Christian Heritage News

By Steve Byas - Posted at The New American : “These false and illegal characterizations have a chilling effect on the free exercise of religion and on religious free speech for all people of faith.” “We embarked today on a journey to right a terrible wrong,” said Dr. Frank Wright, president and CEO of the D. James Kennedy Ministries (DJKM), in announcing the filing of a defamation and religious discrimination lawsuit against the left-wing Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). SPLC has listed DJKM and other conservative and Christian organizations as "anti-LGBT hate groups." Included in the lawsuit are complaints against Amazon, for keeping DJKM off its charity donation program, AmazonSmile, and the charity rating organization Guide Star. “Those who knowingly label Christian ministries as ‘hate’ groups, solely for subscribing to the historic Christian faith, are either woefully uninformed or willfully deceitful," stated Wright. "In the case of the Southern Pove

Posted at Design of Providence : You shall surely set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses, one from among your countrymen you shall set as king over yourselves; you may not put a foreigner over yourselves who is not your countryman. [Deuteronomy 17:15] This verse is cited by Kinists as a "law of kin rule." According to the Kinist interpretation, this verse teaches that a people must be ruled by one of their own kin, or a closely related family member. Hence, a black African could not be a ruler of a white European nation, and vice versa. For such a thing to happen would be a violation of God's Law. One example of this, as it is argued from the Kinist position: ...it is impossible for a multi-racial country to obey God’s law of kin rule in Deut 17:15. This is one of the reasons why ethno-nationalism is a Kinist position; one political country per one blood nation and one blood nation per one political country. [ source ] In order to examine the con

By Christian George - Posted at The Spurgeon Center : The Spurgeon Center Since last Sunday, Hurricane Harvey has pummeled the Gulf Coast of Texas with winds raging up to 130 miles per hour. Five people have lost their lives, 30,000 have sought shelter, and Houston—America’s fourth largest city— has become ground zero for rooftop evacuations and helicopter rescues. Our prayers continue to be with those who have lost loved ones, and for those deprived of food and shelter. Charles Spurgeon can offer encouragement to those struggling in the storm. On Sunday, March 24, 1878, a hurricane struck London. At around 4:00 PM, Spurgeon was mediating on Scripture when the silence was broken “by the noise of doors and windows, and the terrible howling of the blast.” At that same hour, the H.M.S. Eurydice —a fully rigged, wooden British training ship—was sailing by the Isle of Wight when a hurricane capsized the vessel and killed 364 men. Four-year-old Winston Churchill, who happened to

Posted at Reformation Scotland : A total eclipse event has lost none of its power to provoke wonder, fear, and reflection. Totality can have an unusual effect that some people call life-changing. “I’ve seen people get on their knees and pray,” one man says “I’ve seen scientists cry”. Weeping and embracing, people feel overwhelmed about being brought together in the same experience. Everyone wants to find some meaning in it, not just those with a leaning to apocalyptic theory or astrology. “I’m not religious”, said another man, “but I think it’s something very like when God says, ‘let there be light’”. Should we find a meaning in it and what would that be? A Time magazine article reckoned that the true meaning of the eclipse lay in the momentary unity of a very divided United States. Similar imagery features in Scripture of course, particularly in passages describing future judgment. Some also think it may have been involved in Hezekiah’s sign. One passage that seems to allude

By Veronica Neffinger - Posted at ChristianHeadlines.com : A new social media platform has been started by Christians who were banned from Facebook. According to The Christian Post , the new Christian alternative to Facebook is called SocialCross.org . It was started by a group of pastors who were suspended multiple times from Facebook for posting unpopular thoughts and opinions on LGBT issues. The pastors hope that the new social networking platform will be a place for Christians to freely express their beliefs and engage in conversations without fearing backlash. Read more here.

By Shuan Marksbury - Posted at The Domain for Truth : Today, the term “elders” rings sour in many Baptist ears. Perhaps it seems too Presbyterian, or it may seem to authoritarian. Indeed, many SBC churches practice a model of a deacon leadership or have such a congregational government that spiritual decisions are left in the hands of those not holding (and, perhaps, unqualified for) any office. It was not always so, and Baptists at one time understood that (multiple) elders should led a church. For instance, the first president of the SBC, W. B. Johnson, taught that individual churches should be led by a plurality of elders. One of the founding members of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, William Williams, likewise taught this; the Abstract of Principles says, “The regular officers of a Church [singular] are Bishops or Elders [plural], and Deacons.” The SBC statement of faith is no different. In 1925, it stated, “A church of Christ [singular] is a congregation of baptiz

Image Source: LA Times By Dr. R. Scott Clark - Posted at The Heidelblog :  Christians ought to denounce fascism, racism (as traditionally defined), bigotry, and claims of racial superiority (e.g., White supremacy). They are gross sins against God and his image bearers (other humans). They should also denounce class warfare, dialectical materialism, pragmatism, mobs, and vigilante violence (e.g., Antifa). Christians, however, are not entitled to self-righteousness. We should also examine our own souls. ... One of the several reasons that it is difficult to have a reasoned discussion about the events that transpired in Charlottesville is that the groups like neo-Nazis and the Klan provide such an almost irresistible opportunity for self-righteousness. The history of these groups warrants concern. After all, within my lifetime there were Klan marches, crosses burned, and even Klan organized lynchings. Law enforcement knows that some White supremacist groups pose a significant thr

Asif Masih. (The Voice Society) Posted at Morning Star News : LAHORE, Pakistan (Morning Star News) – A Muslim mob in rural Punjab Province, Pakistan stormed a police station to continue beating a 16-year-old Christian boy accused of blaspheming the Koran, sources said. Asif Masih, illiterate and mildly mentally challenged according to his father, was so badly beaten by the mob in Punjab Province’s Gujranwala District on Aug. 12 that he “confessed” in order to try to stop the violence, the sources said. Police charged Asif even though they determined no motive or means for allegedly setting fire to a copy of the Koran and an Islamic booklet at a Muslim shrine in Jhamkey village, in Ali Pur Chattha of the Wazirabad area. A rival garbage-scavenger who watches over the shrine to Sufi figure Pir Sandhay Shah said someone burned pages of the Islamic scripture on July 18 or 19, and when Asif Masih happened by on Aug. 12, he seized Asif and shouted that he had done it, said Asif’s fa

By Heather Clark - Posted at Christian News Network : Published 8.18.2017 An Arizona-based group has launched a “political late-night comedy” show similar to “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report” that provides stand-up comedy and skits by its pastor, who had been characterized by the New York Post as a “hipster pastor.” The weekly broadcast uses satire and strong language to make a “mockery of sin” in an effort, they say, to rival secular entertainment and engage the culture with the gospel. The endeavor has generated a mixed response, with some praising the program, and others expressing concern over coarse jesting or wondering why a comedy show is necessary in already overly-entertained American Christianity. Apologia Church, led by Jeff Durbin, in conjunction with Apologia Studios, led by Marcus Pittman, launched “Next Week With Jeff Durbin” on Aug. 1, issuing a national press release the day prior. “Apologia Studios is passionate about making Christian enter

Image Source:  Abandoned to Christ By Sunny Shell - Posted at Abandoned to Christ : Twenty-eight years ago, the Lord moved me to Southern California as an answer to my cry for help. My faithful and merciful Father God had graciously and mercifully endured, preserved, and persevered me through 13 years of severe and brutal persecution. But because I did not heed His exhortation and admonition in Deuteronomy 8:11-20 , I forgot that it was by His mighty hand that I received relief from my enemies. Much like the Israelites whom the LORD kindly saved and freed from the bondage of Egypt, I fancied that this reprieve was due to something good I had done—and for three years, I entertained the fallacy, that I deserved every good I received from the Lord. I behaved as if God owed me for my obedience, rather than remember that even my obedience was a gift from Him, through Jesus Christ; who through His death and resurrection, freed and enabled me to do what I could never do on my own—ple

Image Source: Creation.com By Jarvis J. Williams - Posted at 9Marks : The relationship between the gospel and racial reconciliation has been a contested topic among evangelicals of late. Some Christians propose that the gospel and gospel action can solve the current racial divide in the church. I (an African-American) make this point in a book called One New Man , and biblical scholars Kenneth Mathews (European-American) and Sydney Park (Asian-American) make a similar point in The Post Racial Church . However, there is hardly a Christian consensus regarding the church’s role in the work of racial reconciliation. A SOCIAL ISSUE OR A GOSPEL ISSUE? Michael Emerson and Christian Smith observe in Divided by Faith (Oxford, 2000) that evangelical Christians have traditionally viewed racial reconciliation and matters of race as a “social issue” instead of a “gospel issue.” One white Southern Baptist pastor illustrates the point in his 2014 article “ I Don’t Understand the Eva

https://heidelblog.net/ By Dr. R. Scott Clark - Posted at The Heidelblog : One neglected aspect of the story of Modernity has been the loss of a Christian anthropology. Along with its exile of God, Modernity has also been busily re-defining humanity with unhappy consequences. Through two world wars, abortion, genocides, “eugenics,” Communist purges, etc. “Enlightened man” has murdered more humans in the last century certainly than in any other century in human history and perhaps more than in all of recorded history prior. The “Enlightenment” did not do away with slavery. Several of our (American) “enlightened” founders were slave owners. Mass murder and chattel slavery are symptoms of a sub-Christian view of human beings. The predominant late-modern narratives about humans, that we are a cosmic accident or mistake or worse a cosmic mistake, only continues the unhappy trend toward de-humanizing humans. Yesterday news emerged that Iceland has been systematically murdering infant

By Vikki Bynum - Posted at Renegade South : I’ll never forget the excitement I felt when, in the midst of researching The Free State of Jones , I came upon the WPA’s 1936 interview with Martha Wheeler, a former slave of Laurel, Mississippi. Today, I realize more than ever that Martha just may be the best source for verifiable remarks about Newt, Rachel, and Serena Knight, and the interracial community they built in Soso, Mississippi, in the aftermath of the Civil War. (1) Although long a staple of folklore and the subject of numerous books, the story of Newt Knight and Rachel Knight’s collaboration against the Confederacy was not well-known before the June 2016 release of the movie, The Free State of Jones. Because of their long-term intimate relationship, Rachel emerged as a central figure in the film version of Jones County’s insurrection. Her dynamism, her struggles, her experiences of slavery and freedom, have since generated international interest in the full story of her life.

By Chris Gordon - Posted at The Gordian Knot : I know it has become en vogue in our day for pastors to think they're doing their congregations a great service by framing their sermons to deal with the social justice issues of the day. Obviously, the problems are many and we’re never short of issues to address: environmental problems, racial tensions, poverty, a sexual revolution, and more. No one questions, of course, that God’s truth should be applied to the contemporary societal challenges people face. The law of God certainly applies to these issues. A faithful pastor will do this wisely when appropriate. I fear, however, that a kind of bully pulpit is (re)emerging by pastors who are pushing harder than ever these societal struggles upon their congregation (and everyone else), to the distraction of the one thing that is lasting and eternal. "Gospel" in this scheme is nothing more than the deliverance of people from societal abuses. God’s word is simply a tool of th

Sharecropper’s family in Washington County; circa 1935. Courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration Posted at Tried With Fire : When the present world has changed in ways we don't like, it's easy to get nostalgic for "the good old days." It's also easy to appropriate our parents and grandparents nostalgia too. If only we could go back to the day when men were men and women were women. If only we could go back to the time where "traditional family values" were the norm. If only we could go back to when our country was made up of people like us and not overrun by "foreigners." If only, if only. But what was it like in reality beyond the sepia photographs and romanticized accounts? I would argue, that the good old days were only good if you were in the privileged class. If you go back before the 2nd wave of feminism, this was prior to the 1965 Immigration Act. It would have been extremely difficult and perhaps impos

By Pastor Sam Powell - Posted at My Only Comfort : These thoughts are in no particular order. Just some things racing through my mind. I have come to wince whenever I read a blog or a comment that begins with “First, I want to say that I condemn all racism; and white supremacy is bad and wicked.” I have found that whenever a comment begins that way, invariably the writer is about to say something horrible. I applaud this business for firing this openly racist employee. I wonder if the others who paraded the Nazi symbol and shouted inflammatory hate speech were immediately excommunicated from their congregations as soon as they returned. Something tells me not. God told Abraham that in his seed (who is Jesus Christ) all the families of the earth would be blessed. You cannot then shout curses at the families of the earth and have any part in Christ. God forbade the making of images to worship him. Images are powerful. When a statue becomes more important to you than peace and

By Jordan Standridge - Posted at The Cripplegate : Let me say that our hearts are broken over the events that took place in our own back yard in Virginia yesterday. Nazi flags and people with KKK hats walking around on a college campus in broad daylight is insane. You’d think that if you affiliate with those groups you’d want to keep it a secret, and yet it was done for the world to see. Our hearts break over racism and terrorism and our only hope and solution is the Gospel, that, believe it or not, can break even the most wicked of hearts and give even the most prideful and hate-filled man new life. There are so many vantage points when an event like this occurs. The shock of such an event will produce a lot of questions and a lot of discussion over the next few months. Many people will be tempted to speak off the cuff, and many others will be tempted to harbor resentment and to expect their brothers and sisters in Christ to react in a particular way. There are certain truths,

By Connor Mighell - Posted at The Federalist : Identity politics of any stripe is not conservatism. Both fascists and communists oppose the core principles of the political right. It goes without saying that what occurred in Charlottesville involved a literal and figurative “parade of horribles.” A collection of hate-filled morons turned a college town into their personal parade ground in a sickening display. Many were assaulted and killed as the marchers’ intentions shifted from assembly to riot. The organizers of this orgy of evil seem to be operating under the sad delusion that they are part of “the Right.” Their choice to name their Charlottesville demonstration “Unite the Right” and insistence on using the term “alt-right” to describe themselves is further evidence of this belief. I would like to disabuse these self-described “deplorables” of this false notion. The agitators in Charlottesville were not members of any recognizable right-wing movement. In fact, their

By Rev. Brandon Gilvin - Posted at Patheos.com: Published 8.09.2017 I have a love-hate relationship with journalism that covers religion. On the one hand, I love a good feature story about a monastery in the middle of rural America, or a story about religious traditions working together in innovative ways, or an insightful profile about someone who has examined her own faith enough to speak about it without resorting to platitudes. But then, there are the stories that just make me cringe. Tonight, when I sat down to look over some of the daily headlines, I caught a story that began with a cringe-worthy line : “Texas megachurch Pastor Robert Jeffress, one of President Trump’s evangelical advisers who preached the morning of his inauguration, has released a statement saying the president has the moral authority to take out North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.” Of course, this was following President Trump’s statement today that North Korea would be met with “Fire and Fury

Posted at Wintery Knight : Google recently fired a software engineer who asked them to do a better job of promoting diversity by actually appealing to women’s different needs and desires. He suggested more collaborative coding (“pair programming”) and more part-time work options. Google responded to his suggestions by ejecting him forcibly from their left-wing politically correct echo chamber. Google executives claim that their company is rooted in science. Well, is there a science of sex differences? Who is right? This article from The Globe and Mail , which is the more leftist of Canada’s two national newspapers, is written by a PhD in the field of sexual neuroscience from York University. She says: Despite how it’s been portrayed, the memo was fair and factually accurate. Scientific studies have confirmed sex differences in the brain that lead to differences in our interests and behaviour. ... Read more here. 

Image from Journal of the American Revolution By John Knight - Posted at the Journal of the American Revolution : In 1775 London was the largest, most prosperous and economically important city in the world. [1] Though it was Britain’s capital, politically and economically it remained aloof from the rest of the Kingdom. Uniquely governed by an independent Corporation, it had declared itself a “commune” as early as 1191 and held a constitutional position of importance only one place below the Sovereign himself [2] It remained outside the authority of both the King and Parliament and elected its officials and Lord Mayor from a small group of medieval guilds arranged in strict precedence from the “Mercers” at the top to “Cloth Workers” at the bottom. [3] It openly espoused free trade, even when both King and Parliament did not, and steadfastly refused to allow any soldiers to be billeted within its walls. In short, London taxed itself, governed itself and judged itself, and woe b

By Brian Hobbs - Posted at Baptist Press : Francine, left, and Laura with a family photo album - Baptist Press BARTLESVILLE, Okla. -- Francine Perry and her daughter Laura recently sat down to look at family photos. As they reflected on the good times, they also could see how God was at work, especially through the difficult times -- and there were many of those. On the heels of rebellious teenage years, Laura lived as a transgender man for nearly a decade of her adult life. Other than her family and select friends, though, most people just knew Laura as "Jake." Laura was living with a partner who also identified as transgender, and had become estranged from family members and the church. Laura had grown up in a Christian home. Her parents, Paul and Francine, were and are active members of First Baptist Church of Bartlesville, Okla., where they took Laura and her siblings to church nearly every time the doors were open. "I grew up going to church constantly,&qu

Posted at Voice of the Persecuted : As reported by “ Mohabat News ” Maryam (Nasim) NaghashZargaran, the converted Christian was released from Evin prison on August 1, 2017, after four years. This prisoner was released after her long prison term concluded coupled with the extra days of incarceration due to her unwanted absenteeism. She was supposed to have been released on June 28, 2017 while her family waited for her at the entrance to the prison, but the prison authorities, claiming that her release paper were not ready, kept her incarcerated for three extra days. Maryam NaghashZargaran was born in 1978 and she was interrogated in December 2009 being accused of hosting house churches and promoting Christianity. Eventually, she was arrested and exiled to an unknown area by Sepah Forces in 2012. Despite her temporary release on bail, she was sentenced to 4 years prison in absentia and her appeal court approved the district court’s decision. Read more here.

Greenbelt 2017 : The Common Good - Facebook By Amy Spreeman - Posted at Berean Research : Imagine learning Quranic chants from an anti-Christ religion, to worship our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ? That’s exactly what’s going on at a so-called “Christian” festival this month. Christian worshipers at the annual Greenbelt Christian festival near London can now learn Islamic worship chants to Allah. It’s a Chrislamic syncretism that will be taught to kids, teens and adults August 25 – 28. The social justice/environmental festival is called Greenbelt 2017: The Common Good . Which explains a lot. The chanting lessons are taught at the festival by the Ansari Qadiri Rifai Tariqa, an international non-profit group, which invites Christians to learn how to use basic universal Sufi chants. Greenbelt Christian leaders say the chants are rhythmic, and have healing properties. Festival-goers are invited to “come, enter in, learn and participate”. Ansari’s mission is to promote Sufi

By Cornelis Van Dam - Posted at the Reformed Perspective : AN IRAQI FLAG FLIES OVER THE DAMAGED SYRIAC ORTHODOX CHURCH OF ST. EPHRAIM, IN MOSUL, IRAQ - Reformed Perspective A LOOK AT ISIS, AND ITS PAST, TO GET AN UNDERSTANDING OF ITS FUTURE About four years ago the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) appeared to have come out of nowhere, creating havoc with its unspeakable brutality and dramatically transforming the political landscape of the Middle East. In short order it had millions under its control in a territory comparable to that of Great Britain, with footholds in Libya, northern Nigeria, and elsewhere as well. However, it now looks as if the days of ISIS are numbered, with coalition forces having taken the city of Mosul from ISIS in July, and now having the momentum as they seek to destroy ISIS. GONE FOR GOOD? But will the battle against what ISIS represents, and its dreams of a caliphate, truly be over if ISIS is wiped off the map of the Middle East? That does not

By Eric Davis - Posted at The Cripplegate : They are some of the more depressing words in Scripture. “For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me” ( 2 Tim. 4:10 ). It wasn’t always that way. Demas was doing great for a while. He was traveling with the ministry elites of the apostolic age; Luke, Aristarchus, and the apostle Paul ( Col. 4:14 , Philem. 24 ). For a time, he was even considered a “fellow worker” ( Philem. 24 ). However, a mere five years later, and he has bolted the faith. Paul uses a word in 2 Timothy 4:10 (translated, “has deserted”) which depicts abandonment and apostasy; departing from the faith. Demas appeared to be regenerate and a mature Christian. But, as time and truth go hand-in-hand, his faith proved to be false. Apostasy is the ultimate soul-insanity. Hell is preferred over heaven. Sin satisfies more than the Savior. The world’s rubbish is preferred over heaven’s King. Nothing is worse than that highest act of spiritual treason. I pr

By Dr. R. Scott Clark - Posted at The Heidelblog : The Foundry, Resonate, Relevant, The Bridge, and Passion City are just a few of the contemporary church names noted by Dennis Baker and mocked by Url Scaramenga in 2010. A search for “contemporary church names” brings up a wealth of resources offering to help entrepreneurial church planters (or church re-branders) make a splash in their community. The Church Venture offers “119 cool church names.” One of the trends in church names noted by Thom Rainer is that they are becoming shorter because of the demands of the internet. A longer church name can leader to a long internet address (URL). The “7 Awesome Church Name Ideas” mocked in the Babylon Bee are virtually indistinguishable from what is already happening. Steve Fogg offers some practical tips for naming a church that might actually lead away from some of the more trendy and even irritating church names. I have noticed the trend for several years but a recent trip wh

Posted at Reformation Scotland : It’s not just that our culture only seems to celebrate youth as successful – it makes it everything. Deep down there is a desperate fear of ageing, losing our material pleasures…and of death. We live in a culture that wants to keep us in a state of perpetual adolescence. That way we will be more impulsive and self-focussed and therefore buy more. Social media (misused) often seems to feed the desire to be the centre of attention. Frequently it promotes immature use of language, reason, truth claims and emotion. Scripture makes a clear distinction between being childlike and childish. Do we know what that is? Our culture doesn’t want to “put away childish things”: it wants to carry on speaking and reasoning in a childish way. This is of course the opposite of what the Apostle Paul says should happen (1 Corinthians 13:11). There are indeed spiritual characteristics similar to being childlike (Matthew 18:1-4). Yet these are quite different to childish

Posted at Grace for my Heart : What happens when the narcissist finally crashes and burns? Oh yes, it does happen sometimes. We see it on the news. We read about it in the magazines. We hear about it from friends and family. And we wonder if justice has finally come. The famous preacher or spiritual teacher was never what he pretended to be. There was a dark side. The great politician we were all supposed to love was compromised by his weaknesses. The model employee was cheating all the time. The favorite son broke the rules to serve himself. Then it all came crashing down. Or did it? Read more here. See also: Why Doesn’t God Change the Narcissist’s Heart?

Pine-Richland School District - Wikipedia By Heather Clark - Posted at Christian News Network: PITTSBURGH, Pa. — A school district in Pennsylvania has agreed to allow students who identify as the opposite sex to use the restroom that corresponds with their “gender identity.” “[T]he parties to this litigation desire to settle the issues raised by Plaintiffs’ complaint and subsequent proceedings without the necessity of further litigation,” the consent judgment signed by U.S. District Judge Mark Hornak outlines. “[T]he parties have reached a settlement agreement and consent to entry of the … final and binding consent judgment as dispositive of all issues raised…” Lamba Legal announced its settlement with the Pine-Richland School District on Tuesday, which less than a year ago had asked the court to dismiss the case in arguing that the organization’s reliance on the Obama administration’s interpretation of federal law was flawed and “contravenes congressional intent as related

Posted at The Christian Observer : The perversity of the stress on diversity in our colleges is a form of social engineering, creating many negatives. Diversity is neither good or bad in itself, but can become perversity when many of our colleges and universities are so committed to social engineering that promotes racial, sexual, religious, socio-economic focuses, or whatever it might be instead of true education. When we attack through indoctrination the very foundation upon which our Western Civilization is formed—the Judeo-Christian moral fabric and above the evangelical message of Christ — it is bad. The Bible well says, “There is a way that seems right unto man, but the end thereof is the way of death!” ( Prov. 14:12 ) Scott Greer, author of No Campus for White Men, said the whole purpose of higher education has shifted, saying that: “There’s this new trend in higher education that has not so much stressed teaching people real world skills or knowledge that they co

By Shane Vander Hart - Posted at Truth in American Education: I generally like to shy away from the school choice debate over here mainly because there are diverging opinions about it among our community. Even though I personally favor some school choice programs (and the idea that parents should have control) there are valid concerns about strings being attached to school choice programs. A prime example was how Indiana’s voucher program pushed Common Core into private schools in the Hoosier State. So there are legitimate arguments against certain programs, and I think almost all of us can oppose any school choice efforts coming from the federal level. The argument that Katherine Stewart at The New York Times makes isn’t one of those arguments, however. She said that school choice, aka “attacks” on public schools, harkens back to racism... Read more here.