A Blog by Steven Kozar
“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”
The following is an exact quote of three paragraphs from page 232 of "A Prophetic Vision for the 21st Century" by Rick Joyner (with my comments in parenthesis):
False prophets and false prophecies are founded on deception. The most effective guise of the enemy is to come as "an angel of light" or "a messenger of truth." Just because a prophecy has some truth in it does not make it genuine. Unfortunately, Satan knows the Bible better than most Christians. He is so clever at perverting its message, he even tried it on Jesus, who is the Word Himself. Just knowing Scripture, and being able to bludgeon others into submission with it, does not make one a true messenger. We must ask if someone is "rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15 NKJV).
(Outside of his bizarre "bludgeoning" reference, this is a pretty straight-forward and orthodox Christian paragraph.)
Who will know if the Word is being rightly divided? The One who wrote the Book.
(Only God knows? Notice what Joyner leaves out? The ability of believers to rightly divide the Word based on the Word itself!)
Doesn't that leave a lot of room for subjectivity? Yes, it does, and that is dangerous, but it is far more dangerous not to allow for subjectivity in the discernment of truth. Subjectivity is essential.
(This is not a parody piece-he actually wrote this, and it gets worse...)
The Lord must become our personal Savior, our personal Lord, and truth must be personal if we are really going to know it.
(Notice that no Bible references are given to back up these claims about needing a personal Lord and Savior. I believe Jesus IS Lord. Period... regardless of my personal feelings or experience. And exactly when do we know for sure that truth has become personal? Isn't truth, by it's very definition, self-existing?)
For this reason the Bible was meant to be relatively subjective in its interpretation. This was not to promote private interpretations, but to require each of us to be seekers of the Lord and His truth ourselves.
(This is "double speak" of the most extreme order.)
We will not keep from being deceived just because we know someone who knows the Bible. Every one of us must know the Spirit of Truth.
(Amazingly, what is he leaving out? Knowing the Bible in order to avoid deception!! According to Rick Joyner, knowing the Bible ISN'T ENOUGH!)
Scholars have devised many systems of hermeneutics to remove subjectivity from biblical interpretation.
(Here hermeneutics is thrown under the bus, until the next sentence where he says "many of these are excellent guides;" but in the sentence after that he claims that hermeneutics are an attempt to "remove our need for the Holy Spirit." Make up your mind, Joyner!)
Many of these are excellent guidelines, but regardless of how good our hermeneutics, we will be subject increasingly to deception in the coming times if we do not know and follow the Spirit of Truth. We must recognize that some hermeneutic principles are an attempt to remove our need for the Holy Spirit, regardless of how much the developers give lip service to needing Him.
(This is what deceivers often do: they project their own error onto their opposition. Joyner is the one giving lip service-only he's giving lip service to God's Word! Also, he is promoting a false dichotomy that contrasts knowing God through His Word, and REALLY knowing God through an experience. This is very easy to refute: The Holy Spirit uses God's Word-THE BIBLE-to show us all we need to know of God. Period.)
Many of those who react the most to what they perceive to be people's tendency toward "private interpretations" are really reacting to the ability of people to see things differently from the way they do.
(Notice how Joyner can't come right out and call private interpretations what they really are: private interpretations. This is why there is so much chaos, confusion and defection in the "hyper-charismatic" church: everyone is just making it up as they go. Folks, PLEASE stay away from this man's teaching-and all the other "Super Apostles" like him! -Steven Kozar)
Rick Joyner does NOT want you to know about the Charismatic Day of Infamy.
Step one is essential: "Get in the loop!" What does this mean, you ask? Well, this thought pattern is almost everything you'll need to stay clueless within the confines of Postmodern Christianity. Once you start thinking this way, you'll never get out of "the loop." It goes like this:
"Mean, angry, narrow-minded and judgmental people are bad, and whatever they believe is instantly invalidated by the fact that they are judgmental, narrow-minded, angry and mean. I get to decide if, and when, they are mean, angry, narrow-minded and judgmental."
Once you're safely in this loop you won't need to carefully consider the truth claims of another believer with their precious little Bible verses. And, thankfully, you'll never have to learn anything about the theology and creeds that have been passed down for almost two thousand years. Remember, there are still old-fashioned Christians who believe in the inerrancy of Scripture, and they are mean, angry, narrow-minded and judgmental. These dinosaurs want to conduct church the same old way and cling to antiquated beliefs that are out of step with today's social climate. You can easily ignore these people if you're "in the loop." Before you know it, you will have completely dehumanized them and-best of all-you'll never even realize that you've been the judgmental one all along!
To follow step two, say something like this: "That may be true for you, but it's not true for me." In days of old, this was only used for superficial matters, like one's preference of Mary Ann to Ginger. Nowadays this simplistic catch phrase serves a vital new purpose: it enables anyone to ignore God's Word with impunity. It used to be that a Christian couldn't just go around rearranging and reinterpreting the Bible, but now it's easy! You may substitute similar catch phrases like "I just feel like it's not wrong for me" or you can even quote the great Bible verse "What is truth? asked Pilate..."
Step three, in case you haven't already figured it out, is this: Don't read, quote or even think about the Bible. I know, I know, this sounds extreme, but remember this is Postmodern Christianity. Postmodernity is a belief system that says that no belief system is true. It's absolutely certain that nothing is absolutely certain. The Bible is full of absolute truth claims-that's why it's so exclusive, hateful and out-of-date. However, you will still need to make reference to it on occasion, so it's good to have some overly simplistic proof-texts handy. "Thou shall not judge" is the all-time most popular proof-text, so feel free to throw it around as often as you want. Just remember not to read the entire passage in the actual Bible, otherwise you'll see what Jesus really meant. You can even misquote it like this: "Who are we to judge?" or ""Only God can judge-that's not my job!"
The Bible has clear rules about what is right and wrong, so you need to avoid all that. Remember, people generally hate God's rules, so you need to stay on their side; instead, make those Bible thumping "traditionalist" Christians seem like the real problem, i.e. they're bad because they think they're better than anyone else. You must ignore the fact that true Bible-believing Christians don't think they're better than anyone else-they are simply pointing to the unchangeable truth of God's Word as the only ultimate authority. Furthermore, the Gospel itself is only "Good News" because Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sins... and we couldn't even have sins unless we were guilty of breaking God's commandments... and since God Himself gave us His commandments we are clearly guilty and in need of a Savior.... do you see how this all falls apart if you start reading the Bible? You'll just turn into a regular Christian-ugh!
Instead of that, keep it simple and just say something like "I believe the way of Jesus is love" or "I believe God just wants everyone to be happy." Nobody's going to argue with that, right? For more ideas on how to misquote God's Word, just listen to any interview with Rob Bell, Brian McLaren, Doug Pagitt, Tony Jones or any of the hip new emergent leaders. With a good dose of sincerity and direct eye contact (plus some emotional background music), you can say almost anything in the name of Jesus!
Finally, when in doubt, always prefer ambiguity over certainty and truth. Ambiguity is the magic glue that holds Postmodern Christianity together. What does this mean? I don't know, what do you think it means? Is it possible that the ambiguity of uncertainty is really just the context from within which our sense of community can emerge? I don't know, I'm just asking the question, because the beauty of relationship reveals itself through the self-discovery process, as we all find personal meaning together and individually. I'm not saying that anyone's version of truth is right or wrong; I'm just asking questions so that a dialogue can be established. Maybe there's a better way, a way where all of our collective narrations can form a cohesive, yet multi-faceted story. Maybe this new story can lead us to a place where fear and hatred will be replaced by mystery, beauty and ongoing book sales. A place with well-attended conferences and substantial speaking fees, a place of extensive radio and T.V. interviews and, ultimately, a regular guest position with Oprah. We must dream. We must hope. We must never reach any conclusions.
See how easy this is?
Now get out there and confuse everyone! You can do it!!
(Thanks to the folks at Pyromaniacs for the memes)
For a serious look at the "Emerging/Postmodern" church, please watch this extensive video:
The following is an actual devotional email sent from the pastor of a large charismatic church (this is the same one that I wrote about on Oct. 31, 2014). This pastor, it just so happens, has a former member that wrote a satirical article on his blog the previous week entitled "Want Some False Doctrine in Your Life? Try These Handy Tips!" Yes, it’s me. It might just be a coincidence that he wrote this right after my blog post, but in any case, I decided to comment on his email/letter that appears to address people like me (his words are in bold and mine are in parenthesis, as usual). In a nutshell, he admits that it's important to teach good doctrine and refute false teachers but, in reality, he gives a free pass to just about any and all false teachers. This pastor believes in Rick Joyner’s book “The Final Quest” so much that he gave it to all of his new, young elders to read. He believes that it is a true understanding of the end times. It is not-it’s a heretical and sickening book, and I told him so. He also is a big fan of Bill Johnson; so much so, that he went to a pastor’s conference at Bethel Church and came home to preach a sermon filled with “Bill Johnsonisms.” Johnson's teaching DVDs are used at this church. So he has been confronted with specific false teachers and their teachings in a respectful manner from his church members. This is not a matter of angry, ignorant parishioners throwing a fit. I believe this email/letter is an example of how a “signs and wonders” pastor glosses over serious theological issues to retain the continued support of his church members.
Dealing with Differences
"'Master,' said John, 'we saw a man driving out demons in Your Name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us.' 'Do not stop him,' Jesus said, 'for whoever is not against you is for you.'" Luke 9:49-50
When I first came to Christ, I was part of a church that believed we were the only pure expression of Christianity in our city. Every sermon featured some way we were better than everyone else. We only used the King James Bible, for instance, and believed every other translation was defiled and leading people into heresy. We were "it", and everyone else was deceived at some level.
Looking back, I feel sadness for how proud and blind we were; not just about ourselves, but about who God is. We had made the God of all grace so small and picky that if you didn't believe exactly like we did you were on the outside. The truth is that we were small and picky, not God.
(This is a set-up for his argument in the rest of this letter. He's right about these people, though; I certainly don’t want to be like these Christians. The problem is we don't get to actually meet these people and hear their side of the story, so it's a bit of a "straw man" argument, but still, I agree with him about being too exclusive and too judgmental. What’s missing from this whole letter are the very real people, like me, who aren't angry, “King James Only” fundamentalists-which is another exaggerated stereotype I realize-but just ordinary Christians who want their pastor to hold fast to correct doctrine. Once people like us start to do our homework and we learn about the false teachers in our midst, we get pigeon-holed into an easy to refute stereotype.)
John is clearly proud of the disciples' rebuke of this man who wasn't, "one of us."
(Don't you hate it when pastors ascribe a particular motive to someone in a Bible story, even though we don't have that information from the Bible? Maybe John was just ignorant; or maybe he just said the first thing that popped into his head. We don't know that he was proud, but this helps make the argument...)
Jesus had a wider circle of those who are with Him.
People come to me with accusations against Christian leaders across the body of Christ. Sometimes it's about what a leader said and sometimes it's about something questionable they did. I'm almost always in agreement with those who are bringing the charge - leaders are flawed and often say things and do things that are a little off. But once in a while the person bringing the accusation wants more than agreement - they want me to publicly renounce that leader and their group.
(The Bible tells pastors to contend for the faith, to hold fast to correct doctrine, to correct and rebuke false teachers, to protect the flock... Acts 20:28-31: “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears.” Notice how how he claims that discernment Christians supposedly want him to "renounce a leader and his group" which is much more personal, harsh and extreme than saying "renounce the false teachings coming from a leader or group." )
At this point I become a disappointment to them. Jesus is not ashamed to call me His brother (Hebrews 2:11) with all of my flaws and errors, so I want to be unashamed to stand next to brothers and sisters who love Jesus, but aren't just like our group.
(Wow. So as long as someone "loves Jesus" we should give him or her a pass on their teaching? This is a really bad idea. Last time I checked, there were no false teachers that claimed to dislike Jesus. There were no heretics in church history that made claims of "not loving" Jesus. Notice how this is has been turned into a personal issue, when it should be about whether or not a teaching lines up with scripture. Also notice how this makes discernment almost the same as discrimination, with "one group against another," instead of simply comparing a teaching against scripture to test it.)
I understand and value the desire for truth and the need to be on guard against deception (that sounds good, but he never does the very thing he claims to value), but we must be very careful before pointing the finger at others lest we condemn someone who Jesus accepts and delights in.
(This is the most ridiculous part of this whole letter. Since he knows that Jesus delights in these un-named teachers, we should give them a pass. How do we know that Jesus delights in them? We don't, but you're not supposed to think about that... because that would involve discernment, and that would make you a small, proud and blind Christian, like the ones in the beginning of this letter.)
May God help us be humble and generous toward all those who are different from us.
(Of course, everybody agrees with this general statement, but what about false teachings and heresy? That’s a completely different issue than people who are simply “different from us.”)
"Accept one another," Paul says to Christians who were judging each other over minor differences, "just as Christ has accepted you." -Romans 15:7 (End of Pastor's letter)
(It’s amazing that he completely ignores the problem of heretical teachings! He just pretends it’s not ever a problem and skims right past it. Apparently every problem is a “minor difference.”)
So here’s the template, pastors:
1. Talk about those judgmental, narrow-minded Christians who pester everyone with Bible verses. It helps make your case if you admit to being one of them in your past. As a side note, notice how this makes you the judgmental one now, and notice how this makes you the one who is more humble than the other guy. Nice.
2. Go ahead and admit that you don’t agree with certain unorthodox teachings. It sounds good and reasonable to say that someone else is “off.” They’re not heterodox or heretical; they’re just... “off.” Key point here: Avoid specifics!
3. Refuse to make any public statement about the false teachers you personally enjoy. Key point here: YOU get to decide who is a “good guy” and who is not.
4. Make an appeal for acceptance and humility; but only do it after you've determined who should be accepted (not those angry Bible thumpers!) and who is humble enough (of course, that would be you and all of those teachers/pastors whom you approve of).
For those who think it's mean, judgmental and un-loving to criticize this pastor (or any other popular teacher) here's something just for you: Shocking Stuff You're Not Supposed to Know.
If you're having a knee-jerk reaction to try and defend this pastor, check out: Confirmation Bias: Why You Are Protecting Your False Beliefs.
Finally, here's an article that will help you be more discerning and a lot less gullible: Defusing Demonic Dirty Bombs.
New and Improved Scripture (that fits the New Apostolic Reformation)
His disciples asked Him, "Tell us, what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" And Jesus answered them and said, "See to it that no one deceives you with Bible verses about this, that and the other thing-who can understand all that doctrine, anyway? Just buy all the books, CDs and DVDs from the Apostles, Prophets and Pastors. You will know them by their catch phrases, advertising campaigns and highly publicized conferences. Do they have gigantic churches, TV shows and best-selling books? Then you can trust them. Do they live in ostentatious mansions and fly in private jets, having derived all of their riches from the sheep they pretend to help? Then do whatever they say and continue giving them your money.
Remember that time I went into the temple and drove out the money changers with a whip? Well, in the last days that gets reversed; you will pay the new money changers to tickle your ears, whilst ignoring the preaching of the Gospel. I know I originally said, 'It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves;' but in the last days I will raise up a group of new and better apostles who will get filthy rich even as they proclaim false teachings. They will make many errors with their "fortune-telling" style of prophesying, and their lives will often be a moral train wreck, but as long as they do it in my name, it's all good!"
His disciples then asked Him, "what if they talk about doing many great miracles, but produce very few results? And what if they talk more about themselves than about You? And what if they mishandle the Holy Scriptures by constantly taking verses out of context? And what if..." Jesus interrupted them and said, "Hello? Didn't you hear Me the first time?? As long as they do these things in My name it's all good! Let's just be positive; remember, your words have creative power, so try and speak good things into existence. In fact, I think I felt a shift in the atmosphere as I said that. Did you guys feel that?!" At this the disciples marveled, because it didn't sound like any of His other teachings.
I posted this frightening video last year but it was removed (probably by Joyner's legal staff)-I found it again on YouTube. This is footage from Morning Star TV (with additional type/commentary added by someone later). I know it might seem "over the top" to show this, but sometimes people need to be jolted into attention. I dare you to watch all seven demonic minutes:
Here's an article and interview all about Charles Finney and Pelagianism by Bob Dewaay:
Critical Issues Commentary
http://cicministry.org/audio/radio/20060417_cic_radio.mp3
Also, here's a couple episodes of the White Horse Inn radio show about Finney and Pelagianism:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFh8IoxGnRj8GBuj6ycEVZA5kGNH9PM3x
Here's a video from Professor Ryan Reeves about Augustine that teaches about Pelagianism: Augustine (part 2)
Here's an article with links to more articles: A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing
And an article by Michael Horton:
The Disturbing Legacy of Charles Finney
In Pop American Evangelicalism, it's all about getting big crowds to show up and raise their hand; Charles Finney is the guy most responsible this fabrication of "revival."
© Steven Kozar for Pirate Christian Media & Messed Up Church. Read a little about Steve on "Kozar's Korner." Prints of his paintings are available on our Bakesale and on his art website stevenkozar.com.
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