We who preach the gospel must not think of ourselves as public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to big business, the press, the world of sports or modern education. We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum. A.W. Tozer
Therefore let God-inspired Scripture decide between us; and on whichever side be found doctrines in harmony with the word of God, in favor of that side will be cast the vote of truth. --Basil of Caesarea
Once you learn to discern, there's no going back. You will begin to spot the lie everywhere it appears.

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service. 1 Timothy 1:12

Thursday, September 14, 2017

Good, Bad, and Ugly

Although we are in sort of a drought, with virtually no rain for over a month (all the grass is turning brown, etc), it’s giving me time to work on fixing our deck, fixing our picket fence, digging out lilies (they’ve spread too much), etc.  On top of the yard work I’ve had a lot of piping gigs (including band gigs) keeping me busy so I’m not getting much of a chance to write articles.  Nevertheless, I’m still trying to keep up with apologetic news so I can alert my readers to some good articles as well as alert them to more about false teachings — and about the horrid stuff to beware of!

The Good:
Interesting article about how sexual immorality is turning people away from the Church — not because the Church rejects them, but because they KNOW what they are doing is wrong.

A good examination of the Catholic doctrine of Transubstantiation.

Excellent listing of the false teachings of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Some excellent charts to help you decide what translation of the Bible you’d prefer.

Modern gnosticism invading the church.

The Bad:
Michael Brown exposed for his lies, as well as proof that his audience is gullible.

Jory Micah, solidly shown to be a heretic.

The questionable John Maxwell.

I get amused when Calvinists attack another respected staunch Calvinist.  They are correct about Piper’s bad stuff, though.

The Ugly:
Hillsong Leaders suffering from pride or narcissism? Part 1: Christine Caine.

The wolves continue to fleece the sheep.

The Pope is a LEFTIST hack.  He has decided to be against abortion we must also be for allowing illegal immigrants to invade our country.  Then on top of that he has decided that if you deny their is a connection between the recent hurricanes and “global warming” are denying science.  Okay, what about the scientist who claims “climate change” has nothing to do with the hurricanes, let alone the tons of research proving that “climate change” (aka global warming) is nothing but a fraud, and an agenda for more government control?  The Pope pretends to be an authority appointed by God but his LEFTIST ideology is as false as his theology!

The Message” translation is a herephrase.  I like the term.  The Message is a “mess,” as I have previously noted.

But quietly, there are the thousands of faithful Christians who practice polyamory—living lives of giftedness, dignity, and worth, but receiving next-to-no spiritual support.  
Um, how can they call themselves “Christian” when they violate Christ’s teachings about marriage?  This article comes from a supposed Christian site, but their “Christianity” is all of the liberal variety, which is not Christian at all.

Delusion on Parade:  Word of Faith “Weather Warriors”

Hillsong and “theoerosism.”  Makes ya wanna puke!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love the meme!

Also - helpful - the Bible translation link. We've used NASB for years, though been in churches that have used NKJV, ESV, NIV'84, and Holman. Thankfully never heard the MESS quoted. Speaking of, "herephrase", love it!

So something I'd love to see... when famous preachers are quoted from the pulpit, I'd love to hear the pastor preface the quote with statements of any major doctrinal error the famous preacher holds. Example, if a pastor is quoting from someone with wrong eschatology, state, "So-and-so, who unfortunately teaches the error of amillennialism (or preterism, etc), says, ...." Or, if the famous preacher doesn't believe literal young earth creation, state "So-and-so, who unfortunately teaches the error of day-age theory, says..." Likewise, someone who holds to the error of covenant theology and can't distinguish the difference between Israel and the church, that would be helpful to know too!

All doctrine matters. It is not wise to assume that just because someone has a big name, that means all their doctrine is correct. Though we ALL should be Bereans, some do not do their homework in researching. Some cannot discern. So a pastor acknowledging these errors would be a way of protecting the flock and keeping errors out of the congregation.

When we hear a good quote, we are inclined to read more of that person's writings. But without knowing what to look for, a younger or an undiscerning believer may end up imbibing errors. I watched a friend of mine, who initially had very sound doctrine and good hermeneutics, come under the sway of "covenant theology" because of what this friend kept hearing from the pulpit. This friend's initial straightforward understanding of Scripture began to get clouded by allegorical interpretation. That was unfortunate to see.

Appreciate here, that when you reference anyone's quotes, I've often seen you note any concerns you have with any of their doctrine. I also recently attended a conference, where the speakers did just that. They quoted Luther, but acknowledged some of the problems with his beliefs. I appreciated that greatly!!!

-Carolyn

Glenn E. Chatfield said...

Carolyn,

I agree with you about the need to make a caveat when quoting people who have some bad teachings. If the person has virtually all bad teachings, I don't bother quoting them as a Christian reference, although I may cite him as a secular reference on my "Thought Provoker" blog.

I was surprised to see one fairly popular Bible version missing from the charts: God's Word - used to be "God's Word to the Nations." I think it would fall between NIV and NLT, although there are times it reads better than the NIV. My understanding is that it was commissioned by LCMS Lutherans. My only complaint with it is that it has too many gender-neutral words.

Anonymous said...

Glenn,

EXACTLY! Your policy on how to quote Christian references is very good. That's how it should be handled off the pulpit.

I may have heard a reference to the God's Word to the Nations versions at some point, but it's not really familiar to me.

-Carolyn

Sharon Lareau said...

Thank you for sharing the link to the charts, Glenn. A good number of people came over. I remember seeing comparison charts when I was choosing my first Bible years ago. They were a big help. I hope the charts in my article help others make an informed and wise decision.

Glenn E. Chatfield said...

Hi Sharon,

You are quite welcome! I have a few charts similar to those, sitting in my files. I found them to be quite helpful.