Gary Gilley reviews "The Shack" by William P. Young

Gary Gilley has provided a valuable service to all with his review of the bestselling novel "The Shack" by William P. Young. Analyzing the book's theological message, he demonstrates that while the tale occasionally gets some Christian theology correct, it mostly distorts the biblical message and inaccurately presents the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Some would argue that "The Shack" is just a story and as such does not aim to be a theological presentation. It should therefore not be judged on the accuracy of its theology. Gilley acknowledges that "good Christian fiction has the ability to get across a message in an indirect, non-threatening yet powerful, way." Yet he also believes that "what determines the value of fiction is how closely it adheres to Scripture" and sets out to measure "The Shack" by these criteria.

In a sense, every individual has a working "theology". Even if one's theology is not a theistic (or even conscious) theology, human beings are always trying to understand the meaning of their existence. One's "theology" then, describes the beliefs one develops and holds in order to explain and give meaning to reality.

Gilley writes,

The Shack, like many books today, decries theology on the one hand while offering its own brand on the other. A story has the advantage of putting forth doctrine in a livelier manner than a systematic work can do—which is why we find most of Scripture in narrative form. The question is, does Young’s theology agree with God’s as revealed in Scripture? The short answer is “sometimes” but often Young totally misses the mark.

Gilley is quite kind in the tone of his critique, acknowledging that Young portrays some biblical truths accurately. But in my mind this is precisely what makes Young's book all the more deceptive-- it lures one in by getting a few things right, but its overall message is New Age pantheism (and or panentheism) and not Christianity at all.

Friends, if theology describes what one believes about God and the way the world works, let us not make the mistake of saying that all such views and beliefs are equally valid and helpful. The Bible certainly does not present theology that way, but depicts God in a definite way and says: this is God, and this is how you must have a relationship with Him. One can either accept or reject the Bible's presentation, but we must at least acknowledge that the Bible's message is specific. It says Jesus Christ "is the way, the truth and the life" and no one comes to the Father except through Him, rather than "all paths lead to God in the end" (so it doesn't matter what one believes). The Bible contradicts such universalism, as well as the God-is-in-everything message presented in novels such as "The Shack". As for me, I believe the Bible's eternal revelation is true and will stand long after books like "The Shack" are utterly forgotten.

You can read Gilley's full review here:

The Shack by William P. Young

Tags: Gary Gilley, The Shack, William P. Young, book review, discernment, New Age, pantheism, panentheism, theology

Sickness, Healing and the Christian, Pt 1(Dangerous Deceptions)

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Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. Matthew 24:23-25

Many Christian ministers today triumphantly proclaim doctrines about healing, sickness and the Christian that imply physical healing is an absolute guarantee in this life for anyone who places faith in Christ, especially, when faith is placed in what Christ accomplished on the cross. They teach that "healing is in the atonement"-- that in the same way believing in Christ's sacrificial death immediately removes the guilt of sin by providing the means through which God forgives and justifies believers, so also Christ took our sicknesses upon Himself, providing physical health that is available right now through faith. But is the promise of physical healing for this earthly life one that Christians ought to expect and even claim as their right? Or is the granting of physical healing under the control of a wise, good and sovereign God, who has a sanctifying purpose in bringing various trials and sufferings (which may include sickness) into the life of believers?

In this series of articles, my aim is to delve into these challenging questions and to present a biblical alternative to the popular view on sickness espoused by those sometimes labeled "faith healers". We will examine the common teaching on sickness and health, to see if it accords with Scripture, and I will also direct the reader to further resources for study. The more I have investigated and studied the topic of sickness and healing, the more I am convinced that the widespread teaching about "healing for today" misinterprets the Bible. Those who teach these doctrines range from sincere, compassionate individuals who long to bring God's healing power to those who suffer, and believe what they teach is true and biblical; to charlatans in the "healing business" out of greed. But whether sincerely believed or not, my conclusion is that this doctrine of guaranteed healing is a dangerous deception that leaves many sufferers deeply disappointed when they don't receive their expected healing. In addition, in some cases it appears people are being demonically deceived and ensnared because they open themselves via "impartations" to powers not of God.

Personal Bias?
I want to assure readers that my writing is not based on a personal bias against miracles, or disbelief that God can move today in a supernatural way. I sincerely believe God is all-powerful and can do miracles today. Additionally, for several years my wife and I attended charismatic churches and were very inclined to believe what was being taught about healing for today, especially since my wife was dealing with chronic illness and hoping to be cured. We really wanted these teachings to be true, to bring an end to the illness that had brought us suffering and disrupted our lives. Admittedly, the fact that my wife did not get healed in the way we expected does color my current views, but my argument in this article is not based on my personal experience, but is an attempt to analyze the teaching of the "faith-healers" against Scripture. I want to judge experience by the teaching of the Scripture, rather than read into Scripture my own experience.

Certainly too, I would delight in seeing people being healed of their illnesses, knowing how awful it is to be sick, but I have yet to see hard factual evidence that people are in fact being healed through these types of healers. On the other hand I have personally experienced the guilt, confusion and disappointment that results from expecting healing to come but not seeing it happen.

And in the course of researching this article I have become increasingly aware of and concerned about the dangers of these kinds of teachings. The hype behind healing ministries implies all its testimonies are positive, but there of plenty of negative stories, from those bitterly disappointed in their quest for a miracle healing. This compels me to point out the errors I believe one finds when these common views on healing are evaluated scripturally, because so many people are embracing them uncritically.

A truth to keep in mind as we move forward in our examination of contemporary healing ministries is that Jesus taught that what happens to your earthly body is not the ultimate concern in life-- much more important that the condition of one's body is the eternal state of one's soul (Matthew 10:28, Luke 12:4). So although Jesus' ministry was filled with healings that demonstrated His compassion for sufferers, revealed Him as the Messiah and gave us a foretaste of the perfect healing that will come when we receive new bodies, nevertheless His followers still get sick and die in this world. Sickness and death are simply facts of life in a fallen world.

If we can show that today's healing ministries are unbiblical in their practices due to unsound theology, then even if healing/deliverance occurs within them, this does not override their faulty foundation or validate them. As Jesus warned us above, Satan is a master counterfeiter and mimics the miracles of God. Miracles, signs and wonders are not the ultimate test of truth, since they can be faked by men or demons. What better strategy to deceive people could Satan use than to fool people via pseudo-miracles into believing that experience is more critical and more valuable than the truth provided in God's Word?

Word-Faith Teaching
If you are at all familiar with popular Christian television programming, as featured on such networks as TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network), God TV, Daystar or The Word Network, you have no doubt noticed the proliferation of preachers/teachers who declare that healing for the body is the birthright of all Christians, and who claim to be doing healing miracles today in the name and by the power of Jesus. Proclaiming "Jesus is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Heb 13:8), and "by His stripes you are healed" (1 Pet 2:24), these teachers promote what has come to be known as "Word of Faith" or "Word-Faith" doctrine, which teaches that it is always God's will for you to be healed. With an assumed mandate from passages such as Mark 16:14-19, purveyors of "Word-Faith" doctrine conclude that they have been commissioned and authorized to heal/deliver the afflicted in precisely the same way today as did Jesus and His apostles. According to their teaching, miracles, signs and wonders, divine health and favor, and even financial prosperity are all to follow after the Christian in this life because of what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross. Key proponents of this type of teaching include Kenneth Hagin (deceased), Joel Osteen, Kenneth Copeland, Paul and Jan Crouch (TBN Network), Benny Hinn, Steve Muncie, Creflo Dollar, David Yonggi Cho, Frederick Price, Rodney Howard-Browne, Peter Popoff, Don Stewart, Morris Cerullo, Reinhard Bonnke, Joyce Meyer and many more. Some of these Word-Faith ministers emphasize healing while others focus more on prosperity, but usually both healing and prosperity are espoused within the Word-Faith message.

Signs and Wonders?
A movement that shares themes with Word-Faith is known as the "Signs and Wonders" movement (a.k.a. Latter Rain/Third Wave/Apostolic/Prophetic). It includes such leaders as John Wimber (deceased), C. Peter Wagner, Mike Bickle, Rick Joyner, Tommy Tenney, Cindy Jacobs, Jack Deere, Paul Cain, Bob Jones, Patricia King, Dutch Sheets, Che Ahn and promotes miracles as the ideal way of evangelizing ("power evangelism"). Signs and wonders, they say, have largely been missing from the church, but the Lord is restoring the miraculous in these last days as a prelude to a "huge end-times harvest, revival and awakening." Just as in the days of Jesus and the apostles, today's Christians are to perform miracles that bring down the glory of God in such a way that many will see the miracles and be saved. According to this movement, prophecy is one of those supernatural gifts that has been restored, and leaders in this movement continually give out new visions and prophecies.

Todd Bentley and the Lakeland "Outpouring"
The current so-called Lakeland "outpouring" spearheaded by Todd Bentley (Fresh Fire Ministries) and being broadcast continually on God TV is built on Word-Faith doctrines but is also part of the Latter Rain/Third Wave/Apostolic-Prophetic movement (on June 23rd Bentley received an "apostolic alignment" from C. Peter Wagner and other leaders of the "Apostolic-Prophetic" movement- you can watch this ceremony on YouTube).

At these charismatic meetings the miracles alleged to be taking place supposedly affirm the reality of the power and presence of God, and confirm the leaders and teachings as "anointed" by God. Like other Latter Rain/Third Wave/Prophetic ministries, Bentley's Fresh Fire Ministries characterizes its teachings as "fresh" prophetic words from God, relayed through Todd and his team, who in turn receive them directly from the Lord or from angels (more on this later).

How do we evaluate all these claims of healing by Word-Faith and Signs and Wonders ministers? Isn't it true, as they are proclaiming, that God's nature does not change, and therefore what He did in the Bible He can still do today, so long as we act in faith? Isn't it true that the ministry of Jesus and His apostles was characterized by numerous miracles of healing and deliverance? And didn't Jesus commission His followers to "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation", saying "these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover? (Mark 16:15-20)"

Granted that these words belong in the Bible and are authentically those of Jesus, should we not believe that God is indeed healing today and doing the same kind of miracles through these ministries? Furthermore, if people are really being healed, why not rejoice that God is doing such marvelous things?

My initial, immediate response is this: if people were truly being healed and saved by the power of Christ (and this could be verified medically-- in other words, real, not psychosomatic healings), and if the quality of the miracles was equivalent to that found in the New Testament (not merely claims of people being raised from the dead or new limbs growing but people actually seeing such things before their very eyes), and if one could observe good, lasting fruit-- people growing in sound biblical doctrine and in maturity in their walk with God) as a result of these ministries, then there would certainly be good cause to celebrate.

Unfortunately this kind of good fruit is scarcely evident, if it is at all observable. The miracles are but unverified claims. Many of the most famous of these ministries have been investigated and asked to provide independent evidence of anyone being healed and have not done so (see below for more articles and resources. Additionally the doctrine espoused by these ministers and being taught to millions the world over is unsound, misleading people into following after personalities and becoming dependent on so-called "fresh revelations", rather than being taught how to handle the Word of God properly, appropriate truth for themselves and grow in discernment between good and evil. Again, even if some of these healings are real, the fact that the doctrine is so unbiblical discredits them as being genuinely of God. We will delve further into the specifics of how these teachings are not according to Scripture.

Perhaps the root problem in the teaching of the Word-Faith and the Signs and Wonders/Third Wave/Prophetic Movement is that Scripture is deemed insufficient to lead believers into intimacy with God and into spiritual maturity, and we must therefore have "fresh revelation" (often the "fresh" revelation amounts to new, aberrant interpretations of Scripture) in order to really know and encounter God. Accordingly, these movements teach errors such as these:

• We should seek after and experience the "manifest presence" of God.


• We can receive "words from the Lord" and prophesy knowledge that only God is privy to.


• We should hear from God directly to receive daily guidance in decision-making.


• We may grow in the spiritual by being taught of angels and learning how to "see in the Spirit".


• We can command all sorts of miracles to happen.


• God works on Earth only through us.


• We can order demons to the pit of hell.


• Jesus was not poor but rich, and His children we ought to be rich too.


• Sickness is never God's will and is always of the Devil.

And the list of things not taught in the Bible goes on and on. Since I want primarily to focus on the topic of healing in these articles, I don't have time/space to refute every single one of the above statements, but what I am trying to demonstrate is that such errors are related to one another. Aberrant interpretation, coupled with an inadequate view of Scripture, generate such fallacies. We will continue our study, but I will pause here to present you with links to articles to consider, as an immediate antidote to these erroneous ideas.

Chasing Subjective Religious Experience- A Critique of Tommy Tenney's The God Chasers by Bob DeWaay

Hear God’s Voice – Guaranteed? A Critique of Mark Virkler’s Hearing God’s Voice by K. Jentoft

The Problems with Personal Words From God- How People Become False Prophets to Themselves by Bob DeWaay

How Deliverance Ministries Lead People to Bondage- A Warning Against the Warfare Worldview by Bob DeWaay

Was Jesus Rich?

It is not surprising that some are led into error, when the doctrines underlying these ministries liberally quote the Scriptures and so give the appearance of being validated by the Bible, Seduced by charismatic personalities, deceived by half-truths and pseudo- signs and wonders, thousands of people with a seemingly genuine desire to be close to God are being duped.

Doctrine is to be developed from careful study and interpretation of Scripture, (2 Tim 2:15) rather than from the alleged receiving of new revelations directly from Christ or from angels. Scripture teaches that believers are to adhere to and defend sound doctrine (1 Tim 1:10, 1 Tim 6:3-6, Titus 1:9, Titus 2:1), which has already been revealed in the Spirit-inspired writing of the Old and New Testaments, and especially in the recorded teaching and commandments of Christ (1 Tim 6:3). We are responsible to not allow ourselves to be misled by false teaching, even if that teaching should come to us in the form of angelic visitation (Galatians 1:6; 2 Corinthians 11:14).

Because so many are flocking to the current Lakeland, Florida meetings or watching them via God TV and the Internet, I feel it's important to describe how some of the errors we have been speaking about are being played out there specifically. My concern is that people discern the truth through God's Word and don't allow themselves to be deceived.

Problems with the Lakeland Revival
A discerning Christian who examines the supposed Lakeland revival with proper biblical skepticism, judging it against the standards of the Word of God, will, I think, readily see that it is a false movement.

First Caution: Todd Bentley-- Revivalist or Questionable Character?
The most visible leader in the so-called Lakeland revival, Todd Bentley, is a man of questionable character. He's covered with piercings and tattoos all over his neck, arms and legs, many apparently added after his conversion. Additionally, the tattoos he wears may have occult significance (see also here).

In a July 18th interview with The Charlotte Observer, Bentley reported that most of his tattoos were from his "pre-Christian days" and that he "makes no apologies for them." "I love art and, to me, my skin is the canvas," he was quoted as saying. "I'm not taking my skin to heaven." Contrary to this assertion, however, photographs of Bentley show that his tattoos are more recent, and have been added after his conversion and ministry, not before. If Bentley has nothing to apologize for in getting tattoos, why does he say most of his tattoos are from before he was saved, while photographs and videos proclaim the opposite?

So What's Wrong With Tattoos, Anyway?
Now there is no New Testament prohibition against having a tattoo. But the practice was clearly prohibited in the Old Testament (Leviticus 19:28) because of its pagan associations. Even in today's culture, with tattoos more "mainstream", those who get them generally belong to sub-cultures (punk, death metal, heavy metal, bikers, and the criminal element) that are associated with rebellion against authority, violence, and the occult, rather than with godliness and purity. If Christians are called to not love the world (1 John 2:15); to set their minds on things that are above (Col 3:2); and to think about "whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable", what do we make of a "rerivalist" who sports what seem to be occult tattoos and wears a T-shirt saying "Jesus Gave me My Tattoos"?

One might protest that if there is nothing wrong with a getting a tattoo in the New Testament then getting a tattoo falls under Christian liberty, and each individual may act according to their own conscience. Perhaps, it might be further argued, Mr. Bentley is merely trying to present himself as a "regular" guy, one who enjoys riding a Harley, pro-wrestling and getting tattoos (as seen on his Myspace page). If some people relate to him better because he doesn't wear a suit and tie, why object? After all, maybe he is reaching people that others with a more conventional image would not be able to connect with.

Even though we may as Christians have liberty to get a tattoo, ought not one who calls himself a revivalist/preacher-- who has supposedly been through a deep season of repentance-- consider that getting a tattoo was strictly forbidden by God in the Old Testament Scriptures? Why did God Himself prohibit this practice? Could it be that there is danger in it and that He is trying to protect His people? Has God now changed His mind about it? Just as in the time of Israel there were pagan associations with getting a tattoo, so it remains today. One who presents himself as a revivalist ought to have better judgment on this issue.

A good, brief article on this topic of tattoos, written in answer to the question, "Is there any reference in the Bible that is against having a pierced tongue or tattoo and what is your biblical view of these practices?" can be found here: Pierced Tongues or Tattoos. For a more in-depth analysis, read the article To Tattoo or Not to Tattoo- A Christian Response to the Tattoo. I think the author of this article makes a convincing case that getting a tattoo is not a mere fashion statement, but a practice that poses serious dangers physically and spiritually and should definitely be avoided by Christians.

On Todd Bentley's Myspace Profile, he lists books he reads and music he listens to. Now I'm not for censoring what other people read or not read. Some of my own musical preferences might be considered questionable, since I have enjoyed the talents of many secular musicians. As a musician myself, I feel able to appreciate the musicianship of secular artists without being swayed by their un-Christian ideas. I don't think we can dogmatically judge someone's walk with God on the basis that they listen to secular music. Nevertheless, we can tell something about a person by the kinds of books and music they read and which obviously influence them.

On Todd Bentley's Myspace profile we find the following books and musical preferences listed:

Books: Frank Peretti, Ted Dekker, (House, Monster, Oath, Piercing the Darkness, The Prophet), God's Generals, T.L. Osborne (Healing the Sick), Benny Hinn (Goodmorning Holy Spirit), Kenneth Haggin, EW Kenyon, Charles Price (The Real Faith)

Music: Creed, Haste the Day, Nodes of the Ranavier, Mortification, Tourniquet, Eternal Decision, P.O.D, Jason Upton, Michael Larson, Kevin Prosch, Don Potter, Kathryn Scott, Alberto & Kimberly Rivera, Immortal Souls, Living Sacrifice, Johnny Cash, He is Legend, Extol, Embodyment, Divine Fire, Demon Hunter, Day of Fire, U2, Coldplay, James Blunt, Scott Stapp

In Bentley's book selections, we definitely observe the Word-Faith influence (God's Generals, Osborne, Hinn, Hagin, Kenyon). A certain view of the spiritual world is revealed in his choice of the novels of Peretti and Dekker.

I am not familiar with all the groups on his music list, but I agree with the writer of this article "Todd Bentley and the Florida Revival Exposed" that some of the groups Bentley listens to are "as satanic as it gets". Decide for yourself: look up these groups-- Embodyment or Mortification-- for example, watch their videos on YouTube and look up their lyrics. Be forewarned, the lyrics may appear "Christian" but the mood and sound of the music is full of rage, and the videos abound in dark images. Is this the kind of music a Christian revivalist finds enjoyable?

In an article titled How We Began on freshfire.ca, we read the following:

For a period of Todd's Holy Spirit boot camp, he entered an especially deep repentance season in which the Lord began working a sanctification work in him. This was a vital part of Todd's preparation season as God prepared him for the work he was calling him to. During this time, while Todd continued his intimate times of soaking in the Holy Spirit and was increasing in prophetic revelation, the Lord gave him a specific scripture which applied to the youth ministry and to Todd's calling: ... and the highway shall be called a highway of holiness."

For a season Todd began preaching a fiery message of repentance and of dying to self. Many youth began to repent of ungodly lifestyles and began embracing set-apart lifestyles. Some even began destroying ungodly music they were listening to while others began "cleaning up" in other ways.

Here it is claimed that Bentley's "deep repentance season" resulted in his progress in sanctification and challenged his young followers to holiness. Why then does Bentley continue to do things (tattoos, listening to demonic-sounding music) which have all the appearance of not leaving the world behind but embracing it? [UPDATE: Also, if Bentley went through a season of repentance in which he was calling others to a set-apart, holy lifestyle, what did he apparently not resolve the serious issues in his marriage that have now come to light? A report from one of Bentley's supporters, John Arnott, further states that Todd is guilty of excessive drinking and inappropriate behavior with a woman on his staff. It is apparent too that his marital problems have been on-going and longstanding. I don't say these things because I think I am without sin-- I say them as a Chrsitian who has much sin in my life that I am dealing with. But I am pointing out the discrepancies between Bentley's actual life and what his ministry website reports about him. The article quoted above implied that Bentley's powerful, miracle-working ministry was made possible because of his personal closeness to God and his pure lifestyle. We have now found out that this was not entirely accurate, so why should we believe that the miracles he claims to do are genuine?].

Second Caution: "Slain in the Spirit" and other Strange Manifestations
During the Lakeland meetings people come up to the stage one after another alleging they have been healed, and are usually "slain in the Spirit" (typically, people fall down backward when Todd Bentley yells things like "BAM" and touches their foreheads). Observe closely the heads and bodies of Bentley and other leaders on the platform, they sway and shake continually, as if under some power. Listening to someone testify of a healing, Bentley may laugh maniacally, even fall down himself. All of this behavior is simply very strange and gives one pause. Can this be of God? Of course, advocates claim that these kinds of manifestations-- falling down under the power of the Spirit, the jerking and shaking, the laughing fits-- are the result of the Spirit or presence of God coming down on people. It should be noted however, that none of these types of manifestations are described in the New Testament epistles instructing the church as the evidence to look for as being true indications of Spirit-filled and controlled living. Galatians 5:22-24 says, "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires."

Third Caution: Where is the Gospel and Biblical Teaching?
It appears that these meetings focus so much on "miraculous healing" that there is no presentation of the gospel of Jesus Christ, or even much biblical teaching provided about healing. Admittedly I have not personally been there and have not been watching all the broadcasts; it is possible the gospel has been preached in some fashion or some formal teaching about healing presented. But on many occasions when I have turned on the Lakeland proceedings on God TV, I have only seen the parade of testimonies, with no teaching or gospel of Jesus presented. What teaching is presented is the common and faulty Word-Faith/Signs and Wonders message.

Fourth Caution: Doctrine from Angels
Perhaps the mostly troubling aspect of Bentley's ministry is his relationship with angles and how they function in his ministry. For example, he describes a female angel named "Emma":

Now let me talk about an angelic experience with Emma. Twice Bob Jones asked me about this angel that was in Kansas City in 1980: "Todd, have you ever seen the angel by the name of Emma?" He asked me as if he expected that this angel was appearing to me. Surprised, I said, "Bob, who is Emma?" He told me that Emma was the angel that helped birth and start the whole prophetic movement in Kansas City in the 1980s. She was a mothering-type angel that helped nurture the prophetic as it broke out. Within a few weeks of Bob asking me about Emma, I was in a service in Beulah, North Dakota. In the middle of the service I was in conversation with Ivan and another person when in walks Emma. As I stared at the angel with open eyes, the Lord said, "Here's Emma." I'm not kidding. She floated a couple of inches off the floor. It was almost like Kathryn Khulman in those old videos when she wore a white dress and looked like she was gliding across the platform. Emma appeared beautiful and young-about 22 years old-but she was old at the same time. She seemed to carry the wisdom, virtue and grace of Proverbs 31 on her life.

She glided into the room, emitting brilliant light and colors. Emma carried these bags and began pulling gold out of them. Then, as she walked up and down the aisles of the church, she began putting gold dust on people. "God, what is happening?" I asked. The Lord answered: "She is releasing the gold, which is both the revelation and the financial breakthrough that I am bringing into this church. I want you to prophecy that Emma showed up in this service-the same angel that appeared in Kansas city-as a sign that I am endorsing and releasing a prophetic spirit in the church." See, when angels come, they always come for a reason; we need to actually ask God what the purpose is. Within three weeks of that visitation, the church had given me the biggest offering I had ever received to that point in my ministry. Thousands of dollars! Thousands! Even though the entire community consisted of only three thousand people, weeks after I left the church the pastor testified that the church offerings had either doubled or tripled.

Responding to critics he calls "heresy hunters", Bentley now claims there is no angel "Emma" directing his ministry. References to Emma apparently have even been purged from the FreshFire.ca version of the article containing the above quote. However the article as it originally appeared, with references to Emma intact, can be found here.

Despite the fact that Bentley now de-emphasizes the role "Emma" plays in his ministry, it is still clear from his many teachings posted on freshfire.ca that Bentley teaches frequently about angelic hosts that bring "financial release" and "healing mantles". Angels play a prominent role in his ministry in a manner that does not seem biblical.

I appreciate the fact that Bentley has taken the time to respond to critics, in an article titled Lifting Jesus High! Bringing Biblical Light to Your Questions about the Lakeland Outpouring & Todd Bentley. Nevertheless I am not convinced that his defense explains away his un-biblical methods and questionable character.

Fifth caution: Inaccurate prophecies
Like other so-called prophets in the prophetic movement, watch how Bentley "feels around" with his prophecies, throwing things out there and seeming to guess at what is happening to the people he's addressing or in the crowd he's ministering to, via the impressions the Lord supposedly is giving: Todd Bentley the Highly Inaccurate "Prophet"

Indefinite, vague prophecies could be interpreted by individuals as applying to them just because they are so imprecise. This is the same method psychics use. If there is a gift of prophecy for today that is from God, is it so inaccurate and full of guesswork?

Sixth caution: Lack of evidence for healings
Like others who claim to be healing significant numbers of people-- Bentley claims thousands have been healed at the Lakeland meetings-- when challenged by news agencies to supply medical evidence confirming their claims, they come up empty. Here's an excerpt from an ABC Nightline News story on Bentley, titled Thousands Flock to Revival in Search of Miracles:

The Healing Touch?

When asked to present evidence of the healings, Bentley promised to give "Nightline" the names and medical records of three followers who would talk openly about his miracles. He never delivered. Instead, his staff gave "Nightline" a binder filled with what he says are inspiring miracles, but with scant hard evidence. It offered incomplete contact information, a few pages of incomplete medical records, and the doctors' names were crossed out.

When pressed further, Bentley provided the name of a woman in California who had a large tumor in her uterus that shrank after she saw Bentley.

Her husband, however, told "Nightline" that it could be a coincidence because she was still undergoing medical treatment. He said she was too tired to talk to us at the time but added that she was regaining her strength day by day.

The husband did provide some of his wife's medical records from a clinic in Tijuana, Mexico, where she went for cancer treatment after being turned away by American hospitals. They, however, insisted on obscuring the clinic's name and the names of the doctors.

Not a single claim of Bentley's healing powers could be independently verified.

Bentley, however, remains positive.

"I believe God is real and he's showing himself to his people," he said. "Yes, I believe the prayer of faith will save the sick."

Bentley's revival is filled with wheelchairs and crutches, with people of faith and people desperate for salvation through faith.

One of them is Bill Wise. He patiently tended his desperately ill baby daughter throughout the long night's revival. He listened for a call from Bentley offering a cure for his child's condition. But it never came.

Yet Wise defiantly refuses to lose faith.

"Even if we don't see any change, in the immediate run here, sometimes prayer is cumulative," Wise said.

Notice how there are supposed to be thousands of healings happening, claims of outstanding miracles, including such as people being raised from the dead, yet Bentley's organization is not able to provide verification of even a single case, despite Bentley promising to do so. And still Bentley continues to make these sorts of claims of healing, justifying such pronouncements by appealing to the Bible, "I believe the prayer of faith will heal the sick."

One especially feels sympathy for those yearning for a miracle healing like Bill Wise and his desperately ill daughter, described above. Many are traveling great distances from all over the world, convinced that Bentley is truly working miracles and that a move of God is happening.

In the next article(s), I will examine more closely these types of statements and claims. I didn't intend to spend quite so much time pointing out errors, but I believe it has been necessary to examine that which is being presented as healing doctrine by many today, in order to know what we are dealing with and how to respond.

I think what Paul wrote to Titus about the overseer is applicable here:

He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. Titus 1:9-11

I am eager to present biblical analysis of these doctrines and request prayer that I will indeed instruct in sound doctrine, as I proceed.

Further resources:
The Roots and Fruits of the New Apostolic Reformation by Bob DeWaay

FIRST-PERSON: Faith & healing -- Where's the evidence? by William Dembski

A series of articles on Herescope blog

Where is the evidence supporting Todd Bentley’s miracle claims?

Todd Bentley’s (and prophet Bob Jones) angel, Emma

Todd Bentley Nightline Report 1
Todd Bentley Nightline Report 2

Do You Believe in Miracles- A Documentary on Benny Hinn

Benny Hinn- Dateline NBC Special

Todd Bentley reveals the secret to his power!
In this video, posted by a Bentley admirer, notice how Bentley claims the ability, at will, to access the presence of God from within, the "anointing", in such a way as to defeat any sickness-- just say "Bam" and it's gone! He counsels people wanting to do the same that healing is learning to access the presence of the Lord within you, so as to "bring the kingdom", the healing "virtue" in you to bear on the situation in front of you. But "you cannot manifest the kingdom", he continues, "if you're not in tune with the presence of the Lord." One learns how to "release" this power only as they "stop and shut off your mind" and disregard "every external distraction".

Tags: Todd Bentley, Word-Faith, Lakeland Revival, Apostolic-Prophetic Movement, Signs and Wonders, Third Wave, miracles, Latter Rain, angels, healing, sickness, doctrine, false doctrine

Thoughts on GodTV and the Lakeland "Revival"

In Discernment, Revivals, and Godly Common Sense Dan Edelen over at Cerulean Sanctum has done a very good service for the Christian community by writing a piece that carefully analyzes, according to biblical standards and common sense, the current so-called "revival" happenings taking place at a series of meetings at "Ignited Church" in Lakeland, Florida. The "Lakeland Revival" meetings are being helmed by Todd Bentley, and Ignited Church is pastored by Stephen Strade.

I am in in complete agreement with Dan Edelen when he reminds us that "real miraculous works from God are often imitated by the Enemy". The mere fact that some kind of supernatural events and even healings may be taking place is no proof that the things taking place in Lakeland are of God.

Underdeveloped, unexamined theology
Personally I think that the reason many Christians flock to such events and/or look to them for hope of revival is because of the lack of discernment that comes with having an underdeveloped and/or unexamined theology. I have observed GodTV many times before the current broadcasts featuring the Lakeland "revival". It seems every time I turn on GODTV I observe people seemingly lost in trance, rocking back and forth, swaying as they listen to a worship band, waiting for God to "show up" in some kind of tangible way. The preaching of the word of God is rarely to be heard, and when it does come, it seems all kinds of theological nonsense is spouted. I realize I'm not providing specific examples, but what I'm saying is that the teaching and preaching I've heard does not seem to be based on systematic, thorough examination of scripture, in its grammatical and historical context. Rather, verses are quoted to prove points, but the context is neglected of who the verse was originally to and why is not taken into consideration, as if all verse in Scripture can simply be plucked out at random and be considered relevant to us today or as promises to the modern believer. In other words, this is typical Christian TV fare-- light on substance and theology, heavy on entertainment and emphasizing experience above all. And how can we know that something is of God, according to God TV? Well, we know that God is moving because people are falling down, "slain" by the power of the Spirit; or people shake uncontrollably, allegedly as a result of the power of God coming upon them, and other such experiential manifestations.

It's Time to Wake Up
Brothers and sisters, when are we going to wake up? This clamoring after signs and wonders is not faith, it is a sign that we have not yet become free of fleshly notions about what it means to be spiritual. When I hear Todd Bentley going on about how an angel named Emma speaks and directs him, I'm reminded how different the New Testament attitude is towards such revelations. Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, had a genuine heavenly experience. But unlike modern day preachers who build entire ministries based on their alleged heavenly encounters, and go on in great detail about such encounters and write books about them, Paul only mentions his experience to make the point of its relatively unimportance to his mission for the Lord. In 2 Corinthians 12:1-10, Paul writes of his own personal supernatural and heavenly encounter, though in humility, he refers to himself in the third person:

... Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven— whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. And I know that this man was caught up into paradise— whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses. Though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Was Paul a success or a failure?
But notice that Paul's heavenly experience did not thereafter turn him into someone who was blessed of God with great finances or with perfect health. Unlike teachers on GodTV and at the Lakeland revival, Paul does not portray the Christian life as one where the most important thing is an "experience" of God that proves itself by financial prosperity and healing for the body. If one were measuring the success and genuineness of Paul's ministry by the measures used today-- that when God "manifests" Himself He always brings signs and wonders that provide healing and prosperity to those "hungry" enough to reach out for God-- well, then Paul was a dismal failure!

For it would seem Paul didn't know that he was supposed to pray to be delivered from "weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities" and instead walk in the "FOG" (favor of God), and claim his "birthright" as a "child of the king". But Paul knew what he was talking about, while these false teachers today don't know what they are talking about.

Hear Paul speak to this age, with words of profound heavenly wisdom, as he tells believers about their true riches in Christ:

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God. (Colossians 2: 8-19, emphasis mine)

Growth that is from God
Do we want to grow with a "growth that is from God"? Let us pay heed to Paul's counsel then-- and not lose sight of what our true riches are and how they come to us. Is it wrong to seek healing for the body? Of course not. Is it wrong to seek to improve our financial situation, particularly if we are struggling to make ends meet? Of course it isn't. But let us seek the counsel of Scripture on how to go about finding healing or making money, and at the same time, trust in the Lord's grace and provision. Let us learn to think spiritually, by being careful readers of the word of God, and so be able to know what is most important as believers-- our connection to Christ, our Head. Let's be discerning so that we don't get taken in by those who are re-defining the Christian life to make it into something that it not-- a "magical" experience whereby money fills our pockets and we don't know where it came from, or saying the "touch of God" is equivalent to rolling around on the floor like a dog and barking.

When there are true riches to be had in Christ, through communion with Him that comes through abiding in His truth and practicing it, why "spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy (Isaiah 55:2)? I certainly don't claim to have experienced the depth of this communion myself. But that's the kind of experience with God I think is worth striving after-- the kind that makes us mature, full of the fruit of the Spirit, more godly, more compassionate and yes, wise and discerning, able to judge correctly (Romans 12:2, 1 Corinthians 2:14-16, 1 Corinthians 14:20).

Tags: Lakeland revival, Todd Bentley, false revival, discernment, signs and wonders, true spiritual riches

Blips on the Blogosphere 13

Three by John McArthur:
Who Said Doctrine Isn’t Practical?

The Power of a Holy Life (Part 1)

The Power of a Holy Life (Part 2)

A Pyromaniac Speaks:
What is an "antinomian"? by Dan Phillips

That We May Discern Error
Emergent Old Fashioned Liberalism by Bob DeWaay

Justification - The Reformation v. Rome

Me-thinks "Rethink" Stinks

Two recent articles that refer to the influence of Robert Schuller on a new generation of leaders are quite disturbing. As "traditional" ways of following Christ and interpreting Scripture are thought to be ineffective and outdated, new strategies of leadership that have more in common with secular marketing strategies than biblical methodology are being promoted. One of the articles is titled "Rethinking Revised" by Roger Oakland of Understanding the Times Ministries. In it he describes his experiences and observations while attending the recent Rethink Conference that was headed by Schuller and featured well-known names in evangelicalism (Erwin McManus, Bill Hybels, Chuch Colson, George Barna, Lee Strobel, Dan Kimball, John and Nancy Ortberg among them) as well as more secular figures such as Larry King, former President George H.W. Bush, and Rupert Murdoch.

The second article, "Robert Schuller – The Humpty Dumpty of Evangelicalism" is an excellent analysis of some of the deep flaws in Schuller's theology. It seems that the discernment level among Evangelicals today is appalling low. But if it is low among the leaders, there is even less discernment among those who follow these leaders. May articles like these help people avoid the false and deceptive directions being promoted by these leaders.

For further consideration:
Articles
Rethinking Robert Schuller
Erwin McManus Teams Up with Robert Schuller - Could Have Far-Reaching Effects
Rethinking Culture
What is "Rethinking"?

Audio
Crosstalk Program on Rethink Conference/Evangelicalism

Here's one article which doesn't find anything wrong with this picture (read this too if you wish and make up your own mind):
Kay Warren and Robert Schuller (and the Re-Think Conference)

Tags: Robert Schuller, Rethink Conference, discernment, emergent, new age, compromise

How Pietism Deceives Christians

Bob Dewaay at Critical Issues Commentary has produced another excellent article that, like the Horton piece I commended to you in my previous post, also casts its eye with a broad scope on the evangelical church. The article, How Pietism Deceives Christians, describes how pietism, "a practice designed to lead to an experience that purports to give one an elite or special status compared to ordinary Christians" is found in some of the largest movements within evangelicalism today, including Purpose-Driven, Latter Rain, and the Emergent Church, and has a long history of influence in the church. DeWaay's article shows that Paul strongly wrote against the use of pietistic practices as a means of spiritual maturity, and instead pointed to the grace of God that comes to us through the cross of Christ.

Tags: Pietism, Emergent Church, Purpose Driven Movement, Latter Rain

The Age of Tolerance Calls for Bold Proclamation of Truth

The August 2007 issue of Christianity Today magazine features an editorial titled "Attack Dogs of Christendom" written by David Aikman, an esteemed journalist who has written much on the topic of religion and Christianity. The editorial examines what Aikman labels the "attack dogs of Christendom", that is, certain web-based ministries that are frequently boldly critical of other Christians. The main point of his brief essay is that, if necessary, Christians may criticize other believers, but should do so with a grace that provides a fitting witness to the transforming work of God on their own character. This certainly sounds right, but is it the whole story?

Aikman describes particular ministries as greatly missing this mark, saying that they are "so drenched in sarcasm and animosity" that they might leave inquirers to Christianity "permanently disillusioned". He bemoans the fact that at a time when "no attribute of civilized life seems more under attack than civility", such web ministries, by their uncivility towards other Christians, do not demonstrate "the witness that brings savor and grace to a crumbling generation". Instead, he writes, they "blast each another from here to eternity with characterizations that differ little from the coarse vulgarity of cable TV". Aikman concludes, "Where is the gentleness, modesty, and wisdom with which we are supposed to shame those who mock and accuse the Body of Christ from outside?" and urges Christians to set an example for the world of gracious critiquing of one another.

Aikman's plea that Christians demonstrate God's love and graciousness, even if they find it sometimes necessary to criticize each other, is a point well taken. Fallen human nature tends to exhibit self-righteousness as it looks upon the failings of others, but our Lord reminds us, when picking the speck out of someone else's eye, we must first see to it that the log in our own has been removed. If also we constantly reflect on the biblical truth that we (even as believers in Christ) continue to be fallen creatures that are only saved and transformed by the power of God through the sacrifice of His only Son on a cross, we will not help but become more humble and gracious towards other sinful, fallible people.

Getting doctrine right is no incidental, trivial aspect of our call to follow Christ, but a vital work.

Nonetheless, I believe Mr. Aikman has really missed the passion and even the great frustration that drives many "discernment" ministries. This passion is, in many cases, driven by a correct understanding of this truth: that getting doctrine right is no incidental, trivial aspect of our call to follow Christ, but a vital work. I would certainly agree with Aikman's witness to the attack on civility in our culture. But does not this dearth of civility and increase in coarseness mostly correlate with the increased godlessness in society? The United States, a nation founded upon free expression of religious beliefs, whose government and founding documents were molded by the Judeo-Christian world view, has increasingly abandoned Judeo-Christian truth as its bedrock value system. Included in this abandonment is the growing tendency in these times to resist defining truth objectively. Of course if truth cannot be decided upon objectively, then establishing right theological doctrine seems even more unobtainable. And the fight for right doctrine has come to be seen by many in different quarters as a sort of petty squabbling over matters that are not essential to working together as Christians for the greater common good.

One might say then, with all due respect to Mr. Aikman, that "no attribute of civilized life seems more under attack than truth"-- for truth is under attack not only by the liberal establishment, but even by those within Christendom who erode truth by not taking their own firm stand upon doctrines of the faith. The decrease in civility Aikman laments seems directly tied to a nation that no longer fears God as it once did, and which is increasingly marginalizing God in all aspects of its civic life. But the Church is called to be salt and light in our culture (Matthew 5:13-14), exposing the darkness by living according to truth and holiness, and preserving that which is good. Yet this edifying and preserving only is accomplished as the Church obeys its mandate to "make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you (Matthew 28:19-20)." Teaching accurately that which Jesus taught then, seems to be indispensable to making disciples, and demands that we interpret and disseminate the teachings of Christ correctly.

Despite this critical task, many evangelicals today (especially in the Emergent camp, but also in the broader evangelical community) are downplaying the importance of doctrinal correctness, some labeling it "divisive" to the Church at large. There is a kind of teaching in American Christianity today that has become most concerned with providing practical aids to living in the here and now: improve your marriage, your sex life, your finances. It is claimed that in-fighting over doctrine presents a poor witness to the world, and distracts the Church from its more primary and urgent call to do "love" through justice, serving the poor, helping the hurting, etc. The debate over doctrine is viewed as dry, intellectual, and most of all abstract, an exercise which doesn't help us bring Christ's compassion to a hurting world in practical ways.

Surely there is truth to the charge that a practice of Christianity dominated by endless debate over minor theological points, and which seeks to root out heresy, not for the sake of more fruitful, God-honoring living, but motivated primarily by pride and ego, will leave those who practice it puffed up with knowledge but lacking in the charity towards others that really counts eternally (1 Corinthians 13). Some discernment ministries may indeed be driven by these less than noble, ultimately unworthy, motivations.

The Age of Tolerance
However, we are living in the Age of Tolerance, and that spirit it seems, has invaded the evangelical church. For today many ask Christians to cease being dogmatic (after all, who are we to say that Christ is the only way?); and to talk about man's essential problem as the lack of self-esteem, rather than, as the Bible tells it, sinful rebellion against God. We ought, some would say, to make Christianity "user-friendly"-- to shape our presentation of the gospel to appeal to the "postmodern" frame of mind, or re-package it so as to appeal to the "felt needs" of unbelievers. In other words, don't preach the biblical counsel that speaks about the depth of sin and the universal need for repentance, and of the price of the cross of Christ. Preach instead that God has a wonderful plan for your life, a plan to make you happy, bless your finances and your health and lead you into a kind of heaven on earth. Preach the gospel as an option ("try Jesus"), and not as a command to believe and repent. Preach that we Christians don't have any solid, final answers and we're just on our own journey, just like everyone else. Preach that Christian "love" is really about accepting everyone just as they are, even in their sin, and not asking anyone to repent of their sins.

We are being taught that to choose Christ is ultimately our own choice, that to be born again or eternally separated from God-- the choice between heaven or hell-- is totally within our own hands. Yet the Bible teaches that those who do come to Christ come only because they have been called out and given the grace to do so by God-- for Christ declared, "No one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father (John 6:65)"

In light of all this, is there a kind of criticism of other Christians by Christians that is justifiable?

Well, when even Christians are no longer preaching the gospel as Jesus did, as a call to radical self-sacrifice and as a repudiation of the lies that this world tries to sell;

When the Church ceases to stand hard on Bible truths and to preach them boldly, uncompromisingly and without apology, though they offend and many will reject them with words such as, "This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?(John 6:60)";

When we forget that "a little leaven leavens the whole lump (Galatians 5:6)", and that the little compromises we make with truth end with wholesale rejection of truth and falling away into deception;

Are we not then neglecting our solemn duty as believers to "preach the word; [and to] be ready in season and out of season; [to] reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching (2 Timothy 4:2-4)?

Paul warned Timothy, "the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths (2 Timothy 4:3)". That time is now upon us.

And so Christians must:

Always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry (2 Timothy 4:5)

Hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, and [be] able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it (Titus 1:9).

"Teach what accords with sound doctrine (Titus 2:1)"

I think that this is exactly what the responsible discernment ministries are attempting to do, in such times as these. Should they be gentle, modest and respectful? Certainly.

But there are also times for righteous indignation, times when double-talk and compromise must be challenged, and when those who say they are representing Christ must be called upon to defend their practices biblically. Paul challenged and opposed Peter, when the latter was acting hypocritically (Galatians 2:11-21). Read the story. Paul did not challenge Peter to embarrass him. Nor did he do so that he could now be seen as the #1 leader of the church and Peter be relegated to #2. He did it for the sake of the truth, for the sake of the souls of those in the Church, the precious souls for whom he and Peter had become responsible to God as leaders in the church. He was responsible to teach them sound doctrine, and to help them to mature in the wisdom of God. How? By teaching the Galatians the right doctrine about their justification before God, and opposing any actions (even if done by a fellow believer) in contradiction to right doctrine.

If we too are called by God to be disciple-makers (aren't we all?), let us tackle the call to teach and defend right doctrine with the same commitment and passion that Paul showed here. Let us do so humbly and depending upon God for much grace and wisdom. But let us not neglect this privilege and responsibility.

Tags: David Aikman, Attack Dogs of Christendom, Christianity Today, tolerance, discernment ministries, truth, defending sound doctrine

4-Part Video Series on the Emerging Church by Gary Gilley

I have posted in my Jordan's Video sidebar (right column) a 4-part series by Dr. Gary Gilley, who speaks on the dangers of the Emerging church.

The following is a description of the series, from Godtube.com:

"Dr. Gary Gilley of Southern View Chapel visited Ireland and spoke on issues concerning the church today. This video is part of a four part series and a damning indictment of the market-driven churches that are so popular today.

Dr. Gilley contends that the church has sold out to our culture so that the influences of the culture have become the influences in the church. The most significant forces pressing against the church are entertainment, market driven philosophies and psychology. These three are largely absent from the Bible, yet are startlingly prevalent in evangelical churches. The leaders and issues he concentrates on most are Rick Warren and his book The Purpose Driven Church, Bill Hybels and Lee Strobel. In this fourth part of the series, Dr. Gilley will explain what the Emerging Church is and how it is dangerous to the Evangelical community."

The church I attended for many years in New York City seems to be embracing this "Emerging" approach to church growth, judging from their recent activities (doing the 40-Day Purpose Driven Church program and sponsoring simulcast seminars on leadership, led by Bill Hybels). It all sounds so good. But as these videos explain, the true gospel is not the primary value in this movement. Rather, what seems to be most important is what "works", while doctrine is downplayed. Though my old church is doing much laudable ministry, I think this new direction is clearly dangerous. Unfortunately, churches across the country are also succumbing to these misguided influences.

Please check out the videos and consider for yourself whether this Emerging movement is positive or negative.

Tags: Gary Gilley, Emerging Church, Bill Hybels, Rick Warren, Purpose-Driven

Compassion for Tammy Faye and other Health-Wealth Disciples

The other day an item appeared on a well-known Christian blog that showed a video clip of Tammy Faye Messner's last appearance on the Larry King show. The blog pointed out that Mrs. Messner, a long-time proponent of "Word-Faith" theology, was now (in her illness) a vivid illustration of the false hope of that brand of teaching. Sadly, a few days after appearing on Larry King, Tammy Faye died.

Now, while I have come to the view that the way healing is taught in the Word-Faith movement misinterprets Scripture in many instances and is therefore incorrect, nonetheless I feel that compassion should be shown towards someone like Tammy Faye. To me it is not in very good taste to show footage of a deathly ill woman just for the purpose of scoring a point against Word-Faith teaching-- even if one's point is correct. Christians especially ought to have, and show, compassion for the sick and dying. If her hope in God and in His healing was misinformed because of Word-Faith teaching, all the more reason to show sympathy towards her.

I wasn't very familiar with Tammy Faye, not ever having watched the PTL show, but she seemed to have many fans, even now long after the heyday of the popularity of her Praise the Lord telecast with then-husband Jim Bakker. In this, her last public appearance, Tammy Faye held herself with dignity, expressing her faith and hope, as best she knew how. She came across as a gentle, kind soul, yet with the courage to show her dying face to the world.

The Healing/Prosperity Message of "Word-Faith" Teachers (aka Health/Wealth Gospel)

These days as I surf the Christian channels it seems I keep encountering shows featuring testimonies and/or demonstrations of people supposedly miraculously healed. Are these "miracles" actually taking place? I must admit I view them with a mixture of desirous curiosity and strong skepticism. I wish that the miracles they say are happening were truly happening. But it seems that for every testimony one hears about people receiving healing, there are also the many who are not healed. This latter group includes people who "faithfully" follow popular Word-Faith teachings like "healing is in the atonement", or the notion that healing will come by spoken, persistent proclamation of certain scriptural promises (this demonstrates faith, through which God then brings about healing). I know, because my wife was one of those sincere people not instantly healed though putting such teachings into practice [She is however much better these days and we certainly thank God for her progress in healing. It's just that we don't think that there is a correlation between seeking God for healing via the Word-Faith approach and her progress to date].

Even as my wife and I several years ago were applying such teachings to our own circumstances, I had certain misgivings. I thought: if our expectation of healing is founded upon Christ's atoning work, so that together with forgiveness of sins, healing is the believer's birthright, then why isn't the believer in the atonement who seeks healing necessarily always healed?

Sin is always forgiven (without the one exception of "blasphemy against the Holy Spirit") through the cross of Christ. If then this "healing in the Atonement" teaching is true (that the atonement means sickness as well as sin is removed from the believer), we would expect that healing would occur in the believer's life in every case. Yet the reality is that there always are exceptions to healing- there are countless people who pray for healing with faith, but do not receive it. Some have prayed and been healed at one time, and yet have not received healing the next time they have asked. It is known as well that even prominent Word-Faith style teachers have experienced sickness and negative answers to requests for healing.

Unfortunately, lay people who follow these teachings and have not been healed may feel both discouraged and guilty. This is how my wife and I felt. Surely if God heals all, the fault for non-healing must lie with us, rather than with God. So people end up concluding that they have not exercised the right kind (or amount) of faith, and must be to blame for having missed out on the promised healing. Word-Faith teaching does try to explain non-healing, but their answers aren't satisfying: the bottom line in their explanations seems to be that a non-healing indicates defective faith somewhere, or something left undone by the believer.

But for my wife and myself, when healing did not come through the Word-Faith approach, we began to consider other explanations. Could it be that God is actually sovereign over all things our lives and did not want the healing to happen at this time, for His own reasons? This at times seemed like a horrible thought. For Word-Faith teaches that God doesn't inflict illness upon His children just for the sake of teaching them life-lessons, or to discipline them. But if sickness is a suffering, and suffering may be used by God to mold us in Christ-likeness, then why might He not allow a physical suffering in our lives to teach us? Why is the suffering of sickness put into a different category by this type of teaching? Indeed through study of the ancient viewpoint presented in classic Reformed theology, and also as we thought through these issues, we began to think differently about healing.

We Are Being Redeemed
The guarantee of physical healing in this life simply does not fit with the stage of redemption we are in-- we still live with mortal bodies that get sick and eventually die. The perfect physical healing that comes through the atonement will indeed become ours, but only when our bodies are fully redeemed. Until then, we deal with sickness and death in this life. God may, and often does, heal now in answer to prayer, but we cannot demand that our prayers for healing be granted because we apply a certain formula based on guarantees the Bible does not actually give.

There is a parallel to this "in-between" redemption in the spiritual realm. Although we are being sanctified by the Spirit of God and will someday be just as He is, becoming Christians did not completely remove sin from our lives as believers. We still live with a "sin principle" that resides within our mortal bodies, and therefore we can and do sin (Romans 7:17-18). Thank God that because the power of sin has been broken we do not have to sin (Romans 6:3-4). The power of the Spirit within us can always help us choose not to sin (1Corinthians 1:13), but in this in-between state of redemption we live in now (Romans 8:18-25), often we do choose to sin (1 John 1:8).

Therefore just as being in Christ doesn't entirely remove the presence of sin from our beings and from our lives, so also the presence of sickness is not yet completely removed from our bodies. Again, we have to deal with sickness and death in this life.

Prosperity Teaching
Closely related to the well-intentioned though mistaken doctrine of healing in the atonement is teaching that Christians must prosper financially/materially. Prosperity teaching says that special material blessings from God are, like physical healing, the birthright of every Christian. These come to us however, only as we "sow our seed", by tithing to our churches and by giving to this or that ministry. In the same way that proclaiming faith in God's promises to heal is supposed to be the vehicle by which God becomes obligated to heal, "sowing seed", in the form of sending money to a particular ministry, is supposed to demonstrate a faith God is absolutely certain to reward. I find preacher after preacher on TV teaching along these lines. Whether the ones sowing seed are thus being blessed by God or not, it may certainly be observed, from the lavish personal wealth of the leaders of ministries promoting this message, that they themselves benefit greatly from all this "seed-sowing". Are such teachers purposefully trying to deceive people then, and teaching these things just so they themselves get rich? I am not saying that. Many are no doubt sincere in teaching this doctrine and believe that they too ought to reap the material harvest that their teaching brings. In fact they may point to their own example, saying, "You can have what I have".

But even unbelievers can see that prosperity teaching does not correlate well with the biblical portrait of the lifestyle of Jesus Christ Himself, who lived humbly during in His time on earth. In contrast to telling followers that they would certainly reap a financial harvest by sowing seed into His ministry, Christ strongly and repeatedly warned against the dangers of covetousness.

Look at the fruit. Does prosperity teaching teach us to live humbly and be satisfied with what we now have materially, or does it promote covetousness? Prosperity teaching seems to say that if we don't have the material things we want (and supposedly ought to have, because God wants to give it) it is only because we have yet to exercise the right kind of faith. With the temptation that lies within the human heart to look to material blessings for comfort and satisfaction, this is a dangerous message. Jesus who knows human hearts more than all recognized this, and rightly warned us to "be on your guard against all kinds of greed".

Truth and Error in Word-Faith teaching
Truly God is our great Provider, and He richly blesses us spiritually, and often materially. But is the truth of the reality of the presence of God in our lives proven only if we are blessed with this world's goods and thus can show the world that "Christianity works"? Is it not rather demonstrated when we show our joyful satisfaction in God Himself, whether or not we have been richly blessed materially, and by our contentment with whatever we have been given?

Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs (1Timothy 6:6-10)

Is Word-Faith all wrong then? Personally, I think there is truth mixed in with a lot of error and mis-emphasis. The truth of course is that our God is indeed a miracle-working, "nothing is impossible" kind of God, and we should therefore raise our expectations of what He can do in and through our lives. Certainly God works through such faith in Him, faith that is depending upon Him alone to bring about wonderful results we can't even foresee or fully imagine.

But the great error and mis-emphasis in Health/Prosperity teaching is to make material blessings or physical healing the proof that God is at work in our lives, the proof that He is indeed a good God. What of poor Christians who live in underdeveloped nations? What of faithful Christians all over the world who get cancer and suffer or die? Are such believers ignorant of their supposedly invulnerability in Christ to such suffering? If they just knew how to pray with the right faith would they suddenly be healed of all sickness and poverty? The answer to these questions ought to be obvious. Despite the teaching of some, Jesus Christ was not a rich man leading an extravagant lifestyle and neither were His followers. They seemed to have what they needed (food, clothing) and even enough to be generous to others. But the early Christian community lived with a sense that Christ's return was imminent, and they were not living a lifestyle of building up for themselves "treasures on earth".

Also not every believer in this community always lived in perfect health. There are New Testament examples of those who were became ill (among them great leaders in the church, including Trophimus, Timothy and the great Apostle Paul). Since Jesus taught that it is "easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God," (because of the way wealth tricks us into worshiping it rather than God), does it make sense then that Christians should be exhorting one another to prosperity in this life?

Can a Christian Be Rich Then?
Does this mean that a Christian who seeks to do well in his field and to make a good living sins? Not necessarily. If in pursuing the course that God has mapped out for us and using our God-given talents we prosper and even become wealthy, we will be good Christians as we steward these resources to give generously to the work of the kingdom. We should also enjoy without guilt the blessings God has given. But what is driving us? Are we after the comfort and security of wealth, trusting in it rather than God for our security? Are we keeping money and material blessings in their proper place, as we pursue the priorities of God? These are difficult things for us all, for the human heart retains its temptation to make idols of riches and comfort and all sorts of worldly things, even though we have truly become new creatures in Christ. So we must be on our guard against covetousness, as Jesus warned.

May the Lord forgive us if we have made health and wealth the measure of our faithfulness to Christ or of His goodness to us. May He teach me and every believer to eradicate the idols from our hearts. May we have compassion for those lured by false ideas, whether they are in the world or whether they are Christians. May we learn to live fully by the truth of God's word, and teach others to do so as well, and so be set free.

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money (Matthew 6:19-24)

Tags: Tammy Faye, Health-Wealth gospel, Word-Faith teaching, sick Christians, Prosperity gospel