'The Church Today Needs an Apologetic Culture'

THE CHRISTIAN POST - By Anugrah Kumar - June 7, 2011
Pastors should develop an apologetic culture in their churches as the need for Christians to defend their faith has increased significantly, Canadian author and apologist Stephen J. Bedard said.

In an interview featured on the Apologetics 315 website Monday, the author of Unmasking a Pagan Christ: An Evangelical Response to the Cosmic Christ Idea, talked about issues ranging from the need for articulation of the Gospel to the Jehovah’s Witness booklet and the evidence of Jesus’ existence.

Asked what his advice to pastors was, Bedard said they should make their congregations aware that there are answers available; “it’s not a blind faith.” “We don’t have to prove that Christianity is absolutely true, but we have to demonstrate that it is something rational,” said Bedard, pastor of Woodford Baptist Church and First Baptist Church in Meaford in Ontario.

Bedard, who got interested in apologetics after reading Christian authors and thinkers C.S. Lewis and Norman L. Geisler, said churches also needed to articulate what the Gospel is. Only when they know what the real thing is will they be able to respond to the counterfeit, he said.

Talking about Hope’s Reason: A Journal of Apologetics he edits, Bedard said the need for apologetics had “increased significantly.” People today are exposed to all kinds of doctrines, from Gnostic gospels to theories like “The Lost Tomb of Jesus” thanks to the media, he explained.

Gnostic gospels are based on texts that are not part of the standard biblical canon. “The Lost Tomb of Jesus” is a documentary made by a Canadian filmmaker on the Talpiot Tomb near the Old City in East Jerusalem and it seeks to misinterpret the events regarding Jesus as recorded in the New Testament, Christians believe.

Those who want to get involved in apologetics - the discipline of defending a Christian position by the systematic use of reason - must spend time with atheists, non-Christians, and those who are skeptical of the Christian faith, Bedard advised. “Just listen to what they believe” and do not hesitate to acknowledge the good points they raise, but also go to the Scriptures to see where the Bible says they are wrong.

A father of five, Bedard said he learned a lot from his children. “They ask everything and do not take anything for granted. They challenge me all the time,” he said, adding that children and others should always be encouraged to ask questions.

Bedard also announced that his upcoming book, a response to the Jehovah’s Witness booklet “What Does the Bible Really Teach,” was expected to hit the market “in the next couple of months.” He said he was impressed with the honesty of Jehovah’s Witnesses about what they believe. “We can also learn from the way they equip their people.”

Mainstream Christians accuse the Jehovah’s Witness denomination of doctrinal inconsistencies and biblical mistranslations.

Titled Jehovah’s Witness and What the Bible Really Teaches, to be published by Clements Publishing, the book is “a guide to having productive conversations with Jehovah’s Witness.”

Talking about his first book Unmasking a Pagan Christ, Bedard said it was to counter a theory by a Canadian author claiming Jesus never existed.

He said people ask if there is evidence of Jesus outside of the Bible and why there is little Jewish and Roman evidence, but “when I took a look at the actual evidence, I found that we actually have quite a bit, in fact, more than we’d expect.”

Those who ask for Jewish evidence totally ignore the fact that the Jewish society at the time was quite illiterate, he said. “So it was really unlikely that most of the people who heard Jesus preach would actually be writing it down. Even if it did get written down, it was unlikely that it would survive to this day.”

About Roman writings, he said there was little record of what was going on in the first century in terms of trials in the provinces such as Judea. So records of Jesus cannot be expected either, he reasoned.

But there is evidence in the writings of the first century Jewish historian, Josephus, he said. “It’s pretty firm evidence that Jesus existed. Outside of that we have the Bible and we have Paul.”

Josephus wrote of a Jewish sect led by James the Just, identifying him as the brother of Jesus. His writings also included sections on John the Baptist, the High Priest Annas, Pontius Pilate, and Jesus called the Messiah.

If critics were to use the same standards they use to verify writings on Jesus on other historical figures, “we would have to burn our history books,” Bedard said.

However, apologists must remember that 1 Peter 3:15 asks us to respond in gentleness and respect, he said, and cautioned that the purpose of apologetics is not to win argument, but to win people to Christ.

Unedited :: Link to Original Posting
http://www.christianpost.com/news/the-church-today-needs-an-apologetic-culture-50922/


FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Oprah's big hug of spirituality will outlive her show

USA TODAY [Gannett] - By Cathy Lynn Grossman - May 25, 2011
Oprah, the prophetess of post-Judeo-Christian America who brought us big hug spirituality -- love yourself, save yourself -- leaves the daily stage today to run her media empire.
To whom will we turn? God?
Not likely. Many Americans no longer believe in a mighty judge who sets the rules for life now and forever. Instead, many of us sing Oprah's song of self-redemption.
She told over-his-head Piers Morgan on the CNN host's opening show:

I am the messenger to deliver the message of hope and redemption.

And to a vast extent, our culture has bought the message: We're all good, we should not judge each other and morality is relative.
When the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life's U.S. Religious Landscape Survey of 35,000 Americans documented in detail the splintered spirituality of today's believers, Rice University sociologist Michael Lindsay pointed straight to Oprah to explain our salad bar-style spirituality.
Lindsay pointed out:

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the national memorial service was at Washington's National Cathedral, conducted by Episcopal clergy. After the 9/11 attack, Oprah organized the official memorial service at Yankee Stadium, and while clergy participated, she was the master of ceremonies.

Oprah, he said draws on multiple religious traditions to "create a hodgepodge personalized faith."
This is, of course, a message that horrifies traditional believers who decry it, like Josh McDowell and Dave Sterrett in their book, 'O' God: A Dialogue on Truth and Oprah's Spirituality,"

The danger is that while appearing to use Christian and inclusive language that at first seems similar to that of Christianity, Oprah teaches a message that is radically different and absolutely contrary to the true teaching of Scripture and historic Christianity.

But she has been right on the money on spirituality, bringing to the fore spiritual thinkers such as Eckhart Tolle of The Power of Now and A New Earth. She was so impressed by Tolle's let-go-and-breathe counseling on peace through silence and stillness, she co-hosted a 10-week set of Internet seminars on how to simply be.

Oprah described how she reconciled her Baptist upbringing with Tolle teachings, saying:

What I believe is that Jesus came to show us Christ consciousness. That Jesus came to show us the way of the heart and that what Jesus was saying that to show us the higher consciousness that we're all talking about here..."

Tolle writes in A New Earth that everyone carries ""The Truth" inside -- all the joy, creativity, energy, love they seek.

Was Jesus the son of God?" he asks rhetorically. "Yes. But so are you. You just haven't realized it yet." ...

Edited :: See Original Report Here
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/Religion/post/2011/05/oprah-spirituality-god-eckhart-tolle/1


FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

TBN and Jack Van Impe in a Rift

APOSTASY ALERT [www.apostasyalert.org] - By Jackie Alnor - June 14, 2011
Bible Prophecy pundit, Jack Van Impe, has just announced that he will be canceling his TV program, “Jack Van Impe Presents’’ from the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) after a recent episode was replaced with a program promoting unity between Christianity and Islam.

According to a news release on Van Impe’s web site, “On Wednesday afternoon we received a call from Matt Crouch of TBN informing us that they would not run that program, despite having aired it Monday evening. The reason he gave was that we specifically mentioned Rick Warren and Robert Schuller and that it is TBN’s policy that broadcasters are not allowed to rebuke other ministries. This is a rather hypocritical statement in light of the fact that they have never said anything in the past when we have rebuked others such as Bishop Spong, Bishop Pike, and in the past few months Harold Camping and Rob Bell.”

Van Impe has recently veered from his own policy of not criticizing other ministries. He is infamous for ragging on anyone who dares to refute the false teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. He is receiving a taste of his own medicine.

It comes at no surprise that it was Matt Crouch, the younger son of TBN founders Paul and Jan Crouch, that flexed his muscles in Van Impe’s direction. Several years ago while was hosting the Praise the Lord program, Matt expressed his fury at Van Impe by name in response to Van Impe’s promotional tape on Y2K. Matt accused Van Impe of trying to raise money by planting fear in people’s minds, something TBN does on a regular basis during every Praise-a-Thon fund raiser.

To read the news release go to link: http://www.jvim.com/update/display.php?ITEM=11137

Unedited :: Link to Original Posting
http://moriel.org/MorielArchive/index.php/discernment/church-issues/aberrational-theology/tbn-and-jack-van-impe-in-a-rift


FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Another Southern Baptist Christian Leader Falls prey to the Doctrines of Demons

SAINTS ALIVE IN JESUS - By Ed Decker - May 10, 2011
Pastor Steven G. Tiner, Senior Pastor of Levy Baptist Church http://www.levybaptist.com/  in North Little Rock, AR  now boasts his calling as Most Excellent Grand High Priest Grand Chapter Royal Arch Masons Of Arkansas.
In his acceptance remarks following his Masonic ordination, Pastor Tiner proclaimed I want to thank the Grand Chapter of Arkansas for the incredible privilege of serving as your Grand High Priest. I love Royal Arch Masonry with all of my heart. Therefore, to be honored to serve as your Grand High Priest is a joy beyond what I can ever express with words. I pray that the Great Architect of the Universe will bless this year as we work together for the advancement of the Craft. http://www.yorkrite.org/ar/ARRAinsert.pdf

Levy Baptist Church is associated with the Southern Baptist Convention, The Arkansas Baptist State Convention and The North Pulaski Baptist Association, where  Pastor Tiner is sits as Moderator, heading up its associational leadership.  http://www.northpulaskibaptist.com/
Pastor Tiner has also bowed his knee at the altar of a false god and has given himself over to the doctrines of demons. These are the doctrines he pledges to advance for the cause of the craft.  

Let me tell you about a few things he brags about above.
First, there is only one high priest. That is Jesus Christ. Pastor Tiner and his Masonic friends have usurped the holy priesthood of  our Lord.
Second,  He speaks of Prayers to and for The Grand Architect of the Universe.  In this Royal Arch Degree, the true nature of this Grand architect is revealed, so this demonic deity of theirs can be fully worshipped. As their Most Excellent High Priest, Pastor Tiner presides over such worship.

Masonic ritual is concerned with the recovery of the “Lost Word,” presumed to be the name of God- supposedly lost through the murder of the architect,
Hiram Abiff, during the building of Solomon’s Temple.This quest is attained during the ritual of the ROYALARCH DEGREE. ...

Edited :: See Original Report Here
http://saintsalive.com/eds-blog/another-sb-leader-falls-prey-to-doctrines-of-demons


FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.