Christian Heritage News

 By Samuel D. James - Posted at Letter & Liturgy: I will not be casting a vote for president this year. I would not be surprised if I’m the only one among my family and friends to abstain. Every—and I mean every—four years we are told “This election is the most important of our lifetime.” It could be true this time, but I doubt it, for the same reason I doubt my four year old son when he says that this toy is the one he really wants and he will not ask for anything for Christmas if I buy it right now. I don’t have any grand apologetic for abstaining. I don’t think it’s inherently noble. I know my abstention will not send anyone a “message.” No one important will know and nobody with power will care. My choice comes not from heroic vision or holy ambition for the country, but out of my own sense of futility. At this point in American history, for a variety of reasons unlikely to change anytime soon, only a candidate from the two major parties can win, and neither of the current majo

 By Heather Clark - Posted at Christian News Network: PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia-based American Bible Society has released chapter seven of its annual “State of the Bible” report, which focuses in part on Scripture engagement and political identity. It found that, for those surveyed, a significant percentage of each affiliation is Bible disengaged, meaning that they rarely read God’s Word or use it to make decisions about their lives. “Across the spectrum, Bible disengaged is the most common category for American adults from all political party affiliations,” the report states. “Nearly two thirds of those not registered to vote (61%) are Bible disengaged. More than half of Independents (52%) and Democrats (47%) score Bible disengaged.” And, even though Republicans are more apt to have some sort of engagement with the Bible, “[a]mong political conservatives, Bible disengaged is also the largest category, claiming more than a third (35%) of registered Republican voters.” Read more.

 By Shane Vander Hart - Posted at Caffeinated Thoughts : Published Oct. 16, 2020 Former Vice President Joe Biden, during the ABC News town hall on Thursday night, conveyed a position that can only be described as radical. He implicitly endorsed allowing eight and ten-year-olds who identify as transgender to transition to their chosen gender – a process that typically begins with puberty blockers then moves to hormone treatment, and then, finally, a gender reassignment (sex change) surgery. Responding to a question posed by a mother of a child who identifies as transgender, Biden said, “The idea that an eight-year-old child or a ten-year-old child decides, you know, ‘I decided I want to be transgender. That’s what I think I’d like to be a may make my life a lot easier.’ There should be zero discrimination. Read more here.

 By Heather Clark - Posted at Christian News Network: “Trump Pride” events, organized by the Trump Pride advisory board and featuring speakers such as daughter-in-law Lara Trump, daughter Tiffany Trump and others, are being held in various cities across the country in order to rally the homosexual vote for Election Day. “[T]he entire family is with us (homosexuals). Don and Ivanka and Eric [and] Lara, everyone is with us,” Richard Grenell, former U.S. Ambassador to Germany and current Trump Pride coalition co-chair told those gathered in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania , a suburb of Philadelphia, on Oct. 13. “This is a family that for decades has been fighting for gay equality,” he said. “This isn’t new.” Read more here. S ee also :

 By Rev. Benjamin Glaser - Posted at Seventeen82 : A term that has grown in popularity among counselors and in psychological textbooks is gaslighting. One hears it on TV, reads it in print, and sees it used in any number of contexts. Gaslighting is the attempt to create a false reality which forces another person to accept or do something that they under normal psychological circumstances would never do. This term originates from a mid-20th century film (itself based on an earlier stage play) where the protagonist successfully convinces his wife, and others, that she is crazy by slowly dimming the lights and then denying it is happening, eventually leading to her being committed to a mental institution. Gaslighting is wicked and destructive. Read more here.  

 By Heather Clark - Posted at Christian News Network: The conference was presented by CrossPolitic and its Fight, Laugh, Feast Network, which identifies as not “your typical Christian network.” NASHVILLE — Jeff Durbin, who leads a Reformed assembly in Arizona along with apologist James White and others, is drawing scrutiny after he recently used preplanned profanity as a guest speaker at a gospel-themed conference in a move to condemn what he considers the “woke church.” Durbin’s verbiage is being condemned as “unnecessary,” “disappointing” and “shameful” by supporters and pastors, some of whom called him to repentance or referred to such talk as “the language of Hell.” Durbin, who leads Apologia Church in Tempe — an active group that seeks to confront issues such as abortion, homosexuality and false religions like Mormonism — is no stranger to controversy for pushing the envelope, including raising questions over his choice of language. He has repeated profanity outside of abortion f

 By Al Baker - Posted at Forget None of His Benefits: “Do not be conformed to this world, Romans 12:2. Submit, therefore to God.” -James 4:7 Women in ministry, homosexuality, and Critical Race Theory are a trifecta which is threatening evangelical and Reformed churches in the U.S. Grace Church DC, a PCA congregation in Washington D.C., recently advertised their ministry of “shepherdesses”.[1] “Shepherdesses will also assist the Elders in overseeing the spiritual well-being of the flock and advise the elders on matters of governance. They will be publicly examined, called, and commissioned by the Session.” A book entitled Help(H)er: A Churchwide Response for Women in Crisis, written by staff members Bernie Lawrence and Anne Marie Goudzwaard of Christ Covenant PCA in Matthews, North Carolina, addresses the issue of women in ministry. The book deals with women assisting women, which of course, is a very needed ministry. What should concern us, however, is the co-opting of language. They

 By Samuel D. James - Posted at Letter & Liturgy: I’ve seen this kind of zero-sum mentality before in seminary. One thing that all seminarians agree on, regardless of denomination, is that “Jesus unites, theology divides” is a terrible thing to say. And, of course, they’re right. Theology matters immensely, and as countless others have pointed out, dismissing theology is actually a form of doing theology. In the sense that theology is what we believe about God, everyone does theology. Everyone is a theologian. The only question is whether you’re doing it well or poorly. But sometimes seminarians will smuggle something into the statement “everyone’s a theologian” that doesn’t really belong there. Sometimes, when they say that everyone does theology, what they actually mean is that everyone should think and talk about theology the way that they do. This is very different from saying that what people believe about God is theology. In this sense, “everyone’s a theologian” is actually

Posted at Barnabas Fund: “There is now more pressure for Christians to ‘hide their lamps under a bushel’ in their workplace, and greater risk to those that could hire a Christian.” Chinese Christians are facing workplace pressure to hide their faith “under a bushel”, said a Chinese Christian leader as he called for prayer this week amid concerns that the government’s Social Credit System (SCS) surveillance measures rolling into place for full implementation will put greater pressure on Christians. Under the slogan , “once untrustworthy, always restricted”, the nationwide SCS system, linked to a vast artificial intelligence surveillance network, ranks the “trustworthiness” of individuals and businesses by scoring “financial integrity, compliance and social responsibility”. The “Skynet” surveillance platform for the SCS was extended to capture genetic information for the country’s 700 million males from June 2020. Read more here.

 By David B. McWilliams - Posted at Firm Foundation Partnership: Let there be no mistake, the homosexuality issue is symptomatic of a more fundamental problem. The fundamental issue is that Johnson and those supporting his approach have made experience and feelings authoritative over God’s Word.  The day that Johnson made this speech, applauded by shepherds of the flock, was the saddest day in the history of our assemblies. An unbiblical, emotive story became for many the authority and the Bible was set aside and ignored. At base, the fundamental issue is the authority of God’s Word.  In 1988, stalwart Baptist leader W. A. Criswell addressed the Southern Baptist Convention on the theme: “The Curse of Liberalism.” The curse of liberalism is also what the Presbyterian Church in America now faces. Presently, the virgin birth and bodily resurrection of Jesus are not denied. Nonetheless, the two fundamental characteristics of liberalism are apparent in the Presbyterian Church in America (PC