25AR30-10

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AR 30:10 - How Wikipedia causes global harm

In this issue:

BIAS - Wikipedia's "imbalanced treatment: intentional and tactical"

DEATH - "we should be the ones most prepared for death - not because we desire it, but because we know it's not the end"

EVANGELICALISM - five different "drifts" away from the gospel

INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF PRAYER - reopened inquiry confirms founder Mike Bickle committed sexual crimes

Apologia Report 30:10 (1,699)
March 12, 2025

BIAS

"Wikipedia Bans '100 Percent' of Conservative Media" by Jim Thomas (newsmax.com, Feb 5 '25) -- "Wikipedia has been accused of favoring left-leaning media sources while almost completely blacklisting major conservative outlets, according to a new report <www.tinyurl.com/3dxtf2nw> by the Media Research Center (MRC) released Monday.

   "The report reveals the self-proclaimed online encyclopedia disproportionately dismisses right-leaning news organizations as unreliable while granting credibility to liberal sources.

   "Wikipedia, one of the world's most widely used online information sources, faces scrutiny over claims of political bias in its treatment of news organizations.

   "The MRC report stated that 'Wikipedia effectively blocks 100% of right-leaning media sources - the ones more likely to give fair treatment to the majority in Congress as well as to incoming officials to the Trump administration. On the contrary, only 16% of left-wing media sources fail to win Wikipedia's stamp of approval.'

   "The report assessed how Wikipedia categorizes news sources, finding that conservative outlets such as Breitbart, The Daily Caller, Newsmax, One America News Network, and the Media Research Center are labeled as 'generally unreliable' or effectively blacklisted.

   "Luis Cornelio, the report's author, expressed concern over the implications of these classifications. ...

   "Meanwhile, leftist media like The Atlantic, Jacobin, Mother Jones, ProPublica, The Guardian, and National Public Radio are given the green light. ...

   "This blatant misinformation means that Wikipedia is purposely feeding Americans information exclusively through the lens of one side of the political spectrum - the left. ...

   "This imbalanced treatment is intentional and tactical. It is a deliberate effort to exclude right-of-center perspectives from the online discourse, with the obvious goal of disparaging, slandering, and maligning anyone who opposes the radical left agenda,' they wrote." <www.tinyurl.com/3eknadxp>

   Also consider the influence which comes from any public organization's largest donors. For a look at Wikipedia's list of major "benefactors," visit: <www.tinyurl.com/ycyy389e>

 ---

DEATH

"The Unintended Consequences of Seeking Immortality" by Dr. Pamela Pyle <drpamela.com> (Real Clear Religion, Feb 10 '25) -- "We have become a society that treats death as a medical problem rather than a natural ending to a mortal body. 

   "In our attempt to rescue the dying from death we often subject the patient to uncomfortable and sometimes tortuous instruments of 'new and improved' modern ... medicine. ...

   There's an uncomfortable truth most of us would rather not face, dying is expensive. Not just financially, though that's a serious issue, but emotionally, spiritually, and physically. ...

   "Clinicians should discuss with patients about completing an advance care plan (ACP). ...

   "But here's the hard truth: much of the financial and emotional burdens are avoidable. With clear end-of-life planning, patients can prepare for the life they want in their final chapters. They can spare their families the agonizing decision of whether to authorize another round of chemotherapy, another surgery, or another resuscitation attempt that may bring back a heartbeat but not true life.

   "Advance care planning is one of the greatest gifts we can give our loved ones. ... I prefer to use the Five Wishes, often referred to as the plan with a heart and soul. <www.tinyurl.com/jekjjt4u> Each wish addresses a practical or a meaningful desire for our end-of-life care. 

   "Do we want every possible treatment, or do we want to prioritize comfort and time with family? Do we want to die at home, surrounded by familiar voices and prayers, or in a hospital room full of machines?  What do we want our families to know about what we believe? All of these can be answered in this document. 

   "Studies reveal that people who engage in advance care planning are more likely to receive the kind of care they want. They are less likely to die in the ICU, less likely to undergo aggressive, unnecessary treatments, and more likely to enter hospice care when it's appropriate. ...

   "As Christians, we should be the ones most prepared for death - not because we desire it, but because we know it's not the end." <www.tinyurl.com/2rm34psy>

 ---

EVANGELICALISM

"Lest We Drift," a book review by Tim Challies (blog, Feb 7 '25) -- "There is a kind of spiritual thrill that comes with being part of something that is premised upon sound doctrine and fixated on the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is what compelled so many to associate themselves with what was varyingly labeled 'New Calvinism,' 'Young, Restless, Reformed,' or the 'Gospel-Centered Movement.'

   "It is a bit strange, only twenty years after it all began, to read what is already a kind of post-mortem of the movement. Yet that is a part of what Jared Wilson <jaredcwilson.com> offers in his new book <www.tinyurl.com/3fk5hnyz> Lest We Drift: Five Departure Dangers from the One True Gospel. In its pages he asks: 'What went wrong with this movement?'

   "Wilson ... defines it this way: 'Gospel-centrality as a concept is essentially a summation of historic Reformed theology and Protestant spirituality that adherents would argue are as old as the Bible.' ... At some point, a movement based on Reformed theology was challenged to become a movement based on gospel-centrality. In my estimation, it never quite took and never quite worked. ...

   "Wilson begins with a short biography of himself that could easily be the biography of so many people who had ... encountered John Piper, R.C. Sproul, Tim Keller, Mark Driscoll, or some of the other prominent preachers or teachers. Before long they had embraced Reformed theology and, in many cases, the idea of gospel-centeredness. But that was then and this is now.

   "More and more leaders my age who once seemed so committed to the ministry philosophy of gospel-centrality now seem to have moved on. ...

   "But more important ... is his warning about five different kinds of drift, which are not drifts from a movement but drifts from the gospel. Hence, whether or not you are 'gospel-centered,' you will benefit from reading and considering them. 

   "He begins with a drift into victimhood....

   "He then discusses the all-too-common drift into dryness....

   "Wilson warns as well about the kind of superficiality that weds Christianity to a consumerist culture and the kind of pragmatism that replaces trust in Scripture with confidence in whatever methods appear to be effective. A chapter that may take some by surprise in a movement characterized by its commitment to the gospel is one about the temptation of legalism....

   "We see the new legalism at work in evangelicalism today when we conflate secondary and even tertiary doctrines with primary ones. ... A concluding chapter pleads with Christians to be aware of the tendency and temptation to drift - to leave behind the gospel and center the Christian life and the Christian church on anything else, anything less. ...

   "No matter what movement we are part of or what label we prefer to wear, as long as we are 'Christian,' these chapters are pure gold." <www.tinyurl.com/383nz4eu>

 ---

INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF PRAYER

"Report details 17 cases of abuse by IHOPKC founder Mike Bickle" by Kathryn Post and Bob Smietana (RNS, Feb 5 '25) -- Update: "Mike Bickle, the influential founder of the International House of Prayer, a global missionary group, committed sexual abuse or misconduct involving at least 17 survivors, according to an independent report released Monday (Feb 3). The allegations range from spiritual abuse to rape."

   This reopened inquiry "was conducted by the investigative firm Firefly <fireflyisai.com> but overseen by Tikkun Global, a Messianic Jewish network <tikkunglobal.org> that had previous ties to Bickle and IHOPKC, based in Kansas City, Missouri. Tikkun was asked to oversee the report by the so-called Advocate Group, which consists of former IHOP leaders who raised concerns about the alleged abuse. The report was based on a review of over 6,000 documents and interviews with 210 individuals. The current IHOPKC board of directors and Bickle did not respond to Firefly's attempts to contact them.

   "Bickle was initially accused of clergy sexual abuse by former IHOPKC leaders in October 2023 based on allegations from several women that spanned multiple decades. In December 2023, he confessed to 'inappropriate behavior' but not the 'more intense sexual activities' he had been accused of. IHOPKC leaders soon cut ties with Bickle. ...

   "The report names three women who were allegedly sexually assaulted by Bickle, two of whom were minors at the time. In some instances, the report says, he would use prophetic words to suggest his actions were 'guided by a higher power.' One survivor said Bickle would have her pray the Bible's Psalm 51, a psalm of repentance, after the abuse occurred, distorting her perception of the situation." <www.tinyurl.com/4sx3pfx9> 

   Also see "Survivors of Evangelical Leader Mike Bickle's Abuse Seek Truth and Justice" (Religion Unplugged, Feb 10 '25) <www.tinyurl.com/4mnz35tj> and Tikkun Global's IHOPKC reports at <www.tinyurl.com/44myctyh>

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