Monday, August 15, 2011

Mark Driscoll: "Look, I had this vision. Let me tell you about it."

Posted by Christine Pack



From the Pyromaniacs blog:
(Pornographic Divination, by Phil Johnson) 
In a post last week, I pointed out that the preposterous claims, unhinged behavior, and spiritual quackery that are so prominent at the charismatic movement's lunatic fringe are by no means limited to the outer edges. Goofiness and gullibility are necessary byproducts of a belief system that fails to take seriously the principle of Sola Scriptura and its ramifications (i.e., the authority and sufficiency of Scripture). 
Here's a sample of the kind of thing I was referring to: The video below features Mark Driscoll, claiming the Holy Spirit regularly gives him graphic visions showing acts of rape, fornicators in flagrante delicto, and sexual child molesters in the very act. WARNING: This is an extremely disturbing video, for multiple reasons..... (Continue reading here)
As far as Mark Driscoll (and other Type-R Charismatics), I keep hearing that we cessationists should all just sit down and relax. Uh, really? I don't think so. The Type R-Charismatics article is especially good, in that it points out that even cracking the door a teeny tiny bit for non-cessationism seems to follow a trajectory that ends not so much in the wild wackiness of rooster crowing and the like (of the Charismania vein), but more seriously, to a functional rejection of the principle of Sola Scriptura, in which lip service is paid to Sola Scriptura but visions and experiences ultimately seem to become the focus and the guiding principle.

Please read the articles linked above. With respect to Mark Driscoll, the Prosecution rests.


 Additional Resources 

Mark Driscoll: The Face of Contemplative Calvinism

Mystical Calvinists?

Personal Words From God? by Bob DeWaay (part 1)

Personal Words From God? by Bob DeWaay (part 2)


Apostles, Prophets and the Foundation of the Church: Biblical Exegesis That Proves that Only the New Testament Apostles Are Authoritative

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Dangerous Journey

Posted by Christine Pack. An adaptation of John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress




John Bunyan (1628-1688) was an English preacher and writer known for writing arguably the most well known and widely read allegory of all time, Pilgrim's Progress. Bunyan was imprisoned several times in his lifetime for preaching the gospel. He wrote a number of books besides Pilgrim's Progress, most notably Holy War and Grace Abounding to The Chief of Sinners. My family has read and watched many versions of Pilgrim's Progress, including:
Dangerous Journey (shown above)  
Little Pilgrim's Progress (for younger children) 
Pilgrim's Progress: Journey to Heaven (video suitable for older children/adults) 
Pilgrim's Progress (animated version, suitable for children)
Our family is currently reading through Holy War

Repent, and Believe Now

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892, known as "The Prince of Preachers")

❝I pray you, do have a little patience with us who preach to you, for our time is short, and you will soon be rid of us. Have a little patience with your Bible, it will soon enough be out of your way! Have a little patience with your poor Christian mother who tries to bring you to the Savior, she will be far from you soon! We, who now trouble you by desiring to do you good, will soon be out of your way.

Ah, poor souls! poor souls! for you will then be out of God’s way, and out of Christ’s way, and out of mercy’s way, banished from the Savior’s presence; and that because the kingdom of God came nigh unto you, and ye put it away from you, for ye would have none of the Lord’s reproofs, but ye turned every one to his own way, and rejected the counsels of God against yourselves. Beloved hearers, may none of you stand in that plight. While I breathe the prayer that it may not be so, may I ask you to pray for yourselves that it will not be so. Will you let me whisper in your ear, as though I stood close by each one of you now; and I will softly and lovingly say, — Repent, and believe in Jesus, now, with all thy might. God help thee, 'for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.'❞

Monday, August 8, 2011

You Think This is Hot?

by Amanda Youngblood


I really think God is allowing these crazy hot temps as a warning...as in, you think THIS is hot??? Hell is infinitely hotter...REPENT AND BELIEVE IN CHRIST, AND YOU WILL BE SAVED!!! His hand is outstretched for you! And while on the topic of hell, please read the following quote I just came across while studying:
"The danger of hell is certainly real, and any preacher - especially when trying to reach the unsaved - is not true to the gospel if he avoids this truth. Because it is true, and because it is so terribly important, it MUST be preached and taught. Avoiding it is not only being unfaithful to God's Word but also being unfaithful to the needs of the unsaved. To cry 'Fire!' in a crowded building where there is no fire is not only against the law but extremely cruel and dangerous. But NOT to cry 'Fire!' when a building IS in flames is even more cruel and dangerous. Done in the right spirit and way, warning unbelievers of the dangers of hell is one of the greatest kindnesses we can show them." (John MacArthur, Hebrews New Testament Commentary)

America Has Credit Rating Lowered

A special Financial Report program from Brannon Howse (Worldview Radio):
"America has never had its credit rating lowered as happened on Friday, August 5, 2011. What does this mean for the average American? How should Americans respond? Gold market opens and rockets beyond $1,700, China says American dollar to be 'discarded' by the world and Alan Greenspan says America will not default because we can always print money. Financial guest Michael Weiner."
I have been listening to Brannon's program almost since it first began airing. At the time, Brannon tended to be more political than I am, but I still found his programs to generally be very engaging, if a little bit hyper (a word to the wise: drink some coffee before listening to his program so that you can keep up). When I say that Brannon was more "political" than I am, I mean that I had come to understand, very early in my Christian walk, that Christian activism was not the answer to America's problems. You see, I was first a conservative Republican before I was a born-again Christian, and after years of listening to Rush Limbaugh and Sena Hannity - as brilliant as they were - I knew they didn't have the answers. Limbaugh, Hannity - and others like them - are without question bright, and have keen insights into the inner workings of the political system and the government. But they're not Christians, and thus their views will always be heavily weighted toward mere moralism. The difference between Conservative Moralism which espouses Christian values, and Christianity itself is enormous. But in a nutshell:

Moralists seeks to legally regulate the lost into behavior modification that results in a more orderly society. This is not a bad thing, but this is not a substitute for the gospel.

True, Bible-believing, born again Christians seeks to do as Christ commanded: "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation." After all, it is the gospel that changes hearts - and thus lives and cultures - from the inside out.

 Moralism Is Not The Answer For America 

In fact, no-one may have the "answer" for America, if by "answer" it is meant the One Thing that will put America "back on track." I'm not trying to be a pessimist, but personally, I look around, and I think it's all over for us. Christian activism, as far as I understand it, seems to be all about charging after the things that are morally and spiritually offensive to Christians. Well, I believe Christians ought to stand up against what is not right, but do we have the "right" to demand that this wicked and immoral country stop doing those things immediately because we are offended? Do Christians have this "right?" Does anyone? I mean, don't get me wrong. We need to pray fervently for our country, our president, our congressmen, etc. But working toward legislation that merely puts bandaids on the problem is not the solution. Our country is in moral freefall. If you take a leper, with his rotting flesh and odorous, open sores, and remove his filthy bandages so that you can wrap him in the finest silks and linens, how long before his oozing wounds make even these fresh, clean garments putrid? Such is the state of America today. Our decay is profound, and it is internal, moral, and spiritual in nature; the spiraling depravity of our nation is merely the outworking of what we have become at our core. We are no longer, if indeed we ever were, a Christian nation.

 "On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand, All Other Else Is Sinking Sand" 

But back to Brannon Howse. As I stated, even though I liked his show very much, I often listened with some misgivings, wondering at times where his Christian activism might take him. Would he be sucked into a small but rapidly growing movement that I was tracking called the NAR (New Apostolic Reformation)? I hoped not. This movement was creating very strange bedfellows, indeed. Governor Rick Perry and the crazy, militant Charismatic Dominionist group Joel's Army....together? Surely a sign of the Apocalypse. I expect to see blood running from the faucets any day now.

Well, as it has turned out, not only has Brannon not aligned himself with the New Apostolic Reformation, but for the past month or so, he has run program after program documenting the problems with this dangerous movement. Also, in recent weeks, Brannon Howse has been speaking about his own past dedication to the cause of Christian activism, and how his own eyes have been opened to the futility of many of these efforts. I can only say that I thank God for such a humble admission. We need more men today who will stand firmly on God's Word and say, in essence, I don't need the world's approval....I have Christ.

So having said all this, I highly recommend Brannon Howse's program and worldview rallies, and in particular today's program, which is a special Financial Report about the lowering of America's credit rating, which happened on Friday, for the first time in our history. What does this mean for America? What will be the impact on our country now that our greatest creditor, China, has stated that the American dollar will be 'discarded?' Listen to today's program and find out.


 Additional Resources 



"Why I Believe Christians Should Not Participate in Governor Perry's "The Response" and Why It is NOT "Just A Prayer Event" (by Brannon Howse)

Pastor Justin Peters Explains Why the Word of Faith Movement is Dangerous and Unbiblical - Part 1

Pastor Justin Peters Explains Why the Word of Faith Movement is Dangerous and Unbiblical - Part 2

The New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) Makes Strange Bedfellows

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Do Not Forget The Holy Nature of God

"Myriads of professing Christians at the present day have not an idea of their own sinfulness and guilt in the sight of God. They flatter themselves that they have never done anything very wicked. They have never murdered, or stolen, or committed adultery, or borne false witness. They cannot surely be in much danger of missing heaven. They forget the holy nature of that God with whom they have to do. They forget how often they break His law in temper, or imagination, even when their outward conduct is correct. They never study such portions of Scripture as the fifth chapter of Matthew, or at any rate they study it with a thick veil over their hearts, and do not apply it to themselves. The result is that they are wrapped up in self-righteousness. Like the church of Laodicea, they are 'rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing.' (Rev. 3:17.) Self-satisfied they live, and self-satisfied too often they die." 


- J.C. Ryle

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Brian McLaren Finally Comes Out of the Closet as a New Ager

Posted by Christine Pack

Emergent Church Leader, Brian McLaren
Thank you to Eric Barger for pointing out this story. Writer Brian McLaren, who is often wrongly identified as an evangelical Christian (even though he rejects the central tenet of Christianity, Christ's atoning death on the Cross, and calls it "false advertising for God"), will be one of the keynote speakers with something called The Vision Project. The Vision Project is a New Age think tank and group that is dedicated to promoting its New Age view of the world: chiefly, that all of life is evolving upward, and that as all humans evolve spiritually, they will become spiritually enlightened and thus will be able to "co-create" and transform the world around them into a better and better place.

In joining The Vision Project, Brian McLaren has now openly aligned himself with New Agers like Barbara Marx Hubbard, Andrew Cohen, Jean Houston and Heidi Rose Robbins.

 What is The Vision Project? 

The Vision Project is a New Age think tank/community whose purpose is to advance the New Age eschatological view. Yes, even heretics and New Agers have eschatology. It's wrong eschatology, but it's eschatology nonetheless.
es·cha·tol·o·gy /ˌeskəˈtäləjē/ - Noun: The part of theology concerned with death, judgment, and the final destiny of the soul and of humankind. 
The New Age eschatological view is that all people have a divine inner spark within, and, for a significant period of their physical evolutionary development, are unaware of this. But that, once humankind has physically evolved to a certain state, they will begin to awaken to this divine inner spark, and thus begin their spiritual evolutionary journey. This is believed to culminate in an awakening to one's own divinity and one's ability to co-create the future of our world with God. It is believed that humanity will reach a "critical mass" in its spiritual evolution, at which time a paradigm shift will occur, and a "heaven" or "enlightenment" will be ushered in. This "critical mass" is believed to be achieved when "enough" people awaken to their inner divinity and ability to co-create the future of our planet along with God. (Of course, this is absolutely against the clear teaching of the Bible which is that God alone holds the destiny of our world in his hand, and that, rather than becoming better and better, the world will spiral into sinful wickedness as the return of Christ draws closer.)

You might be asking: Why does it matter how lost New Agers think about the end times? Because it is not only the New Agers who reject the clear teaching of the Bible that as God's judgment draws closer and closer, the world will spiral into deeper and deeper depravity and wickedness. Leaders of the dangerous and heretical Emergent Church Movement - many of whom have bestselling books that are  popular among our youth - also embrace the New Age view of the end times.

Best-selling author and creator of the NOOMA videos Rob Bell also talks about "co-creating" with God:
"I would begin with the understanding that God has left the world unfinished, and so, in Genesis chapter 1, this creation poem is about trees that are created to have the ability to create more trees. So, to me an authentic spirituality begins with the premise that we co-create the world with God. The world is not done, and that all of action is essentially rooted in creativity. Any way in which you contribute to the ongoing creation of the world you are in fact, in some form or another being creative and so then I think the question from there becomes 'what is art?'"
Emergent Church leader Brian McLaren, besides openly partnering with New Agers on this platform, has already written of his alignment with this New Age eschatological thinking here.

You don't think this is a big deal? That anyone is paying attention to this nonsense? That perhaps The Vision Project is just a vanity project without any power or bite?  Look again at that roster. It is closely aligned with the United Nations, and lists the following speakers and organizations:
Kofi Annan, Secretary-General UN 
Bono, Lead singer of band U2 
Karan Singh, Member of Parliament, India 
Vacalav Havel, Former president of the Czech Republic 
Ela Gandhi, Member of Parliment, African National Congress, South Africa 
The Earth Charter Initiative (a United Nations document aimed at fostering sustainable development, and created by former Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev)
This matters because the Emergent Church leaders I mentioned above (Brian McLaren and Rob Bell), while perhaps not all that familiar to many of us, are rock stars to our children, teenagers and college students. Their books sell in the millions.  Their influence is substantial. And we, as parents, are accountable for our children and will one day stand before the Lord and give an account for them. By God's grace, may we awaken to the dangerous teachings and leaders that have crept in unawares, and make every attempt to make sure that our impressionable young people are awake and alert to their dangerous teachings.

photo credit: AjDele Photography via photopin cc

 Additional Resources