Random Bits

"I walk through this sinful world as a 

pilgrim in a foreign country" - CH Spurgeon

I think the best part of the Christmas holiday season for me is the fact that I can listen to beautiful complex choir music nonstop without raising an eyebrow. Music has always been a part of my life; piano lessons, singing in the folk mass (when I was a good Catholic lad), singing in school choir, barbershop quartets and barbershop chorus. I never got good at piano, too much of an engineer and not enough of an artist I guess, but singing! Even though that part of my life is over you can't imagine the joy I know now that I'm in a church that sings those beautiful old hymns that only people like Randy Travis or Alan Jackson record. But classical choral music was my first love, I had some wonderful choir instructors in the past and when I took music history in college a few years ago studying the evolution of choral music was a semester I'll never forget. So every Christmas holiday you'll see me on the drive home in my car, singing out Handel's oratorios and belting out the Bach. It seems like every year I get hooked on one piece and listen to it as often as possible because even a carol that's been recorded in every manner like "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" suddenly becomes a thing of utter beauty when performed by a talented, well conducted choir like the College of St. Peters College of Oxford University. This years favorite of mine is at the very end of this blog post, performed by the Choir of King's College, Oxford. It's a macaronic carol meaning that there's more than one language involved. Oh well, back to the real world...

WWUTT Wednesday - False Teachers Teaching Falsehoods

I had completely forgotten about about the annual false teacher of the year "award". I usually think about it for weeks and research for days looking for the one false teacher that epitomizes the falsehoods of the year. But recent health issues and work issues have really taken their toll on my time to blog, and even to read blogs. It completely slipped my mind.

Yet Monday morning I woke up knowing that this was the day that the world knew that Rick Joyner was the false teacher of the year. No, I did not hear a still small voice whispering in my ear as perennial false teacher Rick Warren advises us to listen for. I think I knew a year ago that Rick Joyner was going to be the winner of the obscure but sadly fitting title of False Teacher of the Year when he falsely claimed that God picked the Carolina Panthers would win Super Bowl 50. Proverbs 30:5-6 came crashing down on his head less than a month later. 

Is it just me, am I growing more aware? or is the number of false teachers among us growing? or are the false teachers among us growing more vocal? Sadly I believe the answer is "Yes" to all three questions. But what shocks me more than anything else are self styled "prophets" and "apostles" who spout utter bunk and people believe their claims that these are "extrabiblical revelations". Just the name alone tells us it's not in the bible, therefor it's clearly not from God. 

False Teacher of the Year 2016

It's that time of year, the time of caring and giving. As the nights grow longer and the days grow colder we retreat indoors to the warmth I pray you all are taking the opportunity to fend off the wrath of satan by studying the word of God. I am in two studies this year, John and Hebrews, and what a delight! I've always loved John, but this is my first study of Hebrews and I wish I had studied this a long time ago.

One of the greatest (read: most effective) tools Satan has is to drive a wedge between us and God through ignorance of God's word, His commands, His desires. And doing this is a very simple task, simply present a false version of God's word in a manner that is more palatable to the unaware than the true word of God. Some folks are very good at it. Tops in 2013 was John Shore, leader of the Not All There Like That "Christians", in 2014 it was Steven McSwain a self-professed "Christian Atheist", a title that he enjoys, and last year it was Mark Sandlin, a "pastor" in the "Christian" Left who believes that social justice takes presidence uber alles. 

Again I wanted to nominate Gretta Vosper, but prayerful reflection again eliminates her from the running. I can't consider her because of 1 Corinthians 5:12, where God tells us not to judge those outside the church. Gretta is an atheist therefore she's outside of the Church, even though she's conducting her self help seminars inside a church building - but that building became a tomb years ago, and her acolytes mere animated corpses shuffling off to hell.

This year's winner will come as no surprise to anyone, his efforts to stand front and center as the New Apostolic Reformation's False Teacher of choice are impressive and has achieved the "Second Peter Principle" to earn this recognition:

18 For speaking out arrogant words of vanity they entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error, 19 promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved. 20 For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. 21 For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them. (2 Peter 2:18-21) 

Random Bits

"I walk through this sinful world as a 

pilgrim in a foreign country" - CH Spurgeon

It's that time of the year again! I get to listen to classical choral music and not get a lot of weird stares from the public in general. One of my favorites is L'adieu des bergers from L'enfance du Christ a French oratorio by Hector Berlioz. An oratorio is basicly an opera without the funny costumes and prancing around the stage. The performers can concentrate on the music and not have to worry about the big woman in the viking helmet tripping over the guys dressed like low income pirates and pretending to quaft ale. You all know at least one oratorio: Handel's Messiah is the worlds most famous oratorio, and it's just as good even if you can't sing.

The Pastix who got pregnant out of wedlock won't step down from the pulpit. She considers 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4, 7-8 to be "antiquated language", and clearly ignores 1 Timothy 2:11-14, 1 Timothy 3:1–13 and Titus 1:6–9. One can only wonder in horror what she thinks of the rest of God's word.

Speaking of 'pastors' acting badly, two words:
Clayton Jennings

As I mentioned on Monday, things at the Calvary Chapel have really taken a turn for the worse since the passing of Chuck Smith. This week the Calvary Chapel Association (those that remain true to Chuck's vision) has washed their hands of Brian and Cheryl Brodersen, CC Costa Mesa, and the CC “Global Network”

Spurgeon Thursday - Is The Pope The Antichrist?

During Spurgeon's lifetime there were three popes, Gregory XVI, Pius IX, and Leo XIII. Pius IX was the last absolute theocratic monarch of the papal states, an area of Italy that was ruled by the popes for over one thousand years. Like the Byzantine Empire and World War I, the Papal States is one of those fascinating bits of world history that are ignored in American schools for some unknown reason. 

Spurgeon really didn't like the popes and everything the popes stood for. I'm sure that the popes being theocratic monarchs of a sizeable chunk of european real estate that covered a good portion of Italy and even a chunk of France (Avignon ) didn't help much either. 

The political climate of Europe at the time was tumultuous, one could safely say that there was a state of warfare in europe from the start of the French revolution (1789) until the end of WWII. In 1848 Pope Pius IX actually fled Rome in disguise (some said in a woman's dress) and requested political asylum in England while the Italian Army reclaimed Rome and the Papal states. He returned to Rome in 1850. The Italian government made peaceful overtures to Pius IX but Pius responded with anger and insults. I'm sure none of that escaped Spurgeon's notice.