These are some of the words Haggard uses in a letter to the New Life Church which is reported in the Gazette of Colorado Springs on 5th November 2006 about his demise as the religious leader of about 30 million people: betrayal, horrible example, embarrassment, guilty of sexual immorality, problem, I am a deceiver and a liar, dirt, repulsive and many other terms which are all basically the same as going I did something really bad all of which are directed at the gay sex thing not the drugs (2). So let me be the judge, I find Haggard Not Guilty on the following accounts; taking drugs, having sex with a man and telling lies. Of course drugs and lying are very bad things still I don't hold him accountable to his mistakes if he intends to work on them and change. He had every right to do those things if that is what he chooses to do, as long as it does not end up hurting anyone else in the process. There is no guilt with being gay and it is not immoral on any account, so I will reject the notion that Haggard as a free man should not do that sort of thing if he wants. Haggard is not guilty of being human! He is Guilty of promoting fear and hate being the former head of the New Life Church, it is an assumption if he did not believe and promote those things then he would be openly gay and perhaps remove the drug taking and lies which could be considered evidence of internal difficulties after the denial of himself. He is a prick don't get me wrong and hypocrite along with arrogant; still he would be more of a man if he admitted the Church was wrong and his feelings are justified. Of course he will be forgiven has long as he keeps on denying himself after all there is only one ‘sin' that could not be forgiven being that of denying the holy ghost. I think that it is very sad that he just cannot be who he is and the only reason I can tell stopping him from doing this is a dishonest, unjust, unclear book filled with lies and made up stories.

The route of Ted Haggard demise is inbuilt into the evangelical church, if not all religion, since it offers denial at all levels. Children are infected within this church to believe that gay people are at the subject of disgust and fear. The church also teach that abortion is wrong, Good things come from Jesus, bad things come from evil, that Global warming is not happening, that nonbelievers are subhuman, ghost or magical stories are disrespectful (apart from the magic that happens in the bible), that science is wrong and anyone not like they are should be punished. If children do things naughty they are accused of walking away from Jesus and will be punished at the highest level. They call this the Jesus Army and if you preach such things then of course children will grow up to deny themselves and hating others. There version of Jesus is not love, compassion and forgiveness! Whatever comfort or community that is created by the church is at a price that is too high. Where will it end? Artax13 points to the most disturbing result but conceivably the clearest perspective I have heard from in a while, responding to Haggard's views about gay people, commenting that anti-Gay is just the same notion the Nazi's had about Jewish people (3). That is where this will end; the parallel between anti-Jewish feelings promoted in Europe for a long time that caused the final solution among other acts and the views on every single person outside the evangelical church being directed towards children within the church is very much alike. That scares me and it shows we have not learnt what we should have. It also makes me sad that children are filled with foolish nonsense they did not ask for and do not need.

Sources:
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Haggard
2. http://www2.gazette.com/display.php?id=1326184
3. http://youtube.com/watch?v=3XsCcKiCL2c

We start the show this time reading e-mail and then moving on to some news items. We talk about Ted Haggard and his departure from a restoration program and the New Life Church. We also talk about Fox and the journalistic integrity they show, as well as Muslims and bomb sniffing dogs. We move on to Citizen Kane, Tom and Cecil both think it is shot well but the story leaves a lot to be desired. We both rate it 1.0, just like AFI. We move on to capitol punishment and talk about the supreme court decision on that topic. We finish with a Critical Reinterpretation of Getcha Groove on, by Limp Bizkit.

Also we say goodbye to George Carlin. Here is one of our favorite bits.

[audio http://cdn4.libsyn.com/critics/critics_29.mp3?nvb=20080709192131&nva=20080710192131&t=0b3a332800feb6b12aed2]

Here's where it gets good, check out Serpe's comments to KRDO Channel 13:

 "He craved sex, he was a sexaholic," says Serpe. He believes it had nothing to do with homosexuality, but more about masturbation and gratification. "This is something that he has been struggling with all of his life," says Serpe. He says Haggard told him the relationship lasted only three-months, not three years.

Wow.

Blogger Joe.My.God puts Serpe and KRDO's bullshit in it's place:  

Oh, now I get it. Haggard is a heterosexual sex addict whose need to whack off so overwhelmed him that he had to hire a male hooker to help. Isn't that what all horned-up straight guys do? Unfortunately for Ted, Mike Jones has described the sex he had with Haggard and it was far more than mere masturbation.

Video of Todd Bentley Assaulting a Man.

(Hat tip Battle 4 Truth.)

And the Word of God says:

This ungodly demonic mess Todd Bentley is doing is nothing new and it appears after nearly thousands of years nothing has been learned and people still run after these false apostles. Being beaten and devoured and still falsely calling it a move of God.

Related post: Todd Bentley, Doctrine of Demons Indeed!

"After my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, SPEAKING PERVERSE THINGS, to draw away the disciples after themselves" Acts 20:29-30.

Steve the Comment Man: "Paul, did you sin?"

"You travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice the son of hell as yourselves" Matthew 23:15.

Steve the Comment Man: "Jesus, did you ever sin?"

"Woe to the foolish prophets, who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing" Ezekiel 13:3.

Steve the Comment Man: "Ezekiel, how about you? Have you ever sinned?"

The question remains as to why Ted Haggard returned to Colorado and whether or not he will try and start a church and, as Paul said, draw disciples away after themselves? Ted Haggard began his spiritual restoration process in January of 2007 and ended it in February of 2008 even though this process was supposed to last five years. By the way, he initially agreed to this process so he lied about completing it. In truth, his severance pay ended just about the time that Haggard quit this process so what does that have to say about serving God and mammon (Matthew 6:24)?

Even during the restoration process there were problems almost from the start. Ted Haggard had quit the church's five-year "spiritual restoration" process. He agreed to five years of rehabilitation in January 2007 -- and one of his mentors claimed just three weeks later that Haggard was "completely heterosexual." Haggard then embarrassed New Life leaders when he requested donations while he sought a degree in counseling. The donations were to be collected by Families with a Mission, a Colorado non-profit run by Paul Huberly, a twice-convicted registered sex offender.

Steve the Comment Man: "Mr. Haggard, did you sin in this regard?"

A year after Haggard agreed to enter counseling with four ministers after his sex scandal, he asked to end the team's oversight of his recovery program. But New Life Church officials believe the termination of the relationship is premature. Early last year, just months into his recovery program, the overseers had indicated that the restoration process could take years.

"New Life recognizes the process of restoring Ted Haggard is incomplete and maintains its original stance that he should not return to vocational ministry."

Steve the Comment Man: New Lifer's? Do you sin?"

Haggard, founder of New Life in Colorado Springs, resigned as president of the National Association of Evangelicals in November 2006 and was fired from New Life Church after a former male prostitute alleged a three-year cash-for-sex relationship. Haggard confessed to undisclosed "sexual immorality" and to buying methamphetamine.

Tommy Barnett runs the Phoenix Dream Center, helping the homeless, recovering alcoholics, drug addicts and prostitutes. In August, Haggard had reportedly said he would move in to the Dream Center, saying he could identify with the people there. But Haggard's counseling team denied the report and said he will not be doing any ministry work.

It is more than obvious that Haggard tried to circumvent the system ever since the restoration program began and then he ended it nearly four years early because he wanted to even though he initially agreed to the five year restoration program. Yet Steve the Comment Man said that he would join Haggard's church if he started another one. Despite the lies and the manuvers that Haggard made against the very process that he agreed upon.

"Solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is those who by reason of use (habitual action) have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil" Hebrews 5:14. Steve the Comment Man needs to study what the word of God has to say about false leaders. "Imposters will grow worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived" 2 Timothy 3:13. "For the time will come, WHEN THEY WILL NOT ENDURE SOUND DOCTRINE, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, THEY WILL HEAP UP FOR THEMSELVES TEACHERS, THAT WILL TURN THEIR EARS AWAY FROM THE TRUTH AND BE TURNED ASIDE TO FABLES" 2 Timothy 4:3-4.

Steve the Comment Man seemingly believes in fables over that of the truth. He needs our prayers. As does Ted Haggard to complete the process he initially agreed upon if he is a true man of God.

He was former president of the uber-influential National Association of Evangelicals. He grew and pastored a church in Colorado Springs that attracted 1000s of folk every week. He probably even trolled streets looking to rescue lost puppies.

Nonetheless, his squeaky clean visage hid a diabolical scar. Underneath that mask was a man who paid for male companionship... and his methamphetamines.

OH, THAT TED HAGGARD. Yeah, well... the man's got chutzpah. He's back in Colorado Springs. Note this story from the AP for more details.

Imagine [cue harp music] you're in a small town, known as one of the big boys on the block, and you do THAT. ALL THAT. And admit it.

Now, you are shunned away by your church, your neighbors and uh, the law. You are disgraced, humiliated and abhorred by many in ecumenical circles. You forsake everything to go create a 'spiritual restoration program' (And what's that anyway? A novelty weekend getaway for misanthrope preachers?)

Fast forward a year-and-a-half, and you are basically forgotten in the news. You can go anywhere where folk don't you... like, uh, the polar opposite of Cheers. However, you remember the snow and all that fanfare and go straight back to the Lion's Den. WHAT?!

Ted, you aren't the Prodigal Son. You can go to someplace where it's warmer, like Belize or the Congo. Take care of your family, and most importantly, of yourself. Say what you will about his sin. Ted Haggard was at one time an incredible example of servanthood for God. Who knows what happened? Who cares? What's important is he will prayerfully get restored and serve God... far, far away from the limelight.

Heaven knows his family deserves that much.

Ted Haggard has returned to his original home in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and apparently plans to go into some private business there. Back in 2006, as part of his severance package, he agreed to leave Colorado Springs but that deal expired in December 2007/ There were bumps throughout that period of time as Haggard once sent out a mailer trying to secure donations when he was not supposed to be involved in any of that sort of thing.

Haggard was fired as pastor of the 14,000-member church he founded in November 2006 after a former male prostitute alleged they had a cash-for-sex relationship.

Haggard, who also stepped down as president of the National Association of Evangelicals, confessed to undisclosed "sexual immorality" and said he bought meth but didn't use it.

He also didn't finish his reconciliation counseling as I believe he was more humiliated than of a repentant mindset. As to what church he will attend now, or whether he plans to start another church, remains to be seen. I shall be watching.

Under a severance deal that Ted Haggard reached with the church in 2006, he agreed to leave Colorado Springs and not talk about the scandal publicly. The deal expired at the end of 2007. New pastor Brady Boyd said Haggard was now free to live where he wanted and has returned to Colorado Springs.

"They have moved back and they live in the original house that they lived in for many years," Boyd said of Haggard and his wife, Gayle.

Haggard answered the telephone at his Colorado Springs telephone number on Sunday and confirmed he was in the city but said he couldn't talk to reporters.

One wonders also how Ted Haggard's financial supporters feel who were encouraged to give generously, so he and his wife could study for two years in Phoenix (even when he had loads of money and had no need of financial support, even if he was a worthy cause which he is absoutely not)?  Ted Haggard is evidently not a man of his word, as well as being exceptionally greedy, dishonest and perrverse, as he is not stuck to this brief commitment. (See 'Ted Haggard and more church abuse article' here for more details)

Haggard Ends New Life ‘Restoration’ Process

Ted Haggard, who stepped down in November 2006 amid a sex and drug scandal requested an end to the oversight of council members appointed to help spiritually restore him.

The council appointed to administer fallen pastor Ted Haggard’s process of “spiritual restoration” has agreed to his request to end their oversight reports the Rocky Mountain News.

Despite this, members of the New Life Church team contest that “the process of restoring Ted Haggard is incomplete and [New Life] maintains its original stance that he should not return to vocational ministry.”

Haggard, who was fired in November 2006 as pastor of the church he founded amidst a sex and drug scandal, will reportedly maintain what New Life described as an “accountability relationship” with Phoenix First Assembly of God pastor Tommy Barnett.

According to the Rocky Mountain News,  Barnett pastors the church Haggard now attends and was a member of the council helping to restore him.  

Fox News  reports that Haggard’s “spiritual restoration” process was expected to last at least another four years. 

ORIGIN OF CONTEMPLATIVE/CENTERING PRAYER

 by Ken Silva, pastor-teacher at April 29, 2008 04:44 PM Copyright © 2008 by Ken Silva. All rights reserved.

This should enough evidence that Bentley is not of God

HT: DefCon

Courtesy: Soli Deo Gloria by way of Endtimes Prophetic Words

Also see “Jesus, get off your throne and onto your knees!” Todd Bentley is in the house!

Angels We have Heard and Seen

So now we have from the very appropriately named Church Warnings by way of Endtimes Prophetic Words:

A vision from Todd Bentley during a third heaven experience

In it, the Type A heretic occultist Bentley says this:

“…. I actually saw the apostle Paul come walking toward me onto the bridge. …He was short, not more than 5′1″ or 5′2″. He was bald except for a little crown of hair that came around his head. Looking very Jewish with a short, trimmed, white beard, my first thought was of a monk in a monastery! He actually had jolly cheeks and I thought: Paul you’ve got a little weight on you! I mean he wasn’t fat but he looked a little pudgy! He sat next to me and he took his hand and placed it across my chest not saying anything. But I felt like I was receiving an apostolic blessing from a father…. While he touched my chest, Abraham and David appeared out of the cloud of witnesses (Heb. 12:1). Although they were very close (and yet somehow at a distance), they weren’t the main focus. They were simply there as witnesses to an encounter. Next, Paul spoke to me without words spirit to spirit. I never heard one word but I had instant knowledge of what he was saying. He said that David and Abraham are true fathers—”These are the apostolic fathers”—and I thought to myself: Why Abraham and David? He answered me by saying that there would be no gospel without Abraham. People forget that without Abraham there would be no Israel, or Jewish people (Ps. 105:6–11; Gen. 15:1–5, 18–21; Gen. 17).

Just so you know too, Abraham was taller than David and Paul, about 6′5″. He was a very big rugged looking man, very big boned, large hands, having a long black beard and hair. In fact he looked quite East Indian or Pakistani (in skin color); not like an African man (in blackness), but closer to an East Indian man. He actually didn’t look Jewish at all!

Now David’s appearance was much different from Abraham’s. Having seen Jesus before, I noticed that David’s features were similar to Jesus, the Son of David. Both Jesus’ hair and David’s hair were alike—long brown reddish locks that hung to their shoulders. David’s eyes were blue and he wore a purple royal robe but when he lifted his arm, inside his robe I saw the color blue; it was very kingly. He was very handsome with a short beard and he was really well kept.

As I just stated, Paul told me that essentially there would be no gospel and there would be no Israel without Abraham. He said too, that there would be no gospel without David because there would be no divine Son of David (Jesus Christ) in order for the kingdom and His throne to be built upon the throne of David (Luke 1:31, 32). Jesus came through the lineage of David and with Jesus’ coming, the gospel was released.Paul also said that—in the sense of the revelation of the gospel to the Gentiles—he was the greatest carrier of that revelation to them. He took what Jesus brought and made it available to the rest of the world, and the global evangelism that’s taking place today comes as a result of the revelation of the gospel by the apostle Paul.

I discovered while conversing with Paul that it wasn’t only Jesus Christ who taught him in heaven. I say this because Paul told me: “Abraham taught me, in heaven, and that’s how and why I wrote the book of Hebrews. What I heard was from the lips of Abraham himself.”

I know I’m stepping out on theology now; however, I want you to understand that Paul always made it clear when he authored an epistle—”Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ” or “Paul, a bond-servant of Christ.” Always! Yet, for the Book of Hebrews, although most Bible scholars believe that it was authored by Paul, there are those that really can’t say it was him because the authorship is never clear. Paul told me why. Here is what he said to me. “Do you know why I know so much about Abraham?” [So much of Hebrews is based on other things that you just can't pull from in other scriptures.] He said, “Abraham himself shared (information) with me and I simply wrote it” (in the Book of Hebrews). “The authorship isn’t clear because it was Abraham and I; Abraham shared with me.” [Much of Hebrews is about Abraham; i.e. Hebrews Chapter 11.] Paul said, “When I was in the third heaven, Abraham was with me like you are with me now.”

Next, I was at Paul’s house and he said to eat the Book of Titus! What’s more, several days later I was taken back into heaven to Paul’s house! But this time I didn’t go inside. I stayed outside where I saw a ladder in his back yard like the one described in Genesis 28, Jacob’s ladder. [I've come to understand that there are ladders like that in heaven in order to ascend and descend into different realms because heaven has places, geographical places. For example, the first heaven is where we live on the earth; the second heaven is the invisible realm of Ephesians 6: 12; and the third heaven where I was with Paul, it's the Paradise of God (Rev. 2:7).] So I jumped onto the ladder and began to climb up into another realm. I saw around me that it was all clouds so I began to pull those clouds back. As I did, a hole opened up in the heavens. Immediately then, out of heaven, flowed the color green, not just a light; it was like a green liquid and it was pouring onto my eyes! When I asked God about this, He said, “You are coming into the throne room; you are beneath the sea of glass; there is a rainbow around the throne. It’s not just above the throne; it’s a circle around the throne, a rainbow, emerald, green in color.” ["And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald" (Rev. 4:3).] I had just climbed into the fourth realm of heaven which is the throne room, (with more realms to follow). I went up from the throne room into the fifth realm which is the heavenly city. I saw streets that are golden and mansions and I noticed that it was very different from the Paradise of God (third heaven) where there are hills, still waters, and flowers. It wasn’t as peaceful. Next came the sixth realm of heaven which is the place where the angels live. There is literally a realm reserved for Michael, Gabriel, all the arch angels and all the angels under the arch angels! This isn’t the second heaven, the angel and demon realm, where they battle. It’s just a realm where the angels dwell. Then the last heaven I saw, the seventh realm was other universes and the solar systems; undiscovered universes and planets that God has created.”

Apparently, evil like this that exposes Bentley for what he is has become, er, inconvenient. So now, according to The Florida Outpouring: Revival In Lakeland '08 (a blog dedicated totally to the event by a Lakeland resident) Bentley is removing the more clearly heretical statements of his from his website. The amazing thing is that people who believe in, support, and follow this fellow have not only read his evil, but watch him spout it on God.TV and on the Internet. But please know, people, that the encounters that Bentley claims to have are far more similar to those described by Mormonism's Joseph Smith and Islam's Mohammed than they do any encounter depicted in the Bible. 

That so many people are willing to follow one such as this despite is massive doctrinal errors, it vindicates the opinion of BlackReformingKid on Pentecostalism: that they are very willing to reject sola scriptura and sound doctrine in favor of signs and wonders.

"Holy Spirit fall! God is here! We want more! More, more, more!" That's what Canadian evangelist Todd Bentley yells out nearly every evening to the thousands who gather to hear him preach. (Reminds me of how during the Azusa Street revivals, people used to yell and scream at and demand God to give them the baptism of the Holy Spirit so that they could speak in tongues. Pardon me, but the Bible says that God is our sovereign Lord and as such we are supposed to approach the Lord with fear and trembling and make requests of Him, not demands.)

Not everyone is comfortable with this expression of Christianity, including some Protestant theologians. R. Douglas Geivett, a professor at the CONSERVATIVE, evangelical Talbot School of Theology, is deeply skeptical of the "Florida outpouring" and does not believe Bentley’s claims of supernatural healing are consistent with Christian doctrine. "I don’t think it fits neatly into any branch of Christianity," said Geivett. "Mr. Bentley’s worldview appears to be a mixture of New Age notions, an obsession with the paranormal, and an untutored grasp of Christian theology." (What has the world come to that not wanting your Christianity mixed with New Age and paranormal mysticism makes you CONSERVATIVE? The spirit of anti - Christ is very much on the march, people!)

Still, what seems to be drawing all these people of varying ages, ethnicities, and classes is a clear hunger for what Bentley's meetings are offering: the hope of healing and some sort of touch from God. (And not the message of Jesus Christ crucified, or of being a servant. It is all about what God can do for you. Remember when Jesus Christ got angry at the people when they kept demanding that He perform signs and miracles on demand? "Just work one more sign and wonder, Jesus of Nazareth, and THEN we will believe that you are the Messiah. Forget about all of the other miracles that you have been doing for all of these months, things that if they were written down there would not be enough books in the world to contain them. Why? Because you did those miracles according to your own desire and initiative. We only want a Messiah that will obey US and do what WE want Him to do!" People, this is why Corinthians says that sign gifts are for the unbelieving and not for the believers. Believers are fully confident that God exists, they know that God regularly and continuously makes Himself known to all people through creation and general revelation, and that they can encounter God - they touch God and God touches them - through regular reading of the Bible, and in praise, worship, devotion, and service to God. Faith is the substance of things not seen, because if you could plainly see - or feel! - it, then you wouldn't need faith. And if you had true faith, such mighty impressive things would be of no consequence, because you would reason with the mind that God gave you that if God sent His own Son to save the elect, then healing someone or causing someone to speak in unknown tongues is actually a small work that pales by comparison. These folks want to see - and feel - things that impress their flesh because they doubt the true nature of the miracle of the Incarnation - the God that exists outside of creation that heavens cannot contain existing in a specific place and time as a man - and since they doubt it they cannot fathom it. This is not to speak against miracles - for I have certainly experienced more than a few in my short life! - but for people who have actual faith, A. they do not have a "car accident rubbernecking" fascination with or desire to chase after miracles and B. the focus of their faith is not miracles, dreams, visions, etc. but Jesus Christ as revealed through the Bible. For the faithful, miracles STRENGTHEN their conviction to follow Biblical Christianity. For the FAITHLESS, however, they will abandon Biblical Christianity in a heartbeat to follow anyone who works a miracle.)

In many instances, Bentley places his hands on someone's head or area of infirmity and cries out for the power of God to descend. In response, some people may stand and physically tremble, while others may literally fall down to the ground in what they call "falling under the power" of the Holy Spirit. (And cries out for the power of God to descend? Is this supposed to be analogous to Elijah praying to God to send down fire in 1 Kings 18:1-46? Jesus Christ would heal people simply by spoken command, and His disciples and apostles did so also with the spoken command in the Name of Jesus Christ. Scripture does not record anyone that Jesus Christ or His servants healing then falling down under the power of the Holy Spirit. If that would have happened to anyone, it would have been the very frail woman who touched the hem of Christ's garment. Of course, had she done so, Jesus Christ would not have had to ask "who touched me", for it would have been obvious ... the woman "slain in the spirit", prostrated on the floor rolling like a log while laughing and barking like a dog! And as for the power of God to descend ... under the new covenant we have the power of God within us ... the indwelling Holy Spirit which empowers us to work miracles such as healing, prophesying and interpretation, tongues, etc. For Christians, the power of God comes not down from above at special occasions - i.e. at our command - but resides within us continually. The old covenant was a forerunner of things to come, the new covenant replaced the old and is a superior one based on better promises.)

Bentley’s associates say that this is not a painful experience, but rather one of being physically overcome by the loving presence of God. Anticipating these sorts of responses, one of Bentley's staff members stands behind each individual to serve as a "catcher" to gently guide the person down to the floor. Skeptics claim this "falling" can be the result of being overcome with emotion or a learned behavior. (Or other skeptics, like me, have legitimate questions as to whether this enterprise is demonic, and I base this on how this does not conform to how Christians are depicted in the Bible, nor does it conform to my own personal experience of healing and spiritual deliverance.)

Erik Thoennes, also a professor from the Talbot School of Theology, offers a more accepting, though still cautious stance, than his colleague Geivett. Thoennes believes many Christians today are open to the idea that God might move in miraculous ways, even if they don’t embrace movements like Bentley’s. (This is the anti - Christ media attempting to pit Thoennes against Geivett. Geivett never spoke against healings, HE ONLY SPOKE AGAINST a mixture of New Age notions, an obsession with the paranormal, and an untutored grasp of Christian theology. In other words, Geivett did not say that God does not heal people, he only spoke against BENTLEY. Thoennes and Geivett actually have basically the same position, and it is one that I share. And I am not even an "evangelical" like them. Geivett, Thoennes, and myself have no problem with signs and wonders happening by people whose practice, doctrines, and actions conform to scripture. It is people like us that the charismania advocates accuse of "putting God in a box" and "trying to limit God." It is not God that we are trying to limit, but rather it is false doctrines and practices that we are opposing.)

It is curious that MSNBC is being much more tolerant of this healing revival than it is of people who state unequivocally that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven and that the Bible is infallible and the final authority in all matters. Claims to be able to heal people - a claim that is present in many religions by the way ... in addition to the various Hindu, animist, spiritist, witch doctor, etc. healers see this "John of God" fellow who claims to be possessed by King Solomon, and yes he had a healing revival in America recently - truthfully offends no one. But proclaiming the uniqueness of Jesus Christ, the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the sovereignty of God gets one called a dangerous fanatic with extremist divisive beliefs. (And that, mind you, is what many professed Christians will call you!)

Please visit Original link: www.christianresearchservice.com/ToddBentleyResearchPage.htm

Se enorgullece de lavar cerebros infantiles.

Justifica su labor con una especie de mandato divino primero y con la convicción de que debe entrenar a sus chavales como los imanes radicales hacen con los suyos. Acaba de sentar las bases del terrorismo fundamentalista cristiano en EE.UU.

Como ella, las madres de los niños dedican una parte de su tiempo a eliminar toda traza de pensamiento no acorde con sus creencias. Incluso algunas aficiones, como escuchar música o leer, deben ser cristianizadas. Tengo muchas dudas acerca del comportamiento de los adultos para con los niños que voy a plantear a continuación.

Una niña que sólo escucha rock cristiano, viste orgullosa una camiseta del ejército y se disculpa por bailar sólo con el cuerpo, lo cual parece avergonzarla, ¿está recibiendo una educación adecuada? Y el niño que es sumergido integramente en el creacionismo y en las hipótesis de la Tierra joven por deseo expreso de su madre, ¿a qué universidad irá cuando sea mayor? ¿Es lícito que la religión se imponga a la educación?

No lo creo.

Adoctrinar a un niño es fácil. Los infantes, como las crías de cualquier otra especie, están programados para seguir a sus padres y no dudar de sus actos. Pero las consecuencias de diez años de educación fundamentalista quizá permanezcan durante el resto de sus vidas.

Y el modo de potenciar al máximo este adoctrinamiento es el que da título al documental. Me sumerjo en el discurso de presentación que la señora mencionada al principio da a sus pequeños alumnos.

Lakewood Park es, digamos, la parte divertida del programa de adoctrinamiento evangelista. Un campamento de verano bíblico para menores de edad, digamos entre cinco y doce años, donde los chavales pueden disfrutar de las actividades típicas y, además, aprender a ser buenos cristianos. Me gustaría recalcar esta frase. Los niños no van a recibir una formación ética. No serán instruidos en el respeto hacia sus congéneres. Después de esto no sabrán cuál es la diferencia entre el bien y el mal. Su actitud ante un dilema moral es un mero efecto lateral del miedo aterrador que ha sido infundido en sus mentes inmaduras. Miedo al diablo, miedo a la muerte, miedo a ser rechazado por sus hermanos si no cumple con las normas de la comunidad, miedo a no agradar.

¿Es moralmente aceptable mostrar a un menor de edad los peligros de jugar con fuego apoyándose en fotografías de bomberos mutilados y cadáveres abrasados? Yo digo que no. ¿Por qué se permite, pues, que sean bombardeados con discursos acerca del sufrimiento eterno al que estarán abocados por masturbarse, educarse en la Ciencia o leer libros de Harry Potter?

Sí, habeis leído bien. Harry Potter es un brujo, ergo es un enemigo de dios. En palabras de la anfitriona.

Si hubiera estado en el antiguo testamento, Harry Potter sería condenado a muerte.

¿Qué clase de mente enferma puede decirle esto a unos críos? Por muy malas que sean las novelas de J.K. Rowling, son fantásticas, no son reales, son cuentos para niños y adolescentes. ¿Es Dorothy, la protagonista de El Mago de Oz, una mala influencia por utilizar sus zapatos mágicos? ¿Y Bastian, el niño obeso de La Historia Interminable? ¿Lo condenarían a la hoguera?

¿Es esta una religión de paz? Permitidme que lo dude. Y permitidme que dude también acerca de la validez de estas tácticas para conseguir una generación de pureza y santidad.

Este horrible espectáculo termina con una exhortación a la limpieza del pecado. Muchos de los pequeños asistentes lloran desconsolados. Se sienten culpables. El concepto del pecado es tan difuso para ellos que se hunden cuando la instructora dice saber que algunos son malos cristianos.

¿Malos por qué? Ni ellos mismos lo saben. Recordemos a la niña que decía bailar sólo con el cuerpo, ¿cómo puede sentirse mal? ¿Cómo puede pensar que es una pecadora? ¿Y cómo puede alguien decirle que un espíritu maligno crece en su interior por una acción como esa? ¿Que podría acabar en el infierno?

Cuando yo tenía siete u ocho años, la imagen de la bibliotecaria demoníaca de Los Cazafantasmas me impactó del tal modo que no pude dormir durante dos noches seguidas. Los niños son fácilmente impresionables.

¿En qué podría desembocar la idea de un demonio que te persigue sin descanso para torturarte por toda la eternidad?