Adventures in missing the point

Jerry at C?RN. info was commenting on JC Ryle’s assessment of unconverted pastors. (The reason I place a question mark after C is that many of those who write and comment on this site do not display the fruit of the Spirit in their condemning of true believers- recently, a commenter said that a Christian sister and brother were terrorists):

56. Chris L Says:
July 1st, 2009 at 4:03 pm

Paul – Phil got the context of my comment right – Ingrid, Bin Laden & the abortionist-shooter all operate from the same frame of reference in terms of their willingness to use violence (in word or deed) to accomplish the ends their “god” directs them to…

So you see, when Ryle makes this point, Jerry, and others on this site may think it hits a little close to home for them. Here is my commentary:

[concerning John 10: 1 — "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber."]

I think you would agree, Jerry, that this is within the passage where Jesus proclaims himself both as the door and as the good shepherd. I think Ryle’s interpretation is spot on, and you missed the point. If you enter in to the sheep fold, as it were, by any means but by the gate (Jesus) you are a thief and a robber. I do not know how many ministers or professing Christians this is, but I can name a few that I have observed personally and over the internet that would qualify. There are many, as Paul said, that are ear ticklers, having a form of godliness, but lacking the power, and, of course, Jesus Himself noted in the last days perilous times would come, and that there would be a great falling away, a great apostasy, and that many would come in His name but would be false prophets. These are those people that are the thieves and the robbers John and JC Ryle are referring to- both in the pulpit and in the pews.

The sentence before us is a powerful and humbling one. That is [sic.] condemns the Jewish teachers of our Lord’s time all men can see. There was no “door” in their ministry. They taught nothing rightly about Messiah. They rejected Christ Himself when He appeared,—but all men do not see that the sentence condemns thousands of so-called Christian teachers, quite as much as the leaders and teachers of the Jews.

I agree again, heartily. Who was Jesus speaking to? He was speaking to the crowd, with Pharisees present, in the midst of what the ESV study Bible calls the festival cycle, where the persecution of the Jewish leaders was intensifying. All who came before Him, that is, those false prophets of his day as well as the false prophets of old, as well as the Pharisees and other Jewish leaders, were thieves and robbers, and the true sheep who knew Jesus’ voice did not listen to them. (John 10:8)
This can be directly applied to today with the example of many of the emergent camp, the purpose driven camp, and many old-line denominations. (It is across all denominations, really) The true sheep know the voice of God, a true consistent voice that Jesus has mentioned before (John in regards to the Pharisees and the false believers. They know not the voice of God, because they are in the darkness. Only those who believe in the one true God can hear and comprehend the words of God. In the positive, the true convert can recognize and put into practice the words of God. They know the voice of their shepherd.

Thousands of ordained men in the present day know nothing whatever of Christ, except His name. They have not entered “the door” themselves, and they are unable to show it to others. Well would it be for Christendom if it were more widely known, and more seriously considered! Unconverted ministers are the dry-rot of the Church. “When the blind lead the blind” both must fall in the ditch.

That also can be borne out by simple examination, by the word of God, looking into the fruits of the ministry. First, who does the ministry point to? Who is getting the credit? I submit to you, Jerry, that many of the purpose driven/ seeker sensitive churches out there today love people so much that they toss Christ out of the equation and make it all about the best media, the best entertainment, the most relevant topics, and questions about Jesus passing gas or not, and whether or not oral sex is biblical. Did Jesus die for this? Does Jesus live for this? Who is getting the glory? Those pastors and their brilliant plans to fill up their superdomes. Nothing whatever about the glory of God, the penal substitutionary atonement of Christ by which He was punished by His Father for our sins. Nothing about holy living, being living sacrifices- because that doesn’t sell- except by the true sheep. These thieves and robbers are appropriately called goat herders, because that is who they attract.

If we know the value of a man’s ministry, we must never fail to ask, Where is the Lamb? Where is the door? Does he bring forth Christ, and give Him his rightful place? (Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Vol. 3, 176)
J.C. Ryle

Amen. who do they attract? People who want to be ministered to their own perceived needs rather than ministering to God, worshipping Him alone, not themselves and their needs. Sheep seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness- and the promise is that all these other things will be added unto you. AMEN!

I would say that Ryle’s assessment was accurate for His time and for ours. A ministry that focusses on everything that is opposite of the word of God cannot be of God. Any ministry that says that unrighteousness, fornication, lying, stealing, drunkeness, homosexuality…etc is a-ok stands in opposition of the Word of God. Any faith that adds works of righteousness to salvation is filled with Goats- Justification is by grace alone through faith alone- not by works lest any man will boast. Anybody who adds anything to grace is ananthema, who says that justification was not completed by Jesus at the cross and affirmed by God through the resurrection, and therefore you must do works (baptism, communion, confirmation, church attendance, specific sabbaths) in order to be fully justified is dead wrong and likely unconverted, and at the very least deceiving many into Hell.

So I say, Jerry, that Ryle was being kind to say thousands. I think I might be accurate in saying most. And I would add, you can see it on the C?RN.info site daily.

Godly Fathers

25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way m husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

This is a passage that I used to counsel and preach at the wedding two weeks ago, but on this Fathers’ day, I think it appropriate that we revisit this passage of scripture to examine the role of Fathers ( who should be necessarily husbands) and what we ought to be doing in the home. Unfortunately, for you, you have an imperfect father and husband trying to preach this message. It is only by the grace of God that I have presently an intact family, for I have made many more mistakes than correct decisions. But that is the nature of the Christian walk; it is more about being aware of what it is we are to do according to the Word, and then by the power of the Holy Spirit, submitting to that and by faith allowing God through the Holy Spirit to work in and through you on behalf of your family.

First to review: The role of the Husband is simple. All we must do is be Jesus Christ to our family. That statement reveals a little sarcasm on my part, but it is possible, or Paul would not suggest it. We are called to self sacrificially love our wives. This is directly related to their submission to us, for if we do the opposite, and oppress our wives and lay down unreasonable demands of submission on her despite our behavior. Our role as Fathers has that major demand. Christ is the head of all. We are responsible to model the headship of Christ in our lives and in our relationship in dying to ourselves and our needs in deference to our wives and ultimately to our family. Our family is responsible for their own actions, regardless of how well we perform our duties as husband and father. But we are accountable, dads, for our family. We will be held accountable for the responsibility that we have as the head of our homes.

The word head here is Kephale, which means master, and lord. In every case of the use of this word, person A is the head of person B. Many have argued that this word means ‘source’, that is that the Husband is the source for the wife as Christ is the source for the church. In no way is the husband the source, either spiritually or physically. He is in charge, just like Christ is in charge of the church. But this should not be interpreted as a dictatorship, for Christ earned that role by His death and resurrection. And He continues that role through gently winning our heart through His role as our advocate with the Father. We as husbands must do the same; we must die to ourselves and provide the spiritual headship of the home through our service to our wives and family. We must win their hearts gently through the demonstration of service to them. Unfortunately, since we are the head of the house, and therefore we as Fathers are responsible for the house. I think about Job as an example of the Fathers’ role.

5 And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually.

Now note: Job was master of his house, and as master, he did not demand respect and lord it over his children. He earned respect by serving his children by offering sacrifices and consecrating them. He would send for them and consecrate them, indicating that he would pray over them. This is a proof of a relationship with them. He was an example to them of a relationship with God and demonstrated for them how they might be forgiven. He did this not because of specific sins, but because they might have sinned. He didn’t wait; rather, he rose early in the morning to make these sacrifices. Job didn’t do this one time, he did it continually. He didn’t demand that his children do it or his wife do it for him; for he recognized that it was his job as keeper and protector and head of his household. He was responsible for the activities that went on in his household, as we husbands and fathers are. And since we are not omnipresent and not omniscient, like God, we will fail to know every last thing that is going on in our kids’ lives. So we must pray for them and consecrate them through our prayers and our righteous example. And note: Job was not relieved when his children were killed that now somehow he was relieved of his responsibility. He loved them very much so he was broken and he was devastated. His service to them as their Father developed a deep and abiding love for them. But he also did not curse God, for he recognized that:

21 And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.
22 In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.

God has given us our children as a trust, and indeed as a blessing. Our love and our care for their physical as well as spiritual well being is an act of worship towards God who gave them to us. Our lack of concern and lack of caring would demonstrate the opposite.
The verses that follow in Ephesians 6 give us a picture of the responsibilities of children in the home:

6 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” 4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

1. Children are to obey their parents in the Lord. I know we are talking about Fathers here, but Children’s obedience is due towards both parents. Observe again what Paul says: Christ is the head (of the church, and of the Christian Family) and the Husband, under Christ’s headship is the head of the wife. The wife submits to the Husband as the husband submits to Jesus Christ (this really does all hinge on the husband!!). The Children are to submit themselves to both parents through obedience to them. The Greek word Hupakouo leaves no room like the word head leaves no room for different interpretations. Children are to obey, be obedient to, and hearken to the command of, and to submit to their parents. They are to do this in the Lord, that is, their relationship towards their parents is a direct reflection of their relationship to the Lord. Now that is huge! If a child is rebellious and disobedient, the child is likely not redeemed. In fact, in the Old Testament, disobedience to the parent brought the death penalty. In the New Testament, it is the evidence of the grave sin of those who are in rebellion against God. On the positive end, when a child obeys his Father and his mother in the Lord, it is a spiritual act of Worship to the Lord.

2. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”

Part of how Children are to honor their parents is being obedient to them. The obedience of children towards their parents is again one of the evidences that they know God. By obeying their parents, they are obeying God, and showing that they love God by keeping his commandments (1 John 5). This is the first and only of the Ten Commandments that comes with a promise. The promise has to do not with long physical life, but a long spiritual life that begins with regeneration, continues in sanctification, and will continue into eternity with glorification. Obeying the laws does not save us, but our obedience to them is evidence that we are saved. It is what we ought to do because we have a new nature.

3. 4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

These verses in the sixth chapter of Ephesians, however comes directly back to Fathers. This is not to say that wives and children are not responsible for their individual lives and decisions. However, the Christian father really sets the tone in the household. This negative instruction is that we should not Parorgizo- that is we should not rouse our children to wrath, provoke them, exasperate them, make them angry. I think this instruction has to do with the nature of Fathers to be competitive and demanding and holding high expectations for their children. Many fathers are hard drivers as far as their own careers and their passions. Sometimes, they try to live their dreams through their children, and that can exasperate a child who is gifted differently by God. It is also natural for fathers to demand respect and lord it over their children. This tendency can happen even to fathers who are Christians. This is why Paul starts here with a negative, as an encouragement to go a different way. Our goal is to win the heart of our children, and you will never win a heart, or even take a heart by demanding it.

There is a simple balance that we must master as dads. We must bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Dads, we are the priests of our households. As the Lord instructed the children of Israel in Deuteronomy 6:

4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

We are called to diligently teach our children, that is we are to bring them up and disciple them in the ways of the Lord. One of these things is discipline. The discipline of the Lord includes the behavior described here, loving the Lord with all of our being, and doing it all the time, but also teaching it all the time. We as fathers must never quit instructing our children in the ways of the Lord. We are the ones who are responsible for our children’s spiritual lives. We are not to exasperate them, but we are to discipline them. We are not to provoke them, but we are to teach them. We are to do neither of these things to make little copies of us, but to make them look like Jesus Christ. We are to do all these things because of what Jesus Christ has done for us.

If the Father performs his role by the power of the Holy Spirit, it does not guarantee that the children or the wife will respond rightly. But the husband sets the tone and builds the atmosphere by which the children and the wife can have a better chance. Dads are so important. From the view of the father, children build their view of God. What do your children know about God through you? From the view of the Christian family, people form their opinion about the church. What does your family tell the world about Christ and the Church?

There is good news here at the end. Fathers- we all make mistakes. We do not do this perfectly. Tomorrow is a new day! Wives, and kids, I urge you that if Dad realizes that he needs to make changes, and is in the process of doing so, you need to forgive him and support him as he takes his role as the head of the house. Forgive your husband, and your Dad. Submit to him, wives. Do not remind him of past failures. Kids, support dad as he tries to begin new habits. Respect his leadership of the home. All of you in the family has a role to honor your husband and your father. Do it as an act of worship to God and as a testimony to the world.

Tony Jones, Emergents, and Kashmir.

Recently, Tony Jones on his belief net blog stated that

Kashmir

was the greatest rock and roll song ever. Musically, it is a tune I was familiar with in my growing up years. I do not think anything can be inherently wrong with music, but it is the lyrics I am concerned with. I want to ask is what do these lyrics mean and these musicians’ lifestyles that he supports say about him and the emergent church?

Oh let the sun beat down upon my face
Stars to fill my dream
I am a traveler of both time and space
To be where I have been
To sit with elders of the gentle race
This world has seldom seen
They talk of days for which they sit and wait
All will be revealed

Talk and song from tongues of lilting grace
Whose sounds caress my ear
But not a word I heard could I relate
The story was quite clear

Kashmir is a region between India, China, and Pakistan; all three governments have a role in governing the region. Apparently, it is a very beautiful place. Of interest to me, however, for the context of this commentary, is the fact that Kashmir was a center of worship for the Hindu and Buddhist traditions. This song is rich in religious significance, and I think that is significant when we consider Tony Jones’ enjoyment of the song. Tony Jones’ churchwholistic Christian missional community
instead of practicing Christian traditions on Sunday Morning practices the Hindu (Satanic) practice of Yoga. They say it is exercise, but what it is according to Hindu traditions is the worship of their myriad of Gods. Brian McLaren, Doug Pagitt, and other emergent gurus love the contemplative practices of the Hindus and Doug Pagitt honors their traditions in Solomons Porch by having more quotes from their writings and poetry on their walls than scripture quotes.

Back to Page, the one who Tony Jones so admires. It is no secret that Page was involved in many occultic practices during the writing of this song. One of Page’s heroes was Alister Crowley, so much so that he purchased Crowley’s estate Boleskine House in 1971, on the shore of Loch Ness where Crowley practiced his Hellish, Satanic sex-magick rituals, including human sacrifices. Guitarist Jimmy Page would actually performed Crowley magical rituals during their concerts. Crowleys teachings and writings were woven throughout Led Zepplin songs because of Pages’ fixation with him. Kashmir is a fine example of this.

One of the new-age and Satanic practices is called Astral Projection, and this seems to be the reference to being a traveller of time and space. Page believed that he could travel about and speak to ‘elders of the gentle race’. It makes me wonder if he spoke with the same ‘masters’ that Bell spoke of in his message regarding breathing:

“[In Yoga] it’s not how flexible you are, it’s not whether you can do the poses, it’s not how much you can bend yourself, it’s can you keep your breath [breathes in and out] consistent [breathes out] through whatever you are doing.

And the Yoga Masters say this is how it is when you follow Jesus and surrender to God. Is it’s your breath being consistent. It’s your connection with God regardless of the pose you find yourself in. That’s integrating the divine into the daily.”

These ‘elders’ in Pages song sit outside of time and space, and can apparently see the future that will be revealed. It seems as though they are little gods in control and with full knowledge of a future that they have seen. Page’s description of their talk was ‘lilting grace’ that caressed his ear (ear tickling?). Their talk, their songs carry the same tone as yoga-inspired Indian folk music (you see how it all ties together). It truly makes me wonder what God Tony Jones and his emergent cronies are busy worshiping.

Oh, I been flying… mama, there ain’t no denyin’
I’ve been flying, ain’t no denyin’, no denyin’

All I see turns to brown, as the sun burns the ground
And my eyes fill with sand, as I scan this wasted land
Trying to find, trying to find where I’ve been.

Oh, pilot of the storm who leaves no trace
Like thoughts inside a dream
Heed the path that led me to that place
Yellow desert stream
My Shangri-La beneath the summer moon
I will return again
Sure as the dust that floats high in June
When movin’ through Kashmir

Oh, father of the four winds, fill my sails
Across the sea of years
With no provision but an open face
Along the straits of fear

When I’m on, when I’m on my way, yeah
When I see, when I see the way, you stay-yeah

Ooh, yeah-yeah, ooh, yeah-yeah, when I’m down…
Ooh, yeah-yeah, ooh, yeah-yeah, well I’m down, so down
Ooh, my baby, oooh, my baby, let me take you there

Let me take you there. Let me take you there

Who does Tony Jones and Led Zepplin want to fill their sails? The Father of the Four Winds? Who is that?

Daniel 7:1-7 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters. Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man’s heart was given to it. And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh. After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it. After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.

What came up out of the sea as a result of the Father (Satan) of the four winds of Hell?

Revelation 6:1-8 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

What I get from this ‘greatest song EVER’ is that Led Zepplin and their listeners (like Tony Jones) have a different view of reality. They desire to trust Satan, the Father of the four winds, to fill their sails, and take them to a place called Shangri-La. Shangri-La has become synonymous with any earthly paradise but particularly a mythical Himalayan utopia—a permanently happy land, isolated from the outside world. The story of Shangri-La is based on the concept of Shambhala, a mystical city in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. This is a place like the Emergents like Tony Jones envision the kingdom of God they are intending to bring to earth. They are allowing Satan (whether they know it or not) to bring them across their life (sea of years) to an imagined paradise (Kashmir/Shangri-La). I wonder if this is where Tony Jones’ pastor, Doug Pagitt, envisions that God will ‘reconcile and restore all mankind’.

No, in reality, though they believe they are right and are pleasing God, The emergents echo Page and Plant in that they want to ‘take you down’ with them.

Yoga, Peacemaking Circles, Sermon Discussions, and Gays With Faith

It is all in a weeks work at Solomon’s Porch, a church conversation holistic community in Minneapolis, MN. Here is what is on the menu for the week:

This Week’s Opportunities to Participate in the Solomon’s Porch Community

Tuesday, April 21th
Men’s Breakfast
8:00am at The Sunnyside Up Cafe (2704 Lyndale)

Sermon Discussion Group
7:30pm at Solomon’s Porch. Join to collaborate and discuss next week’s sermon. All are welcome.

So imagine this Trucker Frank (a real guy) and Joe (probably someone real) and Tom, Dick, and Harry can come and collaborate on a sermon. No need to study, dive into the Greek, strain over words and phrases and commentaries…no, come one come all and collaborate. One week I was there the sermon collaboration team came up with Muslim/Jewish/Christian Iconography, which was demonstrated comparing Jesus’ life with pictures of her (the preacher’s) child. Toss the Bible out, and you can call anything a sermon!

Wednesday, April 22th

Porch Play Group
10:00am-1:00pm at Sovereign Grounds Coffee Shop. Please let Mimi Schirber know if you are coming.
First Wednesday of each month: in the kid’s room at Solomon’s Porch
Second Wednesday: we’ll join other families at the Parenting Oasis (3901 Chicago Ave)
Third Wednesday: Downtown Library in the kid’s section
Fourth Wednesday: Sovereign Grounds, a coffee shop (with a huge kids area) on the corner of 48th and Chicago
If you have any questions or suggestion please contact Mimi- mimi@smsbuilders.com or 651-338-0633.

No Community Dinner Planned

Thursday, April 23th

Peacemaking Circles 7:30 – 9:00 pm. Peacemaking Circles, hosted by Theresa Cecka. Meets Thursday night, April 23rd, at Solomon’s Porch from 7:30 to 9:00. This exercise has been practiced for centuries and has been adopted by the Native American culture as a way to resolve conflict, make tribal decisions in a consensus format, and enter into a trusting, open, and confidential space. Join in with us to reach places in communication that our culture seldom reaches.

Theresa Cecka, who lists her favorite books as the Arab-Israeli Conflict and Koran, (this is fascinating for someone who claims to love Jesus…Shouldn’t the Bible be at least in the top two?) And doesn’t the Bible have guidance about how to communicate with one another and solve conflicts within a church? Like in the Red Letters of Jesus where he tells us in Matthew 18:15-17 15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as s a Gentile and a tax collector….I suppose this is part of the holistic missional community, to throw out the Bible as useful ( as Doug Pagitt says…who uses the Bible for Stress Relief? ) for, as Paul says in 2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

Gays With Faith
7:00pm – 9:00pm in the Study (library) room at Solomon’s Porch. This is a study/support group for those struggling with what “Gay Christian” means for them.

Gays with faith in what? There is no struggle, here. If there was a struggle as a Christian, these people would be fighting their sin with every ounce of effort instead of relying on Tony Compolo, Tony Jones, Brian McLaren, and other emergent false prophets to tell them that being Gay is A-OK. I wonder if Tony Jones is moderating this group with quotes from his blog like this:

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

Sorry, Tony, that is not what the Bible says.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

But the next verse gives hope for all those listed:

11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

So, instead of lying to these people who are trapped in sin, and instead of allowing them to have conversations about what being a gay christian false convert means to them, why not tell them the truth in Christ that they can be born again, and be washed, sanctified, and justified!

Transform: Our Abolitionist Group
7:00pm at Solomon’s Porch. All are welcome. We meet every first and third Thursday of the month. Transform Group meets to respond to the current problem of Global slave trade and human-trafficking, locally and internationally. Contact Daniel at 763.923.1220 or transform@solomonsporch.com. Check the Transform blog for frequently updated news from the abolitionist movement! http://transformaai.blogspot.com

Saturday, April 25th

Men’s 12 Step Group
8:00-9:30am at Solomon’s Porch. Come talk with other men about our struggles and addictions. If you have questions contact Steve at 651-503-3010

Mukti Event starts at 6:00! Mukti (Hindi for freedom/liberation/deliverance) 6:00 pm this Saturday, April 25th a benefit for victims of sex slavery in India at Solomon’s Porch. A Transform sponsored event to invite your friends and acquaintances. This will be a very special event!
6 pm Reception
7:30 pm Speaker (Debbie Walker from Freedom Firm)
8 pm Film
and more…(Indian food, music, art, henna…)

We are almost through a week, and the Bible is not yet mentioned. We are through a week, and there is no prayer time mentioned. We have play groups, we have breakfasts, we have conversations until the cows come home. But no Bible Study? No time of even contemplative prayer? Nope. Instead we have idolatry in practice:

Sunday, April 26th
Yoga & Prayer 9:30 – 11:00 am. in the Movement Studio at the Porch.

As Doug Pagitt stated after an interview with Larry King and John McArthur- he believed that reading the Bible is no way to reduce stress, he prefers Yoga. He cannot say with David that he loves the law, that he pants after God like a deer longing after water. No, instead he must twist himself into positions that are used to worship pagan deities. I guess holistic means pantheistic.

Worship Gathering
5:00 & 7:00pm at Solomon’s Porch.

Finally, a worship gathering. The question, as you look at the walls and the time spent in this missional community doing everything but studying God’s Word, Evangelizing, and praying…you have to wonder….what or who are they worshipping. It cannot be the amazing, all powerful God of the Bible, for if it were, He would transform the church and the people within it so they would not put up with this nonsense.

Monday, April 27th
Art Discussion Group
7:00pm at the Porch. Contact Luke at lukehillestad@gmail.com for more info or visit http://porchart.blogspot.com.

Nope, instead we worship art, beauty, poetry, pagan deities, our selves and our processes. It is the worship of self in any way that you cut it. It is the oldest lie in the book. And Solomon’s Porch in Minneapolis is perpetrating it.

An excellent observation

Rick Freuh has posted an excellent observation about some of the modern philosophers that I believe Jude, Peter, Paul and Jesus (in Matthew 24) are speaking very clearly about in Attractive Words of Deception or Enticing Words of Men’s Wisdom
In it, he discusses a post-modern philosopher of whom people like Phyllis Tickle, Rob Bell, and others in the emergent/emerging conversation/church are literally ga ga over. Rick states:

Peter Rollin’s view of Christianity showcases a growing turning point in Scriptural Christianity, and with subtlety and deft of language he and others are steering people into a place of spiritual nebulousness. And in fact, as evidenced by Rollin’s words themselves, he and others would embrace that description of their movement. They seek to dismantle truth, claiming that if it is truth it will be reconstructed, but all the while they treat truth as a vacillating pursuit that cannot be fully understood, much less captured. His and other’s views of spiritual truth are an intangible paradigm that defies paper and pen and only serves as a philosophy in theory which is believed by behavior rather than believed and then revealed by behavior.

That is an incredible insight; for it is practiced almost universally by the leaders of this emerging whatever they call a church. They would be better off simply describing what it is: a bunch of people believing whatever they want to believe and calling their behavior christian. It is the oldest lie in the book, that somehow we by our behavior or works can become Christian. THis is Hell’s best kept secret- that we are all sinners by nature and that there is absolutely nothing (even our best works are filthy rags) that we can do. And this lie, this secret, is being propogated by these philosophers that have snuck into our churches unaware.

I want to thank Rick, Ken Silva, and others who have deftly warned us about these folks, for it is only in revealing their teaching and recognizing it for what it is that we can defend against it.

Let us heed the words of our Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 24:

11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

We must be warned and be aware of false prophets. We must not succumb to the lawlessness, which in part is a departure from the Word of God and the truth found in Christ. We must endure in Christ to the end so that we may be saved-glorified- with Him. And we must as long as we live proclaim the gospel- the true, Biblical Gospel- throughout the world as a testimony to all nations.

Another ADM (Ancient Discernment Minister) Speaks Wisdom into This Modern World

Another Ancient Discernment Minister is ready to come in a speak God’s undeniable truth to emergents, evanjellyfish, and all other deniers of the truth:

2 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

Tony Jones has gone far beyond secretly bringing in destructive heresies. He has gone right to blasphemy in some of his most recent posts:

Tony JonesSo deeply did God enter into the uniquely human experience of godforsakeness that God even died. God experienced grief in the shattering of the eternal relationality of the Trinity. Yes, God really died.

So, when Jesus rose from the grave, it was more than the resusitation of a corpse (hell, I’ve seen Criss Angel do that!). Instead, it was a foretaste of the eschaton. I described Jesus’ miracles in the last post as significations of the new, eschatological age that Jesus the Messiah inaugurated. The resurrection is the capstone event in the inauguration.

No, God did not die. The Incarnated fully God fully man died. And it was nothing like Cris Angels parlor tricks. Jesus Christ had the wrath of God full poured out on him, taking our penalty, making atonement for our sins. Indeed, God made him to be sin who knew no sin so that we might be made the righteousness of God. In denying this or rewriting this, he is denying the master that bought him, as he has denied the authority of the scripture in declaring that homosexuals ought to be able to marry. In this way, he has also followed his own sensuality- abandonment of moral behavior-in approving of the act of homosexuality in approving of the consumation of a gay marriage (see Romans 1:32 32 Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. He has blasphemed the way of truth, indeed the very Gospel in comparing it to a parlor trick. He has denied the truth in stating that it is okay in his opinion for homosexuals to marry. He is exploiting the young people of this world ( he is quite popular in youth and college aged circles) with his false words. He does this for material gain (see his books and speaking tours). In other words, he makes a living out of telling lies about God, the nature of salvation, indeed the very Word of God.

4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but v cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; 5 if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6 if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, a making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 7 and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked 8 (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); 9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, 10 and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority.

We are living ‘as in the days of Noah’ (See Matthew 24) where God spared the preacher of righteousness Noah and his family, while destroying the earth with a flood. Those who hold fast to salvation in Christ alone as He is presented in the Holy Scripture (the resurrected one..hallelujah!) , to the God who will one day judge the world in righteousness (as he did in the days of Noah) to the Bible as it is written, will be spared the coming judgment. Like Noah, who preached righteousness for 100 years as he built the ark, warning those who were headed for destruction, the modern preachers of righteousness have a burden and a call to proclaim the good news as the warn the many who are living in error. Tony Jones even denies Jesus’ multiple and authoratative claims that He was (and is) God:

Another problem with PSA, it seems to me, is that there’s really no reason for the resurrection. It’s little more than Jesus, “Ta-Da! See, I told you that I was divine!” (Which, by the way, Jesus attests only ambiguously, and primarily in the Gospel of John. Take a deep breath, people. I’m not questioning Jesus’ divinty; I’m just saying that Jesus himself wasn’t particularly adamant about it.) There must be more to Jesus’ resurrection than another proof of his divinity

Tony, the reason for the resurrection is the confirming proof that God was pleased with and accepted his Son’s sacrifice on the behalf of sinners. Indeed:

1 Corinthians 15:56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Penal Substitutionary Theory of the atonement captures not only the penalty paid by our substitute, foreshadowed throughout the Old Testament by the sacrificial system, as well as the festivals such as Passover, the feast of Booths, etc. It also screams of Jesus as our high priest who made the sacrifice, was the sacrifice, and God accepted the sacrifice proven by the resurrection from the dead.

Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones, Accursed children!…… 15 Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, 16 but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.

These circuit false preachers (like Doug Pagitt, Phyliss Tickle(-your ears) Rob Bell, Tony Jones, Tony Campolo) go all over the country speaking to anyone who will hear and sell their books and their consultation in opposition to God. Make no mistake, they are like Baalam who was willing to falsely prophesy for the love of money until he was stopped by an angel of God through a speaking donkey. What will it take to stop these folks? God only knows. But as Peter and Jude, Ancient Discernment ministers proclaim, their judgement will be sure and swift. Peter goes on to describe these false teachers:

17 These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved. 18 For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. 19 They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved.

Christ calls out to us to take in the fountains of living water (see John 4, 7) found in Him, but these modern day Baalams and Alexanders are waterless springs. In the end, if people love the tickling of their ears by these false teachers, they will wind up seeking like the rich man to have those who follow Christ dip their finger in water to allay their thirst if only for a moment. They have reservations in the outer darkness that has been prepared for those who hate and rebel against God. They promise freedom- (indeed, freedom from God and his Holy Word) but they are slaves of corruption- they are dead in their sins and will experience eternal damnation, unless they will repent. Unfortunately, they are slaves to their vain philosophies and teachings.

20 For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. 21 For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.

And this is the danger of allowing our children, our young adults to be sucked into the teachings of these post-modern false prophets. As they have been raised in a Christian home, and they go out, they become entangled in the perverted (twisted) semi-christian/new age/ eastern mysticism of these teachers, they are far worse off. Believe me, I have shared the Gospel with some of these very people! The religious lost have overtaken the pure pagan in our society. With this semi pelagian teaching itching their ears, they return to their former life, or engage in a lifestyle of license, founded in cheap, non-transformational grace that is not of God. They have a form of godliness, but deny the power. The return to their former life before Christ, like Peter says in this proverb:

22 What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.”

I saw many of these in Panama City Beach, and I see many of these populating the emergent conversation/church?/movement. I weep, I am moved with compassion, and that is why I join with Peter to proclaim the good news, and discern and warn about false teachers.

A real ADM (Ancient Discernment Minister) speaks to Us

Listen to this ADM speak:

To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ:

May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.

Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and l deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

This ADM desired to write to brothers and sisters in Christ to glory and fellowship in their common salvation. He was eager to do so, but because of the condition of the Church, and spurred on by the Holy Spirit, He found it necessary to write to us to appeal to us to contend for the faith which has been delivered to us. They did not come in announcing they were false preachers and teachers, they came in subversively, and they continue to do so. These are men that have been designated, that is they are known by God, God knows that they are there, He knows what they are teaching. They did not come in by surprise! But they are not godly, as they proclaim, they instead pervert or twist and contort the grace of God. They call out and claim to be all about grace, but instead of a grace that transforms, it is a grace that gives them and their followers license to sin, which ultimately leads to a denial of Jesus as He is presented in the Bible.

Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day— just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.

This is what Jude, the Ancient Discernment Minister, really is concerned about, and he uses three examples of the destruction of those who chose not to believe. First, Jude describes how God in Christ saved the people out of Egypt, and yet destroyed those who in the desert did not believe. Then there were the rebellious angels, Satan included, who in their pride, desired to take over for God. As a result of their pride, they have been condemned until they are finally judged. Lastly, there was Sodom and Gomorrah, who rebelled against God’s Word written on their hearts and pursued perversion of God’s standard of sex, between one man and one woman in the covenant of marriage. God’s judgment rained down on that city after he sent angels as the result of the prayer of Abraham, to warn the cities.

Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones. But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.” But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively. Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam’s error and perished in Korah’s rebellion. These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever. It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage.

Jude, the ancient discernment minister, calls these deceivers, these false teachers blasphemers. The way that they live blasphemes the name of God whom they claim to serve! They rely on their visions, dreams, and vain philosophies and reject the authority of the Bible. Jude, this ancient discernment minister, wrote a book that could be written today, it is relevant! To all the Rob Bells, Brian McLarens, Doug Pagitts, Phillis Tickles, Creflo Dollars, Shane Claibournes, Tony Compolos, NT Wrights, Will Willemons etc. of this world this book could be written to them as they reject the authority of the Word of God

Rob Bell: In fact, as the Bells describe it, after launching Mars Hill in 1999, they found themselves increasingly uncomfortable with church. “Life in the church had become so small,” Kristen says. “It had worked for me for a long time. Then it stopped working.” The Bells started questioning their assumptions about the Bible itself—”discovering the Bible as a human product,” as Rob puts it, rather than the product of divine fiat. “The Bible is still in the center for us,” Rob says, “but it’s a different kind of center. We want to embrace mystery, rather than conquer it.”

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

Phyllis Tickle: “Today was day one in The Great Emergence conference. To a large extent it was a deeper summary of each part of the book, including some of the keys dates, pivotal moments and events that helped create what we’re experiencing now. [Phyllis Tickle] made a significant point about how this turn is deeply affecting the concept of Sola Scriptura.

One of the things that caught my attention was Tickle’s comment that there are forty-four specific events that underline the move away from Sola Scriptura. I would love to see what those 44 are but that would be like icing on the cake. The final subject in the turn away will be how we address homosexuality in the church. She reiterated that it’s not if Sola Scriptura ends but when…

The central point of Tickle’s book is, “Where is our authority?” And much of the underlining question for those in this conference is the step and subsequent journey out of traditional church expressions and into new ones.”

Doug Pagitt: Next is an exchange between Doug Pagitt and Todd Friel when Friel was with Way of the Master Radio:

Todd: What’s… what’s going to happen to the… How is God going to judge the good Muslim?

Doug: Does it.. God’s going to judge the life and repair and restore and heal the life of everybody in the same way. There’s gonna be no difference between what God…

Jude would have done well in this day and age. This is blasphemy against God just as using His name casually and without reverence is. These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage.

But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.

God knew very well that these times would come, He is not surprised. His Call to us: I am in control, so spend time building yourself up in the most Holy faith. This involves studying the Word of God, praying in the Holy Spirit, and thus keeping ourselves in the Word of God. We wait and look for the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ. But that is not the only thing we are to do as modern Christians:

And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by a snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.

We are called to be merciful to those who doubt. These are different from those who deny the truth that they have been presented with and try to pervert it. We are called to be merciful to those who have not made a profession of faith, or those young in the faith and embrace them and teach them and build them up. The others, like these false teachers or those being sucked in by their teaching, we are called as Christians to snatch them- violently if need be- out of the fire. Still with others we show mercy with fear; that is we are aware of God, who He is, and the judgement they face if they do not repent. We are more concerned for them than for our own feelings and our own comfort.

Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

God is the only one who can keep us from stumbling, He is the only one who can present us blameless. He is the great God, our Savior…He has the authority before time and for all eternity. Let us stand fast in Him.

What if a American shoe maker showed up without the Gospel?

Do me a favor. Imagine for a minute that you are impoverished. You live in a third world country, and your busting your tail because from youth you must actually work for a living. Today, you are taking a short break to play soccer with your friends. You have noticed the creation, the trees, the beautiful grass, the food that grows all around you. You know about the creator, and you have been given a conscience, so you strive to live a pure life that is honoring and glorifying to the God whom you do not know. Finally, you get to play soccer with your friends. Ahh, sweet bliss. You go out to the dirt field, kick whatever you use for a ball, and have a riot with your friends.

Now, change gears a little. You are older, and work 14 hour days at the local plantation. You make a dollar a day, but that is enough to meet your needs. You still wonder about God that you understood in your youth, but nobody has told you about Him. You still like to think about Him, but still really don’t know anything about him other than the creation.

Suddenly, in the middle of your soccer game or your work day, a young person from America shows up. Now, he’s not just trying to engage people in conversation and talk to them about this God that he or she knows, he’s with a group of friends and they’ve brought shoes with them. They are strange things you put on your feet. They start putting these strange appendages on your feet and tell you that this will make your life better. There’s no discussion whatsoever about God . In fact, if you come up close to them, they will jam shoes on your feet and wait for the next person in line. They will take videos of this and show them back home as a promotion of their product so people will feel good about buying that product and in a small way helping a child.

Now, you could speak up. You could ask these Americans about this God you do not understand. But these shoe people, they do not know your language, and they only came equipped to give out shoes. Even the ‘christians’ among them believe that your understanding of God is a-ok and God will accept you no matter if you worship a rock or the sun or a false god. Do these Americans have the right to force their product on you? Do they have the right to believe that shoes are improving your life and thus bringing God’s kingdom to earth? Do you have a right to play football in bare feet? Should the American be arrested? Can I be honest? I think that he should be.
When the good shoe pushing americans are confronted, he points out that these are good works and they will bring the kingdom of God to this earth. When you point out that you would like to know this God, the kind feet soldier explains that is not in his or her job description.

Parenthetically, imagine if this same shoe pusher showed up at certain C?RN.info’s vacation? Can you imagine the blog posts? ‘Oh they are doing God’s work by being kind to the people, therefore they are bringing the kingdom to earth.’ They might even go barefoot for a day to bring the plight of the shoeless to the notice of the nations. They would do this so they could feel guiltless that they have shoes and the glorious Gospel to share, but they would rather blog and criticize those who are preaching the Gospel and discerning false doctrine. Would you be angry? Would you just want to tell these C?RN.info ers to shut up? I imagine that a lot of these people felt the same way about a man bringing them shoes without the beautiful feet spreading the good news.

Is Rob Bell Even Relevant?

I had to laugh after I cried.

My sons attend a local church on Wednesday Nights to hang out with their Christian friends from school. My youngest attends AWANA, and my two middle sons and our adopted son attends the youth group. This is all due to the kindness of a local pastor who has been very gracious to help us as we are launching our church in this community.

Recently, the youth pastor was involved in a car accident where he died. He was a great kid, loved the scripture, loved the Lord. Long story short, my boys are experiencing their 4th youth pastor in the two years since we have been here. This is where this story begins.

A young lady, a campus crusader, has taken the reins as the new youth leader at this local fellowship. She is one who I witnessed to at the campus because she had difficulty articulating how one gets saved, and how one is led to the Lord. Now I believe that she truly loves the Lord, this is not at issue, here. What is at issue is that she has been showing Nooma Videos in youth group recently. My son Eddie came home and complained about it last night. This is the sad part; she is showing Nooma Videos while my son (and others) hunger and thirst for the Word to be taught. This is what youth groups ought to be for, to build up these young people to be young men and ladies of God. Instead, we have pizza, popcorn, and Noomas. We are setting these kids up for failure when they leave for college.

I am not worried about my sons and ‘adopted’ sons, for they are taught at home. They are also taught on Sunday mornings by one of my elders. They apparently know the Word very well, for my son Eddie in his complaint made me very happy…and this is the laughter part. He said that Rob Bell was gay- which is his way of saying that he is stupid and makes no sense. I asked him what he means, and he explained that it seems that on these videos, Rob Bell talks a lot about nothing, that there is no organized thought, that it seems he tells stories and then tries to jam scriptures into the stories to make his point. Then, my son said, most of the time he does not even reference scripture, so it seems that he is changing what it says so he can make his point.

Now this morning, I inquired further, and one of my ‘adopted’ kids who is very young in the Lord piped in about the lack of sense and the lack of scripture and any cogent teaching. He says that the videos are well produced, but stupid, because they make absolutely no sense to him. They are boring.

This is what made me laugh. Rob Bell is trying to be relevant, trying to reach a new generation with this garbage he calls Noomas, and it is not even reaching its target audience. To these young Bible fed teens, this teaching is irrelevant when compared to the scripture!

Now you may be thinking that I have coached my kids, or that I am misquoting them. I assure you, this is not happening. I am telling you that they love the Word. I am telling you that they have studied it enough to know what it says. I am telling you that they recognize error. I am telling you that a 14 year old and a 15 year old and a 16 year old do know about exegesis and eisogesis and can recognize the difference~(thanks to a little product called Herman-who?).

Which makes me think further that his market, young or old, is not those who are saved and love the Word of God. His market is to the post-modern who believes that truth is relative only to his or her own experience. His market is for those who are too lazy to open up God’s Word and experience it for themselves. His market is for non believers and false converts who want a feel-good religious experience. What I am saying is that Noomas are not for the church, for those who believe that the Bible is the Word of God, and that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

I am thankful that my kids recognize error. I am sad that there are many more who drink this poison in like water.

Richard Abanes: Professional Apologist or Ad hominem Attack Artist??

The hate that Richard Abanes has for Christians is despicible

rabanes Says:
April 8th, 2009 at 5:31 pm
INGRID SCHLUETER – Our Modern-Day Jezebel Strikes Again.

From C?RN.info
Calling Ingrid Jezebel, then mocking her legitimate concern:

So, I need to know you stand so I can write your name down in blood on magickal parchment for the monthly list I send to the Pope. He, of course, forwards it on to the head honcho in charge of this whole diabolical mission I’m on (I can’t say his name, just call him The AC, wink-wink).
RA

He hates Ken Silva, even has two pages of lies on his own website about him:

Rick, LoL. Ditto. We cool as far as I can see. I’d love to get into a fight with you about Ken Silva over a cup of Starbucks

He also HATES Dr. John MacArthur, and slanders him:

I just visited the website of John MacArthur to see how the website of a dedicated, God-fearing, Bible-centered, doctrinally-sound Christian should look. And Chris P is right, it’s sooooo different from mine!
There is a BIG huge picture of John MacArthur at teh top of the page, just like my site has a picture of me at…..oh, wait….
Well, there’s big images of MacArthur’s books with links to them just like my site has…oh dear…uhm…..hold on a second…..
Okay, there’s also links to his radio messages, and articles, and TV broadcasts, just like my site has various links to……HEY!!!…OH NO!!!….gasp….
I’m shocked by the self monument to himself he calls a website. Goodness, just look at it! It should be sufficient to understand where he is coming from. He is a pastor? Spare me.

Dang, MacArthur’s picture of himself is bigger than mine.

Not only does he specialize in ad-hominems…but he compares what Rick Warren is going through on the bloggosphere to crucifixion…

rabanes Says:
April 9th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
And now we have Warren actually being crucified over at, of all places, PHOENIX PREACHER — they’re actually taking the same line Schlueter has taken: i.e., Rick Warren lied and said he is not against Gay Marriage.
CAN ANYONE PLEASE TELL ME WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE WORLD!
RA

On Street preaching:

RA: Yeah, or how about just going out to a quiet lunch with a Mormon bishop and sitting there for 3 hours without a PA and loudspeaker — actually talking to them, sharing with them, loving them, listening to them, hurting for them, trying to understand them, showing the scriptures to them, and praying for them. No cameras. No fighting. No drama.
I suppose it’s not really as glorious or glamorous as standing on a beach and screaming at babes in bikinis while being able to feel so very holy, but not truly interacting with anyone — but then again, where else are you going to see babes in bikinis?
RA

Accusing our motives of being less than Godly….

RA: It’s interesting, at least to me, that you’d choose to go to a beach where you could see a bevy of bikini-clad nubile young things scampering around uninhibited. Oh well. That’s another post, I suppose.
Now, as for your methods, they are unbiblical. You reflect neither the teaching/preaching style, nor the evangelism style, of Jesus Christ — the best preacher who ever lived. You don’t even mirror John the Baptist.
John did not run around to where unbelievers were trying to relax and then scream at them like an insensitive nut. The people WENT OUT TO SEE John (Luke 7:25).
Jesus primarily spoke to people (preached/taught) on a person-to-person, relational basis as he traveled from city to city. And when he did indeed speak to large crowds, again, these people came to hear him.
Even if what you did were actually biblical, then I fail to see why you and your friends found it necessary to scream & yell at people. Why didn’t you simply:
- express your own faith in God,
- talk about or own testimony,
- tell everyone about the PERSON of Jesus Christ and share some of the things he did in the Bible,
- do a comparison of different religions and finish about the uniqueness of Christianity….
There are dozens of ways to do what it seemed you were attempting to do. I didn’t hear an ounce of love, compassion, tenderness, joy, peace, kindness, understanding, hope, or anything else vaguely Christian in all your ranting and raving.
You and others like you seem to feel that getting people upset, hurting people, making others angry, and making sure they hate you is biblical. It’s not biblical — it’s twisted and sick. And, more importantly, it harms the spreading of the Gospel and misrepresents Jesus.
So, I would ask that you stop using the Bible as an excuse to be obnoxious. And also stop using the need for evangelism as an excuse to soothe your own psychological itches that can only be scratched when creating “persecution” for yourself via insensitive barking at people.
That’s not Jesus. That’s not biblical. That’s not evangelism. That’s not God-honoring.
Congratulations, btw, you just made those people even harder to reach for Christ now because when they think of “Christian,” they’re going to see you and that asinine stunt you pulled. All they wanted to do was get a break from life and enjoy God’s creation — maybe see a street juggler or an amateur magician. Instead, they got you.
Way to go….
RA

Richard Abanes used to be a credible apologist. Now he has gone the way of cheap insults and ad-hominem attacks. He spends his time (when not defending Rick Warren for his continual flip flops) assassinating the character of Christians with whom he disagrees.

I am waiting for a call from his attorney so he can try and shut my site down….