Middle-Class Christianity vs Christianity
A lot of what is called Christian morality today is not necessarily Christian, but more accurately described as Middle-Class Christianity. It is the Christianity influenced by the Victorian era politeness and the rather quiet indoor working spaces of many Christians, who tend heavily towards the middle class. Here are examples of the difference: Middle-Class Christianity: Don’t be harsh and use mean words to those who come to you, especially if they are in need. Christianity: Jesus said to the Syrophoenician woman: You don’t give the children’s food to the dogs (Matt 15:21-28, Mark 7:24-30). Middle-Class Christianity: It is wrong to even insult those…
Kanye West’s ‘Sunday Service’ event filmed for the first time
If you’re following the news about Kanye West’s conversion to Christianity, you’ve likely heard something about the crusade-style, musical events he’s currently holding across the U.S. The gatherings, known as the Sunday Service, have attracted thousands of attendees, and have sparked the interest and curiosity of many on the outside who aren’t sure whether they’re an evangelistic outreach, a music concert, or a church service. Some of the events entirely consist of singing songs of praise, others have included the preaching of ministers such as Adam Tyson, senior pastor of Placerita Bible Church. Speaking with Jeff Durbin of Apologia Studios,…
Western civilisation has moved from Christianity through science-based rationalism to paganism
We typically think of our western culture as being secular. Western civilisation was not born out of secular (non-religious) concepts. Great Britain was a Christian nation when it colonised a large part of the world and Christian concepts formed the basis of its government, education and laws. America similarly had a Christian worldview underlying its formation. The Mayflower Compact was the first document written by the early western settlers of America when they landed at Plymouth Colony. In it the Pilgrims write (emphasis mine): Having undertaken, for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith, and honor of…
Kanye West spreads the Gospel after ‘radical salvation’, West’s pastor says: ‘God is at work’
Pastor Adam Tyson, the senior pastor of Placerita Bible Church, made headlines recently after preaching at a number of Kanye West’s Sunday Service events. Tyson had previously worked as a Physician’s Assistant at the Cardiovascular Thoracic Surgery, in Savannah, Georgia, for about three or four years before entering fulltime ministry. He recalls sitting in his office as a P.A. thinking, “Man, what am I doing? I might be helping people live longer, but they’re just going to sin more. I want to help people live forever, where they never sin again.” Tyson, a young graduate of The Master’s Seminary, now…
WATCH: Man hugs his brother’s killer in court: “I forgive you… I love you… Give your life to Christ’
On September 6, 2018, Amber Guyger, an off-duty parole officer, entered her apartment complex in Dallas and saw, what she thought, was her apartment door partially open. When Guyger entered the apartment she found a man inside who she believed to be an intruder. She fired her gun at the man, killing him. But Guyger was not in her apartment. She had entered the apartment of Botham Jean, a 26-year-old accountant, which was situated directly above her own. This week Guyger was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 10 years in prison. In an astonishing display of grace, forgiveness…
MP under police investigation for quoting the Bible on social media
A Finnish politician is under police investigation after posting a Bible verse on her Facebook page. In June 2019, Christian Democratic MP Päivi Räsänen shared a section from Paul’s letter to the Romans along with criticism of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland over their decision to endorse Helsinki LGBT Pride 2019 event. Finnish Police launched the investigation against Ms Räsänen on suspected incitement against sexual and gender minorities. It has also been reported that authorities have additionally charged Ms Räsänen with “agitation against an ethnic group.” In an interview with Faith Wire, Ms Räsänen said, “Already the fact that…
The Stark Contrast Between Joshua Harris and Alice Cooper
American author and Pastor, Greg Laurie’s interview with Alice Cooper is an insightful look into Christian life outside a cloistered Christian culture. The interview was uploaded to YouTube on the 18th of August. Cooper calls himself a prodigal son and gives some background on his life, including his abuse of cocaine, alcoholism, his 43-year-old marriage, the Church and his return to Christ. Though unrelated, the interview presents a stark contrast between Alice Cooper and bestselling ‘Christian’ author, Joshua Harris. I related to it because I came to Christ through the broken, dark alleys of life. I found home through darkened lyrics,…
Iranian official admits mass conversions from Islam to Christianity are “happening right before our eyes”
Iran’s Minister of Intelligence has warned a gathering of Shia Muslim leaders that mass conversions to Christianity are taking place right across the country. According to Article 18, a nonprofit organisation that advocates religious freedom in Iran, Mahmoud Alavi told the Shia clerics who had gathered in Qom that mass conversions are “happening right before our eyes.” Alavi went on to admit that he had summoned converts to Christianity for questioning, in violation of Article 23 of Iran’s constitution, which states that “no-one may be molested or taken to task simply for holding a certain belief.” “Some [of the converts]…
Oprah Winfrey admits neglecting church has had a terrible impact on the nation
Television personality Oprah Winfrey is not someone anyone should look to for spiritual guidance, however, when recently asked why she thinks mass murders are occurring in the US, her response was quite unexpected. During an interview with Extra host Renee Bargh, Winfrey admitted that people no longer have the moral foundation they used to find at church. “I think what people are missing is a core moral center,” Winfrey explained. “Churches used to do that. It was the central place you could come to and there was a core center of values about a way of living and of being…
Two Brands of Christianity?
An article in the Spectator Australia by Terry Barnes applauded Scott Morrison’s squishy love Gospel and harpooned Israel Folau’s fierce “fire and brimstone” Gospel. It juxtaposed the two Pentecostals as altogether different brands of Christianity: one of unforgiveness and damnation, the other of forgiveness and love. Naturally, having carefully crafted such a context for comment, Terry praised Morrison’s interesting as it is an ambiguous exhortation, “Wherever you are, be who God made you.” Barnes inferred from this a divine endorsement on the entire list of Scripturally prohibited behaviours which Folau quoted, contrasting the “heartless” footballer’s meme and the Prime Minister’s positivity.…
Christianity Is the Only Reliable Force Restraining Those Who Seek Absolute Power
In his book The Rage Against God, Peter Hitchens claims the current intellectual assault on God in the West is not necessarily a war on all religion, but a specific and targeted attack on Christianity, the true religion. This is highlighted by the fact that the Left is currently hostile towards Christianity while sympathetic with Islam. This is because Christianity is the religion of their homeland, Hitchens explains. Furthermore, Christianity is the form in which they have encountered the power of God in their own lives—and generally disliked and resented. To the Left, Islam is an exotic, distant creed which…
The Good News You Are Rarely, If Ever, Told
There is an aspect of the gospel that you don’t hear about very often anymore. If you speak to any Christian they will tell you that the gospel is good news, indeed Gospel means good news. Many Christians will be able to tell you what the good news contains – that it is the message that God has saved sinners. Paul tells us this very clearly in 1 Corinthians 15 for example. Romans 10 also expresses a similar thought, as do many other passages. The good news that people recognize is that Jesus died on the cross, paid the penalty…
The Horrors of History Bear Witness, Not to the Cruelty of Christendom, but the Cruelty of Humanity When They Deviate From Christianity
Opponents of Christianity often appeal to the horrors of history to suggest the Christian faith is inherently dangerous and immoral. Examples are presented of prominent “Christian” figures throughout the past who’ve acted unjustly towards others, as though their actions were inspired by an overly zealous commitment to biblical instruction. Today, there’s an expectation that Christians ought to be ashamed of their history, and even apologetic for the sins of yesterday’s professing believers. But that shouldn’t be the case. Christianity doesn’t need to apologise for injustices orchestrated by professing Christians, because every injustice ever committed is carried out contrary to Christianity.…
Jordan Peterson’s emotional interview with Dennis Prager: If we can’t understand the shadow of creation, we fail to appreciate its light
Dennis Prager’s interview with Jordan Peterson from March this year has its cringe-worthy moments. All in all, though, it’s worth hearing. As you know I’m cautious about Peterson. I’d like to hear him be more direct about how faith informs his theological statements. More often than anything else, Peterson focuses on the humanity of Christ and comes across as a curious spectator. He sees that there’s more to Jesus Christ, but is bound by the conventions of thought inherited through a revisionist system that is at best, begrudgingly tolerant of Biblical Christianity (Judeo-Christianity) and is at its worst, completely hateful…
Christianity is a hoax if Jesus did not rise from the dead
The historian, Philip Schaff, is often cited regarding the resurrection of Christ: ‘Truly, Jesus Christ, the Christ of the Gospels, the Christ of history, the crucified and risen Christ, the divine-human Christ, is the most real, the most certain, the most blessed of all facts. And this fact is an ever-present and growing power which pervades the church and conquers the world, and is its own best evidence, as the sun shining in the heavens. This fact is the only solution to the terrible mystery of sin and death, the only inspiration to a holy life of love to God…
Hell Makes No Sense to a Society That Thinks the Only Sin Is Condemning Sin
“The difficulty that the modern man has in accepting the idea of hell is that we’ve almost entirely given up on the notion of sin.”
Church leaders need to stop apologizing for Israel Folau and begin to show some backbone
Church leaders need to stop apologizing and step up in support of Biblical Christianity. It’s disappointing to watch key leaders betray theology, in a pacifistic appeal to the Left, for fear of being excluded by them from the table of discussion. Appeasement never works. It didn’t work against the onslaught of fascism in the 1930s or during the Cold War, it won’t work now. As Winston Churchill once said, ‘it would be wrong not to lay the lessons of the past before the future; noting that appeasement encouraged the aggression of the Dictators and emboldened their power amongst their own…
Is there more to existence than just the physical world? Fascinating video looks at the spiritual realm and its impacts on earth.
We live in a society that often pretends there’s nothing more to reality than the physical stuff we’re made of. Apart from the fact that this notion can’t be rationally sustained, we hardly ever practically live it out in the real world. For instance, we all get angry when people do “evil” or “unjust” things. But what are these concepts in a purely material universe bound by the fixed laws of chemistry? Concepts such as “evil” and “injustice” cannot exist. They can’t exist because what happens in a purely material world, can only ever be the result of purely material…
Panahi: “Christianity is the most persecuted religion in the world. Sadly, many of its leaders are too weak to acknowledge the threat posed by Islamist extremism”
Sky News’ Rita Panahi has drawn attention to the harrowing plight of Christians who continue to suffer at the hands of Islamist forces in the Middle East and Africa. “It’s been called ethnic cleansing,” Panahi said. “But religious genocide would be more accurate.” “The plight of Christians in parts of Africa is harrowing, with regular reports of violence in Nigeria, Eritrea, the Congo, Central African Republic, Sudan, Kenya, Somalia, Egypt, Libya, and a number of other countries.” “Where is the pope, one wonders, as thousands of his followers are driven out of their homes, abused or killed for merely observing…
A Message to Brian Houston: The World Doesn’t Need More Watered-Down Christians
This week Brian Houston, founder of Hillsong, penned an open letter to Israel Folau criticising the rugby star’s “judgmental” approach to sharing the gospel on social media. Brian then sent the letter to the Sydney Morning Herald who published it under the title: A message to Folau: The world doesn’t need more judgmental Christians. The piece divided opinions, and many, including some of Brian’s own supporters, expressed disappointment in his decision to distance himself from Folau. But that’s not the most concerning aspect of Brian’s letter. Brian doesn’t just take issue with Folau’s approach, he quickly turns his attention to…