JOEL 2 GENERATION

I wrote this blog post originally back in 2012. I've decided to update it and repost it for 2 primary reasons:  1. I subsequently became familiar with Ken Wilson's landmark work on the pagan/non-Christian influences on Augustine's theology (see his book, Foundations of Augustinian-Calvinism)  and know about what those influences were and how they perverted his theology and moved him away from the Apostolic faith.  2. The influence of Augustinianism/Calvinism on Christians continues to be widespread (and in some places growing). Even this week, spending time with 2 different Christian brothers whose theology is sadly influenced by Reformed ideas that cause them to misinterpret/misunderstand God's will in their lives and the lives of their families.  St. Augustine's influence on Western Christianity is second to none. However, his theology, primarily due to the Neoplatonic philosophy which influenced it (I would now add Stoicism and Gnostic Manichaeism), moved Christ...

I originally wrote the following blog post back in 2017. I have subsequently become aware of Dr. Ken Wilson's work on Augustine's theology. His Oxford doctrinal dissertation entitled "Augustine's Conversion from Traditional Free Choice to 'Non-Free Free Will': A Comprehensive Methodology" was published in 2018 and demonstrates irrefutably that St. Augustine was influenced philosophically/theologically by 3 non-Christian sources - Stoicism, Neoplatonism, and Gnostic Manichaeism. Ken Wilson released a book summarizing and simplifying his technical dissertation entitled  The Foundation of Augustinian-Calvinism  in 2019.  I knew back in 2017 that Augustine's theology was infected by non-Christian, non-Apostolic sources. I now understand, thanks to Ken Wilson, far more deeply what those sources were and how they affected his doctrine of God, his doctrine of man, and his Soteriology (doctrine of salvation). And I know more surely than ever that due to these ...

We are living in a day when many historic Christian emphases/teachings are almost entirely neglected and/or absent altogether.  In an age of self-promotion, and numbers of followers on Social Media (with people obsessed with 'likes' and 'shares'), where is the Apostolic Christian emphasis that we need to be 'dying to ourselves' and focusing on humility? Recently in my preaching/teaching, I imagined things John the Baptist would have NEVER participated in. In short, I believe he would utterly reject the "cult of self" and self-promotion that characterizes so much of the ministry in the Body of Christ today.  What was John's goal? His was his aim in ministry? Was it to establish a name, a ministry for himself? Absolutely NOT.  In stark contrast to the 'platform building' efforts in today's Church, John's intention was TO BECOME LESS! He said it like this... John 3:30 – “He [Jesus] must become greater(increase), I must become less(decr...

We've dealt with "Hyper-Grace" teachers and teaching before in this blog. But this false teaching continues to be prevalent within the Body of Christ.  Hyper-Grace teaching can only be supported by 'cherry picking' verses out of the NT and then doing some heterodox exegesis of other passages (i.e. 1 John 1:8). NO ONE would ever come to the conclusions of Hyper-Grace teachers if they read through ALL of the New Testament, considering the "whole counsel" of the Apostolic deposit. And you won't find a single Christian theologian, apologist, or leader in the early centuries of the church that would support the conclusions of the modern Hyper-Grace teachers. NOT ONE! That alone should disturb any of these teachers who somehow believe they have unlocked the original Apostolic teaching that somehow got lost for nearly 2000 years! Today the Lord highlighted Philippians 3:12 again to me and the Apostle Paul completely dismantles the Hyper-Grace teachers in a ...

I am all for the best use of technology. And clearly, during Covid, the online 'Zoom Meeting' became the way much of the world was forced to function for a time. I was teaching at a university at the time and we were entirely online using Zoom for classes and faculty meetings for over a year.  Most churches also shifted all of their gatherings to virtual ones using Zoom (or a similar type of online platform).  But our church NEVER met virtually on Zoom - we met in person. Even when it was illegal to do so. We gathered - for a couple of weeks, we even gathered in small groups of 3-4 in our cars (we called it, "Church on Wheels"). After a couple of weeks of that, we shifted into meeting in houses, in person, and NEVER looked back after that. There were a few weeks when the entire country wasn't allowed to leave their homes with a strict curfew in place and because there was no other way, during those weeks we did meet virtually.   And as far as we know, we were the ...

Archbishop Viganò is a fearless voice of truth in today's Roman Catholic Church. Whereas many Roman Catholics have abandoned their church's teaching regarding abortion, like the primitive church, any faithful Catholic rejects abortion as the murder of innocent babies in all circumstances.  Archbishop Viganò goes beyond abortion in his following statement to come against many other wicked, evil forces at work in the world today. He speaks the truth regarding Covid and the so-called "safe & effective" vaccines.  My prayer is that God will use this statement to lead many Roman Catholics to repentance, those who have bowed the knee to the spirit of the age and who have abandoned the Apostolic teaching of the entire church of Jesus Christ regarding abortion. Following are excerpts from Archbishop Viganò's Statement: "THE SUPREME COURT of the United States of America, overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, healed a constitutional vulnus  [wound] and at the...

There were no so-called "Pro-Choice Christians" in the early Church! Abortion was/is murder. It would have been grounds for excommunication - to have participated in one or to support/believe in the practice. That has ALWAYS been the Christian position. It was the Apostolic faith and practice. Today's Christians, who believe they can follow Jesus and support abortion rights, are deceived. They are supporting murder. It is a false teaching that has crept into the church and has led many into apostasy.  #abortion, #pro-life, #christianity, #Roe v Wade, #infanticide, #murder