A Serious Charge

Heresy.

The word has a chilling ring to it, evoking images of ecclesiastical torture chambers and zealous witch-hunts.  It smacks of intolerance and rigid, unyielding dogmatism.  Indeed, in our relativistic age, the word itself has outlived its function.  Heresy trials are virtually non-existent in the contemporary church.

Historically, the church distinguished between "heresies" and "errors," indicating a difference in degree rather than in kind.  That is, though all heresies are errors, not all errors are elevated to heresy.  That heinous word heresy is reserved for an error of a most severe sort.  All errors of truth matter, but not all errors threaten the very substance of the truth.

Error invades the thinking of every Christian.  None of us is infallible. None of us is omniscient -- not only because we are sinners but because we are creatures -- inherently limited and finite. The finite cannot comprehend the infinite.  Omniscience is a divine attribute.  God does not impart it to us.  We concur with the adage "to err is human."

Our error, however, is not limited to our human boundaries of finite limitations as human beings.  Errors are also a real and often deadly result of our sin.  We wonder, for example, why there are so many diverse views as to what the Bible teaches.  God is neither the author of confusion nor of error.  The fault does not lie with Him or with the Bible, but with us.  We are the ones who are guilty of distorting what the Bible teaches.  To distort the Word of God is no small matter.  It does violence to the very Author and Spirit of truth.


For more information on Victory Churches and the Faith Movement, go to the Reference Library.  Click on any book title to get a brief overview of the book.  All books on the list are available through www.amazon.com. 

The Agony of Deceit - Part 3

Clearly, we are in perilous times.  We have paid the price of ignorance and shallowness, and our fall has been great.  Heretics have been tolerated as divinely-appointed messengers.  Nevertheless, God has proved Himself faithful in the trials of our own unfaithfulness.  Though we do not despair, we do call upon the body of Christ to repair its own system of beliefs and to bring its faith and life into line with sound biblical teaching without delay.  That reformation, as we see it, must take two forms:  first, it must be defensive.  Those who propagate heresy among us and refuse correction must be excommunicated by their local, regional, and national bodies.  Denial of the Trinity is, after all, more damnable than pornography.  Second, it must offensive.  We must put ourselves to the arduous -- but exciting -- task of feeding the sheep on the great themes of biblical faith.  The laity are begging for substance.  They are often more anxious to deepen their faith than their pastors are to help them deepen it.

Paul makes holding to "the deep truths of the faith" a prerequisite for holding the office of deacon or elder (I Tim. 3:9).  Those who lead our churches -- whether ordained or layperson -- are required to be educated in biblical and systematic theology.  They must not just assent to a series of simple fundamentals but must be trained in the "deep truths of the faith."  After all, said Paul, the church is "the pillar and foundation of the truth" (v.15).

We must heed a final caution from Peter:  "False prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies."  "In their greed," Peter said, "they will exploit you with false words" (II Peter 2: 1-3).  So, too, today, the "Word of Faith" movement in particular is a destructive heresy of "false words" and it is a growing movement.  Kenneth Copeland has gone from a weekend spot to a daily telecast -- and other "Word" ministries are increasing in popularity.

These heretics, Peter continues, "indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority.  Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord." (v v 10-11).  So, too, today many of the leading televangelists rave about their power over Satan and make sport of taunting and teasing the devil concerning their alleged authority over him.  "But these" said Peter, "like unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, reviling where they have no knowledge will in the destruction of those creatures also be destroyed (v 12).

Throughout church history, periods of heresy, apathy, and ignorance have been both times of danger and of opportunity -- opportunity to set the record straight, to confront a new age with a old message, such a time is upon us.  Only through a renewing of our minds, a rededication of our hearts, and a reformation of our church can such a chapter of history have a happy ending, like so many chapters before it.

-- Michael Horton


For more information on Victory Churches and the Faith Movement, go to the Reference Library.  Click on any book title to get a brief overview of the book.  All books on the list are available through www.amazon.com. 

Read Any Good Books Lately?

These books can be obtained at various sources. Some can be purchased at your local Christian bookstore, amazon.com, Chapters Bookstore, or the ministry website of the author. The Grand Poo-Bah will be publishing the websites of the various authors in the near future. There is lots of information available on false teaching and it's easier than you think to know for certain that you are not in a true Christian church but you must do some research.

More Comments From Our Readers:

Corine McIntosh says -- Boy, I am really glad that I have found your blog. The comments and the research that you have done make me realize how easy it is to get taken in by the "health and wealth" gospel teachers. I am sure that God will touch your boys and that they will see the hidden agenda of their pastor.

Tammy Smith-Redmond says -- Some of these stories are tragic. So is mine.. I lost my sister to these "Pastors" and I use the term loosely. I haven't seen her for over 9 years. Please pray for a safe return of Donna Smith.

Andrea Boisvert says -- It is sad to read some of these people's stories. My husband was dabbling in the "health & wealth" gospel (as a lay preacher) when God opened his eyes to what he was doing. Taking offerings from people who could ill afford to feed their families. He has now stopped doing any preaching but we are finding it very difficult to get out of our church without losing all of our friends.

The Grand Poo-Bah says -- I know for a fact my son Glenn gave $1,000 "seed faith" offering to Barrie Victory Centre at a time when I know, he did not have a pot to p_ _ _ _ in. Instead of saying I'm sorry, we cannot take this money from you, you need it more than we do, they took it! These churches have no shame when it comes to money. Fear of losing all your friends is what the cult leader is counting on. This is how cults function to hold onto their people. It will take a lot of courage but you must get out of the cult ASAP.

Brian Campbell says -- What a terrible time to be in such a mess with your family. Our prayers will be with you. Do not lose hope.

Robert & Maisie Kennelley says -- We are very thankful that such a Godly man as you is fighting on behalf of those who are so taken in by these "cults." In our state, there are new ones springing up every month. Our children have gone from one bad one to another -- now it's the trust God for everything. They no longer go to doctors (prayer over the sick person only is allowed); and so on. Our children were raised in a Methodist Bible-believing church -- where did we go wrong?

The Grand Poo-Bah says -- If you think we are living in the latter days, and many people do, including Dr. David Jeremiah. He did a series of sermons on this recently and has written two books on the subject. I relate to this situation but I don't think we should blame ourselves. We taught our children the truth and we raised them in a Bible-believing church. The thing that this generation is dealing with that previous generations did not have to deal with is the huge proliferation of cults around the world including cults claiming to be Christian. The number of new cults rising up is astronomical. The largest and the easiest ones to get involved with are the ones that come into your home every week or some of them every day on television. When people see large crowds coming to hear a certain individual or a massively huge church filled with people, it tends to give the message credibility so people are drawn to it. Most of the people who get involved with these modern-day Christian cults are unsuspecting Christians who likely are lacking knowledge about the cult problem. Scripture teaches that we are to train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it. You and I have to trust that this Scripture is true and that our children will all return to the fold; hopefully sooner rather than later. We have personal experience with a friend of ours, who attended an extreme Pentecostal church, who's wife passed away at age 40 simply because she would not take the cancer treatment the doctors were offering. Instead they were expecting a healing miracle from God which never came. Also, this current generation doesn't seem to have any understanding of the concept of "common sense."

Maurey Davis says -- How did Christianity become so perverted as being taught by the list of those pastors? We should be praying for all of them to see the light; even though some of them are unknown to us. The scariest one of all is Joel Osteen -- no Bible-training whatsoever -- and have your best life now? Where does it say that in Scripture? IT DOESN'T! Keep pressing on, Brother, keep pressing on.

The Grand Poo-Bah says -- You are definitely right about Joel Osteen. It is frightening to realize that so many people are sitting under the weekly tutelage of someone who has no Bible-training whatsoever. Most of what Joel Osteen says is not in Scripture. It is just more "possibility thinking" which Robert Schuller is well-known for. A non-Christian could write most of his sermons. We need to pray for all those people sitting in the pews at Lakewood Church in Florida with those blank looks on their faces because they are being sold a "bill of goods" and what he is teaching is not the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Sadie Krostolous says -- Have been following your blog for some time, I find it refreshing that you are prepared to publish comments of all sorts. It makes you look like a very objective person which makes some of the things you say more believable to someone who might be mixed up in one of these "churches." Some of the stories are heartbreaking like the man who lost his wife. I don't have any such stories to share but I enjoy reading someone else's. God bless you for trying to make a difference.

R.W. Abbotteye says -- Having accidently found your blog when I was looking up one of your "false" teachers, it was interesting to see the different perspectives from both you and your readers. I have huge concerns about the teachings of these people and was amazed to see how many of these TV evangelists are involved. Then I did some further investigation and learned about some of the lavish lifestyles. Appalling. Keep it up as sometimes it is the squeeky wheel that gets results.

The Grand Poo-Bah says -- The Copelands, Benny Hinn, T.D. Jakes, Oral & Richard Roberts, Joyce Meyers and others -- it is a well-known fact that they all have amassed huge fortunes from their "ministries." People think they are sending money to help spread the Gospel but a large portion of their giving ends up in the pockets of the leaders. To my knowledge, Billy Graham never took more than $70,000 in salary out of his ministry. These people are not accountable to anybody and therein lies a serious problem with TV evangelists.

Sherry Tamblyn says -- Thank you, thank you, thank you. This is an amazing resource for our family. We have two nephews and their families who have gotten involved in one of these. We would not have known where to start getting information without the Grand Poo-Bah blog. We are starting with Christianity in Crisis. Thank you.

The Grand Poo-Bah says -- You made a very wise choice. Christianity in Crisis is the absolutely best place to start for information about the Faith Movement or Word of Faith teachings.

Graydon & Ruby Pount say -- We wish you all the best at this Christmas time. It took us many many years and thousands of dollars to have an intervention done which only lasted less than six months. We wish we had found you earlier.

Pat & Pearl Poppins say -- Our daughter thought she was going to be given the husband of her dreams after attending a Joyce Meyer Christian Women's Conference. She didn't think anything through but went blindly down a bad road (in the name of Christianity). The first guy she met at church -- that was it! Needless to say, it has been a disaster. Somebody ought to get these people off TV because that's how Dora found her [Joyce Meyers]. We now have not seen our daugher for over five years but we understand that she has no mind of her own anymore. As others are adding their names for prayer, please add ours. Thank You.

Melanie Hopwood says -- I hope that your sons read some of the horror stories here. I could not even imagine some of these things happening inside a church. I guess I was lucky. I started attending a Word of Faith church in BC and the kicker for me was when everyone would go down to the front and end up flat on their backs moaning because the pastor touched them. I now know it was mass hysteria because we sang the same monotone songs over and over again until we lost touch with reality. If you didn't go to the front and fall down (they had catcher people), you were brought up on stage and ridiculed for not having enough faith. I never fell down and after the 2nd bout on stage, I walked and never went back. I guess God had other plans for me and I am now attending a Bible-preaching church in Washington. Keep praying and remember that God is in control.

The Grand Poo-Bah says --Thank you for your comments and I would like to take this opportunity to say Thank You to my lovely wife, Gail, who has spent hours and hours with me working on this blog. Thanks, Honey!