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The Great
Apostasy: The Lost Sign now available on DVD!
Finally the Christian Sentinel’s highly acclaimed 90-minute presentation
that shows many popular television and radio evangelists engaged in the very
act of deception, often while fleecing God’s flock, is available in the
DVD format for $19.95.
For more information or to order click here.
Meanwhile the price of the VHS (video) version has been dropped to $15.95,
but if you are an E-update reader, we can still offer this video to you for
$10, plus $1 shipping if you pay by check or money order.
Click here to go to the order form.
Nonprofit
Watchdog Group Urges Donors to Consider Not
Supporting the Christian Research Institute
In addition to our story (below right) about
Wallwatchers slamming the Trinity
Broadcasting Network, it has also issued
a Donor Alert pertaining to the
scandal-ridden Christian Research Institute
headed by Hank Hanegraaff. It
states: "MinistryWatch.com
advises donors to prayerfully consider
whether they should withhold contributions
to CRI until its leadership addresses donors’
concerns regarding the ministry’s
management and financial practices. We
believe donors are entitled to make educated
and knowledgeable choice concerning the
ministries they support based on all the
facts about a ministry. Until CRI
management answers questions about its board’s
size and composition, reporting
relationships, financial control systems,
use of resources, and policies and
procedures for employee grievances,
MinistryWatch.com recommends that donors
contact CRI seeking an explanation and
consider supporting any number of other
excellent ministries who have demonstrated
transparency and treated donors honorably.
" Wallwatchers also criticized
the Evangelical Council for Financial
Accountability for behavior that can easily
be construed as cover up for the
alleged transgressions and unaccountability of Hanegraaff and other CRI leaders. To
read our full article that includes
editorial comment by Bill Alnor and helpful links pertaining to CRI,
click here. In this link we also
give you a contact address and links of
discernment ministries that we believe
deserve your support!
____________________________
DVD of Bill Alnor speaking at summer UFO
conference in Roswell!
BILL ALNOR SPEAKING
OUT ON THE ALIEN AGENDA AT SUMMER ROSWELL
UFO CONFERENCE...
Bill Alnor's
July 2004 talk in Roswell, N.M. now available on
DVD.
During the Ancient of Days biblical UFO
conference over the July 4 weekend, Bill
presented UFO enthusiasts' contactee
experiences "in their own words"
and found them wanting -- and
unbiblical. Bill convincingly showed the UFO agenda for
what it really is: the promotion of an
anti-Christian religion that alters the
person, nature and work of Jesus Christ
under the guise of fellowship with so-called
benevolent aliens. Bill also talked about
the history of UFOlogy and how it has gone
in an increasingly religious direction. The
DVD also shows Bill under fire from a few
spirited skeptics. (Bill is also scheduled
to speak at this year's UFO conference in
Roswell, considered to be the UFO capital of
the world.) In recent years Roswell has been
hosting the annual UFO festival to
commemorate the alleged UFO crash nearby in
1947. Cost of Bill’s DVD is $15: To go to
the order form, click here. (Since this is a
new product and not produced by The
Christian Sentinel, allow several weeks for
delivery.) The
conference was hosted by the Alien
Resistance Headquarters (headed by Guy
Malone) that operates opposite the Roswell UFO museum
that seeks to give Christian answers for the
UFO phenomenon. Websites:
www.alienresistance.org and www.ancientofdays.net.
______________________________
RESOURCES FOR THE TEACHING
OF INTELLIGENT DESIGN
Although in the past the Alnors and The Christian Sentinel have
chiefly concerned themselves with issues like the cults and the occult,
false doctrine in the church, Roman Catholicism and other matters concerned
with maintaining the boundaries between orthodox Christianity and error, we
have drifted into related fields from time to time. In recent years we have
been concerned with the issue of ethics in ministry as we have seen many
abuses in this area. But we do have strong feelings about other issues
considered to be in the realm of social apologetics. Among them include a
rejection of secular humanism and a repudiation of the theory of evolution
in favor of creationism. An encouraging sign lately has been the growth of
acceptance among scholars and educators of the Intelligent Design Theory,
which states that there had to be intelligence behind creation; it is
illogical not to see the obvious. This is essentially what happened in the
recent highly publicized conversion of former atheist Antony Flew to embrace
the Intelligent Design Theory. Recently Bill Alnor asked some of his
colleagues in apologetics for resources in the area, and they provided
numerous sources for him that are accessible on the Internet. Two of the
most important websites cited are the
Intelligent Design and Evolution Awareness Center (Ideacenter) site and
the Intelligent Design
Network, but there are many more resources that we can point you to.
To see our resource list of sites click here.
It is our hope that you can use these resources to persuade people away from
the discredited idea of evolution. And these Intelligent Design ideas have
a right to be heard in our schools and universities – lobby educators in
this regard!
__________________________
BILL ALNOR'S INVESTIGATION
OF PHONY DEGREES IN THE CHURCH IS CONTINUING
As revealed in the last
E-update published in August, a scourge of
phony degrees and suspect credentials are
plaguing the church -- and some who practice
apologetics are also involved in this practice. Although a few
people took exception to the article, dozens of
colleagues in ministry came forward providing information
about other Christian leaders holding suspect
credentials, especially doctorates, often
without attending a day of class. Many of these so-called "doctors"
are nationally-known Christian leaders who have never been involved in writing a guided report of
original research usually known as a
dissertation or thesis that almost all legitimate doctoral programs require.
Other so-called "doctors" were using their honorary doctorates conferred on
them by suspect institutions to imply earned degrees, which is a practice
considered dishonest in academia and therefore it rarely done in the secular
world. Other Christian leaders have sought out suspect institutions of
higher education and have turned in books already written or works in
progress as dissertations, which is also not considered honest.
Dissertations are original guided research projects.
The response to Dr. Alnor's report was
encouraging with many declaring it was "long overdue." The Christian Sentinel
will release more information on this subject
in the future. The report did anger one
prominent scholar, Dr. Norman Geisler founder of
Southern Evangelical Seminary near
Charlotte. To continue
reading this article, click here.
______________________________
Read
Christian
Sentinel President Bill Alnor's book,
UFO Cults and the New Millennium.
Price slash to $5 continues.
In this 1998 book, which normally retails for $14.99,
is now available for $5.
 |
To go to
the order form click here.
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_____________
Why
am I receiving this E-update?
If you have received this E-mail from
Bill Alnor and cultlink.com and did not
want to receive it, we apologize to
you. Most people were added to
this list by signing up for it from our
home page. If you want to be
removed write bill@cultlink.com
and place "remove" in the subject
line.
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HAPPY NEW YEAR from Bill Alnor
and the Christian Sentinel!
As we head toward the relaunch of our news and feature magazine,
make sure to give us your physical address if you want to receive a
subscription. For now we are continuing with our policy of complementary
one year subscriptions to those who ask. We have contracted with a printer
who will also be handling the mailing from Pennsylvania. We anticipate it
occurring in February. Meanwhile we are still based here in South Texas
where things are going well. Jackie is keeping herself extremely busy
these days and the kids are doing well. I am midway through my third
year directing the journalism program at
Texas A&M – Kingsville an hour south of Corpus Christi.
At the same time we go into this near year with some measure of grief and
sadness over the Tsunami disaster that has stricken
the South Asia area, including Malaysia, Indonesia
and the Indian Ocean nations, killing well over 100,000 people. If you
want to help relieve the suffering, be
careful! One ministry warning of
scams, has
issued a "recommended list" of relief ministries.
Truly these are evil days. But the good
news is that as we look at
these terrible events coming upon the world
there is more evidence that the Lord
may be returning soon! May God bless you in this new
year! --
Bill Alnor, Ph.D.
______________________________________________
News
items this issue:
-- Joyce Meyer: why you should not support her.
(Special package, including two old Christian Sentinel
articles and a new research report now put on
line for the first time.)
-- Update on the Trinity Broadcasting Network. (Below)
-- Special: Trinity
Broadcasting and Hank Hanegraaff's Christian Research Institute both have
donor alerts issued against them by Wallwatchers urging potential donors
to consider not giving them any money.
-- Bill Alnor's opinion on the appearance of Ravi Zacharias at the Mormon
Tabernacle in Salt Lake City on Nov. 14.
Was it a bad thing?
-- Resources promoting the Intelligent Design Theory.
(See introduction bottom left.)
-- Is it the beginning of the end for the cult-like church in the
Philadelphia region pastored by Frederick Drummond?
-- Update on phony degrees and a response to
Dr. Norman Geisler.
-- Thoughts on the passing of Dr. Ed Robb
_______________________________________________
Good Reasons not to Support Joyce Meyer -- at
all
As
the influence of St. Louis area-based television and radio teacher Joyce
Meyer continues to grow, and with many churches using her teaching materials
in weekly Bible studies, The
Christian Sentinel urges readers to not support Meyer. Further,
we call for you to take action by contacting pastors and Christian leaders
who are irresponsibly allowing Meyer’s materials into their churches. The
evidence shows that although Meyer is orthodox and biblically based in some
areas, she also teaches dangerous Word-faith doctrines that are unbiblical
and destructive. These teachings include her idea that one can simply
confess away any illness, or that one can demand riches from God, and the
related ideas that stem from the mistaken notion that there is power in
one’s words to reorder the universe. Word-faith doctrines also have led to
the “prosperity gospel,” “name it and claim it,” or “blab and grab”
theology, which Meyer thoroughly affirms. Therefore, her entire message
should be rejected until she repents of these false teachings. In addition,
we have concerns about her lifestyle and fundraising methods and her long
time association with some of the most heretical false teachers imaginable.
Many of them join her in appearing on the scandalized Trinity Broadcasting
Network. With this statement we are providing a special new article that
outlines her Word-faith teachings that begins just below. We are also
putting on line for the first time two articles that appeared in the
September 1994 and the Spring 1995 Christian Sentinels.
Click here for access.
These articles, written around the time Meyer started to become well known,
outline the fact that Meyer was leading a crowd into the false, discredited
“holy laughter” movement that swept across the globe during that era. She
also misused Scripture in attempting to defend
herself. In addition, her
lifestyle, ministry wealth, false teachings and fundraising methods were the
subject of a Nov. 13 to 19, 2003 exposé that appeared in the
St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Click here to see the Meyer
family's compound from the newspaper series. Other photos from the
series are also available at the previously mentioned St. Louis Post-Dispatch
site. The Wallwatcher's report
on the Joyce Meyer ministries is also well worth reading. It does
present evidence of false teachings in the area of
prosperity as raises concerns.
Other Discernment Voices have also Issued Warnings
... Although the Christian Sentinel was one of the earlier voices to
emerge warning about Meyer and her teachings, other ministries have done the
same. We heartily endorse the research of Personal Freedom Outreach (PFO)
as researchers G. Richard Fisher and Paul Belli have also exposed her
teachings. See Vol. 16, No.1 of the PFO Journal’s article titled
"Doctrinal Ambiguity of a
Wandering Star -- the Changing
Views of Joyce Meyer" and in Vol. 19,
No. 2, "The
Preacher Who Doesn't Tell It Like It Is."
PFO produced a third piece on Meyer In Vol. 22, No. 2 that we also endorse
titled “Mired in Confusion and Mysticism Demonology and Spiritual Warfare
According to Joyce Meyer.” This article is not yet on line, but you can
obtain it through PFO. PFO’s main website is
http://www.pfo.org. To
examine
PFO’s index (which also shows how to receive articles not yet on line) go to
http://www.pfo.org/res2a.htm. We can also endorse Bob Waldrep’s recent
article that shows Meyer’s Word-faith leanings that is titled
"What Joyce
Wants, Joyce Gets." Bob, the Alabama state director of the
respected Watchman Fellowship, also points out that there is direct evidence
of Meyer’s Word-faith teachings at her website at
http://tinyurl.com/3q2la.
SPECIAL:
Does Joyce Meyer Teach Word-Faith Doctrines?
Editor’s
note: Recently researchers Marcia Montenegro
and Denette Hales answered an inquiry about
Joyce Meyer on a listserv called
"AR-Talk." They researched
Meyer's beliefs following a report that she
recanted a statement that Jesus went to hell
to pay for sins. Montenegro, a
long-time colleague in apologetics who
directs Christian Answers for the New Age (CANA)
out of Arlington, Va., has granted us
permission to run their analysis that
follows. Her website is at http://cana.userworld.com
Recently,
someone on this list posed the question as
to whether Joyce Meyer was really Word-Faith
since she recanted her statement that Jesus
went to hell to pay for sins. Click
here to continue to read the analysis.
TAKEOVER OF THE TRINITY
BROADCASTING NETWORK URGED!
Wallwatchers,
an independent ministry that monitors
religious organizations and often
investigates their trustworthiness has
called for establishment of an independent
commission to take over governance of
Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) in the
wake of the scandal that continues to unfold
at the world’s largest Christian
Network. It started with a September
14, 2004 report in the Los Angeles Times
that TBN was involved in a pay off of more
than $400,000 to silence a former chauffer
of TBN founder Paul Crouch whom he has
alleged he was involved in homosexual trysts
with. There have been many
developments in the case since the story
(and subsequent series) broke, and now TBN
and the Los Angeles Times are doing battle
in the courts. Watch for much more
action on this front in 2005.
Wallwatcher’s
recommendation for the takeover of TBN
has apparently fallen on deaf ears.
This also contains links to the Times
series. In addition to The
Christian Sentinel reporting on various
scandals and false teachings going on at TBN
for more than a decade, another good
resource on TBN and related scandals is the Apologetics
Index entry. Last year The
Christian Sentinel
launched a boycott against TBN and we
urge a continuation of that action. See
our index of articles in our website
that deal with TBN,
and also our article "In
Bed with TBN."
DONORS
URGED NOT TO CONTRIBUTE
TO TBN
… Now
Wallwatchers, which runs the MinistryWatch.com
web site is also urging donors to not
support TBN financially by issuing a "Donor
Alert" that
states,
in part: "Facts
regarding the financial affairs of Trinity
Broadcasting Network (TBN) should cause
donors to prayerfully consider supporting
other Christian ministries that will achieve
the donor’s objective in a manner that is
more transparent and reveals a more
efficient and effective use of contributed
funds. Huge excess funds, high salaries and
very low spending on ministry purposes are
grave concerns for donors, particularly when
so many other worthy ministries are
struggling to find the money to meet the
needs of the people the Lord has called them
to serve."
__________________________________________________________________________
January 2006 Update
- Editor's note
The text in the following article was altered in January 2006 to reflect
some important changes. But if anyone would like to see the original
Jan. 2005 article that discussed the Nov. 14, 2004 Mormon Temple incident,
please write Dr. Alnor at bill@cultlink.com.
We do not later alter the text in Christian Sentinel E-updates because
after all, history is history. But there were reasons, though not
legal reasons, why we are now giving a different article. Privately
write for more details.
The Christian
Sentinel
endorses the statement prepared by Evangelical Ministries to New Religions
concerning Fuller Seminary President Richard Mouw’s "apology"
on Nov. 14, 2004 at the Mormon Tablernacle in Salt Lake City on behalf of
Christians. In Mouw’s remarks, delivered just before prominent
apologist Dr. Ravi Zacharias’ historic talk, Mouw said Christians had born
"false witness" against Mormonism. Later, when asked to explain
himself, Mouw declared that the late Walter Martin and author Dave Hunt had
misrepresented Mormonism, but he did not answer inquires on how exactly they
had done this. We have therefore concluded that Mouw slandered the
work of these two godly men and hurt the cause of many ministries involved
in evangelizing Mormons. The EMNR statement, which is available at
http://www.emnr.org/mouw_press_release.html, concludes:
"Dr. Mouw’s comments were irresponsible, shameful and
hypocritical. He bore false witness against many fruitful ministries
that want nothing more than to present a clear and accurate case when it
comes to the teachings of Mormonism and the presentation of the gospel and
the Christ of Scripture. Given how he has defined `bearing false
witness,’ we are unclear how Dr. Mouw can think his broad brush accusations
were any less a sin than the stereotypes he claims have been foisted on
Mormons. Dr. Richard Mouw owes an apology to the many missionaries and
ministries he has undermined."
While we are not holding our breath for an apology from Mouw, we also
believe the appearance of Christian singer Michael Card at the event could
also have been misconstrued. Some reported that his comments and
song selections were ill-advised, an observation that we have not
confirmed. Did Card give the crowd (and the Mormon Church that is
eager for recognition) the impression as some have alleged that all in
attendance were indeed brothers in Christ? Make no mistake about it:
Mormonism is a thoroughly corrupt false religious system, and the Jesus of
Mormonism and the god of Mormonism are not the ones of the Bible.
Bill
Alnor now believes that Zacharias should have immediately taken public
issue with Dr. Mouw at the event.
This represents a change in Alnor's position following more study.
By not doing so and taking the path of accommodation to deception only
made things worse. (
Zacharias’ letter explaining the event and what he spoke about is available
at his web site.
http://www.rzim.org/faqs/newstext.php?id=64)
Alnor also now disagrees with
some of the actions of the organizers and facilitators of this event, including
Dr. Craig Hazen, who introduced an inappropriate prayer at the gathering.
Alnor has told Hazen of his disagreement and dialogued with him about
it. Alnor told him that he believes Christians were far too
accommodating to Mormonism, a thoroughly corrupt and false religious
system. While Hazen and others may believe that an approach of
dialoguing with Mormon leaders is the best way to go to pull them to the
truth of the true Gospel, Alnor believes that overly accommodating them
during these discussions is naive. This is also not
the biblical approach when confronting the kingdom of the cults.
While there is nothing wrong with dialoguing with the leaders of false
religious systems, there can be no accommodation with a corrupt religious system that
denies virtually all the essentials of the Christian faith while at the
same time teaches an eventual godhood for humans, along with the
Mormon lie that Jesus was the spirit brother of Lucifer. In the New
Testament book of Acts the apostles burned the magic occult books of new
converts (Acts 19:19). Similarly, Alnor has gone on to criticize the
recent publication of the controversial book A Different Jesus? The Christ of the Latter-Day
Saints by Mormon apologist Robert L. Millet by a Christian publishing
house, William B. Eerdmans.
At the same time, Bill Alnor
disagrees with the unchristlike attitude, including name-calling and
personal insults exhibited by some who have criticized the
event. One highly
controversial apologist used the incident to solicit funds for his university and seminary that he is trying to
start. "We need several thousand dollars to get up and rolling," he
declared. "Then we will give the liberals a heart attack by educating
Bible-believing pastors, missionaries, and scholars."
Finally today, more
than a year later, there are a few
folks who continue to exhibit unwise behavior/reactions to the incident,
thus generating more heat than light. One of them, a renegade
Christian apologist with a checkered past, operates with little
accountability or Christian maturity and appears to have little
biblical/discipleship or ministry training. He has
repeatedly accused Bill Alnor in vicious e-mail attacks that he has sent
out worldwide to dozens of Christian leaders of being pro Mormon --
because Alnor he denounced the excesses mentioned above (i.e., name-calling
insults, etc.). This man did not bother to discuss the issue
directly with the Alnors, despite direct appeals to do so. The
individual has engaged in direct threats against the Alnors and has
even made false, slanderous statements against Bill Alnor concerning this
and other issues. In one telephone conversation the man declared
that he was going to come after Alnor "with his hair on fire" if
Alnor did not do what he wanted.
Various
others in countercult/apologetics ministries have
now also checked in on the issue. The renegade has apparently engaged in
what some consider harassing behavior towards other evangelicals
in the discernment field -- if they don't agree with him and go along with
his demands. Bill and Jackie Alnor urge all Christians to not
believe all voices out there who purport to be in discernment ministry and to follow Paul's advice to "mark those who cause divisions among
you ... and avoid them" (Rom. 16:17). Do not allow yourselves to be driven
by angry people who operate on wrath and indignation rather than through
the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Bill Alnor is considering writing a
statement/article on these incidents, and so if you have any further information
to share, please pass it along to bill@cultlink.com.
____________________________________________
Words on the Passing of Ed Robb, a good soldier
We mourn the Dec. 14 death of Dr. Edmund Robb in his hometown
of
Marshall, Texas.
Robb was a prominent United Methodist minister with a high view of Scripture
who firmly stood against rampant liberalism in his denomination. He was
also a founder of the Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD), and was a
leader “in almost every major United Methodist revewal movement, including
Good News, the Mission Society for United Methodists, the Confessing
Movement, and the Foundation for Theological Education.”
To go to IRD’s
press release on his passing click here.
_________________________________________________
Is
the cultlike
Church of Our Saviour in the Philadelphia
area pastored by Frederick Drummond finally going down?
We hope so. Beatings, fraud, law suits, homosexual allegations and lurid
sexual allegations aimed at its leadership have been aptly reported by the
press for more than 30 years. Now in recent days charges of child
molestation have surfaced at the church, which is also known as the
Evangelical Spirit Filled Church of America. Meanwhile, former
members have put up a website that shares news about the sect and offers
support and information. It’s at
http://www.cosnews.org. Included in the website are newspaper
articles detailing the sect, some of which were written by Bill Alnor
almost 20 years ago when he was a reporter with
The Delaware County Daily Times!
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