Monday, December 12, 2011
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Galatians 6:9-10
9And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
10As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
From biblegateway.com
10As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
From biblegateway.com
Monday, November 28, 2011
Birthday Cakes & Candles
Here's a little bit of history from wonderopolis.org.
"As it turns out, putting candles on birthday cakes is a tradition that has been around for a long, long time. It can be traced back to the Ancient Greeks, who often burned candles as offerings to their many gods and goddesses.
For the Ancient Greeks, putting candles on a cake was a special way to pay tribute to the Greek moon goddess, Artemis. They baked round cakes to symbolize the moon. Candles were added to represent the reflected moonlight.
Candles on cakes became a popular tradition long ago in Germany, too. For religious reasons, Germans would place a large candle in the center of a cake to symbolize “the light of life.”
Some scholars believe that other meanings have also been attached to the use of candles on cakes. People may have believed that the smoke from the candles carried their wishes and prayers to gods who lived in the skies. Others probably believed the smoke helped to ward off evil spirits.
Today, we still put birthday candles on cakes. Many people still hold superstitious beliefs about them, too.
For example, many people believe that the birthday boy or girl...must make a silent wish before blowing out the candles. If all the candles are blown out in one breath, the wish will come true, and the person will have good luck throughout the year.
On the other hand, if it takes more than one breath to blow out all the candles or if the person tells someone what the wish was, it will supposedly not come true."
I think it would be better to tell our wishes to Jesus.
Pslam 37:4 "Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart."
"As it turns out, putting candles on birthday cakes is a tradition that has been around for a long, long time. It can be traced back to the Ancient Greeks, who often burned candles as offerings to their many gods and goddesses.
For the Ancient Greeks, putting candles on a cake was a special way to pay tribute to the Greek moon goddess, Artemis. They baked round cakes to symbolize the moon. Candles were added to represent the reflected moonlight.
Candles on cakes became a popular tradition long ago in Germany, too. For religious reasons, Germans would place a large candle in the center of a cake to symbolize “the light of life.”
Some scholars believe that other meanings have also been attached to the use of candles on cakes. People may have believed that the smoke from the candles carried their wishes and prayers to gods who lived in the skies. Others probably believed the smoke helped to ward off evil spirits.
Today, we still put birthday candles on cakes. Many people still hold superstitious beliefs about them, too.
For example, many people believe that the birthday boy or girl...must make a silent wish before blowing out the candles. If all the candles are blown out in one breath, the wish will come true, and the person will have good luck throughout the year.
On the other hand, if it takes more than one breath to blow out all the candles or if the person tells someone what the wish was, it will supposedly not come true."
I think it would be better to tell our wishes to Jesus.
Pslam 37:4 "Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart."
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
A Beauteous Grace!
A beauteous grace!
(Charles Orr)
"The fruit of the Spirit is . . . gentleness" Galatians 5:22-23
GENTLENESS is one of the fruits of the Spirit. If we have the Spirit of Christ--we bear this fruit. "Well," says one, "in my very make-up--I am rough, harsh, and severe." If so, you need to be made anew. When God finds a man who is rough, harsh, and severe in his make-up--He will, as the man yields to the operation of the Holy Spirit--make him mild, gentle, and peaceful.
People go to a hospital and by an operation, have abscesses and tumors removed from the internal parts. Just so, God, by a blessed, wonderful, and successful operation of the Holy Spirit--will take that roughness, harshness, and severity out of your nature--and instill mildness, tenderness, softness, and gentleness instead. Harshness and roughness are a corruption that God, in His gracious plan of salvation--is pleased to remove. As the Holy Spirit works in you that which is pleasing in God's sight--He will make you gentle.
What is gentleness? It is humility, softness, mildness and meekness. It is the opposite of harshness, roughness, severeness etc. It is sweetness of disposition, mildness of temper, softness of manner, kindness, tenderness, etc. Those who are of a gentle disposition--act and speak without harshness. They are not morose, sour, crabbed, and wavering--but are smooth, mild, and steadfast. Good manners are intimately connected with gentleness, and good manners are no dishonor to Christianity. The apostle Paul by way of testimony said to the Thessalonian saints, "We were gentle among you--like a mother caring for her little children." 1 Thessalonians 2:7. Such was his manner. As a kind mother is to a delicate child--so was he to those whom he loved.
Vastly different was he then--from what he was when he was persecuting and destroying the church of God! He had been changed by grace. He exhorts pastors to "be gentle unto all men" (2 Timothy 2:24) and to be "gentle, showing all meekness unto all men" (Titus 3:2). David, in his sublime tribute of praise to God in 2 Samuel 22:36 says, "Your gentleness has made me great."
Would you, my reader, like to be more gentle in your manner? Are you too harsh and rough? Are you, if a parent--as gentle to your children as you should be, at all times? Husband, are you as kind and gentle toward your wife as you should be? Do you believe that you come up to the Bible measure in this particular? Or do you have impatient feelings and act in a hasty, abrupt manner towards them? If you meet with something quite provoking from your wife or the children--do you keep as mild and sweet as you know you should?
Now, I hope you will examine closely. I do not mean to condemn you; I want to help you. There are many professing saints today, who are not nearly as gentle as they should be. Why not be in earnest, and seek God for help, and make improvement? Why go along with crossness, and coldness and snappishness in your life? Be gentle toward all.
Gentleness is a beauteous grace. Her excellence is great. By culture, this grace is capable of much improvement. Too few saints experience it to the extent that they should. I beseech you by the gentleness of Jesus (2 Corinthians 10:1)--to be in earnest and improve upon your gentleness. Never allow a frown or a scowl to settle for a moment upon your brow! It will leave its mark, if you do so. Learn to be gentle--especially in your home.
"Learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart." Matthew 11:29
"Be completely humble and gentle." Ephesians 4:2
"Let your gentleness be evident to all." Philippians 4:5
"But you, man of God . . . pursue . . . gentleness." 1 Timothy 6:11
"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved--clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." Colossians 3:12
From Grace Gems
(Charles Orr)
"The fruit of the Spirit is . . . gentleness" Galatians 5:22-23
GENTLENESS is one of the fruits of the Spirit. If we have the Spirit of Christ--we bear this fruit. "Well," says one, "in my very make-up--I am rough, harsh, and severe." If so, you need to be made anew. When God finds a man who is rough, harsh, and severe in his make-up--He will, as the man yields to the operation of the Holy Spirit--make him mild, gentle, and peaceful.
People go to a hospital and by an operation, have abscesses and tumors removed from the internal parts. Just so, God, by a blessed, wonderful, and successful operation of the Holy Spirit--will take that roughness, harshness, and severity out of your nature--and instill mildness, tenderness, softness, and gentleness instead. Harshness and roughness are a corruption that God, in His gracious plan of salvation--is pleased to remove. As the Holy Spirit works in you that which is pleasing in God's sight--He will make you gentle.
What is gentleness? It is humility, softness, mildness and meekness. It is the opposite of harshness, roughness, severeness etc. It is sweetness of disposition, mildness of temper, softness of manner, kindness, tenderness, etc. Those who are of a gentle disposition--act and speak without harshness. They are not morose, sour, crabbed, and wavering--but are smooth, mild, and steadfast. Good manners are intimately connected with gentleness, and good manners are no dishonor to Christianity. The apostle Paul by way of testimony said to the Thessalonian saints, "We were gentle among you--like a mother caring for her little children." 1 Thessalonians 2:7. Such was his manner. As a kind mother is to a delicate child--so was he to those whom he loved.
Vastly different was he then--from what he was when he was persecuting and destroying the church of God! He had been changed by grace. He exhorts pastors to "be gentle unto all men" (2 Timothy 2:24) and to be "gentle, showing all meekness unto all men" (Titus 3:2). David, in his sublime tribute of praise to God in 2 Samuel 22:36 says, "Your gentleness has made me great."
Would you, my reader, like to be more gentle in your manner? Are you too harsh and rough? Are you, if a parent--as gentle to your children as you should be, at all times? Husband, are you as kind and gentle toward your wife as you should be? Do you believe that you come up to the Bible measure in this particular? Or do you have impatient feelings and act in a hasty, abrupt manner towards them? If you meet with something quite provoking from your wife or the children--do you keep as mild and sweet as you know you should?
Now, I hope you will examine closely. I do not mean to condemn you; I want to help you. There are many professing saints today, who are not nearly as gentle as they should be. Why not be in earnest, and seek God for help, and make improvement? Why go along with crossness, and coldness and snappishness in your life? Be gentle toward all.
Gentleness is a beauteous grace. Her excellence is great. By culture, this grace is capable of much improvement. Too few saints experience it to the extent that they should. I beseech you by the gentleness of Jesus (2 Corinthians 10:1)--to be in earnest and improve upon your gentleness. Never allow a frown or a scowl to settle for a moment upon your brow! It will leave its mark, if you do so. Learn to be gentle--especially in your home.
"Learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart." Matthew 11:29
"Be completely humble and gentle." Ephesians 4:2
"Let your gentleness be evident to all." Philippians 4:5
"But you, man of God . . . pursue . . . gentleness." 1 Timothy 6:11
"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved--clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." Colossians 3:12
From Grace Gems
Oh the Fickleness of Me
I've changed my mind. I don't want to completely abandon posting on this blog. This blog has it's own unique niche in my self expression; and I don't think I'm ready to let go of it. If I want to put up a heavier posting or a Corries song this is a great place to do it. Sorry for the turnabout Europe! Please keep visiting anyway! :)Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
If They Knew All About Us!
If they knew all about us!
(James Smith's autobiography, "Marvelous Mercy!" 1862)
The following in an excerpt from the diary of James Smith:
I am daily more and more vexed with myself--because I am so unlike Jesus--so unlike what I ought to be, and what I wish to be. I shall never glorify Him as I ought, while I have to carry about this body of sin and death.
How kind it is of our gracious God, to conceal from others--what He Himself sees within us; and which if known by others--would alienate them from us, and fill them with disgust! What contemptible creatures we would appear to our friends--if they knew all about us!
We may study our own hearts, and if we study them under the cross, it will not injure us--but benefit us. But no man may study his brother's heart--he is not to be admitted into the chambers of idols within. We may form some idea of the hearts of others--by our own; for as face answers to face in water--so does the heart of man to man.
I find it very difficult to believe that another's heart is as bad as mine--except in the case of some heinous criminal. I cannot charge my friend with being so depraved as I am--for having such base thoughts, vile inclinations, and abominable desires, as I have. But perhaps others think the very same respecting me.
"The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked! Who really knows how bad it is?" Jeremiah 17:9
From Grace Gems
(James Smith's autobiography, "Marvelous Mercy!" 1862)
The following in an excerpt from the diary of James Smith:
I am daily more and more vexed with myself--because I am so unlike Jesus--so unlike what I ought to be, and what I wish to be. I shall never glorify Him as I ought, while I have to carry about this body of sin and death.
How kind it is of our gracious God, to conceal from others--what He Himself sees within us; and which if known by others--would alienate them from us, and fill them with disgust! What contemptible creatures we would appear to our friends--if they knew all about us!
We may study our own hearts, and if we study them under the cross, it will not injure us--but benefit us. But no man may study his brother's heart--he is not to be admitted into the chambers of idols within. We may form some idea of the hearts of others--by our own; for as face answers to face in water--so does the heart of man to man.
I find it very difficult to believe that another's heart is as bad as mine--except in the case of some heinous criminal. I cannot charge my friend with being so depraved as I am--for having such base thoughts, vile inclinations, and abominable desires, as I have. But perhaps others think the very same respecting me.
"The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked! Who really knows how bad it is?" Jeremiah 17:9
From Grace Gems
Thursday, June 16, 2011
He is So Precious to Me
So precious is Jesus, my Savior, my King;
His praise all the day long with rapture I sing;
To Him in my weakness for strength I can cling,
For He is so precious to me.
Refrain:
For He is so precious to me,
For He is so precious to me;
’Tis heaven below, my Redeemer to know,
For He is so precious to me.
He stood at my heart’s door ’mid sunshine and rain,
And patiently waited an entrance to gain;
What shame that so long He entreated in vain,
For He is so precious to me.
I stand on the mountain of blessing at last,
No cloud in the heavens a shadow to cast,
His smile is upon me; the valley is past,
For He is so precious to me.
I praise Him because He appointed a place
Where someday, through faith in His wonderful grace,
I know I shall see Him, shall look on His face,
For He is so precious to me.
http://library.timelesstruths.org/music/He_Is_So_Precious_to_Me/
His praise all the day long with rapture I sing;
To Him in my weakness for strength I can cling,
For He is so precious to me.
Refrain:
For He is so precious to me,
For He is so precious to me;
’Tis heaven below, my Redeemer to know,
For He is so precious to me.
He stood at my heart’s door ’mid sunshine and rain,
And patiently waited an entrance to gain;
What shame that so long He entreated in vain,
For He is so precious to me.
I stand on the mountain of blessing at last,
No cloud in the heavens a shadow to cast,
His smile is upon me; the valley is past,
For He is so precious to me.
I praise Him because He appointed a place
Where someday, through faith in His wonderful grace,
I know I shall see Him, shall look on His face,
For He is so precious to me.
http://library.timelesstruths.org/music/He_Is_So_Precious_to_Me/
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Psalm 71:15
"My mouth shall shew forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day; for I know not the numbers thereof."
From http://www.biblegateway.com/
From http://www.biblegateway.com/
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Friday, April 15, 2011
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Dr. Bob Jones Sr. Quotes
"Don't sacrifice the permanent on the altar of the immediate."
"The test of your character is what it takes to stop you."
"You can do anything you ought to do."
"It is one thing to know there is a God; it's another thing to know the God that is."
"What you love and what you hate reveal what you are."
"Do not ask God to give you a light burden; ask Him to give you strong shoulders to carry a heavy burden."
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Job 39
"1Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth? or canst thou mark when the hinds do calve?
2Canst thou number the months that they fulfil? or knowest thou the time when they bring forth?
3They bow themselves, they bring forth their young ones, they cast out their sorrows.
4Their young ones are in good liking, they grow up with corn; they go forth, and return not unto them.
5Who hath sent out the wild ass free? or who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass?
6Whose house I have made the wilderness, and the barren land his dwellings.
7He scorneth the multitude of the city, neither regardeth he the crying of the driver.
8The range of the mountains is his pasture, and he searcheth after every green thing.
9Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib?
10Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee?
11Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great? or wilt thou leave thy labour to him?
12Wilt thou believe him, that he will bring home thy seed, and gather it into thy barn?
13Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks? or wings and feathers unto the ostrich?
14Which leaveth her eggs in the earth, and warmeth them in dust,
15And forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them.
16She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not her's: her labour is in vain without fear;
17Because God hath deprived her of wisdom, neither hath he imparted to her understanding.
18What time she lifteth up herself on high, she scorneth the horse and his rider.
19Hast thou given the horse strength? hast thou clothed his neck with thunder?
20Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper? the glory of his nostrils is terrible.
21He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength: he goeth on to meet the armed men.
22He mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted; neither turneth he back from the sword.
23The quiver rattleth against him, the glittering spear and the shield.
24He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage: neither believeth he that it is the sound of the trumpet.
25He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha; and he smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.
26Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the south?
27Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest on high?
28She dwelleth and abideth on the rock, upon the crag of the rock, and the strong place.
29From thence she seeketh the prey, and her eyes behold afar off.
30Her young ones also suck up blood: and where the slain are, there is she."
From biblegateway.com
2Canst thou number the months that they fulfil? or knowest thou the time when they bring forth?
3They bow themselves, they bring forth their young ones, they cast out their sorrows.
4Their young ones are in good liking, they grow up with corn; they go forth, and return not unto them.
5Who hath sent out the wild ass free? or who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass?
6Whose house I have made the wilderness, and the barren land his dwellings.
7He scorneth the multitude of the city, neither regardeth he the crying of the driver.
8The range of the mountains is his pasture, and he searcheth after every green thing.
9Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib?
10Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee?
11Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great? or wilt thou leave thy labour to him?
12Wilt thou believe him, that he will bring home thy seed, and gather it into thy barn?
13Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks? or wings and feathers unto the ostrich?
14Which leaveth her eggs in the earth, and warmeth them in dust,
15And forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them.
16She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not her's: her labour is in vain without fear;
17Because God hath deprived her of wisdom, neither hath he imparted to her understanding.
18What time she lifteth up herself on high, she scorneth the horse and his rider.
19Hast thou given the horse strength? hast thou clothed his neck with thunder?
20Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper? the glory of his nostrils is terrible.
21He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength: he goeth on to meet the armed men.
22He mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted; neither turneth he back from the sword.
23The quiver rattleth against him, the glittering spear and the shield.
24He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage: neither believeth he that it is the sound of the trumpet.
25He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha; and he smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.
26Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the south?
27Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest on high?
28She dwelleth and abideth on the rock, upon the crag of the rock, and the strong place.
29From thence she seeketh the prey, and her eyes behold afar off.
30Her young ones also suck up blood: and where the slain are, there is she."
From biblegateway.com
Friday, March 11, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Auras
Question: "How should a Christian view the idea of auras? What does the Bible say about auras?"
Answer: Auras are believed to be subtle energy fields or fields of light emanating from human beings, as well as all living things, surrounding them like a bubble. It is claimed that the human aura indicates the spiritual, physical, and emotional state of a person via the color, depth, and strength of the aura. The colors are interpreted as indicating a feeling, experience, state of health, or quality possessed by the owner. Reading or scanning a person's aura is allegedly done by some psychics and also by those in some areas of alternative healing therapies. Auras are allegedly seen through clairvoyance, a paranormal ability to see the non-material realm. It is thought that people either have innate supernatural abilities to see auras or can develop psychic powers to see them. Belief in auras is an integral part of occult, particularly those whose beliefs follow New Age teachings, Wicca, or witchcraft, all of which are condemned in Scripture as abhorrent to God. The Bible strongly condemns spiritism, mediums, the occult, and psychics (Leviticus 20:27; Deuteronomy 18:10-13).
As with all New Age teachings, there is no biblical basis for belief in auras. There are some who actually believe that the Bible supports a belief in auras, and point to Exodus 34 and Matthew 17 as scriptural proof. However, even the most cursory read-through of these passages makes it clear that what was witnessed was the glory of God. In the Exodus passage, Moses had just come down the mountain after spending 40 days and nights with God and the glory of God was still reflected in his face. The Matthew passage is the account of Jesus' transfiguration. Both passages are specific to divine encounters and have nothing to do with a personal energy field.
Some people claim that the halos around Jesus, his disciples, and various saints and angels in paintings represent their auras. It is believed that painting halos was first done in ancient Greece and Rome, then borrowed by Christians in the early years of the church and during the Middle Ages for paintings of angels and the saints. Greek artists brought the halo technique into India during the reign of Alexander the Great, and Buddhist artists adopted it in their depictions of Buddha and Buddhist saints. Halos in paintings are pictorial representations of the spiritual power or status of a figure; there is no evidence that they signify a belief in auras by the artists. Therefore, the claim that halos in paintings are related to auras is unfounded. Furthermore, depiction of halos is part of cultural views and the artist’s imagination. Once again, there is no biblical basis for a belief in halos.
The Bible does not speak of halos or auras, but it does speak of light in many places, especially of Jesus Christ as “the light of the world” (John 8:12), and Satan as one who can disguise himself as an “angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14). Consequently, we know that there is the true light and a counterfeit light. God tells us about Jesus that “In him was life, and that life was the light of men” (John 1:4). Christians are to live as “children of light” (Ephesians 5:8), knowing that they “are sons of the light and sons of the day” (1 Thessalonians 5:5). Since “God is light, in him there is no darkness at all” (I John 1:5), one should reject the false light of the aura, a belief rooted in occultism, and rather seek the true light of Jesus Christ. “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6).
From www.gotquestions.org
Answer: Auras are believed to be subtle energy fields or fields of light emanating from human beings, as well as all living things, surrounding them like a bubble. It is claimed that the human aura indicates the spiritual, physical, and emotional state of a person via the color, depth, and strength of the aura. The colors are interpreted as indicating a feeling, experience, state of health, or quality possessed by the owner. Reading or scanning a person's aura is allegedly done by some psychics and also by those in some areas of alternative healing therapies. Auras are allegedly seen through clairvoyance, a paranormal ability to see the non-material realm. It is thought that people either have innate supernatural abilities to see auras or can develop psychic powers to see them. Belief in auras is an integral part of occult, particularly those whose beliefs follow New Age teachings, Wicca, or witchcraft, all of which are condemned in Scripture as abhorrent to God. The Bible strongly condemns spiritism, mediums, the occult, and psychics (Leviticus 20:27; Deuteronomy 18:10-13).
As with all New Age teachings, there is no biblical basis for belief in auras. There are some who actually believe that the Bible supports a belief in auras, and point to Exodus 34 and Matthew 17 as scriptural proof. However, even the most cursory read-through of these passages makes it clear that what was witnessed was the glory of God. In the Exodus passage, Moses had just come down the mountain after spending 40 days and nights with God and the glory of God was still reflected in his face. The Matthew passage is the account of Jesus' transfiguration. Both passages are specific to divine encounters and have nothing to do with a personal energy field.
Some people claim that the halos around Jesus, his disciples, and various saints and angels in paintings represent their auras. It is believed that painting halos was first done in ancient Greece and Rome, then borrowed by Christians in the early years of the church and during the Middle Ages for paintings of angels and the saints. Greek artists brought the halo technique into India during the reign of Alexander the Great, and Buddhist artists adopted it in their depictions of Buddha and Buddhist saints. Halos in paintings are pictorial representations of the spiritual power or status of a figure; there is no evidence that they signify a belief in auras by the artists. Therefore, the claim that halos in paintings are related to auras is unfounded. Furthermore, depiction of halos is part of cultural views and the artist’s imagination. Once again, there is no biblical basis for a belief in halos.
The Bible does not speak of halos or auras, but it does speak of light in many places, especially of Jesus Christ as “the light of the world” (John 8:12), and Satan as one who can disguise himself as an “angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14). Consequently, we know that there is the true light and a counterfeit light. God tells us about Jesus that “In him was life, and that life was the light of men” (John 1:4). Christians are to live as “children of light” (Ephesians 5:8), knowing that they “are sons of the light and sons of the day” (1 Thessalonians 5:5). Since “God is light, in him there is no darkness at all” (I John 1:5), one should reject the false light of the aura, a belief rooted in occultism, and rather seek the true light of Jesus Christ. “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6).
From www.gotquestions.org
Friday, February 11, 2011
The Cult of Personality
This is something I have been involved with for years. I want to encourage others to move away from this sort of thing. The title above is the title of the article below.
Early in our ministry we were critical of personality testing and particularly alarmed at its use in Christian circles. At that time the personality testing movement was just a trickle in the church. Over the years this trickle has turned into a flood. To name a few areas, these tests are now used in Christian schools, Bible colleges, seminaries, and churches for selecting pastors and evaluating church staff compatibility.
In the PsychNotes of our January-February newsletter, we quoted from a description of a book by award-winning author Annie Paul, which is devoted to the subject of personality tests. The title of her book is The Cult of Personality: How Personality Tests Are Leading Us to Miseducate Our Children, Mismanage Our Companies, and Misunderstand Ourselves. The jacket cover of Annie Paul’s book summarizes well what she reveals in her book.
And she exposes the flawed theories and faulty methods that render their results unreliable and invalid. Personality tests, she contends, produce descriptions of people that are nothing like human beings as they actually are: complicated, contradictory, changeable across time and place.1
We have covered some of the same ground in our books and articles. If we were writing a book titled The Cult of Personality, our subtitle would be How Personality Tests Are Leading Christians to Miseducate their Children, Mismanage Christian Organizations, and Misunderstand Themselves.
In spite of our warnings and those of others, Christians have rushed pell-mell into personality testing. We agree with the statement on Annie Paul’s book cover that personality testing is a cult "that celebrates the superficial over the substantive, the static over the dynamic, the standard and average over the distinctive and unique." As we have suggested, the Apostle Paul was no doubt a substantive, dynamic, distinctive, and unique individual who, by the worldly and fleshly standards of the personality-testing cult, would have been rejected for missionary service.2
Just as the church emulates the world in using and promoting psychological counseling theories and therapies, it emulates the world in the area of personality testing. Especially popular among Christians are spiritual gift inventories and tests. These are often used by church leaders who are trying to inspire Christians to serve and by those Christians who desire to serve the Lord. These various spiritual gifts tests (combinations of interest and personality inventories) purport to reveal a Christian’s particular spiritual gifts. We have already written critically about spiritual gifts inventories and the biblical and scientific reasons for not using them.3 Here we wish to examine the use of other types of personality tests.
There are probably thousands of personality tests available. According to its publisher, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is "the world’s most popular personality assessment." It has been translated into numerous languages and there are chapters of the Association for Psychological Types all over the world. We know from surveys we have conducted that the MBTI is one of the most popular personality tests used in the church. The MBTI, or variations of it, is used by Bible colleges, seminaries, denominations, churches, and mission agencies, as well as by other Christian organizations and individual Christians.
Annie Paul says in her Introduction:
Perhaps no other personality test has achieved the cult status of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, an instrument created in the 1940s by a Pennsylvania housewife. Fiercely proud of the test she called "my baby," Isabel Myers believed that it could bring about world peace—or at least make everyone a little nicer. The Myers-Briggs, which assigns each test taker a personality type represented by four letters, is now given to 2.5 million people each year, and is used by 89 of the companies in the Fortune 100. Employed by businesses to "identify strengths" and "facilitate teamwork," the Myers-Briggs has also been embraced by a multitude of individuals who experience a revelation (what devotees call the "aha reaction") upon learning about psychological type. Their enthusiasm persists despite research showing that as many as three-quarters of test takers achieve a different personality type when tested again, and that the sixteen distinctive types described by the Myers-Briggs have no scientific basis whatsoever.4
In addition to Isabel Myers, who developed the test, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is named after her mother, Katherine Briggs. The original idea of the types was a brainchild of the occult psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung. Katherine Briggs read Jung’s Psychological Types and introduced her daughter Isabel to Jung’s typology.
After discussing Jung’s involvement in magic, alchemy, spirit guides, and other forms of occultism in our book Four Temperaments, Astrology & Personality Testing, we concluded the following:
At minimum, Jung’s theory, upon which the MBTI is based, is merely vain philosophies of men against which we are warned in Scripture. At worst, it originated from Satan through a spirit guide. We would think that no Christian would want Jung’s psychological theory or any test that derives from it.5
Nevertheless, numerous Christians and Christian organizations are using the MBTI. Thus we will now look at the scientific reasons for rejecting the MBTI.
The MBTI provides the following four bipolar scales:
Introversion—Extroversion
Sensing—Intuition
Thinking—Feeling
Judging—Perceiving
These four scales yield 16 possible types.
The National Research Council has evaluated the MBTI. The Council members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine. In appraising the MBTI, the National Research Council says:
It is probably fair to say that the MBTI is the most popular "self-insight, insight into others" instrument in use today. Unfortunately, however, the popularity of the instrument is not coincident with supportive research results.6
In other words, research results do not support the popularity! The Council also criticizes the marketing of the MBTI:
From the perspective of the instrument’s developers, the profits from an audience eager for self-improvement encourages them to market the instrument aggressively; aggressive marketing—complete with type coffee mugs, t-shirts, pins, license plates—has apparently increased the number of consumers worldwide.7
The Council report covers two of the most important areas in which to evaluate the MBTI or any other personality test. The two areas are "Reliability" and "Validity."
Reliability
One text describes reliability as follows: "Reliability refers to the consistency of scores obtained by the same persons when reexamined with the same test on different occasions." 8
The council reports on a variety of studies that found that between 24 and 61 percent of MBTI test takers "showed stability of type." In other words, they received the same MBTI type when reexamined at intervals ranging from five weeks to six years. However, that means that 39 to 76 percent were assigned a different type. The stability of type median was 40 percent, leaving 60 percent instability of type at the median. As a result, the Council report states: "Changes in type designations of these magnitudes suggest caution in classifying people in these ways and then making decisions that would influence their careers or personal lives." 9
Validity
The validity of a test indicates its integrity, whether it actually measures what it is supposed to measure and how well it does so. One author of The Myth of Measurability says, "Validity is the soul of a test." He also says, "It is here that most discussions of testing run aground and most informed proponents of tests fall silent." 10
After discussing many studies on the validity of the MBTI, the Council report states:
The evidence summarized in this section raises questions about the validity of the MBTI. However, many users of the instrument have claimed that its value lies not in its diagnostic accuracy, which is problematic, but in its probative guidance. Respondents often emphasize the increased sensitivity gained from the discussions generated by MBTI feedback. It would seem that such gains could contribute to enhanced performance. Unfortunately, neither the gains in sensitivity nor the impact of those gains on performance have been documented by research. Nor has the instrument been validated in a long-term study of successful and unsuccessful careers. Lacking such evidence, it is a curiosity why the instrument is used so widely, particularly in large organizations.11
Others have expressed concern about the difficulty of establishing validity for tests that are based on theoretical constructs. Drs. L. J. Cronbach and P. E. Meehl say:
Unless substantially the same nomological net is accepted by the several users of the construct public validation is impossible. A consumer of the test who rejects the author’s theory cannot accept the author’s validations.12
In applying this idea to the MBTI, Dr. Jerry Wiggins says:
The validity of the MBTI can be evaluated independently of the total corpus of Jung’s writings but it cannot be fairly appraised outside the more delimited context of Jung’s theory of psychological types. As with any construct-oriented test, both the validity of the test and the validity of the theory are at issue.13
Please note that the validity of the test and the validity of the theory are inextricably bound.
Prior to their overall "Conclusions" section, the Council says that "the popularity of this instrument in the absence of proven scientific worth is troublesome." In their "Conclusions" section, the Council says very clearly: "At this time, there is not sufficient, well-designed research to justify the use of the MBTI in career counseling programs."14
In her Epilogue, Annie Paul says:
"An X-ray of personality." Since the early days of personality tests, this has been the testers’ favorite metaphor, and no wonder: it calls to mind a precise and powerful instrument, capable of penetrating mere surfaces to produce an image of what’s within. And yet this metaphor has never been more than an alluring fantasy, or perhaps a willful delusion. The reality is that personality tests cannot begin to capture the complex human beings we are. They cannot specify how we will act in particular roles or situations. They cannot predict how we will change over time.... Personality tests do their dirty work, asking intrusive questions and assigning limiting labels....
But perhaps the most insidious effect of personality testing is its influence on the way we understand others—children, coworkers, fellow citizens—-and even ourselves.15
The "Barnum Effect," Etc.
Why are people running after personality tests and inventories? And, why do Christians swallow the invalid and unreliable spiritual gifts tests? Research reveals that individuals are very prone to accept the most general character descriptions as being specifically applicable to themselves. The term given to this phenomenon is the Barnum Effect, named after P. T. Barnum, who believed that a good circus had "a little something for everybody." Even though the descriptions or descriptive terms in the inventories, typologies, and tests apply equally well to other people, individuals are gullible enough to believe they are unique to themselves. Of course, this is exactly what happens with the horoscope, palm reading, and crystal ball gazing. This is known in research literature as the illusion of uniqueness and occurs at least for positive traits.
Besides the Barnum Effect there are other reasons why people believe in personality tests and types. When influential Christians and institutions promote these tests and when enthusiasm has been engendered, people tend to trust them. There is also a tendency to support a system in which one has invested time and money, even if the money is only the cost of a book. Unfortunately, the test user who becomes committed is the main source of others being enticed. The enthusiastic user becomes the enthusiastic promoter, often merely parroting the enthusiasm of the original promoter. It may be that the real Barnum Effect is Barnum’s comment, "There’s a sucker born every minute."
Other reasons why people believe in personality tests and types include the "illusion of efficacy," "illusory correlation, "self-deception," "self-fulfilling prophecy," "illusory thinking," "numerolotry," and "gnosis." The appeal of gnosticism is in itself deceptive, because the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). As people look into themselves and as they use psychological devices for self understanding, they will consider themselves wise but they become fools as they fall for the deception.
The Bible has the truth about mankind. Personality tests, at their best, are a combination of information and misinformation, truth and fiction, cobbled together. We have recommended for years that Christians refrain from using personality tests and, if possible, refuse to take them. Understanding the self comes from the Bible, not from the imaginative and even educated guesses of humans, who are by nature self-deceived.
Christians should not administer or take the MBTI or its variations. For both biblical and scientific reasons, the MBTI and its variations should not be used to evaluate individuals for Christian service or for personal understanding. Contrary to the Bible, contrary to its apparent occult roots, and contrary to the scientific research, Christians and Christian organizations continue to use the MBTI and its variations. This cannot be pleasing to God!
http://www.psychoheresy-aware.org/personality_cult13_2.html
Early in our ministry we were critical of personality testing and particularly alarmed at its use in Christian circles. At that time the personality testing movement was just a trickle in the church. Over the years this trickle has turned into a flood. To name a few areas, these tests are now used in Christian schools, Bible colleges, seminaries, and churches for selecting pastors and evaluating church staff compatibility.
In the PsychNotes of our January-February newsletter, we quoted from a description of a book by award-winning author Annie Paul, which is devoted to the subject of personality tests. The title of her book is The Cult of Personality: How Personality Tests Are Leading Us to Miseducate Our Children, Mismanage Our Companies, and Misunderstand Ourselves. The jacket cover of Annie Paul’s book summarizes well what she reveals in her book.
And she exposes the flawed theories and faulty methods that render their results unreliable and invalid. Personality tests, she contends, produce descriptions of people that are nothing like human beings as they actually are: complicated, contradictory, changeable across time and place.1
We have covered some of the same ground in our books and articles. If we were writing a book titled The Cult of Personality, our subtitle would be How Personality Tests Are Leading Christians to Miseducate their Children, Mismanage Christian Organizations, and Misunderstand Themselves.
In spite of our warnings and those of others, Christians have rushed pell-mell into personality testing. We agree with the statement on Annie Paul’s book cover that personality testing is a cult "that celebrates the superficial over the substantive, the static over the dynamic, the standard and average over the distinctive and unique." As we have suggested, the Apostle Paul was no doubt a substantive, dynamic, distinctive, and unique individual who, by the worldly and fleshly standards of the personality-testing cult, would have been rejected for missionary service.2
Just as the church emulates the world in using and promoting psychological counseling theories and therapies, it emulates the world in the area of personality testing. Especially popular among Christians are spiritual gift inventories and tests. These are often used by church leaders who are trying to inspire Christians to serve and by those Christians who desire to serve the Lord. These various spiritual gifts tests (combinations of interest and personality inventories) purport to reveal a Christian’s particular spiritual gifts. We have already written critically about spiritual gifts inventories and the biblical and scientific reasons for not using them.3 Here we wish to examine the use of other types of personality tests.
There are probably thousands of personality tests available. According to its publisher, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is "the world’s most popular personality assessment." It has been translated into numerous languages and there are chapters of the Association for Psychological Types all over the world. We know from surveys we have conducted that the MBTI is one of the most popular personality tests used in the church. The MBTI, or variations of it, is used by Bible colleges, seminaries, denominations, churches, and mission agencies, as well as by other Christian organizations and individual Christians.
Annie Paul says in her Introduction:
Perhaps no other personality test has achieved the cult status of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, an instrument created in the 1940s by a Pennsylvania housewife. Fiercely proud of the test she called "my baby," Isabel Myers believed that it could bring about world peace—or at least make everyone a little nicer. The Myers-Briggs, which assigns each test taker a personality type represented by four letters, is now given to 2.5 million people each year, and is used by 89 of the companies in the Fortune 100. Employed by businesses to "identify strengths" and "facilitate teamwork," the Myers-Briggs has also been embraced by a multitude of individuals who experience a revelation (what devotees call the "aha reaction") upon learning about psychological type. Their enthusiasm persists despite research showing that as many as three-quarters of test takers achieve a different personality type when tested again, and that the sixteen distinctive types described by the Myers-Briggs have no scientific basis whatsoever.4
In addition to Isabel Myers, who developed the test, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is named after her mother, Katherine Briggs. The original idea of the types was a brainchild of the occult psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung. Katherine Briggs read Jung’s Psychological Types and introduced her daughter Isabel to Jung’s typology.
After discussing Jung’s involvement in magic, alchemy, spirit guides, and other forms of occultism in our book Four Temperaments, Astrology & Personality Testing, we concluded the following:
At minimum, Jung’s theory, upon which the MBTI is based, is merely vain philosophies of men against which we are warned in Scripture. At worst, it originated from Satan through a spirit guide. We would think that no Christian would want Jung’s psychological theory or any test that derives from it.5
Nevertheless, numerous Christians and Christian organizations are using the MBTI. Thus we will now look at the scientific reasons for rejecting the MBTI.
The MBTI provides the following four bipolar scales:
Introversion—Extroversion
Sensing—Intuition
Thinking—Feeling
Judging—Perceiving
These four scales yield 16 possible types.
The National Research Council has evaluated the MBTI. The Council members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine. In appraising the MBTI, the National Research Council says:
It is probably fair to say that the MBTI is the most popular "self-insight, insight into others" instrument in use today. Unfortunately, however, the popularity of the instrument is not coincident with supportive research results.6
In other words, research results do not support the popularity! The Council also criticizes the marketing of the MBTI:
From the perspective of the instrument’s developers, the profits from an audience eager for self-improvement encourages them to market the instrument aggressively; aggressive marketing—complete with type coffee mugs, t-shirts, pins, license plates—has apparently increased the number of consumers worldwide.7
The Council report covers two of the most important areas in which to evaluate the MBTI or any other personality test. The two areas are "Reliability" and "Validity."
Reliability
One text describes reliability as follows: "Reliability refers to the consistency of scores obtained by the same persons when reexamined with the same test on different occasions." 8
The council reports on a variety of studies that found that between 24 and 61 percent of MBTI test takers "showed stability of type." In other words, they received the same MBTI type when reexamined at intervals ranging from five weeks to six years. However, that means that 39 to 76 percent were assigned a different type. The stability of type median was 40 percent, leaving 60 percent instability of type at the median. As a result, the Council report states: "Changes in type designations of these magnitudes suggest caution in classifying people in these ways and then making decisions that would influence their careers or personal lives." 9
Validity
The validity of a test indicates its integrity, whether it actually measures what it is supposed to measure and how well it does so. One author of The Myth of Measurability says, "Validity is the soul of a test." He also says, "It is here that most discussions of testing run aground and most informed proponents of tests fall silent." 10
After discussing many studies on the validity of the MBTI, the Council report states:
The evidence summarized in this section raises questions about the validity of the MBTI. However, many users of the instrument have claimed that its value lies not in its diagnostic accuracy, which is problematic, but in its probative guidance. Respondents often emphasize the increased sensitivity gained from the discussions generated by MBTI feedback. It would seem that such gains could contribute to enhanced performance. Unfortunately, neither the gains in sensitivity nor the impact of those gains on performance have been documented by research. Nor has the instrument been validated in a long-term study of successful and unsuccessful careers. Lacking such evidence, it is a curiosity why the instrument is used so widely, particularly in large organizations.11
Others have expressed concern about the difficulty of establishing validity for tests that are based on theoretical constructs. Drs. L. J. Cronbach and P. E. Meehl say:
Unless substantially the same nomological net is accepted by the several users of the construct public validation is impossible. A consumer of the test who rejects the author’s theory cannot accept the author’s validations.12
In applying this idea to the MBTI, Dr. Jerry Wiggins says:
The validity of the MBTI can be evaluated independently of the total corpus of Jung’s writings but it cannot be fairly appraised outside the more delimited context of Jung’s theory of psychological types. As with any construct-oriented test, both the validity of the test and the validity of the theory are at issue.13
Please note that the validity of the test and the validity of the theory are inextricably bound.
Prior to their overall "Conclusions" section, the Council says that "the popularity of this instrument in the absence of proven scientific worth is troublesome." In their "Conclusions" section, the Council says very clearly: "At this time, there is not sufficient, well-designed research to justify the use of the MBTI in career counseling programs."14
In her Epilogue, Annie Paul says:
"An X-ray of personality." Since the early days of personality tests, this has been the testers’ favorite metaphor, and no wonder: it calls to mind a precise and powerful instrument, capable of penetrating mere surfaces to produce an image of what’s within. And yet this metaphor has never been more than an alluring fantasy, or perhaps a willful delusion. The reality is that personality tests cannot begin to capture the complex human beings we are. They cannot specify how we will act in particular roles or situations. They cannot predict how we will change over time.... Personality tests do their dirty work, asking intrusive questions and assigning limiting labels....
But perhaps the most insidious effect of personality testing is its influence on the way we understand others—children, coworkers, fellow citizens—-and even ourselves.15
The "Barnum Effect," Etc.
Why are people running after personality tests and inventories? And, why do Christians swallow the invalid and unreliable spiritual gifts tests? Research reveals that individuals are very prone to accept the most general character descriptions as being specifically applicable to themselves. The term given to this phenomenon is the Barnum Effect, named after P. T. Barnum, who believed that a good circus had "a little something for everybody." Even though the descriptions or descriptive terms in the inventories, typologies, and tests apply equally well to other people, individuals are gullible enough to believe they are unique to themselves. Of course, this is exactly what happens with the horoscope, palm reading, and crystal ball gazing. This is known in research literature as the illusion of uniqueness and occurs at least for positive traits.
Besides the Barnum Effect there are other reasons why people believe in personality tests and types. When influential Christians and institutions promote these tests and when enthusiasm has been engendered, people tend to trust them. There is also a tendency to support a system in which one has invested time and money, even if the money is only the cost of a book. Unfortunately, the test user who becomes committed is the main source of others being enticed. The enthusiastic user becomes the enthusiastic promoter, often merely parroting the enthusiasm of the original promoter. It may be that the real Barnum Effect is Barnum’s comment, "There’s a sucker born every minute."
Other reasons why people believe in personality tests and types include the "illusion of efficacy," "illusory correlation, "self-deception," "self-fulfilling prophecy," "illusory thinking," "numerolotry," and "gnosis." The appeal of gnosticism is in itself deceptive, because the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). As people look into themselves and as they use psychological devices for self understanding, they will consider themselves wise but they become fools as they fall for the deception.
The Bible has the truth about mankind. Personality tests, at their best, are a combination of information and misinformation, truth and fiction, cobbled together. We have recommended for years that Christians refrain from using personality tests and, if possible, refuse to take them. Understanding the self comes from the Bible, not from the imaginative and even educated guesses of humans, who are by nature self-deceived.
Christians should not administer or take the MBTI or its variations. For both biblical and scientific reasons, the MBTI and its variations should not be used to evaluate individuals for Christian service or for personal understanding. Contrary to the Bible, contrary to its apparent occult roots, and contrary to the scientific research, Christians and Christian organizations continue to use the MBTI and its variations. This cannot be pleasing to God!
http://www.psychoheresy-aware.org/personality_cult13_2.html
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Christianity and the Occult
Here is a link to a sermon by John Piper. It is very good.
http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/sermons/jesus-vs-the-occult
image from soundof grace.com
PoetryandWildRoses: Stand in the ways and see...
PoetryandWildRoses: Stand in the ways and see...: "Thus says the Lord: 'Stand in the ways and see, And ask for the old paths, where the good way is, And walk in it; Then you will find res..."
Monday, January 24, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Psalm 145
1I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.
2Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.
3Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.
4One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.
5I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works.
6And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and I will declare thy greatness.
7They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness.
8The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.
9The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.
10All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless thee.
11They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power;
12To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.
13Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.
14The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.
15The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.
16Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.
17The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.
18The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.
19He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.
20The LORD preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy.
21My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.
From biblegateway.com
Thursday, January 20, 2011
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