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A Cry for Justice: A False ‘christian’ Ministry

There has recently the rise of ‘christian’ ministries, which claim to be Christian but are not. Such ministries can be very cunning. A Cry for Justice is one such ministry. They say on their blog under the ‘Our Theology’ tab that:
 
We are not “liberal” Christians; we hold to the solas of the Reformation.
We believe absolutely in the inerrancy and inspiration of Scripture.
We insist, along with God’s Word, that a person must be born again through faith and repentance in Christ if they are to be justified before God.

A true Christian might think it indicates they are Christian. But, what is a mere profession of faith in Jesus Christ worth? Nothing. Jesus Christ Himself said:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matthew 7:21-23).

In Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus was referring not to atheists, muslims, or other blatant unbelievers who openly blaspheme God, mock Christians and are proud of it. No, he was referring to people who professed His Name, in a way which showed familiarity. Jesus said that one shall know who are true followers of Christ by their fruit:

 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them (Matthew 7:15-20).

A Cry for Justice shows much bad fruit from their website. When confronted on their positions on fundamental Christian doctrine, they simply avoid and propagate. Here are some of their emails in print format (please note that messages forwarded to brother in Christ have been deleted out of respect for his privacy):

Question about forgiveness, adultery and marriage
12 messages


Tue, Oct 25, 2016 at 10:36 AM
To: swordtrowel@gmail.com
Hi Mr Crippen
I discovered your blog and took great interest in it. So, as I was reading it, some questions came to my mind.
I am wondering, what is your view about the Biblical view of forgiveness. We all know of the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant where the servant who failed to forgive a servant who owed him debts was thrown into outer darkness (Matthew 18:21-35). What is your view on what it teaches?
Does the Biblical principle of forgiveness of others, owing to God's forgiveness of our sins and reaching down to us save us despite our vile despicable sins which nailed Jesus Christ on the cross (Matthew 6:14; Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13), change in the case of adultery? If so, why does the Biblical principle of forgiveness change in its application in such cases?
I notice on your 'Non-negotiables for Effective and Biblical Abuse Ministry" that it says:

A marriage to an abuser does not need to be fixed (it cannot be fixed). It needs to be ended. Christians should encourage and support the victim to make her own decisions as to when and how to set boundaries against the abuser and distance herself from him physically and/or legally. True Christians should help (but never pressure) victims of abuse to get free from the abuser’s oppression to the greatest extent possible, recognizing that leaving an abuser is not a simple or easy step for many abuse victims, and that society and the church often compound the difficulties victims face.
Can I please ask, what do you mean by 'fixed'? Can a person not repent and put his or her faith in Christ, if God draws him or her near, irrespective of what sins he or she has committed? You seem to not acknowledge that, but think that only a victim is the one who is worth reaching out to, and has a chance of repenting, but never abusers.
Also, you also say:


Any counseling of the abuser must begin with the threatening of the Law of God, not with the promises of the gospel, and it must remain Law as long as the abuser remains unrepentant.
You seem to say that only abusers need to hear the Law of God. While abusers are evil wicked people are heart, why is it that only abusers need to have the Law of God thundered against them, and not anyone else as you seem to be implying? In saying this, I am not saying only the victims, if they are unsaved, need to hear the Law of God either. I am saying that all of us in our unregenerate state do need to hear the Law of God, for the Law is a schoolmaster (Galatians 3:24).

Thank you very much





Jeff Crippen <swordtrowel@gmail.com>
Tue, Oct 25, 2016 at 12:28 PM
Cc: Barbara Roberts <barbara@notunderbondage.com>, Renee Detig <twbtc.acfj@gmail.com>
You will find answers to all your questions by using the search features on our blog. We have addressed those issues in depth in many articles there. 



Sent from my iPhone
[Quoted text hidden]


Tue, Oct 25, 2016 at 12:33 PM
To: Jeff Crippen <swordtrowel@gmail.com>
Can you please show me the links exactly? If not, can you please give me a short answer.
Thank you very much.


Tue, Oct 25, 2016 at 12:40 PM
To: Jeff Crippen <swordtrowel@gmail.com>
Hi Mr Crippen
You seem to also rely on doctrines of psychology a lot. I am curious as to why this is the case as psychology is a secular field which doctrines change very regularly, and for which there has been much disagreement between different schools of thought.
Thank you once again

On Tue, Oct 25, 2016 at 12:28 PM, Jeff Crippen <swordtrowel@gmail.com> wrote:
[Quoted text hidden]

Jeff Crippen <swordtrowel@gmail.com>
Tue, Oct 25, 2016 at 1:11 PM
Cc: Barbara Roberts <barbara@notunderbondage.com>, 123twbtc@gmail.com
No. We do not have the time to repeat what we have already written. 

And I suspect that you are more interested in arguing than learning. We will not be giving you any more communications.

Sent from my iPhone

On Oct 24, 2016, at 7:40 PM, wrote:
Hi Mr Crippen
You seem to also rely on doctrines of psychology a lot. I am curious as to why this is the case as psychology is a secular field which doctrines change very regularly, and for which there has been much disagreement between different schools of thought.
Thank you once again

On Tue, Oct 25, 2016 at 12:28 PM, Jeff Crippen <swordtrowel@gmail.com> wrote:
You will find answers to all your questions by using the search features on our blog. We have addressed those issues in depth in many articles there. 



Sent from my iPhone

On Oct 24, 2016, at 5:36 PM, > wrote:
Hi Mr Crippen
I discovered your blog and took great interest in it. So, as I was reading it, some questions came to my mind.
I am wondering, what is your view about the Biblical view of forgiveness. We all know of the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant where the servant who failed to forgive a servant who owed him debts was thrown into outer darkness (Matthew 18:21-35). What is your view on what it teaches?
Does the Biblical principle of forgiveness of others, owing to God's forgiveness of our sins and reaching down to us save us despite our vile despicable sins which nailed Jesus Christ on the cross (Matthew 6:14; Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13), change in the case of adultery? If so, why does the Biblical principle of forgiveness change in its application in such cases?
I notice on your 'Non-negotiables for Effective and Biblical Abuse Ministry" that it says:

A marriage to an abuser does not need to be fixed (it cannot be fixed). It needs to be ended. Christians should encourage and support the victim to make her own decisions as to when and how to set boundaries against the abuser and distance herself from him physically and/or legally. True Christians should help (but never pressure) victims of abuse to get free from the abuser’s oppression to the greatest extent possible, recognizing that leaving an abuser is not a simple or easy step for many abuse victims, and that society and the church often compound the difficulties victims face.
Can I please ask, what do you mean by 'fixed'? Can a person not repent and put his or her faith in Christ, if God draws him or her near, irrespective of what sins he or she has committed? You seem to not acknowledge that, but think that only a victim is the one who is worth reaching out to, and has a chance of repenting, but never abusers.
Also, you also say:


Any counseling of the abuser must begin with the threatening of the Law of God, not with the promises of the gospel, and it must remain Law as long as the abuser remains unrepentant.
You seem to say that only abusers need to hear the Law of God. While abusers are evil wicked people are heart, why is it that only abusers need to have the Law of God thundered against them, and not anyone else as you seem to be implying? In saying this, I am not saying only the victims, if they are unsaved, need to hear the Law of God either. I am saying that all of us in our unregenerate state do need to hear the Law of God, for the Law is a schoolmaster (Galatians 3:24).

Thank you very much






To: Jeff Crippen <swordtrowel@gmail.com>
So, if someone asks specific questions to clarify what you have said on your blog, they are interested in arguing?

And that you are the ultimate authority who is never wrong, and that people who ask specific questions are just trying to argue?

 And that people who may seek to think carefully about what you say are just your enemies?
The disciples in the New Testament, when challenged on their teachings, would take up the challenge because they knew their teachings were inspired by God and could not be challenged. See the New Testament if you have even properly read it before.

So, why won't you take you the challenge if you have nothing wrong with your teachings?


Jeff Crippen <swordtrowel@gmail.com>
Thu, Oct 27, 2016 at 12:20 PM
Cc: Barbara Roberts <barbara@notunderbondage.com>, 123twbtc@gmail.com
As I said, we are done talking with you.

Sent from my iPhone
[Quoted text hidden]



Thu, Oct 27, 2016 at 3:59 PM
To: Jeff Crippen <swordtrowel@gmail.com>
Avoidance and projection, eh?
"You're obviously just interested in arguing"... as if that's a bad thing.

[Quoted text hidden]


As you may note, I have not deleted the email addresses of the unstable and ignorant heretics. This is because they need to be exposed, and do not deserve the benefit of privacy. 

The bad fruit of A Cry for “Justice”

Their bad fruit includes their position of divorce, marriage, forgiveness, sin, Biblical gender roles, the role of secular psychology, respect for husbands and fathers and appreciation of all they do, and respect for pastors. So, this introductory article will give a brief overview about their heretical positions.

Divorce and remarriage

They reject the Biblical view of divorce that it is a sin and that God hates divorce, which is in and of itself a vile sin that is worthy of great condemnation. Some of their articles are real unequivocal evidence of this:

 
They even dare utter blasphemies openly and proudly by saying on the Non-negotiables for Effective and Biblical Abuse ministry page that:

Divorce for abuse is not only permitted by God, but blessed by Him. The institution of marriage must not be prioritized over the safety of the individuals within it. 

Yet, they even dare call their “wisdom” Biblical. 

Hatred for true Biblical pastors

One of the key signs of a false convert is an utter lack of respect for Biblical pastors. Such utter lack of respect is a manifestation of hatred of pastor, a shepherd of God, and therefore the hatred of Christ and His followers. 

In their self-righteousness, they list the names of well-known pastors, Biblical true bold pastors as evil, heretical false teachers. They vile heretics even the audacity to accuse John Piper, John Macarthur and Voddie Baucham as false teachers because of their permanence view of marriage or Biblical denial of ground for divorce, the right view. This is not to say that Piper, Macarthur and Baucham are flawless and can never fall into sin. Piper indeed has compromised with people as CWC has pointed out.  However, that is not the issue here. The issue is that they hate these godly men of God because of their Biblical-mindedness, not because of sin on their part. Thus, A Cry for Justice have been evil and demonic to even think about accusing proper Biblical teachers of being false teachers, which is utter contempt for the true Church of Jesus Christ.

 
They condemn John Macarthur because he has “has consistently denied that abuse is grounds for divorce”. They represent John Piper as some evil demonic teacher by saying:

Piper is well-known to readers of this blog as a teacher of the permanence view of marriage. That means no divorce for any reason ever as long as one’s spouse is still living. More about Piper’s false teaching can be found at this post:  John Piper’s Divorce Doctrine:  Opinion Turned Into God’s Law.   For still more information about Piper, we have a tag called John Piper.  It can be found on the top menu under TAGS.

Oh, wow! Piper is so dangerous, because he believes in the permanence view of marriage! He must be an abuser then! Because of his holy and righteous stance on divorce and remarriage! 

Hatred and ungratefulness towards Husbands and Fathers

Reading their articles makes you feel like you are reading some feminist screed against husbands and fathers. But no, they are a ‘christian’ website. They accuse those who rightfully respect the role of the husband and father of idolising him:

 
The husband and father is the head of the household (Ephesians 5:22-33; 6:1-4). He is the leader, and not the wife. He is to be obeyed by the wife and children. The only times to not do as he says is when he tells his wife or children to sin. They are to obey him in anything that is not sinful, no matter how undesirable, asinine or silly it may seem.  It is also to be noted that although children are to obey their parents, that is, without question, unless they tells them to sin (Colossians 3:20; Ephesians 6:1-2), the primary authority to discipline children rests on the father (Ephesians 6:4). 

So, the Bible clearly teaches us the earthly father is to be treated with great respect. It is due to him.
What A Cry for Justice is saying, however, it is idolatrous to show respect for him. They paint a negative false picture of him in their evil vile article about the “patriarchal father”:

Patrarichalism sets up the husband/father of the home as an idol. A false god. He is the one who distributes “God’s Word” to the family. It is his prayers that really count. He is the one to be served and praised. His word is the word that is infallible. A little papacy is established. And whoever does not fall down and worship him. . . 

As children grow up in such deception, and particularly as long as the wife/mother still embraces that deception herself, all of the Bible, all input regarding just about any subject including the very nature of God himself, is going to be perceived through the idolatrous grid entrenched in their minds. That is to say, through the idol called husband/father. Daddy says. . . 

When such a man perceives that anyone — whether it be the pastor, an author, a church member, a friend of his wife — that anyone is starting to see through his idolatrous false kingdom, he goes on the offensive to squelch any and all opposition. He will slander that person speaking truth. He will accuse them. And if all else fails, he will isolate his family from them.
And his family believes him. Try to reason with them. Try to warn them. It will be to no avail. Daddy says…. Translated? God says….

And THAT, little children, is idolatry.

I saw a news documentary once on North Korea and the cruel dictatorship that reigns there. The reporters found that certain questions would be met with blank stares on the faces of the people. “Have you ever thought that perhaps your leader could be wrong sometimes?” It wasn’t that the people got angry at this question. No. Worse than that, they lacked the ability to even process the possibility, so thoroughly had they been brainwashed. “Our glorious and beloved Leader, wrong? What does that mean?” They had no mental paradigm or apparatus to take in such words. You may as well have said something like “How do you like the taste of yellow?”

And so it is with the children of the kind of idol father I am speaking of here. “Daddy, wrong?” Show them hard, concrete evidence to the contrary of what their father said, it will not get through. He has become their surrogate Christ. Really, an anti-christ.  And such a god can do whatever he wants.

Do not be deceived by their cunning words. This is exactly the way in which false teachers pervert Biblical doctrine, by calling good evil and evil good (Isaiah 5:20).  Do not be deceived. Respecting one’s father, and seeking him, not the mother, for decisions and counsel on decisions that affect the directions of one’s life, is the Biblical thing to do. 

The patriarchal father should be, and is, a term of great honour. He or she who respects the patriarchal father in the Biblical sense is righteous for doing so.

Adoption of secular psychology

They not only adopt, but endorse the demonic doctrines of Lundy Bancroft, a secular psychologist:

 
To justify themselves, they say in their Thursday Thought 13 October 2016 post: 

Lundy talks a bit about healing after a destructive relationship. We need to advise our readers that Lundy is not a Christian and he mentions yoga and meditation as healing modalities that some survivors have found helpful. He also mentions same sex relationships and how abuse can happen in those too.

As a Christian site, we do not recommend yoga or meditation and we certainly don’t recommend same-sex relationships. We know our readers already understand that, but we have to say it anyway so that our detractors can’t attack us for appearing to endorse those things. The rest of what Lundy say is very helpful, and we thank him very much for his contribution to helping victims and survivors of domestic abuse.

This qualification is only a front to appear Biblical. A truly Biblical ministry would not endorse secular psychology, not matter what.  This is because 1 Corinthians 3:19 says: For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.
Such is friendship with the world which the Bible has strong words of admonition about:

 You adulterous people,[a] don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us[b]? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:
“God opposes the proud
    but shows favor to the humble.”[
c]
(James 4:4-6).

They even have the audacity to attack pastor, Jay Adams, because of his nouthetic counselling. Again, this is not to say Adams is perfect and has no mistakes. Rather, the issue here is that they despise a pastor because He uses the Bible alone to counsel people, rather than because of sin of his part. 

Biblical gender roles

This issue which should not be controversial has become controversial, because of feminism (from its beginning), and because of false Christian ministries like A Cry for Justice. This is evident in the page about ‘What Headship and Submission do not Mean’: 


In it, they attempt to do away with wife’s proper submission, and instead, in furthering their agenda, cunningly implicitly blame all dysfunction on the husband’s “failure” to lead his family. This can be inferred from their subtle omission of the wife’s obligation to submit to her submission, and to love her husband and children (Ephesians 5:22-24; 1 Peter 3:1-6).

 Such failure of the husband to lead his family, to put in bluntly, is often largely because of wife’s fault, in stopping him from being righteous. It is really usually the case that the wife is a jezebel where a marriage breakdown occurs. She is usually the one who wants to control her husband, indicating why about 70-90% of divorce in the West is initiated by the woman. This is simply true, whether you agree with it or not. 

Many people in the west today, including many conservative Christians, who rightfully uphold the doctrines of Biblical headship and submission refuse to believe this. This is because they are conditioned by modern society to believe that all marriage problems are caused by the husband, and psychologically manipulated by feminist voices to believe this. That is a problem for the spiritual lives of Christians because it enacts a stronghold over his or her spiritual life in fully accepting the doctrine of Biblical headship and submission.

A Cry for Justice’s agenda is even clearer when they say on their ‘Non-negotiables for Effective and Biblical Abuse ministry:

We reject patriarchy. By “patriarchy,” we do not mean any idea of the Bible’s teaching on proper biblical responsibilities given to husbands and wives (such as in Eph 5). We do mean, and we reject, teaching that presents a man as superior to a woman. Common teachings of patriarchy include, for example, the husband and father as priest of his home, the insistence that a wife is never to criticize her husband, etc.

Yes, A Cry for Justice really does mean that they reject Ephesians 5 responsibilities, as indicates throughout their blog in saying that a wife has a “right” to divorce her husband for adultery, as well as desertion, abuse and even ‘neglect’, and by rejecting the doctrine that the husband of the head of his home. That is why they really mean when they say they reject the doctrine that husband is the priest of his home. They also endorse the nagging wife who is a curse to her husband, by saying that they reject the idea that a wife is to never criticise her husband. ‘Criticising’ in the negative sense, as opposed to ‘critique’, ‘rebuke’ or ‘admonish’ is unbiblical in and of itself. No where does the Bible counsel people to ‘criticise’.

 Rather, it tells people to ‘rebuke’, ‘counsel’ or ‘admonish’ for the spiritual wellbeing of that people, so that he or she may be sanctified. This is totally different from the act of scolding or criticising by some nagging psycho, that is, a nagging wife, because of her own unstableness.

Conclusion

The rise of apostasy and deception is what the Bible predicted. It is time that we the true Church of Jesus Christ submit to Him, and to never ever let our ears be tickled, and zealously hate the spirit of jezebel. 

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