You might be a Charismaniac if…

Wow, some really good observations! Found it here:

http://charismania.wordpress.com/2007/10/23/you-might-be-a-charismaniac-if/

You might be a Charismaniac if…
1.You think it’s normal that your pastor owns the church.

2.Most of the sermons you hear are about money – getting more of it.

3.Most sermons are based on Old Testament texts, or single verses plucked out of the New Testament, particularly III John 1:2.

4.You think it’s normal to give a pastor a standing ovation.

5.You think it’s normal for a pastor to take up birthday offerings for himself or his wife.

6.You think the “Gospel” is mostly about the good things God will do for you on this earth, right now.

7.You keep hearing that there is a huge “end-times” revival right around the corner.

8.You’ve been taught that, in conjunction with this “end-times” revival, Christians are going to get richer and richer.

9.You believe that the best way to receive a miracle is to “sow a seed,” which means give a large offering you can’t afford.

10.You believe certain people – your pastor, and other leaders with large ministries – are specially “anointed” and hear directly from God.

11.You don’t bat an eye when you hear your pastor say, “God told me…”

12.Your pastor has bodyguards.

13.Your pastor drives a car worth more than most people’s houses.

14.The only people with any authority on your church’s staff are either the pastor, or someone who shares his last name.

15.Your pastor didn’t go to seminary.

16.But he calls himself “Doctor.”

17.Your pastor’s wife is also a pastor and goes by the title of “First Lady.”

18.Anyone related to your pastor is also “anointed.” And this “anointing” is transferrable by marriage, so that your pastor’s kids’ spouses begin sporting the title of “Pastor.”

19.There is special reserved seating for people particularly close to the pastor.

20.When you see your pastor up close, you get as tongue-tied and as star-struck as if you’d run into your favorite movie star.

21.If you found out your pastor and his wife were coming to visit you, you’d immediately feel an urgent need to remodel your house and buy all new furniture.

22.But that would be a pipe dream, because your pastor never visits anyone except for a select few who have been with his ministry for years. Or new people who have given huge donations.

23.Your pastor calls himself “Apostle.”

24.Your pastor calls himself “Prophet.”

25.Your pastor preaches that prophecy is for today…but only HE is allowed to prophesy.

26.You’ve been going to your church for more than a year, but you still don’t really know anyone there very well.

27.You do, however, feel like you know your pastor pretty well.

28.There is fierce competition for seats in the first few rows of the auditorium. You get to church a half hour early to secure one of those seats.

29.New people are treated with suspicion. “New people” is anyone who has been at your church less time than you have.

30.Your church has very few small-group Bible studies or other supplementary classes. Very few people are allowed to teach at your church, except those who either A) have the same last name as your pastor; or B) are really, really bad at teaching. If someone happens to slip into group “B” but turns out to be good at teaching, he or she will probably never teach again.

31.Although you’d never be able to guess from your church’s official statement of faith, the practical reality is that everybody puts more stock in “The Anointing” (particularly as it exists within your pastor) than they do in the message of salvation. Salvation is your ticket to heaven, but “The Anointing” is where all the “good stuff” comes from.

32.Your church talks a LOT about physical healing. They even hold “Healing Services” and have healing lines. But nobody ever jumps out of a wheelchair. Rather, a few people get healed from stuff like back pain and migraines.

33.Although to hear everyone talk, you’d think that crowds were re-growing amputated limbs and snapping out of Down Syndrome.

34.There is a lot more prestige associated with volunteer positions like washing the pastor’s car or opening the door for him than there is with working in the children’s ministry.

35.Your pastor talks a lot about how he’s your spiritual father, your covering, and your head.

36.You find yourself aspiring to dress and live like the pastor and his family, although you don’t have the money to do so.

37.You are encouraged NOT to think. Analytical thought is scorned. “The Anointing” trumps all need for theology, education, or anything else that would involve the logical part of your brain.

38.Your pastor’s sermons begin with, “God told me…” and involve your pastor then going on to explain how what God told him is supported by various Bible verses. These verses, in their original context (which is never discussed), have NOTHING to do with what your pastor is saying, but they do contain a key word from the message that “God gave” your pastor.

39.Your pastor is in complete control of everything and answers to no one. If there IS an elder or deacon board, the board meets only to fulfill IRS requirements and consists of men hand-picked by the pastor who will agree with whatever the pastor tells them.

40.Your pastor dreams of being famous and expends much effort (and cash) to buddy up to already-famous ministries…regardless of whether or not they agree on key doctrines like the trinity.

41.Your church’s offering envelopes have a place for giving by credit card. You are also taught that the best way to become financially stable is to “give your way out of debt.”

42.You begin to notice that the list of “regular attenders” seems to change all the time. People will attend every service faithfully for months or even years and then suddenly disappear forever. Your pastor spends a lot of time talking about how these folks are in rebellion, and how you will keep yourself from receiving “your blessing” if you listen to them.

43.You are taught all the time that you are “blessed,” which generally means that you will live in financial “overflow” and have “favor” over all areas of your life. Sometimes this “favor” seems to mean that you expect people to bend the rules for you…as evidenced by prayer requests like, “Pray for my nephew as he faces drug charges, pray that he will find favor with the judge, and if anyone knows anyone in the D.A.’s office, please call us.”

Cult Leader Thinks He’s Jesus

“Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand.

“Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it.   — Matthew 24:23 – 26 –

When asked questions, this messiah’s answers were vague and nonsensical.

When asked what was his favorite food: “It would be difficult for me to say something you would understand. I interpret things differently.”

Seems to me like the real Jesus, who knows all things, would be able to describe to a puny little human being in a way where he would understand. This is a tactic to make one’s self appear much more important, much more evolved than the average human being. But the truth of the matter is, this jesus is nothing but a mere man, who has found ways to deceive many people.

When asked by the interviewer, “Just meeting me briefly, can you tell me any thing about my soul?”

“I can feel a person, but can not define the features. They are undefined. It depends upon what you want to hear.”

You mean to tell me that Jesus would not be able to see and know all things about one’s soul?

I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. — John 10:14 — (Jesus)

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. — John 10:27 –

“If you could tell one bit of advice, that of yours here, could follow, relatively easy, what would it be?”

“Do not try to be superior among the people around you. That intention leads to death.”

In other words: “It is ok for me to be worshipped. But you, you must submit yourself to my every ordinance while I live as a king/messiah among you.”

Very hypocritical, don’t you think?

Actually, in some ways, this is not any worse than what is going on in a lot of mainstream churches of today. Some people have made their pastor an idol, becoming totally dependent upon him for every word. They get so involved in church and church activities they have no room for anything else in their life. If that too is not cultic, I don’t know what it is.

vice:
Deep in Siberia’s Taiga forest is Vissarion, a cult leader who looks like Jesus and claims to be the voice of God. He’s known as “the Teacher” to his 4,000 followers, who initially seem surprisingly normal. Over time, however, their unflinching belief in UFOs and the Earth’s imminent demise made this group start to look more and more like some sort of strange cult.

IHOP is DANGEROUS! Stephanie’s testimony

If you do not know what IHOP is, please watch and be aware. If you do know what IHOP is and are in it, please watch and beware. This is a cult to the core. I can only try and imagine the mind-control she was being forced to swallow. However, she was able to discern for herself. Thank God, she stood and was brought out of it. I wonder how many more families have been torn apart by this demonic cult.

fotm1:

False Prophet Harold Camping says Millions will die on May 21, 2011

For anyone who may be worrying if May 21, 2011 is the day of judgment, Do not fear man’s delusions and lies. If Jesus said of the end of time, “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Matthew 24:36), then why oh why are we to take the word of man?

You see, cults are made of such stuff.

seedsofgrace:

These things bring reproach for the true believer of Christ when the world (media) calls these fanatics christians. A true believer will not swallow everyhting that comes down the pike. They will test things according to the word of God and they will not fear the rebuke of man for doing so, they would rather walk alone than walk among those who are not taking the time to discern by the Word of God. 

By the way, Terry Jones (the famous pastor in favor of making a big issue of burning the Koran), was a date setter before he got all the attention. He was nothing more than just a little old man sitting at his kitchen table setting dates to the end of the world. They came and went. I would love to be able to know what some of his followers who have left him have to say.

MOXNEWSd0tCOM:

Is Your Church a Cult?

I may have this up somewhere else on the blog, but can not find it. However, I want to use it to point out that many of the things in this video are the very things that a lot of churches use. If you are experiencing any of these things in your church, please ask God to give you HIS discernment, test everything that is goes on around you. If something does not feel quite right, it just may be the Lord trying to show you what is going on behind the veil of deceit.

Please note: NOT every church or those in the ministry are out to decieve. Sometimes they may not even know what they do. In that case, try asking God to show you what to do and what to speak concerning any concerns you may have.

RebelAllianceMedia:

Part 2:

Last Days: False Christs, Occult Invasion & Sexual Perversion

Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, — 1 Timothy 4:1 –

“There are so many today in the New Age movement who are claiming to be the messiahs, claiming to be channeling the wisdom of the messiahs…”

“…the lies men will believe once they have rejected the truth.”

“One of the greatest deceptions occuring in our time, is happening in the name of Christianity, as people are embracing a form of Christianity based on extra-biblical experiences.”

“We see the rise of satanic worship.”

ProclaimHisWord:

Holy Mormon Underwear

Are you trusting in your underwear to gain entrance into heaven?

Heretical Quotes From The False Prophet Joseph Smith

http://justifiedbychristalone.com/2007/10/22/heretical-quotes-from-the-false-prophet-joseph-smith/

Heretical Quotes From The False Prophet Joseph Smith

Joseph Smith blasphemously boasts that he did more than Jesus to keep a church together.

“God is in the still small voice. In all these affidavits, indictments, it is all of the devil–all corruption. Come on! ye prosecutors! ye false swearers! All hell, boil over! Ye burning mountains, roll down your lava! for I will come out on the top at last. I have more to boast of than ever any man had. I am the only man that has ever been able to keep a whole church together since the days of Adam. A large majority of the whole have stood by me. Neither Paul, John, Peter, nor Jesus ever did it. I boast that no man ever did such a work as I. The followers of Jesus ran away from Him; but the Latter-day Saints never ran away from me yet . . . “
(History of the Church, Vol. 6, p. 408-409).

The arrogance of this man! To compare a bunch of people following a cult leader (Joseph Smith) who never died for them on the cross to those who watched their Savior suffer and die on a Cross!  Joseph Smith NEVER rose from the dead!

False Prophet Smith claimed the book of mormon was more correct than the infallible 100% perfect word of God – the Bible

“I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.” (History of the Church, Vol. 4, page 461)

What a liar this man was!

Just one of Joseph Smith’s numerous false prophecies

“. . .I prophesy in the name of the Lord God of Israel, unless the United States redress the wrongs committed upon the Saints in the state of Missouri and punish the crimes committed by her officers that in a few years the government will be utterly overthrown and wasted, and there will not be so much as a potsherd left . . . “
(History of the Church, Vol. 5, p. 394.)

Well that did not happen now did it?

Joseph Smith said mothers have babies in eternity and some are on thrones.
“A question may be asked, ‘Will mothers have their children in eternity?’ Yes! Yes! Mothers, you shall have your children.”
(Journal of Discourses, Vol. 6, page 10).

One must ask, where is the proof? In a lying heretics’s words?!

“Eternity is full of thrones, upon which dwell thousands of children reigning on thrones of glory, with not one cubit added to their stature.”
(Journal of Discourses, Vol. 6, p. 10).

Joseph Smith said there were many Gods.

“Hence, the doctrine of a plurality of Gods is as prominent in the Bible as any other doctrine. It is all over the face of the Bible . . . Paul says there are Gods many and Lords many . . . but to us there is but one God–that is pertaining to us; and he is in all and through all”
(History of the Church, Vol. 6, page 474).

“In the beginning, the head of the Gods called a council of the Gods; and they came together and concocted a plan to create the world and people it.”
(Journal of Discourses, Vol. 6, p. 5).

I suppose this may have happened on the planet kolob where the mormons say their god lives! This sounds more like an episode from Superman!

Joseph Smith blasphemously taught the Trinity is three gods.

“I have always declared God to be a distinct personage, Jesus Christ a separate and distinct personage from God the Father, and the Holy Ghost was a distinct personage and a Spirit: and these three constitute three distinct personages and three Gods.”
(Teachings of Prophet Joseph Smith p. 370).

Joseph Smith said God was once a man.

“God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted Man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens…I say, if you were to see him to-day, you would see him like a man in form — like yourselves, in all the person, image, and very form as a man….it is necessary that we should understand the character and being of God, and how he came to be so; for I am going to tell you how God came to be God. We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity, I will refute that idea, and will take away and do away the veil, so that you may see….and that he was once a man like us; yea, that God himself the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth the same as Jesus Christ himself did.”
(Journal of Discourses, Vol. 6, p. 3).

This blatantly attacks the divinity of God. In a very subtle way, this is the same lie Satan used in the garden with Eve; making man as god, thus lowering god to the level of man.

Joseph Smith said our greatest responsibility is to seek after our dead.

“The greatest responsibility in this world that God has laid upon us is to seek after our dead”
(Journal of Discourses, Vol. 6, page 7).

God calls this necromancy and He forbids it! This in and of itself is occultic.

Joseph Smith said that there are men living on the moon who dress like Quakers and live to be nearly 1000 years old. Since he was wrong about the moon, is it safe to trust him regarding the way to Heaven?
(The Young Woman’s Journal, Vol. 3, pages 263-264.
See reprint in Mormonism — Shadow or Reality? by Jerald and Sandra Tanner, page 4.)

Men living on the moon dressed like Quakers?! I would be laughing if so many people had not believed it at some point!

IHOP Red Flags

Following article gotten here:

http://gospelmasquerade.wordpress.com/2010/01/01/some-of-my-ihop-red-flags/

There were many, many experiences that made me do a double take and say “what?” while I was at IHOP but that internal questioning was quickly explained away or rebuked by internship leaders. Once I began to deviate from IHOP’s teachings and study scripture on my own for answers to the internal conflicts I wrestled with, I began questioning the pseudo reality I had been conditioned to embrace. Suddenly I saw the isolated red flag incidences as a seamless pattern of error and the veil of deception fell. I stopped rationalizing and justifying. Enough was enough and I was done and wanted out.

There are much more personal experiences than I can put into one single blog post, but here are a few I still recall pretty strongly.

1. Mandatory fasts which made me very physically ill. They would never admit to having “mandatory” fasts but when you don’t have any food available, close down the kitchen, give your cook the day off and don’t allow interns to hold jobs (so that they have money to go buy food if they aren’t participating in the fast) then that is called mandatory.

2. Being practically held hostage in the prayer room and told that it was required that I be there and I was not allowed to leave even though I did not feel well and wanted to go back to my apartment. I was told I needed to stay in the prayer room to be part of the “corporate anointing” and that I shouldn’t leave. It was one of my “required” prayer room sets as an intern so I spent the remainder of that 2-hour set in one of the side prayer rooms in the back sobbing on the floor because I wanted to leave so badly and our internship leaders were standing by the door. You might ask “why didn’t you just force your way out and leave anyway?” When you are part of cult where free, independent thinking is not condoned when you don’t comply with what is expected of you, very often guilt, manipulation and penalties are instated for those who resist. Interns who didn’t follow “the rules” of the internship were penalized through loss of privileges (such as loss of your day off, having to do extra work/manual labor, etc.)

3. The grip of control and micro-management increasing: greater demands and restrictions on interns (such as increased pressure to fast more to attain a higher pinnacle of spirituality) being told where we had to sit when in the prayer room, taught a model for how to pray, how to dance, sing, etc. Any form of worship outside of this model was not considered to be acceptable. It had to fit IHOP’s style and method to be admissible.

4. Mandatory journaling assignments which we had to do weekly and then we had to turn in our journals to be read by internship leaders

5. Seeing how controlled the prayer room was. Rather than having freedom to express my heart to the Lord, I was put in a box and told how I had to do everything IHOP’s way. I had reading and writing assignments whenever I was in the prayer room.

6. There was no alone time ever to really think, reason, test, question or process anything. We were run ragged from sun up to late into the night which always left me exhausted, depleted and burnt out.

7. Once when I got sick, my mother came to pick me up and internship leaders resisted letting me leave with her (even though she lived in town). My internship ‘com leader’ (short for community leader) objected and still impressed upon me the importance of going to the prayer room even though I was too sick to get off the couch. My mother said “she is my daughter and I’m taking her home and taking care of her. Period.”

8. The more leadership responsibility I was given as an intern, the more I got peeks into the “inside”. I saw the outer fringes of the internal operations of how IHOP functioned. I was on an IHOP dance team and sang as a chorus leader on a few worship teams. To dance, I had to follow a specific model that IHOP required. To sing, I had to attend the briefing/de-briefing meetings before and after each worship set where I saw first-hand how carefully controlled that the seemingly “spontaneous” aspects of worship were carefully calculated and often planned ahead of time.

9. Another intern got deathly ill and it wasn’t until she ended up being hospitalized that internship leaders took seriously the fact she was sick. They accused her of faking an illness to get out of attending IHOP classes and time in the prayer room. This was told to me directly by that intern.

10. If I wanted to go anywhere off IHOP property (even to go see my family who lived in town) I had to notify internship leaders of my whereabouts at all times. I had no autonomy or freedom as an individual. Some leaders who were 19 (but were former interns which gave them elite status) were telling me where to be, what to do and when I was expected to be home. I had to answer to them for everything. I was in my early 20’s and had lived on my own before so the feeling of suffocation and having no personal rights to space, privacy, independent thought, etc. was overwhelming.

There is much more but I think that’s a sufficient start to at least give you an idea of some of what was happening when I was at IHOP. It wasn’t until after I left that I began to see far more than I had been able to see when I was still involved. The casual observer on the periphery won’t necessarily see the reality of all that is happening there because they are seeing the veil that IHOP has built to carefully cloak the truth of a lot of what really happens.

After I left, I realized how worn out and exhausted I was in every way imaginable. I spent days and weeks sleeping and physically healing from the trauma of the experiences I had just come out of and to let my body heal from the fasting and sleep deprivation. It took a long time for me to really start healing emotionally and spiritually and to begin putting pieces together. Recovering from mental and spiritual abuse like that is a hard road and a difficult place to come out from. I did months of research after I left IHOP and the immediate dust had settled. I wanted to see the roots of the giant beanstalk that had sprouted up and choked the life out of everything in me. I started going back as far into the history of IHOP as I could. As interns we were required to listen to 18 hours of audio CDs recapping all of the history of IHOP and the “prophesies” that led to it’s starting. I started researching on the internet about the names of the so called prophets of this movement and what they had come out of. That led me to picking apart a very carefully woven web of key players that all were connected to this massive organization.

I shared with one parent who e-mailed me about her own child at IHOP the importance of praying that the Lord will open their eyes not only to see, but to recognize and identify the red flags of IHOP. The thing is, they are probably already seeing them, but rationalizing and excusing them away as isolated events rather than viewing them as a destructive pattern. I pray that the Father will show those there who are truly seeking him the pattern of red flags…making them so obvious they can no longer ignore them.

My hope is that the young people there who are much like I was will begin to question what they see and compare it with what the scripture actually says…not how Mike Bickle twists and teaches it…and that they have the courage to identify it and reject it. Those who oppose IHOP and speak out typically experience some kind of consequences or backlash. People are a commodity there. They are traded. When wounded ones leave, IHOP leadership doesn’t sweat over it…new and unsuspecting people who are ignorant of their dangerous devices but are hungry for emotionally-driven experiences and spiritual highs will come back in the same door the others left. It’s a revolving door of deception.

The deceptions of IHOP are treacherous and very real. Did God use that place in my life and work together for my good the devastation I experienced? Absolutely. But that is a testimony to the goodness of our God…not a stamp of approval on a place. Remember he spoke through a donkey and a burning bush. That doesn’t mean we should glorify donkeys and start worshiping bushes.

My desire is to see people set free to live lives of healing and wholeness…walking in genuine love and pursuing truth. My prayer is that the things you read here inspire you to that end.

RedeemedHippie:[Thank God this young person was set free from this cult. May many more come out and may the Lord use her to snatch many from this cult.]

MP 3 Experiment (Part 6)

This is how cults are formed.

I’m sure taking part in something like this could be quite “fun” and “innocent.”  Appears harmless enough, right? It’s far from harmless. What it is doing is conditioning a large mass of people to all do the very same thing at the same time. Creating a bond, a sense of camredrerie that is meant to take away any sense of  indivuality.

Music is a powerful force. It can be used for good or evil. When it is used to manipulate, it is evil. True, all the people had a choice. But suppose at some point you had no choice but to take part in some kind of electronically induced event? Could you, would you be strong enough NOT to go along or at the very least not be a sheeple and led like everyone else around you?

Does the book of Daniel come to anyone’s mind?

“So at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the horn, flute, harp, and lyre, in symphony with all kinds of music, all the people, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the gold image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.” Daniel 3:7