When a Satanist Goes to Hell and Back
Will Carroll, the drummer for the black metal band, Death Angel, recently contracted Covid-19. Carroll’s condition was so critical that he was placed in a medically-induced coma for almost two weeks. Doctors are still amazed that he survived. But, even more significantly, according to news reports: While in the coma, Carroll said he had dreams of visiting the afterlife. He saw himself leave his body and plummet down to hell, where Satan—a woman in his case—punished him for the deadly sin of sloth, morphing him into a Jabba the Hutt-like-monster who vomited blood until he had a heart attack. “I…
Despite What Mainstream Media Says, a Christian Prime Minister Is a Cause for Hope, Not Fear
FROM the moment Pentecostal church-going Scott Morrison became Prime Minister his Christian faith has been the subject of hot debate. Commentators on the ABC’s The Drum wondered if Morrison might try to turn Australia into a theocracy, forcing everybody to memorize the Bible and speak in tongues. Twitter lit up with people worried that Australia’s most famous church, Hillsong, might suddenly control the whole country, swamping the nation with positivity and catchy tunes. That the church Scott Morrison and his family attend is not part of Hillsong was completely missed on social media where the comfort of opinion is rarely,…
It’s Hell for Everyone When Politicians Play Theologians
A STRANGE thing happened at the last Federal election. Labor politicians demanded to know whether or not the PM believed gays would go to hell. Israel Folau, a deeply religious and outspoken footballer, had posted on Instagram that homosexuals (among others) would go to hell unless they repented. Labor wanted to know if our deeply religious Prime Minister agreed. But Labor did not go far enough. It is all very well for the political class to establish that gays are safe from eternal damnation, but what about the rest of us? We, too, need our political leaders to provide assurances…
Answering Cancel Culture with Unconquerable Joy
In a brief five minute video posted to Desiring God’s YouTube channel, John Piper rips apart the cultural control of ‘cancel culture’. The small segment was taken from a talk given in January called ‘Serious Joy, Cultural Conflict, & Christian Humility: Thoughts on Christian Education.’ Piper’s argument is one of the best I’ve heard so far from Christian leaders – Voddie Baucham’s lengthy, but poignant takedown of ‘Cultural Marxism’ being the only exception (as has been discussed by Caldron Pool’s Editor Ben Davis, here). Like Baucham, Piper turns the light on where few seem willing to do so. Leaning on…
Tech Giants Begin the Crackdown on Unapproved Sermons as Churches Are Forced Online
With coronavirus restrictions forcing the closure of church gatherings worldwide, and authorities threatening to punish those who continue to attend public worship, the Christian church has become more dependent on the internet than ever. Churches are now employing popular social media and video sharing platforms to conduct their services and broadcast their sermons. But how will the tech giants and social media outlets respond, especially considering their tendency to censor unapproved messages? Well, it would appear straight-up banning churches isn’t off the table for some platforms, as a church in Moscow, Idaho discovered last week. On Friday, Google suspended Christ…
Australia’s Media Elites Need to Stop Acting Like Pharisees
The recent High Court decision which unanimously (7-0) upheld the appeal of George Pell against the Victorian Court of Appeal’s decision proves—once-and-for-all-time—that the Catholic Cardinal is innocent. But that hasn’t stopped sections of the media from continuing to reaffirm Pell’s guilt. Without doubt, the most shocking example came from Clementine Ford, whose tweet would almost certainly result in a defamation lawsuit if it were anyone else but a twenty-first century, Roman Catholic Cardinal: George Pell is a child abuser, a sexual predator and a life ruiner (sic). Apart from the children he personally harmed, he oversaw the harm of countless…
That’s Not What Makes One a Christian, Magda
Instead of conforming her worldview to the revealed Word of God, Magda Szubanski is deeply upset Christianity isn’t conformed to her worldview. She seems more than a little frustrated the Vatican empathised with those who suffer from unjust sentences, the Pope comparing their suffering to the popular persecution of Jesus with “obstinacy and rage even though He was innocent.” Such language vividly describes the vendetta prosecuted by the ABC, Victorian legal system and irrational masses baying for Cardinal George Pell’s blood. I’ve downloaded the form to formally defect from the Catholic Church. I am seriously thinking of sending it. Is that what…
Despite Fear and Powerlessness Good Friday Remains Good News
Like you, I’m wrestling with the COVID-19 changes imposed upon us. We’re adapting, steady, and we’re focused. We’re still homeschooling. We’re still reading the news in one hand, and reading the Bible with the other. We’re engaged, determined not to let the bad news sneak past us, or our prayers. We’re also determined not to let the barrage of repetitive, useless speculative analysis paralyze us. In 1939, Karl Barth, who had long since been exiled by the Nazis for refusing to sign the Hitler Oath, and for opposing the deification of the State, wrote, The Church prefers to suffer persecution…
Poll: Almost half of Americans believe the coronavirus is a “wake-up call” from God
Almost half of Americans believe the coronavirus pandemic is a “wake-up call” from God, according to a new national survey. The poll, which was commissioned by the Joshua Fund, an Israel-based evangelical organisation, asked “likely” American voters a series of questions including: “Do you see the global coronavirus pandemic and economic meltdown” as “signs of coming judgement” and/or “a wake-up call for us to turn back to faith in God?” According to the results of the survey, over 43% of respondents believe the virus is either a wake-up call from God and/or a sign of coming judgment. More than 25%…
Thinking Through Holding Church Amidst a Pandemic
Through the past two weeks, Christians throughout the West have had to wrestle with the problem of how to conduct the Lord’s Day Service—whether it should be held, or whether it should be postponed, or whether it ought to be even relocated online. Considering the rising rate at which the Coronavirus, also referred to as COVID-19, is being spread, Christians must, rightly, ask as to how they can apply best practice in dealing with the virus, and how to avoid the local church being a den of malaise. Should the church shutter its doors like certain businesses, sports, and other…
UN Religion Expert wants Christians to submit to LGBTQ and abortion activists
Ahmed Shaheed, lecturer and volunteer adviser to the U.N., is advocating that religions conform to an eventual universal, “progressive” law. In his latest report for the U.N, the religious freedom advocate provides an argument for a blueprint, which will outlaw any theological critique or practice, unless it has first been approved, or established by LGBTQAAI+ activists, radical feminists and academics who advocate from a Leftist worldview. Steve Warren from CBN news rightly noted that recent ‘Report of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief’ (available as a Word Document here), makes no distinction between who and what religion…
Pandemic Panic: Where is God in our Current Crisis?
We are living in a different world to the one we were in a week ago. In December 2019, a pneumonia outbreak was detected in the city of Wuhan, China. It was soon traced to a new strain of coronavirus—but not before infected travellers had crossed international borders in every direction. A few months on and the virus has spread to over 160 countries and resulted in over 7,000 deaths. While something like 98% of people who contract COVID-19 recover, the elderly and those with chronic health problems are most at risk. Governments the world over are deeply concerned that…
How Early Christians Saved Countless Lives During Famine and Plague
“In this awful adversity they alone [the Christian] gave practical proof of their sympathy and humanity. All day long some of them tended to the dying and to their burial, countless numbers with no one to care for them.”
WATCH: UK Police warn, preaching the Bible is a criminal offence if someone deems it offensive
Police in the UK have warned a Christian street preacher that it’s now a criminal offence to preach the Bible in public if someone deems it offensive. Joshua Sutcliffe was preaching at Oxford Circus in London when he was approached by an officer of the Metropolitan Police force. The officer had been called in after a member of the public reported Mr Sutcliffe for saying something they did not agree with. “Just had a call that someone was offended by something you’ve said,” the officer explained. “I’m not going to stop you from doing what you do, but if there’s…
Why Christians Clash With the Current Culture
It’s becoming more obvious with each passing year, and just about everyone in the West will agree: to be a Christian means to walk out of step with mainstream culture. It’s such a fixed feature of modern life that Christians have adapted a variety of solutions to this dilemma. Some believers relish the opportunity to cause unnecessary trouble. Others run scared—and in doing so, they compromise their stand for Jesus. Both extremes do damage to the cause of Christ. So how can we walk the middle road? The answer to this begins with properly understanding our calling as Christians. Why…
Trump: “In America, we don’t punish prayer, we don’t tear down crosses, we don’t muzzle preachers”
U.S. President Donald Trump addressed the 68th annual National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday, where he reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to protecting and preserving religious freedoms. After welcoming foreign dignitaries from more than 140 countries, the President said: “Everyone here today is united by a shared conviction. We know that our nation is stronger, our future is brighter, and our joy is greater when we turn to God and ask him to shed his grace on our lives.” “In everything we do, we are creating a culture that protects freedom, and that includes religious freedom,” the President went on to say.…
John Rhys-Davies: “Christian Civilisation Made the World a Better Place… We Owe Christianity the Greatest Debt of Thanks”
“Christian civilisation has made the world a better place than it ever was.”
Agnostic Historian Says, Roman Sexual Slavery Was Overturned by Christians
Agnostic historian and author Tom Holland has said Christians radically changed the way people treated sex and slavery in the classical world. During an exchange on The Big Conversation, Holland explained that Paul’s idea of lifelong matrimony, as an image of the marriage of Christ and the church, set in train a radical reconfiguring of the way that people came to think about sex and marriage. “I think, by and large, pretty much everyone now takes those assumptions for granted and we can see that,” Holland said. “In the 60s, in particular, there was this kind of sense that Christian…
Was Jesus a Refugee?
It’s become quite fashionable with the advent of social media for rank amateur theologians to posture as experts on Christian living, doctrine and to even claim confidence of what the historical Jesus Christ would support or oppose. Ironically many personally reject any authority or validity of Scripture in their personal lives – it’s just something they pretend has authority when they ignorantly assume it supports their position. The most common example is easily people who quote the first two words of Matthew 7, “Judge not”, without reading the rest of that very chapter or Gospels or Bible which teaches Christians…
The gift you need this Christmas
Who wants ‘ten lords a-leaping’ or ‘six geese a-laying’ for Christmas! Would your ‘true love’ remain your true love for giving such bizarre gifts? Has a loved one ever given you a gift that you didn’t like? Ever have to ask, “What do I want with that?” At Christmas, a gift was given. But many people today wonder what they are supposed to do with it. The gift was the birth of the Saviour, Jesus Christ. If we read the Gospel of Luke (a biography of Jesus), we would see that on the night Jesus was born in Bethlehem there…