Saturday, September 29, 2012

"We are born into this world wanting the world, wanting possessions, titles, glory, wealth." (Christian, Pilgrim's Progress)

Posted by Christine Pack

The character "Christian," from author John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, speaking in Scott Cawthon's animated version of this wonderful classic:
"This letter I write to my wife, whom I love dearly. I am writing this letter before I cross over the river of death. My destination lies on the other side. I wish now I could have convinced you to make this journey with me, but at the time I was unable to describe the journey at hand. All I had was an emptiness in my heart and a desire to fill it. Now, looking back, I can speak more clearly and tell you that my journey was not in vain. This I know: we are born into this world, wanting the world, wanting possessions, titles, glory, wealth. But they are all fading. They are deceptions that cannot bring us happiness or peace. I pray that you will not sell your soul to the things of this world. Let your heart leave those things behind, for there is a promise that awaits you, a way to be reconciled with God, in this life, and in the life to come. It is true that we are born with a sinful nature, and I have come to know sin as anything I do that requires me to turn my back to God first. We are all guilty of this, and no amount of work we do can repair the damage done. Our deeds and efforts are unclean because we do them with our backs to God. The wages of sin is death…not the death of the body, but death of the spirit. It is by His grace alone that we have hope for salvation. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to bear that burden on the cross. When He died, our sin died with Him. Christ was then raised from the dead to prove that death has no power over those who follow Him. Christ has conquered death, defeated guilt, wiped sin away, halted sorrow, and given us a clean conscience before our Father in heaven. Let God’s Word guide you. Let God’s family give you strength. And let God’s sacrifice pay your cost. All of this I pray, that you will begin your own journey."
This is probably my all-time favorite version of Pilgrim's Progress, even though the animation is a little cheesy. My mother credits this simple little children's video with being instrumental in her salvation. During the couple of years that I was witnessing to my mom (who was a false convert), whenever she was visting with me and we were in the car, I used to play this video "for the kids," of course. My mother still talks about one time in particular when I had parked the van outside a store while I ran in to make a return, and she was in the back with the boys; I pushed "Play" and left her and the boys with the video going.......

Below is just a short snippet of this video from which the above quote by the character Christian was taken.



 Additional Resources 

Thursday, August 30, 2012

The Wisdom of This World is Foolishness

Posted by Christine Pack

Evolutionary scientists insist that the millions/billions of years framework is what makes the evolutionary worldview make sense. With billions of years, they think, anything could happen, including unimaginably complex genetic coding and life arising from non-life materials. But this is perhaps the most absurd argument ever put forward, and truly evidence of futile thinking (see Rom 1:21-22, 1 Cor 1:20, 1 Cor 3:19). With this kind of logic, I should be able to shut the door to the pantry in my kitchen, give it enough time, and have it automatically order itself. This is the "logic" of evolution. But it flies in the face of what we know to be true in observational science, and that is that the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics makes a mockery of this reasoning. The 2nd Law of Thermodynamics explains that items go from order to disorder, from new to decaying. That's why shirts get threadbare after repeated washings and the dustbunnies in my pantry, no longer how long I wait, will not order themselves.

Time has no inherent design capabilities. Time is a measuring stick, that's all.
"For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools." Romans 1:21-22

photo credit: Natalie Blackburn via photo pin cc


 Additional Resources 

Bill Nye The Science Guy's Crusade for the Minds of Your Kids

Answers In Genesis (AIG)

Creation Museum

Institution For Creation Research (ICR)

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Dan Phillips Dismantles Charismatic Arguments


A brilliant post by Pastor Dan Phillips (author of The World Tilting Gospel and blogger at Pyromaniacs and Biblical Christianity) very neatly dismantles many of the Charismatic arguments I've heard. From the article, entitled Charismatic Lexicon - Part One:
Biblically-oriented Christian (BibC): Culmination of millennia of revelation in a completed, wholly sufficient and closed Canon.
Leaky Canon Charismatic equivalent (LC2): Whatever.
BibC: Feeling.
LC2: The Holy Spirit.
BibC: Hunch.
LC2: The Holy Spirit.
BibC: Silly passing thought.
LC2: The Holy Spirit.
BibC: Impulse, best to be rejected after a bit of wise and critical reflection.
LC2: The Holy Spirit.
BibC: Testing by Scripture and rational examination.
LC2: Unbelief.
BibC: Walking in gracious, faith-driven obedience, which definitionally and consciously rests on the written Word alone.
LC2: Deism.
BibC: Living impulsively and irresponsibly, eschewing Biblical analysis and responsible decision-making, and blaming the whole mess on God.
LC2: Moving in the Spirit.
BibC: Undocumented anecdote allegedly done in a corner thousands of miles away and transmitted through the world's longest game of "telephone."
LC2: Proof that "the gifts" continue.
LC2: A divine healing that undeniably proves all charismatic claims.
BibC: Answered prayer, God healing — which all Christians have always confirmed and distinguished from the gift of healing.
And getting into the spirit of the thing, we came up with our own additions to this list:
BibC: Opens Bible, reads it. Knows God is speaking to him through His Word.
LC2: Putting God in a box. 
LC2: Closes Bibles, waits to hear still, small voice of God.
BibC: Vain imaginations.
You can read Dan Phillips' post in full here.


 Additional Resources 

The World Tilting Gospel

God's Wisdom in Proverbs

Charismatic Chaos (book by John MacArthur)

Charismatic Chaos (sermon series)

Copperfield Bible Church (pastored by Dan Phillips)

Just Do Something: How to Make a Decision Without Dreams, Visions, Fleeces, Open Doors, Random Bible Verses, Casting Lots, Liver Shivers, Writing in the Sky, etc.  - by Kevin DeYoung

Biblical Silence vs. Mystical Silence

Secular Interview About What Mysticism Is - BBC Radio Program

What Is Mysticism? (Sola Sisters Article)

What Is Mysticism? (3-Part Series by Dr. Gary Gilley) - Part 1Part 2Part 3Part 4 and Part 5

Testimony of a Former Mystic

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Wretched: Paul Washer and Chick-Fil-A

Posted by Christine Pack

We Americans have a tendency to think it's going to be all noble and Joan of Arc-ish for us, marching bravely and grandly for The Cause, but it's not going to play out that way. It's going to play out with us being spat upon and mocked and reviled all the way, and this Chick-Fil-A skirmish should be a wake-up call for all Christians. Are we prepared for that kind of persecution? Settle it in your heart today, now, where your heart allegiance lies: is it with God? or with the world, and being loved by the world?




 Additional Resources 

Chick-Fil-A Takes One For The Team

Foxe's Book of Martyrs

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Chick-Fil-A Takes One For The Team

Posted by Christine Pack

Dan Cathy, President of Chick-Fil-A and son of Chick-Fil-A founder Truett Cathy, was recently under fire for taking a strong public stance against same sex marriage. Said Cathy in several interviews:
"We are very much supportive of the family -- the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that...we know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles." (online source)
"I think we are inviting God's judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at Him and say, 'We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage,' and I pray God's mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we have the audacity to try to redefine what marriage is about." (online source)
I've always had somewhat mixed feelings about Chick-Fil-A because I have generally perceived them to be more culturally Christian and moralistic than authentically Christian. But the answer that Dan Cathy gave in "that" interview was the biblical answer (God defines marriage, not man), as opposed to the watered-down, and Godless, moralistic answer (same sex marriage is bad for the culture, children, etc.), and it made me want to stand up and cheer (and eat a chicken sandwich, too).
 
Slightly off topic, but I've often contemplated the idea that there probably are some true, born again believers who just are very culturally Christian in their appearance, and I've therefore wondered what would happen for those true believers if they were really pressed on a biblical issue, and there was no way out: what would they say? what would they do? Well, Dan Cathy surprised me by actually giving the biblical answer, not the moralistic answer. I was so surprised and encouraged by what he said that I probably went a little overboard, with posting CFA posters to my wall this past couple of weeks, such as this.....


and this........
 

and this........
 

and this.......
 

So I'm hoping that all this controversy will be eye-opening for Dan Cathy, whom I've always perceived to be somewhat "culturally Christian" (no more Confucius, please, CFA), and encourage him to do the hard thing, the culturally unacceptable thing, and continue to take the biblical stance on all things going forward. Now......who's craving some waffle fries?



  Additional Resources  

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Just Eat The Good Food?

Posted by Christine Pack


Knowing that there is false teaching but not being willing to name names is like knowing there is a chef in town who is putting arsenic in his food, and people are dying from it, and your friends are going out for date night. And you say, oh hey, there's a chef in town who's poisoning the food, so whatever you do, don't eat the poisonous food. Only eat the good food! You know what good food is, right? So just eat that. No, I don't think I should tell you his name because that would be unloving. But I know you know what good food is, so just eat the good food. Okay, bye! Have fun!

Except that....the consequences of getting the gospel wrong (or not protecting others from the false teaching out there in opposition to the gospel) are a lot more dire than someone just dying. The consequences are eternal. So let's be exhorted to do the loving thing and gently and lovingly and with all humility name names when we need too, and examine all teachings in light of Scripture.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Jonathan Cahn's Own Mars Hill?

Posted by Christine Pack

There is an unlikely book taking the Christian world by storm right now (unlikely because there seem to be obvious problems with it) and yet this book, surprisingly, has been embraced by a a number of evangelical Christians. The book is The Harbinger, and it was written by Jonathan Cahn, a Messianic Jew who is also the senior pastor of the Jerusalem Center/ Beth Israel in Wayne, NJ. In our original Commentary on The Harbinger, we noted that The Harbinger is a fiction book, and features a character known as the prophet who is slowly giving seals to one of the main characters (Nouriel). These seals contain messages (nine in all) which are meant to be put together as clues in a mystery, so that a final, distinct message will emerge and be revealed. This message, once decoded, is intimated to hold the secret to bringing America back to its moral center and becoming once again a Godly nation. And in our original article, we discussed some of our concerns with the book, chiefly that, (1) in our opinion, the book has a distinct gnostic flavor to it, with its "mysteries" needing to be decoded, and also that (2) Jonathan Cahn's two appearances on Mormon Glenn Beck's show to discuss spiritual matters were problematic because Glenn Beck is not a Bible-believing Christian, and so his view of God and Cahn's view of God are vastly different, and such an alliance is likely to be very confusing, in general, to the body of Christ. 

One of the Cahn's staunchest defenders has been discernment speaker and talk show host Jan Markell, who is featuring Jonathan Cahn at her 2012 Understanding The Times conference, and who also recently had Jonathan Cahn on her radio show to discuss his controversial book in a two part interview (segment one here and segment two here). In these interviews with Jan Markell (which also included Dr. Walter Martin's daughter Jill Martin-Rische and discernment speaker Eric Barger), Jonathan Cahn addressed concerns that have been raised about him by discernment ministries (including ours), specifically his appearances on the Glenn Beck show. This was Cahn's response:
"If I am given an invitation to go on an interview show, and I am given an open platform to share the gospel, to share the word of God, to share the warning and the call to repentance, I will do that. In no way, shape or form is going on an interview show, are you giving consent that you agree with the host's position or they agree with your position. And so they're giving an open platform........If I spoke to some of these people in these discernment ministries, and said, there's a man who's actually going to a pagan place, where it's all pagan, a pagan event, and he's going to speak, they would condemn him or crucify him, most likely. And they'd be crucifying the Apostle Paul on Mars Hill. And because he went there, it didn't mean that he was agreeing with Mars Hill."
This is the second interview that I know of in which Cahn has likened his appearance on the Glenn Beck show to that of the Apostle Paul on Mars Hill addressing their "Unknown God." But in my opinion, that is an incorrect characterization of Cahn's Glenn Beck appearance.

 Did Jonathan Cahn Use His Appearance on The Glenn Beck Show To Give The Gospel Message?

The Apostle Paul on Mars Hill
The Apostle Paul clearly gave the gospel message on Mars Hill, while, by all appearances, Cahn went on Glenn Beck's show to promote his book (The Harbinger), and did not proclaim the gospel. If you read the passage from Acts (below), and contrast it to what Cahn discussed on Beck's show (1st interview here, 2nd interview here), you simply cannot find anything in either of Cahn's appearances  where he clearly proclaimed that Glenn Beck, as a Mormon, has given his allegiance to a false god, and is himself, personally, in danger of judgment, and that he needs to repent and place his faith in Christ alone for the forgiveness of sins.
"Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, You men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore you ignorantly worship, him I now declare unto you. God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwells not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshiped with men's hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he gives to all life, and breath, and all things; And has made of one blood all nations of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if perhaps they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. Therefore then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Deity is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device. And the times of this ignorance God overlooked; but now commands all men everywhere to repent: Because he has appointed a day, in which he will judge the world in righteousness by that Man whom he has ordained; and of this he has given assurance unto all men, in that he has raised him from the dead. And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear you again of this matter. So Paul departed from among them." (Acts 17:22-33, my emphasis)
Our family has been reading through the Bible on a yearly reading plan, and as providence would have it, we recently landed on this passage of the Apostle Paul on Mars Hill.  I've read this passage many times, but in light of Jonathan Cahn's insistance that he will use any platform as his own "Mars Hill" in order to proclaim the gospel message, I slowed down and really looked again at what exactly happened on Mars Hill. I ended up coming away from the text with an even deeper appreciation of Paul, who, not surprisingly, gives a magnificent gospel proclamation to the men of Athens. And make no mistake, it's all in there: 
- A sovereign creator God who is holy, who made us and who has a righteous claim on our lives.
- Man's depravity and inability to save himself.
- Man's attempt to conjure up his own path to God with his all-bases-covered "Unknown God," and Paul then proclaiming that this God, who is "unknown" to them is real, that He commands all men to repent, and has Himself appointed a Man by whom salvation comes, and as proof of this, has raised this Man from the dead (all of which probably drove those sophisticated, religious pagans bonkers in the same way that it drives sophisticated, liberal Christians of today bonkers when people take the Bible literally....but I digress).
So my lingering question is this: Going by the biblical text from Acts above, and comparing that to Jonathan Cahn's Glenn Beck appearances (here and here), does it appear that Jonathan Cahn took the opportunity, as he claims he did, to present the gospel message on the Glenn Beck show? Do we hear anything of God's holiness? man's depravity? a command to repent and believe on the Jesus of the Bible, who bodily rose from the dead, for the forgiveness of sins? I just don't see it. But beyond just taking apart what he said he did vs. what he actually did, would it be stating the super obvious for me to wonder, also, where is Jonathan Cahn's pastorly care and compassion for Glenn Beck as a lost human being on his way to Hell? I'm rather neutral on the subject of Glenn Beck, other than finding him pretty amusing, but on the subject of Hell, I am not neutral. The thing about Jonathan Cahn's interview with Beck that is the most upsetting to me is that Glenn Beck has a soul, having been made in the image of God, and I'm left wondering this: how will Glenn Beck feel when he wakes up in hell, and thinks, wait a second, I was just twelve inches away from a Christian pastor who sat there and nodded when I talked about "God" and never told me that my Mormon god was a false god? Glenn Beck is lost-lost-lost, and he needs to hear that the times of ignorance have been overlooked by God, but that He now commands all men everywhere to repent (and that includes sincere, well-intentioned Mormons, like Glenn Beck).


 Additional Resources 

Jonathan Cahn's first appearance on the Glenn Beck show (Glenn Beck online)

Jonathan Cahn's second appearance on the Glenn Beck show (Glenn Beck online)

Is The Harbinger Fact or Fiction?
 (Apprising Ministries)

Implications of The Harbinger
 (Erin Benziger)

A Commentary on The Harbinger (Sola Sisters)

The Harbinger - A Review and Commentary (Pastor Larry DeBruyn)

The Harbinger - A Review (Pastor Gary Gilley)

What To Make Of The Harbinger Mystery (Stand Up For The Truth, Amy Spreeman)

The Rise and Fall of World Powers (Dr. John MacArthur)

When Contending Becomes Cantankerous (a pro-Harbinger interview, with Jan Markell, Eric Barger, Jill Martin Rische)