From The Calvary Prophecy Page
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Evangelical Christians Combine Contemplative Mysticism with Catholic Eucharist
Many Christians believe that the Christian tradition of communion is the same as the Catholic tradition of the Eucharist. But this is not so. The Eucharist (i.e., Transubstantiation ) is a Catholic term for communion when the bread and the wine supposedly become the very body and blood of Jesus Christ; thus when taken the partaker is said to experience the presence of Jesus. These transformed elements are placed in what is called a monstrance and can then be worshipped as if worshipping Jesus Himself. The implications are tied in with salvation. With the Eucharist, salvation becomes sacramental (participation in a ritual) as opposed to justification by faith in Christ alone. While this mystical experience called the Eucharist is a form of idolatry (as well as the very heart of Catholicism), there appears to be an increase of interest by evangelical Christians towards this practice.
In Roger Oakland's vital book, Another Jesus?: The Eucharistic Christ and the New Evangelization, he explains that the Catholic church leadership, concerned because of apathy for the Eucharist within the Catholic ranks, is hoping to "rekindle the amazement" of the Eucharist through what is called their "new evangelization program." With a two-fold purpose - to keep present Catholics and to bring evangelicals into the Catholic church - church leadership hopes to enliven the Eucharist. By saying "rekindle the amazement," they mean bring out the mystical, supernatural element of the Eucharist.
Acceptance of the Eucharist by evangelical Christians has been simmering in the background for some time. Chuck Colson's Evangelicals and Catholics Together document played a significant role with desensitizing believers into finding common ground with Catholicism. Rick Warren has openly shown, time and again, his affinity to joining Catholicism and evangelicalism together. But as we have succinctly pointed out in our other works, it is mysticism that unites all the world's religious traditions. In that mystical realm that is achieved through contemplative prayer, it is taught that God is in all things, and God is all things.
Read the rest at at Lighthouse Research Trails.
WILL THE REAL JESUS PLEASE STAND UP?
Apprising Ministries now invites you to a very special spiritual edition of To Tell The Truth. As a part of our celebrity panel you will be hearing the claims of a few of the more predominate Jesuses you are likely to run in to during your lifetime; they may even come knocking on your door. At the end of this message, after you’ve heard from each of our guests and have the chance to compare them to Christ Jesus as He’s revealed in the Bible, we’ll then ask the crucial question: Will The Real Jesus Please Stand Up? Let’s see how you do.
Perhaps we’ll dedicate this to Joel Osteen who is confused Joel Osteen: Mitt Romney and Mormons Are Christians...
“...the person who puts their trust in a counterfeit Jesus is involved in a deadly case of mistaken identity.” The Master Himself made this crystal clear when He said to the religious people of His day, recorded for us by the Apostle John, who was an eyewitness — “if you believe not that I am — ye shall die in your sins” (John 8:24, literal Greek).
Perhaps we’ll dedicate this to Joel Osteen who is confused Joel Osteen: Mitt Romney and Mormons Are Christians...
“...the person who puts their trust in a counterfeit Jesus is involved in a deadly case of mistaken identity.” The Master Himself made this crystal clear when He said to the religious people of His day, recorded for us by the Apostle John, who was an eyewitness — “if you believe not that I am — ye shall die in your sins” (John 8:24, literal Greek).
The Bible Driven Church
Listen to Jeff Noblit, Pastor of the First Baptist Church in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and speaker for Anchored in Truth Ministries On Crosstalk America.
In this message, originally presented at a VCY Rally on October 6, 2007, Pastor Noblit proclaimed his desire to be faithful to God and His Word, even if the results seem to be meager, rather than to become successful by worldly standards through using man's methods.
He used biblical principles to show how a church should glorify God, according to the standards set down in His Word, and then leaving the results to God.
Jeff organized his message around the five points of his church's Purpose Statement:
1. To Glorify God
2. To be obedient
3. To Make and Equip Disciples of Christ
4. To do so both locally and globally
5. To do so by the power of the Holy Spirit
This is a powerful message, in which Jeff challenges Christians, especially pastors and other church leaders, to be faithful in praying for their congregations that they would be faithful to God's methods and standards.
Click here to listen. See also Get Anchored !
In this message, originally presented at a VCY Rally on October 6, 2007, Pastor Noblit proclaimed his desire to be faithful to God and His Word, even if the results seem to be meager, rather than to become successful by worldly standards through using man's methods.
He used biblical principles to show how a church should glorify God, according to the standards set down in His Word, and then leaving the results to God.
Jeff organized his message around the five points of his church's Purpose Statement:
1. To Glorify God
2. To be obedient
3. To Make and Equip Disciples of Christ
4. To do so both locally and globally
5. To do so by the power of the Holy Spirit
This is a powerful message, in which Jeff challenges Christians, especially pastors and other church leaders, to be faithful in praying for their congregations that they would be faithful to God's methods and standards.
Click here to listen. See also Get Anchored !
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
A Sign of Things To Come
From Emergent-UK Jason Clark's website:
Creating community through interfaith conversation and interaction?
The UK government earlier this week launched a consultation on how the government can best support faith communities’ engagement with one another and with their local communities. Addressing a reception attended by over 200 representatives of Britain’s faith communities, including the archbishop of canterbury, the secretary of state, Hazel Blears, Secretary of State said:“”Faith groups are a key part of the way we respond to the challenges we face from building strong resilient communities to tackling anti-social behaviour.
“This consultation provides us with an opportunity to find out how Government can best support dialogue between faith groups and the circumstances in which inter faith activity is helping to make a positive difference to communities around the country…”
Editor’s Note: An emerging resemblance to Rick Warren’s PEACE PLAN.
Creating community through interfaith conversation and interaction?
The UK government earlier this week launched a consultation on how the government can best support faith communities’ engagement with one another and with their local communities. Addressing a reception attended by over 200 representatives of Britain’s faith communities, including the archbishop of canterbury, the secretary of state, Hazel Blears, Secretary of State said:“”Faith groups are a key part of the way we respond to the challenges we face from building strong resilient communities to tackling anti-social behaviour.
“This consultation provides us with an opportunity to find out how Government can best support dialogue between faith groups and the circumstances in which inter faith activity is helping to make a positive difference to communities around the country…”
Editor’s Note: An emerging resemblance to Rick Warren’s PEACE PLAN.
Thanks to Machelle W. for the head's up on this post.
Joel Olsteen: Once Upon a Time
From Christian Research Network:
Joel Osteen is in the news again. This time for his statement that he believes Mormons are genuine Christians. For more detail we refer you to Joel Osteen: Mitt Romney and Mormons Are Christians. Here though we continue with our look into the salient question posed a while back: What’s That You Say Joel Osteen?
Well now, once upon a time in the world he lives in, it seems there was a man who just couldn’t understand – “Why anyone would call me a prosperity preacher?” And so we offer this feature piece at Apprising Ministries as a way to help you see why…
Joel Osteen is in the news again. This time for his statement that he believes Mormons are genuine Christians. For more detail we refer you to Joel Osteen: Mitt Romney and Mormons Are Christians. Here though we continue with our look into the salient question posed a while back: What’s That You Say Joel Osteen?
Well now, once upon a time in the world he lives in, it seems there was a man who just couldn’t understand – “Why anyone would call me a prosperity preacher?” And so we offer this feature piece at Apprising Ministries as a way to help you see why…
U.S. Senate Report: Over 400 Prominent Scientists Disputed Man-Made Global Warming
Senate Report Debunks "Consensus" Complete U.S. Senate Report Now Available: (LINK) Complete Report w/out Intro: (LINK)
INTRODUCTION:
Over 400 prominent scientists from more than two dozen countries recently voiced significant objections to major aspects of the so-called "consensus" on man-made global warming. These scientists, many of whom are current and former participants in the UN IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), criticized the climate claims made by the UN IPCC and former Vice President Al Gore.
The new report issued by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee’s office of the GOP Ranking Member details the views of the scientists, the overwhelming majority of whom spoke out in 2007.
Even some in the establishment media now appear to be taking notice of the growing number of skeptical scientists. In October, the Washington Post Staff Writer Juliet Eilperin conceded the obvious, writing that climate skeptics "appear to be expanding rather than shrinking." Many scientists from around the world have dubbed 2007 as the year man-made global warming fears “bite the dust.” (LINK) In addition, many scientists who are also progressive environmentalists believe climate fear promotion has "co-opted" the green movement. (LINK)
See also Hundreds of scientists reject global warming, WARNING: The Coming Solar Storm , and related posts.
INTRODUCTION:
Over 400 prominent scientists from more than two dozen countries recently voiced significant objections to major aspects of the so-called "consensus" on man-made global warming. These scientists, many of whom are current and former participants in the UN IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), criticized the climate claims made by the UN IPCC and former Vice President Al Gore.
The new report issued by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee’s office of the GOP Ranking Member details the views of the scientists, the overwhelming majority of whom spoke out in 2007.
Even some in the establishment media now appear to be taking notice of the growing number of skeptical scientists. In October, the Washington Post Staff Writer Juliet Eilperin conceded the obvious, writing that climate skeptics "appear to be expanding rather than shrinking." Many scientists from around the world have dubbed 2007 as the year man-made global warming fears “bite the dust.” (LINK) In addition, many scientists who are also progressive environmentalists believe climate fear promotion has "co-opted" the green movement. (LINK)
See also Hundreds of scientists reject global warming, WARNING: The Coming Solar Storm , and related posts.
Messianic Prophecy In The Old Testament
Jack Kelly highlights the Messianic Prophecies In The Old Testament and reviews Seven Major Prophetic Signs Of The Second Coming of Christ.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
A Return to Tradition
Paul & Diane N. share this From U.S. News & World Report:
A Return to Traditions: A new interest in old ways takes root in Catholicism and many other faiths
The December 24, 2007 edition of U.S. News and World Report magazine has a cover story that is titled "A Return to Ritual: Why many modern worshipers, including Catholics, Jews, and evangelicals, are embracing tradition"
The cover shows a photo of a Tridentine Catholic mass being celebrated at St. Mary, Mother of God Church in Washington, D.C. (photo credit on page 4 of the magazine) with the priest lifting the host and chalice up before the altar.
The author of the article, Jay Tolson, is a senior writer at U.S. News & World Report who covers religion, culture and ideas. He is also the author of Pilgrim in the Ruins: A Life of Walker Percy. Brian McClaren also had an avid interest in the works of Walker Percy (see McClaren's bio here): http://www.brianmclaren.net/biography.html. Maybe this is just a coincidence...maybe not. (Walker Percy is an American author who was born into a southern Protestant family, but later converted to Catholicism. He was influenced by the Danish existentialist philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard and although Walker Percy passed away in 1990, his books and philosophy continue to be popular.)
Link to entire article: http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/national/2007/12/13/a-return-to-tradition.html
Here are a few quotes from this article:
"But this shift extends beyond the Roman Catholic Church. In Richardson, Texas, the congregation of Trinity Fellowship Church participates in something that would have been considered almost heretical in most evangelical Protestant churches five or 10 years ago: a weekly Communion service. An independent, nondenominational church of some 600 members, Trinity Fellowship is not the only evangelical congregation that is offering a weekly Eucharist, saying the Nicene or Apostles' creeds, reading the early Church Fathers, or doing other things that seem downright Roman Catholic or at least high Episcopalian. Daniel Wallace, a professor of New Testament studies at Dallas Theological Seminary, which trains pastors for interdenominational or nondenominational churched, says there is a growing appetite for something more than "worship that is a glorified Bible class in some ways."
"Something curious is happening in the wide world of faith, something that defies easy explanation or quantification. More substantial than a trend but less organized than a movement, it has to do more with how people practice their religion that with what they believe, though people caught up in the change often find that their beliefs are influenced, if not subtly altered, by the changes in their practice."
The article then goes on to describe the emergent movement and describes "returns to traditionalism" as not only occurring in Christianity, but also in Judaism with "the Jewish equivalent of the Christian emergent communities, the independent minyanim". It also mentions Islam, to complete the picture that this is a big trend in all religions, but states "The state of traditionalism in Islam is more difficult to capture."
The article continues: "In all faiths, the return to tradition has different meanings for different people. To some it is a return to reassuring authority and absolutes; it is a buttress to conservative theological, social, and even political commitments. To others, it is a means of moving beyond fundamentalist literalism, troubling authority figures, and highly politicized religious positions (say on gay marriage and contraception or abortion) while retaining a hold on spiritual truths. In short, the new traditionalism is anything but straightforward."
After quotes from Catholic religious leaders, including one which references a group that "would like to take things back to the [16th century Counter-Reformation] Council of Trent", the article continues with information from George Barna and his ubiquitous polling.
Then the article continues the story of Pastor Carl Anderson of Trinity Fellowship Church, which appears to have been in the "seeker-friendly" model, which he says was "less successful in holding on to church members and deepening their faith". "Searching for more rootedness, Anderson sought to reconnect with the historical church". "Not surprisingly, that move was threatening to church members who strongly identify with the Reformation and the Protestant rejection of Catholic practices". "...Trinity reshaped its worship practices in ways that drove some congregants away"...
At this point in the article Brian McClaren and Tony Jones are introduced and give their input along with a mention of Tony Jone's book, The New Christians: Dispatches From the Emergent Frontier. This section of the article ends with the following paragraph:
"The young neotraditionalists also have an almost intuitive attraction to liturgy, ritual, and symbol as forms of knowledge that complement the dominant rational, scientific one. "There is a certain kind of postmodern sensibility that loses confidence in the rational explanation of everything," McLaren says. For him, Jones, and others, "doing church" in traditional and innovative ways is a form of theological reflection that leaves behind the fundamendalists' need to make all religious propositions into pseudoscientific statements, to turn Genesis, for example, into a geology textbook."
The article closes with an interview of a rabbi who is the founder of a "new rabbinical school that trains Jewish leaders in the approach of what he calls Open Orthodoxy". "I would argue that people are looking for a dialectic," says Avi Weiss, senior rabbi of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale in Bronx, N.Y. "People are looking for a commitment that is grounded but not one that is stagnant", Weiss says. "The other part of the dialectic is an openness but not without limits."
"In all corners of Judaism, as in all parts of Christianity, traditions are being adapted in strangely innovative ways."
The article ends with this closing sentence: "Limits and openness: Welcome to the new, and sometimes bewildering, world of religious traditionalism."
The cover shows a photo of a Tridentine Catholic mass being celebrated at St. Mary, Mother of God Church in Washington, D.C. (photo credit on page 4 of the magazine) with the priest lifting the host and chalice up before the altar.
The author of the article, Jay Tolson, is a senior writer at U.S. News & World Report who covers religion, culture and ideas. He is also the author of Pilgrim in the Ruins: A Life of Walker Percy. Brian McClaren also had an avid interest in the works of Walker Percy (see McClaren's bio here): http://www.brianmclaren.net/biography.html. Maybe this is just a coincidence...maybe not. (Walker Percy is an American author who was born into a southern Protestant family, but later converted to Catholicism. He was influenced by the Danish existentialist philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard and although Walker Percy passed away in 1990, his books and philosophy continue to be popular.)
Link to entire article: http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/national/2007/12/13/a-return-to-tradition.html
Here are a few quotes from this article:
"But this shift extends beyond the Roman Catholic Church. In Richardson, Texas, the congregation of Trinity Fellowship Church participates in something that would have been considered almost heretical in most evangelical Protestant churches five or 10 years ago: a weekly Communion service. An independent, nondenominational church of some 600 members, Trinity Fellowship is not the only evangelical congregation that is offering a weekly Eucharist, saying the Nicene or Apostles' creeds, reading the early Church Fathers, or doing other things that seem downright Roman Catholic or at least high Episcopalian. Daniel Wallace, a professor of New Testament studies at Dallas Theological Seminary, which trains pastors for interdenominational or nondenominational churched, says there is a growing appetite for something more than "worship that is a glorified Bible class in some ways."
"Something curious is happening in the wide world of faith, something that defies easy explanation or quantification. More substantial than a trend but less organized than a movement, it has to do more with how people practice their religion that with what they believe, though people caught up in the change often find that their beliefs are influenced, if not subtly altered, by the changes in their practice."
The article then goes on to describe the emergent movement and describes "returns to traditionalism" as not only occurring in Christianity, but also in Judaism with "the Jewish equivalent of the Christian emergent communities, the independent minyanim". It also mentions Islam, to complete the picture that this is a big trend in all religions, but states "The state of traditionalism in Islam is more difficult to capture."
The article continues: "In all faiths, the return to tradition has different meanings for different people. To some it is a return to reassuring authority and absolutes; it is a buttress to conservative theological, social, and even political commitments. To others, it is a means of moving beyond fundamentalist literalism, troubling authority figures, and highly politicized religious positions (say on gay marriage and contraception or abortion) while retaining a hold on spiritual truths. In short, the new traditionalism is anything but straightforward."
After quotes from Catholic religious leaders, including one which references a group that "would like to take things back to the [16th century Counter-Reformation] Council of Trent", the article continues with information from George Barna and his ubiquitous polling.
Then the article continues the story of Pastor Carl Anderson of Trinity Fellowship Church, which appears to have been in the "seeker-friendly" model, which he says was "less successful in holding on to church members and deepening their faith". "Searching for more rootedness, Anderson sought to reconnect with the historical church". "Not surprisingly, that move was threatening to church members who strongly identify with the Reformation and the Protestant rejection of Catholic practices". "...Trinity reshaped its worship practices in ways that drove some congregants away"...
At this point in the article Brian McClaren and Tony Jones are introduced and give their input along with a mention of Tony Jone's book, The New Christians: Dispatches From the Emergent Frontier. This section of the article ends with the following paragraph:
"The young neotraditionalists also have an almost intuitive attraction to liturgy, ritual, and symbol as forms of knowledge that complement the dominant rational, scientific one. "There is a certain kind of postmodern sensibility that loses confidence in the rational explanation of everything," McLaren says. For him, Jones, and others, "doing church" in traditional and innovative ways is a form of theological reflection that leaves behind the fundamendalists' need to make all religious propositions into pseudoscientific statements, to turn Genesis, for example, into a geology textbook."
The article closes with an interview of a rabbi who is the founder of a "new rabbinical school that trains Jewish leaders in the approach of what he calls Open Orthodoxy". "I would argue that people are looking for a dialectic," says Avi Weiss, senior rabbi of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale in Bronx, N.Y. "People are looking for a commitment that is grounded but not one that is stagnant", Weiss says. "The other part of the dialectic is an openness but not without limits."
"In all corners of Judaism, as in all parts of Christianity, traditions are being adapted in strangely innovative ways."
The article ends with this closing sentence: "Limits and openness: Welcome to the new, and sometimes bewildering, world of religious traditionalism."
Thank you Paul & Diane for your work. Photo credit Jim Lo Scalzo for USN&WR.
The New Monasticism
From Christian Research Network:
Christianity Today paints a picture of the emerging praxis of the new evangelicals:
"…these communities are the latest wave of evangelicals who see in community life an answer to society’s materialism and the church’s complacency toward it. Rather than enjoy the benefits of middle-class life, these suburban evangelicals choose to move in with the poor. Though many of the same forces drive them as did earlier generations—a desire to experience intense community and to challenge contented evangelicalism—they are turning to an ancient tradition to provide the spiritual sustenance for their ministries."
"…Scott Bessenecker, director of global projects for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, says he sees among these evangelicals the latest burst in missionizing monastic orders. In his work among InterVarsity students, Bessenecker finds "an emerging movement of youth taking up residence in slum communities in the same spirit that I find in the start of the Franciscans and the early Celtic orders, in the Nestorian mission, and in the Jesuits."
"Bessenecker is working on a book about these "new friars," as he calls them. There’s a similar spirit among communities like the Simple Way, who call their movement the "new monasticism." Like earlier movements, the ones today attract mostly 20-somethings who long for community, intimacy with Jesus, and to love those on the margins of society. And they are willing to give up the privileges to which they were born…"
Read the entire article here.
Christianity Today paints a picture of the emerging praxis of the new evangelicals:
"…these communities are the latest wave of evangelicals who see in community life an answer to society’s materialism and the church’s complacency toward it. Rather than enjoy the benefits of middle-class life, these suburban evangelicals choose to move in with the poor. Though many of the same forces drive them as did earlier generations—a desire to experience intense community and to challenge contented evangelicalism—they are turning to an ancient tradition to provide the spiritual sustenance for their ministries."
"…Scott Bessenecker, director of global projects for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, says he sees among these evangelicals the latest burst in missionizing monastic orders. In his work among InterVarsity students, Bessenecker finds "an emerging movement of youth taking up residence in slum communities in the same spirit that I find in the start of the Franciscans and the early Celtic orders, in the Nestorian mission, and in the Jesuits."
"Bessenecker is working on a book about these "new friars," as he calls them. There’s a similar spirit among communities like the Simple Way, who call their movement the "new monasticism." Like earlier movements, the ones today attract mostly 20-somethings who long for community, intimacy with Jesus, and to love those on the margins of society. And they are willing to give up the privileges to which they were born…"
Read the entire article here.
The Emerging Patchwork Religion
Pastor-teacher Ken Silva examines the ecumenical synthesism of the emerging church:
The “postmodernism” of most people today is really a refried relativism. And the Emergent Church “seeks to synthesize the best parts of many religious traditions.” Here is a fatal flaw in this movement, which by its impudent attempt at reversing the Protestant Reformation by its open embrace of apostate Roman Catholicism as a legitimate form of Christianity reveals that it cannot possibly be from God.
The wretched weakness of this emerging church is in the subjectivism with which Emergent leaders like Doug Pagitt decide which “religious traditions” are the “best parts” of their patchwork quilt version of what they think is authentic Christianity. And as Dr. John MacArthur recently pointed out about Pagitt—“Let me just cut to the chase on this one: [Doug] Pagitt is a Universalist.”
The “postmodernism” of most people today is really a refried relativism. And the Emergent Church “seeks to synthesize the best parts of many religious traditions.” Here is a fatal flaw in this movement, which by its impudent attempt at reversing the Protestant Reformation by its open embrace of apostate Roman Catholicism as a legitimate form of Christianity reveals that it cannot possibly be from God.
The wretched weakness of this emerging church is in the subjectivism with which Emergent leaders like Doug Pagitt decide which “religious traditions” are the “best parts” of their patchwork quilt version of what they think is authentic Christianity. And as Dr. John MacArthur recently pointed out about Pagitt—“Let me just cut to the chase on this one: [Doug] Pagitt is a Universalist.”
Willow Creek & The New Monasticism
In October 2007, Bill Hybels announced "We made a mistake" regarding the seeker sensitive approach to "doing" church. Willow Creek's 2008 Emergent & Mystical Youth Conference clearly is an indication of the almalgamation of the obsolete seeker sensitive and the emerging church movement.
Another indicator appeared in September 2007 in Willow Creek's Ancient Future Group Life Conference. The Ancient Future title refers to the phrase and philosphy of Robert Webber Webber promoted the following:
"...an Ancient-Future Faith is characterized by connection. It is alright to be an Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Reformed, Anabaptist, Fundamentalist, Evangelical, Pentecostal, Charismatic or Contemporary Christian. While there are differences, Christians are not to be divided over them, but seek to understand particulars while affirming unity in the common tradition. These divisions and new movements are to be understood in their cultural settings and affirmed. Because there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, we are brothers and sisters connected to the same family. This ecumenical conviction is central to an Ancient-Future vision."
The Willow Creek Group Life Conference featured emergent author Alan Hirsch, and Mark Van Steenwyk's of Jesus Manifesto.com among many. In the video below, Van Steenwyk's shares some of his thoughts on the new monasticism during a session at the Conference.
Another indicator appeared in September 2007 in Willow Creek's Ancient Future Group Life Conference. The Ancient Future title refers to the phrase and philosphy of Robert Webber Webber promoted the following:
"...an Ancient-Future Faith is characterized by connection. It is alright to be an Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Reformed, Anabaptist, Fundamentalist, Evangelical, Pentecostal, Charismatic or Contemporary Christian. While there are differences, Christians are not to be divided over them, but seek to understand particulars while affirming unity in the common tradition. These divisions and new movements are to be understood in their cultural settings and affirmed. Because there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, we are brothers and sisters connected to the same family. This ecumenical conviction is central to an Ancient-Future vision."
The Willow Creek Group Life Conference featured emergent author Alan Hirsch, and Mark Van Steenwyk's of Jesus Manifesto.com among many. In the video below, Van Steenwyk's shares some of his thoughts on the new monasticism during a session at the Conference.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
The Emerging Affection for Catholicism
Over at Jesus Manifesto.com, we find more Emergent admiration of Catholicism. The site provides partner links to New Monasticism, Duluth Catholic Worker and The Catholic Worker.
Contributor Jason Barr has been running an 12-part series on Anarchism, Christianity, and the Prophetic Imagination. In Part 6 he writes:
Anarchism is not about disorder and chaos, it is about creating a different kind of order. Catholic Worker co-founder and anarchist Peter Maurin often described the goal of the movement as to create a society where it is easier for people to be good. This is a far cry from the common picture of anarchy as chaos that would inevitably be characterized by lawlessness and vigilante action, a dog-eat-dog world where strong prey on the weak. Anarchism is about as far as that as you can get, as we will see when we get more into what it is.
Editor's note: Anarchy and social order built on a foundation of an imagination-driven religious system...history has several examples of this type of experiment, including monasticism.
Take a look at Communitarianism by Professor Amitai Etzioni, Director of the Center for Communitarian Policy Studies of the George Washington University, Washington, DC. See any similarities in Barr's thesis?
See also Praxis, Post-evangelical and Politics in the Emerging Church Movement, Is The Pope Emergent?, Is The Emerging Church Just Catholicism?
Contributor Jason Barr has been running an 12-part series on Anarchism, Christianity, and the Prophetic Imagination. In Part 6 he writes:
Anarchism is not about disorder and chaos, it is about creating a different kind of order. Catholic Worker co-founder and anarchist Peter Maurin often described the goal of the movement as to create a society where it is easier for people to be good. This is a far cry from the common picture of anarchy as chaos that would inevitably be characterized by lawlessness and vigilante action, a dog-eat-dog world where strong prey on the weak. Anarchism is about as far as that as you can get, as we will see when we get more into what it is.
Editor's note: Anarchy and social order built on a foundation of an imagination-driven religious system...history has several examples of this type of experiment, including monasticism.
Take a look at Communitarianism by Professor Amitai Etzioni, Director of the Center for Communitarian Policy Studies of the George Washington University, Washington, DC. See any similarities in Barr's thesis?
See also Praxis, Post-evangelical and Politics in the Emerging Church Movement, Is The Pope Emergent?, Is The Emerging Church Just Catholicism?
BETRAYAL OF CHRIST BY CHRISTIAN LEADERS CONTINUES
By Paul Proctor NewsWithViews.com
In a December 17th 2007 article titled, Rick Warren Counsels Jews on Recruiting Congregants, the Christian Post reported that the beloved senior pastor and founder of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest California, a Southern Baptist congregation, "attended a large Reform Jewish gathering last week to share tips on how to build a community."
So, instead of sharing Christ with his Jewish audience, Pastor Warren shared "tips on how to build a community?" …
…OK - I’m confused - We have a Christian pastor addressing a Jewish audience - so which holiday are they talking about here - or does it even matter?
…Is this why Jesus Christ was nailed to a cross - so Christians could proudly share their pragmatic principles with those who reject Him? Are we to conclude from this report that community involvement is more important than eternal life and the forgiveness of one’s sins?
…Why is this double-minded man still pastoring a Southern Baptist church? What does he have to do to get fired? And why do SBC pastors continue to teach and promote his books, his programs, his sermons and his P.E.A.C.E. Plan when apparently being Purpose Driven doesn’t even require faith in Christ?
…Jesus Christ rose from the dead and this "Christian" pastor talks casually to rabbis about "strengthening congregational life" around the synagogue? There is no life apart from Jesus Christ! That’s why He called the religious leaders of the day "whited sepulchers" that outwardly appeared beautiful, but inwardly were "full of dead men’s bones." (Matthew 23:27)
Read the rest here.
See also Islam, Judaism, Warrenism & Emergentism Under One Roof
In a December 17th 2007 article titled, Rick Warren Counsels Jews on Recruiting Congregants, the Christian Post reported that the beloved senior pastor and founder of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest California, a Southern Baptist congregation, "attended a large Reform Jewish gathering last week to share tips on how to build a community."
So, instead of sharing Christ with his Jewish audience, Pastor Warren shared "tips on how to build a community?" …
…OK - I’m confused - We have a Christian pastor addressing a Jewish audience - so which holiday are they talking about here - or does it even matter?
…Is this why Jesus Christ was nailed to a cross - so Christians could proudly share their pragmatic principles with those who reject Him? Are we to conclude from this report that community involvement is more important than eternal life and the forgiveness of one’s sins?
…Why is this double-minded man still pastoring a Southern Baptist church? What does he have to do to get fired? And why do SBC pastors continue to teach and promote his books, his programs, his sermons and his P.E.A.C.E. Plan when apparently being Purpose Driven doesn’t even require faith in Christ?
…Jesus Christ rose from the dead and this "Christian" pastor talks casually to rabbis about "strengthening congregational life" around the synagogue? There is no life apart from Jesus Christ! That’s why He called the religious leaders of the day "whited sepulchers" that outwardly appeared beautiful, but inwardly were "full of dead men’s bones." (Matthew 23:27)
Read the rest here.
See also Islam, Judaism, Warrenism & Emergentism Under One Roof
Monday, December 17, 2007
Islam, Judaism, Warrenism & Emergentism Under One Roof
Rick Warren continues to share his religious consumerism marketing techniques with the members of the Union for Reform Judaism...
From the Christian Post: Rick Warren Counsels Jews on Recruiting Congregants
With the holiday season in mind, Warren urged clergy to take advantage of crowded events to publicize other programs so people can get involved in the community through smaller groups. “There are some principles that apply regardless of our faith, if it’s Jewish or Christian,” he said at the convention.
Other guests at the conference included the Emergent leader Jim Wallis of Sojourners and Dr. Ingrid Mattson, president of the Islamic Society of North America.
Editor's note: What's wrong with this picture? Hello Rick, Can you spell ecumenism? Can you spell marketing? Can you spell heresy?
See related posts.
From the Christian Post: Rick Warren Counsels Jews on Recruiting Congregants
With the holiday season in mind, Warren urged clergy to take advantage of crowded events to publicize other programs so people can get involved in the community through smaller groups. “There are some principles that apply regardless of our faith, if it’s Jewish or Christian,” he said at the convention.
Other guests at the conference included the Emergent leader Jim Wallis of Sojourners and Dr. Ingrid Mattson, president of the Islamic Society of North America.
Editor's note: What's wrong with this picture? Hello Rick, Can you spell ecumenism? Can you spell marketing? Can you spell heresy?
See related posts.
Pacific Ring Of Fire Ringing on All Sides
Monday, Dec 17, 2007 saw significant earthquake activity on all sides of the Pacific Ring of Fire.
The U.S.G.S. logged eleven quake events at magnitude 4.5 and greater for this region.
Quake events continue to occur in pairs and triplets, near simultaneously, on opposite sides of the Pacific.
See also Quaking Corners of the Earth .
(Image credit: Google & Widget)
WARNING: The Coming Solar Storm
Some folks got a good laugh regarding the post, Global Warming Caused By the Sun. They ignored the fact that humans only have about a 5% impact on global warming, though the elite would tax you and have you believe otherwise.
Well brace yourself, the rhetoric is going to get worse because the violent weather patterns are going to get worse...and not because of industrialization:
NASA reports Is a New Solar Cycle Beginning?
(Click on image) Dec. 14, 2007: The solar physics community is abuzz this week. No, there haven't been any great eruptions or solar storms. The source of the excitement is a modest knot of magnetism that popped over the sun's eastern limb on Dec. 11th, pictured below in a pair of images from the orbiting Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO).
It may not look like much, but "this patch of magnetism could be a sign of the next solar cycle," says solar physicist David Hathaway of the Marshall Space Flight Center.
For more than a year, the sun has been experiencing a lull in activity, marking the end of Solar Cycle 23, which peaked with many furious storms in 2000--2003.
The big question now is, when will the next solar cycle begin? It could be starting now.
So, if Solar Cycle 23 caused "many furious storms" during it's peak, what will Solar Cycle 24 bring? Let's check NASA:
March 2006: Solar Storm Warning
It's official: Solar minimum has arrived. Sunspots have all but vanished. Solar flares are nonexistent. The sun is utterly quiet. Like the quiet before a storm.
This week researchers announced that a storm is coming--the most intense solar maximum in fifty years. The prediction comes from a team led by Mausumi Dikpati of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). "The next sunspot cycle will be 30% to 50% stronger than the previous one," she says. If correct, the years ahead could produce a burst of solar activity second only to the historic Solar Max of 1958.
Another NASA website describes the sun's impact on the earth's climate:
Everyone is familiar with changes in the weather on Earth. But "weather" also occurs in space. Just as it drives weather on Earth, the Sun is responsible for disturbances in our space environment.
See how NASA is not embarrassed to state the relationship between solar activity and the impact on our climate?
J. W. King of the Appleton Laboratory, England penned this 1974 citation, Weather and the Earth's magnetic field in the Nature Journal:
A comparison of meteorological pressures and the strength of the geomagnetic field suggests a possible controlling influence of the field on the longitudinal variation of the average pressure in the troposphere at high latitudes. If so, changes which occur in the pattern of 'permanent' depressions in the troposphere as the magnetic field varies (for example, as the non-dipole component of the field drifts westwards) may be accompanied by climatic changes.
The UK's Guardian makes this reference in 2002:
There is a growing body of evidence that the sun's highly charged particles batter the upper atmosphere so hard that some of the assault filters down into the atmosphere around us, influencing the wind, atmospheric pressure and temperature. (ed. note: layman terms-"weather")
In this piece, Weather Phenomenon and Elements, the Keith C. Heidorn, PhD writes:
"As this solar wind storm buffets the magnetosphere, and portions of its energy are transferred to the magnetosphere, a geomagnetic storm results on Earth. When geomagnetic storms (occur), natural hazards like hurricanes and tsunamis, are severe"
These geomagnetic storms induced by solar flares wreak havoc with the upper atmosphere, the ozone layer and the earth's magnetic field. MSNBC quote Charles Jackman of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center:
The weakening, if coupled with a subsequently large influx of radiation in the form of protons streaming from the sun, can also affect the chemistry of the atmosphere...That can lead to significant but temporary losses of atmospheric ozone.
It may be a temporary loss of ozone, but the increased frequency of this occurrence in the coming solar cycle will contribute to the increased frequency of weather disasters.
A 2002 NASA study finds that by the 2030s climate change may surpass chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) as the main driver of overall ozone loss.
It may not look like much, but "this patch of magnetism could be a sign of the next solar cycle," says solar physicist David Hathaway of the Marshall Space Flight Center.
For more than a year, the sun has been experiencing a lull in activity, marking the end of Solar Cycle 23, which peaked with many furious storms in 2000--2003.
The big question now is, when will the next solar cycle begin? It could be starting now.
So, if Solar Cycle 23 caused "many furious storms" during it's peak, what will Solar Cycle 24 bring? Let's check NASA:
March 2006: Solar Storm Warning
It's official: Solar minimum has arrived. Sunspots have all but vanished. Solar flares are nonexistent. The sun is utterly quiet. Like the quiet before a storm.
This week researchers announced that a storm is coming--the most intense solar maximum in fifty years. The prediction comes from a team led by Mausumi Dikpati of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). "The next sunspot cycle will be 30% to 50% stronger than the previous one," she says. If correct, the years ahead could produce a burst of solar activity second only to the historic Solar Max of 1958.
Another NASA website describes the sun's impact on the earth's climate:
Everyone is familiar with changes in the weather on Earth. But "weather" also occurs in space. Just as it drives weather on Earth, the Sun is responsible for disturbances in our space environment.
See how NASA is not embarrassed to state the relationship between solar activity and the impact on our climate?
J. W. King of the Appleton Laboratory, England penned this 1974 citation, Weather and the Earth's magnetic field in the Nature Journal:
A comparison of meteorological pressures and the strength of the geomagnetic field suggests a possible controlling influence of the field on the longitudinal variation of the average pressure in the troposphere at high latitudes. If so, changes which occur in the pattern of 'permanent' depressions in the troposphere as the magnetic field varies (for example, as the non-dipole component of the field drifts westwards) may be accompanied by climatic changes.
The UK's Guardian makes this reference in 2002:
There is a growing body of evidence that the sun's highly charged particles batter the upper atmosphere so hard that some of the assault filters down into the atmosphere around us, influencing the wind, atmospheric pressure and temperature. (ed. note: layman terms-"weather")
In this piece, Weather Phenomenon and Elements, the Keith C. Heidorn, PhD writes:
"As this solar wind storm buffets the magnetosphere, and portions of its energy are transferred to the magnetosphere, a geomagnetic storm results on Earth. When geomagnetic storms (occur), natural hazards like hurricanes and tsunamis, are severe"
These geomagnetic storms induced by solar flares wreak havoc with the upper atmosphere, the ozone layer and the earth's magnetic field. MSNBC quote Charles Jackman of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center:
The weakening, if coupled with a subsequently large influx of radiation in the form of protons streaming from the sun, can also affect the chemistry of the atmosphere...That can lead to significant but temporary losses of atmospheric ozone.
It may be a temporary loss of ozone, but the increased frequency of this occurrence in the coming solar cycle will contribute to the increased frequency of weather disasters.
A 2002 NASA study finds that by the 2030s climate change may surpass chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) as the main driver of overall ozone loss.
And what has the most influence on global climate change? THE SUN.
So, in the coming solar cycle which is predicted to be perhaps the strongest on record, the earth's already weakening magnetic field, ozone layer and upper atmosphere will take the beating of a lifetime. Oh, don't forget those magnetic "ropes" that connect the sun to the earth recently discovered by NASA.
Now we have the earth tied to the sun while the sun convulses in one of it's most violent of solar cycles.
And if that isn't enough, visit PBS' broadcast MAGNETIC STORM. PETER OLSON (Johns Hopkins University), JOHN SHAW (University of Liverpool) and MARIO ACUNA (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center discuss another internal factor impacting the earth's weakening magnetic field and thus producing climate change: magnetic pole reversal.
Climate change is a symptom of the decaying magnetic field of the earth, weakened without by the assault of solar storms and weakened within by it's own soon-to-reverse magnetic core.
A DIFFERENT GOSPEL IN THE EMERGING CHURCH AND THE NEW EVANGELICALISM?
What does Robert Schuller, Rick Warren, and the Emergent church have in common? Synergism. Apprising Ministries reviews Pastor Bob DeWaay's analysis of the proliferation of synergism in evangelicalism:
"This theological perspective is fully at odds with the doctrines of the Reformation. The Reformers taught human inability and bondage to sin. They taught monergism (that salvation is fully an act of God) not synergism (that salvation is a cooperative effort between man and God). They taught that only a sovereign work of grace (grace alone) brought salvation...
Most people, based on their own perceptions, assume synergism to be true. They assume that though God made it possible for people to be saved, it was something in them, apart from any special work of grace, that caused them to “accept Christ” as they say... [But w]e must gain our theology from the Bible, not from our interpretations of our own experience. The Bible does not teach synergism, but that salvation is an act of God..."
Read the rest here at Apprising Ministries.
"This theological perspective is fully at odds with the doctrines of the Reformation. The Reformers taught human inability and bondage to sin. They taught monergism (that salvation is fully an act of God) not synergism (that salvation is a cooperative effort between man and God). They taught that only a sovereign work of grace (grace alone) brought salvation...
Most people, based on their own perceptions, assume synergism to be true. They assume that though God made it possible for people to be saved, it was something in them, apart from any special work of grace, that caused them to “accept Christ” as they say... [But w]e must gain our theology from the Bible, not from our interpretations of our own experience. The Bible does not teach synergism, but that salvation is an act of God..."
Read the rest here at Apprising Ministries.
Is The Emerging Church Just Catholicism?
Last week the question was asked Is The Pope Emergent? Now, Dave Hunt and T.A. McMahon of Search the Scriptures Daily ask the question Is The Emerging Church Just Catholicism? in their broadcast series on the error of the emerging church movement. This series also addresses the questions:
- What’s Wrong with Candles, Incense and Icons?
- Is the Emerging Authentic Christianity?
- Is The Emerging a ‘Cultural’ Christianity?
Visit The Berean Call website for extensive resources on the emerging church and the growing apostasy in today’s evangelicalism.
See related post Is The Pope Emergent?
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Rick Warren Spin Zone Part III
Rick Warren's distortions of reality by Joseph Farah of WorldNet Daily
Rick Warren loves to apologize for things he didn't do, for things other people did that weren't wrong, even for things that occurred hundreds of years before he was born.
For instance, he recently apologized to Muslims worldwide for atrocities committed against their ancestors during the Crusades. He also recently apologized for American "excesses in the war on terrorism." And he has apologized for the church because it hasn't done enough about the spread of AIDS and problems like global warming.
Yet, I must observe that despite his predilection for apologies, he has a great deal of trouble owning up to his own personal mistakes.
Here we are more than a year after his misguided trip to Syria in which he was used politically by the anti-Jewish, anti-Western, terror-supporting police state, and Warren insists his only error was in posing for a photo op with President Bashar Assad. The whole episode, Warren says, is just a big misunderstanding. And – guess what – it's all my fault!
Here is what he told WND staff writer Art Moore about the trip to Syria: "The only mistake I made in Syria. This was the mistake. I shouldn't have taken a photo op [with the president]."
Read the rest of Joseph Farah's spin-stopping artcle here...
Rick Warren loves to apologize for things he didn't do, for things other people did that weren't wrong, even for things that occurred hundreds of years before he was born.
For instance, he recently apologized to Muslims worldwide for atrocities committed against their ancestors during the Crusades. He also recently apologized for American "excesses in the war on terrorism." And he has apologized for the church because it hasn't done enough about the spread of AIDS and problems like global warming.
Yet, I must observe that despite his predilection for apologies, he has a great deal of trouble owning up to his own personal mistakes.
Here we are more than a year after his misguided trip to Syria in which he was used politically by the anti-Jewish, anti-Western, terror-supporting police state, and Warren insists his only error was in posing for a photo op with President Bashar Assad. The whole episode, Warren says, is just a big misunderstanding. And – guess what – it's all my fault!
Here is what he told WND staff writer Art Moore about the trip to Syria: "The only mistake I made in Syria. This was the mistake. I shouldn't have taken a photo op [with the president]."
Read the rest of Joseph Farah's spin-stopping artcle here...
Rick Warren Spin Zone Part II
Pastor-teacher Ken Silva stops the Saddleback spin:
In a World Net Daily piece called Rick Warren: ‘I always own up to my mistakes’ we’re told that, "Many false claims, [Warren] contended, have taken on a life of their own on Internet blogs, such as assertions he was mentored by positive-thinking pastor Robert Schuller."
Then Purpose Driven Pope Rick Warren says: "I’ve only met Robert Schuller twice, I believe. I’ve never had a one-on-one conversation with him. Not once. So how do I even know him?"
The WND story goes on to inform us:
Warren said some criticism is simply baseless, charging many "don’t do their due diligence on research." The Robert Schuller "mentorship," for example, likely originated with a statement the Crystal Cathedral pastor made on CNN’s "Larry King Live"… The claim was furthered by author George Mair in a biography of Warren called "A Life with Purpose" then spread like wildfire among Internet blogs."
Well, Mr. Warren I certainly don’t want to be one of those who don’t "do their due diligence on research." However, it sure appears to be Rick Warren who needs to be set straight because here’s what Robert Schuller’s Hour of Power website says right now:
We are the founders of the Possibility Thinking Community Church Movement in America… We are the home of the world’s first Church Growth Institute, -launching the mega-church movement in the 20th century. Tens of thousands of pastors, including famous graduates Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, Bishop Blake, Walt Kallestad, and Sundo Kim of Korea, were mentored here. (Online source)
I went through this with Richard Abanes back when he was a Warren apologist. And in The Real Facts About Rick Warren’s Ties to Robert Schuller Chris Rosebrough cites the Christianity Today article where Warren’s own wife Kay clearly says that Schuller "had a profound influence on Rick."
So Mr. Warren, has Robert Schuller failed to "do due diligence" for the "Who are we?"presentation at the Hour of Power website? And tell us, is your wife a liar too?
Read the rest at Christian Research Network. See also The Rick Warren Spin Zone.
In a World Net Daily piece called Rick Warren: ‘I always own up to my mistakes’ we’re told that, "Many false claims, [Warren] contended, have taken on a life of their own on Internet blogs, such as assertions he was mentored by positive-thinking pastor Robert Schuller."
Then Purpose Driven Pope Rick Warren says: "I’ve only met Robert Schuller twice, I believe. I’ve never had a one-on-one conversation with him. Not once. So how do I even know him?"
The WND story goes on to inform us:
Warren said some criticism is simply baseless, charging many "don’t do their due diligence on research." The Robert Schuller "mentorship," for example, likely originated with a statement the Crystal Cathedral pastor made on CNN’s "Larry King Live"… The claim was furthered by author George Mair in a biography of Warren called "A Life with Purpose" then spread like wildfire among Internet blogs."
Well, Mr. Warren I certainly don’t want to be one of those who don’t "do their due diligence on research." However, it sure appears to be Rick Warren who needs to be set straight because here’s what Robert Schuller’s Hour of Power website says right now:
We are the founders of the Possibility Thinking Community Church Movement in America… We are the home of the world’s first Church Growth Institute, -launching the mega-church movement in the 20th century. Tens of thousands of pastors, including famous graduates Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, Bishop Blake, Walt Kallestad, and Sundo Kim of Korea, were mentored here. (Online source)
I went through this with Richard Abanes back when he was a Warren apologist. And in The Real Facts About Rick Warren’s Ties to Robert Schuller Chris Rosebrough cites the Christianity Today article where Warren’s own wife Kay clearly says that Schuller "had a profound influence on Rick."
So Mr. Warren, has Robert Schuller failed to "do due diligence" for the "Who are we?"presentation at the Hour of Power website? And tell us, is your wife a liar too?
Read the rest at Christian Research Network. See also The Rick Warren Spin Zone.
More Emerging Mysticism
Apprising Ministries exposes more of the mystical roots of the Emerging Church...
So on the word of Emergent Guru McLaren, one of the major leaders in this neo-orthodox (at best) Emergent rebellion against the Bible, Tony Jones has provided “an important resource” for the “spiritual formation” of your youth. And Dr. Kenda Dean, ordained as an elder in violation of the Word of God, tells us Jones makes these alleged “ancient spiritual teachers” familiar to your kids to guide them “in the life of prayer.”
But what they aren’t telling you is that this so-called spiritual formation is the counterfeit Christianity of contemplative spirituality which flowered in the anti-biblical monastic traditions of apostate Roman Catholicism. And these ancient spiritual teachers in turn developed their own “spiritual disciplines” from the mystic musings of the equally apostate eastern “Desert Fathers and Mothers” who had originally taken them from pagan practices they had gleaned meditating with Hindus and Buddhists.
And also note above how Dean tells us that in DIEG Jones teaches “the soul-shaping discipline of lectio divina.” Actually that’s a bit of a play on words on Dean’s part because Jones has also written a book Soul Shaper: Exploring Spirituality and Contemplative Practices in Youth Ministry. Within it Tony Jones fills you in on the historical background concerning “centering prayer,” one of these “ancient spiritual disciplines” practiced by what have become known as “Christian” mystics...
So on the word of Emergent Guru McLaren, one of the major leaders in this neo-orthodox (at best) Emergent rebellion against the Bible, Tony Jones has provided “an important resource” for the “spiritual formation” of your youth. And Dr. Kenda Dean, ordained as an elder in violation of the Word of God, tells us Jones makes these alleged “ancient spiritual teachers” familiar to your kids to guide them “in the life of prayer.”
But what they aren’t telling you is that this so-called spiritual formation is the counterfeit Christianity of contemplative spirituality which flowered in the anti-biblical monastic traditions of apostate Roman Catholicism. And these ancient spiritual teachers in turn developed their own “spiritual disciplines” from the mystic musings of the equally apostate eastern “Desert Fathers and Mothers” who had originally taken them from pagan practices they had gleaned meditating with Hindus and Buddhists.
And also note above how Dean tells us that in DIEG Jones teaches “the soul-shaping discipline of lectio divina.” Actually that’s a bit of a play on words on Dean’s part because Jones has also written a book Soul Shaper: Exploring Spirituality and Contemplative Practices in Youth Ministry. Within it Tony Jones fills you in on the historical background concerning “centering prayer,” one of these “ancient spiritual disciplines” practiced by what have become known as “Christian” mystics...
Campolo's Psychic Evangelism
TONY CAMPOLO SUGGESTS PRAYING TO PEOPLE
(Friday Church News Notes, December 7, 2007 )
- In the book The God of Intimacy and Action: Reconnecting Ancient Spiritual Practices, Evangelism, and Justice, which is co-written by Tony Campolo and Mary Albert Darling, we find the following heretical statement: “While pointing out how important it is for Christians to pray for others, [Frank] Laubach makes a bold and intriguing proposal for another way of praying. He suggests that in addition to praying for someone in need of God, that we should consider praying to that person as well. He tells us that God may want to work through the praying Christian as a channel to reach into the heart and soul of the person who is in need of saving grace.
Laubach proposes that a person who is resisting God might be open to the spiritual impact of a Christian concentrating God’s power on him or her. It is as though, according to Laubach, a praying Christian might be a lens through whom God focuses saving power into another person’s life. Call it a kind of mental telepathy, but what Laubach is suggesting is that the Holy Spirit flowing into a Christian, as a result of prayer, can stir up spiritual energy in that Christian that can then be directed toward a person who needs Christ’s salvation” (Tony Campolo and Mary Albert Darling, The God of Intimacy and Action: Reconnecting Ancient Spiritual Practices, Evangelism, and Justice, 2007, pp 34-35).
Editor's note:
In this pro-contemplative review, Jeff Goins has this to say about Campolo's new book....
Campolo and Darling team up in The God of Intimacy and Action: Reconnecting Ancient Spiritual Practices, Evangelism, and Justice to bring readers the “holistic gospel,” a union of mystical encounters with Christ and essential action. They point to both Catholics and Protestants whose impact on society was fueled by their intimate relationship with their Creator. They highlight mystics such as St. Francis of Assisi and political reformers such as Martin Luther King, Jr., as examples of intimate lovers of God who followed their dedication with proactive attitudes.
Campolo begins the book with an outline of mystical Christianity. He then describes certain encounters that evangelicals have experienced but do not recognize as mystical, such as “new insights” from a familiar passage of scripture. In the following chapters, he shares his heart for evangelism and social justice...
Pastor Dale Morgan shares this warning:
" ...Campolo says that if the Holy Spirit can’t manage to turn someone’s heart, God may use your own psychic powers to do it. And by the way, he suggests, those psychic powers can be honed by the mystical practices that he describes later in the book.
See also Coming to Christ Campolo Style.
(Friday Church News Notes, December 7, 2007 )
- In the book The God of Intimacy and Action: Reconnecting Ancient Spiritual Practices, Evangelism, and Justice, which is co-written by Tony Campolo and Mary Albert Darling, we find the following heretical statement: “While pointing out how important it is for Christians to pray for others, [Frank] Laubach makes a bold and intriguing proposal for another way of praying. He suggests that in addition to praying for someone in need of God, that we should consider praying to that person as well. He tells us that God may want to work through the praying Christian as a channel to reach into the heart and soul of the person who is in need of saving grace.
Laubach proposes that a person who is resisting God might be open to the spiritual impact of a Christian concentrating God’s power on him or her. It is as though, according to Laubach, a praying Christian might be a lens through whom God focuses saving power into another person’s life. Call it a kind of mental telepathy, but what Laubach is suggesting is that the Holy Spirit flowing into a Christian, as a result of prayer, can stir up spiritual energy in that Christian that can then be directed toward a person who needs Christ’s salvation” (Tony Campolo and Mary Albert Darling, The God of Intimacy and Action: Reconnecting Ancient Spiritual Practices, Evangelism, and Justice, 2007, pp 34-35).
Editor's note:
In this pro-contemplative review, Jeff Goins has this to say about Campolo's new book....
Campolo and Darling team up in The God of Intimacy and Action: Reconnecting Ancient Spiritual Practices, Evangelism, and Justice to bring readers the “holistic gospel,” a union of mystical encounters with Christ and essential action. They point to both Catholics and Protestants whose impact on society was fueled by their intimate relationship with their Creator. They highlight mystics such as St. Francis of Assisi and political reformers such as Martin Luther King, Jr., as examples of intimate lovers of God who followed their dedication with proactive attitudes.
Campolo begins the book with an outline of mystical Christianity. He then describes certain encounters that evangelicals have experienced but do not recognize as mystical, such as “new insights” from a familiar passage of scripture. In the following chapters, he shares his heart for evangelism and social justice...
Pastor Dale Morgan shares this warning:
" ...Campolo says that if the Holy Spirit can’t manage to turn someone’s heart, God may use your own psychic powers to do it. And by the way, he suggests, those psychic powers can be honed by the mystical practices that he describes later in the book.
See also Coming to Christ Campolo Style.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Sitting in Silence or Darkness?
From The National Catholic Reporter: Sitting in silence, The prayer that emboldens and dissolves differences By THOMAS C. FOX
Contemplative prayer, a discipline revived in the West during the 1960s and having spread into Christian communities in the 1970s, is a growing movement, according to some of its most prominent teachers, who say the practice provides a healthy counterpoint to the hectic modern world.
Traditional religious differences seem to dissolve as Christians, Jews, Muslims and Buddhists join in meditation sessions. You find meditators, especially the young, in church halls, in local communities and on college campuses across the nation.
The purpose of contemplative prayer, its teachers say, is not only to deepen one’s spiritual experience but also to help form and embolden Christian communities. Christian meditation communities now work with the poor in São Paulo, Brazil, meet in parishes in Buenos Aires, Argentina, teach nonviolence in Mumbai, India, and chant in Taizé, France.
“Contemplative prayer is expanding exponentially,” Benedictine Fr. Laurence Freeman, director of the World Community for Christian Meditation, told NCR. “There are more groups, more countries. ... The reason is that over the years -- we’re talking about 30 years now -- more and more of the people who started are maturing spiritually in this practice. They are now teachers. They are starting groups. They are running workshops. They are leading retreats.”
Editor's note:
Thomas Fox expands the history of Western & Catholic mysticism in his blog...
Contemplative prayer traditions are alive and spreading in the West and have been for the last four decades, resulting from a revival in interest in both Christian and Eastern meditation practices. While the revival was not necessarily a direct result of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), the council helped open doors to interreligious dialogue and spawned interest in Eastern religious practices. It was in October 1965, as the council was drawing to a close, that Pope Paul VI proclaimed Nostra Aetate, the “Declaration on the Relationship of the Church to Non-Christian Religions,” which contained the following revolutionary paragraph:
“The Catholic church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these (non-Christian) religions. She regards with sincere reverence those ways of conduct and of life, those precepts and teachings which, though differing in many aspects from the ones she holds and sets forth, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men.”
The council, in effect, gave permission to spiritual pilgrims, and some Western clergy traveled east. Trappist Fr. Thomas Merton, Benedictine Fr. Bede Griffith, Benedictine Sr. Pascaline Coff and Fr. Edward Hays, among others, traveled to Asia and began to share their experiences with Western Catholics. Hays opened an ashram, called Shantivanum, incorporating Eastern meditation practices, near Leavenworth, Kan.
Fox isn't the only one who believes mysticism can dissolve differences...see also
Campolo: Mysticism's the bridge between Christianity & Islam , Diabolical Connections , and related posts.
Contemplative prayer, a discipline revived in the West during the 1960s and having spread into Christian communities in the 1970s, is a growing movement, according to some of its most prominent teachers, who say the practice provides a healthy counterpoint to the hectic modern world.
Traditional religious differences seem to dissolve as Christians, Jews, Muslims and Buddhists join in meditation sessions. You find meditators, especially the young, in church halls, in local communities and on college campuses across the nation.
The purpose of contemplative prayer, its teachers say, is not only to deepen one’s spiritual experience but also to help form and embolden Christian communities. Christian meditation communities now work with the poor in São Paulo, Brazil, meet in parishes in Buenos Aires, Argentina, teach nonviolence in Mumbai, India, and chant in Taizé, France.
“Contemplative prayer is expanding exponentially,” Benedictine Fr. Laurence Freeman, director of the World Community for Christian Meditation, told NCR. “There are more groups, more countries. ... The reason is that over the years -- we’re talking about 30 years now -- more and more of the people who started are maturing spiritually in this practice. They are now teachers. They are starting groups. They are running workshops. They are leading retreats.”
Editor's note:
Thomas Fox expands the history of Western & Catholic mysticism in his blog...
Contemplative prayer traditions are alive and spreading in the West and have been for the last four decades, resulting from a revival in interest in both Christian and Eastern meditation practices. While the revival was not necessarily a direct result of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), the council helped open doors to interreligious dialogue and spawned interest in Eastern religious practices. It was in October 1965, as the council was drawing to a close, that Pope Paul VI proclaimed Nostra Aetate, the “Declaration on the Relationship of the Church to Non-Christian Religions,” which contained the following revolutionary paragraph:
“The Catholic church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these (non-Christian) religions. She regards with sincere reverence those ways of conduct and of life, those precepts and teachings which, though differing in many aspects from the ones she holds and sets forth, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men.”
The council, in effect, gave permission to spiritual pilgrims, and some Western clergy traveled east. Trappist Fr. Thomas Merton, Benedictine Fr. Bede Griffith, Benedictine Sr. Pascaline Coff and Fr. Edward Hays, among others, traveled to Asia and began to share their experiences with Western Catholics. Hays opened an ashram, called Shantivanum, incorporating Eastern meditation practices, near Leavenworth, Kan.
Fox isn't the only one who believes mysticism can dissolve differences...see also
Campolo: Mysticism's the bridge between Christianity & Islam , Diabolical Connections , and related posts.
The Rick Warren Spin Zone
The Real Facts About Rick Warren’s Ties to Robert Schuller
Chris Rosebrough of ExtremeTheology.com has written a new piece that documents the misinformation and half truths that Rick Warren told World Net Daily regarding his connection to Robert Schuller. Rosebrough documents the fact that, contrary to what Warren told WND, it was Kay Warren herself in a November 2002 interview with Christianity Today who divulged the depth of Robert Schuller’s “Profound Influence” upon Rick Warren and his ministry methods.
Click Here to Read the Whole Story
See original WND post Warren explains his apology to Muslims .
Chris Rosebrough of ExtremeTheology.com has written a new piece that documents the misinformation and half truths that Rick Warren told World Net Daily regarding his connection to Robert Schuller. Rosebrough documents the fact that, contrary to what Warren told WND, it was Kay Warren herself in a November 2002 interview with Christianity Today who divulged the depth of Robert Schuller’s “Profound Influence” upon Rick Warren and his ministry methods.
Click Here to Read the Whole Story
See original WND post Warren explains his apology to Muslims .
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Is The Pope Emergent?
Pope Benedict XVI's released his message for the 41st World Day of Peace, to be celebrated Jan. 1, 2008, titled "The Human Family, a Community of Peace."
The Pope makes excellent points regarding the family and expands that to the global family of mankind. He states:
"The social community, if it is to live in peace, is also called to draw inspiration from the values on which the family community is based. This is as true for local communities as it is for national communities; it is also true for the international community itself, for the human family which dwells in that common house which is the earth...The family community, in order to prosper, needs the generous consent of all its members. This realization also needs to become a shared conviction on the part of all those called to form the common human family."
"...it is essential to "sense" that the earth is "our common home" and, in our stewardship and service to all, to choose the path of dialogue rather than the path of unilateral decisions. Further international agencies may need to be established in order to confront together the stewardship of this "home" of ours; more important, however, is the need for ever greater conviction about the need for responsible cooperation."
"...An essential condition for peace within individual families is that they should be built upon the solid foundation of shared spiritual and ethical values. Yet it must be added that the family experiences authentic peace when no one lacks what is needed..."
"A family lives in peace if all its members submit to a common standard: this is what prevents selfish individualism and brings individuals together, fostering their harmonious coexistence and giving direction to their work."
Now from emergent leader Scot McNight:
To be missional means to embrace a holistic gospel – it is for the whole person (heart, soul, mind, and strength), for the whole society (politics, economy, culture, environment), and for the whole world...
...the community emphasis is a community that seeks to blend with the local community into a harmonious effort to realize the ideals of the Kingdom of God.
...a local church community of faith incarnating the kingdom vision of Jesus in its local community for the good of the world.
From Red Letter Christian notable Tony Campolo
"...we want to unite Christians who are concerned about what is happening in America. We are evangelicals who are troubled by what is happening to poor people in America; who are disturbed over environmental policies that are contributing to global warming"
The Pope makes excellent points regarding the family and expands that to the global family of mankind. He states:
"The social community, if it is to live in peace, is also called to draw inspiration from the values on which the family community is based. This is as true for local communities as it is for national communities; it is also true for the international community itself, for the human family which dwells in that common house which is the earth...The family community, in order to prosper, needs the generous consent of all its members. This realization also needs to become a shared conviction on the part of all those called to form the common human family."
"...it is essential to "sense" that the earth is "our common home" and, in our stewardship and service to all, to choose the path of dialogue rather than the path of unilateral decisions. Further international agencies may need to be established in order to confront together the stewardship of this "home" of ours; more important, however, is the need for ever greater conviction about the need for responsible cooperation."
"...An essential condition for peace within individual families is that they should be built upon the solid foundation of shared spiritual and ethical values. Yet it must be added that the family experiences authentic peace when no one lacks what is needed..."
"A family lives in peace if all its members submit to a common standard: this is what prevents selfish individualism and brings individuals together, fostering their harmonious coexistence and giving direction to their work."
Now from emergent leader Scot McNight:
To be missional means to embrace a holistic gospel – it is for the whole person (heart, soul, mind, and strength), for the whole society (politics, economy, culture, environment), and for the whole world...
...the community emphasis is a community that seeks to blend with the local community into a harmonious effort to realize the ideals of the Kingdom of God.
...a local church community of faith incarnating the kingdom vision of Jesus in its local community for the good of the world.
From Red Letter Christian notable Tony Campolo
"...we want to unite Christians who are concerned about what is happening in America. We are evangelicals who are troubled by what is happening to poor people in America; who are disturbed over environmental policies that are contributing to global warming"
"...in the hour of suffering there is a commonality. And that's where we meet. It's in mystical spirituality and in communal mutuality that's where we come together... In a mystical relationship with God, there is a coming together of people where theology is left behind and in this spirituality they found a commonality... if we are looking for common ground, can we find it in mystical spirituality, even if we cannot theologically agree, Can we pray together in such a way that we connect with a God that transcends our theological differences?"
From the RLC website: "Our mission is to articulate the biblical call to social justice, inspiring hope and building a movement to transform individuals, communities, the church, and the world."
Read this piece from Kjos Ministries: Trading Truth for a "Social Gospel" and see the similarity in the Pope's address and the Emergent philospohy.
See also Common Ground: Conciliation with a Lie , The Universal Community of Hope? , Faith House: Campolo Approved , and related posts.
A PURPOSE DRIVEN BURDEN
Pastor - teacher Ken Silva writes:
RICK WARREN PLACING A PURPOSE DRIVEN BURDEN UPON PEOPLE’S BACKS
“They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.” (Matthew 23:4, NASB)
In The Purpose Driven Church Rick Warren says:
It is my deep conviction that anybody can be won to Christ if you discover the key to his or her heart. That key to each person's heart is unique so it is sometimes difficult to discover. It may take some time to identify it. But the most likely place to start is with the person’s felt needs. (219)
First, “deep conviction” proves absolutely nothing; many people have all kinds of convictions about all kinds of things, and how one happens to feel about something has zero bearing upon truth.
And second, what a horrible burden Rick Warren has just placed on the backs of those who would preach his Purpose Driven version of Christ’s gospel. To win people to Christ we are to seek and search for the key to their heart, which he tells us is so unique it is sometimes difficult to discover.
So, this begs the question: Since Warren is taking credit that “anybody can be won to Christ” with enough effort, is he then going to take responsibility for those he comes into contact with who end up in Hell because he couldn’t discover the key to their heart?
Read the rest here at Apprising Ministries.
RICK WARREN PLACING A PURPOSE DRIVEN BURDEN UPON PEOPLE’S BACKS
“They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.” (Matthew 23:4, NASB)
In The Purpose Driven Church Rick Warren says:
It is my deep conviction that anybody can be won to Christ if you discover the key to his or her heart. That key to each person's heart is unique so it is sometimes difficult to discover. It may take some time to identify it. But the most likely place to start is with the person’s felt needs. (219)
First, “deep conviction” proves absolutely nothing; many people have all kinds of convictions about all kinds of things, and how one happens to feel about something has zero bearing upon truth.
And second, what a horrible burden Rick Warren has just placed on the backs of those who would preach his Purpose Driven version of Christ’s gospel. To win people to Christ we are to seek and search for the key to their heart, which he tells us is so unique it is sometimes difficult to discover.
So, this begs the question: Since Warren is taking credit that “anybody can be won to Christ” with enough effort, is he then going to take responsibility for those he comes into contact with who end up in Hell because he couldn’t discover the key to their heart?
Read the rest here at Apprising Ministries.
Global Warming Caused By the Sun
Al Gore may have to return his Nobel Peace Prize...
NASA reports that the "fleet of THEMIS spacecraft, launched less than 8 months ago, has made three important discoveries about spectacular eruptions of Northern Lights called "substorms" and the source of their power. The discoveries include giant magnetic ropes that connect Earth's upper atmosphere to the Sun and explosions in the outskirts of Earth's magnetic field."
So what? Here's what: The U.S. Committee on Environment and Public Works website reported the following back in March:
"Astrophysics and a host of the rest of the world's leading solar scientists are all convinced that the warming of recent years is not unusual and that nearly all the warming in the past 150 years can be attributed to the sun."
Mars's ice caps are melting, and Jupiter is developing a second giant red spot, an enormous hurricane-like storm.
The existing Great Red Spot is 300 years old and twice the size of Earth. The new storm -- Red Spot Jr. -- is thought to be the result of a sudden warming on our solar system's largest planet. Dr. Imke de Pater of Berkeley University says some parts of Jupiter are now as much as six degrees Celsius warmer than just a few years ago.
Neptune's moon, Triton, studied in 1989 after the unmanned Voyageur probe flew past, seems to have heated up significantly since then. Parts of its frozen nitrogen surface have begun melting and turning to gas, making Triton's atmosphere denser.
Even Pluto has warmed slightly in recent years, if you can call -230C instead of -233C "warmer...."
"...Is there something all these heavenly bodies have in common? Some one thing they all share that could be causing them to warm in unison?
Hmmm, is there some giant, self-luminous ball of burning gas with a mass more than 300,000 times that of Earth and a core temperature of more than 20-million degrees Celsius, that for the past century or more has been unusually active and powerful? Is there something like that around which they all revolve that could be causing this multi-globe warming? Naw!
They must all have congested commuter highways, coal-fired power plants and oilsands developments that are releasing large amounts of carbon dioxide into their atmospheres, too.
A decade ago, when global warming and Kyoto was just beginning to capture public attention, I published a quiz elsewhere that bears repeating in our current hyper-charged environmental debate: Quick, which is usually warmer, day or night?"
Read it for yourself:
Warming On Jupiter, Mars, Pluto, Neptune's Moon & Earth Linked to Increased Solar Activity
You don't have to be a rocket scientist to get the gist of what scientists reported in June 2007:
Solar Activity, Earth's Magnetic Field and Galactic Cosmic Rays Affect Climate
Editor's note: Who has the most to gain by blaming industrialized nations for global warming? Here's a hint...Follow the money.
See also Skeptics Voted The Clear Winners Against Global Warming Believers
SENATOR INHOFE's "SKEPTIC'S GUIDE TO DEBUNKING GLOBAL WARMING"
Skeptical Scientists Urge World To ‘Have the Courage to Do Nothing' At UN Conference
See more related posts.
NASA reports that the "fleet of THEMIS spacecraft, launched less than 8 months ago, has made three important discoveries about spectacular eruptions of Northern Lights called "substorms" and the source of their power. The discoveries include giant magnetic ropes that connect Earth's upper atmosphere to the Sun and explosions in the outskirts of Earth's magnetic field."
So what? Here's what: The U.S. Committee on Environment and Public Works website reported the following back in March:
"Astrophysics and a host of the rest of the world's leading solar scientists are all convinced that the warming of recent years is not unusual and that nearly all the warming in the past 150 years can be attributed to the sun."
Mars's ice caps are melting, and Jupiter is developing a second giant red spot, an enormous hurricane-like storm.
The existing Great Red Spot is 300 years old and twice the size of Earth. The new storm -- Red Spot Jr. -- is thought to be the result of a sudden warming on our solar system's largest planet. Dr. Imke de Pater of Berkeley University says some parts of Jupiter are now as much as six degrees Celsius warmer than just a few years ago.
Neptune's moon, Triton, studied in 1989 after the unmanned Voyageur probe flew past, seems to have heated up significantly since then. Parts of its frozen nitrogen surface have begun melting and turning to gas, making Triton's atmosphere denser.
Even Pluto has warmed slightly in recent years, if you can call -230C instead of -233C "warmer...."
"...Is there something all these heavenly bodies have in common? Some one thing they all share that could be causing them to warm in unison?
Hmmm, is there some giant, self-luminous ball of burning gas with a mass more than 300,000 times that of Earth and a core temperature of more than 20-million degrees Celsius, that for the past century or more has been unusually active and powerful? Is there something like that around which they all revolve that could be causing this multi-globe warming? Naw!
They must all have congested commuter highways, coal-fired power plants and oilsands developments that are releasing large amounts of carbon dioxide into their atmospheres, too.
A decade ago, when global warming and Kyoto was just beginning to capture public attention, I published a quiz elsewhere that bears repeating in our current hyper-charged environmental debate: Quick, which is usually warmer, day or night?"
Read it for yourself:
Warming On Jupiter, Mars, Pluto, Neptune's Moon & Earth Linked to Increased Solar Activity
You don't have to be a rocket scientist to get the gist of what scientists reported in June 2007:
Solar Activity, Earth's Magnetic Field and Galactic Cosmic Rays Affect Climate
Editor's note: Who has the most to gain by blaming industrialized nations for global warming? Here's a hint...Follow the money.
See also Skeptics Voted The Clear Winners Against Global Warming Believers
SENATOR INHOFE's "SKEPTIC'S GUIDE TO DEBUNKING GLOBAL WARMING"
Skeptical Scientists Urge World To ‘Have the Courage to Do Nothing' At UN Conference
See more related posts.
The Common Ground of Rick Warren & Mitt Romney
By Eric Barger
It is a fact that the "40 Days of Purpose" and other church growth and leadership materials produced by Rick Warren are aggressively marketed to Mormons and others outside Christian orthodoxy. When asked why Mormon leaders are involved in his pastoral training programs Rick Warren told USA Today: "I'm not going to get into a debate over the non-essentials. I won't try to change other denominations. Why be divisive?" (http://www.usatoday.com/life/2003-07-21-rick-warren_x.htm)
Say WHAT? Mormonism...a "denomination" and “non-essentials” such as the identity of Jesus Christ, godhood for mankind or the route to eternal salvation???
Clearly, Warren doesn't KNOW or doesn't WANT to identify Mormonism as non-Christian. Either way, what USA Today didn't report is that Rick Warren is helping train Mormon leaders to more effectively present a false religion to the world - a false religion that has led millions of lost souls to an eternal Hell.
Now, we find listed alongside a Mitt Romney promo video on the popular YouTube website that one of his favorite books is listed as...you guessed it, The Purpose Driven Life. (http://www.youtube.com/mittromney) It is the only religious book he mentioned (Hummmm, in May 2007 Romney listed the Bible and Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard's tasteless novel "Battlefield Earth" as first and second on his list of "must reads." (See http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/04/30/romney-favors-hubbard-novel)
Read the rest here at Christian Worldview Network
See also Common Ground: Conciliation with a Lie
It is a fact that the "40 Days of Purpose" and other church growth and leadership materials produced by Rick Warren are aggressively marketed to Mormons and others outside Christian orthodoxy. When asked why Mormon leaders are involved in his pastoral training programs Rick Warren told USA Today: "I'm not going to get into a debate over the non-essentials. I won't try to change other denominations. Why be divisive?" (http://www.usatoday.com/life/2003-07-21-rick-warren_x.htm)
Say WHAT? Mormonism...a "denomination" and “non-essentials” such as the identity of Jesus Christ, godhood for mankind or the route to eternal salvation???
Clearly, Warren doesn't KNOW or doesn't WANT to identify Mormonism as non-Christian. Either way, what USA Today didn't report is that Rick Warren is helping train Mormon leaders to more effectively present a false religion to the world - a false religion that has led millions of lost souls to an eternal Hell.
Now, we find listed alongside a Mitt Romney promo video on the popular YouTube website that one of his favorite books is listed as...you guessed it, The Purpose Driven Life. (http://www.youtube.com/mittromney) It is the only religious book he mentioned (Hummmm, in May 2007 Romney listed the Bible and Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard's tasteless novel "Battlefield Earth" as first and second on his list of "must reads." (See http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/04/30/romney-favors-hubbard-novel)
Read the rest here at Christian Worldview Network
See also Common Ground: Conciliation with a Lie
Diabolical Connections
From Christian Research Network
What does the United Nations, the New Age religion and a growing number of U.S. college campuses have in common? The For The Author blog connects the dots and the emerging association matrix reveals:
What does the United Nations, the New Age religion and a growing number of U.S. college campuses have in common? The For The Author blog connects the dots and the emerging association matrix reveals:
- Dr. Don Beck, who is a "geopolitical commentator" and founder of the New Age Global Center for Human Emergence
- Brother Wayne Teasdale , proponent of contemplative prayer
- Ken Wilber, and his New Age organization called The Integral Institute
Watch the videos at For The Author blog and see for yourself.
Warren explains his apology to Muslims
From WorldNet Daily:
LAKE FOREST, Calif. – Widely regarded by mainstream media as one of America's most influential leaders, he's met with dictators, apologized to Muslims on behalf of Christians, accepted blame for global warming and invited pro-choice politicians to speak at his Southern California megachurch.
All of that, and more, raises red flags with a sizeable number of evangelicals who share the traditional theological and social views of Rick Warren's Southern Baptist roots. The blue jeans-clad pastor of 22,000-strong Saddleback Church in Orange County says that with guidance from Billy Graham, he has intentionally tried to avoid engaging his critics. But on the heels of an appearance by Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton at his church's conference on AIDS, he welcomed the opportunity to sit down and talk with WND.
Read the first in a 3 -part series at WorldNet Daily.
LAKE FOREST, Calif. – Widely regarded by mainstream media as one of America's most influential leaders, he's met with dictators, apologized to Muslims on behalf of Christians, accepted blame for global warming and invited pro-choice politicians to speak at his Southern California megachurch.
All of that, and more, raises red flags with a sizeable number of evangelicals who share the traditional theological and social views of Rick Warren's Southern Baptist roots. The blue jeans-clad pastor of 22,000-strong Saddleback Church in Orange County says that with guidance from Billy Graham, he has intentionally tried to avoid engaging his critics. But on the heels of an appearance by Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton at his church's conference on AIDS, he welcomed the opportunity to sit down and talk with WND.
Read the first in a 3 -part series at WorldNet Daily.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Snow Storms Hammer the Heartland
From WXnation wire, Dec 10, 2007:
Fourteen dead as ice storm sweeps U.S. Plains; State of Emergency declared for all 77 Oklahoma counties, 400,000 homes, businesses without power; Deadly ice storms expected to continue in Okla.; 2nd ice storm could lay thicker coat on KC area; Freezing rain cancels 400 O’Hare flights; Power returned to thousands after freak storms in, around Sydney; Shuttle launch off until Jan.
Up to 2 inches of ice possible in Kansas; State of Emergency declared for all of Kansas; More than 100,000 without power in Mo. with second ice storm expected; From Tulsa: About 198,000 area homes without power.
Editor's note: The U.S. Heartland is ravaged, as the heart of Israel, Jerusalem, is on the verge of being ravaged by the nations.
Fourteen dead as ice storm sweeps U.S. Plains; State of Emergency declared for all 77 Oklahoma counties, 400,000 homes, businesses without power; Deadly ice storms expected to continue in Okla.; 2nd ice storm could lay thicker coat on KC area; Freezing rain cancels 400 O’Hare flights; Power returned to thousands after freak storms in, around Sydney; Shuttle launch off until Jan.
Up to 2 inches of ice possible in Kansas; State of Emergency declared for all of Kansas; More than 100,000 without power in Mo. with second ice storm expected; From Tulsa: About 198,000 area homes without power.
Editor's note: The U.S. Heartland is ravaged, as the heart of Israel, Jerusalem, is on the verge of being ravaged by the nations.
Jerusalem To Be Divided
WorldNet Daily Exclusive by Aaron Klein
JERUSALEM – A top member of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government today announced Israel "must" give up sections of Jerusalem for a future Palestinian state, even conceding the Palestinians can rename Jerusalem "to whatever they want."
"We must come today and say, friends, the Jewish neighborhoods, including Har Homa, will remain under Israeli sovereignty, and the Arab neighborhoods will be the Palestinian capital, which they will call Jerusalem or whatever they want," said Israeli Vice Premier Haim Ramon.
Positions held by Ramon, a ranking member of Olmert's Kadima party, are largely considered to be reflective of Israeli government policy.
Ramon's statements follow last month's U.S.-sponsored Annapolis summit at which Olmert committed to aim at completing negotiations by next year to create a Palestinian state, with Israel expected to evacuate swaths of Jerusalem and the strategic West Bank.
Read the rest of this urgent report here...
See related posts here
Watch the earthquakes here
JERUSALEM – A top member of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government today announced Israel "must" give up sections of Jerusalem for a future Palestinian state, even conceding the Palestinians can rename Jerusalem "to whatever they want."
"We must come today and say, friends, the Jewish neighborhoods, including Har Homa, will remain under Israeli sovereignty, and the Arab neighborhoods will be the Palestinian capital, which they will call Jerusalem or whatever they want," said Israeli Vice Premier Haim Ramon.
Positions held by Ramon, a ranking member of Olmert's Kadima party, are largely considered to be reflective of Israeli government policy.
Ramon's statements follow last month's U.S.-sponsored Annapolis summit at which Olmert committed to aim at completing negotiations by next year to create a Palestinian state, with Israel expected to evacuate swaths of Jerusalem and the strategic West Bank.
Read the rest of this urgent report here...
See related posts here
Watch the earthquakes here
Out of the Mouths Of Babes
The Revival...It's Personal blog shares a powerful YouTube video...
Here you'll find the video clip that was created just for you. Logan is a 13 year-old boy who lives on a ranch in a very small town in Nebraska. Logan listens to Christian Radio station 89.3FM KSBJ which broadcasts from Houston, TX. Logan called the radio station distraught because he had to take down a calf . His words have wisdom beyond his years.Since airing the audio of the phone call and now the making of the video clip, it has taken on a life of its own. People are forwarding it all over the world. We encourage you to share the love of Christ with anyone you can.
Visit Revival...It's Personal to watch...bring your Kleenex.
Here you'll find the video clip that was created just for you. Logan is a 13 year-old boy who lives on a ranch in a very small town in Nebraska. Logan listens to Christian Radio station 89.3FM KSBJ which broadcasts from Houston, TX. Logan called the radio station distraught because he had to take down a calf . His words have wisdom beyond his years.Since airing the audio of the phone call and now the making of the video clip, it has taken on a life of its own. People are forwarding it all over the world. We encourage you to share the love of Christ with anyone you can.
Visit Revival...It's Personal to watch...bring your Kleenex.
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Climate Change Causes Rise in Tide of Ecumenism
CHRISTIANS UNITE FOR CLIMATE MARCH
The UK’s ecumenical think tank, Ekklesia reports:
Christians of all denominations will unite in London tomorrow (Saturday) and join a national demonstration to demand that Britain’s representatives at Bali lead by example over climate change, by cutting Britain’s greenhouse gas emissions further and faster.
The day will kick off with a service to pray that British and world leaders act urgently at the Bali conference to avert the dangers posed by climate change to the whole of Creation, will take place in St Matthew’s Church, Great Peter Street, Westminster. The service will be one of a number of events during the National Campaign against Climate Change’s rally and march…
…The National Demonstration in London will be one of many demonstrations on climate change taking place all around the world on the same day, midway through the United Nations Climate Talks in Bali, where world leaders will be discussing the threat from global warming and co-ordinating responses to the threat.
See also Great Global Warming Swindle, Global Warming Delusions ,Global Warming or Global Governance Climate Change: Stand Against False Gospel, Green Lies and Amazing Truths and related posts.
HT: Christian Research Network
The UK’s ecumenical think tank, Ekklesia reports:
Christians of all denominations will unite in London tomorrow (Saturday) and join a national demonstration to demand that Britain’s representatives at Bali lead by example over climate change, by cutting Britain’s greenhouse gas emissions further and faster.
The day will kick off with a service to pray that British and world leaders act urgently at the Bali conference to avert the dangers posed by climate change to the whole of Creation, will take place in St Matthew’s Church, Great Peter Street, Westminster. The service will be one of a number of events during the National Campaign against Climate Change’s rally and march…
…The National Demonstration in London will be one of many demonstrations on climate change taking place all around the world on the same day, midway through the United Nations Climate Talks in Bali, where world leaders will be discussing the threat from global warming and co-ordinating responses to the threat.
See also Great Global Warming Swindle, Global Warming Delusions ,Global Warming or Global Governance Climate Change: Stand Against False Gospel, Green Lies and Amazing Truths and related posts.
HT: Christian Research Network
Common Ground: Conciliation with a Lie
From Christian Research Network:
The Foolishness of the Yale Proposal…Peace at the cost of absolute truth is conciliation with a lie. Eric Barger of Take a Stand Ministries writes why he can’t sign the letter:
World peace. What an idea! Everyone would certainly like that. After all, we represent the Prince of Peace don’t we? However, it is a theological misconception to believe that we are here solely to make peace. Jesus never said that. In fact, he proclaimed the opposite in Matthew chapter 10…
…True to their lack of convictions this bunch of milk toast, self-proclaimed Christian leaders espousing Rodney King “why-can’t-we-all-just-get-along?” theology have made the decision that toiling over doctrine and truth is somehow less important than public perception. Well, they certainly aren’t speaking for me or for millions of other bible believers either…
…Grovelling at the feet of Islam isn’t going to win Muslims over even if it really was the right thing to do. It is sickening and each of the signers to the Yale letter - including Robert Schuller, Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, (Brian McLaren, ed. note) Leith Anderson, Jim Wallis, Richard Mouw and two prominent Assemblies of God bible college presidents - should fall on their knees in shame and beg Jehovah God for forgiveness.
Read Barger’s complete piece here…
Listen to Eric Barger, Pastor Bob DeWaay and host Jan Markell discuss the question "Should Christians and Muslims join hands and agree on certain things--like getting along on spiritual terms?"
See related posts Islam and Christianity: The Deity of Christ, Rick Warren Asks For Allah’s Forgiveness , Begging forgiveness of Islam?, Rick Warren, Evangelicals, Invite Muslims to Love God Together** ,
The Foolishness of the Yale Proposal…Peace at the cost of absolute truth is conciliation with a lie. Eric Barger of Take a Stand Ministries writes why he can’t sign the letter:
World peace. What an idea! Everyone would certainly like that. After all, we represent the Prince of Peace don’t we? However, it is a theological misconception to believe that we are here solely to make peace. Jesus never said that. In fact, he proclaimed the opposite in Matthew chapter 10…
…True to their lack of convictions this bunch of milk toast, self-proclaimed Christian leaders espousing Rodney King “why-can’t-we-all-just-get-along?” theology have made the decision that toiling over doctrine and truth is somehow less important than public perception. Well, they certainly aren’t speaking for me or for millions of other bible believers either…
…Grovelling at the feet of Islam isn’t going to win Muslims over even if it really was the right thing to do. It is sickening and each of the signers to the Yale letter - including Robert Schuller, Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, (Brian McLaren, ed. note) Leith Anderson, Jim Wallis, Richard Mouw and two prominent Assemblies of God bible college presidents - should fall on their knees in shame and beg Jehovah God for forgiveness.
Read Barger’s complete piece here…
Listen to Eric Barger, Pastor Bob DeWaay and host Jan Markell discuss the question "Should Christians and Muslims join hands and agree on certain things--like getting along on spiritual terms?"
See related posts Islam and Christianity: The Deity of Christ, Rick Warren Asks For Allah’s Forgiveness , Begging forgiveness of Islam?, Rick Warren, Evangelicals, Invite Muslims to Love God Together** ,
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Burning Off Time In Purgatory
Roman Catholicism: Trips to Lourdes to Cut Time Spent in Purgatory
by Pastor-Teacher Ken Silva
For those who think that apostate Roman Catholicism has actually changed in things related to salvation CRN has a tip for you: It would seem there’s a large bridge in England one can get a REAL good deal on.
But for those who of you who live in the real world we have this from Enland’s Telegraph: "Pope Benedict XVI is offering relief from purgatory to Roman Catholics who travel to Lourdes over the next year, the Vatican said yesterday." *psst* Now the Vatican would be a pretty good source for what truly goes on in the RCC.
Pilgrims to the shrine in south-west France will receive "plenary indulgences" from the Pontiff, which the Church says reduce the time spent being "washed" of sin after death. The indulgences will be available from this weekend until Dec 8, 2008. The Church teaches that people who do not go directly to heaven must spend time in purgatory, where they can be purified of residual sin.
Read the rest of Pastor Silva's piece here...
See related posts: Mary: The Refuge, The Peace, The Path To God , Mary & Messages From Heaven , The Universal Community of Hope? , Pray Rosary for Peace, Benedict XVI Urges , Avoid Them Like The Plague
by Pastor-Teacher Ken Silva
For those who think that apostate Roman Catholicism has actually changed in things related to salvation CRN has a tip for you: It would seem there’s a large bridge in England one can get a REAL good deal on.
But for those who of you who live in the real world we have this from Enland’s Telegraph: "Pope Benedict XVI is offering relief from purgatory to Roman Catholics who travel to Lourdes over the next year, the Vatican said yesterday." *psst* Now the Vatican would be a pretty good source for what truly goes on in the RCC.
Pilgrims to the shrine in south-west France will receive "plenary indulgences" from the Pontiff, which the Church says reduce the time spent being "washed" of sin after death. The indulgences will be available from this weekend until Dec 8, 2008. The Church teaches that people who do not go directly to heaven must spend time in purgatory, where they can be purified of residual sin.
Read the rest of Pastor Silva's piece here...
See related posts: Mary: The Refuge, The Peace, The Path To God , Mary & Messages From Heaven , The Universal Community of Hope? , Pray Rosary for Peace, Benedict XVI Urges , Avoid Them Like The Plague
True and False Unity, Part 1
From Critical Issues Commentary Radio, presented by Pastor Bob DeWaay and Dick Kuffel:
The broadcast starts with an email Pastor DeWaay received, representing a common thread in the 30 or so emails he receives weekly from around country about churches changing to attract unbelievers:
Over the past few months I have received many phone calls and emails like the following:
I need some advice; I have been told that I am a bad influence on the congregation and that I am dividing the body of Christ. What happened was that our pastor decided to change the church to the seeker sensitive model. He no longer preaches the gospel. The sermons are watered down and have little Biblical content. What Bible is used is from a paraphrase. The music is more entertainment than worship. Everything has changed. When I asked the pastor about it, he told me these changes were necessary for the church to reach new people and grow. I told him I strongly disagree and asked him to preach the gospel. He has most of the church board on his side. I was saved in this church and have supported it for many years. I do not want to be divisive; but it doesn’t seem right that Bible teaching and gospel preaching have been removed from the church. What shall I do?
Philippians 1:27 describes Christian unity as "striving together for the faith of the gospel." In many churches today, Christians who strive for the faith of the gospel are labeled "divisive" by church leaders who have refused to preach the gospel.
The broadcast starts with an email Pastor DeWaay received, representing a common thread in the 30 or so emails he receives weekly from around country about churches changing to attract unbelievers:
Over the past few months I have received many phone calls and emails like the following:
I need some advice; I have been told that I am a bad influence on the congregation and that I am dividing the body of Christ. What happened was that our pastor decided to change the church to the seeker sensitive model. He no longer preaches the gospel. The sermons are watered down and have little Biblical content. What Bible is used is from a paraphrase. The music is more entertainment than worship. Everything has changed. When I asked the pastor about it, he told me these changes were necessary for the church to reach new people and grow. I told him I strongly disagree and asked him to preach the gospel. He has most of the church board on his side. I was saved in this church and have supported it for many years. I do not want to be divisive; but it doesn’t seem right that Bible teaching and gospel preaching have been removed from the church. What shall I do?
Philippians 1:27 describes Christian unity as "striving together for the faith of the gospel." In many churches today, Christians who strive for the faith of the gospel are labeled "divisive" by church leaders who have refused to preach the gospel.
Listen to the broadcast here...
Read Pastor Bob DeWaay's article on which the broadcast is based.
See related post: Satan's Greatest Weapon: Disunity? SBC President Not Interested In the Victims of Purpose Driven, Rick Warren's Inquisition , Unity In The Teaching of Apostolic Truth Yields Godly Love, The True Gospel Produces True Children of God
Read Pastor Bob DeWaay's article on which the broadcast is based.
See related post: Satan's Greatest Weapon: Disunity? SBC President Not Interested In the Victims of Purpose Driven, Rick Warren's Inquisition , Unity In The Teaching of Apostolic Truth Yields Godly Love, The True Gospel Produces True Children of God
Evangelical Leaders Reiterate Call for Two-State Solution
Along with the Pope's call for The Universal Community of Hope , the "New Evangelicals" have been engaged in planting their ecumenical flags on the political landscape in the name of global peace.
First it was Rick Warren, and 100 other pastors seeking unity with Islam. Now, Tony Campolo, of the Red Letter Christians and 80 other "Evangelicals" signatories have signed a statement indicating their belief "that the way forward is for the Israelis and Palestinians to negotiate a fair, two-state solution."
The ecumenical march to global peace, by dividing Israel...have these "New Evangelicals" read their Bibles lately? Pastor Bob DeWaay writes in Redefining Christianity, "Rick Warren suggests that Jesus doesn't want us to even think about prophecy or His return. Warren tells us that it is none of our business. He tells us that thinking about Jesus' return is a ploy by Satan to get us distracted. (PDL, pp. 285, 286 )" Distracted from what...the Truth?
And those trouble-making Christian Fundamentalists will have to be dealt with because of their stubborn refusal to close their Bibles and their refusal to follow the global pied pipers of global peace and universal harmony.
The emerging matrix is growing abundantly clear...popular, political "Christians", such as Warren, McLaren, Campolo and Schuller are demonstrating to the world their version of Christianity. And the world loves it...deeds not creeds. Simply stated, another gospel...one of unity across religions for peace, social justice and environmental responsibility. Another Gospel that displays Another Jesus.
See Dividing Jerusalem , Jerusalem the Stumbling Block , Under a Blood Red Moon and related posts.
First it was Rick Warren, and 100 other pastors seeking unity with Islam. Now, Tony Campolo, of the Red Letter Christians and 80 other "Evangelicals" signatories have signed a statement indicating their belief "that the way forward is for the Israelis and Palestinians to negotiate a fair, two-state solution."
The ecumenical march to global peace, by dividing Israel...have these "New Evangelicals" read their Bibles lately? Pastor Bob DeWaay writes in Redefining Christianity, "Rick Warren suggests that Jesus doesn't want us to even think about prophecy or His return. Warren tells us that it is none of our business. He tells us that thinking about Jesus' return is a ploy by Satan to get us distracted. (PDL, pp. 285, 286 )" Distracted from what...the Truth?
And those trouble-making Christian Fundamentalists will have to be dealt with because of their stubborn refusal to close their Bibles and their refusal to follow the global pied pipers of global peace and universal harmony.
The emerging matrix is growing abundantly clear...popular, political "Christians", such as Warren, McLaren, Campolo and Schuller are demonstrating to the world their version of Christianity. And the world loves it...deeds not creeds. Simply stated, another gospel...one of unity across religions for peace, social justice and environmental responsibility. Another Gospel that displays Another Jesus.
See Dividing Jerusalem , Jerusalem the Stumbling Block , Under a Blood Red Moon and related posts.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
SBC Fundamentalists Equated to Islamic Fundamentalists
Robert Parham, executive director of the Baptist Center for Ethics shares his opinion as to why Republican presidential candidate and Southern Baptist preacher Mike Huckabee needs to speak at the New Baptist Covenant Celebration in January. The NBC is the effort of the North American Baptist Fellowship (NABF), a regional affiliate of the Baptist World Alliance. The NBC seeks a common purpose with the support of former Presidents Carter and Clinton.
"... as Christians to promote peace with justice, to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, care for the sick and the marginalized, welcome the strangers among us, and promote religious liberty and respect for religious diversity. "
In his editorial Parham paints the picture that the Christian Right is composed of Christian fundamentalists. Thus fundamentalists according to Parham maintain a subculture that "dislikes Hispanics", denies global warming and is disinterested in the poor and the environment.
Parham writes "Huckabee withdrew from the NBC program in protest of Jimmy Carter saying that the Bush administration's foreign policy has been the worst in history.
In our news story about Huckabee's retreat, I speculated that he did so because he needed the support of Southern Baptist Convention leaders, who are not part of the New Baptist Covenant program. If Huckabee can't stand up to Southern Baptist fundamentalists, how will he as president stand up to Islamic fundamentalists and corporate profiteers?"
Parham seems to echo Rick Warren's sentiments:
"Warren predicts that fundamentalism, of all varieties, will be 'one of the big enemies of the 21st century...Muslim fundamentalism, Christian fundamentalism, Jewish fundamentalism, secular fundamentalism - they're all motivated by fear. Fear of each other."
Is it ethical for the executive director of the Baptist Center for Ethics to categorically lump Christian fundamentalists in with the Christian Right? Is it ethical or even rational to ignore the research of scientists that do not agree with Al Gore's interpretation on climate change and label those that do agree with these findings disinterested in the environment? Is it ethical to infer that all religious fundamentalism is a threat and a danger to the United States and the world? Mr. Parham, are your opinions even Biblical?
The NBC Celebration in January features:
And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
Not hard to imagine the persecution of Bible believing Christians coming from the visible church... martyrs of the Reformation and the modern day refugees of the Purpose Driven Dismemberment program .
See also Are You a Politically Correct Christian or a Biblically Correct Christian? See more related articles
"... as Christians to promote peace with justice, to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, care for the sick and the marginalized, welcome the strangers among us, and promote religious liberty and respect for religious diversity. "
In his editorial Parham paints the picture that the Christian Right is composed of Christian fundamentalists. Thus fundamentalists according to Parham maintain a subculture that "dislikes Hispanics", denies global warming and is disinterested in the poor and the environment.
Parham writes "Huckabee withdrew from the NBC program in protest of Jimmy Carter saying that the Bush administration's foreign policy has been the worst in history.
In our news story about Huckabee's retreat, I speculated that he did so because he needed the support of Southern Baptist Convention leaders, who are not part of the New Baptist Covenant program. If Huckabee can't stand up to Southern Baptist fundamentalists, how will he as president stand up to Islamic fundamentalists and corporate profiteers?"
Parham seems to echo Rick Warren's sentiments:
"Warren predicts that fundamentalism, of all varieties, will be 'one of the big enemies of the 21st century...Muslim fundamentalism, Christian fundamentalism, Jewish fundamentalism, secular fundamentalism - they're all motivated by fear. Fear of each other."
Is it ethical for the executive director of the Baptist Center for Ethics to categorically lump Christian fundamentalists in with the Christian Right? Is it ethical or even rational to ignore the research of scientists that do not agree with Al Gore's interpretation on climate change and label those that do agree with these findings disinterested in the environment? Is it ethical to infer that all religious fundamentalism is a threat and a danger to the United States and the world? Mr. Parham, are your opinions even Biblical?
The NBC Celebration in January features:
- Former President Jimmy Carter, who promotes the idea that everyone will be saved, with or without faith in Christ, so "building humanity" has an interspiritual premise for Carter.
- Tony Campolo, who believes Mysticism's the bridge between Christianity & Islam. Campolo also states...the Holy Spirit "is in you before you became a Christian" (unlike being dead in your trespasses) and "Christ indwells all, saved and unsaved."
- Former President Bill Clinton, Former Vice President Al Gore
It seems that neither Parham or Warren recognize what a Christian Fundamentalist is... a sinner saved by the atoning work of Christ's shed blood , born igain into the newness of life, as a part of the Body of Christ, who believes and practices by the sanctification of the Holy Spirit, the fundamentals of the One True Faith as revealed without error in God's Word, the Bible.
So the dialectic continues to paint the picture that Biblical Christians are a threat to the goodwill of mankind. Not hard to imagine what the Book of Revelation has to say about the fate of Bible believing Christians in the not too distant future...
Revelation 13:7And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
Not hard to imagine the persecution of Bible believing Christians coming from the visible church... martyrs of the Reformation and the modern day refugees of the Purpose Driven Dismemberment program .
See also Are You a Politically Correct Christian or a Biblically Correct Christian? See more related articles
Monday, December 3, 2007
Sen. Clinton at Saddleback Church - A big mistake?
Pro-abortion and homosexual rights advocate Hillary Clinton has been given a standing ovation by pastors and others attending the third annual Global AIDS Summit at Rick Warren's Saddleback Church. But at least one pro-family leader says Warren's invitation to the Democratic presidential candidate was a big mistake.
Senator Clinton (D-New York) was one of several speakers to attend this week's AIDS summit at Pastor Rick Warren's church in California. During her speech on Thursday to the crowd of more than a thousand people, Clinton vowed to fight what some refer to as the "global AIDS pandemic" and pledged to spend $50 million on HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention worldwide if elected president.
According to Reuters News, Clinton said to warm applause: "I know the power of faith and the people of faith. Together, I believe we can write the next chapter in this history."
...But the president of the American Family Association, Tim Wildmon, believes Warren made a mistake in allowing Clinton to speak at Saddleback. "What Saddleback is doing is helping raise her profile as a legitimate presidential candidate in the eyes of evangelical Christians," he says -- adding: "I think that is a huge error."
Read the complete report here.
Thanks to Revival...It's Personal for the head's up.
Senator Clinton (D-New York) was one of several speakers to attend this week's AIDS summit at Pastor Rick Warren's church in California. During her speech on Thursday to the crowd of more than a thousand people, Clinton vowed to fight what some refer to as the "global AIDS pandemic" and pledged to spend $50 million on HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention worldwide if elected president.
According to Reuters News, Clinton said to warm applause: "I know the power of faith and the people of faith. Together, I believe we can write the next chapter in this history."
...But the president of the American Family Association, Tim Wildmon, believes Warren made a mistake in allowing Clinton to speak at Saddleback. "What Saddleback is doing is helping raise her profile as a legitimate presidential candidate in the eyes of evangelical Christians," he says -- adding: "I think that is a huge error."
Read the complete report here.
Thanks to Revival...It's Personal for the head's up.