Inclusion of a resource/presentation does not indicate endorsement of the contents. Provided for educational purposes regarding developments in the fields of religious studies, the humanities and social sciences from a Christian perspective. Issachar Apologetics Collegium is conservative Trinitarian not affiliated with any organized denomination at this time.
Wednesday, January 21
Tuesday, January 20
If Wrong To Persecute Christians, What About Oppressing Deficient Theologies?
The doctrine of the lesser magistrate is often invoked as a legitimate way to resist tyranny.
According to this concept, when the higher level civil authority imposes a policy, ruling, or law that undermines freedom and liberty, it is the duty of the lower level magistrate to oppose such a constitutional infringement.
On the surface, such a theory sounds like a practical check and balance against unbridled state power.
But who will protect the citizens when local authorities rise to the level of a tyrant?
One theologian in particular promoting this viewpoint through his opus “The Doctrine Of The Lesser Magistrate: A Proper Resistance To Tyranny & A Repudiation Of Unlimited Obedience To Civil Government” is Pastor Matthew Trewhella of the Mercy Seat Christian Church in Wisconsin.
In my column titled “Pastor Suggests The Suppression Of Witches”, I referenced a sermon by Rev. Trewhella where he analyzed the Salem With Trials.
The pastor's criticisms were not so much that the Salem Witch Trials went too far but rather that these judicial proceedings probably did not go far enough.
From Trewhella's homily, the listener takes away the impression that practitioners of deviant forms of spirituality and belief such as witchcraft are to be denied permission to meet and congregate under he First Amendment in an America sufficiently Christianized to his liking.
So just how far do these proposed deprivations of liberty extend?
What about Jews?
How about Catholics?
Will any penalties be imposed upon fellow Protestants that adhere to differing interpretations of soteriology or eschatology?
Now that a number of Christian radio programs such as Standing For The Truth hosted by Mike Lemay have more than sufficiently applauded Pastor Matthew Trewhella on the point of his sociopolitical theology that is correct, how about an examination of those aspects where he might be in profoundly dangerous error?
After all, these ministries certainly don't mind tossing aside any of the good accomplished by the likes of Joel Osteen or even a few of the Emergent Church pastors because of where these religious figures have deviated from sound doctrine.
By Frederick Meekins
Friday, January 16
Faith On The Final Frontier
“The final frontier” --- since the mid 1960’s these words have characterized Star Trek’s perception of the adventure and the discoveries to be found in the distant reaches of outer space. Yet can this vast interstellar ether really be said to be the final frontier in terms of providing an ultimate foundation or purpose? For despite all its wonder, at its core the cosmos is not that much different than ourselves in that its external composition is simply another manifestation or component of the physical universe.
Thus, no matter how far man might one day voyage beyond the confines of the earth, he will still require belief and value systems through which to process and understand the role of the mysteries he is likely to encounter both within the human mind and those external to himself with which he has had little prior experience. Often the fields of science fiction and future studies are used as tools by which to forecast scientific and technological developments. However, in Religion 2101 A.D., Hiley H. Ward shows these speculative methods can be used to gauge the form religion might take in the distant future.
According to Ward, the astounding breakthroughs of the future will force humanity to rethink the most basic of concepts as these will be stretched beyond traditional understandings in light of extraordinary circumstances and conditions. For example, Ward points out that the very concept of what it means to be human might be altered beyond current recognition. With the advent of artificial organs and the possibility of growing replacements in a laboratory, there could come a day when death might be delayed indefinitely.
Many would no doubt embrace existence as a cyborg (an organism half biological and half mechanical in its physiology) if the interchangeability of parts presented the likelihood of staving off the grim reaper as long as possible. Eventually, man might no longer have to endure the inherent limitations of an organic body as range, perception and locomotion could be enhanced by directly interfacing the brain with a computer controlling an array of exploratory robotic sensors (28). In essence, some could live out their lives as a stationary central processing unit while their secondary android bodies simultaneously explored both the depths of the ocean and the peaks of Mars all at the same time.
Ward predicts that these kinds of innovations will spark profound renovations in man’s religious consciousness. Faced with the overwhelming enormity of the universe, man may feel forced to cope with the daunting fruits of this exploration by downplaying his individuality by fully embracing his place as an insignificant cog in a machine. In biological and sociological sciences, this theory is known as “macro life”, the propensity to view the individual in society as analogous to a single cell in an organism (30).
Such a framework places worth and value instead on the overall group as a whole. Ward foresees this prospect taking more concrete expression in the form of a hypothetical spaceship whose command decisions are arrived at by electronically tapping into the thoughts of the crew and melding these divergent consciousnesses into a single imperative authority greater than the sum of the component perspectives. Even though Religion In 2101 AD was published in 1975, this suggestion foreshadowed its fullest development in science fiction in the form of the collective consciousness of the Borg, the cybernetic aliens from Star Trek that perceive themselves as a single entity and who value the individual members of their society as little more than drones. This concept of all taken as a singular mind bears a striking similarity to pantheism in the realm of religious studies.
The diminution of individuality will not necessarily be heralded as a bad thing by those clamoring for its demise if it can be marketed as an elevation in consciousness as an ontological unification with the universal totality. There are few greater ego boosters, after all, than considering oneself God (or at least as some tiny part of the divine intelligence).
Regarding this perception, Ward provides insightful comments from some of science fiction’s most prominent names. Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry says, “Man will come to see himself properly as part of God. God is the sum of everything, all intelligence, all order in the universe...It is not inconceivable that as intelligent beings we are part of and ultimately become God, and ultimately create ourselves (Ward 136).” Harlan Ellison, author of I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream, adds to this perspective: “I guess I worship man. Each has the seed of God in himself (Ward, 136).”
While the religious philosophy of the future will strive to approach the majesty and wonder of outer realities by turning inward, many adherents of the coming cosmic confession will still feel the traditional need of experiencing the divine through a relationship with or by receiving guidance from what they perceive to be an intelligence or symbol objectively transcendent from themselves. Seldom can man pull himself up by his own metaphysical bootstraps.
But whereas the so-called God of old is seen as standing distinct from His creation but actively sustaining it by His loving hand and revealing His message through angels and prophets and later revealing Himself in the form of His Son Jesus Christ, the God of Tomorrowland will employ different couriers and manifest Himself in ways actually less personable. Erich Von Daniken in Chariots Of The Gods hypothesizes that UFO’s and extraterrestrials may serve as an explanation for the supernatural phenomena occurring in ancient times when these harbingers of universal wisdom appeared bearing enlightenment. Von Daniken does not believe in the traditional conception of a transcendent God. Rather he believes in a God composed of the sum of all knowledge in the universe, of which each individual is an autonomous piece of information akin to a bit within a computer to be reunified into the singular totality once the evolution to a state of pure energy has taken place (Ward, 129).
And speaking of computers, eschatologists might take note of the role of these devices in future religious thought as considered in dramatic speculative literature. One cannot dismiss such claims on the part of the likes of Hal Lindsay or Jack Van Impe as outright exaggeration. In David Gerrold’s When Harlie Was One, the Graphic Omniscient Device (G.O.D.) is a supercomputer capable of solving all problems and answering all questions. In the novel The Fall Of Colossus, Colossus is a computer designed to administer functions on earth and is ultimately deified as part of a new religion. Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling observed, “...with increased dependence of technology, we will find ourselves worshipping at the altar of machines (Ward, 133).”
Ward does an impressive job culling through the religious insights found across an impressive array of objective analytical forecasts and fictional literary accounts. Yet it is in the final chapter where Ward synthesizes the observations found in the preceding study into his own narrative vignette that the reader gets the best feel for where these cultural trends might take humanity in the year 2101 AD. It is at this point the reader becomes most engrossed in the issues under consideration.
In the year 2101, humanity’s major religion is the Church of the Celebration of the Holy World Cosmos whose members are called “Celebrators”. Celebrators strive to embrace all the latest fads in religious thought and philosophy such as panantheism, extraterrestrial wisdom, theories of multiple Christs and avatars, and claim to value harmony and expansive tolerance above all else (Ward, 217).
The Celebrators are opposed by religious traditionalists derisively referred to as “Pewsitters” because of their insistence upon utilizing pews and other ancient religious traditions such as monotheism. The reader would initially suspect the Celebrators to be the heroes of the story since they are depicted as the vanguards of progressivism and enlightenment. However, the church to which they belong is as conniving as the most reactionary of ecclesiastical authorities.
Through an agreement worked out with the government, Celebrators are forbidden from traveling, must be free of political ambitions, and have their minds telepathically scanned to prevent disharmonious thoughts. Pewsitters forced to attend Celebrator services face possible disintegration by a laser beam if they disrupt the proceedings. Despite the facade of technology and innovation surrounding the philosophy of religion underlying much of the science fiction addressing these kinds of questions, man cannot seem to escape his most basic requirements and desires --- no matter how much he might try to suppress them --- regarding his need for a personal God. In Isaac Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy, God or the “First Speaker” is depicted as a kindly, elderly gentleman who travels the universe helping where he is needed (Ward, 115).
Ward puts his own spin on this concept in his fictional vignette postulating a God dwelling anonymously among humanity as an inconspicuous New York cabbie. Fortunately, the Bible teaches that not only did a loving God come to dwell with men upon the earth in the form of His Son Jesus Christ but that He also provided for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life while He was here through His sacrificial death upon the cross and His resurrection from the dead. If that is not good enough for either the literati of speculative narrative or the mundane realist alike, that is their choice and they must live with the consequences.
When contemplating literary undertakings addressing the philosophy of religion, science fiction with its accompanying connotations of laser guns, rocketships, and creepy aliens does not initially come to mind. However, as Hiley Ward points out in Religion 2101 AD, this particular genre known for stretching the limits of perception can serve as an excellent conceptual mechanism through which to explore intimidating themes of belief we might otherwise be reluctant to approach.
By Frederick Meekins
Thursday, January 15
Wednesday, January 14
How do I put this without ticking people off or sounding like an apostate. Frankly, sometimes I feel like less of a skeptic after I’ve heard a rank unbeliever rant on about a topic than when I am beaten over the head with all the requirements one is expected to abide by and adhere to if one wants to be considered “sufficiently” Christian.
Homeschoolers Interogatted For Religious Beliefs
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Tuesday, January 13
Apostates Attempt To Hijack The Messiah's Arrival To Whitewash Criminal Mayhem
The TransFORM network is a “progressive community formation network.” Right from the get go, anyone with a lick of sense can tell that his outfit isn't playing with a full theological deck. Any doubting it only need to consider what the organization was proposing for the Christmas and Advent seasons.
The email making the suggestion begins, “Advent is a time when sentimentality and spiritualization reigns. But in more ancient forms of Christianity, Advent was more a season of penitence, not unlike Lent. Today, that call for repentance includes a call for justice.”
Interesting enough. Given the ongoing moral decline these days, at times culture could use a dose of a little more guilt and shame. However, individual repentance as understood by the classical Christian or Evangelical is not exactly what the subversives at TransFORM have in mind.
A beloved Yuletide ballad intones “I'm dreaming of a white Christmas.” The types at TransFORM are such outright leftists that, upon hearing such lyrics, they'd probably rend their garments and flagellate themselves while putting on sackcloth and ashes. For you see, despite likely ranking among the palest of the pale as a result of anemia linked no doubt to their vegan diets, they probably don't like being White very much.
The second paragraph of TransFORM's cheery Christmas greeting reads, “This Advent will unfold against the ongoing protests in Ferguson, the results of the ...grand jury report, the ongoing oppression and ending of life by the triple evils of poverty, militarism, and the ceaseless lynching of Christ through black and brown bodies.”
Thus instead of reflecting upon Christ Himself this Christmas season, He is to be replaced by a new messiah. And unlike the original that offered His forgiveness to all who would ask for it irrespective of color, skin pigmentation is about the only thing those speaking on behalf of this racialist godhead care anything about.
Before presenting yourself or someone else as a new Christ, you had best compare yourself to the original and contemplate how what you are offering measures up or falls short.
For example, Jesus was not walking down the middle of the Appian Way when a Roman charioteer simply heralded Him to admonish Him as to the error of His way. Nor did the Messiah reach inside the chariot to pilfer the broadsword and then proceed to bum rush the centurion.
Those attempting to justify the destruction of property as a form of social protest might attempt to respond by comparing such actions to Christ's passionate expulsion of the moneychangers from the Temple. After all, did He not turn over tables and chase the scoundrels with a knotted chord according to John 2:15?
The Temple was the house of God, a representation of where His Spirit dwelt among the people of Israel. As God incarnate in the form of the only Begotten of the Father, the Temple was Christ's to throw out of the structure whomever it was that displeased Him.
In comparison, those committing acts of vandalism and violent sabotage across the nation possess no such legitimate claim to the property which they have so blatantly destroyed. Those were other people's windows smashed and businesses set ablaze.
In the accounts of the Biblical text, Christ condemned those that had turned His house into a house of merchandise. He did not abscond with a bandit's share of loot under the guise of some grandiose pronouncement regarding social justice with some shiny bling and a pair of Air Jordans.
The direct email appeal reads, “...we are inspired by the intersectional justice displayed by Ferguson October and welcome a variety of visions of justice as part of the conversation.”
Worldview thinking postulates that Christian thought as expounded in the pages of the Bible posits a comprehensive understanding that touches upon all facets of existence. If one tugs at one string, all of the others are affected to the point where the entire system could potentially unravel or collapse. This sounds similar to the concept of intersectional justice.
One of the foremost teachings of the Christian faith is that each individual is responsible for his own actions. Outside influences might prod or tempt the person in a particular direction. However, this does not ultimately excuse the actions that an individual might decide to take.
As such, on what Christian grounds does an individual justify destroying the property of someone not even involved in the particular dispute at hand? These beatniks fancying themselves as intellectual revolutionaries will probably drone on about free market economics deploying police power to impose its hegemony and what not upon the backs of the proletariat. But to be considered working class, wouldn't those rampaging in the streets first actually have to work or at least be willing to hoe their own path in life?
Societies are composed ultimately of individuals. It is these that Christ came into the world to shed His blood for, die, and rise from the dead so that each that would call on His name might receive forgiveness for their sins so that they might enjoy eternal life with Him in Heaven.
It is only by addressing the sin in each of our lives --- irrespective of whether we are White, Black, man woman, police officer or civilian --- that there is any hope of ameliorating the problems of a world marred so horribly by the effects of the Fall. Any group that attempts to hijack these festive yet profound celebrations that commemorate this cosmic saga are more than likely in league with the Father of Lies than the Prince of Peace and the Lord of Lords.
By Frederick Meekins
J.K. Rowling Calls For Surrender To Jihadist Islam
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It was remarked in a podcast that “real church” includes fellowship with man as well as God. Criticized especially were those that dart out of their pew once the services is completed. So how long are you required to linger if you don’t really have anything to say and it is quite obvious that no one really has anything to say to you?
Is The Average Brothel Less Of A Moral Cesspool Than The Episcopal Church?
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Does Pope Francis Equate Those Opposing His Environmental & Immigration Agendas With Homicidal Terrorists?
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What Does Pope Francis Have Against White People?
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Monday, January 12
Friday, January 9
Fascinating. An anti-dating Primitive Baptist upheld as ideal the path Esther pursued to marriage. So apparently there is nothing wrong with a Christian girl concealing her background in order to marry a pagan polygamist drunkard who dumped his primary wife because refused to be paraded on display like a go-go dancer. Mind you, these are the same ultrafundamentalist types that would refuse to let enter the pastorate an elderly widower that married an elderly widow that divorced a drunkard of a husband two spouses back that had since already died.
Have Chesterton's Predictions Come To Pass?
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Increasing Number Of Christians Deluded By Astrology
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Would You Rather They Not Go To Any Church At All?
A pastor complained about a family that took nearly a year to find a new church.
Maybe he’d rather they just stop attending altogether.
It will be years before a newcomer will be allowed to do anything other than fill a pew anyway (unless they drop a conspicuously large contribution into the collection plate anyway).
So what’s the big deal?
Even if such people are traveling around to a variety of doctrinally acceptable congregations, aren’t they still learning about God?
Or are these preachers so wrapped up in themselves that the only people they believe that these things can be learned through are themselves?
If so, aren’t they taking the first steps to becoming a cult?
By Frederick Meekins
Thursday, January 8
Catholic Economist Insists Papal Policy Pronouncements Harm The Impoverished
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Are You Obligated As A Christain To Fund Your Pastor's Posh Lifestyle?
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Did The Vatican Fall Short Of Categorizing The Parisian Massacre As An Act Of Islamic Terrorism?
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Some Sins Indeed Result In Greater Judgment
The criticism is often leveled that Biblically orthodox Christians are harsher in their judgment of homosexuality than other related carnal sins.
All sins bring judgment.
However, if Christians are guilty of the criticism of which they have been charged, isn't that tendency in part the result of the way the Biblical narrative presents itself?
For example, because of the sin of rampant homosexuality, Sodom and Gomorrah were obliterated from the face of the Earth as result of direct divine intervention in the form of fire raining down from Heaven.
Neither can one find any Biblical figure held in esteem that went through a struggle in which they succumbed to this particular form of temptation.
The same is not necessarily true with those falling into heterosexual adultery.
Take for example King David.
Granted, his family went to pieces following his romp with Bethsheba.
However, these were more the result of the consequences of his own actions rather than direct retribution.
Furthermore, the Scripture at no point invalidates or repeals the appellation of him being a man after God's own heart and the patriarch of the royal lineage through which God's kingdom will have no end.
By Frederick Meekins
Transhumanist Revival Poised To Deceive The World
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Wednesday, January 7
Thought Police Interrogate Emergent Church Heresiarch For Verbalizing Elocutionary Improprieties
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Emergent Church Heresiarch Insists Compliance With Herd Mentality More Important Than Scripture
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Not Really The Pastor’s Business How Long It Takes You To Settle On A Church
A pastor complained about a family that took nearly a year to find a new church. Maybe he’d rather they just stop attending altogether.
It will be years before a newcomer will be allowed to do anything other than fill a pew anyway (unless they drop a conspicuously large contribution into the collection plate anyway).
So what’s the big deal?
Even if such people are travelling around to a variety of doctrinally acceptable congregations, aren’t they still learning about God?
Or are these preachers so wrapped up in themselves that the only people they believe that these things can be learned through are themselves? If so, aren’t they taking the first steps to becoming a cult?
By Frederick Meekins
Asking "Why" Not Necessarily An Act Of Idolatry
Many conjectures and assertions made in sermons don't really have all that much to do with what is plainly written in the pages of Scripture but rather are about displaying the alleged piety of the pulpit expositor.
It was contended in a sermon that a dour Christian is one that is guilty of idol worship.
Could not the same thing be said about the individual that exudes a pretense of happiness at all times?
From this kind of flippant response to human suffering and emotion, one wonders if such a position stems more from simply not wanting to deal with those grappling with these kinds of struggles.
This observational conjecture is supported by the common exegetical insistence that the Christian can't ask why even when initially confronted with a seemingly overwhelming event or reality as a way to come to grips with what one is enduring.
As evidence, the pastor in the course of this sermon insisted that since Jesus did not lose His joy upon the cross, so neither should we.
But was that not the moment and place from which Christ vocalized, “My God, My God, WHY hast thou forsaken me?”
This preacher, that obviously hasn't been sick a day in his life, remarked that God has extended us the privilege of suffering.
Therefore to desire otherwise as expressed through the articulation of “Why”, the pastor continued, would be a form of idolatry by wanting something that God did not for us.
So by that definition, does that mean it is a sin to shift position when your foot falls asleep or to pass gas when one feels gastronomically bloated?
But if responding to these kinds of symptoms is the body's way of maximizing physical health, perhaps asking questions is more the soul's attempt in a similar fashion to process facts and data that often on the surface until profounder reflection seem to contradict many of the things that we have been told or taught about God often by those claiming to rank among His foremost spokesman.
By Frederick Meekins
Tuesday, January 6
Fanatic Atheist Ted Turner Attempts To Play On The Almighty's Sympathies During The Apocalypse
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Christmas: A Sacred Holiday In A Secular Age
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Monday, January 5
A Review Of Exodus: Gods & Kings
It wasn't that “Exodus” God & Kings” was that bad of a movie.
It is more that it could have been better.
The narrative did succeed in creating dramatic interpersonal tension between Moses and Pharaoh by emphasizing the intertwined family relationships of the two characters.
While the film strives to acknowledge in its own way the broad strokes of the Biblical saga, the producers could have done a better job of honoring and adhering to the specifics of the text.
For example, though Aaron is given a supporting role in the story, he tends to look on as Moses haggles with God.
The audience is left to wonder if deity is actually communicating with the prophet or merely a delusion initially induced by a cranial trauma.
Given that the director was Ridley Scott, for all we know the entity manifesting itself in the form of a young boy claiming to be God could have been related to the creatures from the Alien films and alluded to in Prometheus.
With special affects advanced as they are as evidenced in the scenes depicting the assorted plagues, it was a disappointment that there was not a scene depicting the encounter where Aaron's rod consumed the rods of the Egyptian magicians that turned into serpents.
But I guess it was more important to focus on extra-Biblical details like raids on Hittite encampments and characterizing Moses as some kind of guerrilla in the tradition of Che Guevara or Emilio Aguinaldo.
by Frederick Meekins
Anglican Archbishop Insists That The Afrosupremacist Destruction Of Property Is No Big Deal
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Savage Accuses Pope Francis Of Being A Bolshevist Stooge
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Belgian Bishop Calls For The Sodomite Penetration Of The Roman Catholic Church
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Tuesday, December 23
Pastor Invokes Independence Day To Undermine Human Liberty & Legal Protections
An Independence Day sermon posted at SermonAudio.com is titled “We Have No Rights”.
The pastor hypothesizes this is because Christ is our master.
The presupposition is correct but the conclusion the pastor deduces from that principle is at best only partially correct if at all.
It must be point out that, because Christ is our master, no man or government can ever be in the ultimate meaning of that concept.
Pulpit expositors must be exceedingly cautious when making claims such as the thesis around which the sermon under consideration is based.
For what if there is some kind of calamity and ISIS-like insurgents establish something akin to Sharia law somewhere in the United States?
If this doctrinal pronouncement is taken to its logical conclusion, when these savages threaten to kill you and rape your wife, as a Christian brainwashed by such urine deficient sermonizing would you just stand there and do nothing with the glazed over smile of an Oral Roberts back up singer plastered across your face?
And what about in a case not so extreme and out of the realm of the possibility in the dark days in which we live?
For if we really have no rights and are to endure everything that is as what Christ deems us worthy of enduring, on what grounds do you defend yourself or family members against a pastor with “wandering hands”?
Or by enunciating this very concern, have I stumbled upon the reason why this particular theory of jurisprudence is shockingly pervasive among certain extremist elements?
By Frederick Meekins
Southern Baptist Liberal Gets His Rearend Up On His Shoulders Over Christmas Music
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Regarding the extremeists that post anti-Christmas sermons on SermonAudio.com. Given that the site allows pastors that support the celebration of Christmas to upload content to the site, aren't those opposed to Christmas that remain on the site violating the very Scriptural injunction about separation that they invoke as justification for heaping condemnation upon those that celebrate Christmas? Or have I once again brought up one of those questions no one is supposed to ask?
Cuban Catholics Outraged Over Pope Coddling Castro Dictatorship
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In a sermon titled “The Church: A Called Out Separate Assembly”, Pastor Jason Cooley suggested that people that start screaming and crying when you attempt to take away their Baal bush (presumably he means a Christmas tree) because such people are not acclimated to strong doctrinal preaching. Might the same thing be said regarding this minister as well? For does he not tend to toss a tantrum when a fellow believer might come to a different conclusion regarding such secondary matters?
In a prayer, a pastor insinuated that it is wrong to read the Bible in search of a blessing. That attitude might be wrong if one is doing so to obtain a material blessing. But why bother reading the text if not to get something --- either spiritual or intellectual --- out of such a mental exercise?
Monday, December 22
Has Glenn Beck Embraced Shemitah Hysteria?
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Even The Pope Admits That The Vatican Functions Like The Whore Of Babylon
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PID Radio To Expand National Influence
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Sunday, December 21
How Authoritative Are A Pastor's Sermons Over You?
Ligonier Ministries has posted a meme disturbed that a majority do not believe their pastor's sermons to be authoritative over their lives.
It is God's Word that is authoritative over your life.
The pastor is simply one voice among many to assist in coming to an understanding of that particular text.
The minister's expositions are only authoritative or binding in those areas where the Scriptures speak definitively.
The pastor should be respected and listened to while in the pulpit if you decide to remain in the congregation where he is preaching in terms of refraining from audible disturbances being enunciated upon hearing something over which you have disagreement.
However, in regards to those issues where they can be a variety of opinion among Christians of similar piety and doctrinal propriety, you are the one that has the final say as to what goes on in your own home and life beyond the church meeting house.
By Frederick Meekins
Thursday, December 18
Wednesday, December 17
Mourning Outburst Not Necessarily A Repudiation Of Faith
In a sermon, a congregation was encouraged to have a faith fixed like the astronomical phenomena described in Matthew 2 commonly referred to as the Christmas star.
As a counterexample, the illustration was provided of a pastor that, upon hearing of the unexpected tragic death of family members questioned, why and where was God.
However, apart from an admonition not to let one's faith waiver like that of this grief-stricken minister, those listening in the congregation weren't provided with much homiletical resolution otherwise as the sermon was hastily brought to a conclusion.
Did this pastor in the illustration renounce his belief in God altogether, as that would have been wrong.
Or, was he upset with God for a season yet still retaining his underlying faith and love of God?
After all, who among us has not been profoundly upset with a family member while still continuing to love them deeply?
Is God so wrapped up in Himself that He does not realize this?
On what grounds does a minister require an expectation that the Bible does not seem to impose?
For example, Job did not curse God.
However, at one point he did verbalize his frustrations with the divinely allowed unfolding of events that this suffering servant did not comprehend.
There are Psalms of lamentation that seem to indicate that David experienced a similar frame of mind where, despite being profoundly troubled, he still retained his deep faith.
In the Book of Ecclesiastes, his son Solomon would counsel that there is a time for mourning.
And one of the most profound Biblical references of all is also the shortest.
The passage succinctly conveys “Jesus wept.”
So if God's own Son did not make it through life without the intense emotional disturbance that is often required to bring a man to public tears, is it really proper to demand an emotional response bordering on a cognitive dissonance more concerned with how a response will be perceived rather than with what the traumatized person is actually experiencing?
By Frederick Meekins
Tuesday, December 16
Do Islamist Sympathizers Inside The Vatican Want Terrorists Set Free?
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Jesuit Propagandists Undermine Border Integrity In The Name Of Christmas
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Monday, December 15
The Humanless Christ & The Esotetic Salvation Of The Gnostics
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Did Abusive Church Divert Mission’s Funds To Massage Pastor’s Massive Ego?
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Pope Admits Slavish Adherence To Ritual Pointless
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Thursday, December 11
If Those Leaving Are Excrement, What Does That Make The Pastor Forcing Them Out?
Pastor Perry Noble suggests that, if the church is analogous to a human body, those leaving a congregation must be the excrement.
But wouldn't that make the one squeezing them out (often the pastor) the anus?
That part of the anatomy remains attached as a permanent fixture and remains caked with lingering stench and filth no matter how well intentioned its regular cleaning.
Unless one is on the payroll or holds some kind of position of responsibility in a particular congregation, there is nothing in Scripture saying you have to articulate any specific reason why you might decide to leave and go elsewhere.
Southern Baptists Declare Jihad Against Bloggers
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Pastor Insinuates Those Leaving His Congregation Are Pieces Of Sh-t
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Southern Baptist Leadership Urges Churches To Emulate Mafia Protection Rackets
What those hearing this ought to do is either leave that church altogether or, if they don't itemize their contributions for tax purposes, not give the remainder of their 2014 offering until sometime in 2015 just for the Sheol of it.
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Kirk Cameron No More Self-Obsessed Than Other Hollywood Luminaries
Regarding Kirk Cameron's Christmas movie, a critic wrote, “He's made a movie to say, 'Stop complaining about something I like.'. 'Saving Christmas' is a self-indulgent mess that ignores legitimate concerns in favor of saying, 'Don't spoil my party'...it gives us a swarmy lecturer justifying his proclivities and ignoring complaints.”
In other words, the production follows in the classic Hollywood tradition trail-blazed by the likes of Ellen Degeneres who stretched her talents as a thespian by coming out on her sitcom as a lesbian (which most could already tell she was by simply looking at her) and this seasons acclaimed comedy “Black-ish” that is so obsessed with race that the producers gave it a title that would result in riots (these days quite literally) if nearly the same program aired with an ethnically corresponding ensemble titled “White-ish”.
Wednesday, December 10
Was It Sin Not To Know Jesus Was In The Nativity At That Time If Only A Few Were Told?
In a sermon on the humility of the First Advent, a pastor observed that the only ones in the world that commemorated the birth of Christ other than His earthly parents were outcast shepherds and Persian Zoroastrian astrologers.
However, should a sermon be formulated in such a way to rhetorically insinuate that everyone else had done something profoundly wrong if God concealed this event from all but a few?
Why are certain hardline Evangelicals this insistent about finding sin in nearly everything?
Isn't the point of these accounts that, in announcing the birth of the Messiah to people as disparate as agricultural laborers and imperial advisors, the Gospel message is for everyone?
It might sound exceedingly pious, but you can't accuse a population of being too preoccupied with their own affairs in terms of complying the Roman census to be concerned about a young woman about to give birth to the most important baby in all history, as this pastor explicates in his homily, if the population is not told exactly who this blessed virgin happens to be?
They didn't exactly have Twitter or post Amber Alerts in those days.
by Frederick Meekins
Tuesday, December 9
Popes Dueling Over Sanctity Of Marriage
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Do Jealous Theologians Bask In The Failure Of Christian Artists?
On social media, Lutheran apologist Chris Rosebrough felt the need to point out that Kirk Cameron's “Saving Christmas” is the worst rated movie in the history of Internet Movie Database.
And what is the point?
Is the truth of an artistic or didactic work to be determined by critics out to advance their own philosophical or religious agendas?
Applying Rosebrough's reasoning to other institutional venues, should a church not be judged by its willingness to stand up for the Gospel but rather by the size of the crowd drawn in Sunday morning?
There was no doubt a time when the influential of Europe condescendingly looked down their noses at the pastor and theologian Rev. Rosebrough identifies with in terms of denominational affiliation.
Should the bold Reformer have quietly taken his seat as well, leaving the issues of his day to be addressed and resolved by more celebrated thinkers and prestigious minds?
There seems to be little way of winning those of Chris Rosebrough's perspective.
He is correct in much of his analysis that a spirit of entertainment has penetrated the operational procedures of how many churches function.
But Cameron is not necessarily plying his craft solely in a the formalized ecclesiastical setting in which Lutherans of Rosebrough's variety insist the form and order of service cannot veer from its highly ordered and regulated nature.
Kirk Cameron will likely never be an historical figure on par with Martin Luther ushering humanity into whole new epochs of understanding where the very relationships between the individual, church, and God are reevaluated in light of reconsidered Scriptural evidence.
However, shouldn't these Christian leaders that bemoan the lack of a Christian influence throughout the arts be a bit more supportive when a fellow believer attempts to burst the epistemological shackles that were often put in place by fellow ministers imposing a misdirected brand of piety to begin with?
By Frederick Meekins
Should Organ Harvesters Be Required To Wait Until Victim Is Deceased Before They Scavenge?
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Monday, December 8
Will Hardiners Crucify Rick Warren Over Call For Measured Alliance With Roman Catholics?
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Is Ebola An Antediluvian Bioweapon?
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Santa Not The Only One Throwing His Weight Around At Christmas
The greatest joy some derive from the Christmas season stems from badgering or threatening others on what to do.
At the end of each broadcast, Bill O'Reily concludes with what the correspondent considers common sense advice.
On the 12/1/14 episode, he suggested that viewers not wish their non-Christian friends a “Merry Christmas” but instead a more non-sectarian platitude.
If such people are to remain so prickly despite knowing your particular preferences in terms of religious and holiday matters that they can't humor you, are such people really your friends?
It's not like the greeting is enunciated as some kind of religious identity test the way that ISIS conducts impromptu Koranic quizzes for the purposes of singling victims out for execution.
What's so wrong with wishing non-Christians a “Merry Christmas”?
Do those belonging to another faith think they'd fair better off should Jesus had never come?
Secular scholars always make a fuss how much tolerance and leeway Rome gave to populations subjugated willingly.
But that world power was particularly brutal to those that did not, particularly those insistent that their loyalty to God outweighed any that might be owed to earthly authorities.
A pastor opposed to Christmas insisted that Christians ought not to have anything to do with the day because of the widespread carnality that often takes place at that time despite many of the participants feeling holier overall because of the religious meaning attached to the festival.
But isn't that more the fault of the individual that decides to celebrate the occasion in that manner?
The pastor continued that he also opposed Christmas because the holiday does not deliver the joy and happiness that it promises.
But isn't the same true regarding nearly everything else in life?
Applying these same reasons, wouldn't it also follow that organized religion, and especially services conducted on weekends, should be avoided as well?
For do not many that attend these also think that by doing so that they have kindled special favor with God for having done so and, though few will admit it, they really did not have as good of a time as they claim they did in order to retain good standing with the group?
By Frederick Meekins
Will Pope Francis Bless Gay Marriage?
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Hatemonger Honored At Funeral Of DC Luminary
Louis Farrakhan spoke prominently at the memorial service of Marion Barry.
Just days before, this Afrosupremacist demagogue delivered a tirade insinuating threats of racial violence and terrorism.
This is a testament to the extent to which DC political elites despise White people.
Mind you, these are some of the same people that would in other circumstances insist that Paula Deen should be financially ruined for what was said in the privacy of her own home following a traumatic experience and that the name of the Washington Redskins must be changed to comply with politically correct sensitivities.
Thursday, December 4
Homicidal Policing More The Outgrowth Of Contemporary Liberalism
Liberals create a situation where the selling of unlicensed cigarettes is an offense worthy of fatal police intervention and the statists applaud the continual expansion of government power.
These related perspectives then apparently blame certain varieties of conservatism when it is caught on tape how the totalist state actually plays itself out on the streets and in people's lives.
Obama can't chicken excrement his way out of this one.
Obese cigarette vendors are exactly the ones that have no place in the President's version of utopia.
One shouldn't resist arrest.
However, these bureaucrats are often clearly intoxicated on their own sense of self importance these days.
You are about accused of causing a disturbance at the DMV if you raise your voice for the purposes of being heard over the background roar of this anteroom of Ghenna to get your point across to the witless functionaries attempting not to apply the procedures as they are actually written and who can barely speak audible English.
by Frederick Meekins
Lunatic Pastor Calls For Mass Execution Of Gays By Christmas
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Archbishop Of The Celtic Cross Foundation Of Ministry Heckled Midservice
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Wednesday, December 3
Profounder Debate Flies Under The Radar In Santa Fighter Jet Escort Fiasco
NORAD was criticized last year for its annual Santa-tracking public outreach.
One might think such a concern expressed would be about military resources diverted to what essentially amounts to frivolous entertainment or the result of upon additional reflection realizing that, if the military industrial complex is willing to go along with such a low-grade deception, what other things might the American people be being told less than the truth about.
However, a leftwing front group known as the Campaign For A Commercial Free Childhood denounced the violence and militarism promoted on a NORAD Santa-themed website depicting Old St. Nick's sleigh piloted by eight tiny reindeer being escorted by two fighter jets.
This response is wrong on a number of levels.
First is the name of the racket raising the ruckus.
Why should a Commercial Free Childhood be construed as a positive thing?
In many respects, commercialism and commercializing has been beneficial for all parties involved . Such transactions should not be looked at as necessarily bad.
Through commercialism, the manufacturer is able to produce a product that is needed or (in the case of most Christmas presents) desired in exchange for profit. Parents, in turn, are able to bring a degree of happiness and joy into the lives of their children on Christmas morning.
Granted, there are times that commercial transactions can get out of hand and begin to encroach upon or crowd out other considerations. But does that mean we abolish the free market or capitalist system as a result?
Such a question must be raised especially in light of the alternatives. It is interesting how radical activists aren't quite as eager to denounce the shortcomings of economic systems other than unbridled commerce.
Does an outfit like the Campaign For A Commercial Free Childhood honestly think it could exist in a milieu other than the technologically advanced West?
If the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood prefers a statist command economy where resource allocation is not made by an incomprehensible number of uncoerced choices but rather by a panel of credentialed experts thinking that they know more about the wants and needs of the individuals that make up the masses that such technocrats claim to be acting on behalf of, they need to realize that troublemakers such as themselves questioning the underlying assumptions of the regime in such an outright manner are either not allocated their ration for failing to comply with the objectives of the COMMUNITY or outright eliminated for undermining the authority of the hegemon.
The other alternative to both the advanced commercialist or command economy models would be one based more on simple barter or self sufficiency. To those that have never been forced to live in such a world, that particular way of life might seem idealized or even romantic.
However, such an existence is hardly the picture postcard it is easy to construe it to be from a distance. In such a setting, many of the luxuries and even many of the now easily-obtainable necessities that we enjoy would not be available or so scarce that access to them would be restricted to all but those with a level of wealth and power far beyond that of the ordinary.
Often, the sensitive can be troubled by the emphasis upon the material or physical that seems to characterize societies and civilizations that have advanced to at least an industrial level. It is only within a context where the basic biological needs of a high percentage of the population are met in an expedient or efficient manner that a sufficient number are allowed the luxury to reflect upon whether or not childhood (a period of life which itself wasn't given much consideration before the expansion of the mass society activists in these kinds of groups have made it their mission to denigrate and undermine) has become overly commercialized.
In a simple barter or self-sufficiency economy, the crank employed by the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood, in the best circumstances, wouldn't have the time necessary to contemplate abstractions such as militarism. Nearly all of one's attention and working hours would be devoted to cultivating and crafting on one's own the bare necessities of life if these are even available.
More than likely, those drawn to these kinds of non-profit associations that don't really do anything useful (or little of anything beyond pining for a world that would result in widespread destitution and ruination if it existed anywhere other than in the imaginations of the deluded) wouldn't survive for very long.
If the beatniks at the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood are clueless regarding the operation of a viable economy, they are downright dangerous when it comes to defense policy.
The specific complaint of the organization was that the animated sequence of Santa escorted by fighter jets promotes violence and militarism. Mind you, it wasn't like Santa was blown to smithereens for violating North American airspace.
Even more disturbing and unsettling was the extent to which the military went to placate the peaceniks in regards to this outreach effort.
The NORAD spokesman answering the press inquiry went out of his way to point out that the jet fighters depicted in the video weren't only unarmed but that they were Canadian rather than American. Nothing shouts surrender monkey this side of France louder than an unarmed Canadian.
A nation's future is determined in part by the values it instills in its youth regarding certain essential social institutions such as family, work, and the military. In terrorist nations of the Middle East, a Mickey Mouse knock-off indoctrinates toddlers regarding the need to exterminate Jews and Christians while extolling the glories of dieing a mangled death on behalf of the tribal deity. We, on the other hand, become unhinged now should a child merely see the image of an armed airplane.
By Frederick Meekins
Rob Bell Pimps For Revelation's Harlot
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Will Pope Francis Celebrate Homosexual Penetration Of The Roman Catholic Church?
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Tuesday, December 2
Bishop Schori Says Not A Single Word In Condemnation Of Ferguson Looting
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Monday, December 1
Theistic Evolutionists Undermine Belief In Adam & Eve
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Head & Heart Knowledge Not Easily Divisibile
In a prayer, an admonishing petition exhorted that the hearers would not accumulate Biblical facts but rather be spoken to by the Holy Spirit.
Isn't it just as important to pray that a stark dichotomy not be drawn between these states of cognitive awareness?
Within a set of hermeneutical parameters where the Scriptures are ultimately the only trustworthy venue through which God speaks to mankind, without a collection of Biblical facts and observations deduced from revelation, how else will the believer hear from God?
Saturday, November 29
Combative Ministries Dreaming Of A Disputatious Christmas
An old adage warns that, the more you do for people, the more they you know what all over you.
Actor turned evangelist Kirk Cameron may be becoming personally acquainted with that classic truism.
Merging these divergent vocations, Cameron has produced a documentary examining the Christian origins or at least basis of Christmas.
Surprisingly, some of the harshest criticisms are not coming from the militant secularists or even outright atheists but rather from Cameron's fellow believers.
Cameron is coming under condemnation for including in his film a segment on Santa Claus being inspired by Bishop Nicholas of Myra.
It is from this figure that the legend of St. Nicholas is derived.
But instead of commending Cameron for highlighting little known facts of church history, according to ChristianNews.net, Mike Gerndon of Proclaiming the Gospel Ministries is peeved that Cameron kept his presentation on an ecumenical level and did not go all Jack Chick in exposing the jolly red elf's Roman Catholicism.
The evangelist is quoted as saying in an article posted 11/12/14. “The fact that the Roman Catholic Church made Nicholas a saint should be a red flag to anyone who knows only God can convert sinners to saints by the sovereign work of His Spirit.”
Does it really matter if Nicholas was Roman Catholic or not?
It's not like there were many other churches to pick from in his time if one wanted to express one's religious faith in terms of an orthodox Biblical theology.
However, for Gerndon, even getting his rear this high up on his shoulders is not enough.
His joy this time of year seems to be derived apparently by attempting to ruin every one else's holiday season.
Gerndon continued, “Born again Christians should not be joining Roman Catholics in any spiritual...activity. Paul called on us to remain separate from the unbeliever. When people say 'Merry Christmas'....They are mixing the holy name of Christ with a pagan holiday and a blasphemous representation of Christ on an altar.”
Like many other conceptual formulations, Christmas is imbued with the meaning that we put into it.
By saying “Thursday” or “Saturday”, are fundamental Evangelicals rendering homage to the pagan deities for which those particular days are named?
Scripture urges to call upon the name of the Lord and be saved.
At no time is salvation dependent upon how vehemently one opposes those historic points and personalities where this particular understanding of the faith intersects with another with which it is at times at distinctive variance.
By Frederick Meekins
Wednesday, November 26
Secularist Goons Interrogate Student For Inviting Classmates To Apologetics Seminar
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Tuesday, November 25
Theological Leftists Side With Pillaging Afrosupremacists
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Christianity Today Surrenders To Trayvoniteism
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Monday, November 24
Will Revenue Gestapo Infiltrate American Churches?
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Apostate Cathedral Dean Embraces Terrorist Sympathizers
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