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.
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
Christian leaders who have issued warnings about William P.
Young’s bestselling novel “The Shack,” which portrays God as a woman and
espouses universalist beliefs, state that if the scheduled national
film release is faithful to the text of the book, its distribution could
“far outweigh” the harm already done to souls through the printed page.
“If the film is a faithful portrayal of the events and the
theology of the book, then every Christian should be gravely alarmed at
the further advance of beliefs that smear the evangelical understanding
of the truth of the Bible,” James B. DeYoung, author of “Burning Down the Shack: How the ‘Christian’ Bestseller is Deceiving Millions” and an acquaintance of Young, told Christian News Network. As previously reported,
“The Shack,” released in 2007, is stated to have sold approximately 20
million copies and has been translated into 39 languages. In 2013,
Lionsgate Entertainment obtained the rights to turn the book into a
film, which is now scheduled to be released in March 2017 and is
currently being promoted nationwide.
“The Shack” tells the story of a man named Mackenzie “Mack”
Phillips who faces a crisis while on a family vacation as his youngest
daughter Missy is abducted and presumably killed in an abandoned shack.
Years later, the grieving father receives a note from “Papa,” who
tells Phillips that it has “been a while” and to meet up at the shack
the following weekend.
Reluctantly, Phillips returns to the site, where he meets
the Godhead, portrayed as what Young calls a “fat black woman,” a young
Asian woman named Sarayu, and a carpenter named Jesus. Together, they
seek to help Phillips deal with his faltering faith and to learn to
forgive.
The film features Octavia Spencer as “Papa,” who is asked
blatantly by Phillips, played by Sam Worthington, “Where were you when I
needed you?” Sumire Matsubara plays the Holy Spirit, portrayed in the
book as Sarayu. Schimmel“Young’s
pretentious caricature of God as a heavy set, cushy, non-judgmental,
African American woman called ‘Papa’ (who resembles the New Age Oprah
Winfrey far more than the one true God revealed through the Lord Jesus
Christ—Hebrews 1:1-3), and his depiction of the Holy Spirit as a frail
Asian woman with the Hindu name, Sarayu, lends itself to a dangerous and
false image of God and idolatry,” Joe Schimmel, pastor of Blessed Hope
Chapel in Simi Valley, California and host of the documentary
“Hollywood’s War on God,” told Christian News Network.
Schimmel preached a message at his church entitled “The Shack and the Seduction of the Church,” which he is currently making available as a warning to Christians. DeYoungDeYoung
says that he knew Young well prior to the book’s release, and
personally witnessed Young’s slide into universalism—a belief that
everyone will eventually go to Heaven, and that any punishment will only
be temporal.
“In 2004, [Young] prepared and released a 103-page document
for our M3 Forum in which he rejected his ‘evangelical paradigm’ and
embraced universal reconciliation (UR),” he explained. “He has never
renounced the particulars of universal reconciliation, [and] he refuses
to say that other world religions are in error in their assessment of
Jesus as the unique Son of God.”
Schimmel noted that Young has made similar statements in
public interviews, denying that God will pour out his wrath on
unrepentant sinners, as well as the fact that Christ took God’s wrath as
the substitutionary atonement for the wicked.
“Tragically, these heresies are reflected in the aberrant
fictional theology presented in The Shack. These are not mere trivial
matters but strike at the very heart of God’s character and the gospel
that saves our eternal souls,” he said.
Schimmel warned that such depictions, much like the children of Israel who forged a golden calf, create a god in man’s image.
“Jesus warned of a time, after His ascension, that some of
His servants would conclude that He was delaying His coming and would
also live wicked lives (Luke 12:45). Sadly, as we await our Lord’s
return from heaven, many are guilty of fashioning images of God that
they find more accommodating to their desires and chosen lifestyles and
calling these gods ‘Yahweh,'” he said.
Young encouraged Christians to ask themselves key questions about the film’s content.
“My word to the viewers of the movie ‘The Shack’ is this: If
they confess to be Christians, they should pay close attention to the
statements made by the actors and ask themselves: Does this theology
agree with the Bible and Christian doctrine? Or, is it more in line with
the old distortions of the truth that Christians have identified as
heresy as early as the Council of Constantinople in 533?” he said.
“Contrary to UR, 2,000 years of Church history cannot be wrong.”
Thirteen Heresies in The Shack (From Joe Schimmel)
by Dr. Michael Youssef
1. God the Father was crucified with Jesus.
Because God’s eyes are pure and cannot look upon sin, the Bible says
that God would not look upon His own beloved Son as He hung on the
Cross, carrying our sins (Habakkuk 1:13; Matthew 27:45).
2. God is limited by His love and cannot practice justice.
The Bible declares that God’s love and His justice are two sides of
the same coin — equally a part of the personality and the character of
God (Isaiah 61:8; Hosea 2:19).
3. On the Cross, God forgave all of humanity, whether they repent or
not. Some choose a relationship with Him, but He forgives them all
regardless.
Jesus explained that only those who come to Him will be saved (John 14:6).
4. Hierarchical structures, whether they are in the Church or in the government, are evil.
Our God is a God of order (Job 25:2).
5. God will never judge people for their sins.
The Word of God repeatedly invites people to escape from the judgment of God by believing in Jesus Christ, His Son (Romans 2:16; 2 Timothy 4:1-3).
6. There is not a hierarchical structure in the Godhead, just a circle of unity.
The Bible says that Jesus submitted to the will of the Father. This
doesn’t mean that one Person is higher or better than the other; just
unique. Jesus said, “I came to do the will of Him who sent me. I am here
to obey my Father.” Jesus also said, “I will send you the Holy Spirit” (John 4:34, 6:44, 14:26, 15:26).
7. God submits to human wishes and choices.
Far from God submitting to us, Jesus said, “Narrow is the way that
leads to eternal life.” We are to submit to Him in all things, for His
glory and because of what He has accomplished for us (Matthew 7:13-15).
8. Justice will never take place because of love.
The Bible teaches that when God’s love is rejected, and when the
offer of salvation and forgiveness is rejected, justice must take place
or God has sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross for nothing (Matthew 12:20; Romans 3:25-26).
9. There is no such a thing as eternal judgment or torment in hell.
Jesus’ own description of hell is vivid … it cannot be denied (Luke 12:5, 16:23).
10. Jesus is walking with all people in their different journeys to God, and it doesn’t matter which way you get to Him.
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one will come to the Father but by me” (John 14:6).
11. Jesus is constantly being transformed along with us.
Jesus, who dwells in the splendor of heaven, sits at the right hand
of God, reigning and ruling the universe. The Bible says, “In Him there
is no change, for He is yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 11:12, 13:8; James 1:17).
12. There is no need for faith or reconciliation with God because everyone will make it to heaven.
Jesus said, “Only those who believe in me will have eternal life” (John 3:15, 3:36, 5:24, 6:40).
13. The Bible is not true because it reduces God to paper.
The Bible is God-breathed. Sure, there were many men through 1,800
years who put pen to paper (so to speak), each from different
professions and different backgrounds, but the Holy Spirit infused their
work with God’s words. These men were writing the same message from
Genesis to Revelation.
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
The United States has begun moving 1,600 armored vehicles to a
Cold War-era storage depot in the Netherlands as part of President
Obama’s continued strategy to “deter Russian aggression” in Europe.
The military vehicles are set to be stored at a multi-building warehouse complex in the southeastern Dutch village of Eygelshoven.
The armored force is expected to comprise M1 Abrams tanks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, and M109 Paladin self-propelled howitzers.
The complex, opened in 1985, previously served as a base for American
troops to train for a possible invasion of Europe by the Soviet Union.
The
latest plan to build-up the number of military vehicles in Europe is
part of a $3.4 billion program approved by Congress under the 2017
National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Additional storage sites are
set for reopening in Belgium, Germany, and Poland.
The United
States and NATO have placed blame for the military buildup in Europe
squarely on Russian President Vladimir Putin and his supposed plans for
expansion.
“When visiting the Baltic states, I experienced this
for myself,” said General Tom Middendorp, chief of defense for the
Netherlands. “Standing there, near the Russian border, you could feel
the tense atmosphere.”
“NATO’s [systematic] efforts have been
changing the very essence of the military security in the regions which
are adjacent to the Russian border,” said Aleksandr Grushko, Russia’s
Permanent Representative to NATO, during an interview in October in response to NATO exercises in Montenegro.
Ongoing
steps by NATO to buildup forces in Eastern Europe are “some sort of
project that not only does not correspond to the common European
security interests, but goes against them,” he added.
While the storage facility in the Netherlands does not lie near the Russian border, the United States and Poland recently announced
the accelerated deployment of the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team to
the Polish city of Zagan; in addition, a new brigade will be deployed to
the Polish city of Orzysz, near the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.
The
deployment, announced following a meeting between Polish Defense
Minister Antoni Macierewicz and Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, the
commander of U.S. Army Europe, comes as the Obama administration and
NATO rush to move additional troops into Europe prior to Donald Trump’s
inauguration.
Trump has made no secret of his hope to improve relations with Russia.
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
In the presence of Polish President Andrzei Duda and other top
officials from both church and state, Jesus Christ was officially
recognized as the King of Poland in a Catholic ceremony. Declared to be
Poland's Lord and Savior, the Messiah was asked to rule over the Polish
nation, its people, and its government. The ceremony was held last month
at the Church of Divine Mercy in Krakow and then repeated at churches
across Poland, marking the 1050th anniversary of the nation's
Christianity. The congregation also renounced the devil and all his evil
works.
Of course, as more than a few church leaders pointed out, the
ceremony did not actually “make” Christ the King of Poland. That is
because, in the Christian worldview, Jesus Christ is already King of
kings, as well as King over all His creation. So, instead of actually
“making” Jesus the King, the Polish ceremony enthroning Christ
recognized that sovereignty, with the formalities being described by
officials and celebrants as a sign of the willing submission of Poland
and its people to the rule of Christ. The ceremony was also not intended
to, and could not, add to Jesus' honor or power, religious leaders
cautioned. Throughout the mass, though, Christ was asked to rule over
every aspect of Polish life.
The people and their leaders prayed for Christ to reign. “Immortal
King of Ages Lord Jesus Christ, our God and Savior! In the Jubilee Year
1050 anniversary of the Baptism of the Polish people, in the
Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, here we Poles bow our heads before you,
King of the Universe, together with the authorities, clergy and laity,
to acknowledge your reign and dominion over Poland, those living in our
homeland and throughout the world,” Poland declared at the ceremony. “We
surrender to Thy law, entrust and take you to our homeland and the
whole nation.... We confess before heaven and earth, that your reign we
need.... Wishing to worship the majesty of Thy power and glory, with
great faith and love, we cry out: Rule us Christ!”
During the ceremony, Jesus was asked by the clergy and those
attending to forgive their sin individually and as a nation. In
particular, they asked to be forgiven for turning away from the faith
and for not loving God and other people. “We renounce the devil and all
his works,” they added.
The Poles and their religious and governmental leaders also asked
Jesus to rule over everything. “In our hearts, rule us, Christ! In our
families, rule us, Christ! In our schools and universities, rule us,
Christ! Through the Polish nation, rule us, Christ!” they asked. “We
pledge to defend your holy worship and preach Thy royal glory, Christ
our King, we promise! We entrust the Polish people and Polish leaders to
you. Make them exercise their power fairly and in accordance with your
laws ... rule us, Christ! Reign in our homeland and reign in every
nation — for the greater glory of the Most Holy Trinity and the
salvation of mankind.”
The principle celebrant of the mass was Krakow’s Catholic Cardinal,
Stanislaw Dziwisz. Before the mass began, he spoke, as well. “We would
like to invite Him into our hearts and families, to our communities and
environments,” Cardinal Dziwisz was quoted as saying. “We want to invite
him for all that Poland is. Do not be afraid of such an act. Jesus
Christ takes nothing away from us, and gives everything. His reign
threatens no one, because it is expressed through love, which was
crucified.”
Other top clerics offered more insight into the significance of it
all. “The only Ruler of states, nations and the whole of creation, the
King of kings and Lord of rulers, we entrust your Polish and Polish
rulers,” Archbishop Stanislaw Gądecki, president of the Polish Episcopal
Conference, was quoted as saying. He also asked Jesus to make all those
in power exercise it fairly and for governments to operate in line with
the laws of Christ the King. The archbishop, who leads the Polish
Bishop's Conference, also asked for Christ's mercy, especially on Poles
“who do not follow your ways.”
Speaking after the ceremony, Bishop Andrzej Czaja explained that the
effort was not a declaration of Christ as King, “because He is King.”
“His kingdom is not of this earth, and his dominion is over the whole
universe,” the bishop added, saying people should recognize Christ's
reign over the entire creation and should also submit to His law.
The main ceremony took place on November 19, one day before the
Catholic feast of Christ the King. But the historic event in Krakow,
which was largely ignored outside Poland by the secular media, was
inspired by what is said to have been a divine revelation given to a
Polish nurse. According to Fr. Paul McDonald, writing in Rorate Caeli:
“The providential and proximate origin of the act is to be found in
revelations received, or said to be received, by the Servant of God
Rosalia Zelkova.”
Zelkova, the nurse, reportedly said that Christ asked to be formally
enthroned as King by the Polish Nation, “and not just in the hearts of
the Poles, in a particular manner, and this would have saved Poland in
the war that was coming,” McDonald said. And while neither church nor
government leaders supported the idea fifty years ago — or even as
recently as a decade ago — much has changed since then as Poland becomes
increasingly religious and conservative following decades of ruthless
communist oppression.
The Catholic site ChurchMilitant.com also said the act was consistent
with a 1925 encyclical by Pope Pius XI. “Once men recognize, both in
private and in public life, that Christ is King, society will at last
receive the great blessings of real liberty, well-ordered discipline,
peace and harmony,” the Pontiff wrote at the time. The website also
noted that Peru, under President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, had recently
been officially consecrated to Christ as well.
Numerous lawmakers and senior officials commented on the ceremony,
saying Poland needed to hold fast to its faith and its traditions.
Despite generations of savage communist totalitarianism, the people of
Poland remained firm in their faith. Polls show close to 90 percent of
Poles identify as Catholic, and about two thirds of those regularly
attend church services. Most of the rest of the population is either
Orthodox or Protestant, with less than one percent of the population
practicing Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, or Hinduism. Poland has also
resisted EU efforts to force member nations to accept the mass Islamic
immigration, which Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said was orchestrated by a “treasonous conspiracy” to undermine Christianity, the West, and the nation-state.
Some critics opposed to moral absolutes blasted the ceremony. The
far-left "Vice News," for example, said “it's another step the
conservative government has taken towards forcing outdated morals on the
Polish people.” However, officials and religious leaders said the
ceremony was not about imposing anything on anyone, or coercion. And as The New Americanreported late last year,
the Polish people voted so overwhelmingly for their conservative
leadership that, for the first time since World War II, not a single
left-wing lawmaker remained in Parliament.
With the Soviet regime and its puppets in Eastern Europe ostensibly having collapsed,
Poland's Christian traditions and laws have been under growing threat
from the Brussels-based European Union instead. Polish laws protecting
unborn children, for example, have been under relentless assault by the
EU and all of its organs of power. Separately, marriage and the family
have also been under relentless siege, with increasingly radicalized EU
leaders trying to re-define — or un-define — marriage across the entire
bloc, using any means possible. Even pro-homosexual groups with documented pro-pedophilia connections have been showered with EU tax money.
Many Christians around the world, and particularly Catholics,
rejoiced at the news out of Poland. However, despite its significance,
the national event was barely reported outside Poland, with the
exception of Christian and alternative media outlets in the United
States. Instead, it seems the establishment media across the United
States and Europe were too busy manufacturing fake outrage over alleged “fake news” to
notice or care. At least one globalist EU propaganda organ, though,
publicly worried that Atheists and Muslims might be deported from Poland
now. Lawmakers from the ruling party have ridiculed and downplayed the
concerns.
But while Christ may be officially the King of Poland (and all
creation), in the United States and what was long known as Christendom —
not to mention communist and Islamic countries — Christianity is under
massive attack. Indeed, research and studies have documented a fierce hostility to Christianity and Christians by the ruling establishment.
Professors George Yancey and David Williamson, sociologists at the
University of North Texas, presented their findings recently in the book
So Many Christians, So Few Lions: Is There Christianophobia in the United States?
Of course, the Bible and Jesus predicted that Christians and the Truth
would be hated by the world, so the findings are hardly surprising.
Ironically, though, Christianity has always tended to spread even more quickly in the face of persecution.
The Conference of Polish Bishops noted that the official enthronement
of Christ as King of Poland last month is “not the culmination, but the
beginning of the work of enthronement of Jesus Christ in Poland and the
Polish nation.” What the formal enthronement of Christ as King of
Poland might mean for policy remains to be seen.
PROVIDING A HOLIDAY DIVERSION FROM SHOPPING OR THINKING ABOUT THE HEAVY THINGS LIKE SIN AND THE NEED FOR A SAVIOR, PERHAPS?
"NERFING FOR BABY JESUS"? ARE YOU SERIOUS?
AT CHRISTMAS, THE GOSPEL NEEDS A BOOST! HOW?
VOILA! A NEW REVELATION:
The benefits of foam to foam Nerf battle combat can be an aid to church growth, and in bridging the gap between church and the secular community, for mutual understanding? How Loving!?
PLEASE DON'T SHOOT THE HYPER-CRITICAL, EVEN THOUGH YOUR SERMONS NEVER HIT THE MARK!
NO CURSE WORDS, NOW;
JUST BLESS THEM WITH BULLETS
AT THIS HOLY TIME OF THE YEAR
PASTOR & CHURCH SECRETARY "HAVE IT OUT" DURING EXHAUSTING SERMON PREPARATION;
RELIEVING THE (SEXUAL) TENSIONTHAT SEPARATE OFFICES DON'T RELIEVE:
“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
Proverbs 22:6
SPECIAL OPS/BASIC TRAINING FOR
"SPIRITUAL" WARFARE?
TRAINING FOR THE REAL THING, OH YES!
NERF WAR UNDER BLACK LIGHT OR JUST EMERGENCY LIGHTING; YOU CHOOSE WHAT'S APPROPRIATE FOR THE AGE BRACKET. THE RAP MUSIC JUST MAKES CHURCH MORE "COOL" (SCREENED FOR PROFANITIES):
OTHER CHURCHES GLORIFYING JESUS CHRIST IN THEIR OWN PERVERTED WAY:
“Anyone who thinks that NERF is glorifying violence, anyone who is
concerned about guns with youth, anyone who thinks that church should be
more serious … There is a whole set of people from different angles who
may not like this,” said Reed.
Reed said that these wars give the chance for teaching opportunities – even aside from the spiritual aspects.
“It shows us how to respect one another, how to respect other people’s property, how to respect our own property.”
_______________________________________________________
WHEN WILL THE CHURCHES COME OUT OF DEEP DENIAL AND FACE THE REAL SPIRITUAL BATTLES, WITH THE REAL ENEMY?
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities,
against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world,
against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Ephesians 6:12
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
These BYU students have ably signaled their virtue, and can now sit
back and enjoy the rounds of applause they will receive from the
enlightened and intelligent, but where is their concern of for Aqsa
Parvez, whose Muslim father choked her to death with her hijab after she refused to wear it? Or Aqsa and Amina Muse Ali, a Christian woman in Somalia whom Muslims murdered because she wasn’t wearing a hijab? Or the 40 women who were murdered in Iraq in 2007 for not wearing the hijab; or Alya Al-Safar, whose Muslim cousin threatened to kill her and harm her family because she stopped wearing the hijab in Britain; or Amira Osman Hamid, who faced whipping in Sudan for refusing to wear the hijab; or the Egyptian girl, also named Amira, who committed suicide
after being brutalized for her family for refusing to wear the hijab;
or the Muslim and non-Muslim teachers at the Islamic College of South
Australia who were told that they had to wear the hijab or be fired; or the women in Chechnya whom police shot with paint balls because they weren’t wearing hijab; or the women also in Chechnya who were threatened by men with automatic rifles for not wearing hijab; or the elementary school teachers in Tunisia who were threatened with death for not wearing hijab; or the Syrian schoolgirls who were forbidden to go to school unless they wore hijab; or the women in Gaza whom Hamas has forced to wear hijab; or the women in Iran who protested against the regime by daring to take off their legally-required hijab; or the women in London whom Muslim thugs threatened to murder if they didn’t wear hijab; or the anonymous young Muslim woman who doffed her hijab outside her home and started living a double life
in fear of her parents, or all the other women and girls who have been
killed or threatened, or who live in fear for daring not to wear the
hijab?
Who is standing in solidarity with them? Those who taunt or brutalize
hijab-wearing women are louts and creeps, and should be prosecuted if
they commit any acts of violence. At the same time, the women who don’t
wear hijab in Muslim countries are far more likely to be victims of
violence than hijabis in the West. Who speaks for them?
“Hijab-wearing students activists SHOCK Christian university with Islamic protest,” by Oli Smith, Express, December 17, 2016:
A GROUP of Christian university students have covered
themselves with the Islamic hijab with a shock protest in support for
Muslims.
The protest at the Church-owned university has seen students don the
traditional Islamic garment in solidarity with Muslims in the community.
For the past three weeks, the student activists at the Mormon-owned
Brigham Young University, in Utah, USA, have shocked campus with their
newfound Islamic fashion.
Most students at the university are members of the Christian Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
However, these activists, most of whom are majoring in Middle Eastern
studies, say they want to spread diversity and fight discrimination.
They insist the group’s effort sends a message that Muslims are not alone.
A Facebook page called On Wednesdays We Wear Hijab organizes the
protest and asks other students to join them by wearing a hijab every
Wednesday.
The group say they will continue with their solidarity protest into the new year.
One of the protesting students, Sondra Sasser, explained: “A lot of Muslims are feeling uncomfortable about things.
“They are feeling scared about things or just misunderstood, and so any show of solidarity I think can be touching.”
She dismissed any controversy around the protest, which has raised
eyebrows around campus, as people “getting excited about seeing
diversity”….
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE'S PROMOTION OF TRANS-SEXUALISM TO CHILDREN IS ABUSIVE
Published on Dec 18, 2016
The
Latest National Geographic issue is celebrating children becoming an
opposite sex and showing a boy who thinks he is a girl and so happy not
to pretend to be a boy. This is how you kill a society by confusing the
sexes, just like many chemical weapons used on insects. http://www.infowars.com/national-geog...
AMERICAN YOUTH INDOCTRINATED UNDER PRETENSE OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
Published on Dec 18, 2016
Millie
Weaver interviews Holly Swanson about the undisclosed agenda of the
newly implemented environmental movement within our schools. They
discuss how the environmental movement is used to politicize curriculum
under the pretense of environmental education to advance green party
goals and communism on America's children.
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
On Tuesday, I wrote R.C. Sproul Jr. Resigns from Ligonier Ministries & Reformation Bible College for Undisclosed Reasons.
Those reasons are now known. R.C. Jr. was arrested for driving under
the influence with a child in the vehicle. He has been charged with two
misdemeanors and two felonies. More on that shortly.
1 Timothy 3:3 and Titus 1:7 lay out the requirement that an overseer must not be given to wine. The Greek word is paroinos. It is composed of a preposition, para, and a noun, oinos. Para means “by the side of” and oinos means “wine.” Literally, an overseer must not be “by the side of wine.”
The KJV translation is best, “Not given to wine.” In his lexicon, John Henry Thayer translates paroinos, “one who sits long at his wine.”
Those who know R.C. Sproul Jr. know he has a history of sitting long
by his alcoholic beverages. That includes his parents, his pastors,
leaders in his denomination, and leaders in Ligonier Ministries. His
givenness to drink is widely known.
This was posted today by former friends in response to his arrest.
I’ve provided this excerpt to help you understand the bigger picture.
Please read the entire article.
Those who have personally witnessed RC
Sproul Jr consuming prodigious quantities of alcohol know that tossing
back a 1/2 pint or more of whiskey, on an empty stomach, in less than an
hour, isn’t unusual for him.
This blog has been sounding the alarm for
over ten years that RC Sproul Jr has a serious drinking problem. For
the most part those warnings have gone ignored, and RC Jr himself has
outright mocked those concerns.
As far as he’s concerned he always “drinks in moderation.” But given
that he has often rendered an opinion on “moderation” while he’s drunk
he hardly qualifies as an expert on that subject. Some have voiced
concern that RC Sproul Jr is an alcoholic and is in desperate need of
rehab.
We’ve long been aware that RC Sproul Jr
routinely gets behind the wheel inebriated, endangering himself and the
lives of others, including his own family members. It’s remarkable he
hasn’t long ago killed himself and perhaps a few others.
Many members of St. Peter Presbyterian
Church, the church that he started in Virginia, and then subsequently
resigned from after his defrocking in 2006,
often witnessed RC Sproul Jr inebriated, including at various church
celebrations (i.e. keggers). It was commonplace at those church parties
that minor children were served alcoholic beverages, including drinks
spiked with Everclear (190 proof grain alcohol). RC Sproul Jr fostered a
culture of heavy drinking at St. Peter Presbyterian Church, not just
with church members but also with the pastors he invited to his “Pastor
Camps” (open bars were the norm). He was also known to turn a blind eye to drunk driving.
Drinking beer, wine or liquor is not sinful. Drinking too much and
coming under their intoxicating effect is. Ephesians 5:18 (ESV) says,
“And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled
with the Spirit.” Debauchery is excessive indulgence in sensual
pleasures. It is far better to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
This is why Paul the apostle lays out another qualification for men in ministry. They must be temperate (Gr., nephalios, 1 Tim. 3:2 and Tit. 2:2). Nephalios
means “sober…abstaining from wine either entirely…or at least from its
immoderate use” (Thayer), “not self-indulgent,” (Getz)
“well-balanced…careful” (Hendriksen).
“Such a person lives deeply. His pleasures are not primarily those
of the senses, like the pleasures of a drunkard for instance, but those
of the soul. He is filled with spiritual and moral earnestness. He is
not given to excess (in the use of wine, etc.) but moderate, well
balanced, calm, careful, steady, and sane. This pertains to his
physical, moral, and mental tastes and habits.” (William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary, Exposition of First and Second Timothy and Titus (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1968), p. 122).
The intemperate and intoxicating use of alcohol by R.C. Jr. should
have been addressed by his pastors, denomination, and Ligonier
Ministries as a disqualifying sin in his life. They let it pass. Now
he is going off to jail unless his lawyers find a way to prevent it.
There is shared responsibility for this tragedy. I also wonder who
allowed him to drive drunk with his child in the car.
This lack of temperance, which is a dangerous and disqualifying sin,
also resulted in R.C. Sproul’s “visit” to the Ashley Madison. Ashley
Madison is a perverse website used to arrange illicit relationships for
the purpose of fornication, adultery, homosexuality, and lesbianism.
There he set up an account. He denies doing so but it is one of the
many lies he has told about the matter. See Ligonier Ministries Lifts Suspension of R.C. Sproul Jr. for His “Visit” to Ashley Madison.
Last night, the Christian Post ran this story, R.C. Sproul Jr. Resigned From Ligonier Ministries After Felonious DUI Arrest With Minor in Vehicle. It summarized the charges this way.
“Sproul was charged with two class A
misdemeanors: operating a vehicle with alcohol concentration equivalent
to .15 or more, and operating a vehicle while intoxicated, endangering a
person. Under Indiana law both charges attract up to 365 days of jail
time, probation for a year, and the suspension of a driver license for
up to two years.
“He was also charged with two
felonies for operating a vehicle while intoxicated or under the
influence of a controlled substance with a passenger younger than 18,
which attracts a penalty of six months to three years in jail and up to
$10,000 in fines under Indiana law.
“In addition, he was slapped with the felony charge of neglect of a dependent in a way that the dependent was endangered.”
You can read and follow his criminal case summary by doing a case search here. It gives you various options for how to search. Use this information.
Case Number: 02D04-1612-F6-001308
Party: Robert C Sproul
Lawyer: John David Cowan
The arrest was made on November 29 which was a week or two after his marriage to Lisa Sproul.
She appears to have three children. R.C. Jr. has eight children. In
all likelihood, he is tragically off to jail. No one wishes that for
his new wife or family.
Knowing full well about his arrest, the Ligonier Board nevertheless put out this statement on Monday.
Last Friday, the board of directors of
Ligonier Ministries and Reformation Bible College received and affirmed
the resignation of Dr. R.C. Sproul Jr. He is stepping away from his
duties at the ministry and the college for personal reasons. This was
communicated by phone to his father, Dr. R.C. Sproul, the founder of
Ligonier Ministries and chancellor of Reformation Bible College, and it
was later communicated in writing to the entire board of directors of
Ligonier Ministries.
We support the Sproul family and give
thanks for the many edifying contributions of Dr. Sproul Jr. over the
years through his work at the ministry and the college. We believe he
will be well cared for by his church during this time of transition, and
we pray for him in his future endeavors.
R.C. Jr. was arrested on November 29. He “resigned” ten days later
on December 9. Ligonier Ministries told the world it was for “personal
reasons” on December 12. Now we find out the truth on December 16. I
agree with the following excerpt.
High-placed business execs, as well as
political staffers, have often been told, “We need to terminate our
relationship. We’re asking you to resign.” Implicit in the message is,
“We’re giving you the opportunity to save face by resigning. If you
don’t resign we’ll have no choice but to fire you. That will look bad
for you, but it will also look bad for us because we were the ones who
were stupid enough to hire you in the first place. Now just look at the
mess you created. So please tender your letter of resignation pronto.
And feel free to say you’re leaving for whatever reasons you like. If
you can’t come up with something good then just say, ‘I’m resigning for
personal reasons’.” …
The remarkable brevity of Ligonier’s
“thanks” is a strong statement of just how bad things must have become
between they and RC Sproul Jr. They might as well have said, “Don’t let
the door hit you on the way out.”
It’s actually not at all unreasonable for
us to take some cues from the world of politics, for based on its track
record Ligonier Ministries is very political organization. Take for
example, “He is stepping away from his duties at the ministry and the
college for personal reasons.” How many times have we heard the same
exact statement when the head of some political agency has been forced
to resign over some scandal? Rather than acknowledging the obvious
reason that they were fired they are allowed to resign for vague and
unspecified “personal reasons.” This is, of course, nothing but a smoke
screen, and none but the most naive will buy it. …
Did Ligonier Ministries and Reformation
Bible College fire RC Sproul Jr? Given RC Sproul Jr’s scandal-laden
track record it’s a question that many people are reasonably asking.
Unfortunately neither Ligonier nor RC Jr are being at all forthcoming,
and given their respective track records it’s unlikely they’ll divulge
anymore than they already have.
I didn’t write about it in my last post,
but there were indications in the Ligonier statement above that a
convoluted process lay behind the resignation. It wasn’t a simple
matter of resigning for personal reasons. A lot more was going on.
First, the statement said, the board of directors received and
affirmed the resignation. Second, it said R.C. Sr. was informed by
phone. Third, the resignation was later communicated in writing to the
entire board.
That raised several questions for me. For example, R.C. Sproul Sr.
and his wife Vesta are on the 13-person board. R.C. Sr. is the
chairman. Why then did he need a phone call when he and his wife
supposedly already received and affirmed the resignation of their son
per the statement?
In a similar way, why was the reception and affirmation “later
communicated in writing to the entire board of directors”? They already
knew per the statement above. Further, it was bizarre that mom and dad
learned about the resignation from the board and not their son.
And lastly, the super abbreviated, “We…give thanks for the many
edifying contributions of Dr. Sproul Jr. over the years through his work
at the ministry and the college.” R.C. Jr. was the cornerstone for the
future of the ministry. Here’s what was said in part when he was
appointed rector and chair of philosophy and theology in the bible
college.
On the occasion of this announcement, Dr.
R.C. Sproul Sr. said, “We are grateful to God for Dr. Sproul Jr.’s
unwavering commitment to Scripture and service to Reformation Bible
College, and we look forward to many more years of his teaching and
leadership as we seek to educate the next generation of Christian
leaders in the things of God. He has seen the impact of Ligonier
Ministries from the beginning, knows how I approach theological matters,
and in this way, provides us with yet another way to maintain
theological continuity and fidelity for the next generation.”
Dr. R.C. Sproul Jr. brings a wealth of
experience in teaching and administration to his new role at RBC. …
Most importantly, his firsthand knowledge of the life and ministry of
the founder of Reformation Bible College—Dr. R.C. Sproul Sr.—will
provide steady guidance as the college endeavors to be faithful to Dr.
Sproul Sr.’s vision to teach nothing but the historic truths of biblical
Christianity as understood in the consensus of the Reformed tradition.
R.C. Jr. was positioned for “many more years of…teaching and
leadership.” He was also on the board of directors and a prestigious
teaching fellow. Practically speaking, there were also huge
implications for him resigning as rector of theology and professor of
apologetics in the middle of the school year. I thought, “What is going
on?” And why would R.C. Jr. give up his high positions and hefty six
figure salary and benefits? We now know.
One last point, the resignation was “received and affirmed.” So how
did this affirmation occur? Probably by a vote in which the majority
board members prevailed and called for his resignation. If so, that’s
why it was necessary to inform R.C. Sr. and the “entire” board after the
fact.
Ten days transpired between the arrest and the resignation. During
that time, there must have been intense discussions and negotiations on
what to do and what to say. In the end, R.C. Jr. agreed to resign and
they agreed to say nothing about his arrest. Oh, my Lord! Why couldn’t
they just be honest! Did that ever occur to them?
R.C. Jr. should have said he was stepping down from all his positions
because he was just arrested and may face jail time. Then he should
have publicly asked forgiveness for his sinful example and its effects.
The Ligonier Board should have said they could no longer keep R.C. Jr.
in their employment given the charges and the reproach that has been
brought to Christ. Instead, the truth was covered up but with
consequences.
When R.C. Jr. was about to be exposed by hackers for Ashley Madison
in August 2014, he put out a deceptive and deceitful “confession.” It
was full of pretention and manipulation. Just as bad, Ligonier
Ministries knew the statement was bogus but they promoted it as the one
and only explanation for his actions. That is why I confronted Chris
Larson, the President & CEO of Ligonier Ministries, after
interacting with him and other over six months. The following is an
excerpt.
From: Brent Detwiler [mailto:abrentdetwiler@gmail.com] Sent: Thursday, March 17, 2016 2:36 PM To: Chris Larson clarson@ligonier.org Subject: An Invitation to Repent
I couldn’t believe you were directing
people to a statement you knew contained false and misleading
information. In that moment, I realized you, and I must assume Dr. R.C.
Sproul Sr. and the Ligonier Board, were committed to covering up for
R.C. Jr. by promulgating his false narrative! …
Chris, I invite you to repent by the
grace of Christ. Then I hope you will be used of God to lead R.C. Jr.
to repentance along with all the related parties who have covered up for
him. By “covered up” I mean not exposing his false narrative but
instead promoting it. The evidence of repentance will be a public
confession by R.C. Jr., you and the Ligonier Board.
Dr. R.C. Sproul Sr.’s greatest work and greatest contribution to the
church is his teaching and book on the holiness of God. I highly
commend it. And yet, the handling of his son over the years has been
unholy. The same is true for the board of directors and other leaders
who are familiar with R.C. Jr.’s disqualifying sins.
One can profess Scripture as their normative authority but it means
nothing unless they embraced Scripture as their causative authority. In
other words, the Bible commands us what to believe and it commands us
how to behave. The former without the latter is called hypocrisy.
Partiality and favoritism combined with nepotism are lethal. In this
case, it could have gotten people killed. This is yet another blow to
my confidence that Ligonier Ministries will do what is right and
biblical in times of temptation. Like so many other men and ministries,
they have shown a greater concern for their own reputation than the
reputation of Christ. As a result, the gospel has been harmed and their
credibility greatly diminished. And now one of their chosen is facing
serious criminal charges. The book of Lamentations is in order.
_______________________________________________________
Reformed Protestant, R.C. Sproul Jr., Exposed For Accessing Adultery Website
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
As EU leaders convened in Brussels, Hungarian leader Viktor Orban
angrily lashed out at Angela Merkel because of her lax immigration
policies that have created such a crisis in her country. Orban warned
that the Muslim migrant crime problem in Germany would spill over into
neighbouring countries:
The Germans and other countries who made the mistake of
letting these people into the EU are now trying to share them out, so
every country also inherits their problem.”
Even Merkel finally admitted
to the problem with Muslim migrants, a problem that she caused, when
she finally woke up to the personal cost to her politically. It’s a
shame that while thousands of German citizens were being attacked and
molested, she was still saying to Germans “we can do this.”
Back in July, Orban stirred controversy when
he “described the arrival of asylum seekers in Europe as ‘a poison’,
saying his country did not want or need ‘a single migrant.'”
Meanwhile, Sweden, a country battered by Muslim migrant crime and no-go zones, has been “backing Italy’s demands Brussels cut funds to states who do not take their fair share of asylum-seekers.”
“‘We won’t pay for YOUR error’ Fuming Orban shatters EU unity with
migrant attack on Merkel,” by Nick Guyteridge and Agnes Kegl, Express, December 15, 2016:
The hard-line prime minister accused Germany of trying to
pass the buck for its “mistake” letting in so many people by sending
them to other countries under an EU quota scheme.
He launched into a vicious tirade as he arrived in Brussels for a
meeting of the EU Council this morning, vowing once again that Hungary
will not accept the controversial policy.
The get together of the 28 European heads of Government is expected
to be dominated by the humanitarian crisis in Aleppo and the possibility
of further sanctions against Russia.
But Mr Orban was more keen to talk about the issue of migration,
claiming that the majority of arrivals in Europe are “economic migrants”
and not genuine refugees.
He blasted: “We are still fighting over the mandatory migrant quotas.
The Hungarians don’t want what the Germans, or to be precise, Angela
Merkel demands.
“The Germans and other countries who made the mistake of letting
these people into the EU are now trying to share them out, so every
country also inherits their problem. Hungary doesn’t like this
approach.”
Mr Orban also set himself on the warpath with eurocrats by vowing to
do everything in his power to block the scheme, which 98 per cent of
Hungarians who voted rejected in a national referendum earlier this
year…..
The leader of the tiny Baltic state expressed sympathy for Theresa
May’s attempts to negotiate a sensible deal with Brussels, and said her
country would use its influence to press for constructive talks.
Several, including Greece’s Alexis Tsipras and Belgium’s Charles
Michel, answered questions on the day’s other agenda items but
conspiciously fled the cameras when the thorny subject of Britain was
raised.
And others stuck rigidly to the European Union’s official policy that
there can be “no negotiation without notification”, reiterating their
calls for Mrs May to trigger Article 50 as soon as possible.
Finnish PM Juha Sipla would only say: “We will start in the end of March that’s for sure.”
And Luxembourg’s Xavier Bettel tetchily answered: “I think that we
are still waiting for Article 50 to be triggered by the British
government. This has to happen for us to start the negotiations. We will
not negotiate before. These are the conditions that must be respected.”
Outgoing EU Parliament chief Martin Schulz told reporters: “I hope
that the Article 50 will be triggered as soon as possible, as the
earlier the easier it is for me to answer your questions.”
And EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini instantly shut down
all questions on the subject, sighing: “That’s not foreign policy yet.”
Leaders of the 28 EU member states will discuss a variety of issues
at today’s meeting including the situation in Syria and the possibility
of further sanctions against Russia, the ongoing response to the migrant
crisis and the drive to create a European army.
