Another promise to faithless Israel

Lev 26:27 And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me;
Lev 26:28 Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.
Lev 26:29 And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat.
Lev 26:30 And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcasses upon the carcasses of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.
Lev 26:31 And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savor of your sweet odors.
Lev 26:32 And I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it.
Lev 26:33 And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.

God's Promises to Israel

I read this on the former Phoenix Preacher's new BLOG and it got me thinking:

As a “dispensational” Christian I believe that God still has a plan for Israel and He will keep His ancient promises to her.

Which promises particularly? How about this promise?

Deu 29:19 And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst:
Deu 29:20 The LORD will not spare him, but then the anger of the LORD and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the LORD shall blot out his name from under heaven.
Deu 29:21 And the LORD shall separate him unto evil out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this book of the law:
Deu 29:22 So that the generation to come of your children that shall rise up after you, and the stranger that shall come from a far land, shall say, when they see the plagues of that land, and the sicknesses which the LORD hath laid upon it;
Deu 29:23 And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath:
Deu 29:24 Even all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this land? what meaneth the heat of this great anger?
Deu 29:25 Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt:
Deu 29:26 For they went and served other gods, and worshiped them, gods whom they knew not, and whom he had not given unto them:
Deu 29:27 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against this land, to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this book:
Deu 29:28 And the LORD rooted them out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day.

As a non-Dispensational Christian, I can say that we've already been there, done that. 70 AD!

Collecting the bad press in one place

One of my favorite sites, thereligionofpeace.com exposes Islamic terrorism. The really cool thing about it is that it is a portal basically into stories that end up deeply buried in the mainstream press. It's sort of a Drudge Report on Islam. Here's a start on the negative press that CC has gotten in the past few years:

* Unaccountable at Calvary Chapel (Christianity Today)
* Day of Reckoning (Christianity Today)
* Calvary Reunion: Skip Heitzig Returns to N.M. (Christianity Today)
* Christian school sues University of California over requirements (Christianity Today)
* Yet Another Painful Calvary Chapel Story
* On the Independence of Calvary Chapel Congregations
* How Your Emerging Church Can Stay in Calvary Chapel, Inc
* Chuck Smith’s view of church history
* (Stand to Reason) Calvary Chapel Rejects Contemplative and Emergent Spirituality!
* Calvary Chapel gives up lawsuit with radio network
* Getting Back To Nurture by Chuck Smith, Jr
* Calvary Chapel Pastor Speaks Out (and shows his ignorance)
* Teen admits role in Calvary Chapel fire
* Calvary Chapel Revisted
* Calvary Chapel and Chuck Smith
* The Chuck Smiths on Emergent Church

I think this is just the tip of the iceberg.

The other CC BLOGs

There are a couple of even more anemic BLOGs that have risen from the ashes of the Phoenix Preacher. They are all heavily moderated so if you have a comment don't expect it to be posted without moderation. Here's the ones I have found so far:

* http://michaelnewnham.com/ - Michael's stream of consciousness BLOG that has become even more self absorbed than ever before. There are no comments allowed in the new BLOG. The only reason worth reading it at all is to watch his character continue to disintegrate.
* From the Ashes - This one has some occasional points but is so heavily moderated as to be nearly completely useless. It's not just from the ashes, it's all ashes itself.

There may be others. Let us know.

Fleeing the Sinking Ship

Another church chooses to leave Calvary Chapel over the words of Chuck Smith:

http://www.koinoniafellowship.com/independent.htm

For many in the Calvary Chapel movement the poster child for this issue was David Hocking. Check out the Calvary Chapel Wiki entry on Hocking for the story.

Church Discipline is a mark of the true church. What will Koinonia Fellowship do to increase transparency at their church? Or will this be just another division?

Death of the Phoenix Preacher BLOG

It's official. It gives me little pleasure to announce that the Phoenix Preacher BLOG is dead.

Coward?

Let's keep the spirit alive. All are welcome to post here. Note that our committment has not weakened against Calvary Chapel regardless of the reaction of the Phoenix Preacher.

Being an ethical minister

Here's a prototype of an Ethical Standard for Ministers.

Why is this relevant?

1. Apparently CC has no ethical standards.
2. This standard makes it unethical to participate in a church that was formerly pastored.