1 in 4 Americans can’t think of recent positive contribution by Christians

From The Denver Post:

quote..

One in four Americans said they couldn’t think of a single positive societal contribution made by Christians in recent years, according to a nationwide survey released Monday.

On the positive side, almost one in five mentioned how U.S. Christians help poor and underprivileged people. Those under the age of 25 were most likely to reference such service. Among other findings, researchers noted that Evangelical Christians over age 25 and those who said they are “mostly conservative” on socio- political matters were least likely to list serving the poor as an important contribution.

“Overall,” researchers noted, “there was a more extensive and diverse list of complaints about Christians and their churches than there was of examples of the benefits they have provided to society.” At the top of the negatives list: One in five Americans, or 20 percent, said Christians have incited violence or hatred in the name of Jesus Christ. Of the non-Christians surveyed, 35 percent gave this response.

Full article

Words of Jesus that come to mind:

“Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” Matthew 5:13-16

False spirits invade the church (Part 3)

From Andrew Strom:

Founding Fathers were Antichrists says New Film

Its no secret, my thoughts on politicians using Christianity (and in doing so, using Christ) as some type of personal tool by which to garner votes. It totally disgusts me. They are a “blight” upon the Church and as far as the Gospel is concerned, more times then not, nothing more then enemy’s of the Cross. All you need to do is watch and listen to the political ads these self-proclaiming ‘Christian’ candidates run on TV, to know contrary to their claims, they have not been led or inspired in their endeavor by God.

Forgive the musing….that is not what this post is about. But after watching one of these hypocritical ‘Christian’ candidates being interviewed by a Christian network this evening, (this) after viewing a number of horrible, disgraceful personal attack ads this person has been running, I just had to vent.

Moving on to the actual topic……

I thought this news item posted at Christian NewsWire was interesting:

Founding Fathers were Antichrists says New Film

While Glenn Beck and David Barton are shouting that conservatives need to take back America, a Christian filmmaker asks the question: take it back to what? A new documentary, “The Hidden Faith of the Founding Fathers” explores what the founders of the American Revolution really believed about Christianity, and the evidence is less than encouraging. If you’re a Christian, that is.

Continued here

I checked out the website of Adullam Films, and also found the article concerning the film very interesting:

NEW RELEASE: ” THE HIDDEN FAITH OF THE FOUNDING FATHERS”

Over the summer, our ministry has been engaged in the production with a new documentary about the founding fathers of the United States, and what their “faith” really was. This work grew out of a chapter I had written for the book, “How to Overcome the Most Frightening Issues You Will Face this Century,” published by Tom Horn. Tom then decided to use a modified version of the chapter for the introduction of his next book, “Apollyon Rising 2012.” Soon after these books were released, we began to notice a deep concern about these issues among believers. I was invited to speak at a Prophecy Conference in Nashville, TN and could see how disturbed the audience was over some of the information I presented. Because of these things, I became convicted that this film is a much needed work; and we hope it will be a blessing for all who view it.

There have been a series of delays in finishing the work, primarily because some incredible information emerged concerning George Washington, the Jesuit Order, and the involvement of Rome in the War of Independence. Some of the details are shocking, and the proof undeniable, which you will see if you watch the film.

In this film, we confront the “Conservative Christian” view that the founders were somehow or other “Christians” who fought the American Revolution to establish the country based on the principles of the Bible. As this film shows clearly, the witness of history proves that the exact opposite was true.

Continued Here

Youtube appears to have a number of videos concerning this film. If interested in pouring over the list visit youtube and just type in “The Hidden Faith of Our Founding Fathers”

The Genesis 12:1-3 Question Ignites a Firestorm (again)

Looks like this bishop stepped in it:

U.S. Bishop Says Jews Have No ‘Exclusive Right’ To Israel

quote..

A special Vatican meeting on the Middle East ended Saturday (Oct. 23) with a flare-up in Catholic-Jewish tensions, after an American bishop declared the Bible does not give Jews privileged rights to the land of Israel. “We Christians cannot speak of the ‘promised land’ as an exclusive right for a privileged Jewish people,” said Archbishop Cyril Bustros, a native of Lebanon who is currently a Melkite Greek Catholic bishop in Newton, Mass. “This promise was nullified by Christ,”…(more)

One party upset at this statement is Joel Rosenberg:

THE VATICAN’S LATEST, PAINFUL PRONOUNCEMENT ON ISRAEL IS WRONG

quote..

The entire Bible — from Genesis to Revelation — makes crystal clear again and again the Lord’s love for the Jewish people, His decision to choose Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their descendants for His very own, and His eternal promise to give the Holy Land to the Jewish people.

As such, it is the duty of all true followers of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to bless Israel and reaffirm her fundamental legitimacy and right to the Land. Yes, we should bless and love the Palestinians, as well, because our Lord Jesus said as a Jew living in Israel, “Love your neighbor,” and, “Love your enemies.” But we should never accept the false teaching that God has rejected the Jewish people or rescinded His promises to the nation of Israel. That simply is not Biblical.

In Genesis chapter 12:1-3, the Lord makes it clear He has chosen Abram to “make a great nation” and the Lord says to him, “I will bless you and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” (more)

Recommended reading:

Misinterpreting Scripture (Genesis 12:3)

Steve Lumbley’s excellent message, Who is Israel?

Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto. Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, ‘And to seeds’, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. (Galatians 3: 13-16)

Violence is Now the Way of Jesus

Sobering message posted by Rick Frueh: Violence is Now the Way of Jesus

Replacing Godless Hollywood with Bible-Based “Cultural Dominion”

Interesting article whether you agree (or disagree) with the author. I personally like Kirk Cameron, so was taken aback somewhat to see his name in the same article with that of many well known Reconstructionists, such as Doug Phillips and Phyllis Schlafly.

Nevertheless, a few quotes….

For anyone wondering what the “culture” would look like if the Christian right achieved its dream of “taking it back” from secularists, feminists, and the other dread enemies of God’s plan for a Christian America, the San Antonio Christian Film Festival, which begins next week, provides a telling window.

The Festival, the culmination of the 2010 Christian Filmmakers’ Academy, which features Hollywood’s most outspoken evangelical Kirk Cameron as a “faculty” member, intends to create a “Christ-honoring replacement industry outside of Hollywood.” Replacing godless Hollywood with a Christian film industry is one piece of the Christian right strategy known as dominionism: creating “biblical” alternatives to, and ultimately replacements for, secular political, cultural, and economic institutions.

The Festival is hosted by Vision Forum, the Reconstructionist, Christian patriarchal homeschooling organization. Vision Forum’s President, Doug Phillips, is no minor player in conservative politics: he is the son and follower of Howard Phillips, founder of the Constitution Party. Tea party-backed candidates Rand Paul and Sharron Angle both have ties to the Constitution Party; in Colorado, former Republican Congressman Tom Tancredo is running for governor on the Constitution Party ticket, endorsed by conservative blogger and CNN contributor Erick Erickson. Tea party groups are learning about the “biblical basis” of the Constitution from the Constitution Party-related Institute on the Constitution.

The younger Phillips travels the country, to conventions and conferences sponsored by Vision Forum and its Reconstructionist allies, and is a renowned speaker at homeschool conventions that draw a much broader crowd. At all these conferences, he promotes an “integrated worldview” that draws heavily on Christian Reconstructionist founder Rousas John Rushdoony. That worldview includes extreme patriarchal gender roles, marriages arranged by fathers, a 200-year “family vision” to establish faithful “multi-generational families,” and a view of world history, based on Rushdoony’s Biblical Philosophy of History, that is like David Barton’s Christian American history on steroids. In this view all of human history — from creation through the fall, the resurrection and the daily activities of “covenanted” biblical families — is the unfolding of God’s Kingdom, as imagined by the Reconstructionists.

For those not schooled in the philosophical/theological fine points of Christian Reconstructionism, it is based in the view that all knowledge is dependent upon one of two presuppositions: one must presuppose the God of the Bible and become subject to biblical law or, by default, one presupposes the supremacy of human reason (which is equated with the sin of Adam and Even in the Garden of Eden). In Reconstructionism there is no middle ground; either one subjects oneself to biblical law and lives according to its edicts, or one lives a fallen, rational, humanistic existence. Their goal is to bring other Christians to recognize this; or to bring about what they call “epistemological self-consciousness.”

The film competition website provides a glimpse of just what a culture transformed by Christian Reconstructionists would look like. There are no women depicted as faculty, presenters or leaders in any sense; the overwhelming majority of winners in every category since 2004 are male (though occasionally there are “teams” that include a female member). Phillips and others, in discussions on his own website have argued (in keeping with other Reconstructionists), that women should not be allowed to vote since they are “represented” by their husbands in the voting booth.

Phillips’ patriarchal “family vision,” with its rigidly proscribed gender norms that homeschooling is designed to reinforce, is described in detail by RD contributor Kathryn Joyce in her book Quiverfull: Inside the Christian Patriarchy Movement. Women are to be submissive in all things; their entire life purpose is to “glorify God” by producing as many children as possible. (Indeed the prolific Duggar family of TLC’s 19 Kids and Counting is a favorite of Vision Forum.) Boys and girls are socialized into distinctly different roles in which males are protective, adventurous, and imaginative; females are dependent, supportive, and submissive….

That year the “Best of Festival” Jubilee Award went to The Monstrous Regiment of Women, a “documentary” directed by Colin Gunn. The film, which has an all-female cast that includes anti-feminist doyenne Phyllis Schlafly and others, explores “how feminism has restricted choices for all women, brought heartache to the lives of many, and perpetuated an unprecedented holocaust through legalized abortion.” Gunn’s current work IndoctriNation: Public Schools and the Decline of Christianity in America, follows his family bus tour across the nation with his seven home-schooled children to “uncover the origins of our modern education system.”

The film features Reconstructionist leaders such as Kevin Swanson, Gary North, Doug Phillips and Geoff Botkin, and the Gunns’ interview with Howard Phillips. According to the film’s promotional materials, through his travels Gunn discovers a “master-plan designed to replace God’s recipe for education with a man-centered program that has fragmented the family, destroyed the social systems of our nation and undermined the influence of the church.”

Indeed, dominionism is most powerfully evident in the Reconstructionists’ approach to education, which in turn produces the “biblical” filmmakers of the future. Whether through homeschooling or Christian schools, the goal is to “replace” public education, which, as Gunn’s film made clear, is considered unbiblical. According to Reconstructionism, the Bible gives authority for education to families — not the state — and the Bible does not give the state the authority to tax people to pay for the education of other peoples’ children. Reconstructionists are therefore opposed to public education, not only for their own children, but at all. They long have been proponents of dismantling the federal Department of Education (a view echoed by Angle during the campaign) and reducing funding for public education at every opportunity….

More Here

Related:

Theonomy

Rousas John Rushdoony – Father of Dominionism

Militant Joel’s Army Followers Seek Theocracy

Theologian Chris Wright: “We are a scandal and a stumbling block to the mission of God”

Good article…

CAPE TOWN, South Africa – Respected theologian Chris Wright gave a challenging critique Saturday of the evangelical movement when he said a disturbing number of its leaders are guilty of idolatry.

God’s people today, like in the Old Testament, have fallen to worshiping the false gods and idols of the world, said the international director of U.K.-based Langham Partnerships as he spoke before the thousands attending the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangeliziation.

According to Wright, the three idols are: power and pride, popularity and success, and wealth and greed.

Many evangelical leaders, he said, have become obsessed about their status and power in the Christian church and have become disobedient to Christ in the process. They worship popularity and therefore exaggerate or report dishonest statistics to make themselves look more successful than they are.

Similar to the false prophets of old, these leaders claim to speak the word of God but really act in their own self-interest.

“The Church was dazzled by these super apostles who boasted about their credentials and their impressive speaking and great popularity,” said the theologian, whose ministry was once led by John Stott, the evangelical leader who was the main drafter of the first two Lausanne covenants.

But the Kingdom of God cannot be built on the foundations of dishonesty and lies…

“We are a scandal and a stumbling block to the mission of God,” Wright stated.

Full article: Idolatry is Biggest Obstacle to World Mission, Says U.K. Theologian

“Until Then”

Charles Johnson & The Revivers

GOP congressional candidate, Pastor Stephen Broden, says violent overthrow of government is ‘on the table’

What is occurring in this nation (and within people in general) is becoming spookier and crazier by the day.

quote…

WASHINGTON – Republican congressional candidate Stephen Broden stunned his party Thursday, saying he would not rule out violent overthrow of the government if elections did not produce a change in leadership.

In a rambling exchange during a TV interview, Broden, a South Dallas pastor, said a violent uprising “is not the first option,” but it is “on the table.” That drew a quick denunciation from the head of the Dallas County GOP, who called the remarks “inappropriate.”

Broden, a first-time candidate, is challenging veteran incumbent Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson in Dallas’ heavily Democratic 30th Congressional District. Johnson’s campaign declined to comment on Broden.

In the interview, Brad Watson, political reporter for WFAA-TV (Channel 8), asked Broden about a tea party event last year in Fort Worth in which he described the nation’s government as tyrannical.

“We have a constitutional remedy,” Broden said then. “And the Framers say if that don’t work, revolution.”

“If the government is not producing the results or has become destructive to the ends of our liberties, we have a right to get rid of that government and to get rid of it by any means necessary,” Broden said, adding the nation was founded on a violent revolt against Britain’s King George III.

Watson asked if violence would be in option in 2010, under the current government.

“The option is on the table. I don’t think that we should remove anything from the table as it relates to our liberties and our freedoms,” Broden said, without elaborating. “However, it is not the first option.”

More here

“Half-Baked” Christianity

Excellent message by Pastor Larry DeBruyn. I heard a similar message preached many years ago, also based upon Hosea 7:8,

“Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake not turned. Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth it not: yea, gray hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knoweth not. And the pride of Israel testifieth to his face: and they do not return to the LORD their God, nor seek him for all this.” Hosea 7:8-10, KJV

Herescope,

quote..

In a previous generation, a churchman observed of the church’s relationship to the surrounding culture of that era and said:

“I looked for the church and found it in the world. I looked for the world and found it in the church.”

In the history of American Christianity there perhaps has never been a time when the criticism uttered by that Englishman against the church of his day is not also an apt indictment of Christianity in our culture today.

Admixing faith with culture–something we might call the Canaanitization of Christianity–is something that both testaments warn against. The Apostle Paul warned the Corinthians against allowing it to happen. He wrote:

“Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty” (2 Corinthians 6:17-18; Citing Isaiah 52:11.).

About allowing themselves to become blended with the culture, to become culturized by Corinth, the Apostle Paul called upon true believers to separate themselves from those who, by their actions and beliefs, violated the covenant of faith.

He admonished, “Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God . . .” (2 Corinthians 6:14-16a).

Using an interesting metaphor, the prophet Hosea warned that, “Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake not turned” (Emphasis mine, Hosea 7:8).

Hosea describes that Israel had violated God’s call for them to remain a distinct people from the pagan nations around them (See Exodus 34:12-16.). Because Israel was in clear violation of God’s command, Hosea compares Israel to an unturned pancake, an ancient version of fast food! Cooked upon hot coals, the cake had to be turned from one side to the other at just the right moment, else the downside, the side closest to the fire, would become scorched and burnt, while the upside, the side away from the fire, would remain unbaked, doughy, and odious. That is how the prophet likened the northern nation of Israel just before their captivity. Their courting of and alliances with the pagan nations, as exhibited by the men of Israel marrying pagan women and their gods, caused the prophet to picture the nation as a “half-baked” pancake fit only to be discarded into the fire of God’s judgment.

The question must be asked, is there a sense in which, whether corporately or individually, we like Ephraim, are cakes not turned?

The question is not irrelevant. In comparing the sins of Northern Israel–fraud, lying, adultery, alcohol consumption, unresolved anger and outbursts of rage, unfaithful leadership and prayerlessness–can it not be discerned that the sins which plagued ancient Ephraim are also evident in today’s professing church? In short, the same sinful influences upon Ephraim in Hosea’s day are observable in and amongst Christians today.

For allowing itself to become culturized, the consequence is that the church loses her credibility. What the church is (or is not) speaks so loudly that the culture cannot hear what she says, her prophetic voice as it were. In trying to reform society, the church finds itself in the hypocritical posture of first needing to reform itself; of needing to clean herself up before she attempts to clean up others.

“We’ve met the enemy” Pogo says, “and he is us!” Such is the way worldliness impacts the church. It causes the church to be half-baked.

Tens of Thousands of Muslims Coming to Christ

Something to ponder on:

Is this wonderful harvest a result of Koran burnings and derogatory, demeaning, and fear based statements about Muslims from so-called Christian leaders appearing in the media and/or “Christian” political activists issuing public statements about bombing Iran?

quote…

CAPE TOWN, South Africa: Speakers gave hopeful messages of how God is moving and bringing hope despite addressing some of the darkest and seemingly most hopeless situations in the world today. The Middle East, which has become almost synonymous with violence and Islam, is experiencing an unprecedented level of Muslims becoming followers of Jesus Christ, said Sam Yeghnazar, founder of Iran-focused Elam Ministries. There were only about 500 Iranian Christians from a Muslim background at the time of Lausanne I in 1974, he said. But over the past 30 years, more Muslims have come to Christ than in the past 1,300 years.

“Iran today is a closed land with countless open hearts,” said Yeghnazar. “It is the most open nation to the Gospel in the entire world. Tens of thousands of Iranians are turning to Christ.”

Two weeks ago, two of Yeghnazar’s people were imprisoned and within a week they brought six people to Christ, he shared. Meanwhile, Palestinian Christian Salim (last name withheld for security reasons), spoke about hope for true peace in the Middle East through Christ. By understanding Jesus’ death on the cross, Palestinian Christians “shy away from the poison of hatred” and are compelled to explain to the world about peace and justice.

“Anchoring our identity in the messiah, we can open our hearts to angry Muslim neighbors and to fearful Jewish soldiers behind check points,” said Salim. “[There is] a divine one who can change stone hearts to flesh.”

Tens of Thousands of Muslims Coming to Christ, Says Iranian Ministry Leader

Homer Simpson is a Catholic

You read the title correctly. According to the Vatican’s official newspaper “Homer J Simpson is a Catholic”.

quote…

The long-running cartoon series explores issues such as family, community, education and religion in a way that few other popular television programmes can match, according to L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican’s daily broadsheet. The newspaper acknowledged that Homer snores through the sermons of the Reverend Lovejoy and inflicts “never-ending humiliation” on his evangelical neighbour, Ned Flanders.

But in an article headlined “Homer and Bart are Catholics”, the newspaper said: “The Simpsons are among the few TV programmes for children in which Christian faith, religion, and questions about God are recurrent themes.” The family “recites prayers before meals and, in their own peculiar way, believes in the life thereafter”.

It quoted an analysis by a Jesuit priest, Father Francesco Occhetta, of a 2005 episode of The Simpsons, The Father, the Son and the Holy Guest Star, which revolved around Catholicism and was aired a few weeks after the death of Pope John Paul II.

The episode starts with Bart being expelled from Springfield Elementary School and being enrolled in a Catholic school where he meets a sympathetic priest, voiced by the actor Liam Neeson, who draws him into Catholicism with his kindness.

Homer then decides to convert to Catholicism, to the horror of his wife Marge, the Rev Lovejoy and Ned Flanders. The episode touches on issues such as religious conflict, interfaith dialogue, homosexuality and stem cell research.

“Few people know it, and he does everything he can to hide it, but it is true: Homer J Simpson is a Catholic,” insists L’Osservatore Romano.

It is not the first time that the Vatican newspaper has praised The Simpsons. Last December, as the television series celebrated its 20th anniversary, the paper said that “the relationship between man and God” is one of its most important themes and that it often mirrored the “religious and spiritual confusion of our times”.

Homer Simpson ‘is a true Catholic’

“Dear Fox Advertiser…”

Been following the story of Byron Williams who in July was (quote) “traveling to San Francisco with the intention of starting a revolution by killing people of importance at the Tides Foundation and the ACLU.”

In his recent jail-house confession Williams accredits Glenn Beck, who he believes is (quote) “like a schoolteacher on TV” with confirming the conspiracy surrounding the Tides foundation.

If you’ve not followed the story, take the time to read (and follow the links) in this article:

“Progressive Hunter” Jailhouse Confession: How the right-wing media and Glenn Beck’s chalkboard drove Byron Williams to plot assassination

It would appear Beck has been spinning another of his conspiracy-webs concerning the Tides foundation for some time. This time his fear mongering came close to ending in dire consequences. Thank God it didn’t….and I mean that literally: thank God for intervening.

After months of no retaliation and silence on the part of the Tides foundation, the founder and CEO has written advertisers asking them to remove their sponsorship of the Fox News program or risk having “blood on their hands.”

Dear Fox Advertiser,

I am writing to ask your company to take a simple step that may well save lives in the future. And it is not unimportant that taking this action will remove your company and its products from any connection to what could very likely be an unpleasant tragedy, should things remain as they are today. On behalf of my organization, and many others like it, I ask that you cease advertising on the Fox News Channel.

This is neither a hollow request, nor one rhetorically made. There is an urgency to it born of our own direct experience as the target of a would-be assassin inspired by Fox’s Glenn Beck Show.

Continue reading here Dear Fox Advertiser

I’ve been pondering upon strong delusion lately; especially as it pertains to America today.  The term ‘strong delusion’ in 2 Thes. 2:11 (“And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie”) also means energy of deceit.

Frankly, I don’t know where I’m going in this musing…I only know there is a palpable destructive energy which has settled over this nation. One which is being embraced by a growing section of the population. This energy of deceit is feeding all those who love not the Truth a steady diet of lies, fear, hate, distrust and suspicion. And frankly, madness.

As a friend use to say, “Something has stirred the demons up”.  And that means the demons abiding within all those who are not abiding in Christ: especially, imo, the pretenders.

more later…

Dying to Self

“Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” – Matthew 16:24-26

When your good is evil spoken of, when your wishes are crossed, your advice disregarded, your opinions ridiculed, and you refuse to let anger rise in your heart, or even defend yourself, but take it all in patient, loving silence….that is dying to self.

When you lovingly and patiently bear any disorder, any irregularity, any impunctuality, or any annoyance; when you stand face-to-face with waste, silly extravagance, spiritual insensibility, and endure it as Jesus did….that is dying to self.

When you are content with any food, any offering, any climate, any society, any clothing, any interrogation, any interruption by the will of God….that is dying to self.

When you never care to refer to yourself in conversation, or to defend your own beliefs, your own good works, or itch for commendation, when you can truly love to be unknown….that is dying to self.

When you can see your brother prosper and have his needs met, and can honestly rejoice with him in spirit, and feel no envy, nor question God, while your own needs are far greater and in more desperate circumstances….that is dying to self.

When you receive correction and reproof from one of less stature than yourself, and can humbly submit inwardly, as well as outwardly, finding no rebellion, retaliation, self-sympathy, self-defense, self-vindication, self-justification, resentment, bitterness, unforgiveness in heart….that is dying to self.

Author Unknown

The Old Time Gospel

How to Become an Apostate

“The making of a son of perdition was an apostle. The making of an apostate is a professing Christian”

Popular TV Evangelists Banned from Christian Television Network

While I’m not at all familiar with DoersTV, their stand is something which can be appreciated.

ChristianNewsWire

An internet Christian television network, has banned many of the most popular TV Evangelists from broadcasting on its network. With a strict programming policy, many of the most well known TV Evangelists are just not welcomed on DoersTV.com.

To ensure that DoersTV.com’s programming stays free from self-promoting ministers, and the doctrine labeled by many conservative Christians as the “false prosperity gospel”; many popular TV Evangelists cannot broadcast on DoersTV.com.

In addition, included in their controversial programming policy is an exclusion forbidding to air ministers who live a lavish lifestyle (at the expense of their audiences) and those exposed; before confessing and repenting, in sexual activities, such as adultery and homosexuality.

“Enough is enough. Millions of Christians and non-Christians are sick and tired of the pimps in the pulpit”, Pastor David Wright, CEO of DoersTV.com said recently. “How can we as ministers preach the Gospel to the poor and rob them at the same time. Tell a husband to be faithful to his wife and we are sleeping (?around). Preach against homosexuality and practice it at the same time. Live in a mansion when our congregations are living in the ghettos.

We refuse to allow these types of TV Evangelists a platform on our TV network, regardless of how much money we could generate from their celebrity status.”

Making lots of money does not appear to be a temptation for DoersTV.com as they continue to offer free airtime for churches and ministries that fit their strict policies.

“I know we could make a boat load of money charging these churches and ministries, and it’s not like we don’t need the money. But when Jesus said – freely you have received, freely you give – that is what we decided to do” said Pastor David. DoersTV.com has taken a bold stand on banning many poplar TV Evangelists from its programming.

Will this be the beginning of a trend for other Christian television networks to follow? My money says, no. One thing is for sure, DoersTV.com has created an alternative for millions of people feed-up with the baggage that comes with many popular TV Evangelists today.

DoersTV.com is a free Christian Internet TV Network with a mission to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. DoersTV.com emphasizes safe, family entertainment values for families, communities, and Christians worldwide with over 21 channels.

Donald Duck Meets Glenn Beck

Ahahaha…

The truth behind this hilarious cartoon is in no way funny, for people are hurting, but the person who put it together has presented an excellent portrayal of how Glenn Beck uses fear and paranoia to indoctrinate his listeners. As a life-long fan of Donald Duck, this had me laughing out-loud. (*believe I may have caught one word of profanity, if so, it didn’t come from the “Donald”..)

(Donald’s life is turned upside-down by the current economic crisis and he finds himself unemployed and falling behind on his house payments. As his frustration turns into despair Donald discovers a seemingly sympathetic voice coming from his radio named Glenn Beck.

The Terrible Doctrine of the Remnant

Remnant - a usually small part, member, or trace remaining : a small surviving group: a small part or portion that remains after the main part no longer exists

(Rom 9:27) Isaiah also cries concerning Israel, “though the numbers of the sons of Israel is as the sands of the sea, a remnant shall be saved.’

*If you’d prefer hearing this read, click here (HT)

By A.W.Tozer, from a previously unpublished essay.

I want to articulate a doctrine in the Bible that is very troubling and alarming. I am very much afraid that the Bible is a more alarming book than we know. Before I explain what I mean, I would like to read the words of a hymn. I love this hymn from Edwin Hodder (1837-1904) about the Word.

The Word is like a garden , Lord With flowers bright and fair; And everyone who seeks may pluck A lovely cluster there. Thy Word is like a deep, deep mine; And jewels rich and rare Are hidden in its mighty depths For every searcher there.

Thy Word is like a starry host; A thousand rays of light Are seen to guide the traveler And make his pathway bright. Thy Word is like an armory Where soldiers may repair. And find, for life’s long battle day All needful weapons there.

All of that is true. I enjoy hearing that song and I enjoy singing it. However, I am a little bit afraid that that is the attitude we take toward the Scriptures-that it is a beautiful jewel to wear on or around our neck or our finger, or corsage to wear at some dress up occasion where the star shines on it; that it is fragrant. It is all that. But it is something more than that, and in our simple elegance, I am afraid we are not letting the Word of God mean to us what it ought to mean. Whatever the educators may be saying, whatever the current religious vogue may be, here is doctrine clearly taught in the Scripture, which cultists have mis-read and have wrested to their own destruction. For every cultist says “We are the people.” But I refuse to reject the doctrine because somebody else has wrested the doctrine to his of her own destruction. I have neither starry hopes for you to admire nor posies for you to smell; but what I do have is a terrible doctrine that hurts and bothers and makes me sorrow in spirit. It is the doctrine of the Remnant.

Only a Fragment

What is the doctrine of the Remnant? It is simply this; that in our blind, fallen, sinful world of mankind, at any given time, the vast overwhelming majority are lost. And by lost, I do not mean they have missed their way or come short of the mark or are less that they wanted to be or fail to fulfill their dreams. By lost I mean, alienated from God and an enemy to Him, without pardon, without life, without hope.

What does the doctrine of the Remnant mean? “Remnant,’ means a small fragment, a surviving trace. It means that some-thing yet remains when the larger body is somewhere else.

The Romans 9:27 text deals with Israel, but it sets forth clearly the doctrine as applying to the entire human race as well as the Church. This was true among the nations before Abraham; it was true of Israel after Abraham; and it is true of the Church since Pentecost. I am alarmed because it has been true since Pentecost that such a vast number of people who call themselves Christians-the overwhelming majority-are nominal, and only a remnant is saved.

Look at some of the examples in the Bible. Jesus said, “And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of Man” ( Luke 17:26). According to the Scripture, Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord, and there were seven other members of his family that were saved out of the whole population. I do not know what the population was, but I know at the time of the flood that there were eight persons saved out of a whole population. And I know that it is written that as it was in the days of Noah so shall it be in the days of the coming of the Son of man.

Somebody says, ” Mr Tozer, your taking it too seriously. Don’t you remember when Elijah felt the way you feel and Elijah said,” Oh Lord, I alone am left,” and God said ” Cheer up, Elijah; I have news for you. Seven thousand are in Israel that have not bowed their knees to Baal nor to his image.” That sounds like a lot. Isn’t that encouraging knowing that in Israel 7000 true Jews did not bow their knees to Baal?

Allow me to indulge in a little speculation.…

Suppose the population of Israel at the time was 7 million. I think that is a very conservative count. That would mean one tenth of 1 per-cent had not bowed their knee knees to Baal, and all the rest had. It would mean 1 in 1000. If you were to take at that time 1000 Jews, 999 of them secretly bowing the knee to Baal to keep out of trouble, and only one man stood boldly. But suppose for the sake of absolute fairness we cut the population in half, and say there were only 3.5 million. Then the ratio is 1 in 500. Every time you saw a synagogue or a building with 500 Jews reading the Torah or listening to the chant of the Priests, you had 499 secretly following Baal and 1 was saved. Remember, at Christ’s first coming there were only a few that that recognized Him. We take it for granted, just as Israel did, that when Messiah came they would know it.

They believed just what Samson believed when he went to sleep in the lap of Delilah. He believed that he was well set for life and that he had some experience in religion, and therefore there was nothing to worry about. But when he awoke, he found out that he had been captured, and his eyes were soon put out, and he was grinding, at the mill and they were making sport of him in the name of a false god. He took himself for granted, which always is a bad and dangerous thing to do.

American Churches to receive “SHOCK AND AWE”

You know folks, I don’t know ‘what’ this entity called the American Church is anymore. All I know is its no longer about Christ, the Gospel message, or the Kingdom of God.

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Metro area churches have become the target of a “Shock and Awe” voter guide put out by a group called the Pray in Jesus Name Project (PIJNP), a ministry in Colorado Springs, Colo. The group is encouraging it’s members to fax voters guides to churches in all 50 states, and the guides have started showing up in Minnesota.

The guide gives voters an idea of which Minnesota candidates are “faith-friendly” and which candidates are “pro-homosexual” or “pro-abortion.”

While PIJNP says the voter guides are non-partisan, statements on the group’s website tell a different story. “The Pray In Jesus Name Project has found a way to help the faith-based community take back Congress this fall, by mobilizing 125,000 patriot pastors to ‘get out the church vote,’” writes Chaplain Gordon James Klingenschmitt, leader of PIJNP.

“The IRS has specifically authorized both churches and 501(c)3 organizations to distribute non-partisan voter guides like ours, so long as they only report facts such as ‘how Congress voted’ without substantial editorial comment.” He then goes on to say, “How much would you pay to see the ‘shock and awe’ look on the faces of Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi this fall?”

Religious right group faxing ‘voter guides’ to area churches

“Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities….” (Revelation 18)

Eddie Long: Dominion Theology (plus…)

You could say this is a two-part post. As both concern Eddie Long combining them seemed like the way to go…

Kurt Michaelson (KurtMichaelson.org) sent along the link to this interesting video:

Spencer LeGrande, one of the four who have accused pastor Eddie Long of sexual misconduct, speaks out

This young man appears very sincere, doesn’t he? My spirit tells me he is speaking the truth in this clip.

I also wanted to post a few quotes and the link to an article which caught my attention. Over the last couple years dominion theology and its false teachings have been covered numerous times here on the blog. Along with those who seek to spread it’s teachings through the ‘Conquering the 7 Mountains’ mandate. To see Eddie Long is associated with this unbiblical “movement” was news to me.

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This is a continuation of my previous article on Eddie Long’s ‘apostolic covering’ or spiritual authority over pastors of approximately 275 churches in 38 states who are instructed to tithe to Long’s network, The Father’s House.

(The) Following is coverage of Long’s Dominionist theology including video of Long’s participation in a 2004 prophecy made by one of his overseas ‘spiritual sons’ claiming that his New Zealand network would take over that nation within five years. (It didn’t happen.)

Like the apostles and prophets of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) and other Dominionist networks, Long does not believe in separation of church and state. And similar to the NAR prophets, Long believes that God gives messages directly to him to pass on to his flock. In his book Taking Authority he states,

God has strongly communicated to me His displeasure with our nation’s growing acceptance of the mythical “separation of church and state” heresy. I am convinced this so-called separation was never the intent of our nation’s founding fathers – it is merely a device fraudulently created by an errant Supreme Court totally apart from historical precedent, tradition, or even the will of the people.

Also, like many other New Apostolics and Dominionists, Eddie Long is known for his extensive charitable work. And also like the New Apostolics, this work is at least partially intended to provide access and gain authority over government as mandated in dominion theology.

Dominion over Religion and Government

In an article titled “Let’s Take Dominion Now!” (and also in his book Church in the Workplace), C. Peter Wagner describes Eddie Long as providing a model for city ‘transformation.’ Wagner quotes Long’s book Taking Authority,

The New Birth congregation finances and operates vital support programs in the city and pumps large sums of money and thousands of volunteer hours into key areas such as youth offender intervention programs, public school programs, and support and outreach programs for homeless women and children. We are involved in every aspect of life, and we are making a major impact in the Atlanta metropolitan areas.

This, in turn, is causing us to gain major footholds in the city infrastructure, . . . the criminal court system, public high schools, the Georgia State Senate, the United States Senate, and even into the White House itself. . . . When you are a politician in a major metropolitan area, it isn’t wise to dismiss or ignore a highly unified, committed, and motivated group of voters exceeding twenty-two thousand people representing almost every voting precinct in your city.

*Continue here: Bishop Eddie Long – Dominion Theology and Disdain for Separation of Church and State by Rachel Tabachnick