A Boomer in the Pew

5 Truths - How to Discern False Works of the Holy Spirit

"The Decent of the Holy Ghost" c 1545, by Tiziano Vecellio (better known as Titian).

I was watching a video of some of the "goings on" in Lakeland, Florida.  It seems that many would have us believe that there is a tremendous outpouring of God's spirit and people are being healed by the hundreds. 

When I saw the leader of this particular circus act describe how the Holy Spirit was leading him to kick an elderly woman, seated in the front row of the auditorium, in the face with his army boots, I thought....Hmmmm...this is clearly not the work of the Holy Spirit.  The work of a spirit perhaps!  But certainly not the Holy Spirit.

So...how are we to discern a true work of the Holy Spirit.

1 John 4:1, "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."

The scriptures teach us that Satan's most powerful tools, in seeking to defeat believers in Christ, are deceit and confusion.  Therefore, we are called to discern the messages and actions of those claiming to represent Christ.

Dr. John MacArthur has just completed a five part condensed, adapted and excerpted answer to this very question taken from Jonathan Edwards' The Distinguishing Marks of a Work of the Holy Spirit of God.

These short and concise articles are important messages for our understanding.  They help us to understand that a work is from the Holy Spirit when:

1. It exalts the True Christ
2. It Opposes Satan's Interests
3. It Points People to the Scriptures
4. It Elevates Truth
5. It Results in Love for God and Others

Whenever we encounter people who claim to represent Christ, we must have the understanding of 1 John 4:1 (above) in our hearts,  and reach into our quiver for these five arrows of truth regarding God's Holy Spirit.

Do not be deceived brothers and sisters!

Tim Keller - The Reason for God

One of the books sitting on my desk, in line for reading, is Dr. Timothy Keller's "The Reason for God".  I happened across this Authors@Google speech from Tim Keller and found it interesting and thought I would share it with you here.  Enjoy!

My Post on "The Shack" is stirring some debate.

I am seeing a nice debate brewing in the comment section of my recent post on "The Shack". 

It is my contention that many of the themes of this book are in direction opposition to the word of God and therefore, the book is not worthy of our attention.

It would seem, however, that millions of people disagree with me.

What do you think? 

Hit the link above, and share your thoughts in the comments section.

Is William P. Young's book "The Shack" Heresy?

Yes! 

This is old news in the blogosphere, but I continue to hear of the popularity of this book and I thought I should pass along my concerns to my readers.

First of all, let me be clear,  I have not read this book and I don't intend to read this book.  I have seen enough direct quotes from this book for me to discern that this book, albeit purported to be Christian allegory, in many ways conflicts with the word of God and is not fit for my attention.

The only reason I write this post is to warn my readers to steer clear of its subversive and heretical theologies. 

Here are three trusted resources, whose warnings regarding this book, I pass along to you:  1.)  Tim Challies    2.) Mark Driscoll   3.)  Dr. Albert Mohler

US Taxpayers - $330 Million given to Planned Parenthood for Abortions

Some Jewish Scholars in a Twitter about a new Stone Dead Sea Scroll

This week is the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Dead Sea Scrolls.  To mark this occasion, scholars from all over the world are meeting in Jerusalem for a conference, The Dead Sea Scrolls and Contemporary Culture.

It is no secret that contemporary Jewish religion has a real problem with the claims of Jesus Christ.  This was true 2,000 years ago and remains true today.

One such Jewish scholar, Israel Knohl, is contending that this "new" discovery speaks of a resurrection prior to Jesus Christ and that early Christians knew of this and perhaps constructed their resurrection story around this previous occurrence. 

The implication is that if this were true, then all the wind is taken from the sails of Christianity's claims.

Here is a breakdown of the story from Cosmic Log and a further discussion from the Christian side of the fence in the Prime Time Jesus Blog.

Certainly I am no expert on these matters and therefore unworthy to proclaim my opinion.  But it sure is interesting to watch, year after year, archaeological "findings" claiming to disprove the claims of Christ, only to watch them go down in flames.  Just last year the false claims of finding the burial tomb of Jesus were all the rage.

This is interesting to watch, but in my mind refuting the claims of Christ is futile.  People have tried for 2,000 years and they only wind up with intestinal wind in their hands.

What are your thoughts on the matter??

Arizona puts Gay Marriage Ban on November Ballot

Phoenix, Arizona - after hours of angry and racous debate, the Arizona Senate passed a measure to put a ban against "gay marriage" before the voters this coming November.

Here is the proposed question that will be put to a yes/no vote to Arizonans in the fall:

"ONLY A UNION OF ONE MAN AND ONE WOMAN SHALL BE VALID OR RECOGNIZED AS A MARRIAGE IN THIS STATE."

This will undoubtedly make for some interesting debate in the coming months for Arizona residents.

Here is a link to a variety of lectures, from John MacArthur's Master's Seminary, on "The Truth about Homosexuality".  These would good resources, for Christians, to get clear on the Bible's stand on these issues. 

Pew Study: Do Arizona residents believe there is "one" true way to heaven?

The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life just released the second installment of the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey.

This is my third installment as it relates to Arizona residents and their faith beliefs.

This particular question, from the Pew Survey, asked Arizona respondents regarding their religion being the "one true faith".

Here is how the question was worded:

Question wording: [IF RESPONDENT HAS A RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION, ASK:] Now, as I read a pair of statements, tell me whether the FIRST statement or the SECOND statement comes closer to your own views even if neither is exactly right. First/next: My religion is the one, true faith leading to eternal life, OR: many religions can lead to eternal life.

Here is how 452 residents of Arizona responded:

• Their religion is the one, true faith leading to eternal life.
  • Arizona - 28%
  • National - 24%
• Many religions can lead to eternal life.
  • Arizona - 64%
  • National - 70%
• Neither/both equally
  • Arizona - 3%
  • National - 3%
• Don't know/refused
  • Arizona - 4%
  • National - 4%

Out of the 35,000 people that responded to this survey on a national basis, only 578 residents of Arizona responded to the questions.  With this question we find that we have only 452 responses as only that number said that they had a religious affiliation. 

I suppose this small sampling might raise a question, but as we can see, it is not far from the national responses.  Post-modern America and Post-modern Arizonans, as a rule, do not believe that there is one true faith that leads to heaven.

This question was obviously a challenge to 18th century America as well.  I am about to start a group blogger reading of the Christian Classic "A Treatise concerning Religious Affections".  Here is Jonathan Edwards in the very first paragraph of his famous text:

"There is no question whatsoever, that is of greater importance to mankind, and what is more concerns every individual person to be well resolved in, than this: What are the distinguishing qualifications of those that are in favor with God, and entitled to his eternal rewards? Or, which comes to the same thing, What is the nature of true religion? And wherein do lie the distinguishing notes of that virtue and holiness that is acceptable in the sight of God? But though it be of such importance, and though we have clear and abundant light in the word of God to direct us in this matter, yet there is no one point, wherein professing Christians do more differ one from another. It would be endless to reckon up the variety of opinions in this point, that divide the Christian world; making manifest the truth of that declaration of our Savior, "Strait is the gate and narrow is the way, that leads to life, and few there be that find it."

Perhaps there is...nothing new under the sun.

 

Pew Study: Do Arizona Residents Believe that the Bible is Literally God's Word?

The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life just released the second installment of the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey.

This is my second installment as it relates to Arizona residents and their faith beliefs.

Here we find the folks at the Pew Forum asking about the Bible.  Do people, and Arizonans in particular believe that the Bible is God's word and do they believe it is true word for word.

Here is how the Pew Forum worded the question:

"Question wording: Which comes closest to your view? [HOLY BOOK]* is the word of God, OR [HOLY BOOK]* is a book written by men and is not the word of God? [IF BELIEVE HOLY BOOK IS WORD OF GOD, ASK:] And would you say that [HOLY BOOK]* is to be taken literally, word for word, OR not everything in [HOLY BOOK]* should be taken literally, word for word?

*For Christians and the unaffiliated, 'the Bible' was inserted where indicated by [HOLY BOOK]; for Jews, 'the Torah' was inserted; for Muslims, 'the Koran' was inserted; for all other religious groups, 'the Holy Scripture' was inserted."

Here is how the 578 residents of Arizona responded:

• Word of God, literally true word for word
  • Arizona - 26%
  • National - 33%
• Word of God, but not literally true word for word/unsure if literally true
  • Arizona - 31%
  • National - 30%
• Don't know/refused/other
  • Arizona - 11%
  • National - 9%

This, it would seem, is a substantial challenge for the Arizona church.  Nearly 88% of Arizona residents are certain, or fairly certain that there is a God.  Yet, only 26% of them believe that the Bible is literally God's word, with and additional 31% of them not sure.

I guess if I were a pastor, I would be working on making sure that the 31% in my flock were instructed with the truth.

Here is a video, part of a three part series, that John MacArthur is currently doing on this very topic.
Here is a post that I did back in February on the reliability of the scriptures.
Dr. Wayne Grudem speaks on the issue here, here, and here.

For the Christian, this is a critically important question.  Let us all seek to work together to help the unsure 31% find out the answer.  This is certainly a great place to start.

Pew Study: Do Arizona Residents Believe in God?

The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life just released the second installment of the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey.

There is a lot of information here that I will be digesting over the coming weeks.  The first question that caught my eye was this:  Do Arizonans believe in God?

The first thing that we must consider, in looking at this data, is the character of the question itself.  I believe that the question used in this survey is very telling of our nation's position on religious beliefs and practices.

Here is the question that was asked of Arizona residents pertaining to their belief in God:

Question wording: Do you believe in God or a universal spirit? [IF YES, ASK:] How certain are you about this belief? Are you absolutely certain, fairly certain, not too certain, or not at all certain?

Isn't it interesting the way in which they worded the question?  Is belief in God and a "universal spirit" reckoned to be the same thing?  Does this question not lump a Christian and a Buddhist (who have completely differing views on God) in the same camp?  Is this question, the way it was worded, even relevant?

Nonetheless, here are the responses of 578 residents of Arizona:

• Believes in God - absolutely certain
  • Arizona - 69%
  • National - 71%
• Believes in God - fairly certain
  • Arizona - 19%
  • National - 17%
• Believes in God - not too certain/not at all certain/unsure how certain
  • Arizona - 3%
  • National - 4%
• Does not believe in God
  • Arizona - 6%
  • National - 5%
• Don't know/refused/other
  • Arizona - 4%
  • National - 3%

I suppose a Christian could look at this data and conclude that most Arizona residents believe in God and walk away feeling fairly good about the number.  However, it is critical that we understand that this sample only includes 578 people out of six million.  Further confusing the issue is simply the way the question was worded.  For the Christian, God is a real person not a "universal spirit".

Therefore this response, for the Arizona Christian community,  contains very little relevant information for us.

Stay tuned for more analysis of this report as it pertains to faith in Arizona.