More spiritual snakeoil

Via Facebook, a past acquaintance of mine invited me to an event with American televangelist, Jesse Duplantis. I strongly but politely declined the invitation. There's no way known I'm going to see him. Let me explain why.

Firstly, I have a big problem with his hyper spirituality. These evangelists who claim to have special teaching or extra-biblical revelations trouble me. Duplantis claims that he was caught up in the Spirit and visited heaven, where he met Abraham, King David, Jesus himself, and the apostle Paul. It's interesting that he should meet Paul, because Paul also had a vision of heaven. Does Duplantis see himself as being a modern day version of Paul? Unlike Duplantis, Paul didn't share his vision of heaven to make himself look good. When he described his apostolic credentials in his letters, it wasn't to impress people, but to defend himself against his opponents, the so called super apostles, who undermined him.

Secondly, Duplantis is a well known prosperity preacher. He lives in a lavish mansion, and earlier in the year, made headlines when he allegedly asked his supporters to help him buy a private jet, to be used for ministry purposes. Again, he says that God wanted him to have it, but on the face of it, it looks like he's manipulating people, and that he thinks that travelling around on commercial flights is beneath him.

That Duplantis has such a huge following shows a lack of discernment amongst Christians. I'm disappointed that an Australian church is directly supporting his work. Count me out. So many of these celebrity pastors eventually fall off the pedestals their followers put them on.

It takes two to lie. One to lie and one to listen

Chancellor Palpatine (or should I say Darth Sidious) in Revenge of the Sith; the personification of a liar, manipulator, and an all round nasty piece of work

A friend of mine made a social media posting asking people to compile a list of ten things in society that are blatant lies, but that people still believe anyway. In no particular order, here's my list. It's a random assortment of thoughts that are mainly inspired either by people I have met, things I've read, or Christian speakers I've heard.

1. How I live my life is my business, and I can do what I like if nobody else gets hurt (When you throw a pebble into a pond, it still creates ripples).

2. I come first (Sometimes I wonder if we're becoming more individualistic and less community minded. I hate selfishness. Public transport fare evasion and aggressive driving make me angry. These may seem to be minor things, but to my mind, they reflect a selfish mindset).

3. I have unlimited potential in life and can become whatever I want to be (This is the line that motivational speakers push, and some Christians believe it too. Even though I'm striving to honour God with my life, if I'm not living this supernaturally empowered, transcendent life, does that mean that I'm not walking in the Spirit and that my faith is defective? Even worse, does it mean that I'm not saved after all?)

4. God's highest purpose for me is making me happy (Again, this is problematic for Christians who aren't happy and whose faith journey has been difficult. What about holiness and sanctification?)

5. Don't be friends with down and out people because they'll only hinder you from succeeding in life (I've heard this said from a church pulpit. So much for Christian compassion).

6. Christians should keep their beliefs to themselves (But only if they're conservative and not aligned with progressive and fashionable political or social causes).

7. All Christians think alike (Some non-Christians who are either apathetic or hostile towards Christians seem to think this).

8. Christians blindly follow their leaders and do what they're told without question. (Some non-Christians who are either apathetic or hostile towards Christians seem to think this too).

9. If it feels good, do it (This seems to be the prevailing ethic of contemporary Western society).

10. I'm not responsible for the consequences of my actions (This correlates with the first item on this list).

I humbly offer these comments as a corrective. I write not to judge or browbeat, but to state things that I need to be reminded of myself, striving to grow in Christlikeness and to not be squeezed into the (Western) world's way of thinking.

Compare this to Jesus himself, of whom the apostle Peter wrote, "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth." (1 Peter 2:22)

Is God is a cosmic vending machine?

As much as I hate to say it, some aspects of Western Christendom grate with me at times. One of these is the prosperity doctrine. Like spoilt children, some Christians have an entitlement mentality and think that God is obligated to make them rich and successful in worldly terms, and to exempt them from any difficult life experiences. This view must be rejected as both unbiblical and naive. The overwhelming testimony of scripture shows that this was far removed from the experiences of most of the heroes and heroines of the faith. Outside of the comfortable, affluent Western world, many contemporary Christians often endure under many hardships and persecution. It's about time this doctrine was denounced for the nauseating aberration that it is. I for one am heartily glad to read that it finally has been. Click on this link to find out more.