Welcome w0lf17!

A very warm welcome to my friend w0lf17. Wolf and I are in an alliance together on Travian.

Japanese Game Show

Need a laugh? Watch a Japanese game show. Here is a great game show called Marshmallow Maniacs. The Japanese have a great sense of humor!

Improve Your Morning Routine

Want to get out the door quicker? Need time for breakfast? Learn how to get up, eat breakfast, and get ready for work in 5 minutes!

Romance at Its Best

The recent hit by Eric Church, Love Your Love the Most, is without a doubt one of the most romantic songs of all time. If ever a song could get a man out of the doghouse it is this song. Any woman who does not simply melt upon hearing these lyrics is beyond heartless. This song is a rare glimps into the soul.


Sidenote: Eric Church grew up about 20 minutes from my house!

Exiled Preacher: An interview with Stuart Burgess

Here is an interesting interview on creationism with a Christian scientist (i.e. a scientist who is a Christian, not a follower of Scientology, although most interviews with followers of Scientology are quite interesting ; ) ).

Exiled Preacher: An interview with Stuart Burgess

Guess what I found today? Installment 6

After returning from a brief trip to the bathroom, I noticed a mostly empty container of chocolate pudding sitting on the kitchen table. Then I found two small children with chocolate pudding masks. Apparently, my three year old daughter thought it would be fun to wear pudding. My two year old son was completely covered. All I could see was a big grin through the mess. It was a job too good for him to have done alone. We have always encouraged creativity and my daughter is very artistic. No doubt she saw this as a masterpiece. This is the same daughter who has cut pretty pictures in the tablecloth, her shirt, the cat's hair, and her hair. Also the same daughter who puts random toys in the refrigerator and wants a bellybutton on her forehead. She is going to be a "pineapple tree" when she grows up. I suppose even creativity needs limits. I jokingly said that she will not likely be a doctor; personally, I think she will make a great philosopher. All great philosophers have a love for illogic and the absurd.

LCMS vs ELCA

I spent many hours (months, if truth be told) trying to figure out the main differences between the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA). Here are some of the differences between the LCMS and the ELCA.

Distribution of Communion practices (open/closed) - ELCA has Open Communion meaning that anyone present may partake of the Sacrament, LCMS has Closed Communion meaning that only those who have undergone proper instruction may partake of the Sacrament to ensure that a person does not receive the Eucharist in error or to the person's damnation

Ecumenical Worship - ELCA supports, LCMS does not

Infallibility of Scripture - ELCA says yes insofar as the message is concerned but not necessarily in every respect, LCMS says yes Scripture is completely infallible in absolutely every way
An example might be Jesus walking on water; the ELCA would say maybe He actually walked on water, maybe He didn't, the LCMS would say yes Jesus actually walked on water.

How to read theology - a guide for the perplexed

Here are some good guidelines for reading and understanding Theology.

The Blogging Parson: How to read theology - a guide for the perplexed

My Personal Addictions

I am very addicted to Travian. Currently, I am on Server 7.

I am also addicted to Tower Defense (TD) games. Here are some of my favorites:

Mushroom Farm Defender
Flash Element
Simple Tower Defense III
The Horde
Mushroom Revolution

Conversation Between My Daughters

I overheard a conversation between my daughters (ages 5 and 3) that made me very proud. I think my oldest may turn out to be a theologian. She tells her sister Bible stories and has helped us to teach her sister the Lord's Prayer.


3 yr old daughter: ...yeah, they put Joseph in a hole in the ground because they didn't like him.

5 yr old daughter: Sissy, they put him in a dry well because they were jealous of him.

3 yr old daughter: why is our belly button not on our forehead? *giggles*


I don't think my 3 year old will be a doctor.

Apology of the Faith

Okay, so with that last post I've just become a bad guy to a lot of people. I'm not trying to make anyone mad. We are far too quiet when it comes to defending the gospel. I just want to point out the truth because I care. I want everyone to be closer with Christ.



*In the world of Theology the word apology means "defense."

Charles Grandison Finney

Charles Finney (1792-1875) has successfully misshaped Christianity more than any other person in history. While many call Finney a great Theologian, I call him an antichrist. He has led a tremendous number of people away from the true Word of God.

With no theological training whatsoever, Finney began to teach people what he believed about God--not what scripture teaches. His theology (Arminian Theology) is based in heightened emotions and morality and, in turn, conversions. His entire ideology is centered in these things. Finney's theology takes away the need of Christ. Perfection, he says, is what God commands and perfection is attainable as a result from true conversion.

Finney's ideas about conversion are clearly anti-scriptural. He invented "Decision Theology" which has confused innumerable people. Decision Theology states that we are saved because we choose to be saved, not because of Christ's death and resurrection. Finney as much as says this about Christ, "[Christ] could do no more than justify himself. It can never be imputed to us ... it was naturally impossible, then, for him to obey in our behalf..." This goes against the entire meaning of the Bible. The very heart or backbone of Christianity (Kerygma; please see post entitled "Kerygmatic Statement") states that Christ died for us, to save us from sin and death (John 3:16, and many, many more versus from scripture). To contradict scripture in this way is to contradict Christianity as a whole. Thus, Charles Finney is an antichrist.

Why anyone would follow a person who says such things is puzzling. Yet many do, including the enormous Baptist church with all of its followers. Many independent churches, and peitists fall in this category as well.

---

"Wake up, O sleeper,

rise from the [spiritually] dead,

and Christ will shine upon you." (Eph 5:14)

---

A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing: How Charles Finney's Theology Ravaged the Evangelical Movement

+

The Disturbing Legacy of Charles Finney

Favorite Huxtable Child

My favorite Huxtable child is either Theo or Denise. It's a toss-up.

Guess what I found today? Installment 5

This morning I found the favorite stuffed animal (Ducky) of my youngest daughter in the refrigerator. Image what she does to her stuffed animals that are not her favorites! When I asked her why Ducky was in the fridge, she very casually replied, "Because I was wanted to keep him cold. He likes to be cold."

Guess what I found today? Installment 4

Today my youngest daughter found a sippy-cup under my bed. I believe it once had milk in it. What was in it upon finding it was something altogether different (Yuck!).

Anti-Arminian

This blog has taken on a strong anti-Arminian flavor. This was not my original intent. I will make no apologies for this, however. It does not displease me. In our search for Truth, we must reject all that opposes and hinders Truth. Arminianism has distorted the truth more than any other Theology has ever done.

Who will answer the altar call?

Most of us have heard of altar calls. You may have even participated in an altar call. But what exactly does one answer? What exactly is an altar call?

Wikipedia says this:

"An altar call is a practice in some evangelical churches in which those who wish to make a new spiritual commitment to Jesus Christ are invited to come forward publicly. It is so named because the supplicants gather at the altar located at the front of the church.
Most altar calls occur at the end of an evangelical address. The invitation may be referred to as an "altar call" even if there is no actual altar present. Many preachers make use of the altar call, notably Billy Graham, Benny Hinn, Franklin Graham, Reinhardt Bonnke, and so on. Those that come forward will usually be asked to recite a sinner's prayer, thereby making a confession of their new faith. They may also be offered literature or counselling and other assistance in their new faith.
It is sometimes said that those who come forth are going to receive Jesus Christ as their Savior. This is a ritual in which the supplicant makes a prayer asking for his sins to be forgiven, and pledges his devotion to Jesus.
Altar calls may also invite Christians to come forward for specific purposes other than conversion; for example to rededicate their lives after a lapse, to request publicly to be baptized, or to receive a particular blessing (such as gifts of the Holy Spirit) or if they are called to certain tasks such as missionary work...."

Sounds good...at least at first glance.

The altar call was unheard of until a man named Charles Finney (August 29, 1792 - August 16, 1875), as a part of his "new measures," taught its practice.

Finney believed that a person gained salvation through deciding to accept Christ. This too was unheard of--mainly because it is anti-scriptural (See post entitled "Decision Theology"). So the altar call was instated for people to publicly become Christians.

In order to get people to "answer" the altar call and come before the church, strong emotions were invoked. Once a person entered a heightened state of emotion he or she would be motivated to come forth to decide to accept Christ and therefore be saved (i.e. gain salvation).

At what point is the person saved? Is it upon approaching the front of the church? Is it upon praying at the front of the church? Is it upon receiving a blessing from the pastor? The answer of course is none of those things.

Heightened emotions and spiritual change are very different things. Once the emotions are gone the person, at worst, may experience no spiritual change whatsoever, or at best, has no understanding at all of how Christ has saved us--without our help at all. It is the work of the Holy Spirit.


Sandy Fiedler* has put it this way, "The emphasis in the church had been placed on the preaching of the Word because the Calvinistic ministers had confidence that the Word would do its work. They preached with prayer and intelligence — expository, systematic, exegetical, doctrinal, structural, applicatory, practical, evangelistic, persuasive sermons — not a rambling about financial prosperity and end times like we sometimes hear today, neither of which deals with the centrality of Christianity. They drove home to the congregations that the power and riches of the Word of God could not be exhausted in a thousand lifetimes.
The new measures went hand in hand with a shift in theology — from Calvinism to Arminianism that took the process of conversion from the sovereign hand of God and put it into the hands of the preachers and respondents. In the old way, it was left to God to move and look upon the hidden heart and for Him to judge. In the new way [Finney's Arminian Theology], for the first time in church history, winning souls was seen as man’s work and he needed an outward sign to judge the results.
The old way held the process of conversion in great awe and reverence. It meant more than getting a ticket to heaven. It involved a total moral transformation of man’s nature from death to life, holy living, purposing entirely to glorify God. The new way, on the other hand, taught that conversion was an act of man’s mind and will. It was instant and easy, rather like deciding to make a purchase. Many who made this "decision" left the church with the attitude that "there is nothing to it." And their lives were not changed."


The altar call has confused many Christians. It is flashy and therefore has attracted many people to come to church, but has corrupted them at the same time. It teaches a false doctrine of salvation. The focus in Church should be on God, not an individual, be it the pastor or anyone else. What good is it to get people in Church only to mislead them?

Our "answer" to the altar call should be, "No, thank you. This practice is contrary to God's Word."





*I do not necessarily agree with the Theology or Ideology of Sandy Fiedler.

Dispensationalist Millennialism

The following link is a tremendous treatment of the millennialist movement. This is an increasingly important issue as so many church bodies and especially liberal theologians are endorsing it. One of the largest church bodies within Christianity is teaching this to its adherents. Millennialism is very confusing and scary. So what exactly will the "end times" be like? This study explains in very clear and unmistakable terms.

http://www.scholia.net/files/pauls/42%20The%20End%20-%20Study%20on%20End%20Times%20for%20Youth%20and%20Parents.pdf

Guess what I found today? Installment 3

Today I found a half eaten container of yogurt. The truth is the container was full. It had about a million ants in it!

Do People Become Angels Upon Death?

It's often said of a loved one that, "He has his wings now," or something to the effect of becoming an angel.

This is plainly anti-scriptural. God created man. God created the angels. The number of angels is fixed. Two-thirds of which reside in Heaven with God.

To believe that people become angels is to believe that we change species at death!

Some find it comforting to believe that we become angels. However, it is more comforting to believe that we do not become angels. Humans are God's most special creation. Nothing is more special to God than a person.