A WordPress Blog-THE CHURCH MILITANT Ephesians 5:11-"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them". This Christian News Blog maintains a one stop resource of current news and reports of its own related to church, moral, spiritual, and related political issues, plus articles, and postings from other online discernment ministries, and media which share the aims to obey the biblical commands to shed light on and refute error, heresy, apostasy, cults, and spiritual abuse. ALL CONTENT FROM HTTPS://RATHEREXPOSETHEM.BLOGSPOT.COM MOVED TO THIS NEW BLOG, MAY 2020
Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.
Date: July 13, 2023 Host: Jim Schneider Guest: Mike Gendron MP3 | Order
Jim began by referring to 2 Timothy 3 where Paul warns that in the last days perilous times shall come and he outlines a number of characteristics of those days. Then in verse 5 he notes, “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” You’ll also see that he warns that this kind of deception will get worse and worse.
One of the greatest spiritual deceptions of our day is shown by the people who claim to be Christian yet the doctrine and teachings they espouse are very far removed from the Bible.
For example, in 2 Corinthians 11:13-14 Paul said, “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” In other words, many people can be deceived and not even know it.
So how can we discern truth in a world of deception? Returning to Crosstalk to answer that question was Mike Gendron. Mike is founder and director of Proclaiming the Gospel Ministry. Mike was a devout Roman Catholic for over 3 decades and was taught to rely upon the authority of the church above all else. Mike searched the Scriptures and was amazed to find that what he read in Scripture contradicted the teaching and tradition of the church he had been a part of for so long. He trusted Jesus as his Savior and now the Bible has become his sole authority in all matters of faith. Mike is the author of the books, Preparing for Eternity and Contending for the Gospel and has produced numerous videos with warnings concerning false teachings vs. the truth of the Scriptures.
Mike noted how culture is redefining truth. No longer is truth objective but it’s subjective with people saying that your truth is just as valid as mine. God has given us a way to be protected from such deception. It’s through the infallible and inspired, authoritative Word of God. It’s the only infallible source for truth on earth. That means everyone and everything must be tested by the supreme authority of God’s Word.
How does Mike define discernment? It’s being able to tell what is true and what is false. Why do we need this? It’s because this is the way we can tell good from evil and it exposes those who call evil good, and good, evil. In fact, it was John (in 1 John 4) who exhorted Christians to judge concerning doctrinal and spiritual issues, telling readers not to believe every spirit, but to test the spirits to see if they’re from God because many false prophets have gone into the world. So discernment distinguishes truth from error in order to prevent false teaching from coming into the church.
According to Mike there are many areas within Roman Catholicism that deceive people. For example, all the graces needed to attain eternal life must be merited in the Catholic church. That brings up some questions. For example, how do you merit the unmerited favor of God? Also, if Jesus paid it all at Calvary, why is He offered daily as a sacrificial victim on Catholic altars?
So in the end, as someone who has great love and compassion for Catholics, Mike is simply saying, don’t believe him. Go to the Bible and see if what he’s saying is true. Are you trusting in Jesus as your all-sufficient Savior and His righteousness or are you trusting in sacraments, purgatory, your religious rituals or your own works? After all, you must make a choice. Christ alone is your only hope of salvation!
More Information To receive a copy of Contending for the Gospel (at a 20% discount) and the free publication, Have You Ever Been Deceived, go to proclaimingthegospel.org or call 817-379-5300.
Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.
Despite the storm of scandals and controversies swirling around the bruised and battered Hillsong Church in Australia and the Bethel Church in California, worship leaders are not shying away from incorporating songs from these two megachurches into their worship sessions.
A recent study unveiled this week shows that worship leaders gravitate towards these songs not because they top the worship charts but because they have a personal connection with them, often discovered online, at conferences, or through friends’ recommendations. According to the study:
“The most influential factors in discovering a new worship song are peer endorsements and personal experiences. Worship leaders mainly trust their friends and fellow church leaders to provide them with song recommendations.”
The study draws on responses from over 400 worship leaders across the U.S. and Canada, seeking their insights on music production and their song selection process for worship.
Demonstrating a woeful lack of discernment, a mere 16% of worship leaders admitted to being less inclined to choose a song associated with Hillsong. In comparison, 27% expressed a similar hesitancy towards songs linked to Bethel.
On the other hand, a significant 62% confessed they were likely to pick songs from Hillsong, with a slightly lesser 48% saying they would likely opt for songs associated with Bethel.
Three months ago, Worship Leader Research reported that four megachurches were responsible for producing and releasing nearly all the top worship songs released in the last decade, with Hillsong and Bethel being two of them.
RACIST POPE FRANCIS IS LIKELY TO DECLARE HER A SAINT TO GENERATE MORE CONVERSIONS; MEANWHILE, HIS PROPAGANDA IS BEING BROADCAST AT THE SAME TIME THE SUPREME COURT IS DECLARING AFFIRMATIVE ACTION AT COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES AS REPEALED.
BIBLE QUOTES:
2 Corinthians 11:13-15 ESV For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.
Matthew 24:24 ESV For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.
2 Corinthians 11:3 ESV But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
1 John 4:1 ESV Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.
2 Peter 2:1-3-False Teachers and Their Destruction
1 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.
2 Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.
3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with feigned words and making merchandise of you. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.
Some say it’s a sign of holiness in Catholicism, while others say the lack of decomposition may not be as rare as people think.
People pray over the body of Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster at the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles abbey near Gower, Mo., on Sunday.Charlie Riedel / AP
The abbess of the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles speaks with reporter Catherine Hadro about Sister Wilhelmina’s life and her experience when the foundresses’ remains were exhumed.
Hundreds of people flocked to a small town in Missouri this week and last to see a nun whose body has barely decomposed since 2019. Some say it’s a sign of holiness in Catholicism, while others say the lack of decomposition may not be as rare as people think.
Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster was exhumed in April, according to a statement from the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, in Gower, Missouri.
The nuns had been preparing for the addition of a St. Joseph shrine, and that involved “the reinterment of the remains of our beloved foundress, Sister Wilhelmina,” the statement said.
When they exhumed Lancaster, they were told to expect only bones, since she had been buried in a simple wooden coffin without any embalming four years ago.
Instead, they discovered an intact body and “a perfectly preserved religious habit,” the statement said. The nuns hadn’t meant to publicize the discovery, but someone posted a private email publicly and “the news began to spread like wildfire.”
Volunteers and local law enforcement have helped to manage the crowds in the town of roughly 1,800 people, as people have visited from all over the country to see and touch Lancaster’s body.
“It was pretty amazing,” said Samuel Dawson, who is Catholic and visited from Kansas City with his son last week. “It was very peaceful. Just very reverent.”
Dawson said there were a few hundred people when he visited and that he saw many out-of-state cars.
Visitors were allowed to touch her, Dawson said, adding that the nuns “wanted to make her accessible to the public ... because in real life, she was always accessible to people.”
The monastery said in a statement that Lancaster’s body will be placed in a glass shrine in their church on Monday. Visitors will still be able to see her body and take dirt from her grave, but they won’t be able to touch her.
The Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph also released a statement.
People wait to view the body of Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster at the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles abbey near Gower, Mo., on Sunday. Charlie Riedel / AP
“The condition of the remains of Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster has understandably generated widespread interest and raised important questions,” the diocese said. “At the same time, it is important to protect the integrity of the mortal remains of Sister Wilhelmina to allow for a thorough investigation.”
“Incorruptibility has been verified in the past, but it is very rare. There is a well-established process to pursue the cause for sainthood, but that has not been initiated in this case yet,” the diocese added.
The Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, also said that Lancaster has not yet reached the required minimum of five years since death for the sainthood process to begin.
Rebecca George, an anthropology instructor at Western Carolina University in North Carolina, said the body’s lack of decomposition might not be as rare as people are expecting.
George said the “mummification” of un-embalmed bodies is common at the university’s facility and the bodies could stay preserved for many years, if allowed to.
Coffins and clothing also help to preserve bodies, she said.
“Typically, when we bury people, we don’t exhume them. We don’t get to look at them a couple of years out,” George said. “With 100 years, there might be nothing left. But when you’ve got just a few years out, this is not unexpected.”
Feb. 15 - LTRP Note: The following is posted for research and informational purposes. Pensacola Christian College will no doubt be labeled as hateful, homophobic, and intolerant for canceling a music concert after learning that one of the members of the renowned UK singing group is “gay.”* Already, news sources and social media outlets throughout the western world are condemning the school. This is how far our society has declined to the point that everyone, regardless of beliefs and convictions, must accept and embrace homosexuality.
By Christopher Lugo
News 5 WKRG—Florida
The King’s Singers are out of a gig after Pensacola Christian College decided to cancel their performance due to the lifestyle of one of the artists “contradicting Scripture.”
According to a statement posted on the college’s Facebook page, the college “cannot knowingly give an implied or direct endorsement of anything that violates the Holy Scripture, the foundation for our sincerely held beliefs.”
“At the same time, the college also recognizes everyone is created in the image of God and should be afforded the dignity of kindness,” the college said in their statement. Click here to continue reading.
*According to a NY Times article, Jonathan Howard (a member of the group) said that actually, two members of the group are “gay.”
Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes:
We are living in a world where truth is being twisted, manipulated, and suppressed by hypocritical politicians, government agencies, religious leaders, corrupt scientists, and the liberal media. Our debased culture is redefining truth and reality. No one knows who to trust or how to avoid being misled or deceived. The only way we can be victorious is to fight the good fight of faith against worldly ideologies. We can never let a lie of the devil go unabated and we must be discerning. This means we must examine everything and hold onto what is good (1 Thes. 5:21).
What Is Discernment?
Discernment distinguishes truth from error in order to prevent false teaching from infiltrating the church. The Hebrew word “bin” and the Greek word “diakrino” are used hundreds of times in Scripture to make distinctions, to separate things at their points of difference. It calls for black-and-white thinking and a refusal to color issues gray. Those who apply discernment consistently in every area of life are sure to walk in the wisdom of our Lord (Prov. 2:1-6).
Why Is Discernment Necessary?
Satan is the god of this world and the father of lies (John 8:44). We need to be aware of his schemes to deceive, corrupt, falsify, blind, destroy, devour and kill. We need to discern good from evil and expose those who call evil good and good evil. The apostle John exhorted Christians to make judgments concerning doctrinal and spiritual issues: "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1). All Christians are called to judge righteously by using the Word of God as the plumb line for discerning truth from error. And judge we must because the Father of Lies deals in half-truths, and his fatal lies are often coated with a thin veneer of truth to deceive the unsuspecting.
Why Do We Need Discernment?
Christians need discernment to know and prove the will of God so that we will not be conformed to this world (Rom.12:2). We also need to test the veracity of every teaching of man (Acts 17:11). Without discernment we could not identify the counterfeits from the genuine. Paul warned us that “Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore, it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness.” (2 Cor. 11:13-15). We also need discernment to avoid being "tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine by the trickery of people, by craftiness in deceitful scheming" (Eph. 4:14).
Why Do We Need to Discern the True Gospel?
We live in a very deceptive age! An age that does not deny the Gospel but one that distorts and dilutes the gospel! This is the strategy of Satan. His legions of liars use religious language to hide the deadly poison in his false and fatal gospels. Over a billion professing Christians have been woefully deceived by his gospel of works and religious rituals. That is why Paul exhorts us to "examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith" (2 Cor. 13:5). Have we repented and believed the true Gospel?
God’s eternal Son left the glories of heaven to be conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of a virgin to take on human flesh. He lived in perfect obedience to God’s Law and then was crucified as the perfect sacrifice to satisfy divine justice for sinners. He bore man’s sins, suffered God’s wrath, died in man’s place, was buried, and was raised on the third day to show divine justice was satisfied. This is the Gospel that has divine power to save those who believe (Rom. 1:16). It is the Gospel that promises eternal life, without any fear of condemnation, because of the perpetual intercession and protection of the Good Shepherd (Heb. 7:25; John 10:28; Rom. 8:1).
Discerning the Times
Clearly, we are in the last days when many "will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths" (2 Tim. 4:3-4). So many Christians are following deceitful personalities rather than the Word of God. As truth-bearers, we must "reprove, rebuke, and exhort" those who are being deceived by using God's inspired Word as our supreme authority (2 Tim. 4:2). We may be labeled as intolerant, divisive or unloving, but there is much at stake if we are not passionate for the truth - the glory and honor of our Savior, the sanctity of His Church and the purity of His Gospel.
Our world will continue its opposition to God because of the forces of wickedness in heavenly places. We must remember that nations and cultures will come and go, but the souls of men will last throughout eternity. That is why the battle for eternal souls is the one war that really matters. It is a battle between the truth of God's Word and the damning lies of Satan. Let us gird our loins with truth as we put on the full armor of God and report for duty!
Evangelicals Continue Unity with Catholicism
Highly influential Evangelical leaders and pastors continue to confuse the Body of Christ by signing unity accords with Roman Catholics. Because of their widespread influence, many Christians do not know if the Roman Catholic Church is a mission field that needs to be evangelized or a Christian denomination that is made up of brothers and sisters in Christ. Perhaps, that is why my message on the seven major errors of Catholicism went viral with a half million views on YouTube. Many of the high profile evangelical leaders who have signed the Manhattan Declaration are listed here.
This unity accord states, "We are Christians (Catholics, Orthodox and Evangelicals) who have joined together across historic lines of ecclesial differences…to proclaim the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in its fullness.” This statement is completely false, deceptive, and misleading. Evangelicals and Catholics do not proclaim the same Gospel. The Catholic Church has distorted the Gospel of Christ and is under the same divine condemnation as the Judaizers (Gal. 1:6-9). Whereas the Judaizers were condemned for distorting the Gospel by adding only one requirement, the Catholic Church has added five requirements for salvation including baptism, sacraments, good works, participation in the Mass and law keeping.
Evangelicals who signed the Manhattan Declaration should consider if they are being disobedient to Scripture. God's command is clearly stated: “Do not be bound together with unbelievers” (2 Cor. 6:14). Not only are Catholics unbelievers, but their their church has issued 100 anathemas on those who do not believe their "infallible" dogmas. Those who signed unity accords with Catholics are also implying the Reformation was a mistake and that Catholics do not need to be evangelized.
More than ever we need to contend for the Gospel and recognize the Roman Catholic Church is a huge mission field made up of over 1.3 billion precious souls. There is no more critical issue in the Church today than guarding the purity and exclusivity of the Gospel. It is the rudder that must guide the Church through stormy waters that have been stirred up by every wind of doctrine (Eph. 4:14).
Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.
There’s a lot to celebrate in Christian worship services. Singing hymns, prayers, and learning God’s Word are all part of corporate worship, and I happily participate in that. I also participate in confession.
The Protestant tradition involves both a public and silent confession of sins. It’s an acknowledgment that we are sinful by nature, and have sinned by thought, word, and deed. Through this confession and our earnest repentance, we seek and receive forgiveness through God’s grace.
I sin every single day. I don’t like that I sin but as a member of the human race, it is an inescapable truth with which we’re stuck. As the apostle Paul wrote to Christians in Rome, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” That includes me.
Rational people can agree that sin is bad, and I do not embrace my sin; I confess it and seek forgiveness. Jesus Christ said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him,” so I reject any celebration of my sin.
But not all sins are treated equally. Increasingly, Protestant churches are celebrating sin through the installation of ministers whose behavior promotes LGBTQ ideology.
Consider this February 15th report whose headline heralds the “First openly transgender pastor called to guide Lutheran church in North Dakota.”
The pastor’s installation was unanimously approved by the congregation of the church, which has reportedly hosted town hall meetings to discuss, among other things, whether people should be forced to deny reality by calling women men, and vice versa; and whether children should be protected from genital mutilation. One can only speculate as to how those discussions will be steered.
The article goes on to quote the new pastor saying “Historically the church hasn’t been kind to transgender people. A lot of churches still aren’t kind to transgender people.” I do not know how the pastor defines what is kind or unkind but I do know that historically, the church has believed in the word of God as written in the Bible. A lot of churches still believe what is written in the Bible.
The behavior that defines LGBTQ ideology is sinful. That’s not my assessment, that’s what Christ said. He laid it out in the Gospel of Mark when He said, “Out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
Affirming and celebrating the behavior of LGBTQ adherents raises a question for Christians: If we’re going to celebrate this sin, what other sins are we prepared to celebrate? That’s a scary proposition and it’s already happening.
The sin of murder is celebrated through the increase of euthanasia. The sin of theft is celebrated through prosecutors who have decriminalized it through their failure to prosecute. The sins of coveting, envy, and deceit are celebrated through Critical Race Theory. The sin of slander is celebrated hourly on cable news channels.
Components of Critical Race Theory are even creeping into conservative parishes today. Whether this portends churches celebrating the sins of CRT’s advocacy for race hatred or its alignment with Marxist ideology remains to be seen.
We all sin, and through confession, repentance, and grace, God forgives us. We are also called to forgive those who sin against us. Whether these are sins of sexual immorality, envy, theft, or anything else, our duty is to forgive others as God forgives us.
But forgiving sin is not the same as affirming it.
The Bible instructs us to love one another but it also tells us to abhor that which is evil. None of my sins should be celebrated; they should be abhorred. If any pastor in the pulpit affirmed or celebrated my sins, I would walk out in the middle of that sermon and find a better church. But more churches are celebrating more sins, and it’s a colossal moral and civic hazard.
If the North Dakota pastor has been harassed, threatened, assaulted, or otherwise treated unkindly, that is flat-out wrong. Likewise, the pastor is entitled to the full enjoyment of and participation in American civic life, and I would demand that any effort to prevent the free exercise of these rights be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
But it is not unkind to believe what the Bible says. It is not unkind to call a sin a sin. It is not unkind to notice reality and natural law. These are normal behaviors. Just as I reject any affirmation of my sin, I reject any attempt to deny that which is normal and in accordance with Scripture.
In many cultures across time and space, the church has provided the moral bedrock of society. When churches celebrate sin, that bedrock crumbles and over time, so do the societies built upon it.
The New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) is a popular and fast-growing new movement of Christians who emphasize signs and wonders and teach that God is giving a new revelation through new apostles and prophets. But is this biblical Christianity? This stuff used to be fringe. Now it's probably in your church in some way. Why is this dangerous, and how can you spot it? I talk with Holly Pivec and Doug Geivett, the authors of Counterfeit Kingdom, about this concerning movement.
Help Your Kids Think Critically
I got the great privilege to interview Elizabeth Urbanowicz, the founder of Foundation Worldview, about the tools she and her team have created to teach our kids critical thinking and life skills. I LOVE this stuff! Foundation Worldview is a Comparative Worldview Curriculum for kids and teens. Several years into Elizabeth's teaching experience, she realized that despite being raised in Christian homes, attending a Christian school, and being active in church, her students thought more like the culture than like Christ. So she did something about it! I ask her about this curriculum, discuss my personal interest in it, ask about parents that might feel discouraged, and overall how and why it's important to teach our kids -now more than ever!- about truth and critical thinking. Elizabeth's interview with Alisa Childers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7PmX... Elizabeth's Interview with Mike Winger: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xxog0... Elizabeth's Information: Website for Curriculum: https://foundationworldview.com/
Is it Harmful to Not Affirm Someone's Chosen Identity?
Otherkin, gender fluid, Trans-species, transgender... and everything in between. A question that people have asked me about this is… so what? Who is this hurting? People just live their lives and are just doing what makes them happy. Why do I care to speak out against something like this when people are just living their truth? And I have to say that this is a fair question. If we hear enough lies, then we no longer recognize what's true. I address this and more in this video. RESOURCES: https://www.amazon.com/shop/melissado... Irreversible Damage : The Transgender Craze Seducing our Daughters by Abigail Shrier: https://amzn.to/3Dny7fe
If There is no Free Speech, There is no Real Thought
We're finding more and more people embracing blatant lies thinking it's the high moral ground. As language becomes less expressive, minds are more easily controlled. Apathy makes people prefer the false peace of conformity to the tensions of liberty. Whatever and whoever has the power can pressure you into believing their version of truth.... even if they're flat-out lies. Anyone who opposes this is viewed as backward and ignorant. We live in a world where there is more and more intense social pressure to accept that there is no such thing as objective truth. There's only power. Whoever holds the power decides what is true and false. The value of truth claims depends on who's making them. More and more people are knowingly believing lies out of fear of opposing them. In possibly one of my favorite interviews I've done so far, Greg Koukl from Stand to Reason addresses free speech and what this really means.
Critical Race Theory, BLM, Equity, Inclusion, Whiteness, and Beyoncé With Monique Duson
Monique Duson, who spent two decades advocating for Critical Race Theory and is the founder of the Center for Biblical Unity, joins me to discuss BLM, microaggressions, marxism, equity, inclusion, and MUCH more. Monique breaks down the movements we're seeing in social justice, and she explains how it differs from the Gospel. We both see that racism is a serious issue. But CRT is not the answer. You can't become a gaslighting racist to get rid of racism. This isn't about politics. It's about what Biblical justice and unity look like in the eyes of God. Hope you have your popcorn. We don't hold back.
Out of Astrology, Tarot, Crystals, Spirits, and the Occult... Into Jesus: With Angela Ucci
Angela Ucci is a former New Age Astrologist. She was into every facet of the New Age, including tarot, moon worship, mediumship, crystal energies, the Law of Attraction, and much more. Her journey is filled with hills and valleys that ultimately led her to the last thing she expected: Jesus.
The school is on our list because they have incorporated Spiritual Formation into their school and the lives of their students. From 20 years of research, we have learned that if a school has a Spiritual Formation program (or Spiritual Formation courses), it always comes along with a spirituality that is unbiblical and rooted in the mystics. We will give you a few links to Grace where you can see some of this:
In Grace’s Biblical Studies course BBL3090 – Spiritual Formation (an undergraduate class), they are using books by three contemplative authors as textbooks: Larry Crabb, Dallas Willard, Pete Scazzero (all three of these can be found on our research site with documentation). This alone shows what the school’s definition of Spiritual Formation is. Willard and Scazzero are heavy hitters in the contemplative prayer movement.
In the Bible course 3220 – Principles and Practice of Prayer at Grace, emergent author Ann Voskamp’s book is being used (see our article https://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/?p=6604). This course is also using a book by C.J. Mahaney, a Calvinist/Reformed author and pastor. It’s very common to find both Calvinism and Contemplative at the same school. The same course is also using a textbook by Nancy DeMoss. You can read our article here https://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/?p=11137 showing our concerns.) The course also has as a textbook a book called Prayer by Hallesby with a foreword by contemplative pioneer Richard Foster.
If we look at just these two courses at Grace, it is plain to see that the school is incorporating into their students’ “education” contemplative spirituality, and remember, the fruit of contemplative is miles away from biblical Christianity (as we have documented extensively).
To give other examples: In the undergraduate course PHI3000 C, one of the textbooks is written by Peter Kreeft. Kreeft is a strong promoter of the Catholic Church (https://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/?p=1604). As we show in other articles, Kreeft is also an advocate for contemplative prayer. His teachings don’t belong in any evangelical Christian college.
In Grace’s BIB2140, textbooks are by emergent/ Catholic-leaning Francis Chan and emergent Calvinist J.D. Greear. (In one LT article/booklet, we refer to Greear because of his advocacy for Critical Race Theory.)
Clearly, this school doesn’t have discernment and are throwing a hodge-podge of false teachings at their students. A parent will be lucky if he or she recognizes his or her child’s faith in one or two semesters. We can guarantee that if a brief perusal through the school’s classes shows this much, it’s integrated throughout the school (e.g., chapel, church, missions, etc.).
Top 10 Ways America Is Being Groomed to Normalize Pedophilia
LTRP Note: For nearly the full existence of Lighthouse Trails (20+ years), we have covered the topic of child sexual abuse and child endangerment. We have published a number of books, articles, and booklets by various authors to help bring awareness to and equip parents, grandparents, and guardians. The following article shows the continued danger that children in this country are facing.
By Linda Harvey
Respectable pedophilia. Are you ready for this?
I’m not and I will be screaming against it until the last breath. But it’s coming unless a massive parent brigade shows up in both schools and in another venue that must be deployed to overcome this depravity: churches.
The truth of God, proclaimed by His saints and confirmed in the power, blood and resurrection of Jesus Christ, fueled by the conviction of the Holy Spirit can prevail over the tragedy of child corruption. We can do this.
But first we must face how we are all being groomed, as child sexuality is being packaged and sold to America, even as the latest fashion trend (e.g., Balenciaga).
We must refuse to be enablers and then take steps to end this diabolical trend.
Here are the top 10 ways that child sexualization is being normalized in America.
1. Child empowerment and consent. How long before we allow children to make their own decisions about health care, counseling, and then the choice of a sexual partner? Over thirty years ago, a child’s right to “freedom of association” showed up in a revised United Nations document, “The Convention on the Rights of the Child.” That document has not been ratified by all countries, including the United States. But it remains a cherished goal of global leftists. Click here to continue reading.
(Photo from bigstockphoto.com; used with permission; design by Lighthouse Trails)
Letters to the Editor: Author of The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, John Mark Comer, Bringing “Renewed” Contemplative Spirituality Into the Churches
LTRP Note: Please see editors notes below this letter.
Dear Lighthouse Trails:
Today my neighbor who’s in an emergent church . . . told me his church started a sermon series called “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry.” Hmm . . . I’ve left enough emergent churches to know a sermon series probably has a book. So, I did a search and found this disturbing link of trailers by this guy. . . .
This book (The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry), written by John Mark Comer, teaches readers to do breath prayers, mindfulness meditation, and various other contemplative-type exercises.
So, I just wanted to bring this to your attention as I see out there on vimeo and YouTube that Comer’s contemplative message is circulating in the churches.
This is such a burden as I left the Catholic Church many years ago. I don’t even know what else to say about this. Do you think I should calmly approach the pastor in the neighborhood? Do I just pretend to not know any of this to get along?
Jane
LT Editors’ Notes:
The Letter to the Editor above was sent to us this past May, but we had not posted it yet. Yesterday, we received the following from another reader:
. . . I was wondering if you have done any research on John Mark Comer. He is the founding pastor of Bridgetown church in Portland, OR. He seems to have a big influence on pastors of other churches. He has written and promoted something called “Practicing the Way.” I’m not sure what that all is about but am concerned this may not be in line with Scripture. He has also written several books. Some of the teachings he has on YouTube are also a concern.—Debbie
In between receiving these two letters from the two LT readers, one of our authors began doing research on John Mark Comer and Tyler Staton (Staton, “lead pastor” at Bridgetown Church in Portland, is author of a new book titled Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools). Comer and Staton have worked together on various projects and interviews (such as this one on YouTube), and Comer’s endorsement of Staton’s book is inside the front cover. Both Praying Like Monks and The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry are heavily contemplative books.
The contemplative prayer movement (via Spiritual Formation) largely entered the church in 1978 when Richard Foster’s book, Celebration of Discipline was released (Foster was a self-proclaimed type protege of Catholic mystic Thomas Merton). The CP movement simmered for a couple decades but was heating up as figures like Rick Warren began promoting it (even as far back as the 1990s). But still, most Christians had not heard of it (even though their pastors were reading Celebration of Discipline unbeknownst to their congregations; and as we documented in our special report Epidemic of Apostasy, many pastors had been introduced to contemplative spirituality in their Christian universities and seminaries).
Today, long after Thomas Merton, Henri Nouwen, and Brennan Manning (three pioneering Catholic contemplative mystics) are gone, a new generation of young “hip” pastors and leaders are rising up with a renewed energy to spread the contemplative message. Catholic mystic, Richard Rohr (who Ray Yungen said was today’s Thomas Merton) has provided the fodder and guidance for many of these new contemplatives. That’s easily proveable: One of Richard Rohr’s publishers told him that his biggest readership was young evangelical men [1] (e.g., today’s young pastors, two of which are Comer and Staton).
In his book, A Time of Departing, Ray Yungen explained, dissected, and exposed the contemplative issue in a way that is easy to understand and is incredibly well documented with source material (making his proclamations and warnings irrefutable—you know what we mean if you have read the book). If there is anyone reading this post who has not yet read A Time of Departing, we beseech you to read it. If you do not have a copy and are struggling to get one, we will send anyone who asks us a free copy of the book. Write to us at editors@lighthousetrails.com and give us your name and mailing address (we will keep those confidential). You see, it’s not about the money for Lighthouse Trails. It never has been. If you haven’t read our story of how we began this ministry, you can read it here.It began because of the contemplative prayer movement, and we have been compelled all these years to continue with this warning even though many pastors and church figures have belittled, mocked, and rejected our findings. If you read our story, we think you will begin to understand the urgency and continuation of our warnings.
What’s at stake here? The future of your churches and the faith of your children and grandchildren.
In A Time of Departing, Yungen exhorts us:
Contemplative advocates propose that there has been something vital and important missing from the church for centuries. The insinuation is that Christians have been lacking something necessary for their spiritual vitality; but that would mean the Holy Spirit has not been fully effective for hundreds of years and only now the secret key has been found that unlocks God’s full power to know Him. These proponents believe that Christianity has been seriously crippled without this extra ingredient. This kind of thinking leads one to believe that traditional, biblical Christianity is merely a philosophy without the contemplative prayer element. Contemplatives are making a distinction between studying and meditating on the Word of God versus experiencing Him, suggesting that we cannot hear Him or really know Him simply by studying His Word or even through normal prayer—we must be contemplative to accomplish this. But the Bible makes it clear that the Word of God is living and active, and has always been that way, and it is in filling our minds with it that we come to love Him, not through a mystical practice of stopping the flow of thought (the stillness) that is never once mentioned in the Bible, except in warnings against vain repetitions. . . .
Evangelical Christianity is being invited, perhaps even catapulted into seeing God with the “new eyes” of contemplative prayer. The question must be asked, is Thomas Merton’s silence, Henri Nouwen’s space, and Richard Foster’s contemplative prayer [which is rooted in panentheism and interspirituality] the way in which we can know and be close to God? Or is this actually a spiritual belief system contrary to the true message that the Bible so absolutely defines—that there is only one way to God and that is through His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, whose sacrifice on the Cross obtained our full salvation?
If indeed my concerns for the future actually come to fruition, then we will truly enter a time of departing. My prayer is that you will not turn away from the faith to follow a different gospel and a different Jesus but will rather stay the course and finish the race, so that after having done all you can, you will stand.
“Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” (Ephesians 6:13)
When we consider the serious ramifications of the contemplative prayer movement and then also recognize that three of the major influences in the lives of millions of Christians—The Shack, Jesus Calling, and The Chosen—all have ties to the contemplative prayer movement, it is not difficult to conclude that millions of Christians are not wearing the “armour of God” and may, therefore, not “be able to withstand in the evil day.”
MATTHEW 7:13-"Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it."
WE SUPPORT HOMESCHOOLING, BUT SOME CONSERVATIVES ARE DECEIVED BY THE PROPAGANDA COMING FROM APOSTATE TRINITY BROADCASTING NETWORK
The Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) is the flagship of the
Pentecostal-Charismatic-NAR multimedia empire. Started by Paul and Jan
Crouch, affiliated with the Assemblies of God, in 1973. Since then, they
have become known primarily for lascivious living, outrageous
lifestyles, larger-than-life makeup, and putting heretics on a 24/7
parade.
Dan Ball failed to investigate who Kirk Cameron is; a heretic. Is this the person you think should be a role model for homeschooling, among other things he pretends to be? I would compare him to Hunter Biden. DON'T BE FOOLED! THIS FALSE TEACHER/DOMINIONIST IS NO FRIEND OF YOURS OR YOUR CHILDREN. USE DISCERNMENT!
Rumble — Paula White Cain, president of Paula White Ministries, gives us "The Real Story" on her hope and prayer during Christmas. Don't be fooled by this one, like Trump was!
"When Paula White called angels from Africa and South America to wage spiritual warfare in the aftermath of the presidential election, she was tapping into the notion of territorial spirits associated with the emergence of what Peter Wagner has called the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR). Wagner coined the phrase to describe a novel kind of independent charismatic Christianity led by apostles and organized into relational networks. Many of the prophecies associated with Trump’s rise and re-election came from persons associated with these networks. Some like Kris Vallotton of Bethel Church apologized while others such as Lance Wallnau doubled down. Regardless, much of the public support for Trump came from Christians connected to this new form of charismatic Christianity, even though it has largely remained unexplored by most journalists and historians."
1 Cor 11 But I would have you know that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. 1 Tim 2 11 Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. 12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.13 For Adam was first formed, then Eve.14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. 15 Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety. 1 Corinthians 7:17 17 But as God has distributed to each one, as the Lord has called each one, so let him walk. And so, I ordain in all the churches. Ephesians 4 11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, Women can teach, but don't have authority over the Church.... Christ is the Authority over the Church. Christ chose the 12 Apostles, it's God that gives the gifts not men.
Paula White is a demon-filled false prophet. Part of NAR and supporter of antichrist. OAN - sorry- having to unsubscribe with your false promotion of the demonic dominionists.
Paula White Cain's apostate history has influenced Trump in a negative way, what with her "Word of Faith" charismatic, dominionist, ecumenical, interfaith, universalist, astral projection heresies. Plus her multiple divorces & re-marriages. Just see these posts for proof:
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Christmas is just around the corner. I know this because Halloween is a month off and around these parts, the Christmas decorations go up after the last trick-or-treater has gone home for the night. The arrival of the season (which wouldn’t surprise me if it starts this Tuesday) will come with the usual protests. Articles will be written about the War on Christmas. Facebook posts will go up about keeping Christ in Christmas, and spleens will be vented over changing school Christmas pageants to “Holiday Pageants.” And yes, we should keep Christ in Christmas. I’m not here to argue that. However, I am here to argue that perhaps for too long, American Christians have been taking their faith for granted.
It probably went under your radar, but the administration of the Putnam County School District in Tennessee announced that teachers and coaches were prohibited from leading their students and teams in prayer. This came on the heels of a letter from the Americans United for Separation of Church and State alleging “prayer and proselytizing” in the schools. This has been going on for years. An atheist group takes issue with something, threatens the school district, which caves to avoid a lawsuit.
In response, following a recent football game between Upperman and Stone Memorial high schools, the players led everyone in prayer. One person wrote on Facebook, “Satan’s power was defeated tonight, as the threat of a legal action to forbid prayer after the game was overwhelmed by player-led prayer supported by parents and fans in solidarity on Overall Field. God bless the Baxter and Stone players for their faith and courage.” While the incident makes for a good news story, I’m not sure that it constitutes a victory over Satan.
Chances are, especially in light of the church-state COVID clashes in the U.S. and in particular Canada, things like this will become more commonplace. And perhaps, American Christians could use a little tempering with fire.
I used to volunteer for a non-profit that supported persecuted Christians. As part of my volunteer duties, I would visit churches and deliver presentations about persecution and hand out information. The idea was to raise awareness about the problem among U.S. Christians who are often blissfully or even willfully unaware of it. At one church, my presentation replaced the Sunday sermon. The service opened with the usual 30-minute worship concert of current and recurrent CCM songs. The young woman in front of me jumped up as soon as the music started and contorted herself into what I guess was a posture of praise: bent sideways at the waist, head cocked the other way, and one hand thrust into the air. Much to my amazement, she managed to stay that way for the entire time. When it was my turn to speak, she glared at me like I was offering adult magazines and bong hits. To be fair, while most of the congregation remained stoic, they did clean me out of my literature and several signed up as volunteers. But the young lady disappeared as soon as church was over after giving me one last withering look. Perhaps I ruined what she expected to be another good day at church. At another church, people cried copiously during my presentation but blew me off after the service to eat a donut and have a cup of coffee. Or make a break for the local breakfast buffet.
I have often encountered a nervous avoidance among Christians when it comes to the subject of persecution. I suppose that may be because stories of persecution are at odds with the moral-therapeutic deism that has replaced theology in so many places. The idea runs counter that the notion of a “good, good father” who has a plan for your life. It isn’t the easy Christianity of “doing life together,” “boyfriend Jesus,” and the latest hits from your local Christian radio station. It isn’t a sermon that could just as easily be a motivational speech for an MLM.
But as it turns out, Christians in other parts of the world carry actual burdens. Serious ones.
While I was a volunteer I made the acquaintance of Sarah Liu, a Chinese Christian who was the editor of an underground newspaper. She was arrested one night in her pajamas, which was not unusual for her. But this time, they took her to a secret location. They tied her to a chair and whipped her feet with a hanger and put cigarettes out on her skin. Shackled to a post in a warehouse, she was made to walk in a circle all night. In the morning she realized that she had circled the post so many times that she was walking in a trail of her own blood. She was imprisoned and forced to make Christmas lights to sell in America. Think about that when you are decorating this year. Sarah remains one of the gentlest, sweetest souls and one of the most committed believers I have ever met.
Or consider the 21 Coptic Christians beheaded by ISIS on the beach in 2015 for refusing to renounce their faith. One particularly odious discernment blogger said that as members of the Coptic Church, they were not actually Christian. Well, let’s see: They were given the option of denying Christ or having their heads cut off. They chose to die. They sound like committed Christians to me, despite them not adhering to the blogger’s preferred version of faith. How many of us would offer our necks if given a similar choice?
I could keep you here all day with stories of Christians who have been shot, scalped, burned alive, sold into slavery, and mutilated in persecuting countries. Or even shoved into ovens to be cooked alive. In some countries, people are not even considered mature Christians until they have been arrested at least once.
When James and John asked Jesus if they could sit at his right and left in the coming kingdom, Jesus said, “You don’t know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” The members of the persecuted church are drinking deep.
Are we in the USA guilty of idolatry? In the contemporary church, people equate idolatry with putting other things before God like video games, NASCAR, a home business, or a favorite sports team. But as it was originally understood in the Ancient Near East, idolatry was the practice of creating a physical idol and coaxing the god of your choice to literally come down and live in it. The god would then be pampered with the expectation that the worshipper’s needs and demands would be met. Have we tried to make God in our own image? Have we created a system that we expect God to inhabit with the expectation of Him serving us, rather than us serving him? Have we made an idol out of church?
Beyond the name-it-and-claim-it prosperity gospel heresy, one wonders what is becoming of the church. Have worship and sacrifice been replaced with vision-casting and worship teams? Is the sacred space nothing more than a concert venue? Has the biblical instruction of our children been usurped by pizza and games? And what place have we made for God in all of this?
I suspect that the American Church has made itself into an idol that it expects God to inhabit. Back when I was going to seminary online, I was deep into the Christian lifestyle and was listening to a famous national Christian radio network. During a pledge drive, a woman called in and gushed about how the radio station had changed her husband’s life and that now he was saved because of the jocks and their playlist. Apparently, Jesus had nothing to do with that. A church I used to attend now tosses beachballs into the congregation and sings Disney and country music songs in an effort to be attractional and get the numbers. This, as the big-business church model, is burning down. Even as empires like Hillsong are starting to crack.
Perhaps American Christians have come to see faith as a moneymaker in some cases. I used to work in a Christian bookstore and we sold boxed Bible studies by a very famous Christian celebrity. The cost for one of her Bible studies was $199 at the time. You got a box with a leader’s guide, a participant guide, and a DVD. It probably cost around $10 to make. $199 to learn more about a man who was happy to share his wisdom for free.
For others, it may be convenient. A place where people can feel warm and fuzzy, and cuddle with a God who will give them everything they ask for. A place where they can talk about their beards or tattoos and be secure in their salvation and the superiority of their biblical knowledge and doctrine. American Christians have never been made to even count the cost, let alone pay it. Ask for a Dietrich Bonhoeffer and you may well find a money changer. As Sarah Liu once said in a speech, “Everyone wants Jesus, but no one wants the cross.”
The time may be coming for the church in America to grow up.
Donald Trump's inauguration was marked by the presence of many evangelicals including Paula White which was a bad sign since she's everything Scripture warns us about false teaching and false teachers. Find John MacArthur's Full Sermon Here: https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-l...
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The Liberals put all their faith in Government and view people who do not as a danger. What type of person are you and why does it even matter? Watch, share, and keep standing strong.
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Joe Kaufman is a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center; a writer for the Counter-Islamist Grid, a project of the Middle East Forum; and the Chairman of the Joe Kaufman Security Initiative. He was the 2014, 2016 and 2018 Republican Nominee for U.S. House of Representatives (Florida-CD23).
The Fort Lauderdale Swap Shop is a well-known ‘hot spot’ for South Florida bargain hunters seeking out the latest flea market deals and moviegoers heading to watch the latest drive-in flics with their families. It once featured free concerts of famous bands and a circus with elephants, clowns and acrobats. It was where Jeb Bush announced his run for Governor, well over two decades ago. Now, once every two weeks, the famed Swap Shop features extreme Muslims seeking to convert the vulnerable to radical Islam, and they are doing it in the name of Jesus, literally. The dangerous nature of this offensive endeavor must be exposed and condemned.
"WhyIslam" is the dawah (religious outreach) division of the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), the US arm of South Asian Islamist group Jamaat-e-Islami (JI). As such, WhyIslam and ICNA have sizable links with overseas terror. Appearing on a 2008 video promoting WhyIslam was Mazen Mokhtar, a former admin for the now-defunct al-Qaeda recruitment site, qoqaz.net, and a champion of Hamas and suicide bombings. Since September 1989, ICNA has been associated with Ashrafuz Zaman Khan, a former JI death squad leader who was sentenced to death, in absentia, for multiple murders, and who has held a number of top ICNA positions.
Up until recently, WhyIslam featured a message board on its website. A number of the forum moderators used it to post messages in favor of Hamas, Hezbollah, the vilification of Jews, and the destruction of Israel. One, BrJimC, wrote, “I don’t think Hamas has a reason to not want to destroy Israel…” and “Those Jews that speak out against such atrocity by holding their public officials accountable are the ones who deserve peace and life… The rest will one day wind up in the Mediterranean Sea.” Another moderator, MARWAN, wrote, “I support Hezbollah as long as they stand by justice” and “Nazi restaurant… I wonder if they have kosher meals.”
This past December, the South Florida Muslim Federation (SoFlo Muslims), an umbrella group for South Florida’s many radical Muslim entities, along with WhyIslam opened up a booth at the Swap Shop targeting members of the Christian community. It included a canopy hovering over a table, on top of which were free copies of the Quran to be given away. Attached to one side of the canopy was a huge WhyIslam banner that read, “I [heart] JESUS.” The sign was meant to disarm Christians and make them believe they were in friendly territory. While the group may purport to have an affinity for Jesus, regarding them as friends would be a grave error.
Accompanying WhyIslam was Texas-based imam, Ibrahim Dremali, who had previously been a fixture in the South Florida Muslim community and later would be added to the federal ‘no fly’ list. In 2000, Dremali partook in an event in Miami, where Israeli flags were burned and event-goers shouted for “Zionist blood.” In 2001, when his Boca mosque was criticized for publishing a violent essay on its website labeling Jews “enemies” and stating that Muslims will “fight the Jews and kill them,” Dremali lied and said it was the result of “hackers.” And in 2002, he was a character witness at a hearing for soon-to-be-convicted al-Qaeda operative Adham Hassoun.
Dremali has also been involved with ICNA, in the past. From March 2000 to September 2001, Dremali was listed as one of eight local contacts for ICNA-SE, ICNA’s southeast regional division, on the same web page as links to the official sites of Hamas, Hezbollah and the Taliban. The page also solicited funds for al-Qaeda’s qoqaz.net (mentioned previously). The webmaster for the ICNA-SE site was Syed Khawer Ahmad, a co-founder of Dremali’s Boca mosque and who was, at the time, a website designer for Hamas in Gaza.
The Muslim Federation, which has as one of its members a mosque, Masjid Jamaat Al Mumineen (MJAM), that propagates material on its website which repeatedly curses Jews and Christians, has branded its Swap Shop project participants, the ‘SoFlo-WhyIslam Dawah Team.’ It claims the booth will run once every two weeks, and according to the Federation, the team is “growing.”
The Federation has posted photos on its website and social media of the Dawah Team in action. One photo taken from the team’s booth depicts a serious-looking Dremali wearing a Palestinian kaffiyeh-patterned COVID mask, hunched over, while ‘in the face’ of a disabled man in a mobility scooter. Another photo, taken in January, included a second WhyIslam banner, which stated, “ISLAM: The way of life [of] Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Mohammad.”
For years, ICNA has been spreading a similar message via buses and billboards. However, the message is offensive to many within the Jewish and Christian faiths as well as misleading, because it implies that the most revered figures in Judaism and Christianity were practicing Muslims and are solely part of Islam. This, even though the religion of Islam came into existence long after the others. In 2009, when the Islamist group CAIR paid for the identical message to be placed on Broward County, Florida buses – something that this author led a demonstration against – even the liberal Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel said the message was incendiary.
Now, twelve years later, ICNA and the South Florida Muslim Federation are, once again, co-opting Jewish and Christian icons of the past, while getting into the faces of non-Muslims, to push the same pseudo-theological drivel, what amounts to nothing more than a repulsive lie. But then, what can you expect from Islamist organizations that associate with and promote bigotry and terror? Shame on those who ignore the threat coming from these dangerous groups practicing religious theft and cultural appropriation, and shame on the Swap Shop for allowing such abuse to be placed upon its vulnerable patrons!
Action: If you wish to contact the Swap Shop to provide an opinion on this matter, you can do so by calling 954-791-7927. Please be respectful in any and all communications.
Beila Rabinowitz, Director of Militant Islam Monitor, contributed to this report.
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In case you missed it, JD Greear, president of the Southern Baptist Convention addressed the Southern Baptist Executive Committee last night with a sermon decrying “white supremacy” and all those who oppose Critical Race Theory. If you can stomach it, the sermon can be watched here and begins around the 51-minute mark.
During the sermon, Greear decried his critics who accused him of being liberal and then gave a rundown of his conservative credentials; he said that he believes homosexuality is a sin and that homosexuals left a packet on his doorstep of pamphlets of people who have committed suicide because of his anti-homosexuality position. Yet, in 2019, Greear preached a sermon on Romans 1 and concluded that God believes other sins — such as boasting — are more egregious than homosexuality.
Greear then went into a tirade against people who believe that Critical Race Theory, a secular Marxist ideology that is opposed to the gospel, and labeled them as “pharisees” and called them “demonic.”
“We should mourn when closet racists and neo-Confederates feel more at home in our churches than do many of our people of color,” he said. “The reality is that if we in the SBC had shown as much sorrow for the painful legacy that racism and discrimination has left in our country as we have the passion to decry CRT, we probably wouldn’t be in this mess.”
Of course, those “neo-Confederates” he is referring to would be the most vocal anti-Marxist critics in the denomination. Those would include men like Tom Ascol and Tom Buck, even Voddie Baucham. And, of course, it would include the countless journalists out there covering the stories including Reformation Charlotte, Capstone Report, Worldview Conversations, and Protestia, among many others.
If Greear were after unity, he’d denounce the heresy that is swarming the denomination and call for unity around the truth. Instead, Greear labels those who defend biblical doctrine as “pharisees” and calls on the denomination to repudiate them.
“Brothers and sisters, in the 1980s, we repudiated the leaven of the liberals, a leaven that threatened to poison the gospel,” he said. “Are we now going to repudiate the leaven of the Pharisees, which can choke out the gospel just as easily?”
Greear also demonstrated a complete lack of understanding of Jesus’ issue with the pharisees when said that the pharisees in the New Testament had correct doctrine, but that their problem was that they opposed Jesus. The Scriptures, however, do not teach that the pharisees had correct doctrine — Jesus’ problem with them is that they were false teachers, just like those who push Critical Race Theory.
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An independent report by a firm hired by Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (“RZIM”) to investigate claims of their founder’s alleged sexual misconduct has recently been published by RZIM on its website. The 12-page report, which found “significant evidence” of sexual misconduct by the late apologist Ravi Zacharias, along with “evidence of text- and email-based relationships with women who were not his wife” and “over 200 ‘selfie’-style photographs of women” on Zacharias’ electronic devices, followed an open letter by RZIM’s International Board of Directors which cited the leadership’s desire to “help the victims of Ravi’s abuse” and to take steps to ensure “nothing like this happens again.”
“Following allegations made in late August of 2020 that Ravi had engaged in sexual misconduct and abuse in connection with two-day spas, we commissioned Miller & Martin PLLC, a law firm with experience in corporate and sex crimes investigations, to conduct an independent investigation. We gave Miller & Martin a broad scope to pursue any avenues that they judged to be relevant to the accusations, and we emphasized that our only purpose for the investigation was to ascertain the full truth,” the board statement reads.
“Having received the results of the investigation, we are publicly releasing the investigation report in the exact form that we received it. We have been waiting to make an extended statement in the hope that the full findings of the investigation would allow us to speak more accurately and meaningfully. We also wanted to ensure Miller & Martin’s independence in their investigation, assessments, and reporting of the findings,” it continues.
According to the Miller & Martin report, which can be read in full here, the investigators “confirmed one of the three accounts described in the Christianity Today article,” which gave rise to the concerns, “and found significant evidence of sexual misconduct involving additional massage therapists.” Additionally, the report states that they “also reviewed Mr. Zacharias’s electronic devices and found evidence of text- and email-based relationships with women who were not his wife, as well as over 200 ‘selfie’-style photographs of women.”
RZIM stated that as a result of the new report they are now seeking the Lord’s will on the “future of the ministry.”
“Our prayer has been that the truth would be known. For this answer to prayer, we are thankful, even though we express this gratitude through tears. The humbling process of seeking counsel from survivors and advocates and of writing this statement has made us profoundly aware that even what we say now is vastly insufficient and merely a starting point for all that needs to be said and done in the days ahead,” the board expressed in its open letter published on the RZIM site.
“In light of the findings of the investigation and the ongoing evaluation, we are seeking the Lord’s will regarding the future of this ministry. We are learning much through this time and hope to have the chance to apply these lessons in the future. We remain passionate about seeing the gospel preached through the questions of culture. We will be spending focused time praying and fasting as we discern how God is leading, and we will speak to this in the near future,” the board statement reads in part.
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The late Ravi Zacharias, who passed away last year after a long battle with cancer, has been scrutinized for several years by discerning Christians for allegations made against him for sexual misconduct. The allegations came to light in 2018 when we received copies of text messages between Zacharias and one of his victims. Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of Evangelicalism did not take the allegations seriously, save a few discernment blogs.
In 2018, it became public that Zacharias had been involved in a years-long “sexting” scandal and an emotional affair with another woman other than his wife. Zacharias admitted that he was caught up in the emotional aspect, privately in conversation with another woman who had been sending him nude pics of himself, but denied that it ever went any further than that.
Other allegations were made against Zacharias by a retired Detective Constable from the Ontario Provincial Police after 34 years of service that Zacharias, while a minister, pressured a teenage girl to have an abortion “if our careers are to survive.” To our knowledge, Zacharias never addressed these allegations.
During his recent years in ministry, Zacharias turned his ministry largely in the direction of social justice and wokeness — following the trends of the culture and the world. In 2019, Zacharias invited gay Anglican priest, Sam Allberry, to speak at one of his events where he allowed Allberry to say that Jesus had “body dysphoria,” therefore, he was able to identify with transgender people who experience “gender dysphoria.”
Therefore, it is unsurprising to us that an independent investigation into the sexual misconduct of Ravi Zacharias has revealed that all of these allegations against him are true and that Zacharias used his ministry as a launching pad to gain sexual favors from women other than his wife.
To the ministry’s (RZIM) credit, those involved do seem to be genuinely repentant and serious about making amends with the victims. However, at this time, it is unclear who sits on the board and who exactly is responsible for the cover-up.
Several key points are made in the 12-page report which was conducted by the investigative firm Miller & Martin PLLC as follows:
“We also reviewed Mr. Zacharias’s electronic devices and found evidence of text- and email-based relationships with women who were not his wife, as well as over 200 ‘selfie’-style photographs of women.”
“There were over 200 massage therapist contacts in Mr. Zacharias’s phones, including many overseas.”
“Several massage therapists confirmed Mr. Zacharias’s frequent efforts to ‘try for more than a massage,’ as one therapist put it. Eight therapists reported that Mr. Zacharias would start the massage either completely nude or would remove the sheets during the massage. Six therapists reported that he always or almost always had an erection during the massage. Four therapists reported that he would either touch his genitals or ask them to touch his genitals. And five therapists reported that he touched or rubbed them inappropriately.”
“Only one of the witnesses we interviewed said that Mr. Zacharias engaged in sexual intercourse. This witness reported details of many encounters over a period of years that she described as rape. To protect her identity, this report does not disclose many of the details she shared with us. She reported that after he arranged for the ministry to provide her with financial support, he required sex from her. According to this witness, Mr. Zacharias used religious expressions to gain compliance, as she was raised to be a person of faith. She reported that he made her pray with him to thank God for the ‘opportunity’ they both received. She said he called her his ‘reward’ for living a life of service to God, and he referenced the ‘godly men’ in the Bible with more than one wife. She said he warned her not ever to speak out against him or she would be responsible for the ‘millions of souls’ whose salvation would be lost if his reputation was damaged.”
“The four phones that Mr. Zacharias used and that RZIM provided to us for this investigation also provided significant, compelling evidence. For example, in the Notes application of one of Page 9 of 12 of his phones, Mr. Zacharias kept translations of certain words and phrases in Thai and Mandarin. The Thai phrases included ‘I miss you so much. I want to see your face’ and ‘little bit further.’ The Mandarin phrases included: ‘softer, lighter;’ ‘U R beautiful;’ ‘not enough;’ ‘I hope our love lasts forever;’ ‘I love you from the bottom of my heart;’ ‘I’d like to have a beautiful memory with you;’ ‘Life is so wonderful because [sic] I could meet you;’ ‘Your lips are especially beautiful;’ and ‘I love you darling.’”
“In 2014, Mr. Zacharias met and exchanged emails with a massage therapist who lived in Bangkok. They used pet names such as ‘sweetheart,’ ‘baby,’ ‘babe,’ ‘darling,’ ‘angel,’ ‘my precious little girl,’ and ‘honey;’ they exchanged selfies (the latest photograph of her is from 2019); and they discussed how much they loved and missed each other. During a May 2014 coup d’etat in Thailand, Mr. Zacharias expressed his worry that travel to Bangkok could be stopped. He told her: ‘I know more than ever that you have become the love of my life. I’m waiting to hold you close to my heart again. Please be safe my angel. I Love you and goodnight from here.’ He told her to keep him ‘as the only one in your heart. I love you my dearest xxxxxx.’”
“Their communications imply that their relationship had a physical component. They discussed not being able to wait until they can be together, that he is ‘longing to hold [her] close again.’ He further wrote: ‘Your face, your smile, your laugh, your touch, the way you love, your hard work, your heart, your care for me, your skill,’ and on and on and on. He called her ‘beautiful in heart and in body.’ She responded later: ‘I love you and kiss you everywhere xxxxxx.’ She said to him she was going to work out ‘to be fit and firm when I see you next month =).’ This woman received significant financial support from TOH [Editor’s note: RZIM slush fund].”
“In addition to communications, Mr. Zacharias’s phones contained over 200 photographs of women much younger than him—including six of Lori Anne Thompson—and dozens of photographs he took of himself.”
“Travel records confirm that Mr. Zacharias was in Malaysia at the time. Over time, more pictures of this woman appeared in Mr. Zacharias’s phone, most of which were relatively innocuous and show her fully clothed. However, the photographs grew increasingly more suggestive, culminating in two photographs showing her bare breasts dated October 27, 2018, and a video of her fully naked and touching herself dated January 8, 2019. Two other women told us that Mr. Zacharias asked for nude photographs, which they refused to provide.”
“In addition to finding alone time when he traveled with others, Mr. Zacharias traveled alone to Bangkok and other parts of Southeast Asia for substantial periods of time. RZIM staff described these as writing trips where he would work on his latest book. On such trips, he would stay for days and sometimes weeks alone. According to a text message to a Thai masseuse in February 2016, he spent his days writing and his nights receiving massage treatments.”
“We did consider his statements and actions when confronted with similar situations in the past, most notably the Thompson matter. Several RZIM staff reported to us his ‘shifting narrative’ as emails and other relevant facts were publicly leaked and he was forced to explain them. Rather than fostering an environment of truth-seeking and transparency, Mr. Zacharias was strident and inflammatory. He described his critics as ‘nasty people’ and ‘lunatics’ who were engaging in ‘satanic-type’ slander and falsehood.”
“Mr. Zacharias told certain members of his staff that the phone records and full, complete emails would exonerate him, but he did not give them access to these documents. Two high-level staff approached him directly asking for the phone records, since he claimed they would prove exculpatory. Both of these staff members told us Mr. Zacharias responded to this request with rage and threatened to resign from the organization.”
“Some therapists also reported that Mr. Zacharias paid very well or would leave large tips and gave gifts that were at times lavish, such as a Persian rug or a Louis Vuitton wallet with $500 inside.”
“Several RZIM staff reported to us that they were concerned about Mr. Zacharias traveling with a personal masseuse, not because they feared actual impropriety but because they feared the appearance of impropriety. A high-level RZIM staff member expressed concerns to Mr. Zacharias about it and encouraged him to stop traveling with her. In response, Mr. Zacharias grew angry and barely spoke to this staff member for a long period of time.”
“According to his text messages, at times he would meet the therapists in the hotel lobby and at other times he would direct them to come straight to his room. On one occasion in February 2016, he slipped his room key to a massage therapist by placing it in a book, directing her to come to his room ‘2 minutes after’ she got the book from him.”
Thompson is the Canadian woman accused by Zacharias in 2017 of sending “unwanted” nude pictures to the late apologist in an attempt to extort him. (Zacharias died on May 19, 2020.)
Yet according to the letter, the nude photos were not only wanted by Zacharias; they were invited. And they were the culmination of months of emails, phone calls, gifts, and other advances by a man who “sensed” Thompson’s “deficit and used it to his own end.”
LORI ANNE THOMPSON'S VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENT ON VIDEO:
The woman who says Ravi Zacharias coerced her into an inappropriate sexual relationship has released a video recounting how the alleged abuse has impacted her, despite a nondisclosure agreement still in place.
She recounted the grooming process that Zacharias conducted in a letter obtained by the Roys Report in 2020.
Zacharias later sued the woman and settled with her, which included the non-disclosure agreement. She has since attempted to be released from the NDA from Zacharias' family which they have denied.
In refuting the original claims, Thompson says that Zacharias (whom she refers to throughout the transcript of the statement as RZ) "used a former local church abuse experience where my husband and I had been victims of a financially and spiritually abusive cleric, to support his fantastical claim that we were a litigious couple who sued people for financial gain.
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:
The infamous Reichstag fire on Feb. 27, 1933. The government used it as a pretense to jail political enemies and strip away everyone's civil liberties. It's starting to seem frighteningly familiar.
Conservatives are suddenly living a political nightmare similar to the aftermath of the Reichstag fire in Germany in 1933. Following that arson on the German Parliament building, several thousand political opponents were jailed and the entire country was officially stripped of virtually every civil liberty. Those developments cemented the continued rise of Hitler and the Nazis. We all know what horrors followed.
The incident last week at the U.S. Capitol is minuscule in comparison to the extreme violence, deaths, and billions of dollars of damage brought on across America by the Black Lives Matter and Antifa riots. Moreover, the breach of the Capitol was clearly organized and led by Antifa types, according to eyewitnesses and counter-terrorism experts we’ve talked to personally and startling accounts we’ve read and seen.
Like the Reichstag fire, the incident at the U.S. Capitol is being used as an excuse by government, corporations, and the media to inflame an unprecedented war against conservatives. People who even dare to question the election results are being fired from their jobs across America. Conservative groups of all stripes are being denied service by technology companies. Banks are stopping service to Trump companies and others. The media has become a non-stop propaganda machine, attacking facts they don’t like as “lies.” Biden’s people are preparing even more extreme measures, including Second Amendment challenges and even gun confiscations. The FBI is now engaged against conservatives in one of the biggest phony “investigations” of its history. And we’re seeing the total militarization of D.C. – possibly to fuel fear of “patriots.”
The mainstream conservative and Republican reaction to all this is disturbing. The general message we’re getting has been to back off, “go gray,” and try not to attract any more attention from the hysterical Leftist mob. Don’t provoke them. Hide and hope they’ll leave you alone. The American Thinker site, for example, has announced it has turned off its comments section for that reason. Will this strategy work – or just make things worse? Unfortunately, experience shows that cowering only emboldens the mob.
And it’s worse in Washington, DC. As we’ve seen this week, Republicans in Congress are surrendering in droves, abandoning their constituents, and some even jumping on board with the Democrats. At the impeachment “debate” on Jan. 13, there was no real pushback against the narrative that “Trump supporters” were behind the Jan. 6 riots. Is that an intelligent strategy?
GOP cowardice: U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) addresses the House in favor of impeaching President Trump on Jan. 13. He said that "The mob was inflamed by the language and misinformation of the President," an absurd statement with no basis in fact. (Note: Trump overwhelmingly won Newhouse's district 58%-40%.)
Where is this going, if we don’t stand up and speak out boldly? A little history is in order.
Testimony from a survivor
In 2005, our MassResistance Banquet featured Stephan Ross as the keynote speaker. Ross was a Jew born in Poland. He was a survivor of ten Nazi concentration camps including Auschwitz. He was a great supporter of our organization, a personal friend of MR Director Brian Camenker, and was eager to share his wisdom.
Stephan Ross (at podium) addresses theMassResistance Banquet in 2005.
He said that when the Nazis first came to power, people didn’t take it seriously. They thought it would “blow over.” As the situation worsened, the Jewish community was encouraged to pray about it, he said. By the time they realized how bad it was, there was nothing they could do. Ross’s entire extended family, except for a brother, was murdered by the Nazis.
Main entrance to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where over 1 million people were murdered.
He implored our group not to give up our aggressive activism. He said that the kinds of things that we were fighting at the time – violations of the constitution, graphic sex education, the LGBT agenda in the schools, “gay” marriage, abortion – were just the beginning of worse things to come. He said that if good people don’t stand up when they can, early on, the time will come when they can’t anymore.
In America, we can still rise up, though it’s becoming difficult with the increasing unlawfulness, censorship, and demonization by the Left. The Left is oppressive but not murderous – yet. We must ignore our fears and charge forward, or that will surely follow.
Like Martin Luther King’s organization in Birmingham, a group of fearless people can take down a seemingly unbeatable, overwhelming combination of government, business, and media – if they refuse to give up.
Mr. Ross passed away last year. We got to know him very well, and he left an indelible mark on our psyche – and inspired us to carry on no matter the odds.
Stephan Ross and MassResistance Executive Director Brian Camenker at an event in Newton, Mass. in 2006.
How MassResistance is reacting to this threat
Because of all this, MassResistance is compelled to expand the normal scope of our 25-year pro-family, activism to stand up to this threat. Trust us, there are a lot of very effective things that determined groups of citizens can do (which we will describe in future posts)! And we will do them! People are hungering for bold speech and principled action.
Here’s an inspiring example of courageous leadership. At least one GOP member of Congress is doing the right thing. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), a former MassResistance activist, has announced that she will be filing Articles of Impeachment against Biden on Jan. 21! The point is to keep the truth alive and fight for what is right! This is how to construct the foundation for a future victory.
Bold and direct: U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene wears a "Trump Won" face mask as she arrives on the floor of the House to take her oath of office on January 3, 2021. [Photo: CBS News]
We invite good people to join the fight. Despite what they want you to believe, there are more of us than there are of them. As we tell our activists, when you take on the Left, you may get their vicious personal abuse, threats to your job, etc. – at least at first until they realize that we fight back. (Deep down, they are pretty much all cowards.) And a lot of your friends will also be cowards. But the alternative is much worse. And the spiritual benefits are immense. Join the real resistance!
Please help us continue to do our uncompromising work!
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:
So you’re on the House Intelligence Committee, and you take into your inner circle a national from our main geopolitical adversary — which just happens to be a nation dictating that all its citizens must engage in spying when asked. What could possibly go wrong?
What could possibly go wrong is what did: Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) ended up with a Chinese spy in his midst, a comely young woman named Fang Fang (a.k.a. “Christine Fang”)
What’s more, the married politician is accused of having had a sexual affair with Fangs. This would make it a classic “honey pot” scenario, which is when an operative initiates a relationship with a target in order to gain influence over him (and a married Intel. Committee member is ripe for blackmail).
Moreover, Fangs sank her teeth into other politicians as well, as she also “allegedly slept with at least two Midwestern mayors while cozying up to a slew of pols across the country in a bid to infiltrate the US political system,” reports the New York Post.
In fairness, it’s not believed Fangs obtained classified information, and Swalwell did break ties with her in 2015 after being warned of her activities in a “defensive briefing.” Yet what does making ties with her in the first place say about his, and the other politicians’, judgment?
More on that momentarily. But first we have some story details about the “Chinese Mata Hari,” as the Post dubs Fangs.
The fetching Beijing spy “entered the US through California as a college student in 2011 — and spent the next four years wooing everyone from local politicos to US congressmen, said the Web site Axios, citing current and former US intelligence officials,” the paper related.
Aside from Swalwell, Fangs “also once helped raise funds for Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), sources said,” the Post further informs. The paper continues:
“She was on a mission,’’ a US counter-intelligence official said of Fang — and it included plenty of seduction before the feds got wind of her antics and she vanished in 2015.
The idea was for Fang to maneuver herself into key government circles — and sometimes politicians’ beds — to gain personal information about them while ingratiating herself with unwitting potential up-and-coming heavy-hitters, intelligence sources told Axios.
US officials know of at least two mayors who had romantic relationships with Fang, likely now in her late 30s or early 40s, for about three years, the site said.
The accused spy had sex with an Ohio mayor in a car, an incident caught on FBI electronic surveillance, an intelligence official said.
The mayor asked Fang at one point why she was into him, and she allegedly replied that she needed to improve her English.
(And, not suspicious at all, that’s always a great reason to jump into bed with somebody!)
As for the congressman, why did Swalwell fall well for Fangs? Aside from the allure of being a comely coed, Axios tells us that the spy “took part in fundraising activity for Swalwell’s 2014 re-election campaign, according to a Bay Area political operative and a current U.S. intelligence official.”
“Swalwell’s office was directly aware of these activities on its behalf, the political operative said,” the site continued.
In addition, Fangs “helped Swalwell secure the support of his district’s Asian-American community,” according to Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
To be clear, Shanghai Swalwell isn’t accused of illegality, but he may be guilty of two other “itys”: immorality and stupidity. And for certain, as Carlson points out (video below), he doesn’t belong on the Intel. Committee.
In fact, Swalwell was a prime target for Chinese espionage, stated ex-federal prosecutor Brett Tolman, a former counsel of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Swalwell had to have known this, too, informs Tolman.
What’s more, there were enough red flags with Fangs to drive a bull to Xanax. Consider:
She’d just arrived from China, an aggressively imperialistic nation and our main geopolitical adversary.
Beijing is infamous for infiltrating American power structures.
Many Chinese are intensely nationalistic; politically correct “internationalism” isn’t in their vocabulary.
Shortly after arriving, Fangs tried to insert herself into the American political system.
She’s an attractive young woman, precisely the kind of honey-pot operative an intelligence agency would use.
So what explains Swalwell’s Shanghai surprise? Stupidity first comes to mind, but the second possibility is even more troubling.
Leftists’ identity politics/cultural affirmative action mentality corrupts their judgment. That is to say, instead of seeing red flags with Fangs, she’d get hiring points because she’s non-white. She’d get more points because she was a foreigner and, oh my, even (likely) had an accent! What a chance to value-signal and show how enlightened you are!
But there’s a reason our Constitution contains a natural-born clause relating to the presidency. Oh, this doesn’t mean an immigrant can’t become a good citizen, and there certainly have been native-born American traitors. Nonetheless, it’s logical to suspect that a recently arrived foreigner’s heart will lie with his native country — and a Chinese national should set off alarm bells.
The third possibility is that, as with too many leftists, Swalwell just doesn’t care about our country at all. And power-lust does appear his only principle, as his frequent lying about President Trump and mythical “Russian collusion” evidenced (meanwhile, he was the one subject to foreign influence).
Of course, two or all of the above possibilities likely explain Swalwell’s behavior. He may not be a Manchurian congressman, but he’s surely a bad one.
And the bottom line about Fangs’ role with Swalwell is, was that really a job Americans won’t do? She didn’t belong there, period — and the congressman doesn’t belong on the Intelligence Committee.
Then again, maybe Swalwell just wanted to help Fangs improve her English. What are we, all cynics now?
Steven Bancarz explains how ideas such as astrology, spiritual energy, universalism, psychics, aliens, reincarnation, and self-love are all impacting the church and society as a whole today. He also walks us through his journey from enjoying success as a New Age teacher to transforming into a born-again Christian. Part one of a two-part, jam-packed episode of Relatable. ---------- Steven Bancarz's Website: reasonsforjesus.com
How is New Age spirituality affecting the church today? Yoga, word of faith, karma, enneagrams and self-love are becoming accepted practices, increasingly, every day. Steven Bancarz and Allie break down how the "god of self" has no comparison to the salvation of Jesus Christ. ---------- Steven Bancarz's Website: reasonsforjesus.com
NEW BOOKLET: Critical Race Theory, Southern Baptist Convention, and a Marxist “Solution” That Will Not Work by the Editors at Lighthouse Trails is our newest Lighthouse Trails Booklet.* The Booklet is 18 pages long and sells for $1.95 for single copies. Quantity discounts are available. Our Booklets are designed to give away to others or for your own personal use. Below is the content of the booklet. To order copies of Critical Race Theory, Southern Baptist Convention, and a Marxist “Solution” That Will Not Work, click here.
Critical Race Theory, Southern Baptist Convention, and a Marxist “Solution” That Will Not Work
By the Editors at Lighthouse Trails
Resolution 9 at SBC
In June 2019, at its annual conference, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) passed Resolution 9: “On Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality.”1 Critical Race Theory is a political/philosophical-driven ideology that claims to be a solution to ending racism but according to critics actually presents a “solution” that will install Marxism into our society while creating a sentiment leading to escalated conflict and diminished freedom for all.
A June 18, 2019 Federalist article titled, “In Last-Minute Move, Southern Baptist Convention Supports Anti-Christian Racial Identity Politics,” expresses concerns over the resolution:
The largest Protestant denomination in North America, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), officially adopted “critical race theory” and “intersectionality” as “analytical tools” to be used in fostering racial reconciliation in the church. These key drivers of identity politics, however, are more likely to produce racial discord and strike at Christianity itself.2
A OneNewsNow article titled “Critical Race Theory—A Bait-and-Switch Tactic Infiltrating the Church” further explains the issue:
Critical Race Theory (often referred to as CRT) teaches that American culture is rife with white supremacy and baked-in racism, and is used—often subconsciously—to hold women and people of color back. According to pastor and talk-show host Abraham Hamilton III, it’s the philosophy behind identity politics and comes straight out of the Marxist playbook.
“[CRT] doesn’t depend on your personal feeling, sentiment, [or] heart condition—it’s based on the group that you’re born into,” [Hamilton] explained recently on American Family Radio. “It completely eliminates individual responsibility, individual sin, and expands it to corporate sin. And based on how you’re born, you are immediately ascribed into an ‘oppressor’ or ‘oppressed’ group.” . . .
“Jesus articulated the primary commandments: love God with your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself,” [Hamilton] concluded. “We don’t need these anti-Christ, unbiblical tools to teach us how to love our neighbors as ourselves—the scripture is sufficient for that.”3
In a YouTube documentary titled, The Stain of Albert Mohler, Tom Buck, a SBC pastor who contested Resolution 9 at the SBC convention last June, noted to conference attendees that Resolution 9 acknowledges that Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality alone are insufficient to diagnose and redress the root causes of the social ills they identify. Furthermore, Buck stated:
Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality are . . . not merely insufficient, they’re incapable of diagnosing man’s problem and incompatible with the biblical Gospel. Critical Race Theory is based upon Marxism, a godless intellectual foundation, and both include a praxis contradictory to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. These views do not complement the Gospel; they completely contradict it.4 (emphasis added)
In his rebuttal statements against Resolution 9, Buck quoted Colossians 2:8 (“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ”), then added:
When it came to worldly philosophy and human tradition, Paul did not tell the Colossians to adopt or adapt but to abandon.5
One SBC pastor announced, after SBC adopted Resolution 9, that his church was withdrawing from the SBC:
At the last Southern Baptist Convention, the messengers from the churches voted to include Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality as tools to help us interpret the Bible. Now if you don’t know what Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality mean, among other things, it is the notion that if you’re born white, you’re already a racist; it doesn’t matter what you feel or how you act. You’re just a racist. All of the radical liberal progressive thought is in those terms in order to appease the culture and get along.6
Abraham Hamilton III, also in the documentary, has a podcast on American Family Radio devoted to exposing the dangers of Critical Race Theory, explains how some of these social justice “theories” have entered the church:
Abraham Hamilton III
The way it’s getting into the church, you have people presenting these ideas—Critical Race Theory and other things—as something that they are not. . . . They’re not adhering to the traditional definitions and applications [so they can] get the foot in the door—and then once the foot is in the door, the applications return to the original definitions.7
The documentary identifies Albert Mohler (president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) as one of the main proponents for bringing CRT into the SBC. It first shows a clip of Mohler from 2018 addressing students at SBTS and condemning Critical Theory from which Critical Race Theory is derived:
Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School, coming out of the left-wing of Marxism in Europe, was basically, and this is what is key, was a repudiation of consensual politics. . . . So [in] this critical theory and all that came out of this horror, Marxism emerged from the idea that democratic politics won’t work. It’s not going to get to revolution. It’s not going to get to justice; therefore, there has to be a confrontation all the way down to the foundation, and that’s the critical means, taking it apart. And so they wanted to blow up the world basically ideologically. . . . Basically, it was a matter of identifying all the structures of authority and of order in society as repressive.8 (emphasis added)
And yet, while Albert Mohler condemned Critical Theory in the above quote, he actually embraces Critical Race Theory (an offspring of Critical Theory that uses CT to form its framework) as the documentary shows through live footage.9 Mohler also wrote a chapter in the book Removing the Stain of Racism (a book that promotes CRT and Intersectionality).
What is Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality?
Critical Race Theory, which was birthed in the 1980s by lawyers and social activists, has to do with seeing people from a critical perspective as belonging to specific identity groups (e.g., whites, blacks, lesbians, feminists, genders) whereby each group is categorized as either “oppressor” or “oppressed.” It is the creation of “cultural Marxism” wherein the two categories are pitted against each other to insight unrest (on the part of the oppressed group) and ultimately the complete overturning of the present system. The Stain of Albert Mohler documentary provides this definition of cultural Marxism:
Cultural Marxism is a broad term which refers to the advocacy and application of critical theory and more generally to the cultural, political, and academic influence of certain elements within the contemporary Left. . . . [it] is the creation of interdisciplinary theories that might serve as instruments of social transformation. . . . Gender, sexual orientation, family, race, culture, or religion—every aspect of a person’s identity is to be questioned; every norm or standard in society be challenged and ideally altered in order to benefit supposedly oppressed groups. . . .
Cultural Marxism is such a conflict as existing between the oppressed and the oppressors, between those with privilege and those without. . . . Majority groups are typically defined as privileged and oppressive with minority groups accordingly labeled underprivileged and oppressed. Heterosexuals are oppressive. Cisgender* people are oppressive. Whites are oppressive, especially white men. Christians are oppressive. Those that do not fit into these groups are thus considered oppressed. If whites are oppressors, the solution is racial diversity. If Cisgender people are oppressors, the solution is to encourage transgenderism.10
One article titled “Marxist ‘Critical Race Theory’ Infiltrates Churches, the Culture” explains CRT and Intersectionality as follows:
According to the UCLA School of Public Affairs: “CRT recognizes that racism is engrained in the fabric and system of the American society. The individual racist need not exist to note that institutional racism is pervasive in the dominant culture. This is the analytical lens that CRT uses in examining existing power structures. CRT identifies that these power structures are based on white privilege and white supremacy, which perpetuates the marginalization of people of color.”
In other words, racism is about power, it’s exclusively a white problem, and it’s intrinsic [i.e., systemic] in the current social system. Therefore, to end racism, we must change the existing power structures—a polite way of saying revolution. Affirmative action, reparations, and hate speech legislation are all justified by CRT. All are revolutionary tools derived from Marxism.
Intersectionality is the concept that all oppressions are linked. Racial oppression is linked to gay oppression, which, in turn, is linked to the oppression of women and workers. This is a modern expansion of the Marxist idea that “capitalism” oppresses not only workers but racial and gender groups as well. All “oppressions” intersect. We can’t treat them as separate problems. The main problem is not just capitalism, but white racist sexist capitalism. [Editor’s note: Intersectionality is the idea that there are people who have overlapping “oppressed” and “oppressor” social identities (e.g., someone who is poor, uneducated, and homosexual; or someone who is white, male, and educated).]11
Critical Race theorists believe in institutional (or systemic) racism; that is, racism is so integrated into our American society that “the systems in place [e.g., capitalism] . . . create and maintain racial inequality in nearly every facet of life for people of color.”12 Furthermore, they say that all white people, whether they think, talk, or act like it or not, are racist because they are privy to “white privilege” and should therefore be in a perpetual state of guilt and apology to people of color. This is why, in the documentary, you will hear different SBC leaders telling their audience that they themselves are racists. It doesn’t matter if they never felt or acted as if they were superior to others because they were white; they are white, and therefore, according to CRT, they are racist.
In an article titled “A Seismic Shift in Culture—The New Left and Marxist-Critical Theory,” Dick Pence (director of Big Sky Forum in Montana) explains some of the implications:
[Critical Theory] has been at work for well over a century. Stalin and other Marxists originally believed they could take over the world by armed revolution. Marxist theory taught that the Proletariat (the so-called working class) would rise up in revolution and take over the means of production by force. When it did not happen, Antonio Gramsci began to push the philosophy of cultural takeover after WWI. By slow, incremental cultural changes, they would move resistant countries into Marxism without firing a shot. And, they have been very successful.13
Joshua Lawson
In an article titled “You Can Be a Christian, You Can Be a Marxist, But You Can’t Be Both,” Christian journalist Joshua Lawson explains:
Whereas traditional garden-variety Marxism views history as a struggle between the wealthy and the working class “proletariat,” neo-Marxism [i.e., cultural Marxism] cranks up the heat and redefines the fight to incorporate biological sex, race, ethnicity, and a whole gambit of various “identity” badges. . . . The grand unifying principle for the Marxists behind the Black Lives Matter movement is that everything—and they mean everything—can be reduced to “oppressors” versus the “oppressed.” If you happen to be a member of one of the “oppressor” groups, then expect to see all sorts of punishments heading your way until the neo-Marxists are satisfied. Except they never are.14
When we begin to understand that Critical Theory is a Marxist/Leninist ideology that aspires to create a communistic society through revolution, we should also understand that the end result will eliminate freedom, justice, and democracy from all citizens. We should see that CT and CRT are not solutions to racism but rather are dangerous philosophies and vain deceits that will hurt people of all skin colors and where people of color are merely being used as pawns to promote a socialist agenda only to be later discarded.
Black Lives Matter Movement
Since the tragic and wrongful death of George Floyd in May of 2020 at the hands of Minneapolis police officers, protests and riots have overtaken the streets of America’s cities. One particular group, Black Lives Matter (BLM), seems to be leading much of the protest, riots, and violence. In Dick Pence’s article, he writes:
First, we must be very clear that black lives do matter, and we must communicate that consistently. However, the Black Lives Matter organization/movement is rooted in Marxism and Critical Theory and is both anti-Christian and anti-democracy. It is made up of anarchist bullies and is well funded by American corporations, the NFL, and others.15
The article lists some of Black Lives Matter “doctrines”:
They are radically Marxist and admit this.
They reject and demean the nuclear family whereby the village raises the children.
Fathers are nowhere to be found and not supported as worthy of support.
They are for abortion (including the murder of black babies).
They walk in solidarity with every form of LGBT+ theory.
They are Anti-Semitic.16
Another article, titled “The Real Mission of Black Lives Matter,” states:
When “Black Lives Matter” was born in the ashes of the riots in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014, they were rightly considered a fringe group by most Americans. Violence has always been part of their mantra. Particularly repulsive was their call in public marches for the murder of police officers (“Pigs in a blanket, fry ‘em like bacon!” and “What do we want? Dead cops. When do we want it? Now!”) They are loudly and unapologetically racist. All of this was quite out in the open.17
Ryan Bomberger
Ryan Bomberger, a pro-life author who shares his story of being conceived in rape wrote an article titled ”Top Ten Reasons I’ll Never Support the Black Lives Matter Movement.” Some of these reasons are: 1) no goal of forgiveness or reconciliation. Bomberger says, “I’m tired of the deeply prejudiced oppressed/oppressor critical race theory paradigm. It’s not Gospel-centered. This should, immediately, be a deal-breaker for Christians.”18 2) It’s all about black power. 3) They want to defund or abolish the police forces. 4) They are against capitalism. Bomberger explains:
Oh the irony of this declaration made by a movement that is the result of capitalism: “We are anti-capitalist. We believe and understand that Black people will never achieve liberation under the current global racialized capitalist system.” The videos that make us aware of police brutality are captured on phones that are a result of capitalism. The best way to elevate people out of material poverty? Capitalism. This system is why the United States is the most charitable nation.19
A Voice From the Past Eerily Describes Today’s Social Unrest
For nine years of his life, Manning Johnson (1908-1959) was a leading member of the USA Communist Party believing it would be a way for him to help his own race of people. But Johnson defected from the Party when he realized the truth of how communism and socialism were actually hurting the black people rather than helping them. In view of the current efforts by groups like Black Lives Matter (with their self-proclaimed Marxism/socialism affinities), we are including this section on Manning Johnson, who became a Christian believer.
Manning Johnson
Johnson’s 1958 book, Color, Communism, and Common Sense, can be read freely online at www.manningjohnson.org. There is also available the last address he ever publicly gave before his untimely death at 51 years old. Below is an excerpt from his book:
Stirring up race and class conflict is the basis of all discussion of the Communist Party’s work in the South. The evil genius, Stalin, and the other megalomaniacal leaders in Moscow ordered the use of all racial, economic and social differences, no matter how small or insignificant, to start local fires of discontent, conflict and revolt. “Who could tell which of these issues could start a general conflagration” that would sweep across the former Confederate States from Maryland to Texas?
Black rebellion was what Moscow wanted. Bloody racial conflict would split America. During the confusion, demoralization and panic would set in. Then finally, the reds [communists] say:
“Workers stop work, many of them seize arms by attacking arsenals. Many had armed themselves before . . . Street fights become frequent. Under the leadership of the Communist Party the workers organize Revolutionary Committees to be in command of the uprising. Armed workers . . . seize the principal government offices, invade the residences of the President and his Cabinet members, arrest them, declare the old regime abolished, establish their own power.”
The only fear of the white communist leaders was that as a result of their efforts this black rebellion would break out before they were ready in the decisive industrial cities of the North.
What if one or five million Negroes die in an abortive attempt to establish a Negro [communist] republic? Is not the advance of the cause worth it? A communist is not a sentimentalist. He does not grieve over the loss of life in the advancement of communism.
This plot to use the Negroes as the spearhead, or as expendables, was concocted by Stalin in 1928, nearly ten years after the formation of the world organization of communism. . . .
During the three decades which have elapsed since the Sixth World Congress in Moscow, the American Communist Party has conducted many campaigns and formed and infiltrated a large number of organizations among Negroes. . . . [T]he heavy hand of communism has moved, stirring up racial strife, creating confusion, hate and bitterness so essential to the advancement of the red [communist] cause. . . .
Through the aforementioned organizations and many others, Negro institutions of higher education like Howard University were penetrated to subvert teachers and students and thus politically contaminate the intellectual stream of Negro life. White leftists descended on Negro communities like locusts, posing as “friends” come to help “liberate” their black brothers. . . . Everything was inter-racial, an inter-racialism artificially created, cleverly devised as a camouflage of the red plot to use the Negro.20
Does Manning Johnson’s description not sound eerily familiar to what is happening today? As Lighthouse Trails has often said over the years, things are not always as they seem. Search out the truth and share it with the younger generations.
When God Discloses the Heart of Man
Our nation is in the midst of civil unrest as we have not known for many decades. Still in the throes of the coronavirus, rioting, upheaval, and violence seem to have eclipsed the virus with frequent reports and video footage of communities being trashed, burnt, and pillaged all in the name of freedom and equality. Many of those who have expressed disagreement with these means are labeled as bigoted and racist; thus, the hatred and violence that instigators are incurring on our nation is camouflaged.
Meanwhile, low-income black communities, ironically, will end up suffering the most with the present discussions of defunding or minimizing police forces across America, leaving these communities unsafe and unprotected.
Few would deny that George Floyd’s death was tragic and brutal, but what can be gained when the so-called solution is brutalizing and terrorizing American citizens (of all colors)? While there are those demonstrating who are trying to do it peacefully and with intentions to bring recognition of and action against police brutality, what about the not-so-peaceful and often downright violent demonstrations? What about those who go about leaving a wake of destruction and terror behind them? And what about the radical socialist-motivated groups who have instigated the violent reactions—groups whose agendas reach far beyond the scope of racial equality?
If we look at it from the point of view of these groups, the problem and solution are exceedingly complex. However, complex as they may seem, the problem and the solution may not be so very complex after all. Perhaps Americans, including many Christians, are looking in the wrong places for answers. Scripture has a way of providing simple solutions to seemingly difficult problems—if only we would turn to the Lord and His Word for the answers.
Remember, it is Jesus who said that mankind’s sin problem proceeds from the heart. After being confronted by the religious leaders who said that His disciples had defiled themselves by eating bread with unwashed hands, Jesus later explained to His disciples:
But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man. (Matthew 15:18-20)
It seems that Jesus must have also been seeing into our generation at this very time when He said these words because Critical Race Theory (CRT), mandating confessions of “institutional/systemic racism” now being promoted in secular institutions and some of our churches and seminaries, is really all about confessing the lie that all whites are racist by virtue of being white (which is actually a racist statement against whites). They maintain that racism is currently at the very heart of America because of slavery and because some of the “fathers” and pioneers of America were slave owners. Bob Woodson, a veteran of the black civil rights movement and the founder of the Woodson Center, disagrees. He says that while slavery is a birth defect of America, it does not define who America is.21
Webster’s definition of racism states: “a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.” The Oxford Dictionary says racism is “the belief that certain races are better than others; discrimination against or hostility towards those of other races.” No matter what color your skin is, if your beliefs fall within these definitions, then you are a racist. Granted, God has given everyone a moral conscience to know right from wrong (just watch a toddler sneak a cookie and know she has done something wrong); with that in mind, it is inaccurate to say that all whites are racist. All whites sin just as all blacks sin, but we cannot say that every member of any one particular people group practices the same sins.
The fact is, there are racists within all “races” of people, and the reason is found within the words of Jesus—man’s heart and the sin which lies within it. We are all descendants of Adam and have inherited the sin nature. Society can educate people (which certainly can, at times, be helpful) and perhaps can force people to confess to the transgression of racism, but if someone is a racist, he will remain that until God deals with his heart because racism, like all sin, will remain until the sin problem is dealt with. This is the only real remedy for sin; and to truly be free from the bondage of sin, be it racism, envy, jealousy, hate, murder, sexual sin, deceit, greed, and so forth is to acknowledge our sinful condition and believe in and receive Jesus Christ as Savior who takes our hearts of stone and gives us tender hearts where love and compassion reign.
Some may say: well, if that were true, why is it, over the course of history, that so many who claimed to be Christian did horrible things including participation in slavery?
First, not all who say they are Christian are that. Being a Christian involves truth, faith, and relationship; when a person does acknowledge his own sinfulness, confesses (believes) that Jesus Christ died and resurrected to save him from his sins, and puts his faith in Christ, a change takes place, and he is born from above (born again). Now as a child of God, he is able to have a relationship with Him. Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20). Once we have that living relationship with Christ, He begins to change our hearts. Look at John Newton, the slave trader who became convicted of his sins, gave his life to the Lord (and became an abolitionist), and wrote one of the most beautiful and meaningful hymns, Amazing Grace.
Second, becoming a Christian does not mean that one is perfect. Christians do sin. In the Bible, it says “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). But as Christians, the Holy Spirit both convicts us and cleanses our hearts when we do sin. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
But the sure cure for racism is to receive the salvation that Jesus offers, which allows Him to do the work of transforming us from the inside out. Until then, we will be striving but never attaining. Society can force people with laws to live uprightly and to treat others justly and rightly, and so should such laws be in place. But laws cannot change hearts, and that is what is truly needed to fight racism and the other horrible sins that so badly hurt people.
True Racial Reconciliation
Whether the sins were committed yesterday, last week, or 400 years ago, all Caucasians are now told to bear the guilt for the sins committed by all other Caucasians; if they remain silent, Caucasians are accused of “violence.”22
Bob Woodson
In a recent interview, Bob Woodson, whom we referenced earlier, describes how he has worked with low-income black communities for the last 38 years in helping them achieve their hopes for a better future. This man has peacefully fought for civil rights over the years and, at the same time, has acquired tremendous wisdom and insight as to why many inner-city black communities are still struggling. When asked how he feels about whites apologizing for past racist acts committed by others and for the condition of such black communities (which is what Critical Race Theory and systemic racism are insisting on), he responded that he is deeply offended by this practice and finds it very insulting to black people. Woodson explains that what intelligent blacks are really hearing is that blacks are incapable of rising above their condition until and unless whites clear the way for them. Consequently, he finds the practice, now instituted in many colleges under Critical Race Theory, to be patronizing at best. Even many evangelical groups have adopted CRT. In addressing systemic racism, Woodson also stated:
It’s very troubling and very disturbing that the charge of racism and the institutional [systemic] racism has become a consistent mantra that’s being broadcast around. It’s even now morphed into an orthodoxy like communism—are you a supporter of the party or not—and there is no tolerance for anyone who disagrees or challenges assumptions that racism is the core problem facing the nation and particularly black Americans . . . those that are in these crime-infected, drug-infested neighborhoods, they are the ones who are suffering the consequence of this emphasis on race, and that’s what’s most troubling.23
Author and pastor David Platt, who was president of the Southern Baptist Convention International Mission Board for four years until 2018, was quoted on the Stain of Albert Mohler documentary, showing his affinity with Critical Race Theory. In live footage on the documentary, Platt says that basically the evangelical church is propagating racism (by not having an emphasis on race) rather than helping to diminish it. The narrator of the film refutes Platt’s statements:
Platt’s sermon is not based in biblical truth but in the ideology of Critical Race Theory of cultural Marxism. His basic presupposition is that white Christians are not only immersed in racism but are actually increasing the racial divide. He exhorts churches to repent of racism and to set up multi-ethnic communities in order to achieve racial reconciliation, but Scripture teaches otherwise. All true believers are one in Christ, so there is no racial divide in the true church of God—for black Christians and white Christians are one in Christ; they are reconciled in Christ.24
Paul, who was Jewish, described how Jesus is a beautiful source of peace and true reconciliation in his letter to the Ephesian Gentiles (a different and even dominant racial group):
But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us. (Ephesians 2: 13-14)
Countless men, women, and children, throughout the history of man, have been hurt and ostracized, sexually and physically abused, and even murdered by those who have hated and had evil and murder in their hearts. The world’s answer today for this is: socialism, social justice, so-called tolerance, changing views on gender and sexuality, New Age thought, radical feminism, and now cultural Marxism through Critical Race Theory.
But these are not the “answers” the church should embrace. These ideologies are powerless substitutes for the only viable and true solution—and that is the Cross. And any group that claims to represent that Cross (e.g., SBC) should have nothing to do with the world’s solutions that will never work but rather should be proclaiming the Gospel to an unsaved, lost, and hurting world.
Those who embrace Critical Race Theory believe CRT is going to help end racial tensions and create a more loving world. On the contrary, it is going to cause animosity, suspicion, anger, and all the things that are the opposite of God’s love that is described in 1 Corinthians 13 (the love chapter).
Let us remember this too: Man’s adversary, Satan, does not care about anyone of any race, skin color, gender, or culture. He only uses people to propagate and accomplish his horribly wicked evil plans, and he is a destroyer, not a builder. His ultimate goal is to keep people from Christ and His salvation. As utterly horrible as abuse, bigotry, rape, hate, and murder are, there is something even worse, and that is to be eternally lost without Christ.
Promoters of Resolution 9 in the Southern Baptist Convention say there is a “massive” racism problem within the SBC. If that is truly the case, then the SBC should realize this is not a corporate sin (that would be saying every white SBC pastor and leader is a racist); rather, the problem lies with individuals within the SBC (or within any evangelical group) who hate, belittle, or devalue those of different races and skin colors; and it would be hard not to wonder if such individuals have ever truly been born of the Spirit for it is that Holy Spirit who puts the love of God in our hearts, giving us the desire and ability to love God, to love our neighbor, to turn the other cheek, to give our coat to someone in need, and to care about our fellow man. The Bible also says that God does not respect one person above another (Acts 10:34). In other words, God loves all people and is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). If God loves all people, then we also should love everyone, of every skin color, in the same fashion. What is really needed is to have the love He has for all to be placed into our hearts through faith in Him.
If we genuinely believe the Bible, we know that all people have a common ancestry in Adam and Eve. DNA tests prove that we all have this common origin, thus proving the biblical record. Evolution may suggest “spontaneous generation” and “inferior and superior species,” but the Bible has proven itself to be consistent with the facts.
What’s more, to view any individual as less valuable and more deserving of hate or disdain because of the color of his or her skin is going completely against the God of the Bible who created men and women (of all races) in His image and who loved each person so much He gave His Son to die on the Cross that any person who believes on Him will have eternal life. Thus, if the SBC does have a racist problem (as some of its leaders are saying), then they have a salvation problem with too many of its members, and that is what should be focused on because when that problem is solved, the other will begin to be solved also.
If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also. (1 John 4:20-21)
We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. (1 John 3:14)
*Cisgender is a term used to refer to people who identify themselves with the sex/gender to which they are born.
Endnotes:
Resolution 9, “On Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality” June 2019, http://www.sbc.net/resolutions/2308/resolution-9–on-critical-race-theory-and-intersectionality.
Matthew Garnett, “In Last-Minute Move, Southern Baptist Convention Supports Anti-Christian Racial Identity Politics” (The Federalist, June 18, 2019, https://thefederalist.com/2019/06/18/last-minute-move-southern-baptist-convention-supports-anti-christian-racial-identity-politics.
Steve Jordahl, “Critical Race Theory—A Bait-and-switch Tactic Infiltrating the Church” (OneNewsNow, October 24, 2019, https://onenewsnow.com/church/2019/10/24/critical-race-theory-a-bait-and-switch-tactic-infiltrating-the-church).
The Stain of Albert Mohler, documentary produced by Dr. E.S. Williams of London Metropolitan Tabernacle; https://youtu.be/MIlnLU-vt_g.
Ryan Bomberger, ”Top Ten Reasons I’ll Never Support the Black Lives Matter Movement” (The Radiance Foundation, June 5, 2020, http://www.theradiancefoundation.org/blm).
Ibid.
Manning Johnson, Color, Communism, and Common Sense (New York NY: The Stuyvesant Press Corp, 1958; see an online edition at: http://manningjohnson.org/book/CCCS_3.html), pp. 18-19. The quoted paragraph is from Why Communism? by M.J. Olgin, pp. 75, 76; official communist pamphlet instructing members in revolutionary strategy.
Joshua Lawson, “You Can Be a Christian, You Can Be a Marxist, But You Can’t Be Both,” op. cit.
Interview with Bob Woodson, op. cit., minute mark 2:46-6:11.
The Stain of Albert Mohler, op. cit., minute mark 56:00-57:00.
Photos: Photo of Bob Woodson on page 15 used with permission by Gage Skidmore from Wikipedia; other photos used in accordance with the U.S. Fair Use Act for the purpose of education, review, and critique. All quotes in this booklet are used in accordance with the U.S. Fair Use Act. Color, Communism, and Common Sense is in the pubic domain and is therefore not bound to the limitations of the Fair Use Act.