In an essay aptly titled A Human Approach to World Peace Dalai Lama, supposedly the current manifestation “of the Bodhisattva (Buddha) of Compassion, who chose to reincarnate to serve the people” expresses a dream which, alas, can never be. Apprising Ministries shows you what it is.

In an essay aptly titled A Human Approach to World Peace Dalai Lama, supposedly the current manifestation “of the Bodhisattva (Buddha) of Compassion, who chose to reincarnate to serve the people” expresses a dream which, alas, can never be:

We practitioners of different faiths can work together for world peace when we view different religions as essentially instruments to develop a good heart - love and respect for others, a true sense of community. The most important thing is to look at the purpose of religion and not at the details of theology or metaphysics, which can lead to mere intellectualism. I believe that all the major religions of the world can contribute to world peace and work together for the benefit of humanity if we put aside subtle metaphysical differences, which are really the internal business of each religion.
(Online source)

But the genuine Christian knows that according to the Word of our Creator in the Bible the highlighted above is the fundamental flaw in his pie-in-the-sky dream of Utopia. Those of us in Christ are well aware of just how evil the human heart is — The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9)

And not simply before conversion; no, according to the inspired Apostle Paul it’s because we’ve been literally been regenerated i.e. born again that now:

We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. 

So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. (Romans 7:14-25)

“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn ’a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law — a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household’ … Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three.” (Matthew 10:34-36; Luke 12:51-52)

In an essay aptly titled A Human Approach to World Peace Dalai Lama, supposedly the current manifestation “of the Bodhisattva (Buddha) of Compassion, who chose to reincarnate to serve the people” expresses a dream which, alas, can never be:

We practitioners of different faiths can work together for world peace when we view different religions as essentially instruments to develop a good heart - love and respect for others, a true sense of community. The most important thing is to look at the purpose of religion and not at the details of theology or metaphysics, which can lead to mere intellectualism. I believe that all the major religions of the world can contribute to world peace and work together for the benefit of humanity if we put aside subtle metaphysical differences, which are really the internal business of each religion.
(Online source)

But the genuine Christian knows that according to the Word of our Creator in the Bible the highlighted above is the fundamental flaw in his pie-in-the-sky dream of Utopia. Those of us in Christ are well aware of just how evil the human heart is — The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9)

And not simply before conversion; no, according to the inspired Apostle Paul it’s because we’ve been literally been regenerated i.e. born again that now:

We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. 

So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. (Romans 7:14-25)

“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn ’a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law — a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household’ … Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three.” (Matthew 10:34-36; Luke 12:51-52)

As we saw in Part 1, the Apostle Paul wrote the epistle to the Ephesians. We also saw that Ephesians 1:3-14 was one glorious sentence in Greek. This wonderful treasure house statement can be broken down into three parts. In vv3-6a we have God’s election of Church which He did before the foundation of the world. In vv6b-11 we have Paul’s exposition on our redemption. Then the third part is in vv12-14. This part deals with the Christian’s future inheritance with emphasis on the Holy Trinity. In Part 1 we dealt with election. Now let us tackle Redemption and the Christian’s future inheritance.

(click here to read this post)

Here’s a column by J. Lee Grady of Charisma Magazine that says things aren’t looking too good on the charismatic megachurch front for several once famous ministries. In a recent post, I also raised the spectre of miles of deserted megachurch parking lots where nothing can be heard but the crickets chirping and nothing can be seen but the weeds coming up through the cracks in the black top. This article says that time is here for some churches.

HT: Church of Jesus Christ Blog

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The Lifeway: Biblical Solutions for Life website of the Southern Baptist Convention tells us that once again in 2009 ”LifeWay presents Deeper Still: The Event in Greensboro, Orlando, and Oklahoma City!” featuring Beth Moore. In this post Apprising Ministries talks about how this “Event” feature some Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism-lite gleaned from apostate Roman Catholicism, which is slithering deeper still into the Slowly Becoming Catholic, allegedly the largest Protestant denomination in the United States.

It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1, NASB) 

How Would You Know If You Were Being Taught False Doctrine?

At the Lifeway: Biblical Solutions for Life website of the Southern Baptist Convention we read:

Together again for 2009! Join us for a rare and unique opportunity to hear three internationally-renowned Bible teachers — Kay Arthur, Beth Moore, and Priscilla Shirer — at one weekend event. LifeWay presents Deeper Still: The Event in Greensboro, Orlando, and Oklahoma City!

Go deeper in God’s Word as you sit under their teaching, and listen as they share their views together during a panel discussion. Go deeper in prayer with thousands of women across North America… (Online source)

Men and women, this “Event” will feature some Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism-lite gleaned from apostate Roman Catholicism, which is slithering deeper still into the Slowly Becoming Catholic, allegedly the largest Protestant denomination in the United States. Your key to spotting this CSM i.e. asceticism-lite is the term “deeper.” The implication is that unless you practice so-called spiritual disciplines you haven’t gone “deep” enough in your relationship with God.

My advice is: Wake Up! This repulsive rubbish is literally taken from Counter Reformation (Hello!) figures like Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the spiritual Gestapo called the Jesuits, and emotionally troubled Teresa of Avila. A while back 20th Century Fox released a DVD called Be Still And Know which featured:

contemplatives as Richard Foster, Dallas Willard, Calvin Miller and Priscilla Shirer, along with some names that may surprise you? Max Lucado, Beth Moore. An acknowledgement list at the end includes Brennan Manning and Dr. Charles Stanley. (Online source)

With Be Still and Know both Moore and Shirer are, at the very least, involved with promoting the spiritual deceptions of Contemplative/Centering Prayer. At the 2:18 mark of the commercial below Beth Moore reads the text above, which flatly contradicts the religious bondage of the neo-pietism of spurious spiritual formation ala Living Spiritual Teacher and Quaker mystic “Roshi” Richard Foster; and since when were Quakers evangelicals?

Moore then says dramatically, ”Several years ago Christ began to place a tremendous burden on my heart for the people of God to know the freedom of God.” Really; how would you know? And if so, do we now have a prophetess among us with special revelation from God concerning His “freedom” because the Word of the Lord came to Beth? And what if I as a pastor-teacher also was to say, “A couple of years ago Jesus placed a tremendous burden on my heart for the people of God to know the freedom of God.” 

And what if I then went to say that one of the best ways to embrace the freedom of God is simply to read His Word in the Bible; to pray consciously, then do what it says and away from false teaching advanced by contemplative dreamers. Avoid their spirituality of the self and do not be subject again to a yoke of [its] slavery because they teach you false visions, divinations, idolatries and the delusions of their own minds (Jeremiah 14:14). How would you know?

A “twinning event” is bringing mosques and synagogues together for an interfaith event. Read more here.

B’nai Or is one of several NJ synagogues participating in the Nov. 21-23 project spearheaded by the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding.

According to the foundation, 50 mosques and 50 synagogues around the country will hold joint activities to “confront Islamophobia and anti-Semitism in their communities.”

The weekend is the direct result of a summit meeting of 12 rabbis and 12 imams held in November 2007. The event is timed to coincide with a visit by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations.

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A “twinning event” is bringing mosques and synagogues together for an interfaith event. Read more here.

B’nai Or is one of several NJ synagogues participating in the Nov. 21-23 project spearheaded by the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding.

According to the foundation, 50 mosques and 50 synagogues around the country will hold joint activities to “confront Islamophobia and anti-Semitism in their communities.”

The weekend is the direct result of a summit meeting of 12 rabbis and 12 imams held in November 2007. The event is timed to coincide with a visit by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations.

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The always fascinating Andrew Gause is with us on Crosstalk today to discuss Bailout Madness. Listen live here, 2pm Central. Cities want federal money because they can’t make budgets. States want a bailout because they can’t make their budgets. (But our state can afford to fund Planned Parenthood…) Insurance companies now want bailouts. The big three automakers are on their knees in Washington begging for money. Meanwhile, the printing presses at the Treasury are running night and day to provide enough cash. And oh, yes, there’s the gazillion dollar deficit already in place from the Katrina bailout, the endless war in Iraq, and so forth and so on. This is what happens when economics classes are not required in schools, or rather, when economics classes are taught by socialists. Americans moronically think you can just have the feds keep printing money and take care of everybody’s bad mortgages, everybody’s credit card debt from pizzas they ate 5 years ago, etc. OK, brilliant Americans, where do you think this money is coming from? The money is going to come from…YOU, taxpayers.

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