THE CHURCH MILITANT
Ephesians 5:11-"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them". This Christian News Blog maintains a one stop resource of current news and reports of its own related to church, moral, spiritual, and related political issues, plus articles, and postings from other online discernment ministries, and media which share the aims to obey the biblical commands to shed light on and refute error, heresy, apostasy, cults, and spiritual abuse.
COMPILATION: VIOLENT LIBERAL RHETORIC & THREATS TO PRESIDENT TRUMP
Published on Jun 19, 2017
From
Jim Carrey, to Snoop Dogg, Mickey Rourke and even Vice President Joe
Biden, the violent rhetoric and threats from liberals aimed at President
Trump is astonishing. Here's just a small sample so you can see how
vile they are, and what a danger to Trump and America liberals pose.
Media analyst Mark Dice has the story. Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
claiming that a man who overdosed on heroin and was supposedly pronounced dead on
arrival at a Houston-area hospital was at was spontaneously resurrected from the dead
upon the broadcast of one of Bentley’s revival events.
Chris Rosebrough of Pirate Christian Radio was skeptical of this
claim and took it upon himself to contact the hospital to see if he
could get any confirmation from the hospital staff of what Bentley was
claiming. The hospital staff had heard of no such thing confirming
Rosebrough’s suspicions that Todd Bentley was, once again, making false
claims in the name of Christ.
Here the audio of Rosebrough’s phone call with the hospital staff below. Audio Player
When miracles of this caliber were performed in the early church,
they were not obscure, hidden things. Even when Jesus himself commanded
those whom he healed to keep quiet (Mark 1:44; 5:43; 7:36; 8:30; 9:9),
it proved an impossible task for them. For when one has a true
encounter with the Living God, it is not something that is brushed off,
as the purpose of these miracles was to proclaim to the world who Jesus
is and who sent Him.
Today, we merely have frauds who practice things in the name of
Christ who really don’t know Him. Jesus had very specific words for men
like Todd Bentley:
Not
everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of
heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.On
that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your
name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your
name?’And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ –Matthew 7:21-23
Here is a link to the original article at Fighting for the Faith exposing Todd Bentley’s blasphemous claims.
_______________________________________________________
Todd Bentley Resurrection of Overdosed Man
in Hospital?
Published on Jun 12, 2017
This
is a dramatic re-enactment of the story of Todd Bentley's claim that a
man resurrected from the grave while watching the East Texas Glory
Revival and Chris Rosebrough's attempts to verify the account.
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
We all know that the doctrine of the Trinity can be difficult to wrap
our finite minds around. There is no doubt that the concept is
fascinating and intriguing. But is it okay to explain the doctrine by
using a warped, heretical model of it, and then giving a disclaimer of
the sort: “It’s kinda like that heresy, but different”? Well, that’s what Lifeway, an entity of the Southern Baptist
Convention (SBC) is doing this year at VBS. The 2017 VBS program,
Galactic Starveyors, hands out a training manual to volunteers giving
advice on how to approach the subject with children who may be
questioning. Of course, to orthodox believers, (that is, those who hold
to the historic biblical creeds, not the Eastern Orthodox) the doctrine
of the Trinity is understood to be essential to the faith–that is, a
false understanding could have eternal implications.
The historic biblical understanding of the Trinity holds that God
exists as three consubstantial persons as God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct, yet having one
nature, eternally co-exist. The Baptist Faith and Message (SBC) puts it this way:
“The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of
nature, essence, or being.” The following is from the Athanasius Creed
regarding the Trinity:
We worship one God in trinity and the Trinity in unity,
neither confusing the persons nor dividing the divine being. For the
Father is one person, the Son is another, and the Spirit is still
another. But the deity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one, equal
in glory, coeternal in majesty. What the Father is, the Son is, and so
is the Holy Spirit. Uncreated is the Father; uncreated is the Son;
uncreated is the Spirit. The Father is infinite; the Son is infinite;
the Holy Spirit is infinite. Eternal is the Father; eternal is the Son;
eternal is the Spirit: And yet there are not three eternal beings, but
one who is eternal; as there are not three uncreated and unlimited
beings, but one who is uncreated and unlimited. Almighty is the Father;
almighty is the Son; almighty is the Spirit: And yet there are not three
almighty beings, but one who is almighty. Thus the Father is God; the
Son is God; the Holy Spirit is God: And yet there are not three gods,
but one God. Thus the Father is Lord; the Son is Lord; the Holy Spirit
is Lord: And yet there are not three lords, but one Lord.
However, one of the most common heresies regarding the Trinity that
we see in the church is what is known as Sabellian Modalism. This heresy
teaches that God exists as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, yet, in
different modes, not coexisting at the same time. It denies the distinct
personhood of each member of the Trinity.
In the training manual, volunteers are advised to explain the doctrine of the Trinity in the following way to children:
Ask the preteens to recall who was there in the beginning. (God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit)
Say: “Sometimes people refer to God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit as
the Trinity, meaning three in one. Just like understanding the vastness
of the universe is pretty mind blowing, understanding the Trinity is
hard, too.”
Call attention to the cup of water, the ice, and the steam from the
boiling water. Explain that water can be a liquid, a solid (ice), and a
gas (vapor/steam). Even though they are three uniquely different states
of matter (liquid, solid, and gas), they are still molecularly water
(H20).
Tell preteens that in somewhat the same way the Trinity is God in
three separate states, however water cannot exist in the three states at
the same time–but God does.
Remind preteens that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit have always
been in relationship with each other. God created man to share in that
relationship.
Snapshot of VBS 2017 training manual
Now, while you might be scratching your head thinking, at least they
made an attempt to explain that unlike water, the members of the Trinity
do co-exist at the same time, the bigger problem here is the approach.
Essentially, they are giving a false, heretical illustration of the
Trinity to preteen children, teaching them to think of it in that way,
and then adding a disclaimer that the real Trinity is a little
different. The reality is that the ice/water/vapor illustration is an
exact picture of Modalism. So, as a way to teach children about the
doctrine of the Trinity, we first teach them Modalism and then add a
caveat to it. Further, the illustration refers to the members of the Trinity, not
as persons, as is the historic, biblical understanding, but as “states.”
The members of the Trinity are not states, they are distinct,
individual persons. The word, “state,” even implies modes, as in
Modalism. And to add to the confusion, the members or “states” are
referred to as God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, instead of Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit. Each member of the Trinity is God, yet this usage in
this context at best confuses this truth. Bottom line, children are
going to be indoctrinated with this illustration and most of them will
not have the capacity to discern or apply the attempted caveat, leaving
them confused about the truth of the Trinity, and a heretical
understanding.
If your church is putting on the Lifeway VBS program this summer, it
is strongly recommended that you bring this up with the pastors. This is
a dangerous way to teach children the doctrine of the Trinity. Has it
not crossed their minds at Lifeway that maybe a perfect illustration
doesn’t exist for a reason–because God is mysterious and this is a
display of His glory? Our finite minds are not meant to fully grasp the
concept of God’s nature. It’s part of what makes God so majestic. God
has revealed to us in His word exactly what he wants us to know about
Himself, and it is of the utmost importance to teach these doctrines
completely and soundly but to reduce God’s triune nature to an
illustration that has historically viewed as heretical placing its
adherents outside of the faith is very dangerous ground to tread.
________________________________________________________
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
My name is Lisa. I am a Baptist from Arizona. I was saved as an adult
and have been a Christian for 24 years. I have broken free of Beth
Moore.
When I first started to participate in women’s Bible studies at our
church, I didn’t know what to expect. At the time, I didn’t have much
experience with such events. I was expected to attend the studies (by
our pastor and his wife) because my husband was an elder. So, I did. I
don’t really remember the first one that was taught but it was nothing
special. I do remember thinking to myself, “This is really a book club;
it’s not a Bible study.” Our Bibles were hardly opened during the 2
hours we were there every week, and a lot of “What does this mean to
you?” was asked of the group.
Then came Beth Moore. I’d never heard of her. When I shared this I
was told that Beth Moore was “everyone’s best girlfriend.” The material
we were using was her DVD and workbook study Jesus, the One and Only.
Good title—He should be the one and only. Despite the good title and
the good report I had received about Beth Moore, we were not very far
into the study when I started having very big problems with the material
and Moore’s overall style. So, I went to my husband, the church elder.
I talked the issue over with him for a couple of weeks. I showed my husband a lot of Beth Moore material, some from Jesus, the One and Only, some
from other books I had borrowed, and some items from the internet.
Reviewing this material with him solidified my decision to quit using
study material from Beth Moore, the false teacher. Because of her great
popularity, I was concerned for others. So, I wrote a blog post
outlining the many problems I had with Beth Moore’s teachings. In my
blog post, I demonstrated that she doesn’t accurately teach the gospel,
misuses the Bible, manipulates women’s emotions, uses positive
confession, and relies on imagination instead of teaching facts. I also
pointed out how she engages in extreme fast-talking, making it difficult
for her hearers to pause and take the time to look up the Bible verses
she twists during messages. My blog post also addressed how Beth Moore
has make-believe conversations with God. In these conversations she
treats Him as casually as she would her girlfriend down the street. He’s
not a girlfriend down the street but the Creator-God of the universe.
Finally, my post made mention of the ridiculous amount of money churches
and individuals are expected to pay for her materials and simulcasts.
Boy, did I stir the hornet’s nest writing these things down.
My pastor asked for a meeting with me. My husband and I were called
into his pastor’s office for my writing of my sincere concerns on my own
personal blog (keep in mind, I had maybe 3 readers and they
were all friends of mine). I was ordered by the pastor to remove the
blog post and the links I had added to my Facebook page directing my
friends to it. This so-called “meeting” quickly became an interrogation,
and then turned to accusation. The pastor brought me to tears. As I
write this, it still brings tears to my eyes just recalling his angry
face, and how he felt the need to do this to me in front of his wife,
another woman from the ministry, and my husband.
My husband was derided for not being able to “control” me. I was
accused of sowing discord in the church body. We were asked by the
pastor point-blank why we didn’t just leave the church. We stood our
ground, and ultimately, the only words I remember I could muster at the
end of this discussion were, “I’m not leaving you, I’m leaving Beth
Moore.” I loved my church but left that office hurt and confused at what
had happened.
Thank God that my husband was an elder. He brought all my research to
the rest of the elders and they agreed (with the pastor fuming, I’m
told) that there would be no more Beth Moore taught in our church. The
Sunday after this decision was made, the pastor’s wife walked up to my
husband, put her face right in his face and she practically growled as
she said to him, “Beth Moore is SOLID!” I still can’t believe a woman
would be so brazen in the face of an elder in the church, but friends,
this is what happens when a woman allows herself to worship a teacher rather than the Teacher, Jesus Christ.
The pastor went on to ask us why we didn’t leave the church a few
more times after that (just to get under our skin, I suppose), but what
ultimately ended up happening is people began waking up to his
heavy-handed tactics and shady activities. It turned out we were not the
only ones who were called into the office and treated harshly behind
closed doors. To make a long story short, what happened with Mark
Driscoll on a mega scale happened in our small-town church on a micro
scale. Like with Driscoll, the pastor moved on to (unfortunately)
another church and a new opportunity to abuse a different group of
sheep. Please pray for that church.
Also, please pray for all the women and their husbands who see the
error being perpetrated by Beth Moore and who are afraid to speak out
for fear of being treated like enemies in their own churches. Don’t be
afraid to speak out and don’t be afraid to share this testimony. Thank
You for reading it. I struggled with how to write this because I have
received so much grief in the past when the subject of Beth Moore’s
teaching came up. People seem to get so worked up about Beth Moore, but I
guess that’s the lesson. Before you read this and fire off an angry
comment, ask yourself: “Am I worshiping a woman or God?”
______________________________________________________
Beth Moore: Living Proof of demonic deception
Published on Jan 11, 2015
Beth
Moore reveals her true nature in this video expose', as she chats with
word-faith FALSE teacher Joyce Meyer - her self-confessed "mentor".
Wretched Radio with Todd Friel - John Piper, Beth Moore, and Lectio Divina at Passion 2012
FALSE TEACHER BETH MOORE ENDORSES THE LATE TERM PARTIAL BIRTH ABORTION CANDIDATE CROOKED HILLARY
Beth Moore Calls for Unity With False Teacher
Joyce Meyer & Catholicism
Published on Jul 22, 2016
BETH MOORE OFFERS FALSE TEACHER JOYCE MEYER HER RESPECT & ESTEEM AS THEY TALK ABOUT UNITY
In
this program Brannon Howse and Justin Peters respond to six video clips
of Beth Moore appearing on the television program of Word of Faith
proponent Joyce Meyer as they discuss and call for unity. Listen as they
seem to have no understanding of what is Biblical unity. Brannon and
Justin look at numerous passages of Scripture that describe Biblical
unity and condemn the very kind of unity Beth Moore and Joyce Meyer seem
to be encouraging. See the clip in which Beth Moore says she offers
Joyce Meyer her respect, esteem, and then affirms false teacher Meyer as
a "mighty, mighty, woman of God."
Southern Baptists have long defended literal approaches to the Bible,
but their recent translation of the Good Book might have them switching
sides.
Last fall, the publishing arm of the 15-million member
Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) released the Christian Standard Bible
(CSB). LifeWay Christian Stores, America’s largest Christian retailer,
which is owned by the SBC, sells the translation at hundreds of its
locations nationwide and touts it as a work of superior scholarship. But
patrons are largely unaware that the denomination-approved translation
is gender-inclusive. Such news would presumably shock many in the
evangelical body. The denomination has affirmed that the Bible commands
wives to submit to their husbands and that modern notions of transgender
identity blur the line between God-ordained masculine and feminine
roles. The group has passed numerous resolutions since the late 1990s
publicly condemning Bible translations that attempt to utilize
gender-inclusive language.
When several revisions to the popular
New International Version (1984) appeared to employ gender-neutral
language, for example, Southern Baptists condemned the translation by
name and chastised its publishers. A 2011 resolution
even instructed LifeWay to cease selling the translation in its stores.
(LifeWay has continued to sell the NIV despite the resolution to remove
it; the translation remains the most popular among Southern Baptists
with a 40 percent share.)
The rationale behind the rebuke was two-fold.
First, inclusive translations abolish many gender-specific terms. For
example, they may change “father” to “parent,” “son” to “child,” and
“man” to “mortal.” And second, these translations added words and
phrases not found in ancient manuscripts for the sake of inclusion. A
common example is the translation of “brother” as “brother or sister.”
Some
scholars defend translation decisions like these, arguing they most
clearly express the meaning of each passage. But the SBC disagrees,
seeing such translations as part of a larger cultural push to erase
distinctions between genders and diminish masculinity. It believes
political correctness is threatening the integrity of its holy
scripture.
In response to this perceived menace, the SBC
commissioned its own Bible translation, the Holman Christian Standard
Bible, which was finalized in 2003. It was intended “to champion the absolute truth of the Bible against social or cultural agendas that would compromise its accuracy.”
The translation was well received and the Bible battlefront quieted for
more than a decade. But when a revision was released last fall, a
number of the same “gender-neutral” elements that the SBC previously
condemned were inserted into its own translation.The CSB now translates the term anthropos,
a Greek word for “man,” in a gender-neutral form 151 times, rendering
it “human,” “people,” and “ones.” The previous edition had done this on
occasion; the new revision adds almost 100 more instances. “Men of
Israel” becomes “fellow Israelites;” when discussing Jesus’s incarnation
the “likeness of men” becomes “likeness of humanity.” The CSB
translates the term adelphoi, a Greek word for “brother” in a
gender-neutral form 106 times, often adding “sister.” “Brotherly love”
is translated “love as brothers and sisters.”
The
gender-neutralizing pattern is also present in its translation of the
Old Testament. For instance, where the NIV “gender-neutral” revision
uses the term “human” or “humanly” for a masculine term, the CSB concurs
with a “human” “humanly” or “human being(s)” 67 times. As the CSB
translates the Hebrew term ‘dm (the word for adam), the generic
“man, men,” it uses gender-neutral language of “human(s), humanity,
human kind, people, person(s)” 242 times. The CSB also uses the term
“mortal” or “mere mortal” to replace a masculine term 6 times. Numerous
other instances of gender-neutral translations of masculine terminology
exist across both testaments.
The FAQ page for the Christian
Standard Bible explains that the translation committee “chose to avoid
being unnecessarily specific in passages where the original context did
not exclude females.” Such an approach is similar, if not identical, to
those taken by inclusive Bible translators, and parallels the logic laid
out on the New International Version website.
In
email correspondence this week, Trevin Wax, Bible and Reference
Publisher for Holman Bibles, defended the translation. He rejected the
notion that the translation is “gender-neutral,” calling it
“gender-accurate” instead. “It uses male pronouns for God, for pastors,
and in places where its obviously male—and it uses male and female,
where that’s what the author intended,” Wax said.A
gender-accurate approach often uses inclusive language, Wax said, but
only in places “when the original would have been understood to refer to
both males and females.” Such a defense of the CSB mirrors those
offered by NIV defenders in years past.
Although the CSB’s
translation isn’t totally gender-neutral, it’s difficult to deny its
significant deviations from rigidly literal interpretation methods.
Perhaps gender-inclusive would be a more accurate term. The
examples listed here are not exhaustive, after all. In the CSB, there
are hundreds of verses that fall within the “gender-neutral” category
condemned in Southern Baptists’ own resolutions. Together, they provide
an illustrative survey of the kinds of quietly progressive changes that
have been inserted into this conservative denomination’s Bible
translation.
Such changes in Southern Baptists’ Bible translation
of choice are more than a mere denominational matter. The SBC is
America’s largest Protestant denomination and one of its most
conservative. If its leaders and members are tolerating a softer, more
inclusive approach to gender, it might be a bellwether of things to come
in the culture war over gender.
This week, Southern Baptists will
gather in Phoenix for their annual gathering. Whether they ignore or
resist the new version of the Good Book may tell us much about the
future of gender debates in American society._____________________________________________________
SOUTHERN BAPTISTS EMBRACE GENDER-INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE IN THE BIBLE
(Friday Church News Notes, August 4, 2017, www.wayoflife.orgfbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from "Southern Baptists Embrace," The Atlantic,
Jun. 11, 2017:
"Last fall, the publishing arm of the 15-million member Southern Baptist
Convention (SBC) released the Christian Standard Bible (CSB). LifeWay
Christian Stores, America's largest Christian retailer, which is owned
by the SBC, sells the translation at hundreds of its locations
nationwide and touts it as a work of superior scholarship. But patrons
are largely unaware that the denomination-approved translation is
gender-inclusive. Such news would presumably shock many in the
evangelical body. The
denomination has affirmed that the Bible commands wives to submit to
their husbands and that modern notions of transgender identity blur the
line between God-ordained masculine and feminine roles. The group has
passed numerous resolutions since the late 1990s publicly condemning
Bible translations that attempt to utilize gender-inclusive language.
When several revisions to the popular New International Version (1984)
appeared to employ gender-neutral language, for example, Southern
Baptists
condemned the translation by name and chastised its publishers. A 2011 resolution
even instructed LifeWay to cease selling the translation in its stores.
(LifeWay has continued to sell the NIV despite the resolution to remove
it; the translation remains the most popular among Southern Baptists
with a 40 percent share.) The rationale behind the rebuke was two-fold.
First, inclusive translations abolish many gender-specific terms. For
example, they may change 'father' to 'parent,' 'son' to 'child,' and
'man' to 'mortal.' And second, these translations added words and
phrases not found in ancient manuscripts for the sake of inclusion. A
common example is the translation of 'brother' as 'brother or sister.'
In response to this perceived menace, the SBC
commissioned its own Bible translation, the Holman Christian Standard
Bible, which was finalized in 2003. It was intended
'to champion the absolute truth of the Bible against social or cultural
agendas that would compromise its accuracy.' The translation was well
received and the Bible battlefront quieted for more than a decade. But
when a revision was released last fall, a number of
the same 'gender-neutral' elements that the SBC previously condemned
were inserted into its own translation. The CSB now translates the term anthropos,
a Greek word for 'man,' in a gender-neutral form 151 times, rendering
it 'human,' 'people,' and 'ones.' The previous edition had done this on
occasion; the new revision adds almost 100 more instances. 'Men of
Israel' becomes 'fellow Israelites'; when discussing Jesus's incarnation
the 'likeness of men' becomes 'likeness of humanity.' The
CSB translates the term adelphoi, a Greek word for 'brother' in
a gender-neutral form 106 times, often adding 'sister.' 'Brotherly
love' is translated 'love as brothers and sisters.'"
Fox
News has confirmed that the gunman who opened fire on Republican
congressmen at an Alexandria, Va., baseball field on Wednesday had a
list of at least six GOP lawmakers' names at the time of the shooting.
The
FBI recovered the list, which was reportedly handwritten by suspect
James Hodgkinson, who shot House Majority Whip Steve Scalise and several
others before he was killed by Capitol Police.
The names on the
list reportedly include Reps. Scot DesJarlais R-TN, Trent Franks R-AZ,
Jeff Duncan R-SC, Jim Jordan R-OH, Mo Brooks R-AL and Morgan Griffith
R-VA.
Catherine Herridge reported on "Tucker Carlson" tonight
that all of the congressmen are associated with the conservative House
Freedom Caucus.
"Fox News understands that the Capitol Hill
police have reached out independently to all of the offices on the
list," Herridge said. "Tonight, the offices are not commenting for our
reporting."
She added that law enforcement officials are
cautioning against drawing conclusions about the list or the suspect's
motivations for having it until more information is available.
