Category: Interfaith

Principled People Should Cut All Ties With the Episcopal Church

Episcopal

SEE: https://reformationcharlotte.org/2021/02/16/principled-people-should-cut-all-ties-with-the-episcopal-church/;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

The Washington National Cathedral has been dodging intense incoming missile fire since they apologized to livid LGBTQ bullies for having conservative author Max Lucado preach at its virtual Sunday service recently. The church invited Max to “build bridges,” but his biblical views on sexuality and marriage make them hold their breath in angst. When those defenders of equal rights at the local Lavender Club started shooting at Cathedral leaders, they, along with the Bishop, folded like a cheap suit as all unprincipled people do.

Church officials blamed their “mistake” on their “straight privilege” and begged forgiveness for the “pain” they had caused. The two gutless church leaders promised to schedule a “listening session” for the LGBTQ crowd who had turned blue from holding their breath.

The Episcopal Church is so twisted that it put one of their bishops on trial for following the Bible! William Love was a very conservative and orthodox Episcopal Bishop of Albany, New York, and was tried by his denomination for being too biblical. The Bishop abides by the traditional Christian doctrine that marriage is the union of one man and one woman. The courageous Bishop was put on trial “after banning gay marriage ceremonies in his diocese.”

Bishop Love is as out of place in the radical Episcopal denomination as Louis Farrakhan at a Jewish bar mitzvah. After enormous pressure from his craven denominational leaders, Love resigned from his bishopric effective February 1, 2021.

Good, now other principled leaders and ordinary church members should leave the denomination as if their hair were on fire.

Frankly, all principled people, with any cursory knowledge of biblical truth, should cut all ties with all the mainline churches that have become little more than social clubs. Most of these churches are very light on the Bible and deep into social justice, promotion of same-sex “marriage,” transgenderism, globalism, climate change, etc. By continuing in apostate denominations, members become participants in the compromise and corruption of their evil deeds.

The Episcopal Church has been dominated by weirdos such as Bishops James Pike, John Spong, and Gene Robinson. Their best-known churches are the National Cathedral and St. John’s in Washington, D.C. Those churches would be empty and used as warehouses if they were not historic places.

I watched two hours of a dialogue held at the National Cathedral dealing with two cathedral windows that depict Robert E. Lee and Thomas Stonewall Jackson. Cathedral officials had been wrestling with this for a long time, and in September 2017, the windows were removed.

The media and the panel discussion I watched were concerned about the windows telling an “incomplete and misleading account of our history.” An official said, “We are committed to finding ways to offer a richer, more balanced expression of our nation’s history.” I’ll buy that; however, I demand some consistency, something that never concerns liberals.

During the panel discussion, the Rev. Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas, Canon Theologian at the Cathedral, spoke approvingly of Nat Turner, and another spoke positively of W. E. B. Du Bois. The panelists also agreed that one must know about Thomas Jefferson’s ownership of hundreds of slaves to really know the man. Okay, I’ll accept that, but no one seemed concerned to tell the whole story about Turner and Du Bois, so I will. Maybe the panel, consisting of two white people and two black people, does not know the complete stories of those men.

Nat Turner, a black slave in Virginia, claimed to be a Baptist preacher who always felt destined for greatness, and his parents encouraged him, considering him a prophet. They were convinced of that because of unusual marks on his head and breast! Turner reported seeing spirits fighting in the sky, and he allegedly heard voices. Being a “prophet,” he communicated “revelations” to fellow slaves. I don’t need to emphasize that such is more indicative of a paranoid than a prophet.

Then, when Mount St. Helens erupted on February 12, 1831, nearly 3,000 miles away, Virginia’s atmospheric conditions convinced Turner that God wanted him to kill his white enemies! About seven months later, on August 21, 1831, he and other slaves attacked and killed 55 white people, including men, women, and children–some as they slept. One victim was a baby in its cradle. Some of the victims were beheaded, including children. The killers used axes, clubs, swords, and guns.

Armed citizens confronted the attackers, and Turner was captured, tried, and executed by hanging after hiding for two months. His corpse was flayed, beheaded, and quartered. It seems the slaveholders wanted to send a message to their slaves.

Mindless, guilt-ridden Whites and gullible Blacks seek to make every Black a hero, but surely, no sane person thinks Turner was anything but a monster.

Another black hero is W. E. B. Du Bois (who insisted on being called “Dr. Du Bois”), an impressive intellectual who, in 1895, was the first Black to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard. He was a founder of the NAACP (most of the executive officers were white) in 1909, and he was hired as editor of their journal The Crisis. Du Bois later resigned (some say he was dismissed) in 1934 over the reversal of his segregation position to accepting the “separate but equal” position as a satisfactory goal for Blacks. He had rejected Frederick Douglass’ plea for black Americans to integrate into white society. He also sparred with Booker T. Washington, the number one black leader in America who was highly respected by Whites and Blacks.

Du Bois thought Booker T. Washington was too slow and patient in dealing with segregation. Washington was an accommodator, and Du Bois was an agitator. Du Bois was an effective advocate for civil rights but leaned far to the left, defending and joining many socialist causes. He taught that capitalism was a major cause of racism. Du Bois was a peace advocate and promoted nuclear disarmament. He began to support the Communist Party and warmed to Marx’s atheism.

Many of Du Bois’ friends and supporters shunned him, especially after the FBI continued to investigate his actions, associates, and his advocacies. He ended up joining the American Communist Party, traveled to Russia and China (becoming their cheerleader), and became a citizen of Ghana, where he died in 1963.

I wonder why the Episcopal leaders did not think it necessary to reveal the full scope of Du Bois’ life. Maybe because of the stories of their own leaders.

Bishop James Pike died a bishop in the Episcopal Church, although he said that he was leaving the denomination. In his personal life, Pike was a chain-smoker and an alcoholic. In theology, he was a heretic even to many conservative Episcopalians. Many heresy charges were brought against him with plenty of facts to substantiate them. The cowardly bishops of the denomination refused to pursue heresy charges. Pike did not believe in Hell, the Trinity, and virgin birth.

Pike was a troubled man all his life. He married Jane Alvies then divorced in 1941. He married Esther Yanovsky in 1942, and she divorced him in 1966. They had four children. Pike lived with (but did not marry) his secretary Maren Bergrud until 1967 when she committed suicide after a heated argument with him. Pike performed her funeral in his church.

In 1968, he married Diane Kennedy and went to Israel on an extended honeymoon. They were researching a book Pike was planning to write. While near the Dead Sea without a guide, they had car trouble, and the couple walked away from the car. Soon, Diane went alone to seek help leaving her husband. She stumbled into workers who took her to safety. Pike’s body was discovered a few days later after an intensive search.

Bishop John Shelby Spong is another Episcopalian leader who is very careful that no one would ever mistake him for a Bible-believer. Of course, he, like Pike and other unbelieving Bishops, makes an excellent living preaching the Bible he does not believe. Such people have plenty of chutzpah but no character. Spong teaches that Christ was “adopted by God as his son” in his Born of a Woman, and He rejects the historical truths essential to Christianity, such as the virgin birth and the bodily resurrection of Christ. Neither does Spong believe that Christ is the only way of salvation. He teaches that the Apostle Paul was a pervert. He believes the creation story is nonsense.

When the Episcopal denomination consecrated homosexual Gene Robinson as a Bishop in 2003, the denomination experienced the “worst single outflow of Episcopalians in modern history,” over 100,000.

They should have lost every genuine Christian, but alas, many Christians don’t know what the Bible teaches, or they don’t care.

Every true Christian should leave every corrupt mainline church because, without truth, all you have is a cult.

(Dr. Don Boys is a former member of the Indiana House of Representatives who ran a large Christian school in Indianapolis and wrote columns for USA Today for 8 years. Boys authored 18 books, the most recent being Muslim Invasion: The Fuse is Burning! The eBook is available here with the printed edition (and other titles) at www.cstnews.com. Follow him on Facebook at Don Boys, Ph.D.; and visit his blog. Send a request to DBoysphd@aol.com for a free subscription to his articles, and click here to support his work with a donation.)

The Iowa State Senate Prays to Allah – Twice

Garriott also believes the values of her liberal-leaning Lutheran faith are applicable to broader public service.

Sarah Trone Garriott is an ordained Lutheran pastor who has served for nearly two years as Coordinator of Interfaith Engagement for the non-profit Des Moines Area Religious Council.

We knew that the hearings leading up to the passage of Senate File 2 would bring out many supporters and opponents of th

EXCERPTS FROM: https://religionnews.com/2020/01/21/in-iowa-a-lutheran-pastor-campaigns-for-state-senate-as-a-democrat/

Garriott referenced Scripture and her faith repeatedly while leading a workshop on “Being Political” at the “Faith, Politics and the Common Good” summit convened in Des Moines earlier this month. The summit was hosted by Vote Common Good, an advocacy organization run by progressive Christians, and featured speeches from other clergy-turned-candidates such as Bryan Berghoef, a minister running for Congress in Michigan as a Democrat.

She told RNS she is careful to avoid preaching or regularly engaging in “theological conversation” from the political podium

She also acknowledged that being a religious professional can lead to conversations that focus narrowly on what she called “hot button” issues such as abortion, which she contends is more complicated than “pro-choice or pro-life.” Her campaign website does not list a formal position on the issue, although she has appeared at protests standing with Iowa abortion rights advocates.

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As your Senator in the Iowa Statehouse, you can count on me to work hard on the issues that you care about and positively impact the lives of our neighbors.  Feel free to contact me anytime using the options below:

​Phone:  515.661.9679

​Email:  sarah.trone.garriott@legis.iowa.gov

​Senate address:  1007 E. Grand Ave., Des Moines, IA, 50319

Featured in Preaching as Resistance
For those who are awake to the reality of this world’s brokenness…A provocative and powerful collection of sermons from diverse pastors across America. Hear the brave and urgent voice of Christians calling for radical change rooted in love, solidarity, and justice.

BY STEPHEN M. KIRBY

SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2021/02/the-iowa-state-senate-prays-to-allah-twice;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

The Iowa State Senate opens each daily session with a prayer. On February 8, State Senator Sarah Trone Garriott (D) “shared a prayer” written by one of her constituents who was a Muslim. The prayer was to Allah and included references to a number of Allah’s 99 Names.[1] It is interesting that the Iowa State Senate prayed to the Muslim god Allah, even though there are no Muslim members of that Senate. And it is even more interesting that these state senators bowed their heads in prayer to a god who curses Christians and Jews and condemns them to Hell.

Here is what Allah has to say in the Koran about Christians and Jews:

Allah states that the only religion acceptable to him is Islam (e.g., 3:19 and 3:85); Christians and Jews are disbelievers[2] (e.g. 2:120, 3:99, 3:110, and 5:65), and Jews are among the worst enemies of Muslims (5:82); Allah curses Christians and Jews (9:30) and states that those who believe that Allah had a Son commit the one unforgivable sin in Islam, Shirk[3](e.g. 4:48 and 4:116); Allah states that those who commit Shirk will go to Hell (e.g. 3:151 and 5:72-73); Allah states that Christians and Jews are among the worst of creatures and “will abide in the fire of Hell” (98:6); Allah specifically forbids Muslims from being friends with Christians and Jews (5:51), and instead commands Muslims to fight Christians and Jews (9:29).

Christianity is considered to be a false religion because Allah states that Jesus was not crucified, but it only appeared so (4:157-158). Islam teaches that Allah took Jesus bodily into paradise and made one of Jesus’ disciples look like Jesus; it was that disciple who was crucified. So Muslims who know their religion look at a crucifix or a painting of the Crucifixion and see an imposter hanging on the cross. And of course, if there was no Crucifixion, there was no Resurrection. So Islam teaches that Christianity is a false religion based on a fraud.

According to Koran 4:80, Muhammad spoke for Allah. Here is some of what Muhammad had to say about Christians and Jews:

  1. Christians and Jews will take the place of Muslims in Hell: Abu Burda reported on the authority of his father that Allah’s Apostle (may peace be upon him) said: No Muslim would die but Allah would admit instead of him a Jew or a Christian in Hell-Fire.[4]
  2. Muhammad said that Christians and Jews who remained with their respective religions and did not believe in Islam would go to Hell: It is narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: By Him in whose hand is the life of Muhammad, he who amongst the community of Jews or Christians hears about me but does not affirm his belief in that with which I have been sent and dies in this state (of disbelief), he shall be but one of the denizens of Hell-Fire.[5]
  3. Muhammad said that Christians and Jews were inferior to Muslims: It was narrated from ‘Amr bin Shu’aib, from his father, from his grandfather, that the Messenger of Allah ruled that the blood money for the People of the Book is half of that of the blood money for the Muslims, and they are the Jews and Christians.[6]
  4. Muhammad said Muslims must not be the first to greet Christians and Jews: Abu Huraira reported that Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) had said: Do not greet the Jews and the Christians before they greet you and when you meet any one of them on the roads force him to go to the narrowest part of it.[7]
  5. And on his death bed Muhammad had this to say: It has been narrated by ‘Umar b. Al-Khattab that he heard the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) saying: I will expel the Jews and Christians from the Arabian Peninsula and will not leave any but Muslims.[8]

Here is what Allah’s prophet Muhammad specifically said about Jews:

  1. Kill the Jews: Narrated Abu Hurairah: Allah’s Messenger said, “The Hour will not be established until you fight against the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say, ‘O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him.’”[9]
  2. Muhammad said the Jews were grave robbers. Al-Bukhari reported this hadith under the heading of What has been said about Bani Israel: ‘Uqba bin ‘Amir said, “I heard him [Muhammad] saying that the Israeli used to dig the grave of the dead (to steal their shrouds).”[10]
  3. Muhammad even said that Jews would be accompanying the anti-Christ: Anas b. Malik reported that Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: The antichrist would be followed by seventy thousand Jews of Isbahan wearing Persian shawls.[11]

This was not the first time the Iowa State Senate had opened a session by praying to Allah. On April 7, 2014, the opening prayer for the Senate that day was given by Des Moines Imam Mohammad Khan. In Arabic Khan recited the first chapter of the Koran – Al-Fatihah (this was confirmed by a native Arabic speaker).[12]

Al-Fatihah consists of only seven verses. Let’s focus on the last two verses. In Verse 6 Muslims ask to be guided to the Straight Way. Allah’s prophet Muhammad said the Straight Way (or Path) was Islam.[13] The modern Tafsir Ahsanul-Bayan explained the meaning of the Straight Path:

The Straight Path here means the religion of Islam as enshrined, enunciated and explained in the final Revelation, the Qur’an, and the authentic sayings and acts of Allah’s Messenger, called hadeeth.[14]

In Verse 7, Muslims then ask not to be guided to the way of those who have earned Allah’s anger or to the way of those who have gone astray. So who are those who have earned the anger of Allah? Allah’s prophet Muhammad said they were the Jews.[15] And who has gone astray? Allah’s prophet Muhammad said that those who had gone astray, or were misguided, were the Christians.[16]

The Muslim scholar Ibn Kathir explained these two deviations from the Straight Way:

These two paths are the paths of the Christians and Jews, a fact that the believer [Muslim] should beware of so that he avoids them. The path of the believers is knowledge of the truth and abiding by it. In comparison, the Jews abandoned practicing the religion, while the Christians lost the true knowledge. This is why ‘anger’ descended upon the Jews, while being described as ‘led astray’ is more appropriate of the Christians…We should also mention that both the Christians and the Jews have earned the anger [of Allah] and are led astray, but the anger is one of the attributes more particular of the Jews.[17]

So Allah is actually angry with both the Jews and Christians!

On two different occasions now the members of the Iowa State Senate have bowed their heads and prayed to Allah, the god of Islam, who curses the Christian and Jewish senators in that body and condemns them to Hell. It takes some thick skin to be a Christian or Jewish elected official in the Iowa State Senate.

Dr. Stephen M. Kirby is the author of six books about Islam. His latest book is Islamic Doctrine versus the U.S. Constitution: The Dilemma for Muslim Public Officials.

[1]           https://www.legis.iowa.gov/dashboard?view=video&chamber=S&clip=s20210208125917369&dt=2021-02-08 – it starts at 1:07.

[2]           For an in-depth look at how the Koran and Muhammad differentiated between the “believers” (Muslims) and the Jews and Christians, see my article “The Fantasy Islam of the University of Chicago’s Fred Donner (Part 1),” Jihad Watch, January 30, 2019, https://www.jihadwatch.org/2019/01/the-fantasy-islam-of-the-university-of-chicagos-fred-donner-part-1.

[3]           Shirk: polytheism, worshipping others along with Allah, and/or ascribing partners to Allah (including ascribing a Son to him). By believing that Jesus is the Son of God, Christians commit Shirk.

[4]           Abu’l Hussain ‘Asakir-ud-Din Muslim bin Hajjaj al-Qushayri al-Naisaburi, Sahih Muslim, trans. ‘Abdul Hamid Siddiqi (New Delhi, India: Adam Publishers and Distributors, 2008), Vol. 8, No. 2767R1, p. 269.

[5]           Sahih Muslim, Vol. 1, No. 153, p. 103.

[6]           Muhammad bin Yazeed ibn Majah al-Qazwini, Sunan Ibn Majah, trans. Nasiruddin al-Khattab (Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Darussalam, 2007), Vol. 3, No. 2644, p. 521.

[7]           Sahih Muslim, Vol. 6, No. 2167, p. 439.

[8]           Sahih Muslim, Vol. 5, No. 1767, p. 189.

[9]           Muhammad bin Ismail bin Al-Mughirah al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari, trans. Muhammad Muhsin Khan (Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Darussalam, 1997), Vol. 4, Book 56, No. 2926, p. 113.

In another hadith, Muhammad said that the Jews would hide behind stones and trees, and these stones and trees would call out,

Muslim, or the servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him; but the tree Gharqad would not say, for it is the tree of the Jews.

Sahih Muslim, Vol. 8, No. 2922, p. 349.

[10]         Sahih Al-Bukhari, Vol. 4, Book 60, No. 3452, p. 413. Bani Israel, or Banii Israa’iil, is an expression used in the Koran to refer to the early Jews. See the entry for Israa’iil in Mahmoud Ismail Saleh, Dictionary of Islamic Words & Expressions, 3rd ed. (Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Darussalam, 2011), p. 102.

[11]         Sahih Muslim, Vol. 8, No. 2944, p. 366.

[12]         https://www.legis.iowa.gov/chambers/video/archive?chamber=S&ga=85; click on the link to the Senate session on April 7, 2014 at 1:12 PM.

[13]         Abu al-Fida’ ‘Imad Ad-Din Isma’il bin ‘Umar bin Kathir al-Qurashi Al-Busrawi, Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Abridged), abr. Shaykh Safiur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri, trans. Jalal Abualrub, et al. (Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Darussalam, 2000), Vol. 1, p. 84.

[14]         Salahuddin Yusuf, Tafsir Ahsanul-Bayan, trans. Mohammad Kamal Myshkat (Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Darussalam, 2010), Vol. 1, p. 23.

[15]         Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Ansari al-Qurtubi, Tafsir Al-Qurtubi: Classical Commentary of the Holy Qur’an, Vol. 1, trans. Aisha Bewley (London: Dar Al Taqwa Ltd., 2003), p. 127; Abu ‘Eisa Mohammad ibn ‘Eisa at-Tirmidhi, Jami’ At-Tirmidhi, trans. Abu Khaliyl (Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Darussalam, 2007), Vol. 5, No. 2954, p. 281; Interpretation of the Meanings of The Noble Qur’an, trans. Muhammad Muhsin Khan and Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din Al-Hilali (Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Darussalam, 2007), n. 1, p. 12; Safiur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri, The Sealed Nectar (Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Darussalam, 2008), p. 493; Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Vol. 4, p. 410; and Sahih Al-Bukhari, Vol. 6, Book 65, No. 4475, p. 22.

Commentary about the Jews being those with whom Allah is angry is found in: Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Vol. 1, p. 87; Tafsir Ahsanul-Bayan, Vol. 1, p. 24; and Jalalu’d-Din al-Mahalli and Jalalu’d-Din as-Suyuti, Tafsir Al-Jalalayn, trans. Aisha Bewley (London: Dar Al Taqwa Ltd., 2007), p. 2.

[16]         Tafsir Al-Qurtubi, p. 127; Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Vol. 4, p. 410; Sahih Al-Bukhari, Vol. 6, Book 65, No. 4475, p. 22; Jami’ At-Tirmidhi, Vol. 5, No. 2954, p. 281; Interpretation of the Meanings of The Noble Qur’an, n. 1, p. 12; and The Sealed Nectar, p. 493.

Commentary about the Christians being those who had gone astray is found in: Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Vol. 1, p. 87; Tafsir Ahsanul-Bayan, Vol. 1, p. 24; and Tafsir Al-Jalalayn, p. 2.

[17]         Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Vol. 1, p. 87.

Pope Calls for Unity of All Religions

POPE FRANCIS WANTS A ONE WORLD CHURCH WITH HIM AS ITS HEAD

SEE: http://www.proclaimingthegospel.org;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

The first Pope Video of 2021 was released with a message of global unity: Pope Francis asked that we open ourselves to each other and unite, as human beings and as brothers and sisters, “with those who pray according to other cultures, other traditions and other beliefs. Religions, in particular, cannot renounce the urgent task of building bridges between peoples and cultures." Read more here.
Mike's Comment: If the pope understood God's Word, he would realize that all unbelievers are already united in a common bond as brothers and sisters. Those who have not been made alive in Christ are children of the devil and sons of disobedience (Eph. 2:1-2). The apostle John wrote: “It is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God" (1 John 3:10). The Lord Jesus made this clear when He rebuked a group of apostate religious leaders saying, “You are of your father the devil” (John 8:44).
The pope's push for a one-world religion will meet little resistance after the rapture of the church when the Lord Jesus returns to take all born-again Christians home to heaven (1 Thes. 4:16-17). The people left behind will be those described by the pope: "brothers and sisters who pray according to other cultures, other traditions and other beliefs." The global religion will include all who dwell on the earth and they will worship a false Christ (Rev. 13:8).
_______________________________________________________________________
How Do You Spell Hypocrisy?
Pope Francis extended his “cordial good wishes and the assurance of my prayers” to pro-abortion U.S. President Joe Biden, a man who claims to be Catholic while backing pro-abortion, anti-family, and pro-LGBT policies. Biden supports abortion “under any circumstance". He marked the 48th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion with a pledge to make sure that “everyone” who wants it has access to killing their preborn children.
The Pope prayed that Biden’s decisions “will be guided by a concern for building a society marked by authentic justice and freedom, together with unfailing respect for the rights and dignity of every person, especially the poor, the vulnerable and those who have no voice.” At no point did the Pope call upon Biden to show concern for the hundreds of thousands of preborn babies who are killed by abortion each year in America. (CONTINUED BELOW)

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

The Pope’s message (read full message below) comes after the Vatican ordered the U.S. bishops’ conference (USCCB) to hold back a statement that was to have been released this morning that called attention to Biden’s pledge to pursue policies that would advance “moral evils” in the areas of “abortion, contraception, marriage, and gender.”

Sources in the Vatican told The Pillar that the statement was, in the words of The Pillar, “spiked after intervention from the Vatican Secretariat of State, hours before it was due to be released.”

That statement is, however, now available on the USCCB website, although it is not listed among the regular news articles.

The “Statement on the Inauguration of Joseph R. Biden” was penned by conference president Archbishop José Gomez. Noting that Biden is the country’s “first president in 60 years to profess the Catholic faith,” Gomez pointed out that the incoming president’s agenda does not square with Catholic teaching.

“So, I must point out that our new President has pledged to pursue certain policies that would advance moral evils and threaten human life and dignity, most seriously in the areas of abortion, contraception, marriage, and gender. Of deep concern is the liberty of the Church and the freedom of believers to live according to their consciences,” he wrote.

Gomez stressed in the statement that abortion will remain the “preeminent priority” for American bishops during the Biden administration.

“For the nation’s bishops, the continued injustice of abortion remains the ‘preeminent priority.’ Preeminent does not mean ‘only.’ We have deep concerns about many threats to human life and dignity in our society. But as Pope Francis teaches, we cannot stay silent when nearly a million unborn lives are being cast aside in our country year after year through abortion,” he wrote.

According to The Pillar, sources familiar with the situation said there was, in the words of The Pillar,  “concern in the Vatican that a statement from Gomez seen as critical of the Biden administration might seem to force the pope’s hand in his own dealings with Biden.”

While Pope Francis has been a vocal critic of former U.S. President Donald Trump and his policies (see for example here, here, and here), he appears to have a more accommodating relationship with Biden, a man who claims to be Catholic while supporting unrestricted abortion.

Biden related last month how he and the Pope had talked on the phone after the November 3 presidential election and how the Holy Father had extended “blessings and congratulations.” In a short press statement released on the Biden-Harris transition website, Biden “thanked His Holiness for extending blessings and congratulations and noted his appreciation for His Holiness’ leadership in promoting peace, reconciliation, and the common bonds of humanity around the world.”

Last month, the Pope included in a tweet the words “build back better,” a phrase that is central to Joe Biden’s plan to remake America in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

***

Honorable Joseph R. Biden

President of the United States of America

The White House

Washington, DC

“On the occasion of your inauguration as the forty-sixth President of the United States of America, I extend cordial good wishes and the assurance of my prayers that Almighty God will grant you wisdom and strength in the exercise of your high office. Under your leadership, may the American people continue to draw strength from the lofty political, ethical and religious values that have inspired the nation since its founding. At a time when the grave crises facing our human family call for farsighted and united responses, I pray that your decisions will be guided by a concern for building a society marked by authentic justice and freedom, together with unfailing respect for the rights and dignity of every person, especially the poor, the vulnerable and those who have no voice. I likewise ask God, the source of all wisdom and truth, to guide your efforts to foster understanding, reconciliation and peace within the United States and among the nations of the world in order to advance the universal common good. With these sentiments, I willingly invoke upon you and your family and the beloved American people an abundance of blessings.”

Pope Francis

 

 

Hillsong Pastor Joins With Joe Biden Transition Team and Muslims to Call for Religious Unity

SEE: https://reformationcharlotte.org/2021/01/27/hillsong-pastor-joins-with-joe-biden-transition-team-and-muslims-to-call-for-religious-unity/;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

Interfaith unity seems to be all the rage these days — but historically speaking, it always has been. There has never been true unity between God’s people and the rest of the world. But the world, itself, despite the vast diversity of religious beliefs, have always been unified around one thing — their rejection of the Biblical Jesus.

This includes Jews, Muslims, Eastern religions, and false churches such as the Roman Catholic Church. It also includes false Evangelical churches — like the cult of Hillsong — that have turned Jesus primarily into a social justice activist who seeks spiritual unity with Pagans to affect societal change.

And this is right where Hillsong Church is. Christine Caine, one of Hillsong Australia’s “pastors,” is teaming up with Jews, Muslims, and even Joe Biden to call for spiritual unity and “societal change” in the public square.

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In a roundtable discussion on Thursday, which is open to the public, Caine will join Islamist, Dalia Mogahed and Jewish professor, Amy-Jill Levine and will be, according to the registration website, “discussing the topic of religion in public square, the importance of multi-faith relationships, mending the divide in our nation, repudiating sex trafficking, and more.”

The call will also feature Josh Dickson, the National Faith Engagement Director for the Biden Administration Transition Team, who will “deliver greetings from the Biden team and briefly discuss how we can unite to build civility in order to address societal challenges.”

Of course, this leaves Bible-believing Christians with a list of questions:

  • What partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? 
  • What fellowship has light with darkness?
  • What accord has Christ with Belial?
  • What portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? 
  • What agreement has the temple of God with idols?

when we are commanded by Scripture to not be “unequally yoked with unbelievers.” (2 Corinthians 6:14-16)

 

 

SBC Leader Blames Trump Supporters for Destroying Church’s “Witness,” Calls on Joe Biden to Unify Christians~Moore wants illegal immigrants to be given amnesty; associated with & funded by George Soros

SEE: https://reformationcharlotte.org/2021/01/25/sbc-leader-blames-trump-supporters-for-destroying-churchs-witness-calls-on-joe-biden-to-unify-christians/;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

The hypocrisy of leftist Evangelicalism is like a column in the comic section of the New York Times, except it’s not. Top Southern Baptist leader, Russell Moore scolded Christians who supported Donald Trump and blamed them for destroying the Church’s witness. In an interview with Time Magazine, Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, blamed the recent riot at the nation’s capitol on “Trump-worshiping” Christians.

 “The biggest threat facing the American church right now is not secularism but cynicism. That’s why we have to recover the credibility of our witness,” he told Time. “I don’t know a single family that’s not been divided over President Trump, and politics generally. I don’t know a single church that hasn’t been.”

While there are certainly those who claimed to be Christians who acted poorly and should be dealt with harshly during the attack at the Capitol, to assume that these were Christians — or that the attack was instigated by Christians — is irresponsible. And to assert that these attacks were instigated by Donald Trump is also irresponsible.

What Moore, the former Democrat staffer, doesn’t understand is that the reason Donald Trump was so divisive is because he, unlike any other president in modern history, has actually governed like a conservative. Conservatism, in the eyes of leftists like Russell Moore, is taboo. Russell Moore is no conservative and the Time Magazine article appeared to acknowledge this.

“He says both he and his family have been the subject of threats and that people have tried to dig up information that would prove he is a liberal,” the article stated and followed up with a sarcastic, “Heaven forfend!”

But what should concern Christians the most is that Moore believes that Joe Biden — a man who has promised to codify Roe and increase access to abortion, to promote child sexual immorality in public schools, and to silence conservative religious viewpoints in every facet of society — will be the man to “unify” the Church and the nation.

After tweeting that he would be praying for Biden’s success, in a follow-up interview with the Christian Post, Moore state that he’d be praying for Joe Biden’s “ability to unify.”

Biden has shown he is “willing and eager to listen to people” who disagree with him, he told the Christian Post.

“I hope that that’s the way that he decides to be as president,” he continued. “And what that’s going to mean is saying, ‘There are going to be some things that would make my base happy if I said or if I did, and I’m going to have to take into account the whole country and maybe disappoint people who support me just like I will disappoint people who oppose me sometimes.’”

After spending five years denouncing Donald Trump and lampooning anyone who supported him — instead of Hillary Clinton — Russell Moore, the Southern Baptist Convention’s most influential leader, now calls on Christians to unify around the most radical administration the nation has ever seen in the presidency.

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Southern Baptist-Led Organization Praises Joe Biden For Giving Illegal Alien Felons Citizenship

SEE: https://reformationcharlotte.org/2021/01/22/southern-baptist-led-organization-praises-joe-biden-for-giving-illegal-alien-felons-citizenship/;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

Russell Moore is one of the heads of the Evangelical Immigration Table (EIT), a front group for the George Soros-funded National Immigration Forum (NIF) which calls for open borders and amnesty for illegal aliens. The fact that the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission head, Russell Moore, has never had to explain his association with George Soros is telling of the direction the denomination has gone. The Southern Baptist Convention is now primarily an outlet to propagandize semi-conservative pew-sitters with left-wing politics.

The EIT recently gave glowing accolades to Joe Biden who has just ordered a cease on the construction of the Trump-era border wall. Matthew Soerens, one of the co-leaders of the EIT, told Christianity Today, “I see it as a positive sign, the new administration is leading on this issue as a day one priority.”

Joe Biden’s proposed policy will give all illegal aliens currently in the United States amnesty and an 8-year path to citizenship. The bill, dubbed the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021, reads, in part:

The bill allows undocumented individuals to apply for temporary legal status, with the ability to apply for green cards after five years if they pass criminal and national security background checks and pay their taxes. Dreamers, TPS holders, and immigrant farmworkers who meet specific requirements are eligible for green cards immediately under the legislation. After three years, all green card holders who pass additional background checks and demonstrate knowledge of English and U.S. civics can apply to become citizens.

This bill, if passed, would give up to 20 million or more illegal aliens — which, is at the very least, a misdemeanor for a first offense and in many cases, a felony — currently in the United States amnesty and citizenship. It would also give them voting rights which, is well-known, that the vast majority of illegal immigrants into the United States support Democrats. This would solidify the Democrat majority for decades to come.

Last year, Russell Moore joined with George Soros to call on the United States to implement a “restitution-based” immigration plan — a plan that they say would allow illegal immigrants to stay in the country legally so long as they pay restitution to the government over a period of 7 years.

 

 

 

InterVarsity’s “2030 Calling” – Raising Up Young Evangelicals to Be the Mystics of Tomorrow

SEE: https://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/newsletters/2021/newsletter20210126.htm;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

For many years, Lighthouse Trails has tried to warn the church about evangelical publishing houses that are releasing countless materials which promote and teach contemplative spirituality. One of the publishing companies that is at the forefront of this effort to bring the New Age/new spirituality practice of contemplative prayer into the church is InterVarsity Press which has a particular focus on young evangelicals. In light of this, our concerns have only heightened upon learning of InterVarsity’s “2030 Calling,” especially when we consider how contemplative spirituality is one of the most robust vehicles that lead young evangelicals into an anti-biblical, anti-moral, “progressive,” pro-emergent outlook.

What is Contemplative Prayer?

For those unfamiliar with the term “contemplative prayer,” it is a mystical prayer practice which uses repetition of a word or phrase to enter the “silence,” “stillness,” or so-called “sacred space” in order to, supposedly, hear the voice of God. In fact, contemplative proponents like Beth Moore say you cannot even be close to God without this inner stillness. However, as author and researcher Ray Yungen points out, it is a great deception for Christians to believe this is a safe and legitimate method of communing with God, and nowhere in Scripture are we admonished to do this. In actuality, though one’s intent may be to seek the Lord, practicing something that is virtually identical in method to eastern meditation practices such as Transcendental Meditation is dangerous and will get the same result as TM practitioners—and that is to reach a spiritually demonic realm. And as Yungen explains, the “fruit” of practicing contemplative prayer is interspirituality (all paths lead to God), panentheism (God is in all), and universalism (all are saved).

InterVarsity Press—A History of Promoting CP

Lighthouse Trails began tracking the contemplative propensities of InterVarsity Press (IVP) about 15 years ago.

In 2006, we examined the connection IVP had developed with the now-defunct Conversations Journal (a “Forum for Authentic Transformation”). The Journal, founded by three contemplative advocates (Larry Crabb, Gary Moon, and David Benner) and promoted by many contemplative emergents such as Dallas Willard, John Ortberg, Richard Foster and Catholic mystic Basil Pennington, hoped to “transform” Christian believers into Christian mystics through contemplative prayer.

Also in 2006, we wrote an article that listed some of the books contemplative publishers had recently (at that time) published. InterVarsity’s list contained The Garden of the Soul by Keri Wyatt Kent, Sacred Companions by David Benner, Invitation to Solitude and Silence by Ruth Haley Barton, Meditative Prayer by Richard Foster, and Solitude and Silence by Jan Johnson. These authors are some of the major heavyweights in the contemplative prayer (aka Spiritual Formation) movement, and IVP was right in the middle of this all-out effort to transform the church.

Over the next 14 years, Lighthouse Trails often included InterVarsity Press in articles and reports on contemplative spirituality in the church as IVP consistently continued publishing these materials. Today, Meditative Prayer by Foster and Invitation to Solitude and Silence by Barton are still on IVP’s book list. The following is from our booklet Is Your Church Doing Spiritual Formation? just to give a small snapshot of what contemplative figures in the church today teach:

[In his book] Meditative Prayer, Foster says that the purpose of meditative prayer is to create a “spiritual space” or “inner sanctuary” through “specific meditation exercises” (p.9). Foster references several mystics in the book who can point the way to these exercises: Madame Guyon, Teresa of Avila, Francis de Sales, Henri Nouwen, and Thomas Merton. Foster breaks the contemplative process down into three steps. He says:

“The first step [into meditative prayer] is sometimes called “centering down.” Others have used the term re-collection; that is, a re-collecting of ourselves until we are unified or whole. The idea is to let go of all competing distractions until we are truly centered, until we are truly present where we are.”(p.9)

Foster suggests that practicing visualization methods helps us center down. In the second step of meditation, Foster suggests that mystic Richard Rolle experienced “physical sensations” (p.17) (kundalini) during meditation which perhaps we may or may not experience as well. (p.18) Step three of meditation, Foster says, is that of “listening” to God. Once the meditative exercises have been implemented and the “spiritual ecstasy” is reached, this entered realm is where the voice of God can be heard. (p.23) However, as any New Age meditator knows, this ecstatic state is an altered state of consciousness where everything is supposed to be unified and one with God. Foster acknowledges the interspiritual attribute linked to contemplative prayer when he states: “[Jesus] showed us God’s yearning for the gathering of an all-inclusive community of loving persons.” (p.5) Foster defines more of what he means by “all-inclusive” in his book Streams of Living Water when he says this “all-inclusive community” includes everything from a “Catholic monk” to a “Baptist evangelist.” (p.12)

InterVarsity Press Today

Today, you will find that InterVarsity Press has not just continued on the contemplative publishing path, it has embraced it wholeheartedly to the nth degree. IVP books feature everything from Enneagrams to labyrinths to many forms of meditation practices, and as is the “natural” course for those practicing contemplative prayer, IVP also includes a growing number of books and authors that promote social justice and all that goes with it including Critical Race Theory.

Thus, when we read about IVP’s goal for the year 2030 (“2030 Calling”), knowing that the main target is young evangelicals, we shudder. Here is the description of “2030 Calling”:

Longing for revival, we catalyze movements that call every corner of every campus to follow Jesus [the mystical contemplative “Jesus”] For over 75 years, InterVarsity has worked to establish witnessing communities on almost 700 campuses. But did you know that of the 2,500 US college campuses (with 1,000+ students), more than half have no known campus ministry presence? God has given InterVarsity the 2030 Calling, to reach all 2,500 campuses by the year 2030. To do this, we will start ministries on new campuses, mobilize millions to pray, and partner with other ministries and churches. (source, emphasis added)

The Mystics of Tomorrow

Catholic mystic and panentheist Richard Rohr (who is praised on the IVP website) said once that one of his publishers told him his biggest audience is young evangelical men. That would suggest that the future pastors, fathers, and leaders of the “Christian church” are going to be mystical meditators! So mystic Karl Rahner was right (as Ray Yungen often pointed out) when Rahner said, “The Christian of the future will be a mystic or he will be nothing.” Did we mention that one of IVP’s authors, Ron Highfield wrote a book titled Great is the Lord: Theology for the Praise of God, Barth and [Karl] Rahner: Toward an Ecumenical Understanding of Sin and Evil, God, Freedom & Human Dignity?

In the last chapter of Ray Yungen’s book, A Time of Departing titled “The Christian of the Future,” Yungen states:

Within the evangelical world, contemplative prayer is increasingly being promoted and accepted. As a result, it is losing its esoteric aspect and is now seen by many as the wave of the future. . . .

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. . . .

Mysticism neutralizes doctrinal differences by sacrificing the truth of Scripture for a mystical experience. Mysticism offers a common ground, and supposedly that commonality is divinity in all. But we know from Scripture “there is one God; and there is none other but he” (Mark 12:32).

In one book that is sold on IVP’s website (of which they are distributors, not the publishers) titled The Teenage Prayer Experiment Notebook by Miranda Threlfall-Holmes, it states, “Each chapter of the book introduces a prayer practice, eg using labyrinths, Lego Bible modeling, prayer beads, prayer walking.” The book also includes a chapter titled “Breathing Meditations” and one on the meditative prayer exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola (founder of the Jesuits).

As InterVarsity Press races to reach millions and millions of young people by 2030 with its mystical message, please do what you can to educate and equip your children and grandchildren before they pick up an IVP book or attend an IVP meeting in college and have their lives and their spirituality turned upside down.

APOSTATE Franklin Graham DEMANDS Trump Invite Biden To White House To Help Heal The Nation

Trump also said he is committed to a “smooth, orderly and seamless transition of power.”

Because of this, Graham has asked Trump to “quickly” invite Biden, Harris and their spouses to the White House for a meeting “to begin the healing and preparation for a smooth transition.”

CONTINUING BILLY GRAHAM'S HISTORY OF APOSTASY AND REPUDIATION OF BIBLICAL SEPARATION FROM EVIL, FRANKLIN "DEMANDS" TRUMP RECONCILE WITH THE MOST CRIMINAL, EVIL, FRAUDULENT USURPERS, JOE BIDEN & KAMALA HARRIS

EPHESIANS 5:11-And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.

2 Corinthians Chapter 6:

14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?

16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in [them]; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean [thing]; and I will receive you,

18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

SEE OUR PREVIOUS POSTS ABOUT FRANKLIN GRAHAM'S APOSTASY; CATHOLIC, ECUMENICAL & LGBTQ SYMPATHIES:

https://ratherexposethem.org/?s=FRANKLIN+GRAHAM 

______________________________________________________________________

EXCERPTS FROM: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/editorials/article248417510.html:

Last Thursday, one day after the deadly siege on the U.S. Capitol, Franklin Graham had a message for Americans.

"“The division in our country is as great as any time since the Civil War,” he tweeted. “I am calling on Christians to unite our hearts together in prayer for President-elect @JoeBiden and Vice President-elect @KamalaHarris, and for the leadership in both parties.”

It was the kind of statement this country needs to hear, a call for reconciliation that you’d expect from a faith leader. Except just two weeks before, this leader’s arms were folded, not open. “Many people believe the presidential election was stolen from @realDonaldTrump,” Graham tweeted on December 28, “and if conservatives lose control of the Senate, there is nothing to stop the radical agenda of the left.”

Earlier in December, Graham echoed the same election lies that fueled the Capitol invaders. “When he says this election was rigged or stolen,” Graham said of the president, “I tend to believe him.”

Unite our hearts? Save it, Rev. Graham."

 

Evangelical Deep State Misleading Christians

In an interview with The New American magazine's Senior Editor Alex Newman, prominent Southern Baptist evangelist Thomas Littleton exposes the "Evangelical Deep State" and its nefarious efforts to mislead the Church and corrupt even conservative denominations. Among other concerns, he points to the normalization of homosexuality, the spread of support for "social justice" heresies, the joining together with the Marxist "Black Lives Matter" movement, and more. But people are waking up, he said. 🇺🇸 The New American: http://www.thenewamerican.com/

US taxpayer money went to al-Qaeda-linked jihad group during Obama administration

THE CORRUPT WORLD VISION FUNNELS GULLIBLE DONORS MONEY TO ISLAMIC TERRORIST JIHADISTS; SUPPORTS LGBTQ, LIBERALS, APOSTATES

BY ROBERT SPENCER

SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2020/12/us-taxpayer-money-went-to-al-qaeda-linked-jihad-group-during-obama-administration;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

The Obama third term is about to start, so the money is likely once again to flow freely to those who wish to destroy America.

“US Taxpayer Money Went to Al-Qaeda Affiliate During Obama Administration: Senate Reports,” by Li Hai, Epoch Times, December 30, 2020:

At least $150,000 in U.S. taxpayer money went to an Islamic organization with ties to terrorism through a humanitarian organization from 2014 to 2015, a large amount of which was approved by the then-Obama administration despite being informed the Islamic organization was a sanctioned entity, a Senate report shows.

On Dec. 23, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) released a report of an investigation conducted by his staff into the relationship between World Vision, a non-profit humanitarian organization, and the Islamic Relief Agency (ISRA), an organization that has funded terrorist activities.

World Vision is a non-profit organization founded in 1950 to provide humanitarian aid to impoverished peoples in vulnerable areas across the world.

ISRA is headquartered in Sudan and has been sanctioned by the United States since 2004 “after they had funneled approximately $5 million to Maktab Al-Khidamat, the predecessor to Al-Qaeda controlled by Osama Bin Laden,” the report stated.

According to a timeline of events from the report:

  • On Jan. 21, 2014, World Vision submitted a grant application to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to provide humanitarian services to some conflict-affected areas in Sudan. World Vision was subsequently awarded a grant of $723,405 to carry out the program.
  • On Feb. 1, 2014, World Vision entered into an agreement with the Islamic Relief Agency (ISRA) whereby ISRA would provide humanitarian services to certain parts of the Blue Nile Region in Sudan on behalf of World Vision. Prior to this, World Vision had worked with ISRA on several projects from 2013 through 2014.
  • In late September 2014, World Vision’s legal department was notified of ISRA’s potential status as a sanctioned entity. World Vision then ceased all payments to ISRA and began investigating whether ISRA was indeed a sanctioned entity.
  • On Jan. 23, 2015, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) responded to World Vision’s inquiry that ISRA is indeed a sanctioned entity. OFAC denied World Vision’s request for a license to transact with ISRA in the same letter.
  • On Feb. 19, 2015, World Vision again requested a license to transact with ISRA in order to pay them $125,000 for services rendered. In its request, World Vision stressed that it could face severe legal consequences and even expulsion from Sudan if it did not pay ISRA the monies owed.
  • On May 4, 2015, the Obama Administration’s State Department recommended OFAC grant World Vision’s request for a license to pay ISRA $125,000 in monies owed. The following day, OFAC granted World Vision a specific license to pay ISRA $125,000 only for services rendered.

The report shows $125,000 was paid on May 7, 2015, from which $111,982 was from a United States Government (USG) grant and $9,062 was from Irish government aid….

________________________________________________________________________

SEE OUR PREVIOUS POSTS: https://ratherexposethem.org/?s=WORLD+VISION

 

 

WASHINGTON, D.C.: Christians, CATHOLICS & JEWS Protest FRAUD FILLED Election With ECUMENICAL INTERFAITH Jericho TRUMP March~SPEECHES BY GENERAL FLYNN, ALEX JONES & OTHERS DELIVER POSITIVE ENCOURAGEMENT THROUGH FAITH

A CATHOLIC ORGANIZED RALLY THAT WOULD PLEASE THE ECUMENICAL, INTERFAITH, UNIVERSALIST, COMMUNIST POPE; BUT NOT BIBLE BELIEVING FUNDAMENTAL EVANGELICALS

LET THE ONE WORLD "CHURCH" ROAR? 

Jericho March Stop the Steal

EXCERPTS FROM: https://jerichomarch.org/about/:

This Election Jericho March™ will culminate in a massive national peaceful prayer rally protest in Washington, D.C. on Dec. 12, 2020 called “Let the Church ROAR!” where we will march around the U.S. Capitol seven times to send a very clear message to national and state leaders as they hear patriots and people of faith roar in support of election integrity, transparency, and reform. We will be hearing from national faith leaders, worship leaders, and others. 

Our first Jericho March™ is for election integrity, transparency, and reform to preserve free and fair elections in America for this generation and generations to come — free from any corruption or interference, both foreign and domestic. America is a city on a hill and light to other nations, and God’s favor is still upon her. We are proud of the American system of governance established by our Founding Fathers and we will not let globalists, socialists, and communists destroy our beautiful nation by sidestepping our laws and suppressing the will of the American people through their fraudulent and illegal activities in this election.

Mainstream Media, Big Tech, and corrupt political machines want the world to believe that the 2020 election is over. We have a clear message to them: You do not call elections and this election is far from over. You try to censor the truth, but we know the truth, and our God will reveal the truth,

“For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.”
(Lk. 8:17)

_______________________________________________________________________

ECUMENISM EXPOSED AS PER LUKE 8:17 ABOVE:

SEE EXCERPTS FROM: https://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/what-i-saw-at-the-jericho-march/:

Then onto the stage came one Fr. Greg Bramlage, a Colorado priest who says he is an exorcist. He shamanically prayed down heaven to deliver America from demons. These were real deliverance prayers. He is saying, in effect, that to oppose Trump and his re-election is to be an agent of Satan. This was the first time I got really angry. As regular readers know, I believe in the power of exorcism. I believe the demonic is real. But there was this Trumpy priest deploying holy prayers of deliverance from the demonic on behalf of a politician, and did it in a way that logically locates doubters within the shadow of Mordor. It felt sacrilegious. I wondered what Protestants in this crowd thought about the Catholic priest addressing prayers to Mary, the saints, and the angels. Following him was an opera singer belting out “Ave Maria.” Trumpy ecumenism is a fascinating religious development. This isn’t simply a revival of the old Chuck Colson/Richard John Neuhaus “Catholics & Evangelicals Together.” This is something much more intense. Later in the day, a Catholic priest blessed a framed image of Our Lady of Guadalupe that they plan to give to Melania Trump. Again, what did the Evangelicals think of that? I believe that it is good for Christians to work together on political and social causes of mutual concern. But if I believed what Evangelicals believe, I would have a lot of trouble affirming, by my presence, those kind of Catholic prayers. But maybe common love for Trump overcomes these theological divisions.

Then a woman who heads a pro-Trump organization in Virginia came onstage to instruct the crowd: “We have to align our spirituality to our politics.”

Yes, it is bonkers. All of it. But you would be wrong to make fun of it and blow it off. This phenomenon is going to matter. Divinizing MAGA and Stop The Steal is going to tear churches to bits, and drive people away from the Christian faith (or keep them from coming in the first place). Based on what I saw today, the Christians in this movement do not doubt that Trump is God’s chosen, that they, by following him, are walking in light, and whatever they do to serve Trump is also serving God. They have tightly wound apocalyptic religion to conservative politics and American nationalism.

“We have to align our spirituality to our politics,” said the speaker today. Notice that she didn’t say “align our politics to our spirituality.” Politics determines spirituality. (?)

SEE ALSO: https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/tyler-o-neil/2020/12/12/christians-to-march-around-supreme-court-swing-state-capitols-seven-times-like-jericho-n1205940

Trump supporters gather for the Stop the Steal rally at Freedom Plaza in Washington on December 12, 2020. Photo by Yuri Gripas/ABACAPRESS.COM.

Gen. Flynn: SCOTUS doesn’t decide, we decide the election of president of the United States 

General Michael Flynn’s FULL Speech At DCs Jericho March Rally For President Trump 12/12/2020

Alex Jones Speaks At The Massive Trump Stop The Steal Rally In Washington DC 12/12/20

EXCELLENT CHRISTIAN SPEECH YOU MUST SEE:

 

 

 

Matt Maher is Not Saved, Stop Singing His Music in Church

SEE: https://reformationcharlotte.org/2019/02/01/matt-maher-is-not-saved-stop-singing-his-music-in-church/;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

Modern Evangelicals are happily embracing a deceptive evil, and letting it creep into their churches. The evil is a counterfeit gospel, a counterfeit Christianity. The evil is the Roman Catholic Church, and it’s creeping in unawares, especially to young and impressionable minds, through worship music. Particularly, a Catholic singer named Matt Maher has become strikingly popular in Evangelical worship. With the compromise of today’s Evangelical leadership, this should come as no surprise. Al Mohler once said he believed that there would be millions of Catholics in heaven. Other Southern Baptists are declaring confessing, professing Roman Catholics saved (See here, and here). And it just about every contemporary Baptist church, you’ll hear “worship” music written by Roman Catholics.

Charles Spurgeon once said,

I question if hell can find a more fitting instrument within its infernal lake than the Church of Rome is for the cause of mischief. And your church will in its measure, be the same if bereft of the Spirit.

What a gem of truth. The rate at which Evangelicals are embracing this false spirit as alarming. Historically, and as a result of the conservative resurgence, Southern Baptists have withstood much of the apostasy that has befallen other denominations. For the most part, Southern Baptists have held a strong (but weakening) stance against homosexuality entering the church. At least, for now, you don’t find acceptance of homosexuality preached from the pulpits in most SBC churches. And most SBC pastors aren’t going to recommend to their congregation books written by homosexual activists, like Matthew Vines, that call themselves Christians.

So why do we make exceptions for Roman Catholics? Why do we declare them saved when they reject the true Gospel? Why do we worship to music written by Matt Maher, a Roman Catholic?

Evangelicals are being duped. Roman Catholicism, like any other false religion, is an abomination to God. It is absolutely asinine for Al Mohler to believe that there would be millions of Catholics in heaven. Does Al Mohler believe there will be millions of Mormons in heaven too? How about millions of practicing homosexuals? Would he want devotionals written by Matthew Vines to be studied in Sunday School at his church? What about prayers written by Glenn Beck to be read during worship service? Do you see the inconsistency?

Yet, Evangelicals everywhere are embracing Roman Catholicism as brothers and sisters in Christ. Russell Moore recently said in an article he co-authored with Roman Catholic, Marco Rubio, “both of us are of the Christian faith.”

Why do they believe this?

Roman Catholics cannot be Christians because they reject Jesus as wholly sufficient for the remission of their sins. Because of this, they practice idolatry regularly, through the mass, in which a priest supposedly summon Jesus out of Heaven to enter a wafer, and then proceed to eat and drink the physical body and blood of what they believe to be Jesus, present in the wafer. They practice idolatry through the veneration of Mary and the Saints in order to try to gain favor with God. They reject the fellowship of a true, local church that teaches and exposits the Scriptures authoritatively. And they practice idolatry by putting their faith in their man-made organization, hierarchical priest system, and sacraments for their salvation.

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. – 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Let me make that clear: Do not be deceived, a practicing, unrepentant Roman Catholic will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. It doesn’t matter if a Roman Catholic “sounds evangelical” in his testimony. If he’s in the Roman Catholic Church and doesn’t see anything wrong with the idolatry he practices daily, he has not been justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

It doesn’t matter if Matt Maher says he’s a Christian or makes a “Christian-sounding” profession of faith. He is still a Roman Catholic, who practices idolatry, and is not repentant of it. It doesn’t matter if some of his music sounds okay. It doesn’t matter if he says he believes in Jesus. If he is unrepentant of his sin, he has not been regenerated.

But let’s go out on a limb here, and say that perhaps he is saved, and just hasn’t come to realize yet through sanctification that he’s caught up in a false religion. Sanctification is both immediate and progressive, therefore, it is possible for a Roman Catholic to be saved, and still (temporarily) be in the Roman Catholic Church. It still doesn’t matter. He’s still practicing sin, should be called to repentance, and by no means should he, or his worship music be played in a Bible-believing church. We wouldn’t do that for other unrepentant sinners. Why do we make exceptions for Roman Catholics?

We wouldn’t do that for other unrepentant sinners. Why do we make exceptions for Roman Catholics?

Pope Francis goes full communist

Opinion: Pope Francis goes full communist

By Andrea Widburg, American Thinker

SEE: https://worldisraelnews.com/opinion-pope-francis-goes-full-communist/;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

These actions reflect Francis’s Catholic upbringing within the communist “liberation theology” of the Latin American church.

By Andrea Widburg, American Thinker

In an encyclical published on Sunday, Pope Francis announced that he’d had an epiphany thanks to the Wuhan virus: it’s time to ditch capitalism. But that’s not all. He believes, too, that in a time of a serious infectious disease, we should focus even harder on open borders. And he blithely upended almost two millennia of Church doctrine by doing away with St. Augustine’s “just war” theory.

These actions reflect Francis’s Catholic upbringing within the communist “liberation theology” of the Latin American church. They may also show the effects of his ongoing alliance with Chinese communists and with Muslims.

Fox Business sums up the gist of Francis’s communist dreams (emphasis mine):

“Aside from the differing ways that various countries responded to the crisis, their inability to work together became quite evident,” Francis wrote. “Anyone who thinks that the only lesson to be learned was the need to improve what we were already doing, or to refine existing systems and regulations, is denying reality.”

He cited the grave loss of millions of jobs as a result of the virus as evidence of the need for politicians to listen to popular movements, unions and marginalized groups and to craft more just social and economic policies.

“The fragility of world systems in the face of the pandemic has demonstrated that not everything can be resolved by market freedom,” he wrote. “It is imperative to have a proactive economic policy directed at ‘promoting an economy that favours productive diversity and business creativity’ and makes it possible for jobs to be created, and not cut.”‘

[Snip]

As an outgrowth of that, Francis rejected the concept of an absolute right to property for individuals, stressing instead the “social purpose” and common good that must come from sharing the Earth’s resources. He repeated his criticism of the “perverse” global economic system, which he said consistently keeps the poor on the margins while enriching the few — an argument he made most fully in his 2015 landmark environmental encyclical “Laudato Sii” (Praised Be).

I know from experience that, when people read what Francis wrote, many will say that the Church has always been socialist in orientation. That’s untrue. Jesus distinguished the realm of faith from the political realm. When he spoke of giving up property, he was speaking to individuals, not calling for communism.

Francis also fails to recognize that our current economic problems aren’t because the free market failed. They’re because leftists slammed the brakes on the free market.

The pope used this encyclical to reiterate his endless push to erase borders:

Much of the new encyclical repeats Francis’ well-known preaching about the need to welcome and value migrants and his rejection of the nationalistic, isolationist policies of many of today’s political leaders.

Lastly, the pope seeks something he calls a greater “human fraternity.” In doing so, he relies upon a document he composed with the grand imam of Egypt’s Al-Azhar.

The pope is perhaps too naïve to recognize that, in Islam, the house of fraternity and peace (Dar al-Islam) is a world in which everyone is Islamic. Outside the Islamic world is the world of war (Dar al-Harb), and every faithful Muslim must wage jihad to achieve that “peaceful” fraternal world. Or, as Tacitus wrote when quoting Calgacus, a Caledonian who fought Rome’s imperial reach, “they [the Romans] make a desert and call it peace.”

Pope Francis, bathed in ahistorical ignorance, also concluded that there can be no “just wars”:

“It is very difficult nowadays to invoke the rational criteria elaborated in earlier centuries to speak of the possibility of a ‘just war,'” Francis wrote in the most controversial new element of the encyclical.

Both the Chinese and the Islamists must be delighted to read those words. Hitler would have liked them, too. Had Francis been in the papacy during WWII, all of Europe would have been enslaved to Germany, and all Jews, not just six million, would have been slaughtered. Homosexuals, gypsies, people with mental and physical disabilities, and anyone else that the Germans dehumanized would have also found their way to the gas chambers.

As with everything he’s done since attaining the papal throne, Francis intends to undo all of the good work that the great John Paul II did in pursuit of human freedom and dignity.

 

What Catholics Need to Know about Islam~A new book blasts the lies and distortions of Pope Francis and the Catholic hierarchy

BY RAYMOND IBRAHIM

SEE: https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/11/what-catholics-need-know-about-islam-raymond-ibrahim/;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

Raymond Ibrahim is a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center.

Of the various strands of Christianity, historically, Catholicism was the chief enemy of Islam.  It was the popes who called for the crusades; and it was Catholics who took the cross.

Times have changed, radically.  Today, the Catholic Church’s hierarchy stands among the greatest apologists for Islam.  Europe’s top cardinal, Jean-Claude Hollerich, recently said, for instance, that “Prophet Muhammad would have been ashamed” of the terrorism plaguing France, including the butchery of elderly Christians inside their church in Nice, and the beheading of a French teacher who “blasphemed” against Muhammad. 

Indeed, one need only look to Pope Francis for a plethora of apologias concerning Islam, which he regularly presents as a “sister” religion to Christianity that seeks only to coexistent peacefully with Catholics and everyone else.  Just because some Muslims “misinterpret” their religion, the pope has insisted, is not Islam’s fault.

Thus, in 2016, when a journalist asked Pope Francis if Fr. Jacques—another French priest slaughtered by Muslims inside his church during mass—was “killed in the name of Islam,” Francis adamantly disagreed.  He argued that he hears of Catholics committing violence every day in Italy: “this one who has murdered his girlfriend, another who has murdered the mother-in-law… and these are baptized Catholics! There are violent Catholics!  If I speak of Islamic violence, I must speak of Catholic violence.”

Apparently, for this pope, violence done in accordance with Allah’s commandments—for example, the execution of blasphemers—is no more troubling than violence done in contradiction of the Christian God’s commandments.  By this perverse logic, if we hold Islam accountable, so must we hold Christianity accountable, regardless of the fact that Islam does justify violence—against apostates, blasphemers, infidels in general, et. al.—while Christianity condemns it.

If this is the Catholic hierarchy’s “official” position on Islam, clearly, the Catholic Church as a body is not just forfeiting its 1,400 years of experience with and knowledge of Islam; it is being indoctrinated in the exact opposite of truth.

It is for this reason that What Catholics Need to Know about Islam, a new book by William Kilpatrick, is a welcome and timely contribution.  Consisting of some 400 pages divided into 23 chapters, the author explores a variety of topics, which have largely been censored by the Catholic hierarchy, starting with the widespread claim that Christians and Muslims worship the same God—an obvious falsehood, unless one accepts that God is schizophrenic, presenting certain attributes about himself to one group of people, while denouncing those same attributes to another group.

Along with the outright suppression of facts foisted by the apologists, Kilpatrick shows how appeasement, political correctness, and Western self-hatred and/or guilt are being manipulated to make Christians—who by nature are already prone to forgiving their enemies while harshly judging themselves—inadvertently empower Islamic aggression against themselves, as a form of “piety.” 

The author also highlights a number of overlooked parallels.  For example, he shows how Muslim activists employ the same tactics—including through the infiltration and subsequent subversion of government, academia, and media—that have led to the meteoric rise of the LGBT movement, for example. 

Most importantly, Kilpatrick’s book gives the lie to—and is an antidote against—the Catholic hierarchy’s defenses of Islam, including by showing how, through their guidance, the church is dying in Europe, even as mosques litter the landscape.   As he writes, “We are now seeing the resurrection of Islam as a great and dangerous power.” Meanwhile, “the current crop of church leaders has shown an excessive tolerance not only toward Islam, but also toward the world, the flesh, and sometimes, it seems, even toward the devil.” 

That can all change, and rather easily, argues the author.   After all, we are living in a day and age when Islam is inherently weak, capable of terrorizing the West only because the latter provides it with the means to do so.  Thus, for Kilpatrick, to resist “Islam’s totalitarian incursions,” we need not turn to “raising armies and navies”; rather, we need to heed Christ’s words: “The truth shall set you free” (John 8:32).

And, when it comes to the truth concerning Muhammad’s religion—a dangerous truth which has been so utterly suppressed, not least by the Catholic hierarchy—What Catholics Need to Know about Islam is certainly a step in the right direction.

Photo: Catholic Family News

 

The Trail of Spiritual Delusion: Our Weary World Has Seen It All Before

BY TED KYLE

SEE: https://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/newsletters/2020/newsletter20201130.htm;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

There is nothing new under the sun (Eccl. 1:9). Everything that man can do to man has been done before—and will be done again.

This is especially true of false teachers and prophets leading the credulous astray. It was done anciently; it was done in the middle years; it is being done today; and it will be done in the end of days. More about the connection with today and the last days, after a bit of historical catching-up.

This trail of betrayal and delusion began with the first gathering of mankind together into a nation. That nation was ruled by Nimrod (Gen. 10:8; 1 Chron. 1:10; Micah 5:6), until his death; and in that same general time frame, God splintered the proto-nation into family (tribal) groups with the confusion of tongues at Babel.

But then, as Alexander Hislop (1807-1865) pieced pre-history together1, Semiramis, Nimrod’s widow, was the guiding (human) spirit behind a new religion artfully crafted to pull the tribes of man back into a new spiritual unity–and ultimately a political unity as well. Guiding the guide, of course, was Satan, ever intent on thwarting God’s plans for man and substituting his own.

So powerful was this pagan religion that it ultimately led very nearly the entire world into apostasy. It goes by many names and takes many forms in many lands. It pays homage to many gods. But their original impetus derived from the first delusion of a powerful leader (Nimrod) who was slain and who was believed to have returned to life as a great god

These related religions were known as “mystery religions,” for they were shrouded in mysteries revealed only to initiates. Hence there was a popular level of revealed pagan religion, into which the masses entered, and a higher level open only to a select few, who underwent initiation rites which they were sworn never to reveal.

How Did the Great Apostasy Happen?
Please recall that all this began just a few generations after the Great Flood. Nimrod was a great-grandson of Noah (Gen. 10:7)–and Noah was well acquainted with Jehovah God! Not only did Noah know God, he survived the Flood by 350 years (Gen. 9:28). So he was still very much alive when Nimrod flourished! (If you wish to delve into this complex web of false spirits and false gods for yourself, see footnote 1 for a source to begin.)

In view of the brief time frame and the overwhelming success of the mystery religions, we must ask: How was it possible to pull the wool over almost the whole of mankind so thoroughly as to cause them to turn their backs upon the true God, who had so recently revealed His awesome power through the Great Flood?

There is a large clue in Deuteronomy 13:1-3. In this passage, which is included in Moses’ restatement and summation of the Mosaic Law, is a warning from God about false prophets: “If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.”

If a prophet gives a sign or wonder, and the sign or wonder comes to pass . . .  Think about that. God was warning the children of Israel against genuine wonders-—things that would really happen or at the very least would convincingly appear to happen-—but they would be false signs. And God would allow this as a test to show who really loved Him—and who therefore would resist the tremendous temptation to follow the crowd, which was being swayed by what their eyes beheld or their hearts believed.

We are told by ancient historians Justin and Epiphanius that in the initiation rites, the image of a god (Osiris, Tammuz, or Adonis—all of whom Hislop believed represented Nimrod) spoke to the candidates (Hislop, p. 67). We are also, however, given to understand that powerful drugs were administered to the candidates, and these may have been hallucinatory. In any case, the candidates were convinced—not only of the truth of the vision but also that they would be forever lost if they revealed beyond the brotherhood what they had seen and heard.

A Three-Fold Deception
I believe that the appeal of this false religion was three-fold, relying on false signs, a false vision, and a false permissiveness. I am convinced the vision centered on a false messiah or savior, who offered devotees the salvation mankind has always yearned for. This false messiah was Nimrod or one of his many avatars.2 But this spiritual bait offered yet more—much more! Not only was a savior put forward, with the hope of eternal life, but men and women could have all this without giving up the sinful pleasures of this life. In fact, Semiramis, who was subsequently “deified” by this false religion, was known to be a lewd woman, reveling in orgies. She encouraged her devotees to follow her example—and perhaps this was the greatest lure of all!

Summing up, think of the great deception as a savior offered, with confirming signs, and “come as you are—stay as you are.” Small wonder that the bait was swallowed en masse!

Note especially that Satan put forward his own candidate for the Messiah many centuries before God, in the fullness of time, revealed Jesus Christ as the true Messiah (see Hislop, chapter 2, sub-section 5, p. 58 ff).

Demonic Influence Over Israel and the Young Church
I will not belabor this point, for it is obvious that the same seductive power which was exercised over all mankind shortly after the Fall was specifically exercised over the children of Israel to lead them from worshipping Jehovah God to serving the false gods of surrounding pagan nations. Suffice it to quote a warning from God given shortly before Moses’ successor, Joshua, led the Israelites into the Promised Land.

Moses told the assembled people that after they crossed the Jordan, they would face blessings from Mt. Gerizim if they obeyed the Lord, and curses from Mt. Ebal if they disobeyed Him. The first curse pronounced was against setting up idols, which represented false gods: “Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image, an abomination unto the LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and putteth it in a secret place. And all the people shall answer and say, Amen” (Deut. 27:15). But despite their good intentions at that instant, the time came when “They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not” (Deut. 32:17). The Old Testament goes on to record the dismal fulfillment of that curse and its consequences among the Chosen People.

That the apostasy was still a huge issue at the time of Christ, and spilled over into His young church, is shown in Paul’s warning to the Corinthians: “What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing? But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils (demons), and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils” (1 Cor. 10:19-21).

Demonic Power Is at Work Even Now
Is demonic power active in our present-day culture? Indeed it is, despite the fact that we live in a society that largely does not believe in supernatural power of any sort. For this reason, Satan’s “powers of the air” tend to be low-key and at work behind the scenes, but they are present. For example, Mormon missionaries ask prospective converts to read the Book of Mormon and then wait for a burning in their breast, which, they say, will confirm the truth of the Book of Mormon. If they pray for it, they will generally get it!

Many New Agers look for the appearance of The Coming One prophesied by Alice Ann Bailey, who wrote books dictated to her by her “spirit master.”3 Ray Yungen (see footnote 3) notes: “To occultists, the significance of the Alice Bailey writings has heralded anticipation of a World Healer and Savior [author’s emphasis] in the coming Aquarian Age (the astrological age of enlightenment and peace). This savior would unite all mankind under his guidance. This person was not to be the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom Christians await the return, but an entirely different individual who would embody all the great principles of occultism, chiefly the divinity and perfectibility of man.”4

In Yungen’s book, he documents the rapid expansion of New Age principles in the present day, including ominous inroads into the church. But while the principles are purely New Age, they are being sold to the credulous as exciting revelations of new paths to spiritual growth for our time. And this is taking place not only in mainline denominations which have been drifting from biblical Christianity for decades, but also in evangelical churches.

Demonic Power Will Grow Stronger in the Last Days
The world is being prepared even now to accept and believe the witness of the sign when the false prophet will call down fire from heaven (Rev. 13:13). Note, for example, the unprecedented increase in emphasis on television on supernatural powers, ghosts, and spirits. These themes have been around for a very long time, but not since the superstitious days of the Middle Ages have they been accentuated so heavily. I believe this build-up is preparing the populace for Satan’s introduction of the Beast and his false prophet, who will deceive “them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast;” (Rev. 13-14).

Thus will the false prophet seemingly verify that the Beast that rose out of the sea (Rev. 13:1), also known as “the son of perdition” and the anti-Christ, is indeed the promised Messiah. Once again, God will be testing mankind by allowing these miracle-signs to reveal the faithful remnant who will cling to the revealed Word and will not be snared by powerful delusion.

May all who read these words be among that faithful remnant!

Footnotes:
1. Alexander Hislop, The Two Babylons, researched and first published as a book in 1858. Note: While some of Hislop’s extrapolations and projections seem forced, his prodigious research into ancient sources cannot be written off, and I believe that his general conclusions are sound. It is obvious that something led the world rapidly away from God, and Hislop’s explanation is the most logical description I know of.
2. Ibid., p. 59
3. Ray Yungen, A Time of Departing, 2d ed. (Eureka, MT: Lighthouse Trails Publishing, 2006), p. 112 ff.
4. Ibid., p. 113.

Related Information:
New Ageism: A Vision That Will Usher in the End of History by Ted Kyle

(Painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1563, in public domain, taken from Wikipedia)

 

Pope Francis Plans to Take Us All Back to Rome in a World Church, But I’m Not Going

SEE: https://reformationcharlotte.org/2020/11/20/pope-francis-plans-to-take-us-all-back-to-rome-in-a-world-church-but-im-not-going/;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

The Roman Catholic Church in recent days has been rocked, shocked, and mocked by the irresponsible comments of Pope Francis. It may be that the impact is as profound as in 1378 when there were two “legitimate” competing popes, one in Rome and one in Avignon, France. Known as the Western Schism, the split lasted from 1378 to 1417 when two men claimed to be the true Pope and in 1410, there were three contenders for the title!

Each of the three Popes excommunicated the others.

The Church managed to survive that fiasco, the Crusades, the Inquisition, and the Reformation, but will it survive the global sex scandal and the machinations of Pope Francis?

In recent days, it was revealed that Francis has been up to some hanky-panky when it was discovered that he “liked” a seminude model’s picture on Instagram. The Vatican announced today that it has launched a probe into the nudie caper.

It seems the Pope keeps stepping in it almost weekly. Maybe he believes any publicity is good publicity.

Many Roman Catholics think Pope Francis is a loose cannon that has broken away from its mounting and constitutes a danger to the whole Church as it shoots in all directions. Headlines in the Daily Mail blared, “Vatican at War!” Even cardinals are running away from his latest folly. His latest shot was an endorsement of civil marriages for the LGBTQ crowd, thinking that such action would help him win a global popularity contest.

And stop the bleeding of money and members or, more crudely, nickels, and noses.

The Pope’s goal is to bring us all together in an attempt to undo the sixteenth-century Reformation and have a world church supporting a world government and world economy.

Was the Reformation a mistake, or was it one of the most significant events in world history?

Most educated people don’t have a firm grasp on the world’s religious, political, economic, and social conditions in the Middle Ages. Nor do they know what has been the dream, some say nightmare, of globalists—a united worldwide church. After all, who will disagree with everyone getting along? Of course, no one will, but there is much difference in getting along with people and uniting with those with whom you have vast differences.

The Roman Catholic Church (RCC) has always considered Protestants as “separated brethren” even though the Roman Church declared for hundreds of years that there was no salvation outside the RCC. They always invite non-Catholics back into the fold with the understanding that the Vatican will still run things, and their peculiar doctrines and practices will prevail. Catholic officials are willing to overlook minor theological disputes and ignore them as a condition of bringing the breakaway denominations “back home.”

As long as they bring their checkbooks and don’t try to run things.

While Rome is willing to concede on minor differences, they will not concede on the veneration of Mary or the mass. During the 18th century in France, ordinary Frenchmen ridiculed the Roman Catholic Church (their national church) for their teaching of turning a piece of bread into God. However, Rome will not concede on the mass.

Get ready, folks, the world church is being formed with headquarters in Rome, but here is one Bible-believer who will never “return to Rome” since my crowd was never in her! Independent churches were publicly baptizing converts in huge tubs throughout Germany, Switzerland, and other European nations long before the Reformation. I will stay independent (as were all original churches) as a hog on ice and free as an eagle until shrimp learn to whistle and pigs learn to fly.

An all-inclusive, world church is not going back to the Bible but back to bondage!

According to LifeSiteNews of August 22, 2019, a multi-faith committee was announced “to implement the ‘Human Fraternity’ document signed by Pope Francis and a Grand Imam in February that stated, among other things, that a ‘pluralism and diversity, of religions, is willed by God.’”

But then, the only way we can know the will of God is what is revealed in His Word. The Bible does not endorse a world church but a definite coming out from among them. Not unity but separation. The Bible never teaches denominationalism or world church, but each local church is to be a group of simple, sincere, and scholarly Christians who meet to sing, pray, and preach without any interference from any government or denominational authority.

The Pope has no more biblical authority than an ordinary pastor or priest in an obscure village.

Francis is aware that his biggest problem in constructing the world church will be Muslims who are accustomed to running everything, including the guillotine. Also, the Jews have been around longer than anyone has, so they will not be quick to respond to this theological courtship or, more correctly, seduction. Some Jews even believe all non-Jews are of a different and inferior species! How will that play in Rome? Or Tehran?

So, headlines yell, “Vatican issues a happy Ramadan to all ‘Muslim brothers and sisters’”; however, traditional Muslims do not consider any non-Muslims as spiritually related. The Koran often identifies all non-Muslims as “polytheists,” “unbelievers,” “infidels,” etc., with which Muslims are not to be friendly. And for sure not to cooperate with them.

The Pope asserted, “We Muslims and Christians are called to open ourselves to others, knowing and recognizing them as brothers and sisters…. this way, we can tear down walls raised out of fear and ignorance and seek together to build bridges of friendship that are fundamental for the good of all humanity.”

When Reformers broke with Rome in the 16th century, they did not do so out of fear or ignorance but because of overwhelming convictions and intelligence. The Bible had been translated and was now available to everyone, and it was obvious that what Catholic leaders were teaching was not found in its pages. The Bible reader had been intimidated and harassed and had his pockets picked for centuries to construct massive cathedrals all over Europe.

With the translated Bible, they discovered that the Bible said nothing about Popes, archbishops, cardinals, holy water, rosary beads, hail Mary, the immaculate conception, lent, the sign of the cross, vestments, relics, statues, purgatory, limbo, penance, confession to a priest, elevation of Mary, indulgences, pilgrimages, etc.

When one gets rid of all that, he almost ends up with an independent Bible or Baptist Church!

The average Christian finally read in the newly translated Bibles that independent churches were to be filled with simple and sincere people, where someone read the Bible, another prayed. Then the preacher (not a priest) delivered a sermon followed by the singing of hymns. No liturgy, no ceremony, no mass, no richly dressed preachers. The Europeans could find very little in the Bible that reflected what they had experienced for a lifetime in their vast cathedrals.

While Pope Francis spoke of “brothers and sisters” and friendship, ordinary Christians were chaffing under sharia in Muslim nations. Many were being persecuted as Francis gushed platitudes to appease and impress Muslim fanatics. He did not demand religious freedom or even tolerance on the part of Muslims in the Middle East nations.

Francis demands that Protestants forget about the doctrines and practices that precipitated the Reformation but does not require or even suggest that Muslim leaders must make major concessions with Koranic commands that deal with hating and killing Jews and Christians or even making friends with them. No demands that female sexual mutilation is barbarity and must be stopped; no demand that honor killings are beastly; no requirements that killing any Muslim if he or she converts to Christ is criminal; and no demand for Islamic nations such as Saudi Arabia to permit Christian churches (not one in the whole nation). It seems Francis is quiet about the absurd and vile teachings of Islam.

But then, Francis is a bridge-builder; however, here is one dude who will never cross that bridge.

Pope Francis is a hypocrite who is more interested in public relations than helping the hurting and Gospel-deprived people under Islamic rule. But how can he give something he probably doesn’t have?

The Pope shamelessly speaks of building bridges rather than a hated wall to keep out unwanted immigrants while he lives behind a massive wall. Did I mention that Francis is a hypocrite?

But the Pope keeps trying. He is the only person in Europe who can give an order and see it carried out by non-thinking zealots. Only the Pope can break the barriers and usher in the World Church.

For sure, I’m not going to be a part of his world church, not even if I am promised the Pope’s tiara, the keys to his Popemobile, and the combination of the Vatican vault.

I had to struggle with the combination to the vault.

______________________________________________________________________

SEE ALSO: https://christiannews.net/2020/11/23/berlin-house-of-one-promotes-ecumenism-between-christians-muslims-and-jews/

 

BOB JONES UNIVERSITY then and now…Christian Learning Center, an apostate, ecumenical partner

BJU'S PRESIDENT STEVE PETTIT & HIS GROWING APOSTASY

BY MACHEN.WHITE

SEE: https://bjugrad2004.blogspot.com/2020/11/bju-then-and-nowchristian-learning.html;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:
     Christian Learning Centers of Greenville County (CLC) is a self proclaimed gospel ministry ministering to public school students through the Released Time program in Greenville SC area public schools. The CLC mission statement reads, "[CLC] exists...to encourage [children] to embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ". CLC's ministry verse, John 4:34, carries with it a clear missions meaning. The CLC calls us to "worship with us" on its fundraising page.

Janice Butler Founder and CEO of CLC

    CLC, however, is not what it seems. The CLC leadership and sponsoring churches are made up of everything from conservative evangelicals, to left leaning charismatics, to rank theological liberals. The Chairman of CLC board, Kevin Brady, attends Advent United Methodist Church. Board member, Richard Furman, attends First Presbyterian Church of Greenville. Board member, Gabe Vicks, attends Word of Life. Board member, Todd Hyneman, attends Holland Park Church of Christ. Among sponsoring churches, three United Methodist churches, a liberal Presbyterian church, several charismatic churches, and a half dozen SBC churches are listed on the CLC website. Social justice is often promoted on CLC podcasts. In the CLC doctrinal statement, the gospel is at best supplemented and at worst replaced with social justice. Three podcasts produced by the CLC present a wildly liberal view of race relations and a posting of this extremely worldly music video promoting social justice/social gospel can be found on CLC's official Facebook page. For the 2019 event, far left actor Kevin Sorbo was the keynote speaker.

 

Kevin Brady
   On Tuesday, May 12, 2020 CLC had as their special guests for its fundraising event North Greenville University (NGU) president Gene Fant and Dr. Steve Pettit president of Bob Jones University (BJU). From a video recorded on BJU campus, Pettit gave lavish praise and full endorsement of the CLC. "We are fully engaged in helping the [CLC]...Dr. Bobby Wood one of our vice presidents is now a new member of the [CLC] board and we are so glad he is there...as a university we are FULLY SUPPORTIVE of the CLC...I'd like to to highly encourage you to consider a financial gift to the CLC because they are a FRONT LINE MINISTRY GETTING THE GOSPEL OUT to those who live in darkness".
Pettit 
    On Thursday, October 22, 2020 the CLC again had as their special guests for its fundraising event  NGU president Gene Fant and Dr. Steve Pettit. Pettit once again paid lavish praise to CLC. "I'm joining you for a few moments this evening to ENDORSE the work of [CLC] and to encourage you to SUPPORT their ministry...[BJU] has the privilege of PARTNERING with [CLC] in providing the gospel and biblical training to public high school students...we SHARE a common mission...we share the gospel...We feel privileged to sew into the spiritual harvest WITH [CLC]...we are thankful for the opportunity to FULLY ENGAGE with the center...this is the kind of PARTNERSHIP we so value...let me challenge you to determine how you could PARTNER with the Christian Learning Center to promote the gospel...so I encourage you to make a gift to this ministry. They are worthy of our support. This is an organization that is on the front lines of ministry...and it is a ministry that we can get behind".
    The CLC is NOT front line gospel ministry. At the helm of this organization are those who attend churches that deny gospel. They go into schools to teach what their own denominations teach - a false gospel. Pettit is not only solidifying his position of fellowship with highly compromised SBC Gene Fant, he also, along with Dr. Bobby Wood, finds himself shoulder-to-shoulder in MINISTRY COOPERATION with new evangelicals and apostates. Dr. Pettit has fully engaged himself in a classic ecumenical relationship; a relationship which is strictly forbidden in Scripture. Of the likes of CLC, the Scriptures are clear..."do not receive him into your house nor greet him, for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds (2 John 1:10) "...[anyone] who preach[es] another gospel to you than what we have preached to you, LET HIM BE ACCURSED (Gal 1:8). 
  Dr. Pettit says endorse, support, partner, share, fully engage with an apostate. The scriptures say let them be accursed, do not receive him or greet him, have no fellowship. This partnership is not just an issue of secondary separation, it is that of primary separation. Dr. Pettit is not continuing in the footsteps of the biblically separated leadership of the past, he is following in the footsteps of the late Dr. Billy Graham. Graham contaminated the gospel for untold generations and led God's people into sin by welcoming apostates and gospel deniers into ministry cooperation with him. Dr. Pettit's compromise and disobedience, I believe, will snuff out the Greenville gospel light and remove the Bible from the "buckle of the Bible belt." 
WARNING: Please understand the BJU of today is nothing like the BJU of yesterday. Pettit continues to insist that BJU remains a biblically separated fundamentalist institution of yesterday.
NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH
Machen White
Ephesians 5:11
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SEE OUR PREVIOUS POSTS ABOUT PETTIT: 
 

MELISSA DOUGHERTY: NEW AGE AFFIRMATIONS ARE UNBIBLICAL NEW AGE PRACTICES THAT DISAPPOINT~JACK CANFIELD REFUTED & EXPOSED AS A CHARLATAN

Are Affirmations Biblical? My Thoughts.

REFUTING NEW AGE PAGAN PRACTICES WITH THE WORD OF GOD

I Am Worthy of making more money. I am full of positive love and positive energy. I am loved, loving, and loveable. I am becoming the best version of myself . I am enough. These are only some of the affirmations I made when I practiced the Law of Attraction as a new ager. What’s wrong with these statements? Are self-affirmations like this really new age? Why? Is it wrong to say or think positive things about myself now? Am I supposed to walk around thinking what a terrible person I am because saying positive things about myself is ‘new age’? These are some of the common questions I asked myself when I left the new age, and many have asked me similar questions. Honestly, many ex new agers struggle with this. In this video, I’m going to share Three main ideas that will help illustrate this and give biblical support to show you what I mean. **FYI- I did have some audio/visual issues while filming this video. Towards the middle of the video, you'll notice a slight lag. I always strive to put out the best quality image and audio I can for you guys. I was a little frustrated while editing it because it was difficult to fix and debated not posting the video at all. But I thought the content was good and fixed what I could, and overall, I think it came together okay. Further research: Talking about the Word of Faith Movement on Cultish: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVixv... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKOBw... How the New age Movement Misuses Bible Verses: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3NVJ... My Social Media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NewAgeToChri... Instagram: @melissadougherty77 If you are led, please consider contributing: https://paypal.me/MelissaDougherty77

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WHAT JACK CANFIELD PROPAGANDIZES: 

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DOREEN VIRTUE: PROGRESSIVE CHRISTIANITY IS NEW AGE

Doreen Virtue

Repenting to plants? Jesus was just a good moral human teacher? The Bible is a metaphor written by men, to pick and choose from? These are among the shockingly heretical Progressive Christian beliefs and practices that Allyson Rossborough grew up in. When God opened her eyes to the truth of Who Jesus is, Allyson began studying the Bible and learning from solid teachers. She realized how twisted the false progressive/liberal teachings were. Now, Allyson helps others to deconstruct progressive beliefs, and compare them to Scripture. You can contact Allyson at Instagram.com/AllysonRossborough Allyson’s blog about the 8 heretical points of progressive Christianity is at https://www.manifoldministries.com/fr... Here are three recommended videos on the issues with the progressive movement: Alisa Childers: https://youtu.be/FwyJk1G_Dm0 and https://youtu.be/mxg4wHywv-s Allie Beth Stuckey: https://youtu.be/Kie9r89naF0

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BLOG 20 - 8 POINTS OF PROGRESSIVE CHRISTIANITY

BY Allyson Rossborough

SEE: https://www.manifoldministries.com/freedom-and-truth/8-points-of-progressive-christianity;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

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About a month ago I discerned through the 8 points of Progressive Christianity on my Instagram.  These 8 points are up on the Progressive Christianity website found here.

My heart in doing this to help Bible believing Christians understand where Progressive Christians are coming from and what the implications are for following their teachings.  I also want to show that Progressive Christianity is not following the true God of the Bible. 

Before you read, please understand that not all Progressive Christians believe all of these 8 points.  The major belief they all have in common though is that the Bible is not their authority.  Experience and feeling tend to be the authority of a Progressive Christian. 

1. “Believe that following the path of the teacher Jesus can lead to healing and wholeness, a mystical connection to “God,” as well as an awareness and experience of not only the Sacred, but the Oneness and Unity of all life;"

This is the first point from progressive christianity.org. Within the first line we can see that Progressive Christians deny that Jesus Christ was the Son of God. They reduce Christ to a human teacher. Such that if they follow what this good teacher taught, they will find healing wholeness in their souls, and they will have a connection with god.

This is very subtle and speaks straight to our flesh. We naturally want to show how "good" we are by ascribing to a list of things to prove to ourselves and others that we aren't bad people. That we are better than others, since we do all these great things. In the PC mind set, by following teacher jesus, they are given a set of rules to show themselves and others they are good Christians. Thus, this will give them healing and wholeness, or in other words, life fulfillment. Then through their goodness, they will achieve a connection with what they call god. 

Next, once this connection is achieved they will understand the secrets of the Universe… this is new age rhetoric. And very unbiblical. 

The only way to know God is through Jesus Christ. If we believe that all we have to do is follow a good teacher to be fulfilled and then know the secrets of the universe, then we believe in a system of works designed to put us in bondage, build our pride, and feed our sin nature; ultimately sending us to Hell. 

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

John 3:36 ESV

2. "Affirm that the teachings of Jesus provide but one of many ways to experience “God,” the Sacredness, Oneness and Unity of life, and that we can draw from diverse sources of wisdom, including Earth, in our spiritual journey;"

This is the second point of the 8 points of Progressive Christianity found on their website. If you reduce Jesus Christ down to a good moral teacher, it makes so much sense that his teachings are one of many ways to god. Since most Progressive Christians believe in universalism, that Christ died for all regardless of what people believe about Him, there is no need to be exclusive. Because everyone means all religions too.

I would argue that most if not all Progressive Christians want some sort of relationship with God but since they keep denying their sin it's not possible. And since the jesus they follow is all about following a set of rules to be a good, moral, and spiritual person, they look to other religions or the new age to find their experience of god. 

Looking at all the world religions and the new age we can see that all of them, except Biblical Christianity, are set up for people to follow a set of rules to achieve something or to get into heaven or to get god. Or in other words to show they are good people.   

This statement by PC is also a way of saying we "respect" your experience of god. Since your religion, experience, and philosophy has the same outcome as ours, to be a good person, all religions and ideas must be the same. 

Jesus Christ was very clear when He said in John 14:6. "... 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'" There is no way around that my friend. My professors at the PC seminary I went to couldn't even refute that claim. 

Keep your eyes open to words like interfaith, unity, and ecumenicalism. These are buzz words in PC. When you hear these words, start asking questions. Most likely, it's to promote the second point of Progressive Christianity.

3. "Seek and create community that is inclusive of ALL people, including but not limited to:

Conventional Christians and questioning skeptics,

Believers and agnostics,

Those of all races, cultures, and nationalities

Those of all sexual orientations and all gender identities,

Those of all classes and abilities,

Those historically marginalized,

All creatures and plant life;"

First, what is Biblical love? Biblical love is about laying our lives down for those around us, putting their best interest over our own best interest. Jesus showed us this love by dying for us, by taking our place and paying the price for our sin.  He came to die for our best interest so we could be free from sin and live with God forever. Biblical love points people to Christ and the Gospel so that they can be saved from the wrath of God. 

In the third point of Progressive Christianity, their definition of inclusion reveals what they truly believe love is. Love is acceptance of every person, including acceptance of all of their sin. 

If everyone is striving to follow this teacher jesus and everyone else in other religions around the world are doing the same thing, they must be accepting of sin. Because everyone is trying to make themselves a better person. By accepting everyone and their sin, they have loved like they think their jesus did. 

We all know this standard is impossible to live by. How many families are falling apart? We can't even accept our own families let alone everyone we meet. But if you fail at this type of love, they say just keep trying. 

This is what makes PC so binding. It either puts you in bondage or builds your pride. But most importantly, it keeps you a slave to your sin. 

This type of all inclusive love is a lie from hell and evil. By not pointing people to Christ and the Gospel, there is no hope for them and leaving them to God's eternal judgment is one of the most unloving things we can do. 

4. “Know that the way we behave towards one another and Earth is the fullest expression of what we believe, therefore we vow to walk as Jesus might have walked in this world with radical compassion, inclusion, and bravery to confront and positively change the injustices we experience as well as those we see others experiencing;"

One of the things we need to remember is that Progressive Christians do not submit themselves to the authority of the Bible. Because they don't believe it was divinely-inspired they don't use a Biblical understanding of the words "compassion" and "justice" as examples. They look to the world or their own experience to interpret those terms and apply them in a non-Biblical way. 

The fourth point of Progressive Christianity really breaks down what it means to follow their moral teacher jesus. Here we have a tangible list of rules so they know they are following him the correct way and thus they know they are "good" Christians. The language used leaves it up to the reader on how to interpret and implement each rule. 

This, I believe, is the point where well meaning Biblical Christians can get deceived by PC.  Christ tells us to have compassion, and empathy for the downtrodden and oppressed. The Bible is very clear on how to do these things. The issue within PC is that what Jesus says is filtered through a misinterpretation of love, that I mentioned yesterday, and the misunderstanding of Who Jesus Christ truly is. And that all comes from the lack of authority they ascribe to Scripture.  

As Christians, we can not trust everything or anyone who claims to be Christian.  We must check everything with scripture. Just because it sounds good or sounds Christian doesn't mean it is. This is why it is so important to renew our minds daily with the Word of God. That way we can spot the Truth from lies and know what is good and evil. 

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5. "Find grace in the search for understanding and believe there is more value in questioning with an open mind and open heart, than in absolutes or dogma;"

Progressive Christians believe it is more humble to question everything and claim that it is not possible to know God's will; better for everyone to have questions and doubts but never really seek to find the true answers. 

I see this point being born out of a legalistic approach to Biblical Christianity. Many Progressive Christians have been hurt by the church and the hypocrisy they may have seen in other people's lives. If they were taught that to be a Christian requires following all of the rules in the Bible perfectly, but everyone, including themselves, are failing at it, of course they will reject what they were taught. 

What fills that gap?  They will tend to look at true Christians as very arrogant people. However, by not seeking out answers to their questions, they will become deeply proud of how "humble" they are. All while still being slaves to sin and closing themselves off to hearing the True Gospel.

And those who want to have the Christian label without submitting to Christ will gladly take this point to heart. If questioning without finding true answers makes them humble people, then it's a check mark off the list of virtues that prove them righteous and a 'good' person.  Which all goes back to the first point of following the good moral teacher jesus. 

Things to look out for with this point are  phrases like "Is that what God really meant?" Or "It is impossible to know God's will." These phrases and others like them are used by the enemy to plant doubt in our hearts when it comes to the Word of God. 

6. "Work toward peace and justice among all people and all life on Earth;"

In Progressive Christianity most believe in a type of universalism; that Christ died to save everyone regardless of what they believe about Him. And if this is true, it makes sense that they would work towards these things to make the world a better place. 

This is another tangible way Progressive Christians follow the moral teacher jesus. They are usually very active in societal issues and charity work. The work is done in a worldly way, taking no consideration of what Biblical peace and justice look like.  They are helping people but doing it in vain. They neglect to share the true Gospel of Jesus Christ with those they are helping and just make them comfortable with their sin. 

Peace and justice are Biblical principles that must be seen through the eyes of the Gospel in order to be done in a godly way that glorifies God. We must look to Scripture and study it diligently to understand and apply it's truths.  

This is another point where Biblical Christians can be deceived by PC. Jesus does call us to do this type of work; we should all be serving. But again, PC does not believe that Scripture is authoritative so they are looking to worldly ideas and structures to fix a spiritual problem. Many Christians don't know that and get deceived by what PC claims. By exploring their honest and compassionate desire to help, the enemy leads them into his trap.

7. "Protect and restore the integrity of our Earth and all of Creation;"

I listened to a story once about a group of PC seminarians who wrote down their sins to a plant. They confessed to it and vowed to do better in protecting the environment. This was at a prominent seminary in the U.S. that has sadly turned from Jesus Christ.

Point seven is another way Progressive Christians attempt to follow moral teacher jesus. And it usually turns into an idol; worshipping creation. This is another way those who follow PC can make themselves feel like a good person.  

This can be extreme, where like in the story above, they become overly apologetic to the environment, seeking to make reparations for their environmental sins; an ideology known as Eco-justice. Or it can be small things like buying reusable straws or bags. But all of this boils down to checking another virtue off the list defining a righteous person. 

As Christians we are called to be good stewards of creation. God has given us the earth to treat well for His glory. But we also must understand that creation is under a curse because of our sin. This earth will never be perfect. It will be when Jesus Christ returns and those who are His join Him for eternity on the new earth where there will be no more sin.

8. "Commit to a path of life-long learning, compassion, and selfless love on this journey toward a personally authentic and meaningful faith."

We have come to our last point of Progressive Christianity. We can see that they want to continually educate themselves to be better people according to the standards of this world. They believe following Christ means following a moral teacher jesus; who is only one of many ways to god. The more they can learn, the more they can prove to themselves they are good enough for Heaven. The more they can check off their list of virtues. 

Biblically, we know even our good and righteous deeds are sinful and as filthy rags to our Holy God. We have all fallen short of God's glory. It will never be possible to be compassionate enough, or love others enough to earn God's favor. 

At the root of all of this is pride. Progressive Christians and others like them refuse to acknowledge their sin of self righteousness, or in other words,  pride.  They reject the True Gospel of Jesus Christ, instead believing they are morally superior and can earn utopia by their works. If we can never admit we are sick, we can never be healed. 

And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

Luke 5:31-32

 

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: KAISER PERMANENTE AMONG THOSE PUSHING MINDFULNESS & MEDITATION DUE TO CORONAVIRUS

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: KAISER PERMANENTE AMONG THOSE PUSHING MINDFULNESS & MEDITATION DUE TO CORONAVIRUS

SEE: https://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/newsletters/2020/newsletter20200602.htm;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:
LTRP Note: While New Age meditative practices (including “mindfulness” meditation) have integrated into all facets of our Western society, including the church, for some time, there has been an even stronger push for them since coronavirus began. Purveyors of eastern-style meditation are using the elevated levels of stress that the “pandemic” has caused to sell the idea that we need meditation practices to help alleviate that stress. The following letter to the editor gives one example (see links below for other examples).

Dear Lighthouse Trails:

I’m sending you this on the off chance you were not aware of Kaiser’s increasing mystical bent. A search for references to Kaiser or Kaiser Permanente on your site came up empty.

This morning I found email from Kaiser Permanente in my regular inbox. This isn’t unusual because my mother-in-law has been enrolled with them for some time, and Kaiser sends her several emails after each of her cancer treatments. Since she “doesn’t do the Internet,” my wife has directed Kaiser’s email to our account. I usually just drop them in a folder without reading them since they contain no info that her doctor hasn’t already given her. But among the messages today is a link to Kaiser’s “Emotional Wellness Tools,” which includes various apps for “mental health and emotional wellness.” It seems Kaiser has taken note of  “these stressful times” and has taken it upon themselves to be guardians of much more than physical health.

On one page of their website, we read:

“Everyone needs support for total health — mind, body, and spirit. These wellness apps can help you navigate life’s challenges, and make small changes to improve your sleep, mood, relationships, and more. It’s self-care made easy, designed to help you live well and thrive.”

There’s an app called “Calm” which features “More than 100 guided meditations” and other “mindfulness tools.” Another app is called “myStrength” (sic) which includes more “Mindfulness and meditation activities” as well as “Tailored programs for managing depression, stress, anxiety, and more.”

Got that? And MORE! From a mainstream healthcare provider!! I’m glad my mother-in-law isn’t computer literate, or she might be exposed to this poison.

We are living in a virtual ashram. The only antidote is the Gospel; God’s offer of eternal life as a free gift, received by simply believing in Christ as one’s Savior.

Thank you for your attention.

Charles F.

Other examples of pushing meditation because of coronavirus (posted for informational and research purposes and not as an endorsement of content or source):

Chicago Expands Mental Health Supports During COVID-19 Crisis

Headspace is offering free mindfulness courses to unemployed Americans

Governor Whitmer and Headspace Launch ‘Stay Home, Stay MIndful’ Website to Offer Free Mental Health Resources During COVID-19 Pandemic

Edward Jones: How We’re Adapting to the COVID-19 ‘New Normal’

Allianz Partners launches student support program

Coronavirus: How Nike is letting athletes teach workouts during COVID-19 pandemic

Baylor University: Global Experts Launch Online Guide for Life, Death During COVID-19 Era

Calvin University: Practicing Mindfulness in a Time of Pandemic

Religious News Service: There’s an app for that: Christian mindfulness, meditation apps find their moment

(photo from bigstockphoto.com; used with permission)


			

		

		
		

			
							

		


	

		
	

		
		
TAKING A QUANTUM LEAP INTO THE NEW AGE
		
		
 

	
		
		
					

			
		

						
TAKING A QUANTUM LEAP INTO THE NEW AGE


SEE: https://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/newsletters/2020/newsletter20200602.htm;


republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:



From Roger Oakland and Caryl Matrisciana’s book,

The Evolution Conspiracy.


There is a clear but complex marriage between physical evolution and transcendental evolution. Ironically, while forcing out creationism, many scientists and educators push for an equally religious alternative. They cling to the Eastern concept that the next stage of man’s evolution will arrive in spiritual terms. Many “prophesy” a development—a quantum leap from biological evolution into a sort of “mystical emergence.”


Fritjof Capra, an American physics professor and author of The Tao of Physics, is a prominent advocate of New Age thought who says:


The universe is no longer seen as a machine, made up of a multitude of objects, but has to be pictured as one indivisible, dynamic whole whose parts are essentially interrelated and can be understood only as patterns of a cosmic process.1


After so much indoctrination in and exposure to the unproven ideas of evolutionary thinking, growing numbers of people are now accepting the concept of this “cosmic process” as the most natural thing in the world. Natural, but deadly—for this blending of physical and spiritual evolution thickens into a hot spiritual porridge made up of a variety of assorted cereals. Mystical alchemy, charading as spiritual evolution, combines with speculation about physical evolution. This fuses with “Eastern maya,” the belief that the physical (the real, what we see) is merging with the not-yet-physical (maya) and that the mind is able to create reality (shamanism, witchcraft). This opens the door to every form of New Age deception.


The New Age movement is a hybrid of spiritually eclectic pagan consciousness that embraces every idolatry named in the Bible. Though it poses as a spiritually tolerant mindset, it is extremely intolerant of biblical Christianity.


The philosophies under its umbrella are numerous. A general summary would be any mental techniques involving altered states of consciousness through deep-breathing relaxation exercises, guided imagery, and visualization. It may also include the application of dietary or mystical folklore promising power.


Interwoven into its philosophy are a proliferation of Eastern religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism. It includes guru movements, psychotherapy cults, aberrational Christian movements, blatant satanism, witchcraft, the practice of nature worship—and the list goes on. Beliefs and practices that used to be considered overtly heathen, rooted in pantheistic evolution and confined to the streets of India or the Far East, are now common practice in tens of millions of homes across North America and Europe.


Finding the Higher Self


The road to one’s “higher self” can be long and bumpy, and those who travel it may partake of a good deal of New Age healing along the way. Many New Age/New Spirituality magazines advertise a myriad of these therapies and techniques. Such materials are often given away at health food stores throughout America and promote transcendental meditation, Yoga, Reiki (energy healing), astrology, visualization, and numerous other occultic practices.


Many modern health practitioners, including doctors and psychologists, have fallen under the spell of “holistic” medicine, a discipline in which the human body, mind, and spirit are recognized as a part of the cosmos at large. When one part of the body is ill, the healer will claim that the “spirit” must be treated by drawing on the manipulation of cosmic forces, powers, and energies. There are countless examples in the news of how New Age practices have entered the medical arena. One news article states:


Once a practice that appealed mostly to mystics and occult followers, meditation now is reaching the USA’s mainstream. . . . The medical establishment now recognizes the value of meditation and other mind-over-body states in dealing with stress-related illnesses.2


What’s more, Yoga, Eastern mediation, visualization, and other forms of hypnosis are designed to train the use of occult “energy” to escape from reality, pacify stress, and nullify ills. These notions are based on the unbiblical premise that mankind has the authority to alleviate all suffering through mind-altering techniques.


The Deceptive Promise of Godhood


The basic idea of man progressing from simple to complex, from mortality to godhood, is the underlying notion in New Age thinking. . . . The delusion that man is “literally taking control of his own evolution” is ludicrous in light of events reported daily. To imagine that we can draw from resources within ourselves as we “realize our godhood” is clear deception. The Bible says that “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:9). Solutions of goodness cannot come from man’s imagining that his heart is evolving to a higher state of purity when it is only God who can put a clean heart inside of man:


Create in me a clean heart, 0 God; and renew a right spirit within me. (Psalm 51:10)


Humanism based on a foundation that rejects God is gaining spiritual momentum among millions today who believe that within man is the potential of “God power.” A new generation is turning back to paganism rooted in evolutionism, which promotes this religious theory.


John Randolph Price, originator of World Healing Day, in his book The Superbeings says:


A new species of man is coming forth to lead us out of darkness and into a new dimension scarcely dreamed of by ninety percent of this world. This will be the New Age of Enlightenment, and science and religion will join hands in spreading the truth that man is not the man we thought he was. I thank God that I live at this time and will be able to see the next great leap forward in man’s expanding consciousness.3


This “superconsciousness” is renamed “god consciousness within,” “the god-power,” or “the christ-within.” These are just some of the names given to man’s prideful claim that he is God and can do what only God is able to do. This spiritual mirage leads millions to what they think is soul-satisfying water. But as with any mirage, it is only an illusion.


If the “enlightened” human chooses to imagine he has the ability to control his immortality, Satan will impress upon him the means with which to do it. If the would-be reincarnationist wants to believe he has the ability to come back in another life, Satan will find a form of deception that will cause him to believe it. The same principle applies to the evolutionist who has been duped into believing he came from nothing and goes to nothing. Satan is like a chameleon and can change his color to suit the need of the moment. The apostle Peter understood this. His warning is clear:


Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. (1 Peter 5:8)


Jesus also spoke of the reality of the devil and his deadly plot:


The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)


There are millions today who have chosen to reject our Creator’s grace through Jesus Christ. Countless others have not yet been presented with the choice. Tens of thousands are turning away from the traditional Judeo-Christian faith of their parents or grandparents and choosing this “new” spirituality instead. Disillusioned by materialism, churchism, secularism, and humanism, seekers of self-fulfillment are turning to this new evolutionary religiosity and embracing the lie that they can become gods, or at least have the power to control their lives and destiny. Assured of inward resources and psychic powers, they attempt to fill the spiritual vacuum they feel inside.


Every Man a God


The concept that man can evolve into higher states or godhood is fraudulent, scandalous, and a complete sham that should motivate Christians with a burning desire to fight the good fight.


The new enlightened age promise of spiritual control is the same lie perpetrated by Satan when he seduced Eve in the garden of Eden (Genesis.3:4,5). It was the same spirit of rebellion that resulted in Satan being cast out of the presence of God. Isaiah 14 recounts Satan’s story from God’s perspective. Lucifer, the “son of the morning,” with all his God-given beauty and authority, brought rebellion into the universe when in his heart he said “I will” and set his mind on ascribing God’s glory to himself.

Today this rebellion continues. Listen to some quotes by well-known religious leaders and writers who believe that man is God or that God is in all humanity.*


If you want to know the closest place to look for grace, it is within yourself. . . . To put it plainly, our unconscious is God. God within us. We were part of God all the time.4—M. Scott Peck (popular New Age writer)


One of the most important books I think I’ve read in my life was a book by Eric Butterworth. . . . Discover the Power Within You. And what Eric Butterworth said in that book is that Jesus didn’t come to teach us how divine he was, but came to teach that there is divinity within us.5—Oprah Winfrey


Quantum Spirituality bonds us to all creation as well as to other members of the human family. . . . This entails a radical doctrine of embodiment of God in the very substance of creation.6—Leonard Sweet (emergent church author)


[D]ivinity will no longer be only heavenly, other, out there, up there, beyond time and space, beyond body and death. It will also be right here, right now, in me, in the earth, in this river and this rock, in excrement and roses alike.7—Sue Monk Kidd (author of The Secret Life of Bees)


You have one Master, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who rules over all, works through all, and is present in all. Everything you are and think and do is permeated with Oneness.8—Eugene Peterson (author of The Message)


. . . underneath each of us is a “golden Buddha,” a “golden Christ” or “a golden essence,” which is our real self.9—Jack Canfield (author of Chicken Soup for the Soul books)


For the Son of God became man so that we might become God. (#460)10—from the Catechism of the Catholic Church


The God who dwells in our inner sanctuary is also the God who dwells in the inner sanctuary of every human being.11—Henri Nouwen (Catholic contemplative priest)


Because God is with you all the time, no place is any closer to God than the place where you are right now. The Bible says, “He rules everything and is everywhere and is in everything.”12—Rick Warren (said in The Purpose Driven Life)


“God” who is the ground of all being, dwells in, around, and through all things.13—William Paul Young (in The Shack)


I am above all as well as in all.14—Sarah Young (said by “Jesus” in Jesus Calling)


Word-Faith leader Kenneth Copeland says, “We are partakers of the divine nature . . . you don’t have a God in you, you are one!”15 and “Adam is as much like a god as you could get, just the same as Jesus . . . he’s God manifested in the flesh.”16 “I say this and repeat it so it doesn’t upset you too bad . . . when I read in the Bible where He [Jesus] says, ‘I Am,’ I say, ‘Yes! I am too!”17


These statements declaring that man is God or is becoming God and that God is in all His creation fit into the spiritual evolution agenda all too well. Satan’s deception, that man is God or can become God, is now being taken dangerously further. As man schemed to build a unified government with spiritual aspirations in Babel, so again today he is attempting to manipulate mass consciousness. It is the hope of many world leaders that global unity and man-made “peace” will ultimately overcome what the Bible says about the coming end of the world and that we will be able to create a world-wide Utopia. It will be the long-awaited “Age of Aquarius” when man will realize his own divinity and a world ruler will bring “peace” to the whole planet. Even religious leaders are telling us we should take the book of Revelation as a warning and not as a prophecy and bring God’s “kingdom now” to the earth. But the book of Revelation will someday be fulfilled to the last detail when Jesus returns to a planet on the brink of destruction.


Satan’s Final Strategy


There is a school of thought which states that when the collective consciousness of the “spiritually attuned masses” attains a certain level of awareness, there will be a quantum leap into global spiritual oneness.

When this critical mass happens, it will form a spiritual basis for the coming new-world order. Growing numbers await the day when their efforts of spiritual consciousness will make the quantum leap into peace possible. This outlook plays right into the hands of Satan, who has one final strategy left in his battle for men’s souls. . . .


In his last ploy, Satan will lure men away from allegiance to their Creator. He will satisfy men with a false peace and ultimately usher in a false world leader, whom the Bible calls the Antichrist. This man will deceive the masses as they perceive him to be the global leadership they have all awaited. With accelerating speed, we see mankind being conditioned to just such a scenario. Today’s media reports detail extensively the trends of global political unity, man’s hope of a new-world order, and discussions of a global financial economy.


What’s more, mainline Christian denominations and ministries are moving toward religious ecumenism that embraces both a spiritual evolution of consciousness and evolutionary views on man and the world’s existence.


Coupled with the changing views on evolution is the view by many that we need to remove the barriers that separate the world’s religions. In a 2014 NBC news article, it reported on the Roman Catholic head Pope Francis’ views on evolution:


Big Bang theory and evolution in nature “do not contradict” the idea of creation, Pope Francis has told an audience at the Vatican, saying God was not “a magician with a magic wand.” The Pope’s remarks on Monday to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences appeared to be a theological break from his predecessor Benedict XVI, a strong exponent of creationism.18


At the same time, the Pope has become a spokesperson for bringing all the religions together. In January 2016, the Pope issued a world-wide YouTube message, stating:


Many think differently, feel differently, seeking God or meeting God in different ways. In this crowd, in this range of religions, there is only one certainty that we have for all: we are all children of God.19


The Catholic News Agency reported:


[T]his month’s prayer requests focus on Francis’ desire for Interreligious Dialogue and Christian Unity. Francis offers his universal petition so that “sincere dialogue among men and women of different faiths may produce the fruits of peace and justice,” and expresses his evangelistic prayer that “by means of dialogue and fraternal charity and with the grace of the Holy Spirit, Christians may overcome divisions.”20


In 2014, Pope Francis demonstrated his views on “sincere dialogue” when he visited Turkey’s Islamic Blue Mosque “expressing reverence during a moment of prayer observed by the nation’s grand mufti, who led him on a tour of the Islamic facility.”21 An article on the event stated:


According to reports, Francis took off his shoes, folded his hands and bowed his head, standing silently next to Rahmi Yaran, who serves as the nation’s highest Islamic leader as grand mufti. The two faced Mecca as Yaran prayed with his palms raised. . . .


Francis held his first ecumenical meeting last March, greeting Christian, Muslim and Jewish leaders, as well as those who ascribe to no faith at all. During the occasion, he praised the Muslim leaders that had come for the meeting, remarking that they were men who “adore the one, living, and merciful God and who call upon Him in prayer.” 22


Profoundly revolutionary are the new missionary goals of this blossoming ecumenical, evolutionary movement. It vehemently challenges age-old values, morals, and doctrines rooted in the Bible for which the apostles, prophets, and many others were willing to be martyred. Old ways of thinking, no matter how cherished and useful in the past, have no place within post-modern man’s massive religio-political trend.


Jeremy Rifkin, leading New Age spokesperson, summarized it well:


We no longer feel ourselves to be guests in someone else’s home and therefore obliged to make our behavior conform with a set of preexisting cosmic rules. It is our creation now. We make the rules. We establish the parameters of reality. We create the world, and because we do, we no longer feel beholden to outside forces. We no longer have to justify our behavior, for we are now the architects of the universe. We are responsible to nothing outside ourselves, for we are the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever and ever.23


The Kingdom, Here and Now


The idea that man can build his own kingdom of heaven on earth distorts the Christian’s biblical hope of the true heaven and breeds horrendous apostasy in the church. This condition is prophesied in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, which says that before the Antichrist, or false messiah, can assert himself as world leader of Satan’s kingdom on earth, there will be a “falling away” from the faith by the church. Millions of proclaiming Christians have become corrupted by the world’s agenda and are even now playing into the hands of the enemy in his quest to dupe men into believing that world consolidation will bring about a satisfying peace.


Reconstructionism, a movement significantly affecting the evangelical church, claims that Christ’s return is dependent upon a global political takeover by Christians who must establish His kingdom on earth before He can return. Advocates of Kingdom Now and Dominion Theology join in this dangerous perpetration of such heresy. Certain charismatics in mainline denominations fall into the same apostasy, adopting Latter Rain and Manifest Sons of God theology which claim that a “raising” of Christian consciousness is necessary to restore God’s earthly kingdom.


How presumptuous to think that God needs the help of either Christians or nonbelievers to accomplish His destiny! The Christian’s citizenship is not here on Earth but in Heaven (Hebrews 11:8-10, 16). To conquer the world for God is not the ministry to which God called His church. To compromise the Great Commission is to do a corrupt disservice to the command of Christ.


Jesus said, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19,20).

The emerging church, a movement that began in the late 1990s and by some estimates claims over twenty million mostly young people,24 holds to the view that the kingdom of God is already here on Earth and that there will be no second return of Christ.


People who are deceived by these various movements will also be deceived when a world leader comes on the scene and proclaims himself to be the “Christ” that they were able to usher in due to their “important” political and social justice maneuvering.


Everywhere on Earth, Christians and other groups will praise him as a genius of global political peace. The Jews will gratefully acclaim him as the peacemaker, their long-awaited “Messiah.”


The evolutionists will see him as naturalistic emanation that formed from the cosmic universe, which at last scientifically proves that order can come out of chaos.


The Infinite Wisdom of God


As we analyze our society, it is easy to see we are being steeped in the concept that physical evolution is responsible for shaping the past and that spiritual evolution is able to create our future.


To accept the outrageous idea that godhood lies within man, not only as a personal evolutionary pilgrimage but on a grand scale, brings heavy warnings from God:


Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God . . . Behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness. (Ezekiel 28:2,7)


History has proven that man’s godhood can never happen. Anytime that man attempts to rule the universe, he must fall as we see in the humbling process that befell King Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4:30-35. To believe that man can bring in an age of lasting peace apart from God is to believe the lie that out of chaos comes order. But method cannot come out of madness.


Method and order are the faithful characteristics of a God of love and are transparently seen in His creation. Method and order belong to a God with eternal intentions, who gracefully shows that every jot and tittle in the Bible have an ultimate purpose in revealing Him as Truth and Love. Method and order are part of the infinite wisdom of a God filled with the purpose of bringing mankind into a loving relationship with Him, through His Son, Jesus, who died as a remission for the sins of the world “that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).




*This set of quotes can be found in Warren B. Smith’s booklet, Be Still and Know That You Are NOT God .


(photo from bigstockphoto.com; used with permission)


Endnotes:


    

  1. Fritjof Capra, The Turning Point (Toronto, CA: Bantam, 1982), pp. 77-78.
    2. 

  2. USA Weekend Sunday Supplement, July 24-26, 1987, p. 12.
    3. 

  3. John Randolph Price, The Superbeings (New York, NY: Ballantine Books, 1981), p. 17.
    4. 

  4. M. Scott Peck, The Road Less Traveled: A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth (New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1978), p. 281.
    5. 

  5. The Oprah Winfrey Show # W265, “The New Age Movement,” Air Date: September 18, 1987.
    6. 

  6. Leonard Sweet, Quantum Spirituality: A Postmodern Apologetic (Dayton, OH: Whaleprints for SpiritVenture Ministries, Inc., 1991, 1994), p. 125.
    7. 

  7. Sue Monk Kidd, The Dance of the Dissident Daughter: A Woman’s Journey from Christian Tradition to the Sacred Feminine (New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers Inc.,1992), p. 160.
    8. 

  8. Eugene Peterson, The Message: The New Testament in Contemporary Language (Colorado Springs, CO: Nav Press, 1993, 2003), pp. 21-22.
    9. 

  9. Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, Chicken Soup for the Soul: 101 Stories to Open the Heart and Rekindle the Spirit (Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications, Inc., 1993), p. 69.
    10. 

  10. Catechism of the Catholic Church (New York, NY: Doubleday, 1995), p. 229.
    11. 

  11. Henri Nouwen, Here and Now (New York, NY: The Crossroad Publishing Company, 1997 edition), p. 22.
    12. 

  12. Rick Warren, The Purpose-Driven Life: What on Earth am I Here For? (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), p. 88.
    13. 

  13. William P. Young, The Shack: Where Tragedy Confronts Eternity (Newbury Park, CA: Windblown Media, 2007), p. 112.
    14. 

  14. Sarah Young, Jesus Calling (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2004), p. 199.
    15. 

  15. Kenneth Copeland, “The Force of Love” cassette tape #02-0028.
    16. 

  16. Kenneth Copeland, “Following the Faith of Abraham” cassette tape, 1989.
    17. 

  17. Kenneth Copeland, “Believers Voice of Victory,” broadcast on TBN. July 9, 1987.
    18. 

  18. “Pope Francis: Evolution and Big Bang Theory Are Real” (NBC News, October 28, 2014, http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/pope-francis-evolution-big-bang-theory-are-real-n235696).
    19. 

  19. The Pope Video—Inter-religious Dialogue—January 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nq7us5Lf5IU.
    20. 

  20. Elise Harris, “In First Prayer Video, Pope Stresses Interfaith Unity: ‘We Are All Children of God’” (Catholic News Agency, January 7, 2016, http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/in-first-video-message-pope-francis-stresses-unity-we-are-all-children-of-god-39381/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=email).
    21. 

  21. Heather Clark, “‘Pope Francis’ Bows Head in ‘Silent Adoration’ Beside Islamic Grand Mufti in Turkey’s Blue Mosque” (Christian News Network, November 29, 2014, http://christiannews.net/2014/11/29/pope-francis-bows-head-in-silent-adoration-beside-islamic-grand-mufti-in-turkeys-blue-mosque.
    22. 

  22. Ibid.
    23. 

  23. Jeremy Rifkin, Algeny (New York, NY: Viking Press 1983), p. 244.
    24. 

  24. Antonio Mora, “New Faithful Practice Away From Churches” (Chicago News, CBS Broadcasting, July 10, 2006, http://www.religionnewsblog.com/15295/Some-Say-20-Million-Participate-In-Emerging-Church-Movement).
    25. 



 

			

		

		
		

			
							

		


	

		
	

		
		
EX-MUSLIMS EXPOSE MUSLIM-CATHOLIC DIALOGUE AS DECEPTIVE EXERCISE IN PROSELYTIZING FOR ISLAM
		
		
 

	
		
		
					

			
		

						
EX-MUSLIMS EXPOSE MUSLIM-CATHOLIC DIALOGUE AS DECEPTIVE EXERCISE IN PROSELYTIZING FOR ISLAM


BY ROBERT SPENCER


SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2020/05/ex-muslims-expose-muslim-catholic-dialogue-as-deceptive-exercise-in-proselytizing-for-islam;


republished below in full unedited for informational, educational and research purposes:



“The chasm between Islam and Jahiliyyah [the society of unbelievers] is great, and a bridge is not to be built across it so that the people on the two sides may mix with each other, but only so that the people of Jahiliyyah may come over to Islam.” — Sayyid Qutb, Milestones, chapter 10. (Mother Mosque Foundation edition p. 140)


It is abundantly clear from this report that the Muslim framers of the bu Dhabi declaration were following Qutb’s guidance and crafting a document designed to lead Catholics to Islam. Meanwhile, the Catholic partners in the dialogue had no idea that this was happening, and assumed that their partners were operating in good faith as they were. Their naivete will cost the lives of the Christians murdered in the lands of Islam while no one speaks up for them, for fear of harming the dialogue, much less lifts a finger to defend them.


“Leave them; they are blind guides. And if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” (Matthew 15:14)




“Ex-Muslims Unmask Abu Dhabi ‘Deception,’” by Jules Gomes, ChurchMilitant.com, May 27, 2020:


ROME (ChurchMilitant.com) – A network of Muslim converts, who face the death penalty for apostasy from Islam, are denouncing the Abu Dhabi declaration as a “deception” for “subtle but significant differences” in the Arabic text of the document.


The ex-Muslims from the Arab world are also lamenting Cdl. Gerhard Müller’s naïveté after the orthodox prelate defended the covenant on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together in the May-June issue of Communio.


Müller insists that the text focuses on “fundamental human rights” with “God as their originator and guarantor,” because “all people are born free and equal in dignity and rights” and “human rights are based on the dignity that God himself bestowed on every human being.”


In a preliminary analysis of the declaration shown to Church Militant on condition of anonymity, the Arab-speaking converts say that Cdl. Müller’s reading is not based on the “Islamic theological implications of the Arabic text,” and this reflects his inability to see through the “deception” and fall for the “fake human rights rhetoric.”


Deception in the Details


The ex-Muslims note that the “linguistic/theological dissimulation” begins in the very first sentence of the covenant: “Faith leads a believer to see in the other a brother or sister to be supported and loved (emphasis added).”


In the Arabic version, the “believer” is the “mu’min” — an Islamic term referring only to a believer in the rigid oneness of God with a rejection of the Trinity (Tawheed) and in Muhammad. Surah 24:62 states, “The believers (mu’min) are only those who believe in Allah and His Messenger … .”


Also, in the Arabic version, there is no mention of “sister” as the reference here is to the Muslim community (ummah) and not to the universal fraternity of all who believe in a generic God.


Again, while the declaration states: “In the name of God who has created all human beings equal in rights, duties and dignity, and who has called them to live together as brothers and sisters, to fill the earth,” the converts maintain that in the Arabic version “equality” is not attributed to “human beings” but refers instead to other “beings,” termed “creatures.”


In Christian anthropology, humans are created in God’s image and called to share God’s life. Both of these notions are anathema to Islam, which considers them blasphemous.


“This is a critical distinction since in Islam there is no equality among human beings. Non-Muslims are not equal to Muslims, nor are women equal to men,” a convert who practiced Islamic jurisprudence in an Arab country told Church Militant.


“‘Creation’ in the Koran is different from creation in the Bible,” he said. “The term ‘God’ in English is generic, but in the Arabic version, the focus is on the Islamic God who created (a) human beings, (b) the universe and (c) other beings, termed ‘creatures’ — which, in Islam, also includes all non-human beings, i.e., animals, the jinn (supernatural spirits below the level of angels and demons), and satanic beings.”


The Sharia scholar further observes that in the Arabic version the term for “God” in the opening sentence of the declaration is Bismillah ( باسمِ الله), which excludes all other understandings of God. It also imposes the Islamic concept of Tawheed and the rule of Allah.


“The rest of the text of this quotation is based on Surah 49:13, ‘O mankind, indeed we have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most pious of you … .’ Implicitly, this applies to Muslims only,” he explains.


When referring to fraternity among all human beings, the English version states: “In the name of freedom that God has given to all human beings creating them free (emphasis added) … .” But the Arabic translation of “creating them free” ( وفطَرَهُم عليها ) states that God has created them according to the fitrah.


“This fitrah is an Islamic doctrine that states that all humans are created ‘Muslims,’ i.e., the DNA of every human is Islam, as per Surah 30:30, ‘So direct your face toward the religion (Islam), inclining to truth. [Adhere to] the fitrah of Allah upon which He has created [all] mankind … .” the expert underscores….




 

			

		

		
		

			
							

		


	

		
	

		
		
DAVID CLOUD’S “WAY OF LIFE” RECENT ARTICLES
		
		
 

	
		
		
					

			
		

						
DAVID CLOUD’S “WAY OF LIFE” 


RECENT ARTICLES




SEE: https://www.wayoflife.org/friday_church_news/21-21.php;


republished below in full unedited for informational, educational and research


purposes:




DARLENE ZSCHECH SOLD HER SEASIDE MANSION FOR $4 MILLION 


(Friday Church News Notes, May 22, 2020, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) -


Darlene Zschech, former worship leader of Hillsong Sydney, has sold her seaside mansion for a reported $4-$4.4 million. The cliffside property, with a nearly 360 degree view of the ocean, is 1,258sqm with three levels, multiple entertainment areas, private movie theater, pool, and several cliff facing balconies (“Former Hillsong Church Leader,” Warwick Daily News, May 13, 2020). Zschech was “worship pastor” at Hills Christian Life Centre, Sydney, for 25 years, and published many of the most popular contemporary worship songs, including “Shout to the Lord,” “This Is Our God,” and “Mighty to Save.” In 2010, Darlene and her husband became the senior pastors of Hope Unlimited Church, but she continues to be involved in music projects with Hillsong. The New York Times reported that Hillsong is “without a doubt the most influential producers of worship music in Christendom” (“Megachurch with a Beat Lures Young Flock,” Sept. 9, 2014). Hillsong pushes one-world church ecumenism. Zschech says, “There is a new sound and a new song being proclaimed across the earth. It’s the sound of a unified church, coming together, in one voice to magnify our magnificent Lord” (“You Shine” album cover). Zschech and Hillsong performed for the Roman Catholic World Youth Day in Sydney on July 18, 2008. Pope Benedict XVI was present and conducted a papal mass. In July 2015, Darlene Zschech and Hillsong joined hands with the pope at the Convocation of the Renewal of the Holy Spirit at the Vatican. On her Facebook page, Zschech said: “Honoured to be singing this week, with Andrea Bocelli, Don Moen, Noa [Israeli singer], with Pope Francis and thousands of worshippers gathering in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. This is a celebration of unity and peace in the Renewal of the Holy Spirit. Amazing days for the Body of Christ.” Sadly, she doesn’t know the “body of Christ” from a pineapple, has zero spiritual discernment, yet she has vast influence among all denominations, including independent Baptist. In January 2019 and 2020, Hillsong Phoenix hosted the annual Alpha Conference which featured a Catholic mass. Fundamental Baptists and Bible-believing churches that use charismatic contemporary praise music are playing with fire. They will learn, probably too late, that this music brings with it a philosophy that will change the character of any fundamentalist church. It builds bridges to the “broader church,” which is progressing toward the formation of a “one-world church.”




WHEN HEBREW WAS PROPOSED AS THE LANGUAGE OF AMERICA 




(Friday Church News Notes, May 22, 2020, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) -


The following is excerpted from “How Hebrew Almost Became the Language of America,” Israel Today, May 5, 2020: “William Gifford, an English poet and essayist, received a report that ‘In the rebellion of the Colonies, a member of that state seriously proposed to Congress the putting down of the English language by law, and decreeing the universal adoption of Hebrew in its stead.’ Some believe this was intended as a mockery of the mutinous colonists, but there is sufficient evidence to show that this was a very real and serious consideration. New England Puritans held a profound connection with Israel, the Hebrew language and the Jewish people. In their conviction that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God, they held the original Hebrew in great reverence and of particular importance in interpreting and understanding Scripture. ... William Bradford (1590-1657) was a Puritan separatist who immigrated to the Plymouth Colony on the Mayflower in 1620. Bradford, who went on to serve as governor of the new colony for 25 years, taught himself Hebrew because he wanted to read the Scriptures in their original language. On his gravestone he had inscribed in Hebrew, ‘The LORD is the help of my life’ ... Their love of Hebrew led these early New England Christian ministers to develop relationships with Jewish rabbis. Rev. Ezra Stiles, who was driven out by the British in 1776 and immigrated to New England, struck up a close friendship with Rabbi Haim Isaac Carigal. ... With his knowledge of Hebrew, Stiles translated large portions of the Hebrew Old Testament into English. As did many Christian ministers at the time, he understood that knowledge of the original Hebrew was crucial to the proper interpretation of Scripture and even the basis upon which one could properly understand the New Testament as well. Credit is sometimes given to Stiles for proposing that Hebrew replace English as the official language of the newly forming United States. When Stiles was elected president of Yale University, he initiated a course in Hebrew as a freshman requirement. The Hebrew words Urim and Thummim worn on the breastplate of the High Priest, perhaps signifying ‘Light and Perfection,’ became part of Yale’s official seal along with the Latin Lux et Veritas (light and truth).”


DUTCH SUPREME COURT RULES THAT DOCTORS CAN EUTHANIZE ELDERLY WITHOUT THEIR CONSENT 


(Friday Church News Notes, May 22, 2020, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) -


The following is excerpted from “Dutch Supreme Court Rules,” Reformation Charlotte, May 6, 2020: “If abortion against the unwilling infants still inside the mother’s womb isn’t bad enough, why not legalize abortion against elderly patients with dementia against their will? In a landmark ruling last month, the Dutch Supreme Court said that a doctor who committed euthanasia on an elderly patient with dementia while her family physically restrained her is not legally responsible for any wrongdoing. The Guardian reports: ‘Doctors in the Netherlands are able to carry out euthanasia on patients with severe dementia without fear of prosecution even if the patient no longer expresses an explicit wish to die, the country’s highest court has ruled. The supreme court’s decision followed a landmark case last year in which a doctor was acquitted of wrongdoing for euthanizing a woman in 2016 with severe Alzheimer’s who had requested the procedure before her condition deteriorated.’”


NINTH CIRCUIT COURT REVIVES CHURCH’S LAWSUIT AGAINST CALIFORNIA ABORTION INSURANCE MANDATE 


(Friday Church News Notes, May 22, 2020, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) -


The following is excerpted from “Ninth Circuit,” Christian Post, May 15, 2020: “A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has revived a California church’s lawsuit against a state law mandating insurance coverage for abortion. Skyline Wesleyan Church of La Mesa sued the California Department of Managed Health Care over letters from 2014 stating that insurance companies could not limit abortion coverage. ... The [Ninth Circuit] panel vacated the earlier district court ruling in a unanimous decision released Wednesday, sending the case back to the lower court for further proceedings. Circuit Judge Michelle Friedland authored the panel’s opinion, concluding that ‘Skyline has suffered an injury in fact. Before the Letters were sent, Skyline had insurance that excluded abortion coverage in a way that was consistent with its religious beliefs,’ Friedland wrote. ‘After the Letters were sent, Skyline did not have that coverage, and it has presented evidence that its new coverage violated its religious beliefs. There is nothing hypothetical about the situation.’ The Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative law firm that represented the church before the Ninth Circuit, celebrated the panel’s decision. ‘The agency has unconstitutionally targeted religious organizations, repeatedly collaborated with pro-abortion advocates, and failed to follow the appropriate administrative procedures to implement its abortion-coverage requirement,’ said ADF Senior Counsel Jeremiah Galus.”


LOOKING FOR CHRIST’S RETURN THE MARK OF A TRUE CHRISTIAN 


(Friday Church News Notes, May 22, 2020, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) -


“I believe it is a mark, that every true believer should be continually at,--to live so as to be ready to meet Christ. ... It is vain to tell me that a man may be a very good man, and yet not be ready for the kingdom of Christ. I deny it altogether. I say that every justified and converted man is ready, and that if you are not ready you are not a justified man. I say that the standard I put before you is nothing more than the New Testament standard, and the Apostles would have doubted your religion, if you were not looking and longing for the coming of the Lord. ... Yet a little while and the last sermon shall be preached,--the last congregation shall break up. Yet a little while and carelessness and infidelity shall cease and pass away. The believers among us shall meet with Christ, and the unbelievers shall be in hell. The night is far spent, and the day is at hand” (J.C. Ryle, Coming Events and Present Duties, 1879). “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation” (Hebrews 9:28).

			

		

		
		

			
							

		


	

		
	

		
		
APOSTASY: LUTHERANS PRAY TO MOTHER GOD FOR HELP, JUST LIKE ROMAN CATHOLICS
		
		
 

	
		
		
					

			
		

						
Lutherans Pray to Mother God


LUTHERANS PRAY TO MOTHER GOD FOR HELP


BY DAVID CLOUD



republished below in full unedited for informational, educational and research


purposes:


LUTHERANS PRAY TO MOTHER GOD FOR HELP


(Friday Church News Notes, May 8, 2020, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) -


On April 28 the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America posted a prayer tweet addressed to “Mother God,” asking her to “raise us up to salvation ... so we may share the sweetness of your holy word with all the world.” This was one of the ELCA’s #Bread4theday Twitter posts. The ELCA is the largest Lutheran denomination in America, and it is obviously apostate. The ELCA Publishing House has printed countless volumes which promote unbelief. For example, in 1988 an ELCA book by Ragnar Leivestad, entitled Jesus in His Own Perspective, goofily claimed that Jesus never invoked for himself a special position and did not claim messianic titles. The World Council of Churches, of which the ELCA is a member, is filled with mother goddess worship. ELCA women participated in the WCC’S “Re-imagining Conference” in 1993 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Star Tribune reported that “throughout the conference worship experiences will celebrate Sophia, the biblical goddess of creation” (Nov. 3, 1993). On Sunday morning, the conferees joined together in repeating a prayer to their female goddess, including these words, “Our maker Sophia, we are women in your image. ... With the honey of wisdom in our mouths, we prophesy a full humanity to all the peoples.” At the WCC’s Seventh Assembly in 1991 South Korean Presbyterian Chung Hyun-Kyung evoked a female Holy Spirit (Religious News Service, Mar. 5, 1991). The WCC publication No Longer Strangers, a joint project with the Lutheran World Federation, which includes the ELCA, suggested that God be addressed as “The Source, Lady of peace, Lady of wisdom, Lady of love, Lady of birth, Lord of stars, Lord of planets, Mother, Home, Presence, Power, Essence, Simplicity.” Consider the poem “Bakerwoman God,” which is to be used in church services: “Bakerwoman God, I am your living bread. Strong, brown, Bakerwoman God ... Put me in your fire, Bakerwoman God ... Break me, Bakerwoman God. ... Bakerwoman God, remake me.” The hour is very late, folks!

			

		

		
		

			
							

		


	


			  

					
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