Part One: Introduction

From all angles, the account of the fall of man is fascinating, simply because it presents, in a nutshell, the origin of man’s sin and its consequences, the wiles of the devil and his modus operandi, God’s promise of a savior fulfilled in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and finally, God’s benevolent provision for His creation which, in my opinion, can even be seen as a foreshadow of how the atonement for our sins will be made.

Read more at WordnVerse.com.

Seven months after Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was pilloried for suggesting that the establishment of sharia in the future “seems unavoidable” in Britain, it’s now official that Islamic law has been officially adopted in Britain, with sharia courts given powers to rule on Muslim civil cases.

Sharia courts have been set up in London, Birmingham, Bradford and Manchester with the network’s headquarters in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. Two more courts are being planned for Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Source: Times Online.

Elaborating, officials said that senior bishops of the Church wanted to “atone for the vilification” heaped on Darwin by their predecessors when he first proposed in his theory that man descended from apes.

You see, those fundamentalists (or what I’d call Bible-believing Christians), according to the Church of England led by Rowan Williams, are just a bunch of ignorant country bumpkins, believing in a six-day Creation story. The Church of England is modern, and love science — that’s why we think that our teachings shouldn’t be incompatible with science.

The Rev. Dr. Malcolm Brown, director of mission and public affairs of the Archbishops’ Council, the governing body in the Church of England, writes:

People, and institutions, make mistakes and Christian people and Churches are no exception. When a big new idea emerges that changes the way people look at the world, it’s easy to feel that every old idea, every certainty, is under attack and then to do battle against the new insights.The Church made that mistake with Galileo’s astronomy and has since realised its error. Some Church people did it again in the 1860s with Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection.

So it is important to think again about Darwin’s impact on religious thinking, then and now.

Dr. Brown further argues that “…there is nothing incompatible between the scientific theories adopted by Darwin and Christian teaching.”

Duh, of course not, evolution and Creation are perfectly compatible, because the God we believe in isn’t necessarily the one mentioned in the Bible. Ours is a product of our own imagination, oh, very much like the golden calf in Exodus, i.e. an idol.

It also does not matter that we pick and choose what to believe in the Bible, fully teaching what we like and placing caveats on what we don’t. So, in this case, while we think that God did indeed make the basic forms of life, evolution was necessary to turn apes into men. We weren’t made in the image of God, apes and monkeys were.

Source: MailOnline.

ABC reports:

KATY PERRY’S SONG USED AS CHURCH WARNING TO TEENS

BLACKLICK, Ohio (AP) — A church near Columbus, Ohio, is using Katy Perry as a bad example. A sign outside Havens Corners Church in Blacklick has the lyrics from her song, “I kissed a girl and I liked it” — but it adds, “Then I went to hell.” Church pastor Reverend Dave Allison says the Bible is clear that homosexuality is a sin, so the sign is intended as a loving warning to teens. He says it’s confused some people who either don’t know the song or don’t understand the message. Lynne Bowman of the gay rights group Equality Ohio says the sign indicates the church isn’t very accepting. Perry has not responded to calls for comment.

Obviously, those who come across the sign would have to have some inkling of the song and what its lyrics glorify to understand why kissing a girl would send someone to hell. It’s no wonder, too, that the world, and I presume, (perhaps) a section of Christians who are liberal in their outlook, is up in arms over this “offensive” message. 

What do you think? Good or bad call on the part of the pastor? Is this a case of “tell it like it is” or can the message about homosexuality as a sin be better put forward?

The Do-It-Yourself Florida Revival Kit

* Taken from Hour 1 of The Way of the Master Radio, first broadcast August 21, 2008.

Picture by CNN.

A Roman Catholic priest has decided to actualize the suggestion of some nuns whom he regularly prays and works with.

Rev. Antonio Rungi, an Italian priest and theologian, has announced that he’ll be organizing an online beauty contest for nuns to “… give them more visibility within the Catholic Church and to fight the stereotype that they are all old and dour.”

Nuns who wish to participate in “Miss Sister 2008″ will have to fill out a “pageant profile” that will include information about their life, vocation and a photograph. They can also choose to pose with the traditional veil or with their heads uncovered for the contest.

In case you were wondering, there will be no bathing suit segment, so thank God for that!

Rungi added, “… being ugly is not a requirement for becoming a nun. External beauty is gift from God, and we mustn’t hide it.” Hmm…

Gee, I thought donning the habit was a sign that these women are separate from the world and devoted to serving God. Besides, I wonder what prizes the winner will receive, and if the wish for “world peace” will actually carry more weight coming from a nun.

Next up, a “Beauties of the Nunnery” calendar, anyone?

Source: CNN.

– The Expositor’s Study Bible, Commentary on 2 Chronicles 34

HT: Herescope.

If you aren’t convinced, here’s a secular TV show in the United Kingdom having a whale of a time poking fun at some of our “favorite” Word-of-Faith preachers.

I can’t wait for our Lord’s return when He will clean this all up just as He chased those merchants out of the temple!

The Lord be Praised!

Hallelujah!

Pope in meeting with Christian Leaders in crypt of St. Mary's Cathedral

Source: Catholic News Agency.

Words in italics are my comments.

Sydney, Jul 18, 2008 / 01:34 am (CNA).- Fifteen leaders of the Australian Christian church met the Pope in an Ecumenical event held in the St. Mary’s Cathedral Crypt on Friday morning. In his address to the church leaders, Benedict XVI called on them to not view doctrine as divisive since that view can prevent Christians from working to improve the world.

That’s right, lay aside your differences even though you know that much of Roman Catholic doctrine is heretical and just be one big, happy family singing along to the tune played by the Roman pied piper pontiff while observing a works-based gospel to improve the world!

Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell represented the Catholic Church, while Rev. Robert Forsythe was present for the Anglican Church. Leaders representing the Syrian Orthodox, Maronite Catholics, Indian Orthodox, Chinese Methodist, the Lutheran and Uniting churches were also present.

Youth representatives were also present at the event, where approximately fifty guests were present because of their involvement in the Ecumenical Council of New South Wales.

The pope delivered a short address to the leaders, praising their commitment to the ecumenical movement, citing the Covenant signed in 2004 by the members of the National Council of Churches in Australia.

“This document recognizes a common commitment, sets out goals, and acknowledges points of convergence without glossing over differences,” said the Pope.

While Baptism is the starting point for ecumenical dialogue, the Pope said that, “The road of ecumenism ultimately points towards a common celebration of the Eucharist… we can be sure that a common Eucharist one day would only strengthen our resolve to love and serve one another in imitation of our Lord.”

There we go, in case some have not caught on yet, ecumenism does not mean that Christians come together to work out their differences, but discard their beliefs to follow that of the Roman Church’s.

“For this reason, a candid dialogue concerning the place of the Eucharist – stimulated by a renewed and attentive study of scripture, patristic writings, and documents from across the two millennia of Christian history – will undoubtedly help to advance the ecumenical movement and unify our witness to the world,” the Pontiff said.

The ecumenical movement has, the Pope observed, “reached a critical juncture. To move forward, we must continually ask God to renew our minds with the Holy Spirit, Who speaks to us through the scriptures and guides us into all truth. We must guard against any temptation to view doctrine as divisive and hence an impediment to the seemingly more pressing and immediate task of improving the world in which we live.”

This emphasis will lead to our works of charity speaking more eloquently of God’s bountiful goodness and love towards all, Pope Benedict said.

Finally the Pope concluded his address by calling on the Christian world to work together.

“As ‘fellow citizens’ of the ‘household of God,’ Christians must work together to ensure that the edifice stands strong so that others will be attracted to enter and discover the treasures of grace within.”

Following the meeting Pope met with religious leaders of other major faiths, at nearby St. Mary’s Cathedral Chapter House.

Source: Mail Online

In a highly conciliatory letter to Islamic leaders calling for an alliance between the two faiths for ‘the common good’, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, pronounced that not only is Christian doctrine offensive to Muslims, but that the Christian belief in the Trinity – that God is Father, Son and Holy Ghost at the same time – ‘is difficult, sometimes offensive, to Muslims’.

The Archbishop went on to push an ecumenical social ‘gospel’, saying:

‘We can together speak for those who have no voice or leverage in society – for the poorest, the most despised, the least powerful, for women and children, for migrants and minorities; and even to speak together for the great encompassing reality that has no voice of its own, our injured and abused material environment.’

Where’s that heckler who ranted against Gene Robinson when we need him, again?

Source: Mail Online.

Well said, Pastor, though I found this a little disturbing yet slightly amusing as I finished reading your article:

REMINDER: On Aug. 11-13, the historic Thomas Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Va., will host the Innovate Church conference, with “The Purpose-Driven Life” author Rick Warren serving as our headline speaker. Other special guests include: Chuck Colson, Tom Mullins, Jim Cymbala and Ed Stetzer.

It makes me wonder what your stance is, really. On one hand you decry the revulsion of God’s Truth and exhort many to boldly go forth with it, yet on the other hand you have invited one man — Rick Warren who not only waters down the Gospel but preaches another — to your church to “… empower and energize the ministries of pastors, pastors’ wives, church staff members and lay leaders across our nation”?

Is it me or is there a sharp contrast between what he writes and what he seems to subscribe to?

U.N. scheme to make Christians criminals

Sharia-following Islamic nations demanding anti-’defamation’ law

Dozens of nations dominated by Islam are pressing the United Nations to adopt an anti-”defamation” plan that would make Christians criminals under international law, according to a United States organization that has launched a campaign to defend freedom of religion worldwide…

The discrimination is “wrapped in the guise of a U.N. resolution called ‘Combating Defamation of Religions,’” the announcement said. “We must put an immediate end to this most recent, dangerous attack on faith that attempts to criminalize Christianity.”

The “anti-defamation” plan has been submitted to the U.N. repeatedly since about 1999, starting out as a plan to ban “defamation” of Islam and later changed to refer to “religions,” officials said. It is being pushed by the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference nations, which has adopted the Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam, “which states that all rights are subject to sharia law, and makes sharia law the only source of reference for human rights.”

Full story.

CASCADE TOWNSHIP — A Canton man is suing Zondervan Publishing and a Tennessee-based publisher, claiming their versions of the Bible that refer to homosexuality as a sin violate his constitutional rights and has caused him emotional pain and mental instability.

Bradley LaShawn Fowler, 39, is seeking $60 million from Zondervan, based in Cascade Township, and another $10 million from Thomas Nelson Publishing in the lawsuits filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

Full story.

Someone tell that man that he’s hauling the wrong folks to court, and he won’t win in the end anyhow. In fact, who he is hauling to court in reality will be his JUDGE one day.

HT: Christian Research Net.

These actual ‘want’ ads are taken off a good sister’s blog:

Executive Pastor
MCC is looking for an Executive Pastor (i.e. acting as the Chief Operating Officer) who will manage the operations of the church and will report to the Senior Pastor. The ideal candidate will have a proven track record of effective staff leadership and development and will be a person of integrity committed to the mission and vision of the church. The individual will possess exceptional organizational skills and excellent oral and written communications skills. He/she will be able to manage multiple priorities. The Executive Pastor will supervise all senior staff at MCC and will lead the development of integrated plans across ministries/staff to deliver the church vision. This candidate will have a close personal relationship with Jesus Christ. MCC is a 2300 member church that is mission oriented and has a passion to reach the community and the world with the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. The Executive Pastor will embrace this mission and share this passion. This is a full time position with a full benefit package. The ideal candidate will have a Bachelors degree and a strong background in business and organization management. A minimum of 10 years experience in a leadership capacity with responsibility for delivering a vision is required. Executive Pastor Experience desirable (but not required).

Just one Biblical requirement — a close relationship with Jesus Christ?!

Worship Pastor
Emmanuel Baptist Church is seeking a man to serve as full-time Worship Pastor. Candidates must be comfortable leading a “blended” style service. EBC leans toward the contemporary side of “blended,” but we need someone who truly loves and uses both traditional and contemporary music to unite people of all age categories in worship. A little history of our church may help… EBC has more than doubled in worship attendance over the past 5 years to a weekly attendance of 600+. Last year, we saw 251 salvations, 50 baptisms, and 136 new members added to our church family. EBC has grown at an average of 100 people per year in a small town setting. In addition, Emmanuel Christian School has 450+/- students enrolled in grades PreK-12. We also opened a School of Fine Arts teaching music, voice and drama. Emmanuel Baptist Church is balanced, growing, financially sound, and known as “A Place of Grace” in our community. Emmanuel is truly experiencing a modern-day miracle! Candidates for this position should have at least a Bachelor’s degree in Music, a minimum of 3 years experience, and be proficient in piano.

Wow, no mention of any spiritual status at all! One just has to know how to lead a “blended” style service. What that is can be very open to interpretation, especially if we see the word “contemporary”, no?

Senior Pastor – Life Groups
PURPOSE OF THE POSITION
This purpose of this position is to create “Raving Fan” small groups where people can learn, change, grow, connect, support and experience God together.

PRIMARY STRENGTHS/GIFTS/TALENTS REQUIRED

• Vision Caster – Able to communicate the LG vision effectively so that people buy in and embrace it.
• Strategic & Systems Thinking – Able to develop effective systems (both administrative & leadership) to make sure the LG’s are on track and achieving their goals.
• Up Front Teaching Gifts – Able to design and deliver effective leadership training in a way that creates Raving Fans.

Are raving fans an euphemism for raving lunatics? Oh, and by the way, no mention of Biblical requirements for shepherds either.

I rest my case.

Ray Comfort

Ken Silva at Apprising Ministries and Ingrid Schlueter at Slice of Laodicea disagree with Ray’s practice of participating in some conferences where he will be standing shoulder-to-shoulder with health and wealth heretics on the same stage. The more surprising thing is that this is not the first time that Ray has done this.

Having observed Ray’s ministry, I can say without much doubt that I know that he will strive to preach the Gospel as it is without hesitation. However, the issue here is not whether he will preach the Gospel, but whether Ray, whose radio show has on many occasions decried the practices of such heretics and their errant doctrines, should be seen to be in league with these heretics by his participation in such conferences.

I’m of two minds on this issue, not because I respect Ray and therefore am hesitant to point out that he’s wrong if it were indeed so, but because I think there are questions to be answered:

1. Should Ray be seen to be associated with such WoF heretics though we have faith in his motivation to preach the Gospel at such conferences?
2. Will such an approach, i.e. preaching the true Gospel in a heretical conference, be effective?
3. Or is this a case where we can bring up the fact that though Jesus dined with sinners, he didn’t partake of their sinful ways but spoke His truth to them?

Thankfully, Ray has decided to respond openly to Ingrid here.

Having now read both sides of the story, I’d like to ask what your take on this is.

The Spanish parliament has voiced its support for the rights of great apes to life and freedom.

In a statement, Pedro Pozas, Spanish director of the Great Apes Project, said, “This is a historic day in the struggle for animal rights and in defense of our evolutionary comrades, which will doubtless go down in the history of humanity.”

Now I am worried if they will extend these rights to all of our “evolutionary comrades” because there might come a day when I can be charged with ‘man’-slaughter or even murder if I consciously kill a mosquito carrying the dengue fever virus.

And, gasp!, won’t eating meat be considered cannibalism?!

In the meantime, does anyone know how I can say “Welcome, cousins!” in ape-ese?

Full Story: Reuters.

Now here appears Christianity in its true colors. To be of such a spirit as this is to be of such a spirit as Christ so often requires of us, if we would be His disciples. This is to sell all and give to the poor. This is to take up the cross daily and follow Christ. To have such a spirit as this is to have good evidence of being a Christian indeed, a thorough Christian, one who has given himself to Christ without reserve; one who hates father and mother and wife and children and sisters, yea, and his own life also; one who loses his life for Christ’s sake, and so shall find it.

And though it is not required of all that they should endure so great sufferings as [the Apostle] Paul did, yet is required and absolutely necessary that many Christians should be in a measure of this spirit, should be of a spirit to lose all things and suffer all things for Christ, rather than not obey His commands and seek His glory.

How well may our having such an example as this [speaking of the Apostle Paul] before our eyes make us ashamed, who are so backward now and then to lose little things, to put ourselves a little out of our way, to deny ourselves some convenience, to deny our sinful appetites, or to incur the displeasure of a neighbor.

Alas! What thought have we of Christianity to make much of such things as these; to make so many objections, to keep back, and contrive ways to excuse ourselves, when a little difficulty arises! What kind of thoughts had we of being Christians when we first undertook to be such, or first pretended a willingness to be Christians? Did we never sit down and count the cost, or did we cast it up at this rate, that we thought the whole sum would not amount to such little sufferings as lie in our way?

Edwards, Jonathan. Pursuing Holiness in the Lord.
P&R Publishing, 2005. 77-78.

What makes me sad is that people are buying into these falsehoods and exposing themselves to occult and demonic influences through these “revivals”, including Todd Bentley’s, that all spring out of the same mold.

Singapore is much like the United States when we compare the Christian landscape in both territories: we also have our mega-churches preaching the prosperity gospel and which support the likes of Benny Hinn, Joyce Meyer, et al.

Just last weekend, a local mega-church which I have often berated for their prosperity gospel — City Harvest Church which is helmed by the pastor Kong Hee — invited a certain Che Ahn to speak and minister “healing” to the congregation, which consists primarily of young, impressionable people and which number (according to their bulletins and announcements) about 23,000.

While doing some research on Che Ahn, I was troubled to find out that Che Ahn is very closely associated with Bentley, and has even pronounced a “prophecy”¹ on the latter.

The more troubling issue is this: why would City Harvest Church, having knowledge of this close relationship between Che Ahn and Bentley (who is obviously a liar, charlatan and false prophet) invite the former to guest-speak to their congregation?

To me, the incident doesn’t speak well of the level of discernment of the leadership at the church, since Bentley’s lies and obvious lack of Biblical truth have been called out by so many, including respected leaders in Christendom.

Moreover, inviting this pastor Che Ahn² to speak at the church might even expose many, including countless non-believers who are usually invited to such services, to untold horrors because this whole Bentley movement isn’t of God, but is even demonic!

One needs question why a church in Singapore would bring such liars and false prophets to minister to its congregation, especially since I understand that much of the congregation consists of the young and impressionable.

Here’s Che Ahn supporting Todd Bentley at the latter’s “outpouring” ministry at Lakeland, Florida:

Bob Jones?! Alarm bells… they are a-ringing…

Prophecy of a third wave confirmed by a huge crashing wave at their feet? What is this guy talking about? Which fantasy is he living out? If they were indeed 200 feet from the sea, that’d be about 60 meters inland from the shoreline. Now, for a wave to come crashing in right at their feet like that… erm, do you think, hm… it could be, like, a tsunami?!

I’d be running for my life, but not these guys; no, they are heroes who recount miracles like they were just common occurrences like taking out the trash or, when it comes to meeting angels, meeting your neighbor across the street. 

By the way, did Todd say “holy goat” near the end of the video, or do my ears need cleaning? “Freudian slip” perhaps?

The alarm bells have become screaming sirens now…

Nothing tumbling out from the mouths of this duo is even remotely Biblical!

People used to berate me for lamenting about the prosperity gospel preached at City Harvest Church, but this is different… when a church willfully and knowingly exposes its congregation (which I might add is about 23,000-strong) to such dark powers, one needs to start asking hard questions of the leadership and demanding answers, ensuring that they are accountable!

Well, it looks like Todd Bentley and company have now crossed into Asia. 

It’s worrying indeed. Very worrying!

¹ A Prophecy From Che Ahn To Todd Bentley. 24 April 2008, Pentecostal/Charismatic Post-It Notes.
² Che Ahn on Todd Bentley – A Double Portion of William Branham’s Anointing. End Times Prophetic, Prophecy, Visions, Dreams, Revelation, Christian Blog.

This post is cross-posted from WordnVerse.

China Continues Crackdown On Christian Earthquake Relief Efforts, Christians Say

BEIJING, CHINA (BosNewsLife)– Chinese security forces continue to arrest Christians involved in helping survivors of the recent earthquake, which killed at least nearly 70,000 people in southwest China’s Sichuan province, with many thousands more missing and likely dead, representatives said Wednesday, June 4. Read more here…

In other news, persecution of Christians is intensifying in the lead-up to the Olympics:

China Crackdown On Christians Ahead Of Olympics, Report Claims

BEIJING, CHINA (BosNewsLife)– With two months to go until the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, a major human rights group on Sunday, June 8, released a report detailing what it called a “current government crackdown on China’s unregistered Christians.” Read more here…

Pray for our persecuted brethren and sisters in China.

Todd Bentley has been a leader in the “Lakeland Revival” currently being heralded as a great move of God. Analysis of Bentley and what he preaches show that he is not what he claims.

The analysis this video provides is in relation to his explanation of a supernatural encounter he had. Critical analysis of the encounter shows that he not only did not use biblical instruction to “test the spirits” but that the encounter was not of God. His “encounter” matches UFO abduction testimonials and seems to be more of a “close encounter” than one with God. And those have proven to be satanic/demonic at their core.

So the big question is can a man who has occultic/demonic encounters and claiming they are of God be teaching Truth? I think these videos will show that his message is not of God as is this “revival” of false signs and wonders.

This is part 1 of a series of five videos so far:

You can catch parts 2, 3, 4 and 5 at FinalTrumpet’s page on YouTube, which suggest, along with video evidence, how Todd Bentley is actually practicing Kundalini.

So I thought, why not do up a Top 10 list of the most common responses to our posts on these false teachers and their teachings? My wife thought it was a good idea, and I’ve also mentioned this to Carol and a new friend I made, John, just this morning over Skype. I hope we can get together to compile our responses to these accusations soon.

Anyhow, since our response to their allegations will be some time coming, here’s my Top 10 list in the meantime. The list is by no means exhaustive, so please feel free to add yours from your experience in dealing with such comments.

10. Touch not God’s anointed! Pastor so-and-so is very much anointed by God!

09. And how many souls did you yourself save this week? Pastor so-and-so had 2,000 conversions just last weekend. Have you ever been able to reach that many yourself?!

08. Quit criticizing preachers and pastors. Get a life with God, man!

07. You’re nothing but a Pharisee/Sadducee.

06. Who are you to judge?! Judge not lest you be judged!

05. Are you a pastor yourself? Any theological training? If not, how dare you think you are interpreting the Bible correctly?

04. Hey! Don’t quench the Spirit!

03. No church or pastor or congregation is perfect, so why nitpick?

02. God wants to bless us financially, with good health and a great life. If you yourself aren’t claiming these promises, don’t be jealous of others!

And the number one response…

Can’t we all just agree to disagree and get along?

Cross-posted from WordnVerse.

From Times Online, 23 May 2008:

The Vatican is planning a special conference in 2009 to mark the 150th anniversary of the publication of The Origin of the Species, Charles Darwin’s groundbreaking theory of evolution.

First printed in November 1859, Darwin’s evolutionary theories rocked the faith of Victorian Christians and are stoutly contested today by Creationists. The Vatican has traditionally backed a more nuanced approach. Three years ago, Cardinal Paul Poupard, the then president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, said Darwin’s theory of Evolution and the Old Testament book of Genesis were “perfectly compatible” if the Bible were correctly read, saying: “The fundamentalists want to give a scientific meaning to words that had no scientific aim,” explaining that the real message in Genesis was that “the universe didn’t make itself and had a creator.”

Next year’s conference will be held in Rome and organised by Poupard’s former office, the Pontifical Council for Culture as well as by the University of Notre Dame and six pontifical universities. The event, claim its organisers, is a milestone in the rapprochement between science and the Church. They say it is time for the Church to look at Evolution again, “from a broader perspective”, explaining “appropriate consideration is needed more than ever before.”

Professor Gennaro Auletta, who is head of the Science and Philosophy faculty at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and the main conference organiser told Edward Pentin of Newsweek (Newsweek Blog): “We hope this will really be an example of how to hold an open discussion without overtones. We simply wish to dialogue between people whose mission is to understand a little more.”

Say, Cardinal, how about giving us some actual Biblical support for that statement of yours instead of making an irresponsible claim like “…if the Bible was correctly read”? Oh, silly me, I forget, only the Vatican has the “full knowledge” on how the Bible is to be interpreted, and we Protestants are just milling around in our confusion and getting it all wrong. I’ve always thought that God saw all that He made and it was very good (Genesis 1:31).

You can get the DVD of the entire debate here for just US$14.95.¹

¹ The author does not derive any benefits, financial or otherwise, from recommending the purchase of the material. Neither is he affiliated with Dr. Bruce Ware or The Apologetics Group in any manner.

I have attended this revival for many weeks. In fact, I have been there since the second night of Todd’s meetings (4/2/08), long before this became “revival”. Initially, I was so excited to see God move in such a mighty way. I was encouraging my pastor, several other pastors that I know, many friends and family members to “come and see what God is doing.” There were few times when I was uncomfortable with what was happening in the meetings, but I figured that I was just being critical and reminded myself that God’s ways are not my ways. I continued to support this revival, even after I heard my own pastor voice his concerns. I was quite vocal about these misgivings others had. I continued to defend Todd, God, etc., etc. 

However, as time as passed, I have become increasing concerned about several things. First of all, I have worked in the medical field for over 20 years (in radiology). I have noticed that there have only been a very few “documented” miracles in comparison to the numbers that have claimed miracles. I am aware of at least two claims of healing that I believe to have possibly been real. There was the child with the elbow fracture and her x-rays. However, I would like to know the dates between the first set of x-rays and the 2nd, as healing, especially with very young children can be quite quick…especially if it was very mild fracture. Also, I would love to see the type of fracture, position, and the view (AP, lateral, etc.) of the second set of films. (Sometimes a particular view will not show the fracture that is actually there.) There was also a young man who testified one night (before TV/internet) about being healed from Hepatitis C, with the lab work to confirm. Again, with false positive/negatives that can happen with labs. I’d love to see what his actual lab values were and see a retesting to confirm. Although I do believe that this individual could very well have been healed, but because of how I’ve seen other things handled in this revival, I would just like to see more documentation. 

Much of the “miracles” that I have seen over the weeks have been based more on what people believe that have happened, more than medically documented miracles. Many times over I have seen people with metal rods in their spine be “healed”. Todd will ask, what couldn’t you do, and usually has them bend over. This act of bending over is declared as a miracle. It is not. Most folks with metal rods in their back or neck CAN bend over, as these rods (Harrington rods) very seldom go the entire length of the spine. In fact, I have metal plates/screws in my neck and can bend my head from side to side and front to back. I remember one night when a woman with bulging discs in her neck came up to declare her healing. Todd felt along her spine and said “I don’t feel any bulging discs in your neck”, and then announced she had been healed. A disc bulge is something that you will NOT detected by running your hand up and down the spine. It is not something that can be physically palpated. Only imaging with MRI or CT would show the presence of disc bulges and if they were compressing nerve roots or affecting the spinal cord/spinal canal. I saw where this declaration of healing caused the room the go wild. My feeling is that if this is truly a bonafied healing…PRAISE GOD! But let’s confirm these miracles. That is what the world really needs to see! But alas, very few healings are actually being confirmed.

Secondly, my concern is the focus that has been placed on Angels, visitations, manifestations, etc. Although Jesus is mentioned throughout the night, though an altar call is given… far more emphasis is being placed on these other things than is acutally being given to the Jesus and him crucified (as Paul would say). The cross, the resurrection, holiness, repentance, dying to the flesh, etc., are merely glossed over and not really preached. What is being given more time, more emphasis are these other “experiences”.

The atmosphere here has changed from the very first meetings…at least it seems to me. And as I said earlier, I have been at revival since April 3rd…the 2nd night Todd was here in Lakeland. Something is wrong and I am concerned. Somehow the gospel that saves and keeps is not being preached as it should. Jesus…not even the Holy Spirit… is to be focus. In the Gospel of John, it says the when the comforter (Holy Spirit) would come, it would not speak of himself, but of Jesus. My concern is growing. I think we need to really pray and ask for discernment. I’m all for revival. I am all for miracles. But is there another Jesus, another gospel that is being preached here?

HT: Theology Today.