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It's Saturday, August 19, 2023.

Today’s edition covers an evangelist’s arrest in Indiana, a pro-life activist’s firing in Ohio, the conclusion to our series on the divine council, and more.

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Of Christian Concern

CHRISTIAN EVANGELIST ARRESTED IN INDIANA WHILE EVANGELIZING

Police arrest Michael Gulley at an art festival in Indiana, where he was evangelizing. (Screenshot: YouTube)

Christian evangelist Michael Gulley was arrested Sunday while evangelizing at an art festival at Potawatomi Park in South Bend, Indiana. Footage of the arrest was posted on YouTube.

In the footage, an officer threatens to arrest Gulley if he doesn’t go across the street, and Gulley argues that he first needs the number of the ordinance he’s violating. The officer says, “I’ll put it in my arrest report,” and arrests him.

The event, called Rebel Art Fest, was reportedly “free to the public,” but some minutes before the arrest, the police officer claimed it is “private” according to a certain Parks Department ordinance, because more than 50 people were present and private vendors were charging.

Public records show Gulley was booked at 4:40pm on Sunday for “criminal trespass.” Gulley gave an informal interview after being released from jail on the same day, and a campaign to raise funds for his legal fees was set up soon afterward. Read more details about the incident here.

This arrest comes only two weeks after another Christian, Marcus Schroeder, was arrested while reading from the Bible at a drag event in Watertown, Wisconsin.

CHRISTIAN FIRED FROM PRO-LIFE ORGANIZATION AFTER SHARING THE GOSPEL

Lizzie Marbach’s tweet, which sparked controversy this week. (Screenshot: X)

Pro-life activist Elizabeth “Lizzie” Marbach was fired this week from her role as communications director for Ohio Right to Life, just days after sharing the gospel on social media.

“There's no hope for any of us outside of having faith in Jesus Christ alone,” Marbach tweeted on Tuesday. Ohio Republican Congressman Max Miller apparently took offense, responding in part, “This is one of the most bigoted tweets I have ever seen. Delete it, Lizzie. Religious freedom in the United States applies to every religion. You have gone too far.”

Hours later, Miller apologized for his post. But then, two days later, Marbach was dismissed from her role with Ohio Right to Life, where Miller’s wife Emily Moreno Miller is a board member.

The Sentinel reports there was also an internal disagreement about the “tone” of another one of Marbach’s recent tweets, in which she called a pro-abortion activist a “murderous liar.” While Ohio Right to Life has not been forthcoming with the reason for Marbach’s dismissal, reporter Ben Zeisloft suggests these social media controversies are relevant.

Marbach’s case is only the latest instance of Christians being separated from a conservative organization after taking a firm stand on their beliefs. Both Zeisloft himself and other media personality Jon Root were separated from their posts (at The Daily Wire and Turning Point USA, respectively) shortly after criticizing the hit series The Chosen when a Pride flag was spotted on the show’s set in May.

Also Noteworthy

→ American nurse Alix Dorsainvil and her daughter, who were kidnapped from a Christian-run clinic in Haiti three weeks ago, were released last week healthy and unharmed.

→ Top House Republicans Rep. Mike McCaul, Rep. Chris Smith, and Rep. Brian Mast are investigating the State Department’s funding of a program that promotes atheism overseas.

→ Willie McLaurin resigned as the interim president and CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee, and was removed from consideration for the permanent role, after his education credentials were found to be forgeries.

→ Christians on X (formerly called Twitter) enthusiastically debated whether cussing is inappropriate for Christians (some appealing to scholarly sources, here and here), after the viral success of Oliver Anthony’s song “Rich Men North of Richmond.”

Content Catch-Up

Recent, notable content by Christian creators.*

→ Defining the Biblical Worldview: In a clip from an interview with Dr. Everett Piper, Christian podcaster Alisa Childers asks him to clear up the confusion and define what it means to believe in “historic Christianity” or a “biblical worldview.” (Video)

→ It’s Not That They’re Rich: Pastor Doug Wilson of Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho reacts to the Oliver Anthony song “Rich Men North of Richmond.” (Video)

→ A Challenge to Preachers: Pastor Clay Hall of Oak Grove Baptist Church in western Kentucky posted a short video on social media yesterday issuing a two-step challenge to preachers. (Video)

*Not necessarily an endorsement

The Bible, Briefly

The Divine Council: Other Gods In The Bible? (Part 3)

Are there other gods ruling in the world, besides God Himself? Putting Psalm 82, Daniel 10, and Deuteronomy 32:8 side by side—as we did last week—certainly makes it seem so. 

At first blush, that seems odd to the modern Christian. Maybe even borderline heretical. After all, we’re monotheists, aren’t we? 

However, a closer look may prove the idea of other “gods” ruling in the world to be more familiar than it seems. Consider the following verses.

Ephesians 6:12 reveals that “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” So, our spiritual enemies are identified as “rulers…authorities…cosmic powers…” That suggests that Paul writes with the same vision of the world seen in Daniel 10, where evil spirits are in positions of ruling authority.

Similarly, 2 Corinthians 4:4 speaks of Satan when it declares that “the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers.” Yes, Satan is called a “god.” Not just any god, but “the god of this world.” That idea is echoed in 1 John 5:19, which asserts, as though a well-known fact, “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” So, Satan has power over the entire world.

Many other verses could be offered, but these are sufficient to show that familiar New Testament passages also teach the idea that gods besides the One True God rule in the world. They are His enemies.

So, let’s put all this together.

At the Tower of Babel, God divided the nations among divine beings (Deuteronomy 32:8), but these divine beings have clearly failed to rule justly (Psalm 82:2), even actively fighting against God’s angels (Daniel 10:13). These evil spirits, who remain in positions of authority today (1 Corinthians 4:4; 1 John 5:19), are the enemies of God and His people (Ephesians 6:12).

So, does the Bible teach the existence of other gods? Yes, but that’s not as shocking as it may seem at first. They are spiritual beings who God created and who rebelled against Him. All Christians understand there is an unseen spiritual realm where mysterious activities are ongoing. It should be little surprise that it’s stranger than we often think.

To dive deeper, watch this lecture and this documentary.

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P.S. It must not go unstated here that these other gods, whatever authority they have, no longer have any authority over Christians. Paul writes that God “disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in [Christ]” (Colossians 2:15). What’s more, God “raised [Christ] from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion” (Ephesians 1:20-21), and “raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6). In summary, Christ is seated far above all these evil entities, and we are seated with Him.

Church History Tidbit

Julian the Apostate’s Failed Pagan Revival

Julian the Apostate sacrificing, Commentaries of Gregory of Nazianzus, Byzantine, 879-883 AD (Source: Warfare.tk)

Twenty-four years after the death of Constantine (d. 337 AD), who was the first Roman Emperor to convert to Christianity and decriminalize the faith, a subsequent emperor—raised in Christianity—apostatized and tried to promote paganism. 

Flavius Claudius Julianus (331-363), known as Julian the Apostate, ruled from 361-363. Raised in a Christian family but interested in various philosophical and religious traditions, he secretly abandoned his childhood faith for paganism around 351. Upon becoming Emperor, he aimed to restore traditional Roman beliefs, implementing policies to promote paganism and discourage Christianity. He revived pagan practices, temples, and rituals, and even attempted to rebuild the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem to undermine Christian claims of fulfilled prophecy. He wrote extensively, including a critique of Christianity called “Against the Galileans.” He promoted religious tolerance, allowing heretics to occupy positions of ecclesiastical power, in an effort to weaken Christianity.

Julian's short reign was marked by military campaigns against Persia, where he died in battle. His effort to revive paganism ended with his death, since his successors favored Christianity—a fact which highlights the enduring dominance of the Christian faith in the 4th century.

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Why "18:15"? The name Project 18:15 is based on Proverbs 18:15: “An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.” The aim is for this weekly email—a Christian news briefing, a Bible study, and a Church history lesson rolled into one—to be one way you keep abreast of current events and acquire knowledge you might not acquire elsewhere.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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