Category: New Age

What Happened to My Church?

by Stand Up For The Truth | Jan 16, 2019 | Abortion, Apologetics, Beliefs, Christian Church, Church Leadership, Culture & Morality, Emergent Church, False Prophet, False Teaching, gender confusion, LGBTQ, Liberalism, New Age, New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), Podcast, Progressive Christianity, Prosperity Gospel | 0 |

Many Christians in America are asking that question these days as we see a growing number of churches change. The Gospel of reconciliation being replaced with consumerism and our “best life now”; moves of the Holy Spirit being replaced with emotional manipulation through loud music and fog machines; and churches that look more and more like the world Jesus told us would hate us and that we should hate.

But the changes introduced into American Christianity have been so subtle that many people do not even notice them until one day we suddenly feel like a stranger and alien in the very church we attended for years.

Jan Markell of Olive Tree Views and Understanding the Times Radio joins us to talk about the growing concerns of serious Christians about what they see happening in many of our churches these days.

The Future of Christianity in America

by Stand Up For The Truth | Jan 2, 2019 | Apologetics, Beliefs, Christian Church, Christian Growth, Christianity, Church Leadership, Culture & Morality, Evangelism, False Teaching, Globalism, Government, Moral Relativism, New Age, Persecution, Podcast, Politics and Faith, Prophecy, Prosperity Gospel, Religious Freedom | 0 |

2019 will bring powerful and unique challenges and opportunities for the Christian Church in America. Satan’s battle against the Church will intensify as he acquires more and more allies to join him in his plan to neutralize the Church by making it look more like the secular culture it is supposed to resist and oppose.

We start this new year by looking at the prophetic signs of 2018 that might be pointing to the return of the Lord, along with the increased persecution of true believers around the world. Is this persecution a preview of the life coming for true believers in America?

A New Age Invasion into Christianity

by Stand Up For The Truth | Dec 27, 2018 | Beliefs, Christianity, Church Leadership, Culture & Morality, Discrimination, Emergent Church, False Teaching, Humanism, New Age, Persecution, Podcast, Progressive Christianity | 0 |

When we do not hide God’s Word in our heart and think on it regularly it is easy for false teachings and dangerous movements to find a place in our minds and hearts. Things that might sound good are actually dangerous beliefs that can lead us away from God and His Word, leading to all sorts of problems. While it is a broad term, “New Age” Philosophy is one of these dangerous belief systems, and we see it subtly infiltrating the hearts and minds of a growing number of professing Christians. James Walker of Watchman.org joins us to discuss the subtle dangers of New Age Philosophies.

In our final segments, Mike and Crash look at some news items that should grab our attention including China’s new way of identifying and arresting bible-believing Christians and Amazon’s embracing of Orwellian style surveillance systems cleverly cloaked as “security and convenience” for its customers.

The Real Cause Behind the Crisis at Willow Creek

by Stand Up For The Truth | Sep 20, 2018 | Artificial Intelligence, Beliefs, Christianity, Cults, Culture & Morality, Emergent Church, False Teaching, Globalism, Humanism, New Age, Podcast, Transhumanism, Universalism, Worldview | 1 |

When you are suffering from the flu, feverish with a soar throat and body aches, are these symptoms the cause of the flu or are they the effects of the flu? They are of course the effects of a virus (the true cause) that has invaded your body leading to physical illness and mild suffering. When you treat the cause you get to the root of the problem; but treating effects will not lead to a cure.

Why bring this up? It’s a key to understanding the latest crisis at Willow Creek Church. The sexual assault scandal involving former Pastor Bill Hybels and several women has led to the Elder Board announcing their resignation. A consulting team has been brought in for damage control and a reorganization plan—you know just like secular businesses and corporations do when facing an internal or PR crisis. But is the sexual scandal the cause of Willow Creek’s crisis or the effects? The fallout is an effect – and in segment 2 we will address the true cause.

In the first segment, Mike and David talk with Carl Teichrib about his upcoming book, “Game of Gods” where he did boots on the ground’ research at Burning Man festival. Carl documents the strange, popular movement combining earth worship, pagan rituals, anarchy and spiritual oneness—all under the guise of “radical tolerance.” And while it might be easy to dismiss what you will hear by calling 80,000 followers goofy nuts, could it be part of Satan’s master plan for the world to worship Anti-Christ?

A Confused Generation Wandering From God

by Stand Up For The Truth | Jul 24, 2018 | Apologetics, Beliefs, Christianity, Church Leadership, Culture & Morality, Education, Entertainment, False Teaching, Leadership, New Age, Podcast, Progressive Christianity, Social Justice, Steven Furtick, Universalism | 0 |

The statistics are clear and frightening: Between 70-80% of young professing Christians walk away from their Christian upbringing as they enter College. There are certainly many factors that play into this sad situation: Public Education; a media sold out to humanism and godlessness; Hollywood and an entertainment industry appealing to sex and violence. So what can we as committed Christians do about it?

This morning we continue our look at the sad story of Michael and Lisa Gungor, once rising stars in Christian music until Michael renounced his belief in God and the Bible. They were living a lie. They admitted many times they felt they couldn’t even read God’s word anymore. Lisa says that one of the reasons they strayed into doubt and unbelief was they were afraid to ask questions at church and admit their doubts.

Dave Wager of Silver Birch Ranch and Nicolet Bible Institute has been a teacher for more than 35 years and he shares his thoughts as to how we can reach young people and address their questions.

A Biblical Look At Spiritual Warfare

by Stand Up For The Truth | Jun 4, 2018 | Apologetics, Beliefs, Christianity, Dominionism, Evangelism, False Teaching, Gospel, New Age, Podcast, Spiritual Warfare | 0 |

A few years ago I received a phone call from someone asking for prayer because he thought Satan was really attacking him. When I asked what was going on he told me his boss was threatening to fire him because he had received three speeding tickets while driving one of the company’s trucks. I lovingly told him it was not Satan attacking him, but rather his own careless decisions that were leading to problems.

Sometimes we want to blame spiritual warfare for consequences to our own stupid decisions. But it is equally dangerous to underestimate the actual spiritual warfare the Bible warns us about which is the majority of modern Christians. Satan and warfare is real and God has much to say about it.

Elijah Abraham of Living oasis Ministries joins us to take a biblical look at spiritual warfare and our role in the battle as disciples of Jesus Christ.

The Influence of Ann Voskamp

by Stand Up For The Truth | Feb 13, 2018 | Apologetics, Beliefs, Book Reviews, Christianity, Church Leadership, Emergent Church, Evangelism, Gospel, New Age, Podcast, Salvation | 0 |

Ann Voskamp is a New York Times best-selling author with a large following among Christians, particularly Christian women. Many have said her books about pain and brokenness have helped them connect in a deeper way with God.

But Voskamp is not without her critics. Some believe her writings promote unbiblical mysticism and emergent theology.

Pastor Mike Abendroth joins us this morning to discuss Voskamp’s books and influence, along with continuing our discussion from last month on challenges facing the Christian Church in America. Today we focus on the gospel that is often presented in churches these days. Is it the one, true gospel and consistent with God’s Word? Or a dangerous path away from God?

Your Comments & Questions

by Stand Up For The Truth | Jan 26, 2018 | Apologetics, Beliefs, Christianity, Church Leadership, Cults, Discrimination, Education, Evangelism, False Teaching, homosexuality, Islam, Liberalism, Listener Questions, New Age, Podcast, Prophecy, Prosperity Gospel, Religious Freedom, Word Faith Movement | 0 |

Good morning Christians…it’s Friday! OK, apologies to our more seasoned listeners who know that is a knockoff of the late Paul Harvey’s Friday radio greeting. But we really do love Fridays here at Stand Up For the Truth because we turn the show’s topics over to you. Your questions and comments are the focus and here are some of the things we’ll be discussing today:

Advice on starting a home church
Reconciling salvation by grace and the fruit of our works in the teachings of the Bible
“Little gods” theology espoused by many word faith preachers
The New Age promoted at your local YMCA
What to do when your boss asks you to stop reading your Bible during lunch hour bc some are offended
The Mark of the Beast in the book of Revelation; voluntary or forced?
Why do so few liberals speak up against Islam?
And an angry letter from a (Christian?) listener who says to “judge ye not” but claims there is a special place in hell for Christian conservatives who call out the sin of homosexuality and lesbianism.

Alice Bailey, the UN, and the New World Order

by Stand Up For The Truth | Jan 8, 2018 | Abortion, Beliefs, Christianity, Culture & Morality, Discrimination, Dominionism, Education, Environmentalism, Globalism, Government, Humanism, Islam, Israel, New Age, Podcast | 0 |

Last week, the United Nations condemned the United States for daring to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, even though this has been an historic fact going back thousands of years. And while one reason behind the UN decision was Muslim nations now dominate the UN general Assembly, could there be another reason behind this decision? Historically, how has the UN resisted the Judeo-Christian faith?

Most people just think the United Nations is a gathering of countries to talk about world concerns and hopefully avoid war. The truth is there is much more going on behind the scenes at the UN and to understand it we must know its history and the philosophies of the people instrumental in starting it. One such person is Alice Bailey; we will look at her background, beliefs, agenda, and influence. Bailey was one of the first to use the term, “New Age” and she and husband, Foster Bailey were Free Masons who founded the Lucifer Publishing Company in 1922, now referred to as the “Lucis Trust.”

In our first segment today, we check in with Counter Culture Mom, Tina Marie Griffin. Tina will be speaking at the annual Education Policy Conference taking place in St. Louis, MO Jan. 25-27, along with David Kupelian, Jesse Waters, Michelle Bachmann, Michael Medved, Brigitte Gabriel, Kevin Jackson, Sam Sorbo, and others.

Seduced by Scientology: Deceptions of One Man’s Fiction

by David Fiorazo | Nov 28, 2017 | Cults, False Teaching, Humanism, New Age, Salvation | 0 |

Scientology is a religious system of beliefs and practices based on the seeking of self-knowledge and spiritual fulfillment through graded courses of study and training. A variation of religious humanism, the Church of Scientology was founded in 1954 by American science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard (LRH). He initially developed a program of ideas called Dianetics and wrote a book about it in 1950.

Scientology claims it alone “brings man to total freedom and truth,” which we know is a lie.

…Any false teaching in conflict with the Bible is an attempt to redefine the truth of God and Jesus Himself.

Should Christians Participate in Halloween?

by Stand Up For The Truth | Oct 26, 2017 | Apologetics, Beliefs, Christianity, Culture & Morality, Environmentalism, Globalism, Halloween, Humanism, New Age, Podcast, Satanism | 0 |

In our final segment this morning we look at the recently concluded “Global Oneness Summit”–a call to humanity uniting and taking its place as the divine. It is easy or tempting to just dismiss these people as half-baked “earth muffins”; but their influence reaches into media strongholds and moguls like Oprah Winfrey, who partners with the infamous Rob Bell and Pastor T.D. Jakes, giving Winfrey influence in the Christian Church. And the lure of this “oneness movement” thinking of ourselves as gods is consistent with the temptation of Adam and Eve that got us into this mess of sin, decay and death to begin with. One of the organizers and presenters, Matthew Fox, has profound influence within the Emergent Church movement and Red Letter Christians.

Next Tuesday young children dressed in costume will be knocking at our doors with the familiar refrain of “trick or treat” inviting us to give them candy. While the vast majority of children see Halloween as nothing more than an opportunity to fill up on candy, the history and significance of this “holiday” cannot be diminished nor should it be dismissed out of hand.

Kathi McCarty joins us this morning to discuss the history and tradition of Halloween and its direct connection to the occult. Kathi has extensively studied occult and New Age thinking and shares her thoughts about the pros or cons of Christians participating in Halloween, along with looking at how New Age and even the occult itself is infiltrating certain areas of professing Christianity.

Trafficking and Profiting from Hate

by Stand Up For The Truth | Oct 18, 2017 | Apologetics, Beliefs, Chrislam, Christian Church, Church Leadership, Contextualization, Emergent Church, Evangelism, False Teaching, gender confusion, Gospel, Leaders, LGBTQ, Liberalism, New Age, Podcast, Progressive Christianity, Prophecy, Salvation | 0 |

We have reached a time in America where speaking the truth, no matter how gently done, is called hateful. If you speak out against the facts in the Quran, you hate Muslims. Speak about God’s definition of marriage, and you hate homosexuals. Share what the Bible says about gender being assigned at birth and permanent – even though secular science confirms this truth – and you hate transgenders. Speak up and defend life, and you hate women.

There is big money and power in screaming “hate speech” every time the progressive agenda is challenged or the Bible is referenced out loud. Today, we look at a thought provoking commentary on how the business of hate is consuming our nation.

In our first segment, we check in with Pastor Randy White and continue our discussion on how the Old Testament of the Bible is increasingly overlooked or discarded, even by many professing Christians. Is our growing ignorance of God’s wisdom and proclamations of the Old Testament causing problems in our spiritual growth as Christians and effectiveness as a church?

American Christianity’s Slide Into Apostasy

by Stand Up For The Truth | Feb 15, 2019 | Book Reviews, Christianity, Podcast | 0 |

This morning, Crash Connell interviews Mike about his latest powerful and provocative book challenging the direction of a growing number of churches in our nation. Mike discusses the demarcation forming between Biblical Christian Churches and “American Christianity” churches and how a growing number of churches and denominations are transforming churches toward secular culture, leading many into a false sense of eternal security.

You can pre-order Mike’s new book at biblicalanswerguy.com or at Amazon. It is a powerful, provocative book that will lead you to an honest self-assessment of your life as a professing believer and discover if the church you belong to is conforming to the world or the Word of God.

Deeper Faith, Honest Questions, Sharing the Gospel

by Stand Up For The Truth | Feb 14, 2019 | Apologetics, Christian Growth, Evangelism, Mormonism, Podcast, Spiritual Warfare, the Gospel, Worldview | 0 |

Two fantastic guests on the program means #doubletruththursday. Is that a thing? Anyway…

Today, Mike and David welcome first-time guest, evangelist, Willie Herath of Ratio Christi in southern California and we discuss apologetics, deeper questions in the faith, and how to effectively respond to nonbelievers. How important is it for us to be ready to respond when people have questions or have objections to Christianity. We often find out that they really did not know much about the evidence for the Christian faith and the Bible.

We also talk with radio host, Mike Zander, from Utah’s Key Radio where he reaches out to Mormons in Utah with the gospel. He’s in town today and in-studio with Mike LeMay and David Fiorazo.

Are We Turning Toward or Away From God?

by Stand Up For The Truth | Feb 13, 2019 | Abortion, Apologetics, Beliefs, Christianity, Church Leadership, Culture & Morality, Evangelism, False Teaching, Gospel, Humanism, Podcast | 0 |

Mike and David look at a challenging article by Shane Idelman admonishing the Church to start living and acting like the Church instead of caving to the pressure and beliefs of secular society. And — breaking news — in case you haven’t heard:

The church is not a building or a denomination… You and I as believers are the Church!

The sad reality is that Jesus warned that many who think they are saved and going to heaven are instead headed to eternal hell. Paul tells us to continually test ourselves to prove that we are truly in the faith and have not fooled ourselves. The committed follower of Jesus Christ is willing to do this on a continual basis; the professing Christian who has fooled themselves never thinks twice about it. They have been lulled into a false sense of eternal security by the father of lies and a professing “church” that is afraid to offend people by teaching about sin, repentance and the pursuit of holiness. Together today we will examine ourselves.

In our first segment, we talk Biblical apologetics with Aaron Marshall of Ratio Christi Ministries.

Time for the Church to Turn Back to God

by Stand Up For The Truth | Feb 12, 2019 | Abortion, American History, Christianity, Church Leadership, Culture & Morality, Emergent Church, Evangelism, False Teaching, Government, Leadership, One world religion, Persecution, Podcast, Religious Freedom | 0 |

The world is what it always will be: Full of people who love self and power and despise God and His Word. Christians are called to stand out as a peculiar people full of eternal hope in Jesus Christ and sharing that hope with lost people. But many fear that as the “church” has sought compromise and common ground with the world that she has lost her moral standing and actually is contributing to the growing evil in society instead of opposing it and offering a solution.

It’s time to turn back to God with repentant hearts, asking His forgiveness for squandering our calling as light in this dark world. But do we as professing Christians, along with those who lead us, have the humility and strength to get on our knees and repent before God for our failures? Or will we continue to look more and more like this world Jesus said we were to hate and that would hate us?

Elijah Abraham, a former Muslim and now born-again believer, travels the world teaching the Word of God and equipping Christians in persecuted nations to share the gospel in the midst of danger. Elijah joins us to look at the tepid condition of American Christianity and what we must do before it’s too late.

The Church’s Dilemma with Israel

by Stand Up For The Truth | Feb 11, 2019 | Apologetics, Christianity, Church Leadership, False Teaching, Government, Islam, Israel, Liberalism, Persecution, Podcast, Politics and Faith, Social Justice | 0 |

Paul is warning believers not to dismiss God’s eternal promises to Israel because many will be saved in the final days. But an increasing number of professing Christians are turning away from Israel and supporting her enemies.

Pastor and best-selling Author Carl Gallups joins Mike and David this morning to talk about his new book that in just a few short weeks is already a best-seller. It looks at how biblical Christianity is starting to spread in Israel and the controversy surrounding recently deceased Rabbi Zev Porat and a controversial message he left to be opened upon his death.