Apologetic / Counter Cult Ministry

[kwikphilly]

Blessings John

     I'm really happy to see the Thread split so we can discuss "cults".....can we talk about the "New Age" which is probably one of the older groups,lol     I'm thinking of the UFO people and I think(could be wrong?)this"belief system"originated with the New Agers & now it seems it has really taken hold of many many Christians,I hear more & more about it........they've either forgotten or never understood demonic possession & oppression and are buying into the "walk-in" theories     Maybe UFology has nothing to do with new age,I'm not sure?   But when groups of people become "fixed" or obsessed with an idea I believe that is how a "cult" is born......

    Is this for another Thread or appropriate here? I surely hope not to start an alien/nephilim de-railing,that is not my intention at all......I only want to suggest one little group of "enthusiasts" that are straying far from the Word of God and how "cults" spreading rapidly,subtly & insidiously.....

Quote

Ephesians 6:12King James Version (KJV)

¹² For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

                                                                                                                                  With love-in Christ,Kwik

[TheMatrixHasU71]

On ‎18‎/‎03‎/‎2017 at 2:31 AM, JohnD said:

It's the assault from friendlies (fellow believers) that wore me down.

I know how that feels

[TheMatrixHasU71]

On ‎18‎/‎03‎/‎2017 at 3:03 AM, JohnD said:

Mary had it pretty rough. But the Church glosses over it, puts her in stained glass windows with a Lillian Gish expression on her face.

What gets me is how the Church can dare make statues of Mary as Queen of Heaven while making Jesus as just a baby in her arms rather than treating Him as He is, her King, not her baby boy. Utter blasphemy. Another thing that goes back to the pagan mother-child mystery religions.

[JohnD]

Amen.

[Limey_Bob]

On 3/18/2017 at 6:03 AM, JohnD said:

 

Explain to people the Trinity and they go off into their half baked examples.

 

 

I no longer attend any institutional organisation, based within a building. I do fellowship, but now only with people whom I trust and respect, which is very few. Sadly, here in the UK, three doctrines have driven me out of the Church (I will not go into the additional endless immorality), the trinity, the person and work of Christ and salvation by grace through faith alone. 

(1) Few evangelicals are genuine trinitarians, they'll use the word, but their definition of the trinity here in the UK is almost always non-trinitarian, such as modalism (i.e. Jesus is God the Father)!

(2) Not understanding the Trinity, they often have seriously mistaken views about the person and work of Christ. I've heard that Christ only has one single spirit, which is the logos, so not being fully human he therefore cannot save us! I've also heard all sorts of things about the work of Christ, such as that he has different gospels and that he saves people in different ways at different times etc.

(3) Whilst many evangelicals here in my part of the UK will agree that salvation is by grace through faith alone, this is only empty rhetoric, as in practice anything often goes, as so many evangelicals where I live have added compulsory tithing to the gospel, as a legal commandment (from the old covenant) which new covenant Christians are commanded to observe. Oh and also just like the Roman Catholics, many evangelicals here in the south-west of the UK, don't have a clue about the distinctions between Justification and Sanctification and so they mix them up, as in Lordship salvation.

It's sad, but here in the UK, evangelicalism is destroying itself. Bible teachers who don't know the Trinity, Christ and Gospel are just about as useful as a bucket with a large hole in the bottom of the pale .... it's useless and good for absolutely nothing.

Edited April 5, 2017 by Limey_Bob

[JohnD]

On 4/5/2017 at 7:38 AM, Limey_Bob said:

I no longer attend any institutional organisation, based within a building. I do fellowship, but now only with people whom I trust and respect, which is very few. Sadly, here in the UK, three doctrines have driven me out of the Church (I will not go into the additional endless immorality), the trinity, the person and work of Christ and salvation by grace through faith alone. 

(1) Few evangelicals are genuine trinitarians, they'll use the word, but their definition of the trinity here in the UK is almost always non-trinitarian, such as modalism (i.e. Jesus is God the Father)!

(2) Not understanding the Trinity, they often have seriously mistaken views about the person and work of Christ. I've heard that Christ only has one single spirit, which is the logos, so not being fully human he therefore cannot save us! I've also heard all sorts of things about the work of Christ, such as that he has different gospels and that he saves people in different ways at different times etc.

(3) Whilst many evangelicals here in my part of the UK will agree that salvation is by grace through faith alone, this is only empty rhetoric, as in practice anything often goes, as so many evangelicals where I live have added compulsory tithing to the gospel, as a legal commandment (from the old covenant) which new covenant Christians are commanded to observe. Oh and also just like the Roman Catholics, many evangelicals here in the south-west of the UK, don't have a clue about the distinctions between Justification and Sanctification and so they mix them up, as in Lordship salvation.

It's sad, but here in the UK, evangelicalism is destroying itself. Bible teachers who don't know the Trinity, Christ and Gospel are just about as useful as a bucket with a large hole in the bottom of the pale .... it's useless and good for absolutely nothing.

It's gratifying to know there are people who actually read the Bible! And who take God at his word.

[Limey_Bob]

5 hours ago, JohnD said:

It's gratifying to know there are people who actually read the Bible! And who take God at his word.

Thank you for your kind words, might I add that I do try to fellowship when I can, it's just that the institutional church has become a business and as such they really don't care about yo as a person, it's the institution the business of church that matter, it's so sad.

[TheMatrixHasU71]

On ‎05‎/‎04‎/‎2017 at 9:38 AM, Limey_Bob said:

I no longer attend any institutional organisation, based within a building. I do fellowship, but now only with people whom I trust and respect, which is very few. Sadly, here in the UK, three doctrines have driven me out of the Church (I will not go into the additional endless immorality), the trinity, the person and work of Christ and salvation by grace through faith alone. 

(1) Few evangelicals are genuine trinitarians, they'll use the word, but their definition of the trinity here in the UK is almost always non-trinitarian, such as modalism (i.e. Jesus is God the Father)!

(2) Not understanding the Trinity, they often have seriously mistaken views about the person and work of Christ. I've heard that Christ only has one single spirit, which is the logos, so not being fully human he therefore cannot save us! I've also heard all sorts of things about the work of Christ, such as that he has different gospels and that he saves people in different ways at different times etc.

(3) Whilst many evangelicals here in my part of the UK will agree that salvation is by grace through faith alone, this is only empty rhetoric, as in practice anything often goes, as so many evangelicals where I live have added compulsory tithing to the gospel, as a legal commandment (from the old covenant) which new covenant Christians are commanded to observe. Oh and also just like the Roman Catholics, many evangelicals here in the south-west of the UK, don't have a clue about the distinctions between Justification and Sanctification and so they mix them up, as in Lordship salvation.

It's sad, but here in the UK, evangelicalism is destroying itself. Bible teachers who don't know the Trinity, Christ and Gospel are just about as useful as a bucket with a large hole in the bottom of the pale .... it's useless and good for absolutely nothing.

Then shout the truth from the rooftops brother. Don't shy away. Don't ignore going to church either because your churches need people like you to teach people the truth and to help others stand strong in the faith in the face of the Islamic onslaught that is going on over there.

[JohnD]

On 3/20/2017 at 4:19 AM, kwikphilly said:

Blessings John

     I'm really happy to see the Thread split so we can discuss "cults".....can we talk about the "New Age" which is probably one of the older groups,lol     I'm thinking of the UFO people and I think(could be wrong?)this"belief system"originated with the New Agers & now it seems it has really taken hold of many many Christians,I hear more & more about it........they've either forgotten or never understood demonic possession & oppression and are buying into the "walk-in" theories     Maybe UFology has nothing to do with new age,I'm not sure?   But when groups of people become "fixed" or obsessed with an idea I believe that is how a "cult" is born......

    Is this for another Thread or appropriate here? I surely hope not to start an alien/nephilim de-railing,that is not my intention at all......I only want to suggest one little group of "enthusiasts" that are straying far from the Word of God and how "cults" spreading rapidly,subtly & insidiously.....

                                                                                                                                  With love-in Christ,Kwik

Blessings to you, dear Sister.

There are extraterrestrials. God is "not of this world." Jesus said as much about himself. The angels are of the spirit realm and therefore are not of this world.

But unless I miss my guess, that's about the extent of the population of the universe and the spirit realm. I am an odd duck in that I love listening to the old age of the universe / earth scientists try and try to make scientific their blindly held belief system. "We can't see it or detect it by any means... but we KNOW dark matter is out there!"

ROFLL

The graphics and artistry fascinate me. I'll tune in a SCI channel or science documentary any day or time. But I dis agree with 99% of the malarkey they try to pawn off on a mostly unsuspecting public. I studied my Bible and did a lot of study at the Institute for Creation Research (both online at at their former Santee, California location). So I know what to listen for.

This is all FYI... you can split it if you want as I am sure there are some who buy into macro-evolution or some combination of God and evolution system and will no doubt try to defend it.

Anyway...

Scientists are working on several super telescopes that will gather light at much higher resolution than Hubble. Long story. But true. They have already found exoplanets (I believe 200+ to date) but most are gas giants and in close proximity to their star / sun. Some rocky planets have recently been discovered (I believe 5 - 7 in one star system). But when they start looking for the similarities in these exo-earths they find many irregularities (all of which would preclude the possibility of life). Too far from or too close to their sun... there is a "green zone" / habitable orbit / Goldie Locks belt where life could remotely exist. Many have more than one sun (upsetting the fine balance needed for life). Nearly all (that I've heard of) have incorrect orbits (extremely long elliptical orbits rather than the round ones we have here). Ours is the result of eight planets in "paired" orbits... bringing the elliptical into a circular. And the seven other planets in our star system (along with dwarf planets etc) help absorb cosmic debris (asteroids, meteors, comets) by taking the hits themselves. Jupiter's gravity field alone sucks up most of the debris. 

On and on and on... establishing the extreme rarity (and I would say impossibility*) of life in the universe.

* An atheist buster argument is applying the 1st and 2nd LAWS of thermodynamics to the question "How'd it all get here?" Which starts the argument of infinite regression. When you get to grandmommy and granddaddy hydrogen atoms you stop and redirect the atheist buster question:

If the Laws (not theories like evolution, but Laws) of thermodynamics state that nothing in the universe is eternal (2nd Law) and from nothing nothing comes (1st Law), How'd it all get here?

Now most will just cop out and say "evolution is not about biogenesis..."

Don't let 'em off the hook. Tell 'em what a cop out that is. The very quest of evolution is how everything allegedly got here without a Creator God.

Tell 'em the science proves there is a Creator God who is greater than the Law of physics and is capable of creating something from nothing and on a scale the size of the universe... because otherwise (according to science) nothing should be here. Not the universe, you, me, nothing.

I have yet to see one cave in at this point (never underestimate the resolve of the human mind despite any facts to the contrary). But their little belief system will never be as secure to their way of thinking as it once was when they were oblivious to the scientific facts.

So rather than falling for the argument "You mean in the vastness of the universe you don't believe there is life on other planets?" It presumes evolution happened here so why not there? But evolution didn't even happen here. We had to have a Creator God make "here" in the first place and then put us here.

Why do so many toe the line with atheism and evolution? Bullying mainly. If anyone dare question evolution or atheism they come down on them with all the hell they can muster. Another reason is people do not want to believe in a higher power so they can do what they jolly well want and not feel guilty or beholden to a higher power. Some evolutionists have admitted they are followers of it because it deters their pernicious sexual perversion the least.

If only we Christians had the artistic geniuses in film and graphics that the atheists do... 99.99% of images you see from them are "artist's concepts." And rarely do they point that fact out.     

[JohnD]