21Nov 2023 by Post

Is it Biblical to Be a Gay Christian?

Christ alone, Culture CrossExamined, gay christian, identity, intelligentchristianfaith.com, John Ferrer, Same-Sex Attraction, sola Christus, theology
Imagine a porcupine. He’s waddling around with his long pointy quills. He’s harmless, even cute until he gets scared or offended. Then he becomes an angry pincushion. Now image this porcupine is giant-sized, like a dinosaur. He’s bumping into things, knocking things over, leaving huge piercing quills behind him as if marking his territory. People and animals just stay out of his way for fear of getting trampled, stabbed, or otherwise canceled. Now imagine this porcupine is hyper-sensitive. He’s reactive, easily offended, easily frightened, distrusting, and very aggressive when upset. Now imagine he’s rainbow colored and you’re tasked with giving this huge moody multi-colored pincushion a great big hug! That’s what it feels like answering the question: “Is it biblical to be a Gay Christian?” This is the kind of…
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13Nov 2023 by Post

Is Your Church a Personality Cult? Part 1

celebrity culture, church growth movement, Culture CrossExamined, exploitation, idolatry, intelligentchristianfaith.com, John Ferrer, leadership, narcissism, personality cult, practical theology, theology
Sometimes cults are easy to spot. Most everyone knows about the Jim Jones cult (People’s Temple), or David Koresh’s group in Waco, Texas (Branch Davidians). Those cults are easy to spot because doomsday theology and mass killing tend to make headlines. But some cults aren’t so easy to see. Personality cults can be hard to spot. When people call a religious group a “cult” it usually means one of two things. TWO TYPES OF CULTSType 1: Theological Cult – heretical theology deviating from core orthodox teachings of that religion. These cults spring from a parent-religion. Ex., Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witnesses are cult offshoots of Christianity. Type 2: Sociological Cult – socially and psychologically dangerous practices like authoritarian and manipulative leadership, social isolation, abuse, threats, blackmail, “mind-control” etc. These may or may…
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25Sep 2023 by Post

Meet Robot Jesus

Culture CrossExamined, exploitation, idolatry, John Ferrer, Robot Jesus, Satan, Smart phone app, theology
Have you talked with Jesus yet today? No, I’m not talking about your morning prayers. I’m talking about the new Text-With-Jesus app. This is a downloadable smartphone app that will put you in a text-message conversation with an AI simulation of Jesus, and other biblical characters. You’re basically talking to a robot programmed to say things that you’d expect to hear from Jesus, or Jonah, or Moses, or Matthew, or even Satan himself. The app is free, but for $2.99 you can purchase access to the Satan-character and converse with an AI version of Lucifer himself. I guess we shouldn’t be surprised that the grace-based (free) version features Jesus, but you have to sell a little bit of your soul to talk to the prince of darkness. Is this APP…
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03Jul 2023 by Post

A Trendy New Breathing and Meditation Technique… and it’s Odd.

cultural apologetics, Culture CrossExamined, idolatry, meditative breathing, Melissa Dougherty, mysticism, New Age, spirituality, Theology and Christian Apologetics, witality breathwork, World Religions
I was scrolling through the Gram one day, and since I look up a lot of New Age things, the almighty algorithm put in front of my face something it thought I would enjoy. My eyes fell upon people rolling around, screaming, laughing hysterically, crying, convulsing, and rocking back and forth. I, no kidding, thought I was watching something from a Holy Spirit night at Bethel Church or something. It took me a hot second to realize that I was looking at a growing trend called Witality Breathwork. Growing Trend As time went on, I saw this strange practice pop up all over America, including in my own hometown. Immediately, I wanted to investigate, so I looked into actually going to the conference to observe, so I emailed them asking…
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28Jun 2023 by Post

5 Fatal Flaws in Transgender Ideology

Apologetics, Christianity, Culture, Culture CrossExamined, drag, ideology, Legislating Morality, Culture & Politics, LGBTQ, marriage, Politics, theology, trandsgender, Transgender, Transphobic
Many people who support transgender surgery and cross-sex hormones may be well-intentioned, but the transgender ideology behind those intentions is fraught with fatal flaws. Here are just five of many. Contrary to transgender ideology: 1. The Design of the Body Proves There are Only Two Genders Transgender advocates insist there are multiple genders. However, the design of the human body shows there are only two genders. Humans can either produce sperm or eggs. There is no third reproductive output in humans or mammals. Of course, there are humans who cannot produce either due to biological deficiencies, but that is an incapacity, not a thirdcapacity to produce something else. Thus, the claim that there are more than two genders can only be entertained if one detaches the concept of gender from biological…
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26Jun 2023 by Post

As Long as It Doesn’t Hurt Anyone Or does it?

Al Serrato, Christian Ethics, Culture CrossExamined, Divine command, Divine justice, Do no harm, ethics, morality, Theology and Christian Apologetics
Watching classic TV recently I ran across one of my favorite episodes of the Twilight Zone series. Fans of that show will probably remember the classic episode “To Serve Man.” In the story, aliens from a distant world come to Earth with they offer “to help.” Initially reluctant, the inhabitants of Earth are quickly convinced that the aliens mean them no harm; quite the contrary, alien technology helps to eliminate many of Earth’s struggles and problems, and the inhabitants of Earth are quickly seduced by the aliens’ promises. As the story progresses, the aliens offer to take people to their home world, which they promise is a veritable paradise. Many sign up and soon embark on the alien ships to begin their adventure. And why shouldn’t they? After all, everything…
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01May 2023 by Post

Three Ways to Recognize False Guilt

1. Does Truth Exist?, Bobby Conway, Christianity Still Makes Sense, ChristianityStillMakesSense.com, Culture CrossExamined, False guilt, guilt, morality, salvation
Lord knows we have enough true guilt going around that we hardly need to concern ourselves with this extra layer of toxic false guilt, which is seemingly all too ready to accuse us. But how can we know whether the guilt we are experiencing is true or false? What are some of the signs to be aware of? While this list is far from exhaustive, here are three ways to recognize false guilt. First, False Guilt Masquerades As True Guilt This form of false guilt is not true guilt, in that we are not truly guilty of committing a moral trespass, but merely a disguised version of it that claims we are guilty when we are not. In today’s culture, there is a new kind of guilt being pawned off…
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24Apr 2023 by Post

Jesus Wasn’t a Refugee

cultural apologetics, Culture CrossExamined, he gets us, https://www.melissadougherty.co/, Jesus Christ, Melissa Dougherty, Progressive Christianity, Refugee, Refugee Jesus
It seems that every few years, Christians must deal with a new cultural narrative about who Jesus is and what He came to do. Contextualizing turns into syncretism. Jesus’s name is mixed in with the “gods” of the people. Suddenly we have different versions of Jesus made to fit contemporary expectations, more palatable to the masses. White Jesus. Hippie Jesus. Activist Jesus. And now, refugee Jesus. Let me be clear: I think people’s intentions can be pure. People are trying to do the right thing bringing Jesus to our level. But making God in our own image or in the image of the culture has long-term ramifications that don’t end well and muddle the identity of Jesus and the Gospel. Forget that He was a monotheistic Jewish Middle Easterner, following…
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29Mar 2023 by Post

Is it Hateful to Say Jesus is the Only Way?

Apologetics, Christianity, Culture CrossExamined, Exclusivism, Jesus Christ, Religious Pluralism, Ryan Leasure, RyanLeasure.com, theology, Theology and Christian Apologetics
By Ryan Leasure Is it hateful or arrogant to claim that Jesus is the only way of salvation? Charles Templeton thought so. He argued: “Christians are a small minority in the world. Approximately four out of every five people on the face of the earth believe in gods other than the Christian God. The more than five billion people who live on earth revere or worship more than three hundred gods. If one includes the animist or tribal religions, the number rises to more than three thousand. Are we to believe that only Christians are right?”[1] What are we to make of Templeton’s claims? Is it presumptuous to say that Jesus is the one true way of salvation? Or even worse, are Christians guilty of committing “absurd religious chauvinism” as some…
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18May 2022 by Post

So You Left the New Age… Now What? Five Helpful Tips

Bible, Christianity, Culture CrossExamined, Jesus, Legislating Morality, Culture & Politics, Melissa Dougherty, New Age, theology, Theology and Christian Apologetics
 By Melissa Dougherty We each go through unique difficulties whenever we leave the New Age. Whenever I left the New Age, it was incredibly lonely. I felt like nobody understood what I had just gone through. At the time, it felt like no Christian around me understood what the New Age really was, and to be honest, I was somewhat embarrassed that I had fallen into such beliefs, even after going to church for so many years. I didn’t even understand what I believed was New Age. I had to sift through the theological mud. I also did a Pendulum swing where I just wanted to point out what was wrong with everybody’s beliefs, and I went through a brief phase where basically everything was “New Age,” and there was…
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