Fasten your seat belts, ladies and gents — this is going to be a wild ride!
Southern Baptist Convention President Ronnie Floyd, was a featured speaker at the NAR IHOP conference. Mr. Floyd has done nothing but give credence and tacit approval to false prophets and false teachers, and he should be rebuked for such actions — but the SBC remains silent.
Seems lots of Episcopalians have a love affair with Islam.
More on InterVarsity Fellowship and “Black Lives Matter.”
Mary Dalke has been working on adding more to her post on discernment. She has some good information and videos about various heretical church leaders — leaders undiscerning people listen to with baited breath while following them like any other cult leader. The “fun” part is that these heretics are nothing but a mutual admiration society.
Bill Hybels is more of a motivational speaker (sort of like Joel Osteen) than he is a pastor.
Um, no — we are NOT “all God’s children.” HT to Marsha West.
The main German Church has gone completely apostate rebelling against God and sanctioning homosexuality.
Someone sent me this video, thinking it was really good. That person was totally lacking in discernment, since the video is heretical. First, it presumes to speak for God. Secondly, right off the bat it teaches a God who is not omniscient - he is surprised by what humans do! Then we have him walking hand in hand with God; um, how can he do that since God is spirit and no one can see him? The whole thing is feel-good cliches — nothing but a secular motivational video. Oh, and we don’t “forgive ourselves.” That is nothing but psychobabble.
Gary Gilley has a good series on The Bible Translations Debate.
Gilley also has a good series on The Role of Women in Ministry.
“Pleading the Blood of Christ” is unbiblical nonsense. I have in the past had comments on posts where the person either says they are “pleading the blood of Jesus” or that I should do so, and too many e-mails making the same claims. Whoever first came up with that idea should have been horse-whipped!
Ellen G. White and the teachings of the Seventh-day Adventists. Without her teachings, they couldn’t exist, but she is a false teacher and false prophet, which makes the SDA a cult.
One more thing to add to Mike Bickle’s false teaching line-up.
I’ve read things here and there about Sid Roth, but nothing really explicit. This post is a great exposure of this false teacher. This guy is just as scary as any false teacher in the charismanic cult. Those he “interviews” are all brainwashed into these lies and are part of the problem in that they also teach the lies. They don’t hear God - they hear Satan.
Stay away from false teaching narcissist Todd White. How do guys like this get enough money to get their own follows claiming to be a church?
I’ve posted information in past “RAAH” articles about Liberty University’s bringing in Glenn Beck as a speaker without speaking about the fact that Mormonism isn’t Christian, their fining of students who didn’t want to listen to Beck, and their claim that they have no official position about Mormonism. Well, their inviting Donald Trump to speak and treating him as a Christian is just as bad. But what can you expect from a place which has also invited speakers such as “Rev.” Moon and Benny Hinn! There appears to be no discernment with the leadership of Liberty.
I recommend Mary Dalke’s latest “Warning You With Tears Wednesday,” with a huge collection of videos examining all sorts of heresy and aberrations in the Church. Some of the things she reports on have also been reported by me either in this post or past posts, but that just shows we follow some of the same sites!
Steve Bricker has an excellent, thought-provoking article about worship.
“Speaking” about worship, why do we even need a “National Worship Leader Conference”?!? Seriously! Can’t the people who lead the “worship” (i.e. songs) just use their own intellect about what songs to choose and how to arrange things? Why is it the Church never used to have such a position as “worship leader”? At any rate, this article makes one really good point: the idea promoted by “worship leaders” and conferences like this is “performancism” — “The worship leader as the performer. The congregation as the audience. The sanctuary as the concert hall.” Then he makes an outstanding suggestion: “Sing songs people know (or can learn easily). Sing them in congregational keys. Sing and celebrate the power, glory, and salvation of God. Serve your congregation. Saturate them with the word of God. Get your face off the big screen .… Use your original songs in extreme moderation.… Err on the side of including as many people as possible in what’s going on. Keep the lights up. Stop talking so much. Don’t let loops/lights/visuals become your outlet for creativity at the expense of the centrality of the gospel. Point to Jesus. Don’t draw attention to yourself. Don’t sing songs with bad lyrics or weak theology. Tailor your worship leading, and the songs you pick, to include the largest cross-section of your congregation that you can. Lead pastorally.”
A friend who sent me the link to the above article gave me this testimony about his assembly: “This was very evident last week - I pointed it out to lots of folks. [The worship leader] and gang sang a song for the congregation. In the middle he pauses and quotes from [O.T.] and then finishes the song. I wrote down the artist and title. I went home and looked it up - listened to a "professional" recording of the artist's cut. Sure enough, [the worship leader] COPIED it verbatim....pause, citing of [O.T.] text, finish song. This is what I call a copycat performance. Its not worship. He's just copying what's on the top 40 cause its popular. Its so obvious people are blinded to it.”
I can’t add to this!
Hi Glenn,
ReplyDeleteSBC - Surely Being Compromised (I used to say "Slowly" but it's not slow anymore)
Hybels - unfortunately not different than Rick Warren, just a bit less well known
Your comment "The “fun” part is that these heretics are nothing but a mutual admiration society. " - Excellent! That is how it goes in the Christian celebrity world, they are all a mutual admiration society, and the "ordinary" pastors of many congregations join in the praises of these celebrity men, many of whom shouldn't even be leaders in the church.
On worship, I perused the articles you posted. I could say so much right now, but I hesitate because of the level of disgust I feel from what I have personally seen and how I've been treated in "worship ministry"... and the excuses I've heard of why genuinely wrong things are allowed... and then the way I got treated when my husband and I finally spoke up (think: touch not the Lord's anointed reformed baptist style).
I will say this: the Bible only knows two "offices" if you will for the NT church - SHEPHERD and DEACON. The guy with a guitar who has no genuine shepherding skills should not a leader of worship. Because shepherding the peoples' hearts - including the other musicians - is BY FAR more important that achieving a "style" or a "sound"... and achieving a "style" or "sound" shouldn't even be a goal for corporate worship!!! It's about facilitating believers to praise and adore their Savior!
Finally, Gilley on women in the church, as he is usually pretty fair, I plan to give his articles due consideration in the near future. I know his position and would agree, but I have seen complementarian thought turned into a form of misogyny in the church. I know that will not be the case for Gilley's articles. But I have witnessed headship and leadership morphed into despotism.
-Carolyn
Carolyn,
ReplyDeleteYes, we have seen God's rules for women in the Church home perverted into misogyny or dictatorial leadership; but you can't blame the Word of that.
Oh no, of course not, I don't blame the Word. Just the people who misuse it.
ReplyDelete-Carolyn
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI have heard from a catholic woman in a BSF class I attended in the past say "you have to pray the blood of Jesus! Try it, it works!" I was shocked by it, since I knew it to be unbiblical. I no longer attend BSF for such reasons (catholics being given air-time plus other reasons (reading from The Message).
Thank you for providing your readers with much needed resources to read and share!
Hi Glenn,
ReplyDeleteThis is a rocky ride!
What Carolyn said, and,
1. The connection between Sun Myong Moon and Liberty University is more than that he was a guest speaker there. He is said to have given at least $4Million to the school. Jerry Falwell defended him even after he was sent to prison.
For younger readers, the Unification Church was a pseudo-Christian cult very active in the US through the 1970's and beyond. The Rev Moon was not only a cult leader. There is evidence that he was involved in some way with Korean (and US) intelligence. A web search will lead you down these strange and disturbing paths.
2. There is no such thing as a "church leader" in the Bible. If you hear your pastor talking about leadership, ask him to back up what he's saying from the Scriptures. This is more than semantics. A corporate-style business leader has no business shepharding the people of God.
3. There are many Christians from Jewish backgrounds who agree Sid Roth is terrible. Why do so many American Christians love him? Easy.
It's supernatural.
Alec
Alec,
ReplyDeleteI see you tried posting three times -- comments don't show up until moderated. I started moderating a couple years back because of all false teaching, filth, personal attacks, and spam I was getting.
Anyway, for those who want more information about Moon and the Unification Church, I wrote an article about them here:
http://watchmansbagpipes.blogspot.com/2010/04/unification-church-moonies.html
Hi Glenn,
ReplyDeleteUsually there is a message that the comment will be approved after moderation. This time the google posting page was just dead. Glad it went through after all.
Alec
I've noticed on my blogs that it never says it will be approved after moderation. I don't know why it doesn't say that.
ReplyDeleteHi Glenn,
ReplyDeleteRead Gilley's articles. As expected. That said, I very much appreciated one quote in his last article:
"Some would suggest that Paul is teaching that women are more susceptible to temptation through deceit. For that reason she should not lead in the church since she is prone to deception (Culver, Four Views). But the text does not say that, it only states a fact — Eve was deceived, as a result consequences followed."
That is correct. Scripture NEVER states women are "more prone to deception" than men. I'm tired of hearing that old chestnut, which is, sadly, propagated by many women in the blogosphere. Scripture simply states the fact that Eve was deceived.
Thanks for again keeping us informed.
-Carolyn
Don't throw the towel in on the SBC just yet. I attend church with some former high up execs of the SBC. We are all upset with Ronnie Floyd speaking at IHOP. It has not gone unnoticed, and there might be something more to come of it. I don't like what Russell Moore is doing, either, but do we leave our church, associated with SBC, and, if so, where to go? Apostasy is creeping in everywhere. We had better know our Bible, and be ready to defend what it says. Jude 3.
ReplyDeleteA former coworker who was Latter Day Saints spent substantial time trying to convert me to Mormonism. I asked him where he stands on plural wives. He said he abides by the law of the land for the time being, but he has a vision that the law will be changed so that Mormon males will be able to go back to polygamy. He is praying that this will happen in his lifetime.
ReplyDeleteYou recently commented that nobody hears audibly from the Lord, and "Anyone who claims otherwise is a liar and not to be trusted."
That reminds me of something else about the Mormon fellow. I asked if he hears straight from God. He assured me he does, and said that God has told him the LDS doctrines and covenants are the truth. I then asked him a specific question that only a person who truly hears the voice of the Almighty could answer satisfactorily. He said he would get back to me on that. After a few days he sheepishly admitted that what he hears is "a still small voice, see." It shakes out that he gets good or bad FEELINGS about things, and he attributes them to the Mormon deity, and describes them as the deity talking to him. Sad.
Carolyn,
ReplyDeleteIn general, I think women do tend to be more easily deceived because, compared to men generally, they operate more on emotions. Many of those who deceive appeal to emotions for their followers.
Hi Glenn,
ReplyDeleteI'll have to respectfully disagree. For being less emotional, I've seen many, many men deceived, via the method you refer to as, Deception By Investment. Men sure get attached to their man-idols, and will defend them rather forcefully! All I can think is the number of men who loved (and still love!) Driscoll and the number of women who immediately saw the issues with him and found Him repulsive. Spiritual deception goes beyond the emotional.
No worries, though, brother. I'm not here to cause strife. As I said, especially as a discerning woman, I was just thankful for what was said in Gilley's article. I can leave it at that.
-Carolyn
Carolyn,
ReplyDeleteNotice I said IN GENERAL women are more emotional than men, which leads them to be easier deceived in general. If you look at the WOF and charismatic in general there certainly appears to be more women followers than men.
Men IN GENERAL operate more rationally in their thinking processes than do women. This is general knowledge. It is these differences in emotions and rationality which pairs men and women together so wonderfully. Women are indeed rational and men are indeed emotional, but they operate primarily in one mode.
Hi Glenn,
ReplyDeleteSorry, it truly was not my intent to offend. I just believe that pride is as much of a cause of deception as emotionality. Most false prophets/teachers mentioned in Scripture are men, and they were full of religious pride.
-Carolyn
Hi Carolyn,
ReplyDeleteNo offense taken at all!
I think pride is indeed a cause of deception.
The only reason why most false teachers in the Bible are men is because the culture's status didn't really allow women to be in such positions. However, throughout the past couple centuries I think there is a pretty even mix of men and women false teachers.
I thought more about my Mormon colleague this morning. He believed that some of the planets astronmers have discovered orbiting around other stars are being "administered" by male Mormon elders who have passed on. That clashes with what I have heard from teachers and preachers about the afterlife. Glenn, maybe you could blog about the location of the afterlife. I was told it is NOT in any direction that we can point to from Earth out into ordinary 3-dimensional space, and that mundane things like eating and eliminating waste will NOT be part of the eternal deal.
ReplyDeleteI ran out of a Baptist church, led by a male Assemblies of God ordained pastor, with a male dominated church board, elder system, an equally gendered deacon and deaconess program who to this day, supports the Toronto blessing (cursing), Todd Bentley, Joyce Meyers, Beth Moore, Smith Wigglesworth, Jonathon Cahn, Yongi Cho, Joel Osteen, Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn, Paula White, Mike Bickle and the IHOP apostle system, John Wimber, Billy Graham, Larry Huck, Mike Murdock, Sid Roth, David Jeremiah, Paul Crouch, Rick Joyner, Mark Driscoll, Jack Hayford, Bill Johnson, J. Lee Grady and his Charisma Magazine, Promise Keepers deceivers, etc., etc., etc., etc., etc.
ReplyDeleteAnd not one person from that former church, whether male nor female ever encouraged me to read God's Word for myself, but instead led me to this man's or that woman's teachings in place of Christ.
As far as a woman being deceived more than a man or visa versa, my heart breaks for all of mankind when men make the "discernment issue" a matter of gender rather than a matter of one' heart and mind aligning with God's Word.
A believe needs to look no further that what portrays itself as Christianity within the western church to see that wolves in sheep's clothing are both "male" and "female," for most of us discerning farm girls know that 'wool' is not gender specific.
Truth be told here, most of the wolves that I listened too while in this Baptist conundrum, fallsing down on the floor drunk in a spirit of sorts, having visions and dreams to impress my pentecostal peers, and hearing 'voices' from a lord of my own vain imagination; were MEN.
Lord have mercy on those who have eyes to see and ears to hear.
Hi Glenn,
ReplyDeleteGood point regarding female false teachers.
-Carolyn
Anonymous, 1:17PM
ReplyDeleteYour Mormon colleague is just speculating based on his understanding of the Mormon doctrine of eternal progression.
http://watchmanvlds.blogspot.com/2014/10/mormonisms-doctrine-of-eternal.html
I'm not going to blog on the afterlife because no one really knows much about it; the Bible says very little about what it will be like other than praising and worshiping God and recognizing people we know while in the flesh. It really doesn't tell us the specifics of where we will be other than the "New Jerusalem" etc.
Anonymous, 8:24AM
ReplyDeleteWow, that church you came from was a real spiritual disaster. What a good choice you made to leave!
As for the general statement about women vs men in discernment, I think if you look at my comments above to Carolyn, you will understand my point. Also, while men are the primarily wolf leaders, in general the population of their followers tends to be more women.
Thank-you Glen, for your response to my ultra quick typing skills, what a mess that was, but you understood the scenario I lived in as a church community. And I won't even go into the major details concerning the immorality of the pastor or that of his household, for some would equate this as gossip. The fact remains this pastor left when finally 'caught' with physical evidence of his sexual perversions, and yet the church board and elders wanted to still keep this man as our pastor with the understanding that he would receive counseling services. The truth was exposed after his 'Jezebel sermon on the pulpit mount,' trying to disqualify those of us who voiced the truth concerning the heresies that were being taught within this 'cult.' Several of the women who came forward in the past with allegations against the pastor were called 'liars' by those in leadership, to shame these individuals under their submission. This wolf is still preaching in the church system elsewhere with his 'lying signs and wonders/word of faith-power in our words theology' and still leading people astray with his charismatic charm.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I would have to agree with you, most ashamedly so. I too, was caught under this pastor's charismatic 'spell' as well as not having a mind of my own, in that I followed and obeyed those men and women who ruled over me. In desiring to 'fit in' with the spirit of the age within this church, I believe some call it peer pressure, I longed for fellowship and became a cult like follower of this church's leaders and all of those wolf preachers/teachers they promoted.
As a result of my having left, Glen, many of those wicked and evil people have tried and are still at work trying to destroy my marriage, my family and the relationships that I have with them, and my social life within our small community. There is a price to pay in following the Jesus of our Bibles, for that road is a narrow one, unpaved, with suffering and pain.
Thankfully, there are a few believers who love Jesus with a heart of leading people to Him and His Word. Praise our LORD for folks such as these.