What is "Essential" Doctrine?

Given my history with and around Independent Baptist (IB), this article posed an interesting question. As any IB Survivor knows, "essential" doctrine is anything your pastor says is essential. How many IB churches have "KJV Only" written into their church doctrinal statements? (Answer: too many.) How many IB churches insist that "doctrinal purity" demands they separate from other Christian brothers and sisters who hold to a strict biblical theology yet do not support many of the lifestyle standards (i.e. legalism) demanded by IB churches? (Answer: too many.)

Writer Paul Lamey offers some insight into what is considered "essential" doctrine. Lamey quotes Mark Dever's simple test:

A Fourfold Test for Doctrine

1. How clear is it in Scripture?
2. How clear do others think it is in Scripture? (Especially those that you respect as teachers of God’s word).
3. How near is it to the Gospel? (Or how near are its implications to the gospel itself?).
4. What would the affects be doctrinally and practically if we allowed disagreement in this area?

To read the expanded article, click here.

del.icio.us Tags: Theology

Ten Reasons Why the Republicans are Toast in ‘08

In a recent post, Dan Burrell states, "a couple of years ago, when I was still a Pastor, I took a large step back from political activism and I’m more convinced today that doing so was a wise decision than I’ve ever been. That doesn’t mean I’m not still interested or don’t have opinions. It does mean that with a limited number of days in one’s life, I don’t think spending a significant portion of them on politics is a wise choice considering the needs of this life and the things that will still matter in 1,000 years."

I couldn't agree more. Far too many Christians place their hope for a restored American in a political candidate...usually a Republican candidate.

If you are interested in Dan's top ten list and why he believes Hillary Rodham-Clinton will be our next president, here's the post.

del.icio.us Tags: Hillary , Republicans , Dan Burrell , Politics

Bush: "All Gods are the Same"

del.icio.us Tags: Religion , Islam , Secularism , Diversity

Christian media is reporting on President Bush's recent assertion that all gods are the same. While it is unfortunate that the president would express this belief, bible-believing Christians should not be shocked; I believe many so-called Christians hold a universal view of God and religion (all religions are essentially the same and every living person is saved by one method or another).

Here's the quote:

"Well, first of all, I believe in an Almighty God, and I believe that all the world, whether they be Muslim, Christian, or any other religion, prays to the same God. That's what I believe. I believe that Islam is a great religion that preaches peace. And I believe people who murder the innocent to achieve political objectives aren't religious people, whether they be a Christian who does that – we had a person blow up our – blow up a federal building in Oklahoma City who professed to be a Christian, but that's not a Christian act to kill innocent people.

"And I just simply don't subscribe to the idea that murdering innocent men, women and children – particularly Muslim men, women and children in the Middle East – is an act of somebody who is a religious person.

In his efforts to be politically correct, Bush makes a mockery of both Christians and Americans. Ask a Muslim to agree with Bush's statement that their god, Allah, is the same god all other religions worship.

The teachings of Mohammed may be summarized in five doctrines:

(1) Allah is the one true God. (2) Allah has sent many prophets, including Moses and Jesus, but Mohammed is the last and greatest of all. (3) The Koran is the supreme religious book, taking priority over the Law, the Psalms, and the Injil (Evangel) of Jesus. (4) There are many intermediate beings (angels) between God and us, some of whom are good and others are evil. (5) Each man’s deeds will be weighed on a balance to determine if he will go to heaven or hell in the resurrection. The way to gain salvation includes reciting the Shahadah several times a day (“There is no God but Allah; and Mohammed is his prophet.”), prayer five times a day, a month of fasting each year, almsgiving, and a pilgrimage to Mecca. [Norman L. Geisler and Ronald M. Brooks, When Skeptics Ask (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1990), 130.]

Will a Muslim who repeats several times a day "There is no God but Allah; and Mohammed is his prophet" agree with President Bush's theology?

Unfortunately, while Muslims would violently disagree with Bush's theology, many Christians would not. In an era when theological absolutes make many Americans uncomfortable, it is far easier to agree that all religions are essentially the same. Again, this only plays into the Islamic worldview that Americans are weak, double-minded fools.

Is Allah the God of the Bible? Robert Morey observes that "there is a general consensus among Islamic scholars that Allah was a pagan deity before Islam developed. He was only one god among a pantheon of 360 gods worshipped by the Arabs. Even if he was at times viewed as a 'high god', this does not mean he was the one true God." [Morey, Robert A., Winning the War Against Radical Islam (Orange, CA: Christian Scholars Press, 2002), 13.]

He then cites several sources to support this statement:

“The name Allah, as the Qur˒an itself is witness, was well known in pre-Islamic Arabia. Indeed, both it and its feminine form, Allat, are found not infrequently among the theophorous names in inscriptions from North Africa.” [Arthur Jeffrey, ed., Islam: Muhammad and His Religion, (New York: The Liberal Arts Press, 1958), p. 85.]

“Allah is a proper name, applicable only to their [the Arabs’] peculiar God.” [Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, 1:326.]

“Allah is a pre-Islamic name…” [Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, 1:117.]

“Allah is found…in Arabic inscriptions prior to Islam.” [Encyclopedia Britannica, 1:643.]

“The Arabs, before the time of Muhammad, accepted and worshipped, after a fashion, a supreme god called Allah.” [Encyclopedia of Islam, eds. Houtsma, Arnold, Basset, Hartman (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1913), 1:302.]

“Allah was known to the pre-Islamic Arabs; he was one of the Meccan deities.” [Encyclopedia of Islam, ed. Gibb, 1:406.]

“Ilah…appears in pre-Islamic poetry.… By frequency of usage, al-ilah was contracted to allah, frequently attested to in pre-Islamic poetry.” [Encyclopedia of Islam, eds. Lewis, Menage, Pellat, Schacht (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1971), 11:1093.]

“The name Allah goes back before Muhammed.” [The Facts on File: Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend, ed. Anthony Mercatante (New York, The Facts on File, 1983), 1:41.]

From a Christian perspective, the first question one should ask is "what does the Bible say about this issue?"

Exodus 20:5  "You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me."

Exodus 34:14 "(for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God),"

Deut. 4:24 "For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God."

Deut. 6:15 "for the Lord your God in your midst is a jealous God, lest the anger of the Lord your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth."

The God of the Bible  is in no way associated with the Allah, or any other god of this world. On this, both Muslims and Christians would agree. Yet, this is the message secularists would like us believe. A core belief in their worldview is diversity and their mantra is "we are all the same; we are all different; and truth is in the eye of the beholder."

The Apostle Paul summarized the heart of man so eloquently:

²¹ For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²²Claiming to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

²⁴ Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, ²⁵because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.  [Romans 1:21-25]

Welcome to America.

FIAT EMPIRE - Why the Federal Reserve Violates the U.S. Constitution

del.icio.us Tags: The Perfect Financial Storm , fed , national debt , economy

I watched this video via Google Video. It is an excellent historical look at the creation of the Federal Reserve. Much of the material is based on G. Edward Griffin's book, The Creature from Jekyll Island. The film is approximately one hour long, and worth watching.

Here's the promo clip for the film:

Find out why some feel the Federal Reserve's practices are a violation of the U.S. Constitution and others feel it's simply "a bunch of organized crooks." Discover why experts agree the Fed is a banking cartel that benefits mainly bankers and their corporate clients as well as a Congress that would rather increase the National Debt to $9 trillion than raise taxes. Find out how the corporate media facilitates the partnership between the Fed and Congress and why it fails to disclose what's going on. Lastly, find out how the Federal Reserve Member Banks are owned and controlled by an elite group of insiders

This Telly Award-winning documentary features presidential candidate RON PAUL (R-Texas) and is inspired by The Creature from Jekyll Isalnd a book by well-known author and FREEDOM FORCE founder, G. Edward Griffin.

Also featured is Dr. Edwin Vieira, Ph.D., J.D. from Harvard (a foremost authority on the Constitution and the author of Pieces of Eight) who discusses the Fed and various long-term studies which indicate that the Federal Reserve System encourages war, destabilizes the economy, generates inflation (a hidden tax) and is the supreme instrument of unjust enrichment for a select group of insiders. Dr. Theodore Baehr (founder of MOVIEGUIDE^®) rounds out the show by discussing the relationship between the Media, the Fed and the Government and why you never see these issues discussed on network TV or in the mainstream media.

Coming Economic Crisis?

One of the issues on my radar is a potential coming economic crisis that some are referring to as "The Perfect Storm." For the past year I have been an avid listener of Jim Pulplava's weekly web cast, "Financial Sense Newshour." You can add the podcast and download more than three hours of news and financial information each week.

There is just far too much information available on Pulplava's web site to even provide a summary of his beliefs. The best option is to begin reading for yourself. Not only will you find his web site very informative, but also quite interesting.

I suggest you begin with a series of articles he has written under the heading of "The Perfect Financial Storm? Financial Storms Heading Towards the U.S. Economy."

 

The issues that lead financial advisors to suggest the U.S. economy is heading into turbulent times include:

1. Federal Reserve's failure to allow the natural ebb and flow of the economy to occur, thus creating asset bubbles like the recent housing bubble.
2. The Fed's monetary policy that is leading to a continual devaluing of the U.S. Dollar and the concern that too much U.S. debt is in the hands of countries not friendly toward the U.S. (e.g. China, Russia, etc.). Just this past week, for example, NBC News reported on the strength of the Canadian Dollar, which is a sign of the U.S. Dollar's weakness.
3. The threat of peak oil, that the world will enter into a real oil crisis as the demands from developing countries like China continue to grow exponentially while the production of oil is declining. This is coupled with the strong environmentalist movement within the U.S. that prohibits the exploration for new sources of oil.
4. The growing debt crisis within the U.S., both the federal debt and consumer debt. Again, this is compounded by the reality we owe countries like China our future.

Pulplava's co-host for "The Financial Sense Newshour" is John Loeffler. I first started to enjoy Loeffler's perspective as an avid listener of Chuck Missler's ministry, Koinonia House. Loeffler is the host of a weekly web cast called "Steel on Steel." He has defined a crisis "target window" of 2009 - 2012 as the period of greatest threat. He believes that it is during this three year period we will see these issues begin to metastasize.

For his part, Chuck Missler has also released a new briefing pack he is calling "The Vortex Strategy." As the promo clip states:

Compiled from public and private sources, Dr. Chuck Missler, an internationally known business executive, outlines our current economic predicament and defensive steps you can take to lessen the impact of the impending economic crisis.

I've listened to "The Vortex Strategy" and I'll post a review of it at a later date.

My Perspective on "The Perfect Storm" Scenario: as I listen to the various parties mentioned above talk about "The Perfect Storm" and draw conclusions, there is much that makes sense. I admit up front that I am a new student of economics, but I find it fascinating. With that said, I also am a student of history, and history and economics make an interesting combination. Like history, no one can predict what will happen in the economy tomorrow, next week or two years from now. Like history, however, we can learn from our past and make value judgments by observing historic trends.

Clearly, or so it seems, we are due for an economic correction of historic proportions. The last major correction in the economy occurred in the late 1970s until 1981. As Pulplava points out, it was Fed Chairman Paul Volcker who prescribed the harsh medicine that allowed the economy to cleanse itself and brought an end to the period of "stagflation" that marked the 1970s and early 1980s.

Since 1983, we have watched the economy grow, and grow, and grow with only a few minor corrections (i.e. recessions) in 1987, 1991, and 2001. We have also watched two historic asset bubbles expand and explode during this same period of time: the tech stock bubble of the late 1990s and the housing bubble from 2002 to 2006.

Moreover, the recent rate adjustment (September 2007) by the Fed was in response to the current crisis in the mortgage sub prime market and fears that this crisis could spill over to affect the whole economy.

Yet, in spite of all the indicators, I have to question whether this is a real crisis of historic proportions or another hiccup in an overall upward trend? I can't help but remember the doom and gloom forecast by the late Larry Burkett in his 1991 book, The Coming Economic Earthquake. Using what seemed to be credible data at the time, Burkett predicated an economic earthquake that would destroy the U.S. economy (and all of us along with it). The cause, in 1991, was the mounting federal debt.

As the 1990s rolled on, the next "coming crisis" that promised to bring absolute destruction to America was Y2K. Authors like Michael Hyatt sold many books first identifying the crisis and then helping us understand what we must do to survive the crisis. Again, the indicators were very credible. Major corporations were spending millions of dollars to correct the problem. Personally, I knew of several IT people who were assigned to various Y2K projects over the course of a three year period. While the Y2K advocates were publishing their books, selling "survival kits" and doing constant radio interviews, there were few voices of caution. One such man was Steve Hewitt, publisher of Christian Computing Magazine. In the end, the Y2K bug didn't live up to expectations. To this day, I do not know if it was a serious crisis that was avoided due to the hard work of many nameless men and women or if it was truly a hoax.

I bring up these two examples because as I read and research "The Perfect Storm" scenario, I find myself questioning if this is not the same hyperbole that fanned the flames of those two crisis. Clearly, I am not capable of providing an answer to that question today, but it will certainly interest me to watch this scenario unfold over the next three to four years.

del.icio.us Tags: economy "The Perfect Financial Storm"

 

Getting Started Blogging

Starting to blog on a regular basis has been on my "To Do" list for a long time. In fact, my first attempt at blogging started during the summer of 2004. Presidential politics were on my mind, and I can remember blogging about the race between George W. Bush and John Kerry.

While I consider myself a writer, finding my "blogging voice" has been difficult. Journaling is very natural, but there is a perfectionist bug in my system that prohibits me from diving in to blogging with the same passion I have for blogging. So, dear readers, please endure me for a few entries as I get started. At the same time, I hope my early trials prove to be an encouragement to other would be bloggers who can't seem to find their voice. Here's to perseverance.

del.icio.us Tags: blogging writing

Here's a handy tip from Morris Proctor:

Bible Pronunciation Website
A while back I discovered a free Bible
pronunciation website. It has been a while since I’ve listed it in the
newsletter and several have e-mailed asking for it so here it is:
You can click here to jump there
Here is the address:http://netministries.org/bbasics/bbwords.htm