Tag Archives: apostate

Bible, Politics

Not just a joke, but a bad joke.

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See Gay minister suspended for 20 days for the first announcement about the “penalty” for this “minister” conducting a “same-sex wedding” in 2009.  Sorry for all the scare quotes, but she is obviously not a Christian and “same-sex wedding” is an oxymoron.  And the penalty was less than a slap on the wrist, because it includes her being ordered to “draft a document outlining issues that harm United Methodist Church’s clergy covenant with help of church leaders.”  That will obviously end up being a forum for her to advance her apostate views and isn’t a penalty at all.  That’ll show her, right?

So she deceives by promising to uphold the rules of the church while having no intention of doing so, shakes her fist at God daily, finally gets called on it, and ends up with no punishment.  Her conference needs to either quit calling themselves Christians or they need to grow a pair (uh, metaphorically speaking).

She should have been fired a long time ago.  Her supervisors should be fired now for letting this go on.  If an HP employee started selling Dell products, they’d be fired that day.  She and her ilk are doing Satan’s business and have no place in church.

DeLong reminds me of Beth Stroud, another person who lied at her ordination vows and infiltrated the church, won people over, then came out on queue.  These people either lied at their ordination vows or changed their minds later and didn’t have the integrity to quit, and that alone should disqualify them from ministry.  This goes for the 100 or so Methodist “ministers” threatening to perform same-sex ceremonies.  They should all be fired just for their conspiracy.  They are plenty of apostate denominations for them to join.

I’m assured that the Texas conference of the Methodist church wouldn’t ordain a false teacher like her and definitely wouldn’t do a phony trial like that.  I’m looking forward to visiting with the Methodist Church in Kenya later this year, as they are authentic Christians who actually submit to the word of God (what a concept!).  The U.S. apostates hate that the international church is growing, so they tried unsuccessfully to minimize their voting power.

Some lowlights:

A jury suspended the Rev. Amy DeLong from ministerial duties for 20 days, beginning July 1, noting the time is to be used for “spiritual discernment.”

Uh, yeah, that’ll work.  What makes them think that after her “seminary,” her 16 years in a lesbian relationship and all her years of false teaching will be fixed by 20 days in time-out?

“We’ve said all along that we have already been successful,” DeLong said. “We had a 100 percent chance of winning because our goal was to be faithful and to tell the truth. We have done that and we’ve broken the silence. We’ve opened the door a little bit so (gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender) people can hear a good message from the church.”

You can tell how sad she is for “losing” at trial.  What a sham.

These folks could hear a good message from the church, except that DeLong and company refuse to share it.  Here’s the message: If you repent and believe, you’ll be saved.  But you need to meet God on his terms.  When you mock him, make up your own god and twist/ignore his word it does not qualify.

If you really love LGBTQX people you’ll share the truth with them and point them to ministries like this.

Church counsel proposed that DeLong should be suspended until she signs a pledge that she will not perform same-sex weddings in the future, as long as it remains church law.

. . .

Despite the ruling, DeLong said she would not treat an invitation to preside over a same sex marriage any differently than she would a traditional marriage.

“There’s no way I would categorically discriminate against them based on their sexual orientation,” she said.

Gee, can you see how repentant she is?

What utter cowards and fakes.  She refused to sign an agreement saying she would follow the rules (which would have been redundant with the vows she already broke), and they let her off!

If John Wesley were alive he would never stop throwing up.

If you are a Methodist and are happy with this ruling, please leave the church.  Christianity may not be your forte’.  If you are unhappy with it, please fight it or leave.  But don’t just sit on the sidelines while these people mock God and his word.

Christian worldview, Favorites

Saved and confused

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contradiction.jpgCue the Led Zeppelin soundtrack . . .

The mark of a Christian is faith in Jesus Christ.  See the criminal on the cross for exhibit A.  He never tithed, read the Bible, took communion, spoke in tongues, got baptized, did good works, wore the right clothes, sang the right songs, etc. but he was saved by faith in Christ. 

Of course, for those of us who aren’t put to death shortly after making an authentic confession then one would expect to see the sanctification process at work, resulting in transformed though still imperfect lives.

All Christians are saved and at least a little confused in the sense of not having 100.000% perfect theology. But the focus should be on the essentials, such as the divinity, humanity and exclusivity of Jesus (e.g., He is the only way to salvation), the authority of the Bible, etc.

Romans 14 and other passages address how we are to handle disputed matters. From this we can immediately infer two things (more here):

1. God knew we’d have disputed matters.
2. He gave guidance on how to handle them.

Real salvation will lead to transformed lives.  But ultimately only God knows the true state of someone’s faith in Christ. It is possible to fake it to the world.

We all have more to learn, so even if we are saved we should seek to become less confused through Bible study.  We should be like the Bereans and test things in light of scripture, and we should heed Paul’s command to the Thessalonians:

Acts 17:11 Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

1 Thessalonians 5:21 Test everything. Hold on to the good.

But what of those who teach against the essentials?  Are they saved and confused, or fakes?  Do some fruit inspection.  If people consistently line up against the Bible and don’t seem interested in being corrected, I’d move on.

2 Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 

2 Corinthians 11:13-15 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve. 

Also see In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity and the importance of sound doctrine.

False teachers

Liberal theology: Ignorance, wimpiness or deceptiveness?

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Chuck Currie, the UCC poster boy for false teaching, was at it again when attacking the Jews for Jesus organization.

Are non-Christians doomed to the fires of hell for their lack of faith in Jesus? No.

That seems rather dogmatic for someone who says the remaining things that Chuck does.  Chuck’s human understanding – which he makes up himself – is that no one goes to Hell (or that it doesn’t exist – I’m not sure of his exact error).  But the word of God teaches that there is a Hell. 

And it is important to get the claim right: Non-Christians are doomed to Hell as the appropriate punishment for their sins against a perfect and Holy God.  Christians are pardoned from their punishment based on their trust in Jesus, whereby our sins were transferred to his account and his perfect righteousness was imputed to ours.

The New Testament is very clear that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah and to reject him is to reject God.  Telling Jews otherwise is profoundly unkind and un-Christian.

I can say that Jesus is the truth and the light and feel confident that I’m hearing God’s word.

But why?  He and other liberal theologians dismiss the Bible left and right, so why is it true for him?  Why would the exclusive claims of Christianity be true for one and not another?

However, God is obviously bigger than human understanding and I feel confident that God speaks through many religious traditions. Christians have as much to learn from other faiths as we have to share.

This is just plain ignorance,  wimpiness or lies.  Religious pluralism is intellectually bankrupt.  What shall we learn from Hindus — that reincarnation is correct instead of that we die once and face judgment?  What shall we learn from Islam — that Jesus was just a prophet and did not die on the cross?  That would change a “few” key Christian doctrines.   What shall we learn from Buddhism — that there is no God?  And so on.

These pluralists reject the essentials of Christianity and disagree with Jesus on all sorts of important issues.  They try to affirm Jesus to please Christians and simultaneously deny him to please the world. 

Colossians 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

1 John 2:15-16 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world-the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does-comes not from the Father but from the world.

If people are too gutless or uninformed to defend the faith, then Christianity may not be their forte (as my friend Ms. Green might say).  Jesus was not a pluralist.  Even the Sermon on the Mount – which Chuck and other liberal theologians claim to agree with – shows Jesus making it very clear that there are spiritual truths and lies, right and wrong ways to give/pray/fast/etc., and an eternal Hell.

Christian worldview

Shouldn’t Christians agree with Jesus?

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cross1.jpgSomeone calling himself a Christian is saying that he follows Jesus.  Here is a list of things that He clearly taught.  Some are more foundational than others, but one thing I’ve noticed that the theologically liberal Christians disagree with most if not all of them. 

I realize that liberal theologians may claim that I have misinterpreted what Jesus said, and I’ll be glad to debate the supporting verses on any of these topics.  But the irony is that first the liberal theologians would need to agree that Jesus actually said what is in the Bible, and that is foundational to their problem!  They are the original Dalmatian Theologians, picking and choosing what they want to believe.  We Christians call that making God in your own image.  They think we get to vote on what Jesus really said.  Not surprisingly, their “votes” result in a Jesus with views just like those of the world.

You’ll also note that these views aren’t just a little different than orthodox Christianity, they are the opposite.

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Jesus taught that his primary purpose was to save lost sinners.  I agree.  Liberal theologians generally think He came primarily to show us how to be nice and create Heaven on earth.

Jesus thought we should take the Gospel to the Jews.  I agree.  Liberal theologians generally disagree, and many false teachers are aghast that we would even consider reaching out to them with the Good News.

Jesus said to make judgments, but not to judge hypocritically.  I agree.  Liberal theologians generally disagree, and say we shouldn’t judge at all.

Jesus taught that there is a real place called Hell and that it will be an awful place to be.  I agree. Liberal theologians generally disagree.

Jesus taught that He was God.  I agree.  Liberal theologians generally disagree.

Jesus believed that Satan was a real being and a force for evil.  I agree. Liberal theologians generally disagree.

Jesus taught that He was the only way to salvation.  The New Testament teaches this about 100 times.  I agree. Liberal theologians generally disagree.

Jesus said marriage was for one man and one woman.  I agree. Liberal theologians generally disagree.

Jesus agreed with the Old Testament, which showed how God punished the Israelites severely and often for following other gods.  I agree.  Liberal theologians think that other religions and their gods are valid. 

Jesus taught that everyone is a sinner in need of him as a Savior.  I agree. Liberal theologians generally disagree.

Jesus, who is God, set up a system of capital punishment and how to apply it.  It was never overturned.  I agree.  Liberal theologians generally disagree.

Jesus taught that we should give our money to help the poor.  He did not teach that we should ask the government to force others to “give” to our pet causes.  I agree. Liberal theologians generally disagree.

Jesus taught that the Old Testament was accurate down to the last letter and mark.  I agree. Liberal theologians generally disagree.

Jesus taught that other belief systems were false and was not ashamed to expose them.  I agree. Liberal theologians generally disagree.

Jesus taught that we should serve others.  I agree. Liberal theologians generally agree.   Hey, we agree on something!

Jesus thought the appropriate name for him to reference the first person of the Trinity was Father.  I agree.  Liberal theologians sometimes disagree.

Jesus taught that we should take the Gospel to all nations and to make disciples.  I agree.  Liberal theologians generally disagree.

Jesus taught that we shouldn’t murder and expanded on that, noting that hating was like murder, that your neighbor is the least likely person you’d expect it to be, etc.  I agree. Liberal theologians generally disagree and are pro-legalized abortion – which scientifically speaking is clearly murder.

Jesus taught that false teachings are dangerous and could send people to Hell.  He railed against them.  I agree. Liberal theologians generally disagree.

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I’ll update this over time, but leave you with this question: If someone disagrees with Jesus so frequently and so thoroughly and has no desire to change his views to align with those of Jesus, how can he claim to be his follower?  Has he truly repented – i.e., changed his mind – and believed?