The Government of NAR Apostles and Prophets - by Don Pirozok

Found here. A very good article.

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While the author focuses on the NAR, the problem of church leadership goes well beyond so-called apostles. Churches of every flavor have these same problems, and church leaders in non-NAR churches are falling like flies. 

The problem isn't NAR apostles so much as it is a Church that has left its biblical foundation. There is absolutely nothing in the Bible that makes apostles church leaders. Or pastors, for that matter. These five offices are gifts to the church, charged with the duty to raise up the saints to maturity of faith (Ephesians 4:11-15). That duty may imply some sort of leadership, but it's not required. However, it is certainly some sort of local ministry, because an apostle or prophet or evangelist cannot build up the church unless he is present in the church.

So the problems outlined by the author are spread throughout Christendom, not just the NAR. Many churches and denominations are operating without accountability, fidelity to Scripture, and/or with toxic or unbiblical leadership.

This is how churches and denominations fail, compromise, or fade into irrelevance.  

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The Word of God is not "it" - 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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How can I know God’s will? - by Stephen Kneale

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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Mr. Kneale appears in our blog from time to time, and his teaching is invariably absent the Bible. Today he writes almost 1500 words, 400 of them a quote from a Confession, but only six from an unreferenced and misused Bible verse. 

On one hand, the author tells us that we can know and do God's will by studying Bible, but on the other tells us that God directs everything we do. This of course means that our choices aren't choices because they're predestined.  Which can only lead us to the conclusion that our choices don't matter because they are not choices.

He doesn't tell us where we find this information in the Bible, so we must deem this Bad Bible Teaching.

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Predestination and the remnant

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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Understanding the Baptism of the Holy Spirit - by Dave Jenkins

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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The author is focused on refuting the Pentecostal doctrine of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is the second blessing. We agree with him on this point, but he misses that being filled with the Spirit is the actual second blessing.

In a sense it's a matter of semantics. Pentecostals use the wrong descriptor for the second blessing, but non-Pentecostals use the wrong blessing for the right descriptor. 

Though the author biblically documents many of his assertions, the key conclusion he offers, that every Christian has the Holy Spirit and thus should not seek a second blessing, is not documented.

We have commented on some of the other writings of this author, and frankly, the below explanation is much better than others we have previously examined.

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Renee Good’s Killing Has Unleashed MAGA’s Misogyny - by Jeet Heer

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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This article is astonishing on one hand, and predictable on the other. Astonishing is its raw, brain-dead bias, and predictable in its fidelity to The Narrative. 

As soon as Ms. Good was shot by law enforcement the Talking Points Generator got to work to craft the Leftist Narrative. The Left always wants to get a jump on the way an issue is viewed by quickly crafting their version of it. That version will be disseminated throughout the media landscape as quickly and thoroughly as possible. This serves to negate any competing characterization of the incident. Even when new information comes out later, the Narrative is preserved as "everybody knows this is what happened."

So the author is all set up to mock, accuse, and attack any statement or opinion that violates The Narrative, because The Narrative quickly becomes "common knowledge," and dissent from it is extremist, misogynistic, racist, et cetra ad nauseam.

This is the nature of Leftist agitprop. It's purpose is not to inform, provide facts, or add to understanding. No, it's purpose is to promulgate The Narrative.

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Are Raised Hands in Worship Just Showing Off? - by John Piper

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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This is a somewhat perplexing article. Dr. Piper is asked about a particular behavior and answers accurately and thoroughly, but he accepts the question's premise without examination. The presumption is that raising hands in worship is somehow controversial and ought to be examined.

There are church traditions where the musical worship is staid and unexpressive, and in fact any physical demonstration at all by the congregants is frowned upon as irreverent. It very nearly rises to the status of inviolable doctrine, which means if a person dared raise his hands in worship it would be scandalous, maybe even heretical.

But the basis of Dr. Piper's answer is public vs. private righteousness, and whether or not the worshiper is seeking the praise of men. He doesn't address that people might be offended, or the Matthew 18 process of how such offense is dealt with, or even any biblical exposition regarding the raising of hands. In fact, he quotes zero verses about raising hands.

Ezr. 9:5-6 Then, at the evening sacrifice, I rose from my self-abasement, with my tunic and cloak torn, and fell on my knees with my hands spread out to the LORD my God 6 and prayed...

Ps. 28:2 Hear my cry for mercy as I call to you for help, as I lift up my hands towards your Most Holy Place.

Ps. 63:4 I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. 

Ps. 119:48 I lift up my hands to your commands, which I love, and I meditate on your decrees. 

Ps. 141:2 May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.

Ultimately, the raising of hands is a thoroughly biblical practice that has been stigmatized by church tradition.

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How Do I Know If I'm Called to Serve as a Pastor? - by J.V. Fesko

Excerpted from here. Our comments in bold.
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We have commented on J.V. Fesko's writing several times in this blog, most recently here. Too often, we have found him to be superficial and unnuanced. He seems to prefer regurgitating his doctrine while avoiding quoting the Bible.

But we're confused today. The below excerpt, pulled from a Scriptureless explanation, purports to tell potential pastors if they should take a job as a pastor. The reason we're confused is the author is cessationist (which is the idea that God no longer provides new revelation), yet he seems to believe that God will speak to the potential pastor as to whether or not he is called to the pastorate. 

This extra-biblical revelation is something the author needs to explain. 

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The Sacraments and the Means of Grace - By Dave Jenkins

Found here. Our comments in bold.
--------------------------

We have commented some of the author's articles here, here, and here. We have found him to be superficial and even dishonest when explaining his version of Christianity. 

In today's article the author attempts to explain his doctrine, "the means of grace." This is a somewhat odd phrase not found in the Bible. He offers this definition: "...the ways God communicates His grace to His people." So it seems God's grace is expressed through certain avenues, "...especially the Word, sacraments, and prayer..."

The author will repeat this idea of "the means of grace" over and over, connecting it to baptism, communion, and on occasion, sermons. This repetition gets to be a grind after while, especially since they are bare assertions, rarely documented with the Bible.

The first task a serious Bible study would want to do is undertake is to define "grace," which the author does not do. Yet he uses the term a dozen times. The Greek word for "grace" is charis:

preeminently used of the Lord's favor – freely extended to give Himself away to people (because He is "always leaning toward them").

5485 /xáris ("grace") answers directly to the Hebrew (OT) term 2580 /Kaná ("grace, extension-toward"). Both refer to God freely extending Himself (His favor, grace), reaching (inclining) to people because He is disposed to bless (be near) them.

God wants to be near us. He leans toward us without regard for our status. Grace seems to be God's primary motivation regarding His creation. We ask the reader to insert this definition each time the word "grace" appears, and you will soon discover that the author's usage of the word borders on ridiculous.

Regarding the Bible, the author does manage to quote a couple of Scriptures, but neither of them document his central thesis. He also cites four Bible references, but none of them proves what he wants to prove.

In essence, the author is regurgitating the doctrines of his church tradition. He uses many words but explains nothing. He's not teaching the Bible, he teaching his doctrines.

We must deem this Bad Bible Teaching.

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Wielding the sword of the Lord correctly - by Mike Ratliff

Found here. Our comments in bold.
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The author writes over 1000 words based on a misconception that Hebrews 4:12 is referring to the Bible. It's not. The “word” is the Greek word logos, preeminently used of Christ (Jn 1:1), expressing the thoughts of the Father through the Spirit.  

Logos is not the Bible, Logos is the source of the Bible. John tells us the Logos was made flesh (Jn. 1:1, 14). Logos is the articulated words of God, particularly represented by Jesus, the Word of God. 

If the writer of Hebrews wanted to refer to the Bible, he would have used the Greek word graphé, which is the written word. 

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5 Ways Covenant Theology Applies to Everyday Life - by Sarah Ivill

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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If someone wants an explanation of what covenant theology is, he won't find it in this article. If he wants to know how covenant theology *uniquely* applies to everyday life, he came to the wrong place. And, if a reader comes to this article with no knowledge of what a covenant is, the article will make no sense.

The author is writing with the expectation that her readers have prior understanding of the topic, yet she is not writing to deepen this understanding. Her explanations are bare and base. She is simply regurgitating a long procession of factoids.

The author names three covenants in her article:

• covenant of works
• covenant of grace
• covenant of redemption

She doesn't tell us what these are, because she assumes we already know.

Thankfully, the author does quote a couple of Scriptures, something we have discovered is rather rare among these Bible teachers. However, none of the Scriptures she quotes come to bear on the topic.

We must deem this Bad Bible Teaching.

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On the Nature and Extent of the Atonement -- A Look at Paul's Doctrine of Reconciliation in 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 - Kim Riddlebarger

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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The author of today's article intends to explain the Calvinistic doctrine of "Limited Atonement," which is the idea that the scope of Christ's sacrificial death extends only to those God chose to be saved (the Elect.) 

Limited Atonement is one of of the five "doctrines of grace" represented by the acronym TULIP:

Total Depravity

Unconditional Election

Limited Atonement

Irresistible Grace

Perseverance of the Saints

We are sorry to write about Calvinism again, but these largely useless doctrines are pursued with obsessive diligence by Calvinists. They are always teaching them. In fact, they will never teach the Bible unless they can explain some aspect of Calvinism. We call these doctrines useless because they simply have no application. No change to any privilege or obligation we have as Christians is affected by Calvinism.

And, the author writes almost 1450 words, yet no Bible verses are quoted. None. Zero. It continues to astonish us how these so-called Bible teachers can go on and on about what the Bible means but never quote it.

We must consider this Bad Bible Teaching.

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Tara Leigh Cobble, The Bible Recap, & D-Group - by Michelle Lesley

Excerpted from here. Our comments in bold.
---------------------------

Ms. Lesley has appeared in our blog dozens of times, mostly for micro-dissecting 1 Timothy 2:11. When she is not examining every little detail about what women can and cannot do regarding church, she is one of the Doctrinal Police, continually scouting the spiritual horizon for heretics.

We at first thought she was a harmless, though mistaken, Bible teacher. However, we have come to the conclusion that she is not harmless. She is either unable or unwilling to honestly teach the Bible, preferring to interpret it via her doctrine, rather than obtain her doctrine from it.

Today she is evaluating the podcasts of someone named Tara Leigh Cobble, looking for instances of her not toeing the proper doctrinal line. She apparently found a problem, in Ms. Cobble's 8th episode.

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John Calvin and the Doctrine of Irresistible Grace - by Keith Mathison

Found here. Our comments in bold.
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With a zealotry bordering on obsession Calvinists teach Calvinism. They will never teach the Bible unless they can teach Calvinism. Calvinism is their faith, not the Bible. What the Bible can be made to say about Calvinism is the goal.

Such is the case with today's article. We are yet again visiting Calvinism, reluctantly. We apologize. However, it is necessary because of the grievous errors committed by the author. He is here to tell us about one of Calvin's doctrines, Irresistible Grace, part of the Acronym TULIP:

Total Depravity

Unconditional Election

Limited Atonement

Irresistible Grace

Perseverance of the Saints

These largely useless doctrines are continually pushed by Calvinists, along with incessant fawning praise of Calvin himself. We say "useless" because no matter which side you take in the doctrinal debate it makes absolutely no difference to any privilege or obligation we possess as Christians. No matter your preference, we are still called to faith, obedience, worship, holiness, and generosity. 

TULIP doesn't change any of this.

This author has been examined several times in our blog, and invariably explains Calvinism and Reformed Doctrine. In the space of a few paragraphs he will touch on every single petal of TULIP, couched with innocuous language which would cause the casual reader to think good doctrine is being explained.

Total words: 1493

Number of words from the Bible quoted: 14

Number of words from theologians: 786

We must consider this Bad Bible Teaching.

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A Pastor Is an Elder Is a Bishop - by Ben Robin

Found here. Our comments in bold.
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The author makes an attempt to explain church leadership, and uses the Bible to justify his church's tradition regarding the pastor position. Because of this he assumes that elder means pastor, and the on staff paid pastor is the head of the local church.

However, the traditional church leadership model of a singular chief leader is not biblical. This is what the author advocates, and this is Bad Bible Teaching.

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Hey Churches: Make Sure You Have Christmas Songs For All Year Round - by Steve McAlpine

Found here. our comments in bold.

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We think the author's heart is in the right place. He understands that tradition does not equal biblical. He loves hymns and Christmas Carols for their theological depth, but he also understands the need for actual worship: 

What about adoration and worship, you ask? Well, here’s a thought: the deeper we dive into the wonders of the historical gospel, planned by God in eternity, and fulfilled in the coming of Jesus and the globalising gift of the Holy Spirit, the deeper our adoration and worship.

It is clear here that he thinks deeper understanding of biblical truths enhances worship, but this is a matter to be proved. His hope in worship is for the " biblical depth, theological astuteness, and gospel longing" that Christmas carols have. So he's torn between the desire to adore and the desire to understand, and wants to combine the two. 

That generally does not work, mostly because reciting doctrine is not worship.

Nevertheless, on the whole we agree with the author, particularly that too many supposed "worship songs" are superficial fluff that secular radio would have no problem playing. We have examined many contemporary worship songs in our "Bad Worship Songs" series, and have found only a handful that we could recommend.

On the minus side, the author offers no Bible quotes or verse references.
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Spiritual taxonomy

Introduction

A friend and I were talking recently, and he presented me with something I want to call a "spiritual taxonomy." The word "taxonomy" means 

a system for naming and organizing things, especially plants and animals, into groups that share similar qualities

So a spiritual taxonomy would be the categorizing or parsing of spiritual observations into an organized structure, with the goal of making sense of the relationship between those observations, and developing from them a set of spiritual principles. 

My friend's taxonomy is an effort to describe certain aspects of interpersonal relationships, which he describes as follows:

• Mutually sick: both parties are in sin’s deception, are synergistically harming one another and participating within the plans of darkness by fighting against one another.

• Mutually helping: both parties are in the grip of grace, are synergistically standing with one another and warring against the plans of darkness by fighting together with one another.

• Mutually healthy: both parties are ruling and reigning within the life of kingdom righteousness by the power of God’s Spirit and preserving an inheritance of unity through peace, fighting for one another (i.e. serving others with our freedom).

He explains: 

"The narrative arc is getting slaves out of Egypt, getting Egypt out of slaves, and then ruling and reigning in the promised land, co-laboring with and in God’s ways. The identity of 'more than conqueror' is 'ruler with Christ.' 

"I lump the desert and driving giants from the land all together into stage two of 'getting Egypt of out of God’s people,' while one could see an intermediary fourth stage as ridding the land of giants."

Definitions

My friend's taxonomy could perhaps be distilled into a single word, sanctification. The Greek word for "sanctify" is hagiazó, "...to purify internally by reformation of soul."

1Th. 5:23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The same word is used here:

He. 10:14 because by one sacrifice he has made perfect for ever those who are being made holy.

Another word, teleios, means 

mature (consummated) from going through the necessary stages to reach the end-goal, i.e. developed into a consummating completion by fulfilling the necessary process (spiritual journey)

It is found here:

Ja. 1:4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

One more word, paideia. It means "...instruction that trains someone to reach full development (maturity)." It is found here:

He. 12:11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

This definition might surprise the reader, as it did us. We thought this was about corrective discipline, but actually it is pedagogic training.

Application

This background should establish for the reader that salvation is the beginning of a necessary process that brings the believer through a sometimes painful refining and training into fullness of faith. It is a construction of a Holy Spirit habitation, which might take years or decades.

This process must happen. Individuals and churches must pursue this.

In one sense it is a ministry of the Holy Spirit, but in another sense is the ministry of the Body. In the context of my friend's taxonomy, this inner transformation toward spiritual maturity has relationship implications. An individual does not obtain maturity in a vacuum, and his maturity likewise must come in the context of relationship. Crucially, this process of sanctification begins the cooperative work between sanctified persons to cultivate a harvest of righteousness.

The NT is full of one-anothers:

• Jn. 13:34 Love one another
• Ro. 12:10 Be devoted to one another
• Ro. 12:16 Live in harmony with one another
• Ro. 14:13 Stop passing judgment on one another
• Ro. 15:7 Accept one another
• 1Co. 1:10 Agree with one another
• Ga. 5:13 Serve one another
• Ep. 4:2 Bear with one another
• Ep. 4:32 Be kind and compassionate to one another
• Ep. 5:21 Submit to one another
• Col. 3:16 Teach and admonish one another
• 1Th. 5:11 Encourage one another
• Ja. 4:11 Do not slander one another
• 1Pe. 3:8 Live in harmony with one another
• 1Pe. 4:9 Offer hospitality to one another

This is not a by-product of spiritually healthy persons, it's a primary result.

A Tease

I teased my friend that maybe there's a fourth stage to add to the three he proposed. I was partly unserious when I did this. However, I believe there is a further necessary application, beyond the spiritually healthy interaction between two people. That would be the healthy ministry of the Body in toto, a healthy local church as a manifestation of the healthy (C)hurch. 

Such a church, comprised of learners and spiritually complete, maturing and matured, disciples and disciplers, would create a synergy greater than that of the individuals. This is known as discipleship, commonly manifesting in one-one-one relationships. 

Discipleship in the biblical sense is sorely lacking in the contemporary (C)hurch, which is one reason it is compromised, divided and powerless. How can there be unity of faith if no one is teaching holiness and no one is learning it? How can there be effective, empowered ministry, evangelism, or even prayer without discipleship? How can a church come together as one body if its members have no idea what that means?

The one-on-one between the young single man and the gray hair, the mother of toddlers with the mother of college students, and the newly saved man with man who has a fruitful 10+ year Christian walk must impact the greater body ministry. Discipleship is one of the cellular manifestations that combine into an organ or body part. 

This is Holy Spirit empowerment, where the body takes hold of the ministry to the lost, to the widow and to the orphan, and does so with unity, clarity, and unceasing effort. 

Conclusion

The church and the (C)hurch has done a lot of amazing things without the Holy Spirit. But now it's time to become the Living Stones and be the inhabited temple, a holy nation, a body without missing or despised parts. The sanctification of its members must manifest in harvest, healing, and restoration that touches communities and nations with the Kingdom.

That is, revival.

Christ Our Atoning Savior: Why We Need Redemption and How God Provides It - by Stephen Wellum

Found here. Our comments in bold.
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At 1271 words, the author has ample opportunity to not only teach us his doctrines, but tell us where in the Bible to find them. Now, he does supply numerous Bible references, but invariably when we look them up we find that the verses do not tell us what the author says they say.

That's probably why he doesn't quote them.

Worse, the author's Bible documentation disappears for great swaths of his presentation. As such, we must deem this Bad Bible Teaching.

We also need to note that the author's doctrine is Reformist/Calvinist. And as is typical for those of this persuasion, he does not write to teach the Bible, his purpose is to teach this doctrinal perspective. These teachers will never teach the Bible unless they can slip this in. 

We have written about these teachings frequently. We certainly don't want to weary the reader but we think it's important to continually challenge these false, pernicious doctrines:

• Jesus did not die in our place, because we must die too
• Jesus did not pay for our sin, He paid for us
• Jesus was not punished by the Father, His spilled blood is sufficient
• Jesus did not engage in a transaction, He engaged in a sacrifice

We will explain below.

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Muslim Dreams, Modern Prophets, and Biblical Truth - By Elizabeth Prata

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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It's been since the end of August that Ms. Prata last appeared here, which has been a welcome respite. She represents herself as a Bible teacher, but as we have discovered over and over, she is just not competent to do this. We don't wish to be disrespectful, but it's important to understand that her Bible teaching ought not be trusted.

At little over 2000 words this is a scattershot explanation. It is all over the map, jumping from topic to topic with no explanation or reason. Ms. Prata makes a series of assertions as if they are relevant, but never explores them or even documents them. Frankly, it's only because of our extensive study of cessationism that this even makes sense.

And that's the bottom line. One must be steeped in certain cessationist doctrines to be able to understand Ms. Prata's superficial presentation.

We must deem this Bad Bible Teaching.

We discuss Muslim dreams here.

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What Constitutes a True Baptism? - by Sam Emadi

Excerpted from here. Our comments in bold.

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For some unknown reason, the author wrote this article on "true baptism" but doesn't want to explain it. He simply refers his readers to other authors. Really, he's doing nothing more than making assertions about his church tradition, tacitly relegating baptism to an official act only done by church officials in a church building on a Sunday morning.

It seems he has an axe to grind with those who happen to operate outside the traditional church structure, having written a previous article along the same lines, which we critiqued here.

None of this is in the Bible, which is probably why the author doesn't quote a single word of  it. Not one. We must deem this Bad Bible Teaching.

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