Pious Duplicity and the Nature of Evil

I'm reading an article with the same title as this post, on the Deception Bytes web site. It really highlights the need for discernment, and being able to know when you're hearing from the Holy Spirit. Here's a quote from the article, but the whole article is worth reading.

Anton LeVey, the father of the Satanic church, said his goal was to create a duplicitous people, who served both God and Satan, thus negating serving God at all. LeVay taught that the highest sacrifice to Satan was to serve as a leader in both worlds, Christian by day and cult by night. In fact, he stated that the higher the position that a Satanist could attain in a Christian organization, the greater the sacrifice to Satan.

What Love Is This? book comments

I finished reading the book What Love Is This by Dave Hunt about 2-3 months ago. I thought it might be repetitive after reading George Bryson's The Dark Side of Calvinism, but that wasn't the case. I got a lot out of the book, and at 533 pages it takes a bit of time to get through it all. I haven't been in a hurry to write this blog post, because of the time it took to decide which quotes to use; since there were so many good ones to choose from. In addition I've had to wrestle with the question of whether a 'little leaven' in my beliefs about God and what I was being taught about God was acceptable or not. I'm still working on that, but this book helped me gain clarity on some of those issues.

The book starts off with some of the history of Calvinism, as well as it's basis under the teachings of Augustine and Augustine's ties to the Roman Catholic church. Apparently Calvin (and Luther) and other 'protestants' were against some of the R.C. church doctrine, but they held to other (unbliblical) doctrines, such as infant baptism. It also highlights some of the similarities and differences between Calvin and other Reformers, such as Luther. I'd already read a good deal about how Augustine's writings had greatly shaped Calvin's theology in Bryson's book; what was new and rather disturbing to learn about in this book were some of the details about Calvin's propensity to use violence and the power of the (civil / state) government to silence dissent.

Calvin followed his mentor Augustine in enforcing church attendance and participation in the sacraments by threats (and worse) against the citizens of Geneva. ... Sadly, Calvin put into effect in Geneva the very principles of punishment, coercion, and death that Augustine advocated and that the Roman Catholic Church followed consistently for centuries. (pg. 52-53)

One of the major doctrines of Calvinism is that of 'sovereign grace', which isn't actually part of the TULIP acronym per se, but it underpins much of the structure of Calvinism and ties in with the U (unconditional election) and moreso with the I (irresistable grace). I already wrote a bit about that topic in my article about whether the devil needs God's permission to attack a believer? and will probably write more about it, as I gain more clarity on the topic. Here are some quotes that I liked from the book that I want to share here:

And the solution is so simple: acknowledge that God sovereignly gave to man a genuine power of choice, and God is exonerated and honored. ... Irresistable grace is a human invention imposed upon the Bible. (pg. 396)

So God could cause anyone and everyone to believe the gospel and irresistibly draw them to heaven -- but He only does this for a select number? This is Calvinism -- whether one calls it moderate or extreme! It has been imposed upon the Bible in violation of the entire tenor of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation. It is a libel upon the character of God, a denial of the nature of love, and an offense to the conscience which God has placed in the heart of every man. (pg. 423)

Here is an interesting quote on the topic of infant baptism, and Calvin's belief that it was sufficient to effect forgiveness of sins and grant one entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven:

Had he not maintained this Roman Catholic false doctrine, Calvin would have had to resubmit to rebaptism, which was repugnant to him. He derided the Anabaptists for opposing infant baptism. Their valid, biblical reason -- that an infant has not believed in Christ -- was scorned by Calvin, and his wrath and that of the other Reformers came upon the Anabaptists. These true evangelicals were persecuted and martyred by both Catholics and Protestants for being baptized by immersion after they were saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. (pg. 429)

The section on the 'P'erseverance of the saints was rather short at only about 8 pages, I wish there had been more but perhaps there isn't as much written material about it available. However, from what I've gathered it leads to a sort of 'works' mentality. Salvation by works is of course in contradiction to the truth about grace and free gifts.

How does the Calvinist know he is one of the elect who have been predestined? His performance plays a large part in helping him to know whether or not he is among that select group. (pg 481)

On page 482 there is a quote by Piper and his staff having written "[W]e must also own up to the fact that our final salvation is made contingent upon the subsequent obedience which comes from faith." The theme of 'obedience' (to God) seems to be prevalent in Evangelical circles. In some respects that's not a bad thing -- it can help steer you out of danger or into wonderful blessings -- but it can and has become a tool of tyranny and manipulation in some cases. I think the difference is whether one is being led by the Holy Spirit or the doctrines of men.

I know I'll want to read this book again, and will certainly use it for reference in the future. I think it's very much worth reading.

Quantum Touch and channeling demons

I wanted to flag this article, regarding a family that encountered something called 'Quantum Touch'. I hadn't heard of it before reading this article, but it sounded similar to Reiki, from what little is mentioned in the article.

Apparently QT was developed by someone who listened to or studied the teachings of someone who channels a demon that calls itself Lazaris. I was introduced to some of those (Lazaris) teachings by someone in the mid 1990's; I had a couple of his cassette tapes as well as one of his books. They went into the dumpster (trash can) a few years ago, when I understood what it really was.

I also thought it might be a good place to tell my short Reiki story, particularly since there are some sites that purport to use what they call 'christian reiki'. In this, the devil uses deception in order to gain a foothold. First I'll quote a small portion from this article at the site linked above :

The spirit-world is real, but no one- not even the reikimasters have a clue- of what really is going on. ONLY Jesus Christ can help us!

... and from another comment on the page:

Many Christian websites and books make it seem very appealing and [say] that this is how Jesus healed. Your website makes perfect sense and in my heart I know that you are right, Reiki is not of God.

Around 1998 I attended a level-1 reiki 'atunement' and class in Seattle (I lived in Seattle at the time). I attended a sort of pre-atunement introduction on a Friday evening, and the next morning I had a major allergic reaction of some sort; with sneezing and runny nose, watery eyes, etc. Those symptoms were with me all day. There were 2 other women in the class in addition to myself. When it came time for the atunement, it was done separately for each person, with the other 2 people waiting in another room. During my atunement, the 'master' did whatever she does -- and then she was sort of baffled, because she said that it didn't 'take' for some reason. So she did it again, and I had the impression that it may not have taken the 2nd time either, but she said it did. I now believe the Holy Spirit was probably protecting me from my own deception.

Then, after the atunement we were shown how to use reiki on others, with each of us taking turns on the massage table, being shown where to hold our hands on another person to do the 'healing'. The whole process of doing a 'healing' takes about 45 minutes or so. Our only role in the process is to be a 'channel' of the 'healing energy' -- and I basically decided before the day was over that it would be a really boring way for me to spend my days. My thinking was that God gave me a brain for a reason, and performing reiki sessions as a career wouldn't be a good use of that. I think I tried using it on myself a couple of times and didn't get much out of it. So my reiki career was very short-lived, for which I now praise God.

If you're involved in reiki or 'quantum touch' (which appears to me to be a similar modality), please look at the reiki dangers site I linked above, which also has links to other sites on the topic.

he that doeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. To this end was the Son of God manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. (1Jn 3:8 ASV)

Have you wondered why Gary isn’t part of The EFT® World Summit? - EFT Blog

I just read this comment by Gary Craig, about the 'world summit' and thought I'd post the link here, for those who may be interested. I'm still reading the comments, there are lots of them.

I wasn't going to sign up for the summit at all, because it originally sounded like (or I assumed?) it was going to be video presentations, and until last week I was using a dial-up internet connection. But I got a DSL connection last week and signed up for it, and it wasn't until I got onto the page the first day that I discovered it's audio, only. In addition, it's put out by the makers of the 'Try it on everything' DVD and book, and I've not seen the DVD and from what little I know of it, there's a lot of the 'law of attraction' belief, of which I have repented.

I wasn't interested in listening to all of the presenters, or even most of them for that matter; but I'll listen to a few of them and see if I can get some good pointers. But I appreciated Gary's input and figured I'd pass it on.

April 25 - update

Here's a new message from Gary Craig on the EFT World Summit topic.Just thought I'd post the link, to sort of complete the picture.

Calvins Camels - article from Inplain Site

I just ran across a good article on Calvinism -- and it's rather long, so here are a few quotes from the beginning part of the article:

INTRODUCTION Having read John Calvin’s Institutes and having studied the writings of many Calvinists both ancient and contemporary, I am convinced that Calvin was guilty of straining at gnats and swallowing camels. To accept Calvinism (in any of its forms) is to deny the plain teaching of dozens of Scriptures.

The Calvinist will doubtless argue that I simply don’t understand Calvinism properly, and to this I reply that if Calvinism is that complicated it can’t be the truth.

Of course, Calvinism is not simple by any means and this is one reason why it produces an elitist mentality. To understand Calvinism one must deal with compatibalism, monergism versus synergism, electing grace vs. irresistible grace, effectual calling vs. general calling, effective atonement vs. hypothetical atonement, libertarian free will vs. the bondage of the will, objective grace and subjective grace, natural ability and moral ability, mediate vs. immediate imputation of Adam’s sin, supralapsarianism, sublapsarianism, infralapsarianism, desiderative vs. decretive will, and antecedent hypothetical will, to name a few!

The fact is that every time I have studied Calvinism I have come away convinced that it simply contradicts too many Scriptures, that it is built more upon human logic and philosophy than upon the plain teaching of God’s Word. Whatever divine election means, and it is certainly an important and oft-taught doctrine of the Word of God, it cannot mean what Calvinism concludes, because to accept that position requires one to strain at gnats and swallow camels. The gnats are Calvinist extra-scriptural arguments and reasoning and the camels are Scriptures understood plainly by their context.

Thus, according to the Calvinist, Jesus’ statement in Matt. 23:37 does not teach that God’s will was ever thwarted by man’s will but merely expresses the human side of Jesus’ compassionate nature. According to Calvin, God cannot be disappointed, because that would means He is not sovereign (according to Calvin’s own predetermined definition), but this flies in the face of the Scriptures in literally thousands of places.

Does God give the devil permission to attack us?

I just finished an article on the topic above that I'm posting to my website. It's somewhat long (and I could have made it longer!), so I'm putting most of it below -- but for the whole thing please see here:

Have you ever heard someone say that the devil can't attack a believer (in Jesus Christ) unless he gets God's permission, as in the story of Job? And then there's sort of the underlying premise or statement, that IF you've been so attacked and God 'allowed it' -- then there isn't much you can do because that would go against God's will. Or maybe God allowed it to teach you to lean on Him. Right? I've heard it a few times from various believers, and even find it on a 'discernment' web site, yet even here some discernment is needed. Here's the quote:

This idea of the Devil claiming his wife is problematic in that believers are under the sovereign care of Jesus, it is he who has the keys of death and hell. No believer will die unless God himself allows it. The book of Job gives us insight on how God may allow the devil to afflict us but it is only by his permission, the Devil is not running around doing whatever he wants, his power and ability has to answer to God first.

Well, ok. This sounds plausible and not unreasonable at first glance. But, let us reason and see if these things be true. Since this sort of teaching appears to be somewhat prevalent, and since it does touch on issues that directly affect the issue of spiritual warfare, I wanted to sort it out myself, and write about what I found.

One of the premises is that as believers, we have a 'hedge of protection' around us, as Job had. Since there were no scripture references given to bolster this argument, as far as it may be applicable to Christians, I can't directly respond to this or any of the assertions in that regard. The only New Testament passage I may be able to liken to a 'hedge of protection', off the top of my head, would be the sheepfold that Jesus mentions in John chapter 10. He says that He is the door to the sheepfold, and that His sheep may go in and out and find pasture. However, He also adds that there may be some that try to enter in another way (sneaking over the fence perhaps?) and they would be thieves and robbers. [...] So to me, this argument is a mixed bag, one could make a case either way.

The first part of my response to the premise of God's sovereignty in our lives, is that according to Scripture (His Word), He operates in our lives under Covenant. We could speculate endlessly about what God could or might do or allow, but if it disagrees with His Word AND if we're believers, then Scripture is (or should be) our final authority. Right? From reading the Bible, there are many places where God tells his people that IF they do some thing, THEN he will do or not do certain things. I just did a search in e-Sword, for the term 'if ye' (King James Version) for both the Old and New Testament -- and it came up with 151 verses! Here's a very small sample, and not all of the 151 verses are in the 'if-then' category:

And if ye shall despise my statutes,or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant: (Lev 26:15 KJVA)
And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil. (Deu 11:13-14 KJVA)
But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. (Gal 5:18 KJVA)
If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. (Joh 15:7 KJVA)

So clearly, where the word 'if' is used, it's a conditional sort of statement, there are conditions to be met. Jesus speaks of establishing the new covenant in Mat 26:28, Mar 14:24 and Luk 22:20. As far as I can tell, since I'm not an expert on the topic, a covenant is similar in some respects to what we in the U.S. would call a 'last will and testament' (hence the terms 'Old Testament' and 'New Testament'); and the terms of the will take effect after the person who drew up the will is deceased. Of course, in our case Jesus died and was resurrected, but it's through the covenant that we get to inherit the terms of his 'will', so to speak. So in relation to that part of the premise (namely the 'sovereign control' question), I think there's an element of free-will and choice along with God's sovereignty.

To me, the biggest question is: Does the devil need to get God's permission to attack a believer, or does God give such permission? This is the one I really wrestled with, and then after studying several scriptures the light came on.

First of all, we find in 1Jn 3:8b The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. (ESV) and that When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him. (Col 2:15 NASB) Which begs the question, why would God re-arm the devil when Jesus disarmed him? Finally, this is the passage of scripture that really settled the question for me: And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. (2Co 6:16 KJVA) Oh yeah, this made me remember, and it finally sunk in past my thinking, that I am a temple of the living God! Why would God give the devil permission to attack His temple?
If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. (Mar 3:24-25 ESV)

And just to put the icing on the cake, there is only 1 verse of scripture in the New Testament that mentions Job:
Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. (Jas 5:11 ESV) The KJV uses the word 'patience' instead of 'steadfastness'. And just to state the obvious, if Job were an example to the New Testament believer of God giving the devil permission to attack us, wouldn't that have been the place to say so? Yet, all it says is that Job was patient / steadfast, as we should likewise be patient and steadfast.

I think one reason I wrestled with this so much was because I end up contradicting some people whom I greatly respect. However, I decided to 'let the peace of Christ rule (govern) my heart', and I've been greatly edified in the process. I think this particular belief or teaching benefits the devil more than God -- I can almost imagine him or one of his dark cohorts whispering in someone's ear 'hey, don't go running to God about that trouble, he gave me permission to attack you! Look at Job!'. In the end, if you come across a statement that appears on the surface to be scriptural, but that leads to feeling despair or without hope, confused or having been forsaken; then I submit it's not of God. Of course, you can use EFT for some of these feelings; but more importantly, look to the Lord for His Spirit to lead you into the truth of the matter through prayer and His Word.

Also, I ran across this article that also addresses the issue with a similar conclusion.

Positive Confession article

I just ran across this article on another blog, and thought it gave a balanced view of some things I've been pondering lately. On the one hand (exteme) you have those who say that everything that happens in your life is your doing, as in the 'law of attraction' teaching. On the other hand (extreme) there are those who say God has foreordained all things. This article is about the Christian use of 'positive confession' which would fall more along the lines of the 'law of attraction' end of the spectrum. It's a position paper by the Assemblies of God. It's somewhat lengthy -- I'll highlight a few paragraphs below:

While there are variations of interpretation and emphasis concerning this teaching, a conclusion seems to be that the unpleasant can be avoided by refraining from negative confessions. The pleasant can be enjoyed by making positive confessions.

According to this view, as expressed in various publications, the believer who refrains from acknowledging the negative and continues to affirm the positive will assure for himself pleasant circumstances. He will be able to rule over poverty, disease, and sickness. He will be sick only if he confesses he is sick. Some make a distinction between acknowledging the symptoms of an illness and the illness itself.

This view advocates that God wants believers to wear the best clothing, drive the best cars, and have the best of everything. Believers need not suffer financial setbacks. All they need to do is to tell Satan to take his hands off their money. The believer can have whatever he says whether the need is spiritual, physical, or financial. It is taught that faith compels God's action.

According to this position, what a person says determines what he will receive and what he will become. Thus people are instructed to start confessing even though what they want may not have been realized. If a person wants money, he is to confess he has it even if it is not true. If a person wants healing, he is to confess it even though it is obviously not the case. People are told they can have whatever they say, and for this reason great significance is attached to the spoken word. It is claimed the spoken word, if repeated often enough, will eventually result in faith which procures the desired blessing.

It is understandable that some people would like to accept the positive confession teaching. It promises a life free from problems, and its advocates seem to support it with passages of Scripture. Problems develop, however, when Bible statements are isolated from their context and from what the rest of Scripture has to say concerning the subject. Extremes result which distort truth and eventually hurt believers as individuals and the cause of Christ in general. [...]

When the positive confession doctrine indicates a person can have whatever he says, it fails to emphasize adequately that God's will must be considered. David had the best intentions when he indicated his desire to build a temple for the Lord, but it was not God's will (1 Chronicles 17:4). David was permitted to gather materials, but Solomon was to build the temple.

The positive confession teaching advocates reigning as kings in this life. It teaches that believers are to dominate and not be dominated by circumstances. Poverty and sickness are usually mentioned among the circumstances over which believers are to have dominion.

If believers choose the kings of this world as models, it is true they will seek the trouble-free life (although even kings of this world are not free from problems). They will be more concerned with physical and material prosperity than with spiritual growth. [i.e. the 'deceitfulness of riches' which promises what it can't deliver.] [...]

In this view there is very little consideration given to communion with God in order to discover His will. There is very little appeal to search the Scriptures for the framework of the will of God. There is little emphasis on the kind of discussion with fellow believers which results in two or three agreeing what the will of God might be. Instead, the desire of the heart is viewed as a binding mandate on God. It is seen as constituting the authority of the believer.

It is true that Jesus said, "Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son" (John 14:13). But Scripture also teaches that the asking must be in harmony with the will of God. "This is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us: and if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him" (1 John 5:14, 15). [...]

God's Word does teach great truths such as healing, provision for need, faith, and the authority of believers. The Bible does teach that a disciplined mind is an important factor in victorious living. But these truths must always be considered in the framework of the total teaching of Scripture.

When abuses occur, there is sometimes a temptation to draw back from these great truths of God's Word. In some cases people even lose out with God altogether when they discover that exaggerated emphases do not always meet their expectations or result in freedom from problems.

The fact that doctrinal aberrations develop, however, is not a reason for rejecting or remaining silent concerning them. The existence of differences of opinion is all the more reason why believers should continue diligently to search the Scriptures. It is why servants of God must faithfully declare the whole counsel of God.

The Occultic Mindset of Spiritual Warfare

Thought I'd share this article I just read on another blog. I'm going to put a very few comments [in brackets] in the article -- see below:

By Keith

Paul and Drew have both graciously shared a part of their spiritual journey with us. For myself, the area of the fringe that I became most involved with was spiritual warfare. For a season in my ministry I became deeply immersed in this teaching. I declared things in the heavenlies, attempted to discern the demons over my city, drove around my city claiming it for Jesus, anointed the chairs in our sanctuary on a regular basis, and bound Satan daily. I would be lying if I said that there wasn’t a part of me that really got in to this whole experience. I felt very important and very powerful. Even today, when discussing some of the things that I used to do, I have a strong feeling of power rise up in my body. It was very exciting. Until one day a very simple question refused to let go of me. “When did anyone in the Bible do this?”

That was the question that started me on an investigation of this teaching. Today I am confident that not only is this teaching not Biblical, it is actually occultic in nature. I don’t make that statement lightly. I have studied and written on the subjects of the New Age, Wicca and even tribal religion. The modern teaching on spiritual warfare has more in common with these practices than anything that can be found in the pages of the New Testament (that book that is supposed to teach us, among other things, how the church is to operate).

I should hasten to say that this is not an exclusively Charismatic issue. Evangelical writers like Neal Anderson and Mark Bubeck (incidentally one of the nicest guys you could ever hope to talk to) have done much damage to the body of Christ in this area. Bubeck’s books even include prayers for the Holy Spirit to search your blood stream, gastro-intestinal organs and other body systems for demons. (i.e. the demon of cholitis and I am not joking.)

Space will only allow for a small number of examples but perhaps these will cause readers to dig even further to determine if these teachings are truly from the Lord.

1. Manipulation of spiritual forces: One of the underlying assumptions of the occultic worldview is that all of life is connected by a spiritual force. The practice of magick is based on attempts to manipulate this force in order for the practitioner to create their own reality. Modern Word Faith teachers and spiritual warfare teachers unknowlingly have bought into the same mindset. For Word Faith teachers the monistic force is faith itself. Kenneth Copeland has frequently stated that faith is a force that even God uses to accomplish His purposes. David Yonggi Cho has stated that this force can even be used by non-believers which is why Buddhist monks sometimes get results. Many of the modern prophets have stated the same thing about the New Age. For many in the spiritual warfare community the force is more personal in the form of angels, demons and the Holy Spirit. While this may seem more biblical the fact remains that much of their efforts are aimed at manipulating these beings to their own ends. [A couple of the practices in New Age circles in 'keeping away dark spiritual forces' that I heard about is sprinkling salt outside windows and doors -- apparently they don't like salt? and also 'smudging' ; burning sage.]

It is out of this foundational belief that many other ancillary beliefs and practices arise. For instance words are seen as extremely powerful. Once again, in Word Faith circles, words are the containers of the force. What I confess I possess. If I say that I am going bald I will get more baldness. But if I confess that I have a full head of hair then that is what I will receive. This is what leads teachers like Marylin Hickey to teach us to, “Say to your wallet. Why you big fat wallet. You’re so full of money.” Of course, apparently it doesn’t work for her because she has to keep asking for donations. Similarly prophetic teachers like Victoria Boyson and Mike Bickle teach that when we criticize someone we are releasing and activating Satanic activity upon them and if we bless them we are releasing Holy Spirit activity. [I think there is some merit to the idea that words are powerful, but it's more along the lines of whether we build up or tear down ourselves or others, some of these ideas are 'over the top' and in the same vein as the 'law of attraction' ideas.]

This authority that is supposedly in words then leads to the increasingly popular binding and loosing and warfare in the heavenlies teachings. In this practice Satan and his forces are actually addressed and commanded in prayer. Their “strongholds” over cities are pulled down. Their strategies are foiled. They must leave the region. Authority is claimed by the Church and the Spirit is loosed.

Now, I hate to spoil the party. But is this really what Jesus was teaching in Matt. 16 when He said that whatever you bind on earth is bound in heaven? The answer is a decided “no”. Before discussing what binding and loosing really means, the evidence that modern spiritual warfare teachers cannot be correct in what they are teaching is easy to detect from the New Testament. The fact is simply this, NOWHERE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT IS SATAN EVER ADDRESSED IN PRAYER. Prayer is made to God. We do not have one single example of anyone in the New Testament ever engaging in this type of prayer. The only time that Satan or a demon is ever addressed by a believer is when they are being cast out of an individual. The historical fact is that binding and loosing were rabbinical terms that the apostles would have been familiar with that had to do with forbidding and permitting certain practices and which speaks to the apostle’s authority in laying the foundation for the practices of the church.

Christians are spending too much time shouting at the devil. And can someone please tell me, “What is the statute of limitations on binding the devil?” He seems to continually get loose! How long does it take to bind a demon and clear the heavenlies? This stuff has been going on over KC for over twenty years and yet 2005 was one of the worst years in our history for murder.

2. Ritual Magick. In the occult worldview, rituals can be performed in the physical that have ramifications in the spiritual. So a pin stuck in a voodoo doll can cause spiritual forces to work against an individual that can result in bodily injury. One of the most disturbing segments of the film, “Jesus Camp” was to see a teacher hand a hammer to children and tell them to go to the front and smash cups labelled “abortion”, “homosexuality” etc. etc. and by commanding the heavenlies and smashing the cups things would be broken in the spirit realm. Much of the same thing can be seen in many of the practices of anointing. Rebecca Brown teaches people to anoint the doors and windows of their homes so that demons don’t have any points of access to their homes.

3. Power Centers. In the occultic mindset, certain grounds are sacred. They may be possessed by either good or evil spirits. Some of these power centers may be taboo to all but the most highly initiated or they may be places to gather for worship because the power is strong. We have seen over the last two decades a number of these power centers emerge and diminish, Toronto, Pensacola, Smithton, etc. etc. Additionally, the modern teaching of spiritual portals by prophets like John Paul Jackson, Kathie Walters, Paul Keith Davis and many more has more in common with the occult than the bible despite the way they butcher the story of Jacob’s Ladder to try and make it fit.

4. The Devil Made Me Do It. The occultic world is all about spirits. Animism is all about spirits. Spirits are responsible for everything. Spirits must be placated. While it is certainly true that the Western mind tends to ignore the spiritual dimension and tends almost toward Deism, the modern spiritual warfare teachings are certainly an over-correction. If it rains on a church picnic it is the devil’s fault. Every sin is evidence of a “stronghold” that must be pulled down. The problem is that this silver bullet approach to holiness keeps the individual from dealing with what is often the true source of the problem, a carnal, rebellious heart. [That would tie into the emotions, wouldn't it?]

5. Shamanism. In the occult the shaman is the expert in the things of the spirit. He has visions of the spirit world and brings back information to the followers. Many of today’s so-called prophets are nothing more than shamen. People flock to them to hear of their visits to the otherworld and to act on the information that they bring back. This has opened a literal pandora’s box of new practices. What is particularly disturbing in the spiritual warfare scenario is that many of these practices were supposedly learned by interviewing demons!!!! Bubeck says that when we interview a demon we should ask, “Will this information stand as truth before the throne of God?” For some reason Bubeck believes that a demon can’t lie if you ask him in that way. But why would we ever seek to learn about the things of the Spirit from a liar and the father of lies?

Remember the question that I said started it all for me. “When did anyone in the Bible ever do this?” It’s a good question. It’s worth pondering the next time you are thinking about jumping into a new thing.

More on Todd Bentley

Here is an excellent article about TB and the 'Florida outpouring'. It's a pretty long article, so I'm just going to give the link (above) -- it has some information that I hadn't seen before and it's well worth reading.

Florida 'revival' - using discernment

Here's a good video that offers some sound advice (imho). It's about 10 minutes long. Also, given something he says near the beginning of the video, I wanted to share an experience I had before I posted the 1st post about this so-called revival in Florida. I'd been praying for discernment, and I was getting something in the kitchen prior to reading an article on the Apostasy Watch web site-- and I clearly heard a threatening voice behind me warning me to 'stop researching this'.
Prior to that, I wasn't particularly planning to post anything here about the 'revival' or 'outpouring', whatever they're calling it this week; since no one had actually asked for my opinion. BUT, since some demonic voice was trying to get me to stop researching I decided after I read the article to post about it, too.



Also, here's a link to the video I'd just watched when I saw the video above on the sidebar, and watched it. Pray for protection before watching it, if you watch it. I haven't watched many of these, but for some reason I did this one, and one thing I noticed was TB giving what I call the 'devil's hi sign' or it's also called devil's horns, at 2:14 into the video (total time for this one is about 6 minutes). And, he gives the sign with his left hand, and the church of satan calls itself 'the left hand way'. The implications are not good, to put it mildly.

The Florida revival - 'real deal' or demonic deception?

Like some of you have probably seen, I've seen some articles online about the 'Lakeland Revival' happening in Florida. Prior to this, I'd not really heard of Todd Bentley. Some of the articles I'd read are not very flattering, but on the other hand if this IS a 'move of God' and people are really being healed, then I didn't want to write against it. Mostly what I've done is to pray for discernment and that if it is a demonic deception, that God make that clear to me and more importantly to those of His children that are in the middle of it. I live on the other side of the country from where this 'revival' is going on, and I don't have God.tv; so except for reading a few articles I've mostly ignored it.

Since one of the main topics of this blog is spiritual warfare, and discernment and demonic activity very much relate to spiritual warfare, I decided to post what I've come up with. My answer to the question posed in the title is: demonic deception. Over a year ago, close to 2 years ago perhaps, I subscribed to the email list for 'Extreme Prophetic' with Patricia King. I'd seen some of her video's on her website and some of them had some good info. (She's more lately turned almost exclusively to the 'glory' and manifestations of this 'glory' -- and the word that came to mind when I prayed for discernment about that was 'sorcery'; but otherwise I'll leave it at that.)

On May 20 I received an email from XPMedia with the title:

Revival is for YOU and it is for NOW! Grab Hold of the Spirit of Revival and Bring it to Your Region!

I thought that was kind of interesting and sort of creepy & scary at the same time. So, I sent an email quoting part of the email as follows:

On Tue, May 20, 2008 at 8:52 AM, EXTREME PROPHETIC - XPMEDIA <patriciakinginjesus...> wrote:
<In addition to the powerful presence of God, and all the miracles, there are two things that really jump out about the revival going on in Lakeland. The first is that the Spirit of Revival moving there is so impartable. Everyone who comes back from Lakeland feels the Lord has told them to give it away, give it away, give it away! The second thing that jumps out is that it seems to be God's plan for this to be a revival that spreads!>
I have a question, if we have the Holy Spirit, why do we need a 'Spirit of Revival' ?? Is this one of the gifts of the Spirit? The fact that this 'spirit' is 'so impartable' makes my discernment antennae go up. Are they 'giving it away' with or without the gospel being preached? Is it for believers only, or are non-believers receiving this 'spirit' too?

I am in prayer about it, and hope it's for real, but there's a creepiness about it that gives me pause.

Here's the response I received, from Ruth Ripley at xpmedia:

Well, the spirit of revival is just an igniting of our spirits to get out there and do the “stuff”………it’s not like a 'real spirit' whereas the HOLY SPIRIT is actually real.

How's that for a non-response?

The following article is what finally convinced me that this 'move' is a demonic deception, below is a pivotal quote from an article: Todd Bentley Imports Anti-Christ Spirit

Based on the Holy Bible, Todd Bentley could not be imparting the Holy Spirit of GOD, since one human cannot impart the Holy Spirit to another, nor anoint one with the Holy Spirit. It shows in the Holy Bible, however, that one can impart demons. In Revelation 16:

12 Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared. 13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

As I thought and thought about why on earth Todd Bentley would blow on people when he does this impartation…this verse soon came to mind. What on earth is in Todd Bentley that he not only wants to touch you to give it to you, but needs to blow it on you, too? My guess is that unclean spirits have possessed Todd Bentley and are spreading themselves among the willing. What on earth could all of those convulsions be about. Does Todd Bentley want us to believe that when the Holy Spirit manifests, He makes you shake your head from side to side, swing your arms wildly and fall backwards seemingly unconscious? [Might I also mention the uncontrollable laughter, twitching; literally behaving like an animal and making strange, guttural sounds?]

In addition, here some more good articles here: click on 'what's new' and then the link for The Florida 'Revival'.

The ones I'd recommend are 'Warning about watching 'revival' videos' by Joseph Urban; as well as 'Most 'contagious' anointing' by Andrew Strom.

Addition to post Wed May 28, 2008

Apparently Todd Bentley claims to have visitations from 'angels'; most notably one called Emma O and another one related to the Florida Revival is called Winds of Change .
The most important question would be: are these angels of God? Or demonic spirits? I haven't done a thorough study of the Bible in relation to angels, but from what I've gathered they are NOT called upon by us to increase our finances or to do healing. If, in response to a prayer to our Heavenly Father, He sends an angel on an assignment, or to communicate a message, that's all well and good.

So I wanted to share the following passage of scripture that appears to me to relate to this issue.

Col 2:18 Let no one defraud you by acting as an umpire {and} declaring you unworthy {and} disqualifying you for the prize, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, taking his stand on visions [he claims] he has seen, vainly puffed up by his sensuous notions {and} inflated by his unspiritual thoughts {and} fleshly conceit, [From the Amplified Bible ]

False Prophet ? I think so.

Back on July 6, 2007 I posted a message about Kim Clement, and that I was still on the fence about him.

Then I saw a message (prophesy) that seemed to point to God saying Barack Obama was going to be our next President (of the U.S.). Since my support has been and still is for Dr. Ron Paul -- I prayed about it, mostly to gain some insight or discernment whether Mr. Clement is indeed a prophet of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the same God who sent His only son to be our Savior. Sometimes answers to that sort of prayer come by way of allowing me to answer the question myself, as it did in this case.

The evening of Sunday, April 13 2008 I watched something on TBN, I forget what it was now. Then I left the room to get ready for bed and left the t.v. on; and as I was walking back to turn off the t.v. I saw Kim Clement was on so I listened for a couple of moments. I'm going to paraphrase what he said, since I didn't write it down right away, or record it (I did write it down the next day). He gave some sort of prophesy and then he said that 'if you believe (or accept) what I've said, a spirit of prophesy will be put inside you, because I have spoken it.' I thought it was kind of creepy, and also pretty unscriptural. I've read the New Testament a few times, and not once did I see anywhere that one had to wait for a prophet to speak something and for you then to believe or accept it before it would come to pass. (The word that comes to mind is hubris.)

In my spiritual warfare studies, it seems that demonic spirits will take on a singular name; so as far as I can tell -- if such a 'spirit of prophesy' were to come into a person because they accepted what Kim said, it was a demonic spirit. (See: Acts 16:16 - (ESV) As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a [singular] spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling.

According to scripture, prophesy is one of several 'gifts of the Spirit' (Spirit being the Holy Spirit). 1Co 12:4 (4) Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; (ESV) as well as 1 Cor 12:9 and 10.


When I went to the Elijah List site to find the particular message where Kim 'prophesied' about Mr. Obama, I found this recent message on the site and decided to read it. In it he says:

The enemy has put up barriers and lies and persuaded you. Why are there always boundaries, why are there always laws, why does the enemy always come and restrict us?

Having come from an abusive home and studied spiritual warfare, I know for sure that it is the devil that tries to destroy boundaries, we need to have some boundaries and discernment or else you end up with 'anything goes', don't you? In John 10:7 it is written:

(7) So Jesus again said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. (ESV)
and in John 10:1 and 2 it is written:

(1) "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber.
(2) But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. (ESV)

Isn't a door and a sheepfold a boundary? And isn't the one who 'climbs in by another way' someone who tries to get around those boundaries? Yes, and yes. And in Nehemiah 1:3 it is written:

(3) And they said to me, "The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire." (ESV)
and in Nehemiah 2:17 it is written:

(17) Then I said to them, "You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision." (ESV)

He went to re-build the wall -- which is a boundary, so that they would no longer suffer derision. It appears to me that Kim (or his 'god') is suggesting that we remove all boundaries, without discernment, and that is dangerous. That leaves one wide open to any lies the devil wants you to believe. In the above quote Kim Clement said 'why does the enemy always come and restrict us?' -- my question is: who is the enemy that he speaks of?

While it's true that we sometimes have unneccesary restrictions or burdens, (and EFT can help with those) we also need to use discernment. One of the biggest dangers I see with some of these prophesies is that it can lead to feeling apathetic, and believing something has already been 'ordained' when it really hasn't been. So, fwiw, I've now come off of the fence so to speak, and now believe Kim Clement to be a false prophet.

The Dark Side of Calvinism

I haven't made it a secret on here that I support the candidacy of Ron Paul for U.S. President, which isn't the reason I'm writing this article. However, through the local Ron Paul meetup group I met one of my neighbors, who introduced me to Reformed Theology (since he attends a reformed church) which lead me to do a little research and I discovered that Reformed and Calvinism are basically synonymous terms.

As I've probably also mentioned, I attend a local Calvary Chapel church. One day a book on a shelf in the 'resource center' caught my eye, titled: The Dark Side of Calvinism., by George Bryson. I got the book 2-3 weeks ago, and finished it last week. Early on in the book, while quoting from Reformed / Calvinist sources, some of it sounded similar to some of the eastern religion / 'new age' type teachings I'd seen before and I made a mental note to get something more specific. However, close to the end of the book (it's 398 pages) I discover he added more specifics, as follows, from pages 317-318:

In the Jim Henson animated Disney movie The Dark Crystal, the forces of light and darkness, good and evil, finally meet to see who or what will ultimately triumph. To the delight of New Agers everywhere, as it turned out, the ultimate victory, according to the creator of the Muppets, was not good over evil but the realization that these were mere illusions. That is, ultimately there was no good or evil, right or wrong. Unwittingly, the Calvinist view of the sovereign decrees of God accomplishes essentially the same thing.

If evil can be traced to God the way good can, if God is responsible for everything the way Calvinism says He is, if man is just an actor in a divine play (a tragedy at that), then the Hindu concept of Maya, which says (among other things) that human morality is just an illusion, is not that far off after all. A well thought-out understanding of Calvinist logic actually leads to views which are more in keeping with Hinduism than with biblical Christianity. I do not say these things to inflame the Calvinist. I do not believe Calvinists are Hindus. I do believe, however, that the Calvinist view of sovereignty and predestination logically lead to ideas which are as foreign to Scripture as is Hinduism. Some ideas in Calvinism lead logically to other ideas that should be anathema even to the most staunch and extreme Calvinist.

And here's a good blog article I found that's titled: Why you should not be a Calvinist.

The upshot of reading this book for me, was that I will now be much more discerning in which articles and commentaries I read and/or pass on, with a particular interest in whether the writer follows a Calvinist / Reformed doctrine or what? It's been an eye-opener. And of course there'll be more to learn, but at least I know that even among fellow 'Christians' I need to use a good deal of discernment.

IF you happen to be a Calvinist who is reading this, and if what I'm writing is eliciting one or more negative emotions, please note that I am not equipped and have no desire to engage in theological debates or discussions. Otherwise, general comments are welcome! In addition requests for information or EFT coaching services is also welcome.

Herescope : Happy New Year from the New Age "Christ"!

Good message.  Here's a link to a message about 'A Course in Miracles'. I'll probably add another message at a 
later date with a couple of other articles about this topic.

Blog: Herescope
Post: Happy New Year from the New Age "Christ"!

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Spirit releasement - a different kind of therapy

I'm reading an article about something called 'spirit releasement therapy'. I'd previously heard about it from something mentioned in the EFT e-newsletter that I've been receiving for a few years. I looked at the website (linked above) and thought it was interesting, but since it's primarily a secular endeavor I just bookmarked it, and prayed that if it's worth knowing more about that the Holy Spirit let me know.

Here's a couple of paragraphs from the article, followed by a couple of personal comments.

Most of us have a child or relative or friend whose life is shattered by depression, sexual dysphoria, obsessive compulsive disorder, eating disorder, chronic fatigue syndrome, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, autism or a host of other ailments. What if you were told that there was a healer who could get to the bottom of the problem and heal it, but that the source of the problem was probably an attached spirit? Would you go for it? Could you open your mind to the possibility that your sister’s untreatable 30-year-long bulimia could be stopped dead in its tracks by identifying the spirit behind the disease, releasing it into the light, and then teaching her how to protect against a future attachment?

All in this movement hope that you would. They see the procedure not as a throwback to medieval times when demoniacs were put to death, but as an advance. William Woolger, an internationally renowned transpersonal psychologist, sees it as “the next and essential stage in the development of psychology, a kind of return to the source.”

My thinking on this topic is that 1^st, yes I do believe in a spiritual realm. (Obviously, since I talk and write about spiritual warfare!) 2^nd, my approach doesn't necessarily require a 'direct involvement' with attached or possessing or whatever types of spirits. My contention or belief is that with EFT we're getting to the emotional 'roots' of any hold such a spirit would have, and once that's cleared then any spirits involved either leave automatically (since they have nothing to 'hold onto'); or using the authority of Jesus Christ / Yeshua the spirit would be banished pretty easily once it's roots have been removed. If there's any need for direct involvement, I'd leave that to the Holy Spirit and His direction.

Another thing that bothers me with this particular approach and having researched the topic, particularly exorcisms and deliverance, is that the devil and his demons are liars and deceivers. The article points out that these practitioners have found that some of these spirits are 'earthbound' spirits, i.e. former physical human persons who have passed on and have not gone 'to the light' yet. Then there are some that are termed DFEs, or “dark force entities”, and those I'd equate with the satanic or demonic realm. From this article and the spirit releasement website stories, it appears that one doesn't need the authority of Christ to have the spirit(s) release it's hold on a person. And the logical conclusion to that is that He (Jesus / Yeshua) died in vain. Or maybe His sacrifice was only needed until someone could come up with this spirit-releasement therapy? Overall, I don't buy it.

Obviously, if it's helping people that's a good thing. And if it leads people to Jesus and not away from Him, that's also a good thing. From what I've read, I gather that it does the opposite, and that's not a good thing, because I know in whom I believe. There's a song running through my head as I type this:  That He would leave His place on high
And come for sinful man to die, You count it strange, so once did I, Before I knew my Savior.

I'll add more if or when I have more insight, and if anyone wants to join in the discussion you're welcome!

Spiritual Pyromaniacs

I'd mentioned in an earlier post that I had been watching the 'Let Us Reason' website for updates on the Healing Rooms, here in Spokane, Washington (and elsewhere). I then said that'd wait for another blog posting, and here it is. Part of the reason I was looking for those updates was because I had found the Healing Rooms website, and saw that they had Sat. evening 'services' for their ACTS ministries.

I attended a couple of those services, and had the opportunity to say hello to Michelle, Cal Pierce's wife, before one of those services. The service isn't exactly like a traditional church service, they were more of an update on the travels of Cal and crew, or their plans for the ACTS ministry. There's some live music before the service, and some of that music left me a little uneasy. It was the unscriptural lyrics to at least 1 song that convinced me that ministry wasn't the place for me, so I haven't been back there since a few months ago. And the long, drawn-out songs during 'worship' reminded me of a live Grateful Dead concert I listened to on the radio back in the late 1970's or early 1980's. Repeating the same notes or words over and over for several minutes. Not my 'bag', as they used to say.

However, I'm now reading an article by Jackie Alnor, titled the same as this blog posting. In the article she writes about something called 'fire tunnels' as below:

And now in Toronto John Arnott’s young people are involved in some of the scariest spreading of this fire onto other young folks who come looking for a spiritual jolt. They call this ceremony "fire tunnels" in which two rows of young people line up while a group of blessing-seekers go single file down the middle. As they proceed into the tunnel, shouts of "Fire" and "Fire on you" come out of the mouths of the imparters as they touch the seekers’ heads and foreheads in order to spread the fire. As they do, the recipients of these fire spirits jolt and jump around with some pretty scary looks on their faces. (To see this in action – go to these links at TACF:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-4pyiYAlzg
; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_ErxBdAm8M )

When I was at the first of the 3 meetings I attended at ACTS ministries, rather than doing their usual (?) prayer for people at the end of the service, they did one of these same 'fire tunnels' !! I had no idea what they were, but given that I'd been researching this spiritual warfare issue for a while AND remembering the following passage of scripture --
(1Ti 5:22 KJVA) Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men's sins: keep thyself pure.

I said a silent prayer before I went through this line, since I'd never done this before and didn't know any of those people. I prayed asking God to keep me safe from any unclean spirit that those touching me may attempt to send my way, asking for this protection in Jesus name. So as I went through this line most people used the word 'blessing' when touching my forehead or shoulder, and one woman said something and then while she was touching me she started shaking uncontrollably. Her teeth were chattering, she was shaking so hard, she had to let go of me to make it stop. There were people laid out on the floor at the end of the line, another first for me. I was fine, I walked over to the chair where I'd left my Bible, picked it up and went home.

So while I do believe in the 'gifts of the spirit' and attend a local Calvary Chapel church, I also know that it is written that one of the 'fruits of the spirit' is self-control. Uncontrollable shaking and/or being laid out on the floor, and similar things are not of God's Spirit.

The reason I went there in the first place was primarily as a possible avenue for networking for EFT. The article by Jackie is additional confirmation for me that I made the right decision in steering clear of that ministry. Discernment is so important, since there are places where they can use some of the right words and it sounds like it's all full of the 'light of truth' when it's really just the opposite.

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The Truth behind 'The Secret'

I just finished reading The Truth Behind The Secret, 'The Secret' being the book and DVD by that title about the (so-called) 'law of attraction'. Since I had a small rant in my booklet about the (so-called) 'law of attraction' I thought I'd post a bit of a follow-up here.

The book confirmed that the 'secret' book is based on some of the teachings of Abraham, a group of 'entities' (i.e. demonic spirits) channeled by Esther Hicks. I used to subscribe to their tape series and had several of their books, before I came to Christianity and repented and have thrown out all of the books. I may still have a few of the tapes, in a box somewhere. There's also some influence of the Religious- Mind Science / Unity teachings. Since the authors are much more knowledgeable in these areas, I was glad to see it also agreed with the conclusion in my booklet that they basically preach pantheism. (God is in all things, and/or is a 'universal energy' but isn't a personal God that can save you from their demonic deception.)

The biggest thing I've gotten out of it, now that I've been out of it for a few years and studied the Bible, is that their focus is on 'the deception of riches' -- which is essentially believing the devil's lie that riches are going to bring you happiness and security. I'll certainly admit that struggling financially isn't a lot of fun, but as Jesus said: 'For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?' (Mar 8:36 KJVA) and see also Matthew 16:26.

I wanted to share a couple of paragraphs from pages 44 and 45 of the book, it's discussing channeling in general.

THE DANGERS OF CHANNELING

Most interesting is Klimo's warning about evil spirits in connection with channeling. As a proponent and practitioner of channeling, Klimo is familiar with the traditional Christian perspective that fallen angels (demons) may be involved. Although Klimo does not completely agree with this perspective, he readily acknowledges that some channeling does involve evil beings bent on deception.

In his interview, he explained, "not every ancient spirit is wise or benevolent" -- some belong to "the dark brotherhood." Klimo repeatedly referred to these dark beings as spirits who are involved in some kind of invisible warfare against all that is good. While he believes these evil spirits are in the minority, he recognizes a significant potential danger when it comes to channeling, noting" [There are] even more dangerous sources ... nonhuman demons, evil spirits, forces of Satan or Lucifer and the 'Dark Brotherhood'. These entities await every opportunity to tempt and control human spirits. Historically, the negative presence of lower astral human spirits has been attributed to these demonic entities."

If we accept Klimo's explanation of channeling, then we have to acknowledge that deception is possible. There is a possibility of fraud and fakery, self-deception on the part of the channeler, a mental illness or psychological phenomenon, or even an evil, demonic spirit pretending to be a wise helper.

The book is certainly worth a look, it covers a good deal in 149 pages (before the end-notes). I read a copy from my local library, and it's also available here, or here.

Apparently there is also going to be a DVD documentary, there's a link on their website to view a preview clip.

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What is God's will vs Christian Liberty ?

I wanted to share a very good article that I found on Brian Flynn's website (author of a book I recently finished titled: Running Against the Wind. It's very good and I plan to post something from it a bit later.)

However this article is about Christian Liberty -- as in what are we at liberty to choose in certain areas if it's not specifically mentioned in scripture; since scripture is His revealed will? This article is written by Bob Dewaay.

Here are a couple of paragraphs from the article, and it's helped clear up some of my thinking on the topic.

How do we find out God’s will in matters of Christian liberty? By making an informed choice and living out all the ramifications of that choice to God’s glory by His grace. God’s providential will is known after we make the choice ─ it is whatever we chose. If that choice does not transgress anything revealed in Scripture, then it cannot be a sinful choice unless we make it with evil motives. Examples of choices that the New Testament expressly says are within the realm of Christian liberty are things like marriage, food, circumcision, and holy days to be observed. Some choose a more rigorous and restricted approach to life (see Romans 14), and others less restrictive. What we are not free to do is judge others on matters that rightfully fall into the category of liberty. These are matters God has not dictated in Scripture.

and a few paragraphs later he adds this --

Paul was in prison when he wrote to the Philippians: “Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel” (Philippians 1:12). Paul was in prison because civil authorities put him there. Thus God’s providential will was revealed. There is no assurance that by learning to follow some secret “inner voice of God” we will be more pleasing to God and be more “in the center of His will.” This idea hinders true Christian liberty and leads to many sorrows.

Many think that God will feed them information about all their decisions and give them the “Midas touch.” This concept is false. God does not tell us which stocks are going up, which car will never break down, which house will go up in value, and other turn by turn directions that will lead us to bliss and success in this life. In God’s wisdom He has granted us freedom to make these decisions freely, and without recrimination for the results. It is not a sin to make decisions within the realm of Christian liberty that we regret later. As earthly parents, we will judiciously allow our children to do the same. It is a central part of our human freedom and dignity to make decisions and watch the consequences play out in life. It sounds good to have the “Midas touch” but if it existed it would be ruinous as it was in the fable.

I think that the idea of making the 'right decision' to be sure what we're doing is in God's will comes from the evil one. I've certainly tied myself into mental & emotional knots over it, and I think it's part of what sends people to psychics and the like. However, I do think that praying over a decision before you make it can probably keep you out of harm's way in some cases. The Holy Spirit does indeed communicate with us, but that doesn't mean He needs to put his 'stamp of approval' on every matter before you can do something. My current thinking, after reading this excellent article -- would be that praying over things / decisions is a good idea. Particularly if it's a big decision, like who to marry or where to live or go to church, and the like. If the Holy Spirit gives you guidance or words of knowledge (which don't always come immediately!), then go with that. Otherwise, make your best decision and move forward. For a really good book about the Holy Spirit, I like Chuck Smith's book 'Living Water'.

A short attempt to debunk EFT and SW

I'm pretty sure this article on the 'Let Us Reason' website is in reference to EFT and similar modalities in general, and in particular as a tool for Christians. Why I say that, is because a few months back I sent an email to Mike (the admin / owner of the LUR website) telling him that I liked his website and invited him to read my e-booklet and welcomed any feedback he may have. I then advised that our correspondence may or may not end up on my blog, and asked that if he specifically did NOT want it posted here for him to please let me know. I believe in fair warning, fair play and that sort of thing.

His only response was a couple of weeks later, warning me against things not invented by Christians, as well as warning me against the Elijah List, since I have an article or 2 on here from that website. Since I check in at the 'what's new' link on the LUR website on a regular basis, particularly looking for the article(s) about The Healing Rooms. That's a topic for another blog message, perhaps. Among the 'new' articles is the one linked above, and it's so short I'm going to cut & paste it and then address it. The one thing that really bothers me most though, is that I specifically emailed and requested feedback. But I received not even so much as a courtesy message that he was posting his response to his website. But, as my pastor said once during a service, shortly after becoming head pastor of a church he discovered that 'sheep bite'. Plus, I have EFT to help soothe my feelers over the whole issue. Here's the article:

When does alternative medicine cross over the line where we need to be concerned?
The sicknesses that we often treat are in the body, it is physical. Regular medicine uses a physical means to treat the physical body (other means are employed when it is emotional/psychosomatic). The majority of New age medicine has the premise that whatever is happening to the body first begins in the spirit. they believe in treating the spirit to fix the body. By manipulating energy centers or meridians that supposedly run through the body, they can align our spirit into health, which will then affect the body.

When we use a spiritual means to treat the physical body, that is when has crossed the line to be something else other than medicine. It is not longer medicine but in the category of the metaphysical or the Occult. We are no longer using a physical cure for a physical ailment.

We find many of these techniques are connected with other religions and spiritual systems. The belief that sickness is in the spirit first and manifests in the body (like Mind sciences teaches).

These kind of methods used from other religions the Bible tells us not to use.

Where does the Bible tell us not to use them? We're told in the Bible not to engage in sorcery or divination and not to consult those with familiar spirits (i.e. 'channelers' ), and told not to worship strange gods. EFT does none of those things, though some EFT practitioners may do some of those things. The part where it mentions meridians is really what tipped me off that it might be discussing EFT type modalities. Plus my e-booklet puts forth my contention that emotion and spirit are linked. Thus if you're using EFT for emotional issues it would also tie into spiritual issues, and I cite many passages of scripture to back up my contention. My response is going to be somewhat short, since this is one of the few articles on this website with absolutely NOT ONE scripture to back up his contention. The article says it has crossed the line when we use a spiritual means to treat the physical body and that puts it in the realm of the occult? First of all, how many scientific studies have shown links between stress and disease, just one of several 'emotional states'. I just did a search on the dogpile search engine, using the terms 'stress AND disease' and it came up with 95 results. (Granted, some of them aren't more than links to shopping sites, but many contain useful information.) I then did the same with 'sadness AND disease' and that came back with 100 results. Plus, EFT is primarily about emotions and not necessarily the physical body.

Not to mention, how many passages of scripture say that Jesus cast out devils and they were healed? Would that not be a 'spiritual means to treat the physical body' ? Using eSword, I did a search of the KJVA New Testament using the words 'devil heal' and include a partial match, it came up with 11 results. Here are a few of them:

Mat 4:24 KJVA
(24) And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.

Mat 12:22 KJVA
(22) Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.

Luk 8:2 KJVA
(2) And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils,

Luk 9:42 KJVA
(42) And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down, and tare him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father.

Act 10:38 KJVA (38) How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

In some cases it appears that 'casting out of devils' and 'healing' are not one in the same thing, in some cases one thing was done and then in others people were healed. Though in some passages it appears the two are in fact linked. And there are many, many mentions of various and different emotions in the Bible -- several of them in my e-booklet or and/or the appendix.

Of course, there's always the possibility that the article had very little to do with EFT, either in conjunction with using it as a tool in spiritual warfare, or not. But I doubt it. I'll close this response with the following verses from the book of Romans:

Rom 14:13-14 WEB (13) Therefore lets not judge one another any more, but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block in his brothers way, or an occasion for falling. (14) I know, and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean of itself; except that to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.

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Where's the discernment?

I didn't add a 'tag' of Harry Potter for this message, since it's hopefully the only message I'll ever post on the topic. But, since the blog topic is spiritual warfare, I have to post something.

I'm flabbergasted. Nearly speechless. It's a good thing I don't need to speak to type this up! I stopped by one of my favorite Christian blogs, which is also on my list of Christian blogs and websites on here. (At least it is as I'm typing this, it may or may not remain on the list, I'll have to pray about it.) And one of the articles is a review of, guess what? The latest Harry Potter movie! Biblical Christianity: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: very spoilery movie review

What's wrong with this picture? On that blog, he says: "PS — I really don't want to spend too much time on the "how-can-a-Christian-read/watch-Harry-Potter?" thing. If you want to read more along those lines, you might try here." and therefore I figured I'd spend some time on that question here on my own blog.

Here's my question: isn't Harry Potter all about 'magic', 'witchcraft' and 'wizardry' ?? How on God's green earth can ANY Christian think that it's just harmless, imaginary fun? I wasn't raised in 'the church', and spent some time in the 'new age' type beliefs, and came to Christianity by way of studying this topic of spiritual warfare, and I can guarantee you that Harry Potter is all about using demonic powers. Have I read any of the books? No! I've heard enough about them to know what they're about and I won't spend what little money I have on something so unGodly. I'm actually a big fan of the local library, and I wouldn't check one of the HP books out of the library, either. (In case anyone cares, I am reading a book by Ravi Zacharias called 'The Real Face of Atheism' right now, from the library. I'm becoming one of his newest fans, but I digress...)

That's basically my take on it, and perhaps I'll post a message or two backing that up, with some messages on witchcraft and / or deliverance from demonic spirits, from those who have had involvement in the occult and who have then come out of it. In fact, the video I linked a few days ago is a case in point. This is not harmless or wholesome fun for the kids. It just boggles my mind that a preacher of the gospel would take his children to see a Harry Potter movie in the name of 'family entertainment'. It's just so easy to compromise or justify a little here and a little there, and before you know it you're doing more to serve the dark side than the Lord. I'm not saying that's the case here, but it's a slippery slope. I pray for discernment and that I'm not deceived, and that those who have been deceived be brought back to the truth of His light. In Jesus name, amen.

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