Church, love those who are older!

Last week Tom, one of frequent commentator on our blog wrote a reply to my question of how was church that got me thinking about the church loving those who are older.  Here’s portion of that comment:

Our church definitely aims at the younger (20-40) crowd, which creates some problems and tensions for us being 60 years old. The preaching is doctrinally sound and we enjoy/appreciate the sermons but the music portion is a Christian rock concert replete with lightshow, etc. The congregation’s singing cannot be heard above the din. That grates on us at times. There’s also lot’s of technology with many video messages on the big screen but I’ve noticed over the past year that not one “older” member has ever been featured, every speaker is under 40. In their goal to appeal to the young, older people are somewhat, no, make that pretty much ignored. As we get even older it’s going to feel less and less comfortable.

My heart was heavy reading this.  I’m relatively young and am part of the Millennial generation. I am aware that my generation can be quite self-centered (generally speaking, I’m not saying everybody).  And I want to share this to encourage those going to church who are younger than 40 to not forget those who are older.

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November 8th 2016 San Bernardino County Christian Conservative Voter’s Guide

The election is right around the corner!

We have quite a stream of readers of our blog from Southern California and I thought it would be helpful to post this.

This is courtesy of Craig Huey of Election Forum (HT).

Christians must definitely be informed in how they vote where they vote not against their principles but as much as for it.  You might not think there’s much reason to vote concerning presidential candidates but there’s still other candidates for other offices where your vote counts even more.

Here’s the voter’s guide for San Diego County:

Ratings:

We have changed our ratings system from the Thumbs Up to a Five State system.

Every candidate is considered after thorough research; we also have a questionnaire for candidates to complete.

Here is our new rating system:

•  : The best candidate. Our strongest endorsement.
• : Very good.
• : Acceptable.
• Vote only to prevent worse candidate(s) from winning.
• : Terrible. Do Not Vote. All your other votes will count.

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Urgent since rights of Christian are at stake: Say No to SB1146

Note: This is an urgent guest post by one of our readers we are sharing this immediately given that this is threatening tolerance of Christian beliefs of the Bible.

http://www.opposesb1146.com/images/sb1146-square.png

By B Dub

Freedom of religion is a central feature of our liberties as Americans.  It is a right affirmed in the First Amendment.  Once a society starts stripping its citizens of their essential freedoms, including religious liberty, it cannot long survive as a free society.  There is a bill in the California assembly numbered SB1146.  It could potentially be very bad for California Christian Colleges and Universities.

As of the Time of this writing it has passed the California Senate and is making its way through the California Assembly and is being review in committees.  As it is written now, it could cause real problems for religious institutions in California.  Once it makes it to Jerry Brown’s desk, he is likely to sign it.

The advocates of the bill claim it as a non-discrimination policy, but it disallows religious institutions to uphold their beliefs.   In this way it is in fact discriminatory. It says that religious requirements must be approved by the state. It could be a problem for a college enforcing their moral beliefs stemming from the religion.  For example they wouldn’t be able to talk against homosexual marriage or abortion.   This section in particular is biggest issue:

Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit discrimination on the basis of disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, nationality, race or ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic that is contained in the definition of hate crimes set forth in Section 422.55 of the Penal Code, including the perception that the person has any of those characteristics or that the person is associated with a person who has, or is perceived to have, any of those characteristics.

As you can see, by the wording it claims to not be discriminatory.  That couldn’t be further from the truth.   By not allowing religious institutions’ freedom of conscious, it discriminates against their ability to enforce principles in accordance with their beliefs.

The whole text and history of the bill can be found here for reference and context.
http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160SB1146#content_anchor

Here is what several religious institutions in California are saying and how it affects them:

Concordia University Irvine: http://www.cui.edu/aboutcui/sb1146

Biola: http://now.biola.edu/news/article/2016/jun/08/preserve-faith-based-higher-education/

Western Baptist University: http://www.opposesb1146.com/

As well as another blogger talking about it.

 

What can be done?

Those of you in California contact your representatives.  Even if you are not you can still contact them.  Urge them to vote no.

If you don’t know who your representative is, you can find out here.
http://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov/

Tell your friends about this.  Let the word get out about this and why this bill is bad news.

Also, prayer is always encouraged.

Here is a site with more suggestions on what to do.

https://wcbc.edu/oppose-sb-1146

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You Might Reconsider Your Hipster Pastor if…

Three quick thoughts that came to my mind yesterday.

1,) You might reconsider your hipster pastor if he has put more thought to shopping for his skinny jeans than his study on Christ as the solution to our sinful genes.

2.) You might reconsider your hipster pastor if he can tell you more things he has put into his hair than he can tell you what riches we have as Fellow Heirs with Christ.

3.) You might reconsider your hipster pastor if he’s more worried about what bow tie to wear on Sunday than his message tied to Scripture.

 

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Were Early Christians Communists? Our 3 Part Series

I didn’t plan to write this three part series on the question “Were Early Christians Communists?”  It was originally in response to someone online and it just kind of happened as I thought about it more I ended up writing more.

I think it would be good to have one posts that links the series.  Here are the links to the three posts:

Were Early Christians Communists? Part 1: Acts 5

Were Early Christians Communists? Part 2: The Semantic of Communism

Were Early Christians Communists? Part 3: Matthew 19:21 and Luke 14:33 in Context

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June 5th 2012 California Christian Voters Guide

From Election Forum.  The following below is a voter’s guide for Los Angeles County, the rest of the state can be accessed from their website.

Ratings:

Every candidate is considered after thorough research; we also have a questionnaire for candidates to complete.

• : Strongest endorsement for values voters
• : Above average
• : Better than opponent, vote represents “lesser of two evils”
• No Endorsement: We either oppose the candidates or have found no reason to support a candidate. If you don’t vote for a candidate or issue, all your other votes still count.

Note: Historically third party candidates and write—in candidates do not win statewide elections in California. Click here to see article on Voting Your Christian Values.

Statewide Offices, Governor, Senator, CA Supreme Court, etc.

President

President of the United States; Democractic Party

• Barack Obama, Democratic

President of the United States; Republican Party Party

• Charles Roemer, III, Republican
• Ron Paul, Republican
• Newt Gingrich, Republican
• Rick Santorum, Republican
• Mitt Romney, Republican
• Fred Krager, Republican

President of the United States; American Independent Party

• Edward Noonan, American Independent
• Laurie Roth, American Independent
• Mad Max Riekse, American Independent

President of the United States; Green Party

• Jill Stein, Green
• Kent Mesplay, Green
• Roseanne Barr, Green

President of the United States; Libertarian Party

• Gary Johnson, Libertarian
• James Ogle, Libertarian
• Bill Still, Libertarian
• R. J. Harris, Libertarian
• Roger Gray, Libertarian
• Lee Wrights, Libertarian
• Barbara Waymire, Libertarian
• Scott Keller, Libertarian
• Carl Person, Libertarian

President of the United States; Peace and Freedom Party

• Ross Anderson, Peace and Freedom
• Stephen Durham, Peace and Freedom
• Stewart Alexander, Peace and Freedom

United States Senator

• Kabiruddin, Ali, Peace and Freedom
• Dianne Feinstein, Democratic
• Elizabeth Emken, Republican
• Oscar Braun, Republican
• Colleen Fernald, Democratic
• Daniel Hughes, Republican
• Dirk Konopik, Republican
• John Boruff, Republican
• Robert Lauten, Republican
• Al Ramirez, Republican
• Michael Strimling, Democratic
• Orly Taitz, Republican
• Rick Williams, Republican
• Phillip Conlon, Republican
• Nachum Shifren, Republican
• Rogelio Gloria, Republican
• Marsha Feinland, Peace and Freedom
• Nak Shah, Democratic
• Don Krampe, Republican
• Dennis Jackson, Republican
• Don Grundmann, American Independent
• Gail Lightfoot, Libertarian
• David Levitt, Democratic
• Diane Stewart, Democratic

US Congress by District

United States Representative; District 23

• Terry Phillips
• Eric Parker, Republican
• Kevin McCarthy, Republican

United States Representative; District 25

• Lee Rogers, Democratic
• Howard McKeon, Republican
• Dante Acosta, Republican
• Catherine Wright, Republican

United States Representative; District 26

• Linda Parks
• Jess Herrera, Democratic
• Albert Goldberg, Democratic
• Julia Brownley, Democratic
• David Thayne, Democratic
• Tony Strickland, Republican

United States Representative; District 27

• Robert Duran, Republican
• Judy Chu, Democratic
• Jack Orswell, Republican

United States Representative; District 28

• Jenny Worman, Republican
• Massie Munroe, Democratic
• Garen Mailyan, Republican
• Sal Genovese, Democratic
• Jonathan Kalbfeld, Democratic
• Adam Schiff, Democratic
• Phil Jennerjahn, Republican

United States Representative; District 29

• David Hernandez
• Tony Cardenas, Democratic
• Richard Valdez, Democratic

United States Representative; District 30

• Susan Shelley, Republican
• Navraj Singh, Republican
• Vince Gilmore, Democratic
• Brad Sherman, Democratic
• Howard Berman, Democratic
• Mark Reed, Republican
• Michael Powelson, Green

United States Representative; District 32

• G. Gonzalez, Democratic
• David Miller, Republican
• Grace Napolitano, Democratic

United States Representative; District 33

• David Steinman, Green
• William Bloomfield, Jr.
• Timothy Pape, Democratic
• Christopher David, Republican
• Steve Collett, Libertarian
• Bruce Margolin, Democratic
• Henry Waxman, Democratic
• Zein Obagi, Democratic

United States Representative; District 34

• Stephen Smith, Republican
• Howard Johnson, Peace and Freedom
• Xavier Becerra, Democratic

United States Representative; District 35

• Gloria McLeod, Democratic
• Joe Baca, Democratic
• Anthony Vieyra, Green

United States Representative; District 37

• Karen Bass, Democratic

United States Representative; District 38

• Benjamin Campos, Republican
• Jorge Robles, Republican
• Linda Sánchez, Democratic

United States Representative; District 39

• Ed Royce, Republican
• Jay Chen, Democratic
• D’Marie Mulattieri

United States Representative; District 40

• David Sanchez, Democratic
• Lucille Roybal-Allard, Democratic

United States Representative; District 42

• Ken S. Calvert, Republican
• Eva S. Johnson, Republican
• Clayton Thibodeau, Republican

United States Representative; District 43

• Maxine Waters, Democratic
• Bob Flores, Democratic

United States Representative; District 44

• Janice Hahn, Democratic
• Laura Richardson, Democratic

Unites States Representative; District 45

• John Webb, Republican
• John Campbell, Republican
• Sukhee Kang, Democrat

United States Representative; District 47

• Steve Foley, Republican
• Alan Lowenthal, Democratic
• Jay Shah, Democratic
• Gary DeLong, Republican
• Sanford Kahn, Republican
• Steven Kuykendall, Republican
• Peter Mathews, Democratic
• Usha Shah, Democratic

State Assembly

Assembly; District 35

• Gerald “Gerry” Manata, Democrat
• K.H. “Katcho” Achadjian, Republican

Member of the State Assembly; District 36

• Thomas Lackey, Republican
• Steve Fox, Democratic
• Ron Smith, Republican

Member of the State Assembly; District 38

• Edward Headington, Democratic
• Patricia McKeon, Republican
• Paul Strickland, Republican
• Scott Wilk, Republican

Member of the State Assembly; District 39

• Omar Cuevas, Republican
• Raul Bocanegra, Democratic
• John Paul Lindblad, Green
• Richard Alarcon, Democratic
• Ricardo Benitez, Republican
• Margie Carranza, Republican

Member of the State Assembly; District 41

• Ed Colton, Republican
• Michael Cacciotti, Democratic
• Donna Lowe, Republican
• Victoria Rusnak, Democratic
• Chris Holden, Democratic

Member of the State Assembly; District 43

• Mike Gatto, Democratic
• Greg Krikorian, Republican

Member of the State Assembly; District 44

• Eileen MacEnery, Democratic
• Jeffrey Gorell, Republican
• Thomas Mullens, Democratic

Member of the State Assembly; District 45

• Bob Blumenfield, Democratic
• Chris Kolski, Republican

Member of the State Assembly; District 46

• Jay Stern, Republican
• Adrin Nazarian, Democratic
• Andrew Lachman, Democratic
• Adriano Lecaros, Democratic
• Laurette Healey, Democratic
• Brian Johnson, Democratic

Member of the State Assembly; District 48

• Michael Meza
• Roger Hernandez, Democratic
• Joe Gardner, Republican

Member of the State Assembly; District 49

• Matthew Lin, Republican
• Edwin Chau, Democratic
• Mitchell Ing, Democratic

Member of the State Assembly; District 50

• Richard Bloom, Democratic
• Torie Osborn, Democratic
• Betsy Butler, Democratic
• Bradly Torgan, Republican

Member of the State Assembly; District 51

• Oscar Gutierrez, Democratic
• Arturo Chavez, Democratic
• Luis Lopez, Democratic
• Jimmy Gomez, Democratic
• Richard Friedberg, Democratic

Member of the State Assembly; District 52

• Norma Torres, Democratic
• Ray Moors, Democratic
• Paul Avila, Democratic
• Kenny Coble, Republican

Member of the State Assembly; District 53

• Michael Aldapa, Democratic
• John Pérez, Democratic
• Roger Young, Democratic
• Jose Aguilar, Republican

Member of the State Assembly; District 54

• Keith McCowen, Republican
• Holly Mitchell, Democratic
• Ed Nicoletti, Democratic

Member of the State Assembly; District 55

• Gregg Fritchle, Democratic
• Curt Hagman, Republican

Member of the State Assembly; District 56

• Corky Reynaga-Emett, Republican
• V. Manuel Perez, Democratic

Member of the State Assembly; District 57

• Rudy Bermudez, Democratic
• Ian Calderon, Democratic
• Noel Jaimes, Republican

Member of the State Assembly; District 58

• Sultan Ahmad, Democratic
• Cristina Garcia, Democratic
• Daniel Crespo, Democratic
• Patricia Kotze-Ramos, Republican
• Luis Marquez, Democratic
• Tom Calderon, Democratic

Member of the State Assembly; District 59

• Reginald Jones-Sawyer, Democratic
• Greg Akili, Democratic
• Rodney Robinson, Democratic
• Armenak Nouridjanian, Democratic
• Gertrude Holmes-Magee, Democratic

Member of the State Assembly; District 60

• Jeff Miller, Republican (Incumbent)
• Stan Skipworth, Republican
• JosÉ Luis Pérez, Democratic
• Eric Linder, Republican
• Greg Kraft, Republican

Member of the State Assembly; District 61

• Joe Ludwig, Republican
• Fredy R. De Leon
• Bill Batey, Republican
• Jose Medina, Democratic

Member of the State Assembly; District 62

• Steven Bradford, Democratic
• Mervin Evans, Democratic

Member of the State Assembly; District 63

• Jack Guerrero, Republican
• Diane Martinez, Democratic
• Cathrin Sargent, Democratic
• Anthony Rendon, Democratic

Member of the State Assembly; District 64

• Isadore Hall, III, Democratic

Member of the State Assembly; District 66

Since I am a candidate in this particular race, Election Forum will abstain from posting ratings or recommendations.—Craig Huey

• Craig Huey, Republican
• Nathan Mintz, Republican
• Al Muratsuchi, Democratic

Member of the State Assembly; District 70

• Bonnie Lowenthal, Democratic
• Martha Flores Gibson, Republican

State Senate

State Senator; District 21

• Star Moffatt, Democratic
• Steve Knight, Republican

State Senator; District 23

• Melissa O’Donnell, Democratic
• Bill Emmerson, Republican

State Senator; District 25

• Ameenah Fuller, Democratic
• Gilbert Gonzales, Republican
• Carol Liu, Democratic

State Senator; District 27

• Fran Pavley, Democratic
• Todd Zink, Republican

State Senator; District 29

• Greg Diamond, Democratic
• Robert Huff, Republican

State Senator; District 33

• Ricardo Lara, Democratic

State Senator; District 35

• Charlotte Svolos, Republican
• Paul Butterfield, Democratic
• Roderick Wright, Democratic

Judicial

Electionforum.org ranks every aspect of a judicial candidate’s record on a scale of 1 (most activist) to 10 (most constructionist).

Nothing is overlooked, from a judge’s rulings to on-the-record statements to American Bar Association ratings. We also look at their stated positions and contributions as well as who’s endorsing them.

Finally, each judge’s career is considered from a bird’s-eye view. Experience. Integrity. Commitment to community. We even personally talk to the candidates.

Ratings:

Judicial Index Average

Judicial Activist	Strict Constructionist

• Positions
• Contributions
• Rulings
• Statements

Qualifications

Unqualified	Very Qualified

• Experience
• Reputation
• Integrity
• American Bar
  Association
  ratings

Judge of the Superior Court; County of Los Angeles; Office 3

• Craig Gold – 4
• Laurence N. Kaldor – 4
• Sean D. Coen – 5
• Joe Escalante – 4

Judge of the Superior Court; County of Los Angeles; Office 10

• Kim Smith – 6
• Sanjay T. Kumar – 7

Judge of the Superior Court; County of Los Angeles; Office 38

• Lynn Diane Olson – 3
• Douglas W. Weitzman – 4

Judge of the Superior Court; County of Los Angeles; Office 65

• Matt Schonbrun – 4
• Shannon Knight – 5
• Andrea C. Thompson – 8

Judge of the Superior Court; County of Los Angeles; Office 78

• Kenneth R. Hughey – 9
• James D. Otto – 5

Judge of the Superior Court; County of Los Angeles; Office 114

• Eric Harmon – 5
• Berj Parseghian – 7
• Ben M. Brees – 1

County

District Attorney; County of Los Angeles

• John L. Breault, III
• Jackie Lacey
• Alan Jackson
• Danette E. Meyers
• Carmen Trutanich
• Bobby Grace

Supervisor; County of Los Angeles; Supervisorial District 2

• Mark Ridley-Thomas

Supervisor; County of Los Angeles; Supervisorial District 5

• Michael D. Antonovich
• M. A. C. “Maestro” Enriquez-Marquez
• Raj Pal Kahlon

Special District

Member, Board of Directors; Central Basin Municipal Water District; Division 1

• Ed Vasquez
• James B. Roybal
• Yvette Lizette Silva

Member, Board of Directors; Central Basin Municipal Water District; Division 4

• Rudy C. Montalvo
• Leticia Vasquez

Member, Board of Directors; Central Basin Municipal Water District; Division 5

• Tony Mendoza
• Jay W. Gray
• Phillip D. Hawkins

Party Committee—most districts not researched

Member, Republican Party County Central Committee; County of Los Angeles; Assembly District 43 (7 Elected)

• Judith Durning
• Ryan Ford
• Lenore Solis
• Mary “Mell” Flynn
• Mark Vafiades
• Dale Samson
• Chance Glasco
• Nicholas Paul Renzi
• Victor Phillip Alkana
• D. “Doffie” Lewis
• Linda P. Sheffield
• William E. Saracino
• Ben Jones
• Elliott Graham

Member, Republican Party County Central Committee; County of Los Angeles; Assembly District 48 (7 Elected)

• Robert B. Ewing
• David Miller
• Starret J. Meyer
• Marlene F. Osborn
• Judy Marie Nelson
• Valerie R. Evans
• Peggy A. Mew
• Sheena Lynn Ewing
• Kathy Howard
• Jorge Huaman
• Kevin Stapleton
• Mike Spence

Member, Republican Party County Central Committee; County of Los Angeles; Assembly District 58 (7 Elected)

• Grace Hu
• Allen G. Wood
• Haridas Terhanian
• Jo Marie Johnson
• Sergio Estevez
• Dan N. Cristea
• Paul Kim
• Rick Royse
• Matt S. Kauble

Member, Republican Party County Central Committee; County of Los Angeles; Assembly District 62 (7 Elected)

• Marco Antonio “Tony” Leal
• Julius D. Wilson
• Carl Frederick Davis, Jr.
• Douglas G. Ehlers
• Maureen Johnson
• Dale A. Wallace
• Jennifer Tyler
• David J. Picard
• Mary Miller
• Carol L. Cole
• Gabriel Dibble

Member, Republican Party County Central Committee; County of Los Angeles; Assembly District 66 (7 Elected)

• David Frederick Hadley
• Bryan Wayne Matthews
• Patricia O. Lagrelius
• Kenneth Martin Adler
• William L. Schmidt
• Kenneth A. Hartley
• Paul A. Contreras
• Steve Redlich
• Kim Mac Mullan
• Ketnapa Siri
• John H. Nunn
• Paul M. Nowatka
• Larry E. Jones
• Laine Truelove McNally
• John J. Parsons
• G. Rick Marshall
• Kyle D. Ebersole

Member, Republican Party County Central Committee; County of Los Angeles; Assembly District 70 (7 Elected)

• Lydia Gutierrez
• Nancy Jean Sciortino
• Davina M. Keiser
• Dave Najar
• Charles R. Eldred, Jr.
• Mark A. Voelker
• John Fer
• Tina M. Thompson

Local Measures

City of Compton

NO Measure B City Council District Formation — City of Compton (Charter Amendment – Majority Approval Required)

County of Los Angeles

NO Measure H L.A. County Hotel Occupancy Tax Continuation Measure — County of Los Angeles (Ordinance – Majority Approval Required)

City of Los Angeles

NO Measure L L.A. County Landfill Tax Continuation Measure — City of Los Angeles (Ordinance – Majority Approval Required)

City of Pasadena

YES Measure A Formation of Geographic Sub-Districts Within Pasadena Unified School District — City of Pasadena (Charter Amendment – Majority Approval Required)

NO Measure CK School Improvement Funding — Sulphur Springs Union Elementary School District (School Bonds – 55% Approval Required)

NO Measure CO School Improvement Funding — Charter Oak Unified School District (School Bonds – 55% Approval Required)

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Book Review: The Forgotten Spurgeon by Iain Murray

Purchase: Westminster | Amazon

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this biography, though the author insists throughout the work that this is really not a biography of Spurgeon per se, and was written to fill in the gaps that is often left out concerning the real Spurgeon that is contrary to the popularized image of Spurgeon according to the perception of mainstream Evangelical  and some biographies out there.  In commenting about the deficiency of some of the biographies about Spurgeon, this work notes how some of the popular biographers have not grasp or understood the significance of the theology that have driven Spurgeon.  Spurgeon in his life was a man of God that was not only a gospel preacher to the masses but also a man of God who would take a stand for the truth of God’s Word.  Throughout his lifetime, the “forgotten” Spurgeon was involved with three major controversies which the book discusses about, concerning baptismal regeneration, hyper-calvinism and the Down Grade Controversy.  A fascinating fact that I was not aware of before reading this book was the author’s observation that in the baptismal regeneration debate, Spurgeon did not expected much support from certain religious quarters which ironically did affirm and supported Spurgeon’s concern, while in the Down Grade Controversy Spurgeon expected support from certain quarters (Evangelicals) that in the end not only materialized but turned out to be against him.  Even his own brother who was a minister disagreed with him and readers might be shocked to learn of this contrary to the image of Spurgeon as always being popular.  It is the down grade controversy which most people remember of the three, but knowing what the others were about also allow readers to better situate Spurgeon in his context, and perhaps a more balance understanding of Spurgeon when it comes to controversy.  Perhaps the part of the book that I found most fascinating what the closing chapter that talked about the fate of Spurgeon’s church after his death.  It was a painful thing to hear of how those who took up the ministry after him including his son, moved away from the theology that Spurgeon has embraced.  It is probably the most sobering part of the book for me, as I think back to campus ministries that I have been involved with in the past that has been so strong biblically and numerically only to have it handed off to others that eventually would not agree with your distinctives or emphasizes (and even hostile against it, or disregard what precious truths that has motivated the first “generation”!).  It was saddening to read this last portion of the book.  I cannot help but to think of the historical lesson here as it relates to our day and age.  This is the second work that I read by Iain Murray, the first being his most recent work on John MacArthur.  I think Murray is a great biographer, and I can’t help but to think about Grace Community Church after John MacArthur, or any other famous pastor for that matter (John Piper, C.J. Mahaney, etc).  The ending of the book allow me to have some soul searching of whether or not as a young pastor, my goal should be to become a famous great preacher.  It made me think about how some people follow preachers just for the sake of the man’s fame rather than really seeing the man’s theology coming from the Scripture itself.  The real tests at times, seems to come about after a man’s death and his ministry/church carries on without him; where will the direction go?  Will the saints still be faithful to what is biblical?  Who will take over and will they be able to fill the mighty shoes left behind, while being faithful to the Word of God and have the ability to lead the body?  It makes me think much about the issue of a Christianity that is driven more by personality and charisma though those that lead are orthodox; as in the case of the Hebrews escaping Egypt in the Exodus, people have an uncanny way of making their own idols even in the midst of God’s great works.

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Book Recommendation: God Has A Wonderful Plan For Your Life by Ray Comfort

As we shared earlier, this year’s recommended Christmas Christian Book List on Christian Worldview and Apologetics Discipleship also includes a book on Biblical evangelism by Ray Comfort.  Be sure to check out other books we suggested.  Below is my review of “God Has A Wonderful Plan for Your Life: The Myth of the Modern Message”

Purchase: Amazon

They say one should not judge a book by it’s cover–but with this book by Ray Comfort, the cover speaks volume, illustrating while the irony and tension of the unbiblical nature of the contemporary Evangelical evangelism method of saying “God has a wonderful plan for your life” with the picture of the stoning of the first Christian martyr Stephen. The contrast of Biblical teaching of evangelism and the modern “God has a wonderful plan for your life” message couldn’t be ever capture more beatifully in picture–and pictures are worth a thousand words. Contrary to what many Christians might say today when they evangelize, the Bible does not promise a wonderful plan for the non-believer’s life…as the nonbeliever would understand or plan it. Against this “genie in the bottle” gospel, Ray Comfort brings out the teaching concerning the use of the law in sharing the gospel. Comfort’s work communicates this “Way of the Master” well: He is to the point, clear, sprinkle with use of Scripture and use many illustrations to explain what he means. The current evangelical landscape is so filled with bad popular approach to evangelism that I know many are hostile hearing about the use of the law in evangelism. I am always amazed at how winsome Ray Comfort is in articulating the biblical method of evangelism despite many who are upset with this method. Many of the content will be familiar in this book for those who are familiar with Ray Comfort’s other work or videos. What I like was the appendix–which addresses those in Campus Crusade who recognize that this “God has a wonderful plan for your life” line is one popularized by Campus Crusade. Comfort makes the good case with documentation from CCC’s founder Bill Bright, that towards the end of his life, Dr. Bright would be in agreement with the use of the law in evangelism and the need to do so. Very valuable appendix.

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Free book: Wealth and Poverty by Gary North on PDF!

In 1983, there was published a four views book on wealth and poverty concerning a Christian view of economics, which has among the contributor Gary North.

It was unfortunate that it never got republished, but it is now online for free in PDF by clicking HERE.

Election season will soon be upon us, it would be great to consider what is a Biblical view of Economics.

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Debate: Anjem Choudary vs. David Wood: Would Sharia Help the West?

Interesting stuff.

For all those that did not think there are Muslims out there that want to subjugate the West under Islamic Sharia Law…

A debate.

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Evangelical Evangelism Today: ‘Feed the starving children. Where necessary, use food.’

This is an article by Ray Comfort that I found here

It’s so good, I thought I might as well reprint the whole thing below

Saint Francis . . . A Sissy?
– By Ray Comfort

One hundred and fifty thousand children had been on the brink of starving to death, but thanks to the kind gift of a very generous billionaire, every child now had enough food to keep him alive. That gift had arrived in the form of one big check. The horror was now over. It was finished. It was just a matter of distributing the food using the few relief workers we had. Without them to get the food to the children, there would have been many more deaths.

Some days later, a frantic worker burst into the camp and cried, “Some of the relief workers have stopped distributing food. Masses of children are dying!”

Why would the workers stop when there was plenty of food? It didn’t make sense. The distraught man said, “It’s because one of them held up a sign that said, ‘Feed the starving children. Where necessary, use food.’ That has caused some of the workers to simply befriend the starving children without giving them food. It’s insane!”

The first time I ever heard of Saint Francis of Assisi was back in 1965. It was during the surf movie “The Endless Summer.” Four surfers who were chasing the sun discovered the perfect wave, at a place in South Africa called “Cape Saint Francis.” The sight of the perfect wave excited me beyond words.

The Unspeakable Gift

The next time I heard of him was when I heard that he said “Preach the Gospel at all times. Where necessary, use words.” That statement upset me beyond words, because it was a philosophy that I knew sounded deeply spiritual . . . to those who were spiritually shallow. It made as much sense as “Feed starving children. Where necessary, use food.”

On 16 July 1228 Francis of Assisi was pronounced a saint by Pope Gregory IX. That’s a long time ago, so it’s a little late for questions, but if I could I would like to find out why anyone would say such a strange thing? Was it because he was fearful to use actual words to preach the truth of the Gospel? Or was it because he thought that people would see that he had good works and hear the message of salvation without a preacher, something contrary to Scripture’s “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14).

Whatever the case, 800 years since Francis we have many who profess faith in Jesus, and are no doubt using this popular philosophy to justify being speechless. To them salvation truly is an “unspeakable” gift.

Recently someone told me about a conference where 100,000 Christians gathered to worship God. When I asked if they were exhorted to go out and preach the Gospel to every creature, it was no surprise to me that they weren’t. Instead, they were exhorted to live a life of worship. Again, that sounds spiritual, but you can’t worship God without obedience to His Word, and His Word commands us to preach the Gospel to every creature.

I regularly meet those who think they can obey the Great Commission without using words. When they hear the Gospel preached that are usually offended and say things like, “I appreciate what you are saying, but I don’t like the way you are saying it.” With a little probing, they are the relationship folks, who think preaching the Gospel means building relationships with the lost, and never mentioning words like “sin,” “Hell,” and “Judgment Day.” They think that real love is to withhold the Bread of life from those that are starving to death. Remember that Jesus said, “Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels” (Mark 8:38, italics added).

According to the dictionary, a “sissy” is “a timid or cowardly person.” From what I understand of Saint Francis, he was no sissy. He was a loving man who was not afraid to use words when he preached. He wasn’t frightened to preach repentance to a sinful world. However, there have been times when I could have been called that name. I have felt the grip of fear and have wanted to drop words such as sin, Hell, repentance and Judgment Day when I have preached to sinners. I don’t want to come across as being unloving or judgmental, but I fear God more than I fear man. So when God’s Word tells me to use words, I use words, despite the consequences.

Listen to the Apostle Paul’s sobering warning to his hearers: “Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God” (Acts 20: 26-27). Perhaps he spoke about being free from their blood because he was familiar with God Himself warning Ezekiel of his responsibility to warn his generation: “When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand.” (Ezekiel 3:18, italics added).

When someone thinks that they can feed starving children and not use food, that’s their business. But when their philosophy spreads throughout the camp, it becomes an unspeakable tragedy. If we become passive about the Great Commission because we are more concerned about ourselves than the eternal well-being of others, we may be able to hide our motives from man, but not from God. He warns, “Deliver those who are drawn toward death, and hold back those stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, ‘Surely we did not know this,’ does not He who weighs the hearts consider it? He who keeps your soul, does He not know it? And will He not render to each man according to his deeds?” (Proverbs 24:11-12).

There’s an interesting irony to this story. After a little research I came across a quote about the famous saying. It is from someone who had been a Franciscan monk for 28 years–and had earned an M.A. in Franciscan studies. He co ntacted some of the most eminent Franciscan scholars in the world to try and verify the saying. He said, “It is clearly not in any of Francis’ writings. After a couple weeks of searching, no scholar could find this quote in a story written within 200 years of Francis’ death.” (1.)

So if it wasn’t Saint Francis who said not to use words, who was it? Who is it that would like to see the truth of the Gospel hindered from being preached to every creature? That doesn’t need to be answered.

The time is short. The laborers are few. Please, cast off your fears and equip yourself to preach the Gospel with words. They are necessary.
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(1.) http://www.americancatholic.org/Messenger/Oct2001/Wiseman.asp

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Arab Festival 2009: Sharia in the US

Islam, Deception, Sharia and Intolerance….in the USA…

This is wrong.  From what I understand, the Christians who have been wronged by the guards are going to take it to court.

Let others know, share this video.

http://www.answeringmuslims.com/2009/07/special-report-sharia-comes-to-dearborn.html

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Frank Schaeffer is responsible for Tiller?

OPENING NOTE: I do not condone violence against abortion doctors. I say this and put this in the beginning to avoid tangent hecklers who don’t read clearly and assume things not there.

Frank Schaeffar, the son of the famed Francis Schaeffar, has written a piece attacking once again his father’s legacy and taking a swipe against Conservative Christians in general.

There is something morbid and stale of an aging man who resorts his claim to fame by constantly attacking his own father’s legacy and promoting his autobiographical memoir. Sometime in your life, you got to be your own man, and not be famous for just talking bad about daddy.

This time, he takes the oppourtunity from the murder of Tiller to drum against his father and Christian conservatives over at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frank-schaeffer/how-i-and-other-pro-life_b_209747.html

The piece is titled, “How I (and other “Pro-life” leaders) Contributed to Dr. Tiller’s Murder”

It is sad that with a title about “How I contributed to Dr. Tiller’s Murder”, even when he say he contributed to Tiller’s murder, he does not miss the oppourtunity to drag his dad’s legacy down into the discussion, with his opening sentence:

My late father and I share the blame (with many others) for the murder of Dr. George Tiller the abortion doctor gunned down on Sunday.

Franky loves to tout that he has left the conservative moment,

Until I got out of the religious right (in the mid-1980s) and repented of my former hate-filled rhetoric I was both a leader of the so-called pro-life movement and a part of a Republican Party hate machine masquerading as the moral conscience of America.

But sometimes he gives himself too much credit.  He asserts that he was a leader of the Republican Party machine, but what important post or gate-keeping position did he ever hold within the party? Anyone familar with the genesis of the Christian right realizes that around the highest point where Frank was most well known among Evangelicals, the Republican Party has not welcomed the Christian Conservatives into their midst yet, and when Christian Conservatives were beginning to gain grounds into the party during the mid-80s, Frank has admitted above that he was already “out” and repenting from his former ways.  Dr. Cohen, formerly of UCLA political Science Department who have concentrated his expertise on the Christian right, description of the first and second wave of the Christian Right doesn’t even register Frank’s name up.  Even among those who knew of the name Frank Jr. during those years, knew Frank because he was  tied in with his dad, as the son who produce the documentary for his father.  All this to say, he’s not the leader as he like to portray himself to be.  He was being a sexual busybody outside of his filming project, as his Crazy for God book admits.

Frank believes in his own culpability for Tiller’s death,

He compared America and its legalized abortion to Hitler’s Germany and said that whatever tactics would have been morally justified in removing Hitler would be justified in trying to stop abortion. I said the same thing in a book I wrote (A Time For Anger) that right wing evangelicals made into a best seller

But admits that he would have been shocked if people took up his word,

Like many writers of moral/political/religious theories my father and I would have been shocked that someone took us at our word, walked into a Lutheran Church and pulled the trigger on an abortionist.

Fundamentally disturbing in Frank Jr.’s reasoning is the slippery slope logical fallacy that he tends to commit in this piece and others.  For instance, he states:

When evangelicals on the right call President Obama a socialist, a racist, anti-American, an abortionist, not a real American, and, echoing the former Vice President, someone who is weakening America’s defenses and making us less safe, the logical conclusion is violence.

He believes that “the logical conclusion” of the concern of Conservatives on Obama will lead to violence, but logically this argument is invalid.  The logical conclusion is not necessarily violence, but political participation (voting in the re-election, gathering to express your views on his policy, freedom of speech, calling your congressman, writing, etc).  Furthermore, just because  violence might occur by some fringe who chooses not to engage in peaceful lawful process, doesn’t mean that one cannot express their concern of someone being a “socialist”, a “racist”, “abortionists”, weakening America, etc.  If there was a Racist republican president, why not call him out for what he is?  Or a politician who is a socialist (or liberterian)? Or observing that a president’s policy is pro-abortion rather than prolife?

But what about the current rhetoric that Frank Junior now use to demonize the Christian right, throughout his writing?  Does he believe that the “logical conclusion” of his speech will result in violence?

It’s also sad reading this article to see Frank has also embrace the legalization of abortion:

As I say in my book today I believe that abortion should be legal but more regulated than Roe allows.

But ultimately, the most disturbing words by Frank is the conclusion of his essay,

The same hate machine I was part of is still attacking all abortionists as “murderers.” And today once again the “pro-life” leaders are busy ducking their personal responsibility for people acting on their words. The people who stir up the fringe never take responsibility. But I’d like to say on this day after a man was murdered in cold blood for preforming abortions that I — and the people I worked with in the religious right, the Republican Party, the pro-life movement and the Roman Catholic Church, all contributed to this killing by our foolish and incendiary words.

I am very sorry.

He asserts that pro-life leaders are busy ducking away from personal responsibility for people acting on their words, and he doesn’t like how they never take responsibility.  He himself by his own admission stated that his words called for tactics that would justify ending abortion.  If he really does see he was responsible being the “leader” of the prolife movement who was so powerful that in this essay he wrote that he “personally also got people like Jerry Falwell, Ronald Reagan and countless Republican leaders involved in the ‘issue'”, I like to see someone take Frankie Junior to the task in the court and sue Frank Jr for “his responsibility”, using his own words, to reveal how dangerous and sloppy his current rhetoric is.

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BOOK REVIEW: EVANGELICALISM DIVIDED

 Purchase: Westminster | Amazon

Reading this book by Iain Murray made me have to put the book down at times because I got angry.  I actually got angry reading this book, to read of the comprimise of the Evangelical faith that is documented in the book.  Particularly, the part about Billy Graham was by itself to upset anyone reader who respect him yet also have a high view of Biblical doctrines and the Evangelical faith.

This book has also been reviewed by someone here

This book is largely a narrative of the how Evangelicals have become wishy washy, particuarly in English circles.  It was sad to read Murray’s documentation of what Alister McGrath, Mark Noll and J. I. Packer has to say.  By time the book started talking about the Ecumenical movement, I was furious at how Evangelicals could be so naive at best and wolves in sheep’s clothings at it’s worst.

It is a reminder as I read this of how much it is important to walk in His Word and define what is a Christian not according to what others would want to hear but WHAT THE BIBLE says.

For those that do have a place in their heart for Evangelicals in England, this book is an essential read of one man’s perspective of the last fifty years.

I just wished the book went over more about Martin Lloyd-Jones.

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Gary North’s letter to Governor Palin

Gary North wrote this article that I hope Governor Palin reads…of how she can start her 2012 campaign

http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north664.html

Very interesting

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