Showing posts with label noise of thunder. Show all posts
Showing posts with label noise of thunder. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Christians and Conspiracy Theories: Witnessing, Romans 1 and An Appeal (Part 4)

Posted by Christine Pack and Cathy Mathews

In the past few days, we've written extensively about Christians and the conspiracy theories, and the wisdom of such a focus. We want to make it clear that just because biblical history records conspiracies doesn't mean that as believers we should study conspiracies. There is plenty of evil in the world that is plain, that we already know of, that we should address. We don't need to decode Katy Perry's or Madonna's or Beyonce's song lyrics according to some conspiracy theory website in order to determine that they are wicked and promoting a wicked lifestyle. It's plain to see from what they have recorded and how they live.

With this is mind, please consider the following two examples for witnessing to the lost:
THE BIBLICAL WAY:
Christian to a lost person: "Did you notice what Katy Perry was singing about in the half-time show? Her lyrics encourage out-of-wedlock sex and homosexuality. God teaches that fidelity in marriage is a blessing and that homosexuality is a sin in his eyes, let me show you. 
Lost person: It does? Okay, can you show me that?
contrasted with......
THE CONSPIRACY THEORIST'S WAY:
Christian to a lost person: Did you watch Katy Perry's Super Bowl performance? First of all, she's the woman who rides the beast from Revelation 17. And about that costume, did you notice....(insert four thousand more words here on the costumes, symbols and hand signals of the half-time show)." 
Lost person: Zzzzzzzz (asleep)
 Romans 1 and Suppressing The Truth In Unrighteousness 

The Bible is all we need in terms of understanding why the lost are enslaved to Satan. Romans 1 stands in stark contrast to the claims of conspiracy theorists on how people become enslaved to sin, which is that these symbols, or hand signals, or corporate logos, or whatever, somehow "condition" people to accept Satan's schemes. But this is simply not true. When unconverted people stand before God at their judgment, God will not say:
"You were under Satan's spell because you looked at a symbol. It was a Satanic symbol, but because you didn't take the time to study symbols, and therefore identify one correctly, you were put into bondage under Satan."
Nor will He say:
"Remember that ad you saw in the magazine that time. Well, it had an embedded Satanic message that your subconscious mind saw, and this ensnared you in Satan's trap. Too bad there was nobody schooled in 'visual literacy' that could have pointed this out to you." ('Visual literacy' is a term that was used by a recent commenter to explain why Christians need to study symbols for occult meaning, and warn others about them.)
No....but what God will say is something like this:
"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen." (Romans 1:18-25)
They will be condemned because although God makes His existence self-evident and plain to men, they suppress this truth in unrighteousness.

Men love their sin.

This is what binds men to Satan.

Men are not ensnared unknowingly and unwillingly through subliminal messages or imbedded symbols, but are enslaved knowingly and willingly through denying the clear evidence of their Creator and refusing to honor Him as God or give Him thanks. They refuse to come to Him on the terms He has given (faith in His Son Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins).

That's it. And that is God's own prescription for what enslaves people.

 God's Children Marked By Love 

Given that America has increasingly cast off moral restraint, no-one is denying that there are almost certainly darker times ahead for believers. We're just discouraging the fearmongering websites that cause believers to become, in our experience, angry, paranoid, panicky and mean-spirited when biblically challenged about the wisdom of looking at conspiracy websites. We're not saying all those who frequent conspiracy websites are this way. But Christians are told by God that they WILL be marked by love. Well, many of the conspiracy theorists who have come onto our Facebook wall to debate this in the past few days have been mean, foul-mouthed, unkind, panicky and angry. Those are not the fruits of the Spirit.

 A Final Appeal 

Let me close with a direct appeal to our friends, the conspiracy theorists: please understand that our desire really is to see Christians who are caught up in conspiratorial thinking to become free from this snare. Because even if it's ALL true, every bit of it, so what? What are you going to do with all this information that you get from your conspiracy websites? Are you going to storm the doors and demand answers? They shoot people at the White House for that. You know that, right? What about the resorts where the world leaders are (allegedly) meeting to conspire evil? You can't get in there, those are gated communities, and even if you could, what would you do? Pass out You Might Be An Illuminati Member If..... pamphlets? They'd cart you off and lock you up in a padded cell.

I mean honestly, what is the point of looking at this stuff, and supposedly "educating yourself" on it all? What is the end-game for it?

What lost people need is not a dissertation on evil. They need Christ. They need the gospel message. They need to be helped to understand what sin is, and then told that they need to repent and believe on Christ for the forgiveness of sins.

Let's keep our eyes on the Christ, and make sure we're keeping our hearts pure, and making sure our time is being wisely spent on the study of the Scriptures, and not in hours of time spent poring over conspiracy websites. Let us strive to remember that this increasingly dark world is not our home, but that we can entrust whatever wickedness is here to the LORD. May we continue to preach Jesus Christ and him crucified. And when souls are saved through the preaching of the gospel, those new believers WILL leave behind the trappings of the world of their own accord, because He who has begun a good work in them will bring it to completion, will He not?
"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Tim 3:16-17) 
"Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." (Phil 4:8)
"But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." (1 Peter 3:15)
"The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day." (Prov 4:18)
* * * * * * * *

The rest of this series can be read here:
PART 1 - Christians and Conspiracy Theories (Katy Perry, the 2015 Super Bowl halftime performances, Now The End Begins website)  
PART 2 - Christians and Conspiracy Theories (Madonna, the 2015 Grammys)  
PART 3 - Conspiracy Theories: Dark Times, Truth, Lies and Where Christians Should Put Their Focus
PART 5 - Christians and Conspiracy Theories: A Biblical Response (CONCLUSION)

 Additional Resources 


Conspiracy Theories Are Bunk (Dr R Scott Clark, Heidelblog)

The Christian and Conspiracy Theories
 (Ken Samples, Issues Etc.)


David Rockefeller, the New World Order, and the Necessity of Verifying Internet Quotes (Nick Peters)

Why Creation Ministries International Rejects ‘Conspiracy’ Theorizing (Drs Robert Carter and Jonathan Sarfati, Creation Ministries International)


Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Dr. James White (AOMin), Fred Butler (GTY) Weigh In On The Problem With Conspiracy Videos

Posted by Christine Pack
"I have a loved one who is into political conspiracy theories. For example, a couple of years ago, he told me a few months before the Presidential election that it would not take place because the US would be under martial law by that time and Obama would be ruler for life. Innocent citizens will be shot down by drones as they're walking down the street. The Illuminati is behind everything. There are secret military training camps hidden all over the country. His latest is hiding away survival materials in the instance that he would need to protect himself against government attacks. I'm starting to worry about his sanity. Still, he is a strong, Bible-believing Christian. Are there any biblical resources out there that I can pass along to him to perhaps persuade him to forget all this craziness and trust Christ?" (message received from a reader of our blog)
Why do people become captivated by conspiracy theories? Why do some otherwise rational thinkers begin to follow rabbit trails in their thinking, rabbit trails which conjure up all manner of nefarious mischief being plotted, when there is no evidence to support their beliefs? More specifically, why do some Christians become ensnared by such thinking, given that, of all people in the world, Christians should be those with the most hope and the most joy, and should not given to suspicious, paranoid thinking, such as is engendered by the conspiratorial worldview? Is there even a balanced way to think about conspiracy theories? What about secret plots that have existed over the years and which have come to light (such as the KGB brainwashing, Nazi human experimentation, etc.)?

With those thoughts in mind, I would like to point our readers to two of today's Christian writers who are tackling this topic of the conspiratorial worldview head on. On a recent Dividing Line program, Dr. James White of Alpha and Omega Ministries discussed the production of conspiracy videos in which spooky, manipulative music and leading language take the place of actual scholarly data. The specific film being discussed was Tares Among The Wheat by filmmaker and talk show host Chris Pinto, and in this segment, Dr. White christened Pinto's filmmaking style as the "the spooky music proof approach." Unfortunately, the sad reality is that these fringy films have a way of getting around in the Christian community, and thus it is a real service to the body of Christ for our respected leaders to acknowledge that these films are out there, and take the time the refute them, as Dr. White has done. (The segment begins at about the 11 minute mark in the video below.)




(NOTE: Dr. James White of AOMin also recently participated in a public debate with Chris Pinto regarding the issue of Codex Sinaiticus as a Jesuit forgery.....you can listen to the debate in its entirety here.)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

Writer Fred Butler (who works with John MacArthur's GTY media ministry) has also weighed in on Chris Pinto's film with his article entitled Tares Among The Wheat, A Review. In his review, Butler noted that the reason he felt the need to review this film was because Chris Pinto has been given credibility by his association with a Christian ministry that has a number of credible teachers associated with it. From Butler's article:
"Someone who is driven by a conspiratorial world view isn’t taken seriously by most regenerated, sober-minded, Bible-believing Christians. However, within the last few years, Pinto has gained more recognition by being numbered among Brannon Howse’s Worldview Weekend ministry partners. A conspiracy theorist is featured along with other reputable Christian men including John Whitcomb, pastor Mike Abendroth, Justin Peters, and Erwin Lutzer.  That association provides him some credibility that I don’t believe he deserves, nor is it one the Christian church at large needs." (online source)
As I've written before, my own thinking became fear-based for a brief season of my Christian walk by scaremongering radio shows, websites and videos. After all, as an ex-occultist, I am fully aware that there is genuine evil out there, that occultic and New Age groups do use occultic symbols, etc., etc. It was only in conversations with my friend Marcia Montenegro (who is also a former occultist/New Ager and who writes for Christian Answers For The New Age) that my own thinking became more biblically aligned. Out of those conversations, I asked Marcia to write an article on symbols that really was a turning point in my own Christian walk as far as steadying me in this regard. (You can read that article here.) So please understand that my true desire is to exhort my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to guard their minds against this kind of fear-based teaching. God did NOT mean for us to walk in fear! Yes, it is true that Jesus, Paul, and most (if not all) of the apostles were targeted by conspiratorial groups (which were in all likelihood guided by Satan), groups that sought and achieved their deaths. And yet, Scripture nowhere exhorted them (and by extension, us) to focus on the evidences of these conspiracies, but only to continue studying God's word, growing in the faith, and sharing Christ with the lost.

 God's Sovereignty 

When I did a Precepts study on the book of Isaiah a few years ago, one of my takeaways from that year of study was a real wonder and marvel at the sovereignty of God. Such knowledge brings what can only be described as a supernatural peace, and I truly wish this kind of peace for my Christian brothers and sisters enslaved to a focus on Conspiracy Theories. In Isaiah, God reveals himself as an omnipotent being so powerful that He has the ability to swing the pagan rulers over his head like a club and mete out punishment to the Israelites using these pagan kings as a disciplining tool. He reveals himself as a God who knows the end from the beginning, as a God who sets up (and takes down) rulers, as the One who says "I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass." (Isa 46:11) Such knowledge of God should bring us peace and joy, even in the midst of this dark and crooked generation in which we live.

A very helpful passage from Isaiah 8 (below) very specifically and pointedly addresses conspiracies, one of the few places in Scripture where God does so. And before I get a barrage of emails with scriptures mentioning plots and conspiracies, please try to understand that just because there are Bible verses that do mention plots and conspiracies, this does NOT mean that Christians should extrapolate out from that that we should spend hours of our time on the internet, attempting to connect this nefarious group to that nefarious group. That's a very, very poor hermeneutic.
"For the Lord spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: 'Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.'" (Isaiah 8:11-13)
I have personally dealt with Christians completely ensnared to the conspiratorial worldview, and if you try to lovingly and gently point out why this type of material isn’t edifying to the Christian walk, ah well, then, *you* must therefore be part of The Big Conspiracy. You’re not a fellow Christian, you’re One Of Them. It’s very tidy, how this whole cottage industry first preys upon people’s fears and then answers back to the naysayers who would attempt to bring in a reasoned, biblical response to those ensnared by the teachings being peddled. And make no mistake: there is an entire cottage industry of these kinds of videos that lurks within Christendom, ready to prey upon Christian’s fears. Illuminati! Bilderberg! The all-seeing-eye! Oh my! It’s a real moneymaking endeavor for the person who can convince his audience that he alone is the decoder who can help them Connect The Dots, because well, they will just keep coming back for more…and more…and more. What I eventually began to realize, through God’s grace and the Holy Spirit growing me in discernment, was that God truly never meant for us to walk in fear of Satan’s schemes, but by being undergirded with the truth of God’s word which commands us to fear ONLY the Lord (Prov 1:7 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom”).



In closing, I want to say clearly that while the conspiracy stuff is not considered an essential, this is still NOT a minor issue. Conspiratorial thinking is not only not edifying to the Christian walk, but as I stated earlier, nowhere in Scripture are we taught to unravel supposed conspiracies. Instead, we're to keep our eyes fixed firmly on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith (Heb 12:2). I know several Christians who attest to having gotten involved with this conspiracy stuff, and that it made them fearful, anxious and perhaps even a tad pietistic (and I mean "pietistic" in the sense of feeling one has superior knowledge to other "lesser" Christians who are supposedly clueless of all these supposed secret societies actively working to do spiritual mischief). A Christian friend, who at one time was ensnared by the conspiratorial mindset, made the following remark to me:
"All I know is my family used to joke around about me wearing a tin foil hat. Were they intrigued? Yes. I could tell them all kinds of Illuminati, Masonic, Satan worship, mind stealing stories and keep them glued to my pc for hours!!! Did they get saved? No. Did they hear the gospel? Not really. They wanted to hear more conspiracy junk over what the Bible has to say. They didn't care if I had any good MacArthur downloads. I'm glad I turned away from that stuff because there isn't a whole lot I can do about the New World Order. But....God can and God is still on the throne and I'd much rather prepare myself to meet Him. He's really the one we should fear and not the Jesuits creeping around. Let 'em creep. God's watching them and they can only do what He allows. Why scare the heck out of yourselves and your loved ones? Not edifying at all."
To answer the question posed at the beginning of this article about whether or not there is a balanced way for Christians to view conspiracy theories, the answer is yes, there is. Simply put, it involves weighing actual evidence, and not just relying on anecdotal accounts or speculation. Of all people, Christians know that there is real evil in the world, and that we have a real Adversary, a real spiritual presence that is alive and well and active in the world today ("Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." 1 Peter 5:8). But, we also know that a sovereign Lord  rules and reigns over the affairs of man, and that what we are commanded to do is simple: contend for truth and share the gospel.
"Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith." (Hebrews 12:1-2a)
"Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let them say among the nations, 'The LORD reigns!'" (1 Chronicles 16:31)
"Say among the nations, 'The LORD reigns.' The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity." (Psalm 96:10)
"The LORD reigns, let the nations tremble; he sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake." (Psalm 99:1)
"The LORD has established His throne in the heavens; And His sovereignty rules over all." (Psalm 103:19)
"In the LORD's hand the king's heart is a stream of water that he channels toward all who please him." (Proverbs 22:1)
"Thus says the LORD, 'Do not learn the way of the nations, and do not be terrified by the signs of the heavens Although the nations are terrified by them'" (Jeremiah 10:2)
"Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God." (Romans 13:1)
"It is God changes times and seasons; He removes kings and sets up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding." (Daniel 2:21)
"Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints." (Jude 1:3)
"For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." (1 Corinthians 2:2)
Satan is alive and well, and is a very real and active presence in the world today. We're not to be ignorant of his schemes (2 Cor 2:11), but only in the sense that we need to know how to tear down the strongholds of worldly wisdom raised up against God's unchanging truth, and that we do by applying God's word, rightly divided, "for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds" (2 Cor 10:4). The answer is to refute the false beliefs with truth from God's word. Our battle is doctrinal, it has to do with ideas, not with things like decoding symbols or connecting the dots from this nefarious group to that nefarious group. With all this in mind, not only do I now refuse to have any part of any ministry actively selling videos that serve to ensnare Christians with a conspiratorial worldview, I would even go a step further and say that because I see such thinking as being so potentially damaging to the Christian walk, I believe I have something of a responsibility to actively warn against teachings that serve to create such a mindset. And thankfully, more Christians (James White of AOMin, Fred Butler of GTY, etc.) are also now beginning to weigh in on this topic. It's an important issue to address and for all of us as Christians to be mindful of as we navigate our own Christian walks.

photo credit: James Provost via photopin cc


 Resources About Conspiracy Theories 
The Christian and Conspiracy Theories (Ken Samples, Issues Etc.)
The Christian and Conspiracies (Faith Defenders)
Christians and Conspiracy Theories: A Call to Repentance (Acts 17:11 Ministry)
David Rockefeller, the New World Order, and the Necessity of Verifying Internet Quotes

Friday, August 23, 2013

Setting The Record Straight: What Susan Heck Actually Said (Compared To What Brannon Howse Says That She Said)

Posted by Christine Pack

"The first to plead his case seems right, until another comes and examines him." (Proverbs 18:17)

In the midst of an ongoing public dispute with Brannon Howse (host of Worldview Weekend Radio), I have really struggled with whether or not to say anything public past the one post I initially wrote (An Open Letter To Brannon Howse). I wrote that post in order to address our conflict and to correct some misstatements and mischaracterizations that Brannon has made about me personally. However, in the face of the relentless Facebook postings, comments, articles and radio shows by both Brannon Howse and Chris Pinto, I feel I must once again speak up. I know that God is my Judge and my Vindicator, and beyond that, what can man do to me? (Hebrews 13:6) And that God also says, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay," (Romans 12:19) but this is not about vengeance, and I do think biblically it's acceptable, and even good, to speak up when false witness has been borne against you by a brother or sister in Christ. So that is what I'm doing.

So. In the middle of this dispute, it was brought to my attention that Brannon had mischaracterized statements made in an interview by respected author and Bible teacher Susan Heck, who is a wonderful Bible teacher and whom I know slightly from women's conferences at my church where she has taught. In the interest of keeping this as simplified as possible, I am creating a brief timeline that documents this mischaracterization of Mrs. Heck's comments by Brannon Howse.

 Tuesday, August 13 

Susan Heck was interviewed by Pastor Justin Peters on Tuesday, August 13. This exchange occurred in the interview:
Justin Peters: Well, Susan I want to just follow up a little bit on something in the last program, which is, kind of in broad terms, what the Bible has to say about the role of women. And we discussed our men and women are of equal value before God, no argument there, we are of equal value, and in Christ there's neither male nor female, Jew nor Gentile, we are all of equal value. But we do have different roles. And following up with our discussion about the role of women, both in the church but specifically what about the public forum? What does the Bible have to say about women who confront teachers, even if they're criticism is valid? Is that the role of a woman to confront in a public forum of a teacher, a male teacher, who also has a public ministry, and who they feel, rightly or wrongly, is teaching some errant doctrine? And we're not talking about Benny Hinn or people who are way, way out there, but people we would consider to be in the fold, if you will. 
Susan Heck: Well, the last time you asked me the question, I think I told you then I am not a blogger, I don't even have a Facebook account, I know I'm kind of archaic, back in the Little House on the Prairie days. But you kind of piqued my interest so actually I went home and began to look at some of those blogs, and kind of read what was going on. And I would say the thing that concerned me, and I've also asked my husband what he thought, since you asked me that question the last time I was interviewed, but the thing that concerned me when I read some of these things was that even to the testimony of some people, they were saying they were sacrificing what they should be doing domestically i.e., whether it's clean the house or cook meals or whatever, for the sake of the blog. And I would say that that is a concern to me, because the Bible is very clear, even Paul writes to Timothy when talking about young women that are widows, they're to bear children, rule the house and give no occasion for the Adversary to speak reproachfully. And so my question would be: are the women doing what they're supposed to be doing? Which is to bear children, rule the house, and keep their domestic duties. Look at Proverbs 31, and that one woman, she was busy! She was up late at night, up early in the morning, and she was busy. And her husband was known in the gates, and she feared the Lord, and she knew what her role was. And so I would say that was one of the things that pricked my conscience the last time I was here, and I thought well, I really ought to be educated about blogs and so I read some. And then I also actually asked my husband because I respect my husband greatly. He is a master of the Scriptures, and so I just asked him, I said, what do you think about that question that Justin asked me? And he said, I personally would have issue with that, because that is a public forum, and a woman therefore puts herself in authority over a man by doing that. And so that gave me pause to think through that too. And so like I said, last time I really hadn't had time to really think through that issue. I never had been asked that question. I did give the example last time of Priscilla and Aquila, but as I've rethought that even, they took him aside privately and explained to him the way of God more excellently, the Scriptures say. So I personally would have an issue with that. Women need to remember their role as women, I think we would do good to limit our teaching and authority to women and to children. And I think we need to be careful about that. It doesn't mean we shouldn't be educated,we should be educated, and we should know who the false teachers are. I personally, I thought about your question last time, and I thought, if I was going to find out who the false teachers are today, and what they are teaching, I personally, and I'm a woman, but I personally would not go to woman's blog to find out. Before Phil Johnson had to go off his, I'd look at his. Or yours. You know, somebody who I believe is a male  and who is educating themselves and is very aware of false teachers. So even myself as a woman, I wouldn't turn to a woman's blog to try to find out who the false teachers are for the day. So, I don't know if that answers your question, if you want to follow up with more, you certainly are free to do that, so....” [See note below]
Justin Peters: I think there's a danger, whether it's a blog or whether it's Facebook or these social media outlets, that that can become enormously time consuming, whether you're male or female. And we've talked to people, and know of people, who spend hours every day getting into arguments on Facebook, and all this kind of stuff. And again, I don't know a lot about that from first hand experience, but I think that could be one of the trappings of the “Information Age,” if you will. And there's so many things that distract us away from the time that we need to spend with our families and in the Word of God.  
Susan Heck: My  concern, Justin, is that I know women personally who can sometimes spend two to four hours a day, and yet when I see their homes, they're not clean, their children are not being taken care of. I've been in restaurants where women have actually physically pushed away a child, and said, don't bother me, I'm trying to-- , you know, they're looking on their Facebook or whatever on the phone, and that is very distressing to me. That is very distressing to me. Especially as Christian women, we have a high calling before God to rear our children to the glory of God, and to parent our children. And so, I personally am puzzled why women today are even having children, if they're not gong to care for them and parent them. And you know, they put them in a daycare or they push them aside while they're doing their internet surfing, and my question would be, to some of these women, are they spending as much time in God's Word as they are searching for these type of things on the internet and studying these? You know, they tell us the way we can identify a false dollar bill is not to study the false dollar bill but to study the genuine. And so my question is, how much time are they spending studying God's Word, which is true and sufficient and is going to give us everything we need? And so I think some of these things can be trappings of the Evil One to get us sidetracked from sitting at the feet of Christ, and learning from Him and his Word. That's my two cents, I'll get in trouble. 
 Friday, August 16 

A few days later, on Brannon Howse's Friday, August 16 Worldview Weekend radio show, Brannon played the above exchange in a clip from Susan Heck's interview with Justin Peters, and then, immediately following Susan Heck's comments, said the following:
Brannon Howse (commenting on the audio clip): I wanted to play that, I think it's very important. I appreciate what (Susan Heck) said about the fact that she was looking at one of these discernment ministry websites, and there was a notice about, something about making a donation to buy food at a fast-food restaurant because the blog keeps them so busy, and so they need to buy fast food for the kids from time to time. And I'm thinking, really? That's the level of discernment we're talking about here? And yet some of these people want to be calling out Godly men and their ministries on sidebar issues, but they don't have enough discernment to realize that hey, your first responsibility is caring for your family, not wagging your finger in the face of some Godly man who just happens to be covering a topic you find objectionable or troublesome. That's really not your place. (WVW Show, Friday Aug 16)
Also from Brannon's show notes for that day, in case anyone missed what he was trying to say, Brannon again reiterated this statement on his website (Worldview Weekend)....


....and again on his Facebook wall:


But my friends, if you go back and very carefully listen to (or read) what Mrs. Heck actually said in her interview with Justin Peters, she did NOT say that she was shocked to see a blog with a donate button asking for people to "help purchase fast-food for the kids because the blogger was so busy at times blogging that the blogger could not make meals for the family." She did not say it, folks.

And yet Brannon insists that she did.

Now let's go and look at a button on the Sola Sisters website that Brannon might have had in mind when he tried to make it appear that Mrs. Heck said she was so shocked over a donate button asking for fast-food money (which again, friends, she never said). Now, I'm not saying Brannon was trying to connect these two things, but let's just look at evidence and see where it leads.
This is a button that appears on the sidebar of the Sola Sisters website. Let me just explain that when my husband and I put up the Sola Sisters website, he said to me, you know, addressing false teaching is really sober and serious stuff, and I'm going to be silly with that donate button for the sake of interjecting a note of lightness. After all, people should know you're not a one-note person. So there the button stands. Yes, perhaps in hindsight, it wasn't the wisest thing to put up there, but you know, we're not perfect. And are we right now rethinking the wisdom of this button? Umm, yes!

(A small side-note about the button: this button brings in a small amount of money, for which I am grateful, and which I mostly use to buy burnable CDs, which I make CD labels for and then hand out. I have regularly used CDs in my Christian walk, both in witnessing encounters and also as a way to give valuable teaching information to the women I teach.)

My husband, in defense of this now infamous button, made this statement on Brannon Howse's wall:


Unfortunately, my husband's comment, in which he came to my defense, explained that the button was a silly joke, meant to be tongue-in-cheek, and that I really am a Godly wife and mother, along with his public plea to Brannon to talk this out privately with me, was deleted. He was then blocked from making further comments. (But thank you anyway to my Sweetie for making that public statement in defense of me )

But back to Brannon Howse mischaracterizing what Susan Heck said. In my opinion, because of how Brannon framed his remarks, and reiterated them several times in several places, many people assumed that Susan Heck had in fact made this statement that she never, in fact, made.

And thus, an even greater controversy was borne, because now there were folks, who, having heard Brannon say what he did, were convinced that Susan Heck was publicly naming my ministry as being problematic (including my own mother, who, not having any background information on this, called me from her car saying, I just listened to Brannon's show today, and I think he just said that Susan Heck is concerned about the Sola Sisters ministry!)

In closing, let me state that I recognize that there are a lot of moving parts to this drama, and I'm sorry for the complexity of it, but I think for those willing to take a breath, and stop and ponder, and then take the time to examine the evidence, they will see that I am not a gossiper or slanderer or tale-bearer or murmurer or tattler or an embarrassment to the Lord (all charges which have been made by Brannon over the course of the last week, though I may have missed a few). If anything, I am being gossiped against, slandered and have had false witness borne against me. And I do have a biblical right to correct misstatements and mischaracterizations being made about me. In the end, this is not about Team Brannon or Team Sola Sisters......it is about truth, and don't we think that truth matters to God?

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 NOTE: We may agree or disagree with Mrs. Heck on whether or not women may publicly contend on spiritual matters, but that is something of a separate issue. And please understand by my saying this that in no way do I consider differing views on this to be an issue of separation or breaking fellowship. I'm simply saying that brothers and sisters in Christ can land on different sides of this issue and not be in sin. This is an issue that Godly and very solidly biblical men and women have just come down on differently over the centuries. It is true from Scripture that women are not to exegete (teach) Scripture to men. However, I (and many others) think that the idea that women cannot speak publicly at all, in any way, about spiritual matters is an idea that is not clearly taught in Scripture, and is more of cultural construct that has taken hold in the church than actual biblical truth (particularly in the Southern Baptist realm). Jude 1:3 says "Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God's holy people." So I (and many others) understand the Jude passage to mean that all Christians can, and should, contend on spiritual matters. Now, are there other constraints that we must follow in this endeavor? Yes: a woman must not teach a man (exegete Scripture to him), we must be kind, gracious, above reproach, gentle, loving, etc.........but contend we must. And so there are disagreements over this. But again, that's a separate issue from the fact that Mrs. Heck's statements were mischaracterized by Brannon in his Friday, August 16 radio show.


 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES 

 Miscellaneous   
An Open Letter To Brannon Howse (Sola Sisters)
Talebearing "from house to Howse" - A 'Perfect Storm' of Accusation (Susan Stilley)
Dr. James White (AOMin), Fred Butler (GTY) Weigh In On The Problem With Chris Pinto's Conspiracy Videos (Sola Sisters)
David Rockefeller, the New World Order, and the Necessity of Verifying Internet Quotes
The Christian and Conspiracy Theories (Ken Samples, Issues Etc.)
Clearing Up The "Discernment Diva" Thing (Phil Johnson)
Brannon's treatment of me "shameful" (Phil Johnson)

 Dr. James White (Alpha and Omega Ministries)  
"Ex Vampire" William Schnoebelen in Chris Pinto's Film (8-20-13)
Chris Pinto's Conspiracy Theories (8-29-13)
A Discussion of Chris Pinto's "Tares Among The Wheat" (10-22-13)
Chris Pinto's Conspiratorial Worldview (12-3-13)
DEBATE: Is Codex Sinaiticus a Jesuit Forgery? (Dr. James White and Chris Pinto, 12-11-13)

 Fred Butler (Grace To You, Hip and Thigh blog)  
Why The White/Pinto Debate Matters (12-16-13)
Mystic Helena Blavatsky Bolsters Chris Pinto's Case? (12-29-13)
Fred Butler: An Interview on King James Onlyism
 (12-6-13)
Tares Among The Wheat - A Review (11-26-13)
George E. Merrill on the Simonides Affair (9-28-13)
Slandering Tischendorf  (9-27-13)
Determining the Antiquity of Ancient Manuscripts (9-25-13)
Chris Pinto’s Disingenuous Response to His Critics (9-20-13)
Answering the Claims of KJV-Onlyism (6-1-10)

 Christian Research Network  
The Slips and Follies of the Pintonian Inquistion - Part 1 (C. Michael Majewski, CRN)
The Slips and Follies of the Pintonian Inquistion - Part 2 (C. Michael Majewski, CRN)
The Pintonian Inquistion: Scholarship or McCarthyism? - Part 3 (C. Michael Majewski, CRN)

 The Salt Lake City Messenger (Gerald and Sandra Tanner)  
Magic in Mormonism: From Denials It Was Practiced to Exaggerations (Issue #65)
Covering Up Syn: Ex-Satanist Brings Confusion to Mormons and Their Critics (Issue #67)

 Pastor Bob DeWaay - Critical Issues Commentaries      
King James Only? Refuting the False Conspiracy Theories of King James Only Teachers
How the KJV Only Doctrine Obscures the Truth, Part 1
How the KJV Only Doctrine Obscures the Truth, Part 2