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(UPDATED)Our roles as woman in the faith part 2: Be discerning about mommy bloggers. For example, Glennon Melton is not a Christian
UPDATE: In this essay I wrote about Glennon Doyle Melton. I've written an update since this week (Nov. 13, 2016) she has announced she's divorced and has come out as lesbian. Update here
------------------------------------------------------------
This is a three part series about women in the faith. In part 1 I showed from scripture that women have particular vulnerabilities to satan. We looked at what those are and how to avoid being used by satan to bring shame on the family and slander to the faith.
In this second part I'm looking at where the modern woman is doing her dark work against Jesus: it's not just inside the church anymore. Mommy bloggers and online amateur theologians have grown to be an enormous network outside the church and thus often operate outside their husband's watchful eye and usually outside their pastor's eye. Much mischief happens on mommy blogs and amateur online theologian platforms and satan uses these to filter back to the church, to our detriment. I myself am in the amateur online theologian category so definitely don't take what I write at face value but test it.
Third, I'll look at the most famous female false prophet, heretic, and worker of iniquity today: Joyce Meyer. Meyer is representative of the female false teacher doing very much harm to the women of the church. Under her umbrella are women like Beth Moore, Anne Voskamp, Kim Walker Smith, and other newcomers who are spiritual daughters of Meyer and Moore and are being used by satan in exploitation of the particular vulnerabilities I showed in part 1.
and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. (1 Timothy 2:14)
"But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ." (2 Corinthians 11:3)
In part 1 we looked at the specific times in the bible that women either individually or in groups were chastised by either one of the Apostles or by Jesus. In general, the men or groups of men in the bible who were rebuked were false believers. In contrast, the female groups or individual women who were chastised were believers.
The issues with the women were that they become loaded down with sins and are vulnerable to flattering false teachers who come near to them, or as widows either old or young they tend toward slander, gossip, and idleness. Much mischief can happen in these cases. In part 1 I provided a list of the scriptural remedies for resisting satan's deceit.
Because women are vulnerable in specific ways to satan's deceits, women are not allowed to lead, rule, or prophesy during church services. This may seem harsh, or seem outdated, but it is scriptural. God knows what He is doing. Jesus is building His church, and He knows the proclivities of human nature. He knows satan. He set up the church so that women would be submissive to husbands, just as husbands are to be submissive to Jesus, who is Head over all. Children are to obey their parents.
Women do have roles to play. Phillip had four prophesying daughters. Priscilla taught along with her husband. Tabitha helped the widows. Lydia opened her home and supported the men of the church with means and encouragement.
But the proclivities I mentioned are in us, as God said to Eve after the Fall. He took what happened in the Garden and extended it to a semi-permanent condition (semi-permanent because once we're glorified we will be free from the Genesis 3 curse).
"Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you." (Genesis 3:16)
As Matthew Henry's Exposition states,
"If man had not sinned, he would always have ruled with wisdom and love; if the woman had not sinned, she would always have obeyed with humility and meekness. Adam laid the blame on his wife; but though it was her fault to persuade him to eat the forbidden fruit, it was his fault to hearken to her."
So there will be this constant chafing of the woman to rule over her husband, to enter into his domain, to strive against his headship. This does not happen in only man-woman marriages but also in THE marriage, the church.
And outside the church, too...as in blogs, other social media, books, and television. Women ponder, write, speak, interpret, prophesy, and do all sorts of theological things, mostly away from the eyes of their husbands, pastors, or other accountability. I'm not talking about good interpretation, solid ponderings, and appropriate use of scripture, but women who twist scripture and shape Jesus into a god of their own making. One who is comfortable, where sin is just a mistake and being gay is OK. Where experience is equal to or trumps scripture, and where everyone goes to heaven and no one goes to hell, because that would be just so mean.
I'm talking about women like mommy blogger Glennon Doyle Melton, a HUGELY influential blogger and someone who claims to be a Christian but is far from Jesus as the east is from the west. Her blog is called Momastery.com, and she receives over 70,000 views per day. It's important to remember that she dispenses both parenting advice and advice regarding the Christian faith, Jesus and the bible. She is a phenomenon, which occurred after one particular blog post went viral and the publishers lined up to make a book out of her blog, which has been called "classic Glennon: self-deprecating, sardonic, mildly insane, major-league wit." She is a recovering bulimic, alcoholic, has rage issues because of which she has earned a permanent police record, was pregnant and had to get married, and refuses to live quietly but believes instead that the "authentic life" is one "lived out loud."
To that end, Melton spills everything on her blog, despite the fact that "her parents and husband sometimes plead that she should take a few things to the grave, Melton rejects self-censorship. She believes that sharing everything — the ugliness, hole-iness and messiness of our lives — is the way to forge relationships dense with meaning." (source)
No. No, it's not. The bible calls women to live quietly (1 Thessalonians 4:11, 1 Peter 3:4) Characteristics of a meek and quiet spirit as posted on the Revive Our Hearts blog and adapted from Matthew Henry, "Meekness is calm confidence, settled assurance, and rest of the soul. It is the tranquil stillness of a heart that is at rest in Christ. It is the place of peace. Meekness springs from a heart of humility, radiating the fragrance of Christ."
Yet Melton writes,
"Sex is really, really freaking confusing. No one talks about this, which is a shame. I’ve been married for eleven years and my husband and I are still trying to figure out how to make sex enjoyable for both of us."
This is not meekness. This is not humility. This is 'look at me, how authentic I can be, and so what if it freaks out my husband' (who Melton was secretly separated from before she confessed to her readers. Some authenticity.) And we are supposed to use her as a model of a good, Christian wife? Or even a good wife? No thanks. Or this statement from Melton,
"Marriage is still the best chance we have to become evolved, loving people."
And yet after her separation from her husband, she wrote that separating from him made her into a more well-rounded person. Which is it?
Isn't the Holy Spirit in us really the best and only chance we have to become evolved loving people? And what about the never-married or the widowed? They can never evolve? Or do you have to be married then separated then reconcile to be well-rounded. Advice from a non-Christian person, no matter how funny and witty and 'been through it all' attitude they have, will never make sense. No thanks, I'll take my advice from someone who is really a Christian and even better, from the bible.
Do you think that Apostle Paul would have commended Melton as Paul commended Timothy's mother Eunice and grandmother Lois for being Christian women of great faith, raising Timothy so well that Paul reminded Timothy of where he learned it? Or have commended her like he did Lydia, who, despite being a busy businesswoman of means, independent and intelligent, worshipped God, and was baptized after God opened her heart. She hosted Paul in her home and was always hospitable, even after Paul and Silas were released from prison. Can we picture gracious and hospitable, faith filled and dignified yet independent Lydia loudly spilling her guts to the world about her sex life? Never let it be so!
The problem is, her followers see Melton as a Christian, they believe she speaks for Christians and they avidly follow her (they even dub themselves her 'monkees.') I was not aware of Melton until a reader alerted me to her. In reading one of her posts, I saw the following and began to mourn the misplaced faith and perverted view she has of Jesus. And yet most who follow her see her as a true Christian. How warped. Read this. It is from Melton, in composing a hypothetical open letter to a hypothetical son who is hypothetically homosexual. What would we say to him if he came out to us, she wondered. Here is what she wrote.
"We've worried that since we are Christians, and since we love The Bible so much, that there might come a day when you feel unclear about our feelings about this. Because there are a few parts in The Bible that discuss homosexuality as a sin. So let us be clear about how we feel, because we have spent years of research and prayer and discussion deciding. Chase, we don't believe that homosexuality is a sin. Your parents are Christians who believe that the Bible is inspired by God, just like people are. And since the Bible is a living thing, it is in its very nature to evolve toward becoming more loving."
Significantly, you notice that Melton said they read the scriptures and decided. Not submitted. What they "decided" was to reject the word of God to suit their own personal tastes. And that is why she is not a Christian.
One does not have to read one moment more to understand that Glennon Doyle Melton's version of Christianity is nowhere near the faith delivered once for all to the saints. It is clear that she HATES the bible. A careful read of that paragraph will tell you that she said that God said homosexuality is a sin, but she decided that it's not. That she knows better because she can decide which parts to choose to obey and which parts not to. Because the bible is evolving, being alive and all, which obviously means that God is changing too, in order to keep up with the times and desires of Glennon Doyle Melton.
Anyone with an ounce of discernment knows that God never changes. His Holy Spirit inspired the word, and He never changes either. That God IS love and that He doesn't evolve to become more loving (which would mean He was less loving before. In fact, God is immutable). A discerning person would know that humans have no right to decide what is sin and what is not, especially since the bible lists them plainly. How wrong it is to compare people to the Holy Spirit. Glennon Doyle Melton in no way is Christian. Avoid her, sisters! The chuckles she evokes in you are not worth the blasphemies and the insinuation of satan's false doctrines into your heart!
She wrote that in the Huffington Post, to parents on a blog about bullying. You see how satan is using the woman to insinuate his blasphemy into the minds of the gullible via non-church avenues. Even 25 years ago, if a woman had said such a thing in church or in a bible study setting, she would have been corrected by a deacon, pastor, or elder woman. And there were no other outlets in which to speak blasphemies and perversions, unless she had a ditto machine and handed out pamphlets on the street corner.
But because social media is so prevalent and permeates everywhere now, and anyone can blog, and the men either don't or won't oversee what women write on them, women are saying these and other blasphemous things. Younger women are eating it up! And because Melton is witty, her false words go a long way. Because she resonates with mothers, she has an entry. And because she appeals to the rebellious side that is in all women who want to usurp male authority, (Genesis 3:16 again) the combination is too tempting not to absorb. A reviewer wrote on Melton's Amazon review page, “She easily expresses what so many of us think but would not dare say aloud.” There is good reason not to say some things aloud. Biblical reasons.
But the monkees spread Melton's seed of false doctrine and liberal post-modernism and a different Jesus of their own making everywhere they go. Just as Beth Moore's groupies do and Meyer's admirers do and so on as Revelation 2:23 shows, where there is a Jezebel there will be children of Jezebel. Melton is a problem of unparalleled proportions. You have no idea how popular Melton is. Unsupervised women spouting false Christianity are a problem, and undiscerning women lapping it up is even more of a problem. These are the times in which we live.
Godlessness in the Last Days : But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. (2 Timothy 3:1-7)
This has become long, and I don't want to prevail upon your patience for much longer. There are grave problems with women like Sarah Young of Jesus Calling, Rachel Held Evans whose 'Christianity' is similar to Melton's, of Joyce Meyer and other women who spout false doctrine. However, false teachers have always existed. But there's graver problems with the way so many choose to follow these women. Women more often gravitate to a female teacher who has overcome addiction or abuse or having been through some sort of trauma such as grief. Women tend to choose bible teachers based on an emotional quality of being able to identify with them through their personality or a shared trauma, rather than the doctrine the women are saying.
And secondly, often as they come to appreciate the qualities of the female teacher in their shared identification (Glennon Doyle Melton is 'authentic', Beth Moore is 'funny', Joyce Meyer is 'down to earth') discernment of WHAT they are saying passes away and they focus solely on HOW these teachers are saying it. When I wrote about Beth Moore's wild histrionics on stage and charged her with being undignified, I received more criticism for that than I did for my exploration of her illegitimate bible exposition. And that's sad.
Women have become so undiscerning, and the fault is not all theirs. Their men have abdicated their responsibility to share in the bible teaching of their wives, and to monitor who their wives are listening to (or reading, or writing).
Women, Sisters, choose a person to admire and learn from who speaks truth, not because you were both bulimic at one time. Your bulimia (or rage or alcohol addiction or nymphomania or molestation) will be wiped from your memory in heaven, but the truth never will be. Any shared feeling you think you have with these women is ephemeral, while the shared reality of a solidly built sisterhood in truth with Jesus will remain for all eternity. Choose wisely. Remember, satan wants to make merchandise out of you.
So who IS good to read or listen to?
I enjoy the following women bloggers. I also enjoy blogs from John MacArthur, Phil Johnson, Carl Trueman, Al Mohler, and Tim Challies. Please don't make a decision to read or not read a person based on their gender, but instead focus on the truth of their doctrine.
Aimee Byrd, Housewife Theologian
Nancy Guthrie
Challies interview of Nancy Guthrie
Erin Benziger, Do Not Be Surprised
The Christian Pundit, a husband and wife team who write alternatingly. Rebecca VanDoodewaard (RVD) is the wife and William VanDoodewaard (WVD) is the husband.
------------------------------------------------------------
This is a three part series about women in the faith. In part 1 I showed from scripture that women have particular vulnerabilities to satan. We looked at what those are and how to avoid being used by satan to bring shame on the family and slander to the faith.
In this second part I'm looking at where the modern woman is doing her dark work against Jesus: it's not just inside the church anymore. Mommy bloggers and online amateur theologians have grown to be an enormous network outside the church and thus often operate outside their husband's watchful eye and usually outside their pastor's eye. Much mischief happens on mommy blogs and amateur online theologian platforms and satan uses these to filter back to the church, to our detriment. I myself am in the amateur online theologian category so definitely don't take what I write at face value but test it.
Third, I'll look at the most famous female false prophet, heretic, and worker of iniquity today: Joyce Meyer. Meyer is representative of the female false teacher doing very much harm to the women of the church. Under her umbrella are women like Beth Moore, Anne Voskamp, Kim Walker Smith, and other newcomers who are spiritual daughters of Meyer and Moore and are being used by satan in exploitation of the particular vulnerabilities I showed in part 1.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As women, we are vulnerable to satan in specific ways. As I related in part 1, satan is crafty and he has a plan. He targets women. Satan doesn't only target women, but he targets women because we are the weaker vessel. (1 Peter 3:7). The serpent deceived the woman, Eve.and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. (1 Timothy 2:14)
"But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ." (2 Corinthians 11:3)
In part 1 we looked at the specific times in the bible that women either individually or in groups were chastised by either one of the Apostles or by Jesus. In general, the men or groups of men in the bible who were rebuked were false believers. In contrast, the female groups or individual women who were chastised were believers.
The issues with the women were that they become loaded down with sins and are vulnerable to flattering false teachers who come near to them, or as widows either old or young they tend toward slander, gossip, and idleness. Much mischief can happen in these cases. In part 1 I provided a list of the scriptural remedies for resisting satan's deceit.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Because women are vulnerable in specific ways to satan's deceits, women are not allowed to lead, rule, or prophesy during church services. This may seem harsh, or seem outdated, but it is scriptural. God knows what He is doing. Jesus is building His church, and He knows the proclivities of human nature. He knows satan. He set up the church so that women would be submissive to husbands, just as husbands are to be submissive to Jesus, who is Head over all. Children are to obey their parents.
Women do have roles to play. Phillip had four prophesying daughters. Priscilla taught along with her husband. Tabitha helped the widows. Lydia opened her home and supported the men of the church with means and encouragement.
But the proclivities I mentioned are in us, as God said to Eve after the Fall. He took what happened in the Garden and extended it to a semi-permanent condition (semi-permanent because once we're glorified we will be free from the Genesis 3 curse).
"Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you." (Genesis 3:16)
As Matthew Henry's Exposition states,
"If man had not sinned, he would always have ruled with wisdom and love; if the woman had not sinned, she would always have obeyed with humility and meekness. Adam laid the blame on his wife; but though it was her fault to persuade him to eat the forbidden fruit, it was his fault to hearken to her."
So there will be this constant chafing of the woman to rule over her husband, to enter into his domain, to strive against his headship. This does not happen in only man-woman marriages but also in THE marriage, the church.
And outside the church, too...as in blogs, other social media, books, and television. Women ponder, write, speak, interpret, prophesy, and do all sorts of theological things, mostly away from the eyes of their husbands, pastors, or other accountability. I'm not talking about good interpretation, solid ponderings, and appropriate use of scripture, but women who twist scripture and shape Jesus into a god of their own making. One who is comfortable, where sin is just a mistake and being gay is OK. Where experience is equal to or trumps scripture, and where everyone goes to heaven and no one goes to hell, because that would be just so mean.
I'm talking about women like mommy blogger Glennon Doyle Melton, a HUGELY influential blogger and someone who claims to be a Christian but is far from Jesus as the east is from the west. Her blog is called Momastery.com, and she receives over 70,000 views per day. It's important to remember that she dispenses both parenting advice and advice regarding the Christian faith, Jesus and the bible. She is a phenomenon, which occurred after one particular blog post went viral and the publishers lined up to make a book out of her blog, which has been called "classic Glennon: self-deprecating, sardonic, mildly insane, major-league wit." She is a recovering bulimic, alcoholic, has rage issues because of which she has earned a permanent police record, was pregnant and had to get married, and refuses to live quietly but believes instead that the "authentic life" is one "lived out loud."
To that end, Melton spills everything on her blog, despite the fact that "her parents and husband sometimes plead that she should take a few things to the grave, Melton rejects self-censorship. She believes that sharing everything — the ugliness, hole-iness and messiness of our lives — is the way to forge relationships dense with meaning." (source)
No. No, it's not. The bible calls women to live quietly (1 Thessalonians 4:11, 1 Peter 3:4) Characteristics of a meek and quiet spirit as posted on the Revive Our Hearts blog and adapted from Matthew Henry, "Meekness is calm confidence, settled assurance, and rest of the soul. It is the tranquil stillness of a heart that is at rest in Christ. It is the place of peace. Meekness springs from a heart of humility, radiating the fragrance of Christ."
Yet Melton writes,
"Sex is really, really freaking confusing. No one talks about this, which is a shame. I’ve been married for eleven years and my husband and I are still trying to figure out how to make sex enjoyable for both of us."
This is not meekness. This is not humility. This is 'look at me, how authentic I can be, and so what if it freaks out my husband' (who Melton was secretly separated from before she confessed to her readers. Some authenticity.) And we are supposed to use her as a model of a good, Christian wife? Or even a good wife? No thanks. Or this statement from Melton,
"Marriage is still the best chance we have to become evolved, loving people."
And yet after her separation from her husband, she wrote that separating from him made her into a more well-rounded person. Which is it?
Isn't the Holy Spirit in us really the best and only chance we have to become evolved loving people? And what about the never-married or the widowed? They can never evolve? Or do you have to be married then separated then reconcile to be well-rounded. Advice from a non-Christian person, no matter how funny and witty and 'been through it all' attitude they have, will never make sense. No thanks, I'll take my advice from someone who is really a Christian and even better, from the bible.
Do you think that Apostle Paul would have commended Melton as Paul commended Timothy's mother Eunice and grandmother Lois for being Christian women of great faith, raising Timothy so well that Paul reminded Timothy of where he learned it? Or have commended her like he did Lydia, who, despite being a busy businesswoman of means, independent and intelligent, worshipped God, and was baptized after God opened her heart. She hosted Paul in her home and was always hospitable, even after Paul and Silas were released from prison. Can we picture gracious and hospitable, faith filled and dignified yet independent Lydia loudly spilling her guts to the world about her sex life? Never let it be so!
The problem is, her followers see Melton as a Christian, they believe she speaks for Christians and they avidly follow her (they even dub themselves her 'monkees.') I was not aware of Melton until a reader alerted me to her. In reading one of her posts, I saw the following and began to mourn the misplaced faith and perverted view she has of Jesus. And yet most who follow her see her as a true Christian. How warped. Read this. It is from Melton, in composing a hypothetical open letter to a hypothetical son who is hypothetically homosexual. What would we say to him if he came out to us, she wondered. Here is what she wrote.
"We've worried that since we are Christians, and since we love The Bible so much, that there might come a day when you feel unclear about our feelings about this. Because there are a few parts in The Bible that discuss homosexuality as a sin. So let us be clear about how we feel, because we have spent years of research and prayer and discussion deciding. Chase, we don't believe that homosexuality is a sin. Your parents are Christians who believe that the Bible is inspired by God, just like people are. And since the Bible is a living thing, it is in its very nature to evolve toward becoming more loving."
Significantly, you notice that Melton said they read the scriptures and decided. Not submitted. What they "decided" was to reject the word of God to suit their own personal tastes. And that is why she is not a Christian.
One does not have to read one moment more to understand that Glennon Doyle Melton's version of Christianity is nowhere near the faith delivered once for all to the saints. It is clear that she HATES the bible. A careful read of that paragraph will tell you that she said that God said homosexuality is a sin, but she decided that it's not. That she knows better because she can decide which parts to choose to obey and which parts not to. Because the bible is evolving, being alive and all, which obviously means that God is changing too, in order to keep up with the times and desires of Glennon Doyle Melton.
Anyone with an ounce of discernment knows that God never changes. His Holy Spirit inspired the word, and He never changes either. That God IS love and that He doesn't evolve to become more loving (which would mean He was less loving before. In fact, God is immutable). A discerning person would know that humans have no right to decide what is sin and what is not, especially since the bible lists them plainly. How wrong it is to compare people to the Holy Spirit. Glennon Doyle Melton in no way is Christian. Avoid her, sisters! The chuckles she evokes in you are not worth the blasphemies and the insinuation of satan's false doctrines into your heart!
She wrote that in the Huffington Post, to parents on a blog about bullying. You see how satan is using the woman to insinuate his blasphemy into the minds of the gullible via non-church avenues. Even 25 years ago, if a woman had said such a thing in church or in a bible study setting, she would have been corrected by a deacon, pastor, or elder woman. And there were no other outlets in which to speak blasphemies and perversions, unless she had a ditto machine and handed out pamphlets on the street corner.
But because social media is so prevalent and permeates everywhere now, and anyone can blog, and the men either don't or won't oversee what women write on them, women are saying these and other blasphemous things. Younger women are eating it up! And because Melton is witty, her false words go a long way. Because she resonates with mothers, she has an entry. And because she appeals to the rebellious side that is in all women who want to usurp male authority, (Genesis 3:16 again) the combination is too tempting not to absorb. A reviewer wrote on Melton's Amazon review page, “She easily expresses what so many of us think but would not dare say aloud.” There is good reason not to say some things aloud. Biblical reasons.
But the monkees spread Melton's seed of false doctrine and liberal post-modernism and a different Jesus of their own making everywhere they go. Just as Beth Moore's groupies do and Meyer's admirers do and so on as Revelation 2:23 shows, where there is a Jezebel there will be children of Jezebel. Melton is a problem of unparalleled proportions. You have no idea how popular Melton is. Unsupervised women spouting false Christianity are a problem, and undiscerning women lapping it up is even more of a problem. These are the times in which we live.
Godlessness in the Last Days : But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. (2 Timothy 3:1-7)
This has become long, and I don't want to prevail upon your patience for much longer. There are grave problems with women like Sarah Young of Jesus Calling, Rachel Held Evans whose 'Christianity' is similar to Melton's, of Joyce Meyer and other women who spout false doctrine. However, false teachers have always existed. But there's graver problems with the way so many choose to follow these women. Women more often gravitate to a female teacher who has overcome addiction or abuse or having been through some sort of trauma such as grief. Women tend to choose bible teachers based on an emotional quality of being able to identify with them through their personality or a shared trauma, rather than the doctrine the women are saying.
And secondly, often as they come to appreciate the qualities of the female teacher in their shared identification (Glennon Doyle Melton is 'authentic', Beth Moore is 'funny', Joyce Meyer is 'down to earth') discernment of WHAT they are saying passes away and they focus solely on HOW these teachers are saying it. When I wrote about Beth Moore's wild histrionics on stage and charged her with being undignified, I received more criticism for that than I did for my exploration of her illegitimate bible exposition. And that's sad.
Women have become so undiscerning, and the fault is not all theirs. Their men have abdicated their responsibility to share in the bible teaching of their wives, and to monitor who their wives are listening to (or reading, or writing).
Women, Sisters, choose a person to admire and learn from who speaks truth, not because you were both bulimic at one time. Your bulimia (or rage or alcohol addiction or nymphomania or molestation) will be wiped from your memory in heaven, but the truth never will be. Any shared feeling you think you have with these women is ephemeral, while the shared reality of a solidly built sisterhood in truth with Jesus will remain for all eternity. Choose wisely. Remember, satan wants to make merchandise out of you.
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| source |
I enjoy the following women bloggers. I also enjoy blogs from John MacArthur, Phil Johnson, Carl Trueman, Al Mohler, and Tim Challies. Please don't make a decision to read or not read a person based on their gender, but instead focus on the truth of their doctrine.
Aimee Byrd, Housewife Theologian
Nancy Guthrie
Challies interview of Nancy Guthrie
Erin Benziger, Do Not Be Surprised
The Christian Pundit, a husband and wife team who write alternatingly. Rebecca VanDoodewaard (RVD) is the wife and William VanDoodewaard (WVD) is the husband.
I had never heard of this woman before I read about her here, so I visited her website. It was visually overwhelming to me--too much to look at, a bunch of stuff to read, lots of exclamation points--trying, I guess, to convey a sense of excitement and energy. Then I came back to your blog with your shades-of-gray banner and felt peaceful again :-) I read your blog every day, and I am not always comforted by what I read here. Sometimes I'm convicted by the words I read. I appreciate that you strive to share the gospel with accuracy and in love.
ReplyDeletethanks Anonymous. The story behind the banner is- the photo was taken of my fig tree, under a crystal blue sky, the kind you get in early spring. The branch was brown and the fig bud was neon green and the sky was very blue. I tried making a border that matched and then the background color that matched, but it was too many colors. It felt zazzy adn not calm.
DeleteI like to have a streamlined look for the exact reason you mentioned- peaceful. And also, to highlight the words, which are full of verse and scriptural concepts pointing to Jesus. I don't want anything else to compete. So in the end I stripped the color from the photo and made it gray.
Thanks for saying it feels peaceful because that was what I was going for. Thanks most of all for your high compliment of saying I share convicting words in accuracy and in love. That is what the Holy Spirit wants, so that's the best of all. :)
Thank you for this series Elizabeth. It is much needed, but I fear few will listen. Feminism and "equality" have crept into the Church and taken hold. I was aware of Rachel Held Evans, Beth Boore, Jen Hatmaker and Joyce Meyer, but I have not heard of Melton. I'll keep an eye on her going forward. From what you posted above, I see a lot of similarities between her and Rachel Held Evans. I listed to a series from Phil Johnson on ancient heresies not long ago and they fall under the heresy of Socianism.
ReplyDeleteOne of the brothers who reads my blog shared a link to a good woman blogger. He said that Melton sounds a lot like Rachel Held Evans, and I agree. I had Ms Rachel in the back of my mind as I write about Melton. Where Evans is popular, Melton is a superstar, in terms of reach into women's lives and influence of their doctrine. But their doctrines are the same: false.
ReplyDeleteThe woman blogger the brother shared with me about is Dr James White's daughter, and she has written twice about Evans lately. In her original post about Evans, written the other day, the blogger write the following, and it succinctly states EXACTLY how I see Mrs Melton:
"Who I fear, Rachel, is you."
"You see, you look like a Christian. You talk about Jesus and love and God’s word. You claim faith in Christ. You dress appropriately, you are an engaging speaker, a compelling author, and you seem unashamed to share your faith. On a surface level—the only level that perhaps my young daughter or the thousands of readers who visit your blog every day can discern—you seem legit. In a nutshell, you are a wolf in sheep’s clothing."
her name is Summer Pinch and her blog is here
http://summerspinch.blogspot.com/
Good Morning Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteI have really benefited and thoroughly enjoyed these blogs on women who have usurped their roles (Christian and non-Christian) and have led many other women down that path – the broad path to destruction, always away from Christ. I have benefited because I have been reminded of how important women’s roles are in the body of Christ but we must always be IN Christ by being IN His Word and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
[Start quote] “And because she appeals to the rebellious side that is in all women who want to usurp male authority, (Genesis 3:16 again) the combination is too tempting not to absorb.”
“Women tend to choose bible teachers based on an emotional quality of being able to identify with them through their personality or a shared trauma, rather than the doctrine the women are saying.” [End quote]
Again, very timely and I do pray others are reading and benefiting from these blogs especially in light of ‘women can do anything’ motto much touted these days.
God bless you this day
Colette
Hi again
ReplyDeleteI checked out the Glennon Melton blog site because I want to be aware of who she is. These women seem to be hooking up with Christian women and before you know it you are pulling a loved one out of the fire. Although to the “trained eye” one can see the worldly diatribe in this woman, her ‘social gospel’ has crept in unnoticed and has permeated the Church for many decades –from William James to Robert Schueller teachings of self-esteem to replace the “die to self” command from the Bible. She jumped on the worldly band wagon of bullying and yoked it with ‘Jesus loves gays’. The Word clearly states homosexuality is an abominable sin and all those who practice it will go to hell unless they repent and receive Jesus as Savior and Lord. Can’t massage the truth out of that one which is why unbeliever Glennon Melton is playing the ‘bully’ card.
I have recently come across Voddie Baucham’s sermon entitled, “The Sin of Sodom on Display in America”. I found it very interesting how he described the propaganda campaign “After the Ball”, how they used a 3 prong approach to push their agenda through psychology and advertising.
I hope you can appreciate why I am making this connection between Pastor Baucham’s sermon and the blog by Glennon Melton who is using the social gospel component called bullying to advance her own agenda which is…Glennon Melton. Worldly people love to talk about themselves leaving them no room for Jesus. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ open her eyes!
Link to Voddie Baucham’s sermon: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=52092058183
Link to written excerpt reference “After the Ball”: http://www.christianpost.com/news/christian-broadcasters-urged-to-fight-gay-is-the-new-black-agenda-49196/
Have a blessed day today IN the Lord because He is worthy of all honor and glory and true worship. Amen!
Colette
Colette,
DeleteI listened to that sermon by Voddie. It was a great sermon. I love listening to Voddie preach because he preaches with such clarity and conviction.
It was a sermon by Voddie featured on Wretched Radio with Todd Friel that helped me understand God's wrath, Christ's substitutionary atonement and true salvation through repentance and faith in Christ. Up until then, I had been a false convert for two decades.
A simple look at her favorite music will tell any discerning follower of Christ all they need to know:
ReplyDeleteU2
Bon Jovi
Mumford and Sons
Indigo Girls
Joe Pug
Jeff Buckley
Beatles
Taylor Swift
Bob Dylan
Bruce Springsteen
Linkin Park
Alanis Morissette
Jewel
Adele
Jay Z
Hello Brad
ReplyDeleteI have only just become familiar with Voddie Baucham through his sermon entitled, "The World, The Flesh and The Devil" from the 2014 Overcome the World Conference on Ligonier Ministries. Like you say, clarity and conviction are two very good words to describe his teachings. My husband thought so also. Please, can you tell me what the title of the sermon you heard on Wretched Radio. I'll keep doing a search for it but if you could remember the name, I thank you. May God bless you today Brad.
Colette
Hi Colette,
DeleteI apologize for the delayed response. The title of the sermon is "Brokenness." Here's the link to it on YouTube in it's entirety.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVow8rSQwiA
-Brad
Thanks for the great posts... I have never heard of her before, but I'm glad now to be on the watch out.
ReplyDeleteI had not heard of her and checked out her blog. Wowsers. The article about how if Jesus returned, he'd be a gay, black homeless girl...enough said...and she called Jesus scandalous...and pasted a little scripture and truth in there so it's wrapped up all pretty. And she uses a lot of foul language. Made me ill. As did the cheering that ensued from the comments section in that post. :-( I sensed a strong theme of "let's do what our hearts want, and not so much what the Bible commands." Because our hearts are right all the time, yeah? Narrow is the path. Thanks for your post, Elizabeth, and making people aware.
ReplyDeleteHi Elizabeth, thank you for your blog. I have been greatly blessed through it and now have a burden to warn others of false teachers. Our women's group at church will be choosing our next bible study - do you know a curriculum I could present to them that focuses on discernment? Or false teaching? Thank you!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Anonymous! I'm the one who is blessed to hear this.
DeleteI don't know of much in terms of quantity in the way of curricula but of the ones I know they are solid. The first is an audio series by Todd Friel, et al, called Drive By Discernment.
This is a series of 70 lectures. They are all about 10 minutes each, suitable for when you're driving, hence the title. It is divided into two parts of about 35 lectures each. Part 1 is how to discern other teachers. Part 2 is how to expand youu own discernment, discerning yourself.
I've listened to all of them, and many of them twice. It costs little to buy, and though I was not able to find a companion study guide as a product, I did find a companion study guide a Baptist Church used and is available for download. The DBD from Wretched Radio costs very little- $19.99 for immediate download and I think $25 for a DVD sent to you.
www.wretchedradio.com/store/product_details.cfm?id=369
I would also recommend Drive By Theology (which DOES have a study guide, DBD doesn't as far as I can see). After all, it's good to know what theology it is that you are protecting. DBT gets everyone in your group on the same page. It is also excellent, and as I said, has a study guide.
Tim Challies, write a short book called The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment. It teaches how to discern. It doesn't have a study guide as far as I can tell but I did find this study guide curriculum used with Challies' book from a First Baptist Church here, and has .pdfs available for download.
study guide for chapter lessons, download here http://www.clarkstonfirstbaptist.org/joomla/index.php/bible-studies/cat_view/1-sunday-school-study-guides/3-the-discipline-of-spiritual-discernment
John MacArthur has a series of sermons and lectures available called The Discernment Collection, here
http://www.gty.org/resources/articles/A314/Defining-Discernment
there are companion essays, the definition of discernment, and sermons.
That should get you started...if anyone else knows of good study guides or curricula regarding the discipline of Discernment, please share!
Wow! Thank you Elizabeth! I will certainly look at all of them and at the least learn from them myself. May God Bless you and your ministry. Your voice is so badly needed. -Pamela Couvrette
DeleteIt encourages me to see your post. I liked Momastery until the post about being gay/bullying you mentioned above. I immediately saw that she was basically making up her own religion. I was SO disturbed that women were following her as if she were a spiritual leader/authority. I'm Catholic so I may not be your typical reader but I found this post because I specifically was looking to see if other people had noticed this about her. I had no idea the other women you mentioned were like Glennon mostly because I don't read Protestant books like that but I've heard their names from my Protestant friends. I'll have to educate myself so that I can discuss them with my friends. I'm so sad when I see women who I know as good Christians share Momastery posts on Facebook!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I agree with you that Glennon hates the Bible and while I read your post about the roles of women in the church and in marriage that we are called to be submissive to our husbands which I agree with as long as what you are submittting to is pleasing to God. I believe that men are better at being men than women are and women are better at being women. they are unique roles and it is important to remember that men are not above women we are called to be helpers not slaves.
ReplyDeleteNor do I believe that Glennon "hates the Bible" I think she has not understood what the Bible says about homosexuality. She does have it right when she says we are called to show LOVE to those around us that are sinning. Jesus died for all of our sins and while I don't understand homosexuality (because I'm not gay) I can say that He redeemed all of us as long as we accept him as the Son of God. I choose to say that I don't know for sure if homosexuals are right or wrong only that I can pray that if their lifestyle is wrong in the eyes of God that it's not up to me to "fix it" I can leave this issue at the foot of the cross with my shortcomings and trust that He is in control.
My issue with her is the video below, her take on shame doesn't quite fit somehow.
I challenged her on this video in a blog post a while back and she fired back with a patronizing reply and then deleted her entire post. I'd be interested in your thoughts on the video.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=S3kKOz0CwDE#
Hi Anonymous,
DeleteThanks for your thoughtful comment. In turn, I've been thinking about it for a few days.
I agree, women are called to be helpers, not slaves. Unfortunately though, whenever the word "submission" comes up related to women, many people believe we are suddenly now talking about inequality. But that is not so.
Jesus submitted fully to God yet was completely equal. Submission is a Godly act and a grace-filled attitude that everyone, from Jesus on down to the smallest child, is to practice- men included.
Men are just as likely to not submit as women. I will respectfully disagree with you on the comment that men are better at being men than women are at being women. As feminism rose, it emasculated men. There are too many slavish men and in contrast too many male bullies as well. This is because the same curse was given equally to men as well as women:
To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe;
with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” Gen 3:16
You can read more about proper submission and what it means for both man and woman, here:
http://sljinstitute.net/pauls-epistles/1corinthians/marriage-counsel-part-i/
You said, " I choose to say that I don't know for sure if homosexuals are right or wrong..."
But that is incorrect. Homosexuality is a sin, and a worse sin because it is a judgment upon the individual, (Rom 1:26) AND is one of the small set of sins that makes Jesus complicit in it like no other sins do, them being outside the body (1 Cor 6:17-19).
No it's not up to you "to fix" any sinner's lifestyle, the drunk or the extorter or the deceiver or the coveter or the adulterer or the sodomite. But it IS up to you to know what sin is and what sins are listed in the bible as sin, and it IS up to you to declare sin sin and offer the Gospel to that person. If you're not sure what sin IS, or simply call it a shortcoming, then you nor any person you meet will never hear the Gospel from your lips, will they? You have to know what sin is and then know what to do about it He is in control and one of the things He has declared in His control and sovereignty is that we be His ambassadors and witnesses. :)
I'll view the video you kindly shared with me next.
One thing before I comment on the video: Mrs Melton hates the bible because she disagrees with God's word, choosing not to believe it. She wrote, "we don't believe that homosexuality is a sin" when Jesus obviously does. This means she does not love Jesus as she professes. Anyone who directly rejects God's word is a bible hater. You either love His word or you don't, since Jesus IS the Word (John 1:1-5) It is simple as that.
DeleteOn to the video:
1. People not in junior high still say "icky"?
2. She was clever in constructing a fallacious argument. She said that shame is *other* people's 'crap' put on her. And then she went on with the two options.
But shame is not other people's crap (her word) put on her. First, she effectively repudiates the idea that she should feel any shame at all, ever, since all shame is, according to her, is other people's wayward burden wrongly falling onto her shoulders. Second, shame is real, and God speaks of shame a lot. He notes when people have proper shame and when they don't.
Psalm 31:17, Genesis 3:10, Psalm 25:1, 1 John 2:28, etc. to name a few.
What if, when Nathan had pointed out David's shameful sins, (2 Samuel 12:1-13) instead of David repenting, if David had made a video and said, "Actually, no thank you, I would not like your shame on me today, Nathan. You're just putting your own shame onto me, your bag is full of hammers and stones and pots and other stuff that you're trying to burden me down with, man. I have lots of joy in store for me today and I'd prefer to travel light."
Ahem.
When Melton, who professes to be a Christian, and a teacher of Christian teachings, says she receives a letter saying 'shame on you', as a Christian she should examine whether the shame is warranted. Self-reflection and prayer is called for, but her video teaches young women to ignore elder women and men calling us to account, and refuses to self-examine. The bible actually has a method for this and it is in Titus 2:3-5.
Her 2 minute video rejecting shame is in reality an ode to personal haughtiness and the bible also has a lot to say about a haughty spirit. http://www.openbible.info/topics/haughty_spirit
So that is my take.
"Because women are vulnerable in specific ways to satan's deceits, women are not allowed to lead, rule, or prophesy during church services."
ReplyDeleteBut what about Judges 4?
But what about 1 Timothy 2:12?
Delete