerging as a cultural and political force with an aesthetic and an agenda.
New Age, natural and alternative spiritual practices have come and gone as trends in America ― tea leaves, astrology, palmistry, séance parties, telephone psychics and mass-market Ouija boards. In the 1990s, yoga exploded as a means of transformation and restoration and engagement with the higher self, but over the years, it has assumed a seriously Range Rover Lululemon bougie vibe (not to mention troubling issues of cultural appropriation, ectomorph-worship, ableism and a glaring sheen of whiteness). So some women who might have once been attracted to yoga for solace and subtly subversive self-care are seeking stronger brew.
A metaphysical book store in Brooklyn, New York gathered witches, Wiccans and locals to perform a hex ritual on Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Donald Trump, and Senator Mitch McConnell. (NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Of course, as it ever must be under capitalism, big business has pegged Paganism and witches as a trend and tried to slap its slimy profit-seeking tentacles on those pentacles. Pop culture has its place as a message-bearer by which many future witches are first exposed to the craft. Says practicing witch Sara Coughlin in a piece published in Refinery29: “Where now we have The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, American Horror Story: Coven, and a Charmed reboot, I grew up with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Craft, and Practical Magic.”
But the commercialization of ritual items has proved a bridge too far. Sephora caused an uproar in September when it announced a plan to market and sell a Starter Witch Kit, which, to a serious Wiccan or Yoruba practitioner, must feel akin to sacrilege. Can you imagine, say, Hallmark stocking a beginner’s baptism kit? (Undaunted, Allure magazine stepped into the beauty biz witch void by offering an article on color magick, with corresponding links to yellow Versace perfume, red Yves Saint Laurent lipstick, black Origins charcoal mask and the like.)
At heart, the current surge in witchcraft among American women and femmes is about the power of female healing and uprising in a world that seeks, in every way, to harm us and tamp us down.
Not surprisingly, the media focus on witches features white women almost exclusively (insert requisite “basic witch” joke here) but this white-washing, while predictable, is misleading. Witches of color abound, practicing within a number of traditions, including Santeria, Wicca, Yoruba and Hoodoo, or a combination thereof. The illumination of traditions and customs, and the cultures from which they come, is feminist intersectionality at its best. Despite the mainstream media oversight, women of color have staked out a significant place on social media platforms and blogs. If you like to follow your Instagram healers but you don’t follow the ravishing sisterly warmth of The Hood Witch and the uplifting meme wizardry of astrologer Chani Nicolas, you’re missing out.
[Columbus, Ohio] Republican Ohio Governor John Kasich has again vetoed a bill that would ban abortion when a heartbeat is detected, stating that the state would likely lose if the matter went to court and taxpayer money would consequently have to be used to pay the legal costs of abortion-supporting attorneys.
“As governor, I have worked hard to strengthen Ohio’s protections for the sanctity of human life, and I have a deep respect for my fellow members of the pro-life community and their ongoing efforts in defense of unborn life,” Kasich wrote in his veto explanation. “However, the central provision of H.B. 258, that an abortion cannot be performed if a heartbeat has been detected in the unborn child, is contrary to the Supreme Court rulings on abortion.”
“Because the lower federal courts are bound to follow the U.S. Supreme Court’s precedents on abortion, H.B. 258 will likely be struck down as unconstitutional. The State of Ohio will be the losing party in that lawsuit, and as the losing party, the State of Ohio will be forced to pay hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to cover the legal fees for the pro-choice activists’ lawyers,” he outlined. “Therefore, this veto is in the public interest.”
As previously reported, the Ohio House of Representatives passed H.B. 258 last month 60-35, followed by the Senate earlier this month 18-13.
A person who intends to perform or induce an abortion on a pregnant woman shall determine whether there is a detectable fetal heartbeat of the unborn human individual the pregnant woman is carrying,” the billread in part. “The person who performs the examination for the presence of a fetal heartbeat shall give the pregnant woman the option to view or hear the fetal heartbeat.
Fetal development experts state that an infant’s heart begins beating just 20-25 days after conception, and machines can detect the heartbeat 2-3 weeks later. It is stated that most women don’t know they are pregnant until after after the baby’s heart is already beating.
Kasich vetoed a similar bill in 2016 for identical reasons, likewise stating that “the State of Ohio will be forced to pay hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to cover the legal fees for the pro-choice activists’ lawyers.”
[SOVEREIGN NATIONS] Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant lamented how many unborn African American babies are aborted during a press conference Monday.
The pro-life governor asked why there is no outrage in the media about “the genocide of 20 million African American children,” the Jackson Free Press reports. National Right to Life President Carol Tobias joined him at the conference, as well as U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith.
“See, in my heart, I am confused about where the outrage is at about 20 million African American children that have been aborted. No one wants to say anything about that. No one wants to talk about that,” Bryant said.
“Look at African Americans,” he continued. “According to Wikipedia, had those children not been aborted, the African American population would be 48 percent larger in America. Forty-eight percent larger. We can play with those numbers, and we can look at statistics, but the cold, grim truth is, children are being murdered.”
The news outlet and abortion activists criticized Bryant’s remarks, but there is strong evidence to support them.
Mississippi Reproductive Freedom Fund Executive Director Laurie Bertram-Roberts claimed that abortions are not genocide.
“To commit genocide, you have to be trying to eliminate a race of people. By definition, that cannot be black mothers. The majority of women who have abortions are also mothers,” Bertram-Roberts told the newspaper.
Black Americans have a disproportionately high number of abortions compared to other racial groups. According to census data, African Americans make up about 13 percent of the U.S. population but have about 30 percent of the abortions. The problem is disturbingly evident in New York City, where state data shows more black babies are aborted than are born. Read more at https://sovereignnations.com/2018/11/14/mississippi-governor-abortions-black-babies-african-american-population/#jLhb3CS0EG01T2eE.99
Like his friend and fellow scandalized pastor, Mark Driscoll, James MacDonald is largely unwelcome anywhere in evangelicalism except for the dark, seedy corners of charismaticism.
Charismatics, modern practitioners of the ancient heresy of Montanism (also known as the “New Prophecy Heresy”), deny the sufficiency of Scripture by insisting that God continues to speak outside the Holy Bible, giving the Apostolic Sign Gifts to those who are not apostles. There is no place so evidently devoid of the Holy Spirit and His authentic Spiritual gifts than modern day charismaticism. Devoid of discernment (a gift of the Holy Spirit), charismatic circles serve as a cesspool for every kind of scandalized, unwanted, and unqualified peddler of spiritual goods known to man.
Last week, MacDonald was forced to cancel his speaking gig at the Southern Baptist Pastors’ Conference, the denomination he joined after his own empire began to crumble. Most publications have turned on MacDonald and are reporting his misdeeds, such as suing journalists for being journalists which doesn’t really endear one to the press.
However, since Driscoll’s kingdom fell into scandal, MacDonald has found cover among charismatics who will accept just about anybody into their fold. Utterly devoid of the Holy Spirit, who convicts of sin, charismatics will embrace anyone despite their sin, scandal or lack of repentance.
While MacDonald has had damning pieces written about him in WorldMag, the Christian Post, the Chicago Daily Herald, and many other publications, there are a few publications that are not only ignoring the negative press but who are publishing MacDonald’s editorials as an expert on something other than being disqualified from ministry.
MacDonald’s work has increasingly been highlighted at Charisma Newsand his articles have been appearing there more frequently. Driscoll, who was once more Calvinistic than Charismatic, went full-blown Charismatic after the days of Mars Hill’s self-destruction. Charisma Media, the parent corp of Charisma Mag, is now publishing Driscoll’s latetst book. After being guilty of plagiariasm in his previous books, who else would publish it but charismatics?
There is nothing that will make someone a more committed charismatic than being disqualified from ministry. Charismaticism serves as a City of Refuge for disgraced and scandalized pastors of every stripe.
Rather than be upset that charismatic believers, devoid of the Holy Spirit, seem to have no spiritual standards, we should be pleased that Driscoll and MacDonald are exactly where they belong…right next to Michael Brown, Jim Bakker, Jennifer LeClaire, and Sneaky Squid Spirits.
What was the first sound to go out over radio waves? It was the sound of “O Holy Night,” the Christmas hymn, being played on a violin.
On December 24, 1906, the first radio broadcast was made over what was then brand new technology. Reginald Fessenden was a Canadian-born inventor who did most of his work in the United States. He built a system of wireless transmission using amplitude modulation (AM).
During that first broadcast over radio, Fessden also played the Christian song, Adore and be Still by Gounod, and finished by a closing Scripture, Luke 2:14, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men of good will.” Some accounts recall Handel’s song, Ombra mai fu, being played as well.
Radio is widely regarded as the single greatest and most influential medium in the history of the world, even more so than television and – believe it or not – even the Internet. Radio certainly deserves the award for longest lasting non-written medium. No other medium besides print – which is quickly dying before our eyes – has so largely impacted human civilization as has radio.
From AM to FM, short-wave to even pirate, various forms of radio communication has connected the world, combined continents, reached into fascist regimes, spread democracy and most importantly, spread the gospel. Walls and censors cannot stop it. Long distances cannot readily impede it. It is a form of communication that truly was, and continues to be, revolutionary.
Two millennia ago, the Son of God came into the world and was born in a stable and laid in a manger. Three astronomers pursued him from the East to welcome him (they made it late) and that night, but that night, the only welcome party to Christ were a few lowly shepherds who were tending their sheep by night.
The angels came to those lowly shepherds and and sang the words of Luke 2:14. Few heard it that night. It was a humbling way for the Christ child to enter the world.
However, the news of this baby’s birth would grow throughout the world, and continue to expand, well after that baby’s eventually death and resurrection.
How sweet is it, how surreal, that the first sound going out over the greatest form of broadcast media in world history, would be heralding the birth of this newborn king?
O holy night! the stars are brightly shining; It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth. Long lay the world in sin and error pining, Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth. A thrill of hope – the weary world rejoices, For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn! Fall on your knees! O hear the angel voices! O night divine, O night when Christ was born! O night, O holy night, O night divine!
Jews have traditionally been called, “Olive Skinned.”
It is common, at Christmas time, for globalists to repeat the narrative that the Christ-child was an illegal refugee. The desire to end the nation-state would betray their hope for individual liberty and civil rights, as such things are not guaranteed in their international communitarian utopian hope. However, it’s our goal as polemicists to set-right their twisting of Scripture.
Was Jesus really an illegal alien and “refugee?”
Jesus and his family went on a midnight flight to Egypt, at the warning of an angel, because of Herod’s mass infanticide.
13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” 14 And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
Matthew 2:13-15
However, Egypt was a part of the Roman empire. This was essentially like Jesus fleeing from Ohio to Indiana. No sovereign boundaries were crossed, and they certainly weren’t crossed illegally.
The Roman province of Egypt was established three decades before Christ’s birth after Octavian defeated Marc Antony and annexed the Ptolemaic Kingdom.
“Aegyptus,” labeled here, was Egypt.
Octavian, who brought Egypt into the empire, would become “Caesar Augustus,” the very same Caesar who issued a decree that the “whole world should be taxed” as recorded in Acts 2.
In other words, the same emperor over Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth and his region of Galilee was the same emperor over Egypt. Jesus fled the jurisdiction of Herod, but not Augustus. Again, this is more akin to the Duke boys leaving Hazzard county than Pedro jumping the Texas border. International boundaries of sovereign nation-states were simply not at play, and the comparison between illegal immigrants and the Christ-child are simply incongruous.
Historically, travel between Roman provinces was incredibly liberal. The frequent free travel between Roman provinces is made famous in the phrase, “All roads lead to Rome.” While the Romans would be horrendously harsh to the vandals or Barbarians seeking to invade from the outside, free travel from within the empire was the modus operandi.
Jesus was, however, a refugee of political persecution (Herod cared more about Jesus as King than Jesus as Lord) fleeing from genocide and infanticide. There is no doubting that Jesus left the Nazareth zipcode to flee Herod.
Regarding this fact, if we are to compare the Christ-child to pregnant border-jumpers from South or Central America, we should ask the question as to exactly what regime is wiping out a generation of infants. Is it Mexico? Honduras? Who’s murdering the babies out there?
If there is a nation out there butchering their infants (besides America, through Planned Parenthood), we should rightly warn them, then invade them, then depose them. That would be a far more humane option than allowing mobs of their young, single men to invade our borders and leave behind their sicker, weaker, elderly, or female companions in the kill-zone back home.
Of course, the only thing people are fleeing south of the American border is poverty and the occasional act of random violence, and we have plenty of that of our own. Violent crime rates in Chicago or other highly gun-controlled American cities are considerably worse than most of Mexico and almost identical to places like Mexico City. American cities like Los Angeles, New Orleans, Houston, Dallas, St. Louis, Buffalo, Baltimore, Washington D.C., and Philadelphia are considerably worse than the average Mexican zipcode. And immigrants from Mexico aren’t winding up in the rural countryside, but in major American cities – out of the frying pan and into the skillet. Again, the situation is not comparable to the Christ-child fleeing a regionalized Adolf Hitler.
Jesus’ parents weren’t pursuing a life in Egypt to collect foodstamps, government housing, and free medical care. They were escaping a first century Holocaust.
Jesus’ parents weren’t refugees in a foreign nation, but lawful visitors and legal residents of a different province in their empire.
Worship the one this Christmas who was born as a babe and laid in a manger, but don’t let him be used for the purpose of liberal propaganda.
This sermon is from Galatians 3:10-14, and is a part of the “Bewitched” sermon series. Preached by JD Hall at Fellowship Baptist Church in Sidney, how Jesus was cursed for us is explained and the passage exposited.
As always, you can watch on YouTube or on Facebook (below), or download and listen from SermonAudio.
[LMT Online] A Houston group that projected the message “Jesus was a migrant” onto the walls of several Houston buildings says leaders of Lakewood Church summoned police to remove its crew from a public sidewalk.
Over three hours Sunday evening, members of Indivisible Houston projected the message onto a wall at Discovery Green park and on buildings including Second Baptist Church, the City Hall Annex, the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, the George R. Brown Convention Center and Lakewood Church. The incident prompted a Reddit post that’s gone viral.
The group projected the words upon the Lakewood Church building.
“Right now, we are in the middle of a government shutdown over a racist fantasy from the president,” Daniel Cohen, the president of Indivisible Houston, told the Houston Chronicle, referring to President Donald Trump’s demand for money to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexican border.
“A lot of families are under fire from the same kind of ideology that is inherent in the story of Christmas and they are going to church to hear that story.”
[Editor’s Note: Jesus was not a ‘migrant.’ Egypt was brought into the Roman Empire 30 years before his birth when Octavius defeated Marc Antony. Traveling from Roman province to Roman province was like traveling from one American state to another. Travel was permitted and free within the Roman Empire. For more information on why Jesus was not a migrant, let alone an illegal one, click here]
As 2018 comes to close, it is a good time for discerning Christians to take look back at a year of theology and polemics. One way to do so is to review some of the most popular articles published here at Pulpit & Pen. Our top 10 articles, by page views, over the last year are as follows:
#1 – Why Hillsong Music is Dangerous for For Your Church. Originally published on March 17, 2016 Jeff Maples’ hard-hitting essay makes the case for banning Hillsong music at your local church. That this article is still being viewed by the thousands over two years after it was written demonstrates that the world’s most popular “worship band” is just as dangerous as ever.
#2 – Greg Locke Divorces Wife, Finds New Girlfriend. In January of 2018, Pulpit & Pen broke the news that internet-famous pastor Greg Locke, whose Facebook page boasts over 1.6 million followers, had initiated divorce proceedings with his wife of two decades and begun a relationship with his church secretary. First-hand information was provided to Pulpit & Pen from a church member who was concerned for the welfare of Locke’s now ex-wife. Despite his actions Greg Locke remains the pastor of Global Vision Bible Church in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee.
#3 – Greg Locke American Pastor. Two months after breaking the story about Greg Locke putting his wife away, Pulpit & Pen correspondent Seth Dunn tracked Greg’s estranged wife Melissa down at women’s shelter in Georgia. In an interview given to Seth, Melissa Locke detailed a tumultuous and abusive marriage to her pastor husband.
#4 – After Coming Out as Atheist, Pastor Still Keeps Job. In November of 2018, Pulpit and Pen shared the incredible story of a female “pastor” named Gretta Vosper who became an atheist but nevertheless kept her post in the United Church.
#5 – To: Lauren Daigle Re: Sin/Homosexuality. Seth Dunn penned an open letter this December to popular Christian music star Lauren Daily informing here that homosexuality was, in fact, sinful.
#6 – A Pastor’s Wife Breaks Free of Beth Moore. Originally published in May of 2017, this testimony shared by a pastor’s wife from Tennessee named Lauren remains one of Pulpit & Pen’s most viewed posts of all time. Lauren’s story is that of the quintessential Southern Baptist woman. She walked the aisle to accept Christ as a child and grew up at Bellevue Baptist Church, a flagship SBC congregation. Somewhere along the way, Lauran realized that something was amiss with the quintessential ladies’ Bible teacher, Beth Moore.
#7 – A Letter Back to Beth Moore from Seth Dunn. After popular Bible teacher Beth Moore publicly complained about a lack of consideration from her male colleagues, Pulpit & Pen correspondent Seth Dunn wrote a response to Moore and her know just what he thought of her bible-teaching ability.
#8 – Beth Moore Confronts Young Pastor’s Wife for Criticizing Her Direct, Divine Revelation. This post was originally published in 2015 and tells the story of a young woman named Jessica Lam who suffered the condescension of Beth Moore for daring to criticize her.
#9 – Beth Moore Has Man Get on His Knees, Apologize on Behalf of All Men. In October of 2018, JD Hall reported the strange tale of Kevin Jones, the drummer in the band that accompanies Beth Moore. During a Beth Moore event, Jones got down on his knees and apologized to women on behalf of all men.
#10 – A Top Freemason Speaks Out Against the Craft: An Interview with Former Eminent Grand Commander Glenn Beck. In July, Christian Apologist and Pulpit & Pen correspondent Seth Dunn traveled to Tennessee to interview Glenn Beck. Beck is a decorated Freemason and the former Eminent Grant Commander of the Tennessee York Rite. In this revealing interview, Beck explains many of the unbiblical doctrines of Freemasons and tells Christians Masons that they must choose between being a “ a Masonic witness or a Jesus witness.”
The popularity of these particular articles indicate that there is a lot of polemical work yet to do. Despite their many theological problems, Hillsong and Beth Moore remain two of the most popular producers of Christian content in the visible church. Greg Locke, a pastor who divorced his wife and married his church secretary, remains in his pastorate and maintains a 1+ Million Facebook following. Even as their membership numbers wane, Freemasons pervade the membership rolls of many a local church. During 2019, keep your Bibles open and your eyes peeled for dangerous heresies and popular false teachers. You can depend on Pulpit & Pen to continue to report to the general Christian public what mainstream Christian new sources such as Baptist Press and Christianity Today refuse to print. You can help us get the word out by sharing our articles and contacting us at talkback@pulpitandpen.org with potential stories.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Pulpit & Pen.
*Please note that the preceding is my personal opinion. It is not necessarily the opinion of any entity by which I am employed, any church at which I am a member, any church which I attend, or the educational institution at which I am enrolled. Any copyrighted material displayed or referenced is done under the doctrine of fair use.
Usually when we cover someone butchering the Scriptural narrative to push Marxist ideology it’s Timothy Keller. This time around it’s another New York liberal, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Ocasio-Cortez, the congresswoman-elect for New York’s congressional district has apparently picked up on cues from Christian liberals like Keller, Russell Moore, and the other leftist evangelicals who insist that Jesus was an illegal immigrant and refugee despite Egypt being a part of the Roman Empire.
Russell Moore made the claim that Jesus was an illegal immigrant back in 2013. Since then, liberals have been repeating that absurd claim (video below).
In this video, Moore skirted around the “undocumented” part, which he had said and continued to say until the discernment blogs eviscerated him on this point.
However, Ocasio-Cortez apparently didn’t catch that Jesus wasn’t born as a “refugee,” but was born in Bethlehem because of an intrusive registration as a part of the oppressive tax system of a centralized and overbearing government, not because of the threat from Herod. That threat would lead to Jesus’ family’s departure to Egypt until months later.
God made man in his image. It’s not right that we should make God in our image, let alone the image of a welfare-seeking illegal immigrant and undocumented Democrat in swaddling clothes.
Fred Butler was called by Brannon Howse the “Grace to You Mailroom Guy.” Butler is more than that. He’s the unofficial resident blogger at Grace to You, who for some reason heads up GTY’s Senior Citizen volunteer division (or something like that) instead of doing what seems to make far more sense, which is writing with Cameron and Jeremiah at the GTY blog (somebody give Fred a promotion). This blog post is a bone I’m hereby picking with Fred.
Now, let it be said that I am not “going after” Fred any more than I have “gone after” John MacArthur. Surely I have earned some goodwill to be heard by MacArthur or anyone else at Grace Community Church or Grace to You. I have “gone after” Ergun Caner, Greg Locke, and Clayton Jennings. When I “go after” people, they know it and soon, their career is over. What I’ve said so far about the Shepherds’ Conference having a Social Justice Warrior lineup has thus far been little more than friendly disagreement.
Without a doubt, if I haven’t earned the right to give a friendly criticism of the ShepCon lineup, then no one in the history of mankind has earned the right. Blog for blog, article for article, view for view, share for share, I think it’s safe to say that Pulpit & Pen has been the greatest defender and supporter of John MacArthur that he’s had in recent years, Phil Johnson and Pyromaniacs notwithstanding. Surely that capital of goodwill might be spent on honest (and necessary) criticism.
To the point, the criticism I will give in this article relates to Fred Butler’s appearance on the Bible Thumping Wingnut, which aired on Christmas Eve. You can listen to that episode here. The conversation between Butler and Tim Hurd (the podcast’s host) happens in the last segment.
What I’ve said from the beginning is that inviting the worst proponents of Social Justice in Reformdom to the Shepherds’ Conference while the ink of MacArthur’s pen on the Dallas Statement still isn’t yet dry is inexcusable.
By that, I don’t mean it’s unforgiveable. I mean it’s inexcusable; ie., no rational excuse can be made. Listening to Butler on BTWN made it clear that he wasn’t interested in giving any kind of rational excuse.
Butler’s irrational excuses for the illogical selection of Social Justice Warriors (the same ones taking part and lauding 2018’s MLK50 and T4G Social Justice conferences) to speak at ShepCon were largely illogical and unsubstantive. His excuses amounted to four basic defenses:
1. Duncan-Mohler-Dever are MacArthur’s friends, so like, come on, man. Don’t be difficult. Let’s be nice. They’re like, friends and stuff.
I’m rather indifferent to this defense. I’m sure – I would bet money on it – that this is the real reason for these guys still speaking at ShepCon. MacArthur is a kind and generous soul. He’s also loyal, which is ordinarily a commendable trait for both man and beast.
If MacArthur feels that Social Justice is the greatest polemical battle of our lifetime (Butler acknowledged this during his BTWN interview), then it makes zero sense to invite our opponents on this issue and the proponents of Social Justice to speak at ShepCon as if this battle isn’t currently raging on.
I assume the only force that is more powerful than common sense is personal affinity and friendship with others.
2. This will hopefully provide opportunities for dialogue and good conversations to be had by inviting these guys to preach at ShepCon.
This is the one of the excuses from Butler that made me, whilst listening to the podcast, self-commit to writing this little article.
Frankly, this logic from Butler is sub-Butler. I’ve never – in all my life – heard Fred speak something so woefully illogical. My friend’s mind usually fires on more cylinders than this. Consider the following.
The Dallas Statement on Social Justice and the Gospel came out on September 4. Thus far, we are approaching four months (or so) in. Within three days, Mohler issued a statement dismissing the Dallas document although claiming that it was problematic on certain points (not specifying what they were), he promised that it would cause “productive dialogue.”
Here’s some facts on the “productive dialogue” that Mohler promised us four months ago. No one from Mohler’s camp, Duncan’s camp, or Dever’s camp has engaged in any substantive way with the Dallas Statement or any of the 14 articles published regarding the statement by the statement writers. All of that work has been totally and completely thus far ignored.
Zip. Zilch. Nada. Nothing.
If Mohler, Duncan, or Dever were going to have “dialogue” over the Dallas Statement, they would have done it by now. These men have put an embargo on any and all conversation regarding this issue from them, their institutions, or their various publications.
If anything, my love for MacArthur – which I believe is comparable to Butler’s love for the man – makes me a tad upset that MacArthur is being mistreated by these three by outrightly ignoring his substantative concerns to the point they have not given him or “his statement” (as the press treats it) even a modicum of acknowledgment. And yet, they’ll still eagerly take the platform he is, for some inexplicable reason, offering to them. To me, that’s rude and disrespectful of MacArthur. The man is nearly 80 years old, and I can’t help but think the people around him should love him enough to not let him be disrespected, discounted, and ignored by those who would take advantage of the platform he has built through 50 years of ministry.
The idea that these men would ignore the substantive material coming out of the Dallas Statement and its 14 accompanying articles but that their presence at ShepCon is excused by the hope they might address it (what, in the green room or portico between talks?) is foolish.
Thabiti, who wouldn’t be invited to ShepCon in a thousand years (even though he’s ideologically identical to H.B. Charles, who is speaking), says Mark Dever inspired this tweet and Ligon Duncan ‘liked it.’ Critical Race Theory abounds, and virtually no one is talking about it.
You shouldn’t invite someone to come preach (thereby endorsing the ones responsible for the “greatest polemical threat of our lifetime” – to quote MacArthur) in hopes they might have a private conversation about a topic that they have so far ignored like the plague.
In fact, the argument that the conference will allow these brothers to be “reached” by our side is contradicted and made moot by the first argument made by Butler. If these men are really close friends of MacArthur, bribing them with the pulpit seems wholly unnecessary to bending their ear and reaching them by personal relationship.
3. Complaining about Duncan-Mohler-Dever speaking at ShepCon is like Brannon Howse complaining about MacArthur at the Radio Broadcaster’s Association.
That comparison may work for others, but not for me. While I have not liked JMac speaking at the Radio Broadcasters trade show with Rick Warren and others, can you find a single sidewise word from me about it? Have I spoken about it? Have I written about it? The only things I have said about it have been privately to encourage people to protect MacArthur’s reputation. One wouldn’t think the almost-octogenarian needs to be speaking at such events anyway, but I have been careful to differentiate between him speaking at a trade show and an ecclesiastical gathering.
I’ve defended MacArthur on this point against the likes of Brannon Howse, Jeff the GK, and Joshua Chavez, aka Servus Christi. Actually, I would go so far as to say no one has defended MacArthur more on this point than me. While it may be an effective strategy to liken every critic of MacArthur to Brannon Howse, anyone who knows my history with Howse knows that I chose my camp, drew my line, and have stuck to it. I have not coalesced with Howse in any way.
Likewise, I’ve shown restraint and reasonability when Howse has not. While not agreeing with White’s Interfaith Dialogue or how it was done and the language used regarding it, I am on explicit record (on the same stage as Phil Johnson and Justin Peters, mind you), saying that White should not be anathamatized over the issue and that the reaction to the IFD was an over-reaction.
Lumping me in with Howse is intellectually dishonest. I left my gig broadcasting at Worldview Weekend because I was (effectively) forced to choose between Howse and MacArthur. I chose MacArthur, and it was not a hard decision to make. I would go even further to say uttering my name in the same conversation as Howse should indicate Butler owes me an apology.
Finally on this point, it’s also intellectually dishonest to fail in differentiating between being invited to a conference to speak and inviting others. While I may not have liked JMac sharing the stage with suspect or problematic people in the past (Piper, for example), inviting people to YOUR conference is a whole other category. Surely, Butler can see that.
4. Characterizing criticism of the SJW Shepcon lineup as the same as accusing JMac of being compromised on the issue is logic that does not follow.
I have never accused Dr. MacArthur of being compromised on any issue. That should be clear. Rather, I’m arguing that it makes no reasonable sense and is intellectually indefensible to invite the worst proponents in Reformdom on the issue that MacArthur himself believes is the biggest polemical battle of our day, for some other reason than correction (they wouldn’t accept that invitation, let’s be honest).
My argument is not, and never has been compromise. It has been foolishness, perhaps impaired by personal friendship. There is no doubt Russell Moore (who is ideologically identical to Albert Mohler), Thabti Anyabwile (ideologically identical to Mark Dever), or Jemar Tisby (ideologically identical to Ligon Duncan) would not be invited to ShepCon on grounds of their ideology. The only thing that separates these men from those at ShepCon is the personal friendship of John MacArthur.
After listening to Butler on BTWN hem-haw around the subject and “golly-gee” eye-rolling himself without argumentative substance, I remain even further convinced that the decision to have a SJW lineup at ShepCon was the wrong decision and undermines the Dallas Statement by minimizing the error that it was designed to address.
Joseph was thrown in prison because Potiphar’s wife tried to rape him, and he fled to maintain his purity. Jim Bakker was thrown in prison because he raped a woman and used ministry funds to cover it up. However, Bakker – who is now out of jail and running the same type of real estate scams that led to his imprisonment – recently claimed that his prison time was just like Joseph’s.
Jim Bakker told R.T. Kendall on The Jim Bakker Show – which he runs from a retirement end-times survival community – that God allowed him to go to prison.
Bakker said, “Even when I was in the midst of the prison, God means this for good. Today I feel almost privileged that I was able to spend that time with God. It changed my life.”
Bakker tag-team raped a woman with another evangelist and was caught giving her 300k in tax-deductible ministry donations to pay her off. This brought investigator’s attentions to his real estate scam in which he was selling time-shares to donors fraudulently. Bakker was indicted on eight counts of mail fraud, 15 counts of wire fraud, and one count of conspiracy, and he was sentenced to 45 years in the federal penitentiary. Later, the sentence was reduced to eight years. To this day, he still owes the IRS about six million dollars.
Joseph, on the other hand…
11 One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. 12 She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house (Genesis 39:11-12)
Potiphar’s wife then ran claiming #MeToo and had him arrested. That’s not only a different reason than Jim Bakker was arrested, it’s kind of the opposite. Bakker was the rapist in this scenario, not the innocent party.
[Now the End Begins] A new ‘Students For Satan’ club has just completed its inaugural semester at North Carolina State University, welcoming students interested in Satanism.
Give the Devil his due, folks, he’s earned it. Seriously. First he convinced people that he’s not real, now he’s convincing people that you can be a satanist and not worship Satan. That requires some pretty deep levels of deception to pull that off. In case you haven’t noticed, satanism in America is experiencing a meteoric rise in popularity in our day.
“For some are already turned aside after Satan.” 1 Timothy 5:15 (KJV)
Remember when college was a time in a young person’s life when they went to receive a higher education? Now it’s a place where people have their faith ripped out of their hands, and the god of this world is glorified. I find it interesting that some of the stated ‘core values’ of the Students For Satan club include, humanism, self-love and urging people to be guided by their “individual will”. Now where have I heard that before? I find it fitting that the mascot of the NC State sports teams is an angry, snarling wolf baring its teeth. Wolfpack, indeed.
“For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.” Isaiah 14:13,14 (KJV)
Hate to break it to you, millennial geniuses, but any group that calls themselves ‘satanic students’ is indeed a group whose followers are satanists, and walking after the Devil himself. Are you worshipping Satan? You absolutely are. And while I’m at it, shame on you so-called Christian students at NC State for not rising up against this burgeoning evil. If you’re going to ‘live and let live’, which is not a Bible teaching, you might as well become a satanic student yourself. But thanks for proving to all our readers around the world that we are indeed in the end times.
“This semester, the group has held public meetings to attract and gain interest,” Satanic Students told The College Fix in an email interview. “These meetings have largely consisted of discussions with new and potential members about the type of Satanism practiced by the group.”
According to its “get involved” website: “The mission of Satanic Students at NC State University is to 1) encourage benevolence and empathy among all people, 2) reject tyrannical authority, 3) advocate scientific examination of the universe and our place in it, 4) promote morality and justice based on rational, humanistic values, and 5) be directed by the human conscience to undertake noble pursuits guided by the individual will.”
A recent slide presentation at one of their meetings stated: “Does Satanic Students worship Satan? Short answer: no. Long answer: Satan doesn’t exist,” the Technician student newspaper reported.
“At future public meetings, we hope to perpetually refine our group’s mission through identifying, and challenging, consensus views among the membership; acting on those views when sufficient support is reached,” the group said.
“Members come from a variety of religious and non-religious backgrounds,” the email stated, adding that despite the fact that there is “a substantial Christian presence … projected around campus, most students have a ‘live and let live’ attitude that we respect and gladly reciprocate. We have yet to encounter any significant backlash.”
[Editor’s Note: This article was written by Geoffrey Grider and first published atNow the End Begins. This post should also serve as an example to the publication, Now the End Begins, as to how to properly attribute material]
On the surface, this seems like a foolish or even pharisaical question. The fact of the matter is that there are none worthy to stand righteous before God except his perfect son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Every believer struggles with sin every day and will continue to do so until the Lord returns and raises us anew in glory. None of us are really better than another. Yet, we can still fairly ask and answer, “Who is the worst Christian of 2018?” if we consider the question in terms of an individual’s influence on the visible church at large. Who out there, among the professing, has had the most deleterious effect on the health of the body of Christ in the year 2018? Using a number of criteria and identifying candidates from a pool of nominees (obvious charlatans and the theologically heterodox were not included for consideration). I have come up with one professing Christian who can fairly be considered “The Worst Christian of 2018.”
Nominees were as follows:
Danny Akin, President of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
John Crist, Christian Comedian
Greg Locke, Pastor and Internet Pundit
Beth Moore, popular Christian speaker and author
Thom Rainer, President of LifeWay Christian Resources
Andy Stanley, Megachurch Pastor and leadership guru.
After careful consideration of the use of power, influence, responsibility, and the expression of theology, I hereby bestow the title of “Worst Christian of 2018” to Thom Rainer.
Mr. Rainer, you famously authored the best-selling bookI am a Church Member. An author, leadership coach, and the long-time CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources, you are held up by many as some kind of expert on church membership and church operations. Well, Mr, Rainer, I am a church member. As a church member, I can say with complete confidence that your influence on the local church is among the most harmful in all the visible church and Christian industrial complex. Upon announcing your retirement from LifeWay, you stated:
I love the local church, with all of its imperfections and idiosyncratic ways. I want to give every minute God allows me to make a difference to see churches revitalized.
You love the local church? Either you are a liar or you are remarkably obtuse and theologically stupid. Given that you have a PhD from Southern Seminary and served as a dean there for twelve years, I am not inclined to believe that you are obtuse or stupid. I am inclined to believe that you are greedy and love money more than you love Jesus and His local churches. When I think of you, your words, and what you sell for a profit at LifeWay, I am reminded of the words of my Lord Jesus:
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
Matthew 6:24
The worst thing about you, Mr. Rainer, is that you do not produce heresy and false teaching, you distribute it for a profit. You do not author new-age montanist heresy unfit to drive the plot of a cheesy network sitcom, Sarah Young does. You sell Jesus Calling and the entire franchise of products which go with it. If not for your allowing the sale of such dung, I wouldn’t have had to snatch it from the hand of a fellow student at the New Orleans Baptist on-campus bookstore and warn her of its demonic content. You do not gyrate on stage, preach prosperity sermons to roaring crowds, and teach detestable Oneness Pentecostal doctrines, TD Jakes does. You sell TD Jakes’ books to people who come to a Christian store looking for godly reading material. You do not write emotionally charged word-garbage disguised as Bible studies, Beth Moore does. You sell Beth Moore’s products to thousands of women who need spiritual direction. You do not write how-to-guides for creating dimly lit rock-n-roll goat shows, Andy Stanley does. You sell Andy Stanley’s leadership books to young men who desire success in the pastorate. You do not teach the heresy of universalism, William Paul Young does. You made his book, The Shack, the “Book of the Month” at LifeWay. You did not make up fanciful tales of Heaven Tourism, Colton Burpo, Don Piper, and Alex Malarkey did. Alex Malarkey admitted his book was fake. You sold it anyway. Perhaps the situation at LifeWay would be less tragic if you had no standards at all, but you do. There is actually a black list of authors you won’t sell. So it’s not as if you won’t sell anything for money, just almost anything.
Mr. Rainer, you are not unlike a drug dealer or distributor of pornography. You do not grow harmful substances out of the ground, you make it your job by making it easier for people to buy them. You do not perform depraved sex acts on a set to titillate the lustful, you distribute the dirty movies to them. Not only do you act in this way, but you actually sell coaching services so that other men, specifically pastors, can learn to lead like you. Your “platinum mentoring package” comes at a price of $249.97 per month. Why anyone, especially a pastor, would want to pay any amount of money for email access, training, and a video call with you is beyond me. It makes me feel equal parts angry and nauseated to know that there are pastors who want to learn how to be a CEO like you. Contributing greatly to receiving the title is the fact that you are franchising your particular and disturbing brand of churchmanship. Your collective influence from selling sub-par Christian literature to training up the next generation to do the same has made you the worst Christian of 2018.
I pray that in 2019 you’ll abandon your plans to start a “church revitalization” business and keep your harmful influence away from Christ’s churches, with the exception of finding one local church to serve, after a period of personal reflection and repentance for your career of serving mammon. While there may be many who would justify your life of profiteering in the name of the money you have raised for evangelism, I am not one of them. The ends do not justify the means.
You, Thom Rainer, are the personification of religious greed. You are a modern day Tetzel. Sadly, I think you are surrounded by sycophantic wannabe yes-men who praise you, want to be the next you, or at the very least want to be promoted by you. I wish more people loved you enough to adjure you to change course.
Thom Rainer, you are the worst Christian of 2018.
*Please note that the preceding is my personal opinion. It is not necessarily the opinion of any entity by which I am employed, any church at which I am a member, any church which I attend, or the educational institution at which I am enrolled. Any copyrighted material displayed or referenced is done under the doctrine of fair use.
