Tag: discernment

Posted in theology

David Platt discernment bundle: “The Real David Platt” new film, Platt’s wokeness, Isa dreams, Radical, and more

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

What is discernment?

Discernment is a gift and a skill. It is a gift when it is given to certain people, as listed in 1 Corinthians 12:10,

To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: (KJV. underline mine)

and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. (NASB).

It’s a skill ALL Christians have and should train constantly, as in Hebrews 5:14,

But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to distinguish between good and evil. (NASB)

But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. (ESV).

How I approach utilizing discernment

I have a “three-item” standard. In discernment work, we do not jump at the least little thing a public teacher or local pastor says. We use common sense, review the bulk of a ministry for context, and wait, watching alertly but remaining self-controlled and measured. We overlook something he or she said that’s the equivalent of a typo.

But if we see or hear of something bigger, something that can be tested against scripture, we raise our discernment alarm. One item can be a mistake. Two times could be a coincidence. But three things, now that’s a pattern. Here is my standard:

1st piece of information: Discernment unease
2nd piece of information: Discernment alert
3rd piece of information: Discernment alarm, go public

And so it was with my assessment of David Platt through the years.

Who is David Platt?

Platt “was senior pastor at the Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama, from 2006 to 2014. At the time he was the youngest megachurch pastor in the United States. From 2014 to 2017, Platt was president of the International Mission Board. He became pastor-teacher at McLean Bible Church in 2017. He is the author of the 2010 New York Times Best Seller Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream.” (Wikipedia)

#1- Discernment unease: Radical (2010-2012)

Radical was published in 2010. It hit conservative churches like a bomb. It was a push-back against the lives Platt saw of conservative faithful settling into a consumerism complacency instead of daring to be uncomfortable and taking the faith to the lost in dangerous places. Book blurb:

It’s easy for American Christians to forget how Jesus said his followers would actually live, what their new lifestyle would actually look like. They would, he said, leave behind security, money, convenience, even family for him. They would abandon everything for the gospel. They would take up their crosses daily…

Kevin DeYoung at the time (2010) wrote a fair review of Radical. “Getting to the Root of Radical“. One of DeYoung’s concerns tracked with my main concern: “It is easy to stir people to action by relating how little everyone else has and how much we have in America, but we are not meant to have constant low-level guilt because we could be doing more.”

Low-level guilt was a thread throughout the book I assessed as emotional manipulation. I’ve also seen it coined as Platt’s “poverty gospel”.

Anyway, I was asked to teach through the 6-lesson Radical Small Group Study that came out in 2012. I was uncomfortable with Platt after having read his book Radical, but he’d quoted and used a lot of John MacArthur in the curriculum, so I stuck to the MacArthur side of things, thereby doing diligence to the trust the pastors had placed in me but also not upsetting my conscience. Going through the lessons raised my discernment radar on Platt. I thought the book was emotional, unbalanced, and in the end, dangerous.

#2- Discernment alert- Urbana15 (2015)

It was at InterVarsity’s 24th student missions conference in 2015 I could not believe what I was seeing. Urbana is “One of the largest student missions conferences in the world, …and combines gospel proclamation, dynamic worship, and missionary connection to launch students into a life of reaching people with the good news.”

Platt spoke there as he often does.

Platt preached of the unnamed woman in Matthew 26 who poured out her expensive perfume, and compared that to pouring out our heart to the Lord. He did mention sin in his sermon, but never uttered the word “repent”. He emotionally pleaded to the thousands assembled there to “decide for Christ”, and said ushers would come by and give them a glowstick which the attendees should break “if they had decided to follow Jesus for the first time”, knowing “that Jesus is worthy of their heart and life”.

Screenshot: Platt explaining how to use the glowstick to indicate one’s decision to follow Jesus

He said to the impressionable youths to hold up the glowstick as a picture of their heart now poured out to Christ. There was a room they could go to where they’d be provided resources, and someone would pray with them to “celebrate God’s grace in you.”

Screenshot: A volunteer at Urbana 15 passing out glowsticks to those standing who’d indicated they ‘decided to follow Jesus’

No. No. No. One never declares a person saved on the spot. This leads to false conversions. Certainly not from a podium to a darkened room full of young people who’d just heard an emotional plea to follow Christ for the first time – but said plea was absent a plea for repentance of sins.

Urbana’s video of Platt at Urbana 15. Above, Youtube’s video of the same event. Youtube is convenient because it has the transcript.

Platt said for the kids to hold up their glowsticks in order to “express affection, adoration, longing, and love for Christ.” Emotional terms. But what about the plea for repentance, holy fear, submission, confession? All these terms were absent from Platt’s decisional altar call.

Devastating. My radar on Platt went to Discernment alert.

#3- Discernment Alarm: Isa Dreams (2018)

In 2018, then-International Mission Board President David Platt delivered a 6-minute report to the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting affirming Isa as Messiah and conversion through Muslim dreams. He told of some Muslims in a closed country having dreams of Isa and reporting that “This formerly Muslim couple is now a follower of Isa the Messiah.“

Isa is not the Messiah.

Interestingly, the SBC always fully published their leaders’ reports after the Annual Meeting, but in this particular case, the subsequent transcription published on the IMB website OMITS that Platt had stated that the couple is now following “Isa the Messiah”. Instead they transcribed that Platt said the couple is following “the Messiah”. Also interestingly, unlike in past years where the full report is published on Youtube or the IMB site, that year only a recap video was available. I transcribed his speech from the live video as it was being recorded by someone who was physically present, that’s how I know of the omission when I compared the two.

The following link of mine has the transcript. Blasphemy: Jesus is not Isa, Isa is not Jesus

Anyone who calls Isa a messiah of the faithful Christians is NOT to be followed. He is not credible. Done. Finito. It’s like calling Yahweh Molech or Dagon. This was the third nail in the discernment coffin for me as to who David Platt is. Why?

Isa is a made-up satanic entity in the Muslim tradition who is not deity, was never actually crucified, never died, where a substitute was placed on the cross to fool the Jews, (Suran al-Ma’idah 4:157), was raised to heaven alive (Surah al-Imran (3:55) and who will return to earth to worship the ‘one god’ [not Trinitarian] Allah and kill Christians, break the cross, remove jizyah (A Muslim tax) and rule (forcibly converted) Muslims “with justice.” (Surah al-Imran (3:55).

Critical Mass: Platt’s worst revealed, in new Documentary

Screenshot: https://therealdavidplatt.com/

A new documentary is coming out in 2024 in which a sneak peek of 10 minutes was published at Christmastime 2023.

The link includes describing Platt’s alleged leadership and financial malfeasance of McLean Bible church, allegations by former members and leaders. The film is called The Real David Platt.

It reportedly interviews many of McLean’s church members, elders, and leaders who have departed the church or who they say were forcibly excommunicated after having asked questions of finances and other issues. The interviewees describe their negative experiences there and outline their concerns and fear, often with tears for McLean church, its leaders, and fellow members.

It should be noted that the extended trailer does not include anyone representing from ‘the other side,’ that I saw, although I hope and pray in journalistic ethics the producers give McLean elders and Platt opportunity to speak in the full documentary. We do not know who is behind the documentary, although Jon Harris of Conversations That Matter (linked below) said he worked on intake of the interviewees for the film. He discusses the documentary below.

Conclusion

2010-2012- I’ve seen him off since the book Radical was published. I had concerns when asked to teach thru his Radical book curriculum in 2012 I saw more; and I disliked Platt’s guilt-tripping “poverty gospel”.

2015 when he touted 681 non-Christians made a decision of faith to follow Jesus, signified by glowsticks? at Urbana15

2018- Again in 2018 when Platt affirmed Isa dreams. I was done with Platt 6 years ago in 2018.

But for others, these indicators were not enough to call David Platt, evangelical darling, NYT bestselling author megachurch pastor, a wolf. However, by now at the end of 2023 there is plenty to show that Platt is not to be followed. There’s the Critical Race Theory/social justice/woke stances he spoke at public pulpits over the years, the lawsuit, and allegations of financial greed and authority misuse (internal documents supporting these allegations are promised to be shown in the full movie).

Sadly, we must strenuously urge people to stay away from his material, to repudiate his works, and if having promoted or followed him, to repent. Below are many other resources outlining issues with Platt, and this list is NOT comprehensive.

Further resources

The End Time: Blasphemy: Isa is not Jesus and Jesus is not Isa

Think on These Things: “An Evaluation Of Muslim Dreams & Visions Of Isa (Jesus)” “...one can rejoice in Muslim conversions while still expressing concerns about the messenger, especially since the Isa of Muslim dreams isn’t simply calling Muslims to believe in the Jesus of the Bible; he is calling them to believe in him (Isa).

Jon Harris at Conversations that Matter, discusses this new documentary The Real David Platt?

Here we have The Dissenter with a compilation of statements posted Aug 11, 2021 from Platt titled “David Platt’s Worst Woke Statements Ever“. They wrote: ” David Platt’s McLean Bible Church is currently in the midst of a crisis of division and disunity that was clearly caused by his unbiblical embrace of social justice, particularly, a worldly form of “racial justice,” as an outworking of the gospel. This montage is for the purpose of demonstrating that David Platt has clearly embraced all of this movement.”

Capstone Report: A chronological roundup of Platt’s woke trajectory. David Platt is Harming McLean Bible Church With Social Justice Theology

Evangelical Dark Web: David Platt’s Million-dollar Lawsuit

Posted in theology

Deconstructing a negative comment

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I receive many encouraging comments after I post something or put up a podcast. One of the type of posts I write are discernment posts. I receive comments on those, some encouraging and some not so encouraging.

I don’t mind that, IF the comment is one where the commenter is trying to reason with me through the scriptures. That doesn’t happen much. Sadly.

People lack discernment to a greater and greater degree, I notice. If they follow a certain false teacher whom I have written about, they do all sorts of gymnastics to defend that false teacher instead of being more interested in defending Jesus and asking why I believe these things are so. (Acts 17:11).

They also seem to have a template of Bible phrases they throw into the discussion, out of context or used in a twisted way, of course.

One such comment came to me a short while ago. In it, I see almost ALL of the tropes and clichés the undiscerning use to rebut a thoughtful essay containing scriptures. This one came in after I re-published my Bullet Points on Why Joyce Meyer is a False Teacher.

I want to go through it and show why it was not a reasonable comment, in fact, quite ignorant, biblically speaking. My purpose is so you, too, can rebut, or at least see why this kind of comment is not appropriate for a Christian. The Commenter is in red. My answer is underneath.

Some people think they are doing “good” by trying to “warn people” by calling out preachers and pastors

The quotes around the words good and warn people are called “scare quotes”. It’s a journalistic technique to disparage what someone has said, or to show disdain. The word ‘trying’ is also a snide put-down. Christians discuss things charitably. They should not be haughty.

But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 1 Peter 1:15 KJV.

Of course a biblically aware Christian knows that the New Testament urges believers to be vigilant against false teachers, which are warned about to us in every NT book except Philemon. We are not only told to beware, but to warn others. This isn’t optional. They are commands. So yes, it IS doing good by warning others. Why would someone think it’s bad to warn a believer they are about to be devoured?

but they fail to take the plank out of their own eye.

This is part of a verse, taken out of context. The full passage is in Matthew 7:1-5. It is about the WAY we judge, and not to do it hypocritically, but righteously.

It is also an uncharitable assumption. Charity and grace in conversation is important. A charitable assumption would be to assume that the author has already prayed and worked to take the plank out, so as not to be hypocritical.

If the commenter is concerned about me the author writing hypocritically, she should private message me, to ask what steps I’d taken to avoid hypocrisy. Or even better, assume in charity that I’ve already taken those steps.

If everyone said everything perfectly and did everything perfectly there would have been no need for Jesus.

This is a common way for people to diminish the importance of discernment. It’s a trope, the “Nobody’s perfect” cliché.

We are not talking about ‘perfection’ when we remark about false doctrine. We are talking about false doctrine, which kills. We are talking about false teachers who bring false doctrine, who are goats. Goats have an agenda, and that agenda is to destroy you and me. Their goal is to cause divisions, create obstacles, and to deceive. (Romans 16:17-18). Their goal is to make you captive. (Colossians 2:8). That’s more than an ‘Oopsie, I misspoke.”

We are not sinners anymore Joyce [Meyer] is right about that. We are saints who will still commit sins and that’s the difference. To God we are reborn and not considered sinners to God who belong to him.

The commenter is splitting a hair here. She is right, BUT, and it’s a big BUT, Joyce Meyer has previously taught that once saved, Christians do NOT sin any more. They they are sinLESS. She has said she herself does not sin. Here is her quote:

Joyce Meyer said she is not a sinner: “I am not poor. I am not miserable, and I am not a sinner. That is a lie from the pit of hell. That is what I were, and if I still was, then Jesus died in vain. I’m going to tell you something, folks. I didn’t stop sinning until I finally got it through my thick head. I wasn’t a sinner anymore. And the religious world thinks that’s heresy, and they want to hang you for it. But the Bible says that I am righteous and I can’t be righteous and be a sinner at the same time.” https://carm.org/preachers-and-teachers/joyce-meyer/

1 John 1:8 and Romans 7:19-20, 24 tell us we are saved from our past sin and declared righteous. But we still retain our sin nature and we still sin. That’s why James 5:16 says we need to confess our sins to each other.

More on this here: Are we Sinners or Saints?

Joyce Meyer palling around with fellow false teacher Beth Moore

So this good willed article to call out this woman only leads people astray and discouraged. And the others who can’t wait to be part of the problem to talk about others in this attack mode.

Key words here most undiscerning people use; lead astray, discourage, and mainly, ‘attack’. They call any discerning article an attack.

What the attack actually is, is the false teacher’s assault against Christ. Undiscerning people look horizontally, not upward vertically.

Not helpful. Really playing with fire here to call someone out like this to come to find out you were wrong and actually drive people further away from Christ.

Leaving the church because of discernment blogs?

They always say that discernment drives people away from Jesus. It doesn’t. Acts 5:14 is one example. After Ananias and Sapphira were KILLED by God, for their hypocrisy and lies, “more than ever” believers entered the church. Really? Didn’t the killing by God of two prominent believers “drive people away”? “And more than ever believers in the Lord were added to their number, multitudes of men and women,”

Why? Barnes’ Notes explains:

Were the more added – The effect of all these things was to increase the number of converts. Their persecutions, their preaching, and the judgment of God, “all” tended to impress the minds of the people, and to lead them to the Lord Jesus Christ. … Though the judgment of God had the effect of deterring hypocrites from entering the church – though it produced awe and caution, yet still the number of true converts was increased.

The commenter is just plain wrong.

Joyce is not God. She’s capable of human error and sin like anyone else. And I believe she has admitted errors where she has recognized them.

1.No one has said Joyce Meyer is God. Straw man fallacy alert.
2.No, Joyce hasn’t admitted errors. Because Joyce Meyer preaches to men, and that is an activity and an office denied to women. She actively and constantly rebels against scripture. This is her error.

Straw Man Fallacy: A straw man fallacy occurs when someone distorts or exaggerates another person’s argument, and then attacks the distorted version of the argument instead of genuinely engaging. (Source)

So those pharasee out there need to take it easy.

It would probably help her credibility if she spelled Pharisee correctly. But more than that, did you notice a glaring omission from the entire comment? Not one scripture. That is the main key. They do not reason over scriptures. Instead they throw shade, disdain, and attack the person who is promoting discernment. They have to. They don’t have a leg to stand on.

Consider if the person commenting to me or if you have received comments like this, if they are adhering to the following scriptures themselves. If not, aren’t THEY the hypocrite?

Keep your tongue from evil And your lips from speaking deceit. (Psalm 34:13).

Your speech must always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person. (Colossians 4:6).

Let no unwholesome word come out of your mouth, but if there is any good word for edification according to the need of the moment, say that, so that it will give grace to those who hear. (Ephesians 4:49).

And you know there are many more verses which guide us in how we should speak to one another. Most importantly, if you choose to engage with the person, don’t be drawn into a devolving conversation in which your witness will be blotted because of anger or ungracious speech.

Ladies, if or when you discuss a false teacher online, you most probably will receive comments like the one I shared. Or if you meet with elders to discuss a false activity in the church, you may well receive pushback. Hopefully not. But listen for those clichés. Have scripture ready. Keep reasoning over scripture, even if the person online or in real life accuses you with emotional or slanderous challenges. It isn’t YOU they are challenging, it’s Jesus IN you. (Matthew 5:10-12). They aren’t against you, so much, as they are FOR themselves.

Posted in theology

They’re not even hiding it anymore: Beth Moore, preaching, and how to get women into the pulpit. Bonus: Moore’s teaching on 1Tim2:12

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Beth Moore is preaching at Duke University chapel today. She is named as a preacher, welcomed as a preacher, and her sycophants are trumpeting their (seeming) victory of women as preacher, preaching.

The Baptists and the Anglicans are hosting the Sinning Jezebel after she finishes, sinning er, preaching.

Do they not know how Romans 1 ends? —>

and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them. underline mine.

Obviously, the women do not think they are sinning by preaching in church. They do not think they are sinning by applauding women who preach. They are also experts at twisting God’s word. The very first words from satan in the Bible were an undermining of what God had said, by asking: ‘was that really what God said?’ and the second words were a flat contradiction of what God had said. (Genesis 3:1-4)

I remember waaaay back on, oh, lemme see, it was the Spring of ’19 when Beth Moore let slip that she was preaching er, speaking er, doing Mother’s day at a church. Things were more coy then. Now they just say the sinning part out loud.

Just four years ago word manipulation was necessary. Moore used to say she was “speaking” at a pulpit.

How to subvert God’s word: 4 steps to female preachers

1. First, ask if God really said what He said. Did God really say that women may not preach?

To install a woman at the pulpit, one must subvert traditional interpretations of what God hath said. To wit: when the serpent asked Eve if God really said what He said, Eve answered the serpent correctly, mostly, but he no doubt noticed Eve had added a Law to what God had said. She repeated God’s command not to eat the fruit, but added to it- “nor touch it.” Since the interpretation varied from Adam to Eve, the serpent took that crack in the wall and ran with it.

Next, simply ignore thousands of years of settled interpretation with a snap of the fingers, by mirroring satan’s contradiction of the plain command. This implies that interpretations are never settled. No, God didn’t say THAT, did he? No you will not die. Yes you can preach.

They say they will review the verse to understand the interpretation. They look at word studies, (and cherry pick their preferred definition), and review previous interpreters (cherry picked, of course). They do this with an agenda, not looking for exegesis, drawing meaning out of what is there, but for ways around it. Here’s how-

The people who harp on women belonging in the pulpit say that the phrase in 1 Timothy 2:12 But I do not allow a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet, doesn’t mean what it appears to mean.

The word at issue with the ‘let’s all interpret this differently’ crowd is authentein.

Strong’s Definition: to govern, exercise authority
Strong’s Usage: I domineer, govern, have mastery over.

This ‘reverend’ below is in the comments where it was announced Moore’s preaching at Duke, and applauding it. He says to study authentein.

This ‘word study’ involves re-interpreting the verse to say that as long as a woman doesn’t become a tyrant at the pulpit, it is OK to preach. They say that since the word in one of its usages means domineering, if a woman preaches humbly, it’s OK.

I’m not kidding. This “teaching” is what Beth herself taught in her 1995 book “To Live is Christ: Joining Paul’s Journey of Faith“. It’s an overview of Paul’s life and teaching. Here is how Beth Moore interpreted authentein, what follows are Beth Moore’s words, with a discernment mini-lesson for each paragraph from me:

“If you glance through the Book of 1 Timothy, you will notice a continuing exhortation for order in the churches. Paul wrote about servants (deacons), overseers, widows, elders, and slaves. In stressing order in the church, he made some statements about women that raise controversy. Although these statements are not my focus, I do not want to be charged with cowardice by omitting any mention of them. We are wise to view Paul’s exhortations in context. He used far more ink to address deacons and overseers.” ~Beth Moore

[My note: the verse wasn’t “controversial” for 2000 years. By her dubbing the verse “controversial” it slyly insinuates there is something wrong with it.]

“In 1 Timothy 2:11–12, Paul wrote, “A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.” When he said, “A woman should learn in quietness” and “be silent,” he did not use a Greek word that meant “complete silence or no talking. [He used a word] used elsewhere to mean settled down, undisturbed, not unruly.” Remember, Paul’s primary ministry was geared toward Gentiles who had never been trained to have respect and reverence in worship. Paul encouraged women to observe traditional customs lest the young churches suffer a bad reputation.” ~Beth Moore

[My note: It was cultural, Beth Moore says. Nope, it was a command.]

“Consider a traditional Jewish worship service. Men sat on the lower floor of the synagogue while women sat in the balcony or at the back of the room. Women were not allowed to utter a word; they merely listened. Contrast this picture with a Christian worship service in the New Testament world. The men and women were together in a private home. The worship centered around praising God, singing, fellowshipping, eating together, sharing testimonies, and receiving instruction in their new faith. Women were included as never before. Talk about a radical idea!” ~Beth Moore

[My note: This is true. Truth is often mixed in with false teachers’ lessons, in order to confuse the undiscerning.]

“The Christian movement was new and fragile. Any taint of adverse publicity could greatly hinder the mission of the church and mean persecution for believers. Women had to restrain their new freedom in Christ (Gal. 3:28) so as not to impede the progress of the gospel. Paul’s “weaker brother” principle (1 Cor. 8:9) applies. He said, “Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.” Thus, women were to learn quietly, without calling attention to themselves.” ~Beth Moore

[My note: The faith was never “fragile”. We don’t need to delicately walk on eggshells lest it all collapse. Women didn’t have to ‘restrain their freedom.’ In the paragraph above, Moore lauds their new freedom! Now suddenly women are unhappily restricted. Genesis 3:5, ‘God’s holding out on you!’]

“In regard to instructing women not to teach men, you must understand that most women in Paul’s day were illiterate. They were not taught in synagogue schools or trained by a rabbi. Paul goes on to say in verse 12 that women should not usurp authority over men. The Greek word authenteo, “one who claims authority,” is used only this one time in the Greek translation of the Bible. This word refers to an autocrat or dictator. Paul says women were not to come in and take over!” ~Beth Moore

[My note: Lydia, Priscilla, Lois, Eunice and other women were lauded as teachers and disciples of the word. Moore is stretching things now. But yes, women were not allowed to come in and take over… THE PULPIT. Why? God doesn’t want them preaching there.]

“We cannot regard verses 11 and 12 as a prohibition against women opening their mouths in church or men learning anything biblical from women. Paul gave instructions for how women are to pray and prophesy (1 Cor. 11:5). He was fully aware of Priscilla’s role in teaching Apollos in Ephesus (Acts 18:26). Paul issued differing instructions for churches based on their cultural settings and his desire for order in the church.” ~Beth Moore.

[My Note: Priscilla’s “role” was not a role, as in, an office of teacher in the church. She didn’t teach in church. The verse explicitly says she and her husband took Apollos aside. Priscilla is mentioned 6X in scripture and every time, with her husband.]

But a careful study of that word [authentein] means, leads us to understand that it means to take authority, period. It has nothing to do with abusive authority. In fact, if he was talking about abusive authority he wouldn’t be just talking about women; he’d also be talking about what? Men, because it would be just as much a sin for them as for women.

John MacArthur, “God’s High Calling for Women”

Remember, the false teachers like Beth Moore are wordsmiths. They know what to write to create doubt, they make allusive remarks, and they reinterpret traditionally interpreted verses to match their own agenda. Usurp means usurp. Take authority over means to take authority over.

3.After causing one to doubt that God actually said, then reinterpreting the verse, the next step is to designate the unwanted verses as Clobber Verses. In this, one must diminish the verse’s importance by saying it’s numerically insignificant compared to ‘the rest of the Bible’ or, by its nuance etc. AKA, it’s a “Clobber Verse”. Here’s Beth again on 1 Timothy 2:12 from the same book, this time, the introduction:

“Having admired the apostle Paul for years, I was somewhat surprised by a few comments made by people who learned I was writing a Bible study on his life. I received questions like, “How can you, a woman, write a Bible study about a man who obviously had no tolerance for women in ministry?” Sadly, the controversy surrounding small bits of the apostle’s teaching has often kept students from delving into the heart and liberating theology of the whole man.”

Wordsmithing: Moore said “no tolerance for women in ministry“. No, Paul (via the Spirit) had no tolerance for women in preaching. He welcomed Prisca, Phoebe, Susannah, Lydia and many other women in their ministries. Just not preaching.
Clobber verse: Moore said, “small bits of the apostle’s teaching“. Small bits? Like those verses don’t matter? No, all scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness; (2 Timothy 3:16). How many times does God have to say it before it isn’t a “small bit” any more?

4.Next on the agenda for feminists to get women behind the pulpit is to pretend there’s “tension” between what ‘Paul has said’ and ‘what Christ has said’. Drive a wedge between them, like satan did with Eve and Adam. Once Eve ate the fruit and handed it to Adam, he had a choice to make. We know what he chose.

4a.Include other verses that SEEM to affirm your position (but don’t really.) This is another masquerade at seeming pious and theological. Currently Psalm 68:11 is being used to support women preaching. Duke Chapel did in the photo screen shot at top, and many others did in Moore’s Twitter comment stream.

The Lord gives the command; The women who proclaim good news are a great army: (Ps 68:11)

No tension exists. That would be saying that there is tension between the Holy Spirit in one book and the Holy Spirit in another book. But the idea is to appear pious, eagerly and sincerely delving into the word of God so as to rightly divide it. Appearances are everything to a false teacher.

No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds. (2 Corinthians 11:14-15).

Tim Bates at Things Above Us parsed Moore’s statement of alleged ‘tension’ in his article –

DON’T MENTION THE TENSION: STTA! by Tim Bates

Beth Moore, a teacher who is tossed about by every wind of doctrine, recently cited “tension” between the books of the New Testament that—through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit—recorded Jesus’ earthly ministry (Matthew-John) and the epistles that were also inspired by the Holy Spirit. In the context in which she jumped headlong into inevitable heresy (i.e. Jesus and Paul disagree or, better stated, the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit disagree) it was appropriate to call out her use of the word tension. There are not irreconcilable tensions about gender roles anywhere in the New Testament. The Bible has no contradictions because God cannot lie.

LOL, that was just the first paragraph. I love it.

Armin J. Panning, a Lutheran professor and Seminary president (passed on now) published a well-written, clear, 4 page word study of the word authentein, here, if you are interested. He rebuts the modern interpretation soundly and theologically.

Conclusion

Steps to get women preaching:

1.Hath God said? Pious doubt.
2.Contradict God’s word.
3.Declare your hated verse a ‘clobber verse’ and dilute its importance by burying it in a numerical pile under other verses.
4.Mourn an alleged ‘tension’ in God’s word between the hated verse and more preferred verses, driving a wedge between them.
4a.Misuse other verses to continue to appear pious and theological.
5.Emerge with a new interpretation, and stick to it.

Beth Moore ended her introduction to her book on Paul’s life this way:

Our focus today is on Paul’s personal exhortations to Timothy, his son in the faith. Midway through my preparation for this study, I began to realize that one of God’s priority goals is to raise up and encourage passionate, persevering servants who are completely abandoned to His will. Paul’s exhortations to Timothy stand as timeless words of advice to every servant of the living God, regardless of generation or gender.

“Regardless of gender”. There you have it.

Posted in theology

Discerning Katie Noble’s new study “God Our Home”

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Note: I made a typo in the episode number. It’s really ep 512. Spotify doesn’t allow for post-publication corrections.

I was asked to review the new Bible study by Katie Noble, called God Our Home. I am not familiar with Katie Noble, but as an older woman who has watched an entire generation been polluted by faddish, unbiblical trends, I’ve increasingly seen seen the material of the younger women who produce books and devotionals to be in more error than is wise to consume.

So, going in, I kept Matthew 10:16 in mind, and tried to be shrewd as a serpent, innocent as a dove.

Katie Noble’s books and studies and other works are not available on any other platforms except her own, Hosanna Revival. They are not on Amazon nor on Google Books, so I could not get any previews of the contents. On Hosanna Revival, there was an opportunity to download week 1 of the God Our Home new devotional study for free, which I did.

As I was reading the chapter, several items struck me.

Early on, Noble references and quotes Dallas Willard. Willard was a philosopher/Quaker/Arminian/Catholic-friendly promoter of contemplative spirituality and spiritual formation. He claimed direct revelation from God. Here, Bob Dewaay at Critical Issues Commentary critiques Willard and his spiritual formation. Willard is a false teacher. Katie Noble, if she had discernment, would not quote him or promote him in her Bible study.

The Dangers of Spiritual Formation and Spiritual Disciplines: A Critique of Dallas Willard and The Spirit of the Disciplines

And sure enough, soon after the Dallas Willard mention in her week 1 of the God Our Home study, came an explanation of how to do Lectio Divina, a spiritual practice of the Catholics, who are a false religion, and one that Willard adapted and promoted to Protestants. Lectio Divina started to be very popular around 2012 and is still popular today, as we can see from Noble’s Week One lesson.

GotQuestions outlines what Lectio Divina is and sets out some bullet points of concern with the practice, which are sadly mentioned as positives on Noble’s week one page on how to do Lectio. This is strike two.

Lectio Divina: Explanation at GotQuestions

Concerningly, here is what Noble said about Lectio which buys right in to the main problem with Lectio and most spiritual formation practices:

“We won’t only be engaging our minds, however. We’ll also train ourselves in meditative contemplation of the Scriptures: the practice of quieting our hearts to sit in the presence of the Holy Spirit… Do not fall into the trap of believing that intellectual study is more valuable than soul-level communion with God.”

The Spirit enlivens our soul through the MIND.

The word of God transforms the MIND.

Katie Noble is flat wrong when setting the basis for her lessons in the heart in addition to or instead of the mind. Jeremiah 17:9 says,

The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?

The Spirit communes with our soul via the mind.

GotQuestions says of Lectio Divina, “The subjective, personal focus of lectio divina downplays objective, methodical Bible study.”

Lectio downplays the mind where biblical prayer engages the mind.

Lectio divina emphasizes experience, inner impressions, and suggests direct revelation. It is to be avoided. It’s disappointing that Noble teaches how to do it in week one.

If Dewaay’s essay linked above is too long, here is Challies with a shorter one on the dangers of Lectio Divina.

A Danger of Lectio Divina

Noble also quotes John Mark Comer, who is another spiritual formation/subjective experience/Holy Spirit presence guy. This is a third strike. Remember, this is only the first chapter.

Marcia Montenegro, a former New Ager herself, writes about her concerns with John Mark Comer. He is a Contemplative along the lines of Willard, and he promotes the pagan Enneagram.

The theologically solid and discerning duo Darrell Harrison and Virgil Walker at the Just Thinking podcast have produced a thoroughly discerning look at the pagan enneagram, published on November 22, 2023.

Though the three concerns I’ve indicted above should be enough it dissuade women from delving into Noble’s version of Christianity, and this last one might be nitpicky to some, but a concern I have is in the introduction. I know intros are chatty and attempt to quickly connect the reader with the material. However, Noble outlines her basis for the book as the reader having negative emotions which the study will resolve. She wrote,

“If you’re disillusioned and disappointed today, if you’re feeling isolated, inadequate, anxious, and embarrassed, you’ve picked up the right book. The pages to come are specifically written to capture our wandering hearts and set them on the path homeward to God himself.”

Jesus is not a stopgap for our feelings, nor a band-aid or an overlay. We come to a Bible study wanting to know more about Him, not wanting to find a vehicle for self-help or to resolve emotions.

Noble says some good things, says other things that SOUND good but aren’t, and says some bad things. It’s a mix. All that from one chapter. I hesitate to think what material may be in the remainder of the ‘study’.

But I would not recommend her study on the basis that she promotes contemplative spirituality and lectio divina, and references several false teachers. Even if the entire remainder of the study is good, it’s too much of a risk for a newbie to be exposed to these dangerous and unbiblical practices and teachers of contemplative spirituality and enneagram. And if the remaining study is continually serving up false doctrines and false teachers like chapter 1 did, then that also confirms the “not recommended” stance.

Alternatives that are recommended are anything by Susan Heck – her ministry is titled With the Master, or Martha Peace. How to Eat Your Bible by Nate Pickowicz. Sarah Ivill’s books of the Bible studies or her Christian Living books, available thru Reformation Heritage Books.

There is also available in audio series of lessons at the women’s ministry at Grace Community Church called Every Woman’s Grace. The current series is Hebrews. There are written lesson materials one can download for free. Here is the link to the many past series. These are solid studies.

My caution for women today is to be super skeptical of modern devotionals and modern studies. It’s been about 30 years of women being exposed to Contemplative Spirituality (the start of that is seen as Claude King and Henry Blackaby’s “Experiencing God” study, which introduced direct revelation, contemplative methods, and Dallas Willard to Protestants).

That exposure beginning in 1990 and caught fire in Protestant quarters, has by now settled into the faith as a normal spiritual experience. It isn’t. Look for Bible studies if they are modern with discernment, like Every Woman’s Grace, Susan Heck, or Martha Peace. Or choose older ones (also with discernment) pre-pollution of contemplative spirituality and direct revelation.

Katie Noble’s “God Our Home” sadly, is not recommended.

Posted in theology

Is there a scriptural basis for discernment?

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

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Part 1 here: Why are there so many false pastors?

In these biblically illiterate days, many people focus their anger on the person calling out false teachers. They become angry with those who are warning against false doctrines or movements. Discernment is important! But, is there a scriptural basis for discernment activity, such as calling out false teachers, or warning the brethren of faddish leaven-soaked movements?

Yes.

The fact of the Spiritual gift: Some in the faith have been given the spiritual gift of “discerning of spirits.” Some translations say “distinguishing of spirits.” This is embedded in the list of spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11.

The purpose of the spiritual gift: The reason some have been given this spiritual gift is to be a smoke alarm for the local body, an early warning system as it were. ALL spiritual gifts are to be employed for the good of the church and the glory of God. Discerners are to use their gift of discernment to warn others so that false doctrine does not creep in. False doctrine is deadly. It’s “leaven” that pollutes the whole loaf.

Did you know that every New Testament book except Philemon warns of false doctrine or false teachers and outlines the impact falsity has on the church? It is a HUGE issue. It is something the NT does not ignore, and we should not either. So the Spirit installed discerners to help keep His church pure.

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Discerners do not have extra sensory perception, nor direct revelations from God. It’s not a mystical activity. They just know the Word so well, they can spot a counterfeit at 100 paces. It would insult the Spirit to have been given the gift of discernment by Him but to remain silent and not use it. Jesus rebuked the church at Thyatira in Revelation 2, for knowing the metaphorical Jezebel was teaching falsely, but did nothing about it.

Discernment for the layman: Though some do not possess the specific spiritual gift of discernment, ALL people in the faith are to work at honing their discernment. Hebrews 5:13-14 expects the believer to train in discernment. Acts 17:11 tells us all to be like the noble Bereans who consulted the word to compare whether what they were hearing was true or false. 1 John 4:1 tells us to test the spirits to see if they are from God.

So even if a person does not have the gift, they are to be working at being discerning themselves through constantly being in the Word and by training and practice of discernment.

Calling out the false: The folks that feel they possess the gift, or are pastors or teachers in charge of the sheep, have a DUTY to warn. Jude speaks to this, in just one of many examples. Jude 1:22 speaks of snatching some from the fire. Matthew 7:15 says to “beware” of false prophets that come in like hungry wolves. Beware is an action, we must be on guard. And many other verses…

So if one person who is more mature than another (Hebrews 5:14) sees that their friend is about to be devoured by a wolf, or led astray, or headed to a shipwreck (all allusions in the NT for what happens to the undiscerning), is it loving to look away, go home, and pray? Yes, prayer is effective (James 5:16). But paired with a gentle but direct warning, it is even more effective.

Discernment Police: The person who chides the discerner is usually one who likes their idols. They should be concerned with their own walk and its purity and holiness. Though I rarely receive this kind of reply, the reply I’d love to see is this:

“Oh no, you say So and So is false? Please tell me more. I want to honor Jesus with all my might, and would be crushed to think I’m polluting my faith by being unwary. Help me understand.”

THAT is the answer we all hope to get, SHOULD get, because Jesus is more important than anything.

People have too soft of an attitude toward false teachers and false doctrine. The serpent deceived Eve with one question. He tried to bamboozle JESUS of all people, tempting THE Word with the word of God. The concern for all of us should be holiness and purity of our walk, training in discernment, and being so knowledgeable of the word that we are immersed in truth as our armor.

Romans 16:17, 1 Corinthians 5:11; 2 Thessalonians 3:6, 14; 2 Timothy 3:5; 2 John 10 in some form or fashion tell us to mark and avoid the false teachers. These are commands. We cannot mark nor avoid if we do not know who they are. We should thank discerners for helping us to do this.

WHY are there so many warnings about false doctrine in the New Testament? Because it’s important! And because we are all easily deceived: “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.” 1 Corinthians 10:12

Balance: Now it is true that some people get so consumed with discernment that they wind up looking for the dirt rather than focusing on Jesus. They are imbalanced, spending too much time on discernment and not enough in the word and other spiritual disciplines. Discerners like that give the spiritual gift a bad name. Balance and moderation is key.

Resource: Balance in our theology is important

Grace: If someone is charging you dear reader, with being too active in discernment, is it because they’re concerned for your balance? Do they think you call out TOO much? On the other hand, are your naysayers uninformed of the verses on discernment, or uninterested in battling against the false in themselves or in their sphere? Are they misunderstanding the importance, given the time and space the NT gives to it? In that case, give them grace and help them learn why it’s important.

Proverbs 11:30, The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.

Resources:

Part 1 here: Why are there so many false pastors?

What does the Bible teach about Discernment?

John MacArthur, “Defining Discernment” 

Ligonier (Sinclair Ferguson) “What is Discernment?” 

Posted in theology

Why are there so many false *pastors*?

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I recently finished a short biography of RC Sproul by Nate Pickowicz. It was an excellent book. In it, I read of RC’s description of how false teachers do their work and why they are so dangerous.

“In my college days, there was a pre-ministerial fraternity for those who were planning to go on to seminary, and while I cannot read anyone’s heart, it seemed as if the majority of members of that particular club were quite hostile to all things Christian. I scratched my head and wondered, “What are these men doing preparing for the ministry when they’re so hostile to the things of Christ?” In time, it became apparent to me that one of the reasons why people go into the ministry is to refute the truth claims of Christianity.

Becoming a pastor is one of the easier ways to gain a public hearing; the preacher can air his views to a captive audience for an hour each Sunday Morning. However, those unbelieving men (and sometimes women) who are ordained to ministry usually find it difficult to sustain a viable ministry in the local church for any length of time, so they tend to gravitate to administrative positions, and before you know it, the unconverted control whole denominations.” ~RC Sproul, originally in “Matthew” (Wheaton: Crossway) 2013, p 656.

Eye opening, isn’t it? We know that 2 Peter 2:1 says the false teachers creep in to spy on our liberty, and Galatians 2:4, and so many other verses. But to see it laid out so clearly, that they are unconverted and abuse the pulpit to confuse and deceive the sheep, it’s startling.

I remember my conversion and when I first started to go to church. I felt a deep sense of relief, now I was safe! In one sense, I was safe, safe in the hand of Jesus where no one could snatch me out. In another sense I was now in more danger than ever. I had a new worldview, so I was the salmon that swam upstream from the crowd, whom the bear looks for and catches. Whom the lion roams around seeking to devour.

And this is how false teaching gets in, or, one of the ways.

The reason they get in is because the people want them. Believers who may turn out to be false themselves (Matthew 7:21-23), or even true believers who are unlearned and undiscerning…they do the action of heaping up the false teachers. 2 Timothy 4:3 tells us this

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires,

And there is a false teacher to match every flavor of sin. There’s the greedy money hungry false teachers, (Simon Magus of Acts 8) or the licentious false teachers (Revelation 3’s ‘Jezebel’), the heretic (Alexander and Hymenaeus), hyper-authoritative false teachers (Pharisees), teachers (OT prophets) who tell you what you want to hear, like peace when there is no peace, or prosperity or healing), and so on.

Challies outlines 7 False teachers in the Church today, listing 7 types. Seven certainly isn’t comprehensive.

Paul Washer said:

“False teachers are God’s judgment on people who don’t want God, but in the name of religion plan on getting everything their carnal heart desires. That’s why a Joel Osteen is raised up. Those people who sit under him are not victims of him. He is the judgment of God upon them because they want exactly what he wants and it’s not God.”

It’s the people who do the heaping up and clinging to false teachers. The catalyst is people, and satan is only to happy to provide them to the people who want their carnal desires stoked.

It’s the people who raise them up, and combined with Sproul’s outlook on one of the ways they get in, it’s clear we have a problem.

And the people who call them out often bear the brunt of the anger of the false converts or the deceived believer, who charge us with being mean or inappropriate. This is a way that satan uses the unlearned to protect his teachers.

Here are two resources that may help:

John MacArthur, “Defining Discernment” 

Ligonier (Sinclair Ferguson) “What is Discernment?” 

Tomorrow, more on discernment; what it is and isn’t, and the scriptural basis for discerning.

Posted in theology

Introducing: Correct-A-Meme

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I’ll do an occasional entry in this new series, looking at memes and where they take our mind from Jesus and put it on wrong tracks.

Where does false doctrine happen? The Bible warns us repeatedly to make sure we are absorbing healthy doctrine and not taking in any polluted doctrine. Our souls need it. Staying as doctrinally pure as possible is best for our spiritual health. And yet, we are often confronted with false doctrine.

‘But my pastor preaches solid sermons!’ I can hear you saying. If that’s so, then wonderful! But sermons are not the only place we can unfortunately absorb poor doctrine.

‘I read good Christian books by credible authors!’ I can hear you saying. That’s great! But sermons and books are not the only places we can unwittingly absorb false doctrine.

False doctrine is sneaky. Jude 1:4 says “For certain people have crept in unnoticed,” these are the false teachers who craftily twist the truth in subtle ways and in subtle places.

Like in music? Yes, music.

You might or might not go about your day with scripture verses popping into your head and circling around your brain, but chances are, you’ll more than likely have a song lyric that sticks with you. Like this one-

And he walks with me and he talks with me
And he tells me I am his own
And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known

No. Just no. The joy Jesus shared with the Spirit and the Father is like no joy anyone else has ever known- because it was perfect, sinless joy. And, guess what? Jesus doesn’t talk with us.

Another insidious place false doctrine comes in is through memes. Memes are especially dangerous because they are put in front of everyone. Your pastor is probably solid, you can carefully choose your own books to read, you switch radio stations when something bad comes on, but memes are ubiquitous. They are on the sides of web pages, in friends’ threads, just everywhere.

They are subtle because they are short and pithy with logical sounding statements. They don’t take much thought, they’re not supposed to. This is why they are dangerous. After you read one, you go, ‘Oh! That makes sense!’ but…does it?

Like this one.

I’ll take it apart bit by bit.

“Train your mind”. Correct. Our sanctification begins in the mind. The scriptures transform the mind and then we gradually become more like Jesus, the whole point of sanctification. The mind is the battlefield.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may approve what the will of God is, that which is good and pleasing and perfect. (Romans 12:2)

Ephesians 4:23, to be renewed in the spirit of your minds;

1 Peter 1:13, Therefore, having girded your minds for action, being sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

The first few words of this short meme are good. So you keep reading. Here is where we get into trouble. It’s trouble because it’s partly true. Most memes are half true. Charles Spurgeon said of discernment, “Discernment is not the ability to tell the difference between right and wrong; rather, it is telling the difference between right and almost right.”

Satan does send fiery darts into our mind. (fiery darts of Ephesians 6:16 are thoughts). But here are a few more errors:

God isn’t whispering to us.
God doesn’t only whisper in the Bible, He thunders, shouts, uses creation to speak, and more.
The devil doesn’t only shout.

Memes will often pit one thought against another thought when both are true. Or neither. Yes, we should not listen to the devil, and we should ‘listen’ to God- in His word. We also should not listen to our flesh, where in fact most of our wrong thoughts come from, not the devil.

Anyway, watch out for Christian memes. They are often either outright wrong, or subtly wrong. They often are the exact fiery darts we are warned about!

Posted in theology

“Why do you like the session about false teachers best?”

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Screen shot of the Justin Peters’ title card for his talk at G3 2023 National Conference

I have returned home to digest the edifying material I absorbed at the recent G3 National Conference in Atlanta. This is a 3-day conference featuring stupendous music (solid hymns accompanied by orchestral instruments), and wonderful preaching all around a theme. This year the theme was The Sovereignty of God.

Many different sermons were offered on the topic. There are endless ways to plumb the topic. You could do so for a thousand years and not even come close to scratching the surface.

A common question heard around the convention hall was “Which one was your favorite?” Every man who was selected to preach or woman who was selected to lead a breakout session has the skill to exegete their portion of scripture, and do so expertly. It isn’t a question of personality. It’s a question is which presentation spoke to your mind, which session that the Holy Spirit convicted you with or that He encouraged you with. It’s a spiritual question.

Emotions do play a part, yes. When one is convicted or encouraged on the basis of the preached word, it not only illuminates your mind but it expands your heart. The word does something to you. It is living and active after all.

The material presented to me at the G3 conference which most affected both my my mind and my heart, is Justin Peters’ talk on how false teachers attack the sovereignty of God.

False teachers attack God’s sovereignty through His omniscience, through His use of suffering and sickness, through His solitariness, through His work in salvation, and through him in general. Justin culled clips from some of the most popular of the heretical speakers of the day who demonstrated these points.

It’s one thing for a speaker to say the quotes, it is quite another for us to watch these people say them. AND have their audiences by the masses…applaud.

Their heresies were jaw-droppingly blasphemous. They were unutterably sickening. They were unrelentingly scandalous.

When Justin presented a clip featuring one of these false teachers saying one of their heresies and blasphemies, the G3 audience at Justin’s session would groan or exclaim involuntarily. We could not help it. Truly, it is amazing how deeply the false teachers hate God.

So, why would I bask in this session? Why would I say it was my favorite? Why would I even want to come close to a presentation featuring this cesspool of abyss-worthy hate?

Have you ever gone to a real jewelry store? Or seen someone on TV or a movie go to a jewelry store? Maybe you’re looking for fine jewelry for your mother, or you’re a man looking or an engagement ring for your girlfriend. You peer down into the glass case and see a jewel you like. You ask the clerk to please take it out of the case so you can get a better look. What does he do?

He takes it out for you. You anticipate looking at the sparkle and brilliance. But that is not all he takes out. He places a square of black velvet on the counter too, and lays the jewel on it. Why?

The black backdrop of the velvet enhances the brilliance of the diamond. It can be seen more clearly. Its sparkle is brighter. The jewel remains sharp and well-defined against the dark background.

And so it is. When a heretic’s words issue forth into the air, they become the black backdrop to the Lord’s brilliance in holiness and purity. The contrast makes me see the Lord as exalted even higher. My love for Him increases, and my hatred of my own sin grows. Seeing black sin for what it is against the purity of our Holy God is a contrast I always want to keep present in my mind.

Now, I don’t recommend a steady diet of purposefully seeking to contrast heresy vs. Truth. Swimming in heretical waters is a risk and not one that we take lightly. The Lord has done a superlative job of keeping Justin Peters sane and spiritually safe as he researches these items to bring to his audience’s attention. For me, it’s not a risk I want to take very often. But once in a while when the opportunity presents itself, like it did at G3, reminding myself with knowledge of the hatred these false teachers have for God, and refreshing my own soul with reminders of God’s brilliance as THE jewel of the universe, is good for me.

It also propels me into a desire to always be a precise steward of the truth. Falsity begins somewhere. These heretics didn’t start out at the bottom of the abyss. Sin is incremental, and it grows. I don’t ever want even a germ of falsity in my writing or speaking the glories of Jesus. I know there will be at times, because I’m not glorified and I have a mind that needs renewing every day. But the goal is to minimize it and to cast it out when its presence is brought to my attention. Heresy is a death sentence. But it begins with a small waver from the center line of orthodoxy.

So that is why I liked the conference session about false teachers best.

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Posted in theology

Early Warning Radar

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Early Warning Radar is, “An early-warning radar is any radar system used primarily for the long-range detection of its targets, i.e., allowing defenses to be alerted as early as possible before the intruder reaches its target, giving the air defenses the maximum time in which to operate.” (Wikipedia).

Closeup of a few of the antenna towers of the U.S. Navy Cutler VLF transmitter facility at Cutler, Maine. By Noelle Keyser – Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3790693

This is military talk. But we in the Christian life are in a war, and Paul and Peter used military talk in their letters. We read of battles, fiery darts, victories, armor, ‘fellow soldiers‘. The metaphor is apt.

In the Old Testament God said He stationed Prophets as watchmen on the wall. They were to alert the populace if they saw a raid coming, and blood would be on their hands if they failed to watch and/or raise the alarm. (Ezekiel 3:17, Isaiah 62:6, Ezekiel 33:6). In the New Testament we are not Israel but the Church. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood. The Lord sent His Spirit to endow some in the church with watchman-like abilities who operate similarly to the Old Testament watchmen in their task. It’s called discernment. The folks in the Church who possess this spiritual gift are the Church’s Early Warning Radar.

EPrata photo. Nassau policeman on watch

These people can detect the long-range approach of its targets (false doctrine/false teachers) , i.e., allowing defenses to be alerted as early as possible before the (satanic) intruder reaches its target, giving the ground defenses (pastors) the maximum time in which to operate (refute, defend, excommunicate).

The long range watchers have an ability to ‘see’ a false teacher, spot a false doctrine, know when ‘something is off’. Many people say “I felt something was off with her but I couldn’t put my finger on it.” Well, discerning watchmen know exactly who, how, and what was “off” and warn about it specifically. They can see a false trend begin to coalesce, they can reject what they see is a not a legitimate movement but is in fact a fad, they can warn of incursions.

Remember the “Asbury Revival”? In February 2023 a seemingly spontaneous ‘revival’ broke out at Kentucky’s Asbury University sparked by students remaining in the Auditorium after a regularly scheduled chapel service, praying, singing, pouring out like fervent, excitable college kids do. More joined from local campuses, then more from other states, until it was a religious free-for-all. Your long range warning people early in February said it wasn’t genuine. They knew.

They were dismissed. Their warnings rejected.

And that is the trouble with those in the church who refuse to heed their local, identified discernment people. They are often ignored. Wisdom abounds in the discernment folks and in the learned elders who have trained up in discernment as part of their job. Here is a specific example of an early warning from a long range watcher with discernment.

On August 9, 2023, Owen Strachan (Provost & Research Professor of Theology, @GBTSeminary) posted the following mini-warning about a particular stance that well-known author Nancy Pearcy made in her new book:

Aimee Byrd is also well-known, but sadly she is known for turning egalitarian, then liberal, then fringe. So it is not a good comparison. Below is the tweet that Nancy made which Dr Strachan warned about:

In typical fashion, there was immediate pushback against this warning.

I’ve seen this often. A warning is given about a trend, false doctrine, or person. Hordes clamor against it, usually saying either the warning is not specific enough, or it is too early to say so and to just hush up and have some grace. ‘You don’t know their heart’ is a common rejoinder.

Then the trend, false doctrine, or person settles into the Christian zeitgeist, and more warnings are given. When it becomes obvious to many that indeed, the person, doctrine, or trends was a harm to the faith, the rejoinders change. ‘It’s too late to do anything about it/her/him’. ‘Just chew the meat and spit out the bones’. ‘Who are you to say anything against them, they’ve helped many despite their misguided interpretations.’ And so on.

A failure in a walk begins somewhere. Some people can spot that beginning and warn. Pearcy’s subtle shift of a previously commonly defined word is an early warning, and matches a trend of later failures. But the early warning was dismissed (at least by the women named ‘going godward’).

Here is another example, this time, of a mourning AFTER a fall. Early warning signs were ignored:

Somewhere, a pastor started heeding a cloaked liberal feminist calling herself a Christian named Aimee Byrd. Her advice was that even married men and women can have close relationships apart from spouses. Somewhere someone might have been concerned of this change in a pastor’s stance, or seen him carrying her book around, and said, ‘excuse me, sir but that book has too many liberal ideas… it’s dangerous.’ An early warning might have been given. If it was not heeded, the result was that this pastor had let the guardrails down, and then his sin got the better of him, and he fell into adultery.

However, the pendulum swing in the other direction in the aftermath of an obvious fall, after the bomb has hit, is that people either blame the messenger (as Beth Moore did to Tom Buck in her reply), or they say, ‘it’s too late, move on’.

The points here today are this:

TAKE WARNINGS SERIOUSLY. Ideas are not just ideas nor are they harmless. Ideas have consequences.

  1. Train yourself in discernment. Even if you don’t possess the actual spiritual gift (1 Corinthians 12:10), you can and must train up in it. (Hebrews 5:14).
  2. As your discernment grows you will be able to spot solid, credible men of the faith (after your own pastor or elders). Once you identify them, learn from them, listen to them, take heed from them.
  3. Heed their warnings. Not blindly, but discerningly. Consult the Bible, consult good commentaries, consult appropriate resources. Be a Berean (Acts 17:11).

In this specific case with Nancy Pearcy, you could go to the website The Council on Biblical Manhood & Womanhood to seek information on the two big words Dr Strachan used, ‘complementarianism’ and ‘egalitarianism’. And look up the word “ezer” in a good Bible word dictionary or lexicon (like Biblehub.com) and read how the word is used in context.

Or this review of Aimee Byrd’s decent into egalitarianism

Be discerning, wisely heed warnings, and keep your life & doctrine pure!

Posted in theology

Can women learn theology from other women? Another take

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

This past April there was a social media discussion that erupted after a man named Dale Partridge posted a podcast or two or three, claiming that it is unbiblical for women to teach theology even to other women. This was a new take on the verses he founded this thought from, some of which are Titus 1:9, 1 Corinthians 11:3, 1 Timothy 2:11-14, 1 Corinthians 14:34-35, Ephesians 5:24-27, and so on.

Was he right? Or was he going too far? It threw a lot of people into confusion during the summer, including me. Diligent Christian women WANT to do the right thing, and many of us who emulate the Bereans (Acts 17:11) went back to double check.

My own conclusion after searching the scriptures in context, is that this man was wrongly applying scripture. I then did a deep dive into Dale’s Christian life and teaching and concluded his theology was not to be trusted. He went beyond scripture, his life was one flip to another both in employment and in doctrinal stances. He is a serial plagiarist (which alone disqualifies him from leading), and fails to tell the truth more frequently than can be attributed to an accidental slip of the typing. As more people focused on him who did the same, and compared his ‘teaching’ to the Bible, their conclusion also was that his life and his doctrine didn’t stand up.

Nick Campbell was one of these who presented a detailed conclusion to Partridge’s life and doctrine, and at that time I obtained permission to re-post his conclusions on this blog. It is here-

Can women teach ‘academic theology’ to other women? – A response by Nick Campbell

Why should we care about what one guy is saying about women teaching theology? Because he has a big following. Because influencers are called influencers for a reason- they influence. And when it’s a Christian, or someone professing Christianity, they can influence the faithful for good or for ill. It’s incumbent upon us to discern which.

Then during the summer of 2023, someone with a bigger following than Partridge, Lori Alexander, “The Transformed Wife” AKA @godlywomanhood, passed Dale’s teaching on to her female followers, which number in the millions.

Lori Alexander

Women began coming to me with this, asking What? Why? Huh?

The disruption lasted all June and July, and still iterates now in August. The always articulate, the always careful, and always thoughtful Chris Hohnholz, came out with his own conclusion to the question ‘Can women teach theology to other women?’

Here is what Chris wrote. I have his permission to repost:

Chris Hohnholz – Servant of Christ Jesus, @ChrisHohnholz

“So, after seeing the kerfuffle surrounding Dale Partridge and his comments regarding women learning theology, I am now listening to part 1 of his podcast on this. Despite his assertions to the contrary, I honestly do not believe this helps his cause.”

“Dale rightly makes a case about the authority structure between husbands and wives (and their daughters) and the authority structure in the church (pastors over congregants, pastoral role reserved to men). However, he then extends that authority to say that women ought ONLY receive certain kinds of theological teaching from ONLY their father, husband, or pastor. That those certain theological teachings are not permitted for women to teach.”

“He also extends to authority of the Christian father over his daughter while she is out of the home, as an adult, unmarried. It his job to shepherd her, or it is ONLY the pastor’s job/authority if there is no Christian father or husband.”

“While this may sound like it has a ring of truth, you have to extend the passages he uses beyond their context to create this scenario. He also tries to distinguish between what he calls “devotional theology” (basic understanding of the gospel, Christian life and application, etc) which all Christians can learn and talk about, from “systematic theology” which is essentially the exclusive realm of pastors, elders, etc, because it is what they need to teach Christians.”

“Dale gives a passing comment that Christians “can” study systematic theology but it isn’t needed for them because that really is more for informing the pastors so they can teach and address things the average Christian doesn’t have to face or have the responsibility to address.”

“And here is where the rubber meets the road. [According to Dale Partridge] Women can teach “devotional theology” to other women but systematic theology is verboten because it is teaching that which is reserved to the role of the pastor, therefore, she is assuming authority that is not hers. This is a massive stretch and not consistent with the teaching of Scripture. Partridge simply is wrong.”

—end Chris Hohnholz comment.

Indeed, the notion that there is such a thing as ‘devotional theology’ vs. ‘systematic theology’ is a tier that Dale has invented then put into the conversation. It does not exist. There is no such thing as devotional theology.

“Devotional theology” is not devotions we might be reading in the morning

When Chris posted his thoughtful and biblical conclusions to the kerfuffle Mr Partridge caused, Dale Partridge replied with a concerning tweet. The story isn’t over. Now, remember that 38-year-old Dale is the President of Reformation Seminary as well as a pastor, author, podcaster, and influencer.

Dale Partridge, @dalepartridge Replying to @ChrisHohnholz

“Chris, I would appreciate you reading this as it is the conclusion of those three episodes on the topic. Naturally, I was working through this topic and episode one is not the most clear representation of my view. But this is. Let me know your thoughts.“

No. Just no. When one is supposed to be a trusted source for the words of God, one does not ‘work out’ one’s theology in public. Leaders are supposed to study and study until coming to a settled conclusion, and THEN assert “This is what God says in His word” or “This is what the Bible means when it says XYZ”. God’s word is precious. It is not to be flung about in public, slippery and amorphous. It is the most solid thing in the universe. We don’t play with it.

A qualification for leaders is that they must be “able to teach”. (1 Timothy 3:2). That mean they should have an ability to communicate the truth of Scripture with clarity. It does not mean the teacher issues successive videos clarifying then clarifying more then clarifying the clarification. It also doesn’t mean he should “work out” his stance and appeal to confusion as the reason for the questions. Indeed, Mr Hohnholz replied,

Chris Hohnholz replied, “You sounded pretty clear to me, sir. And, I pulled these episodes straight from this article. You make clear delineations and make clear statements about realms of authority and who should teach what. I’m already into the second episode and I’m not hearing any significant difference. You are simply asserting more than Scripture commands and are attempting to couch that in terms of what is “ideal.” It would be better for you to simply state you were wrong on this matter, pull the episodes and article, study Scripture without your presuppositions in place and try again. I’m going to be honest with you, I often see A LOT of “I’ve been misrepresented” on this here bird site, so I tend to make it my task to interact directly with a person’s material. The “I know you interacted directly with exactly what I said but it’s still not what I really meant,” is not a good look for you. Take care.”

It is a blessing to have so much Christian material available to us at the touch of a button! But with it comes caution. Satan works his evil everywhere, and he is online too. He influences people and their teaching. As Paul said, false teachings “spread like gangrene“. And if you are a medical professional or a movie watcher of old westerns, you know how fast gangrene spreads. FAST.

Tips for following people online

Be influenced well, not poorly.

What to watch out for online: people whose positions change frequently, one moment they are Amillennial and the next they are posmillennial and the next they are dispensational. Not that people can’t change, RC Sproul changed from old earth to young earth, John MacArthur changed from believing that Jesus was temporarily subordinate to God to permanently subordinate to God. But these big changes in doctrine come with an explanation, and a lot of thought and prayer after years. And they didn’t “work it out” online in public.

Watch out for people who claim they are leaders but are unteachable and uncorrectable. These people are often not humble, either.

Watch out for people who are always and constantly involved in some controversy, or worse, starting one. The truth will stir up controversy, but with discernment you can detect the difference between someone starting one to get clicks, and someone who has controversy thrust upon them due to speaking God’s light to a dark world.

Watch out for influencers who seem unattached to a church or unaccountable to their pastor. If they are a Seminary Professor, they are accountable to the Trustee Board. Many famous female celebrity teachers are loose cannons who seem unattached to any church or accountability structure.

On the positive side, watch for: men who are thoughtful and who avoid ‘hot takes’. Who avoid jumping into the fray. They are measured and calm, remembering that they represent Christ. Men who are solid in doctrine, yet attentive to other positions (if even just to be gracious). Men who use a lot of scripture in their posts or tweets. Men who are loving to their wives online, praising them and being kind.

Ladies, I hope you glory in His word and study it with joy. All of it. It is ALL there to edify you and is profitable for correction, reproof, and growth to do every good work!