A former Speech and Language Pathologist for nearly 20 years, I began educating our 3 children full-time in 2015 and have cherished every gifted moment (even the challenges). But what is interwoven into all aspects of daily life (as a wife, via motherhood, teaching, friendship, fitness, etc.) is Christian Apologetics (1 Peter 3:15)… which is why this blog exists.
Friends, we wouldn’t go to Hell because we don’t choose Jesus.
We go to Hell because we are sinners.
Sin separates us from a Holy God. And since God is good (Mk 12), God is perfectly just. We would deserve Hell.
In The Story of Reality by Greg Koukl, Koukl makes this point by illustrating that people go to the Hospital because they have a illness. Yes, medical intervention can help us, but our possible demise would be connected to our illness.
Humanity rebelled and therefore is sinful (Ge 2; Ro 3:23; Ro 7). Our sinful nature is our demise. Our standard of holiness isn’t the person next door, nor is it Stalin. Our standard of rightness is God alone.
We chose rebellion. We followed evil. And we created the grave.
We are in need of a Savior.
And our Savior isn’t ourselves. It’s not a personality trait, nor is it attending church. While neither of those things are necessarily bad, they can’t save us.
God’s gift was and is Himself (Jn 3; Ro 8; 1 Co 15; Eph 2; 2 Cor 5:21). Jesus paid the price for our sin, on our behalf, and made a way back into fellowship with God. He defeated the grave!!
We should thank Him for this precious gift, daily (1 Thes 5:16-18)!
“Why does this man speak like that? He (Jesus) is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Mark 2:7📕
Mark is thought by numerous scholars to be the earliest of the four gospel accounts recorded with “internal and external data pointing to Rome as the place of composition around the mid-to-late 50’s.”(1)
With Jesus’s crucifixion occurring around A.D. 30 or 33, the documentation provided by Mark is approximately 20 years later, which is astounding when referring to ancient documents! For example, the first written copy of Caesar’s Gaelic Wars had a time gap of ~950 years.(2)
Based upon this information, we would expect the earliest eyewitness report (Peter’s given to Mark) to solidly address Jesus’s identity as the long-awaited Messiah: God the Son, incarnate. And as you’ll witness in the 7m clip by Wes Huff (Christian Apologist from Canada), Jesus’s divinity is boldly on display in Mark!
The acronym which Wes mentions is provided by Robert Bowman and J. Ed Komoszewski from their book, Putting Jesus in his Place: The Case for the Deity of Christ.
H – Jesus shares the honors due to God. A – Jesus shares the attributes of God. N – Jesus shares the names of God. D – Jesus shares and the deeds that God does. S – Jesus shares the seat of God’s throne.
Friends, #Jesus demonstrated in real time and space who He was (and still is). God’s love came down and put upon Himself a human nature to fulfill His promise: rescuing humanity (Ge 3:15; Jn 2:12; 3:26). This is news we should rejoice in daily!
“Relating to Jesus as God is also crucial to the message we take to the rest of the world. We must know whom we represent if we are to represent him faithfully. Our Christian walk, witness, and worship all must reflect a sound understanding of the identity of our Lord Jesus Christ.”(3)
What seems inspirational may not necessarily be “inspired.”
Through the trials I’ve encountered in life, God has helped me to understand that I 💯need His help to discern what is actually “good” and “right.” For my opinions of what seems helpful could be misleading and possibly, short-sighted.
For example, if you or I wanted to place a “floating shelf” upon a wall at home, we would not eyeball where we place the fasteners. That would be following our own understanding of what is level, not seeking what truly is.
Making sure the shelf is level is a real safety concern, and therefore we grab the essential tools to ensure it’s stable and secure…level…on the wall.
The same goes for our thoughts and experiences. How do we know what is inspiring us is just us doing what we think is right?
“Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It is knowing the difference between right and almost right.” —C.H. Spurgeon
Like with placing the shelf on the wall, we need a straightedge to guava if our thoughts and experiences are truly “level.” For if we are honest, we can all agree that we have been personally convinced of perceived helpfulness as truth…later suffering the heartbreak of that “shelf” falling down.
Elisabeth Elliot puts it this way:
“The Word of God is like a straight edge, which shows up our own crookedness. We can’t really tell how crooked our thinking is until we line it up with the straight edge of Scripture.”
To know if something is actually inspired, I/we need to go to the 66 books compiled over 1,600 years, written by 40+ people in three different languages (Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic), on three different continents, (1) which has one consistent thread throughout- the faithful plan of God to save His people.
We need God’s word (the Bible). Remember, the same Holy Spirit who helped the writers of the Bible (2 Peter 1:20-22) will never contradict Himself. He is our straightedge on what is inspired…versus what is merely inspirational.
In my humble opinion, this quote by Marcia succinctly demonstrates possibly the most prominent reason why the #Enneagram is an idol in so many lives, today: perceived helpfulness (#pragmatism).
We all battle the temptation to lean into our own understanding. Instead of slowing down to ask God for help, we stubbornly take things into our own hands and attempt to control our situations. Our compass? Most often what leads us are our fickle and ever-changing emotions. They never lead us astray, correct? (*sarcasm)
It’s incredibly important to remember that pragmatism doesn’t necessarily come-at-you with a sign that says, “Avoid this.” Instead, the war that is waged upon your mind comes concealed as something seemingly “good” and useful in that moment. A temporary fix, perhaps.
But if any teaching or message encourages you to replace reading your Bible with others books or “practices”, or demeans the Old Testament as unnecessary and irrelevant, take that as a red flag to stop and test that message alongside Scripture immediately.
Instead of seeking wisdom, identity, and guidance from personality descriptions, psychic readings, tarot cards, or emotions, stop and pray! Open your Bible and read at least one whole chapter or book. What we need most are God’s words.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
“Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.”
Acts 17:11
Friends, no matter how popular the author or inspirational the message, it’s imperative that we readily test every message being taught about Jesus (in books, through podcasts, or at conferences) alongside the Bible. Especially when an author endorses the theology of Richard Rohr (Acts 17:11; 1 Thes 5:21)!
With this in view, we need to be willing to respectfully and responsibility examine books which are flooding the church doors. Even if our dear friends are excited about them.
Remember— even Peter needed corrected by Paul when Peter was adding to the grace of the cross (as documented in Galatians 2). Ladies, if Peter needed corrected, it’s highly likely that you and I will need correction at points in our walks, too.
John Mark Comer
John Mark Comer’s books are a wonderful example of why popularity does not necessarily mean biblical. Comer has not only been a guest on Ian Cron’s Enneagram podcast, but he also endorses the Enneagram via his Practicing the way website.
Even more concerning than promoting a pseudoscientific tool designed within New Age Spiritualism (Enneagram), Comer overtly endorsesRichard Rohr.🚩 Seminary professor and respected author Dr. Douglas Groothuis describes Richard Rohr as “a heretic in the robes of a Franciscan priest. To be more specific, he is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, a false teacher, and a deceiver (see Matthew 7:15–19; Acts 20:29–31). Basing his teaching primarily on eastern mysticism rather than biblical Christianity.”(1)
But don’t take Dr. Groothuis’s word for it, read Rohr’s firsthand! Here is a quote by Friar Rohr from an interview on August 3, 2019 via the Another Name for Everything with Richard Rohr podcast:
“Jesus was objectively Christ from his birth in Bethlehem, his conception in Nazareth, just like you and I are objectively Christ.” (2)
Succinctly stated, Richard Rohr teaches a very Jesus and a different gospel (2 Cor 11:4; 1 John 4:1-1). Richard Rohr preaches that “Jesus and Christ are not exactly the same.” (3) Rohr asserts that Christ entered the material world through the “Big Bang,” bringing a divine DNA into all materials things. (4) According to Rohr, all material things share the same Christ. The human Jesus, included. For more quotes by Richard Rohr (sources included), please refer to this printable chart. This evidence should compel us to take JMC’s endorsement of Rohr’s very seriously!
“I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.” Romans 16:17
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.” Galatians 1:6-9
When we read Comer’s teaching about sin, we also notice the words “Shadow Side” attached. Friends, this terminology (Shadow Side) was developed by Swiss Psychiatrist Carl Jung (1875-1961), a colleague of Sigmund Freud. In his article entitled, “The Big Question: Are You a Oneist or a Twoist?,” Dr. Peter Jones describes Jung as the Father of both Neo-Gnosticism and the New Age. (5) Seminary professor and respected author Douglas Groothuis, Ph.D. adds that “a careful consideration of the sources and nature of Jungian thought reveals a world view utterly and inexorably alien to biblical faith.” (6) Friends, Carl Jung’s perspective of sin is not biblical (Christian), and therefore should be rejected.
Dr. Douglas Groothuis and Melissa Dougherty
As I continued to read Comer’s website further, another concern jumped forward. Under his Practicing the Way “free resources” a statement under “Crafting a Rule of Life” which is a fitting works-based thesis for the entire resource:
“Transformation is possible, but it’s not inevitable.” – JMC
Friends, the last I checked God’s Word, God is the only one who both sanctifies and transforms us. It’s a promise. And God always keeps His word. Richard Rohr believes that Jesus is a mere model of faith (8), not the object of our faith. (9) Rohr’s perspective of Jesus is therefore opposed to historic (biblical) Christianity. Given Comer’s admiration for Rohr, and his apparent belief that transformation is works-based, we need to be very careful not to promote John Mark Comer’s teaching at this time.
*It is also important to note that I have written to Comer regarding the Richard Rohr research Comer asking for his stance on Rohr (through his church in Los Angeles, Facebook, as well as through the Practicing the Way website. So far, there has been no response from Comer…but let’s keep praying!
“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
Philippians 1:6
“Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Thessalonians 5:23
For more information pertaining to Richard Rohr and those influenced by his theology, please follow Marcia Montenegro and Christian Answers for the New Age.
“Lesson 2: The Big Question: Are You a Oneist or a Twoist? | Biblical Worldview II: Seeing a World of Difference.” n.d. Blue Letter Bible Institute. Accessed November 19, 2024. https://study.bible/lesson/575.
The Enneagram was created by George I. Gurdjieff in 1916 for the purpose of gleaning knowledge from the Cosmos as well as for creating “sacred dances” (using an occult number wrapped around the shape: 142587).
Divination is the act of seeking information from any spiritual sources other than God, which is prohibited by God (Deut 18; Galatians 5). And therefore, this man-made tool is not spiritually neutral. Nor is it “redeemable.”
Does God redeem Diviners? Yes! But not the act of divination.
✔️Is it ancient?
The shape (1916; Gurdjieff) and it’s accompanying “types” (1969-1971; Claudio Naranjo) are not ancient. However, the worldview behind its formation is incredibly ancient (Panentheism mixed with Gnosticism).
It needs to be shared that neither Panentheism nor Gnosticism are compatible with Christianity. In fact, both John and Paul were countering Gnosticism in the 1st century (John 1; Colossians 2).
As Marcia has wisely shared in other interviews, “The Enneagram is not like meat sacrificed to idols. The Enneagram is the idol itself.”
For a comprehensive overview of the important details shared above, please check-out Don & Joy Veinot’s and Marcia Montenegro’s book, Richard Rohr and the Enneagram Secret! It’s an essential resource pertaining to Enneagram research!
Lastly, Midwest Christian Outreach has both produced and compiled an incredible playlist of educational videos anyone can watch while walking on a treadmill, making dinner, folding laundry dry, or flying on a plane. If reading isn’t your preferred way of gleaning information, these videos are invaluable!
“The bigger question is, ‘Why does the Enneagram seem so wonderful to some people if it’s not actually accurate?’”
Dr. Jay Medenwaldt
Preface: This post is not an endorsement of the #Enneagram, but is instead highlighting Dr. Medenwaldt’s important work. This clip is a must watch (12m)!
Per the TEDx video description:
“The Enneagram is common in society as a tool to better understand ourselves and others. Many people use it to determine compatibility or learn more about their personality type. However, this test can sometimes do more harm than help to our personal lives. It allows people to make instant judgments about people they just met or justify dislike of certain personality types.
This talk shows the psychology of the Enneagram, and how stories surrounding the it can reduce people to a number, and perpetuate harmful ideas that lead to negative consequences among family, friends, and society as a whole.
Dr. Jay Medenwaldt is currently an assistant professor of psychology at Northwestern College, IA. He served in the Air Force as a behavioral scientist for nine years before earning a PhD in social psychology and an MDiv in apologetics, ethics, and biblical studies. His research and ministry work focus on how psychological factors affect religious beliefs. His forthcoming book examines the enneagram through the lens of science and Christian theology.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.”
Friends, the hope God provides is real. So real that we can gaze at the historical reality of the cross (AD 30 or 33) and daily consider the significance of the empty tomb.
And while the library of documents we call the Bible (66 books written over 1,500yrs by 40+ people from different regions) are reliable resources, many hearts are astounded to consider that information also exists about Jesus outside of the Bible! (1)
A few examples of these non-Christian, historical sources are Flavius Josephus (Jewish historian), Suetonius (Roman historian), the Talmud (a text of Rabbinic Judaism), and Cornelius Tacitus (Roman historian and senator). And what do they show us?
✔️Jesus was a real man, ✔️he was crucified on a Roman cross, and ✔️produced an empty tomb. Not to mention ✔️had numerous followers who were martyred for what they earnestly believed. These facts are undisputed by the vast majority of modern day scholars (non-Christian, included).
To add, Dr. Craig Hazen from Biola explains that other worldviews and religions acknowledge Jesus’s existence: “In Hinduism, Jesus emerges in some Hindus’ minds as one of the greatest teachers ever to walk the earth. In Buddhism, if not an incarnation of the Buddha, Jesus certainly is a great Bodhisattva who leads people to the precipice of enlightenment. In Islam, Jesus is a greater prophet than Mohammad, was born of a virgin, is remembered as a miracle worker, and holds the scales of justice at the end of time.” (2)
As Cold Case Detective and Apologist J Warner Wallace explains, “Jesus doesn’t matter because He influenced the world. Jesus influenced the world because He matters…Jesus is who He said he was: God incarnate.“ (3)
You might not need to do research, or desire extra evidence, but maybe your son or daughter might have questions. Or, possibly your neighbor. Questions are good! Please welcome them. Not having answers readily available doesn’t mean they don’t exist. (4)
This video featuring Drs Gary Habermas (Liberty University), Darrell Bock (Dallas Theological Seminary), and Mikel Del Rosario (Moody Bible) will encourage you immensely! (5)
“Brethren, let us cut out of our sermons everything that takes men’s minds away from the cross.
One look at Jesus is better than the most attentive gazing at our gems of speech.
Christ must ever be in the foreground, and our sermons must point to him, or they will do more harm than good. We must preach Christ crucified, and set him forth like the sun in the heavens…
I gather that there is no such thing as a progressive word of the cross, but that the gospel is the same gospel today as it was when Paul in the beginning proclaimed it…
God had but one Son…and he sent him here below to take our nature, that, being found in fashion as a man, he might die on our behalf, made sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
‘God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him might not perish, but have everlasting life’ [Jn 3:16]. The word of the cross is, ‘God is love’; he willeth not the death of the sinner, but that he turn unto him and live…
Psalm 22, written by King David nearly 1,000 years before Jesus’s crucifixion in AD 30 or 33, was penned 300 years before crucifixion was even invented! And Isaiah 53 (The Suffering Servant) was drafted 700 years beforehand!
Why does this matter?
How could we recognize our Savior without evidence to back up His claims (Mt 11:3-6; Jn 20:30; Lk 24:44-48)? After all, anyone can claim to be the Messiah/Christ. We would need instructions (ie, signposts directing us) as to be absolutely confident.
God, in His goodness, intentionally worked in real time and history to provide these details (more than 300 prophecies). And Jesus fulfilled them all! Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53 both demonstrate God’s faithfulness so vividly! I genuinely hope this encourages anyone needing it today. God is so good!
After his bodily resurrection:
“Then he [Jesus] said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.’” Luke 24:44-47 📕
🎞️ Lee Strobel examines the mathematical miracle of Jesus’s fulfillment of prophecy (2m): https://tinyurl.com/msev37zs
Even John the Baptist, whom Jesus said, “among those born of women no one greater than John the Baptist has appeared,” proclaimed that he was not the Christ (Matthew 11:11; Jn 1:19-20).
The scriptures demonstrate that Jesus was/is both fully God, and fully human. Why is this so important?
Seminary professor and author articulates the importance of acknowledging Jesus’s humanity and divinity with one succinct statement:
“He suffered as God because only God had the power to save; He suffered as man because only man owed the debt.”
As GoodFriday draws near, think upon the immense love of God which stepped into our place, adding upon Himself humanity, and doing what we are unable to do: save ourselves. Only Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah (Christ). And only God is God.
Hold Fast Apologetics 