Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Debunking Evolution

Today I found two excellent resources that add to the mountain of evidence already arrayed against the junk-science of Neo-Darwinism (i.e. evolution).

Hopefully someday soon this mountain will "evolve" into a landslide and wipe the malignant lie of evolution off the pages of "modern science" - so called - and into the dustbin of history where it belongs.

I pray that you'll take the time to read these excellent and thorough missives:

Scientist Controversy Panics Evolutionists

Taking Evolution to School

Monday, January 29, 2007

Christ the King

Okay, okay...one last comment from my exchange over at the evangelical outpost tonight:

David Perkins writes

To call someone's argument against God "silly" is to make an enemy against God. Christ was right; love is the answer, love your enemies, love your neighbors as yourself, love one another. If you truly believe Christ was God, is the word made flesh then how can you go against his commands?

Coram Deo writes:

David,

I think perhaps you've been taught either a partial Christology, or another Christ altogether, I'm not sure. Either way you've presented a Christ other than the Ancient of Days as revealed in the Holy Writ.

The platitude spouting, cumbayah-singing, doe-eyed hippy Christ of the modern apostate church simply isn't the Christ of scripture. And though He did come as a humble servant and an atoning Savior (praise God!), He is now seated at the right hand of power of the Father and is returning as a conquering King administering righteous judgment upon an unbelieving world and a worthless, vomitous, lukewarm last-days "Church-ianity". Praise the Lord!

Furthermore unredeemed men are already the enemies of God and scripture is clear on this point. We also know that men who are in defiance of God are headed for hell. This being the case I'm not sure precisely where you're concerned about driving them away to.

Since the unredeemed are already dead in their sins and their souls are on a one way trajectory straight to hell wouldn't it be worth prayerfully offending them with the truth of the cross and the Gospel message? According to the Bible this the manner by which the Holy Spirit might enlighten their hearts that they may be born-again unto life!

It sounds as if you've been sold a lie, brother. Hear the Word of God:

Matthew 3:7
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?


John 8:43-45

43Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.

44Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

45And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.

Matthew 23:27

27Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.

Matthew 21:12

And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,

Mark 11:15
And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves;

Matthew 23:32-34

32Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.

33Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?

34Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:

Matthew 23:15

15Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.

Matthew 10:34

Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

Revelation 19:15

And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

I for one would certainly rather hear the sharp tongue of the truth teller than the forked tongue of the wicked one.

Matthew 7:13

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

Defense of the Christian Theistic Worldview

I've posted several comment strings over at Joe Carter's evangelical outpost in defense of the Christian theistic worldview.

I'm fascinated by the atheists who continually reason in circles and speak of things such as "evil" as though they had some basis for objectively identifying anything at all as "evil".

When challenged with the fact that only Christian theism can explain why anything makes sense at all they ludicrously respond that atheists think and communicate all the time! But isn't that interesting? WHY can atheists think or communicate? WHY can you and I count 10 things and both arrive at the same conclusion that there are 10 things there? WHY does anything at all make sense in a supposedly materialistic chaotic universe? They're so busy hiding behind or secretly borrowing from Christianity that they fail to realize they are assuming the very thing they purport to refute!

Our intrepid atheists never seem to pause long enough to consider these questions, they simply want to assume their experience of existence as a matter of personal observation and/or convention. But again we're faced with the same quandary, WHY can men (or science for that matter) make accurate observations of or arrive at a mutual consensus about ANYTHING AT ALL in a supposedly materialistic chaotic universe? In such a universe nothing whatsoever would have any meaning at all.

The reason for reason is God Almighty. He created everything and His creation reflects His divine order and perfect mind. Man, made in God's image is able to function in God's order because He is divinely equipped to do so. Even the most depraved lost sinner is blessed with the basic ability to function in God's universe.

The wisdom of this world however, science, philosophy, etc is only wisdom so-called when it is based upon the reason of man apart from the revelation of the Holy Bible. Only when a man takes "every thought captive to Christ" and "loves the Lord with all his heart, his soul his mind" is he able to cogently reach rational, logical and coherent conclusions about the universe in which he lives.

Yet man cannot do this by his own power, rather he must submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in order that he might be born-again as commanded in scripture.

At any rate, for your viewing pleasure below are my comments and responses to my critics:

Coram Deo writes:
ex-p,

I'm always fascinated when I see a non-Christian decry "evil" as though they have some objective basis for identifying it.

How can you rationally, cogently explain why you believe there is evil outside of the Christian-theistic worldview?

I'm genuinely interested as I blogged on this subject not long ago and would appreciate your thoughts.

posted on 01.29.2007 2:04 PM




ex-preacher writes:
I'm not using evil in a theological sense, but as a synonym for bad.

Good = beneficial, pleasurable
Bad = harmful, painful


Coram Deo writes:

So you are saying that morality is subjective or perhaps merely a social convention? If so, that's okay (I guess) but it means that you are not able to objectively define evil, hence you are merely positing your own personal subjective opinion of what is evil to you. In that case other people can simply define what is and is not evil for themselves as well and thus there is no objective evil at all.

Therefore - according to your worldview - there's no problem of evil since it doesn't objectively exist, therefore I ask again how you can speak of evil as though it objectively exists.


freedumb writes:

How did you end up in that cramped closet you call a worldview? Morality and objective knowledge of it are not exclusive to christianity.
I don't know who started this foolishness but practically speaking I don't need the book of revelations to teach me that killing children is evil. Neither do I need Leviticus to instruct me that I should play by the rules.


The only way - philosophically speaking - to make sense of the world is through the Christian theistic worldview, no other position is philosophically defensible. In fact rejection of the Christian theistic worldview results in hopeless circular reasoning and any number of untenable irrational worldviews.

posted on 01.29.2007 5:38 PM



Coram Deo writes:
David Perkins,

I must humbly yet boldly disagree with your assertion. It's important to understand that believers in the One True Living God are admonished by scripture to "earnestly contend for the faith" (Jude 1:3) and to tell those without God that "the fool hath said in his heart that there is no God" (Psalm 14:1). Clearly the Bible is NOT engaging in name calling or some other ad hominem attack when it makes this statement, rather it's speaking the truth of God.

The Apostle Paul certainly didn't shirk from "engaging in logical arguments to prove the existence of God" as evidenced in his inspired Mars Hill discourse. Paul boldly asked his audience the rhetorical question in 1 Corinthians 1:20 : "Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?" The short answer of course, is that there is none. No one can successfully challenge or dispute the manifold wisdom of God. Hopeless circular reasoning is the hallmark of the unregenerate mind.

Looking further we discover that the inspired Apostle Peter didn't waffle when he unequivocally stated the factual reliability of the witness of Jesus Christ in 2 Peter 1:16 when he said: "For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty". It isn't a book of fairy tales or the mere oral tradition of men.

Personally I'm surprised that you undermine your own faith by entertaining the heretical idea that you reserve the right to "say some of the Bible stories are just that, stories told around the campfire and passed down orally for many generations before finally being written down". I can state with certainty that you DO NOT speak for orthodox Christianity when you make such un-Biblical and apostate statements. The Creator never subjugates Himself or subordinates His truth for the inspection and verification of the created. This is the great desire and paradox of the unredeemed. They want to usurp God with their own reason and examine His motives and then pronounce judgments based upon their observation. Man's sinful, depraved reason becomes the ultimate (autonomous) authority instead of God. The majority of mankind's arguments against God are simply manifestations of their basic presupposed unbelief (the problem of evil, etc).

Furthermore, while you personally may suspend belief in reality to believe the truth of scripture, many born-again Christians - myself included - define reality from the truth revealed in scripture as opposed to the "truth" and "reality" - so called - of this fallen world taking every thought captive to Christ and subordinating all presuppositions under the Word of God. Man is incapable of reasoning himself to revelation of God, but presenting a cogent, scriptural defense of the Gospel is no different from any other presentation of the Gospel. It's presented with earnest prayer that the Holy Spirit might move upon the heart of the unregenerate individual and give him the ability to believe the claims thereof. It's a commendable and worthy form of witnessing Jesus Christ and presenting the Gospel.

To state that no one can know truth during this life on earth is to crucify the Lord of Glory all over again and outright deny His revealed truth as revealed in the Holy Bible. I for one am frankly fed up with professing Christians who are content to wear a badge and subscribe to a "form of godliness, but deny the power thereof" (2 Tim 3:5). If we are to be salt and light then let us stand boldly and proclaim the truth of the ages, the singular truth upon which all of history hinges; Christ crucified.

Finally in closing, the arguments of the unregenerate are silly and it's a fact that cannot and should not be ignored. Again, the Bible says they are fools for saying in their heart that there is no God, and therefore fools they be.

posted on 01.29.2007 7:07 PM




Robert Duquette writes:
How is it that Christians were both for and against slavery in the 19th century?

Just assuming that there is an objective, eternal right and wrong doesn't mean you can identify what it is.


Coram Deo writes:

You seem unable to distinguish the personal from the abstract.

I'm not the ultimate authority - nor is any Christian - on objective truth or evil however we have a worldview from which we can reasonably discern good and evil, and that is the Christian-theistic worldview as found in the Holy Bible.

No other worldview can make sense of such things as "good", "evil" or anything else for that matter. No other worldview can give a reasonable account of why universals such as laws of logic should even exist.

If someone takes the position that they don't exist (materialist) then nothing can be made sense of since everything is simply conventional and there's no need to even discuss or think about anything. In fact meaningful communication itself would be impossible.

If someone takes the position that things like the laws of logic aren't universals, but simply conventional then again we destroy reason.

It's futile. Only the Christian-theist has a proper, functioning worldview.

posted on 01.29.2007 7:17 PM



Robert Duquette writes:
And yet millions of non-Christians discuss, think and communicate every day. Do you ever stop to realize how easy it is to refute such silly assertions? If you asserted that women can't drive, don't you think that your drive to work would give you ample evidence to withdraw your ill-conceived opinion?


Coram Deo writes:
In your effort to refute the truth of scripture you instead provide yet more evidence to the irrefutable truth that Christian theism is the only philosophically adequate worldview.

Have you paused to consider how it is possible that "millions of non-Christians discuss, think and communicate every day".?

What accounts for this? The reason is because God has made man in His very image (Genesis 1:26-27)and has provided - through God's common grace - even the unredeemed (depraved) man with the ability to obtain a rudimentary knowledge of and a basic ability to function within the created order.

This isn't a saving grace, rather it is God's omnibenevolence as Creator to allow the created (man) "to understand by the things that are made" (creation) so that men are "without excuse" for denying the Godhead and His eternal power (Romans 1:20).

Despite God's impressive and clear revelation men still refuse to glorify Him and instead became "vain in their imaginations, and their foolish hearts were darkened" (Romans 1:21) and "professing themselves to be wise, they became fools" (Romans 1:22).

This is the crux of the problem. Fallen man is aware of God in his heart of hearts. Men are made in God's image and bear that image everywhere they go. There's no place far enough or lonely enough to flee from the image of God they bear in their very person. Men know they are guilty before Him and know they are under His divine and righteous judgments, but instead of repenting and submitting to his Lordship they suppress the knowledge of God in unrighteousness, exchanging the truth of God for a lie. In this they become increasingly antagonistic and resentful of God. This animosity is manifested in any number of ways but it always ends up in an untenable, irrational state wherein the individual becomes the ultimate authority by which all matters are judged and through which all information is filtered and processed resulting in a self-centered worldview.

We see then that men who deny the truth of God have chosen to actively suppress the revealed truth of God and therefore they are under God's wrath. This is because they hold the truth unrighteousness (Romans 1:18). For this man stands guilty before God and is in need of repentance (a change of heart) and salvation - uniquely available through the atonement of Jesus Christ.

Once again we find that only the Christian theistic worldview gives a credible account of "reality" and is able to make sense of the universe in which we find ourselves.


posted on 01.29.2007 10:52 PM


Enough "earnest contending" for tonight methinks...

The Eternal Existence of Christ

This important study succinctly breaks down the the oft ignored subject of Christology in the light of inerrant scripture:

INTRODUCTION

Our modern world is decidedly confused. On the one hand, the rationalistic, humanistic viewpoint dominates within our public education system. We are now taught to question the validity of anything that can be called "supernatural." The very idea that someone might believe in miracles, revelation, etc., is opened up to direct ridicule. At the same time, in a direct reaction against this kind of dry humanism, many people are fleeing for refuge into every kind of spiritistic group imaginable. "Channeling" (a fancy way of saying a spirit medium) is very popular, and the Eastern ideas of reincarnation and mysticism are drawing converts from every walk of life.

In the midst of all of this confusion we find the Bible, continuing to proclaim the timeless message of Jesus Christ. Yet even the Lord Jesus has come in for modern "updating" in many men's writings. After a century of "searching for the historical Jesus" men (hopefully) have discovered that outside of the inspired writings of the apostles in the New Testament, we will not find much information on who Jesus was. Indeed, unless we see that it is illogical and irrational to reject the Scriptures for what they claim to be(1) we will never have much to say to our world.


Continue reading "The Pre-existence of Christ In Scripture, Patristics and Creed" here

Sunday, January 28, 2007

The Purpose Driven LIE

Pastor-teacher Ken Silva paints an all too accurate portrait of the "almost Christian" culture in which most professing believers are submerged in this missive.

May we hold fast to the infallible unchanging Word of God that it might be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path!

Friday, January 26, 2007

Without Love

I posted the following comment over at Vox Day's place in response to his post entitled Dr. Helen walks into the minefield".

The post is primarily concerned with a certain young woman who has apparently decided that normal sexual relations with her husband are "beyond boring". Furthermore she seems to have yoked her willingness to engage in normal sexual relations with her husband with the amount of housework he shares. This is yet another sad example of the unregenerate self-centered worldview at work (as opposed to the Christian theistic worldview).

My response to the situation as presented was:

There's clearly a lack of spousal love in that relationship and a rejection of the admonition of scripture as found in 1 Corinthians 7:4-6:

"4The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife.

5Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.

6But I speak this by permission, and not of commandment."


What the apostle Paul is addressing here under inspiration of the Holy Spirit is quite simply that a man and his wife should not abstain from normal sexual relations ("Defraud ye not one the other").

Paul is also careful to append the comment that he speaks this "by permission and not of commandment". What he doesn't mean here however is that he has suddenly become uninspired and is speaking only for Paul, rather he is stating that the husband and wife ought to mutually consent to normal sexual relations as opposed to commanding, (i.e. forcing) sexual relations upon one another.

Again, for the Christian it goes back to simple Godly love. For the unregenerate no amount of counseling or other means of stimulation can substitute for the power of repentance (a change of heart) and the regeneration of spirit and mind (sanctification) that is uniquely available through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

Sunday, January 21, 2007

The Downgrade Controversy

"Spurgeon and the Down-Grade Controversy" is an incredibly informative, and timeless article written by John MacArthur Jr. who is himself a noted and distinguished Christian author and pastor-teacher.

While I admittedly diverge from Spurgeon and MacArthur on the subject of Calvinistic thought - a discussion for another time perhaps! - the subject matter contained in the linked article is cogent, insightful and fully applicable to today's modern form of American evangelicalism, even though the "Down Grade Controversy" occurred in England almost 120 years ago!

Below are a couple of excerpts from Spurgeon's newsletter, "The Sword and the Trowel" which contain stinging rebukes from a bygone era, yet are as fresh and relevant to America's modern evangelicals as they were to the English Baptists on the day the were penned!

"The first step astray is a want of adequate faith in the divine inspiration of the sacred Scriptures. All the while a man bows to the authority of God's Word, he will not entertain any sentiment contrary to its teaching. "To the law and to the testimony," is his appeal concerning every doctrine. He esteems that holy Book, concerning all things, to be right, and therefore he hates every false way. But let a man question, or entertain low views of the inspiration and authority of the Bible, and he is without chart to guide him, and without anchor to hold him.
In looking carefully over the history of the times, and the movement of the times, of which we have written briefly, this fact is apparent: that where ministers and Christian churches have held fast to the truth that the Holy Scriptures have been given by God as an authoritative and infallible rule of faith and practice, they have never wandered very seriously out of the right way. But when, on the other hand, reason has been exalted above revelation, and made the exponent of revelation, all kinds of errors and mischiefs have been the result."


And again:

"I have long since found," says [Orton] "(and every year that I live increases my conviction of it), that when ministers entertain their people with lively and pretty things, confine themselves to general harangues, insist principally on moral duties, without enforcing them warmly and affectionately by evangelical motives; while they neglect the peculiars of the gospel, never or seldom display the grace of God, and the love of Christ in our redemption; the necessity of regeneration and sanctification by a constant dependence on the Holy Spirit of God for assistance and strength in the duties of the Christian life, their congregations are in a wretched state; some are dwindling to nothing, as is the case with several in this neighbourhood, where there are now not as many scores as there were hundreds in their meeting-places, fifty years ago. . . . There is a fatal deadness spread over the congregation. They run in 'the course of this world,' follow every fashionable folly, and family and personal godliness seems in general to be lost among them. There is scarcely any appearance of life and zeal."[19]


The enemy's ecumenical church of deceit is alive and well. Like a cancerous tumor that rapidly metastasizes, growing in bulk while feeding treacherously upon its host, the American church has been co-opted and corrupted by ravenous wolves who teach another gospel.

In Matthew 7:15-23 the Lord provides us with a glimpse of both the visible church - the broader Christian culture which professes orthodox Christianity - and His invisible church - the true church hidden away within the visible church who actually belong to Him and will be partakers in His Kingdom.

Those who wish to redefine the church by subtly introducing damnable heresies and false doctrines are guilty of the grievous error of conflating the visible church with the invisible and by logical extension they fail to discern any theological difference - or indeed the possibility of such a distinction! - between the professing Christian and the true Christian! They are deceived into believing that by fattening church membership rosters or whipping crowds up into an emotional frenzy whereby they make a "decision" for Christ that they are somehow enlarging the kingdom of heaven! How shameful! The arrogance and ignorance is simply breathtaking!

Sadly a heretical man-centered false gospel is the calling card of today's professing church in America. "Christian" self-help books are advanced through shameless self-promotion in place of the plain preaching of scripture and application of sound doctrine. Laser-light rock shows replete with the latest catchy jingles pass as "praise and worship" instead of edifying, scriptural God-honoring adoration. The pulpits are staffed by unholy hirelings who forsake the expository preaching and teaching of the whole counsel of God in favor of presenting a man-pleasing watered down Nerf theology that is careful to tiptoe around unsavory subject matter such as sin, repentance, judgment and hell for fear of losing the precious dollars of "Bob Benchwarmer" and "Sally Sundaymorning" from the offering plate. How revolting!

Oh how wretched and unfit must the bride appear to the Bridegroom! Oh how we've trampled underfoot His vesture and soiled our garments!

Revive us O' Lord! May we hold fast to Your eternal, infallible Word! May we confess Your absolute sovereignty, holiness, and righteousness with boldness and power! May we be as lamps burning brightly with the glorious light of Your truth, proclaiming the unmerited grace of Christ crucified and the terror of the unspeakable wrath to come!

Saturday, January 20, 2007

Commentary Upon: "An Agnostic's View"

I posted the following comment over at Vox Day's place on a thread entitled Mailvox: an agnostic's view

BEGINNING OF ORIGINAL POST
Interestingly even my most ardent atheist detractors readily agree with my view that there is no such thing as an "agnostic". It's akin to labeling oneself "bisexual".

Quite simply a bisexual is a homosexual and an agnostic is an atheist. These cheapen themselves - if it were possible - in their futile effort to gain broader societal acceptance by utilizing deceptive linguistic devices.

If you disagree then consider the matter from the viewpoint of the Ancient of Days as revealed in the Holy Bible; does it matter to Him if one prefers homosexuality only part of the time as is ostensibly the case of the bisexual? Does it matter to Him if a man lives and dies doubting Him as opposed to denying Him outright which is the supposed deviation of the agnostic from the atheist?

Scripture answers with a resounding "NO!". Homosexuality is an abomination before God and failure to submit to the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ is unforgivable in this world and the world to come.


Vox Day also stated in his post:
I tend to concur with that conclusion, obviously. It is always interesting to note how many atheists argue that a rational non-theistic morality that does not wholly depend on cultural traditions could be constructed, I have yet to seen any of them actually do so or provide any evidence that they are living by one.

I commented:
It's because they can't; it's impossible for man to properly reason and maintain a coherent worldview apart from the Christian theistic worldview. In most cases the unbelievers secretly borrow from the Christian worldview or are forced to assume elements of the very thing (Christian theism) which they purport to refute! Hopeless circular reasoning is the hallmark of the unregenerate mind.

The apostle Paul addressed this fact when he asked the rhetorical question to his Mars Hill audience in 1 Corinthians 1:20: "Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?"

There is no disputer of this world because, as previously mentioned, it is impossible to maintain a coherent, non self-refuting, logically consistent worldview apart from Christian theism. There is simply no one who can effectively gainsay the manifold wisdom of God.

Furthermore Paul neatly explains in Romans 1:18-32 why these men are guilty before God - namely because they suppress the knowledge of God in unrighteousness. Note the laundry list of offenses that God "gives them over" to as a result of their disobedience. Sounds familiar doesn't it? Take a good look around. These are described as being under the wrath of God. How terrible!

I blogged on this subject (the untenable logic of atheism) when refuting an argument posited by John Loftus regarding "The Problem of Evil" over at "Debunking Christianity".

Yet we as believers ought not to grow weary in well doing. We are called to be salt and light to a sick and dying world and to boldly proclaim the truth of Jesus Christ crucified, the hinge upon which the whole of history turns.

END OF ORIGINAL POST

Let us pray that the Lord of Hosts would move upon the hearts of those who He would save in this late hour and may we be faithful and obedient servants in this present darkness, Amen.

Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus going on before.
Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe;
Forward into battle see His banners go!

Education or Illusion?

This article details the rise of secularism in the American public school system and the corrosive effect of of a soulless education.

Give us eyes to see and ears to hear O' Lord!

Redefining the Church

This is a timely message which juxtaposes the man-centered heresy of Rick Warren's Devil Driven "corporation-church" model against the invisible church as defined in the infallible, eternal Word of God.

It's amazingly well researched and Biblically sound and I HIGHLY recommend you take the time to read it in its entirety.

Redefining the Church

When an SBC Resolution Gets it RIGHT!

I sent the following missive to Pastor/Teacher Ken Silva of Apprising Ministries regarding the lack of a coordinated Christian response to the ever growing problem of the nationalized state-run school system.

Greetings Pastor Silva,

By way of introduction I am a Christian blogger and longtime reader of both Slice and Apprising Ministries, and more recently CRN. I have followed your work with great interest because of my own personal deep-seated passion for Christian apologetics and Biblical discernment, both of which are gifts the Lord has seen fit to equip me with.

With all the focus on very real problems within the Christian community – which are legion! - I wonder how often we as believers stop and conduct an inventory of our personal and corporate responsibility for today's rampant morally bankrupt, secular-humanist broader culture. Sadly in my view too many Christians have, perhaps unwittingly, sacrificed their children to the Baal of public education for decades, and we are collectively reaping the bitter harvest of our neglect.

I posted the following on my blog and wanted to share it with you. I have hyperlinks to several supporting articles for this post at my blog: Absolute Dominion

I’m sending this to you because I believe you are one of the few independent voices within the SBC who would be willing to address this critical subject with both the infallible truth of Holy Scripture and personal conviction. Furthermore it is my hope that you will add your voice to those within the SBC who are calling for a paradigm shift away from the public school Baal; voices such as Dr. Rick Scarborough, Roger Moran, Dr. Bruce N. Shortt, Dr. Voddie Baucham and E. Ray Moore who have submitted a “Resolution for SBC Annual Meeting Urging Action on Call for an Exit Strategy from Public Schools”.

Sir, I know you are a busy man but I wanted to take the time to send this letter and thank you for your work at Slice, Apprising and now CRN.


Following the body of the letter above I pasted my blog post "On the Sin of Public Education" for Pastor Silva's review. Perhaps I'll hear back from him or perhaps I won't, but either way I pray he will prayerfully consider this most important matter and lend his voice to the growing chorus of born-again believers who have said "enough is enough!" when it comes to the secular-humanist indoctrination being perpetrated upon our children by the public school system.

Friday, January 19, 2007

On the "Sin" of Public Education

I sent the following letter to the editor in response to Joseph Farah's 1/19/07 editorial entitled "Time for 2nd Exodus".

Mr. Farah,

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Thank you for speaking the truth about the current state run school system and recommending that your readership "vote with their feet" and pull their children out! My wife and I have chosen to home school our children (ages 5, 4 and 2) and have faced a torrent of opposition from certain family members, all of which has been grounded in ignorance. Please understand that I'm not engaging in name calling or insulting my family members when I describe their opposition as "ignorant", rather I'm stating the fact that they are uninformed - or perhaps a better descriptor would be misinformed - about the state of the public schools in America.

I read "The Harsh Truth About Public Schools" by Bruce Shortt - which I was pleased to see that you linked to at the end of your editorial! - as well as "NEA: Trojan Horse in American Education" by Samuel Blumenfeld and both books present irrefutable, meticulously documented, factual cases against sending our children into the public schools, ESPECIALLY our Christian children.

The American educational system is virulently anti-Christian. This is, of course, to be expected based upon the simple fact that the educational system attempts to be "God-neutral", which is impossible. Into the secular-humanist, moral-relativist vacuum of the arena of public schools rushes a politically correct, corrupted pseudo-morality that is at its rotten root quite simply state-sanctioned, taxpayer-supported atheism.

Reliably eager and willing to play the role of devil's advocate, the MSM plays a huge role in propagating the myth that our public education system is "objective" and "balanced" and teachers are practically portrayed as martyrs sacrificing themselves for the greater good of the next generation. It's absurd on its face. How many movies and mini-series have been devoted to glorifying teachers? How many "teacher of the year" awards are given out in the United States in an average year? I'm not suggesting that all teachers are evil, soulless organs of the state, but the system they operate within is DESIGNED to convey a specific worldview and a particular belief structure to the students. Sadly this worldview and belief structure is wholly at odds with Biblical Christian theism at every point and even the "good" teachers can do nothing about it; nor can the parents as evidenced by the well publicized court rulings which protected the sanctity of the state religion - evolution - against rival systems of thought such as Intelligent Design.

At any rate, I for one appreciate your bold stand on this topic, you're spot on. Oh, and by the way; the first 2008 Presidential candidate who vows to abolish the Dept. of Education as a central plank of his platform has my vote because anyone with the clarity to recognize that monstrous soul-destroying machine for what it is and then shut it down is surely wise enough to govern properly in other matters of state!


I'm thankful for thoughtful, influential, and intelligent new media voices like Joseph Farah who aren't afraid to stand for the Lord Jesus Christ and His eternal Word in the face of myriad opposition from the MSM and his moral-relativist establishment peers.

Let it be known that the public school system in Amerika is broken, comrade; and it CANNOT be reformed. The system is designed to ensure self-perpetuation and vigorously defends itself against any outside interference, after all it's a nearly $500 billion dollar per year taxpayer funded business enterprise! Not a bad deal if you can get in on a piece of the action as one of the "approved" textbook providers, cafeteria service providers, building contractors, office supply companies, IT infrastructure providers, tenured teachers, school administrators, ad exhaustem, ad nauseum. Quite simply, the nationalized state-run school system is good ol' fashioned gub'mint largess at its best! And every intellectually honest person knows that which the government subsidizes unfailingly grows.

Let's be honest here, your child's school is not "different". Your school's principal is not "different". Your administrators and school board are not "different". Don't be fooled. Don't be self-deceived.

If you are a born-again Christian with children in public school then get them out as quickly as possible. If you are a born-again Christian whose children are not yet in school, then PLEASE do not allow them to set one foot on the "Yellow Bus of Doom", ever.

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Global Warming Evangelists

I sent the following missive to Ingrid Schlueter over at the Christian Research Net in response to her article today entitled "Evangelicals, Scientists Join on Global Warming".

Hello Ingrid!

By way of introduction I am a Christian blogger and long-time reader of Slice, and more recently CRN. Coincidentally like your actions with Slice I recently scuttled my other long-time blog and created a new one in the hopes of expanding my witness to the lost and my ability to exhort the believer as the Lord grants. I believe the hour is late and the time is at hand for true believers to "earnestly contend for the faith".

The reason for my message today is to comment on your post entitled "Evangelicals, Scientists Join on Global Warming". I apologize in advance for the length of this message, but this is "one of those subjects" that really gets under my skin!

Not unlike many serious-minded Biblically grounded believers I've seen this day coming for a long time. As the professing church has turned inexorably away from the whole counsel of God and increasingly embraced a man-centered false gospel comprised of utilitarian political gain and bogus temporal unity we find that men are "blown about by every wind of doctrine" and become "doubleminded - unstable in all their ways".

It's no surprise then that the sons of modern evangelicalism now worship "strange gods that their fathers knew not". It's absolutely revolting.

The "proof" undergirding global warming is based upon the same sort of junk-science that spawned the current state-sanctioned religion of evolution. The hubris, arrogance and idolatry of the notion are simply breathtaking. It effectively removes the Sovereign God of the universe from His throne of omnipotence and shoehorns sinful man into the role of the Most High. The Word says that "in Him we live and move and have our being" and we also know that it is by His Word all things exist and are held together.

Let no one be deceived about what lies at the poisonous root of this evangelical-environmentalist movement; it is nothing less than rank idolatry. The creation is elevated above the Creator. The idea of the Church of Christ abdicating its Biblical mandate in favor of a misguided, misunderstood social cause is a direct affront to the Lord of Hosts and a tremendous disservice to the flock.

I'm reminded of the Word of the Lord as spoken by the Apostle Paul in 1 Romans 18-25:

"18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

19Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

21Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

22Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

23And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

24Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:

25Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen
"

Furthermore may I direct your attention to the following links, all of which REFUTE Mr. Ciziks newfound faith in global warming courtesy of the "Dawg on the Lawn" blog:


60 Scientists Debunk Global Warming Fears


Climate Change is Nothing New


“Global Warming” Stopped in 1998


“Global?" Warming Misnamed - Southern Hemisphere Not Warming


Alaska Cooling


Oceans Cooling


‘Hockey Stick’ Broken in 2006


Study Shows Greenland’s Ice Growing


For a comprehensive review of the media’s embarrassing 100-year history of alternating between promoting fears of a coming ice age and global warming, see Environment & Public Works Chairman James Inhofe’s September 25, 2006 Senate floor speech debunking the media and climate alarmism


There are certainly many worthy causes for the believer to take up, but they will center on reaching the lost or edifying the believer and most importantly, will glorify God.

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Evolution, I Can't Believe It!

I'm endlessly fascinated by the blind, dogmatic faith expressed by the adherents of the state religion of the United States: evolution.

Life emerged from non-life. Order arose from chaos. Well isn't that just grand?

Curiously it seems that many in the "scientific community" have turned to metaphysics and propose that somehow a magical comet (or comets) are responsible for "seeding" the earth with organisms that had already evolved elsewhere via a process called Panspermia which, these scientists allege, resulted in the explosion of diversity and complexity of life seen in every corner of the globe.

Bah! It's the same old "tornado in a junkyard" mythology that has for its rotten root junk science mixed with a pseudo-religion. Evolution is a creation story for atheists so they don't feel left out.

The simple truth is: "In the beginning, GOD"...'nuff said!

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Joseph Farah, Rick Warren & Truth

Joe Farah's editorial today addresses what he promises to be his final exchange in the Rick Warren / Syria debacle.

For those readers who may not be aware, "Pastor Rick" - pastor of the California mega-church Saddleback and best-selling author of The Purpose Driven Life and The Purpose Driven Church (both of which literally ooze a man-centered false gospel theology) - paid a friendly little visit to Syrian dictator Bashar Assad and his cronies and left them with glowing praise for their tolerance and benevolence toward Syrian Christians!

Astounding! "Pastor Rick" is now the moral equivalent of "Hanoi Jane" by giving aid and comfort to the enemy. It's simply mind-boggling that this supposed man of God would have anything in store beyond a stern rebuke and a presentation of the Gospel to the jack-booted thugs with whom he socialized while in Syria.

This man and his kind are spiritual Pied Pipers who are herding masses of nominal Christians down the broad way that leads to destruction. Sadly common Biblical discernment is all but dead in the professing church. It's high time that those who badge themselves as "Christian" dig into the everlasting Word of God with fear and trembling and ask the Lord of Hosts to reveal Himself to their hearts.

Too many of today's churches are sending people home singing of a heaven they're never going to see. It's become increasingly unpopular in today's climate of church growth, seeker sensitivity and cultural relevance to speak of sin, repentance or the awful reality of hell. Instead the pulpits of America spew forth the Devil Driven filth of Rick Warren, or the sickly sweet Nerf theology of Joel Osteen wherein "God loves you and wants you to have your best life now!"

These blind leaders of the blind willfully ignore the whole counsel of God in favor of their own lusts and desires for shameless self-promotion and worldly admiration. These are they who have sold their spiritual birthright for a worthless bowl of worldly pottage.

Now however is not the hour for the true believer to grow weary in well doing, but rather this is the time for the remnant of God, those who hold a lofty view of the Ancient of Days and despise their flesh to stand up and earnestly contend for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.

Provin' Evolution?

Nah, I don't think so...

Monday, January 15, 2007

Meat in Due Season

I discovered a wonderful treasure trove of Dr. Walter Martin's sermons here.

For those of you who may not be familiar with Dr. Martin he was called to counter-cult ministry by the Lord and devoted a good deal of study to the cults of Christianity such as the Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons.

I highly recommend adding these gems to your list of devotional items.

Sunday, January 14, 2007

Cursed by Rome

It's important to realize in today's climate of ecumenicalism and unity by all means that the Church of Rome officially cursed all Protestant Christians during Vatican I. Vatican I lasted for 18 years and was convened as a response to Luther's 95 theses and the subsequent Protestant Reformation.

The result of the RCC's analysis of the Protestant's doctrine was to change absolutely nothing as touching Rome's doctrine, but rather to pronounce a papal curse upon those who held to faith by grace alone (as opposed to faith plus works as promulgated by the apostate RCC).

Regardless of what we may think of some of his other activities, before a worldwide audience on the The John Ankerberg Show, Dr. D. James Kennedy at least had the intestinal fortitude to be willing to put all this all into its proper perspective when he tells us:

The Council Of Trent [was a full] 18 years…spent examining the doctrines of the Protestant Reformation…[and] this has never been altered or denied by the [Roman] Catholic Church – “if anyone says that the faith which justifies is nothing else but trust in the divine mercy–which pardons sins because of Christ or that it is trust alone by which we are justified” – which is what every Evangelical Christian would say… “Let him be anathema.” Which means let him be accursed. Every Evangelical Christian in the world stands under the official–[and] never changed curse of the Roman [Catholic] Church. (Grace To You, Irreconcilable Differences, cassette tape GTY54, parts 1-3, side 1). (HAT TIP: Apprising Ministries)

So there you have it Christian. Can you embrace with open arms the apostate false-church that curses you and your faith in the Risen Lord of Glory? Can you simply shrug off the "minor doctrinal differences" between you and fellowship with your "Catholic brothers and sisters"?

Scripture answers with a resounding "NO!" in 2 Corinthians 6:14 - "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?"

A PRAYER TO THE LORD OF GLORY
Lord may we be bold to stand upon your unchanging and eternal Word! Empower us O' mighty King that we would not be deceived by the subtlety of the enemy who would ensnare us with his false doctrine and counterfeit unity; who would enter in secretly introducing destructive heresies! The enemy is as a wolf in sheep's clothing desiring to rend the flock! Give us eyes to see O' Lord and ears to hear your truth and your voice Lord, and let us not hearken unto another! Keep us Lord by Your power and strength and after having done all to stand, may we stand steadfastly upon the Rock of our Salvation and Your holy Word of Truth! Amen.

Saturday, January 13, 2007

The Problem of Evil

I posted the following comment over at Dubunking Christianity in response to an October 2006 thread regarding the supposed "problem of evil" (POE):

There is no problem of evil for the Christian; rather the problem of evil exists for the atheist.

The Christian God - as I presume most here are aware - is clearly attributed with BOTH absolute benevolence and absolute omnipotence by the Holy Bible which purports to be the very Word of God (i.e. self-testifying).

"The POE" is purportedly among the most difficult faced by Christian theists because of the apparent logical difficulty within the Christian outlook when juxtaposed against the personal perplexity which any sensitive human being will feel when confronted with the terrible misery and wickedness that can be found in this world. Man's inhumanity toward man is notorious in every age and even in the natural world we come across so much needless suffering and pain - birth defects, parasites, animal attacks, mutations, diseases, starvation, crippling injuries and natural disasters.

When an unbeliever looks at this unhappy situation he or she feels there's a strong reason to doubt either the goodness or omnipotence (or both) of God, or even His very existence. After all, logically if He were ALL good and ALL powerful He'd be doing something about the mess He's made, or He would have done it differently in the first place, right?

Evil is real. Evil is ugly.

But upon further analysis we discover that "the problem of evil" ends up confirming the Christian outlook rather than infirming it.

I'm encouraged when I see unbelievers who are taking evil seriously as opposed merely holding the casual position that evil is a matter of personal preference or convention. It's for this reason (outrage, indignation about evil expressed on the part of the unbeliever) that I realize it won't be difficult to show why the POE is not a problem for the Christian theistic believer - more on this later.

But back to the logical challenge at hand. At its root the POE is intended to be a serious challenge to the Christian faith. It amounts to the charge that there is a logical incoherence within the Christian outlook and this incoherence would itself render Christian faith intellectually unacceptable. The challenge is that a Christian cannot accept all three of these premises and remain intellectually coherent: God is all-powerful, God is all-good, and evil exists in the world.

At first glance the task seems daunting, even insurmountable. It appears to be an untenable position for the Christian to hold. But then one simply asks; "for whom is evil logically a problem?" It should be obvious that there can be no POE to press upon Christian believers unless one can legitimately assert the existence of evil in this world. The crucial point of this argument is that the unbeliever must assert that there is evil in the world - to point to something and have the right to evaluate it as an instance of evil. If it should be the case that nothing evil exists, or ever happens, then there is nothing inconsistent with Christian theology that requires an answer.

So what then does the unbeliever mean by "evil", or by what standard does the unbeliever determine what is "evil"? What are the presuppositions in terms of which the unbeliever makes any moral judgments whatsoever? Maybe "good" evokes public approval? Based on that basis the statement "The vast majority of the community heartily approved of and willingly joined in the evil deed" could never make sense. The fact that a large number of people feel a certain way should not rationally convince anybody that this feeling is correct. Ordinarily people think of goodness as something evoking their approval rather than approval constituting its goodness! Even unbelievers talk and act as thought there are personal traits, actions or things which possess the property of goodness or evil irrespective of the attitudes or beliefs or feelings people have about those traits, actions or things.

Is "happiness" good? Is "suffering" or "misery" evil? Philosophically speaking, the problem of evil turns out to be a problem for the unbeliever. In order to use the argument from evil against the Christian worldview he must first be able to demonstrate that his judgments about the existence of evil are meaningful - which is precisely what his unbelieving worldview is unable to do.

The complaint before us is that plain facts about human experience are inconsistent with the Christian's theological beliefs about the goodness and power of God. This complaint requires the non-Christian to assert the existence of evil in the world, but what has been assumed here? I believe there is evil. Both I and the unbelievers here insist that certain things are truly, objectively and intrinsically evil and not simply expressions of personal taste, preference or subjective opinion.

Now my question, logically speaking, is how can the unbeliever make sense of taking evil seriously and not simply something inconvenient, or unpleasant or contrary to his or her desires? What philosophy of value or morality can the unbeliever offer which will render it meaningful to condemn some atrocity as objectively evil?

The moral indignation expressed toward evil by unbelievers doesn't comport with the theories of ethics which unbelievers espouse, theories which prove to be arbitrary or subjective, or perhaps merely utilitarian or relativistic in character. From the unbeliever's worldview there's no good reason for saying that anything is evil in nature, but only by personal choice, feeling or societal convention. Expressions of moral outrage or indignation is personal evidence that unbelievers know God in their heart of hearts since they refuse to let judgments about evil be reduced to subjectivism.

If the unbeliever argues that evil is, in the final analysis, based on human reasoning or choices - thus being relative to the individual or culture - then we find a logical incoherence within the unbeliever's worldview. On the one hand he speaks as though some activity is wrong in itself (e.g. child abuse) but on the other hand he believes and speaks as though that activity is wrong only if the individual or culture chooses some value which is inconsistent with it (e.g. greatest happiness of the greatest number).

When the unbeliever professes that people determine ethical values for themselves then the unbeliever implicitly holds that those who commit evil are not really doing anything evil given the values they've chosen for themselves. What we discover is that the unbeliever must secretly rely upon (or borrow from) the Christian worldview in order to make sense of his argument from the existence of evil which is urged against the Christian worldview! Antitheism presupposes theism to make its case.

The problem of evil is a logical problem for the unbeliever rather than the believer. As a Christian I can make perfectly good sense of my moral revulsion and condemnation of child abuse. The non-Christian cannot. This is not to suggest that I can explain why God does whatever He does or allows whatever He allows, it simply means that my moral outrage is consistent with my worldview. The unbeliever's worldview eventually cannot account for such moral outrage. It cannot explain the objective and unchanging nature of moral notions like good or evil. Unbelievers are required to appeal to the very thing against which they argue - a divine, transcendent sense of ethics - in order for their argument to be warranted.

By now the unbeliever is still demanding that even if he, as a non-Christian cannot meaningfully explain or make sense of the view that evil objectively exists, nonetheless there remains an unresolved paradox within the set of beliefs which constitute the Christian's own worldview. The unbeliever argues that regardless of the ethical inadequacy of his own worldview, the Christian is still - on the Christian's own terms - locked into a logically incoherent position by maintaining; God is all-good, God is all-powerful, and evil exists. However the critic here overlooks a perfectly reasonable way to assent to all three positions.

The Christian believes that God is perfectly and completely good - as scripture teaches and requires Christians to accept - then he is committed to evaluating everything in his experience in light of that belief. Accordingly the Christian when observing evil in the world can and should retain consistency with his belief that God is good by inferring that God has a morally good reason for the evil that exists. God certainly must be all-powerful in order to be God. And God is certainly good as the Christian will profess so any evil we find in the universe must be compatible with God's goodness. This is just to say that there are evil events occurring for reasons that are morally commendable and good from God's perspective.

To put it another way the apparent paradox created by the above three propositions is readily resolved by adding a fourth premise; God has a morally sufficient reason for the evil which exists. When all four of these premises are maintained there is no logical contradiction to be found, not even an apparent one.

The problem men have with God when they come face to face with evil in the world is not a philosophical problem, but a psychological one. It's often emotionally very difficult to have faith in God and trust in Him when we're not given any reason for why bad things happen.

The believer often struggles with this situation, walking by faith rather than by sight. The unbeliever, however, finds the situation intolerable for his pride, feelings or rationality. He refuses to trust God. He will not believe that God has a morally sufficient reason for the evil which exists, unless the unbeliever is given that reason for his own examination and assessment. To put it briefly, the unbeliever will not trust God unless God subordinates Himself to the intellectual authority and moral evaluation of the unbeliever. It becomes a question of ultimate authority within a person's life.

In conclusion it should not be thought that "the problem of evil" is anything like an intellectual basis for a lack of faith in God. It is rather simply the personal expression of such a lack of faith. We find that unbelievers who challenge the Christian faith end up reasoning in circles. Because they lack faith in God, they begin by arguing that evil is incompatible with the goodness and power of God. When they are presented with a logically adequate and Biblically supported solution to the problem of evil they refuse to accept it, AGAIN because of their lack of faith in God. They would rather be left unable to give an account of any moral judgment whatsoever (about things being good or evil) than to submit to the ultimate and unchallengeable moral authority of God. That's too high a price to pay, both philosophically and personally.

(HAT TIP: Christian Research Network and Greg Bahnsen)

UPDATE: At some point today (1/13/07) the comments section of the thread to which I posted was removed. Praise the Lord for the victory is His!

Friday, January 12, 2007

The Fervent, Effectual Prayer of a Righteous Man...

The following is a prayer by A.W. Tozer that he prayed on the day of his ordination in his “prayer closet” away from the business of the church and the world.

Thank the Lord that this treasure has been saved to be passed down to those of us who fervently pray for the renewal and sanctification of ourselves and the Body of Christ. (Hat Tip: Christian Research Network

O Lord, I have heard Thy voice and was afraid. Thou hast called me to an awesome task in a grave and perilous hour. Thou art about to shake all nations and the earth and also heaven, that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. O Lord, my Lord, Thou hast stooped to honor me to be Thy servant. No man taketh this honor upon himself save he that is called of God as was Aaron. Thou hast ordained me Thy messenger to them that are stubborn of heart and hard of hearing. They have rejected Thee, the Master, and it is not to be expected that they will receive me, the servant.

My God, I shall not waste time deploring my weakness nor my unfittedness for the work. The responsibility is not mine, but Thine. Thou has said, “I knew thee- I ordained thee- I sanctified thee,” and Thou hast also said, “Thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.” Who am I to argue with Thee or to call into question Thy sovereign choice? The decision is not mine but Thine. So be it, Lord, Thy will, not mine, be done.

Well do I know, Thou God of the prophets and the apostles, that as long as I honor Thee Thou wilt honor me. Help me therefore to take this solemn vow to honor Thee in all my future life and labors, whether by gain or by loss, by life or by death, and then to keep that vow unbroken while I live.

It is time, O God, for Thee to work, for the enemy has entered in to Thy pastures and the sheep are torn and scattered. And false shepherds abound who deny the danger and laugh at the perils which surround thy flock. The sheep are deceived by these hirelings and follow them with touching loyalty while the wolf closes in to kill and destroy. I beseech Thee, give me sharp eyes to detect the presence of the enemy; give me understanding to see and courage to report what I see faithfully. Make my voice so like Thine own that even the sick sheep will recognize it and follow Thee.

Lord Jesus, I come to Thee for spiritual preparation. Lay Thy hand upon me. Anoint me with the oil of the New Testament prophet. Forbid that I should become a religious scribe and thus lose my prophetic calling. Save me from the curse that lies dark across the face of the modern clergy, the curse of compromise, of imitation, of professionalism. Save me from the error of judging a church by its size, its popularity or the amount of its yearly offering. Help me to remember that I am a prophet-not a promoter, not a religious manager, but a prophet. Let me never become a slave to crowds. Heal my soul of carnal ambitions and deliver me from the itch for publicity. Save me from bondage to things. Lay Thy terror upon me, O God, and drive me to the place of prayer where I may wrestle with principalities and powers and the rulers of the darkness of this world. Deliver me from overeating and late sleeping. Teach me self-discipline that I may be a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

I accept hard work and small rewards in this life. I ask for no easy place. I shall try to be blind to little ways that could make life easier. If others seek the smoother path I shall try to take the hard way without judging them too harshly. I shall expect opposition and try to take it quietly when it come. Or if, as sometimes it falleth out to Thy servants, I should have grateful gifts pressed upon me by Thy kindly people, stand by me then and save me from the blight that often follows. Teach me to use whatever I receive in such manner that will not injure my soul nor diminish my spiritual power. And if in Thy permissive providence honor should come to me from Thy church, let me not forget in that hour that I am unworthy of the least of Thy mercies, and that if men knew me as intimately as I know myself they would withhold their honors or bestow them upon others more worthy to receive them.

And now, O Lord of heaven and earth, I consecrate my remaining days to Thee; let them be many or few, as Thou wilt. Let me stand before the great or minister to the poor and lowly; that choice is not mine, and I would not influence it if I could. I am Thy servant to do Thy will, and that will is sweeter to me than position or riches or fame and I choose it above all things on earth or in heaven. Though I am chosen of Thee and honored by a high and holy calling, let me never forget that I am but a man of dust and ashes, a man with all the natural faults and passions that plague the race of men. I pray Thee, therefore, my Lord and Redeemer, save me from myself and from all the injuries I may do while trying to be a blessing to others. Fill me with Thy power by the Holy Spirit, and I will go in Thy strength and tell of Thy righteousness, even Thine only. I will spread abroad the message of redeeming love while my normal powers endure.

Then, dear Lord, when I am old and weary and too tired to go on, have a place ready for me above, and make me to be numbered with Thy saints in glory everlasting. Amen. AMEN. “


I can add nothing to this except: “Lord, may this be the prayer of my heart!”

Rick Warren, False Prophets & the Remnant

"Pastor Rick" Warren is merely one of a cabal of modern-day false prophets whose message can be boiled down to "I'm okay, you're okay" when the clear message of scripture is "I'm not okay, and neither are you. But guess what? God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life!"

While he is but one man, the global reach of his ecumenical church of deceit and of his Devil Driven machination gives "Pastor Rick" an unprecedented opportunity to rend the flock.

"Pastor Rick" is joined in his man-centered false gospel boy's club by the likes of Joel Osteen who preaches a sticky sweet "God loves you" bubble-gum theology utterly devoid of the offense of the cross and Brian McLaren whose version of the "McGospel" is being endlessly "reimagined" by the post-modern neo-liberal emergent church movement.

Notoriously missing from the message of these "Evangelicals" - a term I use advisedly - is the evangelium, i.e. the Gospel itself! Think about for a moment and ask yourself when is the last time any of these very prominent - supposedly Christian - pastors publicly called for repentance or spoke of sin, judgment or hell? I'm guessing those subjects would be quite unpalatable to their worldly followers and would serve to vaporize their fawning media coverage and alienate many of their most generous "prayer partners". Tsk, tsk...

The not-so-curious thing all of these "men of God" (so-called) have in common is the acceptance, adoration and love of the world. I seem to recall something in the scriptures about the love of the world; can anyone help me out with those pesky chapters and verses?

And though it's unfortunate and saddening to watch these ravening wolves rend the flock it is simultaneously heartening to see in the midst of this present darkness that there are still those willing to speak out against the spiritual adultery committed by these men and their kind. There remains a remnant of true believers within the Body who are empowered by the Holy Spirit with discernment and love of the true Gospel message of Christ crucified; the one and only Truth. These few stand as sentries in the darkness shining forth their candles of truth and light; the teachings of infallible scripture. While others question the validity and relevance of the Bible these few hold fast to their first love, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh.

This discerning remnant is constantly pilloried and ridiculed by the co-opted church for their failure to collectively bow their knees to the church growth Baal of Rick Warren and his ilk. They often are accused of being hateful, spiteful, legalistic and highly Pharisaical. The paradox is that these few bastions of Christian truth are relatively powerless when contrasted against the Devil Driven...er, um...I mean Purpose Driven organizations surrounding the likes of Warren, Osteen, McLaren, et al. These "watchmen on the gate" don't have gigantic media relations teams, near limitless funds, book deals, powerful friends in high places or legions of hirelings at their beck and call. What they have instead is the inspiration of scripture and a simple boldness and love of the truth which they derive from the Holy Spirit. With those odds there's no reason for dismay on their part for as it's been rightly said, God is a majority.

At the end of the day Rick Warren is another fence riding charlatan who wants to have his cake and eat it too. He enjoys rubbing elbows with the world's elite and relishes in the perquisites of his worldly fame. In the private sector Rick Warren would be a great asset to any company, smart, savvy, and possessing natural leadership skills and enthusiasm. In the Church he's an abomination who has sold his spiritual birthright for a bowl of worldly porridge.

Sadly for "Pastor Rick" he and his type surround themselves by gutless yes-men, sycophants and hangers-on who will never tell him the truth he so desperately needs to hear; that he has strayed from the path of righteousness and become self seeking, self serving and man-centered and is in need of a contrite and repentant heart that the Lord might be merciful and restore him. But why would they? Why would these blind followers of the blind point out to Pastor Rick the error of his ways? He's their meal ticket, their golden goose if you will, and it's been proven time and again that men will go to great - even drastic - lengths to preserve their positions and material wealth.

But even more disheartening than Pastor Rick's self-sustaining delusions of grandeur is the fact that he has proven himself unwilling to use his visibility and fame to perform the very task to which he ostensibly was called: to preach the Gospel. This means that, not unlike Pastor Rick himself, his audiences are also not hearing the truth they so desperately need to hear; the truth of the cross.

The church doesn't need more P.E.A.C.E. plans, programs, AIDS summits or rallies, instead we need more men of God who will stand up and tell the world that it's going to hell except for repentance and salvation via the shed blood Jesus Christ alone made available through the everlasting mercies of the One True Living God.

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Trinity Training

I found a very nice old gem by the late Dr. Walter Martin who was called to minister to the cults. Dr. Martin clearly and succinctly taught the doctrine and central importance of the Holy Trinity and reveals this indisputable reality in the sermon linked below.

Here is the link:

Jehovah's Witnesses, Jesus and the Holy Trinity

(NOTE: The sound quality of this recording is a bit poor at the beginning but after about two minutes or less it gets very clear - please be patient and listen to this in its entirety!)

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

A Puritan Catechism

This is an excellent resource for sanctification through the Word of God.

While I don't concur with all of Spurgeon's theological views - he was an adamant Calvinist and held to a questionable eschatology - I do find his writings, and particularly his sermons, to be as relevant and fresh today as they were when he penned them well over one hundred years ago.

A Christian ought to know what he believes and why he believes it and his beliefs must be based solely upon the bedrock foundation of the Word of God.

Monday, January 8, 2007

Welcome to Laodicea!

The church is slipping further and further into outright apostasy thanks to modern evangelicalism and its utter lack of discernment and doctrinal foundation.

Saturday, January 6, 2007

When Worlds Collide

I just posted a comment on a thread discussing The Very Persistent Illusion: Absurd and Amusing Rationalizations About Free Will over at the evangelical outpost.

I must confess that I'm endlessly fascinated by the manner in which "God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;" as explained in 1 Corinthians 1:27

Below is my comment for your consideration:

Coram Deo writes:
I'm unclear about the correlation being drawn here between intellect and "believing dumb things".

There's probably some fine data out there but I've not seen the statistics. Furthermore I wonder how one goes about quantifying or defining "dumb things".

Perhaps at the root of the issue is the two conflicting worldviews at play in any given meeting between the Christian Biblical worldview and the Secular-Humanist worldview. The worldview one holds colors absolutely every perception and establishes every presupposition through which data from our environment is processed. While our noetic equipment is the same, our spiritual conditions couldn't be more different.

In fact the two aforementioned worldviews are diametrically opposed in every way. These worlds collide because the Christian views the world and processes his experiences with the mind of Christ, in the light of scripture, and with the discernment of the Holy Spirit who resides inside of him. On the other hand the non-Christian views the world through his darkened, utterly depraved and desperately sinful heart.

The "highly intelligent" non-Christian - by the world's standards - is in fact suppressing the knowledge of God in unrighteousness and is unable to develop a sustainable worldview of his own apart from "borrowing" from the Christian worldview. Since in his world there are no moral absolutes the unbeliever has no basis for good or evil nor can he even explain simple causation or why he should expect the world tomorrow to behave like it did today. Even worse the secular-humanist / atheistic philosophy is completely unable to explain universal laws such as the laws of logic. Clearly the laws of logic are non-conventional and immaterial, so the unbeliever finds himself on the horns of logic and begging the question when asked to explain how his world accounts for such things.

The Bible throws down the gauntlet and asks in 1 Corinthians 1:20 "Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?" The simple answer of course is there is none to be found.

This bold challenge still stands unanswered and unanswerable today since it is impossible to successfully dispute the manifold wisdom of God.

In every social encounter the Christian is either witnessing to the lost or fellowshipping with a believer and it's important to quickly determine which situation you're in and tailor your message accordingly.

The Christian ought never to abandon his presupposition of the absolute unassailable truth of the Bible in order to gain "common ground" or "relevance" with his audience. The believer must present the whole counsel of God and allow the Holy Spirit to (prayerfully) move upon the heart of the unredeemed and open his eyes to the truth of the ages which is Christ crucified.

posted on 01.06.2007 9:35 PM

The Inherent Evil of Human Government

Human government is not, nor can it be, "Christian" neither in character nor in practice. This designation of Christian is reserved for individuals who have received Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior, and for those organizations comprised of Christians (i.e. the Church).

It is for this reason that I unequivocally state that the governments of men are explicitly anti-Christian. Now of course some might suggest that the American form of government (the Constitutional Republic) is the most pro-Christian, or at least Christian-friendly form of government ever conceived by man. There is certainly some truth to this argument, however since our government cannot be Christian and hence is a secular institution, the fruit it bears is the secular-humanist fruit of anti-christ. These fruits are manifold, and easy to see. I submit the following for your consideration:

BITTER FRUITS
The state-run school systems are virulently anti-Christian. Even a cursory review reveals this demonstrable truth. From child predators to natural selection the "religiously neutral" state imposed curriculum is anything but. Into the moral vacuum of public school has rushed secular humanism, moral relativism, and New Age mysticism. Don't let anyone fool you, evolution is the state religion and Darwin is the prophet.

The U.S. court system has imposed numerous restrictions against public prayer and Christian observances and displays in decision after decision. The government is in direct competition for the obedience and worship that belongs only to God. It's intriguing to note how the government continually goes about setting itself up as an idol god as described in this excellent article entitled Deliver Us From Evils:
The Soteriology of Gnostic Governance


THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATES
The wild-eyed "politically correct brigade" has largely succeeded in causing the general population of nominal Christians - so called - to "self censor" when engaging in certain "unacceptable" activities such as public prayer and mention of the name of Jesus Christ - at least when it's not used as an expletive. Self identifying as a Bible believing born-again Christian in the public sphere today predictably results in raised eyebrows, blank expressions, or uncomfortable silences wherein the subject is usually quickly changed.

Workplaces fire individuals who hold and express Christian views such as the belief that homosexuality is abomination before God and that abortion is infanticide - premeditated murder. During his confirmation the radical Left tried to destroy Judge Samuel Alito and derail his confirmation to the SCOTUS merely on the suspicion that he might possibly think abortion on demand is an issue that may deserve further review. Isn’t it amazing how social and political liberals glibly pronounce on the one hand that the Constitution of the U.S. is a living, breathing document that changes over time, yet these same hypocrites will hysterically claim a the right to murder an unborn child is a Constitutional right that is sacrosanct, immutable and forever. Interesting.

Today vast swaths of the American public have become wholly dependent upon the government. One need only think back to Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath to confirm this observation.

Whatever the end result of our grand experiment in self-government, it’s easy for the Christian to see that our world is sin sick and dying and in desperate need of a Savior. Let us stand faithfully upon the Word of God during these last days and lift up the banner of the Lord for all to see. May we be salt and light to the nations of the world.

Who is "Actively Evil"?

I explored this query briefly during an online discussion about the nature of evil in the unredeemed. Let me state from the outset that I'm generally of the opinion that online debate and rhetoric to be almost entirely fruitless with one possible exception being intellectual development.

Certainly there may be readers who are influenced positively for the Lord after reading a thread containing such discussion or debate but for the most part, and particularly for the principals involved, little ground is given or taken and the entire exercise typically becomes a zero sum activity.

WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE

My view - which I believe to be in harmony with scripture - is that all human beings fall into one of two categories: the saved and the lost.

Those who have been saved by the shed blood of Jesus Christ are Christians, those who have received His free gift of eternal life, wherein He paid for our sins upon the cross. The Christian believer's sins were righteously judged at the cross, therefore there is no future judgment relating to salvation – where you spend eternity – for a believer. There are certainly heavenly judgments in store for the Christian, but this is not to determine if the believer is found acceptable to stand before the Throne of Glory. He is accepted in Christ.

I believe that the Bible teaches that anyone and everyone who has not received the gift of salvation are not only lost, but actively evil. This concept is taught throughout New Testament canon. Essentially anyone who has not received the Son has rejected Him by default and whether that rejection stems from ignorance, deception, or outright rejection matters not because the miserable end result is the same - a lost soul without hope. There is no middle ground upon which one can stand.

If one has rejected the Son (by not receiving Him) then that individual is an offense to God as he is living in his sin, which thing God hates. The lost are fully under the dominion of Satan, and hence are his servants. Even the casual believer can see the enemy working his unseemly plans in the lives of the unredeemed. It doesn't take deep spiritual discernment to note that those who lead the most debauched existences often harbor the most virulently anti-Christian worldviews.

THE ENEMY WITHIN

A singularly disconcerting manifestation of Satan's influence lies within the professing church. As the scriptures clearly teach Satan sought to destroy and discredit the true Church early on by sowing his tares among the wheat. These wolves in sheep's clothing are those who wear the Christian badge, but bear the fruit of anti-christ. These false teachers and wicked servants are also responsible for giving The Ancient of Days a decidedly poor reputation. The unchurched world sees these hypocrites who claim Christ and yet defile His name and they are impressed by their false witness and ungodly testimony and their impression is less than favorable I can assure you.

I'd like to explore this topic in more depth later with supporting scripture. One thing is for certain, according to the infallible Word of God the condition of the world is going to get much worse before it gets better.

The Fallacy of "Dual Covenant" Theology

Orthodox Jews pray to just as false a god as do Muslims when they call upon Allah, as Joe Carter explores in rich detail in this archived post over at the evangelical outpost.

SCRIPTURE IS CLEAR

All who belong to the Father recognize the Son, and therefore it can be rightly argued that those who call upon a deity apart from the triune deity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit are in reality calling upon an idol false god. Therefore everyone who is not in right relationship with God the Father is evil - and not just evil in a passive, nebulous sense, but actively evil. This image of "active evil" results primarily from a failure to engage in advancing the Kingdom of God through sharing the gospel message of Christ.

All who hold a religious worldview apart from Biblical Christianity actively undermine the work of the cross and deny the Gospel. These individuals may espouse their beliefs to others, thereby becoming agents of an anti-Gospel, but even if it is a single individual who holds his false beliefs to himself, he does inestimable harm to the eternal trajectory of his own soul, thereby openly defying his Creator's will in direct contravention to the admonition of scripture.

Simply put disobedience is active, not passive.

Scripturally the only way to be in right relationship with God the Father is through God the Son, who shed his blood for all mankind (Orthodox Jews included). Some Jews protest this statement and declare their eternal covenant relationship with God the Father. They would even make allowance that perhaps Jesus Christ was the Gentile's messiah, but not the Jewish messiah. This logic is of course fallacious as the Jewish eternal covenants are fulfilled in Christ Jesus only. Everyone who will inhabit the kingdom of heaven will have been a believer in Christ whether they lived and died "pre-cross" or "post-cross" (or for you Bereans out there both before and after as exemplified in Acts).

The OT saints who died prior to the cross died in faith looking forward to the promised redeemer (Jesus Christ) therefore their faith was in Him. The NT saints who have died post-cross looked back at the finished work of the cross and died forgiven of their sins in Him.

Remember John the Baptist told the Pharisees (Jews) that God could raise sons of Abraham from stones if he wished. God's kingdom is not of flesh and blood, but spirit, those born of Abraham have nothing of lasting eternal value unless they are born-again. The prayers of Orthodox Jews fall on deaf ears since God only hears the prayers of the redeemed. The only exception to this rule is, of course, the sinner’s prayer wherein one who is lost calls upon the name of the Lord to be saved.

THERE IS HOPE

Certainly God is not finished with the Jew, since there are many future promises to be fulfilled, but those Jews who will enter the kingdom of God will only enter through the Son, Jesus Christ. He is THE way, THE truth, and THE life. There is no way over, under or around Him. He has already paid the death penalty on behalf of sinful man and His free gift of salvation is readily available to those who possess a contrite and repentant heart and call upon His name for remission of sin.

In Him there is neither Jew nor Greek (Gentile) but all are one in Christ.

On The Human Condition

The Holy Writ makes clear that the latter days will be a time of unprecedented depravity and wickedness on a scale not seen since the days of Noah and Lot.

The root cause of this situation is, of course, man's sin nature. The secular humanist approaches the human condition in stark contrast to scripture. The secularists would say that man is basically good. He is born a clean slate, neither good nor evil, and through a combination of environmental factors, upbringing, temperament, and genetics he forms certain patterns of behavior, some desirable, and some undesirable. This view is of course inverse from the scriptural view of man's condition, which condition is best described as "wicked from the womb".

It's hard to imagine Sodom and Gomorrah being more wicked than the average American city today. Curbside pornography, legalized prostitution, rampant homosexuality, and a culture of death that zealously murders children before they are born.

In the midst of the depravity the church has allowed itself to become jaded and worldly. The voices of repentance and holiness have been replaced by blab it and grab it prosperity doctrines, feel good bubble gum theology mega church preachers, and slick packaging.

The scriptures reveal that judgment begins at the House of God. I'd say it's already begun.

Greetings and Salutations!

Hello and welcome to my humble blog! By way of introduction I am a born-again Christian who seeks to live in the presence of, under the authority of, and to the honor and glory of the Triune Yahweh Elohim Shaddai–the LORD God Almighty Who is our infinite Creator.

I believe Biblical Christianity as found in the 66 books of the Holy Bible is the only true and right religion revealed to mankind and all other faiths and extra-Biblical sources of revelation are absolutely false and without any merit or redemptive power.

For whatever reason the Lord has seen fit to gift me with a passion for Christian apologetics and discernment - two subjects which are as "un-glamorous" as they are underrated and unappreciated. Furthermore the Lord chose to yoke these gifts to a stubborn, tenacious, persistent and rather direct personality.

Beyond my peculiar personality traits the Lord has seen fit to imbue me with a deep appreciation of the written word which I suppose ultimately resulted in the creation of this blog. Through this medium I hope to share my worldview with any who are interested, and in this manner I hope to expand my witness to the lost, and extend whatever ability I’ve been given to edify the believer to the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, the risen Savior.

I believe the professing church is among the largest mission fields in the world. Furthermore I believe that we are witnessing the last days apostasy as the modern professing Church slouches inexorably toward the barren spiritual wasteland of Laodicia.

Friends beware because the church is filled with false teachers! These are ravenous wolves in sheep's clothing who are rending the flock with false doctrine, outright heresy and New Age mysticism. Sadly modern "Church-ianity" - particularly the American church - is more interested in programs, rallies, politics, numbers in the pews and the dollars in the offering plate than it is with reaching the lost, edifying the believer or earnestly contending for the faith that was once delivered to the saints of God.

The seeker-sensitive, relevance obsessed, white-washed sepulcher of modern American Christianity is a stain on the history of Christ's church. Too many of the "leaders" - so called - of modern evangelicalism have bowed their knees to the church growth Baal of Rick Warren, adopted the sickly sweet non-theology of Joel Osteen and embraced the "hip relevance" of the post-modern neo-liberal apostate emergent church guru Brian McLaren and his constantly re-imagined “McGospel” – may his false church never be able to state “billions and billions served”! The apostate Roman Catholic Church already has dibs on that claim…but perhaps “served” would necessarily need to be changed to “deceived” or “damned”.

Clearly discernment is all but dead in what passes for Christianity these days and the hour has come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;".

My primary objective with this blog is to be one of those who are striking at the root of evil and not merely hacking at its leaves.

May my meager efforts in this late hour be blessed of the Lord Most High and reach hearts and minds for His everlasting glory!

Maranatha Lord Jesus!