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Spiritual Research Network, Inc. (SRN) is an independent Christian outreach that is committed first and foremost to the Lord Jesus Christ and the integrity of God's Word. Read more...
Proclaiming the Gospel and Encouraging Biblical Discernment,
And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:9-11)
SRN NEWSLETTERS (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr) - Find out what's in each newsletter here.
RECOMMENDED READING AND NEW SRN MATERIAL
Clowning Around in the Pulpit: Fresh Expression of Emerging Church Ecumensim
Featured Article from April Newsletter
By Chris Lawson
n his first pastoral letter to Timothy, Paul the apostle exhorted the young pastor to command others that they “teach no other doctrine, neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies...” Christlike love was at the root and foundation of Paul’s command and warning, and proper edification for believers in Christ was his goal. Unlike many leaders today, Timothy heeded Paul’s command. As Christians we believe that Scripture was inspired by God the Holy Spirit (2 Tim 3:16-17). As such, God’s exhortation through Paul to Timothy was given so that the church would be spared from doctrinal aberration and heresy.
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How To Find a Good Church Home
Featured Article from Let Us Reason Ministries
By Mike Oppenheimer
It's not the label on a church that makes it what it is, but the teachings and the people following Christ. Mormons say they have the name of Christ on their Church, therefore they are his Church. Anyone can put a name on the outside, and most do use the name of Christ but it’s what is on the inside that counts. A certain denomination or non denomination may often mean it has a good reputation but it is no guarantee for Biblical accuracy. Do they have the life of Christ - is His Holy Spirit indwelling the people and the congregation, is the Bible believed and being taught and practiced? We do not just look for a church that teaches the Bible but a church that teaches the Bible correctly, the whole counsel of God and having the goal to live by it.
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Spiritual Abuse and Groups Dynamics: Questions to Consider
Spiritual Abuse Questionnaire
By Chris Lawson / Updated SRN Webpage
The following list of questions is to help you, the reader, think through a number of things that perhaps you have never seriously considered on your own before. As you read the questions, circle either YES or NO. When you reach the end, go back through the list and prayerfully consider the questions that you have answered YES to. Answering YES to any of the following questions may be an indication of an unhealthy problem in your group or with your leaders. Answering YES to more than just a few questions is a definite cause for alarm. If this is the case, it is recommended that you take a much closer look into your group’s or organization’s history, purpose, and goals. Observe closely the methods, activities, and lives of the leaders. Are they using abusive and manipulative tactics on people?
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M. Scott Peck: Community and the Cosmic Christ
A Warning About New Age Spirituality Infiltrating Churches
By Author/Speaker Warren Smith of Mountain Stream Press / New SRN Webpage
Note: The following article about authors M. Scott Peck and Matthew Fox was first written in 1995 to provide an example of how the New Age movement was entering the church. Under the guise of “Christian” authorship, heretical New Age teachings were attempting to supplant biblical doctrine with a New Age/New Worldview. My article focused on Peck and Fox’s promotion of the panentheistic New Age teaching of “oneness”—that we are all “one” because God is “in” everyone and everything. Both men pointed to Catholic Jesuit priest Pierre Teilhard de Chardin—known as the Father of the New Age Movement—as their mystical mentor. All three men heralded the coming of a universal New Age Cosmic Christ.
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Misión Carismática Internacional (G12) - Cult, Aberrant Christian Group, or Both
A Warning About G12 Churches, Encounter Weekends and Spiritual Abuse
New SRN Webpage
The G-12 movement has been defined as a full blown abusive "cult" as well as an "aberrant" Christian movement, depending on how one looks at the theological and social structure of the movement. The methodology that is utilized upon many current and former members speaks for itself and varies from church to church and how balanced or imbalanced church leaders are. Many people have left the movement because they have been severely abused under what is known as "heavy shepherding," in other words, they have been "spiritually abused."
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Sharing Speaking Platforms:Compromises and Consequences
When Leaders Wrongly Share Speaking Platforms with Ecumenists and Teachers of False Doctrine
New SRN Article/Webpage
Many years ago Pastor Chuck Smith's long-time associate, Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa's Associate Pastor, L.E. Romaine, once told me personally"Don't complain about it unless you first try to do something about it." Pastor Romaine was exhorting us (pastors) not to complain about anything, unless we seek first to aright the situation, no matter what it is. Obviously, the Bible says we are not to grumble and complain, and Romaine knew that too. Romaine was simply communicating to us that we ought to deal with issues and not make messes in the church; theological, or otherwise. The following material is not meant to be a complaint, but an introduction as to why Calvary Chapel is not standing against Ecumenical compromises. I am not complaining, I am telling the truth.
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Benny Hinn - False Teacher, False Prophet
Research Articles, News Stories, DVD,s Books, Dateline NBC and more, all exposing Benny Hinn's false teachings and strange behavior
New SRN Webpage
”I am a little messiah”. “I am a little god.” “I Am”. Are these the statements of a true believer? “Jesus Christ will appear bodily in upcoming crusades”. Is this how Jesus said He would appear? This video explores the world of Benny Hinn to a depth that few others have gone. Are his miracle and healing claims accurate? Is his teaching biblical? Is his transferable “anointing” from God? Do his teachings and prophesies prove that he is the type of teacher Christ told us to avoid?
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Joyce Meyer: Word Faith/Prosperity Gospel False Teacher and False Teachings
Research Articles Exposing The False Teachings of Joyce Meyer
New SRN Webpage
“The Lord recently showed me that we can bless or curse the financial seed we sow. We can speak positively about our financial future, or we can say things like, ‘I can’t afford it’ . .. ‘Every time I turn around something happens to take my money’. . . . We should water our giving with the water of His word and expect an abundant harvest. Sow your seed and speak prosperity scriptures over your finances” (Joyce Meyer, “Your Mouth is a Weapon,” Life in the Word March 1997, p. 4.) For many articles and exposing the false teachings and false teachers of the Word Faith/Prosperity Gospel movement, please visit these exposes at Apologetics Coordination Team website - Deception In The Church...
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Will the Evangelical Church Sell Out the Gospel for a Dominionist Political Agenda?
A Special Report by Understand the Times and Lighthouse Trails
Special Collaborative Report
As America is quickly approaching another presidential election year, some interesting things are taking place within evangelical/Protestant Christianity that are connected to next year’s election. Dominionist/Kingdom Now political and religious figures are joining forces with evangelical Christian groups. While having concern for the state of America is more than legitimate, will Christians replace commitment and loyalty to the Gospel for commitment and loyalty to a dominionist agenda? If they do, they will learn the hard way that compromise and a “whatever it takes” attitude will do more harm to the cause of Jesus Christ than good.
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General Jerry Boykin and his ties to The Knights of Malta and Rick Joyner
Compiled by Sandy Simpson, 7/21/11
Article From Apologetics Coordination Team
This paper exposes what General Boykin has been doing in Calvary Chapels and his associations. He is Grand Chancellor of the Vatican's Jesuitical "Knights of Malta", an ecumenical society under the leadership of Rome where Catholics, Protestants and a plethora of others unite in what cannot be a unity of the Faith.
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“Blasphemizing” the Bible
By Sandy Simpson, Apologetics Coordination Team
Article From Deception In The Church
I am going to go over an article I wrote back in 2006 in preparation for the book I wrote with Mike Oppenheimer called “Idolatry in Their Hearts”. This book is an apologetic against the false teachings of the World Christian Gathering on Indigenous People movement, the Emerging Church and the New Apostolic Reformation which got their ideas from the book “Eternity in Their Hearts” by Don Richardson. At the time that book came out no one really saw the dangerous ideas Richardson was promoting. All they would have had to do was look at the two subtitles of that book to understand the implications.
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New Age Terms In The Church
A closer look at the Christianization of New Age terms
Article From Discernment Ministries
Buzz words, traditional meanings, misleading meanings, real meanings compared.
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Global Ecumenism: The High Road to Trampling Truth Underfoot
By Chris Lawson
New SRN Article/Webpage
The term “ecumenism” comes from the Greek word oikoumene (Transliterated here) meaning “the inhabited earth,” “the whole inhabited world” or “the inhabited or habitable earth or world” “A particular inhabited country (Luke 2:1; Acts 11:28).” [1] The word occurs in the New Testament in Luke 2:1, where it is translated as “all the world.” In Scripture the word was historically used in reference to the then known world of the Roman Empire. Luke the physician (and historian) who penned the book of Acts and also the book of Luke uses the word this way in Luke chapter two: “And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world [oikoumene, meaning “the inhabited earth”] should be taxed [registered]. (And this taxing [census] was first made when Cyrenius [Quirinius] was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed [registered], every one into his own city” (Luke 2:1-3 KJV).
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THE PROPHETIC MOVEMENT: AN EVIL AND ADULTEROUS GENERATION
By Bud Press of Christian Research Service
Newly added to SRN
To the Reader: The Prophetic Movement is a dark, evil wasteland teeming with false apostles, false prophets, hyper-heretics, false healers, and greedy, money-hungry con men and women, all of whom are overshadowed by Satan and his demonic forces.
From the Prophetic Movement came doctrines of demons such as: man is a "god" or "God;" Jesus took on Satan's nature, sinned, and had to be born again in hell; God is subject to man's desires and wishes; visits to heaven and hell; fabricated and lying signs and wonders; extra-Biblical dreams, visions, and revelations; man-infested manifestations; prosperity poverty; and one-on-one encounters with angels, Old Testament prophets, New Testament apostles, and "Jesus Christ".
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