Watchman Newsletter

Following Jesus While Rejecting the Bible? Yet Another Tragedy in Mainline Protestantism

AlbertMohler.com (Link) - Albert Mohler (May 11, 2011)

Yet another denomination has voted to ordain openly homosexual candidates to its ministry. Yesterday, the Presbyterian Church (USA) presbytery of the Twin Cities in Minnesota voted to approve a change to the church’s constitution that will allow the denomination’s 173 presbyteries to ordain persons without regard to sexual orientation.

The Twin Cities presbytery cast the deciding vote in what is now a 33-year effort to remove all restrictions on homosexuals serving in the church’s ordained ministry. It became the 87th presbytery to affirm the action of the church’s 219th assembly last summer authorizing the constitutional change. The action not only concludes over three decades of controversy over the ordination standards; it also reverses actions taken in 1997, 2001, and 2008, when similar efforts failed.

In 1996, the denomination restated its ordination requirements to include “fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman or chastity in singleness.” That policy had also required that candidates “refusing to repent of any self-acknowledged practice which the confessions call sin shall not be ordained and/or installed as deacons, elders or ministers of the Word and Sacrament.”

Today’s ‘Christianity’ - Nothing More Than Feelings

News With Views (Link) - Paul Proctor (January 26, 2011)

This may come as a shock to most Christians, but if you do a search of the less contemporary translations of scripture, the word “feelings” is virtually nonexistent. Where it does appear, it is cited as more of a superficial, even negative attribute than a positive; and yet, as we watch and listen to many from today’s churches, be they leaders or laymen, not only do we see a clear fixation on feelings, both physical and emotional, we notice that those feelings have by and large become a replacement for faith.

In fact, if you substitute the word “feelings” wherever you see the word “faith” in those older Bible versions, it will become clear to you what motivates and guides the average “Christian” today – point being: most of us are not following the Living Word of God by faith, we’re simply following our feelings and calling it “faith.”

This doesn’t require a Bible.

When one considers the sobering words of the prophet Jeremiah, who said: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked…” it should cause us to take a discerning look at what moves us. If our worship and service to Jesus Christ is measured by mood, then may I suggest our “Christianity” is more theatrical than theological?

Glenn Beck’s New Book Reveals He Embraces New Age Theology, Is a Knowledgeable Mormon, and a Universalist

Bible Prophecy Blog (Link) - Brannon Howse (January 12, 2011)

A note from the editor of Prophecy News Watch - I happen to like Glenn Beck and enjoy his program. That being said, one must be able to distinguish between his conservative views and his religious views. Christians need to be careful that they don’t allow truth mixed with error to persuade them to adopt views that contradict the Bible. At risk of offending many who enjoy Glenn, I hope you will allow this article to sober you to keeping a balanced perspective when listening to or watching Glenn.

In August of 2010, I predicted on my national radio program that it was only a matter of time before Glenn Beck would release a distinctively religious book that would promote his New Age Mormonism and universalism. I sensed that Glenn was setting himself up to be the politically conservative alternative to Oprah.

Many self-professing Christians cannot see what Beck is up to but there are those in the unsaved world that seem to be exhibiting more worldview understanding than some in the Christian community. The Business Insider published an article on January 4, 2011 entitled, Glenn Beck’s New Year’s Plan Sounds A Lot Like Oprah’s New Network.

Last week (second week of January 2011) Beck released his latest book entitled The Seven Wonders That Will Change Your Life. The book is co-authored by psychiatrist Dr. Keith Ablow.

Beck’s new book is nothing less than the promotion of universalism, postmodernism, and pagan spirituality, also known as the New Age Movement.

Uniting Religions for World Change: The G8 World Religions Summit

Crossroads (Link) - Exerpts from Forcing Change Volume 4, Issue 6 by Carl Teichrib (July 21, 2010)

Points to Ponder About Christian Interfaith Involvement:

1) The interfaith approach is rationally directionless. If all religions are equally valid or hold some common level of spiritual authenticity, as the interfaith movement asserts, then all religions are ultimately baseless. Therefore, the nonbeliever can logically reject Christianity as a meaningless sect among many meaningless faiths. For by acknowledging another religion as a vehicle that proclaims the revelation of God, even tentatively, the exclusive nature of God as revealed in the Bible (Isaiah 45:18-22; John 14:6-7) can no longer be viewed as exclusively true. The door has now been opened to consider any other spiritual claim as legitimate; and to not accept these other claims would demonstrate an intolerant exclusivity.

Either Jesus Christ is who He claimed to be, the great I AM – the only true God – or He’s only one way among many and His claim is false. It’s an all or nothing position (see Joshua 24:14-24).

2) The interfaith position muddies the Christian mission of bringing the good news of Jesus Christ as God incarnate come to redeem sinful humanity. Inter-religious bridge building bolsters the idea (continued on page 17)

All Roads Lead to Heaven? — Kathleen Parker Does Theology

AlbertMohler.com (Link) - Albert Mohler (May 12, 2010)

What catches the attention of a columnist for The Washington Post? A recent column by Kathleen Parker indicates that theology has become a focus of national attention. Kathleen Parker used her column in The Washington Post to take on Franklin Graham and his belief that belief in Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation.

Parker began her column with the fact that Franklin Graham prayed outside the Pentagon last Thursday, rather than inside, having been disinvited by the Pentagon as the speaker for its scheduled National Day of Prayer service. Graham, you will remember, was disinvited because of statements he made about Islam — statements directly referenced by the Army spokesman as “not appropriate.”

Those statements made clear reference to the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the only message of salvation, to Christ as the only Savior, and to Islam as an evil belief system that pulls millions away from faith in Christ and delivers no hope of salvation. In a later interview, Graham made his point about the uniqueness of the Christian Gospel, adding Hinduism as another example of a false religion.

All this was too much for Kathleen Parker, who asked: “Oh well, it doesn’t matter where one prays, right? All prayers lead to heaven. Or do they?”

Moralistic Therapeutic Deism--the New American Religion

The Christian Post (Link) - R. Albert Mohler, Jr. (April 18, 2010)

When Christian Smith and his fellow researchers with the National Study of Youth and Religion at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill took a close look at the religious beliefs held by American teenagers, they found that the faith held and described by most adolescents came down to something the researchers identified as “Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.”

As described by Smith and his team, Moralistic Therapeutic Deism consists of beliefs like these:

1. “A god exists who created and ordered the world and watches over human life on earth.”

2. “God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.”

3. “The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.”

4. “God does not need to be particularly involved in one’s life except when God is needed to resolve a problem.”

5. “Good people go to heaven when they die.”

That, in sum, is the creed to which much adolescent faith can be reduced. After conducting more than 3,000 interviews with American adolescents, the researchers reported that, when it came to the most crucial questions of faith and beliefs, many adolescents responded with a shrug and “whatever.”

As a matter of fact, the researchers, whose report is summarized in Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Eyes of American Teenagers by Christian Smith with Melinda Lundquist Denton, found that American teenagers are incredibly inarticulate about their religious beliefs, and most are virtually unable to offer any serious theological understanding. As Smith reports, “To the extent that the teens we interviewed did manage to articulate what they understood and believed religiously, it became clear that most religious teenagers either do not really comprehend what their own religious traditions say they are supposed to believe, or they do understand it and simply do not care to believe it. Either way, it is apparent that most religiously affiliated U.S. teens are not particularly interested in espousing and upholding the beliefs of their faith traditions, or that their communities of faith are failing in attempts to educate their youth, or both.”

The Anti-Israel Revelation

FrontPage Magazine (Link) - Mark D. Tooley (January 27, 2010)

“Emergent Church” guru Brian McLaren is a key figure on the Evangelical Left who is trying shift Evangelicals, who are America’s most pro-Israel demographic, into a more neutralist stance. Currently, he is leading a delegation through Israel and “Palestine” to broadcast the sins of Israeli oppression against Palestinians by “listening, learning, thinking, observing, reflecting.” His blog is providing daily updates of his discoveries, all of which confirm his previously often declared bias against Israel.

“I hope you will start questioning what you think you know about the situation here,” McLaren warned on his blog recently, with the assumption that most readers are deceived by pro-Israel partiality. “I’ve been an avid reader on the subject for quite a while, but being here now, I see how many of my most basic assumptions were skewed from a lifetime of half-truths, unfair and imbalanced news, well-planned propaganda, and misinformation.”

McLaren, of course, used to be a more traditional, conservative Evangelical. So his emergence into the Evangelical Left in recent years, including the requisite negativity towards Israel, is part of an ongoing spiritual rebirth into which he invites his fellow Evangelicals. Of course, McLaren insists that he is not anti-Israel, and certainly not anti-Jewish. He simply wants to liberate both Palestinians and Jews from the enslaving mindset of the “occupation” that holds both peoples captive.

Seven Major Prophetic Signs of the Second Coming

Grace Thru Faith (Link) - Jack Kelley (January 3, 2010)

9th Annual Update January 2010

There are seven major prophetic signs of the Second Coming, and currently all of them are in some stage of fulfillment. As in years past, I’ll list the seven with their primary biblical references and offer commentary from current events.

1. Israel Will Be In The Land… Ezekiel 36:24, 37:21

For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land.

This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land.

In 1948, when Israel took its place among the nations of the world again for the first time in nearly 2000 years, students of prophecy recognized the fulfillment of the primary sign that the end of the age was upon us. Isaiah 11:11-12, Ezekiel 36:8-12 and Amos 9:14-15 had also clearly foretold this. Jesus said that some from the generation being born when this happened would still be alive when He returned (Matthew 24:34).

The fulfillment of this prophecy caused another reaction as well. Satan reads prophecy too, and began exerting even more influence on world leaders in his continuing effort to thwart the plan of God. As a result, Israel has fought six major wars in the last 62 years, each of them an attempt to erase the Jewish Homeland from the face of the Earth. And it’s clear that this effort will continue, with the biggest battle of all looming on the horizon, foretold by Ezekiel in chapters 38-39. Israel’s enemies, both physical and spiritual, won’t let up until they’ve either succeeded (their view) or been destroyed (God’s view).

More U.S. Christians mix in ‘Eastern,’ New Age beliefs

USA Today (Link) - Cathy Lynn Grossman (December 9, 2009)

Going to church this Sunday? Look around. The chances are that one in five of the people there find “spiritual energy” in mountains or trees, and one in six believe in the “evil eye,” that certain people can cast curses with a look — beliefs your Christian pastor doesn’t preach.

In a Catholic church? Chances are that one in five members believe in reincarnation in a way never taught in catechism class — that you’ll be reborn in this world again and again.

Elements of Eastern faiths and New Age thinking have been widely adopted by 65% of U.S. adults, including many who call themselves Protestants and Catholics, according to a survey by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life released Wednesday.

Syncretism — mashing up contradictory beliefs like Catholic rocker Madonna’s devotion to a Kabbalah-light version of Jewish mysticism — appears on the rise.

And, according to the survey’s other major finding, devotion to one clear faith is fading.

The Last Days Apostasy of the Church - Part 1

Bible Prophecy Today (Link) - Andy Woods (November 19, 2009)

Many other topics would be more pleasant to write about rather than the last days apostasy of the church. It would be far easier to talk about the positive topic of God’s love rather than something as negative as apostasy. Yet, this subject must be broached since it is part of God’s message in the Bible. In fact, this series will contend that it is impossible to understand God’s plan for the end times without understanding what Scripture reveals about the last days apostasy of the church.

Let’s begin with a definition of apostasy. The English word apostasy is derived from two Greek words. The first word is the preposition apo, which means “away from.” The second word is the verb histēmi, which means, “to stand.” Thus, apostasy means, “to stand away from.” Apostasy refers to a departure from known or previously embraced truth. The subject of apostasy has little to do with the condition of the unsaved world, which has always rejected divine truth and therefore has nothing from which to depart. Rather, apostasy pertains to the spiritual temperature within God’s church. While some might think that apostasy relates to some external factor such as whether the economy is up or down, the subject of biblical apostasy relates to internal church conditions.

Because comprehension of what Scripture reveals concerning apostasy is critical toward completely understanding God’s end-time program, this series will develop several general characteristics of apostasy. They include the following: apostasy is a sign of the last days, is warned against repeatedly in the New Testament, impacts every major doctrine, is internal, knows no limits in terms of who becomes involved in it, can happen quickly, is satanically energized, is destructive, makes life difficult for the man of God, and can be guarded against.

When Students Are Left for the Wolves

Understanding The Times (Link) - Jan Markell (November 10, 2009)

I wasn't prepared for what I was about to hear the evening of November 3. My alma mater, Bethel University in St. Paul, MN, sponsored an Interreligious Symposium promoting some kind of "common ground" between Buddhism and Christianity. One would think if a Christian had an ounce of discernment, they would deduce that Christianity has nothing to do with Buddhism and such unions are playing with fire. But a panel concluded that there was "common ground" when it came to "meditation."  Granted, this kind of meditation could put one in a dangerous altered state of consciousness, but maybe that's ok as long as we can find a bit of unity here! Some would call this common bond of meditation "contemplative prayer."

About 200 students and a few adults were crammed into the symposium auditorium. Attendance by the students was mandatory. The three main presenters were Buddhist monk Witiyala Seewalie from Sri Lanka, Bethel professor Paul Reasoner who is a part of the "Christian Zen" movement, and Ted Meissner, an active Buddhist layman and meditator in Zen, although he grew up in a Christian home.

The kind of meditation being promoted by the panelists is the kind that brings "enlightenment," whatever that means.

Ted Meissner described the goal of enlightenment to our daily growth and walk with Christ. Panelist Paul Reasoner did not particularly enlighten anyone to his area of interest, Christian Zen, so I am still clueless as to what that is. I think it's an attempt to again help people become Buddhist-friendly. It was clearly an emphasis on the blending of Christianity and Buddhism.  With only about 20 minutes for questions, there was no way I was going to get a multitude of mine answered.

End-Times Insanity

Bible Prophecy Today (Link) - Terry James (October 5, 2009)

Fear is on the rise in America and the world at the moment. It is a type of fear that comes upon humankind almost like nervous milling about that stirs within the wildebeests of the Serengeti just before predators set them to flight. There are many reasons this is so. But one reason in particular especially agitates the simmering fear. It is the culprit more than all of the other reasons combined for the building anxiety today.

Before we address that most profound reason for fear of things to come, let's look at the many other causes that make fear levels rise across the nation and the world. Those causes involve a myriad of issues and events. We and others who consider our times in light of Bible prophecy continually attempt to analyze those matters and present our findings to anyone and everyone who will stop, look, and listen.

For the masses of humanity in third-world regions, such as vast areas of Africa, Asia, and other bleak places, panic is a daily search for the next bite of food and swallow of water. We see the frail bodies, the distended stomachs, the flies on the faces of those whose wide, searching eyes look to the cameras filming them for their next life-sustaining morsel.

These suffering souls are not often demonstrative with their fear because their circumstances have denuded them of energy, and have robbed them of the ability to know how near to starvation they have come. The world turns a blind eye, for the most part, to the plight of these emaciated hordes. The group of people who are looking the other way too often includes even those of us who are watchmen on the wall for the signals of Christ's return.

Starvation, nonetheless, is one of the sure signs of where this generation stands on God's prophetic timeline. That millions of people are caught up in growing famine dramatically forewarns that the black horse of the Apocalypse will one day, perhaps soon, ride forth. But growing famine is not the greatest reason for the geometrically progressing worry around the globe.

Thinking on fear burgeoning within the civilized areas of the world, we briefly review the more familiar causes. These involve topics we have exhaustively examined in recent days:

Polls show atheists on the rise in America

The Raw Story (Link) - AFP (August 26, 2009)

When South Florida atheists held their first meeting, they were just five friends, having a beer at a bar.

Four years later, they’ve moved to a bigger place — still a bar — to hold their weekly meet-and-greets. Membership is up to almost 500, Darwin Day is in the planning stages and bumper stickers are on sale.

“There is no God, but ice-cream is great,” reads one. “What schools need is a moment of science,” reads another.

Atheist groups are growing all over the United States, challenging stereotypes and confronting what they consider a big backslide in the separation of church and state.

They are chatting online, picking up trash along “adopted” highways, and advertising on buses and billboards. In South Florida, they recently picketed a prayer meeting in a public safety building paid for with tax dollars.

“We’re growing by leaps and bounds,” said Bob Senatore, a retired teacher and one of the early members of the Florida Atheists and Secular Humanists, or FLASH. “The attitude is, ‘If we don’t do something about it now, we’ll be living under a theocracy.’”

Survey: Churches Losing Youths Long Before College

The Christian Post (Link) - Lillian Kwon (June 29, 2009)

The Bible calls the Church "the Body of Christ." Today, that body is bleeding profusely, says a Christian author and sought-out speaker.

"The next generation of believers is draining from the churches, and it causes me great personal and professional concern," said Ken Ham, founder and president of Answers in Genesis and a Young Earth creationist.

Hoping to shed light on what he believes is a monumental problem, Ham enlisted the services of America's Research Group to study why young people were leaving. The results, published in Already Gone, will shake many churches to their very core, Ham states in the new book.

While previous surveys have shown that Christian students tend to quit church during their college years, the data collected by ARG found that most of them were already gone in middle school and high school.

According to ARG's survey, 95 percent of 20- to 29-year-old evangelicals attended church regularly during their elementary and middle school years. Only 55 percent went to church during high school. And by college, only 11 percent were still attending church.

"They're sitting in our churches right now ... and they're already gone," Ham said during a "State of the Nation" address last week.

The Globalization of Tolerance

The Washington Post (Link) - Tony Blair (June 9, 2009)

Faith matters. Even if you are not of religious faith yourself. Over 4 billion people world-wide recognize themselves as religious. They may not attend an organized place of worship. But Faith plays a part in their lives. A recent poll found that religion is important for around 30-35% of people in Europe, 65% of Americans and for about 90% of people in most Muslim-majority countries.

I started the Tony Blair Faith Foundation because I believe the modern world cannot work unless people from different faiths and cultures learn to live in peaceful co-existence with each other. Understanding increases the possibility of peace. Ignorance increases the potential for division.

The reason this is so important today is that globalization is shrinking the space we live in, making us share it, pushing people together in a way that is unique in human history. Some dislike this process. Some, like me, are content and even welcome it. But, for sure, it is a fact.

In this world, if religious faith becomes a counter force to this process, one which pulls people apart, then it becomes reactionary and divisive. So if I define myself as a Christian in opposition to you as a Muslim, then just as we are forced to live together by globalization, so we are forced apart by a view of religious faith that is exclusionary and hostile to those of a different faith to our own.

"Emergent" or "Emerging"? Makes No Difference - Going in the Same Direction - Away from Truth toward Deception

Lighthouse Trails Research (Link) (May 30, 2009)

It was Shakespeare who said a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. In the case of the "new spirituality" that has pervaded so much of Christianity, emergent church by any other name is just as harmful. While some are saying they are not "emergent" but are emerging, the overall beliefs (and mission) of each--emergent and emerging--are the same.

A perfect example of this can be found in Mike Erre's book, Death by Church: Rescuing Jesus from His followers; Recapturing God's Hope for His people. Erre is the teaching pastor (and "lead theological architect"1) at RockHarbor Church in California and was the featured speaker at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa (Calvary Chapel's mother church) on Friday May 29th for a large youth rally called Movement 2009.

RockHarbor Church says it is not an "emergent church" but rather is an emerging church. What exactly does it mean when a church says it is emerging but not emergent? From their point of view, they mean that they are not like some of the hard--core emergent leaders such as Brian McLaren, Doug Pagitt, and Tony Jones. These men were part of the original late nineties group (birthed through Bob Buford's Leadership Network) who went by the name of "Emergent." Today, McLaren has renounced the biblical view of atonement, calling the doctrine of hell and the cross "false advertising for God." Jones and Pagitt have also clearly crossed the line from biblical to New Age type teachings. Thus, when a church, such as RockHarbor Church, says they are not emergent, they mean they do not agree with some of the more extreme views such as McLaren's view on salvation. But these churches will often readily say, "We are an emerging church." They say that means they are merely being relevant to the culture so they can reach the post-modern generation.

On the outside, it can sometimes appear that these "emerging churches" are just as orthodox as any other Bible-believing church. Online doctrinal statements and many sermons will sound no different from a Bible-based church. But more often than not when the outer layers are peeled back from these "emerging churches," a mystical-based, kingdom-now, panentheistic view of "God" is revealed. And this, dear friend, is no different from the view of "God" that the Emergent leaders (McLaren, Jones, Pagitt, etc) hold to as well. And this is why we say emergent and emerging are in fact kindred spirits--and they are going in the same direction, even if at times, it appears they are on different paths.

Hard Times Ahead

News With Views (Link) - Paul Proctor (May 13, 2009)

It’s time to prepare for hard times, my friends. And, if you’re a bible believing, Christ-following Christian, I believe the coming years will be particularly troublesome. I say “bible-believing, Christ-following Christian” because our degenerating culture has all but stripped the biblical definition of the word “Christian” from today’s collective conscience so that it has lost much of it’s scriptural meaning, even among many of today’s attending church members.

The enemies of Christ have clearly risen to great power in this country and are, as I write, busy endeavoring to finish off what remains of the church for the purpose of replacing it with a god and religion more suitable for global government. Though they may well in time take possession of the many debt-heavy mega churches and other grand houses of worship around the country in order to turn them into federally-subsidized community centers for faith-based social services, they won’t be successful at completely silencing or eliminating the true body of Christ who will likely be forced to abandon them in order to keep hearing and proclaiming God’s Word uncensored. Unless the Lord Himself intervenes to alter the current course of events, those now in power will most certainly rule over us for a season – and an arduous one at that.

Considering the unbiblical and unconstitutional legislation at hand, it’s looking more and more like faithful Christians could soon be viewed as enemies of the state for no other reason than having believed, proclaimed and obeyed the Word of God. Not only is the church being attacked from without, it is also being undermined from within by charlatans who would transform it into something more spiritually pliable, socially useful and dialectically accommodating.

Brian McLaren Wants End Time Believing Christians Robustly Confronted

Lighthouse Trails Research Project (Link) (May 4, 2009)

[B]eloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour: Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? II Peter 3:1-4

If you are a Christian who believes that the Bible is God's inspired Word and believe that Jesus Christ will be coming again, you are being marginalized. And you might not even know it. It may surprise you to know where this marginalization is coming from. We're not speaking of the world today . . . we are talking about people who say they are Christians and who happen to be very influential. In fact, one of them, Rick Warren, was just named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the entire world.¹

In an April 2009 article in Sojourner's magazine by emerging church leader, Brian McLaren, McLaren clearly has targeted Christians. But not just any Christians. McLaren is talking about Christians who believe Jesus Christ is coming back again, suggesting that these type of Christians are the reason there is no peace in the Middle East. He says what these end-time believing Christians are doing is "terrible," "deadly," and "distorted."

Signs of the Times Part 6: Sacred Secrets, Angels and Demons

News With Views (Link) - Debra Rae (April 29, 2009)

Where’s the Hope in 2009?

Last-day theology is a major theme throughout the Bible’s poetic books, major- and minor- prophets, Pauline- and general- epistles, the Gospels and the Book of Revelation. The Bible answers humanity’s age-abiding question, “What does the future hold?” And today vigilant believers witness the wrap-up of human history as signaled by economic and political upheavals, a series of armed conflicts, intensified natural disasters, increasing immorality, religious deception and persecution. Despite manifest hostility toward them, the faithful are called and destined to be diligent “keepers of our Lord’s goods.”

“Faithful Keepers of His Goods” (Matthew 24:47)

Some such “keepers” are unlikely fellows. Take, for example, Palestinian Yusef Hassan. In January 2009, Jonathan Hunt told his remarkable story on Fox news with Bill Hemmer.

It goes like this: In December 1987 the first intifada (uprising) began. At the tender age of ten, Hassan believed this to be his destiny. Heir apparent to his father—an associate of the Muslim Brotherhood and founder of HAMAS—Hassan participated in the Islamic Youth Movement and served as president of the Islamic Student Union.

Eventually, Hassan turned against HAMAS when he witnessed its membership torture and kill their own. That his “heroes” placed so little value on human life shattered Hassan’s faith until his secret, side-by-side study of the Bible with the Qu’ran resulted in Hassan’s conversion to evangelical Christianity. Although a death sentence followed Hassan to America, he nonetheless applied for political asylum, was baptized in the Pacific Ocean and joined fellow believers in “keeping the Lord’s goods.” Weapons of Hassan’s warfare are no longer of the carnal variety.

Most U.S. Christians Don't Believe Satan, Holy Spirit Exist

The Christian Post (Link) - Jennifer Riley (April 13, 2009)

The majority of American Christians do not believe that Satan is a real being or that the Holy Spirit is a living entity, the latest Barna survey found. Nearly six out of ten Christians either strongly agreed or somewhat agreed with the statement that Satan "is not a living being but is a symbol of evil," the survey found. Forty percent strongly agreed with the statement while 19 percent of American Christians somewhat agreed.

In contrast, about 35 percent of American Christians believe Satan is real. Twenty-six percent strongly disagreed with the statement that Satan is merely symbolic and about one-tenth (9 percent) somewhat disagreed. The remaining eight percent of American Christians responded they were unsure what to believe about the existence of Satan.

Signs of the Times Parts 4 & 5: Being Led Astray

News With Views (Link 1 | Link 2) - Debra Rae (March 30, 2009)

Where’s the Hope in 2009?

Each New Year holds promise for change and renewal. Anticipating the future has captured the curiosity of folks throughout the ages. Accordingly, Christ’s disciples gathered at the Mount of Olives to ask their Lord what lies ahead. In response, Jesus warned of teaching “precepts of men” that war against sound Bible truth.

Red-Letter Justice: The Divisive Narrow Way

In reading the words of Jesus, highlighted by red ink in my Bible, I have been somewhat taken aback by the severity of the Lord’s words in labeling even religious folks “serpents,” “blind guides,” “fools,” “hypocrites,” “children of hell,” “white-washed tombs” and the like. Believers are not to give “dogs” what is holy, nor are they to cast pearls before “swine”. If I’m not mistaken, Christ’s dog- and swine- analogies likewise reference people (Mt. 7:6).

Given this seeming anomaly, I find it especially curious that progressive Christian activists among the “emerging gang” of evangelical clergy isolate red-letter segments of scripture with the purported, no doubt noble mission of relating Jesus’ words to today’s complex social issues.

In doing so, red-letter Christians assign preeminence to compassion and social justice for the poor. Notwithstanding, Jesus warned that “the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Mt. 7:13). Yet in fleshing out issues of faith and politics, red-Letter Christians disparage this “narrow view” and then expand the majority dialogue of America’s Religious Right to embrace hot button issues of egalitarianism and wealth redistribution. They boast an inclusive moral agenda that presumes to unite, rather than divide.

Jesus said: “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given” (Mt. 13:11). Said “knowing” stretches limits of what humans consider to be compassionate, civil and just. It stands to reason that not all share equal status in the Kingdom of Christ, for “not everyone who says, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the Kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 7:21).

Some are simply unworthy. Hence, “if a house [one enters] is not worthy,” Jesus commanded disciples to “shake off the dust from their feet as they leave that house or town” (Mt. 10:14). Fact is, “on the Day of Judgment, men will render account” (Mt. 12:36-37). Jesus questions, “How are [they—i.e., the unworthy] to escape being sentenced to hell?” (Mt. 23:33). No doubt carnal versions of compassion, civility and social justice will pale in that day.

Catholics Join Emerging Church Conversation

The Christian Post (Link) - Lillian Kwon (March 13, 2009)

A group of Roman Catholics are dipping their feet in the Emerging Church pool, joining a conversation that has long drawn the interest of mainline Protestants and Evangelicals.

While the Emerging Church has been hotly debated among Evangelicals, some of whom are staunch critics, the term “emerging” is far less known within Catholicism. Equally as unknown and confusing even among Evangelicals is the term “emergent,” which some use interchangeably with “emerging” and others have distinguished as a segment of a wider Emerging Church movement.

With that, there is "no natural resistance" to the Emerging Church, according to Fr. Richard Rohr, a Franciscan priest of the New Mexico province. "It is just an intriguing concept to many Catholics," he noted.

Signs of the Times Part 3: Syncretistic Spirituality

News With Views (Link) - Debra Rae (March 8, 2009)

Where’s the Hope in 2009?

Our founding fathers understood the criticalness of establishing law and order. They saw to it that the very essence of the Ten Commandments, enhanced by New Testament amplification, served as overarching world view for our legal system. Former Prime Minister of Great Britain Mrs. Margaret Thatcher believes, rightly so, that the triumph of America’s prosperity is her free market system based on individual effort, fair dealing and (last but not least) respect for rule of law—all biblical principles.

Still, media mogul Ted Turner begs to differ. To this self-proclaimed secular humanist, the Ten Commandments are “out of date.” “If you are going to have ten rules,” he adds, “I don’t know if [prohibiting] adultery should be one of them.” Turner may not agree but, by definition, all world views (his included) are fundamentally religious. Without exception, all speak to an ideology or movement offering an overarching approach for comprehending God, the world and man’s relationship to both.

On the humanism continuum, cosmology is the skewed, albeit trendy world view in which lawful authority resides entirely with the individual. Instead of biblical principles, laws of the universe regulate conduct in the shifting paradigm of our emerging New Earth. This supposedly science-based belief system presumes that every person is god, and god is every person.

Even more, the universe itself is god—or treated as if. At all costs, humans must not be permitted to mess with biodiversity. No longer may one rejoice in the fruit of his labor, viewed as a gift from God. Rather, trendy eco-socialists work to supplant rightful private ownership with public ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange.

Cosmic Humanists, as these, claim to be Mother Earth’s consciousness, thus blurring the line between physics and metaphysics. Furthermore, they support classic Marxism as defined by the Robin Hood philosophy of global resource redistribution.

Presbyterian Pastor Fears Denomination is Compromising Witness

The Christian Post (Link) (February 27, 2009)

As Presbyterians in Charlotte approved an amendment that would open the way for the ordination of non-celibate homosexuals, one pastor is speaking out, concerned that the Church is compromising its witness in morally ambiguous times.

"The approved amendment, in violating the teachings of Scripture and our confessional history, puts the church in the position of accommodating itself to a culture that is demanding permission for behaviors and patterns of life that, while self-gratifying, are not biblically permissible," states Jim Szeyller, pastor of Carmel Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, N.C., in a commentary published Thursday in The Charlotte Observer.

Last week, the Presbytery of Charlotte – a regional body of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) – voted 177-139 to support a constitutional amendment that would delete language requiring clergy "to lead a life in obedience to Scripture" and to live in "fidelity within the covenant of marriage between and a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness."

New Religion for a New World

Lighthouse Trails Blog (Link) - Kjos Minsitries - Lorin Smith (January 30, 2009) - Originally posted in 2002

LTRP Note: Kjos Ministries has reposted the following article, written seven years ago by Lorin Smith from the UK, because of its relevancy, which is more apparent today than when it was first issued. As pointed out in the article, in a new world order, fundamentalism (adhering strictly to doctrine) will be a threat. This is also what Rick Warren said, when he stated in 2006 that fundamentalism will be "one of the big enemies of the 21st century. . . . Muslim fundamentalism, Christian fundamentalism, Jewish fundamentalism, secular fundamentalism - they're all motivated by fear. Fear of each other.'" 1 Less than a year earlier, he defined what he means by "fundamentalism" when he spoke at the Pew Forum on Religion and said:

"Today there really aren't that many Fundamentalists left; I don't know if you know that or not, but they are such a minority; there aren't that many Fundamentalists left in America ... Now the word 'fundamentalist' actually comes from a document in the 1920s called the Five Fundamentals of the Faith. And it is a very legalistic, narrow view of Christianity." Quote by Rick Warren, May 2005

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Two developments have become obvious to observers of the rapidly changing geo-political landscape. We have entered a time of accelerated global transformation, and religion will play a major role in how this new world order will be configured. In short, a new world calls for the creation of a new world religion.

In the construction of this new world order, Christianity will face ideological challenges to the central tenets of its faith unlike anything it has experienced in the previous the previous two millennia. In this new world, all religions must be recognized and acknowledged as legitimate pathways to God. Religious exclusivity, absolutism and dogmatism will be viewed as potential threats to world peace and survival.

Deception: Appearing to be on God's Side

From The Lighthouse (Link) - Ray Yungen (January 24, 2009)

In the days prior to Jesus Christ's return, [f]amiliar spirits (fallen angels) will not just mislead a few individuals; they will deceive the whole world into embracing a new system. Satan (whose name means adversary) will be the power behind the "coming one"-the great Antichrist. The origin of the Antichrist-s religious system is clearly revealed by the apostle John in Revelation 17:5:

"And on her forehead a name was written: Mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth."

Another word for Babylon in the Old Testament was Chaldea. The Chaldeans were renowned for their use of metaphysical arts. They began the first mystery schools. Daniel 4:7 says: "Then the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers came in." This Mystery Babylon, then, would be the original source or mother of what is now New Age metaphysics.

Emerging Church Movement Threatens Church Foundation, Says Pastor

The Christian Post (Link) - Eric Young (January 24, 2009)

The Emerging Church movement is seeking to revitalize the faith but may infect an entire generation with a philosophy that kills it, according a Reformed Presbyterian pastor and theologian.

"If churches embracing the principle of Sola Scriptura (by Scripture alone) fail to understand and address the concerns voiced in the Emerging Church conversation, we may lose an entire generation of professing believers,” says the Rev. Rutledge Etheridge, an adjunct professor of systematic theology at the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary (RPTS) in Pittsburgh and pastor of Providence Reformed Presbyterian Church.

According to Etheridge, the Emerging Church movement – known for flexible methodology and efforts to be culturally relevant – seeks to glean the good from Christianity's past while painting a fresh picture of the faith today. Those familiar with the movement say its members seek to live their faith in what they believe to be a "postmodern" society, while its leaders are often critical of traditional evangelical churches and often place high value on good works or social activism.

9 Things to Watch in 2009

Fulfilled Prophecy (Link) - Holly Pivec (January 14, 2009)

Did the 70th Week of Daniel start on Jan. 1, 2007? If so, then we should expect to see the creation of a new world political, economic and religious order. So here are the stories FP will be watching this year.

• Middle East talks:

Will an agreement be reached between the Israelis and Palestinians? If so, will the EU’s Javier Solana play a key role?

Financial crisis: Will a global economic body be formed?

Obama presidency: Will President Obama subject the United States to international bodies, like the United Nations and the International Criminal Court?

Alliance of Civilizations: Will America join the Group of Friends? See here

Lisbon Treaty: If the treaty passes, will Javier Solana get the powerful foreign minister post? And will the 10 Brussels Treaty Powers remain in control of the EU military?

Tony Blair Faith Foundation: Will Tony Blair woo more evangelicals to join his interfaith work? See here

Rick Warren: Will his gospel of good works overshadow the gospel of salvation from sin?

Catholic-Muslim dialogue: Will the Vatican’s overtures lead to unity?

Apostolic-prophetic movement: Will more Christians come under the authority of these false apostles and false prophets? See them here

Most US Christians define own theology

The Christian Science Monitor (Link) (January 14, 2009)

American individualism has made its imprint on Christianity. A sizable majority of the country's faithful no longer hew closely to orthodox teachings, and look more to themselves than to churches or denominations to define their religious convictions, according to two recent surveys. More than half of all Christians also believe that some non-Christians can get into heaven. "Growing numbers of people now serve as their own theologian-in-residence," said George Barna, president of Barna Group, on releasing findings of one of the polls on Jan. 12.

In the Barna survey, 71 percent of American adults say they are more likely to develop their own set of religious beliefs than to accept a defined set of teachings from a particular church. Even among born-again Christians, 61 percent pick and choose from the beliefs of different denominations. For people under the age of 25, the number rises to 82 percent.

Many "cafeteria Christians" go beyond the teachings of Christian denominations to embrace parts of other world religions. Half of Americans also believe that Christianity is now just one of many faith options people can choose from (44 percent disagree with that perception). Residents of the Northeast and West were more likely than those in the South and Midwest to say Christianity has lost its status as the favored American religion.

Christians Under the Influence of Another Spirit

Lighthouse Trails Blog (Link) - Warren Smith (January 8, 2009)

The apostle Paul went to great lengths to warn the Corinthians not to be deceived by a "Jesus" that wasn't Jesus Christ the Son of God, a spirit that wasn't the Holy Spirit and a gospel that was not the true biblical Gospel (2 Corinthians 11:4). Throughout the New Testament, believers are continually warned not to be deceived by spiritual teachings and experiences that are not from God. Jesus Christ specifically warned his disciples that spiritual deception would be a sign of the end (Matthew 24:3-4).

Today it is very sad to see so many believers falling under the influence of the same spirit that influenced me when I was in the "new age." This spirit says that it is a time for "breakthroughs" and for the fulfillment of our "destiny"; that there is something "new" and exciting in the wind. This teaching claims that we are in the midst of a great "transition" that will result in a "paradigm shift," and that through "new revelation" and "personal experience" God is in the process of taking the church to a "new dimension" and to a whole "new level." Many Christian leaders these days are so sure that what they are hearing and experiencing is from God, they are rarely testing the spirits, or even considering the possibility that they are being deceived.

The first century Bereans tested their leaders and tested their teachings as they "searched the scriptures daily" to see "whether those things were so" (Acts 17:11). Apostles, prophets, pastors, and teachers were always subject to God's holy Word. "New revelation" never nullified nor superseded scripture. The Bereans were not impressed by supernatural power and spiritual experiences that had not been tested by the Word of God. They did not depend on signs and wonders and miracles. They depended on the authority and reliability and trustworthiness of Scripture:

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. (2 Timothy 3:16)