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International House of Prayer (IHOP, or IHOP-KC) 3 Feb 7:40 PM (2 months ago)

The International House of Prayer (IHOP) in Kansas City. Inset: founder and leader Mike Bickle

IHOPKC founder Mike Bickle committed sexual abuse, misconduct against 17 women, investigation finds

The International House of Prayer (IHOP) in Kansas City. Inset: founder and leader Mike Bickle
The International House of Prayer (IHOP) in Kansas City. Inset: founder and leader Mike Bickle. [IHOP photo by SunDawn. License: CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED. Mike Bickle inset: supplied by IHOP Press Service.]

Trigger Warning: Spiritual Abuse

[icon name="triangle-exclamation" prefix="fas"] Information on this page may trigger those who have experienced spiritual abuse. [This link includes many resources on the topic, including two online books: Churches That Abuse, and Recovering From Churches That Abuse]

Table of contents: Mike Bickle and IHOP

Mike Bickle Accused of Sexual Abuse - Updates

February 3, 2025: According an Executive Summary prepared by Firefly – Independent Sexual Abuse Investigations Mike Bickle groomed and sexually abused 17 women, some of whom were minors. In some cases, the abuse constituted rape, the investigation found.

Read the report.

Video: Blaise and Christina Forêt with an IHOPKC Crisis Update: IHOPKC 20 Year Veteran Leader Elizabeth Herder Speaks out about Mike Bickle

This is a good YouTube channel to follow if you want to stay informed about the crisis at IHOPKC. Blaise spent 4½ years leading and working there.

If you are on X (formerly Twitter), follow Blaise and Christina Forêt there as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHvv3hv5fQg
IHOPKC 20 Year Veteran Leader Elizabeth Herder Speaks out about Mike Bickle

See also these other videos by Blaise and Christina:

IHOPKC: "Prophets" and "Apostles" Did Not See This Coming

No surprise here, but among the YouTubers commenting on the Mike Bickle/IHOP controversy are several who consider themselves to be "prophets" and/or "apostles." Note that none of them prophesied that this scandal was brewing.

This would be a good time to read up on the many problems surrounding the so-called New Apostolic Reformation.

We are not discounting legitimate spiritual gifts. Rather, we take issue with what we have come to refer to as "fantasy Christianity" — in which people merely pretend to be prophets or apostles. That's like a 'Christian' version of the legendary Dungeons and Dragons fantasy role-playing game.

IHOPKC ignores its victims, continues to push Mike Bickle's false "prophetic history"

IHOPKC wants to start a new organization in an effort to limit its liability regarding victims' lawsuits. On X (formerly Twitter), it is studiously ignoring Mike Bickle's downfall, as well as his victims.

It also keeps pushing the so-called "prophetic history" — even though it has long been thoroughly discredited.

This is cult-like behavior.

Mike Bickle / IHOP-KC News Updates

Lawyer comments on the IHOP (International House of Prayer) Final Report regarding allegations against Mike Bickle
A lawyer on X (formerly known as Twitter) quotes from - and comments on - the Final Report by the Executive Leadership on IHOP (International House of Prayer) regarding allegations against its founder and lead pastor, Mike Bickle

Boz Tchividjian - posting under the name BozLaw P.A. - comments on the "Final Report" by the ELT (Executive Leadership Team) of the International House of Prayer (IHOP) regarding allegations against its founder and lead pastor, Mike Bickle.

BozLaw P.A. quotes from the report:

IHOPKC has heard the demands to bring in a third party to investigate the organization in general, but this step is premature until IHOPKC can establish the credibility of the allegations and genuine intent of the Complaint Group.

BozLaw P.A. then comments:

It’s not the role of IHOPKC to establish the “credibility of the allegations” That’s exactly why institutions engage third-party investigations. Without a legitimate independent investigation, these issues will continue to overshadow IHOPKC for the next 20 years.

https://twitter.com/bozlawpa/status/1725163332678681073
BozLaw P.A. quotes from and comments on the "Final Report" by the Executive Leadership Team of the International House of Prayer (IHOP) regarding allegations against Mike Bickle.

Boz Tchividjian is a former child abuse chief prosecutor and is the founder and former executive director of GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment). 

He is the owner of BozLaw PA (Representing Survivors of Sexual Abuse Throughout the United States). [Bio]

Read his article, "Are abuse survivors best served when institutions investigate themselves?"

Mike Bickle preaches on 'Accusations.' Uses the Black Horse Metaphor

On October 20, 2023 - a week before accusations against Mike Bickle became public - Bickle preached a sermon in which he used the metaphor of a “black horse” to describe an attack that would come against him.

The video of this sermon was removed from the IHOPKC website. However, The Roys Report obtained notes of the sermon.

The sermon is titled, An Urgent Prophetic Call to Engage in a 3-Fold Preemptive Strike. Yes, that's the typical kind of fantasy-Christianity nonsense Bickle is known for. The sermon deals with persecution, accusations, betrayal, and being blameless.

Bickle refers to a "visionary experience" on August 8, 1984, in which he "was addressed by "stood in a heavenly room" where he was addressed by the "Lord" and "Michael the archangel."

In her initial report on the accusations against Mike Bickle, Julie Roys writes about a "tense staff meeting Friday night at Forerunner Church in which IHOPKC leaders announced there were allegations against Bickle but declined to comment on the nature of the allegations." She writes that IHOPKC staff members were urged not to refer to the "black horse" in this situation:

Stuart Greaves, executive director of IHOPKC, said at the meeting, “Our leaders have taken this situation very seriously.” Greaves referred to an Oct. 20, 2023, sermon by Bickle where Bickle used the metaphor of a “black horse” to describe an attack that would come against him. (Video of the sermon has been removed from the IHOPKC website, but The Roys Report (TRR) has obtained notes of the sermon.) Greaves urged staff not to “refer to the ‘black horse’ in this situation as a way to minimize the pain of those affected” and expressed concern for those “experiencing pain and trauma.”

HushHush - YouTube Channel with Criticism of Mike Bickle, IHOP

HushHush is a YouTube video channel that came online on November 4, 2023. It is a growing collection of short statements regarding Mike Bickle, IHOPKC, and the Kansas City Fellowship.

Examples:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypA1Q_zUbLY
Audio story of a young woman's escape from spiritual abuse at IHOP-KC. "Here are my top ten most vivid memories of my time at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City founded by Mike Bickle…"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3E0yROubggE
“I was at IHOP-KC when Bethany was found dead…” (Read more about the death of Bethany Deaton)

International House of Prayer, Mike Bickle

The International House of Prayer (IHOP) identifies itself as a charismatic Christian organization based in Kansas City, Missouri.

After a dispute with the International House of Pancakes (the real IHOP), the International House of Prayer started to use IHOP-KC (for Kansas City) instead.

It was founded on May 7, 1999 by Mike Bickle -- who was also involved in the controversial Kansas City Fellowship (later renamed Metro Christian Fellowship) where he pastored the so-called Kansas City Prophets.

"Prophetic History"

Mike Bickle has cobbled together a narrative that he presents as the prophetic history of the International House of Prayer. Most of these prophecies came from the controversial, discredited "Kansas City Prophets" — Paul Cain, John Paul Jackson, and Bob Jones.

Bickle claims to be visited by angels and to hear God's voice audibly. While he does not claim to be an 'apostle,' he does not discourage others from referring to him as such. He believes that people when people stand before the Judgment seat of Christ they will be held accountable for how they responded to the prophetic encounters and prophecies he and others leaders had about IHOP and its prayer movement.

International House of Prayer - a Fantasy Form of Christianity

Although many Americans know the IHOP acronym represents the 'International House of Pancakes,' Paul Cain -- a heretical minister who considers himself to be a prophet used the initials as an acrostic for the vision of the ministry, which was Intercession, Holiness, Offerings and Prophecy.

IHOP engages in what we consider to be a fantasy form of Christianity. It uses and misuses Biblical concepts to cobble together a theology that has little or nothing to do with orthopraxis.

The International House of Prayer is a 24-hours a day, citywide, worship and warfare, inter-denominational prayer ministry serving the body of Christ. This ministry is modeled after the tabernacle of David with singers and musicians being released to lead corporate intercession and worship 24-hours a day. This is an effective method for the churches in the county to come together and DWELL in unity so that God can unlock His commanded blessing. ...The Word of God Declares "My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations" Mark 11:17. ... This House of Prayer for All Nations ministry includes continuous praise and prayer dethroning the principalities and power over a region declaring Gods sovereignty. This is in the spirit of Revelation 4-5 "Harp & Bowl" worship and warfare prayer gatherings, the harp representing praise and the bowl representing the prayers of the saints which is at the heart of David's Tabernacle.
- Source: Restoring David's Tabernacle, Revival Times

IHOP - "a Place of Perpetual Worship"

The International House of Prayer holds prayer meetings around the clock, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KFrSTXA190
A short from the 48 Hours broadcast, A Fall From Grace, in which CBS correspondent Troy Roberts reports on the unusual scene of Bethany Deaton's death, and why investigators struggled to determine if it was suicide or murder.

IHOP "is planning a $150 million-plus world headquarters a few miles south in Grandview that would include a 5,000-seat conference center, a Bible college (IHOP University) and administration offices."

So IHOP is a place of perpetual worship, with continuous two-hour sets of rock band praise music and prayer, which the Web site calls "heroically keeping the fire upon the altar."

"Get 24/7 access to the prayer room for as little as $10 a month," offers the Web site.

It also is a Bible school - IHOPU - at which students pay $1,500 a semester to earn two- and four-year certificates.

The Forerunner Ministry curriculum focuses on the End Times. The school is not accredited; meaning credits are not transferable to regular colleges.
[...]

IHOPU also has a music academy and a media school at which students use the latest equipment to learn lighting, video production, graphics, scoring and audio effects.
[...]

IHOP has outgrown the old Terrace Lake Shopping Center in the 3500 block of Red Bridge Road. At the west end is Glad Heart Realty, which works closely with people moving here to attend IHOP. The broker/owner is Bickle's wife, Diane. According to the agency's Web site, all profits go to the IHOP ministry.

The group also occupies another strip center on Grandview Road as well as the former Kernodle Lake community, which now is called Shiloh Retreat and used for IHOP conferences. The 94-acre Shiloh site is blocked from public access. The music academy is in what once were Grandview School District administrative offices.

Most recently, IHOP has contracted to purchase the Grandview Plaza shopping center, which is just south of the site of the planned 125-acre development across U.S. 71 from Truman Corners.

Erin Bardon of BNB Design, a Lenexa-based architecture firm, said occupancy of the new Truman Prayer Center is scheduled for summer 2013. Later phases call for dorms, a hotel and office towers, said Bardon, who is not an IHOP member.

An extensive campaign is under way to raise money for the Grandview project just east of U.S. 71, Hall said. Large donors are expected to show up.
[...]

Page 11 of the IHOPU catalog contains these words: "We are looking for a generation of radical young people who are willing to prepare their own hearts and lives that they may soon prepare others for the return of Jesus."

Entreaties never stop at the International House of Prayer, Donald Bradley, The Kansas City Star, July 26, 2009 [WayBackMachine]

IHOP, a Cult of Christianity

At Apologetics Index we have been saying for years - since the founding of IHOPKC - that we consider the International House of Prayer to be, theologically, a cult of Christianity.

We also believe this movement's theology leaves the door wide open for various forms of spiritual manipulation and abuse.

Indeed, Mike Bickle's behavior — not only his sexual abuse, but also his manipulation, and his "ministry over people" stance — shows that IHOPKC also is a cult in the sociological sense. [mfn]On this, particularly 'doctrine over person', see Ideological totalism: “Isn’t this just like brainwashing?”, by Robert J. Lifton[/mfn]

Video: The Deception of the International House of Prayer

https://vimeo.com/89196898
The Deception of the International House of Prayer (IHOP)

Video: Exposing Mike Bickle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlJOQ54tIrM
In this video, Dan Long and his wife Robin discuss IHOPKC's Mike Bickle, his numerous supernatural encounters, and his doctrine

Micke Bickle - MAGA Preacher

Mike Bickle is a staunch supporter of hatemonger Donald Trump — and of false prophet Paula White. In January 2020, Bickle told Charisma blogger Steve Strang:

“We needed God to intervene because the conversation in the culture was leaning more and more to the left, and more and more the radical left, and becoming hostile to things that are important in the Word of God,” he says. “And that trend was getting stronger and stronger. And we said, ‘Lord, we have need of a mid-course correction. Please raise somebody up and put them in place to get this thing in a different direction.'”

And God has been doing exactly that. Not only did He raise up Trump as a defender of Christian values and religious freedom, but He also used Paula White Cain to influence Trump for the good. Now, Cain is head of the Trump administration’s Faith and Opportunity Initiative.

Mike Bickle's unqualified support of Donald Trump and false prophet Paula White is just one more indication that he lacks spiritual discernment.

International House of Prayer -- Research Resources

[icon name="triangle-exclamation" prefix="fas"] Documentation of the Aberrant Practices and Teachings of Kansas City Fellowship (Grace Ministries), Pastor Ernest Gruen and members of his staff.

This lengthy document (132 pages) is of primary importance when trying to understand the background of Mike Bickle, his ministry, his theology, and his vision first for Kansas City Fellowship, and then for the International House of Prayer (IHOP-KC).

Among other things it highlights the enormous role false prophet Bob Jones played in Bickle's life and ministry.

See also:

Articles

Blogs

See Also

Websites

The post International House of Prayer (IHOP, or IHOP-KC) appeared first on Apologetics Index.

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Is David Owuor a True Prophet? 3 Oct 2024 7:05 AM (6 months ago)

Is David Owuor a true prophet?

Examining his Ministry of Repentance & Holiness

Is David Owuor a true prophet?
Is David Owuor a true prophet?

David Edward Ujiji Owuor, better known as David Owuor, claims to be "The Mightiest Prophet of the Lord," or "the Mightiest Prophet of Jehovah."

Owuor not only says that he is the prophet Elijah, but states that he is actually greater than Elijah and other prophets in the Bible, and is therefore the "mightiest prophet."

David Owuor also tells people that he is the two witnesses of Revelation 11 (whom he considers to be Moses and Elijah) — and that he is John the Baptist, sent by God to prepare the way for the return of Jesus Christ.

How can I recognize a false prophet?

Jesus warned his followers that “false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect." (Matthew 24:23-27; see also 2 Peter 3:3 and Jude 17-18).

And the Bible teaches that Christians should grow in spiritual discernment, so that they can - among other things - disinguish truth from error.

The apostle Paul told the Thessalonians, "Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil."

Thus when someone claims to be a prophet of God, Christians are to test that man, his words, and his actions.

It follows that someone who claims to speak for God will not object when Christians apply the teachings of the written word of God. In fact, any such person would welcome a close examination of his or her walk and talk.

Conversely, someone who claims to be a prophet and yet rejects scrutiny is in direct violation of the written word of God — and his or her claims should therefore be rejected.

Having established the Biblical basis for such an examination, let's see how David Owuor's claims hold up.

Examining David Owuor's Ministry of Repentance & Holiness

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOKhVjjoPIs
Watchman Fellowship: "David Owuor claims to be “the Mightiest Prophet of Jehovah,” sent by God to prepare the way for Christ’s return. If this is true, then everyone needs to listen and follow him in order to obey God. But if Owuor is actually a false prophet, then his far-reaching claims are spiritually harmful—and he should be both ignored and avoided. This video carefully examines Owuor’s assertions and their implications in the light of Scripture."

Note: If the above video disappears find it at this URL instead: www.tinyurl.com/TestingOwuor

Is David Owuor Elijah and/or Moses?

Retired missionary worker Hans Frinsel says,

When someone comes forward who claims to be 'something big', biblical alarm bells should ring... Kenyan David Owuor claims to be both Elijah and Moses and to unite the 'two witnesses' from Revelation 11 verse 3 in his person.

There is a line of biblical interpretation that Elijah will come again and that he could be one of the two witnesses (and Moses the other?). But that interpretation is speculative at best. After all, Jesus confirmed that John the Baptist was the 'Elijah' who was to come. But if he is to come again, then we can learn valuable lessons from John the Baptist.

'Who are you? Elijah?' John answered, 'I am not.' 'Are you the Prophet?' And again, 'No!' He simply came with a message. He did not seek attention for himself, did not claim to be 'something great', was not even aware that he was 'Elijah' or a 'prophet'. He sought no title or recognition. He was only 'a voice in the wilderness'.

Opinion by Hans Frinsel (worked as a missionary in Africa for twenty years) Nederlands Dagblad, April 22, 2024 (Google translated from the Dutch original text)

Research Resources

Credit

The image of David Owuor is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

The post Is David Owuor a True Prophet? appeared first on Apologetics Index.

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World Mission Society Church of God – WMSCOG 10 Jun 2024 3:26 PM (10 months ago)

World Mission Society Church Of God WMSCOG

World Mission Society Church of God (WMSCOG) claims Gil-Jah Zahng is 'God the Mother'

WMSCOG
Theologically the World Mission Society Church of God is a cult of Christianity. It's teachings and practices are outside the boundaries of the Christian faith. Therefore it's leaders and followers cannot be considered to be Christians. The wolves? A reference to the words of the Apostle Paul, speaking to the elders of the church at Ephesus. Among other things he told them, " I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock." (Acts 20:29)

Table of contents

The World Mission Society Church of God, founded by Ahn Sang-hong (also spelled as Ahnsahnghong) in Korea, believes it is "the only true church which God has established on this earth" [Rev. Joo Cheol Kim, official website].

Theologically, the movement is a cult of Christianity. Those involved in it this church are considered heretics instead of Christians.

Sociologically the "movement "Mother God" movement has many cult-like elements as well.

Names associated with World Mission Society Church of God

WMSCOG operates many subgroups and associated ministries and organizations, some of which can be considered to be front groups.

Cult's nondisclosure agreement nullified in Superior Court

The Mother God cult tries to stifle criticism with a nondisclosure agreement, but that no longer works:

A nondisclosure agreement used by a Ridgewood church, described by some former members as cult-like, to allegedly block its followers from leaking secret beliefs and practices has been nullified by two Superior Court judges.

Those practices allegedly include forced abortions, tax fraud and doomsday prophecies, according to Raymond Gonzalez, an former member of the World Mission Society Church of God, who claimed the agreement he had signed bound him to silence.

Under the decision, issued last week, Gonzalez and others can speak freely because language in the contract was "unconscionable," the court ruled. [...]

Attorneys for World Mission denied Gonzalez's allegations of wrongdoing in a statement and vowed to "vigorously oppose any misrepresentation of the church's religious beliefs."

Tom Nobile, Controversial Ridgewood church's nondisclosure agreement nullified in Superior Court. North Jersey Record, May 22, 2019. [Archived copy]

Zahng Gil Jah (or Gil-Jah Zahng), 'Heavenly Mother'

The World Mission Society Church of God [...] was founded by Ahnsahnghong in 1964, when he left the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The church believes that he (referred to by his followers as Christ Ahn Sang-Hong) is the second coming of Jesus. Ahn Sang-Hong died in 1985, four years after he stated that the second coming Christ must preach the new covenant for 37 years in fulfillment of the throne of King David. Ahn Sang-Hong was baptized in 1948 and began preaching the new covenant Passover. Today, the leader of the church is Zang Gil-Jah, known to followers as the Heavenly Mother, and the General Pastor is Kim Joo-Cheol. Zang Gil-Jah usually appears in public wearing a traditional Korean hanbok. Over 70 percent of followers are women and Korean Americans are increasingly found among the new adherents. Its headquarters are located in Bundang, Sungnam City, Kyunggi Province, roughly an hour away from Seoul.[1]

Within South Korea, and elsewhere proselytizers introduce themselves (to foreigners) by asking whether the individual has heard of the Mother's love, or of the Heavenly Mother.[2] The church believes that Korean resident Zang Gil-Jah is "God the Mother" (who they believe is referred to in the Bible as the New Jerusalem Mother) as well as that Ahnsahnghong is God the Father. The church regards that the earthly family system is a copy and shadow of the heavenly family system, consisting of a Heavenly Father, Heavenly Mother, and the spiritual brothers and sisters (humans). These unorthodox beliefs have led some to consider the church a cult.

Ahn Sang-Hong predicted the Second Coming of Jesus Christ in both 1967 and 1988. The Bible teaches that the Second Coming of Jesus Christ cannot be predicted.

World Mission Society Church of God: Theologically a Cult of Christianity

Theologically, the World Mission Society Church of God is a cult of Christianity due to the fact that it changes, rejects and/or adds to the essential doctrines of the Christian faith.

Sociologically this movement has cultic elements as well. (See: theological vs. sociological definitions of the term 'cult.')

It should be noted that historically the Seventh-Day Adventist Church — itself a controversial religious movement that claims to be Christian in nature, but which promotes many doctrines that are contrary to the gospel and unorthodox in nature — has been a breeding ground of many other cults of Christianity.

WMSCG theology examined

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0LhGhJDXtA
Pastor Mike Winger: They banned my first video but this one is even better! Examining the theology of the WMSCOG. I really hope this helps a lot of people to come out of this group and come to simple trust in the truth of Christ. God the Mother is unbiblical and irrational and this video will explain what the Bible teaches about God the Mother as well as respond to the teachings and theology of the World Mission Society

Pastor Mike Winger examines the theology of the World Mission Society Church of God.

Make sure you also watch this other video on the WMSCOG by Mike Winger:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUeNiX-WLoo
The Secret History of the Fast Growing “Mother God” Cult (with NEW info I've never shared before)

Among other things, in the above video the World Mission Society Church of God is examined with the use of the BITE Model of Authoritarian Control developed by cult expert Steven Hassan.

Note: The World Mission Society Church of God cult attempts to discredit leading cult expert Steven Hassan by pointing out a negative review of one of his books.

That review was written by a cult watcher associated with a 'competitor' who has a lengthy history of baseless, mean-spirited criticisms of Hassan and other cult experts.

Read these professional and personal endorsements of Hassan's work.

Information researched by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada

In 1 December 2004 correspondence to the Research Directorate, a visiting assistant professor of Korean Christianity at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) provided the following information:

"The Church of God" was founded by Ahn Sang-Hong in Seoul in 1964. He joined the Holiness Church in 1947 and believed [in] the imminent Second Coming of Christ. He left the church and made his own church, known as "Ahn Sang-Hong Witness Society." He insisted that he was the incarnated Holy Spirit who was preparing [for] the Coming of Christ [for] the last time ... After his death [in 1985], his spiritual wife and followers reorganized the Society into "The Church of God, World Mission Society." Its main office is located in Bundang, Sungnam City, Kyunggi Province, about an hour away from Seoul.

According to the English-language version of the Church of God Website in Korea, followers believe "only the Bible as God's word"; the teachings of Ahn Sang-Hong are believed to be "those of the last Christ" and they instruct followers to lead a "sacrificial life with true faith according to the Bible" (n.d.). The visiting assistant professor remarked that Church of God followers interpret the Bible literally, deify the founder, and consider images of the crucifixion and the Virgin Mary to be objects of idolatry (1 Dec. 2004). The assistant professor also noted that women are expected to wear a veil during service and that strict observance of the Saturday Sabbath and the rites of the Old Testament, such as Passover, is considered necessary to achieve redemption and salvation (1 Dec. 2004).

The Christian Council of Korea, which represents Protestant churches in the country, has, according to the visiting assistant professor, declared the Church of God "here[tical]" (1 Dec. 2004). On its Website, the Church of God argues that this allegation is "groundless" and denies claims allegedly made by other Christian denominations in Korea that the Church "worships a man," mistreats minors and destroys families (n.d.). The visiting professor indicated that the Church has been accused of breaking up families when women followers have left home and settled in Church of God buildings to wait for the "coming of Christ," which, Ahn Sang-Hong predicted, was to happen in 1988 (1 Dec. 2004). The Church has engaged in community service to improve its image (visiting assistant professor 1 Dec. 2004), and this service has earned the Church the commendation of the government of Korea (Church of God n.d.; visiting assistant professor 1 Dec. 2004).

The Church of God claims to have grown rapidly since the late 1980s and to have 300 branches in Korea and abroad (Church of God n.d.). The visiting assistant professor of Korean Christianity, however, noted that information provided by the Church of God concerning the number of followers and congregations is "unreliable" (1 Dec. 2004).

Video: Why I left WMSCOG

https://youtu.be/4m7hJZo55PU
Former World Mission Society Church Of God Deaconess Diane Sims Speaks Out About Her Experience. With cult expert Steven Hassan.

Video: Professor Ji-il Tark on the WMSCOG cult

Ji-il Tark is Professor of religion at Busan Presbyterian University, a private Christian university in Gimhae City, South Korea.

Tark also edits Modern Religion Monthly (Korean only), published as his website: Information Network on Christian Heresies (Korean only).

He is the author of Family-Centered Belief and Practice in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and the Unification Church.

This video was recorded at the 2010 Annual International Conference of the International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) -- the primary network of lay and professional cult experts.

Professor Tark's presentation at the conference was titled, 'Exploring the World Mission Society Church of God: A Doomsday Cult Waiting for 2010.'

Cult expert Steve Hassan, who recorded this video, says, "I had never heard of Professor Tark, but came to learn that his father was the most famous anti-cult minister in Korea. He [the father] was unfortunately assassinated by a cult member (not someone from WMSCOG)"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-l9Gk0EHQA
Professor Ji-il Tark on Ahn Sahng-hong's World Mission Society Church of God cult

Video: The World Mission Society Church Of God Sues Former Members & Critics

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfzL3W4cuDA
From a YouTube channel called Answering the WMSCOG

YouTube channel Answering The WMSCOG creates videos and resources to respond to the claims and doctrines of the World Mission Society Church Of God and to help those who have been negatively impacted by this high-demand, high-control, cult group.

The website Examining the World Mission Society Church of God lists a number of lawsuits involving the Mother God cult.

Mother God cult recruitment and PR

The WMSCOG cult recruits members in many ways. It is highly active online, and offline. Offline, the movement's members often recruit at campuses. On college campuses the church is often represented by a front group called ASEZ. The church says that "ASEZ is a group of university student volunteers from the Church of God, who act to solve practical problems around the world."

And taking a page from the PR playbook of the Church of Scientology, a destructive cult, the WMSCOG also volunteers for community service projects. This provides them with positive mentions in local news outlets.

Examples:

Research Resources on the World Mission Society Church of God

Blogs and Websites

NOTE: The World Mission Society Church of God and/or its adherents post many blogs, web sites and YouTube videos connecting the church’s name with the term ‘cult‘ or ‘heresy‘ — only to then try and show why it should not be considered as such. That’s fair enough, but it would be more honest if the intentions (and source of information) was made more clear from the outset.

Just so there is no misunderstanding: At Apologetics Index we consider the World Mission Society Church of God to be theologically a cult of Christianity due to its heretical teachings.

■ Encountering the World Mission Church of God Highly recommended. Lots of articles and links to additional resources

■ La Verdadera Iglesia de Dios Sociedad Misionera Mundial [Spanish/Español] Iglesia de Dios Sociedad Misionera (IDDSMM = WMSCOG)

■ World Mission Society Church of God Caution: Official web site. Note: considered to be, theologically, a cult of Christianity. This movement uses various web sites and blogs.

News articles

Overviews

See Also: More about cults

Popular Right Now

The post World Mission Society Church of God – WMSCOG appeared first on Apologetics Index.

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Divine Healing According to the Bible and Experience 24 Mar 2024 5:59 PM (last year)

Divine healing according to the Bible and Experience

Divine healing according to the Bible and Experience

By David Kowalski

God can and does still heal. While we are not guaranteed healing in this life, we are guaranteed it throughout eternity.

Estimated reading time: 44 minutes

Table of contents

My introduction to divine healing

My introduction to divine healing came several years before I was saved. A prestigious doctor at Ochsner Clinic in New Orleans had diagnosed a blockage in an artery in my neck when I was a teen, saying that it would eventually require surgery. Not long after this, I was sitting in a room watching television while my mother was at a prayer meeting, asking God to heal me. I was a godless rebel, entrenched in sinful ways and adhering to mystical, pantheistic beliefs. Nevertheless, as I sat by myself, I felt something grab my neck in the afflicted area, after which I sensed a warm power flowing into my neck. I did not know how I knew, but I knew this was the activity of God (my mothers’ – not my New Age force), and I knew He was healing me, after which I said, “But God, I don’t even believe in you!” Several years later, I was wonderfully saved, and not long afterward, I had my neck rechecked at the same clinic. The physician I spoke to was mystified because there was no trace of the previously diagnosed condition. He said the first doctor “must have been mistaken.”[1] This experience introduced me to a subject I would subsequently spend many years studying in the Bible.

Almost no Christian doubts that divine healing played a prominent role in the ministry of Jesus and of the New Testament Church.[2] Acts 28:1-10 reveals that healing was a prominent part of the apostles' ministry even in their later years. Acts 6:8 and 8:5-7 show this ministry was not limited to the apostles. Even the profoundly flawed Corinthian and Galatian churches experienced miraculous healings.

The Bible nowhere states that divine healing will cease after the first-century apostolic age. After speaking of the temporary nature of spiritual gifts needed in this age, Paul, in 1 Corinthians 13:10 & 12, lets us know exactly when these gifts will cease:

But when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away ... For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

Very few people now assert that “the perfect” refers to the canon of Scripture since we still see dimly and do not yet know as we have been fully known (I have not met any believers who claim to). The passage indicates that gifts will persist in this life. In 1 Corinthians 1:7, Paul also tells the Corinthians they “are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The gifts are given to believers who are still waiting for the return of Christ.  

Through the years, there have been scandals and heresies among continuationists (those who believe the spiritual gifts have not ceased), but to reject the ongoing reality of those gifts on those grounds is both an ad hominem and a hasty generalization. The harshest critics of these scandals and heresies have been other continuationists.[3] In the 19th century, A. J. Gordon (a healing continuationist) offered criticism of this kind regarding the healing movement popular then: “But we are offering no apology for fanaticism and providing no place for it in connection with the doctrine we are defending.”[4] Contemporary Pentecostal scholar Gordon Fee says, “The selectivity of these evangelists allows them to espouse a view not taught anywhere in the New Testament, but also carefully to avoid to avoid hundreds of texts that stand squarely in opposition to their teaching.”[5] Scandals (many could be cited[6]) and heresies have also been part of cessationism (Jehovah's Witnesses are strict cessationists, for example), but this gives no grounds for arguing that their theology about the gifts is wrong.

Cessationists often argue that their position should be adopted because it is safer than the dangerous one of continuationists since continuationism sometimes leads to extremes and abuses. To avoid all dangerous activity, however, we would never get out of bed. Driving to church on Sunday is dangerous since we might be involved in an accident. Nevertheless, going to church on Sunday is beneficial. Safety is not the grounds for determining correct doctrine and practice. Scripture must be our arbiter of truth, and biblical wisdom should guide our practice.  

As noted above, Scripture says the gifts, which include divine healing, will continue until the return of Christ. However, many believers who assert that revelatory gifts have ceased do believe that divine healings have continued (though not as the kind of gift mentioned in 1 Corinthians and provided for only in the sovereignty of God and not the atonement).[7] Excluding the extreme, odd, and even heretical methodology found among some extremists in the healing camp, the fundamental healing methodology employed by continuationists and cessationists[8] is the same – we pray for the sick to be healed.

This agreement on methodology makes theological differences about divine healing mostly academic but still impactful. We must always guard against the common tendency to jump from one theological extreme to another rather than comprehensively pursue the whole counsel of God. Many errors are born from an overreaction to a different kind of error. Thus, we will look more closely at the Bible's teaching about divine healing.

The Start and Finish of Our Need for Healing

The need for healing came into God’s good creation when sin entered, and it brought consequences such as a cursed earth and physical death. We are told the good news in Revelation 21:4 that God will ultimately bring in a completely new order in which there will be no more mourning, crying, or pain! The chart below briefly overviews the fall, its effects, and its cure.

The need for healing came into God’s good creation when sin entered, and it brought consequences such as a cursed earth and physical death. We are told the good news in Revelation 21:4 that God will ultimately bring in a completely new order in which there will be no more mourning, crying, or pain! The chart below briefly overviews the fall, its effects, and its cure.

The chart shows that not all of the effects of the atonement are received at the same time. We may, thus, encounter confusion if different parties think of different elements of the atonement when they speak of it. In this article, we will follow the definition of atonement given by Wayne Grudem, which adopts a broad view of “atonement” that includes the punctiliar (one-time) act of penal substitution and the multiple effects or benefits resulting from that. Additionally, we will recognize different stages or timing for applying the benefits flowing from penal substitution. Grudem explains:

We may define the atonement as follows: The atonement is the work Christ did in his life and death to earn our salvation. This definition indicates we are using the word atonement in a broader sense than it is sometimes used. Sometimes it is used to refer only to Jesus dying and paying for our sins on the cross ... since saving benefits also come to us from Christ’s life, we have included that in our definition as well.”[9]

D. A. Carson summarizes the implications:

The issue is not “what is in the atonement,” for surely all Christians would want to say that every blessing that comes to us, now and in the hereafter, ultimately flows from the redemptive work of Christ. The issue, rather, is what blessings we have a right to expect as universally given endowments right now, what blessings we may expect only hereafter, and what blessings we may partially or occasionally enjoy now and in fullness only in the hereafter.[10]

Some errors respecting divine healing in the atonement result when we treat one aspect of this work outside of its larger context, try to apply it in a manner that will only be realized in the consummation of the kingdom when Christ returns, or delay all implications until that time. We will use the light of Scripture to examine some of these errors that misinterpret or misapply Biblical teaching about Divine healing.

Redemption from the Curse of the Law

Galatians 3:13, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree,’” is sometimes claimed as a promise of divine healing. Kenneth Hagin, for example, makes this claim,[11] and it has been cited as a basis for healing by C. J. E. Lefroy.[12] The assertion is expressed succinctly by F. F. Bosworth:

Every form of sickness and disease known to man was included, and many of them mentioned particularly, in the “curse of the law” (Deut, 28:15-62, and other scriptures). Now, in Galatians 3:13 we have the positive statement that “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us, for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone that hangeth on the tree.’” What plainer declaration could we have than that Christ, who was born under the law to redeem us, bore its curse, and therefore did redeem us from all sickness and disease.[13]

However, this interpretation of Galatians 3:13 is hard to maintain under close inspection. Gordon Fee disagrees with it:

The first set of texts may be quickly set aside. This is a typical example of a totally faulty “concordance” interpretation, which finds English catchwords in various texts and then tries to make them all refer to the same thing. There is not even the remotest possibility that Paul was referring to the “curses” of Deuteronomy 28 when he spoke of the “curse of the law.” And “redemption” in Galatians has to do with one thing only: how does one have right-standing with God – through faith (= trust in God’s gracious acceptance and forgiveness of sinners) or by the works of the law (= acceptance by obedience to prescribed rules)? Thus, the Holy Spirit could scarcely have inspired a meaning of the text that is so totally foreign to the point is making in this context in Galatians.[14]

Fee’s comments are convincing, but even if we were to allow the curses of Deuteronomy 28 to be considered part of the law’s curse from which we have been redeemed, this would not eliminate the original cause of sickness. Disease and injury originated with the fall, which occurred long before God pronounced the curses of Deuteronomy 28. Stating that we are free from the curses of Deuteronomy 28 does not address the physical consequences of the fall; it would only liberate us from the extraordinary judgments of which God spoke in Deuteronomy 28. Additionally, the mention of the curse of one who is “hanged on a tree” spoken of in Galatians 3:13 does not match the context of Deuteronomy 28, referring instead to Deuteronomy 21:22-23.[15] Joe Magliato tells a humorous fictional (but theologically possible!) dialogue about freedom from the curses of Deuteronomy 28 (vs. 22 in particular, which specifies mildew as part of those):[16]

Friend: Marge, do you know you have mildew in your shower?

Marge: Oh! I’ll have to take care of that tomorrow.

Friend: Don’t you know that mildew is part of the curse of Deuteronomy?

Marge: Curse? What curse?

Friend: The curse of the law. It’s all in Deuteronomy 28. But you have been redeemed from the curse.

Marge: I have?

Friend: Yes, you don’t have to put up with that. Rebuke it!

Marge: Rebuke what?

Friend: Rebuke the mildew.

Marge: The mildew?

Friend: Yes, all you need to do is to claim your freedom from the curse and believe the Word. If you have enough faith, you won’t have mildew in your shower. Don’t you have faith?

Marge: Why sure I do! At least enough to handle mildew.

Friend: Maybe you have a secret sin in your life. Is there anything you are hiding?

Marge: Well, now that you mention it, I did get angry with Bob for knocking over my new geranium pot the other day. But do you think that would be part of the curse?
Friend: What do you mean?

Marge: Well, Bob got so angry when he knocked over the pot that he cursed. Does that count?

Friend: You’re not taking this seriously, are you?

Marge: I sure am. It cost me $5.95 for a new pot of geraniums.

Friend: Let’s believe God to remove the mildew by praying in faith.

Marge: Why pray? I’ll just use “Fungus Sure Shot” first thing in the morning.[17]

Magliato, The Wall Street Gospel, 9-10

Even if Deuteronomy 28 had been referred to in Galatians 3:13, all we could have been assured of regarding illness is that the Lord would not “make the pestilence stick to you until he has consumed you off the land that you are entering to take possession of it” (Deuteronomy 28:21). Galatians 3:13 does not guarantee the believer a sickness-free life.

Satan’s Defeat

In Bodily Healing and the Atonement, T. J. McCrossan expresses the frequently professed view that all sickness is of Satan, and since Christ has defeated Satan (Col. 2:13-15, Heb. 2:14), perfect healing may now be claimed:

Again, all saints should expect God to heal their sickness today, because all sickness is the result of Satan’s work when he introduced sin into this world, and Christ was manifested to destroy Satan’s work.

While McCrossan traces the demonic nature of sickness to Satan’s influence in the Garden, other teachers maintain that the demonic nature of sickness is always due to direct demonic causation. In his book The Troublemaker, Kenneth Copeland conveys the common idea of the movement he is part of – that all disease and poverty come directly from the devil, saying, “Trouble isn’t born by the Spirit of God – it is born by Satan”[18] and in The Force of Faith, Copelandopines, “Suffering is the result of the attack of Satan.”[19]

Acts 10:38 is often said to be evidence that the devil directly causes all sickness: “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.” Kenneth Hagin declares, “This scripture makes it clear that the people Jesus healed were oppressed by the devil.”[20]

Acts 10:38 is a comprehensive description of Jesus’ healing and deliverance ministry in one verse, speaking of all who were oppressed, conflating rather than separating deliverance and healing (the only verse that does). In the Gospels, however, the two are plainly treated as separate acts:

That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. – Matthew 8:16

And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. – Matthew 10:1

“And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases.” – Luke 9:1

Even if we were to agree that Acts 10:38 makes no distinction between the oppressed and sick, it is, as one verse alone, insufficient grounds to make this an absolute doctrine. If we say that a doctor cured all of his patients’ headaches caused by brain tumors, we are not thereby declaring that brain tumors cause all headaches. At most, Luke tells us in Acts 10:38 that Jesus healed people Satan afflicted. Satan’s defeat brings hope for all who are afflicted by demons, but it does not eliminate the root of all sickness.

Common sense experience tells us that not all afflictions are directly caused by demons. If one accidentally cuts their finger with a knife, they will not rebuke the devil to receive healing for the cut (though they might pray for healing). This lesson was driven home to me many years ago when, after a young girl had apparently broken her leg at a church outing, believers gathered around her and rebuked the devil (a demon of brokenness?).

The Atonement

In Isaiah, we are told how the new order will be inaugurated:

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. – Isaiah 53:4-6

Edward J. Young comments that our traditional translation of “healed” in verse five is not the best choice of words: “Actually the verb is impersonal, and we may best render, and by his stripes there is healing to us, or healing was imparted to us.”[21] Stanley Horton notes that the Hebrew word Young translates as “to” can mean “for.”[22]

This prophesied savior will bear our sins and liberate us from sin’s consequences. Verse five above prophesies healing for us as a result of his sufferings. Some commentators have limited the application of this verse to a healing of our ways for two reasons. First, some of the uses of rapha (healing) in the Old Testament (including in Isaiah) speak metaphorically of the healing of the ways of a people:

And the Lord will strike Egypt, striking and healing, and they will return to the Lord, and he will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them. – Isaiah 19:22

Moreover, the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day when the Lord binds up the brokenness of his people, and heals the wounds inflicted by his blow. – Isaiah 30:26

Secondly, when Peter mentions the fulfillment of the passage in Isaiah 53, the context indicates a healing of our ways:[23]

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. – 1 Peter 2:24-25

The biggest obstacle to the interpretation that the healing of ways is the sole meaning of the passage in Isaiah 53 is its reference in Matthew 8:16-17 which clearly refers to physical healing:

That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”

Just as the Hebrew rapha can mean healing of ways or bodies, so also can the Greek iaomai, found in 1 Peter 2:24 mean either kind of healing. The healing described in Matthew 8:16-17, however, is unquestionably physical, and the less ambiguous word therapeuo is used there.

Consequently, an observation of the dual uses of rapha in the Old Testament, combined with the dual citations of Isaiah 53:4-6 in the New Testament, leads to the conclusion that holistic healing – a healing of both the ways and bodies of God’s people was prophesied by Isaiah.

Many commentators dismiss the passage in Matthew 8:16-17 as one with no reference to the cross nor any present application to believers since Matthew says it is fulfilled in Jesus’ pre-Calvary ministry. They postulate this even though Peter’s reference to the fulfillment of Isaiah 53 is post-Calvary. This dismissal of Matthew 8:16-17 also ignores how Matthew uses the term “fulfilled” (though the word is grammatically past tense). In Matthew 12:15-21, Matthew speaks of another “fulfillment” that includes future reference and implications:

Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all and ordered them not to make him known. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah:

“Behold, my servant whom I have chosen,
    my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased.
 I will put my Spirit upon him,
    and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.
He will not quarrel or cry aloud,
    nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets;
a bruised reed he will not break,
    and a smoldering wick he will not quench,
victory; until he brings justice to
   and in his name the Gentiles will hope.”

Even in English, a verb in the past tense can have future implications. For example, if one announces they have “bought a house,” this does not exclude the need for future payments.

Matthew’s quote here from Isaiah is from Isaiah 42:1-4. Ray Ortland comments on this passage that “The Servant of the Lord now appears, who will build a whole new world (42:1–9).”[24] H. N. Ridderbos says this prophecy is “a reference to the great future of the Kingdom of God.”[25] W. E. Vine says of verse four, “From this prophecy momentarily leaps forward to the effects of Christ’s Second Advent in His Millennial reign.”[26]

Considering the sum of the passages leads us to agree with D. A. Carson, who says of Matthew 8:16-17,  “Jesus healing ministry is itself a function of his substitutionary death, by which he lays the foundation for destroying sickness ... Jesus’ healing miracles pointed beyond themselves to the cross.”[27] Henry Frost concurs that the prophecy’s fulfillment goes beyond the immediate context of Jesus’ healing ministry:

It appears, therefore, that Isaiah 53: 4,5 was written with a double prophetic outlet: first to an atonement for sin, healing of disease, before and apart from the atonement, undoubtedly as an evidence and proof of Christ’s messianic claim.[28]

Thus, the healing prophesied by Isaiah is holistic, of both the ways and bodies of men and women.

In the Holiness and Pentecostal movements of the 19th and 20th centuries, advocates of divine healing generally acknowledged (with varying nuances) that healing is provided for or comes through the atonement. However, one difficulty this acknowledgment has posed for both advocates and opponents is that the English word “atonement” is rarely, if ever, found in our English translations of the New Testament. Though in Romans 5:11, katallagēn is rendered as “atonement” in the King James Version (the only place “atonement” is found in the New Testament of the KJV), the word has been translated as “reconciliation” in modern translations.[29]

The KJV translation ‘atonement’ results from the fact that, at that time (1611), the term was equivalent to “reconciliation.” The Oxford English Dictionary says that atone originally was ‘short for the phrase “set or make at one”’ and that the noun was formed by a combination of the phrase “at” “onement,” the latter being a common phrase in the 16th century. Numerous examples are given of the use of atone and atonement in the sense of ‘reconcile’ and ‘reconciliation’ (1:539).[30]

The NIV translation of 1 John 4:10 presents another verse that can include a version of the English “atonement:” “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” While this is a respectable translation of hilasmos, echoed in some other translations, it is a minority view since most translations translate the word as “propitiation” (the turning away of God’s wrath).[31] In this article, we will consider both translations legitimate since there is some overlap in meaning or effect between “atonement” and “propitiation.” The bottom line remains the same – “atonement” is rarely, if ever, used in our English translations of the New Testament.

Though the Hebrew kippur is often translated into the English Old Testament as “atonement,” the work of Christ on the cross is more multifaceted than the Old Testament sacrifices since it addresses the guilt of sin and its many consequences. The terms involved describe the objective and subjective effects of the cross and consequently overlap in meaning or effect at times. Therefore, the word “atonement” has made its way into our theological and popular vocabulary, but not all believers speak of precisely the same dynamic effects of the cross when they use that word. We choose between varying degrees of dynamic inclusiveness, and this article will reflect Wayne Grudem's broad view mentioned earlier.

As noted previously, the benefits purchased in the atonement are varied and are dispensed at differing times, so how we associate divine healing with other benefits inevitably affects our theology of healing. Some healing proponents have included healing in a narrow view of the atonement and concluded that believers are as healed now as they are forgiven, maintaining that we not only have the privilege of healings but now can live in perpetual “divine health.” Since we are completely forgiven, they say, our bodies are now completely healed, and any indications we have to the contrary are “lying symptoms.” They claim the truth is that we are already well and must stand on that “truth.”[32] Kenneth Hagin says, “[God] has done all He is ever going to do about healing you.”[33] He adds,  

Once I say that God has heard my prayer, I never go back on it. I do not care what I see, what I feel, or what my senses tell me. I stay with it, take hold of it with the tenacity of a bull dog, and I do not turn loose of it.[34]

Faith teacher Jerry Savelle writes,

Divine health is something we already possess. When symptoms come, it is nothing more than the thief trying to steal the health which is already ours. In other words, divine health is not something we are trying to get from God; it is something the Devil is trying to take away from us...When the Devil tries to put a symptom of sickness or disease on my body, I absolutely refuse to accept it.[35]

Divine health is something we already possess. When symptoms come, it is nothing more than the thief trying to steal the health which is already ours. In other words, divine health is not something we are trying to get from God; it is something the Devil is trying to take away from us...When the Devil tries to put a symptom of sickness or disease on my body, I absolutely refuse to accept it.[35]

Healing evangelist Jack Coe (1918-1956) dogmatically preached absolute divine health guaranteed for all believers in this age, even telling Christians to forego medical treatment and instead trust God. David Edwin Harrel relates that Coe “Taught that the day would come when those who consulted physicians would take the mark of the beast and that men were clearly looking to the wrong source for healing when they consulted doctors.”[36] At the age of 38, though, Coe contracted polio and died while seeking medical help at Dallas' Parkland Hospital on December 16, 1956.

The exceptionally unorthodox healing evangelist O. L. Jaggers (1916-2004) went as far as to claim that “An exact formula has been given to us as to how to attain physical immortality in this World!!!!”[37] Jaggers died in January of 2004.[38] Some participants in the mid-20th century Latter Rain movement (a precursor of the New Apostolic Reformation[39]) believed they (as the “Manchild”) would achieve a resurrected state before the return of Christ.[40]

Kenneth Hagin had a series of heart problems over the years (four cardiovascular crises, including one full-scale heart stoppage and another episode persisting for six weeks).[41] While seeking medical help in a cardiac intensive care unit, Hagin died in a Tulsa hospital on September 19, 2003, after collapsing at home.[42] In 2022, Kenneth Copeland admitted to having a pacemaker.[43] More examples could be given.

While it is commendable that these men had the humility to seek medical help, this pursuit did not harmonize with much of their teaching. To suggest that we are just as healed as we are forgiven is to espouse an extreme form of realized eschatology[44] in which we essentially have glorified bodies in this life (regardless of any “symptoms” to the contrary), a teaching against which we are strongly warned in Scripture:[45]

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some. – 2 Timothy 2:15-18

The New Testament reveals that life between the first and second comings of Christ will be one in which we wait for the consummation of the kingdom when we will receive perfect, glorified bodies:

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” – Romans 8:18-25

For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.” – 2 Corinthians 5:1-8

And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment” – Hebrews 9:27

In referring to sick believers, Paul and James, inspired by the Holy Spirit, both speak of the Christians mentioned below as not only having symptoms but also being actually sick. The Holy Spirit said the cause of their symptoms was a physical reality (a Divine negative confession?):

I left Trophimus, who was ill, at Miletus. – 2 Timothy 4:20

I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need, for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. – Philippians 2:25-27

No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments. – 1 Timothy 5:23

You know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first” – Galatians 4:13

Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.” – James 5:14

With these things in view, R. A. Torrey (a believer in present-day healing), in his book Divine Healing, remarks as follows:

When do we get what Jesus Christ secured for us by His atoning sacrifice? The Bible answer to that question is very plain, and the Bible answer is, when Jesus Christ comes again...We get the first fruits of the atoning work of Christ, the first fruits of salvation in the life that now is, but we get the full fruits only when Jesus Christ comes again. But while we do not get the full benefits for the body secured for us by the atoning death of Christ in the life that now is, but when Jesus Comes Again, nevertheless, just as one gets the first fruits of his spiritual salvation in the life that now is, so we get the first fruits of our physical salvation in the life that now is. We do get in many, many, many cases physical healing through the atoning death of Jesus Christ even in the life that now is.[46]

Pentecostal leader Donald Gee adds,

Doctrines of Divine healing that leave almost no place ideally in the life of the Christian for physical pain and infirmity are grasped at with avidity, but this is wishful thinking which neither Christian experience, nor the Bible when sanely interpreted, can transmute into sound doctrine that will stand the strain it is inevitably called upon to bear in practical living. No wonder we are surrounded with our “problems of Divine healing.” We make them for ourselves by formulating imperfect doctrines.[47]

Though we wait for the fullness of our inheritance, the Holy Spirit acts as our guardian, occasionally dispensing foretastes of that inheritance. Though we are, as Hebrews 9:27 says, appointed to die physically, the Bible teaches that God graciously makes repairs along the way in gifts of healing (1 Corinthians 12:9, James 5:14-15). God treats our bodies as we do our cars. The day we buy one, it is destined for the junkyard. That car will progressively age and deteriorate, but as the owner, we will occasionally make repairs at our discretion.



As #12 of the Assemblies of God’s fundamental truths says, “Deliverance from sickness is provided for [not guaranteed][48] in the atonement, and is the privilege of all believers.”[49]  As already conceded, if some cessationist Christians prefer to say healing is only provided for in the sovereignty of God, this makes little difference in our experience (healed is healed), even if those believers tend to downplay healing and lessen our expectancy of its occurrence.

Healing Through History

A close look at history shows that miraculous gifts of the Spirit did not cease in the first century, nor as some claim, in the fourth. In the second century, Irenaeus was a highly credible witness who tested all things and said, “Others have foreknowledge of things to come: they see visions, and utter prophetic expressions. Others still, heal the sick by laying their hands upon them, and they are made whole.”[50] Other second-century believers, such as Justin Martyr, echoed Ireneaus’ claim:

Some [of you] are becoming disciples in the name of Christ, and quitting the path of error; who are also receiving gifts, each as he is worthy, illumined through the name of this Christ. For one receives the spirit of understanding, another of counsel, another of strength, another of healing, another of foreknowledge, another of teaching, and another of the fear of God.[51]

Sam Storms quotes (as does Ronald A. N. Kydd) many early Church fathers who say similar things and shows that later Church leaders maintained a similar testimony.[52]

Divine healing and other gift manifestations did not cease in the fourth century, as some people conclude from reading early comments by Augustine and Chrysostom. Though Augustine made some cessationist-sounding statements early in his life, he later became a full-blown believer in Divine healing and other gifts. In chapter eight of The City of God (Book Twenty-Two), he revels in the accounts of the many Divine healings he has witnessed:

“For even now miracles are wrought in the name of Christ ...

[Twenty-One accounts described]...

Even now, therefore, many miracles are wrought, the same God who wrought those we read of still performing them, by whom He will and as He will[53]

Chrysostom’s early reference to a cessation of gifts[54] does not support the idea that gifts ceased in the fourth century. First, Augustine, Martin of Tours,[55] and Pachomius[56] all testified to the working of miraculous gifts in the fourth century. Additionally, like Augustine, Chrysostom later recounted witnessing miraculous gifts.[57] Even cessationist Conyers Middleton (1683-1750) conceded this:

From these testimonies, one would necessarily conclude, upon the authority of St. Chrysostom, that miracles were ceased in his days: yet in other parts of his works we find him in a different story, and haranguing on the mighty wonders, which were performed among them every day.[58]

Accounts of Divine healing between this period and the Protestant Reformers seem fewer, and the related ones are often associated with saints, relics, and “holy locations.” These phenomena seem to have contributed to the early cessationist stands of the Protestant Reformers, who were, by responding with Scripture alone (insisting it was sufficient), reacting to the Roman Catholic insistence that they provide miracles to verify their ministries. Though Calvin remained solidly cessationist (even denying the possibility of Divine healing), Martin Luther did not reflect the same posture. In The Pagan Servitude of the Church, Luther dismisses Extreme Unction as a sacrament, but he comments on the need to pray for the sick and the efficacy of such prayer. He writes,

But in Extreme Unction as practiced in our day, there is no prayer of faith. No one prays in faith over the sick, confidently expecting their restoration. Yet James describes that kind of faith in this passage (in James 5) ... There is no doubt at all that if, at the present day, this kind of prayer were offered over the sick, i.e., by the older and graver men, men saintlike and full of faith, as many as we desired would be healed. Nothing is impossible for faith.[59] 

There was an unending line of Protestant healing continuationists, including Richard Baxter, the Moravians (including Zinzendorf), Johann Albrecht Bengel, the Scotch Covenanters, the Huguenots, early Baptists, many Methodists (Peter J. Bellini, as well as Kimberly Ervin Alexander, thoroughly document John Wesley’s position that would today be called continuationist [despite his seemingly conflicting comments]),[60] Edward Irving (and the Irvingites), Thomas Chalmers, Horace Bushnell, and many early missionaries.[61]

Russel H. Conwell’s biography of Charles Spurgeon includes accounts of spiritual gifts in Spurgeon’s ministry – accounts that are strangely missing from more recent biographies of Spurgeon.[62] Though these and other gifts were manifested, Conwell seems most impressed with the prolific healing ministry evident in Spurgeon’s ministry:

Thousands of cases [of divine healing] like those we have related [in Spurgeon’s ministry] might be gathered, and a great number of them have been collected, showing the wonderful agency of some Divine power exercised in answer to prayer.[63]

Divine healing ministries proliferated in the 19th-century Holiness movement, largely inspired by the healing-home model pioneered by Dorothea Trudel.[64] These minsters include (but are not limited to) R. Kelso Carter, R. L. Stanton, Charles Cullis, Andrew Murray, A. B. Simpson, A. J. Gordon, and Carrie Judd Montgomery.

The twentieth-century Pentecostal movement perpetuated this healing movement and inherited most of its theology on that topic. The post-WWII healing revival of figures such as William Branham, A. A. Allen, Jack Coe, T. L. Osborn, and Oral Roberts brought healing to some seekers, though it also brought some errors (such as Branham’s[65]) and scandals. More contemporary ministers in the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements have also brought errors and scandals into the Church. Still, finding some bad apples does not mean all apples are bad. Much good has resulted from the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements. We must distinguish between the good and bad as well as the true and false, rejecting the bad and false while holding fast to what is good and true.

 The Prayer of Faith

James 5:15 tells us that the “prayer of faith” will result in healing for the sick, which leads us to look for precisely what expression of faith James speaks of. Faith is not a power independent of God; it always receives grace from above. Grace is more than forgiveness of sins. It is called poikilos (manifold, various, many-faceted, multicolored) in 1 Peter 4:10 and is the unmerited favorable working of God in various ways (1 Co. 15:20, 2 Co. 1:12, Eph. 4:7, 1 Pe. 4:10).

Gace giftings will vary in specificity and temporal application. Grace to occupy a ministry office is perpetual or lasting, while grace to minister a particular gift of the Spirit that flows from that office is momentary or temporary. The river of grace that flows from God’s throne divides into various streams as it approaches our lives, and each of those streams is received by a different function of faith, which works in different ways as it believes different kinds of revelations and receives different expressions of grace.

As established earlier, in this life, healing grace is specific and temporary rather than universal and eternal (reserved for glorification). It is at least interesting to note that Paul mentions gifts of healing immediately after speaking of faith as a gift: “To another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit” – 1 Corinthians 12:9. This “gift faith” differs from faith as a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Faith, as a fruit of the Spirit, trusts God’s goodness and providence while it receives abiding gifts such as justification. Faith as a gift receives more specific and temporary expressions of grace – such as healing. Siegfried Schatzmann notes, "Faith as a gift of the Spirit seems to be an attendant charisma”[66] (one that attends and receives the other gifts).

Faith that receives healing is a spiritual gift that cannot be worked up. Though A. B. Simpson was at times overbearing in his approach to healing, he balanced this approach well in his booklet Himself, in which he says of faith for healing:

That is it. It is not your faith. You have no faith in you, any more than you have life or anything else in you. You have nothing but emptiness and vacuity, and you must be just openness and readiness to take Him to do all. You have to take His faith as well as His life and healing, and have simply to say, “I live by the faith of the Son of God.”[67]

Charles Price was a healing evangelist mentored by Amiee Semple McPherson. Like Simpson, he could sometimes be a bit overbearing in his healing ministry, but like Simpson, he balanced that with great eloquence in his classic book, The Real Faith:

One of our chief difficulties is our failure to see that faith can be received only as it is imparted to the heart, by God Himself. Either you have faith, or you do not. You cannot manufacture it...you cannot work it up.[68]

Genuine instruments of God used effectively in praying for the sick understand that the prayer of faith does not result from a natural production of mental and psychological certainty. The real faith comes from above, and we are not the ones dispensing it from the throne. We must always trust (faith as a fruit of the Spirit) that God is a healer, and we must respond actively to those who ask for prayer, but the “prayer of faith” that heals the sick involves a supernatural gift of faith that receives a genuine and verifiable[69] gift of healing.

Why Are Not All Healed?

We have seen that in the New Testament, some people (we do not even know if the people healed on the island of Malta became Christians) were healed, while some believers, such as Trophimus and Timothy, were not. This fact has led to much speculation and debate, but Scripture does not explain this perplexing fact. Honesty compels us to admit, as do the following Pentecostal authors, our incomplete understanding in this age:

But healings, even if they are not routine, are an announcement that Christ did triumph at the cross and that ultimately he will restore all things. Rather than complain when all are not healed, we should rejoice when any are healed! (Willian Menzies and Robert Menzies)[70]

The sovereignty of God is difficult to understand. Why does He heal some and not heal others? I do not know. But this is not for me to figure out or question. (Thomas Trask)[71]

Why are not all healed?’ The only honest answer I can give is: I do not know. And I am afraid of those who claim they do know. For only God knows, and who can fathom the mind of God? Who can understand His reasoning? (Kathryn Kuhlman)[72]

Because He has done such miracles for the good of His people in the past, believers should trust Him for their future even if it involves a delay or no miracle at all. Ultimately, God will totally restore all creation to complete harmony with himself and resurrect believers to eternal fellowship with himself, and the wolde universe will be full of His glory. Truly, His name shall be called “Wonderful.” (Roger Cotton)[73]

Conclusion

Max Turner summarizes the biblical teaching on healing this way:

The witness of the New Testament writers is that God will indeed grant miraculous gifts of healing, and that these are joyful experiences of and pointers to the wholistic nature of God’s eschatological salvation, the first fruits of the consummation to come.[74]

The Divine provision for healing has been made. Divine application of that provision is made in the timing of God and only by His power. Though we must not presume, we can pray to the compassionate One who has our best interest at heart and answers prayer. Though we are not in control, we trust the One who is, and our hope of glorification and reward will be soon realized regardless of temporal circumstances. We have been given the downpayment of the Spirit that guarantees the rest of our inheritance will be given to us. This is the hope that is “a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul” (Hebrews 6:19). Though this life is “just a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (James 4:14), our “hope does not disappoint” (Romans 5:5 NASB). While we are not guaranteed healing in this life (though we are sometimes blessed with it), we are guaranteed healing throughout eternity.

Believers are plugged into the atonement, but healing only comes by the hand of God.

© Copyright 2024, David Kowalski. All rights reserved. Links to this post are encouraged. Do not repost or republish without permission.

Footnotes

[1] Another brief testimony of healing I experienced: Obedience and Enablement

[2] See Craig Keener, Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts, Two Volumes (Ada, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2011), passim. Also see Craig Keener, “Craig Keener | Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts” [YouTube]

[3] In addition to many articles (such as mine: Resources for Studying the Errors of the Word-Faith Movement and Magic Then and Now), see such books as Charles Farah, From the Pinnacle of the Temple (Plainfield, NJ.: Logos International, n.d.);Dave Hunt and T. A McMahon, The Seduction of Christianity (Eugene, Ore.: Harvest House Publishers, 1985); D. R. McConnell; A Different Gospel (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1988) [I highly recommend this book]; Robert M. Bowman Jr. The Word-Faith Controversy: Understanding the Health and Wealth Gospel (Grand Rapids, Mi.: Baker Books, 2001); Gordon D. Fee, The Disease of the Health and Wealth Gospels (Beverly, Maine: Frontline Publishing, 1985); Joe Maglioto, The Wall Street Gospel (Eugene, Ore.: Harvest House Publishers, 1981); Larry Parker, We Let Our Son Die (Irvine, Calif.: Harvest House Publishers, 1980); Judson Cornwall, Unfeigned Faith (Old Tappan, NJ.: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1981); G. Richard Fisher and M. Kurt Goedelman (with Wave Nunally), The Confusing World of Benny Hinn (St. Louis, Mo.: Personal Freedom Outreach, 1985); and Arnold Prater, How Much Faith Does it Take? (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers), 1982.  

[4] A. J. Gordon, The Ministry of Healing, p. 6

[5] Fee, The Disease of the Health and Wealth Gospels, 8.

[6] See, for example, Decades of Sexual-Abuse Coverups in the Southern Baptist Convention

[7] For example, cessationist Richard Mayhue affirms the possibility of contemporary Divine healing, as does David Cloud. The following materials address the cessationist/continuationist controversy, mostly from a continuationist perspective:

Wayne Grudem, “Should Christians Expect Miracles Today?” in The Kingdom and the Power: Are the Healings and the Spiritual Gifts Used by Jesus and the Early Church Meant for Today? Eds. Gary S. Greig and Kevin N. Springer (Ventura, Calif.: Regal Books, 1993), 55-110.

Jon Ruthven, “On the Cessation of the Charismata”

The Remnant Radio, Responding to The Cessationist Documentary [YouTube playlist, 10 parts]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkRvAdDONlU&list=RDCM

The Remnant Radio, Response to Todd Friel [YouTube]

The Remnant Radio, with Sam Storms [YouTube] - Note: these links for reference only. We do not recommend Sam Storms' teachings.

Is there a God? Ten Healing Miracles

Craig Keener, “Stories of Healings, Resurrections, and Miracles: With Dr. Keener”

[8] This excludes the “positive confession” error of extreme and heretical continuationists, as well as the five-step method of the Vineyard churches, which seem mostly common sense even if they are a bit introspective.

[9] Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, Mi.: Inter-Varsity Press: 1994), 568.

[10] D. A. Carson, “Healing – Already But Not Yet"

[11] Kenneth E. Hagin, Redeemed From Poverty...Sickness...Death (Tulsa, Okla.: Kenneth Hagin Ministries, 1978); 3, 14-17.

[12] C. J. E. Lefroy, “Healing in the Atonement” in The Question of Healing, ed. Gilbert W. Kirby (London: Victory Press, 1967), 31.

[13] F. F. Bosworth, Christ the Healer (Old Tappan, NJ.: Fleming H. Revell, 1973), 31. (on page 148 Bosworth says many of his most significant ideas are borrowed from E. W. Kenyon.)

[14] Fee, The Disease of the Health and Wealth Gospels, 18.

[15] For a clear, brief commentary on this passage see Why is there a curse associated with hanging on a tree?

[16] “The Lord will strike you with wasting disease and with fever, inflammation and fiery heat, and with drought and with blight and with mildew. They shall pursue you until you perish.” 

[17] Magliato, The Wall Street Gospel, 9-10.

[18] Kenneth Copeland, The Troublemaker (Fort Worth, Tex.: Kenneth Copeland Publications, n.d.), 16.

[19] Kenneth Copeland, The Force of Faith (Fort Worth, Tex.: Kenneth Copeland Publications, n.d.), 28.

[20] Hagin, Redeemed From Poverty...Sickness...Death, 19.

[21] Edward J. Young, The Book of Isaiah (NIC) vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans Publishing, 1972), 349.

[22] Personal correspondence, July, 1990.

[23] Keith Warrington says this speaks of healing “of suffering related to persecution not sickness,” but this is inaccurate since the context speaks of the believers’ ways rather than their suffering, and since persecution persisted at the time Peter wrote those words – not having been “healed.” See Keith Warrington, “Healing, Gifts of” in Encyclopedia of Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity Stanley M. Burgess ed.(New York: Routledge, 2006), 235.

[24] Ray Ortlund, “Invitation to Isaiah: The Servant of the Lord will Renew the World 42:1-9”

[25] H. N. Ridderbos, Matthew, trans. Ray Togtman (Grand Rapids, Mi.: Zondervan Publishing, 1987), 235.

[26] W. E. Vine, Isaiah: Prophecies-Promises-Warnings (Grand Rapids, Mi.: Zondervan Publishing, 1971), 106.

[27] D. A. Carson, “Matthew” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 8 (Grand Rapids, Mi.: Zondervan    Publishing, 1984), 205-207.

[28] Henry W. Frost, Miraculous Healing (Grand Rapids, Mi.: Zondervan Publishing, 1972), 59.

[29] Romans 5:11, Bible Hub

[30] Ralph Earle, Word Meanings in the New Testament (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1986), 162.

[31] See 1 John 4:10, Bible Hub 

[32] This notion combines the approach to healing taken by the 19th-century Holiness movement with the concepts of New Thought mind science (which taught spiritual techniques for manifesting a higher reality that purportedly already existed), which came into the Church largely through the writings of E. W. Kenyon (1867–1948). Kenyon's writings were important to and even plagiarized by later participants in healing ministries. See D. R. McConnell, A Different Gospel (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1988). See also, The Word-Faith Movement.

[33] Kenneth E. Hagin, How to Write Your Own Ticket With God (Tulsa, Okla.: Kenneth Hagin Ministries, 1979), 18.

[34] Kenneth E. Hagin, Right and Wrong Thinking (Tulsa, Okla.: Kenneth Hagin Ministries, 1966), 20.

[35] Jerry Savelle, If Satan Can’t Steal Your Joy...He Can’t Keep Your Goods (Tulsa, Okla.: Harrison House, 1982), 9.

[36] David Edwin Harrell Jr. All Things Are Possible: The Healing and Charismatic Revivals in Modern America (Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press, 1975), 101.

[37] O. L. Jaggers, Life and Immortality in the Bok of St. John (Los Angeles: O. L. Jaggers, 1959) 83 (cited in Harrell 1975).

[38] O.L. Jaggers, Healing as a means to an end

[39] See Holy Pivec, “The New Apostolic Reformation: Influence and Teachings”

[40] Latter Rain leader Sam Fife (among others) taught that the “Manifested Sons” (adherents to that “revival”) would bring in the Kingdom and overcome death prior to Christ’s return. See Ken Sumrall’s quote from Fife’s magazine (The Word, 1969, issue #4, p. 8) in Ken Sumrall, Manifestation of the Sons of God...Truth and Error (Pensacola, Fla.: Ken Sumrall, 1972), 22.

[41] See the documentation in Hank Hanegraaff, Christianity in Crisis (Eugene, Ore.: Harvest House Publishers, 1993) 237, 402-403.

[42] Kelly Kurt,  "Rev. Kenneth E. Hagin, founder of international ministries dies," Tulsa World. Associated Press. Retrieved 3-16-2024. [Archive.Today]

[43] After Preaching for Christians to Expect Divine Healing, Kenneth Copeland Admits Pacemaker. See also Kenneth Copeland Gets a Pacemaker

[44] What is realized eschatology?

[45] Nevertheless, wording of this kind has been spoken and written by healing evangelists in the Holiness and Pentecostal movements. Some of these evangelists, however, seem to have been simply parroting the terminology of their time, something that becomes evident from a consideration of their complete body of work. As Church historian Gary McGee used to say, “Everyone must be judged according to their time.”

[46] R. A. Torrey, Divine Healing; 45, 46-47.

[47] Donald Gee, Trophimus I Left Sick (London: Elim Publishing, 1952), 15.

[48] When speaking of Jack Coe (who had been dismissed from the Assemblies of God for misleading the public), David Cloud claims “Coe’s false teaching that healing is guaranteed in the atonement is shared by the Assemblies of God.” “Provided for” and “guaranteed” are not synonyms, however, as Assemblies of God leaders have always maintained (See Cloud’s misstatement in Is Healing in Atonement?).

[49] Assemblies of God, Statement of Fundamental Truths, Position Paper: Divine Healing, Our Core Doctrines: Divine Healing

[50] Irenaeus, Against Heresies (Book II, Chapter 32)

[51] Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho (Chapter 39)

[52] Sam Storms, Spiritual Gifts in Church History [1] [2] [3] [4] - Note: these links for reference only. We do not recommend Sam Storms' teachings.

See also, Ronald A. N. Kydd, Charismatic Gifts in the Early Church (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1984), passim.

[53] Augustine, The City of God (Book XXII, Chapter 8)

[54] John Chrysostom, “Homily XXIX, 1 Cor, xii. 1,2” – I liken this to a modern believer bemoaning the absence of revival in his or her church.

[55] Saint Martin of Tours, Who Raised Three People from the Dead

[56] St. Pachomius

[57] John Chrysostom, “Homily 38 on the Acts of the Apostles”

Cessationist Charles Sullivan concedes there was much evidence that Chrysostom was a practicing continuationist.

[58] Conyers Middleton,  A Free Inquiry Into the Miraculous Powers, Which are Supposed To Have Subsisted in the Christian Church, From the Earliest Ages Through Several Successive Centuries, Upon the Authority of the Primitive Fathers, 103.

[59] Martin Luther: Selection from His Writings, John Dillenberger, ed. (New York: Anchor Books, 1962), 354. See also “We have prayed three people on the brink of death back to life”

[60] Peter J. Bellini, “Wesley, the Almost Charismatic”. Kimberly Ervin Alexander’s similar historical observations can be found in “Three Hundred Years of Holiness and Healing.”

[61] A. J. Gordon relates this history well in Chapters 4-9 of The Ministry of Healing, and The Remnant Radio discusses the continuationism of some Protestants not mentioned by Gordon.

[62] Though Conwell (below) relates many supernatural anecdotes from Spurgeon’s ministry, he does not mention Spurgeon’s prophecy of a coming Spirit-empowered revival that is quite striking. See Charles Spurgeon, “The Power of the Holy Ghost” (fifth paragraph from the conclusion).

[63] Russel H. Conwell, The Life of Charles Haddon Spurgeon: The World’s Greatest Preacher, 185. Also see the helpful video by The Remnant Radio, “The Healing Ministry of Charles Spurgeon”

[64] See Biography of Dorothea Trudel

[65] See William Branham, by David Kowalski and What is Branhamism?

[66] Siegfried Schatzmann, A Pauline Theology of Charismata (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1987), 37.

[67] A. B. Simpson, Himself, 13.

[68] Charles Price, The Real Faith (Plainfield, NJ: Logos International, 1972 [first published 1940]), 11.

[69] Verification of divine healing is crucial! Publicized but unverified accounts have brought much reproach on the gospel in general and legitimate divine healing in particular (for an extreme example of this, see this expose of T. B. Joshua. Bogus healing claims have especially been a disgrace within the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements (I know of several such false claims myself and could provide more links). We must clean our own house before we critique others’. Genuine healing can withstand medical evaluation and the test of time.

[70] William W. Menzies and Robert P. Menzies, Spirit and Power: Foundations of Pentecostal Experience (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2000), 168.

[71] Thomas Trask, “Defining Truths of the Assemblies of God: Divine Healing”

[72] Kathryn Kuhlman, God Can Do It Again (Old Tappan, NJ.: Spire Books, 1969), 250.

[73] Roger D. Cotton, “Wonderful – God’s Name,” in Signs and Wonders in Ministry Today Benny C. Aker and Gary B. McGee eds. (Springfield, Mo.: Gospel Publishing House, 1996), 32.

[74] Max Turner, The Holy Spirit and Spiritual Gifts (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1998), 260.

About the author


David Kowalski

David Kowalski has worked as an English teacher (Abeka), high school administrator (ACE), in-school-suspension teacher (public school), Associate Pastor (two Assemblies of God churches), Senior Pastor (two Assemblies of God churches), and Bible College Professor (Global University).

He currently provides Thesis and Dissertation Editing Services.


David's articles at Apologetics Index include:

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Jung Myung-seok / Providence 29 Dec 2023 2:31 AM (last year)

Jung Myung-seok, cult leader

Jung Myung-seok

December 22, 2023: Jeong Myeong-seok — a South Korean religious sect leader whose sex crimes were featured in the popular Netflix series In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal — was sentenced to 23 years in prison.

Jeong, who refers to himself as Messiah, was found guilty of sexual violence against three of his female followers. He is the founder of the Christian Gospel Mission, also known as Providence or Jesus Morning Star (JMS).

Jeong Myeong-seok, the leader of a controversial religious group, Jesus Morning Star, lodged an appeal on a court ruling last week sentencing him to 23 years behind bars for sexual assault and molestation.

However, the future looks grim for Jeong, as legal experts on Thursday said it is highly unlikely that the 78-year-old will succeed in reversing the Daejeon District Court’s ruling in the appellate court due to the trustworthiness of the victims’ testimony and evidence.

“The court got the facts right through the victims’ testimonies and evidence, all of which are reliable and trustworthy, so the appellate court would likely uphold the initial ruling,” Jeong Woong-seok, a law professor at Seo Kyeong University and chairman of the Korean Society of Criminal Procedure Law, told The Korea Herald.

“Unless it finds a new piece of evidence that could overturn the result, a victory for Jeong will not happen,” the professor noted.

The leader was convicted of routinely raping and sexually assaulting a number of his female followers, including one from Hong Kong, one from Australia and one from South Korea, between February 2018 and September 2021. [...more...]

Jung Myung-seok [sometimes written as 'Jong Myong Suk' of 'John Myung Seok'] is the leader of a religious movement considered to be, theologically, a cult of Christianity. Sociologically the movement is a cult as well. [mfn]Information regarding the differences between theological and sociological definitions of the term 'cult.'[/mfn]

Officially his name is Jung, Myung-Seok (i.e. given name Myung-Seok, family name Jung). He is also known as Joshua Jung, Joshua Lee Jung, Joshua Lee, Pastor Joshua and JMS. News reports point out that the initials JMS...

...coincidentally -- or perhaps not -- are the same as "Jesus Morning Star," a reference to Revelations 2:24-29, in which Jesus promises believers, "He shall rule them with a rod of iron . . . and I will give him the morning star."
- Source: "Love' cult snares students, The Japan Times, Japan, Oct. 27, 2002

Within the movement, followers of Jung are called Morning Stars (MS or MSes).

While many Koreans have English names, Myung Seok does not translate to Joshua. We are told that "[h]is choice of Joshua was probably because he relates himself to Joshua of the OT leading the Israelites into the Promised Land. He claims this history is repeating on a large scale." The same research also states that "[h]is name usually isn't given initially to potential members because they don't want to give them the opportunity to research for themselves."

Providence

Jung's movement, Providence, was founded in South Korea. In Japan, the group is known as 'Setsuri,' the Japanese word for 'providence.'

The movement uses (or has used) various names, including International Christian Association (ICA), Christian Gospel Mission (CGM), and Jesus Morningstar Church (JMS), Morning Star Church, or American Providence.

However, each church that follows Jung's teaching keeps its own name (e.g. Nak-seong-dae Church, Seoul Church, etcetera).

By Providence, CC BY-SA 3.0
Jung Myung-seok, by Providence, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia

JMS uses the following front groups to attract potential recruits:

Seok the Messiah

In his youth, Jung Myung-seok was a member of the Unification Church, the cult of Christianity founded and operated by Sun Myung Moon. When he started his own religious movement Jung, like Moon, also claimed to be the Messiah.

Jong, age 57, is said to have joined the Unification Church in his teens, but left to establish his own religion around 1980. It now claims 150,000 adherents in Korea and from the late 1980s also began making inroads in Japan, where it has attracted more than 1,000 members. Recruitment activities typically take place on college campuses, through infiltration of sports clubs and other extracurricular circles.

"The church's doctrine is composed of the so-called "30 precepts,' although it's pretty clear that they're derived from the Unification Church," explains Toyoshige Aizawa, a Christian minister engaged in weaning young people away from cults.

"Jong has twisted the biblical story of Adam and Eve to deal with sex, saying, "To atone for Adam and Eve's original sin, which was visited upon all mankind, it's necessary to engage in intercourse with the Lord.' In this case, he means himself, since he claims to be a reincarnation of Jesus."
- Source: "Love' cult snares students, The Japan Times, Japan, Oct. 27, 2002

 

The JMS 30 lesson Bible course is almost identical to billionaire Sun Myoung Moon's "Divine Principles," the Bible course of his Unification Church, the difference being which leader each course identifies as the Messiah. In his teens, Jeong was reportedly a follower of Moon; undoubtedly, that is where he learnt claiming to be God can be profitable.

The English 30 lessons never give Jeong's full name. He is referred to as "Our founder" or "R," short for rabbi, ironic since Jeong has praised Hitler. On English websites he is called either Joshua Jung or Joshua Lee. Students taking this course are never allowed to take the materials home with them. This control of information makes it harder for students to reflect critically on the material.

JMS events are also designed to promote sleep deprivation, which aids in the indoctrination process by impairing critical thinking skills. There are 4am daily dawn services and overly long weekend services and events: sometimes all night, sometimes all day, sometimes both.
- Source: Peter Daley, Jung Myung Seok: How to Spot a Woolly Wolf, Keimyung Gazette, Keimyung University, South Korea, Feb. 1, 2006

 

The "Providence" movement of Joshua Jung rests heavily upon two principal beliefs: that 2000 years ago, the work and message of Jesus Christ were not complete, and that we now live in a new time period that requires a new understanding of scripture and a new "Lord".

This second point is significant in that it gives license to Jung to reinterpret any aspect of traditional teaching by labeling it as newly inspired revelation. Many terms such as "resurrection" and "born again" take on new meaning based upon his interpretations and his new understanding of the bible's figurative language.

However, it is the first point that flies in the face of sound biblical doctrine. Jung teaches that the salvation message of Jesus was incomplete, having been interrupted through man's interference and subsequent crucifixion of Christ. Because of this, he teaches that we cannot truly experience the "better" resurrection unless we follow the new revelation of his teachings.
[...]

[T]he teachings of Joshua Jung go far beyond doctrinal differences. His proclamation that he is the "Lord of the Second Coming" is blasphemous. His insistence that the bible is to be interpreted through his teaching because he alone is the "one who receives Jesus' spirit, power, mission and heart" is blasphemous. His belief that believers are to "get out of a literal understanding of the Bible" is dangerous and makes one vulnerable to any man's interpretation.
- Source: Providence Teachings, Providence Cult Watch

Convicted of rape

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11K8R8kmwtM

Jung Myung-seok, is a convicted rapist and some followers are his spiritual brides. The Feed (SBS, Australia) reveals the Australian operation of the secretive Korean church - Providence.

Controversy has followed Jung Myung-seok since at least 1999 when he fled Korea with a lawsuit pending against him. He was formally charged in 2001, and became an international fugitive in 2002:

Jung, who established the cult nearly three decades ago, has been wanted by both Interpol and the South Korean government since 1999 after rape allegations became public, according to several Asian newspaper reports.

Jung was formally charged with rape in 2001, and was captured in Hong Kong in 2003, but posted his own bail and avoided South Korean extradition charges. His whereabouts have been unknown since then, although he is rumored to be hiding in China, according to Peter Daley, an English professor at South Korea's Keimyung University and a dedicated critic of Jung who established an extensive Web site aimed at exposing GACP's activities after his roommate became involved with the cult.

Since the allegations became public, numerous other women have come forward with similar accusations. According to July reports from Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun, more than 100 women have said they were sexually abused or raped by Jung under the pretense of religious purification.

"There is a history of abuse with this group," Daley said. "So many girls get raped by its leader."

GACP is most active in Asian countries but has branches worldwide, Daley said. It concentrates its membership recruitment activities at elite universities, including the University of Tokyo, Kyoto University, Osaka University, National Taiwan University and, recently, UCSD.

"Most of the former members I have spoken to encountered JMS on a university campus," Daley stated in a February 2006 article in the Keimyung Gazette. "Younger girls are also targeted for recruitment."

The cult seeks members, according to Asahi Shimbun, by organizing sporting events, modeling shows, dance shows and other activities before inviting participants to Bible study sessions, where they are subsequently influenced to accept cult teachings that declare Jung as the true messiah and regulate members' sleeping and eating patterns. Former members have said that the group engages in brainwashing and extensive secrecy, and uses fun activities to build trust with recruits before introducing them to Jung's teachings.
- Source: Alleged Cult Sows Seeds Via Campus Event, The Guardian, University of California, San Diego, USA, Nov. 13, 2006

Jung Myung-seok was arrested in Hong Kong in 2003 for visa violations but later fled an extradition hearing. China extradited him to Seoul in February 2008.

In August 2008 he was sentenced to 6 years in prison.

Upon appeal, the cult leader was jailed for 10 years in February 2009.

 

Research Resources on Jung Myung-seok and Providence

Websites

News Archive

See Also

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Carlton Pearson’s Gospel of Inclusion 20 Nov 2023 9:15 AM (last year)

Carlton Pearson, screen capture of his website
Screen capture of Carlton Pearson's website (Saturday, November 4, 2023)

Carlton Pearson teaches inclusivism (inclusionism)

Carlton Pearson was the 'bishop' of the Higher Dimensions Family Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA.

Pearson is controversial because he teaches inclusivism: the belief that while there is no salvation outside of Jesus Christ, God will ultimately accept the 'implicit' faith of those who - while not having (fully) known or accepted Jesus - nevertheless led moral lives. This includes adherents of non-Christian faiths.

The doctrine of inclusivism (sometimes called inclusionism) is considered heretical - the opposite of orthodoxy. Orthodoxy is the body of essential Christian doctrines - those doctrines that make Christianity Christian and not something else.

Heresy is "[d]octrine which is erroneous in such a way that Christians must divide themselves as a church from all who teach or accept it; those adhering to heresy are assumed to be lost, although Christians are unable to make definitive judgments on this matter."

Pearson—a one-time protegé of Oral Roberts— skyrocketed to fame in the 1980s with one of the most-watched TV programs on the Trinity Broadcasting Network and as pastor of 5,000-member strong Higher Dimensions Family Church, one of the largest churches in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His Azuza Conferences drew some of the biggest names in Christendom and gospel music, attracting thousands. In 2018, Netflix released a biopic called, “Come Sunday,” exploring Pearson’s life.

The pioneering televangelist’s frank and often controversial opinions on different subjects have earned him appearances on television programs such as NBC and MSNBC’s Dateline, ABC’s Nightline, 20/20, Good Morning America, and CBS Evening News with Dan Rather.

His popularity, however, began to fade in 2004, when he rejected the existence of Hell and was deemed heretical by the Joint College of African-American Pentecostal Bishops. Membership in the church dropped to under 1,000, and by 2006, the building was foreclosed on.

Pearson would go on to become an affiliate minister with All Souls Unitarian Church. 

Dressed casually in an open white shirt and no clerical collar, the Rev. Carlton Pearson was relaxed recently as he sat in his office at Higher Dimensions Family Church and discussed a controversy that has rocked his world.

Tulsa's high-profile pastor, mayoral candidate and Grammy-nominated singer has paid a high price recently for straying from the orthodox evangelical theology in which he was raised.
His alma mater, Oral Roberts University, has denied him use of the ORU Mabee Center for the Azusa Street Conference and forbidden his church buses to pick up students for services. He has resigned from the ORU board of regents.

Several associate pastors have left his church, and attendance has fallen off.

National Christian publications and leaders have criticized him.

He believes the controversy undermined his support among evangelicals in the mayoral primary earlier this year, and possibly cost him the election.

Even his dry cleaner refuses to do business with him.

Pearson's troubles began as word got out in the Christian community that he was teaching a form of universalism -- that everyone will be saved.

That theology put him at odds with evangelical churches and the many mainline Christian denominations, which teach that Christ's death and resurrection make salvation available to all people, but that each person must accept that salvation.

In a two-hour interview last week, the 49-year-old Pearson did not back down from his position, which he calls the gospel of inclusion.

"My posture is that all will be saved, with the exception of a few," he said.

"I believe that most people on planet Earth will go to heaven, because of Calvary, because of the unconditional love of God, and the redemptive work of the cross, which is already accomplished."

He said that includes sincere people who do not directly acknowledge Christ -- Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists.

The traditional evangelical view, he said, is that all will be lost with the exception of a few -- those evangelical Christians who have accepted Jesus Christ.

"They think that salvation is triggered by an act of faith on the seeker's part," he said.

"I say, is it more important that you accept Christ, or . . . that Christ accepts you? Which is the gospel?"

Pearson said he still believes in heaven and hell, and that there will be souls in both places. But hell will be for those few people who "deny in their hearts that there is a creator; who have a disrespect for the deity."

And his concept of hell differs from evangelical orthodoxy.

Pearson's theological errors do not stop there:

Bishop Carlton Pearson, the nationally prominent evangelical preacher, has already stirred one controversy for preaching the doctrine of inclusion - that everyone is saved no matter what they do.

He's about to light another fuse.

Pearson, founder and pastor of Tulsa's Higher Dimensions Family Church, now says he believes "it is reasonable" that Satan himself will go to heaven. It's possible, he says, that God could have made a mistake in condemning Satan to eternity in hell.

"Is God not big enough to change the devil?" Pearson said in an interview. "I can conceive of the devil bowing down and repenting to God, saying, 'I competed with You, but I was wrong. I'm sorry.' "

Asked if that "confession" would be enough for God to forgive Satan and allow him into heaven, Pearson replied, "He (the devil) came from heaven."

"He's crazy," said Bishop Clifford L. Frazier, pastor of The City of Life Christian Church in St. Louis. Frazier wrote a scathing response to Pearson's doctrine of inclusion after the Oklahoma preacher in March presented his views at a conference of the Joint College of African-American Pentecostal Bishops.

The organization is in the process of deciding whether to declare Pearson a heretic. Frazier is a member of the organization, but Pearson is not.

"Even people who renounce Christianity but are familiar with the sacred text would realize that some fundamental problem exists here," Frazier said. "For him to hold that view would mean that he is contra-biblical. To call what he has theology is really a malapropism. To espouse what he has is not theology, nor Christian. It is sheer, wild imagination."



Carlton Pearson declared a heretic

A group of Pentecostal bishops has declared that Bishop Carlton Pearson of Tulsa, Okla., is a "heretic" because he preaches the controversial doctrine of "inclusionism."

"We do hereby declare that the doctrine of Inclusionism is an unorthodox teaching and shall be classified as a heresy by the Joint College of African-American Pentecostal Bishops Congress," wrote Bishop Clifford Leon Frazier, chairman of the joint college's doctrinal commission, in a March 29 report released to Religion News Service.

"Because of our concern for the many people that could be influenced to adopt this heresy and in so doing put at risk the eternal destiny of their souls, we are compelled to declare Bishop Carlton Pearson a heretic."

The strongly worded report--"`Inclusionism': A Heresy Explored and Rejected"--comes more than a year after Pearson addressed the organization at a Washington doctrinal forum. At that forum, Pearson defended his "gospel of inclusion."

While many evangelical clergy believe that a personal confession that Jesus is savior gives a person entrance to heaven, Pearson has a different perspective. "A more careful study of Scriptures will reveal that salvation is also and, perhaps more often or more comprehensively, pictured in a universally inclusive way, in which God is redeemer of the whole world or creation, including all human beings," he told forum attendees in March 2003.

Pearson, 51, pastor of Higher Dimensions Family Church in Tulsa, was in Africa and could not be reached immediately for comment.

The Joint College of African-American Bishops Congress is based in Cleveland and is part of a movement known as "high-church Pentecostalism." Its members combine the fervor known among Pentecostal worshippers with vestments and other aspects of liturgical churches.
The leaders of the joint college said they will now urge their colleagues not to welcome Pearson into their pulpits. They felt compelled to speak because they believe "the suggestion that all ways lead to God is false."

The document, which cites numerous Scriptures, said Pearson is guilty of "gross distortion of the Bible." It notes verses in Romans that speak of the need for redemption. "To put it succinctly, the Inclusionist (Pearson) rubs the sin-hardened repudiation of the Gospel message in the face of a loving Lord who died for the sins of the world," the 18-page paper reads.

"To suggest that the reward of heaven--the ultimate gift of salvation--will be provided to unrepentant, unregenerate man ... is ludicrous in its concept, lethal in its effect and contrary to both the content and intent of holy writ."
[...more...]

Research Resources on Carlton Pearson

Articles

Contra

Bishop Pearson's Gospel of Inclusion (Contra) by Bob Waldrep, Watchman Fellowship of Alabama.

Ultimately Pearson asks to just be left alone, stating, "The Church folk are having a fit [over the message I preach] and I say why don't ya'll just leave me alone? I'm not hurting nobody, I'm harmless."19

The problem, as with all who offer a different gospel, is that it isn't a harmless message. By denying the true gospel, it leads people from the truth; it becomes a barrier to their responding to the real gospel of Jesus. As such, it places them in great danger, as Paul wrote to the Thessalonians in the passage quoted above. But Paul wrote that not only are those who respond to a false gospel in danger, but so is the one who presents such a gospel

Carlton Pearson, "The Gospel of Inclusion" by Gary A. Hand

Carlton Pearson wishes to see himself as the leader of a new theological approach, redefining God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, salvation and sanctification. He looks to himself as the head of the movement and to others in order to provide a foundation for his beliefs, pointing toward those who call themselves "Universal Reconciliationists," with similar views. He uses the trendy terminology, that is so overused in charismatic circles today, that is supposed to assign a high level of importance and intellectual credence to what is being stated, indicating that a "paradigm shift" in thinking identifies his theological system, hoping to convince other people that he is doing great and mighty things.

Paradigm shifts, no matter how they are defined by their proponents, must adhere to the teachings in the Scripture, otherwise, like Carlton Person's "new" theology, they are simply the old heresies wrapped in another package.

Carlton Pearson and Universalism (contra) by Mike Oppenheimer

Pearson has recently come out with a book and statements that has endorsed universalism. Oral Roberts University took action and removed him from its board of directors due to his theological differences. According to "The Tulsa Beacon," Pearson has been confronted over his teaching by televangelists John Hagee, Marilyn Hickey and his mentor, Oral Roberts. Roberts sent Pearson a 12-page response after he sent him details on the teaching. While I certainly do not agree with what these people mostly teach, what I do appreciate is even his own friends did not bend their views because of friendship and stood for Biblical truth on this matter. This is a rarity in these times.

Pro

What is Carlton Pearson's "Doctrine of Inclusion?" (Pro) by Gary Amirault

I was asked by Carlton Pearson to write an editorial for the Tulsa Beacon, a Christian newspaper in Tulsa Oklahoma on behalf of himself as to what Carlton's "Doctrine of Inclusion" consisted of. I assumed since he asked me to write it that he (Carlton) believed like I do, that is, the universalism expressed in the Scriptures by all of the prophets, Jesus Himself and His apostles. Here is what I first wrote.

Multimedia

Heretics "The story of Reverend Carlton Pearson, a renowned evangelical pastor in Tulsa, Oklahoma, who cast aside the idea of hell, and with it, everything he'd worked for over his entire life.". Public Radion, This American Life, WBEZ Chicago. Listen online.

Prologue. Carlton Pearson's church, Higher Dimensions, was once one of the biggest in the city, drawing crowds of 5,000 people every Sunday. But several years ago, scandal engulfed the Reverend. He didn't have an affair. He didn't embezzle lots of money. His sin was something that to a lot of people is far worse ... he stopped believing in hell. (2 minutes)

Act One. Rise. Reporter Russell Cobb takes us through the remarkable and meteoric rise of Carlton Pearson from a young man to a Pentecostal Bishop: from the moment he first cast the devil out of his seventeen-year-old girlfriend, to the days when he had a close, personal relationship with Oral Roberts and had appearances on TV and at the White House. Just as Reverend Pearson's career peaked, with more than 5,000 members of his congregation coming every week, he started to think about hell, wondering if a loving God would really condemn most of the human race to burn and writhe in the fire of hell for eternity. (30 minutes)

Act Two. Fall. Once he starts preaching his own revelation, Carlton Pearson's church falls apart. After all, when there's no hell (as the logic goes), you don't really need to believe in Jesus to be saved from it. What follows are the swift departures of his pastors, and an exodus from his congregation -- which quickly dwindled to a few hundred people. Donations drop off too, but just as things start looking bleakest, new kinds of people, curious, start showing up on Sunday mornings. (23 minutes)
Song: "Let the Church Roll On," Mahalia Jackso

News and News Archive

Apologetics Index research resource Carlton Pearson news tracker

Web Sites

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Family Federation for World Peace and Unification / Unification Church 30 Sep 2023 2:03 PM (last year)

Apologetics Index

March, 2025: Japanese Court Disbands Unification Church in Wake of Abe Killing

New York Times: The assassination in 2022 of Shinzo Abe, the country’s former prime minister, led to an investigation into the group’s political ties and manipulation of its followers to raise funds.

A court in Tokyo on Tuesday ordered the Japanese branch of the Unification Church to disband, three years after it came under scrutiny following the assassination of the former prime minister, Shinzo Abe.

The shooting of Mr. Abe by a man with a grudge against the church led to revelations that the fringe religious group had pushed members into financial hardship to fund its donations to conservative politicians.

In a ruling that was widely expected but unusual in its severity, the court agreed to a government request to strip the church of its legal status to exist, saying that it had violated laws governing religious activities. The education ministry, which has oversight of religious groups, requested in October 2023 that the church be disbanded after determining that it forced members to make donations and buy religious goods.

The ministry collected the testimonies of some 1,550 former members who claimed to have suffered financial damages of 20.4 billion yen, or $140 million. The church, known for its mass weddings, was founded in South Korea by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, who died in 2012. It has branches in scores of countries. {...more...]

Since 1997, the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU) is an official name for the religious movement known as the Unification Church (whose followers are commonly known as "Moonies" - a term the cult has come to denounce).

It is just one of many names of (front) groups, organizations, and businesses owned and operated by Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon (Feb. 25, 1920 -- Sep. 3, 2010) - a man who considered himself to be the Messiah.

Lately the church has been highlighting the name Lovin' Life Ministries, which was founded nationally in 2009 as a contemporary ministry of the Unification Church.

Beliefs

Sun Myung Moon concocted a screwball version of Christianity that is rejected by every Christian denomination as heretical - far outside the boundaries of the historic Christian faith. Theologically the movement he founded is a cult of Christianity. Sociologically it has countless cult-like elements as well.

Moon and his wife told people that they are "the True Parents of Heaven, Earth and all Humanity. " According to Moon, he was "was chosen by God and called by Jesus Christ to fulfill the mission of the Messiah and Lord of the Second Advent with the responsibility to establish the Kingdom of Heaven on earth."

In July, 2000, the FFWPU placed a full page ad in several U.S. newspapers:

Here is one conundrum they do not teach in business school: If a newspaper's policy requires advertisements to be verifiable and accurate, what does a publisher do when presented with a full-page ad presenting the text of a Christmas Day meeting "in the spirit world" attended by Jesus, Muhammad, Confucius, Buddha, Martin Luther and John Harvard?

According to the ad, which was presented to newspapers around the country this month, these men and hundreds of others in attendance proclaimed their allegiance to the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the leader of the Unification Church. At the spirit meeting, the ad said, Jesus hailed Mr. Moon as the Messiah, proclaiming, "You are the Second Coming who inaugurated the Completed Testament Age." Muhammad then led everyone in three cheers of victory.

God didn't attend, but sent a letter Dec. 28 seconding Jesus's remarks. Lenin and other leading communists also sent messages. Lenin said that he was in "unimaginable suffering and agony" for his earthly mistakes, and Stalin added, "We live in the bottom of Hell here."

- Decisions Differ on Religious Ad, New York Times, July 22, 2002

Moon died September 3, 2012.

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John de Ruiter – College of Integrated Philosophy 23 Jan 2023 3:43 PM (2 years ago)

John de Ruiter

■ The False Prophet of Edmonton, Luc Rinaldi, Maclean's, November 20, 2023: "In a suburban industrial park, John de Ruiter built up a spiritual movement, mashing up Christian theology and New Age mysticism. Today, eight former followers claim he brainwashed them into sex. The case against him will test the boundaries of consent." This article appears in the December, 2023 print issue of Maclean's. [Also archived in the WayBackMachine, and at Archive.Today]

■ Edmonton 'spiritual leader' John de Ruiter charged with four sexual assaults, police seek additional complainants, Edmonton Journal, January 23, 2023

► More John de Ruiter News

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Table of contents

John de Ruiter - Johannes Franciscus de Ruiter

John de Ruiter
John de Ruiter. Screenshot from a College of Integrated Philosophy video

Former shoemaker and former fundamentalist Christian preacher John de Ruiter (Johannes de Ruiter) is a Canadian author and philosopher considered by many to be a cult leader or cult guru. His new-age philosophies are marketed by his company, Oasis Edmonton Inc. The company built the Oasis Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It is the home of De Ruiter's "College of Integrated Philosophy." Also known as the Oasis Group.

De Ruiter travels around the world, conducting meetings in Denmark, Germany, India, Israel, and other countries.

People also travel from around the world travel to the college in Edmonton, where they attend three-hour meetings that are conducted largely in silence, with long periods of intense gazing toward the front of the room.

Though he also offers podcasts and live streams, most people want to make eye contact with John de Ruiter, who sits on the stage and stares.

John de Ruiter claims to be the "Living Embodiment of Truth"

He claims to be the "living embodiment of truth." According to court documents he has also claimed to be "Christ on earth" -- a blasphemous delusion.

John de Ruiter used to be a shoemaker in Edmonton. Now people come from all over the world to hear him preach his New Age gospel or just to be near him. Some even call him the Second Coming of Christ. Native groups call him the "lost white brother."

"I've seen a lot of spiritual teachers," says Benita von Sass, a follower, "but . . . he's the one."

Stephen Kent, a University of Alberta professor who specializes in cults and new religions, accompanied a National Post reporter to a weekend session with Mr. De Ruiter. "This is the beginning of a new religion," Prof. Kent says. "This is how they start."

Shoemaker to Messiah? National Post, Canada, Dec. 7, 1998

Confusing Mix of Mysticism, Empty Rhetoric, and Group Therapy

Only five years ago, John de Ruiter was still preaching the Christian Gospel to a handful of friends inside a small bungalow he shared with his wife and three children in Edmonton's east end. But, gradually, his message changed. His references to Jesus stopped as he developed his own peculiar religion, a confusing mix of mysticism, empty rhetoric, and group therapy. He now dismisses critical thought and, aside from his own authority, leaves everything open to question. "If you were to follow me," he teaches, "all I would teach you and show you is how to be compassionate. . . . You would learn to lay your head down inside, warmly, in the midst of anything. . . . You would always acquiesce. You would never, under any kind of pressure, kick or fuss. . . . Then I would be able to teach you more. Then I could take you to deeper places." He touts this elusive, self-promoting message in a book, called Unveiling Reality, a series of edited transcripts from his meetings.

De Ruiter claims to want nothing from his acolytes, but he charges money for his lectures, and sells an ever-expanding line of merchandise -- his own book, flattering portraits of himself, audio and video tapes. He has managed to cultivate a broad following and is a rising star in the international guru circuit. Several times a year, he flies to cities in Europe, India, and Australia, where he fills auditoriums with hundreds of seekers, most of whom are white, middle-aged, and affluent. Some will leave their lives behind and move to Edmonton, joining approximately 250 full-time devotees from around the planet. Most board with other members. All of them accept that de Ruiter is, as he claims, "the living embodiment of truth."

The gospel according to John de Ruiter, Saturday Night Online, Canada, May 5, 2001

John de Ruiter: 'Jesus Transferred Who He Is Over To Me'

The story goes that John de Ruiter was 17 when he had an awakening, a "flowering inside that made everything in this existence pale in comparison," then disappeared as quickly as it arrived. The story goes that it took several years of searching for him to find it again, but once he did, it would change everything. He was born in Saskatchewan but grew up in Stettler, Alberta, one of four children of Dutch immigrants, the son of a shoemaker who later took up the craft himself. He met his first wife, Joyce, in 1981 after walking into the Christian bookstore where she worked. He was 22 years old, tall and handsome. She would later say she was drawn by his eyes.

He spent some time in Bible school and later preached at Edmonton's Bethlehem Lutheran Church, but he clashed with church leadership and strained against the bounds of the established institution. During one sermon, he stood weeping, repeating "God wants to set you free." Another day he didn't deliver a sermon at all, telling the congregation, "There's no word. God has no word for you."

But delivering his testimony to church leaders he spoke for nine hours straight, and those present knew they'd witnessed something exceptional. When he left the church, a handful of couples followed. He began preaching to them in his home, and soon, they started giving him money.

In 1996, he gave up shoemaking, and by the next year the first news stories began appearing. "Messenger of Beingness: Believers think Edmonton man is conduit from Jesus Christ," one headline read. "Blue-eyed savior: Followers of this charismatic guru say he's the real thing and Edmonton may be the new Jerusalem," read another.

He was an unlikely messiah, a long-haired man from rural Alberta who liked monster trucks and drove a motorcycle. But his following grew into the dozens, then the hundreds, and their devotion intensified. Sometimes his followers wept and clung to him, kissed his feet, supplicated themselves before him on the floor.

In early interviews, de Ruiter described meeting Jesus on a highway in Alberta, and said Jesus then appeared to him thousands of times and "transferred who he is over to me to do as he did."

But before long de Ruiter's preaching drifted toward a more new age message, his second awakening becoming not a meeting with Christ but an experience of being "re-immersed in the benevolent reality of pure being."

He also adopted the approach for which he would become known: Prolonged periods of staring and "silent connection" with his followers. During the staring sessions, some who looked into his eyes had intense visions and hallucinations, transcendent and even near-death experiences. Sometimes de Ruiter would stare intently at one person for half an hour or more, his gaze never wavering.

Jana G. Pruden, Are a spiritual leader's sexual relationships a calling or a dangerous abuse of power? The Globe and Mail, November 26, 2017

Video: The Gospel According to John (de Ruiter)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIWoMpOTWac
The Gospel According to John de Ruiter, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, February 2, 2001. Reported by CBC reporter Judy Piercey. Transcript

Articles

■ Are a spiritual leader's sexual relationships a calling or a dangerous abuse of power? The Globe and Mail, November 26, 2017. By Jana G. Pruden.

For decades, Alberta's John de Ruiter has styled himself as a spiritual leader, a Messianic figure with a piercing gaze who could lead his followers to enlightenment. But over the years, allegations of sexual impropriety have surfaced and a young woman has gone missing, leaving her family -- and a growing number of adherents -- seeking answers.

■ The Canadian Man Who Commands a Cult with His Gaze VICE, February 25, 2015. Harmon Leon.

■ The Gospel According to John de Ruiter, by Brian Hutchinson, Saturday Night Magazine, May 5, 2001.

■ I was God’s wife, National Post, May 16, 2000. By Scott McKeen.

Joyce de Ruiter had accepted the fact that her husband saw himself as the Messiah. Then he introduced his two new “wives’.

Joyce de Ruiter says she supported her husband’s quest for truth for 18 years. Not anymore.

De Ruiter says the only reason a relationship with three women wouldn’t work is “because of egos.”

Books

■ Dark Oasis: A Self-Made Messiah Unveiled, by Jasun Horsley.

No one who belongs to a cult believes they are in a cult. Most people who join cults are seeking freedom, truth, and happiness. They are trying to get free from the (mostly unacknowledged) cult-like nature of society. Desperate for spiritual orientation, they fall prey to the first charismatic guru who crosses their path and meets their emotional needs.

Dark Oasis documents how the sincere search for meaning can cause us to mistake the allure of a mirage for a genuine oasis. It reveals how the desire for deliverance can lead to psychic servitude, loss of autonomy, and cult-like dependency. Inspired by the author's experiences with spiritual philosopher and self-proclaimed 'living embodiment of truth' John de Ruiter, Dark Oasis is an in-depth exploration of religious doctrine, language manipulation, and misplaced devotion. It provides informed inoculation against the many subtle forms of power abuse and exploitation found within the spiritual marketplace.

Publisher, Dark Oasis

News Archive

■ John de Ruiter news at Religion News Blog. For newer items, see @ReligionNews on Twitter

■ Alberta spiritual leader John de Ruiter facing new sexual-assault charge, [Archived] The Globe and Mail, September 8, 2023

The man, John de Ruiter, is now charged with eight separate counts of sexual assault in relation to alleged incidents dating back to 2012. His wife, Leigh Ann de Ruiter, is also facing a new sexual-assault charge, bringing the total number of allegations against her up to six.

■ Alberta spiritual leader John de Ruiter charged with four counts of sexual assault, [Archived] The Globe and Mail, January 23, 2023

Mr. de Ruiter, a former shoemaker from Stettler, Alta., has for the past 25 years drawn devoted followers from around the world. He describes himself as the “living embodiment of truth.” His empire, which began with in-person meetings, pamphlets and cassette tapes, has grown to include a sophisticated spectrum of paid livestreams, social media channels, conferences and “John de Ruiter TV.”

While the number of followers Mr. de Ruiter has – and the amount of money he makes from them – isn’t clear, court documents filed in 2009 estimated his personal assets then at almost $9-million, including a house, a $75,000 truck, personal income of $232,000 a year and his stake in the Oasis Centre, a lavish custom meeting place in west Edmonton.

■ ‘Self-styled’ Edmonton spiritual leader of Oasis charged with sexual assault, [Archived] Emily Mertz, Global News, January 23, 2023

Stephen Kent is an emeritus professor in the department of sociology at the University of Alberta who has been following de Ruiter and Oasis for decades.

Kent told Global News he even attended some of de Ruiter’s meetings back in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

He said followers “believe that de Ruiter is the living embodiment of truth and being around him and trying to follow his teachings will lead to their own spiritual enlightenment and advancement.”

The Oasis group operates on two fronts, Kent said — as a spiritual organization and as a business.

“de Ruiter portrayed himself as a spiritual teacher and his followers saw him in those regards. The Oasis organization, however, is a business. de Ruiter never sought charitable status for his so-called religious and spiritual teachings.”

Kent estimates there are less than 400 devout followers — some in Edmonton, some further north, and around the world.

He says generally, in groups like this, a spiritual leader using claims of advancement as a reason for members to have sex with them is very common.

“What happens in these groups is there may be other people who have been victimized. They’re often, however, afraid to come forward. They still have family members in the group, they’re afraid of retaliation by fanatical members, they’re afraid of the power they believe these leaders hold over them,” Kent explained.

■ Self-styled spiritual leader John de Ruiter charged with sex crimes, [Archived] BBC, January 25, 2023

Police in Edmonton, Alberta said they arrested Mr de Ruiter - who they describe as a "self-appointed spiritual leader" - and charged him with sexually assaulting four women in different incidents between 2012 and 2020.

According to reports to police, Mr de Ruiter told certain female members of his group that he "was directed by a spirit to engage in sexual activity with them, and that engaging in sexual activity with him will provide them an opportunity to achieve a state of higher being or spiritual enlightenment".

Police believe there may be more victims and have asked them to come forward.

Websites

■ John de Ruiter [Not recommended] Official website of John De Ruiter.

The post John de Ruiter – College of Integrated Philosophy appeared first on Apologetics Index.

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The Church of Almighty God (Eastern Lightning) 11 Feb 2022 3:10 PM (3 years ago)

Church of Almighty God

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

Table of contents

The Church of Almighty God / Eastern Lightning

The Church of Almighty God (also known as "Eastern Lightning") is a sect (in the sense of 'offshoot') of Christianity that originated in China. It is a cult both sociologically and theologically.

Theologically, Church of Almighty God (Eastern Lightning) is a cult of Christianity. The movement teaches heretical doctrines, and engages in deception, spiritual deception, and reportedly violence.

What makes Church of Almighty God (Eastern Lightning) a cult of Christianity?

The doctrines of The Church of Almighty God (Eastern Lightning) violate the essential doctrines of the Christian faith — doctrines that make the Christian faith Christian and not something else.

  1. Personal religious experience supersedes the Bible’s authority on issues of teaching and practice.
    1. This is the backbone for the beginning of the Eastern Lightning’s teachings. From reading various writings put out by the Eastern Lightning cult, it is extremely clear that they emphasize personal religious experience over the objective teachings of the Scriptures. While God certainly uses personal religious experience, these experiences cannot contradict the written Word of God. This is a common ploy by various cults.
  2. The Bible has become outdated with a new third testament revealed by the woman Jesus.
    1. This is an extremely common practice by various cults: see Mormonism for just one example.
    2. How do you know that this new revelation is of God? What if someone else has a contradictory religious experience which says that the Eastern Lightning teachings are not of God?
  3. The Woman Jesus is God Incarnate.
  4. The Christians who join this woman Jesus will ascend with her to heaven in the coming apocalypse.
  5. This woman Jesus has written new hymns that would fit on about 10 CDs.
  6. Jesus’ Second Coming is Secret
  7. The Great Red Dragon of Revelation is China.
  8. Jesus already returned as a normal 30-year old woman and is in hiding (Time).

Source: What is Eastern Lightning?, Ryan Turner, CARM

Sacred Book: Eastern Lightning (EL) was founded on a twisted interpretation of Matthew 24:27, which at first impression seems to indicate their adherence to the Bible. However, they refuse to accept the authority of scripture and attack the Bible vehmently. They also claim that since we have entered into the "kingdom age," (see "The Nature of God" below) all the words of Jesus Christ are worthless.

The Nature of God: They believe that there is only one God, but there is no trinity. They believe God has manifested himself in three Eras: the Era of Law, the Era of Grace, and the Era of Kingdom. During each Era, God had different names, Jehovah, Jesus and the current almighty god. In this "third age," they believe God has changed his name again to "Lightning." According to their beliefs, Jesus has already returned, disguised as a 30-year old Chinese female. Anyone who does not beleive in this female messiah will not be saved. However, since no believers have actually seen this "female messiah," she is probably a fictional character rather than a real person.

Human Condition: Eastern Lightning divides people into five groups:
1) The Many Elder Sons come from God and were somehow "born of God" before creation. They have the nature of God, including the ability to judge, punish and curse.
2) The Many Sons were sinners, but now accept the female messiah. The spend "all their good" and "all their energy" for her. They are believed to have obtained the "ten standards." These include having a pure understanding, a sensitive conscience, a willing submission and a deep love for God.
3) The People have heard the Word of God (as EL interprets it) and are seeking to obtain the ten standards.
4) The Servants are those who believe in Jesus and reject the female messiah. According to the cult, the are "servants of Satan" and will not enter the kingdom of God. All Christians who refuse to join the movement would be put in this category.
5) The Damned are those who reject the female messiah and strongly reject her teaching. They will be thrown into the lake of eternal fire.

What is Salvation? Salvation is believing in and following this "female messiah." According to the cult, in this third age there is "only judgement and punishment, without any grace."

How is a person saved? Salvation is achieved through the female Christ, a woman in Henan, China. A believer must unquestioningly obeying the orders of this messiah to receive salvation and avoid eternal damnation..

Defended by Cult Apologists

Not surprisingly, the Church of Almighty God is vehemently defended by CESNUR. CESNUR is a controversial, non-profit organization that studies so-called "new religious movements". It is known for its defense of cults, under the guise of 'defending religious freedom.' Its co-founder, Massimo Introvigne, and several board members are notorious cult apologists (people who defend cults). That includes J. Gordon Melton, considered by some to be "The Father of Cult Apologists."

While CESNUR defends the "religious freedom" of "new religious movements," it is militantly opposed to the opinions, beliefs, and expertise of anti-cult and counter-cult organizations and individuals.

There is, of course, a place for the academic study of religion and religious movements. Unfortunately, the material produced and/or published by CESNUR often is ludicrously inaccurate.

Nevertheless, government agencies and NGOs have a tendency to rely on, or at least uncritically quote, reports written by CESNUR and/or associated individuals and organizations.

Whitewashing a cult of Christianity

A case in point is an article on the Church of Almighty God written by Holly Folk, and published in The Journal of CESNUR | 2/1 (2018) 58—77. Folk, who is listed on the journal's website under the heading, "Editorial Board / International Consultants", is a historian who studies 19th and 20th-century American religion and culture. She also researches a "variety of social movements that fall outside the ‘mainstream’, including new religions, communes and utopias, anarchism, and alternative medicine."

Her article is titled, "Protestant Continuities in The Church of Almighty God." It starts with the abstract:

ABSTRACT: The theology of Christian new religious movements is often denounced as “heretic” by Evangelical critics. This paper explores the beliefs of The Church of Almighty God (CAG) in comparison to several prominent Protestant sub-traditions. The CAG is a Christian new religion that has been banned in China as a xie jiao, with the Chinese government partly justifying its campaign against them by arguing that it is a false form of Christianity. The CAG believes that Jesus Christ has returned to the world as Almighty God, and regards Almighty God’s messages as an authoritative Christian scripture. From a “confessional” perspective, this innovation arguably raises questions about the Christian character of the CAG. Despite this, the main priorities of the CAG are expressed in the idiom of systematic theology, in the terms and metaphysical axioms of Christian religious thought. CAG beliefs resonate core doctrines from Protestantism so strongly that continuity and development of Christian beliefs is evident in various aspects of CAG theology. In turn, understanding continuities with teachings of traditional Christianity supports the conclusion that the CAG is indeed “Christian.”
Holly Folk, Protestant Continuities in The Church of Almighty God, The Journal of CESNUR | 2/1 (2018) 58—77

Calling the Church of Almighty God "Christian" for the reasons presented is naïeve to the nth degree.

Every cult of Christianity claims to be "Christian" — often even exclusively so

Every movement considered to be, theologically, a cult of Christianity describes itself as "Christian." Many such movements actually consider themselves to be the only genuinely Christian movement or organization. Naturally such movements use terminology that sounds familiar to Christians. But usually even a cursory examination reveals that familiar terminology often is used to present doctrines that run counter to those of Christianity.

Take, for instance, the terminology employed by the Mormon Church — the so-called "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." As researcher Sandra Tanner says, "Whenever an evangelical Christian and a Latter-day Saint engage in a doctrinal discussion they encounter the problem of terminology. LDS leaders use the standard vocabulary of Christianity but with radically different definitions. A Christian should never take for granted that his/her LDS friend understands common Christian terms in the biblical way." [mfn]See also, The Semantic Divide: an evaluation of Mormon Semantics by Steve Bright.[/mfn]

If you believe Eastern Lightning / The Church of Almighty God is "Christian" due to its so-called "Protestant Continuities," you're the kind of person who buys a $25 watch from a guy in a dark alley in Tijuana just because it says Rolex on the dial.

The Church of Almighty God Goes by Many Different Names

The Church of Almighty God, is also known as Eastern Lightning and as Lightning from the East. The group takes that name from Matthew 24:27: "For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man."

In Chinese the church is officialy called, quan neng shen jiao ("Almighty God"), sometimes written as quannengshen.

Some lesser known names also used by this movement are Seven Spirits Sect, New Power Lord's Church, True Light Sect, True Way Sect, The Congregation, Walk in the Light, Church of Bright Light, Kerk van Almachtige God, and so on.

While based in China, Eastern Lightning also has followers in the USA and other countries.

The group has a strong online presence with a variety of websites using different names, domain names, and languages.[mfn]Eastern Lightning / The Church of Almighty God uses many different websites. For instance:


hidden-advent.org,
holyspiritspeaks.org,
es.godfootsteps.org,
en.easternlightning.org,
kingdomsalvation.org,
earthymn.com/ (with a "Walk in the Light" logo),
testifygod.org,
rainbowtoken.com/ (redirected from findshepherd.com).


Most of these websites have various language versions, either with a two-letter language code (e.g. es.domainname) at the front, or at the end of the domain name (e.g. domainname/ru)[/mfn]

The Church of Almighty God / Eastern Lightning promotes its teaching also through apps such as 'Bible Reading made Easy,' 'Morning Dew' (Devotionals), and even 'Sheet Viewer' (a Google Sheets viewer), all published by "Holy City Christian Church" (Flushing, NY — https://www.hcchristianchurch.org/ — yet another Eastern Lightning website).

Recruitment via YouTube and social media

In addition to its numerous names and websites, The Church of Almighty God promotes itself via YouTube and other social media channels. The titles of their videos usually include phrases like, "Christian Movie," "Christian Music Video," "Christian Video," "Christian Dance," "Christian Song," "Christian Play," "English Christian Songs," "Christian Testimony," et cetera.

These videos tend to look like amateur school plays or skits. Over-the-top acting, cookie-cutter characters, fake cheerfulness, and clunky dubbing into English. Both the videos and the actors or artists have an eerie "sameness" and about them.

Church of Almighty God cult videos
The Church of Almighty God cult (aka Eastern Lightning) spreads its heretical message via YouTube

The Church of Almighty God cult also proselytizes via WhatsApp and Messenger.

On Twitter, where the cult calls itself "Almighty God Church," the organization's efforts appear to be far less effective.

Quotes regarding Eastern Lightning/Church of Almighty God

[B]ecause Christianity was so harshly repressed in China, and because many Chinese seem to be looking for millenarian, miracle-producing faiths, many popular house church movements have developed into authoritarian fiefdoms themselves, with adherents following one charismatic leader, who often has little religious training. These underground leaders are hardly vehicles for liberal reform.

In some of these heretical movements, which mix elements of Christianity with folk religion, leaders announce that they are Jesus reincarnated or that they have direct links to the Lord. As the New York Times recently reported, one house church, Three Grades of Servants, is organized around its leader, Xu Shuangfu, who claims to speak with God. Three Grades now claims to have several million followers; Xu reportedly has ordered the killing of his religious enemies.

Three Grades’s sworn enemy, another house church known as Eastern Lightning that claims a similar following, is just as intense. Eastern Lightning also believes that Jesus has returned to Earth, and has taken the form of a Chinese peasantwoman. Like Three Grades, Eastern Lightning tries to force other Christians to join its group, allegedly kidnapping other house church leaders and trying to brainwash them until they join Lightning.

Wherever one travels in China, Christian leaders talk about the devastating effects of the cult Lightning from the East. Not only has this cult spread throughout China (especially in rural areas) but now it is active overseas. Not so long ago we were alerted about cult members placing their tracts on the windshields of cars parked outside Chinese churches in California during Sunday services! The cult now has centers in New York and Toronto, and an active website.

Chinese Christianity's internal problems include rivalry between the government-approved and unregistered factions, and the spread of bizarre heresies among people who have been denied religious education.

Some sects reject parts of the Bible or spurn the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity, saying instead that God the Father is greater than the Son and the Son is greater than the Holy Spirit. Others demand absolute obedience of leaders.

The most troublesome group, Eastern Lightning, believes Jesus has returned as a mystery woman living in Henan province. House church leaders say this group targets them for beatings, blackmail, kidnappings and even murder.

Some Chinese churches push the envelope of Protestant doctrine. Eastern Lightning, for example, is a fast-growing group started several years ago that believes the Bible is passé. In a throwback to a 19th-century Chinese rebellion led by a man who said he was Jesus's younger brother, Eastern Lightning holds that Jesus's sister has come to Earth and is Chinese.

The group has grown quickly in the central plains by abducting house church leaders and persuading them to join. Last year, Eastern Lightning kidnapped more than 30 leaders of an underground church, the China Gospel Fellowship, according to fellowship leaders and government officials.

Three Grades of Servants, a banned Christian sect that claims several million followers, made inroads in Huaide and other northern towns beginning nearly a decade ago. It lured peasants like Yu Xiaoping, as well as her neighbor, Ms. Kuang, away from state-authorized churches. Its underground network provided spiritual and social services to isolated villages.

But it also attracted competition from Eastern Lightning, its archrival, which sought to convert Ms. Yu, Ms. Kuang and others. The two sects clashed violently. Both became targets of a police crackdown.

Xu Shuangfu, the itinerant founder of Three Grades of Servants, who says he has divine powers, was arrested last summer along with scores of associates. Mr. Xu was suspected of having ordered the execution of religious enemies, police officers said.

An uncertain number of leaders of a major house church movement in China have disappeared in what at first was thought to be a massive government raid. Now cult activity is suspected.

About 30 main leaders of the China Gospel Fellowship disappeared the evening of April 19. Since the group was blacklisted by the government as a cult in the late 1990s, it was assumed at first that they were victims of Public Security Bureau raids. That view later was changed.

According to a reputable source in Hong Kong, members of the Eastern Lightning cult a year ago posed as leaders of a Bible institute in Singapore offering free in-depth training to house-church leaders. So last week the China Gospel Fellowship leaders went to attend meetings allegedly arranged in six locations inside China. When some of the leaders showed up at one location, they were told the situation was "very tight" (meaning the PSB was coming) and were asked to hand over their cell phones. When some refused, they were beaten and the phones forcibly seized. One woman escaped on pretense of going to the toilet.

House church members did not realize anything had happened to their leaders until several days went by without any contact from them via cell phone. It was immediately assumed they had been arrested by the PSB. Later, as the lone female leader who escaped made her way to a place where she could safely relay what had happened, the church members realized the situation was much more sinister.

Eastern Lightning is a cult that believes Jesus Christ has returned as a Chinese woman named Lightning. The members favor rural areas where sound Bible teaching is often rare and, according to Amity News Service, twists Scripture to deceive the elect. For example, it uses Matthew 24:27 and Isaiah 41:2 to show that Jesus intended to come as "Lightning," and refers to Jeremiah 31:22 and Genesis 1:27 to "prove" that Christ will come again as a woman.

If Christians do not willingly convert, they are enticed with inducements, reportedly as high as a month's salary. Sometimes they will send a young female member to seduce their intended victim. Photos of the event can then be shown to the police to precipitate false rape charges that could result in the worker's imprisonment or death. Cult members have been known to break workers' arms and legs so they cannot preach again, and even to kill people, according to the Hong Kong source.

"The cult is very dangerous, and according to the Christians, much more dangerous than Falun Gong, and has caused huge numbers of true Christians to leave the church," the source said.

Even though they are a violent and dangerous cult, the government appears to do nothing to halt them. When members of the China Gospel Fellowship were asked why they did not report the incidents to the police, they answered that the police said they would do nothing unless they were first given RMB 5,000 (nearly a year's wages). Moreover, some of the CGF leaders are wanted by the police because of their zealous unregistered church activity.

"The house church believers are caught in the jaws of a giant vise," said Christian Aid's expert on China who asked not to be named. "On the one hand the government is branding certain evangelical groups as evil cults so it can legally press charges against them. On the other hand, the government allows this truly evil cult to attack evangelical believers and does nothing to hinder them."

According to Asia Harvest, China Gospel Fellowship started in Henan Province and spread rapidly throughout China and today numbers at least three million believers. The abductions have left the movement virtually without senior leadership.

Eastern Lightning: Jesus Is Back, and She’s Chinese

Sister Hong's brainwashing session began when her Bible class ended. Five peasant women had led the Catholic nun to a house in a distant village in Henan province two years ago so that she could teach the life of Jesus. Suddenly, the women vanished and a man entered. For the next five days he refused to let her leave and forced her to debate the Bible. He said the day of judgment is nigh. Jesus has returned. China--the Great Red Dragon from the Book of Revelations--faces destruction. By the end, "I was dizzy. I was confused. He knew the Bible so well," says Sister Hong. Her pleading, plus promises to return, finally won her release. Lightning had struck again.

A fast-spreading sect named Lightning from the East is alarming Christian communities across China by winning large numbers of converts to its unorthodox tenets, often by abducting potential believers. Its followers, who say they number 300,000 but whom observers measure in the tens of thousands, believe that Jesus has returned as a plain-looking, 30-year-old Chinese woman who lives in hiding and has never been photographed. They credit her with composing a third testament to the Bible, writing enough hymns to fill 10 CDs and teaching that Christians who join her will ascend to heaven in the coming apocalypse. They see signs of doom everywhere, from the perfidy of Communist Party propaganda to anthrax spores in the U.S. postal system. According to one of the group's Chinese leaders who uses the alias "Peter" and moved to New York City last year, "The judgment is ongoing in China and will expand through the world."

The sect--which calls itself "the congregation"--operates deep underground. A two-year police campaign against it and other so-called "evil cults," such as Falun Gong, has put 2,000 of its followers in jail, say its spokesmen. Yet by targeting Christian believers it is flourishing--even though its belief that the female Jesus has updated the Bible for China violates core Christian tenets. The appeal seems to be the group's claim to have improved the Christian faith by putting the end of the world into a Chinese context and offering believers a path to immediate salvation. Official Christian churches, by contrast, downplay the Final Judgment, emphasizing instead codes of behavior. That, plus the sect's insistence that China is "disintegrating from within," appeals to peasants, many of whom are poorly grounded in Christian principles and are angry at a government that has failed to raise their incomes or curb corruption.

Fearful for their believers' souls and welfare, leaders of China's roughly 60 million Christians have mobilized. Last year a man claiming to be Lightning's coordinator for north China met secretly with a senior aide to a Catholic bishop in Hebei province to try to convert the Catholic leadership there. He failed, and the bishopric has warned clergies to remain vigilant against Lightning. In Henan, the main church in Dengfeng county called a meeting of 70 lay leaders for a two-day training session on Lightning's "heresies"--but since then five of the leaders have joined the sect. Lightning "is the greatest danger we face today," says a minister named Li who no longer allows strangers to worship in his church in Zhengzhou city, where the sect began a decade ago.

Lightning is the most aggressive Christian sect to emerge in China since the revolution, but it follows a beaten path. In the decades before the communists swept to power in 1949, a Chinese missionary known as Watchman Nee built his congregation, the Little Flock, to 300,000 followers in central China. The sect's emphasis on decentralized congregations launched a home-church movement that helped Christianity survive communist repression. Yet as Little Flock congregations became isolated, they splintered into separate groups. The Shouters, for instance, rewrote the Lord's Prayer to read simply, "Oh, Lord Jesus," and taught followers to holler the phrase while stamping their feet in unison. Other offshoots, like the Disciples, believe that the devil exists in all people--and can be beaten out of them.

Today, the Communist Party's restrictions on religion help sects flourish. China's 18 state-sanctioned Protestant seminaries can't graduate enough ministers, and in the countryside, believers commonly outnumber ordained preachers 50,000 to one--not enough shepherds for an expanding flock. The unavailability of rural health-care means that "seven out of 10 converts come to faith through illness" after people pray for their recovery, estimates Faye Pearson, a teacher at China's biggest seminary, in Nanjing. Many of these converts have scarcely read the Bible. Without strong doctrinal leadership, it's a prescription for heterodoxy. "I'm not sure that most rural Christians are well enough grounded in Christianity to even know they're in a sect," says Daniel Bays, a historian of Chinese Christianity at Calvin College in Michigan.

A typical country church, this one outside Dengfeng county is run by a lay minister who has received no special training on dealing with strange sects. It is poor. The pulpit is a red flounce curtain draped over a desk; broken windows let the swirling central China dust coat the whitewashed walls. The biggest single expenditure this year was the $25 the congregation gave its most desperate members to celebrate the lunar new year. Every Sunday 150 peasants crowd onto low wooden benches to receive the Word, including a gray-haired woman known as Granny He.

On a chilly night three autumns ago, a young woman in her 20s walked past the chickens scratching in Granny He's courtyard and knocked on her red wooden door. The caller had done her research: she knew Granny He was Christian and that her husband, a teacher, spent time away. They talked about God for two hours that evening, and for longer on subsequent nights. Then the visitor arranged for a rare luxury--a car to drive Granny He to worship in someone's home. There, she and seven other believers sat facing the preacher. He said the Jesus of the Bible is the old one. The new Jesus has come, and she will destroy the earth. They sang hymns that the new savior had written to the tunes of familiar revolutionary ditties like Communist Party, My Loving Mama. Granny He returned four more times. On occasion, when the spirit moved them, they danced. "I half believed and half doubted," she says. A month later, concerned relatives forbade her to attend any more meetings. Sundays now find her back on the country church's wooden benches, but she sounds ambivalent about Lightning: "I don't think they harm people's spirit."

Granny He's experience was a textbook piece of evangelism. The sect's most trusted members receive a 67-page missionary manual explaining the dos and don'ts of conversion. Do start slowly, lend money, convince converts that God's work is incomplete and, finally, that doomsday is coming and Jesus has arrived to complete that work. Don't tell them until they are firm believers that the new Jesus will destroy the Great Red Dragon, which in the Bible represents Satan but to Lightning represents China. And if anybody asks why the "all-powerful" new Jesus must hide from police, the answer is that "there's a time for secrecy and a time for openness, but she has her plan," says Joseph Yu, a believer who arrived in New York City two years ago.

Sometimes, the plan seems unfathomable. A 60-year-old woman from Zhengzhou says Lightning devotees invited her to teach the Bible in their homes last year. They drove her to an unfamiliar village and presented her with a screaming and trembling man. They instructed her to cast out his devil. She couldn't. Then a Lightning follower prayed and sure enough the devil vanished, proving the woman's God was false, they said. Frightened, she acknowledged that her God seemed less powerful. Still, they held her nine more days, until her minister tracked her down and sought the police. She is too afraid to be quoted by name. "The other day I dreamed that they piled onto my bed and wouldn't leave," she said in a phone interview.

Lightning from the East has burrowed further underground in China. But already its followers hand out leaflets in Chinatowns in New York City and San Francisco. Lightning could soon strike the West.

An Examination of the Eastern Lightning Cult

When China's Christians Wish They Were in Prison
By Paul Hattaway
Director of Asia Harvest
www.asiaharvest.org

Introduction

A few years ago I had the privilege of speaking to house church leaders in a meeting on the outskirts of the huge city of Xian in China. As the morning passed into afternoon I noticed one young lady in her early 20s who was attending the meeting. During the meal times and breaks she hobbled around the room, painfully dragging her crippled right leg behind her. Her face was gaunt, void of the expressions of deep joy that permeated the faces of the other Christians in the meeting. At the end of the day's training the brother who organized the meeting asked my coworker and I if we would pray for some of the leaders.

Of course we agreed, and the very first believer to come up to us was the partially-crippled young woman. Thinking she would ask for prayer for her injuries, I asked, "What happened to your leg?" She immediately looked down at the floor as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Pastor," she quietly explained, "Several months ago I was deceived into joining the Eastern Lightning cult. When I realized they didn't believe the Bible and weren't believers in Jesus, I tried to leave, but they wouldn't let me go. To prevent my escape they severely beat my legs with an iron bar. With the help of another Christian sister I was finally able to flee, but the Eastern Lightning have sent agents to find and murder me. My left leg is almost back to normal now, but my right leg is badly damaged and it gives me great pain."

After taking a deep breath she continued, "Please pray for me, not only that God would restore my leg but also my mind. The cult brainwashed and tortured me for weeks. I am still struggling to regain God's peace in my life that I had previously. Please also pray the Lord would hide me from those who wish to take my life."

For years I'd been receiving reports about the terrible influence of the Eastern Lightning Cult upon Christians in China, but now suddenly it seemed much more real to me.

The second Christian requesting prayer had a similar experience of being trapped by the Eastern Lightning, as had two or three others in our meeting that day.

Later, over a bowl of watery rice noodles, I asked the main regional house church leader how their work was going. Usually China's house churches experience phenomenal growth and have hours of God-glorifying testimonies to tell. This time, the brother in charge of the group's work in northwest China said, "We are not doing well. Last year we had more than 520 churches. Now we have about 450. In the past year many of our leaders were targeted by the Eastern Lightning cult. Some were attracted by their financial inducements and joined them. Later, when they discovered what they'd joined was not Biblical, they were not permitted to leave. Dozens of our believers are missing, dozens more crippled. Some who have managed to escape the cult's clutches are in hiding, fearing for their lives. At least two of our people have been murdered. Others have simply vanished."

"Brother Paul," he continued, "please tell Christians around the world to pray for us, and to pray against the powerful demonic forces behind the Eastern Lightning that threaten to decimate us. In the past many of us suffered torture and great hardship in prison at the hands of the authorities, but we survived with our faith intact. Some leaders have even told me it would be a relief if they were in prison again compared to the trial they are undergoing now at the hands of this wicked cult. The threat of the Eastern Lightning is much worse than anything the Communists can do to us."

With this brother's request still ringing in my ears, news has come from China (April 19, 2002) of the kidnapping of 33 top leaders of the China Gospel Fellowship house church network by the Eastern Lightning.

With thousands of Christians around the world deeply concerned about the plight of our Chinese brothers and sisters, yet with few people knowing anything about the Eastern Lightning, I have decided to write this paper examining the background, theology and practices of the Eastern Lightning., It is my hope that Christians around the world will fervently pray for the severe trial the Chinese house churches are going through.

"Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them."
(Ephesians 5:11)

Who are the Eastern Lightning?

"The satanic cult "Eastern Lightning' is one of the most evil and deceitful cults I have ever seen in China. They are positively sheep in wolves' clothing; they attack Jesus Christ, twist and defraud the Bible, destroy families and lives, causing great hurt and destruction to Christians who have been bought by the precious blood of the Saviour! They are devils dressed as ministers of light, workers of Satan, and false prophets after the ways of Balaam. May the Lord have mercy upon the elect that they may be able to discern, to reject all lies and the deceitful words from Satan. May our brethren be on the alert! May the deceived quickly repent and return!" - Rev. Pang K.H., Chinese Christian Church of Saipan, 20 September, 2000.

Eastern Lightning, or Dongfang Shandian in Chinese, was founded by Zhao Weishan in Acheng City, Heilongjiang Province, in 1989. Zhao was an unhappy member of the Shouters sect. He rejected many of the Shouters' teachings and broke away with several other church members to start a new group which they called "Church of the Everlasting Fountain.' Zhao began to call himself "Powerful Lord."

They grew rapidly, and somehow managed to receive substantial financial support that enabled them to set up an underground printing house, producing tens of thousands of booklets and tracts outlining their views. By 1991, when the group was declared illegal and the printing press was shut down, they already had thousands of followers.

Zhao and his leading coworkers fled from the authorities in Heilongjiang and restarted their activities in Henan Province. In 1993 Zhao changed the name of the cult to "Real God" and said he had received divine revelation on the verse "For as lightning that comes the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man." (Matthew 24:27). This is how they came to be commonly known as the "Eastern Lightning," or "Lightning from the East."

Zhao sent his main leaders, Yi Haitao, Zhang Xindong and Zhang Hongzhen, throughout Henan Province, spreading their influence among thousands. Many of the deceived who joined their group were illiterate rural house church members, who had little Bible training and so were susceptible to the group's influence. They also target educated university students who have an unstable grounding in the Bible.

Eastern Lightning quickly spread to neighboring Anhui, Shaanxi and Jiangsu, and then to most parts of China. Today the Eastern Lightning (EL) has grown with remarkable speed to at least 22 of China's provinces, and they are believed to number in the millions of members. A November 2001 article in Time Magazine said the EL claim just 300,000 followers across China, (2) but that number is almost certainly a deliberate underestimation, especially considering the Chinese government concedes the EL have infiltrated more than 20 provinces throughout the nation.

The EL are highly organized and secretive. Their structure is hierarchal, ranking from "the person used by the Holy Spirit" (Zhao), to provincial leaders, district leaders, section leaders, and cell group leaders. Each member is given responsibility for tasks he or she must carry out.

The Eastern Lightning are known to have a special emphasis on publishing literature. According to a speech by Bi Rongsheng, deputy director of the Shijiazhuang Public Security Bureau, the cult printed a total of 870,000 books between 1989 and 1999. (3)

Instead of trying to convert unbelievers to their group, the Eastern Lightning appears to have decided it is better to deceive existing Christians. They do not mind targeting nominal believers, but it's clear their chief goal is to attack church leaders and those with the most influence. Their methods have included financial inducement, beatings and torture, sexual seduction, and brainwashing.

In 1997, Tianfeng, the official magazine of the Three Self Patriotic Movement (China's government-sanctioned church) were so alarmed at the inroads Eastern Lightning were making among their congregations that they wrote several articles exposing the cult, warning readers how to defend themselves against it. The magazine noted, "The [Eastern Lightning] missionaries scurry to every part of the country, making a beeline especially for the responsible persons and preachers in other religions, those who have been preaching for many years, and when someone of a definite status has been trapped he becomes their tool and their accomplice in crime." (4)

Even the Catholic Church has seen many of their top leaders lured over to the Eastern Lightning. According to an official Chinese government report, "This cult is hastening its efforts to infiltrate underground Catholic churches so as to increase its strength by uniting with other underground powers. Tangshan Public Security authority [in Hebei Province] discovered that underground Catholics in areas such as Zunhua, Fengnan and Qianan have joined hands with this cult." (5) The founder of the Eastern Lightning, Zhao Weishan, was granted refugee status in the United States in 2000, on the ground of being persecuted for his religious beliefs. He continues to command the cult's activities inside China and around the world from his American base.

In recent years the Eastern Lightning are believed to have won over leading Communist Party figures in various localities. After
indoctrinating them and being sure of their allegiance, the cult then persuades the officials to use their influence to protect cult members, and to create ways for the group to multiply. Although the Eastern Lightning are number two on Beijing's "Cult Hit List," ranking only after the Falungong, (6) efforts to crush the EL appear to have been sidetracked by local government officials around the country who have been converted to, or bought off, by the cult.

Although we have seen the EL have targeted government officials, Catholics, and Three Self Church leaders, there is no doubt the main focus for the cult is the unregistered Protestant house church churches, believed to number between 50 and 70 million adherents throughout the country.

What the Eastern Lightning Believe

Eastern Lightning theology appears to evolve year by year, but according to respected China church expert Tony Lambert, it can be broken down into three or four main categories. This information is taken from one of the cult's own books, summarized from Tony Lambert's, "Lightning from the East a New Cult," China Insight, OMF International, March-April 1998. All quotes from the next three points are taken from Lambert's valuable essay.

(1) The Female Messiah
The cult believes God has appeared in three different eras throughout history, using different names. The first era was the Age of the Law, when God's name was Jehovah. "He did not possess all the attributes of God, as there were some things He did not know.... When the Law of Moses was given, his work was done."

Next was the Age of Grace. Lambert notes that during this second era, the EL believe "God changed His name to Jesus. Eastern Lightning denies the deity of Christ, stating that "Jesus is a created being'" and that the Trinity is "an ancient falsehood."

The Third Age is the present "age of the Kingdom," and God has changed His name yet again, this time to "Lightning." In this Age, the cult claims there is "only judgment and punishment, without any grace." This age is superior to the others. Only those who believe in the female messiah of the Third Age can be saved. Lambert notes, "Blasphemously they assert that "now that we have entered the Kingdom Age all the words spoken by Jesus are worthless.'"

The Eastern Lightning twists Scripture to "prove" that Jesus Christ has already returned, as a 30-year-old plain-looking Chinese woman living in Henan Province! They claim Christ already returned "as a thief in the night" in 1990, and entered the churches of China with great power. Ironically, the identity and location of the Eastern Lightning's new messiah is unknown by members of the cult. It seems this woman named Lightning is only a fictional character rather than an actual person alive in China today.

(2) The Five Kinds of People
Eastern Lightning (EL) divides all of mankind into five categories. The Many Elder Sons are those who come from God. They were somehow "born of God before creation." They have the same nature as God and have the power to judge, punish and curse. In the Age of the Kingdom they will judge the nations. The Many Sons were originally sinners, but they readily accepted the female messiah when they heard about her. They are believed to have now attained ten standards, including having a pure understanding, a sensitive conscience, a willing submission, and a deep love for God. They "spend all their good" and "expend all their energy" for the female messiah. The "People" are a category of the earth's inhabitants who heard the proclamation of the Word of God (EL style), converted, and are actively seeking to attain the ten standards.

The "Servants" are those who only believe in Jesus and resist the female messiah. "All the apostles and prophets down the ages are in this category. These people are the children of Satan.... None will receive a portion in the Kingdom. After death they will be reborn [reincarnated] and only then will become effective servants of God." It seems all Christians who refuse to join this cult would fall under this category.

Finally, the fifth category of people the EL believes exists are The Damned. They will never believe in the female messiah, strongly oppose her teaching, and will be thrown into the lake of fire to suffer eternal damnation.

(3) Attacks on the Bible
Like all cults, the EL refuses to accept the authority of the Bible, and attack it at every opportunity. They claim the Scriptures were dreamed up by Moses and other Old Testament writers who were not inspired by the Holy Spirit. Lambert notes, "They deride the Scripture, so beloved by Chinese believers. [The EL states] "No one has the qualifications to study Scripture. No one can understand that book. All who follow the female Christ must throw aside the Bible.'"

Now that we have read about some of the beliefs of the Eastern Lightning, you may be wondering how they have managed to convince so many Chinese Christians to join them. Surely most believers in China are not so Biblically illiterate to be sucked into this obvious trap?

The EL themselves discovered that the great majority of Christians would not join their movement and could easily see through their deception, so around 1996 they launched a new phase. They turned to violence to convert believers to their ways.

What's in the Eastern Lightning Handbook?

One of the books written by the EL is an "insider handbook," instructing members how to ruin a church, gather information, win the trust of leaders, convert pastors, and even how to bring an entire congregation under the influence of EL. The book is divided into three chapters. Here is a summary of direct quotes from the EL handbook:

1. Spying is making use of various connections and methods to gain access to the inner workings of churches, winning their trust and confidence, and understanding their structure and plans.

2. Do not speak in such a way as to make others suspicious of you. Be sober and normal, leaving a good impression. Let proper and orderly patterns govern your speech, sleeping, and eating. Be well mannered, dress neatly and normally....

3. You must have some basic knowledge of the Bible. Take special note on what Jesus said in the New Testament, the epistles of Paul, and passages in Revelation concerning saving grace....

4. Know some of the church's methods of training and indoctrination.

5. Do not spy out these denominations: San Zi (Three-Self Church), Catholics, Dong Zhen (Eastern Orthodox), Buddhists, Taoists, Muslims, Beiliwang (Established King Church), Hongyi Liya (New Testament Church), etc...

[Note: the last two groups mentioned are pseudo-Christian cults. Interestingly, the instruction to avoid spying out Three-Self and Catholic churches is contrary to reports from both organizations that the EL has infiltrated their midst and won many converts.]

6. You should spy out the following: Those who believe in Jesus, pray to Jesus, who thirst for God's revelation; Real believers who truly love God, those with no serious physical disability and a sane mind.

7. How to get the most out of spying: (a) You must try our best not to let people know you are lying, even as we for the sake of our work speak not the truth. (b) During your first few times in a new church speak little and ask many questions. (c) Try to understand the situation, what they emphasize, so that your actions can fall in with theirs, and not raise objections to your presence. (d) Say what they want to hear. Be sincere in prayer, mention some moving, sad things, and ask for more blessings for their families and the church. (e) For those sheep more selfish, or those with families, observe their behavior and make use of their weak points to maintain contact. For example, oblige people if they want to take you as their mentor or confidant. (f) Some believe crying is important in churches, so you should also cry with sadness and bitterness, thus moving their hearts and winning their trust. (g) Others believe a Christian should be outwardly suffering, or persecuted. Therefore you should act with a greater degree of seriousness in order to satisfy such people. (h) Do not, at anytime, preach during this spy stage. Only share some personal experiences or short testimonies, so that people have a good impression of you.

8. How to remove suspicion during spying: Many denominations do not swear oaths before God, so make sure you do not do so. When necessary, weep or kneel to pray, speak sincerely, cry as though it is from the heart and not faked.

9. Bridge building occurs after you have laid a good network of contacts. You will then be able to change people's perspectives, picking on ideas or thoughts which will easily disrupt God's work, changing them one by one. In other words, the work of bridge building is to introduce your new teachings that will spark in them "interest," "appetite," and "a heart of desire."

Who is Behind the Eastern Lightning?

Several house church leaders over the past few years told me, without offering any evidence, that they believe the EL is funded and operated by Satanists in America. Judging from the cult's stated beliefs and plans, this sounds a very feasible possibility. The instructions we have just read from their handbook very closely mirror the stated aims of Satanists, and their efforts to destroy churches by targeting leaders are almost identical to methods employed against effective churches in the West. The EL's own admissions show that their main motive is to defame God and try to destroy His children. Their stated goals include to "disrupt God's work," and to "spy out…those who thirst for God's revelation; those who truly love God." They even admit they are liars when they stated, "we for the sake of our work speak not the truth."

Whether Satanists in the West and the Eastern Lightning are directly connected or not, the one thing we do know is that they share the same father. Jesus said, "You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies." (John 8:44)

Violence

It is no exaggeration to say that thousands of Christians across China have been physically beaten, tortured, or poisoned by the EL. Hundreds of believers are missing. Although most of those missing may have ended up changing sides and joining the cult, there are dozens of known deaths caused by the brutality of the EL.

Let's read the words of a house church pastor from Shandong Province as he tells what happened when his church was targeted by the EL. (7)

"I know brethren from Henan, Gansu, Hebei, etc. and not a few of them have fallen victim to violence at the hands of the EL. In this phase, the cult will first try to trick the victim. They will call them as though they are a family member, invite them to pray, etc. After the victim is tricked and brought somewhere else, the EL turns violent. Nearly all of them carry a cudgel, which they use to hit the victim's vital parts, such as their four limbs and/or his head, until he becomes unconscious. Then the believer is taken to a prearranged place where the EL indoctrinate him with the teachings of the cult. If the subject refuses to accept the teachings, they will turn to more violent methods. Friends tell me of such cruel methods as cutting off an ear, breaking legs, and there was even an old sister who had her neck broken because she would not accept the teachings of the cult or their "lady Jesus."

"During this violent phase one of my father's colleagues was deceived into going with them, and poison [acid?] was thrown at him. Another colleague of mine had his water poisoned. My aunt's neighbor was poisoned to death. These are accounts of which I personally know. The victims are always church members who are more influential."

Sexual and Monetary Enticement

Although China is experiencing rapid economic growth, the house church believers in the countryside are among the poorest segments of China's population. They have nothing at all by the world's standards, yet they give God all they have. If you placed an offering bag in front of them, they would get into it themselves.

When I spoke with the leader of one house church network in northwest China, he told me the EL has made inroads into his team of leaders primarily through monetary enticement. This church group is only able to support their evangelists 2.5 RMB (30 U.S. cents) per meal for a sister and 1.5 RMB (18 cents) for a brother. When a leader needs to travel to minister, the church will try to cover his bus fare if they have any cash available at the time. The evangelist is always hosted in believer's homes. Practically no house church leaders receive regular income. If they are married, often their families remain home living in abject poverty. The house church believers have Jesus, and little else.

Taking advantage of the believers' financial hardship, the EL has slyly offered extraordinary sums of money to house church leaders if they will convert. Nanyang County in southwest Henan Province is one of the centers of China's revival. Elders of the Nanyang Church were offered 150,000 RMB (more than US$ 18,000) to join the EL, plus the promise of two or three mistresses. By appealing to these two basic sinful desires of mankind, greed and lust, the faith of some has been shipwrecked.

This situation leads us to consider the financial sources of the Eastern Lightning. The huge sums mentioned above are not only offered, but actually paid, to those who convert. There has been some speculation from house church leaders, but nobody is sure where the EL gets their seemingly endless supply of money. Some of the speculation told to me includes the existence of corporations in Singapore and China itself which operate solely to fund the activities of EL. One house church pastor told me he believes the EL is funded by Satanists in America. Whatever the truth, it is clear that the poorly financed house churches cannot compete financially with the EL. Often after kidnapping victims, the EL employs sexual temptation in a bid to destroy the reputations of their victims. The EL use sexual enticement on both men and women captives.

One house church leader in Anhui Province told about one woman who had been a convert of EL for five years: "This woman is very pretty, but she has already lost her chastity. EL has used her to lure many leaders into fornication. Two coworkers in Anhui were confined by the EL for 14 days, brainwashed and worn down, until they gave in and committed fornication with the woman. Photographs were taken of them at appropriate embarrassing moments. Their tactic was to use the photograph to blackmail the brothers to accept the teachings of the cult. If they refuse to convert, a man will appear in their churches or when they are with a group of believers, pretending that the girl in the picture is his fiancé (or cousin), and threaten to sue the pastor." (8)

Not all Christian leaders fall into sexual temptation of course, but this does not seem to stop the EL. They have been known to drug their victims, and then take video and photographs of the drugged brother with a naked EL woman. The EL then feels they "own" a pastor for life, even if they are unable to convert him. If he ever attempts to enter a leadership role in the church again, the EL will invariably slip into the church, and wait for an opportune time to spread rumors of the pastor's immorality, backed with photographic "evidence."

The Testimony of a House Church Sister

To inflict physical and psychological violence on Christians, the Eastern Lightning needs to entice the believers away from their home church environment. To achieve their goals, several years ago they started kidnapping church leaders. Their diabolic strategy usually involves coaxing the leader to come to another city with the promise of ministry opportunities.
Following is a condensed testimony from a house church sister in northwest China who was kidnapped by the Eastern Lightning recently. It has been adapted from a paper written by the Chinese Christian Church of Saipan (Guam), entitled "China's Cult of Satan Lightning of the East."

Although even the condensed testimony is quite lengthy, it is well worth reading to gain an understanding of the incredible evil that our brothers and sisters in the faith are facing in China at the present time. How we wish this was an isolated incident, but unfortunately this sister's experience is representative of hundreds of others throughout China....

"Nine months before my nightmare commenced, a man came to our house church claiming he wanted to know the true God. Of course, we could not turn him away so we told him the Gospel. He responded warmly and seemed, over the months, to grow in the grace of God and knowledge of His Word. He always asked questions that new believers should ask, was baptized, and gained our confidence. We are still shocked to find that all along this "brother" was a spy sent from the Eastern Lightning to destroy us.

In March 2000 he approached us saying, "I've just returned from Lanzhou [Gansu Province] where my brother lives. There are hundreds of people there who are in the dark. They have never heard of the way, the truth, or the light. They are as I was before God opened my eyes. I've never been trained to preach or teach, so I beg you to please go and speak to them. Bring them out of the darkness! Let them know and understand the truth and fundamentals of the Gospel.'

We could not refuse such a call. We became excited, threw away all caution, and started planning our trip. After all, this was a brother who had been in our church for nine months. He had shown much humility and zeal for God's Word. As a result, many hearts were touched and four leaders (two men and two women) were sent with him. He played a role in selecting which four should go, saying, "Judging from the abilities of the four of you, the way you work, the quality of your lives and your knowledge of the Word, I believe as you work and pray together you'll be as powerful as a cannon shot! Your words will ring true, correcting the people's errors."

With much sweet talk and flattery he deceived not only us, but the whole church. It was difficult to see through his lies at the time, but looking back, it is still unbelievable that we could be so deceived all along. May the Lord forgive us our stupidity and immaturity! On the scheduled day of our departure the Lord tried to prevent us from going, but due to our inexperience we were unable to discern whether it was from the Lord or the devil. The weather on the morning of our departure was harsh, with strong winds and sandstorms. One of the four fell down the stairs and badly hurt his leg. He could hardly move. The EL spy said, "This is a hindrance from Satan. We should persevere and get on the train, for this incident is proof that a great work will be done there." When someone suggested we delay our trip by a day he protested strongly, saying, "No! We must go today. If we miss the train, we will take a car."

When we reached Lanzhou there were three people there to welcome us. Two said they were "brothers from Lanzhou," while one was "a brother from Xian." In reality they were deceivers sent by EL to trick us. The man from Xian said, "The Lord gave me a vision that there would be two female disciples coming from the northwest. He showed me they will come to revive the church in Xian."

On the other hand, the man named Paul from Lanzhou asked one of our brothers, "How many times have you been to Lanzhou?" He replied, "I've been here once before, but this is the first time I have come to serve the Lord." Paul shook his hand, saying, "Brother, this is the fourth time we have met. I have seen you three times before in visions. The Lord told me you really love Him. I have been earnestly praying you would come and teach us God's Word, and have been patiently waiting for your arrival. The Lord really knows our needs!" With these words of flattery the cult leaders appealed to our pride. The man from Xian then said, "The Lord has brought you here! Are there not four of you? If all four of you good preachers were to stay here in Lanzhou it would be a waste. Why don't two of you stay here, and the other two follow me back to Xian?" All four of us objected, "We do not put much trust in visions. We'll pray about it, but our first intention was for all four of us to remain in Lanzhou." The Xian man answered, "If this is the case, I will respect your decision. Let's all pray. I believe God will not forsake His flock. I will pray God will change your hearts."

For several hours the three imposters argued among themselves, making us feel guilty for not wanting to break up and go different ways. Lies came one after another until finally we were convinced that it was rude for us not to obey the wishes of our hosts. The Xian man shouted, "Hallelujah! Thank and praise the Lord! God always remembers His sheep! We shall leave today." This was how the EL successfully split the brethren. Later, using similar methods, the two brothers in Lanzhou and the two sisters who went to Xian were convinced to split again. The two men in Lanzhou were subjected to horrible torture, beatings and constant round-the-clock brainwashing and sexual entrapment.

Although neither brother gave in to fornication, they were given "medicine" for their painful injuries. This medicine made one brother even more ill, and he was unable to sleep. He lost his perspective and willpower. His mind was in a state of utter confusion. A woman was taken to his room, where they photographed him in his semi-conscious state with her, to be later used as "proof" of his sexual immorality. In Xian, we were introduced to two other women, and were told they had arranged meetings for us to teach at. They said, "Hurry, our two congregations are ready and waiting. What should we do? It's a terrible waste to keep two good preachers together." The two women began to argue who should get us. We felt embarrassed and agreed to split up, the sister going one way and me another. We did not see or talk with each other for the next five months. I was taken to Weinan, then to Tongguan, moving constantly. In my first meeting I was asked to teach. The congregation (all EL members) unfailingly praised my sermon, saying things like, "Your sermon was the best we have ever heard, please come to our village to preach."

On the fourth day I was preaching when two men in the congregation made a scene. They were specially chosen by the EL to act as though they were demon possessed. They shouted, "Don't listen to her!" They rolled around on the ground, hit people, and broke things. I was totally convinced these men were truly possessed. Seeing people possessed by a demon naturally attracted the attention of the congregation. They pleaded with me to cast the demons out. When I tried to pray over them in Jesus' Name, these "possessed" people retaliated, holding me down, sitting on top of me, and beating me. The more I tried to cast out the devils the more possessed they seemed to become. One of the men mocked me, "Why do you still pray in Jesus' Name? Don't you know Jesus' Name became useless long ago?" The congregation also mocked me, asking "Is Jesus' name really powerless? Why can't you cast out these demons?"

"The cult then moved to their next phase, called "break the escape." It is their way of making sure I could not runaway. Somebody suggested that the two "demon possessed" men be sent to a mental institute for their own safety. The entire congregation was asked to donate money. They asked me, "Do you have any money on you? This will probably cost a lot, maybe tens of thousands." This was how they removed all my money, more than a thousand RMB (US$ 120). Now I could not escape, as there was only one bus per day down from the mountainous area where I was being held, and I couldn't get on the bus without any money to pay the fare.

The next day an Eastern Lightning leading "brother" named Wang Enguang from Zhejiang Province came to the meeting. When the two "demon possessed" men saw him they immediately fled to a corner of the room, tried to hide under a table, and shouted, "The Light! It is glaring! I'm afraid!" After some coughing they became calm, and the demons were presumed to have been cast out. The congregation all said with one voice, "Hallelujah! This is the truth!" I felt humiliated and defeated, while "preacher Wang" took center stage and explained the teachings of the Eastern Lightning. He quoted many verses from the Bible and systematically explained what they believe step by step. Then the members of the congregation took turns speaking, trying to convince me of my erroneous belief in Jesus. My heart became confused, worn down from lack of sleep and constant pressure. Every night they removed my shoes and clothing, so that I wouldn't be able to escape. In addition, there was always one person watching me as I slept. I was never allowed out of the house. If I needed to go to the toilet I was given a pail to use. Slowly they were "changing my perspective" [brainwashing]. At one point I remembered my family and colleagues, and wanted to bring them in and tell them about the truth of the Eastern Lightning. I was fighting a losing battle.

I was also subjected to sexual temptation. At one stage two EL women slept beside me at night, one on each side, so that I couldn't even turn over. In the middle of the night they shouted out Bible verses, acting like they were having a dream or vision from God. One woman claimed she saw a scroll descend from heaven. On it was written "Ruth 3:7," the verse that tells when Ruth slept at the feet of Boaz. She said a voice from above also told her that I should do as Ruth had done; that I should obediently sleep with Wang. Praise God, the Lord was still protecting me and I was able to resist all of Wang's evil advances. At first, I didn't contemplate escape because of the isolation of where I was being held, and because I had no money. But one day I realized all freedom had been robbed from me and I had to do something before it was too late. God helped me slip away through the hills and I begged my way onto one bus after another until I finally reached Tongguan and Xian. In the end I was able to call my brother in law who asked a friend to give me a train fare back home. When I finally saw the faces of my brethren, I wept uncontrollably."

This dear sister's pastor concludes this terrible story....

"Of the four, she was the last to escape. She had been away for about five months. When she reached home, she did not look human. She believed she was going to die, and had written two wills, one to her family and one to the church. In her will to the church she wrote "Dear fellow workers, no matter when, no matter where, coworkers must not separate." We all wept when we read her words. She had been brainwashed so that her mind was in a state of total confusion. She couldn't pray for months. Even one month after her escape, this sister still didn't believe the incident with the two demon-possessed men had been an act, so convincing was their performance. Many of us fasted and prayed all night for her, asking her to repeat prayers line by line, renouncing the cult and its false teachings.... Thank God, for He listened to our prayers, and this sister shined a little brighter each day.

In October 2000 two Eastern Lightning men came to our town looking for the four coworkers who had all managed to escape from their clutches. They secretly met with the sister, but she told me. She also warned me that they planned to kidnap me, and told me not to stay in my home.

We have other coworkers who've been caught by the Eastern Lightning and never came back. Some are staunchly following their erroneous doctrines. We had a female coworker named Chen who was invited to Anhui and has since changed sides and is now working for them. Another brother who initially really loved God, and was under our guidance for a long time, also changed sides. He constantly called me and asked me to come to meetings, but I refused. He was able to get a sister named Han instead. She was lost for 18 days. We found out later she had been confined in a cave in Gong County. She came back so badly beaten and bruised that she couldn't get out of bed.

How can we combat this wicked threat to the church of Jesus Christ in China? First, we must communicate better. We can never, without prayer and confirmation, promise to go somewhere for speaking engagements. When we travel we must never go alone. The worst thing that has happened because of the Eastern Lightning is that the brethren have now lost mutual trust. We do not know if one of the members of our own congregations is an EL spy, nor can we tell if pastors and leaders from other churches are still walking rightly with God or have come under the EL's influence."

The Government's Response to Eastern Lightning

I have reached two conclusions while researching the EL in China. On one hand there is no doubt the Beijing central government have been trying to crack the EL for a number of years. One source states there are 2,000 EL practitioners presently in prison across China for their crimes. (9) The EL leadership has publicly declared that the Communist Party of China is the "Great Red Dragon,' and its officials are the dragon's offspring. When the Chinese authorities heard such words they immediately considered the group a political threat, with aims to overthrow the government, and they tried to persecute the EL mercilessly. According to an official government document, the EL's "political purpose have become increasingly overt" and it notes "some of its top-level core members are "elites' of the June 4th students' protest movement of 1989." These educated members "are editing books and propaganda material. In their conviction to overthrow the power of the "Great Red Dragon' they are actively...drafting work plans in order to recruit more members."(10)

As mentioned earlier, however, there seems to be a mounting body of evidence that points to many local level officials being protective, or at least sympathetic, to the EL. Some cadres and leading officials have converted to the cult, while it is likely many other officers have accepted protection money from the EL. This had led to a breakdown in Beijing's efforts to destroy the cult. Many times the Beijing authorities appear to have been frustrated by the cult's ability to evade the law, perhaps not fully realizing that the allegiance of many local officials is with the EL. The recently published secret government documents from China's security sector records some remarkably frank admissions from a speech by Luo Gan, a member of China's Central Politburo. Talking specifically about the government's program to crush the Eastern Lightning, Luo admits, "We have not learned much about this cult organization." (11) Zhao Shiju, Deputy-secretary of the Hebei Communist Party Committee, outlined his plan to learn more about the EL: "Manpower should be mobilized quickly to conduct investigation of the activities and spread of this cult in our province, to gather intelligence in an effort to round up the whole gang at one strike. Make sure it is kept in confidence, do your job without trumpeting." (12) Jia Chunwang, the Minister of Public Security, emphasized "we need to work more and talk less to smash the cult quietly." (13) These efforts seem destined to failure, however, for the very same paper notes that the EL has been able to "infiltrate into the inner circles of the [Communist] Party, government, and the Three Self Patriotic Movement." (14) The EL operates under an extremely tight blanket of security; more so, it could be said, than any of the house church networks in China.

Some of the safeguards practiced by the cult include only holding gatherings that have been organized at short notice; never giving specific directions to a meeting place, but just the general area, from where the members will be brought to the meeting; posting security guards at the entrance to the village or meeting place to prevent access to all outsiders, and immediately calling the meeting leader's mobile telephone if there are any signs of police action. In this way, EL members often completely scatter before the police even arrive at the door. The EL also insists their members only use mobile phones and pagers that are registered under false names, only use public phones and never their home phones, to change their numbers frequently, to never provide lodgings for members at the same place they have stayed before; and to relocate up to several times during a single day's meetings to avoid detection from the authorities. (15) Even those EL members based in the United States use the same standards of secrecy as in China, operating clandestinely at every turn. All of these factors have added up to a lot of government frustration at their inability to make serious inroads into the Eastern Lightning.

Christians, Don't Lose Heart!

As I write this paper, just days after the kidnapping of 33 house church leaders by the EL, emotions are still running high. It is always grievous and deeply painful when a part of the Body of Christ suffers. This whole situation should remind Christians of a few basic facts:

(a) We are truly combatants in a fierce war. Satan is a very real foe, determined to do whatever is necessary to destroy the Church that is purchased by the precious, spotless Blood of Jesus Christ. Unable to injure God, Satan lashes out at God's children. Many Western believers feel confused when they hear of Christians suffering such vile treatment at the hands of evil men, because of the false theology that pervades many Western churches, that if we live for God, only good things and blessings will result in our lives. Such thinking is contrary to Scripture and inconsistent with the experiences of millions of Christians down through the centuries, who lived wholeheartedly for God yet were "stoned; they were sawn in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated the world was not worthy of them." (Hebrews 11:37-38)

(b) Christians around the world should immerse ourselves daily in the Word of God, thereby enriching our fellowship with the living God and helping protect us from deceptive doctrines. If anything, the incredibly sly tactics of the Eastern Lightning remind us that "such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light…. Their end will be what their actions deserve." (2 Corinthians 11:13-15). The Bible warns us to be on guard because "…in latter times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons" (1 Timothy 4:1). There is always a Satanic spiritual root behind all twisting and perverting of the Scriptures. There are numerous destructive cults around the world, being used by the devil to destroy lives and confuse minds. If you have read through this whole paper and are thankful you don't live in China alongside the Eastern Lightning, think again! EL have already opened offices and operate printing presses in New York, Toronto, and San Francisco in North America, have a rapidly growing influence in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, and other Southeast Asian nations as they implement their worldwide vision.

(c) We need to understand that Jesus has already conquered Satan. His final defeat is completely sealed. Jesus has already "disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross." (Colossians 2:15). Although the end result of our battle is already certain, there are many trials and struggles for each Christian to conquer here and now. God has wants us to fight a good fight, and also to rest in the fact that the Lord was, is, and always will be the victor in the battle against Satan. "Do not be afraid, I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One: I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades." (Revelation 1:17-18)

(d) We should not lose heart. God knows exactly what has gone on, has seen the pain of His children in China, and will not be mocked forever. He is not only a mighty God, but the Almighty God. He is not just a King, but the King of Kings! Call on Him to show His mighty power. Pray as Moses prayed, "Rise up O Lord! May your enemies be scattered; may your foes flee before you." (Numbers 10:15)

(e) Understand if God's children are suffering today it is for a reason that one day will be completely clear. I'm reminded of past suffering in China, and the fruit it brought forth in the Chinese Church. In 1900 more than 30,000 Christians in China, including over 200 Western missionaries, were butchered during the Boxer Rebellion. Countless thousands of Christians drew great strength from these martyrs, who set a shining "example of patience in the face of suffering." (James 5:10) One young Christian man who was inspired by the martyrs of 1900 was Wang Mingdao, who was interestingly born at the very time of the carnage in 1900. One year later, in 1901, the mighty evangelist John Sung was born, and in 1903 Watchman Nee entered this world. All three learned from the example of the 30,000 Christians killed in 1900. In turn, all three great leaders of the Chinese Church suffered much for their faith. Wang Mindao, later to become known as the Father of the House Churches, was subjected to more than 20 years in prison for the Name of Jesus Christ. Watchman Nee was in prison 25 years, having his tongue cut off because he refused to stop praying and testifying. Thousands, and now millions, of Chinese believers have been inspired by these men's courageous example in the face of extreme suffering. In past 25 years have seen countless thousands of brave Gospel warriors in China. They have been beaten, humiliated, raped, slandered, maimed and killed. The result is an active Church in China now more numerous and fervent than anywhere else in the world. It came at a great price for those believers who spilled their blood on China's soil so that the light and the integrity of the Gospel would be maintained for the next generation. Now we hear horrific stories of Christians being kidnapped, brainwashed and tortured at the hands of a Satanic cult. The Church has once again been driven to its knees, throwing itself on God and God only for its sustenance. If such conditions continue and the Lord tarries, what will the size of the Church in China be in 20 or 25 years? 300 million? 400 million? Pray that one day the believers from the China Gospel Fellowship who are being brutalized even as you read these words, will say with the Apostle Paul "Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." (2 Corinthians 4:17)

How Can You Pray?

As the Chinese Church goes through this fierce new struggle, they are so grateful to learn they are not standing alone. Please share some of the burdens of our Chinese brothers and sisters by praying with them, and against the evil of the Eastern Lightning. Here are some prayer points you might want to consider lifting up before our Heavenly Father:

(a) Pray God's Name would be glorified in China, and in the house churches, that through all of this Jesus' Name would be lifted up and exalted, drawing all men to Himself.

(b) Plead with God to protect the 33 leaders of the China Gospel Fellowship currently being held by the cult in unknown locations. Pray He will reveal their whereabouts, and help them escape from the snare of the fowler. (Psalm 91:3)

(c) Pray against the demonic filth of the Eastern Lightning cult. Ask God to bind the dark forces that control it, and to lose its captives. Ask God to be with the Chinese leaders as He was wit Jeremiah, who was able to say, "The Lord is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced; their dishonor will never be forgotten." (Jeremiah 20:11)

(d) Ask God to comfort the families of those who have been kidnapped. Pray they will experience the near presence and love of the Lord over this time. Pray practical help such as food and money will reach them.

(e) Pray more Bibles and teaching books would be available to house church Christians in China, and systematic training would help the Christians be stronger in the faith and not as susceptible to being deceived by cults like the Eastern Lightning.

(f) Ask God to give wisdom to those house church leaders who have decided to work with the government to help crush the Eastern Lightning cult. Pray their zeal to help their brothers will not play in the hands of the authorities, resulting in even more persecution for the Chinese Church.

(g) Pray the Church in China will learn and grow through this experience, and that God will use it to sharpen His people to be more effective witnesses of His death and resurrection.

How Can You Help?

Already many people have contacted us, asking how they can practically help the believers in China. In response to this present crisis, our ministry partners, coworkers inside China, and Asia Harvest have decided to launch a new project to help counteract the influence of the Eastern Lightning among the house churches. Last year a Chinese pastor wrote a book exposing the lies, deception and practices of the Eastern Lightning. The book includes almost 100 pages of testimonies from believers across China who have fallen prey to the cult, before God graciously allowed them to be restored.

It was already planned to publish this brother's book soon, but the present crisis had made it an immediate priority. We plan to print and distribute 200,000 of these books inside China. We believe this will make a significant positive impact, helping prevent thousands becoming victims of the Eastern Lightning. Each book costs just 5 RMB (60 U.S. cents) to print. We guarantee that 100% of money received for this project will be used directly to print and distribute these books.

We don't want to make a big issue about this project, but simply want to give an opportunity to those people who feel the Lord leading them to help be involved financially with the printing of these books. If you would like to find out more details about how to help, please go to our website: www.asiaharvest.org or email us at office@asiaharvest.org All donations received from U.S. supporters are tax-deductible.

Notes

(1) Li Shixiong & Xiqiu (Bob) Fu (eds), Religion and National Security in China: Secret Documents from China's Security Sector, February 11, 2002, p.78

(2) Forney, Matthew. "Jesus is Back, and She's Chinese: A Bizarre Religious Sect is Preying on China's Rural Christian Congregations." Time Magazine, November 5, 2001.

(3) This figure is likely to be too low. It is more likely represents the number of books that the authorities know have been printed. The true number distributed may be many millions. Li &

Fu, Religion and National Security in China, p.79.

(4) Tianfeng, August 1997

(5) Li & Fu, Religion and National Security in China, p.79

(6) Ibid., p.76

(7) Adapted from a paper written by the Chinese Christian Church of Saipan, China's Cult of Satan Lightning of the East. Unpublished report, Saipan, Guam, September 2000.

(8) Ibid.

(9) Forney, "Jesus is Back, and She's Chinese," Time Magazine, November 5, 2001.

(10) Li & Fu, Religion and National Security in China, p.78-79

(11) Ibid., p.75

(12) Ibid.

(13) Ibid.

(14) Ibid., p.78

(15) Ibid.

Bibliography

Chinese Christian Church of Saipan. "China's Cult of Satan: Lightning of the East." Unpublished report, Saipan, Guam, September 2000

Far East Broadcasting International. "Letters from China: January 2001." See the FEBC website: www.febc.org/china_letters_0101.html

"Female Christ Sect Spreads Through Rural China," Maranatha Christian Journal, August 12, 1999. See www.mcjonline.com/news/news3322.htm

Forney, Matthew. "Jesus is Back, and She's Chinese: A Bizarre Religious Sect is Preying on China's Rural Christian Congregations." Time Magazine, November 5, 2001. See

Lambert, Tony. "Lightning from the East A New Cult," China Insight, OMF International, March- April 1998

Li Shixiong & Xiqiu (Bob) Fu (eds). "Religion and National Security in China: Secret Documents from China's Security Sector," February 11, 2002. See

"Malicious Eastern Lightning," Tianfeng, August 1997

"Millennial Movements Gain Momentum in China," Amity News Service, September-October 1999. See

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Chiang Mai, 50101
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E-Mail: office@asiaharvest.org
Voice (66-53)801487
Fax (66-53)800665
Web: www.asiaharvest.org

Murder of Wu Shuoyan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crQ9zeyd9hQ
BBC, August 15, 2014: A Christian cult in China which has violence at its core gains international notoriety after a brutal murder in a fast food restaurant. With some of its members now on trial we hear what's behind these terrible crimes. It's called the Church of Almighty God. This report from the BBC's China Editor, Carrie Gracie.

Note that while this particular attack and murder focused a lot of international attention on this movement, the perpetrators reportedly were not members of the Eastern Lightning cult. Wikipedia says:

The attackers were arrested and identified by the government as members of Eastern Lightning. Representatives from Eastern Lightning publicly condemned the murder, claiming it had been committed by "psychopaths" who had nothing to do with them. In the wake of the murder, authorities in China engaged in widespread arrests of Eastern Lightning's members. The five adult attackers were found guilty at trial, with two of the murderers being executed for their role in 2015.

Following the attack, Church of Almighty God members responsible for the church's website accused the Chinese government of wrongly blaming the religious movement as a pretext for persecution.

Zhang Lidong, one of the killers, testified at trial that he was no longer involved with The Church of Almighty God and had started his own sect. 

Covering the trial and the confessions of the accused assassins, reporters for the Chinese daily The Beijing News wrote that the perpetrators were in fact not members of Eastern Lightning at the time of the murder: they recognized as the living incarnation of God, rather than Yang Xiangbin, their own two female leaders, regarded as one divine soul in two bodies, and claimed that Eastern Lightning was a cult while theirs was a legitimate religious group. Some Western scholars who wrote about Eastern Lightning also concluded that the perpetrators at the time of the murder were members of a group different from Eastern Lightning. In 2017, Chinese authorities announced that two of the assassins had been successfully “re-educated” in jail. Although they maintained that theirs was a group based on the belief that the two female leaders of their movement, not Yang Xiangbin, were the real Almighty God, they also blamed books and Web sites of Eastern Lightning for having “ideologically corrupted” them in their youth.

Wikipedia, Eastern Lightning. Last checked Saturday, February 12, 2022 - 12:45 PM CET

Research Resources on Eastern Lightning/Church of Almighty God

Articles

■ China for Jesus includes a number of articles on Eastern Lightning. "The words found at ChinaForJesus.com are written and translated by Mainland Chinese believers. This site is one of their voices."

The most informative article is Exposing Eastern Lightning, by Zhang Da Kai from China Gospel Fellowship. This is a comprehensive discussion of the doctrines and practices of the Eastern Lightning cult, written by a mainland house church theologian. However, it is available in Chinese only. If you do not read Chinese, your best option is to use Google Translate. Using the Chrome browser, open the first page. Right-click anywhere on the page, and select "Translate to English." Alternatively, you can use this tool to translate each page — either to English or other languages. (The Google Translate extension for Chrome is also useful).

Also useful is a collection of Eastern Lightning's Own Writings. The site notes, "Naturally we do not endorse these writings. They are heretical and bizarre. We include them here, however, as a primary source of reference."

■ China: The Church of Almighty God, also known as "Eastern Lightning," including its history, beliefs, and where it is present; treatment of members by government authorities. [PDF] [Neutral] This is a so-called "Response to Information Request," written for the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. "Responses to Information Requests (RIR) respond to focused Requests for Information that are submitted to the Research Directorate in the course of the refugee protection determination process."
■ A Chinese Pastor’s Perspective on Church of the Almighty God [Contra] Bai Yun (pseudonym) analyzes the beliefs and practices of CAG and compares that with orthodox Christianity. Bai Yun also provides background on CAG, as well as excerpts directly from CAG literature and doctrine. After reviewing CAG doctrine, leadership structure, believers’ practices, and church structure, Bai Yun concludes that “CAG appears to be Christian but is essentially different.”
■ Church of Almighty God, [Encyclopedic] In-depth look at Eastern Lightning. (Buyer beware: by cult apologist Massimo Introvigne, CESNUR). Published on the website of CenSAMM (Centre for the Critical Study of Apocalyptic and Millenarian Movements)
■ Deceived by the Lightning [Contra] by Lois Chan and Steve Bright, Christian Research Journal, volume 28, number 3 (2005)
■ The Men Who Lost Their Wives to ‘Eastern Lightning’, Du Xinju, Sixth Tone, December 22, 2020.

Adherents of Eastern Lightning often end up leaving their families. In 2017, the Office for Prevention and Handling of Cult Issues — which falls under the country’s Cabinet, the State Council — set up a site called China Anti-Cult Network, which, among other aims, wants to help people find relatives who have joined groups designated as cults. It lists hundreds of missing persons ads, including Long’s. But they rarely produce any leads.

Many relatives of Eastern Lightning members have also turned to a nongovernmental organization called Anti Eastern Lightning Alliance. The organization is run by a 38-year-old man who uses the internet alias Mieshen, meaning “exterminate the god,” and the pseudonym Chen Xin when speaking to media. His ex-wife joined the group in 2011, never to be seen again.

Sixth Tone

■ Lightning from the East [PDF] [Contra] by Tony Lambert, China Insight Newsletter, Sep/Oct 2001. Include a Jan/Feb 2002 follow-up, Darkness Visible: Lightning from the East. Published by what was then the China Inland Mission and Overseas Missionary Fellowship — now known as OMF International
■ What is Eastern Lightning? [Contra] By Ryan Turner, Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry (CARM)

Books

■ Kidnapped by a Cult: A Pastor's Stand Against a Murderous Sect [Amazon.com] [Contra] By Shen Xiaoming and Eugene Bach. From a Christian, countercult perspective. Shen Xiaoming is the founder of the China Gospel Fellowship, by some estimates the largest church in the world, ministering and teaching throughout the underground house church for years. Eugene Bach is a pseudonym for a member of the Chinese underground church. [Note: See this Open Doors report on the persecution of Christians in China]

Encyclopedia

■ Wikipedia entry on Eastern Lightning

News Archive

▲ Religion News Blog

Websites

■ Anti Eastern Lightning Alliance (Alliance Against Almighty God) - in Chinese only.

Many relatives of Eastern Lightning members have also turned to a nongovernmental organization called Anti Eastern Lightning Alliance. The organization is run by a 38-year-old man who uses the internet alias Mieshen, meaning “exterminate the god,” and the pseudonym Chen Xin when speaking to media. His ex-wife joined the group in 2011, never to be seen again. [...more...]

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Twelve Tribes 7 Jan 2022 11:44 PM (3 years ago)

Twelve Tribes

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

Table of contents

Quick Facts on Twelve Tribes

Dr. James A. Beverley says that

Yoneq fosters dependence upon his rule through false comparisons with New Testament apostles, developing an antirational mind-set in the group and equating his word with the direction of the Lord. His teachings are rarely self-critical and he is obsessed with the Twelve Tribes as the only work of God on the earth.

Police Raids on Twelve Tribes Communities

Over the years, Twelve Tribes community centers is various countries have been subjected to police raids. In France and Germany, in particular, such raids usually took place due to controversies on the issues of homeschooling, health, child abuse, and religious freedom.

See, for instance, the June 2015 raid on the twelve Tribes community in Sus in the ­Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France.

French police have seized the children of members of a fundamentalist cult in a hamlet in southern France who were allegedly beaten, forced to pray each day from dawn and had never seen television­ or the internet.

The Twelve Tribes, a Christian sect based at a chateau at Sus in the ­Pyrénées-Atlantiques, claims to ­emulate a first-century lifestyle. Members ­believe that youngsters must be caned to keep folly at bay, and force them, after a morning of prayer, to work for the rest of the day. They also preach that multiculturalism is Satanic.

The Sus community produces and sells fruit, vegetables and shoes.

The group was raided on Tuesday. Police placed four children aged between 18 months and 14 years into care amid allegations of abuse.

The raid came after a criminal ­inquiry, which began after a former member of the cult told ­a prosecutor that beatings had been ­administered by the community.

The Twelve Tribes communities in France, Germany, the US and elsewhere have long faced accusations of racism and violence. Gene Spriggs, its founder, who came from Tennessee, said that Martin Luther King was evil.

The sect denies the claims, and says that it is misunderstood.

In a follow-up report The Times writes

“I was beaten more often than I can say,” said a former member of the French branch of the Twelve Tribes who left a few years ago. “I was beaten until I gushed blood. Once, I couldn’t get out of bed for two weeks.”

This week 200 gendarmes raided the community’s headquarters in the village of Sus, near Pau, arrested ten adults and placed four children in care after doctors discovered bruises on their bodies. Two years ago German police removed 40 children from the Bavarian branch of the Twelve Tribes; 13 years ago a French court convicted 19 adult members of failing to give their children proper schooling.

“I think this sect should be closed. The children are in danger,” said Maître Jean-François Blanco, a lawyer representing a former member whose lawsuit against the community prompted an investigation that led to this week’s arrests.

Mr Blanco said that prosecutors had been slow to act in France, but he was astonished that no action was being taken against the community in Britain. “British justice is deficient,” he said.

The sect was founded in the US in 1972 by Gene and Martha Spriggs, fundamentalist protestants who wanted to “restore the spiritual 12 tribes of Israel”. It now claims to have 50 communities, in nine countries, with up to 3,000 adherents. They live like 1st-century Christians in almost complete isolation from the modern world.

Typical Newspaper article on Twelve Tribes

Newspaper articles on the Twelve Tribes group often read a bit like a typical Wikipedia entry.

Here's an example, from the Religion section of The Gazette (Colorado Springs, CO):

The Twelve Tribes’ evening worship service in Manitou Springs is reminiscent of a scene straight from a hippie commune in the 1960s and early ’70s, and this group does, in fact, live in a communal setting.

But the similarities end there. No drugs and alcohol are allowed in Twelve Tribes. The women wear modest, baggy attire straight out of 19th-century America. The speakers at the religious services talk repeatedly about end times. And Scripture runs their life.

Begun in 1972 in Chattanooga, Tenn., Twelve Tribes is the brainchild of Elbert Eugene Spriggs, who is still part of the tribe but has never been its spiritual figurehead. Current worldwide membership is about 2,000.

The local Twelve Tribes community ranges in age from 1 to about 60 and consists of seven families and 12 single adults. They live and worship together in two neighboring Manitou Springs homes, and strive to replicate how they believe Christians lived in the first century: chaste, pious, hardworking and living together under the same roof.

Members give up almost all their possessions to be part of the tribe.

“I came into this world with nothing, and that’s how I will leave it,” said 31-year-old Malak Chesed Gould – born Derek Gould – who joined Twelve Tribes a decade ago and is now a community leader.

Twelve Tribes attempts to include every member in decision making, but there is a hierarchy. Each of the communities – 25 in the U.S. and about 25 in other countries – is overseen by in-house leaders, who are overseen by a tribal council in a regional office, who are, in turn, overseen by the Apostolic Council, a fluid number of elders scattered across the U.S.

Communities support themselves through their small businesses, and all profits go into a common pool.

The local Twelve Tribes runs three Manitou Springs businesses: the Maté Factor cafe, the organic-produce store Common Sense Market, and the tree-cutting business Forest Keepers. They don’t proselytize to customers, but if someone inquires about their faith, they will talk about it.

Because Twelve Tribes is a 501 (d) – used by for-profit organizations with a religious purpose and a common treasury – the community pays taxes on its earnings and property. […]

Though Twelve Tribes has sometimes been characterized as a cult, its members say it doesn’t have the negative characteristics often associated with a cult: abuse and mind control.

“We don’t teach abuse,” said Apostolic Council member Eddie Wiseman, who is currently living in the tribe’s community in Purceville, Va. “Our safety net is that we don’t silence people. This has been very effective in keeping the community together. People can also leave the tribe whenever they want.”

Allegations of child abuse have been made against some Twelve Tribes communities, and some people have accused them of mind control, but the faith has never been charged in connection with either. Its biggest blemish occurred in 2001, when two of its businesses in Green County, N.Y., were fined for breaking child labor laws.

However, even a cursory examination of the group's teachings quickly reveals some serious issues.

Theologically Twelve Tribes is a Cult of Christianity

Theologically, the communal religious movement known as The Twelve Tribes (‘Commonwealth of Israel’), is a cult of Christianity

Sociologically, the movement also exhibits cult-like elements.

Explainer: Cult Definitions

The term 'cult' can be defined theologically or sociologically.

To understand the difference, see CultDefinition.com — which provides definitions of the term 'cult'.

The New England Institute of Religious Research (NEIRR), a countercult organization, has extensively researched this group — examining 20 years worth of the movement’s teachings. [mfn]NEIRR is currently known as MeadowHaven — a refuge for former members of high control, destructive groups to rest, heal, and grow.[/mfn]

NEIRR writes:

High control groups traditionally have “inner and outer” doctrine. The “outer doctrine” is for public consumption and the “inner doctrine” is for the “elect members” of the group. This is not to say that there is necessarily a conflict between the two, however, “inner doctrine” will reflect more clearly the true nature, beliefs and practices of the group.

In the Messianic Communities they have both inner and outer doctrine. Their outer doctrine is the Freepapers and other works they make available to the public and press. Their inner doctrine, which can only be understood if you are under the “anointing,” are the teachings of their self proclaimed “apostle,” Elbert Eugene Spriggs. He is referred to in the group as “Yoneq.”

NEIRR has posted a number of Yoneq’s controversial teachings online.

Another website, Twelve Tribes Teachings – at TwelveTribesTeachings.com – has posted additional material:

This website contains a very abridged version of the hundreds of teachings of The Twelve Tribes. As more material becomes available it will be added.
Here you will also find the complete archives from the years 1994-2004 of the in-house periodical InterTribal News.

This site is offered for educational purposes since none of this information seems to be available on the group’s website: www.twelvetribes.com.

All of the teachings, unless otherwise noted, are written by a man named Eugene Spriggs, also known as Yoneq. Curiously, he is never mentioned on the website either.

High Control and Theologically Deviant

Based on its extensive research into this group, the NEIRR concludes:

Elbert Eugene Spriggs, “Yoneq,” is the key to understanding Messianic Communities and its evolution. His own personal spiritual odyssey has been reflected in the group. Just as a local Church tends to take on the personality of the pastor, for better or for worse, so Messianic Communities has taken on the personality of Spriggs. It is our studied opinion that his influence has been immense over the life, leadership and direction of the Communities. Unfortunately, as time goes on and the group moves further from the original Vine Community Church of Chattanooga days, this influence is more destructive and controlling.

Renowned Christian author, Gene Edwards, wrote a book called Letters to a Devastated Christian. In this book he suggests some guidelines for evaluating groups and leaders. “Does the man who is leading the movement have in his nature a need to control everyone within his environment?” He then goes on to explain that some people have a “psychological flaw” to control. God can break that in a man’s life and then use him. However, “if this need to control remains unbroken in a man, then he will almost always tend towards authoritarianism.” Messianic Communities, under the leadership of Spriggs, has tended towards an extreme authoritarianism.

This group is a classic study of the evolutionary process that occurs when a person rises to a position of leadership, claiming a “direct pipeline” to God and having no accountability. Back in the early 1970’s when the Vine Community Church first began Spriggs had an undisputed authority. However, there was a more “free-wheeling” expression of life and devotion to Christ. The group was then far more orthodox theologically and open to other Christian expressions. Many street people had their first encounter with Jesus through the witness of the Yellow Deli’s, Areopagus, musical band “Salt,” Freepapers, etc. People were allowed more freedom to come and go, express their opinions, dress individually. There was also always the promise to raise up others who would have a shared leadership position with him. This never developed. There are others who have the titles of leadership within the Messianic Communities, however, nobody wields the authority and power that Spriggs does. It is our conclusion that had the Messianic Communities truly been led by a “Responsible Ten” who were accountable to one another and shared in all decision making the group would be radically different and far less controlling.

The primary vehicle of control within the Communities are the “teachings.” Since Spriggs is the source of new doctrines and the standard which measures the truth of any other teachings his influence is singular and absolute. Sociologically, the group has become more controlling over the years and more theologically deviant. A large part of the reason for this is the extreme isolation of the group. People live in community and look and behave alike. People also are not allowed to have any diversity of opinion, and certainly never question the leadership of the “anointing.” They are also cut off from outside intellectual stimulation and challenge. What information is fed to the average Communities member is thoroughly filtered through the narrow lens of Spriggs’ construct of reality. This is not to say that he personally reviews every piece of disseminated literature. However, it is his theological “never, never land” that has a secure and steadied influence over every aspect of Communities life.

That the Messianic Communities “majors in minors” is consistent with the corrosive effect that occurs in groups where members essentially abdicate all the decision making power in their lives to those in “authority over them.” Major concerns for Communities members now consist of the “correct” name of Jesus, beards, ponytails, Sus pants, head coverings, complete obedience to authority, establishing 12 tribes, dietary restrictions, name changes, Sabbath keeping, etc. This appears to be Phariseeism. The Gospel of Jesus Christ should set a person free. However, people in Messianic Communities become increasingly weighed down with an ever expanding number of rules and regulations that demand strict adherence. To deviate from these regulations is to be “cut-off” from the “Body” and potentially be sent away. This is analogous to being damned. This is all managed with the greatest sincerity. Our initial reactions, when we had the privilege to visit various Communities, were only positive. We have met many, many fine people who have given up their lives to Messianic Communities. Thus, upon first exposure to the group there does appear to be a love that is demonstrated in a way not often found in Christianity. However, there is a seamier side to Communities life. The devastation in most ex-member’s lives, and the teachings of Spriggs, evidence a litany of spiritual and emotional abuse. In their zeal to “forsake all for Yahshua” it is, in reality, a forsaking all for the Communities. This is because the members commitment to Messianic Communities is their commitment to God. This is a common confusion that often occurs in high control groups.

In our opinion, Messianic Communities is essentially a Galatian heresy. In Paul’s letter to the Galatians he is deeply concerned about those who would once again reestablish the Law as a means of pleasing God. Paul asks them in Galatians 4:9-11,

“But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored over you in vain.”

This question must also be answered by Spriggs and Messianic Communities. In their zeal to serve the Lord people are once again enslaved, and tragically, in His name.

Twelve Tribes: Pro-Segregation

The Twelve Tribes’ offbeat and un-Biblical theology is evident in all its teachings, including its views on segregation, globalism, and multiculturalism:

The Creator of all mankind didn’t want the nations and the races of earth to come together. That is why He divided their languages at the tower of Babel. He saw that they were not maintaining the boundaries of conscience and would need further boundaries to keep them from destroying themselves. Therefore He separated them into nations to become distinct races and cultures. By themselves, they would have a better chance to hear the voice of their conscience and the voice of creation speaking to them. Through this, it was possible for them to see their need for their Creator and find a way back to Him.[…]

Nations have to impose laws and sanctions in order to keep order in a multicultural society. Multiculturalism pressures people to cross boundaries that go beyond the realm of natural law, coercing them to be one with a neighbor that doesn’t even speak their language or have their culture. It goes beyond the realm of how God wanted people to live in separate nations for their own welfare and safety.

Multiculturalism increases murder, crime, and prejudice. It goes against the way man is. It places impossible demands on people to love others who are culturally and racially different. This is unnatural — it forces people to go against their instinctive knowledge, like trying to love sodomites. They are told, “You can’t discriminate.” Although discrimination is viewed as an evil sin, it is still within a person’s prerogative (right) to segregate himself.

If the human race had remained united during the era of the Tower of Babel, then globalization would have resulted sooner. The leaders of that generation would have seized the reins of history and there would have been no end to their rebellion against God. Just as back then, globalization today is the proud attempt to displace and exclude the Kingdom of God. It is a satanic attempt to take over the earth in a unified one-world government.

Compromising the Gospel of Grace

Bruce J Lieske, founder of Lutherans in Jewish Evangelism, writes:

The group Twelve Tribes … has a core teaching of unity, as expressed in its name, which is taken from Paul’s testimony before King Agrippa (Acts 26:7). According to their Web site’s “Who We Are” page, “We are a spiritual brotherhood whose love for one another stretches across the boundaries of nationality, race, and culture…. We sometimes speak of ourselves as Messianic communities, for we live in the hope of Messiah and are being made ready for Him.“

I phoned their toll-free number (888-893-5838) and spoke with one of the members. He said their identity and heritage is Jewish and that one or two of the leaders are Jewish.

Their doctrinal statements appear to be Trinitarian. The Messiah is Yahshua (a.k.a. “Jesus” by denominational churches), who is eternal Creator, the Son of God, who lived a sinless life for us, died for our sins, and was raised from the dead by the Holy Spirit. The call for a holy life appears to be gospel-motivated: “It is out of love for Him who first loved us that we live as we do, no longer for ourselves, but for Him who died and rose again for us (2 Cor. 5:14–15).”

As with many exclusivist sects, their emphasis on unity seems to be on their terms only. They teach that communal living is an essential feature of Christian faith, and there is a high degree of antidenominationalism in their literature.

Yet it is their view of man’s eternal destiny that casts the biggest shadow of heterodoxy on this group. Their exegesis of Matthew 25:31–40 portrays three categories of humankind: the wicked (the “goats,” cast into the lake of fire), the non-Christian righteous (the “sheep” who will have a kingdom based on their merits), and Yahshua’s brothers (the Holy City has been prepared for them).32 This teaching on eternal destiny distorts Scripture, adding a category that is not there, teaching the heresy of justification by works for the second group, and possibly blunting attempts to share the gospel — if we decide that we are speaking to one of the “sheep” of Matthew 25:31–46. And if Jesus Himself said that these righteous “sheep” have eternal life, why should they bother to trust the Messiah? The Twelve Tribes’s exegesis of this passage fatally compromises the gospel of grace.

Videos about Twelve Tribes

Cults and Extreme Belief - A&E: Twelve Tribes

This episode covers the Twelve Tribes. It includes an interview with former Twelve Tribes member Samie Brosseau. Features cult experts Bob Pardon and Stephen kent.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_iX_JCTzSw
Cults and Extreme Beliefs (A&E) episode on the Twelve Tribes

Cult Expert Steven Hassan interviews former Twelve Tribes Leader

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkN820N-g1E
Cult expert Steven Hassan interviews former Twelve Tribes leader Roger Griffin. See also this article, in which Griffin applies Hassan's BITE Model of Authoritarian Control to the Twelve Tribes

Former Twelve Tribes members speak out

Michael Painter was in the Communities for 18 years and started many of the Communities' "cottage industries." James Howell was Spriggs' personal secretary for over a decade.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5wJTBI8lcU
Interview with former Twelve Tribes members

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vs0tGmrGXFI
Part 2 of an interview with ex-Twelve Tribes members

This interview has 16 additional videos.

Research Resources on Twelve Tribes

See "About These Resources" to understand why and how these resources were selected

Articles

■ Beyond Cult Controversy: The Mate Peddlers of the Twelve Tribes The Reader, March 10, 2012

■ Children of the Tribes: "In this country, we celebrate the First Amendment, which prevents the government from interfering with religious beliefs and practices. But what if those beliefs and practices make children suffer?" Julie Scheeres, Pacific Standard, September 1, 2015. Excellent article that provides a good introduction to the group's history, controversial teachings and practices. The focus is on the Twelve Tribes' emphasis on spanking children for a wide variety of 'offenses.'

The Tribes continues to be dogged by negative press in England, Spain, and Australia, but the biggest blow to the group came in Germany, where corporal punishment is illegal. In 2013, a reporter for RTL Television infiltrated one of the sect’s communes and, over a two-day period, secretly filmed 50 instances of adults spanking children, including one small girl whose offense was refusing to say, “I’m tired.” After the footage aired, police seized 40 children and placed them in foster care, where most of them remain today. In France, a few months ago, a police raid of a Tribes community led to social workers rescuing four small children whose bodies bore evidence of recent beatings.

Shuah and her siblings are bewildered that the authorities have not taken similar action in this country. Despite the media expose´s that Noah triggered, Tribes members who have left the group in the years since have claimed that the Tribes continues to beat children, exploit them as free workers, and deny them access to education and modern medicine. “Where do our human rights as children begin and their religious rights end?” Shuah asked me during our time together.Click here to change this text. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

"Children of the Tribes"

■ The Doomsday Prophets on Main Street by Christopher Dreher, Boston Globe, Oct. 23, 2005

Massachusetts has long been fertile ground for religious sects like Twelve Tribes. The group has already settled in Plymouth, Dorchester, Hyannis, and Athol. Newton, Wellesley, and Harvard Square may be next for a group that requires members to give up their possessions, follow the Bible word-for-word, and prepare for the end of the world. They may be coming to your street next – and might just be the friendliest neighbors you’ve ever had.

"The Doomsday Prophets on Main Street"



■ Here’s How the “Twelve Tribes” Cult Recruits and Retains Members, by Sinasta Colucci, author of Better Than a Turkish Prison: What I Learned from Life in a Religious Cult. Colucci, who currently identifies as an atheist, was a member of the Twelve Tribes cult for almost 8 years. See also his video, What I Currently Believe about the Gospel of the Twelve Tribes

Groups like the 12 Tribes love to implore you to “focus on the positive” and overlook the group’s many flaws. But the trick here, for them, is to do the exact opposite. While your attention is directed towards all the good qualities of the group: “Look! We all love each other! We live together! We all agree! Only the Holy Spirit could create the abundant life we have here!” Meanwhile, in order to divert your criticism away from the group, hopefully distracting you enough so that you won’t notice all their glaringly obvious faults, they will criticize other groups. It may sound funny, but the 12 Tribes’ main target is Christianity. They love to point out all the hypocrisy within mainstream Christianity, which is something that is easy to do, but the 12 Tribes themselves are a biblically-based cult, using the same holy book that mainstream Christians use (and many of the same recruiting tactics).
Sinasta Colucci

■ Into Darkness: Inside an American white supremacist cult. Intelligence Report, Summer 2018, Southern Poverty Law Center

The Twelve Tribes, a Christian fundamentalist cult born in the American South in the 1970s, is little-known to much of the country, and on first impression its communes and hippie-vibed restaurants and cafes can seem quaint and bucolic. But beneath the surface lies a tangle of doctrine that teaches its followers that slavery was “a marvelous opportunity” for black people, who are deemed by the Bible to be servants of whites, and that homosexuals deserve no less than death.

While homosexuals are shunned by the Twelve Tribes (though ex-members say the group brags about unnamed members who are “formerly” gay), the group actively proselytizes to African Americans, yet one of its black leaders glorifies the early Ku Klux Klan.

The Twelve Tribes tries to keep its extremist teachings on race from novice members and outsiders, but former members and experts on fringe religious movements who’ve helped its followers escape paint a dark picture of life in the group’s monastic communities — especially for black members, who must reconcile the appalling teachings on race with their own heritage and skin color.

Intelligence Report, Summer 2018, SPLC

■ This Woman Was Raised By a Notorious Cult. Here's How She Finally Got Away. By Kirstin Kelley, GOOD Literacy Project, March 15, 2016

Shuah Jones is an ex-member of the Twelve Tribes; her father was a founding member, helping to launch the group in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 1972. Today, the organization has compounds all over America and in several countries around the world. A 28-year-old insurance agent based in Florida, today Jones offers informal support to other former members of the cult, which she escaped when she was only 15 years old.

"This Woman was Raised by a Notorious Cult"

■ Twelve Tribes, a blog post by Sarah Harvey, on the website of the Centre for the Critical Study of Apocalyptic and Millenarian Movements (CenSAMM). A helpful article, written from a secular, academic perspective. It provides a readable overview of the central teachings of the Twelve Tribes.

Sarah Harvey is the Senior Research Officer at Inform and the co-editor of two books in the Routledge-Inform book series: Prophecy in the New Millennium: When Prophecies Persist (2013, with Suzanne Newcombe) and New Religious Movements and Counselling: Academic, Professional and Personal Perspectives (2017, with Silke Steidinger and James Beckford).

What is the significance of the Twelve Tribes teachings on child-rearing and communal living for a blog on millennial beliefs? Members stress that through their communal lifestyle, they are living as true disciples of the Son of God, Yahshua. The sharing of all things in common, the purposeful cultivation of unselfishness, and the raising of children in ‘loving discipline’ (...), are demonstrations of their love for Yahshua and one another. ‘The Tribes understand their community to be the “body of the Messiah,” the physical manifestation of Yahshua’s love on earth’ (Palmer 2015). (...) It is this embodied lifestyle which marks them as true disciples of Yahshua. And it is this distinctiveness which will allow Yahshua to recognise them on His return. As the sociologist Torang Asadi writes, the Tribes’ distinctive culture ‘serves the theological position that Yahshua will be able to tell TT members apart from others in the End of Days’ (2013: 153). For, above all else, the Twelve Tribes are a millennial movement, ‘building a nation together’ (...). The moral and physical decline of current society, evidenced in environmental crisis and the breakdown of the family, amongst other things are, according to the Twelve Tribes, signs of the coming End Time.
Sarah Harvey, CenSAMM. (...) = links to Twelve Tribes website removed.

■ The Twelve Tribes: Preparing the Bride for Yahshua's Return, by Susan J. Palmer. Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions Vol. 13, No. 3 (February 2010), pp. 59-80. Preview only. The full article will set you back $22.

Mind you, many cult watchers and cult experts consider Palmer to be a cult defender.

How To Select A Cult Expert

Think you need the help of a cult expert — for yourself or a loved one?

Make an informed decision:

CultExperts.org

Blogs

■ Ithacans Opposed to the Twelve Tribes Cult [Contra] "Promoting a boycott of the Maté Factor restaurant on the Ithaca Commons and raising awareness about the beliefs and practices of the Twelve Tribes religious cult"

■ Yoneq and The Twelve Tribes [Contra] "Dedicated to educate anyone who will listen to what is really behind the curtains of the Twelve Tribes."

Books

■ Better Than a Turkish Prison: What I Learned from Life in a Religious Cult By Sinasta Colucci. (See this article)

Better Than a Turkish Prison is the true story of a needy young man who encounters a religious cult known as "The Twelve Tribes". With no better options in sight, he decides to join them in their pursuit to build the kingdom of God on Earth. After years of brainwashing and servitude, he must break free from a powerful delusion in his search for freedom and truth. Not merely a deeply personal portrayal of one man's struggles, this book also serves as a critical analysis of religious ideals and their effects on humanity as the author divulges his presently held beliefs.
Book description at Amazon.com

Encyclopedia / Profiles

■ Twelve Tribes Communities Wikipedia. As always, do not use Wikipedia as a primary resources. The entries can be (and are) edited by anyone, friend or foe.

News and News Archive

Twelve Tribes in the news, Religion News Blog (An archive of news articles until December, 2016).

Note: some older news articles on the Twelve Tribes, up to January, 2002, are located in another archive.

Podcast

■ Coffee and Cults: Episode 28: Twelve Tribes Part 1 and Part 2. On SoundCloud: "Every month, Sam and Jon meet up, drink coffee and talk to each other about Cults."

Videos about Twelve Tribes

► See also these videos

■ Inside Australia's secretive Twelve Tribes "A Current Affair" TV show looks at the Australian Twelve Tribes group and speaks to some of its former members.

■ Inside the world of a cult "A look inside one of Australia's largest cult, and how it tore this woman's family apart." Studio 10 (Australia) interview with former member Rosemary Ilich.

■ What drove religious elder to leave controversial cult? Preview of an episode of Australia's "A Current Affair." With former Twelve Tribes leader Chen Czarnecki.

■ Why I joined the Twelve Tribes community/cult! How I was drawn in. "I was in the Twelve Tribes cult for 8 years! I learned so much while I was there, and even more since I've been out!" See also here video, "Is it easy to leave the Twelve Tribes cult/community?"

■ The Yellow Deli People A 7-minute documentary on the Twelve Tribes commune located in Oneonta, New York. It was produced by students, for an advanced documentary production class at SUNY Oneonta.

Check out some of the comments underneath the video. For instance, Neil Muzychko writes:

I'm actually the guy playing flute in this video. I lived with them for 9 years total in different locations across the East Coast, they are extremely mentally abusive and they take advantage of young people in hard spots in life. They make their people work at these deli's without pay for 10, 12 plus hours at a time. To join them you are required to give them "all of your possessions" ( Yes literally everything that you have right down to the last penny in your savings), and if you choose to leave you do so with nothing but the shirt on your back. You can't learn anything besides the bible so you have no real skills so you are stuck there unless you are prepared to suffer greatly. It's been a little over 3 years but I still feel deeply damaged by these people. I advise you to keep your distance from them.
Neil Muzychko

Rod Taylor says:

I myself & my friend escaped the 12 tribes in NY. They made everything sound wonderful when the "walkers" met us. They did a complete 360 on us and was trying to use us against each other.
Rod Taylor

The "walkers" Taylor mentions are Twelve Tribes' wandering missionaries. The group's own website says:

Each community will send out a pair of walkers. They go out without money, phones, or credit cards. Praying to be led by holy angels to just the right place and just the right people, the team might take a ride with someone, they might walk along for miles, or they might help out a person in need. Sometimes people even feed them, or give them a place to stay for the night. If you see a pair of walkers with backpacks on, take a few minutes and talk to them. It could change your life!
Caution! Link leads to this cult's official website.

Twelve Tribes also spreads its message (and recruits followers) via its Freepaper, a restored sailing ship (Peacemaker Marine), two custom PD-4501 Senicruiser buses (Peacemaker I and II), and its Yellow Deli restaurants. The group is well-known for its attendance at concerts and festivals, such as Grateful Dead or Phish concerts.

Websites

■ Question 12 Tribes: Working Together To Prevent Child Abuse [Contra] Extensive collection of information and documentation. This site does include some posts labeled "From a Christian perspective"

■ Twelve Tribes [Official website, via the Wayback Machine]

■ Twelve Tribes [Contra] Research into the Twelve Tribes' teachings and practices. A study by the New England Institute of Religious Research Includes Yoneq's angry response. In a guest commentary for the Ithica Community News, John Sullivan explains:

Our objections to Spriggs and the Twelve Tribes are two-fold and have nothing to do with their beliefs about who they are, about God, and about an approaching apocalypse. Firstly, we object to their promotion of racist doctrines that have a long history of hurting people, doctrines that are in fact at the root of the greatest modern crimes against humanity. Secondly, we object to their exploitation of young adults and, most disturbingly, to their advocacy of child mistreatment.

NEIRR investigation of Twelve Tribes

■ Twelve Tribes-Ex [Contra] "to help Parents and others affected by the Twelve Tribe's Cult." Includes testimonies of ex-members. [Archived at the Wayback Machine]

About this article

This article was last updated on January 8, 2022. We have reformatted the post, slightly edited it for clarity, and updated all the links. Many research resources are now found only in the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine.

It was again updated on Sunday, January 9, 2022 to include additional video links.

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Amy Carlson – Love Has Won 30 Dec 2021 3:04 AM (3 years ago)

Amy Carlson, leader Love Has Won cult

Amy Carlson, Love Has Won cult leader
Amy Carlson, Love Has Won cult leader. Screenshot from the VICE video, Meet 'Mother God:' The Leader of Love Has Won

Table of contents

Amy Carlson, leader of the Love Has Won cult

Amy Carlson, who among other things claimed to be "Mother God," was the leader of a cult called Love Has Won.

Amy Carlson (November 30, 1975 – c. April 16, 2021), also known by her followers as Mother God, was an American religious leader and co-founder of the new religious movement Love Has Won. Carlson and her followers believed herself to be God, a 19 billion years old being, a reincarnation of Jesus Christ, and could heal people of cancer "with the power of love."

Deputies find mummified body of alleged cult leader

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lX_e0BamqHs
Inside Edition, October 19, 2021

Cause of death revealed for mummified cult leader found in rural Colorado

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOplL8j5y4c
KRDO NewsChannel 13, December 9, 2021

Meet 'Mother God:' The Leader of Love Has Won

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRxD3eH19hE
VICE, March 9, 2021

Research Resources

Note: this post is a "stub" — which means it is not yet complete

Articles

■ From ‘Mother God’ to Mummified Corpse: Inside the Fringe Spiritual Sect ‘Love Has Won’, Christopher Moyer, Rolling Stone, November 26, 2021 [Also at Archive.Today and the WayBackMachine]

Amy Carlson was supposed to be the incarnate of Marilyn Monroe, Joan of Arc, and Jesus Christ. When she shed her Earthly body for the latest time, authorities found her followers still worshiping it — shedding light on the group many have called a "cult"

Stream Online - HBO Max: Love Has Won - The Cult of Mother God

■ Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God Streaming: Watch & Stream Online via HBO Max

Websites

■ Love Has Won, official website. No longer online, but archived in the WayBackMachine

Also in Apologetics Index

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Conspiracy Theories 28 Nov 2021 4:07 AM (3 years ago)

conspiracy theories, hoaxes, and urban myths

Estimated reading time: 0 minutes

Table of contents

Christians and Conspiracy Theories

Many people who consider themselves Christians — and thus could be expect to know a thing or two about truth — believe in various conspiracy theories and other hoaxes.

That's right: while they 'follow' Jesus — who said he is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6) — they prefer to spread myths.

Some conspiracy theories are relatively harmless (e.g. the Well into Hell hoax, or the belief that moon landing was faked). But others are a downright dangerous. For instance, many self-proclaimed Christians were involved in the January 6, 2021 attack on the United States Capitol. Having put their trust and faith in the decidedly unchristlike Donald Trump, they engaged in outright terrorism.

Some of the rioters carried American flags, Confederate battle flags,[6][240][241][242] or Nazi emblems.[243] For the first time in U.S. history, a Confederate battle flag was displayed inside the Capitol.[240][244] Christian imagery and rhetoric was prevalent. Rioters carried crosses and signs saying, "Jesus Saves", and "Jesus 2020". On the National Mall, rioters chanted, "Christ is king". One rioter carried a Christian flag. Rioters referred to the neo-fascist Proud Boys as "God's warriors".[245][246] These were mainly neo-charismatic, prophetic Christians who believed that Trump was prophesied to remain in power and anointed by God to save Christian Americans from religious persecution.[247]

Although a few evangelical leaders supported the riots,[245] most condemned the violence and criticized Trump for inciting the crowd.[248] This criticism came from liberal Christian groups such as the Red-Letter Christians, as well as evangelical groups who were generally supportive of Trump.[245][249] This criticism did not affect evangelical support for Trump; investigative journalist Sarah Posner, author of Unholy: Why White Evangelicals Worship at the Altar of Donald Trump, argued that many white evangelical Christians in the U.S. create an echo chamber whereby Trump's missteps are blamed on the Democratic Party, leftists, or the mainstream media, the last of which being viewed as especially untrustworthy.[25

1 in 4 White Evangelicals swayed by QAnon conspiracy theories

As reported by Religion News Service, and published in Christianity Today, a survey by the conservative American Enterprise Institute, reported 29 percent of Republicans and 27 percent of white evangelicals—the most of any religious group—believe the widely debunked QAnon conspiracy theory is completely or mostly accurate.[mfn]Survey conducted late January, 2021[/mfn]

"QAnon Conspiracies Sway Faith Groups, Including 1 in 4 White Evangelicals," the magazine headlined.

According to Daniel Cox, director of AEI’s Survey Center on American Life, the report suggests conspiracy theories enjoy a surprising amount of support in general, but white evangelicals appear to be particularly primed to embrace them.

“There’s this really dramatic fissure,” he said.
[...]

Asked to explain why white evangelicals appear disproportionately likely to embrace conspiracy theories, Cox noted that, as a group, they do not fit a stereotype of conspiracy theorists as people disconnected from social interaction. Instead, most retain strong connections to various social groups.

But white evangelicals stand out in a different way: The vast majority say some or a lot of their family members (81%) or friends (82%) voted for Trump in the 2020 election—more than any other religious group.

“People who do strongly believe in these things are not more disconnected—they are more politically segregated,” Cox said.

The resulting social echo chamber, he argued, allows conspiracy theories to spread unchecked.

“That kind of environment is really important when it comes to embracing this kind of thinking,” he said. “You’re seeing people embrace this sort of conspiratorial thinking, and everyone in their social circle is like, ‘Yeah, that sounds right to me,’ versus someone saying, ‘You know, we should look at this credulously.’”

White evangelicals express robust support for other conspiracy theories as well. Close to two-thirds (62%) believe there was widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election—despite numerous experts and courts at all levels refuting such claims—and roughly the same percentage (63%) believe President Joe Biden’s victory was “not legitimate.”

A majority (55%) also said they believed it was mostly or completely accurate to say “a group of unelected government officials in Washington, D.C., referred to as the ‘Deep State’ (has) been working to undermine the Trump administration.”

How QAnon uses religion to lure unsuspecting Christians

Four months before the attack CNN described, "How QAnon uses religion to lure unsuspecting Christians"

Although QAnon's conspiracy theories are baseless -- they allege that a famous actor is a secret sex trafficker and a leading Democrat participated in Satanic rituals -- the dangers the movement poses are very real.

The FBI has called QAnon a domestic terror threat and an internal FBI memo warned that "fringe conspiracy theories very likely motivate some domestic extremists, wholly or in part, to commit criminal and sometimes violent activity."
[...]

Facebook finally pledged to ban QAnon content earlier this month. And YouTube announced Thursday that it is "removing more conspiracy theory content used to justify real-world violence," including QAnon videos.

Still, some Christian conservatives are falling for QAnon's unhinged conspiracies.

"Right now QAnon is still on the fringes of evangelicalism," said Ed Stetzer, an evangelical pastor and dean at Wheaton College in Illinois who wrote a recent column warning Christians about QAnon. "But we have a pretty big fringe.

"Pastors need to be more aware of the danger and they need tools to address it," he told CNN. "People are being misled by social media."

Some Christian pastors are actually leading their followers to QAnon, or at least introducing them to its dubious conspiracy theories.

To cite a few examples:

During services in July, Rock Urban Church in Grandville, Michigan, played a discredited video that supports QAnon conspiracy theories. "The country is being torn apart by the biggest political hoax and coordinated mass media disinformation campaign in living history — you may know it as COVID-19," the video says. The church did not answer requests for comment and has removed the video from its YouTube channel.

Danny Silk, a leader at Bethel Church, a Pentecostal megachurch in Redding, California, has posted QAnon-related ideas and hashtags on his Instagram account. Silk did not respond to requests for comment.

Pastor John MacArthur of California, an influential evangelical who is battling county officials over the right to continue indoor services at his Grace Community Church, espoused a theme popular in QAnon circles when he misinterpreted CDC data and informed his congregation that "there is no pandemic." MacArthur declined CNN's request for comment.

There's even a movement, led by the Indiana-based Omega Kingdom Ministry, to merge QAnon and Christianity -- with texts from both the Bible and Q read at church services.

Christians who believe in conspiracy theories are on thorny ground

Professing Christians who believe these theories are on the dangerous thorny ground Jesus described in Matthew 13:22, where, as William Hendriksen puts it, “Constant anxiety about worldly affairs fill mind and heart with dark foreboding.” Instead of being eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace through humility, gentleness, patience, and love (Eph. 4:2–3), they produce the works of the flesh, fostering dissensions and divisions that cause believers to take sides, argue, and fight with one another (Gal. 5:20). When things reach this point, the Devil has succeeded in using his age-old tools of deception and division to disrupt the church, and it underscores Peter’s caution that “whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved” (2 Pet. 2:19, ESV throughout).

How do conspiracy theories begin? Some originate from the noetic effects of sin—flawed thinking. But others originate with “the god of this world,” who blinds “the minds of unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ” (2 Cor. 4:4). The Devil’s lies and deception began with Adam and Eve, and conspiracy theories were widespread as far back as Isaiah’s day (Isa. 8:11–13).

In the New Testament, Jesus warned his followers concerning his second coming: “See that no one leads you astray” (Matt. 24:4; Mark 13:5). Paul urged believers to “Let no one deceive you with empty words” (Eph. 5:6) and “Let no one deceive you in any way” (2 Thess. 2:3). John says, “Little children, let no one deceive you” (1 John. 3:7).

"Foolish and stupid arguments"

Conspiracy theory believers claim to be privy to impossible knowledge, such as the doings of secret world governments and other cabals. These armchair detectives confidently state — without any proof whatsoever — that the FBI, the media, Interpol, the Illuminati, and, say, a pizza restaurant are all involved in crimes, cover-ups, and attempts to take over the world. Facts do not matter to them.

Millions(!) of American crackpots, including many who proclaim to be Christians, believed that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump. To them, facts mean nothing. They prefer myths over verifiable information.

The apostle Paul told Timothy, who at time time headed the church in Ephesus, to "instruct certain people not to teach different doctrine or to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies. These promote empty speculations rather than God’s plan, which operates by faith." (1 Timothy 1:3,4 HCSB)

One of the dictionary definitions of a myth is "a widely held but false belief or idea."

Paul also urged Timothy to having nothing to do with "foolish and ignorant disputes" (2 Timothy 2:23, HCSB). The New International Version puts it this way: "Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels."

When you seriously examine today's conspiracy theories you discover they are not based on, or supported by facts. They are myths — foolish and stupid ideas.

Nowadays, many pastors, Christian leaders, and others who profess to be Christians misuse the Bible to promote false rumors. Some even claim that God gave them special insight or revelation regarding these matters.

Unfortunately, countless Christians are sorely lacking in spiritual discernment. That means they lack the tools needed to examine whatever they are being taught. Thus they are easy prey for false teachers.

And this is what he told the Philippians:

... whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is any praise—dwell on these things. 9 Do what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

Deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons

The troublesome result of a lack of discernment, is seen in this heads-up Paul gave Timothy:

Now the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will depart from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons, 2 through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared. 

People who abandon the faith are known as apostates. Instead of being led by the Holy Spirit, they pay attention to deceiving spirits and the teachings of demons (evil spirits who are led by the devil).

Now, the context shows that Paul was referring to events that evidently took place during his lifetime. In his letter he is warning Timothy against an early form of gnosticism — through which many heresies were introduced into the church.

But false teachers and false teachings have plagued Christians since the days of Jesus. In the book of Acts. Luke quotes Paul as saying,

I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. And men will rise up from your own number with deviant doctrines to lure the disciples into following them. Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for three years I did not stop warning each one of you with tears.

Do not gossip

Throughout the New Testament, the apostles warn against various heresies, deceptive philosophies, and even "foolish and stupid arguments."

The Bible also repeatedly warns against gossip. The dictionary defines gossip as "casual or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people, typically involving details that are not confirmed as being true." It is also described as "idle talk or rumor." Gossip is not just confined to tattling about others, but also pertains to events and issues.

In the Bible, the sin of gossip is in bad company. For instance, Paul tells the Corinthians, "For I fear that perhaps when I come I will not find you to be what I want, and I may not be found by you to be what you want; there may be quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorder." (2 Corinthians 12:20 HCSB)

And in talking to the Romans about gentiles, he says, "because they did not think it worthwhile to acknowledge God, God delivered them over to a worthless mind to do what is morally wrong. They are filled with all unrighteousness, evil, greed, and wickedness. They are full of envy, murder, quarrels, deceit, and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, arrogant, proud, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, and unmerciful. Although they know full well God’s just sentence—that those who practice such things deserve to die—they not only do them, but even applaud others who practice them." (Romans 1:28-32 HCSB)

Then what are we to think of people who claim to be Christians, but engage in gossip by spreading conspiracy theories about people, events, and issues? The lies they spread certainly marks them as untrustworthy and undiscerning.

Consider this: how do you expect people to trust your testimony regarding Jesus Christ if you engage in gossip, spreading lies?

Whatever is true

Paul encouraged the Philippians as follows:

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is any praise—dwell on these things. Do what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

If you are someone who has bought into conspiracy theories, ask yourself whether your current state of mind matches what Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote.

Read Next: Discernment



Christian discernment
The Bible teaches that all Christians should grow in spiritual discernment. Discernment is to identify the true nature of a spirit, doctrine, practice, or group; to distinguish truth from error, extreme error from slight error, the divine from the human and the demonic. Learn how to do that.

Research Resources on Conspiracy Theories

More resources will be added over time.

Articles

  • Christians and Conspiracy Theories: A call to repentance [Archive.Today] [WayBack Machine] Excellent article by Dean and Laura VanDruff, showing why Christians should be careful in what they believe or repeat.

  • Conspiracy Theories and Paranoia: Notes from a Mind-Control Conference [WayBack Machine] Evan Harrington, Skeptical Inquirer, Vol. 20, No. 5, September/October 1996

  • Disinformation Fuels A White Evangelical Movement. It Led 1 Virginia Pastor To Quit, Dalia Mortada, NPR, Feb. 21, 2021

  • According to a recent study by Lifeway Research, 49% of Protestant pastors say they frequently hear members of their congregations repeating baseless conspiracy theories. The recent study by the American Enterprise Institute showed that 27% of white evangelicals — the most of any religious group — believe that the widely debunked QAnon conspiracy theory about political leaders running a child sex trafficking ring is “completely” or “mostly accurate,” and that 46% say they’re “not sure.”

  • The dark truth about conspiracy theories: They’re everywhere! Can they be stopped? [Archive.Today] [WayBack Machine] German scholar Michael Butter on how Trump and the Capitol riot leveraged an entire universe of conspiracy theory. Paul Rosenberg, Salon, March 6, 2021

  • How dangerous is Jordan B. Peterson, the rightwing professor who ‘hit a hornets’ nest’?: [Archive.Today] “Since his confrontation with Cathy Newman, the Canadian academic’s book has become a bestseller. But his arguments are riddled with ‘pseudo-facts’ and conspiracy theories” Dorian Lynskey, The Guardian, Feb. 7, 2018.

  • “The key to Peterson’s appeal is also his greatest weakness. He wants to be the man who knows everything and can explain everything, without qualification or error. On Channel 4 News, he posed as an impregnable rock of hard evidence and common sense. But his arguments are riddled with conspiracy theories and crude distortions of subjects, including postmodernism, gender identity and Canadian law, that lie outside his field of expertise. Therefore, there is no need to caricature his ideas in order to challenge them. Even so, his critics will have their work cut out: Peterson’s wave is unlikely to come crashing down any time soon.”

  • How to Spot a Conspiracy Theory When You See One By Jovan Byford, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, The Open University

  • How to Talk to Someone About Conspiracy Theories in Five Simple Steps By Daniel Jolley Assistant Professor in Social Psychology, University of Nottingham, Karen Douglas, Professor of Social Psychology, University of Kent, and Mathew Marques Senior Lecturer in Social Psychology, La Trobe University.

  • How to Talk to Someone About Conspiracy Theories in Five Simple Steps By Daniel Jolley Assistant Professor in Social Psychology, University of Nottingham, Karen Douglas, Professor of Social Psychology, University of Kent, and Mathew Marques Senior Lecturer in Social Psychology, La Trobe University.

  • Fantasies, Legends, and Heroes: What You Know May Not Be So and How To Tell The Difference, by Bob Passantino, of Answers in Action.

  • List of Cognitive Biases. Cognitive biases are systematic patterns of deviation from norm and/or rationality in judgment. Cognitive biases include tendencies to systematically draw conclusions on the basis of insufficient information, or to exclude information that contradicts an individual’s beliefs regarding a particular issue. As this Wikipedia entry notes, “These biases affect belief formation, reasoning processes, business and economic decisions, and human behavior in general.” Applicable to the problem of conspiracy theories.

  • List of Fallacies. Often called ‘Logical Fallacies.’ A fallacy is reasoning that is logically incorrect, undermines the logical validity of an argument, or is recognized as unsound. Wikipedia entry. Many, if not all, conspiracy theories, hoaxes, and fake news items can be sifted out merely by correct reasoning.

  • The QAnon orphans: people who have lost loved ones to conspiracy theories, by Cecilia Saixue Watt, The Guardian, September 23, 2020. Believing in conspiracy theories has terrible consequences: “For some Republicans, QAnon is an opportunity to garner support. But for those who have lost loved ones to it, QAnon is a destroyer of families and relationships.”

  • Should a Christian be interested in conspiracy theories? Brief article by Got Questions.

  • Too many evangelical Christians fall for conspiracy theories online, and gullibility is not a virtue: [Archive.Today] [Wayback Machine] Here’s what church leaders and concerned laypeople can do. A column in The Dallas Morning News, written by Ed Stetzer, a professor at Wheaton College and executive director of the Billy Graham Center, and by Andrew MacDonald is associate director of the Wheaton College Billy Graham Center. May 17, 2020.

  • “At their root, conspiracy theories are illogical and embarrassing. The audacity of recent COVID-19 conspiracy theories demands that President Donald Trump, Republicans and Democrats in Congress, the media, and the scientific community are all in league together. More outlandishly, they ascribe the virus to secret plans to end religious liberty, to connect a potential vaccine to the mark of the beast, and loop in 5G towers as a bizarre bonus.

    But as evangelicals ourselves, we think it is time that the church recognizes the growing foothold conspiracy theories are gaining in our midst and what this means for our credibility and witness. These theories are gaining power in the church, and during this crisis when many are at home and online more than ever, the theories are a headache we can no longer ignore.
    […]

    At the core of the issue is the need for Christians to recognize how conspiracy theories actively hurt our Christian witness. When evangelical Christians indulge conspiracy theories, we damage our credibility. While some might see this as unimportant, our credibility to know and profess the truth lies at the core of our witness, whether we are effective evangelists for what we believe is the truth. Central to our faith is our profession that Jesus dwelt among us as fully God and fully man, died on the cross that we might be forgiven, and was raised and now reigns. We believe these things in truth, not as a moralistic story.

    Thus, when Scripture calls us to be wise in resisting the temptation to foolishness and warns against those who “turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths” (2 Timothy 4:4), its point is not only in how this hurts us, but rather how it reflects the Gospel we profess. Christians have a responsibility to not be fooled. As we’ve argued before, gullibility is not a Christian virtue. Believing and sharing conspiracies does not honor the Lord. It may make you feel better, like you are in the know, but it can end up harming others and it can hurt your witness.

    How are others to interpret our claim about the resurrection when we are cavalier with conspiracies on social media? It is critical that we recognize that we cannot proclaim the truth of the resurrection of Jesus to a skeptical world and in the same breath rant about 5G towers spreading the virus.”

  • When it comes to conspiracy theories, is Christianity part of the problem or part of the solution? By Aden Cotterill

  • I want to offer an honest self-examination of Christian belief. To this end, I want to explore a number of “epistemic skeletons” in the Christian’s closet — those beliefs that might predispose Christians to embracing conspiracies — and a number of “epistemic treasures” in our tradition — those beliefs that might help inoculate Christians against conspiracy theories.

  • Why do many Christians seem so prone to believe in conspiracy theories? By S. Michael Houdmann, at Got Questions.

Books about conspiracy theories

■ A Lot of People Are Saying: The New Conspiracism and the Assault on Democracy, by Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum

Conspiracy theories are as old as politics. But conspiracists today have introduced something new―conspiracy without theory. And the new conspiracism has moved from the fringes to the heart of government with the election of Donald Trump.

In A Lot of People Are Saying, Russell Muirhead and Nancy Rosenblum show how the new conspiracism differs from classic conspiracy theory, how it undermines democracy, and what needs to be done to resist it.

Amazon.com book description

■ The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories, by Jan-Willem van Prooijen, an Associate Professor of Social and Organizational Psychology at VU Amsterdam, and Senior Researcher at the Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement.

The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories debunks the myth that conspiracy theories are a modern phenomenon, exploring their broad social contexts, from politics to the workplace. The book explains why some people are more susceptible to these beliefs than others and how they are produced by recognizable and predictable psychological processes.

Featuring examples such as the 9/11 terrorist attacks and climate change, The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories shows us that while such beliefs are not always irrational and are not a pathological trait, they can be harmful to individuals and society.

From the book description at Amazon.com

■ Secrets, Plots & Hidden Agendas: What You Don't Know About Conspiracy Theories, by Paul T. Coughlin. A dated book (published in Feb. 1999). But, as one reviewer points out, "However, he still gives a lot of useful information about conspiracy theories in general and Christian theories in particular, and the misuse of end-times prophecy to justify highly questionable if not downright ugly." Coughlin is the Founder & President of The Protectors, an international, freedom-from-bullying organization. He's an international speaker and teacher. Coughlin has authored a number of books, including "No More Christian Nice Guy: When Being Nice —Instead of Good — Hurts Men, Women and Children"

Were the government actions at Ruby Ridge and Waco "planned executions?" Has the national debt been deliberately increased to give international bankers control over the country? Is there a secret organization of top political, economic, military, and religious leaders whose goal is to control the entire planet? The people who answer "yes" to such questions are not just extremists; they number in the millions, wear suits, and pay their taxes.

News of conspiracies has spread broadly by the Internet, by declassified government reports, by prominent leaders who publicly favor global government, and by interpretations of Bible prophecy. But what is the truth? In this book, Paul Coughlin uncovers the facts about prevalent conspiracy theories and discusses the reasons that so many people believe them to be true.

Book description as posted at Amazon.com

Podcasts

■ The 13 Best Conspiracy Theory Podcasts for Every Kind of Skeptic, [Archive.Today] Daisy Hernandez, Popular Mechanics, July 27, 2022.

Books — Online

■ The Conspiracy Theory Handbook [PDF] Conspiracy theories attempt to explain events as the secretive plots of powerful people. While conspiracy theories are not typically supported by evidence, this doesn’t stop them from blossoming. Conspiracy theories damage society in a number of ways. To help minimize these harmful effects, The Conspiracy Theory Handbook, by Stephan Lewandowsky and John Cook, explains why conspiracy theories are so popular, how to identify the traits of conspiratorial thinking, and what are effective response strategies.

Conspiracy theories attempt to explain events as the secretive plots of powerful people. While conspiracy theories are not typically supported by evidence, this doesn’t stop them from blossoming. Conspiracy theories damage society in a number of ways. To help minimise these harmful effects, The Conspiracy Theory Handbook explains why conspiracy theories are so popular, how to identify the traits of conspiratorial thinking, and what are effective response strategies.
The Conspiracy Theory Handbook

The authors identify "seven traits of conspiratorial thinking, summarized (and more easily remembered) with the acronym CONSPIR:

The seven traits of conspiratorial thinking. From The Conspiracy Theory Handbook.

The authors then state,

The self-sealing nature of conspiracy theories means that any evidence disproving a theory may be interpreted as further evidence for the conspiracy. This means that communication efforts need to clearly differentiate between different target audiences. If conspiracy theorists re-interpret evidence to mean the opposite, then they require a different strategy to those who value evidence. The following pages look first at communication strategies for the general public, then for conspiracy theorists specifically.
The Conspiracy Theory Handbook

Excellent material. Download The Conspiracy Theory Handbook for free.

Videos about Conspiracy Theories

■ The Psychology behind conspiracy theories, BBC, July 12, 2022
We look into the psychology behind conspiracy theories to try to understand why certain people are more easily drawn into them and what effect they have on our brains.

■ Why conspiracy theories are so hard to challenge, BBC, July 25, 2022
As conspiracy theories have evolved over the years, they have become a reflection of what’s relevant in our society.

Social media has had a huge role to play in facilitating the spread of conspiracy theories in the modern age, and as such they are becoming harder to combat. But what happens in our brains when our strongly held beliefs are challenged and how can we change our mindset to protect ourselves from conspiracy theories?

About this post

This article is posted by Anton and Janet Hein. It has been resurrected (and greatly expanded) from a very old post that was first published on May 3, 1997. More research resources are added from time to time.

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Youth With A Mission (YWAM) 20 Nov 2021 11:58 AM (3 years ago)

YWAM Youth With A Mission Problems

Estimated reading time: 22 minutes

Table of contents

What is Youth With A Mission (YWAM)

Youth With A Mission (YWAM) is an international, Christian "movement" that consists of a "family of ministries."

The ministry has 30,000 to 40,000 full-time unpaid workers, 25,000 young people trained every year, and independent bases in 1,200 to 1,300 locations around the world.[mfn]Figures cited in Spiritual Abuse a Common Complaint for YWAM Students, Stevey Rabey, MinistryWatch, March 19, 2021[/mfn]

YWAM says it is not an organization, but rather a network of linked, independent ministries (referred to as a "family of ministries"). It refers to itself as a "movement."[mfn]Interestingly, in its 'DTS Fundraising Guide' ("Our practical guide to help you raise money for YWAM") we read, "Sharing a few facts about YWAM will build your credibility. For example, YWAM is one of the largest missions organizations in the world."[/mfn] There are no headquarters, and while it has a "global networks of leaders and elders," there is no Board of Directors.

The movement's decentralized nature is part of the problems addressed in this article.

Youth With a Mission YWAM
Screenshot of a Google image search for YWAM - Youth With A Mission

Cult-like behavior within YWAM

YWAM is involved in training, evangelism, and "mercy ministries" Whether you're a carpenter, a surgeon, a cook, a computer operator, or someone who's all thumbs, you can find one or more ministries in YWAM where can use your skills.

That said, though YWAM does lots of good work, the organization is not without its critics. At one time, a CRI fact-sheet pointed out the organization's cult-like tendencies (primarily due to the many complaints received about abuses within YWAM's leadership structure).

Harold Busséll, in his book "Unholy Devotion - Why Cults Lure Christians," (later renamed, "By Hook or by Crook : How Cults Lure Christians") wrote about his experiences with the organization:

While living in Europe, my wife and I were involved with an Evangelical youth mission based in Switzerland. We were with the group only six weeks, but it was almost seven years before I had overcome the psychological damage caused by their cult-like control and spiritualization. [...]

Questioning a leader was considered an act of rebellion against God and His chain of command. [...]

Although the group I was in was thoroughly Christian in doctrine and in motive, they were blinded to the manipulative controls being placed on team members.

- Source: Unholy Devotion: Why Cults Lure Christians, Harold Busséll, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1983. page 116

In the early eighties, while dealing with the aftermath of my own experiences of abuse by a YWAM leader, someone suggested I interview Harold Busséll. Busséll confirmed that, while he does not mention them by name, the organization he referred to was YWAM.

At the time, I was interviewed by Brian Onken, who was a research associate with the Christian Research Institute (CRI). Onken assured me my own experiences were echoed by many others, and that similar reports had been received regarding YWAM bases around the world.

YWAM's Troublesome Theology

Problems with YWAM were not just limited to cultic behavior[mfn]'Cultic' in the sense of cult-like: including some characteristics frequently seen among cult leaders, such as a demand for unquestioning obedience and loyalty[/mfn] of some of its leaders, but included the teaching of aberrant theology.

Alan Gomes, in his book "Lead Us Not Into Deception: A Biblical Examination of Moral Government Theology," wrote about YWAM's staunch support of the "Moral Government" theology (said to no longer be taught within the organization), and in the process also addressed some of the spiritual abuses some were subjected to.

While doing research for his book, Gomes himself was subjected to a smear-campaign directed by the highest leaders within the organization.

These are serious issues that were not limited to just a few isolated cases.

In another issue, the controversial Momentus training was at one time popular at the YWAM Hawaii base.

Open Theism, Modern 'Prophets and Apostles', and 'Hearing God's Voice'

YWAM's theology is troublesome. Aberrant and unorthodox teachings have historically played a role in YWAM. And unbiblical teachings are still taught within YWAM:

In the 1970s and 1980s (and even some into the 1990s), a heretical belief system known as “Moral Government” was pervasive in YWAM.  It was taught to tens of thousands of students at YWAM bases throughout the world. YWAM’s promotion of the Moral Government teaching was documented by respected theologians, including Alan W. Gomes, of Talbot School of Theology, in a book published in 1981, titled Lead Us Not into Deception: A Biblical Examination of Moral Government Theology.
[...]

The heretical Moral Government teaching is largely in YWAM’s past. Yet Moral Government teaching morphed into another heterodox doctrine promoted within YWAM today, known as “open theism.” What is open theism? It entails the belief that God does not exhaustively know all of the future. Specifically, he doesn’t know what decisions human beings will choose to make acting out of their free wills. In other words, God’s knowledge is limited by humankind’s free moral choice. He cannot 100 percent predict what any free moral agent will do ahead of time.
[...]

So why would YWAM be drawn toward these similar theological systems of Moral Government theology and open theism? Is it possible that it’s because they appear to make the contributions of YWAM missionaries more significant and to lend greater urgency to their missionary enterprise? 
[...]

In Part 2 of this series about YWAM, I will show the relationship between YWAM and the New Apostolic Reformation, a rapidly growing movement of church leaders who style themselves as authoritative apostles and prophets and claim their new revelations are key to bringing God’s physical kingdom to earth.

See also:
■ What Churches Should Know About YWAM Part 2: Partnering with the New Apostolic Reformation

■ What Churches Should Know About YWAM Part 3: ‘Hearing God’s Voice’

This section was added on Thursday, November 18, 2021

Spiritual Abuse in YWAM

I, the founder and publisher of Apologetics Index, have personally experienced spiritual abuse within YWAM from Floyd McClung, who at the time was one of YWAM's top world leaders. He demanded unquestioning obedience, claiming that God would bless us for our obedience to leaders, including himself, even when we knew them to be wrong. That is an unbiblical teaching found in many abusive churches. (See "Enforcing authority").

The manipulative nature of Floyd's interactions with me and my then girlfriend were totally out of step with his public image. The couple who led the base where this took place, and who had known us before Floyd and his family came to live there, told us they did not understand why Floyd made certain demands of us. "But he is our leader, and we have to obey him," they said.

The abuse only stopped when I told McClung that I was going to tell certain Christian leaders in the Netherlands what he was saying and doing. My father had been a street evangelist in Amsterdam. Both he and I had many connections.

Manipulative leadership approach to relationships

I never signed on with YWAM myself. I had worked at nearby Christian Youth Hostel “The Shelter.” Many of our staff members attended church on “The Ark,” a YWAM vessel then moored at pier 14 behind Central Station.

Johan Frinsel, who headed the organization The Shelter was part of, frequently told me and others that it was ‘best to not get involved with YWAM.’ Among the reasons for this warning was the often manipulative way in which budding relationships were handled within YWAM. YWAMmers were told they were there because they had wanted to do missionary work. Falling in love was, the claim went, the “enemy’s way of distracting you from that mission.”

If and when two people developed a friendship and sensed the relationship was growing deeper, they had to meet with their leaders. If those leaders felt the relationship was OK, the friends gained their approval. In that case, the now ‘official’ friendship was announced to the group as a “Special Relationship.”

Sometimes leaders did not agree the relationship was right. I remember several people who were rightfully upset when their leaders, for instance, told the guy that “God is calling your to a position in Denmark,” and the girl that “the Lord has shown us he wants you to work for Him in France.” But submitting to your leaders was a thing in YWAM.

Floyd McClung's unreasonable demands

Through my friendship with a girl who lived at the then new YWAM base “The Cleft,” I nevertheless became involved in helping out there.[mfn]Among other things I, as a Dutch local, was asked to research the monument status of the building.[/mfn]

The leaders of that base had known my friend for many years before they came to Amsterdam. We had a good relationship with them. They had no problems with our friendship, and they had not even suggested the type of approach we had seen at The Ark.

But when Floyd came to live at the Cleft, within days he started making unreasonable demands of us, with the clear intention to break up our friendship. Without giving any reason at all, he simply told us not to see each other, and not to talk to each other.

However, while he was away from the base to attend a week-long conference in, I believe, Thailand, we did talk. Others in the building knew, of course. Most told us they did not agree with Floyd'd demands, though two or three also said something to the effect that "we still have to obey our leaders."

Then one evening my friend needed to mail an important letter. With nobody else around, she asked me to accompany her to the mailbox near the church across the canal. The Red Light District was, at the time, a much wilder place than it is nowadays. So I accompanied her. In disobedience to Floyd? You bet! We had already concluded that he had no right to act the way he did.

But unbeknownst to us, Floyd had already returned. When we ran into him on the bridge, he was upset. Then he said, a tear running down one of his cheeks, “I'm so disappointed! I thought I told you not to spend any time together!?” It was bizar, to say the least.

“Even if I’m wrong, God will bless you for your obedience.”

When we therefore asked him to show us Bible-based reasons for his actions. He first told us to wait a few days. Then he told us — in separate meetings — that Abraham sent his servants to find a wife for his son Isaac. (Apparently he had not heard of the old saw that “description is not prescription.” You cannot turn an anecdote into a principle). When I asked him to give a New Testament example, he referred to Romans 13:1-7. But that passage deals with submitting to a country’s authorities.

When I challenged him on this, Floyd told me that God honors obedience to one’s leaders. “Even if I’m wrong, God will bless you for your obedience.” But that certainly is not biblical either.

In other words, McClung had no biblical basis for his appeal to authority over us. But aside from these odd references he refused to share any reasons behind his arbitrary demands.

Reluctant apologies

About two years later, we asked Floyd for a meeting, letting him know that we still were considering sharing our experiences with Christian leaders.

Though we were only a phone call away, oddly Floyd replied by sending us a Telegram inviting us to meet with him.

At the meeting McClung denied much of what he had said and done, even though there had been a number of witnesses — including the two leaders of The Cleft. However, we forgave him the spiritual abuse (he did not accept that term), and accepted his reluctant apologies.

Floyd then asked us not so share our experiences with others. But that is something we did not agree to. We told him it would be foolish for us to "forgive and forget." We still thought warnings others was important.

Anyway, those who know me personally know that the abuse has had far-reaching consequences, the scars of which I still bear.

On the every cloud has a silver lining side, I did learn a lot about spiritual abuse during that time. I have been able to use that in my later ministry.

Floyd "deals with" Moral Government theology

Interestingly, a few years later Floyd McClung contacted me because he heard I was planning to write an article on YWAM's support for the Moral Government Theology. While simple research showed that (at the time) it was promoted on several bases, McClung insisted it was taught at just one base. He suggested he was trying to "deal with it."

Floyd also told me that books promoting Moral Government Theology were no longer sold at YWAM bookstores. Yet during my research I had contacted many YWAM bases asking whether certain books were available. They were. But he told me I was "mistaken."

McClung's reason for calling? To urge me not to write the article.

Given my history with him, I thought it was odd for Floyd to call me, and I did feel somewhat intimidated. After all, as mentioned earlier, while doing research for his book, Alan Gomes was subjected to a smear-campaign directed by some of YWAM's highest leaders.

Addendum

Earlier I wrote that Floyd's interactions with me and my then girlfriend were totally out of step with his public image. Perhaps what we experienced was indeed an anomaly. By all accounts, McClung was considered a kind man who reflected "The Father Heart of God" (the title of one of his books, published in 1984).

The reason for including this section anyway is to document my experiences with him. They helped me understand the testimonies of others who have been subjected to spiritual abuse — or just plain manipulative behavior — within YWAM. That our experiences involved one of the movement's top leaders contributed to our shock.

Forgiveness is a powerful principle in Christianity. As stated, I have indeed forgiven him. Not just that time when we met him at his new apartment at the top of Sam's Inn. But also many times afterward, just by myself, whenever memories of his behavior were triggered. Speaking of which, among other things the two books I mention in my Advice to Join YWAM were instrumental in my healing. So was the book, Recovering From Churches That Abuse.

Note: Floyd McClung passed away on May 29, 2021. He was 75 years old. My heart goes out to his wife, Sally, whose kindness to us at the time I remember well.

This section was expanded on Thursday, November 18

"YWAM is a Cult" and "YWAM Ruined My Life"

One way Youth With A Mission (YWAM) has responded to online reports detailing spiritual abuse, or calling the organization a "cult," is with what looks like a well-planned PR campaign.

Nowadays search engine serve up article with titles like, "Is YWAM a cult?," "YWAM ruined my life," or "My life was ruined in my DTS." Some of the articles are posted on personal websites, while others are hosted on officials YWAM sites.

The gist of these articles is that, say, attending a Discipleship Training School (DTS) had a positive effect on the person's life. That "my life was ruined for the ordinary." Or that "a disgruntled critic" who "genuinely had a bad experience labels the entire organization bad because of it."

Some of the articles go to great length to explain what a cult is, and how YWAM does not fit that description. [Example]

And yet, fact is that many people report they had bad, cult-like experiences in YWAM.

"Spiritual Abuse a Common Complaint for YWAM Students"

That's the title of an article posted on the MinistryWatch website in March, 2021:

Hundreds of alumni from Youth with a Mission’s training and outreach programs say they were spiritually abused by immature leaders, who claimed to speak for God, and warned that questioning their absolute control equaled rebellion against God.

In painful videos posted to social media, victims of the abuse share their stories and forgive the local leaders who abused them, but blame their suffering on YWAM’s international leaders for their lack of oversight.

The videos have generated hundreds of comments from fellow ex-YWAMers who applaud the girls’ bravery, and say they’ve experienced similar abuse at YWAM bases in France, Australia, and California.

“YWAM has had the same problems resurface year after year around the world & each response had been to make it circumstantial rather than recognizing there’s a major problem with the structure of the organization,” said one commenter.

Hundreds more YWAM abuse survivors gather virtually in public and private Facebook groups and other online forums.
[...]

At least two YWAM leaders have responded publicly to the videos and other charges of abuse on social media. Their responses suggest nothing significant will change.
[...]

As MinistryWatch recently reported, YWAM has a unique non-structured structure that lacks the standard management, governance, and accountability functions that most ministries rely on to assess and address problems. YWAM isn’t incorporated, lacks any central organization or headquarters, and has no president or board of directors. Rather, individually organized YWAM ministries around the world are part of a network or “family of ministries.”

As some abuse victims have long charged, YWAM’s loose structure of independent ministries allows its international leaders to evade responsibility and legal liability, making it extremely difficult to hold abusive leaders accountable and allowing abusive practices to continue unchecked at some bases for decades.

YWAM boasts of “launching waves of missionaries into the world since 1960,” but its approach to developing its leaders and training its new recruits has unleashed waves of ex-students who’ve struggled with trauma, flashbacks, insomnia, panic attacks, self-isolation, doubts about God, an aversion to worship songs that trigger bad memories, and even suicide attempts—some of them successful.

Is YWAM a Cult?

In our informed opinion, YWAM is not a cult — neither theologically, not sociologically. (See our companion site, Cult Definition for definitions and other information].

However, it is clear that many people have encountered cult-like leaders, ministries, teachings, and actions within the decentralized organization's countless "individually organized YWAM ministries."

It is also evident that YWAM does not properly address these experiences.

Therefore, Janet and I still do not recommend involvement in YWAM.

But if you still want to join the organization, please see our advice posted below.

This section was added on Thursday, November 18, 2021

Advice for those who wish to join YWAM

As mentioned, YWAM does much good work throughout the world. Generally, most people have good experiences with the short-term ministry opportunities YWAM offers.

However, it is best not to make decisions regarding further involvement with YWAM (e.g. commit to attend one of YWAM's schools) during or immediately after such trips.

A long-term commitment to YWAM, starting with the attendance of one or more of its mandatory schools, is usually served in a foreign country, away from your family, friends, church and other familiar points of reference. Your lifestyle will be much different from what you are used to at home, with less personal freedom, independence and outside input than you are used to.

In addition, you may not be able to communicate in the language of the country you are staying in.

In such circumstances it is so much easier to give in to spiritual pressure (real or imagined, from leaders as well as peers).

Two books that should be read by anyone joining YWAM or similar organizations, are The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse by David Johnson and Jeff VanVonderen, and Healing Spiritual Abuse, by Ken Blue.

At the very least, these books will help you be alert for potential problems (in YWAM or any other Christian ministry). Forewarned is forearmed.

You should also make sure that you have a working knowledge of spiritual discernment.

In other words, you have to think for yourself, to recognize the warning signs of spiritual abuse, and to be able to evaluate teaching — using Scripture are your guide.

Don't make the mistake of thinking spiritual abuse cannot happen to you. Nobody deliberately joins an abusive church — and yet, people do find themselves caught up in them.

If and when you are at a YWAM base, make sure you stay in touch with parents, other family members, and friends back home. Let them know what is taking place, and what you are being taught. Be open to their questions and advice.

Make sure you will be able to travel back home if necessary.

Again, all this does not mean the things described on this page are going on at all YWAM bases. (Note that years after my negative experiences, I again volunteered at a YWAM base in Amsterdam and had a wonderful time[mfn]Amsterdam is my hometown, and I already knew several of the people that worked at this particular base[/mfn]).

One thing to keep in mind is that YWAM is a huge organization within which you can encounter many cultural and spiritual differences, as well as many leadership styles. Even in a small country like the Netherlands there are huge differences between the ''feel'' and approach of the various YWAM bases.

Should you have questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.

Research Resources on YWAM

Note: Links to some of these resources may be broken. We will try to update them soon. Meanwhile, try and locate the material by using the Internet Archive's Way Back Machine.

Articles

■ The False God and Gospel of Moral Government Theology [Contra] by E. Calvin Beisner

Moral government theology (hereafter MGT) first began to spread rapidly when Olson and Conn became regular speakers for Youth With A Mission (YWAM), which has since become one of the larger youth missionary organizations in the world. Contrary to YWAM's repeated denials that MGT was an important part of its teaching, it was in YWAM training that tens of thousands of students from the late 1970s through the 1980s, and some even into the 1990s, learned MGT (although today some YWAM leaders speak against MGT).
E. Calvin Beisner, The False God and Gospel of Moral Government Theology, June 9, 2009

■ Interview with Dave Andrews: Advocating Christian Anarchy [Contra] See these brief excerpts relating to Dave's excommunication from YWAM in Abuse in the Church

Christi-Anarchy, the provocatively titled new book from Australian author and Christian community leader, Dave Andrews, has fired much discussion both inside and outside the Christian community. In it he describes in detail his excommunication more than 20 years ago from a worldwide Christian mission organisation, Youth With a Mission (YWAM). This narrative provides the impetus for Andrews's call for a total deconstruction and reconstruction of what it is to follow Jesus.

■ Evaluation of Loren Cunningham's book, "Is That Really You, God? Hearing the Voice of God" [Contra]. By Rev. Greg Robertson.

■ Evaluations to Help with the Discernment of False Teaching, by Rev. Greg Robertson. Some observations regarding people involved in, or related to YWAM

■ My YWAM daze [Contra] Gregory L. Robertson's testimony, as printed in Alan Gomes' book, Lead Us Not Into Deception

This testimony is in no way comprehensive of my YWAM experience. The first draft was thirty pages and even it left out a lot. My experience was not all bad, and not every one that joins YWAM leaves with a testimony like mine. Some may have had a more positive experience than I - though I know individuals who had worse things happen to them. In writing this testimony, however, I have spent hours and hours reading over old diary entries, school notes, papers I printed as a YWAMer, and books we printed and distributed in YWAM. I also listened to many tapes by popular YWAM speakers. I actually found that Moral Government is more widespread and deeper than I formerly thought. In all this I have tried to be perfectly accurate in what I have said. Many things were deleted from the manuscript simply because my memory was a little unclear and I had nothing in my diary about it.

Contrary to what YWAM leaders will probably say, I am not writing these things because of "some hurt I received." I have watched and waited, and have come to the conclusion that YWAM is making no serious attempt to remove the heretical teaching and unethical practice which has become common place in their midst. In my opinion, the removal of Moral Government from the organization is only on the surface - a YWAM tactic for good public relations.

I believe that people like Alan Gomes, who take aberrant theology and shine the light of Scripture on it, should be commended for their service to the Church: ". . . holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, that he may be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and refute those who contradict" (Titus 1:9).

■ Saturated in Abuse at YWAM Maui [Contra] Walter Jones [pseudonym] recounts his experiences at the YWAM Maui DTS. Posted on this website by permission, December 15, 1999. The writer, who requested the uses of a pseudonym, at one time had a website titled, "YWAM Warning," which he said revealed "the WHAM! in YWAM." [Another article by the same author]

■ The ''Spiritual Mapping'' of YWAM Collection of articles and links: "There are certain corner stones which have made the "casting about by every wind of doctrine" and "spiritual abuse" possible in YWAM. It is important to understand some of the things on this web page if you really want to understand present, confusing trends and movements in YWAM and other organizations."

■ Youth With A Mission and Theology: A History [Contra] by Walter Jones [pseudonym] See details at this other article by the same author.

Like many groups birthed out of the Jesus movement in the 1960s, YWAM emphasized the importance of relationship with God rather than the doctrine of God. This led, perhaps innocently, to a devaluing of theology.

While none of YWAM’s early or current leaders came from questionable denominational backgrounds, it seemed like discernment was lacking. This led to YWAM leadership’s introduction of Moral Government theology (MGT) to YWAM students worldwide.

Walter Jones (Pseudonym)

Books

■ Is That Really You, God?: Hearing the Voice of God [Pro] by Loren Cunningham. Billed as a "practical guide to hearing God's voice" this book essentially chronicles how Cunningham became the founder of Youth With a Mission. Not recommended as a guide on hearing God's voice. Be sure to read this excellent review, titled, "hearing unreliable voices and getting the Gospel wrong" at Amazon.com

■ Lead Us Not Into Deception: A Biblical Examination of Moral Government Theology [Contra] [Free book in PDF format] by Alan Gomes, Professor of Theology at Biola University. Excellent, in-depth examination. Also addresses spiritual abuse within YWAM.

Encyclopedia

■ Youth With A Mission, Wikipedia [Neutral], but note Wikipedia's own disclaimer: "Wikipedia is not a reliable source for academic writing or research."

The entry does briefly mention a) concerns regarding the treatment of YWAM volunteers, and b) theological and doctrinal issues.

Unreliable Sources vs. Reliable Experts

When you research spiritual abuse within YWAM, you will come across some unreliable sources of information. Sometimes victims and others refer to such sources, while unaware of certain conflicts surrounding them.

CultExperts.org, one of our companion websites, lists a number of cult experts we recommend. These reliable experts are recognized by fellow professionals in the field.

Websites

■ Youth With A Mission - YWAM [Pro] YWAM's official site

About this article

Anton Hein
Janet and Anton Hein

This article was written by Anton Hein, founder and team member of Apologetics Index.

It was first posted in November, 1996, and is updated when necessary. Most recent update: November 20, 2021.

Apologetics Index continues to receive inquiries regarding Youth With a Mission, most often from parents who are concerned that their sons and daughters are giving up (or at least putting on hold indefinitely) education and careers in order to serve YWAM at some faraway location.

People often want to know information regarding specific locations: is there anything at 'such and such' base that is of concern? After all, YWAM is a decentralized 'movement' with no real oversight of, or involvement in, its "family of ministries."

Personally, we recommend against involvement with Youth With A Mission -- even though the organization does much good work.

We do have some advice for those who wish to serve YWAM anyway.

The post Youth With A Mission (YWAM) appeared first on Apologetics Index.

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Discernment 10 Nov 2021 2:10 PM (3 years ago)

Christian discernment

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Christian discernment
Discernment is to identify the true nature of a spirit, doctrine, practice, or group; to distinguish truth from error, extreme error from slight error, the divine from the human and the demonic.

What is discernment?

Discernment is the act or process of exhibiting keen insight and good judgment.

In Christianity, to discern is

[t]o identify the true nature of a spirit, doctrine, practice, or group; to distinguish truth from error, extreme error from slight error, the divine from the human and the demonic.

The two main Greek words translated as "discernment" are anakrino, meaning to examine or judge closely, and diakrino, to separate out, to investigate, to examine.[mfn]See To Judge or Not To Judge: The Rights and Wrongs of Biblical Discernment by G. Richard Fisher, PFO[/mfn]

Christians should grow in spiritual discernment

The Bible teaches that all Christians should grow in spiritual discernment.

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.

Paul told the Thessalonians:

Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.

While he encouraged the Thessalonians not to discount or dismiss the Holy Spirit -- by despising that which was being taught as coming from God (prophecy) -- Paul instructed them to test everything.

In other words, if someone preaches or teaches something that he or she claims was inspired by God, we are not to despise it -- which would result in "quenching" (extinguishing) the Holy Spirit.

However, we are to carefully examine that which is being taught.

Earlier, Luke called the people of Berea -- where Paul and Silas had been sent to preach -- "more noble-minded that those in Thessalonica," because

they received the word with great eagerness, examining [anakrino] the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed, along with a number of prominent Greek women and men.

Thus the Bereans did not quench the Spirit, but rather they tested what was being taught, using Scripture as their guide.

How to grow in spiritual discernment

We have established that the Bible teaches that discernment is not optional -- it is part and parcel of the Christian life.

The only way to grow in spiritual discernment is

These two go hand-in-hand:

The Holy Spirit

One can not expect someone who has just accepted Jesus Christ as his savior to have a full, working knowledge of Biblical theology. The Bible indicates that people come to Jesus because the Holy Spirit draws them and they respond to His invitation.

When someone accepts Jesus Christ, he becomes regenerated (born again - a new person, spiritually). Among other things, he receives the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, which puts him at a great advantage over non-Christians. Paul puts it like this:

11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
12 We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.
13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.
14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
15 The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment:
16 "For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct.

The Bible

The Bible provides the standard against which all teachings must be tested:

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

The Bible and the Holy Spirit: Hand-in-Hand

This reliance both on the guidance of the Holy Spirit and on God's Written Word should keep Christians focused on God.

If Christians were to rely only on their ability to listen to the Holy Spirit, they would leave themselves open to all manner of private teachings and interpretations -- without any rules by which to rest such revelations.

At the same time, it they were to rely only on their own ability to interpret and apply the Scriptures, they would leave no room for God's guidance in revealing to them the riches of his Word.

As Christians our focus should always be on the living God, with whom we have an interactive relationship.

Relying on the discernment of others

No Christian is an island. There is much to be learned from one another, as we share the wisdom and insights God has revealed to us from His Word, by His Holy Spirit.

Sadly, though, many Christians leave the responsibility for discernment almost completely up to others. Their guidance comes primarily from televangelists, authors (and, more often than not, their ghost writers), their pastors, or their favorite websites.

That’s like being spoon-fed by someone else — marking one as an infant, rather than as a mature Christian:

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.

'Hero' preachers and teachers

One problem is that many Christians have 'hero' preachers and teachers whose teachings they will rarely, if ever, question. Once you put someone on a pedestal, it becomes difficult to examine -- let alone question -- his or her teachings.

Your favorite preacher or teacher may be a great orator or expositor, but he or she is still a fallible human being -- just like you and me.

By all means, let's learn from one another. But let us eagerly receive the word, while also examining everything carefully.

Sound Doctrine

This approach -- examining what people teach by searching Scripture -- is an excellent way to learn sound doctrine.

Sound doctrine:

Agreeing with and faithful to biblical teaching and to orthodoxy beyond a bare minimum, such that Christians may be encouraged to continue in this way. Contrasted with aberrational, which refers to orthodox teaching or practice which is only barely so. Its opposite, "unsound" may be used to express degrees of deficiency in soundness.

The opposite of sound doctrine is unsound doctrine:

A failure to endure sound doctrine logically gives rise to unsound doctrine, and unsound doctrine in the professing church has historically led to critical perversions of God's grace in Christ and the gospel itself.

Source: Why make issues over doctrine? Morning Coffee with Gomarus [No longer online]

A church that teaches unsound doctrine -- particularly when it militates against the essential doctrines of the Christian faith -- usually is, theologically, a cult of Christianity.

Discernment as a spiritual gift

Christians who believe that the Spiritual Gifts are still available today, see the gift of ''distinguishing between spirits'' (discerning whether they are human, from God, or demonic), to be a special form of discernment (revealed, instead of learned):

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.

Discernment Ministries

Some Christian apologetics and/or countercult organizations describe themselves as "discernment ministries." They specialize in helping fellow Christians understand why the teachings or practices of certain preachers, teachers, churches, and/or organizations are considered to be unorthodox, aberrant, or heretical.

They also teach how to recognize and deal with spiritual abuse, abusive churches, and religious cults.

Mind you, here too you need to examine everything carefully.

Judging

Does this sound familiar? "Do not touch God's anointed." "Do not judge."

Often that is the reaction you get from Christians when you question the doctrines or practices of their "hero preachers and teachers."

But discernment includes judging — a Biblical practice many Christians are confused about.

Resources to help you grown in discernment

Janet and Anton, publishers of Apologetics Index, have taught many Christians how to grow in discernment. Among other things we recommend the following resources:

Search the Scriptures: A Study Guide to the Bible

This is a "A Three-Year Daily Devotional Guide to the Whole Bible." Each Bible passage is accompanied by 2 or 3 questions that help you get much more from the passage than you normally would by just reading it.

Whether you use it as a devotional or a study guide, either way this book helps you grow in discernment as you learn more and more Scripture.

The New Inductive Study Bible

Inductive Bible Study is a method by which you learn how to interpret the Bible without having others tell you what the text means. It involves three skills: observation, interpretation, and application. [See also: Hermeneutics: The Eight Rules of Biblical Interpretation]

"Observation teaches you to see precisely what that passage says. It is the basis for accurate interpretation and correct application. Observation answers the question: What does the passage say?

Interpretation answers the question: What does the passage mean?

Application answers the question: What does it mean to me personally? What truths can I put into practice? What changes should I make in my life?When you know what God says, what He means, and how to put His truths into practice, you will be equipped for every circumstance of life. Ultimately, the goal of personal Bible study is a transformed life and a deep and abiding relationship with Jesus Christ."
Source: How to Use the Inductive Study Approach, an article in the Inductive Study Bible

Basic Christian Doctrine

Just what it says. John H. Leitz provides an understandable overview of the basic doctrines of the Christian faith. This is helpful for new and longtime Christians alike.

In our experience many people who have been Christians for a long time still don't have a good grasp (if any) of even the most basic doctrines of Christianity.

A book like this will help you get your bearings. Read it with the "Examine Everything" motto in mind. Don't just accept what it says. Look up the Scriptures. Search for additional Scriptures. Pray over them. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide and teach you. Know what you believe, and why you believe it.

Grace Plus Nothing

This fantastic book, by Jeff Harkin, is one that Janet and I share with just about everyone we meet. We include this book because so many Christians do not understand what grace is -- especially after they have been to church for a while...

Many Christians are disillusioned and frustrated in their Christian life because of works-based legalism. Grace Plus Nothing helps the reader to understand the simplicity and wonder of God's grace and to live each day in God's righteousness. Brief, positive daily readings focus on forgiveness, commitment, and praying with confidence. These and many other topics will encourage the reader to stand in God's grace--plus nothing!

And again... examine what you read!

Note: Read several sample chapters of Grace Plus Nothing right here.

Bible Gateway

Bible Gateway is a searchable online Bible in more than 200 versions and 70 languages that you can freely read, research, and reference anywhere. With a library of audio Bibles, a mobile app, devotionals, email newsletters, and other free resources, Bible Gateway equips you not only to read the Bible, but to understand it.

There's a optional Bible Gateway Plus membership (which we highly recommend). This gives you access to a complete digital Bible study library and a set of word study tools. That will help you deepen your knowledge of Scripture and share that knowledge with others. ($3.99 a month or $39.99 a year).

Additional Research Resources

Articles

For most Christians today, the challenge of learning how to discern orthodox from heretical doctrine has apparently not been faced. Either they treat doctrine as minimally important and so regard charges of "heresy" as rude and unloving, or they treat doctrine as all-important and so regard anyone who disagrees with them in the slightest as a heretic. In short, most believers seem to think either that there are almost no heretics or that almost everybody outside their own little group is a heretic.

The cause of doctrinal discernment, then, is in serious jeopardy. Although anticult and discernment ministries are mushrooming everywhere, many of them operate on the basis of an excessively narrow understanding of orthodoxy. Consequently, such groups are charged deservedly with "heresy hunting" and discredit the practice of doctrinal discernment. At the other extreme — and often overreacting to such heresy hunters — are those within the Christian community who reject any warnings of heresy among professing Christians.

In this two-part article I will attempt to set forth a balanced approach to the issue of doctrinal heresy. In this first part I will present a biblical case for the practice of discerning orthodox from heretical doctrines. In the second part I will offer guidelines for doctrinal discernment.

Robert M. Bowman Jr., Orthodoxy and Heresy, introduction.

Discernment is more than just a skill. Discernment is a gift from God before it is anything else. Yet there are clearly skills you put to use in using your gift, and you can become better at it through training and experience.

Discernment is more than just a process. Even for the most 'material' or 'nitty-gritty' matters, there is a Spirit at work nudging us, leading us, even pulling us by the nose ring. Even for the most 'spiritual' matters, there are disciplines, methods, processes, means, and tools which the Spirit can work through to help us discern rightly. Discernment isn't usually a sudden zap from beyond, but something which emerges from hard work.

Learn to discern. Yearn to discern.

Robert Longman, Jr.

Books

Spiritual discernment is good for more than just making monumental decisions according to God's will. It is an essential, day-to-day activity that allows thoughtful Christians to separate the truth of God from error and to distinguish right from wrong in all kinds of settings and situations. It is also a skill--something that any person can develop and improve, especially with the guidance in this book.

Written by a leading evangelical blogger, The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment is an uplifting, scripturally grounded work that explains the need for discernment, its challenges, and the steps that will cultivate it. Author Tim Challies does not do the discerning for readers; he simply shows them how to practically apply scriptural tools, principles, and wisdom so that their conclusions about everything--people, teachings, decisions, media, and organizations--will be consistent with God's Word.

Book description at Amazon.com

See also:


Hermeneutics: The Eight Rules of Biblical Interpretation



Hermeneutics Bible Interpretation
Hermeneutics: The Eight Rules of Biblical Interpretation


About this article

This article on discernment is written by Anton and Janet Hein-Hudson. It was first published on January 13, 2018.

Copyright: Apologetics Index. Details.

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Does Ephesians 4:11 Establish a Doctrine of “The Five-fold Ministry”? 14 Oct 2021 8:51 PM (3 years ago)

five-fold ministry

[caption id="attachment_12466" align="aligncenter" width="710"]Ephesians 4:11 Does Ephesians 4:11 Establish a Doctrine of The Five-fold Ministry?[/caption]

By David Kowalski

Is the following verse enough for establishing a five-fold ministry doctrine (as suggested by proponents of the New Apostolic Reformation)?

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,
- Source: Ephesians 4:11 NASB

We should first note that a comparison of Paul's listings of gifts and functionaries (types of gifted ministers) are not exhaustive but illustrative. Most commentators agree that Paul gives no clue here that he meant "these and no more." The same reasoning that develops a five-fold ministry doctrine could develop an eight-fold ministry doctrine from 1 Corinthians 12:28:

And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues. -- 1 Corinthians 12:28 NASB

We could similarly develop a seven-fold ministry doctrine from Romans 12:6-8:

"Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness."
- Source: Romans 12:6-8 NASB

Thus, many commentators have suggested we preface this list in Ephesians 4:11 with something like "these are some of the gifts that he gave."

Furthermore, many Greek scholars join the last two items in the verse and consider this a dual-reference to just one functionary:

kai autos didōmi ho apostolos, ho de prophētēs, ho de euangelistēs, ho de poimēn kai didaskalos,

There are particles before each of the functionaries listed, but none before didaskalos (teacher). With "pastor" joined to "teacher" by the conjunction kai, every scholar I have read on the topic insists that there is a joining of the two functions in one person -- the teaching shepherd (what we would call pastor [the overseer who must be able to teach -- 1 Timothy 3:2]).

The NASB, perhaps the most reliable, literal translation, shows the two as united by placing an "and" just before "some as pastors and teachers." This first "and" is unnecessary if one is to see the last two functionaries as separate items in a list.

Thus, in Ephesians 4:11, it seems we have a listing of four functionaries that is not meant to be exhaustive -- not the establishing of a five-fold ministry doctrine.

[A lengthy addition to the above thoughts can be found in the comments below]

© Copyright 2019, David Kowalski. All rights reserved. Links to this post are encouraged. Do not repost or republish without permission.

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