Ben Shapiro, Leighton Flowers, and Calvinism

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If anyone wants to know what Calvinists believe and the problems with their logic and theology, check out this video by former 5-point Calvinist, Leighton Flowers:  "Ben Shapiro Questions Calvinism as defined by Allie Stuckey".

 This is an hour-long video of Leighton watching the interview between Allie and Ben.  He pauses the video often to point out what Calvinists believe, their contradictions, the ways they misunderstand Scripture, the things they say to "manipulate" people into agreeing with them, and the illogicalness of their beliefs.  Very well-done!  And very right on the mark!

 Also visit his great blog where he regularly speaks out against Calvinism: Soteriology 101.

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Be Wary Of The Christian Post

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(Written 6/15/18)  Occasionally, I check in with the Christian Post to see what's going on in the world that specifically relates to Christians.  And generally, I've never really had any red flags go up about this website ... until now. A recent article by Stoyan Zaimov, with a title that starts "Christian Lesbian rock star ..." goes on to share this woman's story about being assaulted by a male priest when she was young.   However, I don't think the reason for this article is to talk about the abuse she suffered and her courage in speaking up.  I think this is a deliberate attempt to affirm Christian homosexuality.  The very fact that they put "Christian" and "lesbian" in the title makes it sound like it's indeed possible to be a Christian and a practicing homosexual who sees no need to change. And it seems to me that this article paints her in a heroic light, as though she is in the right and should be applauded and e
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My Panic Attack (repost)

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(Reposted from my blog, https://myimpressionisticlife.blogspot.com , from 2016.   A really bad year for me.) I wrote this in the post called “Random Facts about Me.  Just for Fun!” on my other blog.  It’s #64 on the list.  But I think it deserves its own post.  So I am reposting it here, because it fits with the theme of this blog.   If you’ve ever had a panic attack, maybe you can relate.  I hope not, though.  Because panic attacks suck!             64.   I had a small panic attack three days ago (May 30, 2016).  It’s the first one I’ve ever had and I don’t plan on ever having another one.  [I also once had a minor nervous breakdown during my parents’ very messy divorce.  It was so bad that the only way I could start breathing and stop crying was to flee from everything, to jump in the car with my husband and two kids and run away to the middle of nowhere for a little while.]
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Sermons by Tony Evans (repost)

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(I recently fixed the broken links as well as I could, had to switch some out for others) Tony Evans is my all-time favorite pastor.  He always gives messages that convict, challenge, and comfort.  Here are some sermons that I have listened to or am going to listen to.  For more, simply go to his website by clicking here .  There are so many great ones to choose from. You can't go wrong with any video of his.  I found him to be the most biblically-accurate preacher (especially as I researched Calvinism and found out how wrong it is), who is also great at helping us practically apply God's truths to life. Reversing Anxiety Consequences Keeping the faith when life gets hard Trusting God in a storm How to have strength in your struggles How to overcome your worry How to Get Your Prayers Answered Trusting The God You Believe In God knows what He is doing How the enemy tries to distract you from God's plan Grab your sword The Secret to Powerful Prayer Spiritual Warfare playl
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Help for Anxiety, Depression, and Suicidal Thoughts

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It's so sad to hear about all the celebrities who have recently committed suicide (or about anyone who has committed suicide, for that matter).  My heart breaks for them, for the pain they went through, and for the ones who love them, for the pain they are now going through.  It is truly a tragedy. To anyone who is hurting really badly, who is struggling with overwhelming anxiety or depression, who is considering taking their own lives ... I dedicate this post.  Please, take some time to look through some of the links here.  This is a round-up of some on-line resources or posts about dealing with anxiety or depression, particularly as a Christian. But first: Quick tips for help: If you are desperate for some immediate help and don't want to look through the links I have below, try some of these: 1.   Put on a worship song right now.  Or sing a worship song out loud.  (Or watch some Tony Evans sermons for encouragement, find a list by clicking here .)  If demo
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Calvinism for beginners

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How do you help someone understand the errors, dangers, and cult-like tactics of Calvinism when they aren't even really sure yet what it is or what it teaches?  Where do you start?   My kids know that my husband and I believe Calvinism is a corruption of God's truth and character.  They know because we left our church over it in 2019 - the church they grew up in for many years - and because we haven't stopped researching and talking... venting?... lamenting?... complaining?... about it since. They know we want them to avoid it.  But I'm not sure how much they really understand  for themselves  what it is and why it's wrong... or if they would know how to recognize it if they encountered it unexpectedly in a church or book, if we weren't there to point it out and explain it.   And so to help them (teenagers right now) understand for themselves what it teaches and why it's wrong, we recommended that they watch some Soteriology 101 videos about it.  But then af
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Is God Drawing Lines in the Sand?

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(reposted again, from another blog of mine) It’s amazing and disturbing how brazen our society is in attacking everything about God and everything He created:   marriage, monogamy, sex, family, sexuality, the scientific reality of gender, morality, modesty, the value of a person, the right to life, the existence of "right and wrong," the Bible, Jesus, and Absolute Truth.   Not to mention God Himself, His very existence.   We are destroying everything associated with Him (except nature – we worship that), and then we call ourselves "progressive." But you know what I think about it all? I think that God is letting it happen because He is drawing lines in the sand.   Through all these divisive issues and all the immorality, God is saying “Pick a side!   I am forcing you to decide which side you want to be on ... because I am coming back soon to take My people out of here.  So I need you all to decide:  Me or the world?  Which do you choose?&q
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It's Time To Be Horrified!

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(Published on my other blog in 2015.  And it's only gotten so much worse since then.) As our society seems to be going to “hell in a hand-basket,” do you ever wonder where God is in all of this?   The economy sucks.                Our religious rights are being trimmed away.                Schools are focusing less on academics and more on creating an anti-God worldview and the “morality” and social characteristics that they want.                Laws are being made which are having detrimental impacts on people, families, businesses, and economics.                Morality and modesty are “old-fashioned” concepts.    Flagrant sexuality is rampant, and society encourages it as being “open-minded, progressive, and free from oppressive restraints.”                You can’t say “Merry Christmas” or “God bless you” anymore without someone crying foul.    (Oh yeah, well, I’m going to say it ... “Merry  Christ mas ... Merry  Christ mas ... Merry  Christ mas ... God bless you ... God bless
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Why is Calvinism so dangerous? #10 (Sovereignty)

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  [In this series, I'm breaking the long post   "Why is Calvinism so dangerous?"   into bite-sized pieces.] 10. The Bible shows that ...   "Sovereignty" means that God is the highest authority there is.    There is no one above Him and no one He is accountable to.  (I say it's perfectly fine to end a sentence with a preposition.)  He has the power to do whatever He wants.  And as seen in the Bible all over the place, part of what He wants is to allow us to make decisions, within any boundaries He sets up.  He wants us to want Him, to willingly choose to love and worship and obey Him, not to be forced to or programmed to.   (Anyone else singing "I Want You to Want Me" from Cheap Trick right now?  If you weren't, you will be now.  Ha ha ha!)  Forced love can never be true love.   And being sovereign and all-knowing, He knows ahead of time what we will choose to do and how He can work it all into something good, to accomplish His over-arching plan
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When Things Don't Turn Out The Way You Wanted (repost)

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(A repost from my other blog, Love, Heal Me , one of the last posts I wrote there, dated August 2017.  Updated slightly.) What happens when you’ve poured your heart and soul into something you thought God wanted you to do … and yet it doesn’t work out, maybe it even made things worse?   What do you do then? Throughout the past 5 years (up till August 2017), I have been posting things on-line on my blogs.   In the beginning, I felt like God wanted me to do it.   I believed that I had words of wisdom and truth and encouragement to share.   I really wanted to use my story to help others, to bring people closer together and closer to God, to make people feel less alone in their struggles and pain, and to bring glory to God’s name. But I can probably count on one, maybe two, hands how many page-views my blogs get in any given week.   (Thank you to anyone who has visited.   I noticed every time you did.   And it meant a lot to me.)   But this is something I expected because I am not te
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According to the Concordance ... It's NOT (Calvinist) Predestination!

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(Part of the "Predestination vs. Free-Will" series) As I have studied this issue of “predestination vs. free-will,” I have found it immensely helpful and clarifying to look up certain words in Strong’s Concordance.   The concordance lists each word of the Bible, what it means in the original Greek or Hebrew, and how the word is being used in that particular verse.   I used to be really scared of looking up words in the concordance.   I was afraid that I would learn that my “free-will” view was wrong all along.   But I was determined to learn the truth, even if I didn’t like it. But, thankfully, the more I have looked up words and their meanings, the more convinced I have become that the Calvinist view of "predestination" is not correct.  That salvation is a choice, that it’s not predetermined for us by God.   God has made salvation available to all.   We have the responsibility to choose whether to believe in God or to reject Him.   And we will justly reap the
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