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Showing posts with the label Fighting for the Faith

The Sabbath and the Christian

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen There are Christians who feel obligated to "keep the Sabbath", so they go to church and worship on Sunday. Some rigidly avoid unnecessary activity, and even shun things like sporting events and other pursuits that they consider "worldly". There are several problems with this approach. First, it is not scriptural, and more of a cultural belief. Second, the Sabbath was not changed to Sunday, it was established for the seventh day. Third and most important, Christians are not required to keep the Sabbath at all. Don't be disunderstanding me now, I'm not saying it's wrong to be church going. What I am  saying is that we're not under the Law, the Mosaic Covenant. Credit: Pixabay / tpsdave The Sabbath has its origin in Gen. 2:3, where he rested on and sanctified the seventh day. God was the only Sabbath keeper at first. In Ex. 16:29-30, the day of solemn rest was established for Israel. See that? It was for Israel, not a

Unmasking the "Holy Ghost" Movie

This post could be subtitled, "Why Unbelievers Hate Christians, Part 4", and is another that will probably cost me some friends. Don't that just take the rag off the bush, standing up for truth and getting professing Christians into a lather? It happened before, and it'll happen again because I seek to please God, not men, which makes me think of Galatians 1:10. Did you know that most Americans who call themselves Christians are actually functional heretics ? While this kind of news is very sad, it is also not surprising. In my experience, especially online, there are many people who profess to be Christians but have a very low view of Scripture, and very little working knowledge of it. Yet, they claim to believe it. When people fall in to deception, disregard for scriptural authority as well as biblical illiteracy are key factors.  I run across all sorts of people while administering The Question Evolution Project . I'll see some who claim to be Christians

Authority, Personality, Familiarity

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen Seems to be human nature to defer to someone in authority. Well, let me modify that: someone that seems to have  authority. The scene of a traffic accident, a stranger stops, gives instructions, directs traffic, and takes charge overall until the police and EMTs arrive. (There is something that is called presence, where someone has authority and personality.) He or she may not have had any formal status, but people deferred to the air of authority. Atheists listen to Clinton Richard Dawkins, even though he is a lousy philosopher, and evolutionists believe his ridiculous claim that the human eye was "poorly designed" . Unfortunately, Christians are often persuaded by people with what they perceive as authority. Evangelist D.L. Moody, from J. Wilbur Chapman , 1900 As an illustration, allow me a personal anecdote. I was raised in the Untied Methodist Church (misspelling intentional), my father was a pastor. In an adult Sunday School class, I was a

What Caused Society's Moral Decline?

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen Pastor Chris " Fighting for the Faith " Rosebrough presented a lecture that I used as a springboard for this article. First, some background on the spiritual condition. Western society has never had morality that we can be proud of, since it has been in a decline for quite a spell. And it's getting worse. Increasing violence, sexual immorality, atheism and other false religions, mental illness, abortion, defamation, lying, corruption at many levels, and so much more. How did we get in such a state? Image credit: David Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net The simple answer is sin, which began in Eden. It escalated (Gen. 6:5) and God judged the world with the Great Flood (Gen 7:23). It didn't take long for man's sinful nature to rear it's ugly head afterward, but God promised never to flood the entire world again (Gen. 9:14-15). Don't think we're getting out of this easily, because the next Judgement will be by

Dancing the Heresy Two-Step

We are seeing 2 Peter 3:3-4 happening right before our eyes . Worse than that, Christianity is being eaten away from the inside. People will proclaim themselves as modern prophets and apostles with "new revelations" from God. Christians should be saying, "Hang on a minute. Where did you get that from the Bible? Oh, you heard from God personally? You know, like Joseph Smith? The canon of Scripture is closed,  as are the offices of apostle and prophet. Let me check your presumptuous pronouncements against the written Word of God". Instead, too many are staring in wide-eyed wonder, being gullible, and being whipped into a frenzy by the false teachers. Image credit: Morguefile / clarita (modified) Many false teachers with throw some Scripture into the mix, but it's a bait 'n' switch tactic, the Heresy Two-Step. Be discerning and watchful. Notice that they are not fond of reading verses in context, often reading a bit and then telling you what

Andy Stanley, Frank Turek, and Bad Theology

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen Andy Stanley has been disappointing some people, and causing quite a few to be alarmed by his opposition to the authority of Scripture. (Note: Do not be confused.  Charles  Stanley is his father, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, and heard on In Touch Ministries . I've found most of his teachings to be doctrinally sound, and he upholds the inerrancy and authority of the Bible.) Unfortunately, megachurch director Andy Stanley has been saying things that are destructive to the truth, including recommending the false teaching of theistic evolution. Gray wolf image credit: US National Park Service While shooting from the hip can be a good thing, someone claiming the title of pastor should reign himself in . Stanley was disrespectful of small churches, then apologized later . In another instance, " What  did he just say?", Stanley may have used a very bad word in a sermon. When the segment was legally posted on YouTube

ETWN is not Roman Catholic Enough?

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen When translating the Latin Vulgate version of the Bible, Jerome had an easy -to-make but serious "oops" with Genesis 3:15, the protoevangelium , the first prophesy of the redemption of man. Most Bibles render it, "... he shall bruise you on the head (or, crush  your head), and you shall bruise him on the heel". But Jerome made it say, "... she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel", as found in the  Douay-Rheims Roman Catholic Bible . The Virgin and Child (The Madonna of the Book) - Sandro Botticelli, 1480 Where can I get a hat like they have? That mistranslation fits in well with Roman Catholic mythology where Mary is the co-redemptrix along with Jesus , which is a blatant violation of Scripture . Although the Vatican's Neo-Vulgate corrected the error , Catholics still managed to force-fit poor Mary into the text, since she gave birth to Jesus. If you study on it for a spell, you'll see th

Pre-Adam Men and the Gap — Heretics Twisting Genesis 1

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen To borrow from Chris Rosebrough (who is linked below), I'm not asking people to read this or watch the video with open minds, but to have open Bibles. My opinion and yours are not worth a whole lot, nor are our traditions. Only God's Word matters (Isaiah 40:8, Mark 13:31). Way back yonder, I was a follower of "Word of Faith" heretic Kenneth Copeland and some of his gang, but I didn't go whole hog on his teachings. Still, I accepted too much at the time. One of several things he said that I rejected out of hand was his affirmation of the "gap theory", where there are supposedly millions of years between the first two chapters of Genesis. I disremember why he wanted to use this gap eisegesis , especially since there is nothing to support it in the rest of Scripture, and I don't think there's anything about it in church history, since an old Earth is a relatively new phenomenon in liberal Christian thinking. Mrs

How Should We Interpret Genesis?

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen The first eleven chapters of Genesis are the most attacked section of the Bible (and with increasing intensity nowadays), and were understood to be actual history by most Christians throughout church history , until Christians began ceding science to secularists about 150 years ago . There's a good reason for understanding Genesis as written , since Jesus, Peter, Paul, and others referred to Genesis as literal history as well. Still, riders on the Old Earth Owlhoot Trail want to force in millions of years by way of the latest trends in man-made science philosophies, and tell God what he said and meant instead of taking the natural reading of Genesis. Naturally, atheists support them. The Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise , Benjamin West , 1791 One area of compromise came from Scottish preacher Thomas Chalmers in 1814, who proposed a gap of long ages between the first two verses of Genesis, but the "Gap Theory" simply does not work

The Season of the Witch Hunt?

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen Way back yonder in my school days, kids would get together based on hate. They didn't really understand hate, but they were upset with someone and disliked him or her. Then they'd recruit others to join them in their persecution efforts. You see that kind of thing today with the advent of the Internet, which became a useful tool for cyberstalking. Cyberstalking is a crime (not that people care about the law until they're actually captured). In some cases, cyberstalking and vicious bullying have driven people to suicide — and worse, such as in the case where it led to the deaths of three people . While it's fine to fellowship with people who agree with you on things (Christians are exhorted to do so throughout the New Testament, for example), recruiting people to join in a witch hunt is petty, childish, and harmful. Part of that is based on an inner need for acceptance and to feel important (some people want to save the world from the "e

Fighting for Question Evolution Day 5

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen Once again, I had the privilege of being interviewed on Fighting for the Faith by Pastor Chris Rosebrough of Pirate Christian Radio , and we not only had a good discussion on creation, evolution, Question Evolution Day, the folly of theistic evolution, and theology, but we also had some fun with it. He said he asked me back. Although after last year's interview he said he'd have me back, but I wonder how much of it is because I "reminded" him of it a few times. Hearing this back, I realize that really need to get a new microphone. I had a passel of notes ready to go, but only used some of them. It's just as well, I had the bit in my teeth and Chris had to say whoa more than once. (The reporter I had a phone interview with the other day also found out that I like to talk on these subjects, that went for an hour.) I had some references that his regular listeners will catch, plus a couple of Monty Python remarks. Pastor Rosebrough clarif

False Teaching and Spousal Abuse

This post will be rough, and I make no apologies. Maybe one, though, the podcast was available for almost two months, and I put it off. Probably because it was difficult for me to hear (including the parts about false Christians). But I have to present it because the material is important. Image credit: Pixabay / Counselling I don't take kindly toward spousal abuse for either party. (Yes, men are abused by women , but you don't hear about that nearly as much.) One time, I was stretching my arms in Cubicle Land and a co-worker was walking by. I said, "I almost hit poor Caitlin". She smiled and said, "Sometimes I need it." She was probably joking, but I felt a twinge. No, you do not  "need it". Ever. If I see some ruffian laying a rough hand on her...  Domestic abuse is not just physical violence, it's about control. From a Christian standpoint, it involves spiritual abuse and possible demonic influence. Even more so when the kids are inv

Special Revelation is Superior to Natural Revelation

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen Some Christians say that nature is the "67th book of the Bible" because "natural revelation" (Romans 1:19-20) comes from God and cannot conflict with Scripture. However, there is a caveat that nature needs to be properly understood. People who do that tend to be compromisers, interpreting the written Word of God in light of current science trends and philosophies. I remember reading how an old-earth Christian was excited about how the Big Bang had been "proven right", so his faith had support. Our faith is supposed to be in Scripture (Isaiah 40:8, Matthew 24:35), not ever-changing naturalistic interpretations of what is observed by scientists. Indeed, what did this guy do when his "proof" of the Big Bang was dropped on the dusty trail ? Worse, some of these people will compromise with evolution, saying that God used it in creation, as if adding God to atheistic views somehow gives that a blessing. Natural revelati