Do Gospel Writers Intentionally Include Contradictions? Yes!

https://seanmcdowell.org/blog/do-gospel-writers-intentionally-include-contradictions

Why You Can’t Get to Heaven through the Mormon Faith

by Eric Davis

The Church of Latter-Day Saints is no longer an obscure religion confined to a small following across the west and mid-western United States. As of 2018, the LDS faith claims over 16 million followers across 176 nations and territories, with some 67,000 missionaries. At the close of 2018, there exists 161 temples, with 11 currently under construction, and 29 new ones recently announced. Temples pepper the landscapes of North and South America. And there are more across the globe from places like Finland, France, and Fiji, to Tonga and Taiwan, and Japan, Sweden, Australia, and across Africa.

Despite the rate at which it has grown, Mormonism contains fatal doctrinal problems. Though it has attracted many, it cannot be said that adherence to it will lead one to heaven. This is no minor issue. Eternity is at stake. If we love people; truly love the soul and well-being of a person, we will be concerned about their life through eternity. If there is a truck barrelling down the road at you and I don’t get you out of the way, I fail to love you. Here are a few reasons why Mormon doctrine cannot save:

1. Mormonism cannot lead you to heaven because it departs from the sufficiency of the Bible.

The LDS faith teaches that the Book of Mormon is sacred Scripture, being “another testament of Jesus Christ.” It possesses equal, if not greater, authority as the Bible, and is, therefore, the word of God. Mormonism holds that Joseph Smith discovered the Book of Mormon as a teenager in its original form in Manchester, New York on a hill called Cumorah. The book was recorded on gold plates long ago in an ancient Egyptian-type language. In 1823, Joseph Smith claimed to have been directed by the angel, Moroni, to discover and translate the contents, which became the Book of Mormon.

Mormonism teaches that Smith was a prophet like Moses and Isaiah, chosen by God to restore the true Church of Jesus Christ using the text from the plates.

The content of the Book of Mormon rejects the idea that the Bible alone is the sufficient word of God: “Thou fool, that shall say: A Bible, we have got a Bible, and we need no more Bible” (2 Nephi 29:6).

Along with the Book of Mormon and the Bible, Mormonism affirms the canonicity of two other works, The Doctrine and Covenants, and Joseph Smith’s work, The Pearl of Great Price. New revelation is also permitted, which, similar to papal authority in Roman Catholicism, can arise from the Prophet, or President of the Church.

This violates the clear teaching of the sufficiency of Scripture: “Every word of God is tested; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. Do not add to His words or He will reprove you, and you will be proved a liar” (Prov 30:5-6; cf. Deut. 4:2, 2 Pet. 1:3, Rev. 22:18-19). Since it imposes an entire book onto the word of God, the LDS faith is on extraordinarily shaky ground.

There is more: https://thecripplegate.com/why-you-cant-get-to-heaven-through-the-mormon-faith/

10 Signs the Christian Authors You’re Following are (Subtly) Teaching Unbiblical Ideas

by Natasha Crain 63 Comments

My friend, Alisa Childers, recently wrote a review of the bestselling book, Girl, Wash Your Face, by Rachel Hollis. It started a firestorm of online discussion about what makes someone a “Christian” author, what responsibility a self-identified Christian author has in promoting ideas consistent with biblical faith, and what harm there can be for Christians reading books that contain nonbiblical ideas.

I personally haven’t read the book, so I’m not going to comment on it specifically. But I will say I was extremely disappointed and saddened to see the kinds of comments supporters of the book wrote:

“It wasn’t meant to be a devotional.”

“She’s not teaching theology.”

“Our job is not to seek people out and hate them.”

“Stop competing! Just imagine what the non-Christians think about the McJudgies! We need to focus inward because the project within ourself is the most important work we will accomplish. Don’t use your blog to bring someone down.”

Unfortunately, such comments are representative of the lack of discernment common in the church today. If Alisa fairly characterized the claims of Hollis’s book, Hollis is promoting ideas that conflict with a biblical worldview. And when there is a concern that millions of women are consuming content from a Christian author that can lead them to embrace unbiblical ideas, we should be raising a warning flag and calling out for discernment in the body of Christ.

It’s not about being a “McJudgey.”

It’s about discerning biblical truth from non-truth…something the Bible consistently tells us to do.

While this post isn’t directly related to parenting (which I normally write about), it’s something that affects parenting. When parents readily incorporate popular but unbiblical ideas into their worldview, those ideas will affect how they raise their kids and the nature of the worldview they pass on.

The following are 10 signs that the Christian authors you’re following may be subtly teaching unbiblical ideas. I say “subtly” because I think most people would spot a problem immediately if a Christian said they didn’t believe in the Trinity. But it’s just as important to identify when less obvious warning signs—like the following—are present.

 

1. They say, “I love Jesus but…”

Continue reading: http://christianmomthoughts.com/10-signs-the-christian-authors-youre-following-are-subtly-teaching-unbiblical-ideas/

When doctrine trumps Scripture

This is the first in a series of columns addressing Jehovah’s Witnesses and their understanding of Jesus.

Jehovah’s Witnesses have a high regard for Scripture. They believe the Bible is the Word of God. They base their beliefs and practices on it. And they prove themselves adept at using select Bible passages to weave convincing arguments for their unique doctrines – particularly doctrines that place the Watch Tower outside the margins of historic Christianity. These include a denial of the Trinity, the belief in Jesus as a created being, and the depiction of the “holy spirit” as an impersonal force.

Read more: https://oncedelivered.net/2019/01/08/when-doctrine-trumps-scripture/

Clothed in Righteousness

A Broadcast with R.C. Sproul In this message from Ligonier’s 2011 National Conference, R.C. Sproul takes us back to Genesis 3 and the first gospel promise in Scripture.

LISTEN NOW

Five Ways to Build Your Quiet Time with the Lord

All relationships require time and effort if they are to grow and thrive. We know this intuitively when it comes to family and friends, but what about your relationship with God?

Just like any other relationship, when we spend time with the Lord we experience deeper connection, understanding, and love. And one of the most amazing things about the Christian faith is, God wants a personal relationship with you! He is available to each of us, 24/7, ready to connect. He cares about how you’re feeling, and He values every minute that you’re willing to dedicate to Him.

Have you ever really considered how amazing that really is? The God of the Universe, the King of Kings, the Creator who is the source of every good and perfect thing…wants to connect personally with you.

When you dedicate a part of your day to the Lord, you can expect to see big things happen. A deeper kind of faith, a more personal sort of relationship, and a more centered way of life—to name a few! When you choose to take the time to pour into your relationship with God, you’ll be blessed in ways you can’t imagine.

So what is a “Quiet Time” and how do you go about doing it?

First of all, there is no “right” or “wrong” way to spend time with God. How you connect with Him is a personal choice and your relationship with the Lord will look different from everyone else’s—just like your relationships with people in your life vary from person to person and from season to season.

With this in mind, finding the best way to spend quiet time with God will be something that you’ll develop as you go…but here are some suggestions to get you started!

1. Be consistent.

A daily quiet time—even if it’s short—is an important way to stay centered, and you’ll never regret taking the time to focus on God. Setting up a routine is a good idea so that it becomes a natural part of your day that you can anticipate and look forward to. New habits take a while to establish, but once they are set they tend to last. Make a commitment to start a quiet-time habit and standby if for at least 21 days, and see what happens!

2. Consider a morning quiet time.

Although it won’t work for everyone, starting your day off with quiet time can be very helpful. Morning quiet time allows you to focus on God before all of the day’s activities start to close in, and beginning each day in prayer and scripture really helps to keep you on track. Having a quiet time in the morning lets you pray through your day before it starts, and helps set the pace and tone for the rest of the day.

3. Be in the Word.

God has given us an amazing gift in the form of the Bible! This book is full of God’s heart—stories, poems, history, and advice that is just as relevant today as it was two thousand years ago, all ready for you to read and consider. It’s one of the most important ways we can build a relationship with God, and you’ll find that He speaks right to you from the pages of your Bible.

Grab a highlighter, a notebook, and your favorite pen and dig in—make notes as you go and ask God to make things clear to you as you read. Stopping to pray and talk to God as you go helps you understand and appreciate what you are reading, and you can highlight or write down verses that you might want to memorize or share with someone.

4. Pray, pray, pray.

We get to know each other through conversation, and talking to God is a vital part of faith. Tell Him your thoughts, your worries, your heartache. Thank Him for the good things in your life. Praise Him for the beauty in the world. Ask Him the questions that are on your mind. God is interested in the details and the small trials and triumphs that you face daily, as well as in the big things!

Sometimes, we can feel like we’re wasting God’s time when we pray about small things. But God’s time is limitless! There’s no possible way you can take up too much of His time because He owns time. You won’t bore him, He won’t get distracted, and He won’t stop listening.

As you pray, don’t forget to listen! You might not feel the earth shake and hear a voice from above, but God has ways of speaking to you. Quiet your heart, open your ears and eyes and give Him a chance to respond. You might be surprised by the creative ways His voice can reach you!

5. Meet God in a way that makes sense to you.

Starting the morning with a cup of coffee and your Bible might be a great way to spend your quiet time—after all, many people meet to talk over coffee and many relationships are deepened that way! Or, you might want to take a walk and pray. Maybe most days you spend your quiet time at home, but once a week you sit outside and enjoy some fresh air instead.

Just like any other relationship, quiet time is strengthened by shared routine but also benefits from shaking things up every now and then. If you feel like things are getting a little too predictable, don’t be afraid to try something new.

Are you ready to grow closer to God through quiet time? Make a commitment today to get started, and get ready to see how God meets you!

Blessings, The Christ Revealed Team

Comment:

Because We Are What We Are

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” ^{Matthew 5:4}

Have you ever felt in the pits when a well-meaning friend told you that you shouldn’t feel that way? It makes you feel worse. Right? Whether we should or shouldn’t feel what we feel is beside the point. We feel what we feel because we are who and what we are.

Feelings are neither right nor wrong. They just are. It’s what we do with them that counts. And, contrary to what many of us were taught, feelings are important. They are a God-given vital part of our humanity.

In one sense feelings are an “emotional thermometer.” They tell us what’s going on inside of us—what our emotional temperature is and, when interpreted correctly, can indicate when we are emotionally well or if there is some issue in our life we need to resolve.

When feelings are repressed, one’s “thermometer” is out of order. It’s a very unhealthy way to live. You don’t even know when you are sick (emotionally and/or spiritually). Furthermore, people whose feelings are repressed may be clever but can, at the same time, be very cold, calculating, insensitive, callous, and—in the extreme—even murderous.

Feelings can be trusted. What we can’t always trust is our interpretation of them. That’s the difficult part, but with help it can be learned and learn it we must if we are to be emotionally, spiritually and physically healthy.

Learn to listen to your emotions. Take time to write a daily journal. Record what you are feeling without any kind of self-judgment. David did a lot of this in the Psalms. Get into a support, recovery or therapy group where it is safe to express your feelings and get them out into the open where they can be accepted and examined. If emotions are deeply buried, chances are you will need a capable therapist to help you work through and resolve the barriers in your life that are blocking your feelings.

Be aware, too, that the negative emotions we fail to talk out creatively we will inevitably act out in one way or another destructively. Also remember that Jesus never told us how to feel or how not to feel—only how to act.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, help me to get in touch with all of my emotions—both positive and negative—and learn how to express them creatively in a healthy manner so that I will become an honest and real person as David was. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

Comment at: http://www.actsweb.org/daily.php?id=992

Why God Can’t Take Away Suffering

~ Michael Rans

In his book, God Can’t: How to Believe in God and Love after Tragedy, Abuse, and Other Evils, Thomas Jay Oord delves into the heart of one of the most difficult questions Christians face, an issue that theologians have wrestled with for centuries: Why does an all powerful and loving God allow tragedy, abuse, and suffering? With insight and compassion, he uses real life examples and testimony combined with groundbreaking ideas to challenge conventional wisdom on this difficult subject.

Written in straightforward language, this book will be of great comfort not only to victims of assault and survivors of disasters, but to anyone dissatisfied with unconvincing explanations of God’s complicity or control of terrible events.

Whether or not you agree with everything the author proposes, God Can’t has much to recommend and will provide plenty of food for thought. Oord starts the book with a real-life tragedy cutting straight to the pat answers normally given for such events, like “There’s a higher purpose,” or “We can’t understand God’s ways.”

He reels off a list of genuine evils and explains the audience for his book: anyone who wonders where God was or what he was doing when they needed him. Describing the heartbreaking stories of four people, he outlines the typical questions that we ask such as “Is God punishing me?” “Does he care?” or “Why doesn’t he prevent pointless pain?”

Continue at: https://www.redletterchristians.org/why-god-cant-take-away-suffering/

You don’t need to go to church to be a Christian and other fairy tales

By JASON SWAN CLARK (Jason and I have known one another since the emerging church days, and we contributed to a book with Kevin Corcoran some years back). He gave me permission to repost this — part of a project he’s working on.

(Hear this article in full as an audio recording)

And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. – Hebrews 10:25 NLT

“We don’t go to church, we are the church” is at times a well-intentioned claim by some, and at others, a fig leaf for those who have given up on the church to hide behind. Either way, it is ultimately a damaging and self-harming assertion.

Human beings have been hiding away, withdrawing from God and one another since the garden of Eden. And, like Adam and Eve, we Christians are very good at making excuses for withdrawing, believing the lies we tell ourselves that underpin such backing away. The internal stories are often these: ‘I need a break, I need to focus on my kids/family, I want time to myself, I have to get this marathon/triathlon/course done’, etc. We then succumb to, and placate, any doubts we might have about our stories with more fabrications. ‘I can get back to church later’, ‘it won’t affect me’, and, even worse, ‘this is what’s best for me’. Such stories are, at best, fantasies, fairy tales and myths. At worst, they are mendacities that destroy God’s work in us and the world. Satan is indeed the father of lies, prowling around looking to devour us. His greatest ploy and tactic has not been a full-frontal assault on belief; instead it has been the insidious entropy of attendance. A lion secures its prey by first isolating it, so it is then free to devour it.

Continue reading: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/jesuscreed/2019/01/22/81613/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Best+of+Patheos&utm_content=57

How Apologetics Can Address the Six Reasons Why Young People Leave the Church

https://www.str.org/blog/how-apologetics-can-address-six-reasons-why-young-people-leave-church#.XEiTjC3Mx5O