The False Teachings of Spiritual Warfare
Aug 15
Not only is the spiritual warfare movement derived from extra-Biblical sources, but it contradicts much of what the New Testament does tell us about demons. Many false teachers, such as Neil Anderson, claims that when we deal with demons it is a "truth encounter," not a "power encounter." But in the Scriptures whenever Jesus or the Apostles cast out demons it was always a power encounter. Never once did Jesus attempt to reason with a demonized individual. Never once did He call on them to believe the truth. He always forcibly cast demons out of such people.
Reader’s Choice Top 30 Articles on codybateman.org
Jun 02As is often the case, there are not enough sidebar widgets to effectively locate a favorite article from the past – especially when the number of articles published is in the hundreds. Such is the case with codybateman.org.
Knights Templar was Hiding a Dead Man’s Laundry – not the Shroud of Turin!
Apr 06
Medieval knights hid and secretly venerated The Holy Shroud of Turin for more than 100 years after the Crusades, the Vatican said Sunday in an announcement that appeared to solve the mystery of the relic’s missing years. The Knights Templar, an order which was suppressed and disbanded for alleged heresy, took care of the linen cloth, which bears the image of a man with a beard, long hair and the wounds of crucifixion, according to Vatican researchers. The Shroud, which is kept in the royal chapel of Turin Cathedral, has long been revered as the shroud in which Jesus was buried, although the image only appeared clearly in 1898 when a photographer developed a negative. Barbara Frale, a researcher in the Vatican Secret Archives, said the Shroud had disappeared in the sack of Constantinople in 1204 during the Fourth Crusade, and did not surface again until the middle of the fourteenth century. Writing in L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, Frale said its fate in those years had always puzzled historians.
Halloween and the Christian Church
Feb 23
Each year Christians are faced with the social pressure of this event we call “Halloween.” Our children are exposed to it at school and through commercial advertising, displays, and items to be sold, and they find it hard to resist being a part of all the festivities. Many Christians find it harmless “fun” and see no reason to oppose it. Other churches and believers attempt to “compete” with it by having special “harvest festivals” (or similar such events) at the church facilities so that families can have an alternative for their children. For information’s sake, here are a few facts: Halloween had its beginnings in an ancient, pre-Christian Celtic festival of the dead. The Celtic peoples, who were once found all over Europe, divided the year by four major holidays. According to their calendar, the year began on a day corresponding to November 1st on our present calendar. The date marked the beginning of winter. Since they were pastoral people, it was a time when cattle and sheep had to be moved to closer pastures and all livestock had to be secured for the winter months. Crops were harvested and stored. The date marked both an ending and a beginning in an eternal cycle.
Living Truths
Feb 23
"He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err" (Mark 12:27). Sin and death are grim realities in the world, but these are only temporary intruders as it were. The God of creation is the living God; and "Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:16) is our living Savior, alive forevermore. It is appropriate, therefore, that the term "living" is applied over and over again to great truths of the Christian faith. For example, the Holy Scriptures are called "the lively oracles" (Acts 7:38). "Lively" and "living" represent the same Greek word, zao; thus the Bible is God's "living word." Jesus Christ called Himself "the living bread which came down from heaven," sent down by "the living Father" (John 6:51,57). He also promised that all who believe on Him would find "living waters" flowing through their lives (John 7:38). He has opened for us through His substitutionary death and justifying resurrection "a new and living way, which He hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh" (Hebrews 10:20). Furthermore, He has thereby "begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (I Peter 1:3).
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