...they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Acts 17:11
To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. Isaiah 8:20
"Whatever it is, I'm against it.
No matter what it is or who commenced it, I'm against it." Groucho Marx, from Horse Feathers
“Roadmap to Armageddon: Jacob’s Trouble”
-
Airing now on Our Jewish Roots, Episode 8/20
https://www.levitt.tv/media/watch/2408 In this solemn episode, Joshua and
Caleb recall the history of persecut...
Extremists
-
Anyone can see how extreme our society has become these days. Hateful
rhetoric, volatile politics (on both sides), political and racial violence,
"trigger ...
Forgery
-
We were able to recover some lost files and included in those files was one
article on forgery. It is called Forgery on the Nile and it was written by
BARB...
Where Did The ‘Races’ Come From?
-
That is the title of a short paper written by Ken Ham, Dr. Carl Wieland, &
Dr. Don Batten. It is 12 pages long and we will simply quote some key
passages a...
Holy Week Wednesday; The Betrayal
-
Luke 22:3-6 “And Satan entered into Judas who was called
Iscariot, belonging to the number of the twelve. 4 And he went away and
discussed with the chief p...
This Is Current Events.
-
America is like a healthy body and its resistance is threefold: Its
patriotism, its morality and its spiritual life. If we can undermine these
areas, Ame...
LTW Update: Kids in the Projects of East Nashville
-
*Here is the latest from Mike Guthrey, leader, for last night's outreach to
children, teens and their parents who live in the projects of East
Nashville,...
Examining a Gothard Book, Part 3
-
This post is part one of examining *Chapter 3: To Inspire Mighty Men*! of
Bill Gothard’s book, *7 Basic Needs of a Wife*.
For some reason Gothard want...
Nature
-
We tend to see our heroes through rose-tinted glasses. The same goes for
the heroes of the faith. Whether it’s someone in the Old Testament, someone
in ...
Daniel 8A Ram and Goat
-
Antiochus IV was the 8th king of the Seleucid dynasty and he ruled as king
from 175 to 164 BC (1 Macc 1:10; 6; 16). He conducted military campaigns in
all ...
Eye has not seen, nor ear heard
-
But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have
entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them
that love...
Can we do greater works than Jesus?
-
NOTE: This article isn’t about whether the sign gifts are still in
operation today, or if they ceased after the first century. That’s a
separate discussion...
DYING TO SELF
-
We talk about dying-to-self and the never-ending quest to prove our
personal worth, to make-it, and to look good in the eyes of others.
However, are...
The Ethics of Darkness and Light
-
ASK THE PASTOR WITH DALE RATZLAFF | Q: Can I stay in the church and “make a
difference” by teaching the gospel and ignoring the practices and doctrines
wit...
Lamentation before Easter
-
In the months leading up to this Easter our church had several deaths. Not
that unusual. Our church has a strange sort of age gap—either the members
are yo...
The Lord had many people at Corinth
-
Corinth is located about two miles south of the narrow isthmus which forms
the land bridge, and controlled access, between the main land mass of
Greece and...
How Should We Then Respond:
-
A Position Paper for These Days in the Church of the Nazarene Regarding the
LBGTQ Issue of Inclusion vs. Affirmation (By Micah Rogers) (If you would
like a...
Sirach is Positive for Pharmakon
-
Sirach uses pharmakon twice—and found positive each time. The Book of
Sirach—aka The Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach, aka The Wisdom of Sirach
(or The Wi...
First Vision Thoughts
-
(*For determining years and ages, remember that Joe was born 12/23/1805*)
*From Lucy's History*:
In Joseph's 15th year a revival began. This would make...
Fallen Prophets, Charismata, and the Critics
-
Part One I am a continuationist who often find myself agreeing with
cessationists, taking my kids to their youth groups, and even pointing
others to thei...
WHAT DOES THE GOSPEL PROMISE US?
-
By Rick Becker 17 January 2024 In 2024, we find ourselves in the same
position as Jude, who found it necessary to “contend for the faith which
was once ...
It Wasn’t An “Anointing” MB Was Teaching Under..
-
We all now know that Mike Bickle was using his “godly anointing” to coerce
girls/women at IHOP to fulfill his sexual desires as far back as the
1980’s. I’v...
DO YOU REALLY WANT TO JOIN THE RALLY?
-
Originally posted on Jackie Alnor’s RRR blog on August 1, 2011 Christians
around the world reacted in such shock that the media would dare to…
The post D...
Have the lying signs and wonders arrived?
-
(From now to the end, truth is not likely to make people happy who have
been sleeping and slumbering in apathy. The truth necessary to prepare and
equip ...
Who Is Telling The Truth in The EFCA Controversy?
-
Photo by Dan Asaki on Unsplash In C.S. Lewis’s novel, The Chronicles of
Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, there is a scene where Lucy
comes b...
A Typical Day as Street Evangelist
-
My pastor asked me to share with my church how I spend a typical day on the
streets (or Home Depot) with the goal of stirring the church folks to
support m...
Common Law Divorce.
-
A few years back I read an article in the National Review about a concept
of serial polygamy. It was the idea that people are in a cycle of marrying
and...
Administrative Pause
-
There will be a pause in administration of this website until Sunday,
August 27. Please wait until then to post any new comments.
The Hero of Bible Prophecy
-
*The Hero of Bible Prophecy*By: J. B. Hixson, Ph.D.
*“Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the
tribes of the earth will m...
1479: Well Done Good and Faithful Servant
-
Well Done Good and Faithful Servant Ed Rodgers, beloved husband, father,
award winning architect, author, teacher, mentor, and friend was called
home to be...
Difficult Times
-
First I must apologise for my inconsistency in writing my blogs – the
spirit was willing but the flesh has been weak ! My only excuse has been a
difficult ...
Breaking free from fear.
-
Fear typically comes into a person’s heart when they anticipate or receive
new information that is concerning. Perhaps information about their health,
or f...
Paul Carter on How to Spot a False Teacher
-
Paul Carter has come out swinging against my work on Bruxy Cavey implying I
am in league with Satan himself. I'd like to set the record straight, and
offer...
July 2022
-
Well, folks – it’s Kris here. Yes, Guy and I are still alive. We are still
over here in our little corner of the world, living our lives, going to
work, se...
Do Grace Preachers Teach Legalism?
-
What is Galatianism? Recently I have encountered people on YouTube teaching
that various grace pastors are promoting and teaching Galatianism. These
YouTub...
Eternal Security Part 5
-
Conclusion Part V Roy Hession, acclaimed author of From Shadow to
Substance, addresses the topic of security clearly. The Bible is filled
with verses to th...
FAKE REVIVAL
-
*Part 7B of Fake Awaken*
* Read Part 7A: Fake Awaken*
*FAKE PROPHETS article series*
*Read Part 1: The White Lab Coats*
*Read Part 2: The Fishbowl *
*...
Happy New Year 2022
-
Happy New Year everyone. Sorry for the lack of updates on this website,
however we are still very active on our Twitter account, so please feel
free to ...
Jesus' Justice
-
Jesus' Justice How the "Social Justice" Movement is a Blasphemous Affront
to the Majesty, Dignity, and Power of the Lord Jesus Christ.So many of the
discu...
Does Genesis 3:21 talk about modesty?
-
I recently have come back to the topic of Biblical modesty in some online
discussions and I encountered a strange argument about how the Bible
teaches some...
The Proverbs 31 Wife (Complementarian Edition)
-
The following article is used by permission. If you are on Facebook I
recommend this writer and advocate, and you may visit his page by clicking
on his nam...
Trust
-
The LORD is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble; And He knows those
who trust in Him. Nahum 1:7 Follow the science, they say, trust in the
science, li...
Transitions!
-
I just went through and changed some things on this blog. Where it used to
say I am the pastor of Free Baptist Church, it now says “Former Pastor”.
What a ...
Changes on the way
-
Dear SaaB readers, I wanted to let you know that the look of the site and
likely the domain will be changing soon. Given my current workload and
responsibi...
Avoid Greg Laurie and Harvest America
-
Greg Laurie and Harvest America should be avoided. That assertion is based
on a simple premise. The Bible’s warnings about deception are to be taken
seriou...
Jim Staley
-
*** Update as of July, 2020: Jim Staley was released from prison. No other
information is available other than a youtube of his wife picking him up
sometim...
Check out The Messed Up Church YouTube Channel!
-
I've been making LOTS of videos on my YouTube channel, and also writing
more articles for my full website: The Messed Up Church.
Here's my YouTube channel:...
In A Time Of Financial Insecurity
-
*The Parable of the Pearl of Great Price: Matthew 13:44-45*
*44 *“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. A man
found it, hid it aga...
Message heard.
-
I’ve been deeply moved and humbled by the overwhelming response to my post
announcing that I planned on shutting down the blog. I’ve reconsidered and
deci...
Home Before Dark
-
Back in the ’60s and ’70s, Charles Kuralt of CBS News took us all “On the
Road” with his scenery-chewing segments on life in America off the
interstates. S...
Updated Church and Israel Bibliography
-
Here's a list of titles I consider useful for anyone interested in
exploring the relationship between the Church and Israel/the Jewish people.
I add new i...
HBC Meeting Notes from April 2019
-
These are the notes prepared by Manny Bucur – an HBC deacon from Rolling
Meadows – based upon a meeting with HBC leaders on 19 April 2019. He
assures me th...
Dear Readers . . .
-
I am switching input on this site to my Northern Reflections blog so that I
can keep updating more frequently and have everything under one “roof”.
Just GO...
Changes Are Coming!
-
For a long time, I've wanted to move this blog away from Blogger and onto a
WordPress platform. The reasons for this are many and varied, not the least
of ...
Heaven and Earth Bear Witness
-
As usual, the political divisions over various issues do not match the
division between a Scriptural understanding and an idolatrous one. In this
case, it’...
Mike Winger Reviews TPT
-
A very clear critique of The Passion Translation by Mike Winger:
The post Mike Winger Reviews TPT appeared first on Reading the Passion Bible
.
The Day of Atonement - Jorge Sedaca
-
By Jorge Sedaca, Executive Director Tonight at sundown, Jewish people
around the world will begin observing Yom Kippur, the holiest day in
Judaism. Accordi...
Globalism is Satan’s Plan
-
Throughout the Scriptures we see God created nations. They are actually a
blessing because they are a gathering of likeminded people of the same
nationalit...
Brenda Nickel Escapes Calvinism
-
My Introduction to Calvin My introduction to John Calvin came one spring
night while driving down a desolate Wyoming highway. It was early evening.
The roa...
“Jane” And The Master’s University Rape Scandal
-
September 18, 2017 a blog published an anonymous testimony called “Do You
See Me?” that details a horrendous rape that allegedly took place at The
Master’s...
And Now the Kids are Growing Up
-
And now the kids are growing up. And I’m finding that, when I look at the
ones who are adults or are near adults, I realize how much I didn’t do.
And thi...
Not a Book Review: Invisible Chains
-
I read a lot of books, but I rarely have time or incentive to write much
about them, so I don't know if this will be the only NaBR post or not...
Recently,...
THE ROOTS OF CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER
-
PLEASE NOTE: I do not promote the practice of contemplative prayer, and my
link the article mentioned is not an endorsement of the practice. I have
drawn a...
Cult Leader Tony Alamo Dies in Prison
-
Cult Leader, pedophile, false teacher, and perverted sicko Tony Alamo has
passed on to the judgment of Almighty God. If you do any study on cults,
this per...
Huffington Post loves abortion
-
It isn’t easy to find pro-life pregnancy centers. After a few attempts at
creative word choice in Google, it is possible. What is found with
virtually no e...
The Evil of Margaret Sanger's Planned Parenthood
-
Margaret Sanger: Darwinist, racist, eugenicist
Margaret Sanger’s eugenic plan for black Americans
Things you should know about Margaret Sanger
Planned P...
A Peek At Prosperity
-
The “prosperity gospel” is a term used to describe, at least in part, the
Word of Faith Movement (WOF), and the teaching is exploding in popularity
across ...
An Open Letter to Christian Pastors
-
NOTE: This document was published by American Evangelicals. I highly
recommend that you share this AND be sure to research the links that are
provided fo...
A New Direction
-
[image: A New Direction]
In case you haven't noticed, there has been nothing new that has appeared
on the Falsified Journal for over a month now, and the ...
Luther remembers
-
13. And what did we under the papacy but walk blindly? We suffered
ourselves to be led just as we were directed by the names of God and the
saints. I was m...
A Sneak Peek into the Real Heaven!
-
*This is Part 4 in a series of posts based on my book,* *End Times and the
Secret of the Mahdi: Unlocking the Mystery of Revelation and the Antichrist**. ...
New Facebook Page
-
Hello out there! Because of a busy schedule, I have not been able to return
to blogging like I had planned, however, I have created a new Facebook page
to ...
Suffer the Children – the movie
-
This is another great movie exposing the lies and dangers of the Word of
Faith, Health and Wealth, Name It and Claim It, Speak It and Believe It,
Confes...
THE BRAIN’S MASTER CLOCK
-
Daniel 2:21 “And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings,
and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them
that...
What are we to do???
-
There is a 26 second clip based on reality that I came across recently. It
is found on FB, and I won’t post the video, (but HERE… Read more "What are
we to...
The Lordship Salvation Controversy in 2015
-
This is the reality of the world we live in today.
It is also the reality of the doctrines of Christendom.It is 2015 and that
means it has been 27 years si...
Reading 1 Peter Together, Day 22 - 1 Peter 3:1-7
-
*3 Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some
do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of
their wive...
“Thank you, for saving my life.”
-
The words I spoke to the doctor and nurses after they got done working on
me. A nurse said in return, “Honey, it was the doctor who saved your life.”
“True...
Wolves with Feathers
-
Fake (or demonic) Glory Feather Cloud from an “Apostolic and Prophetic”
ministry “Look at the feathers, man! Look at the feathers!” (52 seconds in
video) R...
Blatant Bias: Anti-Israel Mennonite Monkey Business
-
Bias: Bias is an inclination of temperament or outlook to present or hold a
partial perspective, often accompanied by a refusal to consider the
possible me...
When the Crickets Stop Singing…
-
After being a cricket chirping in the reeds for years, this is the 1,000th
chirp from the Muddy Streams swampland, and quite possibly the last. We
could wr...
Farewells and New Days
-
This week the world lost an incredible young woman. She is the oldest
daughter of one of my closest friends, a family that shared some of our
crazy histor...
No, really, we moved! Please update your links!
-
I’m only going to mention this 6 or 7 more times! Just kidding, this is
the last time. In a few days this blog will be deleted. All the content
has been ...
Objection Overruled!
-
I ran across this blog post at Spiritual Sounding Board regarding contempt
in the pulpit. The post refers to work …
Continue reading →
Baptismal Regeneration Explored
-
As we study the Bible concerning the subject of baptism, there are some
points of consideration that we must make. To most of us, when we think of
baptism ...
50. Can Saul Become Paul?
-
Hmmm… Well, well, well…. Perhaps, just perhaps this is the beginning of
what many of us have been praying for over the years re: Mr. Mark Driscoll…
God did...
Moving On...
-
What a journey this has been. Yesterday, Acts29 removed Mark Driscoll and
Mars Hill from their network of churches (which he co-founded). The response
f...
James 4:13-14 NKJV
-
Do Not Boast About Tomorrow 13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we
will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make
a p...
No Shampoo
-
A few months ago, I decided to try and go "no shampoo." This can also be
known as the "no poo" method, but I'm not so much a fan of that label :).
I have...
A Bibliology Grounded in Christology
-
New Testament scholar, Dr. Daniel B. Wallace, has written a superb article
in defence of Biblical inerrancy. View article →
Scripture, Catechesis And Prayer: October 9th
-
Psalms Psalms 89:1–18 “I will sing of the steadfast love of the LORD,
forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all
generations. For I ...
Post-Protestant Era?
-
There is a deep chasm between the Protestant doctrinal beliefs and those of
Catholics: Scriptural Salvation/Regeneration: by God’s grace through faith
alon...
Where are we?
-
By Nathaniel A good question. Many of you are asking or have asked this. I
can honestly say that I am not a youth pastor at a PCA church anymore. Now
I am ...
FOOLISH VIRGINS
-
FROM:The Parable of the Ten Virgins Mt. 25:1-13
*THE FOOLISH VIRGINS* had oil, but the oil burned out and the flame
diminished. They wanted to borrow the W...
Purpose Driven, Seeker Sensitive, Church Growth
-
After I was on World View Weekend with Brannon Howse, a listener emailed me
and we struck up a conversation. This week he sent me a link to a video he
h...
The False Religion Of Guy Sebastian
-
The recent sad article on the faith of Australian pop star Guy Sebastian has
served to bring back the pathetic memories I have of Australian churches
(espe...
Living With a Heart Wide Open
-
In Proverbs 4:23, King Solomon shares a timeless nugget of wisdom about the
heart: “More than you guard anything, safeguard your heart, for from it are
the...
"LOVE ONE ANOTHER" ROMANS 12:9
-
JIM MARSHALL SCORES ONE FOR OTHER TEAM In 1964 Minnesota Viking defender
Jim Marshall made a monumental and embarrassing blunder. He recovered a
fumble tha...
Spurgeon on Islam
-
Charles Spurgeon on the Quran: “I have made it a College exercise with our
brethren. I have said—We will read a chapter of the Koran. This is the
Mahometa...
Dan Bohi’s false gospel
-
Dan’s gospel “So the real gospel is the miracle power, the dutumas (Greek
word), and the salvation, healing, deliverance, not just being good enough
to go ...
Dan Bohi and The River Movement
-
Dan Bohi and the River Keep in mind while you read this article if you
don’t buy into what Dan and others are selling your church will
be referred to as a ...
Healing Ministry: Word of Faith Style!!!
-
Healing Ministry: Word of Faith Style!!! Word of Faith teachings about
Divine Healing: Those who are familiar with the word of faith movement and
especiall...
Earth by Erwin McManus
-
Was Bruce Willis offered the lead?
Erwin McManus has launched a new book/dvd series Signs based on Mosaic's
"elements" teachings. The first in the series,...
How's your vision?
-
Is your vision big? Is it gigantic? Is it growing larger every day? If not,
you may need a "vision inflater." What is a vision inflater? It can be a
lot o...
Jesus predicted coming of Prophet Muhammad?
-
Original article here at www.dailymail.co.uk Here's a story that should
give Rick Warren shivers of delight. Be warned that the day will come when
evangeli...
Are you Kidding me?
-
Will there be a solution?
Is there a way to stop this craziness?
Does any of this make sense to anyone?
How do we protect our children? Is it possible?
T...
Open Letter To Eric Dykstra
-
I write this open letter as a real life example of how you and crossing
leadership have hurt and negatively impacted our family. There is a bloody
trail ...
Letter to my Unsaved Mum
-
My mother is unsaved at this point. I have spoken to her many times about
the Lord but she still resists. I would covet the prayers of the believers
for he...
Chapter 18....Losing Our Son?
-
Chapter 18... Losing Our Son?
To begin a book with chapter 18, why? I begin here because this is a
chapter in life. This isn't the beginning nor is it t...
Italian Greyhounds
-
I’m leaving this post up because it is one of the top Google searches for
Italian Greyhounds. It was used on a t-shirt sold in a women’s clothing
store an...
Performance-based? Not MY church!
-
We believe in grace through faith, not salvation through works. So how
could my church be performance-based?
The interesting thing about spiritually a...
-
Dear Faithful Followers,
As you know, it has been a while since I have posted anything on my blog. I
am fine, but as venturing out into other areas, namely ...
The Great Evangelical Crisis is Here, pt. 2
-
In my previous post, I left off with the questions of, "Is it possible to
be relevant in our ministry within a post-modern context and yet still be
biblica...
Crossing a Finish Line…But Still Running the Race
-
Dear Friends, I address you as such because over the past few years you
have been so much more than just readers of my blog. From all over the
world, you ...
Nazarenes Standing Firm
-
Nazarenes Standing Firm Ac 4:29 And now, Lord, behold their threatenings:
and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy
word, Joh ...
Two Recommended Study Bibles
-
As a preacher, I collect Bibles. Of the several dozen I own, my two
favorite study/reference Bibles would have to include the Newberry
Reference Bible and ...
Farewell
-
April 27, 1964 – June 13, 2010 From the siblings of Danni Moss: On June 13,
2010, following a prolonged battle with cancer, Danni departed this life
and st...
There are lions and wolves among us …
-
I think sometimes when we hear about things like “wolves” entering in
amongst us or about the Devil walking about like a “lion” seeking whom he
may devour,...
Report from Israel #12 - A Last Day of Surprises
-
By Janice Beurling
Shalom from Israel!
Yesterday was our last day with Dov and it was something to write home
about!
We rose very early and met Dov at 7:...
Update: Mark Baker’s Apology
-
UPDATE: APRIL 2010 Menno is rolling over in his grave over this one. Read
about MARK BAKER’S APOLOGY here: Which Does God Accept – Apology or
Repentance?
...
When Responsibility Doesn't Pay
-
Often when I send out e-mails or post to the blog, I like to include an
excerpt of something excellent to pique your interest. This is one of those
article...
A new blog home
-
Hello there!
I just wanted to let you know that this blog is moving to Wordpress. Click
HERE to go to the new site.
I hope you'll join me there. I find it...
-
The truth, as I understand it, between heaven and hell. Choose Wisely,
Choose Well, Choose Now.!!.
Visibility was limited as pelting rain beat against the...
Another prayer for Mosaic
-
Heavenly Father, I pray that as Mosaic preaches on the miracles of Jesus
that they make those miracles about Jesus and no about humanity. I pray
that Chris...
Asleep in the Light
-
Wide Awake by Erwin McManus
Nelson Publishers, 252 pages
At first I was uncertain about writing this book. It could so easily become
a formula for self-ind...
Morey Threatens to Sue Me!
-
That's right, Robert Morey has threatened to sue me for all my "false"
allegations I have written about on this blog. I received a letter in the
mail yeste...
McManus and the 6 points of the Emerging Church
-
1. *Postmodern*. What is postmodernism? “Whereas modernism is associated
with unquestionable truth, postmodernism questions power bases and
emotionally man...
-
*We're Moving*
Its been nice here at Blogger.com but its time for a makeover and Wordpress
enables us to have more flexibility in the format of the website...
Can Healing Be Found Here?
-
I am filled with a heavy heart as I sit down to write this. For many years
I invested my life into a group of people that I came to love, and believed
they...
Our Parting With Antipas Ministries
-
*"Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for
light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for
bitter…W...
The 2009 edition of the Christian Youth event known as Break Forth (I think "Break Wind" would be a better name) will take place in Edmonton, Alberta from January 30-February 1 (go here for further information). Among the scheduled speakers are William P. Young, author of The Shack, and Erwin McManus, author of several books, including The Barbarian Way.
Youth ministries in evangelical churches (including my own) have been promoting The Barbarian Way for a couple of years, so I decided to read the book, and I didn’t like what I read. I don’t think Mr. McManus handles the scriptures well; for instance, he takes prophetic passages from Ezekiel 36 and Joel 2 which refer to the nation of Israel and tries to apply them to the church. Also, any instance of obedience to God in the scriptures is interpreted by Mr. McManus as being an example of the "barbarian" way.
Mr. McManus tells us to "fight for the heart of your king" by using an incident from Scottish history. I can’t find anywhere in the New Testament where Christians (excuse me--"Christ followers") are told to do that. We are told to earnestly contend for the faith, which is just what Mr. McManus & co. refuse to do. And Mr. McManus’s exhortation to become "mystic warriors" smacks to me of Roman Catholicism; I predict that Mr. McManus will proceed further in this direction in the coming years. I haven’t read Soul Craving, but apparently, he already is doing that.
The Christians whom Mr. McManus scorns as "civilized" or "domesticated" strike me as merely being "mature." Mr. McManus would prefer to have "Christ followers" remain "raw" and "untamed," i.e., immature. Contrast that with New Testament passages such as Eph. 4:13, Phil. 3:14, Heb. 5:14 and 6:1, and James 1:4, which exhort us to become mature.
The anecdotes that Mr. McManus tells about letting his 11-year-old daughter drive an ATV, and encouraging his 12-year-old son to jump off the roof reveal him to be a very irresponsible father (Mr. McManus admits that he won’t be invited to any parenting conference).
This "barbarian" movement has just started to come into the church in the last couple of years; let’s wait 5-10-20-25 years to see the results. I wasn’t even halfway through this short book (long before I got to the part where Mr. McManus says we should be like the rhinoceros) before I was concluding that this movement will produce a lot of carnage and destruction. When it does, you can be sure that it will be the "civilized" and "domesticated" Christians who will be left to clean up the mess--if we haven’t left our churches by then.
If the accusations of Mosaic alumnus Ruben Aguilar are accurate, there has already been a fair amount of carnage at Mr. McManus’s own church (links to Mr. Aguilar’s sites are provided below).
Go here for an earlier review by Gary Gilley of The Barbarian Way. For Ruben Aguilar’s review, go here.
Mr. Aguilar’s sites on Mosaic Church can be found here (Note: the links to Apprising Ministries that appear on this site are outdated. Go here instead); here; and here. This site contains reviews of all of Erwin McManus’s books. Another blog of interest is Solid Foods.
I recently finished reading William P. (he goes by his middle name of Paul) Young’s novel The Shack, which has been, and continues to be, sold in Christian bookstores, such as those associated with GoDeeper.ca (which now seems to have gone so deep that it's gone under), and promoted by organizations such as Youth With A Mission (YWAM). A number of good critiques of The Shack from a Biblical perspective are available online in print and/or audio form, including those by James De Young (a close friend of Paul Young); Berit Kjos; Albert Mohler; Eric Barger; The Berean Call; Larry DeBruyn (also at Herescope); Warren Smith; and Jeffrey Whittaker. The reader is invited to look these up for himself.
I just want to add a few points of my own on The Shack, which other reviewers may have missed or not emphasized. I won’t go into a detailed recapitulation of the plot; those who haven’t read the book can find this out from the reviews mentioned above.
In my opinion, The Outhouse would be a better name for the book (and a better place for it, if you get my drift). It's not only a bad book, but a dangerous one, because of the mixture of truth and error. Not everything that Paul Young says is wrong; for instance, where he writes about the love within the Godhead (e.g., pp. 101-102), and about Jesus being the centre of everything, I agree with him. However, readers of The Shack are being deceived if they think they're getting closer to the God of the Bible while they're actually pursuing a relationship with the false god of The Shack. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth--John 4:24. If The Shack had been published in the 1980s, Christians would have recognized its god as a New Age counterfeit; now the counterfeit is being promoted within the professing evangelical church.
The front cover of the book carries a quote by Eugene Peterson, author of the perverted paraphrase The Message, saying that The Shack will be to this generation what The Pilgrim's Progress was to an earlier generation. I thought that the endorsement was quite appropriate, given that Dr. Peterson is famous for writing blasphemous fiction. In my view, The Shack is to The Pilgrim's Progress what The Message is to the Bible. Dr. Peterson's comparison of The Shack with The Pilgrim's Progress is rather strange, however, given that John Bunyan's book is filled with quotes from the Bible, while Mr. Young's book barely mentions Scripture (maybe Mr. Young hasn't read the Bible).
Paul Young, the son of Canadian missionary parents, claims to have been verbally abused by his father, and physically abused by the New Guinea natives among whom his parents were ministering. This was an alarm bell for me right off the bat, because it suggests that the novel was written as therapy. As Rod Serling discovered when he invited amateurs to send in scripts for The Twilight Zone, when writing is done as therapy, the result is usually garbage, and The Shack is no exception. I found it badly written and a tedious read; its narrative form reminded me of Edward Bellamy’s 19th Century utopian socialist novel Looking Backward 2000-1887 (1888), a similarly tedious read.
I don’t have children, so I didn’t get sucked in by the emotion of the story (and there’s so much emotion on display in The Shack that I thought it must have been written by a woman--the main characters are constantly laughing, crying, kissing, or hugging, which I found nauseating). The serial killer has become a tired device in books, movies and television shows by now. That aspect of the plot isn’t really important, anyway--it’s what Alfred Hitchcock called a "McGuffin," a device to keep the plot moving. The important part of the book begins when Mack, the main character (otherwise known as Paul Young) returns to the shack (p. 80 ff.), and the purpose of the book is for Paul Young to propound his heretical theology of universal reconciliation.
Mr. Young states that the gods of manmade religion are just better versions of the men who imagine them, but Mr. Young is guilty of this himself. From the beginning, I couldn’t stand the main character. The person that Mack reminds me of is Canadian Tire Guy (go here for a detailed examination of this pathetic individual). Mack doesn’t show reverence to the god of The Shack (in the Bible, people who encounter God always fall on their faces), probably because the god of The Shack is as much a wuss as his/her creator, and isn’t worthy of reverence. The god of The Shack has no wrath, in contrast to the God of the Bible (e.g. ...he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him (John 3:36)).
At no time did I ever sense or see any indication that Mack was actually born again, either before or during the events described.
I felt unclean in my spirit while reading The Shack, especially in those parts where Mr. Young puts words in Papa’s (i.e. God the Father’s) mouth. I thought that some of the language used by Papa to be vulgar and offensive. Mr. Young has a lot of nerve in doing this, and he should be trembling at the judgement that will await him if he doesn’t repent. (Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar. (Proverbs 30:6))
Mr. Young's "Jesus" says that "God, who is the ground of all being, dwells in, around, and through all things" (p. 112). The first part of that statement is true (e.g. Acts 17:28, Colossians 1:15-17), but to say that God dwells in all things is to express an animistic, rather than a Christian, world view.
Mr. Young declares that when God sent Jesus to the cross, that mercy triumphed over justice (p. 164). On the contrary, Jesus fulfilled his Father’s requirements for justice at the cross. (And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission (Hebrews 9:22))
Mr. Young states that there is mutual submission within the Trinity (pp. 121-124, 145), but I don’t find this in Scripture. Rather, the Lord Jesus submits his will to that of His Father (Matthew 26:39; Luke 22:42), and always does the things that please the Father (John 5:30; 8:29). And where in the Bible do you find mutual submission between God and man (e.g., pp. 124, 145-146), as promoted by Mr. Young?
If you want to know how far the level of discernment in the professing evangelical church of Jesus Christ has sunk, look no further than the statement by Papa near the end of the book that by sending Jesus to the cross, "I am now fully reconciled to the world" (p. 192). I’ve come across such a statement only once before, and that was in the made-for-television movie Jesus of Nazareth. That movie was originally broadcast in 1977, and an expanded version was broadcast on NBC in 1979. In the expanded version, "Jesus" says "My father in heaven is reconciled to the world." In the late 1970s, the heresy was coming from outside the church; now it’s being promoted from within. Jesus of Nazareth was written by Anthony Burgess, who stated in interviews that he didn’t believe the Gospels (he regarded the Gospel of John as a "highly romantic fable"). Bible-believing Christians denounced the film, which is now forgotten (Carl McIntire provided an analysis of Jesus of Nazareth in the Christian Beacon of April 12, 1979, and subsequently published a booklet on the film and its blasphemous content).
According to Mr. Young, reconciliation is a two-way street (p. 192), but the words of Mr. Young and Mr. Burgess are exactly the opposite of what the Bible says: All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the ministry of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. II Corinthians 5:18-20 (NIV); And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things on earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight. Colossians 1:20-22
Near the end of The Shack, Mack visits his now-dead father, supposedly in heaven, and, reminiscent of the practice known as "inner healing," becomes reconciled with him (pp. 215-216). Mack’s father is described as a child of God, although there’s no evidence that he repented before his death. This passage not only promotes necromancy, which is described in Scripture as an abomination (Deuteronomy 18:10-12), but is a denial of Hebrews 9:27--And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.
This part of the book also includes a slight whiff of homosexuality, even within the Godhead. When Mack leaves his father at the end of this passage, he kisses him on the lips (p. 216). As if this isn’t revolting enough, a few pages later (p. 220), "Jesus" kisses his father (Papa) on the lips, which I found grossly offensive, to put it mildly. I’ll leave it to the reader to imagine what kind of person would write this. In a recent post at Slice of Laodicea, Ingrid Schlueter commented that when religious leaders start touting the feminine side of God, support for homosexuality isn’t far behind. I predict that the promotion of homosexuality will be more "out of the closet" in the sequel to The Shack (with all the enthusiasm and sales that his first novel generated, can there be any doubt that Paul Young will publish at least one sequel?), along with whatever other heresies and blasphemies Mr. Young will see fit to serve up. Claiming to be a victim of abuse doesn’t give Paul Young the right to blaspheme; may God grant Mr. Young repentance unto life.