What the church needs now, is love, sweet love…

No amount of theological enquiry, seminars or admonition could get one over the starboard bow like media can - and funny media at that. These two videos pretty much describe the state of the prosperity crowd now a days, including those meddling is soft porn prospertiy gospel.

AND

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Quote of the Year!

Posted on October 5, 2007 by David Mendez.
Categories: Rants and Ravings, Things of Interest, Theology.

"You could announce that you were 'baptizing in the name of Judas Iscariot' and get people to follow you!"
Source unknown but quoted here

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Lee: Strange Fire on Defiled Altars

This article speaks for itself. Just like the Piper video I posted some time ago, this editorial piece by Lee Grady is finally making headway in what has been one of the worst times of spiritual abuse and charlatanry in the church today. Although I do not always agree with Charisma magazine, Lee Gady has done an outstanding job of pointing out these false prophets of our times.

Coming from a hispanic and pentecostal heritage myself, for too long I have endured the theological free loaders that have lived off of innocence of the somewhat doctrinaly anemic brothers and sisters who are taken adavntage of time and time again. I can personlly attest to times when people like Paulino Bernal would preach about the "five desires" where you can literally buy your desires from God. There have been times where I have spoken to pastors across the border where they have literally turned over their personal items and sometimes even deeds to their land in order to get these and many other health and wealth assurances.

I applaud Lee Grady and the many others who boldly point out these people that do more damage than good. The excerpt from his editorial piece is below.

"That’s why I fear for many of the men and women who claim to be God’s mouthpieces today, particularly in the charismatic/Pentecostal movement that I serve.

When I read Leviticus 10, I wonder why the ground has not opened up and swallowed some of the careless spiritual clowns who are masquerading as bishops, apostles and prophets.

A case in point: Bishop Thomas Wesley Weeks III, who is now facing charges of assaulting his wife, recently stood in his pulpit in Atlanta during a marriage conference and proceeded to teach married couples how to use profanity during sex.

Yes, the man who allegedly kicked and punched Juanita Bynum in a hotel parking lot last month told attendees at a “Teach Me How to Love You” event that they should get over their hang-ups about cussing. The bedroom, he said, is the place to get down and dirty.

“Don’t bring your salvation into the bedroom,” he said in a sermon segment that has been posted on YouTube.

“All those special words that you can’t say no more because you’re saved … save that for the bedroom!”

It is bad enough that Weeks told his followers that it’s OK to use filthy language with your wife during lovemaking. It’s worse that he said these things as a minister speaking from a pulpit during a church service. Thankfully he didn’t bring a bed on stage and give a demonstration—but now that he has taken pulpit crudity to a new level, someone else is sure to introduce Pentecostal porn to an audience somewhere.

Weeks’ comments didn’t surprise me. There are so many crazy things happening in pulpits in this country that I’ve become numb to their impact. It seems that in many segments of the church today, false prophets and backslidden preachers can introduce the most bizarre doctrines imaginable and still get shouts from the crowd and plenty of donations in the offering plate.

Meanwhile, a growing number of television preachers are resorting to the most inane tactics to raise money. A popular trend this year is the “Day of Atonement Offering”—in which Old Testament scriptures are strained to the breaking point to make a case for buying special blessings from God. Thanks to this “revelation,” you can click on a Web site icon and give your Day of Atonement Offering to win divine favor. (And of course every dime of that money goes to an evangelist who uses it to purchase houses, cars, plastic surgeries and more airtime so they can spread this nonsense to more naïve people.)

I have no personal vendetta against these spiritual hoodlums, but lately I find myself praying: “Lord, when will You clean up Your church? When will you send Your holy fire into the sanctuary? When will You turn over the tables of the moneychangers and drive the charlatans out of Your house?”

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Anna Nicole & The Evangelical Disaster Called Bob Larson

While we, for the most part, have mistakenly ignored tolerated the chick publication "tears for fears" worldview promoted by demon expulsion maverick Bob Larson; he on the other hand, has enlarged his generational curse drama to engulf the now world publicized death of Anna Nicole Smith. It wasn’t enough that Ole Bob has been under several investigative specials such as Inside Edition and Good Morning America. Now he makes his spiritual quakery known by way of the following:

February 15, 2007
Dear Friend,
            Don’t let you and your family, and those you care about, suffer needlessly because Satan has the right to inflict pain and suffering through generational curses. Remove the legal right of Satan to your life. Let me teach you the right kind of prayers and renunciations that will once and for all break Satan’s hold on you and your family.
            The death of the buxom blonde Anna Nicole Smith was no shock. Frankly, I’m surprised she lived as long as she did. She died because of her self-destructive behavior, but there’s more to it than that.   
            The media has incessantly talked about her untimely death. Anna was a former Playboy Playmate of the year and, at age 26, married an 89-year-old billionaire. She starred in her own racy reality show, modeled for Guess? Jeans, and then touted a weight-loss program.
            On February 8, she was found dead in her hotel room in Florida. We don’t know the full report on her autopsy yet, but her family, and all those around her, are convinced that drugs played a role in her tragic death. The real issue isn’t what killed her, but why she died so young while surrounded by money, fame and the attention of millions.
            The autopsy will only tell what physically killed her, not the spiritual reason behind her death. Anna Nicole was set up by Satan. Generational and family curses were hanging over her head from the day she was born. These curses grew stronger the longer she lived.
            How can I so positively say I know what killed her? After three decades of confronting the forces of darkness and performing more exorcisms than anyone on the planet, I have learned valuable lessons about the destructive way that demons operate through curses. Let me explain how Ms. Smith’s life was under a curse.
            Although her life seemed to be rich and glamorous, it was not always like that. She hungered for attention. In one interview she said, "I love the paparazzi . . . I’ve always liked attention. I didn’t get it very much growing up and I always wanted to be, you know, noticed." Why didn’t she get attention growing up? It probably had to do with the fact that her father abandoned her at a very young age. In a 2004 People magazine interview she said, “I don’t have any good memories from Christmas when I was a girl.” Her mother raised Anna (known then as Vicki Lynn Hogan) as a single parent. This curse of abandonment literally turned her over to the devil. If her mother had known what to do, she could have broken the curse. Anna’s life indicates that her mother did not break that curse.
             On my DVD HOW TO BREAK GENERATIONAL CURSES I explain in detail how Satan continues his evil through the family bloodline, generation to generation. You must see this DVD to prevent Satan’s attacks on your children and grandchildren. You may not live a wild and immoral life like Ms. Smith, but you may still be cursed by your ancestors.
             When she was a child, Ms. Smith declared she wanted to grow up to be like Marilyn Monroe. Well, she succeeded, down to the circumstances of her death. By wanting to be like Marilyn Monroe, Ms. Smith spoke a curse over her life and the devil used it to his evil advantage. Those who have seen our DVD HOW TO BREAK GENERATIONAL CURSES understand how unnecessary this tragedy was. The curse could have been broken. Also, notice that Anna’s 20-year-old son died just months before her, likely from the same cause—drugs and a destructive lifestyle. Nicole was born with a curse, so was her son, and so was her new baby daughter that lawyers and ex-lovers are fighting over.
             Family curses can be broken! Generational curses can be stopped!
             In addition to the DVD HOW TO BREAK GENERATIONAL CURSES I have especially prepared a message using the death of Ms. Smith to explain exactly how curses work. It’s called, THE CURSE OF ANNA NICOLE SMITH.
             For your gift of $50 or more, I’ll send both DVDs, plus one of the most important documents you’ll ever hold in your hands: THE LAWSUIT AGAINST SATAN. This spiritually legal transaction will teach you how to legally confront the devil and file a lawsuit against him in the courts of heaven. Thousands have done this and have begun a journey to health, prosperity, and blessings they had never known.
             Just print out the form below, or email me immediately to get:
             ● DVD - HOW TO BREAK GENERATIONAL CURSES
             ● DVD - THE CURSE OF ANNA NICOLE SMITH
             ● THE LAWSUIT AGAINST SATAN
             We leave for Africa in a couple of months and we need to start right now raising the $50,000 missions budget for this outreach. Your gift of $5000, $500, $150, or at least $50 or more will bring thousands to Christ and plant healing & deliverance teams across the continent.
             Call, write, or email me today with your gift of $50 or more and get on the way to breaking every curse of the devil over you and your family.
 Doing WhatJesus Did,
             Pastor Bob Larson
             P. S. Make sure to sign up for our April 18-20 DWJD Training Institute on the subject “Last Days Deliverance - confronting the demons of pop culture.”
GIVE YOUR GIFT ONLINE NOW
CLICK HERE
=================================================================
Pastor Bob, here is seed for your African mission
❑ My gift is:    ❑ $5000    ❑ $500     ❑ $150    ❑ $50    ❑ Other $ _____________________     
❑ My gift is $50 or more. Send the DVDs HOW TO BREAK GENERATIONAL CURES and THE CURSE OF ANNA NICOLE SMITH. Also send THE LAWSUIT AGAINST SATAN
❑ I want to support you with a regular gift of $20 or more. 
    Please send me your monthly teaching CD. *
    * This month’s message is “Saved, Sealed & Sanctified.”
❑ Send no offers. Use my entire gift for your ministry.

Even though the letter speaks for itself, there are several blaring red flags that should be noted. Before that, let me mention that the main reason I even speak about this is because this is contrary to anything close to what a sound Christian worldview is and also because for too long we have listened to these spiritual P.T. Barnum types that have tried to lead many people astray.
 
 
The Red Flags:
 
1. "Satan has a right to inflict pain through generational curses." There is absolutely no solid biblical support to even build a theology of generational curses. These ideas were popularized by writers such as Marilyn Hickey and Rebecca Brown. Please see this. This is more a ploy to overplay Satan’s control over people in general and even Christians in particular and underplay our new redeemer, our new nature and the grace of God.
 
2. "Let me teach you the right kind of prayers and renunciations that will once and for all break Satan’s hold on you and your family." Typical of this type of approach is the revelation that only he has the once and for all and final answer to what otherwise you would have never found through regular Christian practices like, mmm…. I don’t know; maybe a relationship with God, a good reading and study of His word, and maybe even a normal prayer with our Creator?
 
3. "The autopsy will only tell what physically killed her, not the spiritual reason behind her death. Anna Nicole was set up by Satan. Generational and family curses were hanging over her head from the day she was born." To have that kind of spiritual insight is beyond human capability and to spiritually diagnose someone at that  level is not only unbiblical but it’s only something God can do (Psalm 139).
 
4. "Her mother raised Anna (known then as Vicki Lynn Hogan) as a single parent. This curse of abandonment literally turned her over to the devil. If her mother had known what to do, she could have broken the curse. Anna’s life indicates that her mother did not break that curse." Curse of Abandonment? Who decided this and didn’t invite me to the meeting? This is again STRICTLY unscriptural and an offense to all of the single parents out there that have not been "turned over to Satan." Notice that he did not even make a distinction of whether you were a believer or not. His main qualifier was "if her mother had known what to do." Again, we go back to point one where you overemphasize the technique or procedure and underemphasize the person of God and the glory that pertains to Him.
 
5. "On my DVD HOW TO BREAK GENERATIONAL CURSES I explain in detail how Satan continues his evil through the family bloodline, generation to generation. You must see this DVD to prevent Satan’s attacks on your children and grandchildren. You may not live a wild and immoral life like Ms. Smith, but you may still be cursed by your ancestors." Again, same concept: All you absolutely need is in this ________________ (insert trinket, charm, holy water, prayer cloth, tie here) and Satan aka. "El Cukuy" will stay away from you for ever. This sounds too much like a vampire story and nothing like the biblical worldview where Satan, the world and our sin will influence us toward disobedience (if we are children of God) and that spiritual warfare is a reality that is included in our worldview Eph. 6:10-18. However, his word tells us that we are his children and that greater is he who is in us than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4).
 
6. "For your gift of $50 or more, I’ll send both DVDs, plus one of the most important documents you’ll ever hold in your hands: THE LAWSUIT AGAINST SATAN." Speaks for itself.
 
I wish I had more time to critique the rest but you get the picture. According to some personal sources, Bob used to be a great defender of the faith and dealt extensively with cult research in his early years in ministry. However, as many who without accountability or guidance wonder down the "cookie" and lopsided road of extreme spiritual warfare, Bob worries too much about the dark side and gains some $$ (at people’s expense) while he’s at it.
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What Really Unites Pentecostals?

Posted on December 8, 2006 by David Mendez.
Categories: Rants and Ravings, Dangerous Ideas, Spiritually Odd, Theology.

If what we see in radio, TV and print is any indication, then this Christianity Today article might be on target. They state what seemed obvious to many Pentecostals, just ten years ago.

 

Pentecostals, it is said, believe that speaking in tongues is the initial evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The charismatic gift was at the center of Charles Parham’s Bible school revival in 1901 and William Seymour’s Azusa Street phenomenon in 1906. It is, after all, one of the main reasons for the name Pentecostals (see Acts 2). But in an October survey from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, at least 40 percent of Pentecostals in six of the ten countries surveyed said they had never prayed or spoken in tongues. Only half of U. S. Pentecostals had spoken in tongues.

However,

As common as belief in miraculous gifts, however, is faith in the prosperity gospel. Renewalists overwhelmingly agree that "God will grant material prosperity to all believers who have enough faith." In Nigeria, 95 percent of Pentecostals agree with that statement, and 97 percent agree that "God will grant good health and relief from sickness to believers who have enough faith." In the Philippines, 99 percent of Pentecostals agreed with the latter statement.

Finally,

But for now, as the Pew Forum survey shows, Pentecostalized Christianity is nearly synonymous with the prosperity gospel. So while we listen to our brothers and sisters, we also need to proclaim biblical truths that counter the "health and wealth" message. The spiritual gift most needed in the 21st century is the gift of discernment (1 Cor. 12:10).

This is disturbing to say the least. For years this has been my beef with the "popular" side of the Pentecostal movement. Although there has been discernment among some schools, seminaries and missionary endeavors; there has been such a lax and conformity to every theological wind that blows their way. I have always said that some Pentecostal entities in Spanish speaking countries (as far as I know), eat off of the theological breadcrumbs that fall off of the American doctrinal table. Let me qualify this: Aberrant movements such as the laughter, gold teeth, laughing, spitting, howling in the spirit, oil and gold rain, etc. etc become popular, then die out and finally resurrect somewhere in Mexico or Latin America. Now, with the new  "Guttenberg," (mediums) these practices take an immediate life of their own through the use of internet, radio and TV.

This new "bling" gospel affects churches and families alike. The assumption that something is wrong with you if you are not rich is a common denominator among a lot of churches. Sola “bling” seems to be one of the "new" funnymentals of the Christian faith. That is why we have fallen into irrelevance before the world and the treasure chest of our faith has been sunk by the weight of the bullions of prosperity. I wonder what penalty we will get for asking before our retirement for our spiritual 401k. Furthermore, I also thought that our "treasures in heaven" were meant for heaven and not earth. I wonder if there is more to the prodigal son than just the return of the "lost one." If his asking for his inheritance before his time teaches us anything, then, at the very least, it is a sign of the troubles my brethren might similarly fall into.

Feel free to pass this on and or leave a comment if you want.

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The Epidemic of the Century

What I am about to tell you is very frightening, very frightening indeed. It is so frightening that if you succumb to the very thing I might be warning you against, then it is frightening to think that you think this might not be as frightening as it is. It is a disease of pandemic proportions that even the most sophisticated infections are not as dangerous, not as subtle, not as endemic as the one I am about to expose from you.

The disease is called apathy.

Apathy has infected more people than any other disease and longer than any other large scale epidemic. The disregard for truth has become more evident in our times, more than any other time, in our entire existence. The fact that many, many people just don’t care about some of the more important issues like value, justice, truth, love, and beauty is just a glaring example of the times we live in. Whether we live or die, whether there is truth or dare, whether there are moral absolutes, whether macro evolution is true, and even whether God himself exists doesn’t seem to phase the common person out there.

Even though this attitude of heart has existed in one way or another throughout the centuries, it has become more apparent in this day in age. Whenever we stopped asking questions about the above values and started denying the very essence of the things we treasure there started a slow erosion towards apathy. Even ten years ago while modernism gasped for air before it gave away to postmodernism, people still cared about whether reality is real. I personally think that all postmodernism really is is modernism’s hangover. We debated, reasoned, deconstructed, empiricized, essences out of existence. Hence, all we were left with is the leftover carcass of meaninglessness, indifference, and hatred towards all things precise and true in favor for ambiguity, non-judgementalism, and all things perspectival.

“So what if its true?” is said by the common person. This is so telling of the culture we live in that even if we were to find all truth, there will never be enough of it to bring a person against his apathy towards it. “You can bring a horse to water but you can make him drink.”

Nevertheless, Its funny to see people who don’t care - care about the fact that they don’t care. It’s like saying “I don’t have a position on this particular issue.” Then the question could be asked whether that IS a particular position about the issue. However, even if we demonstrate to the culture at large that we have weighed their argument in the logical scale and have found it wanting, the end result is no different than the musings of child in his terrible two’s: “so!”

I was recently reading Peter Kreeft’s book on apologetics where he mentions that there are twenty-four or so arguments for the existence of God. However, if people do not care whether there are twenty four or twenty four thousand then what is to become of our commandment to present proofs for the faith we have been endowed with. It is troubling and disheartening to even think about whether it is even worth throwing the pearls of wisdom to the swine of indifference.

Then we are left with a penetrating question, “How then shall we live?” I’ll explore this issue more in the next post or so. That is, if I care to even do it. :)

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National Conference of Apologetics - Nov. 10 & 11

Imagine all these speakers under one roof:
Ravi Zacharias, Josh McDowell, Gary Habermas, Erwin Lutzer, Mark Mittelberg, Lee Strobel, and Norman Geisler.

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

Friday, November 10, 6pm to 10pm
Saturday, November 11, 8am to 4:30pm

LOCATION

Hickory Grove Baptist Church (North)
2350 Odell School Road
Charlotte, NC 28262

TICKETS
Adult: $40 each
Students / Teens: $30 each
Group (10+): One ticket free

SATURDAY NIGHT DINNER
WITH LEE STROBEL!

Conference Banquet will begin at 6:30pm and will feature a delicious dinner, special music, and a keynote message by Lee Strobel: $15/person

For Advance Tickets call:
1-800-77-TRUTH (x. 210)

REGISTER

Click
Here to Register

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