WE ARE IN AN ANTI-CHRISTIAN AGE NOT A POST-CHRISTIAN AGE

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REVIEW of Rosaria Butterfield’s ‘Five Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age’

Butterfield’s offering comes in the form of fresh, unadulterated truth — the kind that’s not afraid to step on the toes of those caught in deception. Hurt toes are a small price to pay for walking in the truth, even if you do end up with a limp. Limping or not, staying on the path beats falling into the abyss any day.

Lies that lead us astray have only multiplied since the serpent in the garden suggested, “Did God really say?” There are plenty to go around, but Butterfield narrows her focus to five. The lies she sees as particularly plaguing today are:

  1. Homosexuality is normal.
  2. Being a spiritual person is kinder than being a biblical Christian.
  3. Feminism is good for the world and the church.
  4. Transgenderism is normal.
  5. Modesty is an outdated burden that serves male dominance and holds women back.

Butterfield’s five lies may not be top-of-mind for everyone, but nearly every North American Christian is affected by them. Take the lie that homosexuality is normal, for example. The ubiquity of homosexuality portrayed in media and advertising lends credence to the notion that it’s just another part of everyday life — even to the point of infiltrating the church. Sure, progressive churches have long accepted and celebrated homosexuality, but its normalization has affected more conservative churches as well. Butterfield speaks specifically against the ideas of homosexual identity and the so-called gay Christian movement. She doesn’t mince words: it is sin, and those involved with it are in need of repentance.

Butterfield’s biography plays heavily into her narrative. She once identified as “a women-centered, pacifist, lesbian vegetarian” who “hated everything to do with the Bible.” After meeting Christians who patiently, thoroughly, and lovingly explained the gospel to her, she was converted. She walked away from that identity at great personal cost. But her biography is most certainly not her rationale — it’s merely supporting evidence.

Butterfield’s solutions aren’t novel — in fact, they’re demonstrably old. The solution to these lies, of course, is truth. But it’s not truth found only in experience, rather it’s the revealed truth given to us in Scripture. For Butterfield, these lies aren’t prickly cultural nuances. They are sin. The solution to being shaped by lies is to be transformed by Christ, to repent from sin, and believe the truth.

Particularly helpful is the characterization of our current age as “anti-Christian” versus the oft-used “post-Christian.” After all, we Christians are still here, and Christ’s church still stands. But our age is increasingly negative toward Christianity. Where faith may have once held prominence, it’s now an object of derision. Derision leaves no room for complex nuance, hence Butterfield’s simple, repent-and-believe-the-truth approach to dealing with lies.

Butterfield’s motivation is found in the latter part of the book as she sums up a quote by church reformer John Calvin. She writes, “To a Christian, the rage of the whole world is nothing — nothing, that is, compared to the grace and power of God.”

And maybe that’s the simplicity in Rosaria Butterfield’s approach to our anti-Christian age. The world can rage all it wants against Christ and his truth, but all its rage is no match for his grace. Make no mistake: this book is ultimately not about lies. Sure, the reader will walk away with a sharp assessment of these lies (perhaps with some sore toes). But it’s the truth of God’s grace that Butterfield gives that will keep the reader free from the enemy’s web of lies.

Review by Jared Bridges. He is editor-in-chief of The Washington Stand.

The good news is that Jesus told us beforehand that prior to His second coming the world will reject God and His Word, the Bible, and hence hate Christians who uphold Jesus and the Bible.

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” Matthew 24:9-13

ERDOGAN CALLS FOR ANOTHER EMERGENCY PAN-ISLAMIC MEETING AGAINST ISRAEL AND US ‘TERROR STATES’

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“He shall be a wild ass of a man; His hand against everyone, And everyone’s hand against him; He shall dwell alongside of all his kinsmen.” Genesis 16:12 

The descendants of Ishmael are acting exactly as predicted in Biblical prophesy. Erdogan is intent on reestablishing the Ottoman Empire when Turkey ruled all of the surrounding Muslim countries. Moreover, of all the Muslim countries it is the most powerful, with an army of 350,000 active personnel and 360,500 reserve personnel and its Air Power similar in numbers to Israel.

The Turkish president called for an emergency session of of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul to be held on Friday to discuss the situation in Gaza. A massive anti-Israel rally is also scheduled to be held concurrently in Taksim Square in Istanbul.

On Monday, a six week Hamas-led protest-turned-riot culminated with 35,000 Palestinians challenging the security fence and approximately 60 Palestinians killed. Erdogan was quoted in the press as saying that Israel is a “a terror state” that has committed “a genocide.”

“Israel is wreaking state terror,” Erdogan said in a speech to Turkish students in London broadcast by state television. “Israel is a terror state. What Israel has done is a genocide. I condemn this humanitarian drama, the genocide, from whichever side it comes, Israel or America.”

The Middle East Media Research Institute, released a compilation of videos following Monday’s confrontations that give a much different perspective.

The videos show members of the tire-burning and wire-cutting units saying their highest aspiration is to die for the sake of Allah, to cut the Zionist enemy’s main barbed-wire fence and take it down with “the fingernails of their children.'”

One tribal leader declared that the Palestinian people will liberate its land with blood, women and children.

Israeli UN Ambassador Danny Danon called this a Palestinian cycle of death. “First, they incite people to violence. Then, they place as many civilians as possible – including women and children – in the line of fire to maximise civilian casualties. Then they blame Israel, and then they come here to complain to the UN,” Danon said.

Also, undaunted, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to Erdogan , issuing a statement that “Erdogan is among Hamas’s biggest supporters and there is no doubt that he well understands terrorism and slaughter. I suggest that he not preach morality to us.”

There is only one possible end to the Satanic inspired hatred of the Jews and it is prophesied in God’s Word.

 

 

ESCALATION OF HOSTILITY -Turkish President: ‘Netanyahu is a terrorist, Israel is a terrorist state’

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Erdogan attacked Israel as “a terrorist state,” notwithstanding the widespread condemnation he has faced over the mounting death toll of Kurds killed by Turkish forces.

Turkish President: ‘Netanyahu is a terrorist, Israel is a terrorist state’

After Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday over harsh criticism of Israel’s handling of violent rioting in Gaza, Erdogan shot back with a number of insults aimed at the head of the Jewish state.

Erdogan’s comments were apparently prompted by Netanyahu’s observation that the Turkish leader “is not used to being talked back to” or accustomed to being confronted for “occupying North Cyprus, invading the Kurdish belt and butchering civilians in Afrin.” Netanyahu warned Erdogan that with a record such as this, he “should not preach to us about values and morality.”

When you consider this escalation of hostility with the following report, you realise how it ties in with last days wars prophesied in God’s Word.

Dec. 12, 2017, ahead of the summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul, the Turkish daily Yeni Şafak, which is close to President Recep Tayyip, says, Erdoğan and his ruling AKP party, published an article  given in “A Call for Urgent Action,” which also appeared on the paper’s website under the title “What If an Army of Islam Was Formed Against Israel?”

PROPHECY WATCH: 57 Muslim nations urged to besiege Israel

The article called on the 57 member states of the OIC to form a joint “Army of Islam” to besiege and attack the state of Israel. It notes that such a joint army will greatly exceed the Israeli army in manpower, equipment and budget, and presents statistics to prove this. I have already covered this article in a recent post:

“LAST DAYS” BIBLE PROPHECY – SURROUNDING ARABIC NATIONS WILL ATTACK ISRAEL

It is time we returned to church as described in the Book of Acts: “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine (God’s Word) and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and prayers.” Acts 2:42