Someone gave me a prophetic word/prophesied over me.

I saw a lot of this for awhile at a church I used to attend. There was one group of people that were always "prophesying" over others. It always looked like a circus to me when they did this and always disrupted the service. What was disconcerting to me about it was that it really seemed like these folks loved the Lord and tried to live their faith, but then they'd break out prophesying, and seemed to be able to turn it on at will, whenever they wanted to. I was a fairly new Christian at the time, so didn't know God's Word any where near as well as I know it now, but something just seemed very wrong with it all. These same folks were also very much into "healing" and didn't seem to think there was any reason that anyone should ever be sick. It seemed like a personal affront to them if someone wasn't healed instantly, yet no one ever was.

At first I'd listen to their prophesies very carefully and they were often quite specific. They'd tell people things like: "God is going to see to it that you come into a lot of money very soon so you can start a TV station that will honor Him and bring many into the Kingdom". That one really floored me and I waited expectantly to see it happen. Of course it never did and it's been over 15 years now.

They seemed to know the pastor well and often prophesied over him or his wife. I remember once they told her that God was going to give her her own ministry and how great it was going to be. I knew that the pastors wife was already busier then any two women usually were, so I wondered how He was going to make any more time for her to do something else. That one was difficult to determine if it came true or not. As far as they were concerned it did, but I wasn't so sure. She did later start a women's ministry, or rather she got it going for others anyway. But she'd done that many times in the past and I knew she'd continue to do it in the future, so it wasn't anything new and it certainly wasn't what their entire prophecy had seemed to indicate. That particular ministry fizzled out after a short time anyway.

I noticed that when these people did give a prophesy, it was always something spectacularly good for the person and often involved the person getting money which of course they always said was to be used for something that would bring glory to God. But then according to the things they'd say, anything could bring glory to Him, including just paying your bills. Which is true I suppose, but it just didn't sit right with me.

These folks also spoke in tongues and often preceded their prophecy by speaking in tongues or would prophecy in tongues first and then they'd interpret it for us. What I thought was strange was that no one else could ever interpret anything one of them said in tongues, only the person who spoke it could. Nor was there ever anyone who could or would stand up in agreement or disagreement with anything they prophesied.

There were others besides this core group of course. Over the years there always seemed to be a few folks that were really into this kind of thing.

Of course I asked the Lord about it and He had me study all the times a prophet spoke in the NT and then the OT. What I found interesting was that the vast majority of times, the prophecy wasn't nice, it wasn't something anyone would necessarily want to hear. Like when the prophet told (and demonstrated) how Paul was going to be arrested and put in chains; another common thing for the prophets to prophesy was to tell the person or persons that they were sinning and not doing God's Will. I just couldn't find anywhere where a prophet had spoke words anything like what these folks did regularly.

Having been saved out of the New Age and Occult garbage, I was very aware of psychics and what they did.Just as the article above pointed out, that's exactly what these people reminded me of. Thankfully I've never heard of seen of any of them giving prophetic "readings" around here though. I'm afraid I've have to speak a few words to them if so.

But then the Lord shocked me by giving me what I later came to understand were sometimes called either "words of knowledge" or "words of wisdom". Well, at least that's the closest thing I could come to for what He told me. Don't worry. He never told me things like "so and so's going to come into a lot of money" But what He would do regularly is ask me to pray for people, sometimes people I didn't even know. So I would, even when I wasn't sure what to pray about for them. Then, one day, He revealed things that He specifically wanted me to pray about for a person. I was acquainted with the person, but not well. Still, I was pretty shocked by what He'd put in my mind to pray about. I was being discipled by one of the elders at my church at the time, so I did ask them about it without telling them who I was praying for or what the Lord had told me to pray about. I just asked if that was "normal" for God They told me it was, and warned me to never tell anyone what the Lord had told me, unless He specifically told me to or gave me permission. I was very grateful for their warning and kept everything He told me close to my heart, and prayed as He directed. There didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to when the Lord would give me information to pray about. Sometimes I'd have to pray not knowing anything at all about "why" I'd been told to pray. Other times I'd be praying as usual, only to be interrupted and given information to pray about something else for them. After a few months, I discovered, much to my surprise, that it was much easier for me to pray for someone I didn't know, then for those I did know. When I knew someone well, I tended to make assumptions about what they needed prayer for and discovered that I was more often wrong then right, because the Lord would interrupt me and tell me what they needed prayer for.

Anyway, after more then a year, the Lord finally gave me confirmation that showed me for absolute sure that I'd been hearing from Him and been doing His Will. At first various people that I'd been praying for would come up to me and say things in conversation that would confirm that I'd been praying for the right things. It was always a shocker to everyone, even me, even though I'd been praying for them about it. For instance a woman who I had always thought had a wonderful marriage and family, and who'd never given any indication that anything was wrong, announced that she had filed for divorce several months before but was now reconciled with her husband. After that happened any number of times, I felt amazed that the Lord had allowed me to be a part of all of it. Then after yet more years went by, He went further. A woman registered on FH and sent me a PM before she ever posted. She told me this horror story of all that had happened to her, ending with that they'd been going to take their own life. They felt so alone especially because they didn't even know anyone who they could ask to pray for them. For some reason though, at that moment, they'd suddenly felt the Lord all around them, loving them! It was an amazing testimony! It gave me goosebumps too because some of the particulars they'd told about, were the very same things I'd been praying about for a person I didn't know and had been praying for for over a year. I even knew what night that had happened on because I'd been awakened during the night to pray for them! So I wrote back and asked them if they knew what night it had happened. The replied and confirmed what I already knew in my heart, it was that very same night and the very same time that the Lord had woke me up!

Of course I immediately, for the first time, asked the Lord for permission to share that there had in fact been someone praying for them, and He gave it. I still remember writing that reply to them. I had tears streaming down my face. I told them the whole story of how the Lord had asked me to pray for them and how I had been doing so and for how long; and how He'd awakened me that particular night at that time, telling me to pray and pray hard! So I prayed and I kept praying until I felt completely at peace and knew I could stop. Needless to say, they too were astounded at just how much God loved them.

It still astounds me too, as I too had a time in my life when I thought no one cared about me enough to pray for me and I desperately needed prayer. I have no doubt in my mind though, that God made sure I was covered in prayer then, just as He did for this person. I know He does it for all of His children, because He loves us so.

So now you can see that while I don't for a moment believe any of those other people were speaking for God, I do believe that God speaks to us and even gives us insight and wisdom we need to do His Will. It's not something to be used to show off and look important to others, and not to interrupt a service with. Nor is it to tell people that "everything's going to be ok, that they'll get the money they need, their relationships will be repaired, etc. No. It's only to do His Will and help His children and to build up the body of Christ. So please, beware of those who have "words of knowledge or wisdom" for you, or who prophesize over you. Test them against the Word of God, and if it's not there, then the Word isn't from God.

2 Cor 13:1; 1 Cor 14:26–28; 1 Cor 14:29–30; 1 Cor 14:32–33;

Part 2:

I think most of these folks are well meaning people who love the Lord and want to do great things for Him, want to please Him, but have wound up being misled as to how to serve Him. I know for example that a great many churches tell people to "practice" speaking in tongues, to literally fake it and that then one day it will just "happen" for them. I was told that by any number of churches even, and I'm not pentecostal. It's the same with words of knowledge and wisdom. People are told to just say whatever comes into their minds and "believe it's from God". They're not taught discernment or accountability. Since that's what they're told, and what they hear from others all the time, they assume that's the correct way it's done.

The most dangerous thing I've seen in many churches is people "practicing" hearing from or trying to receive messages from the Holy Spirit. It's similar to getting words of knowledge or wisdom and yet different. It's hard to explain. It's yet another way that Satan has deceived the elect because in this case instead of just saying whatever comes into their heads, like so many do with the words of knowledge and wisdom, they actually begin to hear from demons. Without realizing it, they're doing exactly the same thing the new agers do when they hear from their so called "spirit guides". These people become more and more deceived as time goes by and often don't realize it for many years. They think they're having a special experience and as you know, we humans just love supernatural experiences and tend to cling to them. Plus of course it makes them feel "special" too, all of which makes it even harder for them to repent. Since these people really do love the Lord, they have a really hard time believing that they've been fooled by Satan for all that time. That too makes it hard for them to truly repent, because to repent we must first agree with God that what we've been doing is a sin. Somehow, to us, when we sin in these ways, it seems worse to us then if we'd lied or done some kind of "regular" sin. I guess that's part of the problem, that we tend to categorize sins that way and forget that what matters is that we repent, not what the sin was.

I've noticed though that when someone who was involved with that does truly repent, they seem to become even more on fire for God and really study His Word more then ever as they don't ever want to get caught in one of Satan's schemes again. Because of that, they grow quickly and the more they grow the more they study... it's like a circle and it effects everyone around them. I can easily see the Lord using them to do great things in their lives and the lives of all who know them after they truly repent though, as they seem to be the type that feels His Word is like a fire within them that they have to release, only now they realize that His Word isn't something put or heard in their minds, but is in their Bibles. Its amazing what God can do with us when we repent and do things His way!

Jeremiah 20:9 —But if I say, “I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot. *


Job 32:18–20 —For I am full of words, and the spirit within me compels me; *inside I am like bottled-up wine, like new wineskins ready to burst. *I must speak and find relief; I must open my lips and reply. *

It IS a sin to pray to Mary!

Did or Do the Jews pray to David, or Moses or Abraham? or angels for that matter?

I ask this question to open the eyes of catholics to what they are doing. If you'll recall, ALL the disciples and Jesus and His whole family were Jewish. So were a huge number of converts to them.

This question I asked is VERY relevant to us today . The Jewish people AND Jesus Himself NEVER, NEVER, NEVER prayed to David, or Moses, or Samuel, or to angels or to any other person. They ONLY prayed to God Himself.

The fact that Jesus did NOT do this, should be more than enough to show catholics that this practice is VERY WRONG and is a sin! The fact that none of the Jews ever did this (of which Jesus was one) should also throw up a HUGE red flag for catholics! Jesus and the Jews knew the Old Testament Intimately and would have never gone against God's will like this. At least not those who cared about God.

Jesus Himself also said that He didn't come to do away with the law, but rather to fulfill it. You should also know from reading the Bible that God does not change. Therefore if it was wrong and a sin to pray to others and or angels then, it is still a sin now!

The catholics usually refer to the time that Jesus was caught up in the air with Moses. But Jesus did NOT pray to them and neither did the disciples.

The BIBLE records exactly what they did afterward and Jesus would have had a cow if they had prayed to them. By reading the Bible you can determine that they did NOT pray to them. It's not in there...nowhere...nothing you can say will make it suddenly appear either. Neither Jesus nor his disciples prayed to anyone other than God and that's exactly what they taught others to do. If they had taught differently there would be plenty to read about it in the history books and the Bible too because they would have been run out of town as blasphemers by the Jews specifically for that.

The unavoidable fact is that if they (the disciples,) had taught for people to pray to anyone other than God, there would have been a HUGE hullabaloo over it and the disciples would have been run out of town and most likely killed for that particular heresy, long before they could be killed for preaching the Gospel. Therefore the so called teachings of the individuals that taught this 100 or 200 years later MUST be heresy as anything else does not make sense.

Everything we need for our spiritual growth is in the Bible. If you can't show me where Jesus or his disciples or some other NT or OT writer said that it's ok to pray to dead people, then it conclusively means that it's not ok. As far as what Jesus did, He prayed to the Father and only to the Father. Why should we be any different??? Not one single disciple prayed to anyone but God either.

Consider also that there are quite a few prayers written about in both the OT and the NT. Not one single one is addressed to anyone other than God!

On top of all this there is another obvious example. When Jesus was asked by the disciples to teach them to pray, He taught them to pray to God! Many people seem to think that He was teaching them a single prayer to pray. He wasn't. He was teaching them exactly what they asked: HOW to pray. Prayer should be directed ONLY to God as Jesus Himself taught them.

the evidence is indisputable. It is a sin to pray to anyone or anything but God.

The soul of the departed is alive and conscious in heaven or hell, but there is no communication between the departed and us. Thats why the Bible forbids us from trying to communicate with the dead. Dead saints remain part of the body of Christ, but there is an effective separation from the living saints. One day the Lord will give His people a glorified and immortal body and gather us all together. Until then we must face the sad consequence of death: separation!

Secondly, we note that praying to the saints is not equivalent to asking fellow Christians for prayer. This excuse may be convincing to some Christians who never had any personal experience of the Catholic religion. Otherwise, every Catholic (and former Catholic) knows that praying to Mary or the saints is completely different than asking a fellow believer for prayer.

Suppose a Christian brother comes and kneels before you, imploring you with great devotion to pray for him. Would you allow him? How would you react if he calls you his advocate, his hope and refuge? What if he thanks you for the many graces you conferred on him and for delivering him from hell? Suppose he tells you that he confines his salvation to your care and pleads with you to stay with him until you see him safe in heaven? Would you call that "asking a fellow Christian for prayer"? Of course not! That kind of prayer and confidence is nothing less than divine worship and it should be directed only to the Lord Jesus Christ. And yet that is exactly the kind of prayer that Catholics offer to Mary and the saints.

Re 19:9–10 — 9 Then the angel said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he added, “These are the true words of God.” 10 At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

Ac 10:25–26 — 25 As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. 26 But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.”

Col 2:18 — 18 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions.

Only God knows our thoughts. No human (dead or alive) or angel or anything else can know our thoughts or hear our prayers. 1 Corinthians 2:11

Notice that God doesn't tell us to seek Mary or anyone other then Him:

Deuteronomy 4:29 But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. 30 When you are in distress, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, when you turn to the Lord your God and obey His voice 31. (for the Lord your God is a merciful God), He will not forsake you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them.

Psalms 86:5 For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.

notice it's GOD and NOT Mary?

Psalms 130:7 O Israel, hope in the Lord; For with the Lord there is mercy, And with Him is abundant redemption.

notice that our hope is to be in HIM not Mary!

Joel 2:13 So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm.

Return to the Lord and stop praying to everyone else.

Daniel 9:9 "To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him.

these belong ONLY to God, not Mary!

Psalms 145:18 The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.

Jeremiah 33:3 `Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.'

again, pray to God, not Mary!

John 4:10 Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, `Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water

Romans 10:13 For "whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

and again, it says to call on HIM!!!! NOT MARY!!!!

Acts 8:24 Then Simon answered and said, "Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me

Genesis 20:17 So Abraham prayed to God; and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants. Then they bore children;

He prayed to GOD!!!

Acts 10:2 a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always.

James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

notice we're not to ask Mary or anyone but God!

I could go on quoting scripture forever and not one single one says to pray to anyone or anything other than GOD! And many show that we are NOT to pray to anyone or anything other than God.

Anyone that uses common sense and the Bible knows that worship consists of prayer to the "being", songs to and about the "being" candles and incense lit to and for the "being", reverence for the "being", and usually stories that are called "holy" or "sacred" about the "being" and the idea that the "being" can help them in some way, often special feast days or days of fasting to/for the "being" and often some sort of "miracles" are associated with the "being", often parades and banners are done to honor the "being", the "being" is somehow set above normal humans, gifts and sacrifices are often offered in honor of the "being", religious jewelery is often worn to honor the "being", often "special people" will have visions and or dreams about this "being", places of worship are often named after this "being", bowing or kneeling to the "being", etc. This is exactly what catholics do to Mary so they absolutely DO worship her.

I can't find something in the Bible

I have looked and looked and looked, but nowhere in the Bible can I find absolute proof of either a Jew in the Old Testament or a Jew or Christian in the New Testament praying TO anyone other then God. The Only examples of people praying to anyone/thing other then God that I can find in the bible are examples of folks who prayed to pagan gods like Baal.

I knew I had to just be missing something obvious so I even went so far as to ask current Jewish religious leaders if they were allowed to pray to anyone other then God, now or in their past. Surely they must have prayed or still pray to perhaps Moses, or Joseph or David, Solomon, or Isaiah, or maybe Abraham....

One of them was so shocked at my question that they basically called me a blasphemer and refused to answer me. The others were nicer about it though and I guess they just assumed I was really ignorant. Anyway they told me that they have never ever prayed to anyone other then the One True God and never would. They even showed me one of their religious statements which I guess could be likened to our "statements of faith", although it is of course much much older then anything any Christian religion could come up with. Here's what they said about it:

Quote:

Here are the Thirteen Principles of Faith that Judaism rests on, according to Maimonides. Please pay particular attention to number 5. 1) I believe with complete faith that the Creator, Blessed is His Name, creates and guides all creatures, and that He alone made, makes, and will make everything. 2) I believe with complete faith that the Creator, Blessed is His Name is unique, and there is no uniqueness like His in any way, and that He alone is our G-d, Who was, Who is, and Who always will be. 3) I believe with complete faith that the Creator, Blessed is His Name, is not physical and is not affected by physical phenomena, and that there is no comparison whatsoever to Him. 4) I believe with complete faith that the Creator, Blessed is His Name - is the very first and the very last. 5) I believe with complete faith that the Creator, Blessed is His Name - to Him alone is it proper to pray and it is not proper to pray to any other. 6) I believe with complete faith that all the words of the prophets are true. 7) I believe with complete faith that the prophecy of Moses our teacher, peace upon him, was true, and that he was the father of the prophets - both those who preceded him and those who followed him. 8) I believe with complete faith that the entire Torah now in our hands is the same one that was given to Moses, our teacher, peace be upon him. 9) I believe with complete faith that this Torah will not be exchanged nor will there be another Torah from the Creator, Blessed is His Name. 10) I believe with complete faith that the Creator, Blessed is His Name, knows all the deeds of human beings and their thoughts, as it is said, "He fashions their hearts all together, He comprehends all their deeds." (Psalms 33:15) 11) I believe with complete faith that the Creator, Bless is His Name, rewards with good those who observe His commandments, and punishes those who violate his commandments. 12) I believe with complete faith in the coming of the Messiah, and even though he may delay, nevertheless I anticipate every day that he will come. 13) I believe with complete faith that there will be a resuscitation of the dead whenever the wish emanates from the Creator, Blessed is His Name and exalted is His mention, forever and for all eternity.

Here are copies of my emails to some of the leading Jewish teachers which will show you how scandalized they were at the thought of praying to someone other then God:

Quote:

Is it permissible to pray to anyone or anything other than God? Dear Cynthia: No, absolutely not. In Jewish Law the only entity that can be prayed to is God. Best regards, Rabbi Reuven Lauffer

Quote:

Can you please tell me if it is acceptable in the Jewish faith to pray to anyone other than G-d for any reason? Dear Cynthia, No it is not acceptable. If you need further assistance feel free to contact us again, Best wishes, Chani Benjaminson

Quote:

Cindy asked: Can you please tell me if it is acceptable in the Jewish faith to pray to anyone other than G-d for any reason? Dear Cindy, Thank you for your inquiry. Here are the Thirteen Principles of Faith that Judaism rests on, according to Maimonides. Please pay particular attention to number 5. They are written here as they are commonly printed in Jewish prayer books: (I already quoted this one so I won't re-quote this part) Rabbi M. Younger Aish.com

These were all emails so no links are possible; however the last Rabbi did list his site under his signature. And yes, I still have the original emails. There is one other one, but that one is the one where the Rabbi was so incensed that I would even have to ask such a thing that he got a bit rude so I won't post it as I wouldn't want to embarrass him. I'm sure if he understood why I had asked that he then would have been incensed at the RCC and not me.

There is a Jewish CULT that did and does allow prayers to others like Rachel, but again this is a CULT and not representative of the real Jewish religion as Jesus would have honored.

So why would I, as a Christian be looking at what the Jew's believe? Well, basically because there can't be a better source for information about the Jewish people and their belief systems. If anyone would know if the Jewish people would/could/should pray to someone/thing other then God, I would think that it would be the Jewish people! Since my Savior came to this earth as a Jew and lived a sinless life as a Jew, I thought that I could find out for sure if Jesus would have prayed to someone/thing other then God or if He would have taught others to do so.

From everything I've read and learned, Jesus or anyone living in Old Testament times or the New Testament times that tried to teach or even simply "tolerate" someone praying to someone/thing other then the One True God, would have been put to death immediately as a blasphemer! So that leaves me with quite a problem. Where then do the catholics get the idea that it's OK for them to do this?????

God says in His Word that He does not change. He says He doesn't lie. He says that His Word doesn't change either. Nor have I found anywhere in the New Testament anyone including Jesus saying that Jesus came and died on the cross so that we might have life and so we could pray to other people too. Therefore, we must still be only allowed to pray to Him and no other. But that can't be right, because the RCC says it's not right...

You can see my confusion on this surely...both can't be true. Either God is True and men are liars, or the RCC is true and God is lying.  According to the Bible, we are to pray to God and to God alone, period.  So, who do you think is right, God or the catholic church?

Can a Goth be a Christian?

I’ve met some Goth’s who say they are saved and yet still dress, talk, and act very much like a Goth. This seemed strange to me until I realized that most Christians today still act the same way they did before they were saved.  Of course that doesn’t make it right, but it does make it very confusing for others who are newly saved. 

Christ call us all to be apart from the world, not a part of it, and that includes everything about us.  If a person is a Christian, a true follower of Christ, they are required to leave behind their old life, and to become a new person, set apart by God and for God. That means that those of us who used to dress in sexually suggestive clothing, stopped doing that, and began dressing modestly as befitted a follower of Christ. That means that those of us who got into music that was about drugs, sex, violence etc., stopped listening to it and instead listened to music that was uplifting and had the elements in it that the Lord told us to look for in the things we put into our minds: Phil 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

The same is true of the "Goth" experience. When you become a true follower of Christ, you are no longer "Goth", instead you belong to God, you become a Christian and are called by His Name.  Gal 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

So as far as being "Goth" goes, there is no such thing if you are indeed a true disciple of Christ. You must give up your life, pick up your cross, and follow Him. As we’re told in Ephesians, we are to put off our old way of life and put on our new self which is created to be like God.  Goth’s who want to be saved, need to do what Jesus told us all to do first: “Count the cost”. (Luke 14)  they need to decide if it’s worth it to them to really give up their old ways and live according to God’s Word, just as every person that comes to Christ needs to decide.  Sadly, we don’t hear a lot about “counting the cost” in churches today.  All we hear is about the free gift of salvation.  Well, the gift is free, but our response to it is going to cost us since we have to give up our old ways, and give up being the masters of our own lives and give Jesus the reigns. We no longer run our lives according to our wills, but instead according to God’s Will.

Lastly, we’re told that when we are saved we become part of a “new man”, a part of the body of Christ. We’re also told that our job is to be an ambassador of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20) to the world. We represent God and His Kingdom to the world.  Therefore we’re to dress, speak and act like citizens of Heaven, not citizens of this world.  So you shouldn’t try to dress, speak or act like me, or your pastor, or anyone else you know.  Instead, you should study God’s Word and find out what He says we’re to dress, speak and act like. For that’s the only way we have to know for sure how citizens of Heaven are to do things. In the “Pursuit of God” Tozer says:

"Millions call themselves by His name, it is true, and pay some token respect to Him, but a simple test will show how little He is really honored among them. Let the average man be put to the proof on the question of who or what is above, and his true position will be exposed. Let him be forced into making a choice between God and money, God and men, between God and personal ambition, God and self, God and human love, and God will take second place every time. Those other things will be exalted above. However the man may protest, the proof is in the choices he makes day after day throughout his life."

To that we can add, “let them choose between Goth or Christ, or Goth and popular music, etc” and God will take second place every time.”  Sad, but true.  All we have to do is look around and we can see the truth in it.  Not many have truly given up their lives for Christ, even though they say they have. I would certainly not want to be one of the ones who hear Jesus say, "I don’t know you” as He does in Matthew 25:12.

To help you get started, the following verses are a few that tell us how we’re to live when we’ve been saved.

Ephesians 4:22–24 —You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; *to be made new in the attitude of your minds; *and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

James 4:4 You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.

Romans 12:2 —Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Leviticus 20:26 `And you shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine.

Psalm 4:3 Know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself; the Lord will hear when I call to him.

1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

1 Peter 3:15-16 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.

John 15:19 "If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

Romans 13:14 —Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

1 Thessalonians 5:22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.

Ephesians 5:1–2 —Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children *and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

1 Corinthians 12:27 —Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

Christians, the Super Bowl and Rejecting Conspiratorial Thinking

Christians, the Super Bowl and Rejecting Conspiratorial Thinking

by Christine Pack

"For the Lord spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: 'Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.'" (Isaiah 8:11-13)

Yes, the world is wicked. And yes, a lot of that in-your-face wickedness was on display, both visually and lyrically, in many ways during the 2015 Super Bowl half-time show. But please, let's not go down the Illuminati rabbit hole. Exhibit A, an article from the dodgy, conspiracy-focused website called Now The End Begins, entitled: Ex-Christian Katy Perry Promotes Dark Magic and LGBT Agenda at 2015 Super Bowl Halftime Show.

The above article, which claims that various performers in the 2015 Super Bowl half-time show were openly broadcasting the intentions of the Illuminati and the New World Order, has been popping up in my Facebook newsfeed all day. For those who have never heard those terms before, the Illuminati and the New World Order are believed to be organizations in which Satan's minions gather in secret to work his dark mischief, but Old Scratch will occasionally (it is believed) come out into the open and use his minions to broadcast his intentions to the world, which he does through various costumes and hand signals. Beyonce making a triangle with her fingers during a stage performance was one widely quoted example of this, and so was Madonna's half-time Super Bowl costume from a few years ago. What are these high level occultists supposed to be broadcasting? The code-breakers can't quite figure it out, but they know Something Is Going On, what with All! Those! Symbols! being flashed. From the article:

In the recent years the Super Bowl, almost always the highest-rated and most-watched television broadcast on the planet, has given over it’s famed Halftime Show to trumpet the cause of the New World Order and the Illuminati. And as referenced in our opening bible verse at the top of the story, the Illuminati knows that it is “their hour”, and they are defiantly out in the open. (online source)

But as Christian researcher Marcia Montenegro wrote a few years ago, symbols vary from culture to culture, and don't always mean the same things (read her article entitled Demystifying Symbols here).

These conspiracy sites are concerning for two reasons:

(1) They confuse and mislead Christians about what the occult is. It is not about symbols that are embedded in the landscape, and which must be decoded. It is not about tracking conspiracies like a bloodhound, and examining all the (supposedly) dropped-breadcrumb-clues of the Illuminati when they (supposedly) Broadcast Their Intentions, and then unraveling the mystery about what wealthy industrialist knows what world leader, and what they were *really* (wink-wink) doing together at that private resort (cue scary music: dun dun dunnn!). Hint: They weren't planning chem-trail routes and other nefarious evil; they were drinking whisky, smoking cigars and comparing their golf scores. That's what they were doing.

(2) While it is true that evil does exist on a rampant scale, we only need God's word, which is our standard for what is good and holy and righteous, to be able to understand what is wrong and unholy and unrighteous. We don't need to be unraveling conspiracies and trying to figure out if the wealthy elite of the world are getting together to conspire and scheme in smoke-filled rooms. We already know there is evil. We already understand that there is an evil force that is alive and well, and operating in the world, and it is Satan. And we know this from God's word, not from unraveling supposed conspiracies. But truth and light overcome lies and darkness, so let's proclaim it to those taken captive by the world's system.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." (John 1:1-5)

Full disclosure: I had a season of conspiratorial thinking in my own Christian walk, spending waaaaay too much time on conspiracy websites trying to Connect All The Dots. I have repented of that, and hope to help others do the same (that was one of my reasons for writing the article). And yet at the same time, as believers we know that Satan IS a real entity who prowls the earth seeking whom he may devour, and that he always has his willing agents from generation to generation. So it can be tricky sorting through the information, and coming to a biblical understanding of the right filter through which to see the world. Nonetheless, it's important for Christians to strive to think as biblically as possible in this area, as in all other areas, because not only will our Christians walks be strengthened, but the truth of the matter is important. God is the author of truth, and thus the truth of a matter should be important to us, because it's important to Him.

To learn more about the conspiracy mindset, please read some of these Facebook threads in which we discuss the conspiratorial worldview, and why such thinking can so seriously hinder a Christian's walk.

Symbols and conspiracy theories (9-30-13)

Conspiracy theory films (12-2-13)

Conspiracy theories and the Christian (12-31-13)

Be cautious of those teaching a conspiratorial worldview (12-16-13)

King James Onlyism and how it is conspiratorial thinking (9-28-13)

King James Onlyism, Textus Receptus and Jesuit Change Agents.....oh my! (10-1-13)

posted with permission

http://www.solasisters.com/2015/02/christians-super-bowl-and-rejecting.html

Christians and Conspiracy Theories

Christians and Conspiracy Theories Part 1

by Christine Pack

"For the Lord spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: 'Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.'" (Isaiah 8:11-13)

Yes, the world is wicked. And yes, a lot of that in-your-face wickedness was on display, both visually and lyrically, in many ways during the 2015 Super Bowl half-time show. But please, let's not go down the Illuminati rabbit hole. Exhibit A, an article from the dodgy, conspiracy-focused website called Now The End Begins, entitled: Ex-Christian Katy Perry Promotes Dark Magic and LGBT Agenda at 2015 Super Bowl Halftime Show.

The above article, which claims that various performers in the 2015 Super Bowl half-time show were openly broadcasting the intentions of the Illuminati and the New World Order, has been popping up in my Facebook newsfeed all day. For those who have never heard those terms before, the Illuminati and the New World Order are believed to be organizations in which Satan's minions gather in secret to work his dark mischief, but Old Scratch will occasionally (it is believed) come out into the open and use his minions to broadcast his intentions to the world, which he does through various costumes and hand signals. Beyonce making a triangle with her fingers during a stage performance was one widely quoted example of this, and so was Madonna's half-time Super Bowl costume from a few years ago. What are these high level occultists supposed to be broadcasting? The code-breakers can't quite figure it out, but they know Something Is Going On, what with All! Those! Symbols! being flashed. From the article:

In the recent years the Super Bowl, almost always the highest-rated and most-watched television broadcast on the planet, has given over it’s famed Halftime Show to trumpet the cause of the New World Order and the Illuminati. And as referenced in our opening bible verse at the top of the story, the Illuminati knows that it is “their hour”, and they are defiantly out in the open. (online source)

But as Christian researcher Marcia Montenegro wrote a few years ago, symbols vary from culture to culture, and don't always mean the same things (read her article entitled Demystifying Symbols here).

These conspiracy sites are concerning for two reasons:

(1) They confuse and mislead Christians about what the occult is. It is not about symbols that are embedded in the landscape, and which must be decoded. It is not about tracking conspiracies like a bloodhound, and examining all the (supposedly) dropped-breadcrumb-clues of the Illuminati when they (supposedly) Broadcast Their Intentions, and then unraveling the mystery about what wealthy industrialist knows what world leader, and what they were *really* (wink-wink) doing together at that private resort (cue scary music: dun dun dunnn!). Hint: They weren't planning chem-trail routes and other nefarious evil; they were drinking whisky, smoking cigars and comparing their golf scores. That's what they were doing.

(2) While it is true that evil does exist on a rampant scale, we only need God's word, which is our standard for what is good and holy and righteous, to be able to understand what is wrong and unholy and unrighteous. We don't need to be unraveling conspiracies and trying to figure out if the wealthy elite of the world are getting together to conspire and scheme in smoke-filled rooms. We already know there is evil. We already understand that there is an evil force that is alive and well, and operating in the world, and it is Satan. And we know this from God's word, not from unraveling supposed conspiracies. But truth and light overcome lies and darkness, so let's proclaim it to those taken captive by the world's system.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." (John 1:1-5)

Full disclosure: I had a season of conspiratorial thinking in my own Christian walk, spending waaaaay too much time on conspiracy websites trying to Connect All The Dots. I have repented of that, and hope to help others do the same (that was one of my reasons for writing the article). And yet at the same time, as believers we know that Satan IS a real entity who prowls the earth seeking whom he may devour, and that he always has his willing agents from generation to generation. So it can be tricky sorting through the information, and coming to a biblical understanding of the right filter through which to see the world. Nonetheless, it's important for Christians to strive to think as biblically as possible in this area, as in all other areas, because not only will our Christians walks be strengthened, but the truth of the matter is important. God is the author of truth, and thus the truth of a matter should be important to us, because it's important to Him.

To learn more about the conspiracy mindset, please read some of these Facebook threads in which we discuss the conspiratorial worldview, and why such thinking can so seriously hinder a Christian's walk.

posted with permission

http://www.solasisters.com/2015/02/christians-super-bowl-and-rejecting.html

 

Christians and Conspiracy Theories (Part 2)

Oh dear, just when the folks who might have a tendency to be conspiracy minded get settled down after the Super Bowl performances, Madonna gets "kind of Satanic" by dancing with "a bunch of masked, horned bull-men," according to the on-site MTV reporter. *sigh*

It's interesting to note that the above was reported in a tongue-in-cheek way by MTV, but this doesn't help the conspiracy theorists, whose ability to decode Illuminati conspiracies is high, but their ability to decode cheeky commentary is apparently non-existent. (Conspiracy theory website Now The End Begins ran with the headline Madonna Dances Over Pit of Horned Demons at 2015 Grammys.)

In reality, Madonna gave a performance that featured a matador theme, and which included horn-hatted dancers who did look something like how we might imagine Satan's minions to look.

However, there were other displays of demonic/Satanic imagery at the Grammys, including AC/DC singing "Highway To Hell," which the audience rocked out to while wearing glowy, devil horn hats. These devil hats were passed out to the crowd, who were encouraged to take them home as a keepsake. Sweet, huh?

Friends, this is not Illuminati indoctrination. This is just celebrities riding the wave of the culture. They love to shock and outdo each other and be outrageous. And besides, I've always had a theory about Madonna, who was raised Roman Catholic, that at heart (besides being a sinner), she's just a Catholic schoolgirl who wants to shock the nuns.

To be clear: there's no question about the fact that Madonna lives and promotes a wicked lifestyle. But no, she's not a member of the Illuminati.

Steady on, folks. Respond to the evil that you know of (which is readily known through the content of Madonna's songs and lifestyle), and "overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21).

★★ And PLEASE do not see this as an opportunity to mock or ridicule Madonna. She's a lost person, living a depraved lifestyle, but at one time "such were some of you" (1 Cor 6:11). Pray for her. Pray for someone to have access to her who can give her the gospel, the TRUE gospel, which she undoubtedly never heard, having grown up Roman Catholic. ★★

          PART 3 Dr. Randy White Discusses Christians and Conspiracy Theories 

PART 4 Christians and Conspiracy Theories: Witnessing, Romans 1 and An Appeal

PART 5 - CONCLUSION Christians and Conspiracy Theories: A Biblical Response

posted with permission

http://www.solasisters.com/2015/02/christians-and-conspiracy-theories-part.html

The Oppression of Black Liberation Theology

The Oppression of Black Liberation Theology

Black liberation theology finds its origin in Liberation theology in Centro- American struggle of the 1960's. Liberation theology sees the Christian mission as bringing justice to oppressed people through political activism, solving their social and economic plight.

Black liberation Theology is even more extreme. This theology was used by Marxist regimes to take over churches in Africa and Central America. They use Christian terminology, they promote violence to overthrow governments and populations. It especially became popular in Nicaragua in the 1980's with the pro-sandanista dictatorship. It used Marxist strategies to be an impetus for the people to rebel where violent revolution was used. In some churches Jesus was represented as Sandinista soldier identifying with the oppressed.

In this theological framework Jesus becomes a liberator of the oppressed masses which are black. This is in contrast to the word faith prosperity message preached by numerous black pastors today. Black Liberation theology describes Jesus as a poor black man who lived in oppression under "rich white people" which makes this particular view racially based, accentuating the tensions of being Black. The notion of "Blackness" is not merely a reference to skin color, but rather is a symbol of oppression that can be applied to all persons of color who have a history of oppression (except Whites, of course). [Wright's Black Liberation Theology By Anthony B. Bradley assistant professor of theology at covenant theological, March 25, 2008]

By using Isa.61:1 which Jesus quoted in Luke 4 to explain his ministry, they make their case for liberating the oppressed. They isolate verses like this and breathe exaggerations into them.

Authentic Christianity transcends race and ethnicity. There is no black or white cultural value system in the Bible- there is a humanity system, recognizing that we are all made in the image of God, being sinners in need of redemption the same way- through Jesus Christ.

Jesus plus Marxism equals Black liberation theology and according to its teaching Jesus is against the oppressor (who happens to be white) because Jesus is a black man sent to free the oppressed (I thought Moses was sent to free the oppressed). To those who espouse this worldview and philosophy white greed is the problem (I didn't know greed had a particular color attached to it). This theology embraced Marxism/humanism as the vehicle to correct the wrongs of the white oppressors. Marxism which is the very opposite of Christianity in its application. So it is not a marriage made in heaven. This theology is not found in the mainstream of the church but is on the fringe. Even the Vatican has condemned it twice. It has recently been publicized in the media because of the controversial statements of Rev. Wright, the pastor of presidential candidate Barak Obama.

Trinity United Church of Christ is now the largest congregation in the United Church of Christ, a megachurch with anywhere from 8-10,000 members. The United Church of Christ denomination was the first in America to ordain gays, and women as ministers. It is at the forefront of liberal churches that do not hold to the Scripture in a Christian manner (this is the church that presidential candidate Barak Obama and his family attends) [For more on this ask for our Mar/Apr. newsletter]

This church is a black nationalist church that is promoting Black liberation Theology. Jeremiah Wright credits James Cone as being a founder of Black Theology which Wright said forms the foundational beliefs of Wrights church. At best, their position is Black nationalism, in its extreme it is something to be concerned about. When Sean Hannity interviewed Rev. Wright on his program Hannity and Colmes, Rev. Wright repeatedly challenged Hannity saying: "Black liberation theology started with Jim Cone in 1968... Do you know liberation theology?" he was very defensive and continued to scold Hannity, ... How many books of Cone's have you read? How many books of Cone's have you read? (Rev. Jeremiah Wright, explaining his Church to Sean Hannity, Fox News 3/1/07).

Let's look at what Cones Black liberation Theology actually teaches. James Cone is one of the leading voices of this theology, he wrote that the United States was a white racist nation and the white church was the Antichrist for having supported slavery and segregation.

Cone: The 'raceless' American Christ has a light skin, wavy brown hair, and sometimes - wonder of wonders - blue eyes. For whites to find him with big lips and kinky hair is as offensive as it was for the Pharisees to find him partying with tax-collectors. But whether whites want to hear it or not, Christ is black, baby, with all of the features which are so detestable to white society (J. H. Cone, The White Church and Black Power, in G. S. Wilmore and J. H. Cone, Black Theology: A Documentary History, 1966-1979 (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1979), pp.116-17.)

Today, Cone is a professor at Union Theological Seminary in New York, he stands by that view, but clarifies that he doesn't believe that whites individually are the Antichrist.

Cones Black theology and Black power is the treatise for many involved in this worldview. On.p.31 "a theology whose sole purpose is to apply the freeing power of the gospel to black people under white oppression." This would be like the Jewish apostles keeping the gospel to only Jews under the Roman jurisdiction.

Cone defines liberation as the "emancipation of black people from white oppression by whatever means black people deem necessary," "selective buying, boycotting, marching, even rebellion" (Cone, Theology, 6).


Cone: "Black theology refuses to accept a God who is not identified totally with the goals of the black community. If God is not for us and against white people, then he is a murderer, and we had better kill him. The task of black theology is to kill Gods who do not belong to the black community. Black theology will accept only the love of God which participates in the destruction of the white enemy. What we need is the divine love as expressed in Black Power, which is the power of black people to destroy their oppressors here and now by any means at their disposal. Unless God is participating in this holy activity, we must reject his love." (James Cone, quoted in “Divine Racism: The Unacknowledged Threshold Issue for Black Theology, by William R. Jones in African-American Religious Thought: An Anthology, edited by Cornel West and Eddie Glaube (Westminster John Knox Press).

Cone: "For white people, God's reconciliation in Jesus Christ means that God has made black people a beautiful people; and if they are going to be in relationship with God, they must enter by means of their black brothers, who are a manifestation of God's presence on earth. The assumption that one can know God without knowing blackness is the basic heresy of the white churches. They want God without blackness, Christ without obedience, love without death. What they fail to realize is that in America, God's revelation on earth has always been black, red, or some other shocking shade, but never white. Whiteness, as revealed in the history of America, is the expression of what is wrong with man. It is a symbol of man's depravity. God cannot be white even though white churches have portrayed him as white. When we look at what whiteness has done to the minds of men in this country, we can see clearly what the New Testament meant when it spoke of the principalities and powers. To speak of Satan and his powers becomes not just a way of speaking but a fact of reality. When we can see a people who are controlled by an ideology of whiteness, then we know what reconciliation must mean. The coming of Christ means a denial of what we thought we were. It means destroying the white devil in us. Reconciliation to God means that white people are prepared to deny themselves (whiteness), take up the cross (blackness) and follow Christ (black ghetto)."(James Cone, from Black Theology and Black Power, quoted in The Decline of African American Theology: From Biblical Faith to Cultural Captivity by Thabiti M. Anyabwile (Orbis), p.150. [Emphasis and underline mine]

Cone: "What else can the crucifixion mean except that God, the Holy One of Israel, became identified with the victims of oppression? What else can the resurrection mean except that God's victory in Christ is the poor person's victory over poverty?" (Cone, Speaking the Truth; p. 6)

Is this what the crucifixion is about? Or is it about our sin, all of mankinds sin, whether we are black, white, yellow, red; all being forgiven and united by the cross if we believe in the true gospel message and preach the Christ of the Scriptures. Cone has said the resurrection of Christ means the liberation of all people, relating it to physical deliverance from oppression ( The Moody Handbook of Theology p.598). This is not biblical Christianity by any stretch.

"To be Christian is to be one of those whom God has chosen. God has chosen black people!" (Black Theology and Black Power, pp. 139-140). They believe that Blacks are God's Chosen People, that Jesus was a black man-- I have yet to see a scripture that says this in the Bible. Jesus was a Jew; He was Semitic.

Black Liberation theology blames the problems on the white man. Most would consider this a reversal as white racism.

Stuck in the past as if there has been no progress between races since the early 60's in America.

Cone: "The time has come for white America to be silent and listen to black people. . . . All white men are responsible for white oppression. . . . Theologically, Malcolm X was not far wrong when he called the white man the devil." "The white structure of this American society, personified in every racist, must be at least part of what the New Testament meant by the demonic forces" (Black Theology and Black Power, pp. 39-41]

Many of the statements are similar to what the Black Muslim movement teaches. Elijah Mohammed wrote: "You will agree with me that the whole Caucasian race is a race of devils" (Message to the Black Man p.23).

In an interview, Cone, when he was asked which church most embodied his message, "I would point to that church (Trinity) first." Cone also said he thought that Wright's successor, the Rev. Otis Moss III, would continue the tradition. (http://www.mcclatchydc.com/election2008 ... 31079.html)

The March 22 edition of World Magazine reported an endorsement of Cones Liberation theology was posted on "talking points" listed on Trinity's website (they were taken down). "The vision statement of Trinity United Church of Christ is based upon the systematized liberation theology that started in 1969 with the publication of Dr. James Cone's book Black Power and Black Theology" (http://www.worldmag.com/articles/13850). In fact Cone's book was recommended as required reading for Trinity parishioners who wished to more thoroughly understand the church's theology and mission (it was then removed from the site.)

The Trinity website claims that God is not pleased with "America's economic mal-distribution." Jeremiah Wright promotes the idea of massive wealth redistribution called economic parity.  Black liberation theologians use Marxism as an ethical framework for the black church because Marxist thought is predicated on a system of oppressor class (whites) versus victim class (blacks). (Referenced from Victimology in Black Liberation Theology.” Anthony B. Bradley is a research fellow at the Acton Institute)

Anthony Bradley states: For black liberation theologians Sunday is uniquely tied to redefining their sense of being human within a context of marginalization. Black people who have been humiliated and oppressed by the structures of White society six days of the week gather together each Sunday morning in order to experience another definition of their humanity, says James Cone in his book Speaking the Truth (1999). (Wright's Black Liberation Theology By Anthony B. Bradley March 25, 2008).

Trinity United Church of Christ --THE MINISTRY

"The Center for African Biblical Studies is AFRICAN-CENTERED...seeking to implement and promote Bible Study from an African perspective. We are an African people, and we remain true to our native land, the mother continent, the cradle of civilization."

A Christian church will normally say it is Christ centered not African centered (in large letters). If one is actually a Bible student they would know Africa is not the cradle of civilization (neither is America). The Middle east area of Iraq/ Iran/ Israel is. It is clearly mentioned in Gen.1-15. It is a fact that Africa has contributed some great thinkers and theologians, especially in the early centuries but they had nothing to say of this theology in the early church when all Christians were persecuted.

Slavery was a practiced in numerous cultures, many were made slaves by being captured in war. Even in Israel there was slavery, though they were to treat them more humanely and were treated far better than the Greeks, Roman or slaves of other nations. A servant whose master maimed him (or her), causing the loss of an eye or even a tooth, was to be freed (Exodus 21:26). Israel was told to give a slave's release in the seventh year allowing a choice of indefinite slavery. (Exodus 21:6) The year of Jubilee allowed the slaves to go free (Leviticus 25:40). During New Testament times there were still slaves. The church did not receive a commandment to remove this custom inherited in Judaism, but the gospel of did give equality and justice and the master was to have love of man in his master to servant relationship. A spiritual brotherhood was practiced with believing slaves to believing masters. The apostle Paul wrote: "There can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither bond nor free, .... ye all are one man in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28). The Christian slaves and masters are both exhorted in Paul's letters to live Christ like lives and make their relations one to another base on love. "Bondservants (be obedient unto .... your masters, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart.... doing the will of God from the heart as bondservants of Christ .... that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free. And, you masters .... giving up threatening: .... knowing that your own Master also is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him (Ephesians 6:5-9). In other words God is no respecter of persons.

Because of the Rev. Wright controversy, numerous churches and ministers have expressed concern. Rob Shenck of the National Clergy council personally admonished Wright, telling him what he is teaching is contrary to the gospel and he needs to abandon it.

Black Liberation theology churches are not a help to the Black Christian community because they diminish the message of the gospel and divide people by race upholding black nationalism over the cross of Christ that is supposed to unite us all.

Just as the prosperity gospel has influenced the Black church the wrong way, these ARE POLITICAL ORIENTED CHURCHES THAT USE the Bible for their agenda. They major on suffering and oppression to unite the Black people against a common enemy. In the case of Rev. Wright, the blacks against the white oppressors in the government and elsewhere. The government is then considered the problem and is evil, unable to do any good. There is no way out of this conflict unless there is a complete reversal. Much like the Palestinian demands to Israel (who they label as occupiers and oppressors), it is all or nothing. Whether all who embrace liberation theology see it in this manner is hard to say.

Those who have adopted it in America may have had the intention to help but it has done the opposite by encouraging a victim mentality among the black community. It fosters and us against them mentality and distorts the reality of true progress that has been made. Years after the Civil Rights Act, they do not want to recognize any substantial change, so it does nor diminish but continues racial tension that has certainly diminished.


For a more extensive background and the originators involved- http://home.earthlink.net/~ronrhodes/BlackTheology.html

Let Us Reason Ministries

posted with permission
http://www.letusreason.org/Cult25.htm

Setting the Record Straight

Setting the Record Straight

by Phil Johnson

More than two years ago, I wrote an article titled “The Burpo-Malarkey Doctrine,” critiquing the insanely popular I-Saw-Heaven-and-Here’s-What-It’s-Like genre of Christian best sellers. We posted that article on the Grace to You blog in anticipation of a revised and expanded edition of John MacArthur’s The Glory of Heaven.

One of the books I critiqued in that blog post was The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven by Kevin Malarkey. That book, published by Tyndale, is the story of Malarkey’s son, Alex, whose spinal column was completely severed at the neck in a horrific crash at an Ohio intersection on the way home from church one Sunday morning. Alex’s survival is a remarkable providence, and his courage and endurance through the whole ordeal is a true wonder. His experience is a compelling story, apart from the heaven-and-back element. Doctors said he would not survive, but Alex pressed on through numerous surgeries, countless inconveniences, and unbelievable adversity, always with a smile and a grateful heart.

Even at age six, recovering from an injury that would ordinarily be fatal, and coming to grips with total paralysis, Alex kept an unusually positive frame of mind. He pondered (as anyone would) troubling metaphysical questions like Why? What next? and What is God’s plan in this? One of the ways six-year-old Alex dealt with the trauma and the questions (while totally immobile and heavily sedated) was by imagining what had happened to him and what it all might mean. The tedium of hospital life was excruciating. So he answered people’s questions with stories he knew would get and hold their attention. Those stories became the seeds that planted the idea for Alex’s father’s book about heaven.

Shortly after “The Burpo-Malarkey Doctrine” was posted on our blog two years ago, Alex’s mom, Beth Malarkey, contacted me to acknowledge that John MacArthur’s analysis is correct: “These modern testimonies . . . are simply untrue.” She and Alex had already been doing everything they could to get the word out that The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven told a largely imaginary story, and that most of the details had been greatly embellished and exaggerated in the writing. Publicity about the book had incited a cult of afterlife enthusiasts and hangers-on who wanted to canonize Alex and idolize him as a mystical seer with an open connection to heaven. Alex was uncomfortable with the feeling of moral and spiritual responsibility his sudden fame had thrust on him. Still a child, he nevertheless understood that the truth was more important than his own reputation.

The publisher refused to pull or alter the book. Alex’s father, thrilled with the book’s best-seller status, stood with the publisher. Even a pastor from whom Alex sought counsel said he thought the book was “blessing” people. He advised Alex to be quiet and let it ride.

Before John MacArthur’s new edition of The Glory of Heaven went to press, John added a section noting the disclaimers Alex and Beth Malarkey had published in their futile attempts to make the truth known. In a footnote on page 55, for example, John wrote:

Although Kevin and Alex Malarkey are listed as joint authors on the book’s cover, Alex has publicly disclaimed the book online, calling it “1 of the most deceptive books ever.” Beth Malarkey, Alex’s mom and Kevin’s wife, describes the book as “a beautiful testimony distorted, twisted, packaged and used as business.”

Reviewing The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven at length in Appendix 2, MacArthur noted:

The book’s cover lists Kevin and Alex as joint authors, but the copyright notice is in Kevin’s name alone, and it is clearly Kevin who tells the story. Also on the book’s cover, in large type, are the words “a true story.” But as we shall see, there is considerable evidence that Kevin Malarkey has embellished, exaggerated, and even fabricated the supposed visions and experiences he attributes to Alex. (p. 199)
. . . . . . . .
Kevin Malarkey has overlaid his son’s testimony with so much that is unbiblical that the book considered as a whole is dangerously misleading. Alex himself posted a similar assessment of his father’s narrative at a webpage publicizing the book, but the comment was quickly deleted. Beth Malarkey reposted Alex’s comment at her own blog, saying “Alex voiced accurately what the book was about but he was silenced.” Like Alex, she emphatically disavows many of the claims that are made in her husband’s book, adding this: “Buyer beware. There is only one absolutely infallible and ‘true’ book: God’s Word! It does not need fancied up or packaged for sale. It is incredible as it stands!” (pp. 200-201)

Beth Malarkey perfectly summarized the issue in three sentences, saying: “Alex never concluded he was in heaven. He was a small boy who experienced something extraordinary. The adults made it into what would sell to the masses” (footnote, p. 201).

The Glory of Heaven (2nd ed.) was published in early 2013, so the true story about The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven has been in circulation and widely available for two years. Justin Peters became aware of Mrs. Malarkey’s plight last year and tried many times to call attention to Alex’s disclaimers. But the publisher continued selling and promoting the book with a cover that boldly (and falsely) proclaims it “a true story.”

Last week, Alex Malarkey himself weighed in with a short open letter.

An Open Letter to Lifeway and Other Sellers, Buyers, and Marketers of Heaven Tourism, by the Boy Who Did Not Come Back from Heaven

Please forgive the brevity, but because of my limitations I have to keep this short.

I did not die. I did not go to heaven.

I said I went to heaven because I thought it would get me attention. When I made the claims that I did, I had never read the Bible. People have profited from lies, and continue to. They should read the Bible, which is enough. The Bible is the only source of truth. Anything written by man cannot be infallible.

It is only through repentance of your sins and a belief in Jesus as the Son of God, who died for your sins (even though he committed none of his own) so that you can be forgiven may you learn of heaven outside of what is written in the Bible . . . not by reading a work of man. I want the whole world to know that the Bible is sufficient. Those who market these materials must be called to repent and hold the Bible as enough.

In Christ,
Alex Malarkey

Alex’s letter is articulate. It is gospel centered. It has the clear ring of truth.

When Alex has tried to make similar statements on Facebook or in other online forums, he has been routinely shouted down, his comments deleted, and his fragile voice silenced. We want to give his testimony maximum exposure, because Alex is right: The truth is more important than how anyone feels about it.

One of the top online reviews of The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven says: “I can tend to be a little skeptical of otherworldly experiences, but when I hear it from the words of a child, I am much more open to the idea. A child is not going to be capable of making up these kinds of images and keeping his story straight for month after month after month.”

That, sadly, is what lots of readers think. What they don’t realize is that there is a massive industry behind books like these, heavily populated with decision makers who care more for filthy lucre than for truth. Employed in that industry are some mercenaries who have no scruples whatsoever about making up tales like these, polishing and embellishing them, and buttressing them with details designed to enhance the illusion of believability. It’s the very worst kind of pragmatism gone to seed. What’s “good” is defined by what sells. Scripture calls it “the teaching of Balaam” (Revelation 2:14).

Christian publishing is long overdue for reformation.

posted with permission http://www.gty.org/blog/B150116/setting-the-record-straight

 

Boy Says He Didn’t Go To Heaven; Publisher Says It Will Pull Book

LTRP Note: Today, there are many stories being highly publicized (and books being published) about people who supposedly have come back from the dead or near-dead, telling of their experiences in Heaven. The general public’s willingness (including multitudes of proclaiming Christians) to gobble such stories up shows how easily people are deceived. Many of the people who claim to have these experiences are not born-again Christian believers, such as the case with Dr. Eban Alexander, who wrote about his mystical experiences in his book, Proof of Heaven (see link below). Jesus made it very clear in Scripture that He is the only door to Heaven.

By Bill Chappell
NPR

Nearly five years after it hit best-seller lists, a book that purported to be a 6-year-old boy’s story of visiting angels and heaven after being injured in a bad car crash is being pulled from shelves. The young man at the center of The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven, Alex Malarkey, said this week that the story was all made up.

The book’s publisher, Tyndale House, had promoted it as “a supernatural encounter that will give you new insights on Heaven, angels, and hearing the voice of God.”

But Thursday, Tyndale House confirmed to NPR that it is taking “the book and all ancillary products out of print.”
The decision to pull the book comes after Alex Malarkey wrote an open letter to retailer LifeWay and others who sell Christian books and religious materials. . . .

“I did not die. I did not go to Heaven,” Alex wrote. He continued, “I said I went to heaven because I thought it would get me attention. When I made the claims that I did, I had never read the Bible. Click here to continue reading.




Related Information:
Book Review: “Have Heart” by Steve Berger – Endorsed by Church Leaders, But Sadly Normalizes Necromancy (Communicating with the dead)
Dr. Eben Alexander’s “My Proof of Heaven”: A Review and Theological Commentary
Follow Up Story on Newsweek Article about Heaven: Author of “Proof of Heaven” Admits to Practicing Deep Meditation
NEW BOOKLET TRACT – REGENERATION: “Ye Must Be Born Again.” by Harry A. Ironside
A Warning: The Angel of Light and the “Wiles” of the Devil

posted with permission;
http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/?p=16774