requiem

The Fall of Babylon

"And this was the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN....
MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.
TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting."
(Daniel 5:25-27)

"And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her;

for no man buyeth their merchandise anymore...."

(Revelation 18:11)

The day is at hand when, soon, nobody will 'buy it', anymore: the lies and hypocrisy; a theater of the absurd, replete with costumes and regalia - all in the name of Christ.

Pentecostal Theological Seminary commencement (2013)

Church of God, Cleveland, TN

The man dressed in red and carrying the 'royal scepter', in the above picture, is Dr. Lee Roy Martin, leading the Church of God into the brave new world of Postmodernism.  If you don't know what Postmodernism means - especially, what that means to Christianity, then you are seriously at risk of being duped and misled by contemporary church leaders -such as those in the photo, above.

Dr. Martin is a professor at the (Cleveland, TN) Church of God's Pentecostal Theological Seminary (http://www.ptseminary.edu), where future church leaders are trained by some of America's most dangerous teachers.  Seminary training is vitally important to the life of the Church; take it from one who knows: Dr. Harold Lindsell, one of the co-founders of Fuller Theological Seminary, who said, in his important book The Battle for the Bible, that seminaries are the "fountainhead of the churches".  What he meant, of course, is that the seminaries serve as the intellectual and moral 'compass', as it were, for their respective denomination.  In other, clearer words, seminaries shape church doctrine.  And the doctrine coming out of Cleveland, Tennessee, is an undisguised form of Postmodernism.

In perfect agreement with Postmodernism, Martin is very big on 'affection', feelings.  Being a Pentecostal Christian, evidently according to Martin, has not so much to do with a straightforward approach to understanding, believing and obeying the written precepts of Scripture.  Rather, Christianity 'in the Pentecostal tradition' - as that has lately come to be called, has more to do with one's feelings than it has to do with rational thought.  In Martin's own words, "passions of the heart", "feelings and emotions", one's "deepest desires", etc., greatly influence how one subjectively "hears" Scripture.  Whereas, a rational, cognitive approach to understanding and interpreting the Bible, Martin deprecates:

"'Intellectual learning aims at learning facts and their relation and at rational analysis ... In affective learning, on the other hand, feelings and emotions are predominant.'" 

"Expecting objections to the affective approach, [Dr. Martin quotes] Daniel C. McGuire [who] remarks, 'It is not for nothing that the rationalist is upset by the inclusion of affectivity ... Affectivity imports mystery and depth.  We can feel more than we can see or say [in Scripture]'" (1).

Not only affection is important to Postmodernists, but the notion of 'mystery' - especially where that pertains to God, occurs so often in their literature, as to emphasize its apparent importance to Postmodern 'christians'.  Martin is by no means a lone wolf, so to speak, at the Pentecostal Theological Seminary (PTS).  Postmodernism also appears to be central to the beliefs of Dr. Cheryl Bridges Johns, Professor of Discipleship and Christian Formation, at the PTS.  She suggests that Pentecostalism, rather than constituting a "throw-back to an era long abandoned by the Protestant faith" (a veiled allusion to an 'outmoded' belief in supernaturalism), might instead be understood (in the words of Harvey Cox, whom Johns quotes,) as "signaling a first-wave of the post-modern turn to experience" (2).  In other words, Pentecostalism is not now being shaped by Postmodernism, but Pentecostalism served as a precursor in formulating Postmodernism!  Johns appears to want the award for innovation to go to Pentecostals.  To be sure, there's no lack of innovation on her part.  Take for example, where, in that same essay of hers, Johns posits a deeply troubling definition of reality, as follows: "Reality is defined in the context of an overwhelming experience..." (3; bold added).  Not just any experience, mind you, but an 'overwhelming' one.  Note, too, Johns' claim that reality is contextually defined.  Pure Postmodernism: relativistic, subjective, irrational.  

Johns continues:

"One of the distinctives of a Pentecostal worldview...is the focus on God as mystery....  It is important to note that a Pentecostal worldview is trans-rational.  Truth is not limited to reason....  Pentecostal theology is centered in worship of an ecstatic God whose desire and longing for communion with humanity leaves no room for rest (stasis) [God's?], but continually moves out in ek-stasis" (4; underline added).

There it is, again: "mystery"; and not incidentally, but it is the 'focal point' of a Pentecostal worldview, according to Johns.  To Postmodern 'christians', God is a mystery.  Doubtless.  Yet, Johns would have us to believe that God is evidently Postmodern, too: very emotional, "ecstatic", in fact.  For an insight into the kind of 'worship' Johns may be referring to in her above remarks, please, check out this video exposing 'Ekstasis Worship' (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIV2oCI8NEM).  Listen to 'DJ Caleb', beginning at the 1:30 time marker, say: "This generation is hungry, hungry for the mystery of God. This generation longs to experience God in an abandoned way...  They long to release their passion for God."  Sounds a lot like both Drs. Martin and Johns.

There is so much more being done at the Pentecostal Theological Seminary, to 'interpret' and to teach principles of Christianity, Pentecostalism, and the Bible, according to the dicta of Postmodernism.  Martin and Johns are but two, representative examples of the prevailing views of that Seminary.  But don't just take my word for it, dear Reader.  Check it out for yourself.  Go to the Pentecostal Theological Seminary's website (http://www.ptseminary.edu/ranked.html); get the names of faculty and administrative leaders; search online for articles and/or books written by them, and study their own writings.  

The Church of God prepares its future Seminary candidates, against the possibility of culture shock, by first indoctrinating them in Postmodern thought at Lee University, the CoG's four-year undergraduate school.  In a recent article published in the Church of God Evangel - the CoG's monthly magazine, Dr. Jerald Daffe, Professor of Pastoral Studies at Lee University, insisted that the Church at large should adopt a form of worship which he called "Alt worship".  Daffe enthusiastically described 'Alt worship' as consisting of imagery and technology including -but by no means limited to-"candles, incense, alternating darkness with light, labyrinths...fog machines and black ceilings", together in the context of a pre-packaged format wherein all of the "wording, phraseology, and body language [is] predetermined" (5).  But just in case that approach to the worship of God might seem inappropriate to certain Christians, the Church of God (by way of Dr. Daffe's article) reassures us that 'Alt worship' has "the approval of the Anglican bishop" (6).

Perhaps, that might sound comforting enough to some.  But who is "the" Anglican bishop? you should ask.  His name is Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury and head of the Anglican Church worldwide.  Not insignificant is the fact, that Rowan Williams is both a priest in the Anglican Church, as well he is also a Druid.  If you don't know what a Druid is, I encourage you to look it up.  Hint: it is related, historically, to Satanic rituals involving human sacrifice.  Here's a good place to start: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/03/090320-druids-sacrifice-cannibalism.html.

By the way, Mark Williams, the General Overseer of the Church of God, is a member of the Evangel's International Executive Committee.  He had a full-page article published in the very same edition in which Jerald Daffe's article appeared.  It seems unimaginable that Daffe's article 'slipped through the editorial cracks', so to speak, and so made its way to publication and global distribution.  Daffe's ideas obviously have the endorsement of the Church of God's hierarchy.

In the interest of blog-space, let's move on to a brief discussion of a real money-making enterprise called Winterfest.  About 30 years or so ago, a local church in the CoG denomination put together a youth event involving contemporary Christian music.  The idea was very successful - so successful that, many years ago, the denomination, as such, began to promote Winterfest on a much larger scale.  Today, the Church of God denomination stages and promotes Winterfest events in six major cities across America, one each month from October through March, every year.  The weekend-long events feature numerous well known speakers and/or musical performers - the supposedly Christian character of which, individuals and/or groups, in most cases, is very doubtful, at best.  I am convinced that sincere, Christian mothers and fathers would be greatly offended if they knew what their daughters and sons are likely to be exposed to, at any given Winterfest event.  Below, are three links to help get you started in your own research.  All of the following have recently performed at Winterfest:

SKILLET
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHzU-9iozmo 

JASON CASTRO does the ELLEN show
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9zo9L-88cc 

THE CITY HARMONIC
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17F6GEqaxPE

Not only has the Church of God denomination removed so far from the truth of Scripture that it may now be called apostate; but every mainstream denomination is likewise apostate.  The question then arises: How are individual Christians supposed to walk, with respect to any involvement with local churches that maintain a denominational affiliation; e.g., in the case at hand, with the aforementioned Church of God?

The admonition in The Revelation, I believe, speaks very directly to that question:

"And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues" (Revelation 18:4).

Now, to the pastors of denominational churches:

Is the opportunity to make use of various material resources, sufficient reason to maintain any kind of a covenantal relationship with a system that, arguably, is apostate?  Let me put it in plainer words.  Is it morally acceptable for a pastor of a local congregation to be in league with -to maintain membership in- an apostate, religious organization, in order to have access and occasion to use certain buildings for conducting church-related activities?  That is really very different from merely renting or leasing -or outright purchasing- similar facilities elsewhere; which would not entail entering into any sort of spiritual covenant with a lessor or seller.  Is it needful, moreover, in order to fulfill one's calling of God to be a pastor, to be affiliated with any manifestly corrupt religious organization?  What does it mean to be 'ordained' by such an organization as the Church of God, or by any of the other, mainstream denominations?  Is that truly a relationship that confers spiritual authority -much less divine anointing- upon a pastor?

Or is it really about having a 'license' to preach and a building wherein to do that?  Or do you sincerely endorse what your denomination stands for?  In that case, do you actually know -not what your denomination says it stands for, but what, in fact, the leadership of your denomination teaches and does?

I do not condemn you pastors; but I challenge you to consider well your choices and the implications of those.  By purchasing and maintaining real properties -church buildings and lands- for Babylon (indeed, those properties are not the possessions of local congregations, who actually pay for them): are you not in substantial measure supporting and enabling that worldly system?  Are none of your local church's monies diverted to Babylon's treasuries, whether directly or indirectly?  Do you never in any way support Winterfest, or any such money-making events that serve to enrich your denomination?  Do you never attend any of your denomination's conventions or conferences?  If so, do you then boldly confront the wickedness of that group's leadership, earnestly striving to expose and to rectify, if possible, the apostasy in your denomination?

How, then, are Christian persons compromising, in order to retain the recognition and support of their denomination, in the role of a pastor in one of their churches?  And how is it that pastors, in league with apostate organizations -such as the Church of God, are not bringing such things as I have above discussed, to light, for the sake of their respective congregants?  What do they fear?  Do they not fear God more than they fear the disapprobation of their denomination or even of their own congregation?

This is very serious business.  Compromise is a spirit, a profoundly deceiving one.

footnotes

1.     Lee Roy Martin, "Longing for God: Psalm 63 and Pentecostal Spirituality".  Journal of Pentecostal Theology 22 (2013) 54-76.  Obtained 15 Jan 2014, at URL:

http://www.pentecostaltheology.org/LeeRoyMartin_files/Martin_Ps63_JPT.pdf.

2.     Cheryl Bridges Johns, "Prayer, Evangelization and Spiritual Warfare: a Pentecostal Perspective". Obtained 15 Jan 2014, at URL: http://www.wheaton.edu/BGC/Ministries/ISE/Specialty-Programs/~/media/Files/Centers-and-Institutes/BGC/Roundtable/2001/2001-Johns.pdf.

3.     ibid.

4.     ibid.
5.     Jerald Daffe, "Crosses, Communion, and Candles: a Move Toward Liturgical Worship".  Church of God Evangel 103-11 (Nov. 2013) 18-19.
6.     ibid.