I’ve discovered a delightful blog by a young pastor who takes the Great Commission seriously.  David Marriott over at Seeing Clearly writes about the ‘front lines’ of evangelism.  In this post he meets up with a woman who has a worldview which is typical of many today. 

Here’s his story:

If you don’t know what a Unitarian Universalist is, join the club. I’m not even sure they know what they are, which, ironically, is probably the only criterion for becoming one. That aside. The following is my encounter with an embittered UU. 

I sat in one of my three regular coffee houses the other day, glanced to the table next to me, and immediately identified my “way in” (the lady was scribbling on a pad while pouring over a newspaper). I said, “Are you a writer?” “Not exactly. Are you?” she responded. I explained that I was indeed writing and that for my line of work, I tend to write about 20 pages per week. 

I can’t remember her name, and even if I could, I wouldn’t share it here. So we’ll call her Sally, an ironically dignified and modern name for such a hippy, anti-establishment, liberated woman. She wore severely faded and somewhat tattered clothing — a jean top and one of those puffy ski-style vests. Sally responded with obvious disgust when she found out that I wrote so much in order to keep up with my weekly sermons.

She muttered her frustration with “fundamentalist sort of Christians” because apparently they “quote portions of the book in order to suit their own purposes.” From her perspective the message of Jesus can all be reduced to this: “love your neighbor as yourself.” 

Hers is hardly a new perspective on Jesus. I responded, “In light of the fact that there are four gospels in the New Testament, don’t you think that your view on Jesus and his teachings is a little reductionistic?” “No,” she replied, and continued, “Jesus simply wanted us to love each other, and not to try to force our views on each other.” 

“Okay, I agree that Jesus certainly taught that we should love our neighbors, but there’s actually another biblical topic that Jesus spoke more about than neighbor love. Do you know what topic that is?” 

“Enlighten me,” she replied with a genuinely interested tone. So, I began explaining to her that Jesus taught more about hell and judgment than he did about neighbor love. She replied, “Well, I don’t believe in hell,” to which I responded, “do you believe in Jesus?” She became frustrated and replied, “What is it with you fundamentalists? I don’t have to believe in hell in order to believe in Jesus! Besides, you’re judging me.” 

“I’m not judging you,” I replied. “You said that you don’t believe in hell. Jesus taught that there’s a hell. It’s taught in the Bible, so unless you believe in Jesus based upon other historical documents alone, I don’t see how you can believe in Jesus at all, because you could have no knowledge of Him apart from the Scriptures. If you don’t believe the Scriptures are true, then you don’t believe in the Jesus of the Bible. So, where do you gain your information of Jesus? What Jesus do you believe in? If not the Jesus described by the Bible, then I must conclude that you believe in a Jesus crafted by your own intellect, a god of your own creation.” 

Now her objections start flying — “It’s not intellectually responsible to believe the Bible; it’s full of mistakes.” To this, I naturally requested that she show me some! As that line of objection fell flat on its face, she challenged, “Young man, you are too young to really understand the world; you are only so settled in your beliefs because you have not experienced real grief and pain as I have. You haven’t seen the world; your sheltered evangelical upbringing has left you hopelessly without real-world experience.”

I replied, “Isn’t that a little arrogant and judgmental, Sally?” She was caught off guard. “I’m sure you have felt more grief and seen more of the world than I have, and it’s certainly not my intent to rattle off a resume for you, but by the time I was 13 I had visited 3rd world countries in southeast Asia and Africa. I have seen the fruits of Aids and poverty. I have spoken to men whose limbs had been ripped off their bodies in land-mine accidents. I have seen what the world looks like without the God of the Bible. And as far as grief goes, as a five year old, I hugged my crying mother and family as the doctors told us that our little brother would never be born. I watched as this grief was repeated three more times before I graduated high school.”

She was shocked and a little humiliated by her former arrogance and condescension and said, “Perhaps my insinuation of your lack of experience was a little arrogant. However, isn’t it just as arrogant or even self-righteous to claim that you have the truth and other truths are wrong?” 

I told her that I had to leave soon, but asked for permission to make my final point without being interrupted. She agreed to this.

I responded, “Actually, Sally, it’s not arrogant to claim that you know the truth. It’s actually an act of humility to subject one’s personal whims and opinions to the the Sovereign authority of God as it is revealed in the Scriptures. I actually have no righteousness of my own. The good news of Jesus Christ precludes self-righteousness and eliminates pride and boasting. I am not trying to tell you that I am a good person or that I deserve to be forgiven and accepted by God. What I am trying to tell you is that I am such a wicked sinner that the slaughter of the perfect Son of God was required to provide forgiveness for a scoundrel like me. Thanks for talking to me today. I’ve presumed upon a lot of your time. I hope you think about these things we’ve discussed.” 

We left on good terms. And I can only hope to see Sally again.

<><   <><   <><   <><   <><   <><   <><  <><   <><

 

While many of us are busy watching the politics of the day, the wolves continue to prey on undiscerning ‘Christians’.   Thankfully, we have some faithful watchmen on the wall to give us warning. 

Here’s the latest from the emerging church crowd:

TransForm: The Devil & His Emergent Church in your Neighborhood

America’s Pastor Ricky has discovered that pop psychology is the answer to all our troubles.  It would seem that Jesus really didn’t have to be crucified after all. 

Life’s Healing Choices:  Rick Warren’s ‘Open Nerve’ Manipulation

 

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On a lighter note…

Dan Phillips over at Biblical Christianity blog has some evolution humor to share.

Isn’t Evolution wonderful? — 10(leaf lizard)

Lastly, Christopher Hitchens vs. Douglas Wilson, are debating at a theater near you.

COLLISION

*************************

“Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”
Luke 21:28

A woman in Texas had a ‘change of heart’ about her job at Planned Parenthood.  After watching an ultrasound of a baby being aborted, she resigned her position and joined a pro-life group which prayed outside the facility. 

You can read the FoxNews report here. 

Watch the Breitbart video here.

“Who among these does not know that the hand of the LORD has this, in whose hand is the life of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind?
Job 12:9-10

Our government officials are using double speak concerning the health care issues that are on the table.  This is just one more example of how the Obama Administration is deceiving the public. 

by Thomas Sowell

How much of America would be left if the federal government continued on this path? President Obama has already floated the idea of a national police force. Just one year ago, would you have believed that an unelected government official, not even a Cabinet member confirmed by the Senate but simply one of the many “czars” appointed by the President, could arbitrarily cut the pay of executives in private businesses by 50 percent or 90 percent?

 

Did you think that another “czar” would be talking about restricting talk radio? That there would be plans afloat to subsidize newspapers — that is, to create a situation where some newspapers’ survival would depend on the government liking what they publish?

 

Did you imagine that anyone would even be talking about having a panel of so-called “experts” deciding who could and could not get life-saving medical treatments?

 

Scary as that is from a medical standpoint, it is also chilling from the standpoint of freedom. If you have a mother who needs a heart operation or a child with some dire medical condition, how free would you feel to speak out against an administration that has the power to make life and death decisions about your loved ones?

 

Does any of this sound like America? How about a federal agency giving school children material to enlist them on the side of the president? Merely being assigned to sing his praises in class is apparently not enough.

 

We already have local police forces all across the country and military forces for national defense, as well as the FBI for federal crimes and the National Guard for local emergencies. What would be the role of a national police force created by Barack Obama, with all its leaders appointed by him? It would seem more like the brown shirts of dictators than like anything American.

 

How far the President will go depends, of course, on how much resistance he meets. But the direction in which he is trying to go tells us more than all his rhetoric or media spin.

 

Barack Obama has not only said that he is out to “change the United States of America,” the people he has been associated with for years have expressed in words and deeds their hostility to the values, the principles and the people of this country.

 

Jeremiah Wright said it with words: “God damn America!” Bill Ayers said it with bombs that he planted. Community activist goons have said it with their contempt for the rights of other people.

 

Among the people appointed as czars by President Obama have been people who have praised enemy dictators like Mao, who have seen the public schools as places to promote sexual practices contrary to the values of most Americans and to a captive audience of children.

 

Those who say that the Obama administration should have investigated those people more thoroughly before appointing them are missing the point completely. Why should we assume that Barack Obama didn’t know what such people were like, when he has been associating with precisely these kinds of people for decades before he reached the White House?

 

Nothing is more consistent with his lifelong patterns than putting such people in government — people who reject American values, resent Americans in general and successful Americans in particular, as well as resenting America’s influence in the world.

 

Any miscalculation on his part would be in not thinking that others would discover what these stealth appointees were like. Had it not been for the Fox News Channel, these stealth appointees might have remained unexposed for what they are. Fox News is now high on the administration’s enemies list.

 

Nothing so epitomizes President Obama’s own contempt for American values and traditions like trying to ram two bills through Congress in his first year — each bill more than a thousand pages long — too fast for either of them to be read, much less discussed. That he succeeded only the first time says that some people are starting to wake up. Whether enough people will wake up in time to keep America from being dismantled, piece by piece, is another question — and the biggest question for this generation.

HT: Olive Tree Ministries

by Berit Kjos of Crossroad

Training kids to love evil more than good.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Spiritual transformation… is mediated through a person’s religious imagination.”[1] Lancaster Theological Seminary

“I love anime. I will always love it…. I will not let anyone tell me that the things I hold dear are evil.”[2] 

“Satan is not simply trying to draw people to the dark side of a good versus evil conflict. Actually, he is trying to eradicate the gap between himself and God, between good and evil, altogether.”[3] Ray Yungen, A Time of Departing

“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness…. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!” Isaiah 5:20-21

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Don’t play games with the occult! Ouija boards have always invited oppression, but they are far more likely to invoke unwanted “spirits” today. So is the new generation of occult games and videos.

I became aware of this change back in the nineties when a Canadian psychologist called me. He had read Under the Spell of Mother Earth and wanted to share some observations with me. In past years, he said, many women would come to scenic Alberta to do a Native American “Spirit Quest” in search of their personal “animal spirit.” Few succeeded. But times have changed, and the “spirits” that now answer the summons are numerous as well as oppressive. Treating the scary symptoms as “multiple personality disorders” is no help at all.

Post-Christian blindness

The Bible tells us that “the weapons of our warfare are… mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5) Our main weapon, of course, is the “Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God.” Our children need to know His Word, then exercise faith in His timeless guidelines. But those truths are fast fading from the public square, and deceptions — more enticing, acceptable and pervasive than ever — are filling the gap!

The weapons used by Bakugan warriors are totally contrary to God’s ways. Based on the ancient Chinese force called Ch’i, they flow from the same source as every other occult weapon. Ch’i  (or Ki, Prana, etc.) is merely the Eastern label for the spiritual forces once commanded by Canaanite sorcerers, Babylonian magicians, mediaeval alchemists, and secret societies throughout history.[7] 

Their magic is linked to the forcefulness of the human will. It involves mental concentration and firm commands that enable occultists to “cast spells” and “do magic” without hesitation or moral consideration.

Magic is easy, according to Wiccan author Starhawk, founder of the Covenant of the Goddess. All it takes is “four basic abilities: relaxation, concentration, visualization, and projection.”[8] The last step means projecting energy by moving one’s mental images with the human will and imagination.

That’s what Bakugan’s anime fans learn to do: concentrate, visualize, and then project the power through their beast-filled balls or playing cards. [See picture at the top.]  Starhawk described it well in her book on witchcraft: “To cast a spell is to project energy though a symbol.”[8] 

To many Western occultists, that empowering “symbol” for invoking and transmitting demonic power is The Tarot (based on the Kabbalah) or other magical cards.

Today’s entertainment makes such self-empowering rituals seem more normal than prayer. Young players are continually learning, then practicing, a new worldview — one that either twists or rejects Biblical Christianity. It’s not surprising that this process matches the Marxist formula for social change:

          New information that challenges the old beliefs and values

       + practical experience using the new information 

       = PRAXIS: a transformational strategy based on continual reinforcement and experience.[9]

Together, the mystical images [implanted through the cards and anime] and the ritual actions [repeated again and again through the actual game] become a doorway to occult thinking. With the growing popularity of such thrills, many more children will trade God’s truth for capricious powers that appeal to the lusts and ambitions of our fallen human nature.

No wonder these Scriptures have become a reality even in churches around the world: 

“You love evil more than good….”

“They obeyed not… but walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart…”

Jeremiah 11:8

The signs and symbols of magic

Notice the tension between opposing powers in this description of Bakugan’s cosmos:

“Vestroia is a vast dimension comprised of [six]… worlds: Fire, Earth, Light, Darkness, Water and Wind. At the very centre of this universe there are two opposing energy cores: THE INFINITY CORE, the source of all positive energy, and THE SILENT CORE, the source of all negative energy. Throughout history, these two opposing forces had maintained the balance of equilibrium…”[4]

Notice how this philosophy clashes with God’s Truth: There is no balance or equilibrium between the eternal Kingdom of our holy God and Satan’s temporary domain!

Yet two symbols illustrate the lie: the quartered circle and the yin yang.  You may remember the “sacred circle” of Wiccan and Native American spirituality. Its four dividing lines point from the center to the “spirits” of the north, east, south, and west — and to the four basic elements: fire, earth, water and wind (or air). 

Those “spirits” are similar to Vestoria’s spiritual domains. Their connections to China’s blend of Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, and folk religions are described in An Encyclopedia of Religion:

“The eternal oscillation of yin and yang gives rise to the material universe through their Five Agents of Water, Fire, Wood, Metal, and Earth….   The religious movement flourishing from the first century B.C. to the fourth century A.D. … involved divination, alchemy, and the belief in immortals…”[10]

“Taoism is a rich reservoir of superstitions. It has… incorporated and elaborated divination… fortune telling, witchcraft, astrology, communication with the dead, and many others….  [It ] relies on charms and magic formulas.”[10]

Does that remind you of God’s warning in Deuteronomy 18:9-14?  It tells us to shun all those practices. Don’t even imagine them!

“You shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who … practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord…”

“They… walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart…”

Eastern and Western occultism have mingled for at least two millennia. But what used to be a trickle has now become a flood. Even churches are welcoming the mysteries that secret societies and Taoist alchemists once hid so well.

Westerners raised in a “safe” Christian culture tend to discount the source of these powers. America, like Europe, has conveniently shut its eyes to occult realities that faded from sight with the spread of Christianity. Now those dark realities are returning with a vengeance.[11] [See "How the occult is changing the Church"]

 

Deceptive light and inconceivable darkness

The Bakugan universe is divided into six domains — each represented by a corresponding symbol. These domains break down into three sets of yin-yang opposites: Fire and Earth, Light and Darkness, Water and Wind [or air]. Each has a corresponding symbol: Red for “Fire” and black for “Darkness.” “Light” is linked to a white pentacle inside a circle. These three examples alone should raise concerns about the tempting values taught to young fans:

Fire [Pyrus]: The Red Bakugan. “[Dan is] Obsessed with being the number one Bakugan Brawler in the world… His guardian Dragonoid (…Drago – pictured) is a force to be reckoned…. The Pyrus player will use every avenue open to them to crush you….”

Darkness: The Black Bakugan. “They thrive on battles hidden in the shadows, for this is where they draw their strength…. Once a Bakugan is sucked into the Doom Dimension, there is no coming back…. The bottom line is, Darkus is evil but fun.”

Light [Haos]: The White Bakugan. “With this power, the Haos Bakugan have mastered the rare and unique ability to manipulate and control light and energy, leaving their opponents dazed and defeated.”[12]

The six symbols are shown in a complex circular symbol similar to an image [pictured here] from a kabalistic Tarot card in a deck designed by the infamous occultist, Aleister Crowley. While Crowley’s six discs have different meanings, both of these complex symbols [Bakugan's and Crowley's] place the six discs on the edges of a six-sided hexagon — a shape common to kabalistic art.[13]

Becoming like “god.”

Aleister Crowley was called “the most evil man in the world.” This founder of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn defined magic as “the science and art of causing change to occur at will.”[14]

Whose will?

Not God’s! The following occult statement describes one of the most devious traps set by the evil one since the beginning of time:

“…unless you make yourself equal to God, you cannot understand God: for the like is not intelligible save to the like…. Believe that nothing is impossible for you….  Mount higher than the highest height; descend lower than the lowest depth. Draw into yourself all sensations of everything created, fire and water, dry and moist, imagining that you are everywhere, on earth, in the sea, in the sky.”[15]

Remember what the serpent said to Eve in the garden after tempting her to eat the forbidden fruit:

“You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

It was a devious lie! Instead of making her like God, her sin banished her from His presence. By “knowing… evil” experientially, she became an unholy creature who could no longer walk in the presence of our holy God! Satan’s lofty promise was actually deadly trap!Lofty visions are among Satan’s most useful tricks. At one point in the Bakugan myth, the evil Naga manages to “absorb” into himself an overwhelming amount of “negative energy.” It caused a major “energy” crisis! As a result, the Battle Brawlers faced an assignment of cosmic proportions: “to restore peace throughout the universe!”[16]

What an arrogant suggestion! Yet it supports what children are taught in public schools: it’s up to them to save the planet, build unity in diversity, and counter the narrow views of their parents.

In this fantasy world it makes sense for opposing sides — good and evil — to join hands in perfect harmony. Like the dialectic process that “frees” group members from Biblical authority and values, this devious message promotes an arrogance that matches the Old Testament description of Satan:

“How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!… For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God…. I will be like the Most High.’ Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit.”

If we choose “other gods” and yield to Satan’s temptations, we will surely face consequences. Ponder these warnings:

“They… walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart…”

“…in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons….”

“…each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.”

“…as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man.” 

Luke 17:26 [see End Times]Genesis 6:5, 11James 1:14-151 Timothy 4:1 

And what was it like “in the days of Noah”?

“…the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually…. The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.”

What can parents do?

1. Pray for your children’s protection, discernment, love for God, and rejection of evil. Pray that they heed God’s warnings and memorize His Word. 

2. Discuss this list of questions as a family (www.crossroad.to/charts/checklist.htm)

3. Memorize Scriptures together — including this verse: “Father… not as I will, but as You will.”

4. “Put on” the armor of God. For –

“…we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day…” 

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God…”

“The Lord your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you…”

Deuteronomy 1:302 Corinthians 10:4-5

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Find comments on this article here: Ancient Secrets and the Occult

“…we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day…” 

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God…”

“The Lord your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you…”

Deuteronomy 1:302 Corinthians 10:4-5

---

Find comments on this article here: Ancient Secrets and the Occult

2. Discuss this list of questions as a family (www.crossroad.to/charts/checklist.htm)

3. Memorize Scriptures together — including this verse: “Father… not as I will, but as You will.”

4. “Put on” the armor of God. For –

“…we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day…” 

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God…”

“The Lord your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you…”

Deuteronomy 1:302 Corinthians 10:4-5

---

Find comments on this article here: Ancient Secrets and the Occult

“…we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day…” 

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God…”

“The Lord your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you…”

Deuteronomy 1:302 Corinthians 10:4-5

---

Find comments on this article here: Ancient Secrets and the Occult

“They… walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart…”

“…in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons….”

“…each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.”

“…as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man.” 

Luke 17:26 [see End Times]Genesis 6:5, 11James 1:14-151 Timothy 4:1 

And what was it like “in the days of Noah”?

“…the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually…. The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.”

What can parents do?

1. Pray for your children’s protection, discernment, love for God, and rejection of evil. Pray that they heed God’s warnings and memorize His Word. 

2. Discuss this list of questions as a family (www.crossroad.to/charts/checklist.htm)

3. Memorize Scriptures together — including this verse: “Father… not as I will, but as You will.”

4. “Put on” the armor of God. For –

“…we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day…” 

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God…”

“The Lord your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you…”

Deuteronomy 1:302 Corinthians 10:4-5

---

Find comments on this article here: Ancient Secrets and the Occult

“…we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day…” 

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God…”

“The Lord your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you…”

Deuteronomy 1:302 Corinthians 10:4-5

---

Find comments on this article here: Ancient Secrets and the Occult

2. Discuss this list of questions as a family (www.crossroad.to/charts/checklist.htm)

3. Memorize Scriptures together — including this verse: “Father… not as I will, but as You will.”

4. “Put on” the armor of God. For –

“…we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day…” 

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God…”

“The Lord your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you…”

Deuteronomy 1:302 Corinthians 10:4-5

---

Find comments on this article here: Ancient Secrets and the Occult

“…we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day…” 

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God…”

“The Lord your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you…”

Deuteronomy 1:302 Corinthians 10:4-5

---

Find comments on this article here: Ancient Secrets and the Occult

In this fantasy world it makes sense for opposing sides — good and evil — to join hands in perfect harmony. Like the dialectic process that “frees” group members from Biblical authority and values, this devious message promotes an arrogance that matches the Old Testament description of Satan:

“How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!… For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God…. I will be like the Most High.’ Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit.”

If we choose “other gods” and yield to Satan’s temptations, we will surely face consequences. Ponder these warnings:

“They… walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart…”

“…in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons….”

“…each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.”

“…as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man.” 

Luke 17:26 [see End Times]Genesis 6:5, 11James 1:14-151 Timothy 4:1 

And what was it like “in the days of Noah”?

“…the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually…. The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.”

What can parents do?

1. Pray for your children’s protection, discernment, love for God, and rejection of evil. Pray that they heed God’s warnings and memorize His Word. 

2. Discuss this list of questions as a family (www.crossroad.to/charts/checklist.htm)

3. Memorize Scriptures together — including this verse: “Father… not as I will, but as You will.”

4. “Put on” the armor of God. For –

“…we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day…” 

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God…”

“The Lord your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you…”

Deuteronomy 1:302 Corinthians 10:4-5

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Find comments on this article here: Ancient Secrets and the Occult

“…we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day…” 

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God…”

“The Lord your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you…”

Deuteronomy 1:302 Corinthians 10:4-5

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2. Discuss this list of questions as a family (www.crossroad.to/charts/checklist.htm)

3. Memorize Scriptures together — including this verse: “Father… not as I will, but as You will.”

4. “Put on” the armor of God. For –

“…we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day…” 

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God…”

“The Lord your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you…”

Deuteronomy 1:302 Corinthians 10:4-5

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Find comments on this article here: Ancient Secrets and the Occult

“…we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day…” 

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God…”

“The Lord your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you…”

Deuteronomy 1:302 Corinthians 10:4-5

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Find comments on this article here: Ancient Secrets and the Occult

“They… walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart…”

“…in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons….”

“…each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.”

“…as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man.” 

Luke 17:26 [see End Times]Genesis 6:5, 11James 1:14-151 Timothy 4:1 

And what was it like “in the days of Noah”?

“…the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually…. The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.”

What can parents do?

1. Pray for your children’s protection, discernment, love for God, and rejection of evil. Pray that they heed God’s warnings and memorize His Word. 

2. Discuss this list of questions as a family (www.crossroad.to/charts/checklist.htm)

3. Memorize Scriptures together — including this verse: “Father… not as I will, but as You will.”

4. “Put on” the armor of God. For –

“…we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day…” 

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God…”

“The Lord your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you…”

Deuteronomy 1:302 Corinthians 10:4-5

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Find comments on this article here: Ancient Secrets and the Occult

“…we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day…” 

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God…”

“The Lord your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you…”

Deuteronomy 1:302 Corinthians 10:4-5

---

Find comments on this article here: Ancient Secrets and the Occult

2. Discuss this list of questions as a family (www.crossroad.to/charts/checklist.htm)

3. Memorize Scriptures together — including this verse: “Father… not as I will, but as You will.”

4. “Put on” the armor of God. For –

“…we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day…” 

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God…”

“The Lord your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you…”

Deuteronomy 1:302 Corinthians 10:4-5

---

Find comments on this article here: Ancient Secrets and the Occult

“…we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day…” 

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God…”

“The Lord your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you…”

Deuteronomy 1:302 Corinthians 10:4-5

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Find comments on this article here: Ancient Secrets and the Occult

See also Toying with Death | Popular Occultism |

How Pokemon and Magic Cards Affect the Minds and Values of Children

Blending Truth and Myth | Yu-Gi-Oh and the spirits of Halloween

Movie Magic and Unconscious Learning | The Power of Suggestion

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Endnotes:1. Lancaster Theological Seminary, USA, UMI Order number: AAM9822985 Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: Humanities & Social Sciences. 1998 Jul. 59 (1-A): p.0201.  

2. A letter from a visitor. It represents the message of countless others.

3. Ray Yungen, A Time of Departing (Silverton, OR: Lighthouse Trails Publishing Company, 2002), page 101.

4  http://old.bakugan.com/en/universe/story.html  

5. http://old.bakugan.com/en/universe/index.html [On the imbedded video]

6. See http://www.crossroad.to/Books/TwistofFaith/6-Confess.html#valerie and http://www.crossroad.to/Books/TwistofFaith/3-Kingdom.html (first illustration)

7. Holistic Health (notice the chart on Ch’i) at www.crossroad.to/Q&A/HolisticHealth/contents.htm

8.  Starhawk, The Spiral Dance, (Harper & Row Publishers, 1979), p. 62, 124.

9. Marxist formula for social change at www.crossroad.to/articles2/009/2-family.htm

10. An Encyclopedia of Religion (New York, NY: The Philosophical Library, 1945), pp. 149, 154.

11. See these quotes and articles: “How the occult is changing the Church” at www.crossroad.to/Excerpts/warnings.htm

12. Index to all six symbols: http://www.bakugandojo.com/

13. The video shows the cards falling. Watch for the card with the six symbols surrounding a hexagon shape: http://old.bakugan.com/en/universe/index.html

14. James Wasserman, Art and Symbols of the Occult: Images of Power and Wisdom ( Rochester, Vermont: Destiny Books, 1993). p. 16. Read about the  Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn here:www.crossroad.to/Excerpts/books/lewis/inklings-williams.htm and www.crossroad.to/articles2/2003/occult-rpg.htm

15. Ibid., p. 59. Those occult words are attributed to Hermes Trismegistus (the Egyptian version of the ancient Greek messenger god, Hermes) who has been the symbolic idol of occult orders and secret societies through the ages.

16. http://www.bakugantoystore.com/bakuganstory.html

America’s Spiritual Slide Ephesians 6:10-14Matthew 26:39Jeremiah 7:24 Isaiah 14:12-15 Genesis 3:4-5Jeremiah 7:24Psalm 52:3

In other words, popular occultism is spreading fast, and the “spirit world” has become increasingly more accessible. [See the reasons here] But few families are equipped to resist it. Contemporary churches offer little or no help. Most simply ignore the danger or endorse the “fun.” To avoid offense, the word evil is dropped from their vocabulary.

The main victims of this blindness are children. Unless we teach them to recognize and resist these dangers, many will welcome the darkness. So let’s examine the nature and tactics of this very real spiritual war. Bakugan — a popular game and online anime (Japanese animation) — is a useful example.

“One day,” so the Bakugan story goes, “cards began to fall from the sky and were picked up by kids all over the world. The cards featured different characters, different environments, and different powers. …these cards actually corresponded to an alternate world called Vestroia.”[4]

“…we invented a wicked new game we called Bakugan,” explained the leader of Vestoria’s young Battle Brawlers. “That’s when the power of the cards was revealed. Each one held its own battling beast…. The battles were intense, and if you chose the wrong card, you lost it and the beast inside.”[5]

“…the beast inside!”  Those words brought to mind some troubling email letters I’ve received from embattled teens and young adults. Like the Canadian women, they actually felt as if they had uncontrollable beasts inside. Their descriptions of inner battles — the nightmarish consequences of obsession with occult role-playing games — were heartbreaking. They couldn’t stop playing — or block out the frightening images planted in their minds! Nor could they find faithful Christians in their communities who would guide them toward freedom!

Too late, they discovered that the seductive journey into occult bondage is far smoother than the road back out to freedom. Yet, few see the dangers of the following progression:

1. Commanding supernatural power through the imagination.  

2. Craving more dark thrills — while increasingly bored with actual reality.  

3. Suffering the mental, emotional and spiritual consequences of trusting the occult.[6]

Thrown Under the Bus and Then to the Wolves
By Jan Markell
www.olivetreeviews.org
October 20, 2009

 

 

Where is the outrage? Why aren’t good Americans by the millions bitterly protesting a Florida judge who has ruled that former Muslim Rifqa Bary, age 17, must return to Ohio?  Her parents reside there, and when she lived with them, she became aware that they could kill her for her conversion to Christianity. They would be perpetrating an “honor killing,” something common under Sharia Law.
 
Rifqa and many converts like her are apostates. To make the story worse, her parents are a part of a radical mosque. Rifqa knows that in spite of her father’s assertions to the contrary, she has committed one of the worst offenses: Renouncing Allah for Jesus. Living as a Christian in a strict Muslim home is just not an option.
 

You may not know the rest of the story. As soon as she ran away to Florida, Ohio law enforcement dismissed her charges of abuse before they had even conducted an investigation. A month ago, Ohio Governor Strickland publicly stated that he wanted Rifqa back in Ohio. But Strickland has been a supporter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). Thus, she was not just thrown under the bus, she was also thrown to the wolves.

 

Geller further comments that Rifqa’s parents have been very dodgy — even dishonest — on their immigration status. They have consistently refused to produce copies of their immigration documents. It now appears they are in the U.S. illegally. 

 

Geller states that this is a landmark case on many levels. The obvious is the media’s censorship. Their bias is so fixed that they would rather put a teenage girl’s life at risk than report this story properly. Geller asked another “apostate” (Christian) if Rifqa is safe. That person responded, “No. She will die. She has gone too far. Islam has to take a stand for this because it is a shame. Rifqa has brought a shame for their religion and for their society.”
 
These kinds of cases pit Sharia Law against the rule of law in America. The U.N. estimates that there are 5,000 honor killings worldwide every year. The U.S. and Canada together have seen at least 20 such murders in the past decade. This is the manifestation of Sharia Law at its worst. It is Muslims slaughtering their own for being too Westernized, dressing improperly, or rejecting Islam.
 
Rifqa Bary could end up in a foster home in Ohio or she could be hauled off to Sri Lanka with her parents, Mohammed and Aysha Bary.

But Rifqa has told a reporter from WFTV in Florida that she expects to be killed if she is forced to return to Ohio.

 

As Robert Spencer of “Jihad Watch” says,  ”No attention has ever been paid, in any official level, to Islamic apostasy law, to the risk that she’s under from that, and to the reality of Islamic ‘honor killing’ in the United States. None of that registered among any of the investigators.”

The story isn’t over yet. The entire family is to have psychiatric evaluations. If you ask me, officials in Florida and Ohio need the evaluation.
 
Here’s what you can do: Let the powers that be know there are plenty of us who aren’t interested in political correctness or cozying up to the “religion of peace” at the expense of a young girl’s life. Write Florida’s Governor, Charlie Crist: Crist@MyFlorida.com or Ohio Governor Strickland: info@TedStrickland.com.

And  pray for Rifqa and her parents. She states, “In many generations of my family, no one has known Jesus. I am the first. Imagine the honor in killing me.”

 

 

 

Barack Obama recently appointed Dalia Mogahed as his advisor on Islamic issues. She is on the President’s Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and recently appeared on a British TV show hosted by members of the extremist Islamist Hizb ut Tahrir Party. This group believes in the non-violent destruction of Western democracy and the creation of an Islamic state under Sharia Law across the world.

 

When the President of the United States stays silent on the subject of Islamification — or worse, appoints people who want to advance it — one can only surmise that it is something with which he is comfortable. 

 

So there may be more Rifqa Bary’s if America is going to go soft on Sharia. Things unthinkable in the Western world may become routine.

 

 

As commentator Pamela Geller writes, “Imagine the psychological abuse for a 17 year old girl upon her return. Seventy-five pound Rifqa vs. the Islamic machine. David meets Goliath.”

 

This article from Thomas Ice was interesting to me because I used to listen to Hank Hanegraff on a regular basis.  Although Hanegraaff came across as condesending to many of his callers, it wasn’t until he finally announced his eschatological bent toward preterism that I decided to stopped listening. 

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“Supersessionism is the view that the New Testament Church supersedes, replaces, or fulfills the nation Israel’s place and role in the plan of God,”¹ notes Mike Vlach, who has written a PhD dissertation on the topic.² Supersessionism is another term, often found in academic circles, for replacement theology. Today there is a growing trend for some who. teach replacement theology to deny that their views should legitimately be classified as supersessionism

Walks Like, Talks Like

We have a number of expressions within Americana that illustrate one who is not willing to exercise truth in labeling. For example we may say, “If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and smells like a duck, then it must be a duck.” Or, Shakespeare said it more eloquently: “A rose by any other name is still a rose.” That dictum is true when it comes to some evangelicals who teach replacement theology but then will not own up to what they actually advocate.

Amillennial and covenant theologian Samuel Waldron wrote a response to a lecture by John MacArthur in which he made a case for premillennialism. Waldron vigorously denied that he was a replacement theologian, even though he holds the classic beliefs of replacement theology. He says,

“the Church is Israel in a newly reformed and expanded phase of existence. . . . the Church is really the continuation of Israel.”³

How can someone with a PhD in theology, as Waldron has, not realize that the statement noted above and the rest of his book demonstrates that he advocates a form of replacement theology? The fact is he states that the Church represents a new “phase of existence” and then defines the New Testament “phase” of Israel as including Gentiles.⁴ This is classic replacement theology since the outcome and logic of his position is that ethnic and national Israel have been replaced by the Church. Such a view teaches that Israel has been disinherited and does not have a future that includes a national future for a redeemed Israel. Waldron displays a blindness that does not allow him to see that two plus two equals four.

Hank Hanegraaff is another neo-supersessionist who said,

“I have never argued for Replacement Theology.”⁵

This is a surprising statement since his book The Apocalypse Code is filled with replacement theological statements and arguments.⁶ He gives the following reason for denying that he holds supersessionist views:

God has only ever had one chosen people who form one covenant community, beautifully symbolized in Scripture by one cultivated olive tree. Indeed, the precise terminology used to describe the children of Israel in the Old Testament is ascribed to the church in the New Testament. . . . As such, the true church is true Israel, and true Israel is truly the church – one cannot replace what it already is. Rather than reason together in collegial debate, dispensationalists have coined the phrase “Replacement theologian” as the ultimate silencer.⁷

For some reason, the new trend by some today is to reject the label but teach the historic viewpoint of replacement theology.

Replacement Reasons

Hanegraaff errs in thinking that replacement theology is something invented by dispensationalists by which they might name-call those who disagree with them.

“While it is true that Israel occupies an important place in dispensational theology, it is also true that reflection concerning the place of Israel in God’s plan predates this school of thought by many centuries,”⁸ notes Ronald Diprose.

While noting that an early form of replacement theology began in the second century with Justin Martyr, Diprose describes it as consisting of the belief that “Israel has been repudiated by God and has been replaced by the Church in the working out of his plan. A variation of this idea is that true Israel always has been the Church,”⁹ which is the view expressed by Waldron and Hanegraaff throughout The Apocalypse Code (AC).¹⁰

Mike Vlach, in his Ph.D. dissertation on the subject, describes both the method of replacement theology and the theology or outcome it produces.

“In the realm of hermeneutics, supersessionists argue that: (1) the New Testament has interpretive priority over the Old Testament; (2) national Israel functioned as a type of the New Testament church; and (3) the New Testament indicates that Old Testament prophecies regarding national Israel are being fulfilled with the church.”¹¹

It is obvious that Hanegraaff has adopted the hermeneutics or method, and then the conclusions of replacement theology.

That the New Testament has interpretive priority over the Old is seen throughout AC as Hanegraaff dismisses Old Testament prophecy that has never been fulfilled for Israel by subsuming it into a supposed New Testament fulfillment. For example, by characterizing Israel in the Old Testament as “the prostituted bride” who is replaced in the New Testament by “the purified bride,” which is the church, Hanegraaff reinterprets the Old in light of the New.¹² After comparing a number of Old Testament characters with Jesus of the New Testament (for example, Joshua and Jesus), Hanegraaff says,

“In each case, the lesser is fulfilled and rendered obsolete by the greater.”¹³

I agree that the New Testament often notes God’s progress in revelation by noting Christ’s fulfillment of the Old, but nowhere does the New indicate that Old Testament promises to ethnic Israel are superceded by Christ’s work. Instead, Christ is the basis for the fulfillment of Old Testament promises. Hanegraaff says, the “old covenant shadows find their final consummation in the person and work of Jesus Christ.”¹⁴ It is not an either/or situation; it is best to see the relationship between the testaments as a both/and.

Vlach’s second methodological point is that advocates of replacement theology see national Israel as a type of the New Testament church. “Jerusalem symbolized all that Israel was to be. . . . Jerusalem is typological of the greater purposes of God,”¹⁵ declares Hanegraaff. He speaks of Paul illustrating a “typologically heightened fulfillment . . . that all who fixate on an earthly Jerusalem with a rebuilt temple and reinstituted temple sacrifices are in slavery to types and shadows.”¹⁶ Hanegraaff speaks of “the typological fulfillment of the temple and the rest of the old covenant.”¹⁷ His views are summarized as follows:

“The New Testament’s typological interpretation of the Old Testament thus stands as the ultimate corrective to Zionist zeal.”¹⁸

The third point, that the Old Testament promises to Israel are fulfilled with the church is also evident in Hanegraaff. He says,

“the land promises are fully and finally fulfilled in the final future through Jesus. . . . the promise is typologically fulfilled in the in the Lord.”¹⁹

Again he says,

“Peter uses the very language once reserved for national Israel and applies it to spiritual Israel.”²⁰ “Furthermore, the land promises are fulfilled in the far future through Jesus who provides true Israel with permanent rest from their wanderings in sin.”²¹

Hanegraaff uses the term “true Israel” as a reference to the church.

Vlach also describes the theological arguments that supersessionists construct as follows:

“(1) the New Testament teaches the permanent rejection of national Israel as the people of God; (2) application of ‘Israel’ language to the church shows that the church is now the true Israel; (3) salvific unity between Jews and Gentiles rules out a restoration of national Israel; and (4) fulfillment of the new covenant with the church shows that the church is now the true Israel.”²²

Cleary Hanegraaff and Waldron hold to these theological beliefs.

Conclusion

Hanegraaff even uses the term “superseded” in the following statement:

“History, like the New Testament, reveals that the Holy City – turned harlot city – is superseded by the holy Christ. Jesus is the antitype who fulfills all of the typology vested in Jerusalem.”²³

Hanegraaff says that Genesis 12:3, which I take to include ethnic Israel, refers instead “to true Israel, which consists of every person who through faith has been adopted into the family of God.”²⁴ When speaking of the land promises which have never yet been completely fulfilled, he insists that they are “fulfilled and rendered obsolete by the greater.”²⁵ Such are classic replacement theology statements.

It is safe to conclude that in spite of their denials, Hanegraaff and Waldron are clearly advocates of replacement theology. Norm Geisler also understands that Hanegraaff’s AC teaches replacement theology when he notes the following:

“In general The Code repeatedly takes the Old Testament promises to Jews out of their original context by replacing Israel with the New Testament church. The ‘Replacement Theology’ is a classic example of taking texts out of their context.”²⁶

Even though they vigorously reject the label, both Hanegraaff, Waldron and others today have some form of replacement theology, whether they will admit it or not. Maranatha!

Endnotes

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1. Michael J. Vlach, “12 Reasons Why Supersessionism/Replacement Theology Is Not a Biblical Doctrine,” www.theologicalstudies.org/page/page/4425336.htm.
2. Michael J. Vlach, “The Church as a Replacement of Israel: An Analysis of Supersessionism,” PhD Dissertation, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, May 2004.
3. Samuel E. Waldron, MacArthur’s Millennial Manifesto: A Friendly Response (Owensboro, KY: Reformed Baptist Academic Press, 2008), p. 7. [emphasis original]
4. Waldron, Manifesto, pp. 35–55.
5. Hank Hanegraaff, “Response to National Liberty Journal article
 on The Apocalypse Code, www.equip.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=muI1LaMNJrE&b=2616123&ct=3839317.
6. Hank Hanegraaff, The Apocalypse Code: Find Out What the Bible Really Says About The End Times and Why It Matters Today (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2007). For a book-length rebuttal of Hanegraaff’s book see Mark Hitchcock and Thomas Ice, Breaking The Apocalypse Code: Setting The Record Straight About The End Times (Costa Mesa, CA: The Word For Today).
7. Hanegraaff, “Response.”
8. Ronald E. Diprose, Israel In The Development of Christian Thought (Rome: Instituto Biblico Evangelico Italiano, 2000), p. 3.
9. Diprose, Israel, p. 31. [emphasis original]
10. Hanegraaff calls the church the “true Israel” (p. 116, 124, 127, 180, 199, 200) or “spiritual Israel” (p. 221) a number of times in AC.
11. Vlach, “Replacement of Israel,” p. xvii.
12. Hanegraaff, Code, p. 124.
13. Hanegraaff, Code, p. 201.
14. Hanegraaff, Code, p. 174.
15. Hanegraaff, Code, p. 190.
16. Hanegraaff, Code, pp. 202–03.
17. Hanegraaff, Code, p. 223.
18. Hanegraaff, Code, p. 223.
19. Hanegraaff, Code, p. 182.
20. Hanegraaff, Code, p. 221.
21. Hanegraaff, Code, p. 180.
22. Vlach, “Replacement of Israel,” p. xvii.
23. Hanegraaff, Code, p. 197.
24. Hanegraaff, Code, p. 200.
25. Hanegraaff, Code, p. 201.
26. Norman L. Geisler, “Review of Hank Hanegraaff’s The Apocalypse Code,” www.ses.edu/NormGeisler/ReviewApocalypseCode.html.

HT: World View Times

Discovery Channel is advertising tonight’s program “Discovering Ardi” with the statement, ‘Darwin could only dream of finding this.’   For those of you who have cable or satellite television access, you probably have seen the tv ads, as well.   Chuck Missler, of Koinonia House, has a few things to say about this discovery.  Here’s his article from the October 06, 2009 eNews issue.

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A major fossil find has made its splash in the news recently - a primate named “Ardi” who is believed to date to 4.4 million years ago, 1.2 million years earlier than the famous australopithecine Lucy. Paleoanthropologists are making a big to-do about Ardi, just as they have other ancient ape species found in northern Africa. Despite all the fuss, Ardi – like her neighbor Lucy – is still just an extinct species of ape.

For the past 15 years, the delicate remains of a number of Ardipithecus ramidus specimens have been carefully exhumed and studied. When the bones of Ardi and her fellows were discovered in the early 1990’s, they had been trampled and smashed into the mud, and getting them back out for scientific purposes proved a difficult, sensitive task. The bones were not laid out in the matrix in a nice, articulated fashion. Instead, they were jumbled and smashed to “smithereens.”  Time reports that, along with Ardi’s bones, more than 100 fragments from some 35 Ar. ramidus specimens were found at the site, but after putting them together and doing some digital reconstruction, scientists believe they have a good idea of who Ardi was. 

Ardi is a unique extinct species, but she’s still all ape. She had a small brain and an ape’s large opposable toe good for grasping things. She doesn’t neatly fit into a spot as humanity’s missing link, which paleoanthropologists have expected to look like a cross between a human and a chimpanzee. The current excitement hinges on the fact that those who have studied her argue that Ardi was bipedal – that is, she walked upright. The males of her species also had smaller, gentler teeth than the huge fangs of chimps, and her hands were more dexterous than chimp hands.

“This find is far more important than Lucy,” National Geographic quotes Alan Walker, a paleontologist from Pennsylvania State University who was not part of the research. “It shows that the last common ancestor with chimps didn’t look like a chimp, or a human, or some funny thing in between.”

While the popular news media readily state that Ardi walked upright, some researchers do disagree with that conclusion. First of all, the pelvis bones were seriously crushed, adding to the speculative nature of those bipedal claims. Also, Ardi’s feet were nothing like human feet. She had that huge opposable toe and no arch.

Anatomist William Jungers of Stony Brook University is skeptical of the claims that Ardi was bipedal. He told National Geographic News, “This is a fascinating skeleton, but based on what they present, the evidence for bipedality is limited at best. Divergent big toes are associated with grasping, and this has one of the most divergent big toes you can imagine. Why would an animal fully adapted to support its weight on its forelimbs in the trees elect to walk bipedally on the ground?”

Kent State University’s Owen Lovejoy believes that Ardi stood upright when she walked, but also acknowledged her comfort in the trees, saying, “She has opposable great toes and she has a pelvis that allows her to negotiate tree branches rather well. So half of her life is spent in the trees; she would have nested in trees and occasionally fed in trees…”

People are also excited about Ardi because she dates 1.2 million years older than Lucy (Australopithecus afarensis), who also allegedly walked upright. Yet, there is skepticism about whether even Lucy walked around on two feet. Anatomist Dr. Fred Spoor and his colleagues at University College, London, performed CAT scans on australopithecine inner ear canals, which are responsible for posture and balance, and came to the conclusion that these creatures did not regularly walk around upright as is so frequently claimed (Nature 369(6482):645–648, 1994). Anatomist Dr Charles Oxnard used multivariate analysis to show that Lucy’s big toe was opposable, just like in chimpanzees. In fact, B.G. Richmond and D.S. Strait reported in Nature in 2000 that Lucy’s wrists demonstrated she was likely a knuckle-walker like other apes. 

A major reason Lucy is often portrayed with human feet, standing upright like a human, is that human footprints have been found in the area where Lucy was discovered. The hardened ash the Laetoli footprints walked through was dated to the time of Lucy using K/Ar testing, and since evolutionists have already decided humans and Lucy did not co-exist, they have concluded that Lucy must have made the prints herself.  (According to the Biblical model, humans and apes were created the same day, and would have lived on the earth at the same time.)

While evolutionary writers make confident statements about the place of new skeletal discoveries in the history of human evolution, there is plenty of room for skepticism. The scientific community might assume an evolutionary relationship between humans and ancient primates, but still struggle to show a true relationship exists. It is wise to look closer at the evidence and question claims that our ancestors ever had feet with opposable toes.

I received this email from Walid Shoebat today. 

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Barack Hussein Obama the new Messiah but he had to complete his title as the Prince of Peace. Nine months into to presidency two major speeches one to the Muslim world and the second at the UN, he is pronounced Nobel Laureate for Peace and about to be anointed in Norway. WOW, WOW hale  [sic]  the Messiah!! 

The world is either very sick or very stupid, maybe both.  Al Gore is the Nobel Laureate for Global Warming, when the earth is now cooling for eleven years in a row and now the world is on the edge of war with an appeasing president; it will undoubtedly deliver us the opposite of peace.  How naive can the world be? Well it is about as naive as the world was in the 1930s, I suppose.

To listen to the justification for such a prize is so funny if it were not so pathetic. As one radio commentator put it this morning, that he had just himself been awarded an Oscar for the greatest film he has yet to make. I thought we win acknowledgment and prizes for achievements not for expectations.  I get it, the Nobel committee have embraced the great American policy of affirmative action and that even if you do not achieve, because you are a minority we have to allow you to join the club.

The Nobel Laureate prize has already discredited its value by awarding Nobel prizes to Yasser Arafat, Al Gore and now to a President who cannot justify such a prize based on his record to date.

If Barack Hussein Obama was the real deal he should thank the Nobel board for their honor but refuse to accept the prize until he has shown the world that he can deliver some tangible results in peace with justice and truth not just an absence of war. However, based on viewing this arrogant and narcissistic record to date it is unlikely that a gesture of humility will be forthcoming.

I hope and pray that President Obama can achieve the expectations the world sets for him, but based on the current track and the lessons of history we are set for some very difficult times ahead. 

Hope and change is here, hale [sic] the new Messiah, Nobel Prince of Peace.