The False Teachers: Norman Vincent Peale
Peale believed we live in a world that is mental more than physical and this allows our thoughts to be determinative
Norman Vincent Peale popularized what came to be known as positive thinking. He took existing ideas from Christian Science and other inspirations, gave them a biblical veneer, integrated them with psychology, and packaged them for the masses, spreading his message through The Power of Positive Thinking and his other works. His foremost contribution to the world was... Continue Reading
The Culture of Shut Up
Too many debates about important issues degenerate into manufactured and misplaced outrage—and it's chilling free speech
I don’t want those voices to drown out the diverse and compelling voices that now have a better chance of making it in front of us than ever before—even as we still have a ways to go. And what I think we have to do, then, to protect this new wonderful thing of ‘a good... Continue Reading
Furor At Catholic High School After Nun Presents Church Teaching On Homosexuality
Parents and students outraged about remarks a nun made criticizing homosexuality, divorce, and sex outside of marriage
Dominican Sister Jane Dominic Laurel, who often speaks to high school and college-age students on matters of sexuality, gave an hour-long presentation to students at Charlotte Catholic High School on March 21 called “Masculinity and Femininity: Difference and Gift.” School officials told the Catholic News Herald she spent about half her allotted time discussing homosexuality,... Continue Reading
20 Ways to Poison the Monsters
This is an excerpt from Monstra by Chemosh. This book is used to train mid-ranked demons in the Prince’s army.
Change definitions. If you train our slaves to change the definitions of words, they can sign any confession or document, or agree with any orthodox doctrine. They know what they mean; just make sure no one else does. Have them please everyone a little bit. After all, when it comes to doctrine in evangelicalism, monsters don’t... Continue Reading
How to identify false teachers
The Bible suggests at least six characteristics that commonly identify false teachers.
False teachers characteristically downplay sin. Instead of naming the people’s “brokenness” as sin, they simply say, “nothing to see here, move along.” The false teachers tell sinners whom God will judge that they are not really that bad and that there’s no need to fear God’s judgement. They divorce God’s love and grace from His... Continue Reading
Moralism is Not the Gospel (But Many Christians Think it Is)
The basic structure of moralism comes down to this — the belief that the Gospel can be reduced to improvements in behavior.
Moralists can be categorized as both liberal and conservative. In each case, a specific set of moral concerns frames the moral expectation. As a generalization, it is often true that liberals focus on a set of moral expectations related to social ethics while conservatives tend to focus on personal ethics. The essence of moralism is... Continue Reading
You Are Planning to Do What?
When asked to applaud the sinful plans of casual acquaintances, my standard response is: “Wow. Why?”
And “Why?” Outward actions are inevitably motivated by an inward condition. Asking “why?” or “I’d love to hear how you came to this decision” gives the other person the benefit of assuming they have done some thinking. “Why?” affirms that every person has a “why”—whether they know it or not. And the answer to “why?”... Continue Reading
Jesus didn’t care about being nice or tolerant, and neither should you
‘What would Jesus do?’ I think it’s time we answer it truthfully: Jesus would flip tables and yell.
Can you imagine how some moderate, pious, ‘nice’ Christians of today would react to that spectacle in the Temple? Can you envision the proponents of the Nice Doctrine, with their wagging fingers and their passive aggressive sighs? I’m sure they’d send Jesus a patronizing email, perhaps leave a disapproving comment under the news article about... Continue Reading
Firefox fails the tolerance test
We're free but it may cost us our jobs
“He hasn’t been censured. He can still express his views.” This is the Orwellian version of ‘freedom of speech’. You are free to say what you want. You can express your views. It may cost you your job but you are still free. Just as Arbeit Macht Frei (work makes you free) was the motto... Continue Reading
Why Evangelicalism is So Misunderstood by Rachel Held Evans and the Religious Left
But lately, too many evangelicals forsake the importance of historic Christian teaching for fashionable trends.
We must ask ourselves which is more important, fidelity to historic Christian teaching or temporary cultural and political popularity? It’s time to clear up the confusion and grasp fully what values and theology our evangelical identity means. Out of curiosity, I wanted to learn how other evangelical women in my community characterize “evangelical.” ... Continue Reading