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Church Featured Heresies Money Grubbing Heretics

Joel Osteen’s Lakeland Church Received $4.4 Million in Federal PPP Loans

Joel Osteen’s Texas based megachurch received a huge chuck of stimulus money after taking advantage of the CARES Act’s Paycheck Protection Program, receiving nearly $4,400,000 to help offset their several months of virtual services.

The program, which the federal government passed in response to the pandemic early this year in a big way, is a forgivable loan that companies don’t have to pay back so long as it is spent on wages and other related expenses.

When reached out for comment as why they would even apply for it, a church spokesman said that given the church shut down in-person services for over 7 months, that closure negatively impacted their ability to garner tithes, offerings, and other “substantial donations.” Lakewood spokesperson Don Illof explains:

“Believing the shutdown would only last a few weeks, Lakewood did not initially apply for PPP assistance during the first half of the program. However, as the shutdown persisted month after month, given the economic uncertainty, Lakewood finally applied for the PPP loan and has been able to provide full salaries and benefits including health insurance coverage to all of its employees and their families.”

The church, which has an annual budget of over $90 million dollars, received the money to retain 370 jobs.

The revelation of receiving such a largess has many small business owners crying foul, as thousands of Texas business owners were denied claims, while Osteen got one of the largest in the State. In particular, critics are making the following arguments, which appear sound in our estimation:

  1. The entire time the church was shut down for in-person services they were still holding online services and were fundraising and receiving money.
  2. The decision to shut down their church for in-person services for 7 months was a decision that the church made, and was not mandated in any way. They would have opened up way sooner, but chose not to.
  3. Osteen is a multi-millionaire with a net worth of between $60-100M dollars. He lives in a 17,000 square foot mansion that is worth over $11.5M. Were he so concerned, he could have easily paid for it out of pocket, rather than causing others to lose out.

We reached out to Lakewood for further comment and will update this post accordingly.

Categories
Featured News Op-Ed Polemics Terms

Does the Bible Actually Teach that we’re Not to Judge Others?

(Marsha West – Christian Research Network)  In the work I do I often name names. When I expose a false teacher, invariably someone will call me judgmental. When that happens it is always best to respond with Scripture: “The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. ‘For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’  But we have the mind of Christ.”

Some professing Christians become infuriated when those of us in a discernment ministry has the chutzpah to report on a false teacher by name, as if naming names is unbiblical.  High-profile leaders and bloggers who mention heretics by name are often accused of demonizing or judging them. 

Invariably someone will cite Matthew 18:15-17:

If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

Whenever I write about a false teacher, I’m frequently asked if I’ve gone privately to that person in an effort to correct him or her.  My response is “Of course not!”  Why?  For the reason that Christian celebrities are generally inaccessible.  Many are, in fact, akin to Hollywood celebs.  No doubt some of them rationalize that their popularity affords them certain privileges, one of which is to choose not to have a dialogue with anyone who “attacks” them.

Yet the Bible says that those who are in sin (false teaching is sin) must be admonished.  In 3 John 1:9 the Apostle John calls out Diotrephes and promises to publicly correct him upon his return; like we see in Galatians 2:11-14 Paul standing up to the highly esteemed Apostle Peter!   He chastised Peter for fearing false teachers. What resulted from Peter’s “fear of man”?:

And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.  But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, ‘If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?’ (bold added)

In context, Matthew 18 addresses how Church leadership is to discipline a brother or sister who have fallen into sin and provides the proper steps to take before excommunicating an unrepentant sinner.  First, we are to go to him privately. If he refuses to repent we must go to him a second time along with two or more witnesses.  If he remains unrepentant, the pastor must go before the church and proclaim his sin.  Ouch!

It is essential for Church elders to be involved in the process.

Likewise, Matthew 18 does not apply to doctrinal issues, nor does it apply to Christians who have put their work before the world.  Those who go public are fair game. Anyone in the public eye will get scrutinized, even unfairly criticized, for their work. Consequently, Christians who cannot stand the heat should not go into the kitchen.

Making A Judgment

Is it biblical for a Christian to judge another Christians teaching or their actions?  I’ll get to what the Bible teaches on this in a moment. But first, we are never to make a judgment without having as many of the facts as it is humanly possible to obtain. As well, we are not to judge self-righteously. Never judge a person’s heart or motives because you have no way of knowing for sure what is driving either of these. Moreover, it is always a good idea to examine your own motives. Is there a just cause for judging someone? Do you really want what is best for him or her? Are you driven by anger? Are you getting even? Are you jealous of the person?  Your motive must be that you want what is best for him or her.  Report only the facts. No gossip. No slander. No twisting his or her words.

In the work I do I often name names. As I previously indicated, when I expose a false teacher, invariably someone will call me judgmental. Whenever that happens, I respond to them with Scripture:

The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. ‘For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’  But we have the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:15-16)

What?  You mean Christians have the mind of Christ?  Those who are regenerate do. To clarify this difficult concept, I’ll point you to Bible expositor Matthew Henry.  He writes:

The apostles were not guided by worldly principles. They had the revelation of these things from the Spirit of God, and the saving impression of them from the same Spirit. These things they declared in plain, simple language, taught by the Holy Spirit, totally different from the affected oratory or enticing words of man’s wisdom. The natural man, the wise man of the world, receives not the things of the Spirit of God. The pride of carnal reasoning is really as much opposed to spirituality, as the basest sensuality. The sanctified mind discerns the real beauties of holiness, but the power of discerning and judging about common and natural things is not lost. But the carnal man is a stranger to the principles, and pleasures, and actings of the Divine life. The spiritual man only, is the person to whom God gives the knowledge of his will. … And the apostles were enabled by his Spirit to make known his mind. In the Holy Scriptures, the mind of Christ, and the mind of God in Christ, are fully made known to us. It is the great privilege of Christians, that they have the mind of Christ revealed to them by his Spirit. They experience his sanctifying power in their hearts, and bring forth good fruits in their lives. (bold added — Source)

In short, it is the spiritual man (regenerate) who possesses the mind of Christ and has received the knowledge of His will which is laid out for us in Scripture.  Therefore, the believer who is truly walking with the Lord— in His will—has been given the authority to judge words and actions, especially when what’s being taught is unbiblical.

How do we know when someone’s teaching is unbiblical?  We are to test his or her teaching against the Word of God. If their teaching doesn’t line up with what’s in the Bible, then it’s not from God. And if a certain teaching is not in the Bible? Then it is coming from another source. To be specific, false teaching is inspired by the spiritual forces of evil in heavenly places!

Bible teacher and expositor John MacArthur cautions:

It should be noted that [Matthew 7:1-5] has erroneously been used to suggest that believers should never evaluate or criticize anyone for anything. Our day hates absolutes, especially theological and moral absolutes, and such simplistic interpretation provides a convenient escape from confrontation. Members of modern society, including many professing Christians, tend to resist dogmatism and strong convictions about right and wrong. Many people prefer to speak of all-inclusive love, compromise, ecumenism, and unity. To the modern religious person those are the only “doctrines” worth defending, and they are the doctrines to which every conflicting doctrine must be sacrificed.  (Source)

In my experience, many professing Christians stubbornly stick to their position that those who expose the unbiblical teaching of Christian celebs are unfairly judging them. So they play the Matthew 7:1-5 card: “Judge not, that you be not judged” followed by a resounding rebuke from verse 5: “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye?”

It boggles the mind that Christians fail to grasp the notion that those who are Spirit-filled have the mind of Christ.  Only believers can make this claim — no one else can.

God’s ways and His Word make little sense to the unsaved.  Listen to what Paul says:

The natural person [unregenerate] does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:14)

The only way to learn about the things of the Spirit of God is by reading the Bible. For believers, the Bible’s our final authority in all matters of faith.  2 Timothy 3:16 says “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” According to  2 Peter 1:21 “no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

Every page of Scripture is God-breathed, yet a growing number of Christians choose to reject some of hard to understand Bible stories and Church doctrines.  Two examples are the Creation story in Genesis chapters 1 & 2 and our Lord’s teaching that hell is a place of fire, demons and everlasting torment. Christ spoke more on hell than anyone else in the Bible.

Today a growing number of professing Christians reject much of what is taught in the Bible even though they rarely study it.  They may attend church regularly but because they are biblically illiterate, they wouldn’t know if their pastor is teaching God’s truth or filling their minds with outright heresy. In many cases, professing believers would not know biblical truth if it walked up and bit them on the nose!

I regularly hear from Christians whose heart’s desire is to attend a healthy well-balanced church where they can be confident that they are hearing the gospel and receiving good solid biblical teaching.  They lament that they’ve searched high and low to find a gospel preaching church near their home, but to no avail.  So, they have become discouraged.  But the sad fact is that only a handful of ministers still preach the true gospel of Jesus Christ.  My advice to these people is not to give up searching.  Finding a biblical church is best left for another article.

Naming Names

Many ministers and so-called Bible teachers come to us via the airwaves. The term for them is televangelist. The televangelist’s lifestyle is clearly identified by opulence, luxury and riches. They assure viewers that you can live in the lap of luxury like they do if only you will apply certain principles to your life. We also have TV preachers who are CEO’s of mega churches. Worship services are interrupted by commercials for the purpose of promoting upcoming events and to sell their books. Buyer beware!  Many TV preachers also sell consumers a false gospel that saves no one. What they offer is a counterfeit Christianity.  Front and center is the word-faith/name-it-and-claim-it/prosperity charlatans such as Joel Osteen, T.D. Jakes, Paula White, Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn, Creflo Dollar and Joyce Meyer, to name a few.

Be on the alert for the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) a heretical movement that holds to the view that God is restoring the lost offices of church governance such as the prophets and apostles.  The late “Super Apostle” C. Peter Wagner headed up the NAR and there are a swarm of so-called apostles and prophets worldwide.  The wolves in this movement believe they possess the same gifts as the Old Testament prophets and the New Testament apostles.

Other apostates, false teachers, “frauds, phonies and money grubbing religious quacks” to be weary of can be found here.

Again, we’re not to judge a person’s heart or motives, but we can certainly judge the fruit they produce!  Jesus himself said:

Every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. (Matthew 7:17-20)

Believers who read and study their bibles are far less likely to blindly follow false teachers.  But it’s not out of the realm of possibility for mature believers who cease being Bereans to have the wool pulled over their eyes.  For this very reason John warned:

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. (1 John 4:1).

This article was adapted from “Does the Bible really say we’re not to judge others?”

Editor’s Note. This article was originally published at the Christian Research Network by Martha West and republished here with permission.

Categories
abortion Featured News

Abortion Activist Makes Sick Video Game Where Character Kills Unborn Baby With Shotgun

(Lifenews) An Argentinian pro-abortion activist has created a modification for the famous 1990s video game, Doom, in which the player completes the game  by shooting  an unborn baby with a shotgun. Once the player has killed the unborn baby the game displays the message “You defeated fetito [English translation – little foetus]! Give this misoprostol [the drug used for medical abortion] to those in need so they might defeat it too!”

As part of the ongoing effort by pro-abortion activists to introduce abortion to Argentina, one activist Florencia Rumpel, has created a version of the controversial game, Doom, entitled: “Doom Fetito”, in English – “Little Foetus Doom.”

Doom is a violent ‘first-person-shooter released in 1993 in which the person playing the game adopts the perspective of the shooter. In the original version of the game, the player encounters and kills monsters of various kinds as he or she progresses through the game.

In Doom Fetito however, rather than killing monsters, the player first kills pro-life women, Catholic priests and police, before ultimately killing an unborn child – the “boss” of the game. Following the…

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Editor’s Note. This article was written by Right To Life UK staff and published at Lifenews.

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Charismatic Nonsense Church Featured

Carl Lentz’s Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound and his ‘Green Room Girls’

Business Insider released a long-form article detailing accusations of racism, exploitation, and discrimination at Hillsong NYC and Hillsong Boston. Some of it is new and interesting, with much of the drama being self-inflicted due to their lack of clarity on homosexuality, with the article detailing how lesbians and bisexuals felt like second class citizens with little room for advancement within the church.

While the official church position of Hillsong is that homosexuality is a sin, Carl Lentz and the church have been bullish on that topic, making statements that would lend anyone to believe they don’t find it sinful and are ashamed of the church’s view of it. This is why Lentz could never give a straight answer on whether or not it is wicked, choosing instead to hem and haw and refuse to answer.

While the whole article is worth the read, there is one section we wanted to highlight: the green room that these celebrity megachurch pastors use. While regular pastors who actually know their sheep spend time before the service and after the service talking with congregants and spending time with them, for men like Lentz and others, they are inaccessible to the congregation, a consequence of being so large. They write:

The concept of ‘honoring’ was prevalent when it came to Hillsong’s top pastors. Several people told Insider that pastors, particularly Carl Lentz, were catered to like celebrities, with volunteers and staff members expected to answer to their every beck and call.

When Hillsong’s New York City branch launched, the hierarchy was promptly enforced, Janice Lagata, a former member who worked closely with Lentz, said.

‘They immediately started setting up this culture of like, particularly not wanting everybody to have access to the pastors,’ said Lagata, who was the church’s stage manager and ghostwriter for seven years.
‘Only certain people could talk to them. There was always, always that separation.’

The green room, where Lentz and his ‘entourage’ would convene before and after services, was strictly off-limits to anyone else unless he granted them permission, Lagata said.

‘Only celebrities got access, and it was sort of like a VIP situation,’ Lagata said. ‘There were maybe 10 to 15 people who had access to that room.’

During services at concert halls, insiders say Lentz only ever entered through the VIP backdoor used by his celebrity pals, including Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, and Jada Pinkett Smith. Sources viewed some of Lentz’s demands as excessive.

‘ He had to have his coffee hot,’ Lagata said, describing Lentz as ‘spoiled, pampered, and coddled.’

‘People would be running errands all day, back and forth to Starbucks to make sure he had his fresh coffee,’ she said.

Lagata said volunteers known as ‘green-room girls’ were tasked with keeping Lentz’s demands met. Four current and former Hillsong members said that while the pastor’s green room was stocked with snacks and hot meals, there were few provisions provided for volunteers who worked all day on Sundays.

David Labuguen, a production volunteer and platform musician at Hillsong NYC, who identifies as a person of color, said he once wasn’t even given a bottle of water while performing for Hillsong at the Wellmont Theater in Montclair, New Jersey.

‘We are there to serve the pastors,’ Perez, who worked in the green room at Hillsong College, said. ‘So they don’t have to lift a finger if they don’t want to.’

The fact that this went on for years, and was deemed acceptable by other Hillsong pastors, elders, deacons, and congregation members demonstrates the thoroughly corrupted culture that exists from the top to the bottom.

Though we’re not sure this is what head honcho Brian Houston meant when he described the Church as having a “culture of dysfunction,” given how prevalent and pervasive this is, we can only hope the results of the investigation designed to root out and investigate “cultural issues” call them to the carpet. But with Houston being in the same position with his own green rooms, for some reason we highly doubt it.

For more, see this video by Steven Kozar:




Categories
Church Conspiracy Evangelical Stuff Featured

Veggie Tales Creator Calls Young Earth Creationism ‘Anti-intellectual’ and ‘Rejection of Mainstream Science’

Phil Vischer, the creator of Veggie Tales and recently emerging champion of progressives woke folk who has argued that Democrats are the real pro-lifers and that his success was due to his whiteness, released a new video about the history of evangelicals. In the 22 minute video, he repeatedly makes the case that fundamentalists who believe in young-earth creationism are “anti-intellectual” and are involved with the “rejection of mainstream science.” In turn, he praises evangelicals because they don’t “turn their backs on the culture or science or the life of the mind.”

Explaining the difference between various Christian groups in America in the 20th century:

If you believed the bible was wonderful but really needed a re-write to bring it in line with modern times, you were a modernist.

If you believed the bible was the inerrant word of God and modernists and Darwinists were to be avoided like the black death, you were a fundamentalist.

If you believed the bible was the inerrant word of God but didn’t want to turn your back on the culture or science, or the life of the mind, and thought cooperating with people who didn’t share all your beliefs was maybe probably ok, you were a neo-evangelical (evangelical). [Editor’s note: Sounds like a double-minded position.]


Vischer describes the merging of evangelicals and fundamentalism in the late 60’s and early 70’s. Interestingly enough, given his wokeness on race, he says that “Mainline Protestantism” is comprised exclusively of black folk and that there aren’t any black people in evangelicalism. At the same time he describes mainline protestants congregants as those “whose denominations had either embraced or accommodated modernist theology” which involves “re-writing the bible.”

Three strands of white protestant Christianity in America collapsed back into two. Mainline protestants and everyone else who wasn’t black, and everyone else who wasn’t black was now an evangelical…

Neo-evangelicalism used to be a legitimate movement, embracing a high view of the Bible while rejecting the excesses of fundamentalism, which included cultural separatism, anti-intellectualism, and echoes, sometimes loud echoes, of racism.

He finishes out with a plea to decouple fundamentalism and its view of science-denying young earth creationism and instead embrace evangelism with its embrace of Darwinism and evolution. He also specifically calls out Ken Ham and “Answers in Genesis” as being that which rejects “mainstream science.”

“What is evangelicalism in America today? It’s a hot mess. What started out as high regard for the bible and personal conversion has devolved into a catch-all category of white Christians engaged in conservative politics, a high regard for the bible, a focus on the work of Christ on the cross, the desire to see people choose to follow Jesus, and a desire to help others using our hearts, our hands and our minds.

These are good things. They are neither Democratic or Republican things. [Editor’s note: Definitely NOT Democratic things.] They are biblical things. But today, old currents of fundamentalism are resurgent. The desire to declare war on our enemies, rejection of mainstream science. The belief that the world is out to get us. The longing for an idealized past while downplaying or entirely ignoring racial injustice.

Even the early 21st-century fixation on end times prophecy and the nation of Israel. We could make a video about each one of these topics, but evangelicals like Billy Grahm and Harold Ockenga, and many others sought to resist this fundamentalist tendency while still declaring the bible as the inspired word of God.

That is why I haven’t given up on the name evangelical or the ideals of the neo-evangelical movement. Instead, I want to remind us what the movement was all about and what hopefully it can be about again.

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Evangelical Stuff Featured News

‘Museum of the Bible’ Celebrates Singer Taylor Swift’s Birthday

The Museum of the Bible, whose mission it is to “invite all people to engage with the transformative power of the Bible” exercised some stupidly poor judgment when they honored the birthday of a pro-LGBT, pro-abortion pop star on their Facebook page, inviting observers to consider whether or not there were biblical references in her music.

In honor of Taylor Swift’s birthday today … Do you think there is a Bible reference in her song, “Look What You Made Me Do”? We are on the hunt to figure it out. When she mentions “kingdom keys” is she referencing Matthew 16:19 about the “keys of the kingdom”? Tell us what you think! [sic]

Though the board is comprised of many Christians who are required to sign a statement of faith, being that this is the personal passion project of David Green, the owner of arts and craft chain Hobby Lobby. Though he donates hundreds of millions of dollars to evangelical charities and missions, the museum is aggressively non-sectarian and theologically subdued, with no proselytizing messages. [Editor’s note: We call prosetelyzing “evangelizing” or preaching the Gospel.]

Realistically, with this status update, they’re doing that lame thing the Christian culture does where they desperately try to seek any morsel or crumb of bible references in media. You see it when seeker-sensitive pastors do sermons based on popular movies and tv shows, or when everyone goes wild because some celebrity makes a passing reference to their faith.

So no, Taylor Swift isn’t referencing Matthew 16:19 and “keys of the kingdom,” and even if she were, it wouldn’t matter. There’s no need to pander for the sake of faux relevance, and no need to honor a woman who creates anthems in defiance of Christ.

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Coronavirus Critical Race Theory Featured News

Ivy League University Mandates Vaccine to Attend, but Only for White Students

One of the most prestigious universities in the country is mandating that any student attending and studying must get vaccinated with the flu shot and provide proof of medical documentation before they are allowed to return for classes in the new year.

That is, any white students.

Cornell University instituted the mandatory vaccine program back in the fall semester and continuing into 2021 as part of the school’s “Behavioral Compact” designed to keep medical services and resources available for COVID-19 cases, and not be taxed by the flu.

Unless your skin is a certain color, in which case you may tax away.

The Ivy League school is offering a race-based exemption, with black students, indigenous students, and other persons of color exempt from having to be vaccinated and provide proof, due to “historical injustices” perpetrated on them by white folk.

Cornell’s Health page “especially for students of color,” explains why this doesn’t apply to black and brown students:

We recognize that, due to longstanding systemic racism and health inequities in this country, individuals from some marginalized communities may have concerns about needing to agree to such requirements. For example, historically, the bodies the of Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC) have been mistreated, and used by people in power, sometimes for profit or medical gain. It is understandable that the current Compact requirements may feel suspect or even exploitative to some BIPOC members of the Cornell community. Additionally, recent acts of violence against Black people by law enforcement may contribute to feelings of distrust or powerlessness.

While the university still strongly desires BIPOC students get vaccinated, any persons of color will be given an exception if they cite their racial identity as a cause for wanting to decline.

If you’re white. however, no such luck.

Prepare for the needle.

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Church Coronavirus Featured

The Gospel Coalition: If You Don’t Take the Vaccine you Can’t Effectively Share the Gospel

A new article by The Gospel Coalition (TGC) has taken a precipitous step closer towards the eventual and inevitable narrative that taking the COVID-19 vaccine is a “gospel issue” by arguing that Christians can’t effectively witness or share the gospel if they don’t take it, due to the negative impact it will have on their witness.

TGC writer Pastor Paul Carter sets up the story by writing off the notion of the vaccine as being in some way the mark of the beast, says that Christian should consult their family doctor about whether or not they should take it, and then writes:

“More obviously related to the question of whether or not to get the vaccine would be the many biblical injunctions to love our neighbor as ourselves. The Apostle Paul said, “Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:10 ESV).

What about loving one’s neighbor?

As Christians, we should strive not to be known as the people whose refusal to take a vaccine (should our family doctors recommend that we do so) delayed our progress as a society against this virus. If our family doctor advises us to take the vaccine there is no compelling biblical reason for us not to and a great number of obvious biblical principles suggesting that we should…

The Scriptures to which we are bound to commend an awareness of what is respected and valued by our friends and neighbors. The Apostle Paul in Romans 12 said: ‘take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.’  (Romans 12:17 NRSV)

So if our neighbors value the efficacy and importance of the vaccine, our refusal to show it equal deference and inject it into our bodies right away shows a lack of love on our part, which they will remember next time it comes time to witness.

There will be a world to reach on the other side of this pandemic. There will be friends, neighbors, and loved ones to evangelize who are all watching us now as we navigate this last stage of COVID-19. If they see us caring more about our liberties than their safety, we may have a harder time having Gospel conversations with them going forward. If they see us getting our information from conspiracy news sites on the internet they may be less interested in attending Bible Study with us once this pandemic has finally passed.

While the decision to take a vaccine, or not, is primarily a medical decision, how you handle that decision and how you communicate that decision will have a missiological impact in the days, weeks, and months that lie ahead.


In short, don’t be that guy who refused to take the vaccine out of conscience or conviction. You don’t have a good reason not to, doing so will make you look crazy, and no one wants to hear about the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord from a crazy person.

One wonders if the same concern applies to refusing to wear a mask or insisting on going to church when the whole state is trying to shut you down? Probably, I would have to think.

You’re so close, TGC, to saying it’s a gospel issue. You’re almost there. You can do it. We’re rooting for you. Just one article more…

Categories
Featured News Politics

Not Satire. Seattle Politicians Looking To “De-Criminalize” Theft If Someone Is Poor

(Law Officer) Politicians in Seattle are mulling over the idea that if someone trespasses that doesn’t have a home or steals because they intend to sell the items for their basic needs such as food or rent, that the act would not be treated as a crime.

KOMO News reports that the idea is referred to as the poverty defense. It is being discussed by the Seattle City Council’s Public Safety Committee and was introduced by City Council member Lisa Herbold and Anita Khandelwal, the King County’s director of the Department of Public Defense

The council took no action on the proposal this week but its members are expected to discuss the proposal again in January.

The proposed act would add a new legal defense to the Seattle municipal code that would provide an affirmative defense for someone who committed a crime because they need to meet a basic need to survive.

According to…

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Editor’s Note. This article was written by Law Officer Staff and published at Law Officer.

Categories
Conspiracy Evangelical Stuff Featured

Pew Research Poll: Faithful Christians Still Don’t Believe in Evolution

A new Pew Research Poll shows that “Christians” lag behind the rest of the world in believing that humans and animals evolved over millions of years, often showing as much as 35% disparity. While that is good news on the face of it, the number of professing Christians that do believe in it is far higher than it ought to be.

Like most polls from Pew or Barna, they ought to be taken with a ‘Lot’s wife’ worth of salt. One methodological point is that the graph doesn’t distinguish between the number of “Christians who say religion is very important to them” and “Christians who don’t”

Given that there is no such thing as a believer who says religion is not important to them, it’s a misnomer. If they wanted to know the percentage of Christians who believe in evolution, this would not be a self-identifying descriptor, but rather would only include those who say the Bible is the inspired, infallible, inerrant, sufficient word of God.

And then the number would drop down to  < 1 %.

Though Tim Keller and his ilk at BioLogos want you to believe that the earth is billions of years old and humans or human-like-humans have been evolving for millions of years, this is not Christian orthodoxy.

Rather, God created the universe ex-nihilo and the book of Genesis is to be taken literally, including talking serpents, Adam and Eve, 7-literal day creation, naming the animals, angel guarding Eden, people living to be nearly 1000 years old, the flood, Nephilim, etc. All of it.

Macroevolution for animals? No. Microevolution for the same? Sure. Human evolution? Heck no.

According to the survey:

“[there is] broad acceptance of evolution across these publics. A median of 74% say humans and other living things have evolved, while a median of just 21% think humans and other living things have existed in their present form since the beginning of time.

The 21% echoes a Biologos poll commissioned in 2013 that shows just 19% of Christian pastors believe the creation story ‘Answers-in-Genesis style.’