Pulpit Pimps

This weekend I found a few new blogs and all were really worth reading. I have gotten permission to link to only one so far: Pulpit Pimps by Melvin Jones. Evidently, when some ungodly fence-straddler decided all Christian men were to become so polite they had to be nice to false teachers, Jones burned his copy of the memo.

Melvin Jones seems determined to expose the lies of the Word-Faith movement. Word- Faith is the brand of non-christianity that includes folks like Benny Hinn, Joyce Meyers, Kenneth Copeland, and so forth. Some call it Word-Faith, Word of Faith, Prosperity Gospel, Health and Wealth, Name It and Claim It. (I like Blab-it-and-grab-it myself.) These folks have gone well past simply being Charismatic and pushing certain gifts all out of proportion. They have actually gone into damnable heresy--the sort of heresy that will damn a man's soul. For instance, Copeland has said outright that God has a body, making him more Mormon than Christian.

So, Jones is making war on these folks. He's in a segment of the body of Christ in which he will pay a heavy price for his convictions. But he doesn't care. Pray for our brother, Melvin Jones. He is doing a great work and it seems he has a lot of readers. That's good.

While surfing this weekend I came across three other sites like Jones'. They are all good. There is Theology Today,
Doctrinetalk.com, and Pastor John's Site, in addition to Pulpit Pimps.

Pastor John's Site is by Rev. John Coleman. His site is not dedicated to battling Word-Faith heresy. It is a general site from an LA pastor and it includes warnings about Word-Faith along with general teachings. He has an excellent section on the nutty, heretical quotes Billy Graham has made over the years.

Getting back to Melvin Jones and Pulpit Pimps, I don't want to overdo my praise of the guy. I barely know of him. However, what's refreshing about all these sites is their straight talk. (Read Jones' "About Me" section and see the price and hassle he has already overcome to become straight in the faith.) They talk like men. Godly men. Go read their stuff. Then go read Team Pyro or Tim Challies. The difference you will find is both staggering and significant. At Pyro, if you find an article on an Emergent heretic for instance, you will first read a number of paragraphs about what that particular heretic says that is right. Couldn't you do the same with a Watchtower magazine? Or the Book Of Mormon?

A better question is, "Is that what Jesus, the apostles, and the prophets did?" The obvious answer is "no." Jesus made it clear to all who heard Him that the teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees were wrong. No one had to guess or parse words to understand. So why don't we talk like men? Are we cowardly? Too afraid to be disliked, so that we have to put sugar on the medicine so nobody notices, not even the ones who need it most? Is this a hangover from the pop-evangelical bromide of the 70's when we were told over and over it's bad to be negative? We were supposed to be always positive. Back then I would ask if the Bible was always positive and the answer given was "no." But then biblical reasoning didn't really make much difference.

Some of you will remember when I had the nerve to suggest at Team Pyro that we ought not use gender-altered Bible versions because they were intentionally changed for reasons that had to do with pleasing certain political groups. Phil Johnson and Frank Turk then proceded to make excuses as to why it's okay to do so and chastise me for being a hillbilly in a straw hat who didn't even know the languages anyhow, so why don't I just go away and shut up. My, my. How dare I, calling sin sin. When I told them I have taught both Greek and Hebrew at the college level I didn't get an apology--big surprise, huh?.

On most sites you will find Evangelical males (notice I did't say "men") who, when they have to deal with false teaching, do so in such a gentle way one has to read for 20 minutes before one can find out whose side they're on. Why? Because it's considered impolite to say things like "liar." Why have we become so uncomfortable with such a word? Jesus said much worse than that all the time to false teachers. We're women, not men. Shame on us.

I pray that brothers like Melvin Jones and John Coleman never become like the rest of Evangelicalism. That would be a sad day.

In Christ,
Phil Perkins. PS--If you're doctrinally straight, but won't stand, what difference does it make? Fear Him Who has power to destroy both body and soul in the flames of hell.