Kenneth L. Gentry Jr.'s Blog, page 89

EUROPEAN MUSLIM CONVERTS TO CHRISTIANITY

[image error]PMT 2017-034 by Fox News

Christianity is making a comeback in Europe – and it’s mostly thanks to Muslims, say experts in Islam and faith leaders.

A soaring number of Muslims, many of them refugees from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, are converting to Christianity, breathing new life into Europe’s once floundering Christian churches. The Muslims are flocking to various Christian denominations, experts said, including becoming Protestants, evangelical or Catholic.

As many parts of Europe are becoming more secular and houses of worship are seeing congregants leave in droves, it is Muslim converts who are reviving struggling Christian churches.

“European churches have struggled for decades to share the gospel with modern secular Europeans,” Matthew Kaemingk, a professor at the Fuller Theological Seminary in Seattle, told Fox News. “They have found Muslim immigrants to be much more open to the message of Christianity.”

Kaemingk, who has done research focused on Christian responses to Muslim immigration in the Netherlands, and has written a book titled “Christian Hospitality and Muslim Immigration in an Age of Fear” that will be published this fall, said secular Europeans rarely sense a deep need for the type of healing and salvation the church offers.

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Christianity and the World Religions:

By Derek CooperCooper. Examines the rival worldviews found in Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism, Judaism, Islam, and irreligion. He engages these worldviews from a Christian perspective.

See more study materials: www.KennethGentry.com

“Europeans are wealthy, comfortable, healthy, and powerful,” Kaemingk said. “In short, they don’t think they need God.”

But, he added, Muslim immigrants are quite the opposite – they are intensely spiritual. But they are leaving their own religion for a variety of reasons.

Some Muslim refugees settling in European counties may be converting on the assumption that their odds for obtaining political asylum will improve if they are Christian, according to the Guardian. Others may have had an earlier interest in converting but were unable to do so while they lived in the Middle East, where conversions are often prohibited and could make the family a target. Some jihadist groups, including ISIS, target Christians for murder in such countries as Syria and Iraq.

Others are turning to Christianity to assimilate in their new country.

“The average Muslim newcomer in Europe experiences a tremendous amount of societal pressure. They experience racism, poverty, exclusion, discrimination, language and cultural barriers, and a deep sense of displacement,” Kaemingk said. “Their sense of homelessness is not only geographical, it is spiritual. Churches who offer these Muslims real and meaningful hospitality are seeing some surprising results.”

Germany received nearly 900,000 asylum seekers in 2016; the majority was from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, according to published reports. Churches in Berlin and Hamburg were faced with so many asylum seekers wanting to convert that they held baptisms in municipal swimming pools.

The increasing number of asylum seekers in Germany prompted the nation’s evangelical church leaders to issue a handbook on baptizing the converts, reported The Independent.

“In recent years, asylum seekers – either alone or as a family – have increasingly turned to the Christian faith and asked church communities whether they could be baptized,” the handbook’s introduction said. “This is a special challenge, not only for asylum seekers, but also for parish priests, parishioners and parishes, who guide those being baptized for many hours, sensitively and responsibly.”

In Austria, the Catholic Church received some 300 applications for adult baptism in the first three months of 2016, and nearly three-quarters of those are refugees converting from Islam, the Guardian reported. An Iranian man told the Guardian that he moved to Austria because he tried to convert in his homeland but was frequently harassed for doing so.

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Postmillennialism

By Keith Mathison

The promises of the gospel offer hope of a brighter future for the families and nations of the earth. Mathison’s an optimistic eschatology supported by biblical, historical, and theological considerations.

See more study materials at: www.KennethGentry.com

The man said that one time, as he left a Bible class in Iran, he and others who had been in his study group were attacked. The refugee, identified only as “Johannes,” said that conversion is so frowned-upon in his homeland that only his sister knows about his decision to become a Christian.

“A religion that began with violence cannot lead people to freedom and love,” Johannes said, explaining his disillusionment with Islam. “Jesus Christ said `those who use the sword will die by the sword’. This really changed my mind.” . . .

To read full article: click

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GAY CONVERSION THERAPY?

[image error]PMT 2017-033 by Christopher Doyle (Christian Post)

On March 10, ABC’s “20/20” aired a year-long investigation on several “Christian camps” reported to be practicing so-called “gay conversion therapy.” Shockingly, the exposé revealed unspeakable abuse and torture by several unlicensed “pastors” operating reform schools for troubled youth, some of whom identified as gay or lesbian.

Unfortunately, ABC was more sensational than accurate in their reporting when comparing these rogue, abusive camps to licensed therapy for youth struggling with unwanted same-sex attractions and gender confusion, a practice that gay activists have aggressively sought to shut down in more than 25 states and cities across the country.

Gay conversion therapy is a made-up term coined by gay activists to describe a practice where a client is changed from gay to straight — often involving teenagers, against their will, and usually in the case where a religious or unaccepting parent is the impetus. In my clinical experience, I have worked with hundreds of parents and teenagers struggling with sexual and gender identity. Not once have I ever allowed a parent to force or manipulate their child to change.

As a former homosexual and licensed psychotherapist that specializes in sexual and gender identity, I understand that same-sex attractions and gender confusion are the result of many underlying factors; and when parents heal the wounds and work through dysfunctional patterns within the family, relational and emotional healing occurs with the child. In some cases, this results in a redefinition or new understanding for the child struggling with sexual and gender issues – even a change in the way he or she identifies.

Openness Unhindered (by Rosaria Butterfield)[image error]

Dr. Butterfield goes to great lengths to clarify some of today’s key controversies. She also traces their history and defines the terms that have become second nature today-even going back to God’s original design for marriage and sexuality as found in the Bible. She cuts to the heart of the problems and points the way to the solution.

See more study materials at: www.KennethGentry.com

But this is not what was portrayed in the 20/20 exposé. In the first minute, the commentator mentioned that five states have banned licensed counselors from engaging in “gay conversion therapy” with another 20 considering legislation this year. The show then quickly jumps to several sensational stories where desperate parents send their children, some of whom are gay and lesbian identified, to reform schools that work with a variety of youth who display oppositional behaviors. But none of these schools were “gay conversion therapy” camps with licensed therapists.

The scenes at these schools were horrific. Experiences were described where “pastors” intimidated gay youth with the “Bible or the belt” and in some cases, locked them up in small, isolated rooms for hours or days at a time as punishment for non-conformity.

Let’s be very clear: this is not acceptable; this is not justifiable in any circumstance; and this is not therapy. The fact that 20/20 did not even show or discuss professional therapy by licensed therapists, which is about healing and emotional change, is irresponsible journalism. It’s tantamount to fake news!

ABC is playing a sick, bait and switch game with the public. They report a story of abuse by unlicensed, untrained “counselors” abusing gay youth, and then subtly mention it alongside licensed therapy without clearly distinguishing between the two practices. This is a psychological technique called “jamming.” The media compares something legal, like licensed, ethical therapy, to something illegal or unethical such as unlicensed abuse in rogue camps, and then ties them together without clearly distinguishing between the two.

The problem is that what was shown on 20/20 was not therapy at all. Licensed, ethical therapists do not force or coerce teenagers to change, nor do they manipulate desperate parents to send their kids away to be reformed.

Transforming Homosexuality[image error]

What the Bible Says about Sexual Orientation and Change

by Denny Burk and Heath Lambert

Is same-sex attraction sinful, even if it is not acted on? Denny Burk and Heath Lambert challenge misconceptions on all sides as they unpack the concepts of same-sex orientation, temptation, and desire.

See more study materials at: www.KennethGentry.com

I was one of the licensed therapists the ABC producers contacted for background and possible inclusion in the show. One of the producers actually asked me if I could refer him to a therapist that took the position that homosexuality was morally wrong and would practice gay conversion therapy. When I told him that’s not what ethical, licensed therapists do, he asked me if I could refer him to a therapist that did. At that point, I confronted the producer and told him it was clear he was trying to manufacture a story that didn’t exist.

If you want to show this abuse but juxtapose it against what licensed, ethical therapists do in practice that would be the right thing to do. But these ABC journalists were not interested in showing ethical therapy or even distinguishing between ethical vs. non-ethical practices. They were only interested in sensationalism. . . .

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HEALTH BENEFITS OF WINE

[image error]PMT 2017-032 by Mischelle Sandowich (Reformed Health)

Wine is a gift to the human race. What makes wine a gift and not a curse? The answer is in the benefits of wine for your health and emotional well-being. So far we have looked at wine solely from a biblical perspective, but today we will look at 18 science based benefits of wine. If you’ve missed the previous posts, to date we have:

• noted that there are three basic views on alcohol use in the Bible: prohibitionist; abstentionist; and moderationist

• demonstrated that wine in the Bible contained alcohol

• shown one of the benefits of wine is its natural ability to ferment into alcohol – which brings joy to the heart

• provided 14 reasons that God approves the drinking of wine

• and shared 30 warnings in the Bible against drunkenness

Today we will talk about the health benefits of wine from a scientific approach. But first, let’s recap two clear benefits of wine in the Bible as we begin our dialogue. We provide the scientific data as a means to support the Bible’s claims. So first we must be sure the Bible makes these claims – then we can evaluate the supporting evidence for the benefits of wine. Science is often wrong or mistaken – the Bible is not. So let’s start there.

• Paul instructed Timothy to have a little wine for his frequent ailments – 1 Timothy 5:23

• The Bible teaches that God gave wine to make man’s heart glad – Psalm 104:15

These two verses are sufficient to show that wine has both health benefits and emotional benefits. (Please view previous posts for a more thorough argument.) So what does science say about the benefits of wine consumed in moderation?[image error]

God Gave Wine (by Ken Gentry)

A biblical defense of moderate alcohol consumption. Considers all key biblical passages and engages the leading objections.

See more study materials at: www.KennethGentry.com

1. Wine has the ability to ward off the common cold

According to the New York Times, “researchers at Carnegie Mellon in 1993, looked at 391 adults and found that resistance to colds increased with moderate drinking, except in smokers.” And another study in The American Journal of Epidemiology showed that “drinking 8 to 14 glasses of wine per week, particularly red wine, was linked to as much as a 60 percent reduction in the risk of developing a cold. The scientists suspected this had something to do with the antioxidant properties of wine.”

2. Compounds in wine can protect against heart disease

According to the National Institute of Health, “Polyphenols.have been studied to determine if their intake may modify cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk..recent evidence suggests that immunomodulatory and vasodilatory properties of polyphenols may.contribute to CVD risk reduction.laboratories, have suggested that these beneficial effects are due to polyphenols found in red wine, especially resveratrol in grape skins. These benefits include a reduction in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.”

3. Red wine in moderation reduces risk of heart attack

The Mayo Clinic reports: “Red wine, in moderation, has long been thought of as heart healthy. The alcohol and certain substances in red wine called antioxidants may help prevent coronary artery disease, the condition that leads to heart attacks.”

4. Moderate red wine consumption reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes

Annals of Internal Medicine reports a two year controlled study showing evidence that moderate red wine consumption improves blood sugar levels in type 2 diabetics.

5. A glass of wine per day lowers risk of stroke by 21%

According to Live Science: “Women who drank low amounts of alcohol – about half of a glass of wine per day, on average – were 17 percent less likely to have a stroke compared with women who drank no alcohol. Women who drank about a glass a day were 21 percent less likely to have a stroke than abstainers.”

6. Moderate wine drinking cuts the risk of cataracts in half

Medscape Medical News claims, “When consumed in moderation, red wine may reduce the risk of developing cataracts.” In addition, studies show “that nondrinkers and heavy drinkers of any sort of alcohol had a substantially increased risk for cataract development, while moderate red wine drinkers had only half the risk.”

7. Piceatannol, a compound found in red wine, can help with weight loss

Dr. Axe reports: “Purdue University conducted a study that suggests red wine may help fight obesity. This is due to a compound found in grapes and other fruits, that has a similar chemical structure to resveratrol.” The compound that takes the credit is piceatannol, which blocks “an immature fat cell’s ability to develop and grow.”

God Gave Wine Lectures[image error]

By Ken Gentry

Professionally-produced, four-part doculecture series, engages a hotly-debated issue within the Christian church: the question of the Christian and alcoholic beverages. Presents and defends the case for a moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages by Christians.

See more study materials at: www.KennethGentry.com

8. 7-14 glasses of red wine per week keeps the brain sharper

According to the Memory Foundation, a “study of 7,485 Australians aged between 20 and 64 years of age. found: People who drank moderately (up to 7 drinks a week for females and up to 14 drinks a week for males) performed better than abstainers on all measures of cognitive abilities.”

To read the remaining 10 benefits: click.

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CHINA’S REMARKABLE RELIGIOUS RESURGENCE

[image error]Interview of Ian Johnson by Rob Moll (Christianity Today)

Under Mao Zedong’s dictatorship, Christianity, Buddhism, and Taoism suffered persecution and near-extinction. In recent decades, however, they have each made an astounding comeback. In The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao, Ian Johnson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author who has covered China for The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, and other publications, offers an intimate look at this remarkable recovery. CT editor at large Rob Moll spoke with Johnson about the reasons for spiritual ferment among the Chinese people.

What spurred your interest in China’s religious resurgence?

When I first went to China in the 1980s, I thought there was probably no religious belief at all. The Cultural Revolution had ended just eight years before, and there were almost no churches, temples, or mosques open. It seemed like religion had just been wiped out. In retrospect, this was completely wrong. The public practice of religion had been wiped out, but for many religions, the first 30 years of Communist rule were almost like a crucible. And this was especially true for Protestantism. Religious life was forced underground, and then it grew. And when the Cultural Revolution ended, it just took off. That became clearer when I came back to China in the 1990s.

If you want to understand China, it’s not enough just to understand the political and economic system or the foreign policy. All of these are important, but you also need to look at the inner life of the country. And the more time I spent there, the more I could see the vital importance of religion for the Chinese people. Many people sensed a spiritual vacuum and a confusion about what their society stands for morally-and they turned to religion for answers.

What happened after Mao’s reign to bring about this renewed interest in religion?

There were so many crises during Mao’s reign that after his death, communism was discredited. So the party basically said, “You can do what you want as long as you focus on economic life and leave the politics to us. You just go ahead and get rich.” They promoted this crass materialism.

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Christianity and the World Religions:

By Derek CooperCooper. Examines the rival worldviews found in Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism, Judaism, Islam, and irreligion. He engages these worldviews from a Christian perspective.

See more study materials: www.KennethGentry.com

For the first decade or two, you could say that this worked. But there was always an undercurrent of dissatisfaction. I think that’s taken off in the past decade, because so many Chinese are pretty well off. There is still poverty, but much less than in the past. For most people in China, the basic problems of food, clothing, and shelter have been solved. But then they look at their society and realize they want something more. There is a human desire for meaning in life and for arranging society on some kind of moral order. This has spurred the revival of religion-the traditional Chinese religions, to be sure, but also Protestant Christianity.

What are the major religious movements you explored?

First, I look at groups in Beijing that practice Buddhism and other Chinese folk religions, which have been suppressed in the past but are making a big comeback with a bit of government support. These are primarily working-class people, the kind you don’t meet very often or read about too much.

Then I spent time with a group of folk Taoist priests living in Tseng Chi province, in the countryside. Even though China has urbanized, about half the population lives in rural areas. Taoism is China’s indigenous religion. I got a feel for religion in the countryside, and a sense of the adaptations people make when they move to the cities. I visited a family where the father stayed in the village and the son moved to the town, which caused some tensions.

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World Religions and Cults (Bodie Hodge, ed.)

This work is helpful for understanding and combating false religions and cults. It deals with the leading false religious beliefs in the world today.

See more study materials at: www.KennethGentry.com

The other major group is the Chengdu Protestants, named after the province where they are concentrated. Protestantism is China’s fastest growing religion. I wanted to look at an unregistered church, because they are growing the fastest, and because they’re so dynamic and interesting. In some ways, they’re the future of one big segment of religious life in China. I also wanted to avoid spending too much time in Beijing. If you spend all your time there, you would think the Communist Party is all powerful. But in Chengdu you see this unregistered church that’s running its own seminary and kindergarten. It bought a floor in an office building. And all of this is happening even though it’s technically illegal. You get a feel for the diversity of China and how things outside of Beijing can be a bit more freewheeling….

To read full article: click

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EASTER AND VICTORY

[image error]PMT 2017-030 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

This weekend Christians throughout the world especially recall Christ’s resurrection, because this is the Easter season. The Lord’s resurrection was the first step of his exaltation and leads inextricably to his eventual world dominion.

The New Testament has several enthronement passages that highlight his resurrection. The first of the enthronement passages in the post-resurrection age is Acts 2:30ff. This text associates Christ’s enthronement with his exaltation, which begins with his resurrection and proceeds to his ascension and session at God’s right hand. Concerning David’s prophecy anticipating his seed who will sit upon his throne, Peter proclaims:

Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; he seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. . . . Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Until I make thy foes thy footstool. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. (Ac 2:30, 31, 33–36)

David’s prophecy regarding one who will sit on his throne looks to the “resurrection.” Christ suffers ultimate humiliation on the cross and in the tomb. But then his resurrection initiates his exaltation in preparation for his ascension to God’s throne, the place of universal rule and authority. There he is “crowned with glory” (Heb 2:9) to begin his rule (Ro 8:34; Eph 1:20; Col 3:1; Heb 12:2; 1Pe 3:22; Rev 3:21) by wielding all authority and power (Mt 28:18; Ro 1:4; Eph 1:21). 1

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Postmillennialism Made Easy (by Ken Gentry)

Basic introduction to postmillennialism. Presents the essence of the postmillennial argument and answers the leading objections. And all in a succinct, introductory fashion.

See more study materials at: www.KennethGentry.com

A mighty transformation takes place in Christ’s ministry as a direct result of his resurrection. The outpouring of the Spirit (Ac 2:34–36) powerfully exhibits his regal authority. This celebrates his coronation by distributing gifts to his subjects, in the manner of a warrior-king returning triumphantly to his capital city upon his victory over the enemy (Ac 2:33; Eph 4:7–12; Cf. Ge 14; 1Sa 30:26–31; Jdg 5:30. See: Isa 53:12). It promises his royal assistance to his people (Ro 8:34).

Since his ascension Christ’s enthronement is an accomplished fact. The New Testament is replete with the confident refrain of his coronation and enthronement. We are not awaiting his future kingship: He is now already enthroned. Indeed, in the New Testament the most quoted or alluded to Old Testament passage is Psalm 110. That passage records God the Father’s word to Christ the Son: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” In various forms it appears sixteen times in the New Testament (Mt 22:44; 26:64; Mk 12:36; 14:62; 16:19; Lk 20:42–43; 22:69; Ac 2:34–35; Ro 8:34; 1Co 15:25; Eph 1:20; Col 3:1; Heb 1:3, 13; 8:1; 10:12).

Christ’s sitting at God’s “right hand” is a semantic equivalent to sitting on God’s throne, as is evident in Revelation 3:21: “I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” Contrary to John Walvoord, Revelation 3:21 does not require a millennial throne for Christ, which is both entirely future and wholly separate from the Father’s throne.2 It no more refers to two distinct thrones than Jesus’ statement to Mary in John 20:17 requires two distinct persons, when He speaks of “my Father and your Father.” The throne of God and of Christ is one throne (Rev 22:1, 3).

Jesus’ resurrection so long ago is celebrated worldwide today. It is the first step of his dominion and our celebrating it should be done in full awareness of is victory.

Notes

1. Athanasius writes of Ac 2:36: “Therefore the Word Himself became flesh, and the Father called His Name Jesus, and so ‘made’ Him Lord and Christ, as much as to say, ‘He made Him to rule and to reign.’ “ Athanasius, Discourses Against the Arians 2:15:16. Of Peter’s Great Confession he writes: “He knew Him to be God’s Son, confessing, ‘Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God;’ but he meant His Kingdom and Lordship which was formed and came to be according to grace, and was relatively to us.” Against the Arians, 2:15:18.

2. Walvoord, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, 98–100.

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CHRISTIANS MUST ENGAGE THE CULTURAL WAR

[image error]PMT 2017-029 by Michael Brown (The Stream)

Whenever I hear Christian leaders talk about the inevitable collapse of the church of America (or elsewhere) I ask myself, “But hasn’t Jesus risen from the dead? Didn’t He ascend to the right hand of the Father? Hasn’t all authority in heaven and earth been given to Him? And aren’t we commanded to go and make disciples in His name and by His authority?”

If so, how then we can speak of any inevitable collapse of the church (or, specifically, of Christian society), regardless of how inevitable that collapse appears to human eyes?

I therefore differ strongly with conservative journalist Rod Dreher who has written, “The culture war that began with the Sexual Revolution in the 1960s has now ended in defeat for Christian conservatives. . Don’t be fooled: the upset presidential victory of Donald Trump has at best given us a bit more time to prepare for the inevitable” (my emphasis; from his new book The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation).

The culture war has hardly “ended” and there is nothing “inevitable” about the collapse of Christian society in America, although, without question, the patient is mortally ill and in need of radical surgery and rehabilitation. But the heart is still beating, there are millions of committed believers throughout the land, prayers are ascending to heaven 24/7 for another great awakening, and it’s actually possible that America’s best days are still ahead, regardless of how bleak things look right now (and without a doubt, they look very, very bleak). Are not all things possible to him or her who believes?

A Backsliding Church

What makes today’s spiritual pessimism all the more galling is that, in my view, the biggest reason for America’s current moral and spiritual decline is the backslidden, unengaged, carnal state of the much of the church. In other words, America is messed up because the church has been messed up, because we who profess faith in Jesus have all too often been superficial in our commitment, as a result of which the world has changed us rather than us changing the world.

Calvin and Culture: Exploring a Worldview[image error]

Ed. by David Hall

No other Christian teachings in the past five hundred years have affected our Western culture as deeply as the worldview of John Calvin. It extends far beyond the theological disciplines.

See more study materials at: www.KennethGentry.com

When it comes to the mainline denominations, in many instances there has been a wholesale departure from the authority of Scripture and the lordship of Jesus, leading to the abandonment of our moral compass.

When it comes to evangelical Christians, we have often preached a narcissistic, “what’s in it for me” gospel, a self-centered message that bypasses the cross and calls for virtually no sacrifice or service, a message that empowers the sinner rather than transforms the sinner, leading to “Christian” rappers who talk about Jesus in the midst of profanity-laced rants (all while still getting high, going to strip clubs, and partying), and to “Christian” models and actresses who strip down in the most seductive poses, simply because it’s part of their job — and I assure you they can find big churches in America who will welcome them with open arms and celebrate their “liberty” in Jesus. (It’s one thing to welcome the worst of sinners into our midst with open arms and without condemnation; it’s another thing to celebrate carnality and compromise.)

Little wonder that the rest of the public is so confused. After all, the church is supposed to function as the conscience of the nation.

Fulfilling Our Mission in the World

When it comes to social issues like abortion and homosexuality, the vast majority of Christian conservatives in our country have no almost regular engagement with women having abortions and engage in very little compassionate outreach to those who identify as LGBT. As for those of us who do get involved in social issues, we tend to do it politically, looking to the government (especially the Republican Party) to fix things, as if passing a law alone would “fix” the desecration of life or reverse the breakdown of the family.

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He Shall Have Dominion

(paperback by Kenneth Gentry)

A classic, thorough explanation and defense of postmillennialism (600+ pages). Complete with several chapters answering specific objections.

See more study materials at: www.KennethGentry.com

But being the church means heeding the words of Jesus, who calls us out of the world when it comes to participating in sin but into the world when it comes to fulfilling our mission, which is to shine like lights in dark places, to boldly proclaim the message of redemption, to reach out to hurting and suffering sinners, to make a difference in the communities in which we are planted, and to stand for truth and righteousness “without compromise, no matter what it costs.”

After all, we’re here as the Lord’s ambassadors, declaring the gospel to a dying world, and if we back down and retreat, who will reach this generation with the good news?

To continue reading full article: click

 

Click on the following images for more information on these studies:

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EVANGELICALS IN A CALVINIST REVIVAL

[image error]By Mark Oppenheimer (New York Times)

For those who are sad that the year-end news quizzes are past, here’s one to start 2014: If you have joined a church that preaches a Tulip theology, does that mean a) the pastor bakes flowers into the communion wafers, b) the pastor believes that flowers that rise again every spring symbolize the resurrection, or c) the pastor is a Calvinist?

As an increasing number of Christians know, the answer is “c.” The acronym summarizes John Calvin’s so-called doctrines of grace, with their emphasis on sinfulness and predestination. The T is for man’s Total Depravity. The U is for Unconditional Election, which means that God has already decided who will be saved, without regard to any condition in them, or anything they can do to earn their salvation.

The acronym gets no cheerier from there.

Evangelicalism is in the midst of a Calvinist revival. Increasing numbers of preachers and professors teach the views of the 16th-century French reformer. Mark Driscoll, John Piper and Tim Keller — megachurch preachers and important evangelical authors — are all Calvinist. Attendance at Calvin-influenced worship conferences and churches is up, particularly among worshipers in their 20s and 30s.

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Predestination Made Easy

(by Ken Gentry)

A thoroughly biblical, extremely practical, and impressively clear presentation of

the doctrine of absolute predestination.

See more study materials at: www.KennethGentry.com

In the Southern Baptist Convention, the country’s largest Protestant denomination, the rise of Calvinism has provoked discord. In a 2012 poll of 1,066 Southern Baptist pastors conducted by LifeWay Research, a nonprofit group associated with the Southern Baptist Convention, 30 percent considered their churches Calvinist — while twice as many were concerned “about the impact of Calvinism.”

Calvinism is a theological orientation, not a denomination or organization. The Puritans were Calvinist. Presbyterians descend from Scottish Calvinists. Many early Baptists were Calvinist. But in the 19th century, Protestantism moved toward the non-Calvinist belief that humans must consent to their own salvation — an optimistic, quintessentially American belief. In the United States today, one large denomination, the Presbyterian Church in America, is unapologetically Calvinist.

But in the last 30 years or so, Calvinists have gained prominence in other branches of Protestantism, and at churches that used to worry little about theology. In 1994, when Mark Dever interviewed at Capitol Hill Baptist Church, a Southern Baptist church in Washington, the hiring committee didn’t even ask him about his theology.

“So I said, ‘Let me think about what you wouldn’t like about me, if you knew,’ ” Mr. Dever recalled. And he told them that he was a Calvinist. “And I had to explain to them what that meant. I didn’t want to move my wife and children here and lose the job.”

Mr. Dever, 53, said that when he took over in 1994, about 130 members attended on Sundays, and their average age was 70. Today, the church gets about 1,000 worshipers, with an average age of 30. And while Mr. Dever tends not to mention Calvin in his sermons, his educated audience, many of whom work in politics, knows, and likes, what it is hearing.

Calvin and Culture: Exploring a Worldview[image error]

Ed. by David Hall

No other Christian teachings in the past five hundred years have affected our Western culture as deeply as the worldview of John Calvin. It extends far beyond the theological disciplines.

See more study materials at: www.KennethGentry.com

“I think it is apparent in his teaching,” said Sarah Rotman, 34, who works for the World Bank. “The real focus on Scripture, and that all the answers we seek in this life can be found in the word of God. In a lot of his preaching, he does really talk about our sinfulness and our need of the Savior.”

That focus on sinfulness differs from a lot of popular evangelicalism in recent years. It runs contrary to the “prosperity gospel” preachers, who imply that faith can make one rich. It sounds nothing like the feel-good affirmations of preachers and authors like Joel Osteen, who treat the Bible like a self-help book, or a guide to better business.

“What you’d be hearing in some megachurches is, ‘God wants you to be a good parent, and here are seven ways God can help you to be a good parent,’ ” said Collin Hansen, the author of “Young, Restless, Reformed: A Journalist’s Journey With the New Calvinists.” “Or, ‘God wants you to have a good marriage, so here are three ways to do that.’ ” By contrast, Mr. Hansen said, those who attend Calvinist churches want the preacher to “tell them about Jesus.”

To continue reading full NY Times article: click

Click on the following images for more information on these studies:

1 COR 15: CHRIST’S UNIQUE RESURRECTION

[image error]PMT 2017-027 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

Recently a reader/listener of mine expressed some confusion with some statements I made. He asked me to clarify my point to clear up his confusion. Here is a part of the exchange, which might be helpful to others who may have had the same concerns.

Reader (1st inquiry):

I am currently listening to your lecture (sermon?) entitled “Ken Gentry on 2 Thessalonians 2 – The Man of Lawlessness”. In that message you state that “the second coming” will occur at the end of time. According to your understanding, what will the second coming of Jesus the Christ be like when it does occur? What will actually take place during that “second coming”?

Gentry (1st reply):

Christ will physically return, physically resurrect the dead, and call up his own. Then he will conduct the Final Judgment, establish the consummate new heavens and near earth, which believers will inhabit while the lost will be consigned to hell. Glorious for us; grim for others.

These physical events are anticipated in spiritual realities occurring now. He spiritually comes to receive us into heaven when we die — as he did each of the disciples (John 14:3), spiritually resurrects us to new life at the moment of salvation (Eph. 2:5-6), and makes us a spiritual new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). The paralleling of the spiritual and physical resurrection are clearly drawn in John 5:24-29.

Have We Missed the Second Coming:[image error]

A Critique of the Hyper-preterist Error

by Ken Gentry

This book offers a brief introduction, summary, and critique of Hyper-preterism. Don’t let your church and Christian friends be blindfolded to this new error. To be forewarned is to be forearmed.

For more Christian educational materials: www.KennethGentry.com

Reader (2d inquiry):

Thank you for your prompt and interesting response. What do you mean by “physically resurrect”? According to your understanding, what is “the consummate new heavens and near (new?) earth”? Where will they be located? What all will be included in them? Or is the new heavens and new earth established as one entity?

Gentry (2d reply):

Physical resurrection means bodily resurrection. Our material bodies will be resurrected and reconstituted. God created angels to be spirit-beings, he created man to be a material being. And he sanctified that reality by his Son becoming a material (human body) being. We are composed of body and spirit. Our final estate will be a reuniting of spirit and body.

The NHNE will be basically like the present one, but without sin involved (2 Pet 3:9ff). The universe will be located all over the place, like now.

Reader (3rd inquiry):

Are you saying that the NHNE does not at present exist? And because it does not exist, no one, not even the persons to whom Peter writes in the first century (1Peter 1)?

Gentry (3rd reply):

The NHNE exist presently in spiritual form in the believing community, it will exist physically in consummate form forever. Like we are spiritually resurrected (saved) now in anticipation of our one day being physically resurrected (John 5:25-29). Theologically this is known as the now / not yet principle.

Reader (4th inquiry):

Thank you for the link to your materials on resurrection. Do you have a document that expounds in much more detail on this statement: “Christ’s was unique for the time, but it spoke of others to follow at “the end” (v. 24). Thus, the resurrection of Christ as the first-fruits is: (1) the first of this order to occur, (2) represents his people’s resurrection, and (3) expects more eschatological resurrections to follow at the end.”

Are you here stating that Paul teaches the Corinthians that resurrection occurs in three stages? Stage 1. Jesus; stage 2. The people that are His; stage 3. (the final stage) at the end of time?

Postmilllennialism and Preterism[image error]

Four lectures by Ken Gentry (downloadable 4 mp3s).

(1) Postmillennialism: Wishful Thinking or Certain Hope?

(2) The Identity of the Beast of Revelation.

(3) The Resurrection of the Dead.

(4) The Great Tribulation is Past.

See more study materials at: www.KennethGentry.com

Gentry (4th reply):

Any standard (non-dispensational) commentary on 1 Cor 15 should answer your questions.

No, not three stages. Jesus’ resurrection is the fore-runner to ours, the pledge of it, not the first stage. The last resurrection is of all men simultaneously, with differing results for the lost as compared to the saved. There is one day of final resurrection (John 5:28-29).

Reader (5th inquiry):

I find the following statement, which I found in your article, “Our Eschatology Resurrection” very puzzling: “Christ’s (resurrection) was unique for the time, but it spoke of others to follow at “the end” (v. 24). Thus, the resurrection of Christ as the first-fruits is: (1) the first of this order to occur, (2) represents his people’s resurrection, and (3) expects more eschatological resurrections to follow at the end.” (Emphases added)

I get it that Christ’s resurrection was “unique” all though I would greatly appreciate your personal explanation of why it is “unique”. And I understand the idea “that it spoke of others at “the end” which I assume that you are quoting from 1Cor 15:24 “then the end.” However, you do refer to “this order” of resurrection which I assume is a reference to verse 23a: “But each/every man in his own order…” However, you never actually provide any specific exegesis of 1Cor 15:23. Then, seeming to comment on “this order” you write, “(2) represents his people’s resurrection, and (3) expects more eschatological resurrections to follow at the end.” “The end” apparently being a quote from 1Cor 15:24a. Thus, the whole statement seems somewhat ambiguous to me.

Please correct me if I am wrong, however, it seems to me that you are stating that the “order” of resurrection is accomplished in three “pledges,” steps, or stages (whatever you wish to call it): “first” step, the unique resurrection of Jesus the Christ; (step 2) the resurrection of His people; (step 3) “more eschatological resurrections to follow at the end”. It seems quite clear to me that you are stating that the unique resurrection of Christ occurs (step one) and then later is followed by the resurrection of His people (step two), which is later followed by the resurrection of “the rest of the dead” (more… resurrections to follow at the end) (step three). The above is that which I understand Paul to be writing.

Gentry (5th reply):

The uniqueness of Christ’s resurrection at that time was that it was an actual eschatological resurrection whereby he arose again in an eternal, indestructible body. He left this world and entered heaven in his physical body, never to die again (Acts 1:9–11; Heb. 7:25). He is in heaven “in bodily form” (Col. 2:9; cp. Acts 7:56). No one had ever been resurrected like that before. Thus, his resurrection was “unique.” All others who were resurrected before the end of history would die once again to await the eschatological resurrection where they would receive their consummate, eternal, renewed bodies.

When speaking about Christ as the “first-fruits,” I wasn’t referring to three steps of the resurrection. After all, points 2 and 3 in my note don’t refer to separate stages at all. My three points were explaining three different aspects of the significance (not phases, steps, stages) of the concept of “first-fruits.” That is:

Regarding my first point, Christ’s resurrection is unique, in that it was the first eschatological resurrection. His resurrection was not simply a temporary revivification of a corpse, which would eventually undergo death once again. Thus his resurrection is the first of the eschatological order.

In #2 I meant that as a “first-fruit” it also pictures the nature of his people’s own eschatological resurrection. He was not to be the only person ever given an eschatological resurrection with an indestructible, ever-living body (1 Cor. 15:42–43). That is, our resurrection will be of the same nature as his: eschatological, eternal, not a temporary revivification. Thus, my point had nothing to do with a distinct phase from a following eschatological resurrection.

My point # 3 was noting out that Christ’s resurrection was only one resurrection, but it was designed to expect many more resurrections at the final day. As the first-fruit his was a pledge of more to come, like the first-fruit of a harvest indicates more harvest to come.

Thus, my reference to three matters was not concerned with stages, steps, phases of resurrection. Rather it was highlighting three aspects of the nature of the first-fruit character of Christ’s resurrection.

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CHRIST AS “LIFE-GIVING SPIRIT”??

[image error]PMT 2017-026 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

AReader’s Question

Recently a reader wrote to me regarding an article by Sam Frost that I published. He commented:

“Thank you for sharing this! Mr. Gentry, I enjoyed your book Before Jerusalem Fell. As far as ‘full’ and ‘partial’ preterism; I have a lot to learn and am still undecided. If Jesus will literally return in a physical body, could you please explain 1 Cor.15:45 to me?”

Thanks for reading. And for writing. I appreciate your studying God’s word. And I certainly hope and pray that you won’t drift away from historic, orthodox Christianity!

The Interpretive Problem

What does 1 Corinthians 15:45 say that might confuse folks and encourage an aberrant movement? The Mormons love 1 Corinthians 15:29; the hyper-preterists love 1 Corinthians 15:45. This passage reads:

“So also it is written, ‘The first man, Adam, became a living soul.’ The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.”

How are we to understand this? Was Paul teaching us that Christ left his material body behind in becoming a non-material spirit-being? And that we also are to anticipate the same? Not at all! Has the universal, historic, orthodox, public, systematic, corporate church been mistaken since its very beginning? Absolutely not! What then is going on here?

The Proper Understanding

What Paul is doing in 1 Cor. 15 is arguing for the physical resurrection of Christ (vv. 4–7, 12–14, 16–17). He does so in order to drive home an important point that is being overlooked by many gnostic trouble-makers in the Corinthian church (a church filled with much error). He is concluding an argument he began several chapters earlier.

He is pointing out the great glory of the resurrection of Christ and how it impacts our own ultimate resurrection. He contrasts “soulish” (Greek, psuchos) bodies and “spiritual” (Greek, pneuma) bodies. That is, he is contrasting bodies controlled by the”soul” and its natural animal appetites over against glorified bodies no longer controlled by animal appetites, but by spiritual realities.

Have We Missed the Second Coming:[image error]

A Critique of the Hyper-preterist Error

by Ken Gentry

This book offers a brief introduction, summary, and critique of Hyper-preterism. Don’t let your church and Christian friends be blindfolded to this new error. To be forewarned is to be forearmed.

For more Christian educational materials: www.KennethGentry.com

In v. 45 he is pointing out that Christ is the last (final, perfect) Adam and that his influence is superior to the first Adam. The first Adam simply became a living “soul” with basic animal needs, such as food, water and so forth. This is why it was necessary for God to put Adam in a garden and give him food to eat (and water to drink). This physical life comes also with the potential for lustful desires which can overthrow the spiritual calling of God. Hence, God’s testing of Adam regarding the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Gen. 2:15-17). Adam eventually succumbed to such a desire, resulting in the Fall (Gen. 3). Thus, Paul is pointing out that Adam was simply a living person with no inherent power to perfect his descendants. The first Adam, then, was merely a life-receiving being. He could not give the perfect life.

But the Last Adam (Christ) did not simply exist as a living soul (psuchos), a living person; he did not simply receive physical life. Rather he was also the source, the giver of the true perfect, spiritual life that is controlled not by animal appetites, but by God and his will. Therefore, Paul points out, our future resurrection body will be a body controlled by spiritual realities (a “spiritual” body) and not subject to the fallen world of the “soulish” desires like Adam who succumbed to temptation by desiring to eat what God had forbidden (Gen. 3). (The “spiritual body” is no more made of spirit than a Coca-Cola bottle is made of Coca-Cola.)

Thus, Paul’s point in v. 45 and following is: the Spirit-controlled life only comes from Christ the giver of that high spiritual life that perfectly glorifies God. And the fullness of that Spirit-controlled life comes only at the resurrection when the new, Spirit-animated body arises to its final, eternal form with no further capacity to sin and fall.[image error]

Tongues-Speaking: Meaning, Purpose, and Cessation

(Book) by Ken Gentry

A careful study of the biblical material defining the gift of tongues.

Shows they were known languages that served to endorse the apostolic witness

and point to the coming destruction of Jerusalem, after which they ceased.

See more study materials at: www.KennethGentry.com

Consequently, in chapter 15 Paul is rebuking those at Corinth who are infected with gnostic ideas and who therefore are claiming they have finally reached the full pneumatic-stage of existence and all that is involved in Christianity. He is pointing out that they have not. They are not already perfect in their daily lives. They must await the final resurrection which was prepared for in Christ’s historical resurrection.

Thus, he would say, even though we now have the Spirit in anticipation of the final order, we are not so fully controlled by the Spirit as to have “finally arrived” in perfection. This must await the final order. For now we must keep striving against sin. This is why he can write in Romans 8:23: “And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.”

Paul has been building this argument since the in-depth references to the pneumatika, the spiritual gifts, in the preceding chapters (1 Cor. 12-14). He has been rebuking several errors of the gnostics, such as their claim that physical prostitution is irrelevant to the Christian life (1 Cor. 6:15-16), that physical, intimate relations with one’s spouse are unnecessary (1 Cor. 7:1-4), and so forth. Thus, 1 Corinthians 15:45 must be understood in terms of Paul’s larger argument and not divorced from its context.

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BIG BANG BELIEF BUSTED

[image error]PMT 2017-025 by John Hartnett (Creation.com

he commonly accepted big bang model supposedly determines the history of the universe precisely (see Figure 1). Yet to do so, it is filled with unprovable fudge factors. That may sound like an exaggerated claim, but it seems to be the state of cosmology today.

This situation has come about because the unverifiable starting assumptions are inherently wrong! Some brave physicists have had the temerity to challenge the ruling paradigm—the standard big bang ?CDM inflation cosmology.1 One of those is Prof. Richard Lieu, Department Chair, Astrophysics, University of Alabama, who wrote:

“Cosmology is not even astrophysics: all the principal assumptions in this field are unverified (or unverifiable) in the laboratory … .”2 [emphasis added]

He goes on to say that this is “because the Universe offers no control experiment, …” He means that the same observations can be interpreted in several different ways. Because there are no other universes to compare ours with, you can’t determine absolutely which is the correct answer. That means, we do not know what a typical universe should look like. As a result cosmologists today are inventing all sorts of stuff that has just the right properties to make their theories work, but it is stuff that has never been observed in the lab. They have become “comfortable with inventing unknowns to explain the unknown”, says Lieu.

Dark matter and dark energy

Cosmologists tell us we live in a universe filled with invisible, unobserved stuff—about 74% dark energy and 22% dark matter (see Figure 2). But what is this stuff that we cannot detect yet should be all around us? Only 4% of the matter/energy content of the Universe is supposed to be the ordinary atoms that we are familiar with.

[image error]

As It Is Written: The Genesis Account Literal or Literary?

Book by Ken Gentry

Presents the exegetical evidence for Six-day Creation and against the Framework Hypothesis.

See more study materials at: www.KennethGentry.com

In June 2013, after the release of the first results from the Planck satellite, the fractions of dark energy and dark matter were significantly changed to 68% dark energy and 27% dark matter, leaving 5% normal atomic matter.3

Yet we are told that now we are in a period of precision cosmology.4 But we see a total disagreement between the determination of these fractions from high redshift supernova measurements and Planck CMB measurements. Even the claimed errors do not help the values to coincide.5

For 40 years, one form or another of dark matter has been sought in the laboratory, e.g. the axion (named after a popular US brand of laundry detergent, because they thought its discovery would clean up some problems with particle physics). Recently a claim was made alleging the detection of a dark matter particle in a lab experiment, but that claim requires rigorous verification.6

ow we also have dark energy— some sort of anti-gravity that is supposedly driving the universe apart at an even faster pace than in the past. It was reported that,

“It is an irony of nature that the most abundant form of energy in the universe is also the most mysterious. Since the breakthrough discovery that the cosmic expansion is accelerating, a consistent picture has emerged indicating that two-thirds of the cosmos is made of ‘dark energy’—some sort of gravitationally repulsive material.”7 [emphasis added]

Supposedly, dark energy is a confirmed fact. But does the evidence confirm that the universal expansion is accelerating? They are right about the irony; even though this energy is allegedly so abundant, it cannot be observed locally in the laboratory. In 2011, the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded for the discovery of the accelerating universe, which means dark energy must be real stuff (it would seem that science’s ‘gatekeepers’ can’t ever renege on that now). But it has no correspondence to anything we know in the laboratory today, which hardly makes sense.

As Lieu points out,

“… astronomical observations can never by themselves be used to prove ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ a physical theory. This is because we live in only one Universe—the indispensible ‘control experiment’ is not available.”8

There is no way to interact with and get a response from the Universe to test the theory under question, as an experimentalist might do in a laboratory experiment. At most, the cosmologist collects as much data as he can, and uses statistical arguments to try to show that his conclusion is likely. Says Lieu (emphasis added):

“Hence the promise of using the Universe as a laboratory from which new incorruptible physical laws may be established without the support of laboratory experiments is preposterous …”.8

Unknowns to explain unknowns

Lieu lists five evidences where cos-mologists use ‘unknowns’ to explain ‘unknowns’, and hence he says they are not really doing astrophysics. Yet these evidences are claimed to be all explained (and in the case of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB)9 radiation even predicted10) by the CDM inflation model of the big bang. None of them are based on laboratory experiments, and they are unlikely to ever be explained this way. The ‘unknowns’ in the lab (meaning not known to physics today) are listed in italics. They are:

• The redshift of light from galaxies, explained by expansion of space,11

• The Cosmic Microwave Background radiation, explained as the afterglow of the Big Bang,

• The perceived motion of stars and gases in the disks of spiral galaxies,12 explained by dark matter,

Distant supernovae?13 being dimmer than they should be, hence an accelerating universe, explained by dark energy,

• Flatness (space has Euclidean geometry) and isotropy (uniformity in all directions), explained by faster-than-light inflation.

Genesis and Creation (Set 1: Genesis 1).

An in-depth sermon series on the opening chapters of the Bible from a Six-day Creationist perspective. Offers many insights into the reason Moses wrote the Creation Account, insights little recognized by the average Christian. This is set 1, which covers Genesis 1.

See more study materials at: www.KennethGentry.com

As an experimentalist, I know the standards used in so-called ‘cosmology experiments’ would never pass muster in my lab. Yet it has been said we are now living in the era of ‘precision cosmology’.14

Cosmologist Max Tegmark said,

“… 30 years ago, cosmology was largely viewed as somewhere out there between philosophy and metaphysics. You could speculate over a bunch of beers about what happened, and then you could go home, because there wasn’t a whole lot else to do.” [But now they are closing in on a] “consistent picture of how the universe evolved from the earliest moment to the present.”4

How can that be true if none of Lieu’s five observations listed above can be explained by ‘knowns’? They have been explained by resorting to ‘unknowns’ with a sleight of hand that allows the writer to say, ‘We are closing in on the truth.’

What this leads to

To continue reading and to see footnotes: CLICK

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