Tuesday, June 08, 2021

Zombies and Trolls

Only zombies, trolls, and NPC losers reply TL;DR to factual information they refuse to read in order to be educated and informed as to the truth. They want to deny certain things, but when given information that will refute them once and for all, they are too lazy and ignorant to bother reading it. They do not want to be proven wrong, and they want even less to admit they are wrong.

"The zombies and the trolls aren't very bright, and they're unable to see the big picture; they're not bright enough to see things in perspective. They don't believe that anyone could tell such big lies. The zombies and the trolls have never been properly educated; they're content to believe what they're told or what they read on [a bathroom] wall. They're incapable of thinking for themselves. Actually, they're incapable of thinking at all. Bright folk can see through the lies and they can understand what's happening.

"The zombies and trolls have a sense of entitlement that closes their eyes to the world around them.

"Many zombies and trolls don't have friends or contacts, they have followers and fans. If a troll comes across someone with a point of view that differs from their own, their only response is to resort to abuse and a sense of outrage that someone should hold another point of view.

"Male zombies and trolls tend to be effeminate and stupid, while female zombies and trolls tend to be stupid, confused, irritable, and sulky.

"There are millions of zombies and trolls around because they're naive, gullible, poorly educated, unintelligent, immature and self-important, but ultimately terrified of authority."

—Dr. Vernon Coleman

The zombies, trolls, and NPCs never argue the main point; they never have a legitimate refutation; and they never have an intelligent counterargument. All the zombies and trolls ever do is respond with fallacious arguments that have no basis in reality, deflection, projection, ad hominem, and name calling.

Friday, June 04, 2021

Those Who Oppose the Word of God While Pretending To Be the Friends of God

Here’s a tip: When someone accuses a truth-teller of arrogance, it’s because they can find no fault in the truth itself.

Yet, what many of us have been saying over the weekend is that it has nothing to do with how MacArthur said it. It’s what he said. These gutless wonder coward-pastors are just afraid to say they’ve gone the way of the United Methodists and other estrogen-fueled quilting circles.

You see, it wasn’t really about how MacArthur said it. It’s that he said it. The reason why so many complain about how he said it (which was super polite) is that they are afraid to just come out of the egalitarian closet and say, “I’m for women preachers, oppose the Word of God, and deny Biblical inerrancy.”

Trying to get them to just come out and admit they deny the inerrancy of Scripture is like pulling teeth, but they will always first complain about tone. It’s easier than just straight-forwardly stating their position.

It is easier for emotionally lactating males to lament “tone” than to stand up like men and simply state their real positions. When it comes to defending their position, they are just far more comfortable squatting than standing.

I could not put my finger on it until I read these words from an article published by Pulpit & Pen. I have had a few people accuse me of being "abrasive" with my writing. I have addressed this idea before (here and here), but now I have a clearer understanding of why these individuals were doing what they did. Rather than address the content of what I wrote, because they cannot answer the truth of what I wrote, their first complaint was the perceived "tone" of my writing. These individuals did not like what I had to say, but because they could find no fault with the truth I was sharing they decided to attack the messenger instead.

The above words used by Pulpit & Pen are exactly true of these individuals: "gutless wonder cowards," "estrogen-fueled," "closet-egalitarians," "emotionally lactating men," and "more comfortable squatting than standing." Of course these individuals would be offended by such language because the truth hurts.

These individuals are more concerned with their image and/or the image of their "church," than they are with the truth of God's Word. They would sooner water down the truth and make it palatable than to do anything or allow anything that might tarnish their image or affect their reputation. These individuals and their "churches" are narcissistic. God forbid they should actually take a stand behind the Bible and elevate it to a position of sole authority instead of continuing to filter it through their belief system. These same individuals oppose the Word of God and deny biblical inerrancy, but they would never admit it.

Anything else is easier than admitting the truth. You will witness this quite often among professing Christians from various denominations. Whatever biblical truth they choose to reject, rather than admit they oppose the Word of God and deny biblical inerrancy, they will find some other means of attacking the truth they willfully choose to reject and rebel against. It is easier to play these childish games than to come out and admit they are in favour of some sin or other, or some error or other, or some heresy or other. For many of these people, despite the words that might come out of their mouths, the Bible is not their absolute, sole, and final authority. Something else is!

But they do not want to admit it to themselves or to others.

"Truth is not affected by the attitude of the one professing it.
An arrogant person does not make the truth he professes false.
A humble person does not make the error he professes true."

Steven Furtick: Most Dangerous False Teacher

Steven Furtick of Elevation Church handles the Scriptures like Edward Scissorhands handles a water balloon. He is the most dangerous kind of false teacher out there. In one sermon, Furtick acknowledges that John 5:4 is not in the oldest and best manuscripts, but then he goes ahead and preaches from this non-existent Bible verse anyway, allegorizing the entire passage (the way Charismatic false teachers are known to do) and claiming that we are likewise waiting for God to come down and make our lives better. (Perhaps Furtick should try reading the Scriptures and cluing in to the fact that our lives will only be better in the world to come — never in this world.) The man has no deep understanding of Scripture or theology, yet seeks to be in a position to influence many.

John MacArthur was absolutely 100% correct when he stated that Furtick is "UNQUALIFIED". God's Word not only identifies Furtick as being unqualified, but it also identifies him as being a false teacher. His church is a cult, and his followers will attack you if you say anything negative about their cult leader. If you call their gathering a "service," they are quick to correct you by calling it an "experience." (Yeah, like that doesn't make it sound more cultish.) After MacArthur made his statement, Furtick doubled down in his arrogant pride and wrote a poor-excuse-of-a-book in response. (If you look it up on Amazon, you will see an excellent example of how cult members rush to the aid of their cult leader in order to defend him. Practically every "review" is 5-stars. Other false teachers would no doubt rush to his aid, too, as birds of a feather flock together. Just look at the "praise" for the book — every single comment is from a known false teacher.)

As this article states (https://www.patheos.com/blogs/chorusinthechaos/steven-furtick-false-teacher/): "If [Steven Furtick] is genuinely in Christ, the best he has to hope for on this trajectory is to be saved, but only as one being snatched from the fire; he will lose all he has built (1 Cor. 3:15)." As it is, Furtick is presently heading directly toward Hell on a greased pole. If he is truly a disciple of Christ, he needs to step down, start learning, and correct his errors. Furtick does not even understand what the Gospel actually is! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98LJL1YWpxo)

Thursday, June 03, 2021

Nine Reasons Why Discerning Women Are Leaving Your Church

 by Michelle Lesley

Earlier this week, Thom Rainer, president and CEO of LifeWay, pubished a blog article entitled “Six Reasons Why Women May Be Leaving Your Church.” Although I am not particularly a fan of Dr. Rainer (due to his allowing heretical materials to be sold at LifeWay), I thought this article was a good one, and I agreed with several of the issues he raised, especially, that these issues need to be addressed by church leadership.

As a ministry wife and someone in the field of women’s ministry myself, I, too, have noticed women leaving the church. Not just women in general, but a certain subset of church-attending ladies: discerning women. While Scripture is pretty clear that we can expect women (and men) who are false converts to eventually fall away from the gathering of believers, why are godly, genuinely regenerated women who love Christ, His word, and His church, leaving their local churches?

1. Eisegetical or otherwise unbiblical preaching
Discerning women don’t want to hear pastors twist God’s word. The Bible is not about us, our problems, and making all our hopes and dreams come true. We don’t want to hear seeker-driven or Word of Faith false doctrine. We don’t need self-improvement motivational speeches or a list of life tips to follow. We want to hear a pastor rightly handle God’s word from a trustworthy translation and simply exegete the text.

2. The worship hour has become a variety show
Skits, guest stars, movie clips, dance routines, rock concerts, elaborate sets, light shows, and smoke machines. We didn’t sign on for Saturday Night Live on Sunday. This is supposed to be church. Get rid of all that junk, turn the lights on, give us solid preaching, prayer, and some theologically sound songs we can actually sing, and maybe we’ll stick around.

3. Women in improper places of church leadership
The Bible could not be more clear that women are not to be pastors, instruct men in the Scriptures, or hold authority over men in other capacities in the church. If your church has a female pastor, worship leader, or elders, or if women are teaching and leading men in Sunday school, small groups, or from the platform in the worship service, or if women are heading up certain committees, departments, or ministries which place them in improper authority over men, you’re disobeying Scripture, and we don’t want to help you do that by attending your church.

4. Children are being entertained, not trained
There’s nothing wrong with a bit of play time or crafts for younger children, but we want our children trained in the Scriptures, not entertained for a couple of hours. We want their teachers to open God’s word and read and explain it to them at a level they can understand. We want them memorizing verses, learning to pray, and demonstrating an age-appropriate comprehension of the gospel. We want them to understand that church is joyful, yet, serious, not a Jesus-laced party at Chuck E. Cheese. We need church to bolster the Scriptural training we’re giving our kids at home.

5. Women’s “Bible” Studies
The majority (and I don’t use that term flippantly) of churches holding women’s Bible studies are using materials written by Beth Moore, Priscilla Shirer, Joyce Meyer, Lysa TerKeurst, Sarah Young, and others who teach unbiblical ideas and false doctrine. Not minor denominational differences of opinion. Not secondary and tertiary unimportant issues that can be overlooked. False doctrine. While we long to study God’s word with other women, discerning women will not sacrifice sound doctrine nor the integrity of Scripture to do so.

6. Ecumenism
Is your church partnering with other “churches” whose orthodoxy and/or orthopraxy are at odds with Scripture? “Churches” which approve of homosexuality or female pastors, or which hold to an unbiblical soteriology (grace plus works, baptismal regeneration, Mary as co-redemptrix with Christ, etc.)? Are you partnering with those who deny the biblical Christ altogether such as Muslims, Jews, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Hindus, Mormons, or Buddhists? Discerning women know Scripture forbids yoking ourselves to unbelievers and we want no part of it.

7. Ageism
Look around at your pastor and staff, your lay leadership, your music team, the “face” of your church. How many of those people are over 40? Usually, discernment and spiritual maturity come through walking with the Lord over many years, yet, increasingly, churches are run by twenty-something pastors, staff, and other leadership, who are often spiritually immature and/or lack the wisdom and life experience that come with age. The counsel and wisdom mature, godly men and women have to offer is brushed off as old fashioned, and middle aged and older church members feel alienated and unwanted. Discerning women value the wisdom and teaching of their godly elders.

8. The “troublemaker” label
Discerning women who see unbiblical things happening in their churches and stand up for what God’s word says about biblical ecclesiology and teaching are often villified and labeled as troublemakers. We are called haters, threats to unity, complainers, gossips, negative, and a myriad of other scornful names. All this for wanting things done according to Scripture. Can you blame us for shaking the dust off our high heels and leaving?

9. Spineless or stiff-necked pastors
Discerning women have little respect for, and find themselves unable to submit to the authority of pastors who see people in their churches acting overtly sinful or propagating false teaching yet are so afraid of confrontation that they will not set things right. By the same token, we cannot continue to attend a church in which we bring scriptural evidence of false teaching or sin to the pastor and he outright denies the biblical truth we present to him. We cannot be members of churches in which pastors will not submit to Scripture or carry out biblical mandates.

Frequently, the discerning women you see tearfully leaving your church have been there for years. Sometimes they leave your church because it was never doctrinally sound to begin with, and God has opened their eyes to this as they grow and mature in Christ. Sometimes they leave because false doctrine and unbiblical practices have crept in and taken over a church that was once a refuge of trustworthy biblical teaching. Either way, these things should not be.

Maybe it’s not that discerning women are leaving the church, but that the church is leaving them.

You Cannot Convert A Single Soul!

Christians...

It is our job to proclaim the Gospel and all the words of God to any and all who will listen, but it is not our job to try and sway nations or to convert souls. That is God's realm! You are not God, so stop pretending to be Him, or, worse, trying to be Him.

The world will always choose sin over righteousness, and that should not surprise us. Sinners do what comes naturally to them: sin.

You want to win someone who believes in abortion? Speak to them personally and share with them the facts. Leave the result in God's hands. If they reject reason and pursue an abortion, love them just the same. Jesus would have. Stop trying to politicize morality.

We should be striving for Christ-likeness, walking after the Holy Spirit, and living it out before an unbelieving world. After all, actions speak louder than words.

Yes, we should be trying to reach the world with the truth, but we should not expect them to act like we do. Until God gives them a new heart and spiritually regenerates them, they will continue to do what is "right" in their own eyes. It is not our job to convert people. That is the work of the Holy Spirit; to convict the world of sin and judgment.

No matter how much knowledge we may possess, no matter how great of an orator we may be, you and I can never convert a single soul; nor should we pressure ourselves into thinking we can or that it is our responsibility to do so. God is the One Who converts the soul! You and I may plant and/or water, but it is God who gives the increase.

We need to put ourselves in our place and stop trying to be God!

Before we were saved, we spent our days worshipping ourselves. After salvation, some Christians are still intent on worshipping themselves, thinking that God needs them or that it is their responsibility to convert souls. Our only responsibility is to be the salt and light and to proclaim the Gospel and the whole counsel of the Word of God. What results is the responsibility of the Holy Spirit. Whether someone is converted or not by our efforts is at the sole discretion of Almighty God.

Pay attention to the lives of Jesus and the apostles. They did not demand that governments and individuals agree wholeheartedly with them and live by their standards. What did they do instead? They lived out what they believed and proclaimed the Gospel and the truth of God's Word to any and all who would listen. Some accepted their words, many rejected them. They did not, however, become activists and make God's Word political by protesting the heathen. For you to do so and expect a different result is just insanity.

Ask yourself What Did Jesus Do?, and then look in Scripture at the life of Jesus for the nearest equivalent to what His response would have been. The woman at the well was an adulteress (she had five previous husbands, and her current husband was not her husband).

Christians and Gay Marriage

Are most Christian denominations affirming of homosexual relations and embracing gay marriage? The homosexual and pro-homosexual community would have you believe that this is indeed the case, but it is not. Statistics from the "Christian" public are hardly reliable as most of these individuals are nominally Christian, meaning "Christian" by name only. You are not a Christian because you were raised in a church or because some fool Pope-ishly pronounced you to be a Christian when you prayed some prayer. Observe:

Christian Denominations and Gay Marriage
by Roger E. Olson

A few years ago I had the privilege of re-writing (editing and authoring) the 14th edition of the venerable reference book The Handbook of Denominations in the United States published by Abingdon Press. One of the changes I made was to mention each denomination's stated policy with regard to gay marriage and homosexual sexual relations. In some cases I could not find a stated, official policy, so I contacted the headquarters and spoke or corresponded with the highest leader possible.

Of the approximately 260 denominations listed and described in the volume, about 200 of them have official or unofficial policies against gay marriage and same-sex sexual relations. In some cases they asked me not to publish their policies, but they assured me they practice the policies even if they do not want it known outside their denominations.

They are worded very differently from each other; there is no "template," so to speak. However, the vast majority of Christian denominations in the United States do not condone gay marriage among their ranks and do not approve of same-sex sexual relations. Many of them state that it is sin.

A few denominations take a kind of middle position — saying (for example) that they do not condone it among their own "people" bud do not oppose it outside of their ranks. In other words, they are not going to fight or lobby to reverse the Supreme Court decision regarding equality of gay people with straight people in terms of government-recognized marriage. Most did not say anything about that. A few denominations take a middle position saying that they will include gay people — married and not married — within their membership ranks but will not perform gay marriages.

The overall impression, however, that I think is not well understood by most people, is that the vast majority of American Christian (and many non-Christian) church organizations, denominations, networks, independent congregations, do not approve of gay marriage or same-sex sexual relations.

It is not as if there are a "few hold outs"; the "hold outs" (in terms of denominations) are those relatively few who endorse and affirm gay marriage within their ranks.

A few so-called "mainline Protestant" denominations leave the issue up to regions (synods) or individual congregations. Some of those are now facing divisions over that. New denominations are forming all the time because of perceived permissiveness on this issue. The new denominations are almost all opposed to gay marriage.

An impression is circulating that only a few ultra-conservative, fundamentalist, hateful religious groups and institutions stand against gay marriage within their ranks, within their institutions, but that is a wrong impression.

Those Christian institutional leaders who feel under pressure to allow gay marriages within their ranks (student bodies, staff, etc.) need to know that they are not alone in holding the line against gay marriage within their ranks.

Now, if you are really interest in this, please buy your own copy of the book: The Handbook of Denominations in the United States (14th edition) (Abingdon Press).

People who affirm homosexual relations and gay marriage are ignorant, having been persuaded by fallacious arguments and blind emotions. If they claim to be "Christian," whether this claim is true or false, it is quite obvious that they are ignorant of the Word of God and have never bothered to read it. God is against homosexual relations of any kind (buggery, pederasty, bi-sexuality, ___-sexuality), being contrary to the created order and simple reproductive biology, and upholds heterosexual relations from Genesis to Revelation.

Those who claim that Jesus said nothing about homosexuality are being morally and intellectually dishonest. Jesus directed his listeners to the created order and quoted twice from Genesis: "Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate." It is quite evident that Jesus upheld heterosexual relations as the only acceptable expression of human sexuality.

Jesus is the Word of God. He spoke the universe into existence. When the Bible records, "You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination," those are the words of the pre-incarnate Jesus. Since God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, it stands to reason that homosexuality is just as detestable to Him today as it was in the days of Sodom.

Christians are not to hate homosexuals or any other people. We are not to try and reform nations. A sinful world will always do what is right in their own eyes and pursue sin rather than righteousness. We can try to influence the world around us by being the salt and light and living out what God's Word teaches us, but it is foolish to expect sinful individuals to live by any means other than what comes natural to them. If and when they become Christians, then it is right for you to expect them to repent and change. Pay attention to the lives of Jesus and the apostles. They did not demand that everyone agree with them and go by their standards. What did they do instead? They lived out what they believed and they spoke the Gospel and the truth to any and all who would listen. Some accepted their words, many rejected them. They did not, however, protest the heathen or become activists for or against anything the wicked did naturally. For you to do so and expect a different result is just insanity.

Do your part, live the life of a Christ-like follower of Jesus, and speak the truth to all who will listen, but do not make it political and do not try to do the work of the Holy Spirit. You are not God, so stop trying to be Him or act like Him!

Tuesday, June 01, 2021

Southern Baptist Convention Hypocrisy

The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) claims that there are zero women serving as "pastors" in any of their churches. Guess what? Here are 46 SBC churches with women "pastors" in their employ:

These 46 SBC churches are in violation of not only the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 (BFM 2000), but also the Bible, God's Holy Word.

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