Monday, October 28, 2019
THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS SERIES: ITS SATANIC PROPAGANDA
Here is an excellent article detailing what "The Mortal Instruments" series by Cassandra Clare is really all about.
Friday, October 25, 2019
RADIO-RELATED STUFF: GIVING CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE
In a radio landscape that is an ever-expanding desert, there is still very occasionally good radio out there. For example, some stuff I heard last weekend:
- Marjory Wildcraft on "Coast to Coast.";
- The new show "Cost of Living" on CBC Radio One;
- Dean Johnson on "The Morgan Show" on WBZ Boston last Saturday night, particularly Tyrone in Chicago's call.
- Marjory Wildcraft on "Coast to Coast.";
- The new show "Cost of Living" on CBC Radio One;
- Dean Johnson on "The Morgan Show" on WBZ Boston last Saturday night, particularly Tyrone in Chicago's call.
SIX WAYS TO PUT AWAY PRIDE
This video glorifies God so much and is a message so many need to hear. It will make you fall more in love with Jesus, deepening your relationship with Him and giving a different perspective to things.
Thursday, October 17, 2019
MORE CHRISTIAN BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS
A Life Worth Living and a Lord Worth Loving by Stuart Olyott: Commentary on Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon with both a good approach to, and good perspective on, the text.
Be Confident by Warren Wiersbe: Commentary on Hebrews that will be really enlightening for those who find this book of the Bible intimidating.
Be Skillful by Warren Wiersbe: Commentary on Proverbs.
Brown Face, Big Master by Joyce Gladwell: Autobiography of Malcolm Gladwell's mother. Shows what can happen when one's religion is all about rules and propriety.
Be Satisfied by Warren Wiersbe: Commentary on Ecclesiastes.
Bible Probe: Zephaniah by David Hewetson: An insightful and thought-provoking commentary on this often overlooked book of the Bible.
Don't Call Me Sister by Marion Field: Autobiography of a woman who grew up in a strict Brethren church. Shows that no matter how dogmatic a church is, there will always be people who don't follow all the church's rules in the privacy of their own home.
A Time to Build by Rev. James Phillip: Spirit-filled, deeply edifying commentary on the Book of Ezra.
Building for God by Rev. James Phillip: Spirit-filled, deeply edifying commentary on Nehemiah.
Eden: called to the streets by Matt Wilson: Book proclaiming the wonderful work of the Eden Project, a ministry of the Message Trust.
Ambassadors to the World by Christopher J. H. Wright: Expossits select passages in Deuteronomy to show who God intended His people to be in the Old Testament and applies it to who God's people are to be today.
Sound of a Cry by Diana Peck: Autobiography of a woman who grew up as a Jehovah's Witness. An ihnsider's perspective on what agenda-driven cults are like.
Great is Thy Faithfulness: Lamentations simply explained by Richard Brooks: Commentary on Lamentations, another mostly overlooked book of the Bible.
Be Confident by Warren Wiersbe: Commentary on Hebrews that will be really enlightening for those who find this book of the Bible intimidating.
Be Skillful by Warren Wiersbe: Commentary on Proverbs.
Brown Face, Big Master by Joyce Gladwell: Autobiography of Malcolm Gladwell's mother. Shows what can happen when one's religion is all about rules and propriety.
Be Satisfied by Warren Wiersbe: Commentary on Ecclesiastes.
Bible Probe: Zephaniah by David Hewetson: An insightful and thought-provoking commentary on this often overlooked book of the Bible.
Don't Call Me Sister by Marion Field: Autobiography of a woman who grew up in a strict Brethren church. Shows that no matter how dogmatic a church is, there will always be people who don't follow all the church's rules in the privacy of their own home.
A Time to Build by Rev. James Phillip: Spirit-filled, deeply edifying commentary on the Book of Ezra.
Building for God by Rev. James Phillip: Spirit-filled, deeply edifying commentary on Nehemiah.
Eden: called to the streets by Matt Wilson: Book proclaiming the wonderful work of the Eden Project, a ministry of the Message Trust.
Ambassadors to the World by Christopher J. H. Wright: Expossits select passages in Deuteronomy to show who God intended His people to be in the Old Testament and applies it to who God's people are to be today.
Sound of a Cry by Diana Peck: Autobiography of a woman who grew up as a Jehovah's Witness. An ihnsider's perspective on what agenda-driven cults are like.
Great is Thy Faithfulness: Lamentations simply explained by Richard Brooks: Commentary on Lamentations, another mostly overlooked book of the Bible.
Tuesday, October 8, 2019
WHY ARE YOUNG ADULTS LEAVING THE CHURCH? - PART TWO
1. Young people are used to being part of things, from comment areas on blogs to live chats during podcasts. They don't want to sit listening to a monologue for 45 minutes, then be dismissed.
2. Most institutional churches are simply irrelevant. They're preaching on the same topics they've been preaching on for years. They don't talk about things like the utter lack of job security, the social media feedback loop, the fact most people now live in virtual reality instead of actual reality, the coming further technological changes that will greatly destroy the semblance of reality we have left, the post-postmodernism of the social justice warriors, how to effectively reach the LGBT community, how to avoid shacking up with housing being as expensive as it is, and probably a whole bunch more topics of which I am unaware.
3. Trying to live by a set of principles (as opposed to having a true relationship with God) didn't work for there parents or their fellow church members so why would they want to continue in "the faith?"
4. Young people simply don't have the time. Nothing is ever just one day. It isn't simply attendance of Sunday service, but you are then obligated to get involved in all the church's extracurricular activities.
5. They realize how fake and hollow all these mega-churches are.
6. Lack of cultivation of a love for God and His Word in the church they attended when they lived with their parents.
7. Naivete of pastors and youth leaders about what the big wide world they've stepped out into is really like.
8. The model is still reminiscent of 150 years ago. Sunday mornings, after we've fed the animals, milked the cows and collected the eggs, we take the buckboard into town to hear one of the few people in the area with post-secondary education spoon-feed us the Word of God because otherwise we'd have no way of understanding what it says.
2. Most institutional churches are simply irrelevant. They're preaching on the same topics they've been preaching on for years. They don't talk about things like the utter lack of job security, the social media feedback loop, the fact most people now live in virtual reality instead of actual reality, the coming further technological changes that will greatly destroy the semblance of reality we have left, the post-postmodernism of the social justice warriors, how to effectively reach the LGBT community, how to avoid shacking up with housing being as expensive as it is, and probably a whole bunch more topics of which I am unaware.
3. Trying to live by a set of principles (as opposed to having a true relationship with God) didn't work for there parents or their fellow church members so why would they want to continue in "the faith?"
4. Young people simply don't have the time. Nothing is ever just one day. It isn't simply attendance of Sunday service, but you are then obligated to get involved in all the church's extracurricular activities.
5. They realize how fake and hollow all these mega-churches are.
6. Lack of cultivation of a love for God and His Word in the church they attended when they lived with their parents.
7. Naivete of pastors and youth leaders about what the big wide world they've stepped out into is really like.
8. The model is still reminiscent of 150 years ago. Sunday mornings, after we've fed the animals, milked the cows and collected the eggs, we take the buckboard into town to hear one of the few people in the area with post-secondary education spoon-feed us the Word of God because otherwise we'd have no way of understanding what it says.
9. There are so many people in this generation who have mental disorders such that they can't get it together to go to church or couldn't handle the environment while they were there and, in fact, would be detrimental to that setting in some cases. Those in these people's lives realize churches can't don't or won't accomadate people with these afflictions so these mentally healthy people don't want to attend church either.
10. Similarly, there are also many people in this generation who have no idea how to behave in public. Universities are now offering courses in table manners, and the halls of ivy tend to attract the smartest young people with the most going for them! I can't imagine how much worse it is in the other stratas of society. Again, these people wouldn't be able to handle a typical church setup, wouldn't be welcomed or fit in and, of course, would be more of a hindrance than an assett.
GOOD FIGHT MINISTRIES-WHY ARE YOUNG ADULTS LEAVING THE CHURCH?
The following is a response to this video.
As far as Chad's admonition to "go to church" is concerned, the New Testament does not support the church structure we have today. Hebrews 13 17 was never intended to justify an authoritarian, hierarchical, indoctrinating, man-made set of organizations that largely use the Bible as a system or a set of principles to make one acceptable to God as opposed to teaching Christians how to have a relationship with God.
As far as accountability is concerned: Believers are accountable to Christ. If I don't want to face Christ in my prayer closet with the sin I'm involved in, how is going to church supposed to help?
As far as fellowship, there is no true fellowship of the family of God in most so-called churches. Church members talk to the same three people they talk to throughout the week. The young moms hang with the other young moms, the tradesmen with the tradesmen, the schoolteachers with the schoolteachers, etc.
Besides, if a person doesn't fit that church's particular culture they might as well stop attending since they're going to be totally shunned anyway.
In another video, Chad Davidson brings up Hebrews 10 25-31.
First of all, I have no doubt there were then, as there are some now, who feel they don't need any fellowship with other believers whatsoever. Those people are wrong. However, just because a Christian is not attending an institutional church doesn't mean they're going to fall away.
In fact, when I left the local Baptist church I'd been attending and started just fellowshipping with other believers four and a half years ago it brought me closer to God.
I started to read the Bible more because I realized I didn't need to be under the authority of a guy who had a piece of paper from a seminary saying he was allowed to write sermons. As a child of God, I have the Holy Spirit and there are more than enough good resources out there by men whom I respect according to Hebrews 13 17 who've put in the scholarly work to help explain the Word to the brothers and sisters who would come after.
I also was no longer heeding the lead of some pastor saying I was to be in such-and-such book of the Bible for the next several weeks so that motivated my personal Bible study, too.
I started praying more because I began to realize more fully what it meant to have a relationship with God. The way two people who have a relationship converse with each other, that's how I began to look at interaction with God. Institutional churches will talk about Christianity being a relationship with God but really you have to get to God through a man with the title pastor (or should that title be changed to Father) bestowed on him by a man-made school called a seminary.
I also found I fellowshipped and was friendlier to other believers because I realized that just because they went to another organizational branch calling itself a church than I did which believed a few different things about God that didn't automatically make them heretics and false Christians. I began to have a greater understanding of the true church of God, the eclesia, the church of my town.
By the way, it is institutional churches that are truly forsaking the assembling together. The church is to be one as Paul said in the first chapter of 1 Corinthians, but we've made it 43 thousand and more. Ultimately, Joe Schimmel, as much valuable truth as he puts forth, is trying to start his own denomination, however aware of this he is. Will we be talking about Schimmelism or the Blessed Hope movement in the future?
As far as Chad's admonition to "go to church" is concerned, the New Testament does not support the church structure we have today. Hebrews 13 17 was never intended to justify an authoritarian, hierarchical, indoctrinating, man-made set of organizations that largely use the Bible as a system or a set of principles to make one acceptable to God as opposed to teaching Christians how to have a relationship with God.
As far as accountability is concerned: Believers are accountable to Christ. If I don't want to face Christ in my prayer closet with the sin I'm involved in, how is going to church supposed to help?
As far as fellowship, there is no true fellowship of the family of God in most so-called churches. Church members talk to the same three people they talk to throughout the week. The young moms hang with the other young moms, the tradesmen with the tradesmen, the schoolteachers with the schoolteachers, etc.
Besides, if a person doesn't fit that church's particular culture they might as well stop attending since they're going to be totally shunned anyway.
In another video, Chad Davidson brings up Hebrews 10 25-31.
First of all, I have no doubt there were then, as there are some now, who feel they don't need any fellowship with other believers whatsoever. Those people are wrong. However, just because a Christian is not attending an institutional church doesn't mean they're going to fall away.
In fact, when I left the local Baptist church I'd been attending and started just fellowshipping with other believers four and a half years ago it brought me closer to God.
I started to read the Bible more because I realized I didn't need to be under the authority of a guy who had a piece of paper from a seminary saying he was allowed to write sermons. As a child of God, I have the Holy Spirit and there are more than enough good resources out there by men whom I respect according to Hebrews 13 17 who've put in the scholarly work to help explain the Word to the brothers and sisters who would come after.
I also was no longer heeding the lead of some pastor saying I was to be in such-and-such book of the Bible for the next several weeks so that motivated my personal Bible study, too.
I started praying more because I began to realize more fully what it meant to have a relationship with God. The way two people who have a relationship converse with each other, that's how I began to look at interaction with God. Institutional churches will talk about Christianity being a relationship with God but really you have to get to God through a man with the title pastor (or should that title be changed to Father) bestowed on him by a man-made school called a seminary.
I also found I fellowshipped and was friendlier to other believers because I realized that just because they went to another organizational branch calling itself a church than I did which believed a few different things about God that didn't automatically make them heretics and false Christians. I began to have a greater understanding of the true church of God, the eclesia, the church of my town.
By the way, it is institutional churches that are truly forsaking the assembling together. The church is to be one as Paul said in the first chapter of 1 Corinthians, but we've made it 43 thousand and more. Ultimately, Joe Schimmel, as much valuable truth as he puts forth, is trying to start his own denomination, however aware of this he is. Will we be talking about Schimmelism or the Blessed Hope movement in the future?
Monday, October 7, 2019
SCRIPTURAL REQUIREMENTS FOR BEING A PASTOR
The following is a response to this video.
The early church did not have pastors as we think of them today. Those mentioned in 1 Timothy 3 1 were more like guides, somewhat comparable to the visiting pastors we have today, or when a "pastor" gives counselling.
What we think of when we think of the main role of a pastor (corporate ministry of the Word) is actually called "teaching." Therefore, Joe Schimmel is actually a teacher, not a "Pastor" according to proper interpretation of the New Testament.
Furthermore, these teachers did not stand in pulpits for 45 minutes delivering sermons. See 1 Corinthians 14 if you doubt this.
Thus, this blows the complementarian view of 1 Timothy 2 12-15 out of the water.
When considering this passage, it is helpful to remind ourselves what Ephesus-where Timothy had been sent by Paul-was known for. See the account of Paul's time in Ephesus in Acts.
Here is a well-researched article that sheds more light on these verses.
Also, there was never supposed to be a separate clergy, that is, a class of people differentiated from the rest of the body of Christ by the fact they taught or had pieces of paper from seminaries saying they were allowed to write sermons, author books or hold other offices. This helps to explain one of the reasons pastors have such great falls. We elevate these ordinary people to a role where they're above their brothers and sisters. The pressure becomes so great, Satan tempts these clergymen in their vulnerability and they yield.
Incidentally, deacons were not what we think of as deacons today, either. While they were in church government, their role was more that of a servant, helping the local body of believers in practical ways while the elders or bishops helped the people in spiritual ways. We see clearly from Romans 16 1 Phebe was one of these people, so there goes the false prohibition against female deacons.
The early church did not have pastors as we think of them today. Those mentioned in 1 Timothy 3 1 were more like guides, somewhat comparable to the visiting pastors we have today, or when a "pastor" gives counselling.
What we think of when we think of the main role of a pastor (corporate ministry of the Word) is actually called "teaching." Therefore, Joe Schimmel is actually a teacher, not a "Pastor" according to proper interpretation of the New Testament.
Furthermore, these teachers did not stand in pulpits for 45 minutes delivering sermons. See 1 Corinthians 14 if you doubt this.
Thus, this blows the complementarian view of 1 Timothy 2 12-15 out of the water.
When considering this passage, it is helpful to remind ourselves what Ephesus-where Timothy had been sent by Paul-was known for. See the account of Paul's time in Ephesus in Acts.
Here is a well-researched article that sheds more light on these verses.
Also, there was never supposed to be a separate clergy, that is, a class of people differentiated from the rest of the body of Christ by the fact they taught or had pieces of paper from seminaries saying they were allowed to write sermons, author books or hold other offices. This helps to explain one of the reasons pastors have such great falls. We elevate these ordinary people to a role where they're above their brothers and sisters. The pressure becomes so great, Satan tempts these clergymen in their vulnerability and they yield.
Incidentally, deacons were not what we think of as deacons today, either. While they were in church government, their role was more that of a servant, helping the local body of believers in practical ways while the elders or bishops helped the people in spiritual ways. We see clearly from Romans 16 1 Phebe was one of these people, so there goes the false prohibition against female deacons.
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