Comment Wrap-Up For Now

A & T Greene say -- Like the quotes. Really great to have you back. All the best for the New Year.

O & S Osburn say -- We will be watching your blog with some interest. Our son has just informed us that he has found his calling. He has quit his job and is going to one of the Rhema schools to become a missionary. We are distraught about this turn of events since he has also called off his engagement to a wonderful girl.


The Grand Poo-Bah says -- I am very sorry to hear about your son's foolish decisions. It is imperative that you figure out a way to keep him from attending Rhema Bible School. Rhema Bible School was founded by Kenneth Hagen who was the founder of the Faith Movement / Word of Faith churches. Rhema Bible Schools actually have their own translation of the Bible which indoctrinates the students with the Faith Movement's false teachings. Rhema students are only allowed to read this one Bible. You have good reason to be very distraught and need to do everything in your power to intervene on behalf of your son. His eternal destiny is now at risk because of this decision to become involved with the Faith Movement. We will pray for you that you will be successful in preventing him from attending the Rhema Bible School. May God be with you.


B. Martinique says -- I am utterly in shock after finding your blog. The stories of these families as well as yours just left me appalled at how these cult churches have manipulated and broken people. My husband has just left me. Not for another woman but for a new life. He went to a healing service at one of these feel-good churches, came home and said that he could stop taking his heart medication because he had enough faith for God to heal him completely. When I tried to reason with him, there was no changing his mind. I'm now waiting to get the dreaded phone call that he has had another heart attack. Thanks for giving me a place to vent.


The Grand Poo-Bah says -- This story is a good example of the power of the "evil one" to infiltrate people's minds, get control over their lives, and totally put their physical lives and spiritual lives in jeopardy. If you unsuspectingly get involved with a cult, you need to be aware that you are playing with fire and that you are in serious danger. You need to take immediate abortive action. I strongly recommend that you find a way to get your ex-husband to read "Christianity In Crisis" by Hank Hanegraaff. I hope you don't get the dreaded phone call but he wouldn't be the first to die from going down this road.


O. & M. Mitchell say -- Well, Christmas is now over. I hope that things were better for you than for our family. We went for Christmas at our son's home. To our utter amazement, there was a houseful of people that we did not know. Our son was calling them "Mum and Dad" and our grandchildren were calling them Grandma and Grandpa. These people were their new family from their church. We were introduced by our son as "his former parents." We had no idea that they had gotten involved in one of these cult churches. We have read some of the stories posted here over the last couple of days and realize that we have to do something. We are starting with reading "Christianity in Crisis". It is not just Christianity but the whole makeup of our social network of families. We stayed through the dinner but left shortly afterwards because we were totally ignored by everyone except for passing the food. They spent most of the afternoon praying and hollering. It was horrible.


The Grand Poo-Bah says -- When I recently went to my son's wedding, I overheard him calling one of the adults "mum" and didn't think anything of it at the time. I thought he was just being friendly but the more I thought about it, the more I began to realize that this was not normal behaviour. What has happened to you has also happened to me. Strangers have now become family and family have become strangers. This is how cults operate to gain control over their followers and eliminate opposition to their teachings.


Being introduced as his "former parents," must have been a terrible shock for you but it was also an indication to you that something was seriously wrong. Cults who conduct business in the way that you have described are very dangerous. You are absolutely right -- you have to do something and do it quickly. Thanks for sharing your story. We will pray for you.


D. & D. Sission -- You really are so blind as to not see what God has in store when we ask. How sad for you! We are sure that your sons are praying for you to see the light of God and the error of your ways.


The Grand Poo-Bah says -- The Grand Poo-Bah saw the light of God and the error of his ways when he was nine years old. The true teaching that we received in the Baptist Church taught that we are sinners in need of a Saviour. The Gospel is simple so that a young child can understand it. Christ died for our sins and we as sinners need to accept Him as our personal Saviour which I did. The Christian Gospel is what it is and it never changes. Scripture teaches that you are not to add to it or take away from it which the Pentecostal Church, Word of Faith Church, Faith Movement Churches, and Victory Churches are all guilty of. My sons don't need to waste time praying for me because there are more useful things they could do like reading some books about cults and how easy it is to get unwittingly drawn into them.


"What God has in store when we ask" is an interesting expression. To me, this statement is an expression used by someone who is not satisfied with just victory over sin and death and hell and still has their hand out asking for more. Since you are likely attending a health and wealth church, I see you standing at the foot of the cross looking up into the face of Jesus and saying FORGIVENESS OF SINS IS NOT ENOUGH. I WANT MORE! What a slap in the face of Jesus after experiencing such horrible excruciating pain on the cross. His pain purchased our redemption. Question - how will you explain your self-centredness and personal interests? To sum up, all I can say is, that in the two line comment that you sent to the Grand Poo-Bah, you have demonstrated that you are totally lacking in knowledge about Christianity and what it is all about.


You may be thinking that God up in heaven has a dilemma in front of Him because my sons are praying for me and I am praying for them. Rest assured that God has no dilemma. He is fully aware of who needs prayer and who will be asked to explain their beliefs when they get to heaven. The Grand Poo-Bah will have no "splainin to do."


Name Withheld says -- It's your perception that there has been a personality change. Don't you get it! Your family wants NOTHING to do with you!!


The Grand Poo-Bah says -- Hey Darren! Haven't you heard, "perception is everything." If you don't think there's been a change, consider this. On Father's Day in 2006, I received a ball cap from you which said "Greatest Dad" on the front. At that point in time, you had just begun your fall away from true Christianity. You were becoming more and more involved with Barrie Victory Centre and by Christmastime of that year, Barrie Victory Centre had convinced you that you had been lied to and not told the whole truth about the Gospel. That's because Barrie Victory Centre teaches a much different gospel. One of the books that I have highlighted in the picture in a previous blog is titled "A Different Gospel." You need to read it.




Since Christmas of 2006, I have not seen my three sons, their wives or any of my seven grandchildren except for a couple of hours at my youngest son's wedding recently. Very few words were exchanged. I likely wouldn't have been invited to that wedding except for my new daughter-in-law putting her foot down. We have been totally estranged since Christmas of 2006. If that doesn't represent a change, I don't know what does.

Since my family wants nothing to do with me, that means I now have total freedom to continue to write this blog in the hopes that it will help somebody even if my children and their families are beyond help or at least it would seem so. If you don't perceive that as a change there's something wrong with you. Barrie Victory Centre has succeeded in severing ties with family members who oppose the teachings of their church and I vehemently oppose the teachings of Barrie Victory Centre. Their teachings are not based on Scripture. There is not one Bible scholar connected with Victory Churches International including the Hills. So there is nobody in the movement that knows what they are talking about when it comes to true Christianity.

M. Mayhew says -- It absolutely astounds me that I am one of those people who got taken in by one of these cults. I somehow ended up in a Word of Faith church in B.C. It was all very nice and pleasant until I was called out on not giving enough money for tithing. I later found out that someone from the church worked for Revenue Canada and was (sneaking) looks at the income tax reports of members of our church. Although I cannot prove it, I am sure he was giving this information to our Deacons Board because they knew exactly what my net income was for last year. I walked away, have lost all my family and friends. I am also now being audited by Revenue Canada over questionable donations. Just wanted to share and make people aware of what might be going on behind the scenes at some of these cults.

The Grand Poo-Bah says -- Cults exist for only one reason -- to make their leaders rich. It's all about money. For Pete's sake, the pastors of Victory Churches International own their churches. ( Scripture teaches that Christ is the Head of the Church.) They function primarily as business owners and call it "church." The people who attend Victory Churches International are nothing more than customers coming to the door of his business. Not much different from people going to Wal-Mart. The only difference is the product they are selling is false Christianity.

You'll never give enough money to a cult. No matter how much you give them, they will want more for one reason or another. Tithing is not a Scriptural principle. Tithing as referred to in Bible times was in an agrarian society. Farmers tithed a portion of their harvest to supply the needs of the priests. The principle of tithing does not apply in a society where people earn money and salaries. If everyone gave 10 percent of their income, every church would be filthy rich and that goes way beyond meeting the needs of the pastor.

From personal experience, I have found that people are more willing to give when it is not required. I used to attend a church where the pastor never mentioned tithing and more than enough money used to come in to meet all the needs of the church and their missionary endeavours. They were always over-budget!

Thank you for your personal insights into what might be going on in many of these cult churches.

M. Patel says --You really have some nerve publishing some of these fantasies. No church could possibly do some of the things that you claim.

The Grand Poo-Bah says -- Gullible is a good word to describe the person who wrote this comment. I am sure the people who wrote these stories would not have bothered to take the time to write them or send them if they were not true. The fact that you do not believe that they could possibly be true only means that you are currently in a very vulnerable position. You are the perfect candidate to be unwittingly duped by a very clever and charismatic cult-leader. You are exactly the type of person that cult operators are on the lookout for. You need to be very careful, ask a lot of questions and I hope you have a better knowledge of your Bible than I think you do. I hope you will continue to read as more horror stories come in.

We Are Bound By The Scriptures

God's Will Is Important

The fact this question must even be raised is itself an indictment of the Faith Movement. James tells us that considering God's will is important (4:13-16) as does Jesus (John 6:38; 7:17; Matthew 6:10; Luke 22:42), Paul (Romans 12:2), and Peter, who, far from disregarding the concept of God's will, emphasizes that we are not to live for "evil human desires," but to "live the rest of [our] earthly life...for the will of God" (1 Peter 4:2).

But Faith teachers allow virtually no room for the will of God in those specific areas that they believe offer absolute promises conditioned only on "faith," such as the hundredfold return, physical healing, etc. Thus, the issue becomes only one of "lack" of faith -- not God's will. Here, Faith teachers hold out their "faith to believe" as genuine wisdom, but the Bible rejects their premises (James 3:13-16; 4:13-16; c.f. Proverbs 27:1; Luke 12:18-20; 13:35).

Although some in the Faith camp even teach that it is a sin to say, "If it be God's will," the following Scriptures prove that those who teach this are wrong:

1. I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart (Psalm 40:8)
2. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground (Psalm 143:10)
3. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil (James 4:15-16).

Thus: This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us (1 John 5:14).

In his confrontation with the Church of Rome, Martin Luther confessed that unless he were otherwise "convinced by the testimonies of the Holy Scriptures or evident reason," he was "bound by the Scriptures" to maintain the principles of the Reformation. It was "neither safe nor right" to act against his conscience in this regard. For Luther, Scripture stood above all experience and above extra-biblical claims to divine revelation -- and for this stand the church owes him an immeasurable debt. In a similar manner, when examining the Faith Movement, the Scriptures alone must be our standard -- not experience or new claims of divine revelation.

Throughout church history various councils have been convened in order to examine controversial issues, test new teachings or interpretations, and protect the Church from heresy, presenting to the world true Christian faith.

(From The Facts on the Faith Movement by John Ankerberg & John Weldon)

The Grand Poo-Bah Says: "You Have Been Warned!"

You may be currently attending a church in your neighbourhood that has recently come to town to set-up shop. If you were to ask the leadership of this church if they are part of the Faith Movement, they will likely deny it because the Faith Movement has been receiving a large amount of negative publicity through print and visual media. It is not difficult to find books written by reputable Bible scholars on the subject of the Faith Movement and its false teachings (which are many).

There are a few easy ways to know for certain if you are involved with a Faith Movement church:

The first way is the name of the church. Most Faith Movement churches have the word "faith" in their name minus their denomination. A few examples would be Faith Alive, Faith Assembly, House of Faith -- you get the idea. The main branch of the Faith Movement in Canada is Victory Churches International. The one which operates in Barrie, Ontario is called Barrie Victory Centre. Victory is the key word that you need to be aware of here in Canada. These churches promote Kenneth and Gloria Copeland as well as the teachings of other Faith Movement figures. This church is part of the New Apostolic Movement which has its roots in Pentecostalism but you will notice that the denomination is left out of the church's name. This is very deceitful and misleading for Christians who are looking for a true Christian church. Their belief system is the same as the Faith Movement with a few different false teachings thrown in such as the existence of modern-day apostles. There is no scripture to support this belief.

The second way you can know if you are attending a Faith Movement church is the "health and wealth" gospel. This is a cornerstone trade-mark of the Faith Movement. It is based on misinterpreted Scripture and is nothing more than a get-rich-quick scheme for the leaders.

The third way to know if you are attending a Faith Movement church is to carefully observe if they promote the key figures in the Faith Movement such as Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, Benny Hinn, Joyce Meyers. For a complete list of televangelists who are promoting these teachings, view our List of False Teachers to the right of this blog. If any of these names are being promoted in your weekly bulletin or on posters around the church, rest assured you are involved in a Faith Movement church whether they admit to it or not.

It is very easy for unsuspecting Christians to be drawn to these "churches". The deception is very clever because they use all the familiar Christian terminology with their own little twists included. It is very subtle and hard to detect unless you are a Bible scholar or a well-read Christian. Hank Hanegraaff says the Faith Movement is "a shell of truth stuffed with lies."

The truth is out there! If you are concerned that you may be in a Faith Movement church where false teachings are espoused, here are a couple of suggestions to help you:

1. Read the eleven previous blogs starting with Monday, October 27. This will give you a good overview of the various teachings promoted by the Faith Movement.
2. Read "Christianity in Crisis" by Hank Hanegraaff which should be available at your local Christian bookstore or it can be ordered through Chapters or at http://www.equip.org/.

On a recent trip to Florida, I saw an interesting quote on a full-sized billboard which read "Remember, if you find yourself going in the wrong direction, Christ accepts 'U'-turns."