RHEMA
BLAB IT AND GRAB IT
GANG EXPOSED Sept.
23, 2003-- Kenneth Hagin died and went to hell.
Praise God for this deliverance!
Proverbs
11:7 When a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall perish: and the hope of unjust
men perisheth. Here
is a reader's observation: Garner
Ted Armstrong is dead!
Now, the so-called "Father of the Faith Movement," Kenneth Hagin, is dead.
Please note that as
the "Father of the Faith Movement," he is responsible in part for the untimely
deaths of thousands of dear souls-- including children-- who, apart from his heretical
poison, would have sought medical treatment and in many cases been cured.
My own family, victimized
by the "Faith" movement, would have been intact were it not for Hagin and his
minions.
I also notice that the old bag on TBN, Jan Crouch, one of the nastiest, most insane
women I have ever had the displeasure of knowing, has cancer. While it runs contrary
to my native inclinations to wish ill on someone, I have prayed and prayed for
so many years that God would STOP THESE HORRIBLE PEOPLE.
It is just possible that judgment is finally coming.
Also regard the fact that Mrs. Crouch went to a regular doctor who sent her to
a regular hospital where the old hen received regular medical, surgical treatment--treatment
she denied her followers. I am left to wonder WHY she just didn't "confess her
healing" or have one of those hairspray evangelists whip her up a prayer cloth.
I am, alas,
reminded of Hobart Freeman. I don't know if you remember him, but he was one of
the finest theologians out there. MOODY published his books in the old days, back
before they sold out. Then, Hobart Freeman took a radical wrong turn. He more
or less set up his own "Jonestown." He and his people renounced doctors, and declined
any medical treatment. The rub, again, was that there were children involved.
(Most of all, satan hates CHILDREN.) Hobart Freeman died before his time of completely
TREATABLE ailments.
I suppose we should give him qualified praise for sticking to his guns, unlike
ol' Jan Grouch (sic), who sought the medical help she claimed for years was unnecessary.
That horrible
woman and her horrible gospel. While I give thanks for God's infinite patience
(where would I be without it--never mind; I KNOW), I pray that, finally, He is
moving to silence one of the devil's primary tools: TBN.
Oh, Hagin's funeral is tomorrow. You can even watch it on his website (http://rhema.org)!
Score it
one more down!
Yours, dear friend, for the simple, old-time religion, J
Editor: I see that Pope
John Paul II is in deep trouble physically. I have promised my kids that when
he dies, I shall dance in the street and sing Hallelujah. When an heretic dies,
the righteous should rejoice.
THE
FOLLOWING ARTICLE EXPOSES THE RHEMA CULT,
KENNETH HAGIN IN PARTICULAR
It is interesting to hear a Charismatic gentleman grumble about the Rhema
heresy. I do not endorse the author, but his material is very useful in
understanding how heretical the TBN- Hinn boys really are. Please learn
from this article not to lump all Charismatics and Pentecostals into the Third
Wave basket. It ain't fair folks! The
`Faith' Movement may be Prospering
But is it HEALTHY?
by Stuart St.John. DISCLAIMER by Blessed
Quietness Journal: The author has used Bible versions which we do not
consider to be canon. What would you say, I wonder, if you
were told that there is a teaching sweeping through evangelical churches in our
day that not only has made changes to, but has also taken out the very core of
the Gospel and replaced it with a fake? Such is the message being
propagated by Kenneth Hagin, Kenneth Copeland, Marilyn Hickey, Charles Capps,
Fred Price, Robert Tilton, Doyle "Buddy" Harrison and Ray McCauley. (These people
have international followings numbering thousands, several having their own TV
broadcasts.) Many believers who see these ministries at a distance know that something
is not right about them, but most see them as the Gospel plus healing and prosperity
on demand. Research carried out in 1994 among a number of Christians
from many different backgrounds has confirmed this. Almost 100% held this idea
that the `Faith' message was only the Gospel plus. None had any idea of the extent
of its error. In fact, a certain well-informed Baptist pastor expressed real surprise
when he read what Kenneth Copeland teaches about the Creation, Fall, and Redemption
of man. "I never knew it was this bad," he said. "...This is sheer heresy."
You might think it a fair question to ask whether these `Faith' teachers
themselves are aware that they are teaching anything other than the historic,
Biblical Gospel. After all, you could say, all of us make mistakes at times -
maybe they're just a little confused about what happened on the Cross. But the
following comment from Copeland's tape "What happened from the Cross to the Throne"
indicates clearly his thinking that traditional Christianity has covered up his
beliefs in `traditional church teaching': "Tonight I want to show you some things
from the Word of God . . . It's very little talked about, almost non-existent
in traditional church teaching . . . because it's been covered up and hidden in
tradition... The thing that's necessary for the life of a Christian is knowledge
of what happened from the cross to the throne, what took place in the three days
and three nights." So, then, we see that far from being a misunderstanding
of what happened at the Cross, Copeland has uncovered a previously `hidden' teaching
(what the `Faith' movement terms `Revelation knowledge') which you will see presents
us with another `Jesus' and `another gospel'. The quotes which follow are all
from Kenneth Copeland: "This man [Jesus] is a carbon copy of the
one that walked through the garden of Eden." ("What Happened from the Cross to
the Throne", tape.) "Every prophet that walked the face of
the earth under the Abrahamic covenant could have paid the price if it were a
physical death only" ("What Happened...") "When he said `It
is finished' on that cross, he was not speaking of the plan of redemption. The
plan of redemption had just begun, there were still three days and three nights
to be gone through." ("What Happened...") "When His blood
poured out it did not atone." (Kenneth Copeland: From a personal letter to D.R.McConnell,
dated 12/3/79. Cited in A Different Gospel, p.120) "Jesus
went into hell itself and suffered the penalty for sin" (Believer's Voice of Victory
magazine, May 1994, page 5.) "[Jesus] accepted the sin nature
of Satan in His own Spirit, and at the moment that He did so, He cried `My God,
my God, why have you forsaken me?'." ("What Happened...") "He
[Jesus] was down in that pit and there he suffered the punishment for three horrible
days and nights for Adam's treason... There is a new birth takes place in the
very depths of the earth, when the command of God says `That's
enough, loose him and let him go'." ("What Happened...") A good
summary quote of this teaching from a fellow `Faith' teacher is this: "Do you
think that the punishment for our sin was to die on a cross? If that were the
case the two thieves could have paid your price. No the punishment was to go into
hell itself and serve time in hell separated from God... Satan and all the demons
of hell thought they had Him bound and they threw a net over Jesus, and they dragged
Him down to the very pit of hell itself to serve our sentence." (Fred K.C. Price,
Ever Increasing Faith Messenger, June 1980, p.7) It has become
obvious that Copeland's belief about "what took place in the three days and three
nights" has nothing to do with orthodox Bible teaching, and has not been "covered
up and hidden in tradition"! Yet Copeland ends his tape "What Happened from the
Cross to the Throne" with the following remark: "`Go into all the world and preach
the gospel' - what is the gospel? Just exactly what I have been telling you for
the last hour." So Copeland believes that it is not what happened
ON the Cross (when the real Jesus poured out His precious blood to pay for our
sins), but what happened AFTERWARDS that really matters - when his imaginary `Jesus'
(who had died spiritually and become "one with Satan" on the cross) was being
tortured by Satan (his "step-father") in hell. Commenting on this
teaching the late Dr Walter Martin, a world expert on cults, said the following:
"It is the height of theological folly to reduce God the Son, the second person
of the holy Trinity, to a lost sinner with the nature of Satan and then send Him
to hell with the requirement of regeneration before He can complete the work of
redemption." (p.104, Agony of Deceit, Moody Press: Chicago, 1990)
Before looking into more of the specific teachings of the `Faith' movement
(also called the prosperity movement and the `Word-Faith' movement) it will be
helpful to see where it comes from. Many Christians have been taken unawares by
it because they think it comes from the Pentecostal/charismatic movement. Such
is not the case at all. In the latter half of this century, the acknowledged father-figure
of the movement has been Kenneth Hagin. It is from him that Copeland and others
have directly borrowed their message. However, the real father of
the `Faith' message is E.W.Kenyon, who was teaching the same things before Kenneth
Hagin was even born (Kenyon died in 1948). To the casual observer, the `Faith'
movement has certain similarities in experience, etc., to the Pentecostal and
charismatic movements. However, the core of the message, and its origins, are
widely divergent. Kenyon, its founder, inadvertently `borrowed' from the ideas
taught by Christian Science, New Thought and Unity School of Christianity. In
the book A Different Gospel, D.R. McConnell documents clearly the progress of
Kenyon's ideas while studying at Emerson's New Thought college in Boston.
Though Hagin has tried to deny his obvious plagiarism of Kenyon's "The
Wonderful Name of Jesus", saying that he only saw the book in 1978, as McConnell
points out, "The problem is that two years prior to 1978, the first date that
Hagin admits to having read Kenyon's The Wonderful Name of Jesus, he had already
copied extensively from this book for an article published in his magazine in
1976. That article never mentions the name of E.W.Kenyon."..."He has plagiarised
Kenyon both repeatedly and extensively. Actually, it would not be overstated to
say that the very doctrines that have made Kenneth Hagin and the Faith movement
such a distinctive and powerful force within the independent charismatic movement
are all plagiarised from E.W.Kenyon." (p.7, A Different Gospel).
He also points out the very obvious similarities between statements of Kenyon
and those of New Thought writer R.W.Trine. Trine wrote concerning the `law' of
prosperity: "To hold yourself in this [positive] attitude of mind is to set in
operation subtle, silent irresistible forces that sooner or later actualize in
material form that which is today merely an idea. But ideas have occult power
and ideas rightly planted and rightly tended are the seeds that actualize material
conditions" (R.W.Trine, In Tune with the Infinite, p.138 [emphasis mine]).
Those familiar with any of the modern writings on prosperity and positive confession
will see, in the light of this quotation, that they have more in common with the
writings of Trine (via Kenyon and Hagin) than with the Scriptures.
[Under each heading the position of the `Faith' teachers is outlined,
with any relevant quotes, and then follows the Biblical view on each topic.]
Adam: They teach that he had the
nature of God and great inner creative power as God had. E.W. Kenyon taught that
man "must partake either of God's nature or of Satan's nature", and therefore
he has no distinct nature of his own. Charles Capps puts it like this: "God said,
Let us make man in our image after our likeness. The word likeness in the original
Hebrew means "an exact duplication in kind."... Adam was an exact duplication
of God's kind!" (Authority in Three Worlds, p.15-16. [Emphasis in original].
Tulsa, Oklahoma: Harrison House, 1982.) What Capps is putting to us
here is made crystal clear for us by his fellow Faith-teacher Kenneth Copeland
when he states quite emphatically that "God's reason for creating Adam was His
desire to reproduce Himself. I mean a reproduction of Himself, and in the Garden
of Eden He did that. He was not a little like God. He was not almost like God.
He was not subordinate to God even.... Adam is as much like God as you could get,
just the same as Jesus - When He came into the earth He said `If you've seen Me
you've seen the Father'. He wasn't a lot like God - He's God manifested in the
flesh. And I want you to know something: Adam, in the Garden of Eden, was God
manifested in the flesh!" ("Following the Faith of Abraham", part I, side
1). [Cassette obtained from Kenneth Copeland Ministries, Bath, UK, Summer 1994]
What the Bible says: In Genesis chapters
1 and 2 the Hebrew word Elohim is used only of God, not of man (who was only a
creature). Adam was created with a sinless human nature. He had a nature that
was made `in the image of God' but was distinct from it. (Genesis 1:26 and 2:7)
Adam's Dominion: They teach
that he was a little god who owned the planet earth and all God's creation. According
to Kenneth Hagin, man "was created on terms of equality with God, and he could
stand in God's presence without any consciousness of inferiority... Man lived
in the realm of God. He lived on equal terms with God." (Zoe: The God-Kind
of Life, p. 35-36, Tulsa, OK: Kenneth Hagin Ministries, Inc. 1989.) According
to some of the `Faith' teachers he was given total ownership for a 6000 year period.
His spoken words would cause food to grow and feed him. Meanwhile, God was "outside
looking in" (as Copeland tells us on his tape, "What Happened...") and "powerless
to do anything" - He had given the Earth to man freehold.
What the Bible says: Adam's dominion was only a stewardship to
look after what God had made, to tend the garden of Eden and look after the animals
(Gen. 1:28; Gen.2:15). The Earth and everything in it still belonged to God -
Adam was God's tenant. (See, for example, Lev. 25:23, Deut.4:39, Jer. 27:5, Psa.
24:1- "The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it"). Andrew Brandon, in his
book Health and Wealth (which gives an excellent overview of the movement), gives
the following illustration: "Man was given dominion over the earth, but this must
not be confused with legal authority. Man was God's viceroy, representing
him in Creation. The situation was not unlike the position of Mountbatten in India
before independence. As viceroy of all India, he represented the power and interests
of the British government. Because of the authority delegated to him, he was allowed
to use his own initiative in some matters. Nevertheless, he was answerable to
the British government and could be deposed at will if he was found to be unsatisfactory."
(Health and Wealth, p.104, Kingsway Publications, 1987)
The Fall: They teach that Adam lost God's nature
and suffered `spiritual death' taking the nature of Satan, and so he became "a
step- son of Satan". He became powerless; he lost his creative power. Again, I
quote from Charles Capps' book Authority in Three Worlds: "Adam had revelation
knowledge that flowed from God, the Father. But when Adam bowed his knee to Satan,
he shut God out. God found Himself on the outside looking in. His man, Adam, had
lost his authority. Satan... had... become the god of the world system.... Satan
had gained ascendancy in the earth by gaining Adam's authority, and God was left
on the outside. God couldn't come here in His divine power and wipe them out.
He had to move in an area where it would be ruled legal by the Supreme Court of
the Universe." (pages 50-51) Now observe how clearly Frederick K.C.
Price states the belief of the `Faith' teachers: "Adam, as I said, gave it [the
earth] away to the serpent, to the Devil. As a result of it he got his behind
kicked out of the garden. He went out of Eden, out of the garden. He began to
wander around, and he has troubles from day one. Now God was out of the business.
God was out of the earth realm. God had no more stock in this earth realm. No
more. None at all. Nothing He could do. Not a thing in the world He could do....
The only way God could get back into this earth realm, He had to have an invitation.
Ha-hah! He had to have an invitation." ("Ever Increasing Faith" program
on TBN [1 May 1992], audiotape #PR11.) The Earth, then, had become
the legal property of Satan: "When Adam gave that creature the authority that
God had given him, he made Satan the god of this world." (Copeland: "What Happened...")
This meant that God was not only "outside looking in" but was also utterly powerless
to do anything on Earth. Without man's cooperation God was LOST!
What the Bible says: At the Fall, Adam's distinctive
human nature became sinful. He was separated from God by his rebellion (Rom.5:19).
Again, Brandon's illustration is helpful: "Man, like Lord Mountbatten [see above],
was God's representative on earth. He was permitted a certain degree of freedom,
such as naming the animals, but was ultimately responsible to God for his stewardship
of the planet. The fall, rather than being the exile of God from earth, was the
exile of man from God. It is significant that after the fall, God excluded Adam
and Eve from Eden and left angelic guardians barring their return (Gen 3:24)."
(Ibid. p.104) [ Balaam's Ass Speaks: Editor: I
cannot resist commenting-- Lord Mountbatten was a sodomite, and he probably introduced
the craft to Prince Charles. ]
God's plan of
redemption: The `Faith' teachers say that since Adam's sin deserved
suffering in hell, someone had to go there and suffer in Adam's place. Kenneth
Hagin states it like this: "He [Jesus] tasted spiritual death for every man. And
His spirit and inner man went to hell in my place. Can't you see that? Physical
death wouldn't remove your sins." ("How Jesus Obtained His Name", side
1, tape #44H01. Tulsa, OK: Kenneth Hagin Ministries.) The quotation earlier by
Fred Price also promotes this view. (Can he really compare the death of Jesus
Christ with that of a guilty thief? You must judge for yourself.)
What the Bible says: God brought to fulfillment His
blood sacrifice system; hence the statement of John the Baptist, "Behold! The
Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." (John 1:29) One perfect [i.e.
not just a prophet or any other sinner] blood sacrifice was to be made which would
pay for our sins (Isaiah 53:5,10 and 11; Hebrews 10:10).
Jesus: Copeland (and the rest) inform us that He
was a `carbon copy' of Adam (e.g. Copeland: "What Happened..."). It is
clear from many statements on the subject that they deny the pre-existent Jesus,
since Copeland teaches that Jesus is only the product of God's positive confession:
"The angels spoke the words of the covenant to her [Mary]. She pondered them in
her heart, and those words became the seed. And the Spirit of God hovered over
her and generated that seed, which was the word that the angel spoke to her. And
there was conceived in her, the Bible says, a holy thing. The Word literally became
flesh." ("The Abrahamic Covenant", side 2, audiocassette #01-4405, Fort
Worth, TX: Kenneth Copeland Ministries, 1985.) Elsewhere (as we saw)
Adam and Jesus were both "God manifested in the flesh". In the `Faith' message
the fact must be seen that neither is `God' in a Christian understanding. Rather,
both are said to have the `nature of God'. Copeland says that Jesus "has got to
be all man. He cannot be a God and come storming in here with attributes and dignities
that are not common to man. He can't do that. It's not legal." ("The Incarnation",
side 1, audiocassette #01-0402, emphasis in original, Fort Worth, TX: KCM, 1985.)
What the Bible says: Jesus is the only
one (Greek: monogenes - meaning 'One of a kind' or 'Unique') who is God Himself
come in flesh. He is fully human and fully divine. (John 1:1, 14; Colossians 2:9)
Although called the eternal Word of God, he is not one of God's spoken words.
Born Again ~ An Incarnation?:
E.W.Kenyon said, "The Lord Jesus was not, however, a `one-of-a-kind.' `Incarnation'
can be repeated in each and every one of us. Every man who has been `born again'
is an Incarnation." (E.W.Kenyon: The Father and His Family, p.100)
Hagin says, "You are as much the incarnation of God as Jesus Christ was.
Every man who has been born again is an incarnation and Christianity is a miracle.
The believer is as much an incarnation as was Jesus of Nazareth." (Kenneth Hagin:
Word of Faith, December, 1980, p.14) "You don't have a god
in you. You are one!" (Kenneth Copeland: "The Force of Love", tape.)
Dogs beget dogs, and cats beget cats, and God begets gods. You are all
little gods" (Kenneth Copeland, speaking on Trinity Broadcasting Network's Praise
the Lord show) "Jesus is no longer the only begotten Son of God...
Jesus is known as the first begotten from the dead. If there is a firstborn, then
there has to be a secondborn, a thirdborn, a fourthborn, etc." (Copeland: "Now
Are We in Christ Jesus", p.24, Kenneth copeland Publications, Texas.)
"I say this and repeat it so it doesn't upset you too bad... when I read
in the Bible where He [Jesus] says, `I AM,' I say, `Yes, I AM too!'" (Kenneth
Copeland: Spoken during a crusade meeting, 19/7/1987)
What the Bible says: Jesus Christ is the unique Son of God (John
1:18, John 3:16) The statements by Kenyon, Hagin and Copeland are sheer blasphemy,
and surely so obviously so that no Bible references are really needed. Check out
just about any book of the Bible! (Try, for a start, Deut. 6:4 and Isaiah 43:10.
Genesis 3:5 shows that the idea of being `like God' was the lure of the serpent
in the Garden of Eden.)
Jesus on the Cross:
The `Faith' teachers insist that Jesus became a sinful, ordinary
mortal man with Satan's nature - a "stepson of Satan". Ray McCauley has taught
that "while on the cross, He (Jesus) was going to have to take Satan as His stepfather."
[McCauley, who was trained under Kenneth Hagin (at RHEMA Bible Training Center),
allegedly repented of this teaching (according to a letter dated 17/11/90), but
since then has continued selling and distributing materials teaching exactly this
message.] The cross apparently accomplished nothing, being a place
of `failure and defeat'. Jesus did not bear our sins in his body on the cross.
What the Bible says: The `Lamb of God'
remained sinless while bearing our sins. He did not become a sinner, but was treated
as one. His physical death was the blood sacrifice which paid for our sins. (Heb.
9:12,14,28; Heb. 7:27)
The Atonement for Sin:
Not by the blood sacrifice on the cross, they say. E.g. "if His
death paid it then every man could die for himself " (Fred K.C. Price). "The plan
of redemption had just begun. There were still 3 days and 3 nights to be gone
through." (Copeland) He was dragged by demons into hell and tormented for 3 days
and 3 nights as the payment for sin. Adam's suffering in hell was then substituted
for. Then `Jesus' had to be BORN AGAIN to lose his Satanic nature and regain a
righteous God nature. Thus we find also that, "Sin was not reckoned to Him. Sin
was not set to His account. He became sin." (E.W.Kenyon, Identification,
p.12) "Do you think that the punishment for our sin was to die on
a cross? If that were the case, the two thieves could have paid your price" (Fred
Price) "Physical death would not remove our sins. He tasted death
for every man - spiritual death. Jesus is the first person ever to be born again.
Why did His spirit need to be born again? Because it was estranged from God. Do
you remember how He cried out on the cross, `My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken
me?'"... "Sin separates from God. Spiritual death means separation from God...
Spiritual death means something more than separation from God. Spiritual death
also means having Satan's nature." (Kenneth Hagin: "The Name of Jesus",
pp. 29-31). "Jesus went into hell to free mankind from the penalty
of Adam's high treason . . . When His blood poured out it did not atone. . . .
Jesus spent three horrible days and nights in the bowels of this earth getting
back for you and me our rights with God". [Kenneth Copeland: From a personal letter
to D.R.McConnell, dated 12/3/79. Cited in A Different Gospel, p.120]
What the Bible says: Sin was paid for on
the cross BY THIS SACRIFICE (Heb. 10:10; Matt. 27:51). The veil of the Temple
was torn by the Father. This shows that the blood sacrifice was accepted and thus
man's sins were paid for. We can now enter the Holy of Holies by the Blood of
the Lamb. Check out the following Bible verses: Ephesians 1:7, 2:13 and 2:15;
Colossians 1:20-22; 1 Peter 1:19, 2:24, 4:1.
Centrality of the Cross: E.W.Kenyon wrote, "We have sung `Nearer
the cross' and we have prayed that we might be `Nearer the cross' but the cross
has no salvation in it. It is a place of failure and defeat" (Advanced Bible
Course, p.279) [emphasis mine]. As usual, the others merely echo Kenyon's
ideas about this. What the Bible says:
"May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Galatians
6:14). "I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing but to those
who are being saved it is the Power of God" (1 Corinthians 1:18) See also Ephesians
2:16; Colossians 1:20 and 2:15.
*** Poison!
*** Given that the `Faith' message has totally different views
of the nature of man, of God, of Jesus Christ, of the incarnation, and of the
atonement, it must be questioned whether any Bible-believing Christian should
have anything to do with the movement. Should Christians attend conferences
where even one speaker is a known adherent to such teachings? In the summer of
1994 Ray McCauley spoke at several meetings alongside top names from the British
Pentecostal/charismatic movement. Should this kind of thing happen? Do you think
that our leaders should share speaking platforms with Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses
as well? Not only has McCauley polluted Africa for 15 years (as Kenneth
Hagin Ministries) and done nothing about it, but he continues to sell materials
in South Africa and the U.K. (as Ray McCauley Ministries) which teach the false
atonement of the `JDS heresy' (as summed up in Fred Price's statement) and the
`little gods' doctrine. Many object to such a clear-cut view of the
`Faith' movement, saying that since the Bible is so often quoted in the writings
of these teachers they must be Biblical. But again we must ask ourselves a question:
How much error is really required before someone's theology can be labelled `dangerous'
and must be disposed of? The late Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones, speaking
on a similar issue gave this helpful illustration: "[Imagine] a man with a bottle
in his hand. There is a coloured liquid in the bottle and there are many ingredients
in that bottle. There's water in it and there's colouring matter, and they're
all excellent ingredients. But there happens to be an amount of prussic acid,
and though it's a very small amount it can kill anybody who drinks out of that
bottle! What's the point of praising the good ingredients when there is rank,
lethal poison in the bottle?" The `Faith' message contains no small amount of
poison! To simply acknowledge their `use' of the Bible and ignore their heretical
ideas in the name of `Christian unity' is surely spiritual suicide.
CULT SAFEGUARDS It is abundantly clear from what
they say and write that the ideas and teachings promoted by Hagin, Copeland, and
the rest, are heretical, and so it would be expected that anyone realising this
would turn away from the teaching and its propagators. However, this has not often
been the case. Although it is not an organised cult in the sense of having one
particular leader and an organizational headquarters, the `Faith' movement has
managed to condition those inside and out with its `safeguards' against Bible-based
evaluation. Perhaps if you, the reader, have come under such teaching you may
have been clearly warned not to criticise or question "God's anointed men". (Also,
they are prone to yell "critical spirit" or, "you're only arguing about words!"
Yet such is clearly not the case.) Another aspect of the control by
the movement's leaders is seen in one of Kenneth Hagin's `revelations', in which
`Jesus' told him that those pastors who didn't accept Hagin's prophetic word would
die in their pulpits (see, for example, I Believe in Visions, pp. 114-115).
Also a certain leader of one of the Rhema Bible Churches stood up before the congregation
with a copy of D.R. McConnell's book (mentioned already) and told people that
if they read it they would lose their salvation. Of course, these are not `God's
anointed' and need not be feared. People are also very concerned that
if they begin to analyse the movement's teachings for themselves (i.e. think critically)
then God might be angered and they will lose their healing and financial security,
etc. It may sound rather odd to those on the outside, but to those involved it
is a very serious matter indeed. APPARENT REPENTANCES
Another aspect of this struggle is found in the October '93 issue
of Alpha magazine (UK). In its feature on Benny Hinn, it quotes him at one point
(October '91) saying "I really no longer believe the faith message. I don't think
it adds up." He comments that for 10 years he filled his life with `Faith' books,
but then he adds: "I respect these teachers as men of God." On 8 June 1992, Hinn
told his Trinity Broadcasting Network TV audience that those who spoke out against
`Word-Faith' teacher Kenneth Copeland were "attacking the very presence of God."
Had Benny Hinn really understood that the message he read about and preached for
so long has no power to save? Another more serious example is that
of Ray McCauley of Rhema South Africa: In October 1994, a contact in Johannesburg
went and bought a copy of What Happened from the Cross to the Throne by E.W. Kenyon,
as well as Copeland's tape Following the Faith of Abraham I, from the Rhema Bookshop.
Copeland's What Happened from the Cross to the Throne was also available there,
as well as a plethora of `Faith' publications. This shows very clearly that 3
years and 11 months after Ray McCauley claimed to have repented of such teaching,
he is still willfully propagating it! Yet when people have asked "Do you teach
that Jesus died spiritually?" he replies "No". The difference between `teaching'
and `propagating' is merely used as a means to deceive.
CHANGE? Some Christians are convinced the `Faith' teachers are
in fact changing. The scrutinizing of their teachings after such proclaimed revisions
is documented by Dan McConnell, the author of A Different Gospel. He comments
that "The Faith teachers may have toned down their rhetoric and altered some of
their jargon", but goes on to say that "the Faith controversy has never been resolved
at the doctrinal level, nor will it until the Faith teachers recant [their] doctrines
and practices. Cultic and heretical doctrine cannot be `moderated', as if all
that is necessary are a few cosmetic alterations and word changes... Moderated
heresy is still heresy" (p.188). Walter Martin has determined that
"those who propagate these erroneous views (the little gods, the born-again Jesus,
and so on) have sadly crossed over into the kingdom of the cults." (p.104, Agony...)
As Hank Hanegraaff concluded in the book Christianity in Crisis, "at stake
is no less than salvation itself." Evidently, Benny Hinn, Ray McCauley, and all
those who have been involved with the `Faith' movement, need some clear understanding
of the choices involved, and their consequences. Yet those who have
sought to help them see the errors were despised. The authors of Agony of Deceit
attempted to contact those under scrutiny: "We have sought out those in question,"
they report. "We have asked them, `Did we get this right? Do you really believe
this?' We have asked them to reconsider their positions in the light of Scripture
and have repeatedly attempted to settle confusion behind closed doors. All attempts
have failed..." (p.13 Agony of Deceit) Many of the movement's
leaders thus simply will not listen to the voice of reason - they have their visions,
their `revelations' from God, and anyone who disagrees with them is automatically
dismissed. This is due to their Gnostic claims to have `revelation knowledge'.
Those who disagree with them are said to have only `sense knowledge' (i.e. the
Bible's literal, straightforward interpretation.) CHRISTIANS?
For a Mormon to become a Christian, he would have to repent of
his false beliefs about Jesus and the gospel and then put his trust in the real
Jesus. This should be the case for those who realise the errors of the `Faith'
movement, too. Have you ever met a converted Jehovah's Witness who still thinks
that Charles Taze Russell (their founder) was a sound Bible teacher? What about
a converted Mormon who thinks that Joseph Smith (founder of the Mormons) ought
to be held up along with Daniel, Isaiah and Jeremiah as a true prophet of God?!
Of course not! It is a shame that this booklet had to be written.
It would be nice if those teaching `Faith' and `prosperity' doctrines would meet
with evangelical leaders and scholars and settle matters quietly. Even if they
came to no agreement, at least, perhaps, the `Faith' teachers could agree to stop
calling themselves Christians and masquerading as Bible-teachers among the unsuspecting
Christian public. Sadly, this has not yet happened. Instead, the `Faith'
teachers mock sound theology, calling it `traditional church', and so on. Paul
Crouch, the head of Trinity Broadcasting Network (the world's largest Christian
TV network) has hardened himself against all attempts at correction: "To hell
with you! Get out of my life!" was his response on one occasion. He referred to
sound theology as `doctrinal doodoo' and in the same broadcast said "I refuse
to argue any longer with any of you out there! Don't even call me if you want
to argue doctrine, if you want to straighten somebody out... criticize Ken Copeland...
or Dad Hagin. Get out of my life! I don't even want to talk to you... I don't
want to see your ugly face!" He evidently sees his that his `godship' puts him
beyond accountability, resorting on a different occasion to the following outburst
on his Praise the Lord show (July 7, 1986): "I AM A LITTLE GOD... I am
a little god. Critics be gone!" (This is the attitude of the man
What should we do? After examination of the details
given above we must come to some conclusions. So, what should we do? The Bible
exhorts us to "hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught",
so that we can "encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose
it" (Titus1:9). Elsewhere, the Apostle Paul tells us that "If anybody is preaching
to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!"
(Galatians 1:9) Evidently Paul took these matters very seriously.
So should we. If you, the reader, have been involved in the `Faith' movement,
especially if you have accepted the false gospel documented above, then please
read the following Bible passage: Acts 19:18-19. This shows the right response
to God and His truth.
APPENDIX ~ Useful books
on this subject: Health and Wealth - Andrew Brandon, Kingsway
Publications, 1987 This book was widely available in Christian bookshops
until 2 or 3 years ago. Stocks of it burned at a warehouse in Cumbria and Kingsway
have sadly never reprinted it. After trying unsuccessfully to order it from most
of the main UK wholesalers, I eventually found my copy among some second-hand
books which came into the City Mission bookshop in Birmingham! For those who would
see more of Andrew Brandon's book on our bookshelves, Scripture Union UK has acquired
the copyright and need your encouragement to reprint it. Brandon writes very well,
and doesn't play games when it comes to dealing with the issues at stake, for
he exposes the 'Jesus' of the prosperity gospel to be other than the real One.
Chapter 7, 'Another Jesus', under the subtitle A Jesus who is less than
God, begins a section which strikes at the heart of the deceptive 'gospel', which
indeed does not lead to the real Jesus. This book deals clearly with both the
spiritual and moral flaws of the teachings emanating from the 'Faith' Movement.
A Different Gospel - D.R. McConnell, Hendrickson
Publishers, Peabody, MA., 1988 Originally written as a Master's thesis
this book addresses the 'Faith' Movement's origins and its denial of the blood
atonement in a clear, concise manner. McConnell takes us from Kenneth Hagin's
plagiarizing of the writings of E.W.Kenyon to the origin of Kenyon's beliefs -
the occultic thinking of Christian Science and New Thought metaphysics. Here,
he says, Kenyon developed his belief in the power of the mind and the confession
of the mouth as the source of life's blessings and difficulties. In other words,
man, by his mental attitude and the words he speaks, becomes the creator of his
circumstances. Just why Kenyon decided that the blood atonement was 'sense knowledge'
and that Jesus actually had suffered 'spiritual death' on the cross and then suffered
in hell to pay for sins is not known. But that he is the originator of this modern
day pollution, via Hagin et al, is absolutely certain. Available from Evangelical
Press. The Agony of Deceit - Various authors,
Editor: Michael Scott Horton, Moody Press, 1990 This book exposes
an all-important part of the 'Faith' teaching which wasn't covered by McConnell:
the denial of the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ. (For example, "Jesus said 'I
didn't claim to be God when I walked the earth'" - Kenneth Copeland.) It also
deals with the 'Faith' belief that the born-again believer is a little god. Although
a good portion of the book deals with the question of the validity of TV Christian
ministry, this is certainly a good question for us given that an organisation
called Vision Broadcasting is sending us Copeland and other `Faith' teachers via
satellite. Available from Scripture Press. Christianity
in Crisis - Hank Hanegraaff, Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, OR., 1993
In a unique presentation, Hanegraaff brings together all that has been
exposed in these other books. Furthermore he presents a broad account of the `Faith'
message, from Adam to the born-again believer. This is important in understanding
the statement, "particular groups within the movement are clearly cults" (p.41).
He also provides us with a wide range of short biographical sketches of the actions
and beliefs of modern `Faith' teachers (e.g. Avanzini, Price, Hickey, Tilton,
Cerullo) which is really what we needed to be alerted to those who are counted
amongst them. As he progresses through the book he provides ample
documented quotations incriminating the `Faith' proponents in various areas, including
the `God' of their beliefs. For instance, Copeland's `God' "measured out the heavens
with a 9-inch span. See, God is not 437 feet tall, weighing 4000 pounds, and got
fist a fist big around as this room..." Rather, he is "a being that stands somewhere
around 6'-2", 6'-3", that weighs somewhere in the neighbourhood of a couple of
hundred pounds or a little better, has a span of 9 inches across." (Copeland:
Spirit, Soul and Body I, audiotape #01-0601. Cited on p.356 Christianity
in Crisis). Furthermore, his forthright assessment has brought
to light the heart attitudes of men who, it is plain, seek greedily the money
of the weak, while claiming "Jesus had a nice house, a big house" (John Avanzini
on Trinity Broadcasting Network, January 1991.) Such attitudes we find are only
equalled by the "don't touch God's servant" threats made publicly by Benny Hinn
against the author of this book. The true heart of the `Faith' teachers is laid
bare. We are grateful for Hanegraaff's bold, much-needed assessment of the `Faith'
Movement. Clearly he is right when he states that "the stakes are high - no less
than salvation itself."
Stuart
St.John can be contacted at 100732.3316@compuserve.com End Note:
Since this article was first published there has been quite a response from people
sympathetic to the 'Faith' Movement, expressing their anger at its appearance.
A few have tried to answer some of the points raised, while most have simply vented
their fury calling the author a 'heresy hunter', and accusing him of obviously
having nothing better to do. Before adding your e-mail to the existing
stack of it, please consider the following points:- The author spends the majority
of his time in Christian evangelistic work - not researching aberrant movements
or hunting down the peddlers of heresy. In the course of this evangelistic work
he met many Christians who were being led astray into dangerous and harmful teachings.
He also met people who had been put off the Christian faith because of hearing
this kind of teaching and seeing some of its less-publicized results. He therefore
sought to write a concise booklet which briefly outlined the main problem areas
in the 'Faith' teaching. Of course not all that the 'Faith' teachers
say is wrong - that is not the point. But the areas in which their teaching deviates
from orthodoxy are not secondary issues, but primary ones involving the Nature
of God, the Nature of Man, the Atonement and even the Nature of Faith itself.
Christians can disagree on secondary issues in good conscience - for instance,
the author is not greatly concerned whether you are pre-, post- or amillenial,
since you can be genuine Christian with or without any of these views. However,
all Christians should be concerned about primary issues. We should test ourselves
to see if we are in the faith. We must watch our lives and doctrine closely.
Editor: Blessed Quietness Journal: This man makes
no limitations on copying this material, but it is only fair to copy it 100% as
is. He has done a lot of research, and he ought to be treated with consideration.
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