Apostates, Heretics, & False Doctrines II

Apostasy/Heresy Central: "Jesus Was Spoken Into Existence"

What amazes me is the sheer volumes of individuals who can't identify false doctrine. For a babe in Christ I certainly understand this dilemma and am here to hopefully encourage your spiritual growth and add a dimension of discernment to your spiritual walk. The problem is that we are seeing more and more of  individuals who have supposedly been around church, attending bible studies, listening to the preached message for years and who still yet don't know how to identify false doctrine or either just don't care. 

False Teachers And Heretical Teaching

In the following video, I don't know which to be more incensed by; the preacher spouting off what is clearly false doctrine, or the people that are sitting, cheering, praising and seemingly eating up every word? In my opinion, both are in a desperate situation.

Dr. Mark Chironna, who seems to be an open repository of false and non-biblical claims, has done it once again. Listen for yourself as Dr. Chironna claims that Jesus was "spoken into existence" when God said "let there be light" in Genesis 1:11. This is truly unbelievable from anyone calling themselves a Christian. I mean I would expect to hear something like this from a Jehovah's Witness or even a Mormon, but certainly not a Christian. Which makes me wonder, does Mark Chironna claim to be a Christian minister?

(Click the read more tab for the video)

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Clergy Sexual SINS Pt. 2

As Continued From Pt. 1

Often individuals can become desensitized to clergy sexual abuse and the real costs associated with sexual misconduct in general. These cases are often only considered in terms of monetary value and not the real human value and equity that is lost as a result of these incidents. Because things can be covered and "out of sight" is sometimes "out of mind" individuals can get a sense that there are no problems and that everything will simply just work out.

COGIC...Just In Case

The most easy thing to do is believe that incidents like this are confined to the Catholic Church. Quite the contrary is true. The COGIC has experienced sexual abuse and clergy sexual misconduct at what I consider to be an alarming rate over the last 20 years as documented Reportcogicabuse.com. This issue was addressed in the 2009 session of the General Assembly of the Church Of Gon In Christ. The official minutes record the following:

"He (Judge Enoch Perry) reported that in over 100 years, there have been 20-25 processed cases of sexual misconduct. He stated statistically the numbers are significantly small; however, there should not be one case among us. Judge perry reported there has not been one successful lawsuit against the church; cases have either been settled or dismissed. He further stated that Bishop Blake supports the church's zero tolerance policy against sexual misconduct." ~ [2009 COGIC General Assembly Minutes Pg. 2 Para. 2 parenthesis added]  

Later, Presiding Bishop Charles Blake remarks included the following:

"Presiding Bishop Blake thanked Judge Perry for his remarks regarding the church's policy in relationship to sexual misconduct. he pointed out that, on average, the church spends about $800,000 to settle legal matters many of which have to do with accusations of sexual misconduct. (Who made the comment? and that one singe lawsuit has the potential to bankrupt the church.)" ~ [2009 COGIC General Assembly Minutes Pg. 3 Para. 2 as it is in the minutes]

Now it seems to be somewhat of a disconnect. How can a settled lawsuit be unsuccessful when $800,000 on average is paid toward the settlement and legal matters regarding it? According to Perry's numbers,  this would mean that about $16,000,000 to $20,000,000 dollars (almost $200,000 per year over 100 years) have been paid out to adjudicate matters of this kind and this is only from the national church perspective. I believe these numbers don't even begin to tell the real story however, because the fact is that it has been documented that over the last 20 years there have been over 35 visible cases of clergy sexual misconduct and abuse among COGIC clergy. Some of these cases were highly publicized and ended in incarceration.

If we condense even Perry's numbers (which are more than likely understated) into the 20 to 25 year period of time in which we can document publicized cases of abuse and misconduct, that would mean that the church has paid an average of approximately $1,000,000 per year toward the adjudication of sexual misconduct cases. Remember this is $1,000,000 per year of national report and auxillary fund dollars collected and paid to defend and or settle sexual abuse, misuse, harassment, and other sexual misconduct cases.

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Clergy Sexual SINS Pt. 1

I wonder how many ministers are outraged at his?

A series of recent allegations began when a lawsuit was filed claiming that Rev. Lawrence Murphy (who died in 1998) admitted to diocese officials in the 1990s that he molested over 200 boys while working at St. John's School for the Deaf in St. Francis, Wisc., for 25 years from 1950 to 1975. This was after other allegations of sexual abuse had arisen among the priesthood in Germany where 4 Priests and 2 Nuns are said to have been responsible for the physical and sexual abuse of over 300 former students who were children at the time. In fact the Pope admits to having slapped children on occasion but claimed that such practice was common place and not considered abuse by German standards.

Aside from the horrible crimes of physical and sexual sexual abuse perpetrated by these leaders, another crime was committed when, during the 1990's,  after reviewing letters from two Wisconsin bishops rendering the priests former crimes, the administrating Bishop, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, asked for for a secret church trial and ultimately granted extreme leniency in dealing with the crimes of Murphy.

According to ABC News, the following note is said to have been the reason why then Cardinal Ratzinger granted this leniency to the criminal priest:

"I have just recently suffered another stroke which has left me in a weakened state. I have repented of any of my past transgressions, and have been living peaceably in northern Wisconsin for 24 years. I simply want to live out the time that I have left in the dignity of my priesthood."  ~ Former and the late rev. Lawrence Murphy to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. 

There was so much mercy extended that the crimes of this priest (which were revealed during a secret trial) were neither reported, handled, or addressed in any sufficient manner other than shuffling off the priest to another location and keeping quiet.

One Can't Escape The Judgement Of God

Covering crimes and serious negligence has led to the current scandal and seemingly blasphemous chorus from individuals calling for the Pope himself  to step down because of his irresponsible and untrustworthy actions.

Numbers 32:23 ~ "But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out."

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The New Enlightenment Pt. 6

The Struggle Of Balancing The Yin and The Yang

Q: Tiger, you’ve been a master of control your entire life, how did things get so out of control?

Woods: Going against your core values, losing sight of it. I quit meditating, I quit being a Buddhist, and my life changed upside down. I felt entitled, which I had never felt before. Consequently, I hurt so many people by my own reckless attitude and behavior.

~ The National Post 

from The Golf Channel

Tiger Woods has made more than a splash of late with the revelation of his multiple adulterous acts and subsequent offer of millions of dollars to his wife, Elin, to stay married instead of leave. Although many debated over whether Elin should have stayed and whether Tiger was serious, he has insistently claimed that his failure was due in part because he had left his "core values" associated with and relating to Buddhism.

Those of eclectic belief systems such as Oprah Winfrey and Eckhart Tolle which I have featured in various articles on this site, hold that all paths lead to the same God and there is really no reason to distinguish the differences between religion and religious thought. For many, all religions have valuable insights, sayings and teachings whereby humankind can be benefited and individuals seeking personal improvements can be benefited.

The More Things Change...

Unknowingly, what many espouse is a modern and revamped  form of Shamanism which is having a serious awakening within the Christian church, the educational arena, personal empowerment gurus and many religious fringe groups claiming to be Christian under the guise of spiritual coaching or spiritual guidance services. I'll do an article specifically on Shamanism and how it effects the modern Christian church in the near future, but I don't believe that there is anything more dangerous than the trend that has emerged and been given endorsement and credibility among biblically illiterate and non-discerning Christians. What we face is a total redefinition of the Christian faith whereby the word is interpreted in the light of personal experience and not on the basis of it's context and command.

The Religion Of Star Appeal

It should be of no surprise to the church that the differences between Christianity and Buddhism have never been blurred as thoroughly as it has been within this "pop" generation culture. However upon careful examination we can see a vast and distinguishable difference that cannot be reconciled.

The differences are especially revealing in some of Tiger Woods' statements pertaining to why he felt he failed and fell into adultery in his marriage. His statements show the true nature of Buddhism and why, as a religion, it is wholly incompatible with Christianity and (although this is a free country) not a belief system that a true believer in a biblical paradigm or worldview could ever encourage or endorse as being helpful to the spiritual and emotional well being of individuals.

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Presidential Executive Order On Abortion In Health Care Bill

It's the last hour. By Monday March 22nd, we may have a national health care law in place. Once such problem that has been raised is the problem of tax dollar funded abortions. In my opinion this is a sad issue as Planned parenthood already receives tax dollars in funding their abortion services. Nevertheless, courtesy of CNN, here is the Executive Order supposedly barring abortions from being a part of any public health care plan:

Executive Order

"Ensuring enforcement and implementation of abortion restrictions in the patient protection and affordable care act

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” (approved March ­­__, 2010), I hereby order as follows:

Section 1. Policy.

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Pimps Say, "Even God Needs A Lender!"

The global financial recession has had it's impact on every economy around the world. There is probably no developed country that has escaped the impact of sinking monetary values, market instability and just abysmal returns on equity. One would not readily relate an earthquake to a financial recession, but as Pat Robertson relates the Haitian earthquake to an agreement to buy freedom at almost any cost over 200 years ago, we have other "Profits" that are also offering their strange, weird and ongoing, "greasy-spoon" interpretations and revelations of what God did (which is a false assumption) and why he's doing it.  

When God Needs A Lender

In financial circles it is often said that the ability to lend and borrow is the lifeblood of businesses and the economy in general. According to Pastor Steve Munsey, (a regular on TBN) God is in the same boat and borrowing and lending is the method that God will use and has planned to jump-start the economy. 

It begins like this, as a guest on 'Creating Your World' with Profit Mark Chironna, (who is said to charge $125 per half hour for life coaching) [I wonder how much does he charge to pastor???] Pastor Munsey introduced his book that he called "7 Blessings To Passover" (just in time for Easter) which is a new revelation that Pastor Munsey personally promises will change situations in your life the day after Passover.

Real quickly all it takes is for those planning to celebrate Passover, to "believe God" on the day after Passover. In fact if you follow the directions that Pastor Munsey lays out, you can expect at least 7 supernatural blessings. The video below outlines them but I'll outline them here as follows:

1- An Angel will be dispatched on your behalf

2- God will be an enemy to your enemies

3- Spirit of prosperity present

4- Sickness taken away from you

5-Long life

6-Increase and inheritance in your life

7- Special year of blessing

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Have You Been A Victim Of CSM?

"If this was any other man, I would have known it was not right,...

But church is supposed to be a sanctuary. I couldn't make sense of what was happening.

He broke my connection to all that is holy. What hurts me the most is that this wasn't just physical rape, it was spiritual rape."

~Carolyn, survivor of Clergy Sexual Misconduct 

Clergy Sexual Misconduct

According to a 2009 study spearheaded by Baylor University more than 3 % of adult women who attend religious services at least once a month have been the victims of clergy sexual misconduct since turning age 18. Placing the numbers in perspective, it is reported that the average U.S. congregation size is about 400 adult members. This averages out that within the average congregation that there are about  7 women who have been victimized at some point in their adult lives. 92% of the solicitations or advances for sex were done in secret and 67% of the offenders (church leaders) were married. 

The Abuse Of Position & Power

"When a religious leader has a sexual relationship with a congregant, it's not an affair,...It's abuse of power-the power that we give to our religious leader as a community. It must be addressed in that context."

This unprecedented study was done under the direction of  Dr. Diana Garland, dean of Baylor University's School of Social Work, and continues to rock the religious community.

"Because many people are familiar with some of the high-profile cases of sexual misconduct, most people assume that it is just a matter of a few charismatic leaders preying on vulnerable followers...What the research tells us, however, is that clergy sexual misconduct with adults is a widespread problem in congregations of all sizes and occurs across denominations. Now that we have a better understanding of the problem, we can start looking at prevention strategies...We examined this problem to help the church take leadership in responding; the church needs to be the church,...Clergy sexual misconduct tears a church apart, and we must address it."

In effort to bring attention and solid solutions to this problem within the church Baylor University has also launched a Clergy Sexual Misconduct Awareness & Prevention Web Site. They have also introduced a sample code of ethics for congregational leaders as follows:

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Does Atheism Contribute To Alzheimers & Bad Health?

John 10:10 ~ "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have [it] more abundantly

A recent recent study has shown that having a greater purpose in life can stave off alzheimers disease. So says Dr. Patricia Boyle of Rush University Medical Ctr. in Chicago, IL March issue of the journal 'Archives of General Psychiatry'. On Chicago's WVON AM 1690's, The Santita Jackon show, Dr. Boyle reported that people with purpose live longer and healthier lives. According to ABC News the panel of Doctors and Scientists delivered the following:

"The tendency to derive meaning from life's experiences and to possess a sense of intentionality and goal directedness are associated with a substantially reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease and a less rapid rate of cognitive decline in older age,"

Researchers in Chicago measured purpose of life of 951 older people who did not have dementia over an average of four years. People who scored in the top 10 per cent on the purpose of life measure were found to be approximately 2.4 times less likely to develop Alzheimers disease than those in the bottom 10 per cent.

Greater purpose in life was associated with a 52 percent reduced risk of Alzheimers, and those with a high score on the purpose-in-life measurement were 2.4 times more likely to remain disease-free than low-scorers. There was a 30% reduction in the risk of heart attack, among them with purpose and a 1.5% increased likelihood of remaining heart attack free as compared to those who scored low on the purpose of life scores. The panel defined purpose as follows:

a "psychological tendency to derive meaning from life's experiences and to possess a sense of intentionality and goal directedness that guides behavior"

Similarly, those who developed mild cognitive impairment (MCI) were older and reported lower purpose in life scores than those who were not impaired. They also had a higher number of depressive symptoms. They found that people who agreed with statements such as, "I feel good when I think of what I have done in the past and what I hope to do in the future" and "I have a sense of direction and purpose in life" were less likely to develop the disease than those who did not agree.

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The Lie: Abstinence Education Doesn't Work.

A Budgetarily Funded Lie

As continued from "Planned Parenthood Helps Teen Birthrate Decline. What???" , part of what Planned Parenthood had to say about the President Obama's 2010 FY budget is that it doesn't go far enough in helping them to help us, but it does eliminate those dreaded ineffective abstinence only programs:

“President Obama’s budget makes clear that the government won’t waste federal dollars on programs that don’t reduce the number of teen pregnancies or keep teens healthy and safe. We applaud the president for rejecting failed abstinence-only programs that have cost our government more than $1 billion and, instead, investing in evidence-based sex ed programs that have proven to help prevent teen pregnancy,” ~ PPFA President Cecile Richards. (1)

Cut To The Heart Of The Matter

Let's define what is actually being said here. Evidence-based interventions (EBIs) is a practice in which the efficacy of interventions is demonstrated "supposedly" by a credible body of scientific work. This has proven effective in helping a child learn math, or reading, or even how to modify behavior. However, the world of evidence based psychology or science is also the backbone for evidence based sexual education strategies. Right off, one might think this is a good thing. There are significant problems however that we should be made aware of right off the bat.

Problem With This Approach

Experts agree that there are generally 4 inhibitors to this type of approach the third of which specifically deals with what I feel is a growing and glaring problem with President Obama's agenda and organizations such as Planned Parenthood's support of evidence based sexual education programs:

1.More and more educators and groups are reviewing research with the intent of establishing an evidence base for their work. Although there is some overlap in the coding criteria in use, the diversity of efforts has created challenges for consumers.

2.Integrating EBIs into practice is not always well tailored to the realities practitioners face-for example, administrative and practical barriers that are not present in research settings.

3.When designing, implementing, and evaluating their own interventions, some psychologists may be more influenced by clinical judgment than by research supporting EBIs.

4.Many psychologists-both trainers and practitioners-lack the training to implement EBIs in their school practice. Teachers are also often involved in implementing interventions in schools, further increasing the complexity of adopting EBIs and meeting training needs. (2)

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Planned Parenthood Helps Teen Birthrate Decline. What???

This video is a look back at what then Candidate Obama said at a Planned Parenthood gathering. The title of this article says it all. At about 14:40 into this speech, Planned Parenthood was accredited by this President as being one organization that has helped the teen birthrate decline...I guess this is in part by providing a significant portion of the over 1450 abortions PER DAY within the black community and nearly 50 Million abortions since Roe v.Wade in 1973.



I had to restate another favorite and unbelievable part of this speech.

"So you know where I stand. But this is more than just about standing our ground. It must be about more than just protecting the gains of the past. We're at a crossroads right now in America., and we have to move this country forward, this election is not just about playing defense, it's also about playing offense, it's not just about defending what is, it's about creating what might be in this country. That's what we've gotta work together on. There will always be people, many of good will, who do not share my view on the issue of choice. On this fundamental issue, I will not yield and Planned parenthood will not yield , but that doesn't mean that we can't find common ground. Because we know that what's at stake is more than whether or not a woman can choose an abortion, Choice is about how we lead our lives. It's about our families, our communities, it's about our daughters and whether they will have the same opportunities as our sons. There are those who want us to believe otherwise. They want us to believe that there's nothing that unites us as Americans, there's only what divides us. They'll seek out the narrowest and most divisive ground. That is the strategy to always argue small instead of looking at the big picture. They will stand in the way of any attempt to find common ground, at a time when the real war is being fought abroad, they would have us fight culture wars here at home"...~ Candidate Barack Obama 7/17/07 Planned Parenthood Action Forum

OK, if no one will yield, then what type of common ground can there be or is there? In other words, YOU will have to change from your "narrow" arguments IF you want things to be different because "we" won't change from ours.

In the speech, Candidate Obama also referenced the estimated 10,000 American teenagers get an STD everyday. 55 of which contract HIV and 2400 becoming pregnant.  He was hot that America supposedly spends 1.5 billion in schools to teach abstinence but fail to teach basic science and basic contraception. He says that it's a "false argument" to teach that the only way to prevent disease and unwanted pregnancy is abstinence education, and just as equally false to teach that the only way to prevent this is through contraception...he says it's not either or...it's both and.

This was the past. In my next post we'll discover what has recently happened and what these playa's have to say about it...and I do mean playa's..Pimpin' America for all that it's worth...unfortunately to the Chinese, it's not worth too much right about now. 

Blessed!

Update 10/11/2012

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