Dances with Wolves: Recognizing False Teachers - by Clint Archer

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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Mr. Archer is going to try his best to stretch the book of Jude into a condemnation of false teachers. However, Jude does not mention false teachers. Jude tells us about "certain men," and it's quite a list. But there's nothing in the list about false teachers. These men  

• have secretly slipped in
• are godless
• are immoral
• deny Jesus as Lord
• are dreamers who pollute their own bodies
• reject authority
• slander celestial beings
• speak abusively
• are unreasoning
• have taken the way of Cain
• have rushed for profit into Balaam's error
• have been destroyed in Korah's rebellion
• are blemishes at love feasts
• are shepherds who feed only themselves
• are clouds without rain
• are trees without fruit, and uprooted
• are wild waves foaming up shame
• are wandering stars
• are boasters and flatterers
• are scoffers who follow ungodly desires
• are divisive
• follow natural instincts
• do not have the Holy Spirit

The closest Jude comes is to describe these infiltrators as teachers is when he describes them as shepherds who feed only themselves. However,  a shepherd is a tender of the flock, an elder or overseer:

1Pe. 5:1-3 To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow-elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers — not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.

Teachers are not shepherds are not prophets:

Ep. 4:11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers...

Mr. Archer really wants this to be about false teachers. Badly. Though it is possible these men may have been teaching, Jude does not tell us this. It was not what Jude was condemning.

As an aside, we wonder if Mr. Archer is reading the same material as we are reading. He makes many assertions about what Jude writes, but very few of them are true.

Are Female Bloggers Violating Scripture by “Teaching” Men? - by Michelle Lesley

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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Almost 1200 words without a single Scripture. Not one. 

Ms. Lesley continues expounding on the unquoted 1 Timothy 2:12, a topic upon which she has spent considerable time in the past. Those previous articles have twisted and turned this verse into something unrecognizable. 

Today she compounds the problem. She trips all over herself explaining even more limitations and conditions that are simply not found in the text, ultimately contradicting herself.

This is a hopeless mess. Ms. Lesley thinks she is a teacher of women, but she shouldn't be a teacher of anyone.

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Discipleship

Introduction

One of my passions is building up the Body of Christ and its ministries, especially and particularly in our church. Anything that builds up the saints into their calling, I'm in favor of it. Maturity of faith as it operates within the house of God is a broad umbrella, including Holy Spirit-led worship, Holy Spirit-informed prayer, Holy Spirit-filled preaching, Holy Spirit-directed ministry to the lost and hurting, and Holy Spirit-connection between the saints. 

It's all about the ministry of the Holy Spirit. 

If we are to be the grown ups He wants us to be, if we are going to be the men and women of faith He calling us to, if we are going to be the church He wants to make us, we need Holy Spirit.

This call to maturity of faith weighs heavily upon me personally and for our church. So much of (C)hurch is ritual, habit, superficiality, routine, and status quo. So many Christians simply do their duty. Year after year, they show up on Sunday, sit quietly and attentively, sing some songs, write their tithe checks, and go home. 

Now I'm not saying that's automatically bad, since any sort of church is better than no church at all. But sadly, that's all a lot of church people expect, that's all that's expected of them, and for too many that's all it means to be a Christian.  

Not for me. Church ought to be all about people getting saved, getting filled, getting healed, getting free, getting trained, and getting released into Holy Spirit ministry according to their spiritual gifts. The job of Christians is to become, and do the Jesus stuff. The job of the church is to make sure that happens. And the job of church leaders is to make sure the church is doing its job. 

When I think of maturity, some words come to mind:

• Stable
• Trustworthy
• Confident
• Unwavering
• Reliable
• Secure
• Deeply rooted

You'll notice that I did not say anything about miracles or spiritual gifts or spectacular sermon delivery. Your gifts are not related to your maturity. So if this list speaks to personal maturity, what about the maturity of a church? A mature church is

• Life-giving
• Powerful
• Enduring
• Worthy of someone's commitment
• A place to belong
• A place where God can be found
• A place where worship, prayer, service, and preaching break new ground

Called to Disciple

Which brings me to my topic, discipleship. Because of the ministry of the Holy Spirit, we've become a church where fellowship has arisen as one of our gifts. 

Here is the key point for today: I believe Holy Spirit wants this gift of fellowship to grow into discipleship. I could stop right here by just telling you to get going on both being discipled and being disciplers.

But of course I won't.

What is discipleship, what does it mean to be a disciple, what is a dicipler, and why would we would want to be disciples and disciplers? Now, we are all disciples in the sense that we follow Jesus. Some of the things we do as disciples of Jesus:

• We study the Scriptures
• We pray with faith
• We devote ourselves to faith and obedience
• We serve one another
• We give and bless
• We received and get blessed

All for the pleasure of our Savior. This is what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.

But there's more to discipleship than this. As I mentioned, one my passions is the ministry of the Body. Discipleship is or ought to be a primary ministry of the Body. Those bullet points I just mentioned are carried out in the context of the church.

Discipling is a church ministry... with a view to becoming a better Jesus disciple.

There are four kinds of discipleship that comes out of the local church. Each one develops out of the one before. So think of the first as being the basis for the second, which needs to exist in order for the third to come out, and so on. From the ministry of the Holy Spirit come four areas from where discipleship develops:

1. The Ministry of the Leadership 
2. The Ministry of the Body 
3. The Ministry of Peer Relationships 
4. the Ministry of Individual Discipleship

Each of these is crucial, each should be done, and each has its own strengths. Understandably, the hardest one to do is the most effective, and that's the one I want to spend the most time on. But first, let's look at

The Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus of Rome, approx. 215 CE

Found here.

What we found interesting about this is how close the doctrines in this document are, as compared to contemporary standards, so near to the first century church is it is. Also interesting is the nascent forms of what would be come the Roman Catholic church. It's a curious mix.

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The Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus of Rome was composed in approximately 215 in Rome. It apparently preserved older second century practices which were in danger of falling to disuse or innovation. Hippolytus, a presbyter of the Roman Church at the time, was so distraught over the innovating practices of his former friends, the Pope Zephyrinus and his successor Callistus, that he set himself up as history's first antipope! He continued in this role through the rules of Callistus successors, Urban and Pontius, and in the time of Pope Pontianus, both he and Pontianus were exiled to Sardinia, from all accounts an extraordinarily unhealthy place, where they were forced to work the mines. Shortly afterward, in 235, both died there. Sometime before his death, Hippolytus was reconciled to the Roman Bishop. The two were martyrs, and their bodies were both brought back to Rome, where they were honorably buried. 

Sadly most of Hippolytus' works are lost to us. The Apostolic Tradition itself is partly preserved in a Latin palmpsest, and in several oriental versions. The Greek original is wholly lost, but for fragments in the heavily edited excerpts in The Apostolic Constitutions. 

My translation here is based on the work of Bernard Botte (La Tradition Apostolique. Sources Chretiennes, 11 bis. Paris, Editions du Cerf, 1984) and of Gregory Dix (The Treatise on the Apostolic Tradition of St. Hippolytus of Rome, Bishop and Martyr. London: Alban Press, 1992). My version (which it certainly is) is intended as a simplified one for ease of reading, directed primarily towards the non-expert. It's a simple kindness, and I hope that you, dear reader, will enjoy it. 

NAR Dominionist Claims God Rose up Tinpot Dictators and the Freedom Truckers - By Anthony Wade

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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Rev. Wade spews endless drivel in today's "devotional."  He writes things down as if they were absolute truth, but never tells us why they are true or references where he gets his information. It seems it is sufficient for him to make the claim, but do nothing else.

He is a political leftist and does not like the political Right. At all. Rev. Wade never misses an opportunity to attack conservatives and Republicans, but has never issued a single word of criticism of the Left.

Seriously. 

Even when he brings up moral reprobate Bill Clinton, his criticism is leveled only at the Republicans: Newt Gingrich, Bob Livingston, and Dennis Hastert.

Which of course means that when the political right protests (the truckers in Canada), he has withering criticism for them and them alone. They are the epitome of evil, disputing the scientifically accurate government, blocking goods from flowing, flying Confederate flags - - Oh, the humanity!

But did Rev. Wade ever issue commentary against the summer BLM/Antifa riots, the burning of peoples' homes and businesses, or the takeover of several city blocks in Seattle? Nope.

Apparently sensing the need to give himself a bit of political cover, he writes, "The point is when you prop up man, any man, of any party, they will never be righteous. All are evil and have turned away from God." We might agree with Rev. Wade on this point, except the only evil he bothers to mention, document, or criticize is when Republicans do it.

Today's target Jim Garlow. Is he NAR? Is he a dominionist? Is he wrong to claim that God raises up world leaders or has a hand in human events and activities? Those are the four accusations leveled by Rev. Wade in his title. He will never discuss or document any of these accusations.

Lastly, in the past we have made much about Rev. Wade's allergy to the Bible. He usually quotes a Scripture at the beginning, ostensibly being the subject Scripture of the "devotional." But he never actually delivers a devotional, he always blasts away at some "heretic" with the "devotional" being the vehicle.

Today he omits the opening Scripture. Which means no Bible quotes. He uses the word "Bible" and "biblical" a total of five times in the 2464 words he expends (minus quoted material), but never quotes, references, summarizes, or explains any Bible principle or Bible verse. Zero. Zilch. 

What this means is that Rev. Wade's "devotionals" are simply the vehicles he uses to target those who offend him. They are not for explaining the Bible.

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SJW ATTACK SURVIVAL GUIDE

Found here. A lot of useful information here.

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This survival guide is intended for the use of the individual who finds himself under attack by Social Justice Warriors for standing up against them and their ever-mutating Narrative. It may be freely distributed so long as it is correctly credited to SJWs Always Lie: Taking Down the Thought Police by Vox Day. The eight stages of the SJW attack sequence are as follows: 

1. Locate or Create a Violation of the Narrative. 

2. Point and Shriek. 

3. Isolate and Swarm. 

4. Reject and Transform. 

5. Press for Surrender. 

6. Appeal to Amenable Authority. 

7. Show Trial. 

8. Victory Parade. 

Affordable housing is suicide prevention - FB meme

 A leftist FB friend posted this:

What can we say? Giving people free stuff makes them happy and prevents suicide. That's all it takes. Suicidal people don't need meaning for their lives, belonging, hope, or purpose. Nope. Just make sure they get whatever issue de jour subsidy or entitlement they need, and they will stop killing themselves.

Stupid.

THE APPEARANCE OF GODLINESS, BUT DENYING ITS POWER - By Rick Becker

 Found here. Our comments in bold.

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It wasn't long ago that Mr. Becker appeared in another of our posts. He did not acquit himself particularly well there, nor does he improve his performance in today's post. 

Mr. Becker seems to have difficulty with the difference between the biblical case for his beliefs vs. contemporary charismatic practices and what might be wrong with them. He goes back and forth between explaining his view on Bible passages and attacking those with whom he disagrees.

He doesn't do a very good job doing either. We find this strange given the substantial opportunity (nearly 5000 words) to explain and document his position. Also, it is very nearly amazing how little Scripture Mr. Becker quotes.

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A Collision of Trends Affecting AUTO RATE INCREASES - Travelers Insurance

 This arrived via email.

A Collision of Trends Affecting AUTO RATE INCREASES   Thanks to the pandemic, supply chain blockages and labor shortages are joining rising bodily injury costs in contributing to commercial auto rate increases. How big is the issue? See our analysis for some answers.   LEARN MORE

Distracted Driving by the Numbers REACHABLE, BUT RISKY       24% of drivers are responding to work-related calls, emails or texts, as many may be feeling the pressure to always be available.*       2 in 5 managers expect employees to answer work calls while they are driving.*       27% of managers say an employee has had a distraction-related crash while driving for work.*     ----------

Can we eat the meat and spit out the bones? - By Elizabeth Prata

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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We are forced yet again to slog our way through another ill-conceived article written by Ms. Prata. This particular one is mercifully short, but nonetheless is significantly flawed. It is a confused mess, in fact.

Surprisingly, she quotes some relevant Scriptures, an all-to-rare occurrence. We commend her for finally opening her Bible, even though she misapplies the verses.

To quickly answer her question, yes, we can eat the meat and spit out the bones. In fact, we must.

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Bethel Music–A Trojan Horse - by Rick Becker

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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Mr. Becker is unable to quote any Scripture that demonstrates his argument, except a single barely related Scripture right at the end, the sole purpose of which is to level condemnation. This of course means that he is not making a biblical presentation. He's not even making an intellectual presentation, which would require documentation, quotes of sources, logical explanations, etc. None of that happens. 

Why these people who fancy themselves as Correctors of Doctrine so assiduously avoid the Bible is mystifying.

We should point out that we are not here to defend Bethel or Bill Johnson. We are solely concerned with the author's presentation.

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Kris Vallotton - Jesus Did Not Die on the Cross Just to Forgive Your Sins - By Anthony Wade

Excerpted from here. Our comments in bold.

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Rev. Wade is reliably incendiary and hyperbolic. He targets a variety of people - always charismatics - but he has some favorites whom he hammers constantly. One of those is Kris Vallotton.

We should say that we are not here to defend Vallotton. It is quite possible he has made questionable statements and thus should be under scrutiny. 

Also, it is worthy of note that Rev. Wade has more than 1300 words (not including quoted material), but is unable to make a point, and doesn't quote any Scriptures, other than 1Co. 14:3 at the top of his post. This is also typical for him; he seems to have an aversion to Scripture. 

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Potpourri - mistranslating 1 Tim. 2:12 - by Michelle Lesley

Excerpted from here. Our comments in bold.

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At long last we have found someone who addresses the alternate rendering of 1 Timothy 2:12, one that we favor. We have made the case that this passage does not address church order, but rather the marriage relationship. We shall try not to rehash our arguments here. Our intent today is to see what passes as a refutation. We will find it is a sad example indeed.

Ms. Lesley is asked a question about the subject verse, but she will not make a biblical argument, or even any argument at all. She simply issues summary denials and various fallacious appeals. In fact, she will be unable to quote a single Scripture in her response. Not one. 

He responses will be centered around five fallacies:

• Appeal to Experts
• Appeal to "this is the way it is"
• Appeal to "we have more than you"
• Appeal to Tradition
• Appeal to "we have to translate it the same everywhere."

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Q. A popular Christian apologist I follow says that the prohibition against women preaching, teaching Scripture to men, and holding authority over men in the church in 1 Timothy 2:12 is translated incorrectly.

I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.

He says it should not be translated as “woman” and “man” “but as “wife” and “husband”, and that he believes Bible translators mainly translate it as man woman due to tradition (i.e. men have historically been the pastors and teachers in the church).

Backsliding - by Cameron Buettel

Found here. Our comments in bold.
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Here again we have a supposed Bible teacher who barely manages to quote Scripture. He has an opportunity to provide us a biblically documented teaching, but instead punts. In fact, his chief aim is not to teach, but rather to bolster his Calvinistic preferences.

He does not mention or discuss important backsliding passages like

He. 6:4-6 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, 6 if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.

Mk. 4:16-17 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.

He. 10:26-27 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.

Nor does he explain the idea of apostasy (literally, to stand away from), a word found once in the Bible as it applies to the Church:

2Th. 2:3 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.

And what of a person who simply doubts, that is, waivers:

Jude 22 Be merciful to those who doubt...

None of this is discussed by Mr. Buettel.

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Psst: Want to know why Americans are gloomy about the "best" economy since 1984? - By Robert Reich

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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Dr. Reich continues to be a mouthpiece for the far left, pretending to be a truth-teller, but spouting only agitprop. He's rather clever in the way he delivers his message, because the casual reader would nod his head in agreement. But a closer examination reveals logical inconsistencies, the omission of key facts, and a manipulation of events and history designed to promulgate The Narrative.

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Who is the Morning Star? - Rethink

Recently we've been reconsidering many of the things we thought we understood regarding doctrine and faith. We have begun to question certain beliefs, church structures, and practices of the western church. Too often we have discovered unbiblical doctrines and activities. This causes us concern. We have deemed this our “Rethink.”

Our questions include, how did we arrive at our doctrines? Does the Bible really teach what we think it teaches? Why do churches do what they do? What is the biblical basis of church leadership structure? Why do certain traditions get entrenched?

It's easy to be spoon fed the conventional wisdom, but it's an entirely separate thing to search these things out for one's self. In the past we have read the Bible with these unexamined understandings and interpreted what we read through those lenses. We were lazy about our Bible study, assuming that pastors and theologians were telling us the truth, but we rarely checked it out for ourselves.

Therefore, these Rethinks are our attempt to remedy the situation.

We should note that we are not Bible scholars, but we believe that one doesn't need to be in order to understand the Word of God.

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