Christian Heritage News

The penultimate “Together for the Gospel” conference in 2020 in Louisville, Ky.  (Together for the Gospel Coalition) Image Source: Chronicles  By Stephen Wolfe - Posted at Chronicles: I converted to Christ in the year 2000, leaving behind my atheistic contrarianism. I entered American Protestantism completely unaware that something unique was occurring. In the 1980s, Calvinism reemerged as a potent intellectual force in evangelicalism, spearheaded by Baptists John Piper and John MacArthur and Presbyterian R. C. Sproul. In the early 2000s, young Gen X seminary graduates and writers who were influenced by these men became a movement known as the Young, Restless, and Reformed (YRR). New personalities and publishers emerged, and megachurches were formed. Centered on Calvinistic doctrines of salvation, these Baby Boomers and Gen X Calvinists achieved a good deal of theological unity. Their cross- and intra-generational unity was most evident in the Together for the Gospel conferences (T4G),

 By Thaddeus Williams - Posted at Reformed Perspective: The subterranean origins of certain Equality and Justice doctrines If I were the devil – which some of you may believe after reading on – if my sworn mission was to devour the Christian faith from the inside out, then here is what I would not do. I would not slither into a Sunday service, breathing blasphemy and dragon fire, bragging about my triumphs at Auschwitz, commanding the congregation, “Deny that God is God!” I would not be an idiot. If I was the devil… I would dress up to look like justice, compassion, or equity, or some other ideal Christians would be quick to “Amen!” I would sink my teeth and suck the true, biblical content from those words – not that many of the Enemy’s people know the true, biblical content of those words to begin with – and then inject it with the venom of new meaning, a meaning that is antithetical to the Enemy’s definition of such silly words. Then I could get nearly every faithful Tom, Dick, and S

 By Tom Hicks - Posted at Founders Ministries: I’ve heard people say, “The church needs to get angry about all these social injustices!” Many seem to believe that racism, misogyny, domestic abuse, child abuse, etc., are all worthy of our most intense anger so that we’re stirred to action in support of victims and so that we can bring oppressors to justice. But is that true? Certainly, the Scriptures are clear that we must seek justice. Proverbs 21:15 says, “When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers.” On the other hand, James 1:20 says, “The anger of man does not produce the righteousness that God requires.” There is something about human anger, untempered, and fully expressed that does not please God. I suggest we need to make some careful distinctions when it comes to angrily pursuing justice. 1. The Nature of Anger The Bible does not teach that anger itself is sinful. After all, God is angry. Scripture frequently talks about “the anger of the LORD”

By Michael Grasso - Posted at Green Baggins: Should the OPC hire GRACE to investigate potential instances of abuse in its churches? This question came before the 87th General Assembly (GA) in the form of a motion to add a docket item called “Ministering to victims of abuse”. [1] The motion needed a 2/3 majority to be added to the docket, and it failed to reach this threshold. This motion did not come in a vacuum. Aimee Byrd had called on the OPC to hire this organization on April 5, 2021. [2] Following the GA’s decision not to take up the question of hiring GRACE, Aimee Byrd publicly condemned the decision of the GA in two blog posts on July 21 [3] and 26 [4] respectively. A few months after GA, on October 8-9, the Presbytery of Philadelphia hosted a fall conference on the subject of spiritual abuse with Diane Langberg as the speaker. Diane Langberg is the author of Redeeming Power: Understanding Authority and Abuse in the church and is a former board member of GRACE. The

 By Brandon Porter - Posted at Baptist Press : FORT WORTH, Texas (BP) – In an open letter released today (Nov. 17), Adam Greenway, president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, has formally requested Michael Spradlin, president of Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary, to reconsider the showing of a film on the Mid-America’s Memphis-area campus Saturday (Nov. 19). The release of “Enemies Within the Church” comes with “apparent coordination” with the Conservative Baptist Network, Greenway said. In the letter, Greenway expressed his “deep disappointment” that the institution would host the premiere of the film. A 2019 fundraising page for the film says it will expose postmodern agendas “commonly known by the terms social justice, intersectionality, critical race theory and Neo-Marxism,” and “expose those who are selling out the Church to postmodernism – and the money behind it.” Read more... See also: Conservative Baptist Network launched amid 'woke' trend in SBC,

By Dewey Roberts - Posted at Vanguard Presbytery: French President, Emanuel Macron, recently specified the reasons for his country outlawing homeschooling. He said that too many homeschoolers were being taught about God and that has proved to be a negative thing for society. It is obvious to anyone that has eyes and ears that totalitarianism is on the rise throughout the world. Countries which have formerly permitted missionaries are now outlawing them. Nations that have had democracies are turning to socialism. Countries that have enjoyed freedom are imposing despotic laws supposedly to protect the citizens. Yet, the old adage remains true that any nation which chooses safety over freedom shall have neither. The same thing has happened in the modern church. Social justice has taken over many denominations in the US and North America. And with that social justice there has come tyranny for many. It seems unfathomable, but it is true. A movement that touts justice denies justice to mos

By Samuel Sey - Posted at Slow To Write : Many young Christians didn’t learn how to understand justice from Scripture. So in college, they learned how to understand justice from culture. And now, they think injustice is justice. And they interpret Scripture through culture, not culture through Scripture. That’s why many professing Christians are more committed to Black Lives Matter than Biblical theology. But our culture’s understanding of justice—or social justice ideology—hasn’t only infiltrated colleges, it’s also infiltrated churches. Professors are influencing Christians to adopt an unbiblical view of justice, and pastors are encouraging them to embrace it—especially Reformed pastors. I’ve received hundreds of emails from people over the last couple months. And they’re almost entirely from people who feel pressured to adopt social justice ideology or critical theory from their Reformed pastors. Social justice has become so widely accepted in mainstream Reformed circles it

By Paul Smith - Posted at The Evangelical Times: Morality is back. Once again, moral absolutes are not just possible but popular. The #metoo movement has demanded universal standards of sexual morality. People are talking about social justice and the need to liberate the oppressed. This all gives tremendous gospel opportunities, because it invites the question: on what basis can universal moral standards be asserted? It also brings tremendous challenges, because acceptance of the new morality is required to have a voice in society. So, should Christians embrace social justice? Social justice seems, at first glance, to fit with biblical standards. After all, did not the prophets urge rulers to treat people, especially the poor, with justice and mercy? The problem is that the dominant narrative in current conceptions of social justice is not right and wrong but a power struggle between oppressors and oppressed. And oppression is taken to be anything that hinders individual self

By Thomas Littleton - Posted at Thirty Pieces of Silver: THE CHURCH IN AMERICA IS BEYOND THE TIPPING POINT AND WE HAVE LITTLE TIME TO RESPOND IF IT IS TO RECOVER. GETTING PERSONAL I am a Southern baptist and a “street ” evangelist for the last 42 years . This simply means that most of my time in ministry has been focused outward and not on the day to day happenings inside the church structures like the denominations and seminaries . However 2009-2010 brought a disturbing awareness of compromises deep within those structures and among popular leaders as a drastic shift was taking place .This shift became a painful and personal reality to me. The church in America is in DEEP trouble . Many no longer hear the true Gospel from our pulpits. Social change has replaced transformed lives . Equity and Justice echo from our pulpits like false prophets at Jezebels alters of BAAL .The house of God is scheduled to become nothing more than a hub of community development, dispensing s

By Thaddeus Williams - Posted at Reformed Perspective: If I were the devil – which some of you may believe after reading on – if my sworn mission was to devour the Christian faith from the inside out, then here is what I would not do. I would not slither into a Sunday service, breathing blasphemy and dragon fire, bragging about my triumphs at Auschwitz, commanding the congregation, “Deny that God is God!” I would not be an idiot. If I was the devil… I would dress up to look like justice, compassion, or equity, or some other ideal Christians would be quick to “Amen!” I would sink my teeth and suck the true, biblical content from those words – not that many of the Enemy’s people know the true, biblical content of those words to begin with – and then inject it with the venom of new meaning, a meaning that is antithetical to the Enemy’s definition of such silly words. Then I could get nearly every faithful Tom, Dick, and Sally to deny the Godhood of God while they think the

By Justin Peters - Posted at The Statement on Social Justice & the Gospel : That our society is permeated by an entitlement mentality should be manifestly evident to all. Most people, it seems, believe themselves to be victims in one way or another and are, therefore, entitled to various benefits even if said benefits are not earned and come at the expense of others. This entitlement mentality is both the foundation of and fuel for the social justice movement that is sweeping through evangelical churches. [1] The evangelical church, though, should be the one bastion in which any sense of entitlement and victimhood finds no quarter. Upon being confronted with sin, human nature’s inclination is to blame shift. Upon being confronted with her sin, Eve blamed the snake. Adam blamed God. Cain deflected. We, as their spiritual progeny, do the same. We all have the tendency to point the finger at someone else to explain away our own sin or our lot in life if it is not to our sati