Fringe Churches

"Unlike physical abuse that often results in bruised bodies, spiritual and pastoral abuse leaves scars on the psyche and soul." (Ronald Enroth)

A.W. Tozer once said that sin can thrive at the very altar of God. And the sin of cultism thrives within the ranks of orthodoxy. Because aberrant Christian churches -- or "fringe" churches, as they are sometimes called -- are such a large problem.

Only God knows the untold numbers who have been spiritually damaged by those who subscribe to all the fundamentals of the faith. Pastors and parents alike need to look beneath the cloak of orthodoxy and examine the actual behaviour, conduct, and activities of a particular church or ministry as well as how they influence the lives of members.

Characterististics of Fringe Churches

Ronald Enroth, author of "Churches That Abuse", has written extensively on the fringe group problem. These "fringe" churches possess characteristics that set them apart from mainstream evangelicalism which include:

1. Control-oriented leadership. A great emphasis is placed on submission and obedience to group authority.
2. Spiritual elitism. A "we" vs "they" mentality. These groups view themselves as either the only "true" Christians or as the only ones who really have the current "vision."
3. Manipulation of members. (Environmentally and informationally). Members are frequently told where to live or work, who to date, what to read, and even where to go for their vacations.
4. "Siege Mentality" and Perceived Persecution. Any criticism is viewed as "persecution" - others seem to be out to get them.
5. Lifestyle Rigidity. Strictures are often enforced regarding sleeping, eating, exercise, and leisure time.
6. Emphasis on the Subjective Experience. Undue stress on "Words from the Lord," "God showed me," "the Lord told me," and "I sense the Spirit."
7. Denunciation of other churches. Those outside are viewed as "lukewarm," not "Spirit-filled," "dead," lacking vision or dedication, and lost.
8. Suppression of dissent. Criticism is viewed as faction, slander, rebelliousness, and evidence that one is lacking a teachable spirit.
9. Harsh discipline of members. Those who question teachings or practices of the group are often shunned and their reputations ruined by public exposure of their "sin."
10. Painful exit process. Target members may be cut off without warning -- formerly close friends will break all ties.

If you have been a member of Barrie Victory Centre for some time, you should be very familiar with all ten characteristics listed above. If you are newly affiliated with Barrie Victory Centre, it won't be long before you are caught up in their tangled web of lies and deceit. With a clever mixture of misinterpreted Scripture and man-made theology, it won't be long before you will be so confused about what true Christianity is, that you'll be sitting there shaking your head wondering, "What have I gotten myself into here?"

The answer is simple -- it's a cult!

The Cult Susceptibility Quiz

1. I am lonely a good part of the time.
2. I tend to be a follower more than a leader.
3. I am not very satisfied with my church.
4. Somehow, I feel my idealism and purpose in life haven't been properly tapped or challenged.
5. I've been having some personal problems I can't seem to solve.
6. The cult issue is not much of an issue in society.
7. There are about ten to twenty cults in Canada and the U.S.
8. I could spot a cult with little effort.
9. Most cultists wear unusual clothing or uniforms.
10. Most cults recruit on the street by selling flowers or books, or by requesting a donation.
11. There are very few cultic problems within evangelical Christianity.
12. All cults teach non-Christian or heretical doctrine.
13. I am not the type of person who joins a cult.
14. Most people who join cults are weird. They have "problems".
15. Truly dedicated, Spirit-led Christians would never join a cult.
16. People are in cults because of spiritual problems.
17. People in cults are not "saved".
18. Cultism has little to do with totalitarianism or addiction.
19. People who join cults know what they are doing.
20. Groups that preach the Gospel and are winning many to Christ cannot be cultic.

If you answered "true" to any of these questions, you may be susceptible to cults. Most people are susceptible to cults either because of unmet needs or ignorance of cult issues. The first five questions on the above quiz suggest that personal unmet needs make a person vulnerable to the right pitch. The remaining fifteen questions reveal typical "myths" and misinformation about the cult problem.

From "Cult Proofing Your Kids" by Dr. Paul R. Martin.

Prosperity Theology - Preposterous!!

Part of the thrust of this blog is to prepare you to deal with the spiritual darkness and counterfeits that are looming today, the false Christs and the false prophets who seek to lead many people astray, even the very elect of God. There is an important issue that is not outside the church. It is a growing heresy that has been creeping into the church throughout North America.

This heresy is known as "prosperity theology". It is being taught by many people on television. It is the teaching that God always wants you healthy, wealthy and prosperous -- that the goal of the Christian life is financial prosperity and health, and if you are not healthy and prosperous, then you are a sinner or you lack faith or you haven't claimed these things by using the right formulas, the correct powers of the tongue.

Idolatry is not simply worshipping a stone image; idolatry is any concept of God that reduces Him to anything less than who He is. There is a false religion in our land, and it is called "prosperity theology".

Many Christians are being swept into this false religion by promises of financial prosperity, by claims that God always wants them healthy, wealthy and properous. This "gospel message" has become idolatry by reducing God to someone who is there to give us what we want. This gospel says, "ask not what you can do for God, but what He can do for you."

This message is a uniquely American charismatic humanism whose emphasis is on man's desire for wealth and his power to direct the actions of God. Yet preachers who claim to be following the carpenter from Nazareth, who didn't even have a permenant place to lay His head, offer vast material riches if viewers will only support their cause. It all sounds so wonderful: Be a Christian and get a bigger home, a boat, and a vacation in Hawaii. For all too many people, prosperity is becoming the goal of applied Christianity and the mark of true spirituality.

It is no longer, "You shall know them by their love" but "You shall know them by their material possessions." This teaching is creating a generation of Christians who believe that God and all His universe revolve around their own personal comfort and well-being. BUT IT ISN'T TRUE!!

(From "Fast Facts on False Teachings" by Ron Carlson & Ed Decker) Ron is recognized as one of the foremost lecturers on cults and Christian apologetics. Ed is the Director of Saints Alive In Jesus, a counter-cults ministry.

The Health and Wealth Gospel Is Going Down!

In a very short space of time the "Health and Wealth" gospel will be history. Any minister still teaching it will be called to account for this teaching by his congregation and if he doesn't stop teaching it, he will be asked to leave.

God has moved very decisively against the "Health and Wealth" gospel in recent months. He has brought down the main source of this "rot and swill" which has been infecting Christianity for some time. Oral Roberts University is now bankrupt and out of business. Its President and CEO, Richard Roberts, is under investigation by a U.S. Senate Committee for misappropriation of funds. What this means is that no more false teachers will be produced out of there to propagate this cancer throughout the Christian community. Satan has been doing some of his best work from inside the church.

Also being investigated by the Senate Committee are Kenneth Copeland, Creflo Dollar, Joyce Meyers, and Benny Hinn.

"Surprise, Surprise, Surprise" Pay Attention True Christians! What is the message here? You need to stop supporting anyone who teaches the "Health and Wealth" gospel. Stop attending their meetings. Stop sending them money. As long as you do, they'll be laughing all the way to the bank.

These people are very dangerous. Using the gospel as a smokescreen, they have the ability to hide their real reason for teaching the "Health and Wealth" gospel. That reason is to gain personal wealth from their followers. They are told that if they give to the church they will receive a one hundredfold return. This is nothing more than a "get rich quick" scheme for those in leadership positions. Has anyone at BVC received their hundredfold yet? I'd bet a lot of money that they haven't.

I'd also bet that my son, Glenn, has not yet been cured of his diabetes either. Don't let them tell you to go off your insulin and trust God for a miracle. You could end up dead just like a friend of mine who fell for the Pentecostal "mumbo-jumbo" that the church was telling them. You don't need doctors or medical treatment.. you just have to have enough faith. Her miracle never came and she is dead--at age 43. This is where their teachings on healings lead. Many deaths have been reported all over the world due to this foolish man-made theology. IT JUST ISN'T TRUE!

Won't Judgment Day be interesting to watch as these people try to explain the intentional misleading of millions for personal gain to the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. What could they possibly say to explain themselves? It will be a rather humbling experience, don't you think?

Redefining Christianity

Barrie Victory Centre has as its purpose and motto "Releasing the Restoring Fire of God". Where in Scripture does it say that this is the purpose of the church? In fact, where does it say that you are even supposed to be doing this at all. This church is attempting to redefine Christianity and in particular "the Gospel that was delivered to the Saints". "The Gospel" like the character of Christ is unchanging and steadfast, NEVER changing. "He is the same yesterday, today and forever" as is the Gospel. To add to it or take away from it in any way is blasphemy and punishable by death.

What would happen if Christ returned and found out what's going on at Barrie Victory Centre? Here's just a few things He would be appalled at:

Healing included in the Atonement - man-made theology. Kenneth Hagan renounced everything about the faith movement on his deathbed.

Speaking in Tongues - not for today

Modern Day Prophets - not for today

Divine Revelation is being used by the leadership as a substitution for a proper education at a respected Bible College. (Canada Christian College is not one of those)

Faith Healing - God heals but on His agenda and in His time and not everybody "with enough faith" gets healed.

Miracles - not for today

Positive Confession - A throwback to Catholicism and not found in Scripture. It does more harm than good.

Thou Shalt Not Read Any Books Other Than the Bible - The purpose behind this is to control the minds and thoughts of their followers, keep opposition and questionning minds silent.

The truth is that Christianity is very subtly being redefined right in front of their faces and it no longer looks like or resembles true Christianity but rather a VERY different gospel.

If you attend BVC, with the littany of errors being taught, you have to ask yourself, How Far Away From Truth Can You Go before you can no longer claim to be a Christian?

It All Starts with the Baptism of the Holy Spirit

One reason experience is the touchstone for charismatics is their undue emphasis on the baptism of the Holy Spirit as a post-salvation experience. Charismatics generally believe that after someone becomes a Christian, he or she must seek diligently for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Those who get this baptism also experience various phenomena, such as speaking in tongues, feelings of euphoria, visions, and emotional outbursts of various kinds. Those who have not experienced the baptism are not considered Spirit-filled; that is, they are immature, carnal, disobedient, or otherwise incomplete Christians.

That kind of teaching opens the floodgates for believing that vital Christianity is one sensational experience after another. It sets in motion a contest to see who can have the most vivid or spectacular experience. And, of course, those with the most awesome testimonies are held in highest esteem spiritually. Incredible claims are made, and they almost always go unchallenged. Instead of responding to a proper interpretation of God's Word, Christianity is collecting fantastic and preposterous experiences. The Bible is either mangled to fit those experiences or simply ignored altogether. The result is pseudo-Christian mysticsm.

Mysticsm is a system of belief that attempts to perceive spiritual reality apart from objective, verifiable facts. It seeks truth through feelings, intuition, and other internal senses. Objective data is usually discounted, so mysticsm derives its authority from within. Spontaneous feeling becomes more significant than objective fact. Intuition outweighs reason.

Irrational mysticsm is also at the heart of the charismatic experience. It has subverted Biblical authority within the movement and replaced it with personal experience. The practical effect of charismatic teaching is to set one's experience on a higher plane than a proper understanding of Scripture. (Charismatic Chaos - John .MacArthur, Jr.)

The 12 Basic Errors of False Religion

Each cult is guilty of one or more certain characteristic doctrinal errors. Once you know what these typical errors are, you can know what is basically wrong with the cult, whatever weird or seemingly rational form it may take. Awareness of these characteristics can help you spot creeping errors among true Christians too and save you from going astray.

1. Extra Biblical Revelation
2. False Basis of Salvation
3. Uncertain Hope
4. Presumptuous Messianic Leadership
5. Doctrinal Ambiguity
6. The Claim of "Special Discoveries"
7. Defective Christology
8. Segmented Biblical Attention
9. Enslaving Organizational Structure
10. Financial Exploitation
11. Denunciation of Others
12. Syncretism

Most cults display a number of these characteristics but if your church displays any one of these characteristics, it can be considered a cult.

For more information on the errors of false religion, consult David Breese's book, "Know the Marks of Cults".

Beyond Christianity

We are living in a day when many are trying to move beyond Christianity.

The word "beyond" has a certain appeal. Something that is forever fixed and changeless in the minds of some seems to be stodgy and undynamic. Things must forever progress in order to avoid boredom. We demand new fascinations to feed our ever-shortening spans of interest.

This demand for new fascinations has led many to try to move beyond the faith once delivered to the saints to something newer (and therefore presumably truer) and more exciting. Wise words that apply in this situation are "if it's new, it isn't true; and if it's true, it isn't new."

Christianity should not be thought of as a stone wall behind which we cannot get. It is rather the highest mountain-top beyond which it is downhill no matter which way one goes. There is nothing greater, nothing higher, and certainly nothing more magnificient than the mountain-top of divine revelation in Scripture and in Jesus Christ. To move beyond that mountain-top in the pursuit of something better is to lose ones self in the crags and crevices of the slopes that fall away from real Christianity. Beyond the crevices of heresy are the fever swamps of the cults, where the serpents and the scorpions wait.

Beyond Christianity is death, hopelessness, darkness, and heresy. (David Breese)

Where Are They Now?

It seems a mounting number of evangelical Christian congregations are increasingly concerned over the disappearance from their midst of whole families who have slipped away from the faith into an unheard-of religion. "What strange new cults are assaulting the minds of people?"

A cult is a religious perversion. It is a belief and practice in the world of religion which calls for devotion to a religious view or leader centered in false doctrine. It is an organized heresy.

A cult may take many forms but it is basically a religious movement which distorts or warps orthodox faith to the point where truth becomes perverted into a lie. A cult is impossible to define except against the absolute standard of the teaching of Holy Scripture. When contrasted to biblical truth, a cult is seen to have distinguishing marks by which it can be labelled as being fatally sub-Christian.

There is no question but that one of the most interesting and dangerous developments of our time is the rise of aberrative religions. The promoters of old and new cults are active and their works are growing as never before. Emboldened by easy successes, they have been able to capture new multitudes of followers.

The result is that millions of simple souls are being beguiled into following religious notions that are nothing but false and Satanic cults. The old cults are experiencing a remarkable resurgence, and curious new "faiths" are spawning in profusion.

1 Timonthy 4:1 "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times, some shall depart from the Faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils."

BVC - Their Statement of Faith & Heresy

If you have family members involved with Barrie Victory Centre, you need to be very concerned. As a lay person, the following three heresies jumped off the page while reading their Statement of Faith on their website.

Heresy #1 ... Jesus Christ died for sickness and the healing of all mankind. Read "The Healing Promise" by Richard Mayhue.

Heresy #2 ... We are commanded to earnestly seek the baptism of the Holy Spirit or speaking in other tongues. Read John McArthur's book, "Charismatic Chaos".

Heresy #3 ... Total prosperity is available to every believer. This is man-made theology with no basis in Scripture and totally self-serving to the church leadership.

This church is knowingly leading many sincere Christian people away from truth. Both books mentioned above are available through Chapters.

Creeping Apostacy - How False Teachers Sneak In!

You can't necessarily tell a false teacher by their appearance. False religious leaders, by definition, are "religious". Looking saintly is part of the job description. Jesus referred to them as "wolves in sheep's clothing" (Matthew 7:15). In other words, their religion is an effort at clever camouflage. Jesus said, "most false teachers are experts at feigned piety." Their masquerade can be quite convincing. They maintain a carefully polished veneer of charm and innocence -- and at least the appearance of some kind of "spirituality". They usually come with permanent smiles, gentle words, likable personalities and vocabularies full of Biblical and Spiritual words (from John MacArthur's book, "The Truth War") so TRUE CHRISTIANS BEWARE!!!