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Who Goes There? Herescope exposes Richard Foster

July 14, 2015 in christianity, contemplative spirituality, discernment | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

We know that voices that speak to you can cause havoc in your life. The stories fly in from media sources of those who “hear” voices telling them to do awful things like kill people or to harm oneself. We rightly determine that the source of these voices are evil and demonic.

Christians however often believe themselves protected from such deception. This is far from the truth. Our adversary the devil disguises himself as an angel of light. 2 Corthinians 11:14.  He knows that his true identity needs to be hidden or else be outright rejected.

The problem is that Christians are often no longer satisfied with walking in faith and Sola Scripture. They are lured into seeking experiences. Meditative practices offer such spiritual delusion.

I speak from past experience. I was drawn into pentecostal theology of receiving personal “words”. It was pleasant.  I was filled with joy at being used by the Lord. I wept with gratitude and humility. But something was wrong and I knew it. Nagging thoughts sent red flags.

I started praying for truth no matter how hard it would be to my pride. And it was pride. My thoughts got twisted. Surely the Lord would use me in this way because of my deep humility.  I was led to 1 Samuel 15:23.

“For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.  Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.”

This verse cut to my very soul and my sin was exposed. The scales fell from my eyes.

Please read:

Encountering voices in contemplative prayer . . .

An updated article by Pastor Larry DeBruyn*
“We are from God; he who knows God listens to us;
he who is not from God does not listen to us.
By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”
—The Apostle John, 1 John 4:6, NASB

Introduction
Through practicing the discipline of solitude and silence, contemplative spiritualists hope to hear God personally speak to them. As one nationally known personality stated on the Be Still DVD, “intimacy automatically breeds revelation.”[1]  But if a voice speaks, there is some question regarding its identity. Therefore in the video’s same segment, “Fear of Silence,” Richard Foster offers advice about how to discern who might communicate in the stillness. He said:

Learning to distinguish the voice of God… from just human voices within us… comes in much the same way that we learn any other voice. Satan pushes and condemns. God draws and encourages. And we can know the difference.[2]

Though there could be others, Richard Foster admits to cacophony of possible voices that might speak: first, human voices within and without (a source that could involve hearing oneself speak, in which case, contemplators would be listening to themselves); second, the voice of Satan or demons; and third, God’s voice.  

Who’s Voice?
In order to determine whose voice might be speaking, Foster provides criteria. If the voice ispositiveand reaffirming, then the voice is God’s. If however the voice is negative and that like a bully who “pushes and condemns,” then the voice must be that of Satan. To discern whether or not the voice is human, Foster offers no advice.

Finish article HERE 

“Want Some False Doctrine in Your Life? Try These Handy Tips!” by Steven Kozar

June 20, 2015 in apostasy, christianity, Church, contemplative spirituality, discernment, Rick Warren, The Emerging Church | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Want Some False Doctrine in Your Life? Try These Handy Tips!” by Steven Kozar

 

Don’t be shy about it-admit it: false doctrine is fun and, well, it just feels good. Here are some handy tips to keep you fully deceived and incapable of discernment:

 

1. Always think to yourself: “I know what he meant” when false teachings are taught; don’t listen to the actual words themselves. Pretend you are giving someone the “benefit of the doubt” when you’re actually permitting bad teaching. Also, bad teaching isn’t so bad if the pastor tells an emotional story to drive home the heresy; and he must be telling the truth if he starts to cry, especially at the same point of the story in multiple services!

2. Here’s a handy saying: “No church is perfect!” The assumption here is that it’s not of any value to carefully examine doctrine because all churches are wrong in one way or another, so just accept anything. If you go to the church because “you feel comfortable there” and the “worship team really rocks” you’ll probably never have to think much about doctrine anyway. This can also be modified as: “No pastor is perfect!” False teachers and mediocre pastors really appreciate it when you think this way.

3. Focus on your feelings rather than the clear teachings of Scripture. Because you’re a sinner, this will be very easy. For added validation of your false beliefs, convince yourself that God told you to disobey Him and somehow violate His word; but don’t use such obvious language. For example, say: “I really feel that God spoke to my heart, that’s why I believe it’s okay to       (fill in the blank with whatever sin and/or false doctrine you want). A great little catch phrase to instill this principle would be something like this: “Theology will never change a man as much as a direct encounter with God.” Of course, if you really had a direct encounter with God you’d probably be dead…

Finish HERE

Modern Comedy: Laughing Our Way to Hell

May 5, 2015 in apostasy, christianity, Church, Life, relaxation, religion | Leave a comment

Modern Comedy: Laughing Our Way to Hell.

LifeWay Removes Unbiblical Resources From Their Stores

April 9, 2015 in christianity, Church, discernment, Life, religion | Tags: , | Leave a comment

I am applauding the decision of LifeWay………

LifeWay Removes Unbiblical Resources From Their Stores

Church
Source HERE

Alex Malarkey’s book “The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven: A Remarkable Account of Miracles, Angels, and Life Beyond This World” has been a top seller for a very long time. Just a few months ago Alex confessed that the whole story was a lie that he fabricated to get attention. He says,”I did not die. I did not go to Heaven,” he wrote. “When I made the claims that I did, I had never read the Bible. People have profited from lies, and continue to. They should read the Bible, which is enough.” This led to LifeWay making the decision to pull the book from all of their stores and website. Now LifeWay has just compiled a list of authors and resources that will be banned from their stores from this point on. LifeWay sent out a company email to all employees in regards to their decision and an acquaintance of mine who works for LifeWay sent me the list of banned resources/authors. I want to applaud LifeWay for this decision which will encourage Christians to be more discerning about what they read and share with others. It blows my mind how Christians will believe something just because its in a book or in a movie without diligently searching the Scriptures to be sure their receiving biblical truth and not mystical and unbiblical nonsense. LifeWay still has a long way to go because though their list is exhaustive it still is missing other authors who are harming the church with unbiblical doctrines.

The one question I have is why would LifeWay carry these resources in the first place? Its ironic that once Alex confessed to fabricating the story that now LifeWay decides to pull the book. This reminds me of the incident at World Vision when they decided to accept homosexual missionaries. After receiving instant criticism they decided to retract their decision. Obviously the answer involves the financial profit received from popular yet uahonbiblical resources. If you want to read the list of banned resources you can do so here:Lifeway Removed Authors

Here is their list of removed authors

 

Che Ahn

Clay Aiken

Mitch Albom

Ebal Alexander

J. Neal Alexander

James Alison

Elizabeth Alves

Karen Armstrong

John G. Arnott

John Avanzini

Bruce Bawer

Mary K. Baxter

Rob Bell

Jon L. Berquist

John Bevere

The Blind Side (DVD)

Ray Boltz

Reihard Bonnke

Marcus Borg

Gregory Boyd

Rebecca Brown

Rodney Howard-Browne

Juanita Bynum

Jack Canfield

Charles Capps

Morris Cerullo

Charisma magazine

Reginald Cherry

Chick Tracts

David H. Chilton

Mark Chironna

David Cho

Deepak Chopra

Randy Clark

Richard Cleaver

Kim Clement

Gerald Coates

Common English Bible

Tony Compolo

Gary David Comstock

Gloria Copeland

Kenneth Copeland

L. William Countryman

Stephen Covey

Paul Crouch

Dake’s Study Bibles

Marjorie Decker

Jack Deere

Creflo Dollar

Mark Driscoll

Jesse Duplantis

Betty Eadie

James L. Empereur

Rachel Held Evans

Gary Ezzo

Melinda Fish

Francis Frangipane

Robert Fulgham

Chris Glaser

Kirby Godsey

Peter Gomes

Larry Kent Graham

Ted Haggard

Kenneth Hagin (Sr. and Jr.)

Frank Hammond

Andrew Harvey

Marilyn Hickey

Steven Hill

Benny Hinn

Larry Huch

Cindy Jacobs

Paul King Jewett

Bill Johnson

Tony Jones

Rick Joyner

Thomas Keating

RT Kendall

Essek Kenyon

John Killinger

John Kilpatrick

Jennifer Knapp

C. Baxter Kruger

Kathryn Kuhlman

Bob Larson

Larry Lea

Roberts Liardon

Life in the Spirit Study Bible

Eddie Long

Sara Maitland

Brian McLaren

John McNeill

Aimee Semple McPherson

Thomas Merton

Joyce Meyer

Virginia Ramey Mollenkott

Robert Morris

Myles Munroe

Mike Murdock

Mary Neal

New American Bible

New Jerusalem Bible

Henri Nouwen

Scott O’Grady

Joel Osteen

Doug Pagitt

Rod Parsley

Carlton Pearson

Scott Peck

Basil Pennington

Fuchsia Pickett

Clark Pinnock

Norm Pott

Frederick Price

Derek Prince

Joseph Prince

Earl Radmacher

Oral Roberts

Jack Rogers

A. J. Russell

John Sanders

Jerry Savelle

Letha Dawson Scanzoni

Gwen Shamblin

Peter Singer

Alice Smith

Spirit-Filled Life Study

William Stringfellow

Lester Sumrall

David Switzer

Tommy Tenney

Leroy Thompson

Phyllis, Tickle

Robert Tilton

TNIV

Randy Travis

The Voice Bible

Matthew Vines

Neale Donald Walsch

Barbara Wentroble

Paula White

Sally Lowe Whitehead

Bill Wiese

Smith Wigglesworth

Johanna Van Wijk-Bos

Hans Wilhelm

John Wimber

Laura Winner

Walter Wink

Andrew Wommack

Maria Woodworth-Etter

The Word on the Street (Bible Paraphrase)

Jeremiah Wright

William Paul Young

 

Blood Moon Market Meltdown This Weekend?

April 3, 2015 in Bible Study, christianity, Life, prophecy | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

By Jerry Bowers , CP Guest Contributor from the Christian Post

The moon is shown in eclipse from Los Angeles, California, April 15, 2014. The lunar eclipse on Tuesday will unfold over three hours when the moon begins moving into Earth’s shadow. A little more than an hour later, the moon will be fully eclipsed and shrouded in an orange, red or brown glow.

blood moon (Photo: REUTERS/Edgard Garrido)

A combination photo shows the moon during a total lunar eclipse as seen from Mexico City April 15, 2014.

One of the interesting things about being a Christian economist is that you hear so many strange new theories. People read something on the internet or hear about it in small group, and because it comes from within the Christian family, they tend toward trust. And they tell somebody else, and eventually someone gets curious and calls their Christian financial advisor. And their advisor calls his company headquarters, and sometimes, HQ calls me. That’s how I learned that there are people who think they should take their money out of the market this year because of lunar eclipses.

It’s important to be fair to a theory like this when you first hear it, no matter how strange it seems on the surface. The Bible is filled with strange things and the Bible is true. So strange things can be true. They can be true; that doesn’t mean they must be true. Things have to be tested.

The Blood Moon/Shemitah idea (henceforth BMS) is associated first with pastor Mark Biltz, Messianic Rabbi Jonathan Cahn and his bestselling books, and with TV evangelists John Hagee and Jim Bakker. A veritable cottage industry of books, blood moon calendars, DVDs, study guides, blogs, and direct-mail fundraising has sprung up around it. This article is about the idea in general, not about any one particular purveyor of it.

So, let’s get clear what we’re talking about: Blood moons are lunar eclipses. Occasionally the sky shows us a tetrad (a series of 4 consecutive total eclipses occurring at approximately six month intervals, per NASA). It is alleged that these events (Tetrads) are “prophetically significant” and have served as prophetic signs and warnings about important days in Jewish history, for example the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492, the founding of modern Israel in 1948, and the six day war in 1967. Tetrads are big in BMS theory.

Then there’s the Shemitah – the debt “release” commanded of Israel (found in Leviticus 25) which she was to observe on a 7 year cycle. According to the Bible the Shemitah system was turned from a blessing to a curse when Israel ignored it. According to BMS theory, this applies not just to ancient Israel, but to modern America, and Shemitah years have coincided with stock market collapses. In fact, they tell us that 8 of the 10 largest market collapse in the past 100 years have occurred on Shemitah years. Furthermore, we’re told that Shemitah years also correspond with important dates in Israel’s history, for example, the beginning of the Holocaust. Shemitah years are also big in BMS theory.

But now we’ve got a tetrad and (allegedly) a Shemitah year at the same time! A great convergence of great signs pointing towards an extremely important prophetic season, and we are warned of a great likelihood of market collapse; a big one on September 28th (the last of the tetrads) and a smaller one this Saturday (the third eclipse of the tetrad). Rabbi Cahn, in particular, has cautioned people to be out of the stock market at this time.

Scary stuff. But is it true?

Not really.

Let’s fact-check it:

First, Tetrads have not actually generally served as warning signs in advance of major events in Jewish history. In fact, none of the four tetrads of the first millennium coincided with important dates in Jewish history. Furthermore the most important events in that time period all happened during non-tetrad years: Neither the birth of the Messiah, nor His death and resurrection, nor the destruction of the temple, nor the destruction of the entire nation occurred during a tetrad.

Second, although there are a few events which have been in the historical vicinity of Tetrads (such as the expulsion of the Jews from Spain, the founding of Israel, and the Six Day War) these signs and warnings generally occurred after the tetrad. Furthermore, in many of those cases, the eclipses were not visible from Israel (or in the case of the expulsion, not visible from Spain either). It’s hard to square BMS theory about tetrads as warnings if the warnings mostly occur after the event, and were not visible to the people being warned.

Third, when Rabbi Cahn tells his readers that 8 out of 10 of the largest market corrections in the past century occurred during these alleged Shemitah years, he does not mention that 5 of the 8 occurred in 2008, nor that the remaining 3 occurred in 2001. Confused? Cahn uses the dollar value declines, rather than (the appropriate) percentage decline. If he had calculated corrections the way pretty much everybody else does, he would have found that the crash of 1929, was by the far the largest correction, and that it did not occur on a Shemitah year. In fact, a majority of the top ten percentage market crashes occurred on non-alleged Shemitah years.

Fourth, I’ve used the word “alleged” about the Shemitah years, and you need to know why: No one actually knows for sure which years are actually Shemitah years. The Torah doesn’t give us dates for them, so there is no way to know with certainty whether 2014-2015 actually qualifies biblically. Instead BMS advocates end up having to choose one or another competing particular rabbinical traditions. Tradition, not Bible, not proof.

Fifth, even if BMS advocates have somehow chosen the right year to initiate their Shemitah calculations, that their view of this current year being a Shemitah must be wrong. That’s because the only way to get 1903 and 2015 to both qualify, is to omit the Jubilee year. You can’t just start in a certain year and then add 7 forever. Once every 50 years, you have to add one. They don’t.

Sixth, if one is going to use the Hebrew calendar to choose the year, one should also use the Hebrew calendar year to choose the months. The claim that Kristallnacht, which initiated the Holocaust, began in an alleged Shemitah year depends on using the Hebrew calendar to choose 1938, but then switching to a Gregorian calendar to fit Kristallnacht in. If this system runs on Hebrew calendrics, why the switch?

Seventh, everything else. There are numerous other problems – historical, astronomical, et cetera – with the BMS view, far more than we can deal with in this space. For more detail, please consult the much more detailed White Paper on this issue, which I helped write.

BMS advocates look at the world through an open Bible. That’s good. But it’s not enough. One of the authors has said publicly that he wrote this book in six weeks. Kudos for work ethic, but not for fact-checking. Accuracy takers time, so it falls upon us to check things out for ourselves. And when we do, the theory just does not hold up.

I’m afraid that we’re going to have to keep doing the hard work of financial and economic analysis to make investment decisions, instead of relying on blood moons. Sorry it didn’t work. It was a cool idea.

******

Jerry Bowers is an American economist, author and columnist. He is a weekly contributor to Forbes.com, and an occasional contributor to Forbes magazine. He also occasionally contributes to The Wall Street Journal.
Source…Christian Post HERE

Finding God’s Will Is No Deep Dark Secret! Part 1

February 19, 2015 in Bible, christianity, Christians, Church, contemplative spirituality | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

Finding God’s Will Is No Deep Dark Secret! Part 1

 http://standupforthetruth.com/2015/02/finding-gods-will-no-deep-dark-secret-part-1/

By Marsha West

Is itGod's will - decisions possible for a Christian to know God’s will and not have to agonize over it? Should a believer make a decision without first spending hours in prayer, asking God to reveal His will? Must a Christian avoid making a decision until he or she has a “peace about it”? What about waiting for a “sign” from God? Is it okay for a Christian to consult a psychic or a Ouija board to seek God’s guidance?

A married couple, John and Tina, is faced with a dilemma. They would like to move to Colorado to be closer to John’s family. They’ve been praying about it, asking God to show them His will. Their decision must be made before the end of the week, yet they’re still not sure what God wants them to do — should they stay or should they go?

Naturally John and Tina are confused and frustrated. John is leaning toward moving because he knows it will be good for the kids to live close to their grandparents. He’s even getting excited about it. Not Tina! She wants to wait for a “confirmation,” from God before they pull up stakes and move half way across the country.

John and Tina are in the proverbial pickle.

Many Christians talk about finding God’s will as though it were some deep dark secret, hidden away in the pages of Scripture. Maybe God doesn’t want us to find it.

Where does the Bible teach that God tries to hide His will from us?

Tina and John believe their heavenly Father loves them, yet they’ve decided that He’s hiding His will from them. Maybe God likes playing hide and seek.

Most good parents want what’s best for their children, right? So does it make sense that God would want to hide His will from those He loves? If Tina and John really believe He’s a loving Father, why are they clinging to the ridiculous notion that He wants to keep them in the dark?

 

Finish HERE

Christian Submission vs Belligerent Discontentment Before Civil Authorities

February 8, 2015 in Bible Study, Christian Martyrs, christianity, Church, Dominionism | Tags: | Leave a comment

I have been dismayed at the terrible  comments and pictures on social media that Christians post about our government leaders. As I read through scripture and obey it, I find that I have constantly examine myself to make that what I say and do as a conservative is pleasing to the Lord. Please read:

Christian Submission vs Belligerent Discontentment Before Civil Authorities

 From
airō
Surrendering to the Lordship of Jesus Christ

http://airocross.com/2015/02/05/christian-submission-vs-belligerent-discontentment-before-civil-authorities/#comment-9909

lion

My heart is grieved by the growing discontentment, hostility, and anarchist attitudes by those who profess the name of Jesus Christ in America. As our nation grows more hostile, American Christians must grow more patient, longsuffering, merciful, and compassionate.

As American culture grows more belligerent, we must grow more eager to speak the truth in love and more boldly to proclaim righteousness and the Gospel of Peace.

As civil magistrates grow more intolerant of Christianity, more pluralistic in their views of religion, and more subjective in their rule of law, Christians must grow more in our prayer life petitioning God on behalf of our leaders, that they would be saved by Christ and enable us to live quiet lives.

Instead, professing Christians seem to be growing more belligerent, more disrespectful, more angry toward pagan society and less tolerant and less submissive to governing authorities. And, it seems, we are praying less as demonstrated by the growing hostility and lack of respect for our leaders in government.

So what is going on? As I mentioned in The Law of Nature Is the Law of God, having a wrong view of God’s Law can have severe implications. Additionally, wrong views of how God rules over the nations and how Christians should live in pagan societies can also have severe implications. These wrong views are all related, and, I believe, are responsible for the unbiblical attitudes and behaviors we are seeing among professing Christians today. More than ever, American Christians must stand out from the crowd, demonstrating we belong to God and are citizens of His kingdom.

This article, then, will address the Christian’s duty to submit to governing authorities, and serve as an admonishment to those who are going down the wrong path.

The Rotten Fruit of Dominionism

Let’s consider the rotten fruit of a theology that teaches the Mosaic law is not only still binding, but is binding upon nations to whom it was never given. Moreover, this theology teaches the church has a cultural mandate to redeem or Christianize every fabric and institution of society. Christian Reconstructionists (reformed) and Kingdom-Now Dominionists (charismatic or New Apostolic Reformation) share this common thread. Both have postmillennial views of the kingdom of God, and both want to establish a Christian society.

When one believes the only biblical laws for a nation are those found in the Mosaic law, or when one believes a government is illegitimate when it does not enforce Mosaic law, it can lead to a disposition of not respectfully submitting to civil authorities. Moreover, it fundamentally denies God has sovereignly placed the Christian under all civil authorities, and it can lead to positions that demand resistance and promote violence in the name of justice. Take for instance, Matthew Trewhella, pastor of Mercy Seat Christian Church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. One must consider whether Trewhella is even qualified for ministry given his rebelliousness and how outsiders look upon him in light of Titus 1:6 and 1 Timothy 3:7 (demonstrated here). In any case, his message titled, “Tyranicide – To Kill a Tyrant“, Trewhella states around minute 24:

Everyone innately knows that it’s an honest and just thing to depose a tyrant…everyone knows it’s a just and noble thing to do, except of course the effeminate, the culture in which we have in this nation now after much conditioning by the media in our country, and the government schools. And also it doesn’t make no [sic] sense to your average butt-faced Christian who’s been raised in American 20th century Christianity, now 21st century Christianity, because they have no idea “[sarcasm] how could killing, how can anything other than love, have anything to do with God?” Right? Am I right? Of course I’m right. It’s the state of Christianity we live in. But anyone who hasn’t been ruined by those two things – rotten American Christianity or American culture…knows perfectly well it’s honorable and just to kill a tyrant. [bold emphasis added]

Trewhella asserts that killing tyrants is somehow a matter of the law of nature, as if it is a work of God’s Law written to the heart of every man. This couldn’t be further from the truth, and in fact, asserting such is calling God a liar. Anyone who takes up the sword to carry out revenge will die by the sword, as God considers this murder. Jesus affirmed this when Peter sought to kill the servant of the high priest (Matthew 26:51-52). Such a murderer deserves not only capital punishment by the state, but eternal punishment in hell under the wrath of God. Nevertheless, Trewhella determines it is “honorable and just to kill a tyrant.”

Beginning around minute 44, Trewhella states:

But that’s [the homosexual agenda] what they want to push upon our nation, that’s what they want to legalize in our courts, within our statutes, make normal within our media, and the men allow it. The effeminacy in this country is sick. The dumbing down that men have been influenced by is pathetic. It’s time for men in this nation to raise up and start killing some tyrants. Plain and simple. [bold emphasis added]

Based on the above, Trewhella is referring to any politician, including the President of the United States, who endorses and promotes the homosexual agenda, and he is suggesting they should be assassinated.

Finish  HERE

A Series on Gnosticism – Part 1 Secret Knowledge

December 30, 2014 in Bible, Bible Study, Biblical artifacts, christianity, discernment, Gnosticism, religion, Spirituality | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

From The End Time

 

Gnosticism part 1: secret knowledge

Yesterday I introduced a new series on Gnosticism. I’m reading Colossians, which was a prison letter from Paul to the church at Colossae. Paul was responding to Epaphras’ news that the new Colossian believers were being quickly turned away from the faith by people who believed a different Gospel. What was that different Gospel? It was from the Gnostics, a group of cultish believers plaguing the church throughout the First Century, (and the second and third) and popping up here and there throughout the centuries since. Today, there is a resurgence of Gnostic belief encroaching and polluting even our fundamentalist churches among the Southern Baptist Convention. In other words, Gnosticism is a continual problem that never really went away.The Tribulation is a time when all sins will be released for their fullest iniquity. The Holy Spirit’s ministry of restraint will be taken out of the way, and all sins, spiritual and carnal, will explode onto the earth. We see the setting for this coming explosion now. All false doctrines that have ever plagued the church are rising to the fore, all at once. We are battling Gnosticism, Mysticism, Liberalism, Post-Modernism, Legalism, Ecumenism, Prosperity Gospel, and much more. Jesus’s Seven Letters to the Seven Churches contained in Revelation 2-3 are a listing of some of the false doctrines and behavioral failings the early believers were falling prey to. Those false doctrines and behaviors hinder us now.

Zondervan’s NIV bible lists 6 elements that comprise Gnosticism. They are not exclusive, as Gnosticism has several branches and many different elements can be said to comprise the philosophy. In addition, several other false doctrines overlap Gnosticism, such as Mysticism and Legalism, for example. But for the sake of brevity (sort of) we will stick with the Zondervan 6. They are:

1. secret knowledge,
2. asceticism,
3. depreciation of Christ (lowering Him in name and in glory),
4. strict rule-keeping, ceremonies, or rituals
5. worship of angels,
6. and reliance on human wisdom and traditions

Today we will take a look at the element of “secret knowledge”.

David Grabbe wrote in “Whatever Happened to Gnosticism?” that “Gnosticism was the predominant source of heresy when the New Testament was written. The books of John, I Corinthians, Galatians, Colossians, I and II Timothy, Jude, and I John all combat various elements of Gnosticism. Even the book of Revelation cites a couple of Gnostic beliefs and practices, referring to “know[ing] the depths of Satan” and “the Nicolaitans” (Revelation 2:6, 15, 24).”

Gene Edward Veith wrote in World Magazine in this 2006 article “The Return of the Cainites,” “The Gnostics were eastern mystics who taught that the physical realm is intrinsically evil and that the spirit can be freed from its bondage to physicality through the attainment of secret knowledge (or “gnosis”). They rejected the Christian doctrine of creation (saying that the material world is evil). They denied the incarnation (saying that Christ was a spiritual being who brought the secret knowledge and denying that He became “flesh”). And they denied the redemption (saying that sin is not a moral failure – since what we do in the flesh does not affect our spirits – but simply a lack of spiritual knowledge).”

Jennifer Trafton and Rebecca Colossanov wrote in “Gnostics: Did you Know?” that “The Gnostics sometimes claimed that secret truth had been handed down by one apostle to a select group of insiders. But Christian opponents like Irenaeus argued that the true church represented the teaching of all of the apostles passed on in many locations.”

The word “Gnosticism” comes from the Greek word gnosis, which means “knowledge.” Gnosticism rejects the doctrines of original sin, human depravity and salvation through the substitutionary death of Christ. It emphasizes transcendence through inward, intuitive knowledge, i.e., “gnosis,” of the “divine spark in each individual.” (source)

Finish Article HERE

Going Against God “just for fun”

August 24, 2014 in christianity, contemplative spirituality, Life, Spiritual Life | Tags: , , , , | 1 comment

Going against God “just for fun”

By Marsha West

Today we’re hearing a lot about Spiritism or Spiritualism, not to be confused with spiritual or spirituality, as in “I’m not religious, I’m spiritual,” or “I’m into spirituality.” The term Spiritism has replaced what was once called animism and other religious practices involving the invocation of spiritual beings.

Some religions meld Spiritualism with Christianity. For example, a blend of Christian and African folk beliefs that originated in Brazil is now practiced in the U.S. Spiritualism is much the same as Spiritism only it has adopted Christian rites and prayers. People visiting Spiritualistic services can be misled into thinking they’re Christian churches. The problem is Christianity cannot be melded with any other religion or practice.

One of the major tenets of Spiritism is reincarnation. The classic form of reincarnation originated in India in the 9th century BC. Reincarnation has become a hot topic in our post-modern culture.

There are a whole host of beliefs about reincarnation. The most widely touted belief is that upon death one’s spirit exits the body in search of another body to inhabit. Believing in reincarnation gives hope for continuing one’s existence in further lives to work off one’s karma. Karma is broadly defined as the consequences of one’s actions.

Ask professing Christians as they flow through the doors of a Sunday worship service if they believe in reincarnation, some will give you a cavalier “Yes,” as if it’s no big deal for believers to mix Christianity with mystical beliefs. However,

Finish article HERE

Apostates and Apostasy

August 7, 2014 in apostasy, christianity, discernment, Jesus, religion | 1 comment

Mike Ratliff's avatarPossessing the Treasure

by Mike Ratliff

20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. (Matthew 13:20-22 ESV)

The Bible very clearly teaches that Christians should examine themselves quite often in order to see what their spiritual condition is. Genuine Christians are not perfect people. Neither are they always full of happiness, in perfect health while having plenty of money in the bank. No, the fact that all believers are called to be humble, poor in spirit, meek…

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