A few facts from the Bible which had to be inspired by the Lord

A few facts from the Bible which had to be inspired by the Lord
by Jimmie Brodersen on Thursday, December 6, 2012 at 7:34pm
Shared with permission from Facebook note.

I believe when speaking or writing about authentication of the Holy Bible we should look in many different areas. The Holy Bible is the only religious text to not have proven errors in history, geography, prophecy, or scientific information. There is external verification discovered through archeology and science. When people seek to disprove parts of the bible they end up validating scripture instead. Some archeologists use the bible as an excavation guide. There have been more than 24,000 New Testament manuscripts found, no other ancient writing has more than a dozen manuscript artifacts found, most have less than 5 and yet are still considered as trustworthy and verified.

Today we shall look at some of the information the bible provides us which has long since been proven to be fact.


What holds up the earth?
It was not until recent centuries where it became widely accepted that nothing is holding the earth in place. According to Greek mythology Atlas carried the earth on his shoulders. Hindi tradition states that an elephant held the earth up on its back, while standing on top of a sea turtle which was swimming in the midst of an endless sea. Of course in the 20th century satellite technology proved these ideas false, and proved the bible true.

He stretches the northern skies over empty space; He hangs the earth on nothing.
Job 26:7

By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. Heb 11:3

By faith we understand that the universe was created by God’s command, so that what is seen has been made from things that are not visible. Heb 11:3

Plate tectonics
Then God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. God called the dry land “earth,” and He called the gathering of the water “seas.” And God saw that it was good. –
Gen 1:9-10

We have been taught in school that hundreds of millions of years ago there was once a giant supercontinent which broke apart and have been involved in what is called a continental drift; and eventually in hundreds of millions of more years they will once again move into each other. Well, that is partially true. The bible tells us that there was a supercontinent, and that He caused it to break up; this did not take place of millions of years. The theory of plate tectonics was not conceived and accepted until the early 1950’s.

Eber had two sons. One was named Peleg, for during his days the earth was divided; his brother was named Joktan. –
Gen 10:25

At 1st thought you might think this verse is telling us that the people of the earth were divided because we know in the next chapter is the Tower of Babel incident, God spread out the people over the earth and caused them to speak in different languages. That however is only part of it. The Hebrew word in the verse used for earth is ʾereṣ, which literally means the earth and land. This verse is telling us that the land of the earth was split and spread out during the 239 years Peleg was alive. This helps us have the proper understanding of Genesis 11:8, as the people were being scattered they were also literally drifting away from each other.

So from there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth, and they stopped building the city. –
Gen 11:8

The shape of the Earth
We all remember hearing about the debate in the days of Columbus about the shape of the earth; was the earth flat or was the earth round (a sphere)? The bible cleared that up thousands of years prior:

It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
Isaiah 40:22

He drew a circular horizon on the face of the waters, At the boundary of light and darkness.
Job 26:10

STARS
Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night. They will serve as signs for festivals and for days and years. They will be lights in the expanse of the sky to provide light on the earth.”
Gen 1:14-15

Constellations and specific stars such as Polaris (North Star, have been used for navigation for thousands of year. The Lunar phases and constellations have been used for making calendars for thousands of years. Hebrew, Babylonian, Celtic, Mayan, Incan, Aztec, and other ancient civilizations used lunar phases to determine when to have festivals and hold rituals.

Until recent centuries it was commonplace to believe there were only as many stars as one could see with their own eyes. The first few centuries of the telescopic era the telescopes had rather weak resolution. Since the 20th centuries we have been discovering more than trillions of stars. Greek astronomer and mathematician Hipparchus (190-120 B.C.) counted the stars and concluded there were exactly 1,026 stars. Another Greek astronomer and mathematician Claudius Ptolemaeus (90-168 A.D) stated that there were 1,056 stars. German astronomer, Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), counted 1,006 stars. (What happened to the other 50 stars?) The Ancient Hebrew books we call the Old Testament, or the Law and Prophets, had already told us the stars are more than can be numbered, and there are more stars than grains of sand on the earth.

Now the word of the Lord came to him: “This one will not be your heir; instead, one who comes from your own body will be your heir.” He took him outside and said, “Look at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then He said to him, “Your offspring will be that numerous.” –
Gen 15:4-5

The hosts of heaven cannot be counted; the sand of the sea cannot be measured. So, too, I will make the descendants of My servant David and the Levites who minister to Me innumerable.” (The word for heaven here means the sky or “the heavens”)
Jer 33:22

He counts the number of the stars; He gives names to all of them. Our Lord is great, vast in power; His understanding is infinite. –
Psalms 147:4-5 (How amazing is this knowing there are more than trillions of stars?!)

There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory. –
1 Cor 15:41

Glory is radiance, brilliance or light intensity. In astronomy we use the word “magnitude” to describe the intensity of a star’s light.

“The total number of stars in the universe is greater than all the grains of sand on all the beaches of the planet Earth.”
Carl Sagan

“Counting at a rate of ten stars per second it would take over 100 trillion years. Surely the host of heaven cannot be numbered!”
Dr. Mark Eastman M.D

Prophecy
I will keep this part short, for we can look into prophecy until we go blind or passout, and I am sure you are familiar with anything I could point out. There are no errors in Bible prophecy. Bible prophecy is not vague. There are 26 other religious writings which are claimed by their followers as divinely inspired, yet none of these other religious writings contain any fulfilled prophecy. Roughly 27% of the Bible was prophetic at the time it was writing. Most of the Bible’s prophecy is fulfilled and what is not fulfilled will be fulfilled.

For dogs (evil people) have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me. They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.
Psalms 22:16-18

This entire verse was prohetic, and has since become fulfilled prophecy. Crucifixion was not invented until about 700 years after this was pinned by David. Jesus' bones were not broken, it was custom for the legs of a person who was crucified to be broken so he or she could no longer push up to breath, causing suffocation leading to death. When the Centurion came to break Jesus' legs near sunset and found he was not breath he pierced Jesus through the heart to insure death. When Jesus was being crucified they stripped his clothing and cast lots for the robe, which was valuable.

There are so many countless other prophecies I could speak on but I will stop with this one.

Looking at the information given, knowing that the biblical manuscripts have been authenticated it should lead a person to wonder how the writers received their information. There were 40 authors in multiple time periods, most of whom did not meet any other writer, and still there is not only an absence of contradictions, there are no flaws in prophecy or information, and there is an amazing harmony. The writers of the Holy Bible must have been divinely inspired by an all knowing God.

**Now, for fun, we can look into dinosaurs.
Science text books and television tell us that dinosaurs lived millions of years before mankind.
As we read the verses in Genesis chapter one pertaining to the creation of living creatures it is important to notice and understand the repeated phrase “according to their kinds” as this phrase tells us each was created according to its own species. Life did not evolve from a single ameba cell in a pond of goo and evolve into animals. The creation of these animals also includes dinosaurs. There are a few creatures discussed in the bible which could be dinosaurs.

JOB CHAPTER 41 – LEVIATHAN
Notice Leviathan:
is large
strong
has scales which in impenetrable
terrifying teeth
blows fire and smoke
glowing eyes
the “mighty men”/ warriors, are afraid of it
*For personal note, Leviathan is also written about in Psalm 74:14; 104:26, and Isaiah 27:1

Archaeologists have found fossils of large sea dwelling creature, and others that likely were dragon like. There are fossils called Plesiosaur (idae) or Pliosaur (idae). These were large aquatic reptiles. These creatures grew to lengths of 43 to 56 feet long.

The Plesiosaurs had particularly long necks. There were land dwelling dinosaurs which are commonly referred to as “Duckbilled Dinosaurs.” These are in the family Hadrosaur(idae), which is a subfamily Lambeosaurinae. The Parasaurolophus , which was a species of Lambeosaur had large boney structures (crests) connected to it’s nasal passages. The bible indicates that Leviathan spent time in water, on land, and in the air. Let’s take a look at a couple pterosaurs, which includes what many people know as Pterodactylus (wrongly called pterodactyls). They all had the crests on the skull which could have been capable of producing flames, had several razor sharp teeth in an elongated jaw, and a long neck. Being reptilian they would have had scales as well. The Pteranodon (a type of pterosaur) had a wingspan which may have been over 30ft (fossils of 30ft wingspan have been found) The Quetzalcoatlus which is recently discovered pterosaur had a wingspan of 40+ feet and may have weighed as much or more than 200 pounds. A flying serpent is written about in Isaiah 14:29 and 30:6

PHOTO
The Pteranodon

PHOTO
The Quetzalcoatlus

The bible also speaks about a creature called the behemoth, which may have been a brontosaurus.

Look at Behemoth, which I made along with you. He eats grass like an ox. Look at the strength of his loins and the power in the muscles of his belly. He stiffens his tail like a cedar tree; the tendons of his thighs are woven firmly together. His bones are bronze tubes; his limbs are like iron rods.
He is the foremost of God’s works; only his Maker can draw the sword against him. The hills yield food for him, while all sorts of wild animals play there.
He lies under the lotus plants, hiding in the protection of marshy reeds. Lotus plants cover him with their shade; the willows by the brook surround him.
Though the river rages, Behemoth is unafraid; he remains confident, even if the Jordan surges up to his mouth. Can anyone capture him while he looks on, or pierce his nose with snares?
Job 40:15-24

Magnolia Felted Bag (FREE Pattern)

Magnolia Felted Bag
Download FREE Pattern (no login required, however, if you encounter any problems, please email me or leave a comment below,and I will send you the PDF).

6/8/13 Update: Error in color change part of pattern has been fixed in v.2 (linked above)

Ravelry link to favorite or queue:


This is a beginner pattern, worked double-stranded 100% wool yarn uses us your stash and once felted makes a thick and sturdy bag, no lining required.

The New Age Emergent Church Age: THE GREENING OF THE CHURCH

The New Age Emergent Church Age: THE GREENING OF THE CHURCH:                        
In August of 1990, a two week seminar was held called, "The Greening of the Church." This was an opportunit...

VOTE: Give Unto Caesar The Things That Are Caesar's

To those Christian Conservatives who plan to sit this election out and NOT vote because you don't want to vote for a Mormon. I TOTALLY understand where you're coming from, I had the same feeling......until my very wise hubby reminded me we are NOT now, nor have we EVER cast a vote for Pastor in the WH. And that is the crux of the matter, watch the video below, it expresses it much better than I.

First and foremost, Spiritually they are equally lost and need our prayer and indeed we are COMMANDED to pray even for unjust and cruel leaders.....1 Tim 2:1-4......"1 First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. 3 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."

YOUR VOTE & TAXES:
How different is voting for a secular office than paying taxes? And what did Jesus say in Matt 22 when the Pharisees plotted to trap him with a question of paying taxes?

Matthew 22:15-22

15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted together how they might trap Him in what He said. 16 And they *sent their disciples to Him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any. 17 Tell us then, what do You think? Is it lawful to give a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?” 18 But Jesus perceived their malice, and said, “Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? 19 Show Me the coin used for the poll-tax.” And they brought Him a denarius. 20 And He *said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21 They *said to Him, “Caesar’s.” Then He *said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.” 22 And hearing this, they were amazed, and leaving Him, they went away.

Whomever you vote for...........GIVE UNTO CAESAR THE THINGS THAT ARE CAESAR'S, AND UNTO GOD THE THINGS THAT ARE GOD's!!!!!!!!!

RESPECT FOR YOUR DECISION:
I don't write this to insist you vote, nor to imply that you are any less of a Christian if you don't vote for Romney. That logic (which I have seen expressed by some online friends) is as faulty as saying you are any less black if you don't vote for Obama (pressure being felt and expressed by my black brothers and sister online). So this is a free country, you have the PRIVILEGE and RESPONSIBILITY of voting, but you also have the FREEDOM not to, if that is what your heart leads you. I love the brethren, liberal or conservative, Republican or Democrat.

Pastor David Jeremiah states for the first time in his forty years as a Pastor he felt he had to speak out on this coming election, and shared many things about Obama I didn't even know, since I don't care about politics much, and frankly can't stand the sound of his voice!



David Jeremiah says goto http://www.afaaction.net from American Family Association on Vimeo.

Additionally, Chuck Missler wrote a short article on this in the November 2012 Khouse Personal Update News Journal: AMERICA 2012

A Woman's Delight: The Dangers of Following False Teachers: My Testim...

A Woman's Delight: The Dangers of Following False Teachers: My Testim...: “And they overcame him by the Blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” (KJ...

The Scripture According to John Hagee

I stopped watching John Hagee a long time ago when he started with his false teachings. Today I came across him by chance and in JUST a few minutes heard SEVERAL errors. I didn't know they were errors until I went to the Scriptures for each one, as Acts 17:11 tells us to do. BE DISCERNING PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Topic: The Mystery of the Prayer Shawl (offer 1144) broadcast 9/20/12:

• Jesus in resurrecting the girl in Mark 5:41 in saying "Talitha kum" refers to the Talit (another name for Tzitzit (the Jewish prayer shawl). NOT TRUE!!!!!!!! Talitha is the girl's name or could mean 'maiden'!!!!!! (look it up in Strong's Concordance G5008)

• Elijah in 1 Kings 17:17-24 in resurrecting the widow's son wraped the Tzitzit around his hands (signifying taking hold of the name of Jehovah). NOT IN SCRIPTURE!!!!!!!!

• We will speak Hebrew in Heaven (citing Acts 26:12-14). I do believe that is a possibility; however, that passage BY NO MEANS refers to that!!!!!!!!!!!

When did John Hagee start making up so much false Scripture? I haven't watched him for years, since he started preaching falsehood. The few minutes I watched today reaffirmed that decision.

Prosperity Gospel or Proverbs 30:7-9?

John MacArthur has posted on one page a wonderful series of Grace to You blog posts called Blog Series: The Lies of the Prosperity Gospel. It always amazes me how the false teachers (Prosperity Gospel, Dominionism, Emergent church, etc.) twist Scriptures out of context. MOST of the time, if you go to the Word, as you should (Acts 17:11) you will find they used Scripture in ways completely unrelated to what God's Word says.

On the other hand, prosperity theology flies in the face of Scripture.

Proverbs 30:7-9 is just one example. A prayer, NOT for riches, but for whatever will keep him glorifying God. For this we were created, not for big houses, big cars and big hair!

7 Two things I asked of You, Do not refuse me before I die:
8 Keep deception and lies far from me, Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion,
9 That I not be full and deny You and say, “Who is the Lord?” Or that I not be in want and steal, And profane the name of my God.

Jesus Was a Jew: FREE eBook Download

Dr. Fruchtenbaum's wonderful book is still available in paperback, but now also available as a free PDF ebook download on Ariel Ministries site here.

Our Messiah was Jewish, the Scriptures to which He and His Apostles referred, and the prophecies which He fulfilled in His first coming were all Old Testament (Jewish). You don't know your Bible until you understand and learn through a Jewish Theologian, such as Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum what they mean.

Ariel Ministries is the only Messianic ministry I will recommend. Not that there aren't other good ones out there, but many mix legalism and works into Grace....therefore, until I really know them I won't recommend any but Ariel.

The Subtlety of Satan

A rare Pastor protecting his flock! Pastor Jim at First Baptist Church of Johnson City, NY.


Direct Link: http://www.sagesolution2.net/fbjc/Library/20120708ABF.mp3
(It's the 7/8/12 sermon 'Subtlety of Satan' from this page FBC in NY: http://fbjc.org/fbjc/sermons.php

John 21:15-17
15 So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus *said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” He *said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He *said to him, “Tend My lambs.” 16 He *said tohim again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” He *said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He *said to him, “ Shepherd My sheep.” 17 He *said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus *said to him, “ Tend My sheep.


eta: Available now on YouTube:

The Gospel is NOT a salespitch!

The Gospel is NOT a salespitch! There is not a single verse or passage of Scripture, whether as expressed in a command from Christ or one of the New Testament writers, or as expressed by example in one of the many New Testament narrative passages, that gives any credence to the belief that the "sinner's prayer" is biblical. It is simply not in the Bible. Period.


Source: On The Box: Closing the Deal: An Unbiblical Component of Moder...: By Tony Miano Last week I asked on Twitter for suggestions, for blog articles. Mike King , from Mount Vernon, WA, gave the following sugge...

. . . . . . . .

This is Completely unrelated, some just shared it, but it fits right in here with Scripture to back it up........First John 5:13 tells why the book of 1 John was written: "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life" (emphasis mine).
Here are 1 John's ten signs of a true convert (you might want to compare yourself to make sure you're where you think you are):

1.  A true convert admits he or she is a sinner. He does not believe he can go to heaven by being a "good" person. She understands her own totally depravity. (1 John 1:8)

2.  A true convert lives a life of obedience by keeping God's commandments more often than breaking them. A true convert is not a habitual sinner. There's a difference between stumbling into sin and jumping in with both feet. While true converts may continue to sin as part of the struggle with our sin nature, the life of a true convert is marked by a desire to pursue holiness and walk in obedience to God's Word. (1 John 2:3-6, 3:6, 5:2)

3.  A true convert does not harbor hate for his brother but displays forgiveness, love, and compassion. (1 John 2:9, 2:11, 3:15, 4:16, 4:20)

4.  A true convert does not love the world or the things of the world, nor the world's system of evil, ruled by Satan. (1 John 2:15)

5.  A true convert proclaims Jesus Christ as the Son of God and defends the exclusivity of Christ in a world of multiple religious systems. (1 John 4:15)

6.  A true convert hopes and longs for the return of the Lord. (1 John 3:2-3)


7.  A true convert desires to serve and help other Christians. (1 John 3:17, 3:14) 


8.  A true convert loves being with other believers and hearing the Word taught. (1 John 5:1)

9.  A true convert rejects false teaching. (1 John 2:22-23)

10. A true convert remains in the truth and perseveres in the faith. (1 John 2:24)


Source: The Most Important True/False Test You Will Ever Take

Sola Sisters: Dr. John MacArthur On The NAR's Agenda To "Reclaim...

Sola Sisters: Dr. John MacArthur On The NAR's Agenda To "Reclaim...: Dr. John MacArthur Posted by Christine Pack In a recent interview with Brannon Howse ( Worldview Weekend ), Dr. John MacArthur, author...

Facebook Censors Christian Posts (AGAIN)

Facebook censorship against Christians strikes again. See my May 28th post, both blocked posts were Christian relating to homosexuality.

This from Dave Hunt (The Berean Call Ministry) on Facebook today:

In reference to this article Weep for Your Children:

Weep for Your Children!

• Hunt, Dave

But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children....For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall they do in the dry? Luke:23:28,31

For the first time in its history the United States now has a president and vice-president who openly encourage homosexuality, the murder of the unborn, and the pagan worship of Mother Earth. President Clinton's first official moves revealed a determination to elevate what for thousands of years has been known as "a crime against nature" to an honorable act that makes one a member of a new and powerful class in society. No one dare speak a word against that favored "minority." Moral convictions based upon conscience and the Bible are now labeled hate and prejudice.

Pressured by that militant and tiny minority (about 2 percent according to polls), both the media and public schools present homosexuality as natural and acceptable. Children are being taught to experiment in order to learn their sexual "orientation" or "preference." If God does not bring severe judgment upon America and the world, He would seem, as has been said, to owe an apology to Sodom and Gomorrah. The entire world, with America leading the pack, is racing down the highway to hell.

The election of Clinton and Gore has introduced a new and frightening dimension to the moral degeneracy of our day. We have long known that liberals in the media and public schools have an antifamily agenda that would rob our children of their innocence and replace a God-given conscience with humanism's "if it feels good, do it!" And now the White House, instead of standing against these change agents and seducers of our children, is providing them legitimacy, assistance and leadership!

Because it was the homosexual community which brought it to crisis proportions—and because of the misinformation the homosexual lobby has persuaded the government and media to disseminate––AIDS enjoys a status never before granted to a highly contagious and deadly disease . Incredibly, instead of being treated like the fatal plague it is, AIDS has become a civil right that gives those carrying it a privileged status and even the prerogative to keep their infection secret. Health laws prevent anyone with such diseases as hepatitis from working in a restaurant, yet those with AIDS may do so. To bar them, which common sense would demand, is forbidden as "discrimination," even though it means sure death to those who, as a result of this insane policy, may accidentally contract the HIV virus.

Such criminal folly, which has displaced true compassion and wisdom, threatens us all with unprecedented catastrophe. Only a few years ago it was denied that blood could be contaminated––and as a result large numbers of hemophiliacs are dead or dying of AIDS. Arthur Ashe is only one of many "transfusion" casualties. In spite of current precautions, medical personnel treating HIV patients have contracted AIDS. Recently an entire family (parents and children) was wiped out by AIDS, though they were heterosexuals. How it was contracted remains a mystery. The National Center for Health Statistics estimates that "within a few years" AIDS among heterosexuals, which increased 28 percent in 1991, will account for about half of all cases in America.

That Clinton and Gore both claim to be Christians (Southern Baptists) is not surprising. That the label "Christian" can now be attached to any belief prepares the way for Antichrist. He will be worshiped by the entire world as Christ. Thus his followers will be "Christians." A false and even antichrist "Christianity" must become the world religion. Such is the "Christianity" which the White House now seems to espouse. Prophecy is being fulfilled.

The "Christianity" of Clinton and Gore is quite compatible with the prevailing trend in the church at large. Already Protestants are accepting as church members, and even ordaining, homosexuals and lesbians. While Roman Catholicism officially opposes homosexuality and abortion, it covers up such deeds among its priests and nuns. For centuries prior to 1869, Rome had even accepted abortion––and could do so again. Doctrine and morals stand or fall together; and Rome has long been the major purveyor of a false gospel.

Pope John Paul II, the world's leading ecumenist, has declared that snake worshipers, witch doctors, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, etc. all worship the Christian God. Yet evangelical leaders continue to praise the Pope as a great spiritual leader and to accept Roman Catholicism as Christian. Recently John Paul II told voodoo leaders in Africa that "they would not betray their traditional faith by converting to Christianity." (See News Alerts below.) Such antichrist "Christianity" is in no position to say that anything is wrong, much less sinful, a term that has all but faded from today's vocabulary. If one can brush aside the Bible's doctrines, why not its morals? That is an easy next step. Both the Protestant and Catholic churches are preparing the way to make it a crime to call homosexuality, abortion, incest or indeed anything else sin.

"Project 10" is only one public school program designed to open America's young children to homosexuality. First-grade readers being used across the country include Daddy's Roommate (promotes homosexuality as normal and wholesome), Heather Has Two Mommies (a child born through artificial insemination to two lesbians living together); and for the third grade, Gloria Goes to Gay Pride . Just as evolution is taught as scientific fact and the teaching of creation as an alternate possibility is barred from public schools, so it is with morality. Against the wishes of parents, condoms are given out and "safe sex" taught to young children. To suggest abstinence from premarital sex as a "preventive" is excluded as a religious idea.

Just as a small minority of communists took over Russia, China and a host of other nations, so a dedicated minority has seized control of America's courts, public schools and media and is determined to remold the thinking of our children. Schools are supposed to educate students in academic subjects, but instead are trying to remake them morally, emotionally and psychologically. Parents who object to this breach of trust and calculated destruction of "family values" are denied the right to "interfere" in the moral training of their own children and are scorned as "fanatical fundamentalist Christians," now the most demeaning of epithets.

A recent Reader's Digest poll across the country demonstrates conclusively that the courts, media and public schools are forcing upon our children humanistic values to which not only their parents but an overwhelming majority of American citizens are opposed. For example, 80 percent disapprove the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that it is unconstitutional to offer prayer at a high school graduation (it never used to be), while only 18 percent approve. As for prayer in public schools (voluntary and personal, not regimented), 75 percent favor it and only 19 percent are opposed. William J. Bennett, Secretary of Education from 1985 to 1988, declared,

The Founding Fathers intended [Christian] religion to provide a moral anchor for our democracy. Yet again and again as Education Secretary...I was attacked as an 'ayatollah' when I supported voluntary school prayer––and the posting of the Ten Commandments in schools. ( Reader's Digest 11/92)

While rejecting biblical moral values long accepted in American schools, those in charge of curricula are pushing substitute religions (humanism, Eastern mysticism, occultism, etc.) upon our children. Pumsy [a dragon] : In Pursuit of Excellence (a self-esteem course used in the elementary grades) and DUSO (a dolphin) are only two examples of many. These entities, through visualization and guided imagery, become the child's ever-present inner guides to be called upon for problem-solving and miraculous help. The techniques taught to children in public schools are similar to those used by witch doctors for contacting the "spirit guides" (demons) that give them their power. Even non-Christian parents are up in arms about the harmful effects of these courses. Yet similar visualization techniques are rampant in Christian schools and churches, while the errors of self-esteem (see Beyond Seduction ) are promoted by Christian psychologists.

Whether one's concern is the moral decline or the invasion of paganism, the major influence in effecting such changes in our schools and society comes from psychology. Investigative reporter Martin L. Gross warned in his book The Psychological Society that "the nature of our civilization [has been altered] beyond recognition. The major agent of change has been modern psychology ...an international colossus whose professional minions number in the hundreds of thousands....Its experimental animals are an obliging, even grateful human race." Gross's analysis continues:

We live in a civilization in which, as never before, man is preoccupied with Self ....As the Protestant ethic has weakened in Western society, the confused citizen has turned to the only alternative he knows: the psychological expert who claims there is a new scientific standard of behavior to replace fading traditions....This new truth is fed to us continuously from birth to the grave....

The schoolhouse has become a vibrant psychological center, staffed...by [tens of thousands of] guidance workers and school psychologists whose 'counseling' borders on therapy....[P]erfectibility [of human behavior] was once sought through the intervention of God, but is now accomplished by supposed scientific adjustment of the psyche....

It is now apparent that the Judeo-Christian society in which psychology began its ascendancy is atrophying under the massive impact of...modern psychology. ...When educated man lost faith in formal religion, he required a substitute belief...[to replace] Christianity.... Psychology and psychiatry...offer mass belief, a promise of a better future, opportunity for confession, unseen mystical workings and a trained priesthood of helping professionals devoted to servicing the paying-by-the-hour communicants.

The traditional concept of sin is becoming obsolete...[and] the medico-psychological concept of sick has replaced it almost intact. We now speak glibly of murderers...as being 'sick' or 'neurotic'. ...Freud's atheistic ideas have paradoxically [influenced] ministers, priests and rabbis [who] now flock to courses in pastoral counseling ....Only psychology, we are told, can divine our secret motivations and reveal the elusive 'why' of the strange human animal....To egocentric modern man, the prospect of Self instead of God seated at the center of a world philosophical system is exquisitely attractive.

The university has been invaluable in spreading the new gospel...[and] the popular communications industry...[has made] the jargon of psychology the currency of an entire civilization. ...Natural emotions such as outrage, despair, grief, jealousy, suspicion, disappointment and passing depression are made to appear not only undesirable but abnormal....The new Society flourishes on the belief that human technology can remake man as effortlessly as a computerized assembly line...offering its techniques as the hope for a scientific Utopia. (Gross's emphasis)

Our children are being inexorably molded into the amoral citizens of humanism's fantasied Utopia. Paul warned that "evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse" (2 Tm 3:13). We are seeing that prophecy fulfilled before our eyes. Today's children face a world far more evil and occultic than their parents could even have imagined a few years ago. Be warned!

In spite of all the protests parents may voice, the change agents are determined and will continue to press their agenda under the guise of "health education" or even "history" or "literature." Parents need to 1) have family devotions daily and teach their children to know Christ personally and be fully committed to Him; 2) see that their children are believers in and followers of the Lord out of genuine choice and not due to parental or church pressure to conform; 3) see that their children's honest questions are answered and that they know what they believe and why on the basis of God's Word; 4) know fully what they are being taught at school (public or Christian), arm them to stand against what is wrong, and, if necessary (particularly in the case of very young children), remove them from classes or programs calculated to undermine their faith and morals; 5) carefully supervise friendships, activities and other influences upon their lives which can be as deadly as public school influences; 6) pray earnestly to God for wisdom; 7) love their children fervently; 8) be ready at all times with godly counsel, patiently and lovingly shared.

Christian schools once seemed the answer, but they are increasingly infiltrated with psychological/occultic techniques. Depending upon circumstances, home schooling may be the only hope––but even that all too quickly comes to an end. The day inevitably arrives when the teenager must enter university or trade school in order to qualify for many professions and positions. Eventually everyone must step out into the world to be exposed to the enemy's raw tactics. Christian employment or attendance at a Christian university is not always possible––and even there the influence of psychology and immorality is often rampant.

At Jerry Falwell's Liberty University, for example, Psych 200 is required of all students. The course text has been Introduction to Psychologyby Atkinson, Atkinson, Smith and Hilgard. That book boasts that psychology has been able to redefine morals for society, even changing what was once viewed as perversion to normal. It treats humans as highly evolved animals, promotes situation ethics and neither acknowledges God nor sin. It exalts self and legitimizes sodomy. A student writes, "I have completed the entire General Psychology course [with] grade of A (I add this to show that I closely listened to and studied the material presented) and never heard the professor even once, to my recollection, correct the false, devilish, unbiblical claims of the textbook."

The situation is virtually the same at other Christian colleges. Even seminaries, and not just the liberal ones such as Fuller, but those with conservative reputations such as Talbot (now thoroughly integrated, like Biola, with Rosemead Graduate School of Psychology), promote the false gospel of psychology.

Sound doctrine is the only anchor for our faith and that of our families. Unfortunately, sound doctrine is increasingly neglected in favor of clever sermonettes and entertaining programs that appeal to the flesh. While many evangelicals still oppose evils such as homosexuality, abortion and pornography in secular society, few are willing to stand against error inside the church. Yet without sound doctrine, everything eventually is corrupted.

Lacking a firm doctrinal foundation, the church is being seduced into conformity with the world in subtle ways that inevitably lead to ever more serious compromise and error. Weep for your children, indeed––and take prayerful, decisive, biblical steps to rescue them from both this present evil world and from apostate "Christianity"!

"Feeding Sheep or Amusing Goats?" By Charles H. Spurgeon

An evil resides in the professed camp of the Lord so gross in its imprudence that the most shortsighted can hardly fail to notice it. During the past few years it has developed at an abnormal rate evil for evil. It has worked like leaven until the whole lump ferments. The devil has seldom done a more clever thing than hinting to the Church that part of their mission is to provide entertainment for the people, with a view to winning them. From speaking out as the Puritans did, the Church has gradually toned down her testimony, then winked at and excused the frivolities of the day. Then she tolerated them in her borders. Now she has adopted them under the plea of reaching the masses.

My first contention is that providing amusement for the people is nowhere spoken of in the Scriptures as a function of the Church. If it is a Christian work why did not Christ speak of it? 'Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.' That is clear enough. So it would have been if He has added, 'and provide amusement for those who do not relish the gospel' No such words, however, are to be found. It did not seem to occur to Him. Then again, 'He gave some apostles, some prophets, some pastors and teachers, for the work of the ministry.' Where do entertainers come in? The Holy Spirit is silent concerning them. Were the prophets persecuted because they amused the people or because they refused? The concert has no martyr roll.

Again, providing amusement is in direct antagonism to the teaching and life of Christ and all His apostles. What was the attitude of the Church to the world? 'Ye are the salt,' not sugar candy—something the world will spit out, not swallow. Short and sharp was the utterance, 'Let the dead bury their dead.' He was in awful earnestness!

Had Christ introduced more of the bright and pleasant elements into His mission, He would have been more popular when they went back, because of the searching nature of His teaching. I do not hear Him say, 'Run after these people, Peter, and tell them we will have a different style of service tomorrow, something short and attractive with little preaching. We will have a pleasant evening for the people. Tell them they will be sure to enjoy it. Be quick, Peter, we must get the people somehow!' Jesus pitied sinners, sighed and wept over them, but never sought to amuse them. In vain will the Epistles be searched to find any trace of the gospel amusement. Their message is, 'Come out, keep out, keep clean out!' Anything approaching fooling is conspicuous by its absence. They had boundless confidence in the gospel and employed no other weapon.

After Peter and John were locked up for preaching, the Church had a prayer meeting, but they did not pray, 'Lord grant Thy servants that by a wise and discriminating use of innocent recreation we may show these people how happy we are.' If they ceased not for preaching Christ, they had not time for arranging entertainments. Scattered by persecution, they went everywhere preaching the gospel. They 'turned the world upside down.' That is the difference! Lord, clear the Church of all the rot and rubbish the devil has imposed on her and bring us back to apostolic methods.

Lastly, the mission of amusement fails to affect the end desired. It works havoc among young converts. Let the careless and scoffers, who thank God because the Church met them halfway, speak and testify. Let the heavy-laden who found peace through the concert not keep silent! Let the drunkard to whom the dramatic entertainment has been God's link in the chain of their conversion, stand up! There are none to answer. The mission of amusement produces no converts. The need of the hour for today's ministry is believing scholarship joined with earnest spirituality, the one springing from the other as fruit from the root. The need is biblical doctrine, so understood and felt, that it sets men on fire.

"Feeding Sheep or Amusing Goats?" By Charles H. Spurgeon

eta: this wonderful video by Paul Washer (with Portuguese subtitles) speaking on the subject:

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Christian preacher arrested for saying homosexuality is a sin

A Christian street preacher was arrested and locked in a cell for telling a passer-by that homosexuality is a sin in the eyes of God.

By Heidi Blake

1:05PM BST 02 May 2010

Dale McAlpine was charged with causing “harassment, alarm or distress” after a homosexual police community support officer (PCSO) overheard him reciting a number of “sins” referred to in the Bible, including blasphemy, drunkenness and same sex relationships.

The 42-year-old Baptist, who has preached Christianity in Workington, Cumbria for years, said he did not mention homosexuality while delivering a sermon from the top of a stepladder, but admitted telling a passing shopper that he believed it went against the word of God.

Police officers are alleging that he made the remark in a voice loud enough to be overheard by others and have charged him with using abusive or insulting language, contrary to the Public Order Act.

Mr McAlpine, who was taken to the police station in the back of a marked van and locked in a cell for seven hours on April 20, said the incident was among the worst experiences of his life.

“I felt deeply shocked and humiliated that I had been arrested in my own town and treated like a common criminal in front of people I know," he said.

(source)

Jesus: Scientifically Proven to Be The Messiah

Dr. [Peter] Stoner studied the Bible and looked at the 300 general prophecies concerning the First Coming of Jesus Christ. There are 108 specific prophecies about Jesus' First Coming. He wondered what the possibility could be that all of those prophecies could be fulfilled in the life of one man. He began his calculations with just eight. Instead of us figuring the probability of the whole 108, he took merely eight.

These are the eight he used:

1. The Messiah will be born in the town of Bethlehem (Micah 5:2).
2. A messenger will prepare the way for the Messiah (Malachi 3:1).
3. The Messiah will enter Jerusalem as a King riding on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9).
4. The Messiah will be betrayed by a friend and suffer wounds in His hands (Zechariah 13:6). (I for one think that is a two-for-one deal there, but he counts it as one.)
5. The Messiah will be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12).
6. The betrayal money will be used to purchase a potter's field (Zechariah 11:13).
7. The Messiah will remain silent while He is afflicted (Isaiah 53:7).
8. The Messiah will die by having His hands and feet pierced (Psalm 22:16).

Dr. Stoner figured the probability of there being maybe 88 billion people who ever lived from Jesus' time up until now. After computing all of the calculations, he calculated that the probability of Jesus of Nazareth — one man — fulfilling just eight of the 108 prophecies is "1 in 10 to the 17th power." That number means "1 in 100 quadrillion." Statistically impossible! And yet, Jesus fulfilled not just those eight but all 108 prophecies. Peter Stoner demonstrated that mathematically Jesus proves 100% that the Bible is true and accurate, especially when it concerns His prophetic Word.

Excerpt from: http://www.lamblion.us/2012/05/advancing-gospel-through-social-media_18.html