Monthly Archives: October 2011

10 Signs That You’re In A Cult

1. Your sect has it’s own Bible translation

2. Your hierarchy of leaders claim to be God’s only channel/representative on earth

3. There is no salvation outside of your organization

4. Your group claims to be a restoration of Christianity

5. Your organization has inspired books -and study aids- which contain revelations/information that only your sect is “aware” of

6. Date setting concerning end times events has been an integral part of your organization’s history

7. Differing exegesis of scripture/doctrine is not allowed, uniformity is the order of the day

8. You need your organization to understand the Bible, independent Bible reading/study is not encouraged

9. Former members of your group are demonized, shunned, and off limits for association

10. Your standing/status in the organization is dependent upon works

Spotlight On ISWA U

The International Society of Women in Apologetics (ISWA) is an organization whose curriculum is geared towards helping woman from all over the globe defend their Christian faith. This ministry is founded by Sarah Ankenman, also know as “The Valley Girl Apologist“. From their website they say:

ISWA U will equip and train you in basic Apologetics and provide you with the resources to go even deeper in your study of why you believe what you believe. In the world we live in today, it is crucial for women to engage in Apologetics, not just for the strength of our own faith, but that of our kids and others around us who are in desperate need of the truth. Each lecture is 30 minutes to an hour in length, and will come with a workbook, to further enhance your Apologetics study, and are all taught by top women apologists across the country.

Starting tomorrow (October 28th) they will be unlocking some great features from their site including free videos and audio of various lectures. For more information about ISWA go to their website.

Watchtower End Of The World Prophecies List

The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society has a laundry list of false prophecies dating back to the late 19th century. I’m making this list available to those that want to see the reality of what was really said in their history as an organization. It’s been an unfortunate case that the Watchtower’s latest history book (the 1993 “Proclaimers” book) has both misquoted their own publications and misrepresented their previous position(s). The purpose of this list is not to sling mud but merely to make available failed prophecies that the Society would like to hide from it’s members. And from there, give each member a fair chance to make an informed analysis of their organization’s claims. I could add many more publications (showing such failed predictions) to the list, but what I have presented below will be suffice. Here’s a passage to keep in mind when reading the list:

 Deuteronomy 18:22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.

 

1914

“We see no reason for changing the figures-nor could we change them if we would. They are, we believe, GOD’s DATES, not ours. But bear in mind that the end of 1914 is not the date for the beginning, but for the END of the time of trouble.” -1894 Watchtower July 15th pg. 226 [IMAGE]

Be not surprised, then, when in subsequent chapters we present proofs that the setting up of the Kingdom of God is already begun, that it is pointed out in prophecy as due to begin the exercise of power in A. D. 1878, and that the “battle of the great day of God Almighty ” (Rev. 16: 14.) which will end in A. D. 1914 with the complete overthrow of earth’s present rulership, is already commenced. -1911 Edition The Time Is At Hand page 101 [IMAGE] (compare to the 1915 edition below)

 

1915 

“The ‘battle of the great day of God Almighty’ (Rev. 16:14) which will end in A.D. 1915 with the COMPLETE OVERTHROW of earth’s present rulership, is already commenced. The gathering of the armies is plainly visible from the standpoint of God’s word.” -1915 Edition The Time Is At Hand page 101 [IMAGE]

“The Gentile Times prove that the present governments must all be overturned about the close of A.D. 1915; and Parallelism above shows that this period corresponds exactly with the year A.D. 70, which witnessed the completion of the downfall of the Jewish polity.” -1915 Edition The Time Is At Hand page 242 [IMAGE]

 

1917/1918 

“The present great war in Europe is the beginning of the ARMAGEDDON of the Scriptures (Rev 19:16-20). It will eventuate in the complete overthrow of all the systems of error which have so long oppressed the people of God and deluded the world. We believe the present war cannot last much longer until revolutions shall break out.” -1917 Pastor Russell’s Sermons page 676 [IMAGE]

“Also, in the year 1918, when God destroys the churches wholesale and the church members by millions, it shall be that any that escape shall come to the works of Pastor Russell to learn the meaning of the downfall of ‘Christianity’.” -1917 The Finished Mystery page 485 [IMAGE] 

 

1925 

“Therefore we may CONFIDENTLY expect that 1925 will mark the return of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the prophets of old particularly those named by the Apostle in Hebrews chapter eleven, to the condition of human perfect.” -1920 Millions Now Living Will Never Die pages 89-90 (NOTE: THE SOCIETY ALSO BUILT TWO HOUSES FOR THESE MEN IN SAN DIEGO, ONE WAS CALLED BETH-SHAN THE OTHER BETH-SARIM. This was the prophesied 7 thousandth year for the reality of paradise earth.) [IMAGE]

“There was a measure of disappointment on the part of Jehovah’s faithful ones on earth concerning the years 1914, 1918 and 1925, which disappointment lasted for a time. Later the faithful learned that these dates were definitely fixed in the Scriptures; and they also learned to quit fixing dates for the future and predicting what would come to pass on a certain date, but to rely (and they do rely) upon the Word of God as to the events that must come to pass.” -1931 Vindication pages 338-9 (semi apologies for false predictions) [IMAGE] [IMAGE]

 

1940′s Armageddon 

“Receiving the gift, [Rutherford's book, Children] the marching children clasped it to them, not a toy or plaything for idle pleasure, but the Lord’s provided instrument for most effective work in the remaining MONTHS BEFORE ARMAGEDDON.” -1941 Watchtower September 15th page 288 [IMAGE]

 

1975 

…ONLY A FEW YEARS, AT MOST, remain before the corrupt system of things dominating the earth is destroyed by God. -1968 October 8th Awake page 13

…the end of that sixth creative day could end within the same Gregorian calendar year of Adam’s creation. It may involve only a difference of weeks or months, NOT years. -1968 WT August 15th pg. 499

“If you are a young person, you also need to face the fact that you will NEVER GROW OLD in this present system of things. They also said Bible prophecy indicates that this corrupt system is DUE TO END in a few years.” -1969 Awake! May 22 page 15

 

2000 

Shortly within our twentieth century, the battle in the day of Jehovah will begin…” -1971 “The Nations Shall Know” book page 216 (NOTE: ARMAGEDDON IS TO HAPPEN BEFORE THE YEAR 2000)

“He (Paul) was also laying a foundation for a work that would be completed in our 20th century” -1989 Watchtower Jan. 1st page 12 (NOTE: KINGDOM PREACHING TO BE DONE BEFORE 2000)

Another Take on Heaven and Hell

By Carson Weitnauer

Orthodox, Biblical Christianity teaches there are only two ways to heaven:

  1. Live a perfect, sinless life or
  2. Experience forgiveness of your sins through faith in Jesus.

Furthermore, given that heaven is a place of moral perfection and endless joy, we are taught to be grateful that option #2 even exists. That is, Jesus’ entrance into our world as a human being, his holy life and sublime teachings, his agonizing death, and his glorious resurrection from the dead are not events which are to be taken for granted.

Well, why should we be so grateful? The main reason is that if we, as the guilty party, demanded that God give us what we deserve, the results would not be to our liking.

Consider this: why think we are entitled to receive mercy and grace? Are these not, by definition, undeserved gifts? How did we come to believe these were owed to us? Christianity asks us to take a perspective of sober, honest reflection upon our selfishness in light of the high demands of God’s moral code. When we do so, the announcement that there is forgiveness available for anyone who wants Jesus to save them is very good news.

All the same, one primary response to the Christian doctrine on heaven is to argue that Christianity has a narrow-minded, exclusive, and very judgmental approach towards those who are not Christians.

The objection finds much of its force from a common-sense understanding of fairness. For instance, if you give one child a Christmas gift, you should give all of your children a Christmas gift. To say to little Johnny, “Hey, Christmas gifts are gifts. Therefore, you don’t deserve one,” comes across as a bit heartless.

And it seems like this is what Christians are saying about God. He gives gifts to some people, but not to others, and that doesn’t seem fair. But if God is unconditional love and grace, then we should at least expect him to be fair. It seems like a low standard, actually, and the seeming contradiction naturally creates emotional and intellectual challenges for people.

On a strictly intellectual level, there are excellent formal and logical responses to this objection. These range from considerations of free will to applying the concept of “transworld depravity” to the discussion.

However, there is another response which we sometimes overlook in the discussion, and which directly addresses some of our emotional hesitation. Even the finest arguments can still leave us feeling disturbed, like something is just off, and we want more.

One way to speak to our emotional objection is to talk about a practical solution to what is, in some ways, a very concrete problem: some people have not yet heard about Jesus. Part of what we are asking, then, when we query a Christian about “the unsaved” is to test how seriously they care about the issue.

Speaking personally, my wife and I give regular financial gifts to Wycliffe Bible Translators as part of our commitment to seeing that all people have an opportunity to hear the good news about Jesus’ offer of forgiveness. We pray for different people groups that are yet to be reached with the gospel. We work to support missionaries as we have opportunity to do so. I personally was able to attend the Cape Town Congress on World Evangelization in October of 2010. In multiple ways, we are dedicating our time, energy, and resources to letting everyone know that God does love them and offers salvation to all who will respond in faith.

If you are personally troubled by the Bible’s teaching about those who have never heard, I hope that understanding how Christians are motivated to global evangelism offers you encouragement. If you are a Christian, but are not active in praying for and supporting missionaries, consider starting today. The best response to this question would be if we could respond, “By God’s grace, we’ve shared the good news with everyone!”

Carson Weitnauer blogs at Reasons for God.

You may be interested in his series of articles on searching for God.

What is Faith?

By: Faithful Thinkers

So many times I have heard people say that faith is believing something despite evidence against it. I have heard skeptics of Christianity deride faith based on this, and I have heard Christians claim a higher level of spirituality because they possess this kind of faith. But is this what faith really is? Let’s look at it a little more closely.


When Person A states that they have faith in Person B, they are stating that they trust Person B. Since trust is the issue here, let’s focus on that. In order for Person A to trust, there must be a foundation for that trust. Usually, Person B has established in the past that they are trustworthy (usually by verification of the truth of claims and/or following through with promises). Also Person B knows something that Person A does not know. In order for trust to be exercised, there must be a foundation to establish trust, and something that is unknown to justify acting upon the foundation of the person’s trustworthiness.

So, as long as there is a foundation of trust established and something unknown to Person A, faith can be placed. If either is missing, then faith is not what is being exercised. If a foundation is missing, gambling would better describe the action. If an unknown is missing, agreement is taking place.

Since faith is basically trust; faith, by virtue of its foundation, is based on reason: “Person B has been trustworthy in several past experiences; therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that I can trust them with this new unknown”. There is nothing “blind” or “illogical” about faith. Of course, there is plenty of room for misinterpreting past experiences (and thus foundations for faith), and this is why many people have misplaced their faith. However, a misplaced faith is different from a gamble.

When faith is misplaced, we can identify it by looking at the previous experiences that laid the foundation for the faith. Interpretation of past experiences must be done in light of the person who is the source of those experiences (Person B). What I mean here, is that if we do not have an accurate understanding of the person’s character (thus wrong expectations), our interpretations have a much higher possibility of being incorrect.

One of the main misunderstandings of who a person is (thus wrong expectations) in religious debates is that God claims to desire the comfort of all people to the exclusion of all other things. When people experience suffering in the world, they interpret it as God not being trustworthy (some even take it to mean that God doesn’t exist, but that is another discussion). This causes them to look elsewhere for something to trust with the unknown. Many people have alternatively placed their faith in mankind. However, the failures of mankind just in the past century demonstrates that faith in mankind is misplaced. Our understanding of mankind did not allow for the failures- which means that there was a misunderstanding of the nature of man (thus wrong expectations). These two misunderstandings have left a gaping hole- man cannot trust anything or anyone.

This is the danger of not understanding the nature of who is responsible for the experiences that we use to interpret the reliability of the person. A misunderstood nature will lead to a misplaced faith. Now, faith can become a gamble at this point: when a person possesses the evidence that man is untrustworthy, yet still places their trust in him. If we decide to allow our decisions to go against the evidence, we have switched away from reason without a good reason.

If people were willing to understand the Christian God as He is (not as we want Him to be or think that He is so we can reject Him), man would find that trust in the Christian God is a very reasonable faith.

***Note: For more great articles by Faithful Thinkers, go to their blog.

Can God Do Everything?

Within the Christian faith we affirm that God is omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent. I believe it’s safe to say that if God was not all of these qualities, then he just wouldn’t be the eternal God of the universe. We affirm that he is outside of time, space, matter, and energy. So with that, he’s not limited by any of these properties; he has no such constraints regarding this. I sometimes hear Christians say that God can do everything, and scripture seems to confirm this. In Luke 1:37 it says: For with God nothing shall be impossible. In Revelation 19:6 it affirms that the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. There’s that word “omnipotent” again.

So with such scriptures that speak of God’s omnipotence, is it right to say that God can do everything? In a word, no. We must look at context and category. Before I explain, I would like us to examine a “defeater question” that I have heard concerning God being all powerful; omnipotent. The question that most of us have heard is “Can God create a rock so heavy that he can’t lift it?” The simple answer is no he can’t. The reality is that God cannot contradict himself, or lie, [1] therefore cannot make a rock -or create a scenario- that would be used to override his omnipotence. We must keep this in mind, that the things which God cannot do, are things that would contradict his very nature. This is the context, to suggest otherwise would fall under the category fallacy. So, in light of this, here is a short list of other things that God cannot do:

  • Steal
  • Cheat
  • Covet
  • Learn
  • Grow Tired
  • Murder
  • Bear False Witness
  • Grow Old
  • Change (in sense of nature/essence)
  • Get Lonely

* * *

References

1. Hebrews 6:18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: