Christians sharing the gospel in Muslim-dominated countries take incredible risks. And converts from Islam to Christianity are routinely banished, imprisoned or murdered. So, how do Christian missionaries teach Muslims about Jesus when Islam denies His deity and death on the cross? And how do new converts from Islam to Christianity worship Jesus without inviting severe persecution? One answer is Chrislam, the bringing together of Christianity and Islam. Proponents of Chrislam say that … [Read more...]
What does the Word-Faith movement teach?
This is the second in a five-part series on the Prosperity Gospel. The central teaching of the errant Word-Faith movement is that God wills your prosperity and health; therefore, to be a Christian in poverty or ill health is to be outside the will of God. There is great diversity within the Word-Faith movement, but below are doctrines that most prosperity teachers embrace. Please keep in mind that these are false doctrines, which we address in future columns. For a more in-depth … [Read more...]
What is the Word-Faith movement?
This is the first in a five-part series on the Prosperity Gospel. Does God want me rich? Can my words create reality? Are human beings little gods? Almost without exception, leaders of today’s Word-Faith movement answer these questions with a resounding, “Yes!” While elements of the Word-Faith movement are as old as first-century false teachings, the so-called Prosperity Gospel has borrowed from the more recent “mind sciences” and radical Pentecostalism to become a leading form of … [Read more...]
Bible & generational curses
Many Christians struggling with addictive behaviors, bad relationships, or dire circumstances wonder if they are victims of generational curses. In other words, they worry that God is punishing them for the sins of their ancestors. Prosperity preachers like Joel Osteen lend credence to this notion. “The things you struggle with – they didn’t just happen to show up,” he says in a video message. “Somebody in your family line opened the door… . It will continue until somebody rises up and … [Read more...]
Who are Sunni and Shi’ite Muslims?
When the militant forces of ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) recently occupied a large portion of the Middle East and declared the establishment of a new country under an Islamic caliph (leader), it became apparent to the outside world that much of the conflict involved Muslims fighting one another. Specifically, the continuing conflict involves two major sects of Islam: Sunni (the sect of ISIS) and Shi’ite. This may prompt us to ask, “What’s the difference? Muslims are Muslims, … [Read more...]
Was that a miracle or a counterfeit?
An elderly woman tosses aside her walker and sprints around a crowded auditorium amidst thunderous applause. Hundreds of congregants gasp as a faith healer lengthens a man’s shortened leg in the name of Jesus. Throngs of worshipers fall backward, seemingly lifeless, as an evangelist breathes the Holy Spirit on them. These are common sights on Christian television, meant to convince us that God continues to perform signs, wonders and miracles through His anointed servants. But are … [Read more...]
Why are there two Qur’ans?
The Qur’an is Islam’s most holy book. While Muslims believe Allah has revealed many written works, including the Old and New Testaments, these revelations ended with the Qur’an, which supersedes all others. For all practical purposes, Muslims accept only the Qur’an as the Word of God. They believe Jews and Christians have corrupted Allah’s earlier revelations in the Bible, although they honor the writings of Moses, who was given the Tawrat (Torah); David, the Zabur (his Psalms); and … [Read more...]
Is the canon of Scripture closed?
Some Christian scholars today cast doubt over the canon of Scripture – those 66 books that the Church has long held to be the complete written revelation of God. They justify their views by claiming: (1) that surviving texts of the Old and New Testaments are corrupt and therefore unreliable, or (2) that early Church leaders deliberately excluded certain books for personal or political reasons. As Craig L. Blomberg responds in his recent book – Can We Still Believe the Bible? – “there is … [Read more...]
Bankruptcy of the prosperity gospel
Leaders of the word-faith movement, also known as the prosperity gospel, say they place a high value on Scripture. Unfortunately, their unique interpretation of God’s Word leads to unbiblical conclusions about God’s design for the Christian life. A case in point: 3 John 2, which reads: “Dear friend, I pray that you may prosper in every way and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.” As prosperity preachers like Kenneth Copeland and Joel Osteen would have you believe, this … [Read more...]
Does God have a body?
Mormons (LDS) teach that God the Father has a body of flesh and bones. And Jehovah’s Witnesses (JW) say Jehovah has a “spiritual body” that prevents Him from being omnipresent. While these unbiblical views from our LDS and JW friends are not surprising, it may come as a shock to hear that some leaders of the Christian Word-Faith movement hold a similar view – and quote the Bible to support it. A case in point: Kenneth Copeland and Isa. 40:12. Copeland, perhaps more than any other … [Read more...]
How Islam makes and defines peace
In the wake of 9/11 and subsequent acts of terror in the name of Allah, many Muslim leaders labor to buff the tarnished image of the religion Mohammad founded nearly 1,400 years ago. Their key message: Islam is a religion of peace. No doubt many of the world’s Muslims prefer peace to the sword, decrying the acts of Islamist terrorists as perversions of true Islam. And to be fair, Islam is a religion of peace, as long as peace is defined in Muslim terms. A case in point: … [Read more...]
Divine interruptions
MBC Executive Director John Yeats was part of a six-person team of Missouri Baptist volunteers on Gibitngil last month. He reflects on God’s sovereignty in the midst of uncertainty: “Divine interruptions are the handiwork of God and we have to learn to listen. For example, just prior to this trip, we learned that my wife Sharon will most likely have a surgical procedure when we return. The outcome will be huge and it could have derailed our participation on this mission. “Then we learned … [Read more...]
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