Christian Heritage News

By Pastor Shawn Mathis - Posted at BarbWire : It was not the vaulted works of Sidney or Lock that the average early American followed. It was the Bible. The well-to-do and highly educated men, like Jefferson and Madison, read Lock and other writers but the typical American did not have access to these writers. Early Americans learned political freedom and self-rule because they learned their Catechism and Bible from…the churches . What made early America great? Was is our economic industry or political fortitude? Or were these the fruit of something greater? What can we do today to replicate that greatness? Let us look at our history. “Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens.” [Washington, Farewell Address, 1796] We lo

By Heather Clark - Posted at Christian News Network : Dr. James Dobson COLORADO SPRINGS, Co. — James Dobson, the founder of the renown Colorado-based organization Focus on the Family, is seemingly walking back comments he made last week asserting that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is a “baby Christian” who needs to be “cut some slack.” As previously reported , Dobson was interviewed last Tuesday by Michael Anthony of GodFactor.com, who was among the nearly 1,000 evangelicals who came to listen to Trump at the Marriott Marquis in Manhattan. During the brief talk, Dobson shared his belief that Trump is himself a Christian. “There are a lot of people ministering to him personally—a lot of ministers,” he stated in the recorded interview. “I mean, he did accept a relationship with Christ. I know the person who led him to Christ, and that’s fairly recent. I don’t know when it was, but it has not been long.” “I believe he really made a commitment, but he’s a baby Christ

By George Hawley, Ph.D Part of the religious right's decline in the United States can be ascribed to increasing secularism, but it may also be due to changing views among Christians on policy issues long associated with the religious right. One way to consider this possibility is to see whether Christians are any more or less likely to likely to consider themselves "liberal" Christians. Fortunately, we can use the GSS to consider this question, as for decades it has asked religious respondents whether they consider themselves liberals, moderates, or fundamentalists. The above figure shows these trends for since the 1970s. What we see is that there has actually been fairly little change. The fundamentalists were growing during the 1970s and 1980s, but that reversed in the subsequent decades, and now we are just about where we started. If we look at specific issues, however, we see a very different picture. On some questions, it appears that Christians have become eve

Posted at  The Truth About Moscow : Literacy “For a slave to have as much as a written piece of paper (other than a legitimate pass from his master) in his possession was enough to warrant punishment. . . . Slave parents were anxious for their children to learn how to read and write even though such erudition could result in their being sold or put to death.” - ERVIN L. JORDAN Following up Friday’s post regarding Douglas Wilson’s general incompetence as a historian , as well as the recent entry about the CREC’s false flag , please consider the following homework assignment taken from Omnibus volume III: Session VIII:   Writing    A Slave Letter    Pretend you are a slave who lives far away from your family. Write a letter to your wife/husband/ children. Tell them how you are, how you are doing, what your plans are, etc. Or for variation, pretend that you live in the South. You are a faithful Christian and your family has a couple of servants that help with work aroun

By Marsha West - Posted at Berean Research: To fully grasp all the reasons the New Apostolic Reformation is such a dangerous movement and why discernment bloggers incessantly warn about this cult I’m going to take an excerpt from a piece I wrote a few years ago entitled “ Dominionists are on the move…and they mean business .” I began with a quote from NAR’s Grand Poohbah, C. Peter Wagner: Once we have the apostles in place, we will then bring the intercessors and the prophets into the inner circle, and we will end up with the spiritual core we need to move ahead for retaking the dominion that is rightfully ours. Wagner was speaking of modern-day apostles and prophets. What did he mean by taking dominion that is rightly ours? I’ll reveal his plans in a moment. But first, I must urge readers to take Wagner and other NAR/word-faith wolves seriously. Moreover, it is imperative that Bible believers fully understand the inner workings of the NAR in order to, “recognize them by the

By J.D. Hall - Posted at Polemics Report : “He did accept a relationship with Christ. I know the person who led him to Christ, and that’s fairly recent … I believe he really made a commitment, but he’s a baby Christian.” – James Dobson Explaining away the vile, self-aggrandizing, penitent-less, sulfured stench wafting off the vapid moral character of the Republican presidential nominee, James Dobson explained that Donald Trump was a “baby Christian.” He explained that Trump “doesn’t know our language” and “didn’t grow up like we did” and therefore everyone should “cut him some slack.” Perhaps the Focus on the Family founder was speaking of Trump’s explicit denial of ever having asked forgiveness. Perhaps Dobson was speaking of Trump’s attempt to soften the criticism regarding his verbal denial of repentance, claiming that taking communion is kind of like asking for forgiveness (it is, right?). Perhaps Dobson was speaking of Trump’s citations of “Two Corinthians.” Perhaps Do

Posted at Reformed Forum : For the last couple of weeks, many people have been discussing the doctrine of the Trinity, especially as various theologians have linked a doctrine of complementarianism to the eternal relationship between the Father and the Son. This relationship has been characterized by some as an eternal relationship of authority and submission or by others as an eternal subordination of the Son. In this episode, we address the current controversy by looking at the eternal relationship among the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These three persons are one God, equal in power and glory. Their essential relationship entails no relationship of authority, subordination, or submission. They are related by an irreversible taxis: the Father is unbegotten, the Son is begotten of the Father, and the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. Theologians often call this the immanent or ontological Trinity. Read more and listen here...

By Rebecca Cusey - Posted at The Federalist : Donald Trump thinks religion is about temporal power. Apparently, leading evangelicals agree with him. On Tuesday, Donald Trump met with a few hundred evangelical leaders in New York City. I read through the transcript thinking maybe Trump might exhibit some charm, some thoughtfulness in a smaller setting that is lost on the large stage, something that would explain why people who profess to believe in Jesus would be so taken in by Trump. Sadly, no. The transcript is shocking in its pandering: of Trump to evangelicals, yes—we expected that—but also in their pandering to Trump. Here are the most egregious takeaways. You can find the full transcript here . 1. The Evangelical Leaders Attempted to Make Trump Morally Acceptable Franklin Graham (son of the legendary Billy Graham) used biblical heroes to make Trump’s bad choices and morally questionable lifestyle seem okay. He conveniently ignored that those heroes learned hard lessons from

By David Tulis - Posted at  NOOGANOMICS. LOCAL ECONOMY & FREE MARKETS : The Gideon New Testament program is too much for a public school in a rural Tennessee county; the program must stop. Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? — 2 Corinthians 6:14  They have spoken words, swearing falsely in making a covenant. Thus judgment springs up like hemlock in the furrows of the field. — Hosea 10:4  A democratic program of education must necessarily rest on the perception that democracy is a challenge to all forms of absolutism, that it has its own standards, ideals, and values, and that these must pervade the entire program from end to end. — Boyd Henry Bode, progressive educator Christians in a Southeast Tennessee county are drawing a line in the sand as official atheism consolidates itself. Unwittingly they are finding themselves that their chief opponent is not on

By InsanityBytes - Posted at   See, there's this thing called biology… Pastor Wilson has ticked me off, which is not unusual, he has ticked off a lot of people. So he writes a reasonably good post called the perils of zero sum counseling, some of which I agree with, but there is just something wrong here that won’t leave me alone, that nags at me. He eventually says, “Any counselor who actually tries to address feminine shortcomings in a dysfunctional relationship is a brave counselor. One of the things that happens is that any such an attempted address is immediately construed as “taking the side” of the abuser.” He does not say, “taking the side of the man” nor does he say “taking the side of the husband,” he says the “abuser.” So he recognizes there is an abusive situation right in front of him, a power imbalance with a clear abuser and a victim. And yet he says not one word about providing safety, protection, or comfort. Read more...

By John Hendryx - Posted at Monergism : Dear ______, In a recent conversation, among other things, you made the claim that Christians are complicit in the tragic Orlando shootings by arguing that "you weren't the gunman, but you think gay people are sinful and need saving so you're part of the culture that built him." While it is understandable why someone might make this statement during their pain in the face of such grief, but ... aren't we all sinful people desperately in need of saving?. Those in the LGBT community are not unique in this. I am no better. My sins, no doubt, easily equal or far exceed the sins of most of the souls who died in the nightclub. I certainly do not deserve God's favor or forgiveness and that could have just as easily been me die in there. I cannot boast in anything - no merit, "no gifts, no power, no wisdom - I can only boast in Jesus Christ His death and resurrection." The gospel is not "I am saved b

By Don Cooper - Posted at WorldLife : I just recently watched a video put up by Wretched.tv’s host Todd Friel which gives an analogy of a house on fire in which you must rescue people and you have to choose who is going to help you rescue people. This analogy is put forth to try and justify the logic that voting for the “lesser of evils” is how we should make our decision of who to vote for. In the analogy each of the choices you have of those who could help you are not perfect choices. They are all flawed in some manner. In the end Friel argues you simply pick the best of the group that you believe has a chance of being able to enter the burning house at all. Friel’s analogy includes a crippled person who wants to save everyone in the house but is unable to even enter the house let alone carry people out. Friel then says that the crippled person is akin to the candidate who has perfect Christian values but “has no chance of being elected”. The conclusion from Friel is obvi

Originally written June, 17, 2015. Columbia Christians for Life ( CCL ) Columbia, South Carolina June 18, 2015 Decidedly Pro-"Abortion" SC State Senator, Pastor, Clementa Pinckney, and Eight Other Men and Women, Tragically Murdered in Mass Shooting at Charleston, SC historic church building - June 17, 2015 ___________________ ___________________ While offering condolences and prayers for the Pinckney family and the families of the other eight men and women who were heartlessly murdered in Charleston, SC, the truth needs to be told regarding Senator Pinckney's voting record in the SC Senate. Whatever SC State Senator, Pastor, Clementa Pinckney, did for "the least of these" who were already born, he did not apply the well-known admonition of the Word of God in Micah 6:8, which Senator Pinckney himself reportedly quoted in the SC State Senate chamber, "to do justly", to the innocent, voiceless unborn in the wombs of their mothers. Senator Pinckney did

Gov. Nikki Haley endorses Scott Talley for the Senate District 12 Republican primary runoff  during a campaign event in Duncan on Thursday. (Photo: HEIDI HEILBRUNN/Staff/Greenville Online ) Columbia Christians for Life ( CCL ) Columbia, South Carolina June 17, 2016 Haley attacks Bright: SC Gov Nikki Haley, politically ambitious Establishment Puppet-girl, endorses opponent of pro-life, pro-personhood, pro-second amendment, Christian constitutionalist, two-term incumbent SC Senator Lee Bright in Republican Primary Runoff __________________________ __________________________ Establishment water-carrier, Gov Nikki Haley joins the pro-transgender bathrooms, CEO Ted Pitts led , SC Chamber of Commerce in bashing Christian constitutionalist, legislative hero, Senator Lee Bright. Apparently, establishing justice to raise a principled standard of preborn personhood in the SC State Constitution against the shedding of innocent blood of children in the womb; and preventin

Posted at The Domain for Truth : You might have heard about this from social media. If you haven’t heard about it you should know that Robert Santella is a dangerous abortionist. If you found this page because you went to a search engine to find his name then I say it is God’s providence for you to read this. For you to be warned. Not just warned about seeking service from him (that is important). But also about the sin of abortion if you are thinking about murdering the preborn. Repent and turn to Jesus and do not murder your child. Recently Crossmap reported a news story titled “‘ Demonic’: Abortionist Holds Scissors Near Pro-Lifer’s Throat While Yelling in His Face. ” I have the video embedded below and as you watch this short clip ask yourself about what would happen if this was reversed and a pro-lifer did this to a pro-abortionists; we would not hear the end of it from the Left leaning media. But since this doesn’t help with the abortionists PR imagine we understand the si

Posted at Voice of the Persecuted : Originally published by the Gatestone Institute The Obama administration has been escalating a policy that both abandons Mideast Christians and exposes Americans to the jihad. Late last year it was revealed that 97% of Syrian refugees accepted into the U.S. were Sunni Muslims—the same Islamic sect to which the Islamic State belongs—while fewer than half-a-percent were Christians. This disparity has since gotten worse. From May 1 to May 23, 499 Syrian refugees —a number that exceeds the total number of refugees admitted during the last three years—were received into the U.S. Zero Christians were among them; 99 percent were Sunni (the remaining one percent was simply listed as “Muslim”). These numbers are troubling: First, from a strictly humanitarian point of view—and humanitarianism is the chief reason being cited in accepting refugees— Christians should receive priority simply because currently they are among the most persecuted groups in th

Posted at Americans For Truth About Homosexuality : Foreword by Peter LaBarbera (AFTAH) “The shooter saw himself in the category of unmanly men, and couldn’t stand it. Someone, he felt, had to be punished. And he would be the punisher, thereby distancing himself from that category.” — Sharon Kass Homosexual Muslim, Murderer of Homosexuals: Omar Mateen, the Islamic mass-murderer who slaughtered 49 people in an Orlando “gay” nightclub, was himself involved in homosexual activity . Nevertheless, homosexual activists are exploiting the massacre to attack Christians and conservatives opposed to the immoral “gay rights” agenda. Folks, I was watching Sean Hannity on Fox News last night and he noted how the Left is using the Orlando Islamic terror-massacre to promote gun control, but he did not mention how liberals are exploiting it to advance the homosexual activist agenda. (CNN’s openly homosexual anchor Anderson Cooper has done so rather shamelessly .) Here Sharon Kass steers us

By Michael W. Chapman - Posted at CNS News : In light of the horrific terrorist attack in Orlando, Florida, Rev. Franklin Graham asked why President Barack Obama did not say it "was an act of radical Islamic terrorism," and also asked Obama "how many more American lives have to be lost before you understand the threat radical Islam is to every freedom-loving person?" In a June 13 post on Facebook , Rev. Graham said, "I appreciate President Barack Obama speaking to the nation yesterday in the wake of the Orlando massacre. He was right in saying that this tragic shooting was an act of terror and hate. But why didn’t he say it was an act of radical Islamic terrorism?" Read more...

By D.C. McAllister - Posted at The Federalist : In a speech Tuesday, President Obama asked , in defensive tones, “That’s the key, they tell us. We cannot beat ISIL unless we call them radical Islamists. What exactly would using this label would accomplish? What exactly would it change? Would it make ISIL less committed to try to kill Americans? …So someone seriously thinks that we don’t know who we are fighting?” No, Mr. President, you don’t know whom you’re fighting. When you refuse to say the name, to call a thing what it is, you give it power. Just ask Lord Voldemort. Refusing to speak the name reeks of fear, denial, and distraction. When you call out someone for who he is and what he believes, you are exposing him. You’re saying, “I know you. I know where and how to find you. And I will destroy you.” It empowers us and weakens them. Omar Mateen, who killed 49 people in a gay nightclub, told us exactly who he was. He pledged allegiance to a foreign enemy who has been our adver

By Raymond Ibrahim What is the greatest lesson of the Orlando massacre, where a Muslim shooter killed at least 50 people at a homosexual night club—an event that is now considered the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil since the September 11 attacks of 2001? It’s that such an attack had to happen—and is destined to happen again. Why? Because the surest way of seeing an act occur repeatedly—say a terrorist attack—is to repeat all the same steps that precipitated and paved the way for it in the first place. Consider: the shooter, Omar Mir Seddique Mateen, was “quite religious” and a pious Muslim (he attended mosque and prayed regularly); he clearly saw himself as a jihadi killing evildoers—he “ recited prayers to Allah during the attack ,” pledged this sacrifice to the Islamic State, and the latter claimed it. Yet, as usual, officialdom, is trying to obfuscate the Islamic role. Thus, despite all of the above—and the fact that ISIS has repeatedly executed homosexuals, oft

Islamic Terrorist Omar Mateen takes "selfies." Posted at Wintery Knight : Everyone has heard the news about the latest Islamic terror attack in Orlando. A few quick things about it before I make my main point: First, it was another gun-free zone , and the majority of multiple-victim public shootings happen in gun-free zones. This is because attackers know that their law-abiding victims will be unarmed. Second, Islamic terrorists have had an easy time under President Obama, who likes to blame Islamic terrorism on anyone except Islamic terrorists. This Democrat Party moral relativism has led to a staggering 85 Islamic terrorist plots since 9/11 . Third, we know that Obama has been pulling punches against Islamic terrorism throughout the last 8 years. A perfect example of this the fact that the Orlando attacker was a “ person of interest ” to the FBI in 2013 and 2014. But nothing was done. Read more...

Posted at Reformation Scotland : Much of our culture centres around self-image. From this perspective low self-esteem is both a danger and a tragedy. For several decades psychologists have also believed that low self-esteem was the root cause of many personal and social problems. Popular Christian psychology is influenced by it to a significant extent. Building and maintaining self-esteem is thought to be a key priority. Yet some have called into question the narcissicism this encourages. Certainly, few ever ask what might be the dangers of excessive self-esteem. What does Scripture say? There is an interesting expression in Romans 12:3 that no one should “think of himself more highly than he ought to think”; but rather “think soberly”. This certainly seems contrary to the self-esteem movement. Some have preferred to think of self-compassion rather than self-esteem. Few think about whether low self-esteem might arise from pride as much as high self-esteem. Thinking “soberly” of our

By Amy Spreeman - Posted at Berean Research : Not only is there a prayer to a “Queer Jesus,” it has been translated in 10 languages for any apostate in the world to dishonor our Lord: Rainbow Christ, you embody all the colors of the world. Rainbows serve as bridges between different realms: heaven and earth, east and west, queer and non-queer. Inspire us to remember the values expressed in the rainbow flag of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community. The prayer was posted on hyper progressive site, Jesus In Love , promoting a gay Jesus. Read more...

By Brandon Craig - Posted at The Reformed Layman : Since the Democrat and Republican parties have put up some of the worst candidates we have ever seen many people are left searching for an alternative. Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson hails himself as the best of both parties, fiscally conservative and socially liberal. Johnson is telling the truth in that regard. He is much more fiscally conservative than any candidate the GOP has had in a long time, and he also is very socially liberal. Coming from the Libertarian Party one would think that the liberal part would not be an issue for conservative and libertarian Christians because as a libertarian surely he doesn’t want the government to force liberal positions on people. The problem is that in some areas he does indeed want to use the force of government on those issues just like any other democrat. I will say upfront that he is a much better candidate than either Trump or Hillary but having said that, he holds t

By Joni Eareckson Tada - Posted at Joni and Friends : In light of the fact that California’s new physician-assisted suicide law goes into effect tomorrow (Thursday, June 9), following closely on the heels of the newly-released film, Me Before You, I wanted to sound an alarm about this egregious legislation and the glamorization of it. In the movie, the quadriplegic says to his loved one, “I don’t want you to miss all the things someone else can give you.” Instead, he took away everything she wanted from him – his love and the essence of who he was – when he decided to end his life. Not only does this movie glamorize assisted suicide; it conveys the distinct impression that marriage to someone with quadriplegia is too hard, too demanding and sorely lacks the joys of typical marriage. Read more...

By Rev. Dr. Joe Renfro - Posted at Christian Observer.org : Under the flag of civil rights, the Executive branch of our government has issued the directive that transgender people, those who currently make up less than one percent of our population in America, have the right to use whatever public restroom, locker room, shower room, or toilet they personally feel appropriate. According to the New York Times the Administration issued a letter to every public school in the land telling them to allow “transgender” students to use whichever bathroom they please. This ruling is going to have detrimental effects on education, all the way from the pre-school through college. It is surely stepping toward the toilet in American education! What is a transgender? A transgender can be straight, gay, or bi-sexual. It has nothing to do with the kind of people to whom they have romantic feelings toward. Gender identity is the gender with which you identify. Sexual orientation is the gender

By Angela Wittman  " The PCA’s Nine Declarations Against The Federal Vision (2007)   In light of the controversy surrounding the NPP and FV, and after many months of careful study, the committee unanimously makes the following declarations: ... Dr. R. Scott Clark of the Heidelblog has posted "The PCA's Nine Declarations Against the Federal Vision" and I believe it is worth your time to read it. Perhaps you think the Federal Vision is a harmless teaching or it's not that important anymore, but when is it ever permissible for Christians to waffle on God's truth or tolerate false teaching? Is this how we show love for one another by tolerating evil? Shouldn't we follow Biblical example and warn others (especially those of the House of God) of false teachers? Please read Dr. Clark's article including the comment section - it's very enlightening! I live near the St. Louis area and I am familiar with some of the pastors mentioned. I&#

Posted at Christians Voice: Image from Christians Voice Christianity is on the rise in China despite persecution from the Communist Party. They took every step to decimate Christianity in the country, but when you stop the Gospel, it grow more. 1000’s of people worship Jesus every week in their under ground churches, so that they would fall prey to the evil eyes of Communist Party. “They do not trust the church, but they have to tolerate or accept it because the growth is there,” said the church leader. “The number of Christians is growing – they cannot fight it. They do not want the 70 million Christians to be their enemy.” Read more...