"Sola Experiencia" GREAT Two Minute Video by Rosaria Butterfield

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As an amazing (and disturbing) side note, here's an article about this woman's appearance at Wheaton College being protested by students-you won't believe why they protested her:

http://www.dennyburk.com/wheaton-students-protest-rosaria-butterfield/

"Joel Osteen's New Book = New Age Pagan Book"

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Do you see the difference between Joel Osteen's newest book and these other pagan/New Age books?

ME NEITHER!! It's the SAME THING!!!
(These are screen shots from Amazon.com)

              
 






 Joel Osteen could have (at least) copied ideas from Christian books...Take a look at these New Age Books:                                                                            





































Read the description on the back of this book (below)
-it sounds a lot like one of Osteen's "sermons:"











"A Parable About Ignorance in the Church-And Some Solutions" by Steven Kozar

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Imagine that you've never heard a piece of classical music.

                                                                        Ever. 

     You never went to a concert, or even saw one on TV. Now also imagine that you knew absolutely nothing about all the instruments in an orchestra-you couldn't tell a flute from a tuba or a violin from a piano. Also imagine that you know nothing about the history of classical music throughout the centuries or any of the great composers. Maybe you've heard a few of their names, but you have no idea who they were or what they did.

     But now imagine that you and all your friends (who also don't know anything about classical music) were sitting around watching TV one day and you randomly came across a classical performance on PBS for just a few seconds while switching channels; and imagine that you only saw the conductor waving his arms around for those few seconds. That's all you saw. 

     What if someone asked you "how familiar are you with classical music being performed by an orchestra?" and you answered "I know all about it! Me and my friends saw that guy waving his arms around on TV." 

     Would you really know very much about classical music? Of course not. But you insist: "I saw that guy on TV waving his arms around! Don't tell me I don't know about classical music!" And you might add: "and all my friends saw it, too!"

Sorry, but you and all your friends don't really know what you're talking about; and until you get a lot more information, you're going to remain ignorant of classical music being performed by an orchestra. And you'd be missing out on a lot!

 

     This is, very sadly, an illustration of where a lot of Evangelicals stand in regard to Christianity. They're ignorant of their faith's history, its leaders and its key doctrines, and they often believe that any study of theology is inherently bad; which is kinda like saying "I don't care about notes-I only care about music!" or "I don't care about ingredients-I only care about food!"

      Yet they believe they really know about their faith based on a guy (their favorite pastor, evangelist or author maybe) "waving his hands around," so to speak (or maybe waving a Bible around). Worst of all, they don't even know very much about the very Word of God that can teach them. The Holy Spirit should be teaching them through the Word of God, but He's been replaced by a bizarre, mystical "genie in a bottle" who requires rock bands in order to "manifest himself" and who always demands more and more attention. And to make matters worse, these very Christians are gleefully unaware of their own ignorance. They believe their pastor really knows what he's talking about. Why? Because he said so! And all of their (church) friends think so, too!

     I know about this topic, because I was one of these ignorant Evangelicals, and I'm very glad to be leaving their ranks. Not because I want to be smarter-but because I want to know the truth about my faith and my God.

I had an extremely limited understanding of Christianity-and I didn't even know it. I thought I was hearing about solid, Biblical Christianity, but in fact, I was only hearing about the American, Arminian, Revivalist, Semi-Pelagianist tip of the pragmatic Protestant Evangelical iceberg. I thought I was going to a "New Testament" church, but it was actually an outgrowth of a number of movements from only the past 200 years or so-and we were greatly affected by even more recent teachings from just the past few decades. Now if those various Christian movements from the past 200 years had really "improved" or "purified" Christianity (as they claimed), I had no way of really knowing, because I was inside that movement and it was all that I knew. Once I stepped outside of the movement and studied what came before us, I could actually see things more clearly, and I could compare the teachings of a pastor or church against historical, Biblical Christianity. It was like a (very) cold splash of water to my face. Or more like a slap upside the head (that I'm still recovering from). But now that I know all of this, it's okay, and I'm very glad to be where I am.   

     I write about this because I wish nothing more than for all my Christian friends (and everyone else who reads this) to experience something similar in their own lives. I'm so much more at peace and so much more confident in my faith because of what I've learned. As I've learned to see both Law and Gospel in the Bible, I'm not so confused anymore. And I'm excited to learn more everyday-literally!

 The thing that really concerns me, is that a lot of Christians, especially as they grow older, are getting tired of pat answers and shallow catch-phrases from pastors who don't know how to rightly handle God's Word. So they just tune out. They gradually stop attending church and whimper away; but a new crop of younger faces (usually with children in tow) show up to replace them. They'll buy into the shallow catch-phrases and pat answers, but only for a while. And then the cycle begins again. After 10 or 20 years of therapeutic "life-lessons," un-Biblical "success strategies" and unfulfilled "prophetic words" they'll eventually whimper away, too. No amount of cool videos, hip new logos, "relevant" messages or rock bands will fool them anymore... they're done. 

Please, don't let that be you!

If you can relate to this, here are a few ideas that might help you:

First of all, maybe you just need to spend more time reading the Bible. Duh, right? But, seriously, many Christians don't even read God's Word. So just get started. Read entire books, too; don't just skip around to a favorite verse here or there. The New Testament epistles are all pretty short-that might be a great place for you to start if it's been a while. Remember, the real meaning can only be understood properly in context, so reading a whole passage will always help you understand the meaning better. I don't recommend The Message or The Passion Translation (they're not really Bibles-they are paraphrases of the Bible that sometimes sounds pretty neat, but many times are just plain wrong), but I do read the New Living Translation sometimes (which uses very easy, modern language); otherwise I mostly read a more accurate translation like the NASB, ESV, NKJV or the original NIV. For further study, I love The Lutheran Study Bible. Also, the Reformation Study Bible, the ESV Study Bible, and the NIV Study Bible have tons of helpful content (these are just a few of the excellent study Bibles available).

Secondly, here are three great programs (and a couple YouTube channel) that have helped me to leave the foggy land of the Evangelical Industrial Complex (although there are a lot more). All you have to do is listen to them.

Seriously, just start listening ASAP!

Fighting for the Faith

This is from my buddy, Chris Rosebrough. As he says, "don't listen with an open mind, listen with an open Bible!" This show is a little like Mystery Science Theater 3000; he plays sermons by the "Super Pastors" and interrupts/corrects them using correct interpretation (and then rips their bad teaching to shreds). I'm amazed at how much I've learned from this one ministry-I'm sure I've learned more in just 2 or 3 years of listening to this, than in 30 years of sermons. I am not exaggerating. Now that I'm occasionally on the show it's even better. (That was a joke)

 

The White Horse Inn

"Know what you believe, and why you believe it!" This ministry has been slugging away for over 20 years, trying to teach Christians about the Bible, the Reformation, and why we need another one. You can also find a lot of their shows archived on YouTube here. I love this show, and I don't know where I'd be without the things I've learned here! The men on this program also do an excellent of demonstrating what it’s like when people from different denominational traditions talk together respectfully about their differences, and about the Gospel message that draws them together.

 

Critical Issues Commentary

This is a simple radio show that originally featured the excellent teaching of Bob DeWaay (the newer ones have different hosts). Bob has tackled a lot of the topics that most Christian shows wouldn't touch. And he's taught me a lot, in fact, I've listened to many of his half-hour shows over and over again, just so it can all sink in (and correct the confusing stuff I used to believe). He has also published a lot of excellent (and short) articles on the same topics as the radio shows; I often print these off (they're even available in PDF form) and give them to people.

 

Ryan Reeves YouTube Channel

 This is a great collection of videos about the history of the Christian Church and it's theological development; plus they are presented with a pretty neutral viewpoint. Done in a narration/documentary style, most of these are around 30 minutes or so. I've listened to many of these multiple times, because they're so interesting and well done. Reeves is a Professor with a PhD in Historical Theology from Cambridge; basically, he's giving away college lectures for free!

 

Bruce Gore YouTube Channel

This is similar to the Ryan Reeves channel, but these are videos of actual lectures given at Mr. Gore's (very fortunate) Sunday School class. He's a brilliant and engaging teacher, and the lectures have extensive notes and photos to follow along with. This is another amazing free resource!

 

This is just a start, but I hope this helps! (I originally wrote this article before I was a part of Pirate Christian Media, so if you're here just check out the many great programs and blogs to be found on this site)

            -Steven Kozar

"5 Most Cringeworthy Problems With BuzzFeed's Viral 'I'm A Christian, But I'm Not..' Video" by Mollie Hemingway

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Great response to the viral video "I'm a Christian, But I'm Not..." 
5 Most Cringeworthy Problems With BuzzFeed's Viral 'I'm Christian, But I'm Not' Video


 Here's an interview with Molly on "Issues Etc" discussing her article: 
http://issuesetc.org/2015/09/09/5-buzzfeeds-video-im-christian-but-im-not-mollie-ziegler-hemingway-9915/

"How to Prevent Losing Another Generation" by Ken Ham

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Very interesting article with some hard-hitting data on young adults leaving church:
How to Prevent Losing Another Generation | Answers in Genesis

Here's a sobering chart on the decline in beliefs that's taken just 20 years:

"Top 10 Reasons Our Kids Are Leaving Church" by Marc5Solas

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I'm posting this (again) because I think it's one of the very best articles about the Messed Up Church EVER:
http://marc5solas.com/2013/02/08/top-10-reasons-our-kids-leave-church/

"Bible-Believing" Christian??

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If you believe it’s important to follow the Bible, wouldn’t you want to “test all things” by God’s Word? Shouldn't you be like the Bereans in Acts 17:11 who kept "examining the scriptures daily to see if these things are so?" Shouldn’t you at least see which ideas have more scriptural support than others? Of course! If we discover that some ideas are NOT Biblical, shouldn't we at least reconsider them? Of course! Below are some questions for you:

In the Bible, which are there more of?

...Bible verses about feeling God's presence (so you can know He's real), or Bible verses about knowing, teaching and following correct doctrine? (This is a trick question; there are no verses about feeling, experiencing or “being intoxicated” by God’s presence. Also, capitalizing the letter “p” in presence comes from the New Age movement.)

...Bible verses that tell us to have a "personal, intimate and emotional encounter with God," or Bible verses that tell us we can know God through His Word and Sacraments? (This is a trick question-there are no verses telling us that we’re supposed to have a personal, intimate and emotional encounter with God.)

...Bible verses about how you need to follow along with the vision of your pastor, or Bible verses about the pastor being a servant and shepherd? (This is a trick question; there are no verses telling you to “follow the vision” of your “vision-casting pastor;” that idea comes from the business world.)

...Bible verses that tell us that "God has planted a dream in your heart so that you can fulfill your destiny?"... never mind, that's so ridiculous that we can go on to the next question (this is a Christian website-not the Disney Channel!)

 

...Bible verses telling the church to conform to the pagan culture (in order to "win over" that culture), or  Bible verses describing the church as separate and distinct from culture? (This is a trick question; there are no verses telling the church to conform to the pagan culture. The word “church” comes from the word “ekklesia” which means “gathering” or “called out ones.”)

...Bible verses that describe the church as a place for entertainment-style "worship" (so that lots of people will enjoy going there), or as a place where the Bible (and sound doctrine about Christ) is proclaimed, confessed and taught? (This is a trick question; there are no verses telling the church to attract non-believers with flashy and/or emotional music, stagecraft, sermons full of entertaining stories/jokes, etc.)

...Bible verses that teach pastors about effective leadership skills that allow them to direct and manage a large staff (and thus make a huge salary), or Bible verses that say no believer should follow worldly philosophies and pastors should not get rich from preaching? (This is a trick question; there are no verses that describe pastors as businessman CEOs that follow leadership practices borrowed from pagans who want to get rich.)

...Bible verses that describe the Holy Spirit as wanting to get more and more attention (because He's been so neglected), or Bible verses that say He is always pointing us to Christ? (This is a trick question; the real Holy Spirit of the Bible is always leading people to repentance and faith in Christ, He never sends people on bizarre wild goose chases.)

...Bible verses where the Holy Spirit wants to make us act drunk and out of control, or Bible verses where the Holy Spirit wants to lead us to repentance and faith in Christ? (This is a trick question; there are no verses saying that the Holy Spirit wants to make us act drunk and out of control.)

...Bible verses that command us to muster up intense fervor to show how serious we are about serving God (so that He will finally give us something more: more power, more miracles, more success, more influence…), or Bible verses that tell us to simply believe in the forgiveness of our sins through Christ? (This is a trick question; there are no verses telling us to muster up intense fervor so we can show God how serious we are. You can relax now!)

...Bible verses about a great end times revival that features new and better Apostles who will do great healings, signs and wonders, or Bible verses that tell us about an end times falling away, full of false teachers doing great healings, signs and wonders in the name of Jesus? (This is a trick question; there are no Bible verses that tell us to expect a great end-times revival that features new and better Apostles.  All of the Bible verses are warning us about a great falling away with false teachers leading many astray by doing miraculous signs and wonders in the name of Jesus.) 

...Bible verses that tell us to go to meetings and conferences in order to "get the anointing,"or Bible verses that tell us we already have all that we need in Christ? (This is a trick question-there are no verses that tell Christians to go somewhere in order to "get the anointing." You can stop throwing away money on travel expenses and conference tickets now!)

...Bible verses that instruct Christians to "speak things into existence?"... never mind, that's so idiotic that we can just go to the next question (this is not an article about witchcraft and sorcery)... 

"We can't speak things into existence??"

"We can't speak things into existence??"

...Bible verses that tell churches to unify regardless of doctrine (so that God can finally "show up"), or Bible verses that tell us to hold fast to correct doctrine? (This is a trick question-there are no Bible verses where God promises to "show up" once we all give up our doctrine and unite for the sake of being unified.)

...Bible verses that tell us it's "all about a relationship, not a religion," or Bible verses that tell us to repent, be baptized and become members of Christ's body-The Church? (This is a trick question-there are no verses that specifically tell us to "have a personal relationship with Jesus," instead, the Bible points to the establishment of the Church and it's specific doctrine. Christianity is, by definition, a religion. You can stop being ashamed of that now. It is the only true religion-and it offers us the only true Good News! And, yes, we can certainly claim to have a relationship with Jesus, but remember, this article is about what the Bible actually says. Perhaps this video will help: Jesus Is My Friend 

 

Here's another article that should help add clarity to this topic:

Frequently Abused and Misused Bible Verses

"Church... Business... What's the Difference?" Confused Willow Creek Leadership Conference

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Quiz question: What do you get when you combine two Mormons, at least one "word of faith" heretic, some non-Christian business people, authors and public speaker/millionaires, along with a few mega-church pastors? 

Answer: The Willow Creek "Global Leadership Summit!"

This is the conference from 2015:

 

I took these screens shots from my iPhone after doing just a little research on the speaker line-up. First, author Jim Collins admits he doesn't know the church world (but he's happy to make a LOT of money off of it):  

Here's a few Mormon sites showing off their best achievers:

Remember when Jesus told us to hire the very best public speakers to build His church? Me neither...

"Be Still and Know That You are Not God!" by Warren Smith

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This is a GREAT Warren Smith article about the ongoing New Age infiltration in the church (which is also available as a booklet to hand out):

From the Lighthouse BlogNEW BOOKLET TRACT: Be Still and Know That You are Not God!—God is Not “in” Everyone and Everything

"Andy Stanley's Dishonest, Deceptive, and Dangerous Teaching" by Phillip Lee

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No big deal here, just an extremely influential "pastor of pastors" re-writing Christianity...
24 Emmaus Road: Andy Stanley's Dishonest, Deceptive, and Dangerous Teaching

Another article about Andy Stanley (with links to Fighting for the Faith on this topic):
http://churchwatchcentral.com/2015/02/19/the-new-dangerous-teachings-of-andy-stanley/

And this is a short video about how incredibly inaccurate Stanley is when describing the Bible:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=233&v=Tud4p-DQYp0




"Don't Get Fooled Again!"

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These ideas, catch-phrases and concepts have infiltrated the Church and have laid a false foundation; a "set-up." With these beliefs infiltrating the minds of most Christians today, false teachings are slipping into the Church all over the place. Yes, there might be some truth in some of these ideas, but taken as a whole, they have replaced orthodox Bible teaching and are allowing "Another Gospel" to be taught. Understand that many false teachings are being taught in the worst possible way: by people who don’t even realize what they’re doing; so their sincerity makes critical analysis and discernment very difficult. It's time for Christians to stop being so gullible and clueless. 

 Please remember: the Bible is God's Word, HOLD FIRMLY TO IT and ignore the teachings of men!  
These are in no particular order and are being updated every now and then:

 1. "God Offends the Mind to Reveal the Heart" This anti-intellectual catch phrase isn't in the Bible, and it makes Biblical confusion highly probable; it can be a foundation for manipulation through false doctrine. If anybody promotes discernment (which involves using the mind) they can be dismissed when this catch phrase is used against them. God didn't give us a mind and then expect us to stop using it. Ironically, when a false teacher says things like this, he is using a type of thinking to convince others to think a certain way.

2. "Don't Have a Religious Spirit" This is a vague concept that can allow deceit to stay in place. Want to refute someone who demands doctrinal integrity? Accuse them of having a religious spirit. It's much easier than searching the scriptures and seeking the truth.  After all, "God doesn't care about our doctrine, He cares about our heart." That sounds really good, but it's not in the Bible-it’s just another catch phrase. Doctrine is important! Doctrine tells us who God really is, and who we really are.

3. "Don't Touch God's Anointed!" When false teachers can't defend their beliefs in the clear teachings of the Bible, they use this partial verse as a rebuke. It's taken completely out of context from the Old Testament; and it refers to physically harming the Israelite king or prophet. This has nothing to do with questioning bad leadership or wrong teachings.  It’s interesting to note that cult leaders usually use some type of threat; it's the lowest form of leadership.

4. "Get ready for a new and different thing-it won't be like the old things!" "This is probably gonna make you uncomfortable!" "Don't put God in a box-as soon as you think you've got Him figured out He will do something unexpected!" This can be a way of spiritualizing false teaching, demonizing discernment, and getting people off their guard. The Bible makes it very clear that we are too hold fast to correct (and "old") doctrine. But in the effort to gain followers, a false teacher can always tickle the ears of those who get excited about being part of "something new;" after all, most people don't want to be part of something old.  Instead of new versus old, we should be teaching what is true versus what is false. Is it really true that God is always changing His methods and His ways so He can keep surprising us? Well, there will always be some mystery involved in our understanding of exactly who God is (on this side of heaven), but God isn't like a magician or a leprechaun who constantly tricks us to keep us guessing; the Bible describes Him as wanting to be known and understood (and obeyed!). Also, being uncomfortable about a teaching doesn't indicate anything for sure, it's just a feeling that is being caused by something; it might be something good or it might be something bad.

5. "We only teach the Bible!" This is, perhaps, the easiest way to teach a false doctrine. For most Christians, they will shut off all discernment once they hear that sentence as a prelude to any teaching. Plus, a false teacher can just throw in some Bible verses wherever he wants-whether they apply or not-and continue to promote all kinds of weird teaching. If a pastor actually explains that we "should never proof-text!" he might be actually making it easier to continue proof-texting; the key is to keep his congregation comfortable and trusting. By the way, "proof-texting" means using a Bible verse (or verses) taken completely out of context to make a point that it was never supposed to make. Basically, when a pastor wants to make his idea more convincing, he can dig up some Bible verse to validate his point. Unfortunately, this happens a lot; and it really confuses people because it looks like the Bible teaches a thousand different (and conflicting) things from just one passage. This is not God's fault-it's the lazy and loose interpreting being done by the pastor. James 3:1 says: "Let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgement."

 6. "But he's really famous (he/she has written books, has a huge church, has a TV show, etc.), he must know what he's talking about." This exposes the painfully common belief that "CONSENSUS EQUALS TRUTH." Few people would ever admit to this ridiculous belief, but their behavior (and thinking) says otherwise. Christians say that they believe the Bible, but what they really believe is whatever their "guy" (local pastor, TV preacher, popular author, etc.) says about the Bible. On top of that, many Christians don't even believe what their local pastor teaches because he is constantly being over-ridden by the surrounding culture. So we have millions of Christians watching 10, 20 or even 30 hours of television per week, yet they just don't have time to read and study the Bible. But when the latest Christian guru comes along with a new method of "hearing from God" they drop everything to "learn the secret;" all the while they've neglected God's Word-the actual words from God. The situation should be seen as utterly absurd, yet since almost everyone behaves and believes this way, it’s been normalized. As a result, false teachers have free reign and an almost limitless customer base to promote heresy and to enrich themselves.

7. "We should never live out of fear-fear only comes from the Devil!" “He’s got a lot of anger-you can tell he’s not of God!” Of course it's true that we are not supposed to live in fear and anger; but when a discerning Christian tries to warn the church about a dangerous deception, a false teacher can easily shut him down by saying something like: "he's promoting fear-don't listen to him!" If a sheep discovers that his shepherd is actually a wolf, a (temporary) sense of fear and/or anger would be an appropriate response in order for him to leave and warn others. In actuality, it is the cult member that goes through life like a zombie, constantly thinking "positive thoughts" and refusing to wake up to the deception that surrounds him. Warning a fellow Christian about false teaching is not promoting fear-but, ironically, a false teacher has no problem scaring his followers into compliance and threatening them if they question his authority.

8. "Judge not, lest you be judged..." Whenever a false teacher/prophet is exposed (because of heretical teaching, blatant sin, corruption, prophesies that prove to be utterly false, etc.) they can usually get their "ministry" up and running again with the misapplication of this verse. Christians have been systematically programmed to ignore all scripture about the accountability of leaders... because their leaders said so. So the false teacher ends up judging his theological critic who is supposedly guilty of judging.

9. Infrequent and obscure passages of scripture take precedence over the clear and frequent passages.  Spiritualized and overly allegorized Old Testament passages are emphasized, while the clearly applicable teachings of the New Testament are ignored. Examples: “The Latter Rain,” “The Elijah Generation,” “The Bridal Paradigm,” “The Anointed Manifestation of the Tabernacle of David with the Oil of Joel’s Army Beneath the Eagles Wings of the Coming Presence…” This is a topic for another paper…

10. Man's thoughts, ideas and visions (“revelations”) are equated with scripture. This is the Charismatic church’s gigantic and obvious problem; the over-emphasis of new revelations. "God's Word is really good, but we need to add something new to make it even better!"-Really? Again, this is a topic for a whole other paper…

11. "We only want to be positive!" The stereotypical Bible-thumping, angry fundamentalist is the one thing nobody wants to be. In response, the average Christian will go along with anything as long as it's seen as "positive." However, in the Bible, we see "negative" things all over the place: it is not always a "positive" book because it contains the truth that we need-not just "feel good" sayings to placate our sin. We humans are often like disobedient children who need correction from our Heavenly Father, who loves us enough to tell us the truth.

12. "We're getting lots of resistance-we must be doing something right! Satan wants to stop us, that's why people are so critical..." This line of thinking is, at best, a 50/50 proposition; maybe it's true, but it's just as possible that you're getting resistance because you're wrong and some people are trying to correct you and stop the false teaching.

13. "Well, he just read some negative stuff on the Internet-they can say anything on the Internet!" Like the previous point, this is, at best, a 50/50 proposition. It could just as easily be said, “he just read that stuff in a book-they can say anything in a book.” Do so few people realize that there are no rules for what can be published in a book? Also, there’s a lot of information that is only available online; that's the nature of the world we live in. This goes back to #6, too, because what people are really saying is: "it might be proven by lots of information online (blogs, interviews with actual witnesses, doctrinal papers, personal testimony, etc.) but it's not the consensus view (isn't supported by large book publishers, Christian media companies, mega-churches, etc.), so I don't believe it." We should be testing everything against the Word of God-no matter what anyone else says (or doesn't say). It is also very important to understand that giant "Christian" media companies are mostly owned by even larger non-Christian media companies that only care about making lots of money. It's crazy to think that those companies are carefully checking the content of what they sell.

14. “Look at all the fruit on his/her tree-they must be blessed by God!” “With all the new people going to that church, you just know it’s being blessed by God!” Fruit on the tree does not mean “people coming to church.” Here’s the only thing that can be said for sure about a church with thousands of people showing up on Sunday morning: the pastor is being paid a large salary. Seriously, that’s it. Oh, and they also have a good “worship team” (soft rock band). When Jesus told us to look at the fruit of a teacher, He’s saying: compare the teaching and life of the teacher to Jesus-it should “look” the same. Any pastor teaching things that are contrary to Jesus is a false teacher-no matter how many followers he has.

15. “But he does everything in the name of Jesus-he must be okay!” Think about it; if Satan wanted to operate in the church, would he do it in his own name? Does Satan show up at church in his bright red jumpsuit and give himself away? Does any deception announce itself ahead of time?  Matthew 7:22 says: “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And I will declare to them; I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’” It should be assumed that a false teacher will use the name of Jesus. “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves” is what Jesus says in Matthew 7:15.

16. "It can't be true, because I would've know about it already" (or "somebody would have said something by now")-this often a knee jerk reaction when first hearing about false doctrine. This is really saying "I already know everything that needs to be known; if I get new and different information that doesn't correspond to my currently held beliefs, than it must be wrong. I refuse look into anything that threatens my views." Jesus said to "watch out for wolves in sheep's clothing"-He didn't say "Don't watch out for wolves in sheep's clothing, because someone's already doing that for you, besides, you don't want to be too critical..."

17. "He's making the Bible his idol!" While it is, perhaps, possible this could happen, it would certainly be the exception; and it would be the result of faulty instruction-not the Bible itself. There are no warnings in scripture about “getting into God’s Word too much.” The Bible points us to Jesus, so we shouldn't fear becoming a "Bible nut." Luke 24: 47 "then He said to them, 'these are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.' And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. Then He said to them,'Thus it is written, and this it is necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem."

18. "An experience is better than any doctrine!" I don't doubt that people have very real experiences with God, and that these experiences can be pivotal moments where God supernaturally helps a person. But these are not where we should get our believe system established-God's Word already does that. God graciously gave us safe parameters within which we can understand Him. Once a person depends on experiences they become dependent on more experiences, and this can quickly become an emotional train wreck. Just ask anyone who has left a Charismatic/Pentecostal church in a state of confusion, never to return.

19. "We need a fresh move of the Holy Spirit!" This sounds so spiritual... But what does it actually mean? How do you know when the "move" is fresh enough? How do you know if the "move" is past the expiration date? How do you know that a supposed "move" is even caused by the Holy Spirit (and isn't just emotional hype to attract a crowd)? These are questions that get ignored by most Charismatic/Pentecostal churches.  Furthermore, wasn't it good enough that Jesus came to earth, died on the cross to forgive our sins and rose from the grave? We need something better than that? Something "fresher??" Where in the Bible is the church instructed to ask for, and expect, a "fresh move of the Holy Spirit?"

 20. "We want this church to encourage risk taking; that way you can practice trying out new spiritual techniques and get better at them!" This idea can be presented to sound very spiritual and cutting edge, but it's easy to see how quickly this "do anything and see what happens" approach can go wrong and people can get hurt. As in the previous point, the parameters of God's Word are there to keep us from being deceived and mislead. We must always ask "does this line up with scripture?" not "I heard that this might work-let's give it a shot!"

21. "All truth is God's truth, so we can seek His truth anywhere and everywhere, even from non-Christian sources." This idea sounds open-minded and "modern" (again, nobody wants to appear old-fashioned) but it falls apart quickly in the real world. If we are talking about electronics, lawn maintenance or pizza recipes, of course we can learn from non-Christians; but in spiritual matters the potential for deception should always keep us close to God's Word.

22. "Christianity has to adapt and change with the times or else it will die."  This idea is just plain false. Think about it; are your religious beliefs so shallow and frail that they can't stand up against whatever new trend is permeating society? God's truth is above us, distinct from us and unchanging; otherwise it's just something we're making up as we go.


     Lastly, I want to point out the importance of correctly thinking for yourself. Start with a question (or “hypothesis”), then diligently search the scriptures, get the facts of the matter, and then reach a conclusion. Most people start with their conclusion, sift the facts around, take a few Bible verses out-of-context and arrive exactly where they started. This is the recipe for ignorance disguised as wisdom. There is freedom in letting God’s Word teach you and guide you! When Jesus addressed the large crowd and said “watch out for wolves in sheep’s clothing,” He was giving every person permission to check any teaching against the Word of God. On the contrary, if we blindly follow after the teachings of man (no matter how nice and sincere they might be) we are sure to get fooled again.  -Steven Kozar 

Also, here's a very helpful article about how cults work:
http://www.cultwatch.com/howcultswork.html