Truth War Central

The Arrogance of the Emergent Church Movement

The Christianity: Doctrine and Ethics blog has a candid and lucid critique of the latest Emergent titles. Here is one of the more memorable quotes from the article.

So here we have a biblically uneducated woman feeling and sensing what Jesus would want. This is a phenomenon that McLaren employs often. For example, on pp. 177-178 of Everything Must Change McLaren makes this creative statement: “If Jesus were in a conversation with Chris Hedges and others like you and me who are concerned about the pervasive human pull towards war, I think he might say something like this:” McLaren then proceeds to have Jesus say nothing of sin and salvation, but puts all kinds of pronouncements in his mouth about war and global warming. In short, McLaren has created a Democrat Jesus in Birkenstocks drinking a Starbucks $5.75 (plus tax) cinnamon-gingerbread-persimmon latte with coxcomb sprinkles. This is the “real Jesus of the Bible” that the rest of us knotheads have missed, but if we had only looked closely enough we would have discovered that he really looked just like Brian McLaren all along.

Click Here to Read the Rest of the Critique

Is Disunity Satan's Greatest Weapon??

Watcher's Lamp has a good Biblically reasoned critique f Rick Warren's latest op-ed piece entitled "What the Bible Says About Handling Disunity".

Not surprisingly Warren sets unity above truth and correct teaching. Watcher's Lamp does a great job of fleshing this out as well as setting the Biblical record straight (something Warren seems incapable of doing).

Click Here to Read

Rob Bell: The gods Should Be Angry

Jesse Johnson from Pulpit Magazine has an insightful review of Rob Bell's "The Gods Are Not Angry" concert tour. Johnson's review documents the subtle but deadly message of Rob Bell. Said Johnson:

"I am convinced that the emerging church is largely early 20th century liberalism, with cooler hair…

This was a one-man show. It was all Rob, for all 90 minutes. No music (except for an awkwardly-mixed conclusion), no notes, no Bible, no lectern, no breaks…

There were more dark rimmed glasses in the room than bibles. The entire night was an illustration of style-over substance…

But Bell went from there into what can only be described as careful and planned ambiguity. It was obvious that he is a smart person. When he rattled off the Mesopotamian and Sumerian gods by memory, he established that he is no dummy. So when he ended the night without explaining why the sacrifice of Christ appeased God’s anger, without explaining atonement, without even touching substitution, I can’t help but note the effort that took. He spoke for over 90 minutes on the sacrifice of Christ without explaining sin, or the resurrection—which is the same as not speaking about the sacrifice of Christ…

Instead, he walked around an alter for 90 minutes, without talking about the wrath of God against sin being poured out on Christ. He did not say, “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you.” He did not say, “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”…

He did not tell them “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” Instead he said, “The gods are not angry anymore.”

Click Here to Read the Rest of Johnson's Review

Christianity & Liberalism

The saying is true, "History never repeats itself but it rhymes". Today we are again locked in a critical battle and what is at stake is the very message of the gospel and by extension the souls of men. Eighty-four years ago J. Gresham Machen found himself locked in a battle that is very similar to the one we find ourselves in today. The forces arrayed against God's word and the gospel were the theological Liberals. Today we are contending for the faith against the same errors introduced by the Liberals. But these errors and heresies have morphed, like a deadly virus, into the Emergent Church movement as well as popular manifestations of the Mega-Church Movement. Therefore, it is important that we go back to the beginning of Liberalism and acquaint ourselves with the battles that were fought nearly a century ago. In so doing, we will be better prepared and equiped to fight that battles that lay ahead.

Chris Rosebrough of ExtremeTheology.com has created an electronic book version of Machen's seminal work entitled "Christianity & Liberalism". This book is free for the download. But, if you would like to support this work then you can do so by clicking here.

Please download, read and liberally share this important book.

Click Here to Download Christianity & Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen

Are You Truly a Protestant OR an Unwitting Catholic?

You may have never set foot in a Catholic Church your entire life. You may even be a life long member of a Protestant Church. But, because so much of Protestantism has wandered away from sound Biblical preaching you may actually have far more in common with Catholicism than you do with Orthodox Christianity (Protestantism). Below is a short 10 question diagnostic tool to help you determine what you are.

Please record your answers to the 10 questions. In each of the following 10 choices, mark either (a) or (b), whichever you believe is correct.

1. (a) God gives a man right standing with Himself by mercifully accounting him innocent and virtuous.

(b) God gives a man right standing with Himself by actually making him into an innocent and virtuous person.

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2. (a) God gives a man right standing with Himself by placing Christ’s goodness and virtue to his credit.

(b) God gives a man right standing with Himself by putting Christ’s goodness and virtue into his heart.

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3. (a) God accepts the believer because of the moral excellence found in Jesus Christ.

(b) God makes the believer acceptable by infusing Christ’s moral excellence into his life.

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4. (a) If a Christian becomes “born again” (regenerate, transformed in character), he will achieve right standing with God.

(b) If the sinner accepts right standing with God by faith in Christ’s sinless life and atoning death, he will then experience transformation in character.

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5. (a) We receive right standing with God by faith alone in the blood of Christ.

(b) We receive right standing with God by faith which has become active by love.

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6. (a) We achieve right standing with God by having Christ live out His life of obedience in us.

(b) We achieve right standing with God by believing that Christ obeyed the law perfectly for us.

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7. (a) We achieve right standing with God by following Christ’s example by the help of His enabling grace.

(b) We follow Christ’s example because His sinless life has given us right standing with God.

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8. (a) God first pronounces that we are good in His sight, then gives us His Spirit to begin to make us good.

(b) God sends His Spirit to make us good, and then He will pronounce that we are good.

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9 (a) Christ’s intercession at God’s right hand gives us favor in the sight of God.

(b) It is the indwelling Christ that gives us favor in God’s sight.

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10. (a) Only by faith in the doing and dying of Christ can we fully satisfy the claims of the Ten Commandments.

(b) By the power of the Holy Spirit living in us, we can fully satisfy the claims of the Ten Commandments.

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Answers.

1. A=Protestantism, B=Catholicism
2. A=Protestantism, B=Catholicism
3. A=Protestantism, B=Catholicism
4. A= Catholicism, B= Protestantism
5. A=Protestantism, B=Catholicism
6. A= Catholicism, B= Protestantism
7. A= Catholicism, B= Protestantism
8. A=Protestantism, B=Catholicism
9. A=Protestantism, B=Catholicism
10. A=Protestantism, B=Catholicism

How did you do?

If you are unwittingly subscribing to Catholicism rather than Biblical Christianity then we recommend that you read all of the articles in this issue of Present Truth Magazine. It will be a tremendous help to you.

Discernment 101

The Reformation Nation blog has good introductory level lesson in Christian discernment. It is really worth the time. The lesson even has a short 1 question quiz to help you see whether or not you passed the lesson. Click Here to Read

The Bible Driven Church

This is a MUST hear sermon for Christians today. Click Here to Listen

Deeds NOT Creeds??

Rick Warren has been traveling the world for the past few years calling for a second reformation of deeds not creeds.

Please watch the video below regarding the proper place of creeds and then compare it to Saddleback Church's statement of belief. It will be very eye-opening for you.

Why Modern "Evangelism" is Not Evangelism At All

Hagee Denies That Jesus is the Messiah!

Here are some quotes taken directly from Hagee's book.

If God intended for Jesus to be the Messiah of Israel, why didn't he authorize Jesus to use supernatural signs to prove he was God's Messiah, just as Moses had done? (p. 137)

Jesus refused to produce a sign ... because it was not the Father's will, nor his, to be Messiah. (p 138) If Jesus wanted to be Messiah, why did he repeatedly tell his disciples and followers to "tell no one" about his supernatural accomplishments? (p. 139)

The Jews were not rejecting Jesus as Messiah; it was Jesus who was refusing to be the Messiah to the Jews. (p. 140)

They wanted him to be their Messiah, but he flatly refused. (p. 141)

He refused to be their Messiah, choosing instead to be the Savior of the world (p. 143)

Jesus rejected to the last detail the role of Messiah in word or deed. (p. 145)

For good Biblical rebuttals to Hagee's claims we recommend the article posted at The Bible Wheel and this article and this article at Apprising Ministries.