Great story Tizzy. For most of us its gotta get lived out and tested to become personal. I had a similar upbringing as you, so know that we are on a journey. If we are the Lord's, He will draw us back and keep his children. We do our part to remain in the strength he provides

Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. :) The gift of faith is given by means - if we do not hear, how can we believe? And how can we hear, unless the Word is proclaimed to our ears? It sounds like your parents did their part in God's plan, planting seeds of the Word that could grow in God's time. One plants, another waters, but God alone causes the growth! :)

Many are deceived about God, you included.

If God can do that, why doesn't he do that for everybody?

Love to heart it Shawnda! Tons of us are out here to help as well. The attack against the bride of Christ is coming heavy and fierce from all fronts so it's good to stand guard and defend the faith, and seek out resources that help you do it: to know what you believe and why, at least on an elementary level. A friend of hers, Natasha Crain is very eloquent as well. She's more a family and children apologist momma-bear. Another recommended lady is Holly Pivec. She'll help most on the front of hyper-charismania and why we must guard our ears on the worship music front. It's a gateway to the churches which produce the material and their theology is dangerous, esp. the large one in Redding, CA. She co authored trio essential books in the movement that is pivotal too be aware of to not be sucked into what it teaches. Most of the discernment ladies have excellent audio podcasts as well and I follow several of theirs and from the men as well. Alisha's book 'Another Gospel' is excellent and very much needed also.

They are all scammers Shawnda. They want you to buy their books, pay your tithes and offerings, and watch and subscribe to their social media, for their own gain. Yahweh never existed any more than Baal, Asherah, Chemosh, Marduk, Dagon, Moloch, Milcom or any of the other gods mentioned in the Bible. It was mythological nonsense from the beginning.

The one who believes in Him is not judged; the one who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. John 3:18

Have you tried challenging the arguments he makes in that book, or are you performing confirmation bias?

@@nicholaswheeler507 Is that an honest inquiry or an evil questioning??

@Wes Creedle Asking questions you don't know the answer to is evil? Asking questions is evil?

@@nicholaswheeler507 asking questions because you want to learn and know the truth is honest. Asking questions because you've already decided you hate the truth and the truth teller and want to destroy him, is evil. Evil questioners have carefully premeditated and calculated dare questions discredit the truth-teller and make them appear to be evil. An example the religious leaders who crafted questions to try and trap and condemned Jesus and his followers because they were afraid of losing their position of power. Those were not honest questions, they did not want to learn the answer to the question, they did not want to learn anything at all, but instead were possessed and guided by a certain spirit, Spirit of their father the devil. That same Antichrist spirit exist today and is prevalent in most universities professors the media Etc.

@@7x779 Could not have said it better myself. 👏

Agreed. Thanks for sharing.

I think that’s a good point. And with the truth in mind we should be aware that textually speaking much of the New Testament as influenced by Paul (a man who self admittedly never met Christ in the flesh) contradicts much of what we know about what Christ said about himself. In order to square that circle you have to have faith that Christ kept the actual truth of God (that he was literally the son of God and would be crucified and resurrected) hidden from his own apostles and only revealed to Paul through visions years after the death of Christ. That’s fine if you believe that, but to pretend that there isn’t a huge conflict between the original disciples and Pauline theology is just a lie, either through outright denial or ignorance.

@@patrickcate1070 Paul was approved of by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem--Acts chapter 15. Also see Acts chapter 13.

@@patbiggam8138 yeah the sect influenced by Paul wrote that, so it’s a little dubious.

@@patrickcate1070 there is NO disconnect between what the apostles taught and what Paul taught. The Bible does not contradict itself. The problem is that people have taken Paul’s teachings and perverted them into something it isn’t. Paul led Jews and gentiles to Christ. In fact, the churches that Paul wrote to contained Jews and gentiles. They didn’t have different understandings.

@@christincommon5496 if that were true then why did Paul feel the need to write letters correcting what he saw as improper understanding and worship of the gospel? Clearly there was more than one understanding of the message of Christ, or he wouldn’t have felt the need to be so demonstrative. Why does the book of James, Christ’s very own brother, not mention him as the son of God? Why does the Lord’s Prayer not mention it either. Those are huge contradictions if you think the message of the gospel is to have faith in Christ above all else. I would do more research before you say something as silly as there as no disconnect - it’s clear you’re not familiar with contemporary scholarship on the news testament. Let me guess, you probably think Matthew wrote Matthew and that Paul wrote Hebrews?

Calling yourself as "Christian" gives at least some level of an inherent audience. At least some people will listen if you call yourself a Christian. These false teachers need to be in the "church" or "group", or else no money/fame. Not to mention, telling people they can still be "christian" and do whatever they want is the most receptive message ever. God loves you, and you can do whatever. It's the Skittles of the evangelical world. The real gospel doesn't taste so sweet, but it will fill.

Good question. Hmmm

Because they are followers of Christ. It's pretty simple. Not everyone follows Christ the way you do or thinks like you. Example: Conservative Southern Baptist fully supported slavery and later the KKK. This is a matter of fact. They used Scripture to absolve themselves. This is a matter of fact. Progressive Christians, working out their faith, easily were able to prove that our faith was against slavery. Did Jesus explicitly state it? Yes and no. Love your neighbor as your self said it. But you had to work out your salvation to understand its ramifications. Conservative Southern Baptist didn't want to obey this, so they started a war that murdered 600,000 Americans. That's what you get with a simple unworked out faith. When you work your faith out sometimes you come across a question or answer that can greatly challenge your faith. Example: I lost my entire faith community because I pointed out that it's godless to demonize immigrants as rapists. Question: How could people who believe they have the Holy Spirit treat my family this way? Answer?: It's tough. Perhaps- They don't have the Holy Spite or the Holy Spirit doesn't work that way or This is what the scriptures talk about regarding persecution. I'm a devoted follower of Christ and there are other devoted followers of Christ whose witness is nothing like mine. That's okay.

Wow you understand the inner works , intentions, motivations of people you don't even know? Or is your statement based on assumptions? Genuinely curious

It is based on the same Lie that was there at the beginning - "You will be as Gods."

More like 'Fauxgressive Christianity'.

I would say that it is more closer to what is called Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. Some of their way of thinking would be Belief in a God who remains distant from people’s lives People are supposed to be good to each other (i.e., moral) The universal purpose of life is being happy and feeling good about oneself There are no absolute moral truths God allows “good people” into Heaven God places very limited demands on people

It's Apostasy

@@regpharvey John 10:34 "Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods"’?

I've really appreciated Keller's ministry as a whole. I think some of the issue can come from his context being so different from some of his audience. He's obviously very well read and accustomed to thinking and speaking in more "secular" terminology as he does real life ministry primarily with urban elites. But to someone in another context, it's a bit like listening to a tightrope artist tell everyone to just hop on and start walking. If you don't know what you're doing, it's very easy to lose your balance and fall (into pure apostasy, or at least a very groundless faith). I think he's best engaged with by those who are already grounded and can safely walk the tightrope and are able to "test and approve" charitably but confidently, but a lot of young people these days don't even have a solid foundation yet.

@@tayh.6235 I use to think along those lines but have come to view him more like Kinsey in that his piblic persona points one way while his agenda is other. The doc What Happened to Tim Keller, (I think) by Conversations That Matter is worth your time if curious...

@@chiefofsinners5272 That's quite sad as the man is brimming with wisdom and knowledge. One can learn a great deal from him. 95%+ of his sermons on KZfaq have very positive comments. I don't know of any preacher/teacher who I like more.

@@chiefofsinners5272 I searched it out and yes, there is a video by that name. Here is a comment on it: "Thanks for the video. I must say that I've been greatly blessed by the ministry of Tim Keller. Of course he have some flaws and points I could disagree, but thanks God that I am called to hold on the good and reject the evil. It is worth to mention that besides the people mentioned in this video he also has a Very Wide spectrum of "influencers" and by his preaching I have come to read more of reformers, lewis, whitefield, lloyd jones and others (and btw I have never think of reading a book of Marx by his influence). Jesus is Lord" I don't have the time to watch a 38 min' vid' about him but I, no doubt, would take this approach if I saw anything negative about his preaching.

@@curiousgeorge555 it's a conclusion I didn't come to willingly. I think it's easy enough for any human being to get swept up in their persona/performance (myself included).

Not just any truth, but the truth of God's Word. The problem today is everybody wants to have "their truth".

Progressive Christianity is referring to the woke Christianity that is practiced by the "progressive" liberals of today. The ones who say Jesus could have been gay or trans, God may be a woman, amen and awomen, there's nothing wrong with being gay because God made you that way and there's nothing wrong with living in sin, etc.

@@robertstewart1573 what exactly is wrong with being gay?

@@reality1958 It's a sin according to scripture, just like adultery or fornication. No serious scholar disagrees, even honest progressive ones. You may disagree, but people who take the Bible and pleasing God seriously do not.

@@regpharvey so there isn’t any real reason why it’s wrong just because the bible says so

Amen. That’s what I believe 100 percent. The Word of God was, is, and will always be.

Progressive Christianity is not Christianity in the same way that rotten wood is not carbon steel.

Progressive Christianity or not, does not matter. How you live out your faith is what truly counts. If you call yourself a tried and true Christian and treat people like shit and look down on them, your faith is worthless.

Do you need a measuring tape to determine is one stick is longer than another?

@@truncated7644 You don‘t. But how do you determine if the stick has to be longer or if it‘s the right stick to begin with?

@@dartheli7400 Good question, but it supports my point that when you assess things that are supposedly objectively different, what you assess and by what standards is subjective. I objectively consider the murder of babies wrong, based on a subjective standard virtually all humans agree on.

@@truncated7644 What do you mean by „things that are supposedly objectively different“? Something is objectively true, if it‘s true regardless of someone‘s opinion. Either the murder of babies is objectively wrong, or it isn‘t. If your standard is subjective, then by definition it cannot be objective.

@@truncated7644 You can assess whether certain measures objectively work towards accomplishing a subjective goal, but that doesn‘t make the goal objective. E.g. you can make murdering babies illegal, which objectively works towards preventing the murder of babies. But that doesn‘t automatically mean the murder of babies is objectively wrong. This still begs the question why murdering babies is objectively wrong.

Yep in a large way, or more accurately in his case is just plain heresy. Unfortunately he strayed extremely far from the teachings of Charles Stanley. Or of course more appropriately, the Bible.

Why would you categorize Andy Stanely as a Progressive Christian?

@@tammyweatherly6127 Stanley believes the Bible needs our help, that his words are more effective than the Bible’s at reaching lost people. Which is just a way of saying that God’s Word isn’t good enough. He regularly practices by how he leads his church "sermons" and in some of his books and interviews. He regularly talks about the Bible is not effective on its own (or at all in some cases), and that in our "modern" times we need dress it up. Basically he goes by not "what is Biblical" but by "but works." Very "seeker-sensitive and attraction based "church." If you've listened to his sermons, interviews, etc. and you aren't completely sure, then (I really don't enjoy using this as an answer) the "internet search" is your friend. And of course if you reference (and contrast what he says) the Bible in it's full context is always the best way.

Yes he is, not his Dad though.

Have you listened to their perspective? You don't need to be worried for them, though: sounds like they're still Christians.

*Progressive Insurance *Progressive Rock *Progressive BBQ ( one of these is not like the others)

Nope, because they have fallen into the heresy of Pelagianism.

@@fnjesusfreak Yup. You're saying that God is not God when you deny the need for atonement and you're saying He is evil when you accuse him of "cosmic child abuse". If you believe that way, I don't understand why you would call yourself Christian.

@@meomy29 There's even a term for that: Dystheism (the concept that God is evil).

Have you watched any of her other videos? Would encourage you to if you haven’t.

@@Bodypiercingsavedmylife I have seen some. Ive heard her talk about the creed in 1 cor 15 being important to historic christianity, but it is my impression that a lot of liberal and progressive christians can affirm that creed, and the apostolic creed. That includes me even though theres a lot of those beliefs i dont think can be proven and has to be taken on faith. But yes, anything that could be a clear introduction to historic christianitys beliefs, like a course or a text that highlights what it believes and how it is distinguished from other views, if you know any specific places to find that.

C. Baxter Kruger, a theologian who really helped me with a deeper understanding of God in three persons, and you'll learn a good bit from him about the early greek fathers.

Matt 18:3 is probably the best synopsis of what historic Christianity is, and how it differs from Progressive Christianity.

I do study the underlying Hebrew and Greek words, and I do believe they are insightful; but there's more than enough going on in the English text to keep Christians busy. The average Christian doesn't have time to study Hebrew and Greek.

@@davidlafleche1142 I am not a professional clergy, so my only point is not to bash English Bibles, because I love English. I'm just saying that professional seminary education is based on textual analysis that can only be done in Greek & Hebrew. When people only study doctrine, or English Bible, then they have to rely on other people for grammatical opinions, which means they are dependent on other opinions. But when you know grammar, you can preach "Thus Saith the Lord" because you don't need any commentary to tell you what is going on in the text. I am not saying we all need to learn languages, just saying that a seminary degree is not a real seminary degree unless there are languages.

@@SibleySteve So-called "seminaries" have no authority. As a personal rule, I write doctrinal material that can be confirmed by the average person.

@@davidlafleche1142 OK whatever but that's not the point she made in the video. You're going off on a hobby horse.

This is a very narrow view.,

In Habakkah, God is said to be too pure to look at evil. In 1 John 2, Jesus is the Propitiation for our sin. That word means atoning sacrifice. The wages of sin is death. Penal substitution is very Biblical.

The whole Trinity is involved in our salvation...Check out Ephesians 1 ...Chosen by The Father, redeemed by the Son, sealed by the Spirit.

@@anthonybarber3872 “so why do you?” Is the ending to that Habakkuk verse.

No, his doctrine is solid on all the foundational beliefs. He approves of some policies that are more on the Democrat or libertarian views, but he really does seem to try to work out his views from his understanding of scripture and not just squish scripture into a particular worldview that was already held. I don't agree with everything he's ever said, but from what I've seen I do respect and appreciate him.

There is a proper way to read it and to interpret the parables. Progressive Christianity makes a mockery of the Bible and takes many of the scriptures out of context.

Remember your ministry partner's advice: "12: On Unsolicited Opinions"

It sounds like you need to look at your sources who are telling you that the gospel writers changed what God inspired them to write. What are their motives for saying these things? What proof do they have?

@@aimebelle1 I'm not really looking at sources (yes, I try to read extensively, so lots of ideas out there) but I'm actually just reading the Bible, not reading some atheists memoir. As I've studied the Bible the differences and development is clear. There are lots of examples, but in terms of moments in which an author is clearly and intentionally changing a previous piece of scripture, a good example is Mark 10:46 and Luke 18:35. It's not a huge theological change, but it's a change. In Mark 10:46, Mark writes that Jesus met the blind man while LEAVING Jericho. Luke CHANGES that to say he met him while APPROACHING Jericho. Now, Luke isn't "remembering something" (he wasn't there) he is using Mark as a source (ALL scholars, even all Christian scholars, agree that Luke is literally looking at Mark in front of him and using him a source for his gospel. So Luke intentionally changed the detail? But why? Because Luke wanted the story of Zacchaeus in Jericho to be the final narrative before Jesus goes into Jerusalem, and if he had Jesus heal the blind man LEAVING Jericho, then Zacchaeus wouldn't be the final narrative. So Luke intentionally and knowingly CHANGES the story in Mark to fit his writing agenda. This happens a lot in the gospels. Matthew adapted Jesus' teaching about divorce and (only he) added the clause about infidelity allowing for divorce. Jesus likely didn't say this, but Matthew alone (neither Mark nor Luke preserved that exception...most likely conclusion, because Matthew added it). But that's fine, Matthew was apostolic, so he was able to adapt the teachings of Jesus. But he did change it. Comparisons between Kings and Chronicles show copious times the author of Chronicles changed the book of Samuel and Kings (and we know that Chronicles was literally USING those books, so he wasn't just "remembering" differently, he was looking at the text, and changing it to fit his theological agenda). Most obvious examples of this in 2 Sam 21:1, GOD told David to take the census. In 1 Chronicles 21:1, SATAN told David to take the census. The author of Chronicles literally changed the story. He does this again with the death of Josiah. In 2 Kgs 23:29-30 Josiah is killed at Meggido and "carried dead" to Jerusalem. The author of 2 Chronicles 35:24 literally CHANGES it to say he was carried to Jerusalem and died there. Why make the change (they can't both be true)... because Chronicles needs Josiah a righteous king to die in Jerusalem to better fit his theology, so he changes Kings AND says something that didn't happen historically (but Chronicles is filled with this type of reworking history to fit the Chronicler's theology...it's what he does). And as for the law of Moses, if you look at the different laws about slavery in Exodus 20-21, Deut 15, and Lev 25 --- they all are different, and sometime contradictory in their content. This is fine and best explained as different legal traditions developing at different times and then later compiled together. But later laws looked back on previous ones and changed them accordingly. There's much more I could say. And I'm not wanting you to change your mind about the Bible. I am just trying to point out 1) their blanket statement that the Bible is unchanging is a difficult conclusion to hold (imo) because that's not a conclusion the text naturally lends to 2) don't assume people who say things about the bible are just "hoodwinked" by bad sources ... lots of people study the Bible, like myself, and I don't need "accademic sources" to simply read, observe and interpret the most natural conclusions.

@@lynwattam I certainly don't want to have a back and forth with you on this. I believe in the God inspired, inerrant Word of God. I am not sure why you are reading the Bible? Are you searching for something? Is God calling you and you are looking for ways to struggle against Him? Are you yourself wanting to believe in Christ, but are too busy looking at what you call errors to see it? That God loves you and wants you to be in His Kingdom. That Christ died for your sins. That by faith and repentance and turning from our old ways we will become more and more like Jesus. That once saved God will put the Holy Spirit in you and He will be your comforter and you will be able to discern what is truth and what is not. The New Testament gives us the Gospel and God's plan to have Jesus die for our sins. Please look at the Gospel with a fresh light. Pray to God to open your eyes to Him and to believe.

@@aimebelle1 Ya, I agree, I don't want to pursue a back and forth. I wasn't trying to convince people to change their minds on the Bible, but I just found some of the statements in the video a bit unfair to people like me (and many others) who have studied the Bible out a desire to know God, but still find development in the Scriptures, times the authors changed previous texts, and the like. That doesn't mean Jesus didn't rise from the dead and God's not real, it just means the Scriptures maybe aren't as simply as Childers makes them out to be, as she calls them "unchanging" -- they are unchanging now, but not in their own development, and definitely not in the time of Jesus when the content of the canon and the content of books themselves were in flux (we just need to compare the Masoretic text version of Jeremiah and the Septuagint version to realize how much some books were still being adapted and changed up to the time of Jesus). I'm not trying to change your mind on things, I just see a lot of comments here of people praising these guys as if their conclusions are the most evident and obvious. But I'm just saying it's hard for people (like me) to see their conclusions as self-evidently true. Eric Nelson above talked about when "facts don't change our minds" and when I look at the Scriptures, it seems like fact that there were changes within the textual tradition. I want that "Fact" to change my mind, the very thing that Nelson says we should all be doing.

Are you lying or telling the truth?

She needs to answer one question for me. How does an old testament god who says human sacrifice is an abomination decide to turn around and sacrifice his own human son in the new testament??

1 Corinthians 9:14 NIV - In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.

@@pepere2205 uhm, you are quoting Paul, the false apostle who went against the disciples at Jerusalem and taught contrary to them, who also was constantly guarded by the Roman authorities that he was working for,...in his mission to subdue the Jewish rebellion.

@@stephaniemcguire People weren't sacrificing their children in love, in order to save the human race from eternal damnation. Only God can do that. 1 John 4:10 NIV - This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

@@pepere2205 yeah, I know that verse. Who wrote all this anyway?? Cuz whoever wrote that just admitted the Most High committed an abomination of sacrificing his son. You can't have your cake and eat it, too.

The opposite happened to me. I was an agnostic living for the things of this world. I lived for my sins and idols. It all left me severely depressed and spiritually dead inside. The Gospel of Jesus Christ and Biblical Christianity gave me the truth I needed to leave the darkness and encounter the agape love of Jesus Christ. This world cannot offer us this perfect, sacrificial, selfless, pure, and unfailing love. What brought me a lot of comfort was knowing that the Holy Spirit is the one who sanctifies me and I didn't have to repent from sin on my own. He has given a peace unlike anything this world can ever offer. Sin is always destructive, but Jesus loved us enough to die for us and save us from sin. He went that far in love for us. God is love, but there is no love in sin.

@@DP-hm3tb It might be impossible to KNOW for sure, but I don't think that means Marc Fischer doesn't BELIEVE the Bible is inspired truth. It is possible to believe things on the basis of Faith alone - "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.." (Hebrews 11:1) If the Spirit of God "beareth witness with our spirit" (Romans 8:16), that is an independent source of truth, and this is how faith and testimony comes! Not through archeological corroboration or textual analysis, but through the Holy Spirit working changes in your heart as you follow Jesus Christ.

Heres a way to KNOW if the words written about Jesus are true or false- Go out into the world, (actually walk outside) find the lost and the broken people and share the gospel with them. Share it with them by telling them, share it with them by laying hands on them and healing them, share it by being patient and listening to them, share it by praying for their salvation when they say "f you get away from me", share it with them by laying hands on them and casting out the demons that have attached themselves via sinning, share it with them by feeding them, share it with them when your busy, share it with them in the 30 seconds youre standing in the grocery checkout line, share it when youre filling up your gas tank ( thanks Joe Biden), share it with them when their drunk, share it with them when youre drunk...do these types of things ON YOUR OWN and not with a group from your church that does fancy outreach/bbq sunday lunch etc. Just go out on your own dime and spend the time, then come back to this comment thread in a couple months and reply to your own question.

@@DP-hm3tb As Conservative Evangelical apologists William Lane Craig and Mike Licona have repeatedly pointed out, the case for Jesus' resurrection does not rely on an inerrant Bible. As for me, I see enough reasons to HOPE in Jesus' resurrection from the grave even though I am not sure about this because most of our sources are distant from the alleged event and do not give us enough details to rule out all natural explanations. But HOPING that Jesus rose from the dead is certainly not unreasonable, so far as I'm concerned.

@@jeffmcelroy5364 even if your experiment produced the result you expect, this would certainly not prove that all books of the New Testaments are without errors.

@@marcfischer114 yes it would and heres why- You would see the words in the bible being acted out in the physical realm, not mearly being black letters on a white page. Too many ( most?) people look at the bible as a book. Its not. Its a BLUEPRINT that exists to show a person how LIFE is to be BUILT. It doesnt matter how brilliant a person believes a blueprint is, unless they take the effort to BUILD whats drawn on the paper, the INFORMATION will simply remain inside their own mind as an idea and a thought, but never transitioning to being an actuality. Massive difference right there....

Nah. I'd prefer the roots of Christianity than what it's become today. Lots of wolves in sheep's clothing leading people astray with false teachings.

What do you mean?

I understand your point that technically there is no such thing as a progressive Christian. It’s a term they use to describe themselves. I usually call them “religious progressives.” There are certainly some Believers that have been swallowed up by their “doctrines” but so many have no relationship with Christ despite their insistence that the only part of the Bible they follow is the “red letters.”