Problems With The Message Bible

Posted by Christine Pack

Pastor Justin Peters, who is a Christian apologist and Word of Faith expert, has written an excellent article detailing the problems with The Message.

The Message was authored by contemplative Eugene Peterson, the same Euguene Peterson who has endorsed the heretical book, The Shack. The Message is sometimes referred to as a Bible, but it is not in fact a Bible, but a paraphrase, in which Peterson has made substantial - and questionable -  changes to the text.

Justin's excellent article can be read here.

Who Do You Follow?

Posted by Christine Pack

That's My King!

Posted by Christine Pack

It's Friday.....But Sunday's Comin'

Posted by Christine Pack

Wretched's Response to "Monumental"

Posted by Christine Pack

On March 8, 2012, we posted an article entitled "Concerns About Kirk Cameron's Movie 'Monumental,'" in which we pointed out that Kirk Cameron's latest movie project does not proclaim the gospel but instead seems to advance a Reconstructionist/Dominionist view. We also remarked that Cameron's friend and colleague Todd Friel of Wretched Radio/TV would most certainly be expected to weigh in on this topic, as Cameron and Friel have both been strongly associated with the gospel message of Jesus Christ and him crucified for the forgiveness of sins.

Todd Friel has done just that today, by publishing on Wretched's facebook page the following note:

Our Little Growing Pain has done it again. Kirk Cameron has made another great movie that the secularists will hate. But he has also made a movie that may determine the direction of evangelical Christianity for years to come.

While some will argue its historical perspective, Monumental reminds us that Puritans risked life and limb to come to a land where they could practice their Protestant faith without being persecuted by the state or the Roman Catholic Church (frequently the same thing). This is a history lesson worth learning and Kirk is an excellent teacher.

Unfortunately, some will use Cameron’s film to proclaim, “See! We need to get America back to her former moral greatness. We need to RECLAIM America!”

While I am in favor of Christianity informing the decisions of our lawmakers, the theology behind the evangelical movement to “Reclaim America” is un-Biblical and detrimental to the Christian Gospel.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is simple: Jesus came into the world to save sinners (I Tim.1:15). Jesus did not die on a cross to redeem society, government, institutions or nations. Don’t get me wrong, when the Gospel is proclaimed and souls get saved, nations do change. But the Gospel should not be used to save society! The Gospel should be preached to save sinners and the result MAY be a changed nation.

The Gospel is not; Jesus saves sinners AND… 

- obliterates abortion
- rids society of pornography
- saves marriages
- abolishes the sex trade 

The Gospel may have those results, but those results are not the Gospel. This is not theological hairsplitting. The moment we add an additional agenda to the Gospel (as noble as that cause may be), there will be at least two disastrous results: 

1. Un-Biblical Ecumenism. When our goal is the Gospel AND a cause, we will be tempted to partner with “co-belligerents” in spiritual undertakings to accomplish that cause. The result of that ecumenism is confusion to the undiscerning observer. When we stand together with a Mormon or Roman Catholic or a Jew to accomplish our “AND,” the world interprets our hand-holding as an endorsement of one another. Especially in our postmodern world, evangelicals and Mormons/Catholics together confirms their belief that all religions are basically the same. 

2. Resentment.  Christians can and should be prophetic voices decrying the ills of society, but when we fail to preach the Gospel at the same time, then we are simply acting like Pharisees or Muslims who impose their values on society. We are the Gospel people, but much of the Reclaim America movement has historically focused on abortion and homosexuality without the Gospel and the result has been forty years of anger from the liberal left. The Gospel is a stumbling block all by itself, we don’t need people to hate us for the wrong reasons. 

Do I want to see a better future for my children? Of course I do, but that is not my job. My assignment is to obey the Great Commandment and leave the societal results to God. Our job is not to be salt and light, we ARE salt and light. Our focus is the local church, not Washington DC.

The pendulum seems to be swinging. The Reclaim America Tree which was planted in the late 1970’s has had decades to bear fruit in our country. Kirk Cameron’s assessment of society is correct, much of the fruit is rotten, but I believe that our moralistic efforts to reclaim our country are responsible for some of that fruit. 

While none of us like the decline we see in our nation, the fruit is not the problem. The tree is the problem. We can polish rotten apples all we want, but all we are doing is cleaning the outside of a wormy apple. Efforts to Reclaim America do not lay the axe to the root of the problem, only the Gospel does that.

While I truly love my Reclaim America brothers and sisters, it is my hope that they will reconsider their priorities. If we combine anything with the Gospel, we may win a cause, but the Gospel will lose every time. 

Permit me to share this monumental thought: it is better for the whole nation to go down the tubes than for the Gospel to be compromised. Let’s let God handle the state of our union, but let us focus on our families, our churches and the lost.

 Additional Resources 

Concerns About Kirk Cameron's Movie "Monumental"

Glenn Beck and His New Age Beliefs (Wretched TV)

David Barton: Historian or Revisionist?

It's Official: Mormonism Crazier than Scientology

I'm Sorry, Glenn.....It's Over. It's Not Me, It's You

Evangelicals and Glenn Beck's New Age Mormonism

Glenn Beck's New Book Reveals He Is A Universalist and Embraces New Age Theology

Patriotism, Ecumenism and the Glenn Beck Movement

A Former Mormon Explains Mormon Theology and the Book of Mormon

Mormons Say Beck Achieved 200 Year Goal of Getting Evangelicals to Declare That Mormons Are Christians

It's Official: Mormonism Is Crazier Than Scientology

Top 10 Amazing Facts About Mormonism

Glenn Beck's "Three Paths to God"?

Concerns About Kirk Cameron's Movie "Monumental"

Posted by Christine Pack

Former teen actor Kirk Cameron, who famously converted to Christianity a number of years ago, has had an interesting Christian walk, to say the least. Almost 10 years ago, after hearing a sermon by evangelist Ray Comfort that rocked his world, Cameron contacted Comfort to discuss Comfort's powerful sermon, and the two subsequently became friends. Eventually, Cameron and Comfort joined forces with Todd Friel, a former stand-up comedian, also turned born again Christian, and the three began to work together on a satellite radio program called Way of the Master (also known as WOTM, and so named after the witnessing method Comfort had used so powerfully in the sermon that had caught Kirk Cameron's attention). This Christian ministry rapidly grew in popularity, and featured street witnessing segments using the Way of Master method to stir the consciences of lost sinners.

Eventually, Way of the Master split into two distinct separate ministries: Way of the Master (Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort) and Wretched Radio/TV(Todd Friel), even though all of these men continued to work together doing conferences. Kirk Cameron also starred in the 2008 movie Fireproof, a movie that became wildly popular in the Christian community, and which had at its core a very strong and biblical gospel message. So it should come as no surprise that Cameron has come to be known in the last decade for his strong stance on biblical truth and his devotion to the purity of the gospel message. To say that there is tremendous goodwill toward him in the Christian community would be an understatement.

Having said all that, Cameron's latest movie, Monumental, has proved to be a monumental letdown, in that it apparently does not give a clear gospel message. The movie, which has been promoted by Wretched, also contains factual inaccuracies as well as conflicting messages as a result of Kirk's close association with Mormon Glenn Beck and Reconstructionist David Barton. During the live feed at the premier of the movie, right before showing the film, Cameron introduces Glenn Beck, calling him "one of our biggest supporters of the film and a friend." Rather concerning, given that Glenn Beck is a very outspoken Mormon (with New Age tendencies, no less), and Kirk's close friend Todd Friel is well aware of this. In fact, Todd has exposed Beck's beliefs a number of times (see below), and yet until recently, the Wretched Facebook wall was heavily promoting this movie.

Since the opening of the movie last night, a number of articles have already been written: John Chisham of Wittenburg Church Door weighs in here, Jon Speed, blogger at The Informed Evangelist, weighs in here, authors Vince and Lori Williams weigh in here, and Dr. Warren Throckmorton weighs in here.

I want to state for the record that I have myself benefited tremendously from the Wretched/WOTM radio program (of which Kirk was a founding member), and it was there that I was first introduced to excellent Bible teaching from John MacArthur, Bob DeWaay, Phil Johnson, R.C. Sproul, Mark Dever, Al Mohler, Dan Phillips, Mike Gendron, Ken Ham, etc. It was through such wonderful, biblical, balanced teaching that my own thinking became, by God's grace, more and more aligned with God's word. I thank God for Wretched/WOTM and how those programs helped me grow in discernment. Host Todd Friel has a masterful way of using his humor and his intellect to make his points.

So I will close this post by pointing out that Wretched Radio has a highly discerning audience. Todd Friel has taught his listeners and viewers extremely well when it comes to training them in discernment. In an eight minute clip from Wretched TV (August 2011) that can be viewed below, you can watch as Friel dismantles Glenn Beck and his New Age/Mormon beliefs. I therefore cannot imagine that a moralistic movie with no gospel message, even starring someone as well-liked and well-intended as Cameron appears to be, is going to get past the radar of most Wretched followers......especially when it has been enthusiastically endorsed by a New Age Mormon. But we'll have to see how this all plays out, won't we? We're living in curious times.


(NOTE: Todd Friel of Wretched Radio/TV has made a public statement about Kirk Cameron and the Monumental film which can be read here.)



photo credit: TerranceDC via photopin cc

 Additional Resources 

YouTube Video of Kirk Cameron Exposing Mormon Beliefs as False Teaching 

It's Official: Mormonism Crazier than Scientology

I'm Sorry, Glenn.....It's Over. It's Not Me, It's You

Evangelicals and Glenn Beck's New Age Mormonism

Patriotism, Ecumenism and the Glenn Beck Movement

Glenn Beck's "Three Paths to God"?

Marcia Montenegro Discusses the Occult on Echo Zoe Radio

Marcia Montenegro's
website, CANA

Posted by Christine Pack

Two of my good friends recently got together and did an interview that should be required listening for anyone with concerns about New Age practices. Marcia Montenegro, who is a friend of mine, and who, like me, has a background in the New Age and occult, was recently interviewed by my friend Andy Olson. Marcia was a former professional astrologer before becoming a Christian and has a fascinating testimony. Marcia was a New Ager and licensed professional astrologer before becoming a born again Christian. Marcia has a Masters degree in Religion from Southern Evangelical Seminary (SES) and is now a Christian researcher. She has a strong desire to help her brothers and sisters in Christ become more aware of false teachings (such as those she was saved out of) and how they are infiltrating the church today. Marcia is the author of the book Spellbound and also publishes articles at her website, Christian Answers for the New Age (CANA).

My friend Andy Olson has a Christian radio show out of Minneapolis called Echo Zoe. On his show, Andy has covered a white variety of topics, and has had a number of notable past guests, including Pastor Carl Johnson, Bob DeWaay, David Wheaton, Phil Johnson, Dr. James White and Sandy Simpson.

On this program, Marcia and Andy covered a lot of material: Feng Shui, Magic 8 Ball, Pendulum, Harry Potter, Tarot Cards, Astrology, Ouija Boards, Palm Reading, Numerology, Spirit Guides, etc. Marcia explained in depth what these things are, and how they can open people up to the demonic realm.  Many Christians today are innocent to the occultic (forbidden) nature of these practices (as referenced in Deuteronomy 18), and thus unwittingly participate in them without knowing the dangers involved. Please listen to this important program and share it with anyone you know who might be dabbling in any of these occultic practices.

The program can be listened to in its entirety here.


 Additional Resources 

Interview On "A Trojan Horse in Healthcare"
(Marcia Montenegro & Christine Pack with host Ingrid Schlueter)

Christian Answers For The New Age (CANA)

Echo Zoe Radio