Category: Warren Throckmorton

The Reduced Version of Gateway Church's Solemn Assembly Will Solemnly Assemble Tomorrow

Remember the huge solemn assembly of 75,000 pastors Gateway Church pastor Robert Morris promised his congregation? Here is what he said last year about it.

You know, I was just standing here thinking, I am really, really glad, to be in church.  I’m just, I just, really enjoyed worship.  And I hope you feel the same way.  Um, I will, just to let all of you know, so you can be in prayer and also so I like for you to know things like this because it’s, we feel like at Gateway Church, obviously we’re part of the body of Christ  and um God has given me a role, in the body of Christ as well. So I’m speaking at the Southlake campus on Saturday, uh but on Sunday morning I will be at Oakcliff Bible Fellowship with Dr Tony Evans tomorrow morning or this morning if you’re watching this Sunday morning, I hope you got all that figured out.  Um, and Dr Evans and I have been talking about for a while along with some other pastors that we feel have given us leadership in the body of Christ to help.  Uh Dr Ronnie Floyd, is one of these on the Executive Committee with us who’s President of the Southern Baptist Convention.  Um, Sammy Rodriguez uh who’s the head of uh Hispanic congregations all over the world, over 400, 000 churches.
Uh, we are planning, just so you know, we’ve already got, put the reservations and all.  Next July uh we are calling a solemn assembly and asking 75,000 pastors to join us in Cowboy’s Stadium for a day of prayer for our nation, isn’t that good? (applause)

I wonder if Morris, Evans and Kingdom Church Council got their Cowboy stadium reservation deposit back.
The huge mega assembly didn’t happen, but tomorrow a much smaller and perhaps even more solemn assembly will assemble at Gateway Church in Southlake, TX. Now called The Gathering, there will be lots of solemn prayers for the nation as if the U.S.A. was Israel.
thegathering
The sponsors say there isn’t a political agenda, but it seems they can’t help themselves. From the website:

The Gathering is free of political agendas, merchandise, and ministry tents.

But then the prayers will be on behalf of a Christian version of government.
Gathering nation
Sounds like a political agenda to me.
 
 

The Mistake Made by People Who Thought David Barton Did Not Have a PhD

Apparently, the big mistake was listening to David Barton.
In 2011, 2012 and 2015 (at least), David Barton is recorded saying he had no PhD. Watch:

Then in 2015, he told the same story (start watching at 17:47):
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1Qgg-v3AZQ&feature[/youtube]
Call me crazy but I am sure he said he didn’t have a PhD.
It has only been this year that I can find any video references to having a PhD.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpaIQJmJZiM[/youtube]
The above reference is vague but he seems to say in August that he does have a PhD in Education.
Then last week (9/7/16), he chastised “progressives” for saying he didn’t have a PhD but he didn’t say anything about his education. He pointed to diplomas on the stage and said that it was his earned degree.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ivAbp6vX-0[/youtube]
The next day (after the mystery degree was identified as coming from unaccredited Life Christian University), Barton removed the video from You Tube and has not commented publicly on the matter. What is the truth?
So here we are, 10 days later, with no explanation about Barton’s mystery degree.
This is a serious matter. Barton’s bio doesn’t include any PhD and for years, he said he had no PhD. Then he criticized people for believing him and claimed he has an earned PhD. The next day, he removed the claim. However, the claim stands until he explains. By coming out with the bold claim that he has an earned PhD, he now must produce it or explain why he said it and pulled it back.

Sometimes David Barton’s Website is a Good Answer to David Barton

Yesterday, GOP activist David Barton delivered a speech to the Dallas Eagle Forum.  In it, he said that Christian have a responsibility to vote for Donald Trump (see the Right Wing Watch segment).  Barton is now downplaying Trump’s failings by saying the character of the leaders is not important, the person’s policies are what is important. Watch this video on that point. He says, “Righteousness is the public policies you have” as opposed to the leaders who may or may not be righteous.

This is a switch for Barton who has always advised his audiences to vote for people of good character.

God ordained the institutions of civil government and it’s the Bible that provides us with clear guidance about electing God-fearing leaders of moral character and wise judgment. In fact, it’s our duty as Christians to elect such leaders, for Proverbs 29:2 tells us that “When the RIGHTEOUS rule, the people rejoice. But when the WICKED rule, the people groan.” Or, to put it simply, when people of faith elect God-honoring representatives and government, all of America benefits. As Christians, we must take this to heart and vote in the coming elections.

On his website, Barton provides numerous admonitions from early Americans to vote for people of high moral character. For instance, Barton’s citation of Noah Webster is on point.

Noah Webster
In selecting men for office, let principle be your guide. Regard not the particular sect or denomination of the candidate – look to his character. . . . When a citizen gives his suffrage to a man of known immorality he abuses his trust; he sacrifices not only his own interest, but that of his neighbor, he betrays the interest of his country.
[Noah Webster, Letters to a Young Gentleman Commencing His Education to which is subjoined a Brief History of the United States (New Haven: S. Converse, 1823), pp. 18, 19.]

When you become entitled to exercise the right of voting for public officers, let it be impressed on your mind that God commands you to choose for rulers, “just men who will rule in the fear of God.” The preservation of government depends on the faithful discharge of this duty; if the citizens neglect their duty and place unprincipled men in office, the government will soon be corrupted; laws will be made, not for the public good so much as for selfish or local purposes; corrupt or incompetent men will be appointed to execute the laws; the public revenues will be sqandered on unworthy men; and the rights of the citizens will be violated or disregarded. If a republican government fails to secure public prosperity and happiness, it must be because the citizens neglect the divine commands, and elect bad men to make and administer the laws.
[Noah Webster, History of the United States (New Haven: Durrie & Peck, 1832), pp. 336-337]

I like the Webster quote where he says, “let principle be your guide.” To paraphrase Webster, I do not support Trump or Clinton because I don’t want to betray the interest of my country. If we neglect principle, corrupt people will be placed in power. Given the available choices, I think we are about to test that theory.

In my opinion, if Barton, Metaxas, Jeremiah, and Graham and their compadres really believed their principles, they would be getting behind a third party candidate with a mighty effort to throw the election into the House of Representatives. If there was ever an election when the Christian right could have delivered a message that the GOP has taken it for granted, this one is it.

What Happens When You Claim an Earned PhD but Don't Have One?

The same fellow who hosted at least one U.S. Senator and two U.S. Representatives at his pastors’ briefing Monday and Tuesday has gone silent about his “earned PhD.” David Barton, viewed by many on the Christian right as a competent historian, came out on September 7 with a video scolding progressives for questioning the claim that Barton has an earned PhD. On the video, he didn’t identify the school where he received the doctor’s degree. From the video, it appears to be Life Christian University.
It seems likely that Barton did not attend the school but was given the degree by LCU for his lifetime of accomplishments. Other “big name preachers” received what was labeled “earned PhDs?” in recognition of writing a lot of books and preaching many sermons.
Curious, I looked for instances of people impersonating a PhD. It seems like fraud to me but I wanted to see what happened in the real world.
Here are some examples:
This PA administrator lost his job
Salary adjusted lower
Public school teacher resigned
Principal reassigned
College professor fired and tried for fraud
MIT Admissions Director had to resign
Christian legal group sues UCLA over academic fraud
Principal fired
Analyst fired from Institute of War
Professor fired and indicted for fraud
Army statistician fired over fraudulent graduate degrees
Here’s a book on the subject.
Barton has been quiet for a week about it but this matter won’t go away.

Fact Free Fun Fact Courtesy of Eric Metaxas: A Vote for Johnson is a Vote for Clinton

Dietrich Bonhoeffer biographer and Trump supporter Eric Metaxas goes fact free today. To wit:


In fact, a vote for Johnson is a vote for Johnson. Furthermore, according to Nate Silver at FiveThirtyEight.com, Trump benefits when Johnson is thrown into polling preferences.

Overall, including third-party candidates takes about 1 percentage point away from Clinton’s margin, on average.

Even Trump’s megaphone Breitbart News headlined in June: Polls: Libertarian Gary Johnson Will Likely Hurt Hillary Clinton More Than Donald Trump
Metaxas didn’t get much support for his #funfact.


#funopinion – Evangelicals like Metaxas, David Barton, James Jeremiah, and Franklin Graham are being played. Trump still cozying up to Putin after Putin’s Russia imposed restrictions on religious liberty. Why aren’t evangelicals going ballistic over it? Instead of looking the other way or placating Trump, evangelical leaders should be denouncing Putin’s moves and should denounce Trump for his silence.