Joel Osteen is once again teaching his New Age heresy.
Following in the footsteps of Bishop T.D. Jakes, Prosperity Gospel preacher Joel Osteen, Pastor of Lakewood Church, the biggest congregation in America, has now joined Oprah Winfrey’s life classes to teach New Age heresy to the masses. Once again, a Christian pastor has come on Winfrey’s series and preached a message that had no mention of the Biblical gospel, forgiveness of sins or Jesus Christ.
As we noted in our Apostasy Alert article on T.D. Jakes, Oprah Winfrey has been one of the biggest promoters of the New Age movement in the world. Through her talk show, television network and multi media empire Winfrey, who claims to be a Christian, has launched books such as The Secret into all-time best sellers. The Secret, a book that teaches the ancient witchcraft technique, The Law of Attraction is not in line remotely with Biblical Christianity. Rather than looking to Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God, The Secret teaches that a person has the power to attract success, wealth, romance and all sorts of earthly benefits through their own words and rituals.
Here is Oprah promoting the book on her show:
The book popularized “The Law of Attraction”, an occult technique that involves visualizing a certain goal, constantly focusing and doing certain practices as if it has already happened and then “attracting” it by your constant thoughts and focus. Its author, Rhonda Byrne writes: “All good things are your birthright! You are the creator of you, and the law of attraction is your magnificent tool to create whatever you want in you life. Welcome to the magic of life, and the magnificence of You!” (p. 41)
Of course the Bible says of Jesus Christ: “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” (John 1:3). Jesus Christ is the Creator. Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. A person is blessed through faith in Christ who is the heir of the Universe. And Jesus teaches that constant focus on material gain should not be a Christian’s life:
Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. – Matthew 6:31-33.
Joel Osteen is taking much of his material from this book.
“When you focus your thoughts on something you want, and you hold that focus, you are in that moment summoning what you want with the mightiest power in the Universe. The law of attraction doesn’t compute “don’t” or “not” or “no,” or any other words of negation, this is what the law of attraction is receiving.” – The Secret, p. 9.
By the book’s premise, all power comes through the individual. A person can have whatever they want just calling upon “the mightiest power of the Universe.” Anything can be obtained. The Bible does not teach this. In fact it teaches that we cannot obtain anything of true meaning and significance without God:
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. – James 4:8-10.
Notice the difference: the Bible acknowledges that God is the means to eternal satisfaction and true peace. And it also teaches that it is sin that is our main obstacle to God. It takes a desire for forgiveness and faith in God to forgive sin through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ that is the message of Christianity.
The Secret reveals its true message later on in the book:
“You are God in a physical body. You are Spirit in the flesh. You are Eternal Life expressing itself as you.” (The Secret, p. 164)
This underscores the message of The Secret and the New Age: that a person can become God. This is of course complete contradictory to the Bible and is following the deception of Satan.
In our first article on Joel Osteen’s witchcraft, we detailed that the Law of Attraction is precisely what Joel Osteen preaches to his congregation and television audience on a regular basis. This is nothing more than witchcraft being given a “Christian”veneer. The Bible of course prophesied that as the end times approached there would be an apostasy – a falling away in the church, where pastors and their congregations would abandon Biblical Christianity in favor of their own man-centered, mystical doctrines. 2 Timothy Chapter 4 issues a directive to pastors to stand for the Biblical, Gospel-centered preaching in this age of Apostasy:
I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. – 2 Timothy 4:1-4.
Pastors are to preach “the word” – meaning preach The Bible and not their own ideas or methods, whether it is “in style” or “out of style” or “old-school” to just use solid, biblical preaching. The result of not doing this is that those coming to church will desire pastors who will tell them what they want to hear, rather than preaching what the Word of God has to say to all people. Examining Osteen in the life class, there are numerous examples of sound doctrine being rejected and fable being given instead.
The Power of “I Am”
The power is not in the words. It is with God.
Osteen in this portion of the class is using principles from his new book “I Declare.” What is being preached here is that a person has the power to affect change within themselves and attract success by using the phrase “I am..”
None of this is in the Bible. Notice there is no mention of God, Jesus Christ or the Gospel in anything that is being preached. Just like T.D. Jakes before him, Osteen is preaching a Christ-less Gospel that is completely centered on worldly, material gain. According to Osteen speaking negative statements “sets the tone for your life” and attracts bad situations to your life and therefore we should not even make negative statements like “I am depressed” or “I am sad.” This once again, is the Law of Attraction at work.
Here is a quote from a New Age book based on The Secret that explains the same principle Osteen is preaching:
“In this chapter we turn our attention to using our I AM power to make our hopes and dreams become part of our reality. Starting with a brief discussion of the 2006 book and movie, The Secret, we’ll examine the question of our roles as co-creators of our experience of reality… When you say I AM the rest of that sentence cannot but help become your reality. That is because one of the manifestations of God is God as Law, the Divine Law of Cause and Effect, which Buddhism calls karma.” – (The Power of I Am: Claiming Your Inherent Power To Consciously Create A Life of Purpose, Meaning and Joy, Dan Shafer).
Like The Secret, this book comes back to the conclusion that it is the individual person who can “be as God” and create their reality simply by reciting words that follow the phrase “I AM.”
If a person is facing life problems, Osteen’s solution is to just make positive statements. By simply repeating the phrase “I am confident” the insecure person will be “healed.” Lacking in creativity? Simply say “I am creative.” Beloved, this is not Biblical Christianity. Reciting words in a ritualistic fashion is not what God instructs. The Bible tells Christians to bring all of our pain, hurt and suffering to God in prayer:
O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together. I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. – Psalm 34:3-6.
The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. – Psalm 34:15-19.
I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies. The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears. – Psalm 18:3-6.
And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. – Psalm 50:15.
The God of the Bible is merciful, compassionate and yearns to hear the cries of His children. Rather than ignoring our pain, the Bible instructs to share the problems and struggles of life with The Lord who hears and answers prayer. Compare this to Osteen who says the solution is all in the words you speak and their power. So by Osteen’s doctrine, the Bible passages above are all going to lead to more problems in your life since they are so “negative” and will “attract” more negativity. This is not Biblical teaching. It is New Age witchcraft. Here are excerpts from articles teaching witchcraft that make it clear that the Law of Attraction is an occult practice:
“By formulating a witchcraft ritual you are creating and therefore taking responsibility for the circumstances of your life. This is the main message that the Law of Attraction has been broadcasting. The Law of Attraction is something that has been very familiar with witches for thousands of years as a very elementary teaching in witchcraft. Now it’s time to take it to the next level.” (source).
“I also teach Law of Attraction on its own for people who just want to learn that. However I believe the the two subjects really do belong together. Whenever you are casting a Wiccan spell you are using the Law of Attraction and whenever a Law of Attraction practitioner says an affirmation, he or she is really doing magick.” (source).
The Word of God strongly forbids any use of the occult or dabbling in witchcraft:
There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch. Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee. Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God. – Deuteronomy 18:10-13.
Why would a Christian pastor bring New Age teachings to the church? What spirit is leading a Pastor who is not using the Bible as a guide but instead leaning on the same methods used by witches for centuries? Do not be deceived.
The Bible warns Christians to beware of those who do not teach the Bible.
But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. – 2 Peter 2:1-3.
With a multimillion dollar media empire, Osteen has achieved unparalleled success teaching false doctrines. In the clip above he even says that determining your future is all a function of “the words you say today.” Compare Osteen’s teaching with The Secret:
If the words “I can’t afford it” have passed your lips, your power to change that is now. Change it with “I can afford that! I can buy that!” Say it over and over. Become like a parrot. For the next thirty days, make it your intention that you are going to look at everything you like and say to yourself, “I can afford that, I can buy that.” – (The Secret, p. 102).
Osteen is clearly teaching New Age mysticism over the Bible. There is nothing wrong with a Christian making negative statements. Prayer is to be honest and if a person is feeling pain, insecure, weak or tired of it all, God in Heaven wants to hear all those words. We are to lean on God to save us, not ourselves or magical words. And for the person who is unsaved, salvation starts at the point that a person can say: “I am a sinner. I am guilty before God. I am in violation of God’s commandments.” Without those “negative” words, a person cannot receive free forgiveness that comes through faith in Jesus Christ. When a person cries out to God, rather than “attract” negative situations, they draw closer to the Almighty Creator and His love for them.
Here is a clip of a woman who is clearly struggling with her faith. She says that she is “a child of God” but does not speak to God.
As with many of the students in Oprah’s class, they are truly seeking spiritual answers. This is fertile ground for a true Christian pastor to share the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. Yet once again, Osteen gives his “advice” without a mention of the Savior. He does not encourage the women to pray more, read the Bible or attend a church. He does not even make sure that she is truly born again. He merely tells her to “stay in faith” and does more “I am” affirmations with her. Again, what he is teaching is that the power to change is within the person and not from God. This is the message of witchcraft and the New Age. Here is an excerpt from a New Age Yoga event that emphasized the Law of Attraction:
“The Law of Attraction states. . . ‘That which is like itself is drawn’. In other words, like attracts like. Your thoughts, your words, your feelings, your actions all put forth a specific energy vibration and thus attract to you that of like energy. . . whether it be positive or negative…
When you see something you would like to experience and you say, “yes, I would like to have that,” through your attention to it you invite it into your life experience. Likewise, when you see something that you do not want to experience and you say, “No, I do not want that,” you still invite it into your life. Where thoughts go, energy flows!” (source).
The Law of Attraction, which is precisely what Osteen is preaching is witchcraft. Here is another quote from a witchcraft blog that is in line with Osteen’s teaching:
“I truly understand the universal law of attraction / like attracts like. After all, that was pretty much the very first lesson in Witch School. The law of the Universe is that like attracts like. Whether that me positive or negative. Do, act, think, speak, write, positive & more positive energy will return to you. You get back, what you put out into the universe.” (source).
Thanks to Oprah Winfrey among others, New Age spirituality has seen an explosion in popularity in the past decade. Pastors should be protecting the flock and warning Christians about these false doctrines, not preaching them.
There is a way to healing in this world. There is joy that can be obtained before Heaven. But it starts with being born again through faith in Jesus Christ:
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; – 2 Corinthians 5:17-18.
Once a person is born again, their eternal destiny is secure. The new Christian receives a new spirit (hence the phrase “born again”) that seeks to please God and live for Him. It is in this new birth that there can be a real joy. Because a Christian can look past their earthly condition and rejoice knowing that Heaven and eternal life await. Jesus Christ confirmed this when He said:
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. – John 14:27.
The true peace comes when a person knows they are not facing eternal damnation. This is what Jesus Christ wants to share with the world. And it is a pastor’s job to spread this message so that people will believe. And instead of preaching the word, Osteen is promoting fables. How is this woman saying “I am worthy” going to save her soul? How is saying “I am valuable” going to bring her true peace? It won’t.
At the close of the class, Osteen, while promoting his book, again offers the advice that the power in life lies in the words someone says:
He tells the audience that if they are thinking any negative thoughts to “zip it up” and just not say them. And then he and Oprah close with more “I am” affirmations, encouraging the audience to repeat them every day, mantra-like, as the key to living a fulfilled life. Jesus Christ, in teaching how to pray, forbade Osteen’s methods: “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.” (Matthew 6:7-8).
In Osteen’s positive declarations, there is no mention of sin, forgiveness, eternal damnation or faith and eternal life. And absolutely no mention of the name Jesus Christ. It is just more declarations of your own greatness. In other words, the individual is the answer to their own problems. The solution and divinity all reside within.
Here, one of the many websites on wicca and witchcraft teaching these principles, mimics Osteen’s “preaching”:
“You can create your own affirmations for pretty much everything. Say you want a new job. You could use an affirmation like “I am getting a new job that I love.” Wanting to find a new partner in life? How about using “I will find my true love.” I started out using basic ones. I still use some of my original ones. “Calm” is one I use when I feel overwhelmed. Just one word that I repeat to myself. The biggest thing I do though is try to monitor the chatter in my mind. If a negative thought creeps in I try to dismiss it and replace it with a positive one. At first it can be time consuming, in time though you will wind up doing it naturally.
You are beautiful. You are amazing! You are perfect! You are you. and you are loved.” (source).
Jesus Christ, preaching during his Earthly ministry, gave a parable that summed up and exposed the heresy and blatant error of Osteen’s teachings:
And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I AM not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. – Luke 18:9-14. [Emphasis added]
The Pharisee made an “I am” affirmation to boast of how great he was and his testimony was rejected by Jesus. But the publican was humble and spoke negatively – willing to speak the truth, that he was a sinner. He confessed that like all people, he had fallen short of the glory of God and deserved God’s wrath. And he cried out for God’s mercy. And for this, he was exalted.
Declaring “bold affirmations” will not get you to Heaven.
As the church moves deeper into the apostasy it is more important than ever for Christians to stand on sound doctrine. There are many souls at stake. Heretical, New Age mystics like Joel Osteen are filling pews every week and have audiences of millions through television and the internet. But he is not preaching the real Gospel. He is preaching a false doctrine that will tickle the ear, but ultimately lead to damnation. Do not be deceived. Pray for these apostate pastors to turn back to God, repent and preach the Bible. And pray for their congregations to use Biblical discernment to see the truth of the Bible over “positive affirmations”, the Law of attraction and other fables. Romans 1:16 says: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth;”
There is a power in words. But it is in the words of God when they are spoken to point people to Jesus Christ. For Christians, use this power and share the good news of forgiveness of sins and eternal life in Jesus Christ. If you are not a believer, take the time to learn the Gospel and cry out to God for forgiveness for the sins you know you have committed. Pray and say the “negative affirmation” that you are indeed a sinner but believe that there is forgiveness for those who put their faith in Jesus Christ. And The Lord will exalt you in eternity.
I am……. a sinner and thank you…GOD for the cross!
Andrea Latham(Quote)
Amen
coire(Quote)
Thank you B&E, beautiful article. I just have one question/concern. Is this the same as in, example : a fellow Christian friend is coughing and sneezing and I say, gosh it sounds like you’re catching a cold. My friend says DONT SPEAK THAT OVER ME, I rebuke .that in the name of Jesus. I hope this doesn’t sound confusing but I notice that more and more people say stuff like that then I feel guilty for replying with my conclusion. And now I find myself saying this same very principle to my kids. Like oh, ” don’t say that, it might happen, or don’t say
bad stuff about you’re self”. Im just a little confused because pastors say don’t call those things as they are but as they should be… is this wrong? ?
jameccia(Quote)
HI jameecia,
Here is a great video by Greg Koukl of Stand to Reason ministry that might be helpful to you. He addresses your concern specifically.about being fearful of saying the wrong things.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=C7SbUSkNQUs
Check out this comment at the YouTube video page.
gmjsimmons – “Thanks Greg. Before I was a Christian, I had been involved in the occult. After conversion I participated in the Charismatic movement and noted that some of their ideas were more magic than Christian. Some Charismatics believed that properly applied faith was supposed to get you things that you wanted. That idea always seemed more like my old occult belief than the new way of thinking I found in the Bible and Christ.”
I was in a Charismatic Church that was becoming Word of Faith for about 8 months back in 85. And I run a groupblog of mostly ex-Word of Faithers that post on the WoF. And I have studied, written and posted on the WoF for about 3 1/2 years now. So you might enjoy my additional comments on my posting of Koukl’s video here.
http://thewordonthewordoffaithinfoblog.com/2013/02/27/greg-koukl-says-word-of-faithpower-of-words-teaching-is-occultic/
I also just spent about 5 hours responding to Todd’s comments below. My response turned out to be way too long for this comment section so I had to post my response there. But I share why I am so so passionate about this issue there – it’s really trajic. Here is a link to that lengthy response.
PROVERBS 18:21 – Are There Really Life and Death In The Power Of Words? (dedicated to Kenneth Shoebrook)
http://thewordonthewordoffaithinfoblog.com/2013/03/02/proverbs-1821-are-there-really-life-and-death-in-the-power-of-words/
If you don’t have time to read my writing to Todd, please read these two other articles on our groupblog by someone else about this issue, as they are the best two on our site about it.
The Power of the Spoken Word – Biblical or Occult Law? PART 1
http://thewordonthewordoffaithinfoblog.com/2010/04/18/the-power-of-the-spoken-word-%e2%80%93-biblical-or-occult-law-part-1/
The Power of the Spoken Word – Biblical or Occult Law? PART 2
http://thewordonthewordoffaithinfoblog.com/2010/04/18/the-power-of-the-spoken-word-%e2%80%93-biblical-or-occult-law-part-2/
On the first post above there is over a dozen other links to writings on this topic and about 5 of them are written by Ex-WoFers. None of those are researched and written as well as the one on this page by B&E, but they are still good and give some Ex-WoF insight and some quotes from Occult, New Age, and Witchcraft sites and books. There is even one by an Ex-WoFer that was also formally a Witch. That one might really interest you so I’ll post it here as well.
Ex-Word of Faith Testimony: Ex-WoFer is also a Former Witch who says The Word of Faith is Witchcraft
http://thewordonthewordoffaithinfoblog.com/2013/02/07/ex-word-of-faith-testimony-ex-wofer-is-also-a-former-witch-who-says-the-word-of-faith-is-witchcraft/
We also have over 50 testimonies – most from Ex-Wofers, others from some who have been drastically effected by WoF teaching – on our Testimony page here. I often get told those testimonies are the most helpful part of our groupblog to those still in, or strongly influenced, by the WoF.
http://thewordonthewordoffaithinfoblog.com/testimony-page/
Have a great day there ma’am. And be blessed and cautious. Not so much about the words you speak, but of error in teaching.
damon(Quote)
Thank you Damon I will check out your links….
jameccia(Quote)
OK I see. Thank you so much for pointing in the right direction. Seems so elementary and I so how confused it. LOL I like the fact that the man in the video didn’t preach this at me but taught the message.
jameccia(Quote)
Hi Jameccia,
Like Damon, I have been in church circles in the past where that exact phrase was used (“Don’t speak that over me..” “Speak prosperity into your life!”, etc.). It is just a spin of the same idea Osteen is preaching. We do not attract health, illness or suffering by just speaking about it. Ilness and suffering are a consequence of the cursed world we live in. And as Christians we are to seek God in prayer for the solution to it.
So we do not have to fear telling someone they seem sick if they are sneezing and hacking up a storm. They probably are sick and should get some soup, juices and cold medicine!
When we are scared, hurt, bitter or worried, we can take all these things to The Lord. We can speak them aloud and pronounce it. We can share our pain with those who care about us. That is a part of being a friend, sister or brother. So do not hesitate in this because of a fear that you will “attract” more calamity. And never have that fear with saying negative things to God.
” Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” – 1 Peter 5:7.
Beginning and End(Quote)
Thank you B&E! I truly treasure your thoughts, opinions, comments, articles, and guidance. You have such a way of showing people the correct way of seeing a matter without being overbearing, but with love and compassion. I can only pray that God blesses me with your kind ofGodly wisdom and discernment. Thanx again! And I love your comment section. I’ll stop now but you’re website is awesome.
jameccia(Quote)
Words have the ability to encourage, hurt, impact, curse, or began destruction. See Eph 4:29, Matt. 12:36-37, & Prov. 18:20-21. Throughout the Bible we are instructed to be careful w/ what we say, how we say it, to tame our tongue, & informed of the power & dangers of spoken words. See Lk 6:45, Jm 1:26, Jm. 3:2-21 & Prov. 15:28.
Confessing the Word of God over your life is essential for every believer of Christ. If the doctor gives you a bad report, you should not declare what the doctor said as truth, it’s a fact. By confessing & believing what the Word of God says about you & your health & not what the doctor says dont mean one’s in denial regarding his/her circumstances. Rather trusting in what the Word of God says through faith. Why wld you say “I have cancer” or “I’m dying from cancer”, then I healed by Jesus’ strips
this act wld be counterproductive.
Prov. 16:23-24, Prov. 13:2-3, Prov. 12:18, & Prov. 15:4.
“New Age” religion like many other religions & systems take principles & teachings from the Bible then put their spin on it. This is why it is easy for may Christians (not only believers) to get confused, lead astray, or influenced by false teachings. To eliminate/reduce confusion, I encourage all born-again believers to (1) have/maintain an intimate relationship w/ God through Christ, (2) be impacted by Christ’s resurrection, (3) experience Him daily, (4) read and study the Bible daily – the Holy Spirit will give you revelation, knowledge & understanding, (5) Imitate/reflect Christ; desire to be Christ-like til we are conformed in His image & (6) stop idolizing preachers, persons in authority, celebrities & etc.
Tiffani(Quote)
Hello there Tiffani, to respond to your response is hard but I will try. I used to debate heavily with “Church of Christ” members over the issue of “Is Baptism required to be saved”. Those that proficiently advanced that Baptism is required had about 15-20 verses that when taken out of context, the rest of the bible ignored and their spin put on those 15-20 verses – seemed very compellingly to teach that Baptism is required “for the remission of sin”. But when you get to examining their proof text it becomes clear that those who advocate that position would do well to learn a few new technical words, if they don’t already know them. Those would be Iesegesis, Exogesis and Contextomy. Here is some defintions that light help .
Iesegesis and Exegesis – “Eisegesis (from Greek εἰς “into” as opposed to exegesis from ἐξηγεῖσθαι “to lead out”) is the process of interpreting a text or portion of text in such a way that it introduces one’s own presuppositions, agendas, and/or biases into and onto the text. The act is often used to “prove” a pre-held point of concern to the reader and to provide him or her with confirmation bias in accordance with his or her pre-held agenda. Eisegesis is best understood when contrasted with exegesis. While exegesis draws out the meaning from a text in accordance with the context and discover-able meaning of its author, eisegesis occurs when a reader imposes his or her interpretation into and onto the text. As a result, exegesis tends to be objective when employed effectively while eisegesis is regarded as highly subjective. An individual who practices eisegesis is known as an eisegete, as someone who practices exegesis is known as an exegete. The term “eisegete” is often used in a mildly derogatory fashion. Although the term exegesis is commonly heard in association with Biblical interpretations, the term is broadly used across literary disciplines.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eisegesis
Contextomy – “The practice of quoting out of context, sometimes referred to as “contextomy” or “quote mining”, is a logical fallacy and a type of false attribution in which a passage is removed from its surrounding matter in such a way as to distort its intended meaning”.
The reason these words help people see the obvious – that is if you start with a presupposition, go and take passages, verses, phrases and words out of direct and total context; you can the Bible or any book say just about anything you want it to say. But the main rule of language interpretation is – because text without context is pretext- to Iesegete (bring out) the original authors intent and meaning out of the whole and rightly divided text. So is case of those that use 15-20 verses to say that Christians must be baptized to be saved – none of those verses actually say that – and there are over 32,000 verses in the whole of the bible with hundreds of them speaking directly on salvation. But to fit the preconception that baptism is required for salvation those have to be ignored to appear to support baptismal regeneration.
So when looking at all the prooftext you have posted one thing must be asked when considering them. Was the author saying words have power if the sense that they are influential (as you indicate in your first sentences verb usage) or are they magical in the sense that they have creative power? Because after all “God spoke everything into being so maybe we can speak things into being too”. Or is that a false presupposition.
Are these two sentences exegeted out of scripture or iesegeted onto scripture?
“Confessing the Word of God over your life is essential for every believer of Christ”
AND
“New Age religion like many other religions & systems take principles & teachings from the Bible then put their spin on it.”
OR………
are those actually presuppositions that Word of Faith teachers have enforced onto the text, out of context, and you have picked the interpretation of those verses up for them because your myopically focused on these WoF presuppositions. So are you really inferring that belief in the word of God and His promises to us are not good enough and that those promises have to be activated with our confession. Or can we count on those promised because God is God and He is faithful and just to remain faithful even when we are not?
You basically say the same things as Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland and Paul Crouch here. Can you give me Bible for this,, or are we safe to say that the principle here is not biblical but a WoF preconception?
Benny Hinn claims the Holy Spirit told him, “…that if witches and occultists can speak death by the supernatural power of words, then Christian can speak life and prosperity by the same power.” The Facts on the Faith Movement, J. Ankerberg & J. Weldon, Harvest House, 1993, p.23 Copyright ©2008
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Benny Hinn: “Witches even..I mean..I’m not here to talk about witches but, but I’ll tell you this.“
Paul Crouch: “They..they under they know the secret.“
Benny Hinn: “,,,because see I had a witch tell me this. And I said what!? She said, listen to me, she said do you know that we are taught in witchcraft how to kill birds with words, and how to kill people with our mouth. I said what do you mean kill people? She said we are taught with words to bring disease on men. I said how? She said by speaking certain words (unintelligible) she said we can actually cause sickness that could very well kill.” Christianity in Crisis (audiobook), tape II, side 3.
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COPELAND: Jesus said that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks and that’s when the action takes place because that is when the spiritual force is brought up out of the mouth – whether it be fear or whether it be faith – and when that spiritual force comes out, it is going to give substance to that image that is inside of you. People say, ‘that is that New Age visualization stuff’. The New Age is trying to do this. And they get somewhat results out of it because it is a spiritual law. (Believer’s Voice of Victory (television program), TBN, 28 March 1991.)
damon(Quote)
You imply that my interpretation is flawed bc I erred in my interpretation & quoted scripture out of context/distorted it to impose my interpretation. The same cld be argued abt you. When I read the Word I take into consideration the following: (1) who is the author(s), (2) the audience, (3) aim, & (4) context in which it is written. I also ask Jesus to give me wisdom, revelation, knowledge, &understanding. I’m not one to use the Bible to justify my beliefs or actions but for correction, instruction, & growth. I don’t add & subtract nor pick & choose what to receive or apply from the Word . We have to believe God for who He is & take His Word as it is. Confessions are an act of faith that demonstrates we believe God’s promises will manifest & this world doesn’t dictate or limit us nor what God can do.
Prayer is one of the ways we release the will of God upon the earth. Knowing the Word comes by studying it. Daniel was effective at praying bc he knew the Word of God concerning His ppl. (Dan. 9:2-3) We shld pray w/ understanding (1 Cor 14:15). The words we speak are spirit & life (Jn 6:63). Isaiah 55:8 tells us to articulate the thoughts of God by praying & confessing His Word. God’s Word released through our tongue will cause His power to manifest in our lives. Words are used to convey our thoughts & our actions are a result of our thoughts. Faith requires action – it cld be said faith one form of action. Yes, “Confessing the Word of God over your life is essential for every believer of Christ.” Christianity is called the great confession. Salvation comes from confessing with the mouth. The mouth is connected to the heart. The Word of God released from our mouth will be planted in our heart. Faith is released by action (i.e. speaking the Word, obedience, praying, trusting in God despite our circumstances, being still, & etc.) Jesus taught us that our faith is released through our words (Mk 11:23). Faith-filled words can move mountains. Our faith is key to seeing miracles & breakthrough on a consistent basis.
Tiffani(Quote)
Lets see if this will go to if I post it here since I cannot respond directly to her last comment.
_________
Hi and Thanks for the response Tiffani. I’m sorry if I implied anything with saying it firmly. I did mean to imply that your taking verses out of context as your WoF teachers have taught you to do. I meant to be really forthright about it. But to also emphasize non-WoF teaching against WoF teaching rather than non-WoFer against WoFer. Yes the same thing could be said about me in one sense, in that I hold to the non-WoF position and you to the WoF position. Like I said “So when looking at all the prooftext you have posted one thing must be asked when considering them. Was the author saying words have power if the sense that they are influential (as you indicate in your first sentences verb usage) or are they magical in the sense that they have creative power? Because after all “God spoke everything into being so maybe we can speak things into being too”. Or is that a false presupposition.”
You never answered that question relative to any verses you have reference, nor have you given us scriptural backing for……..
“Confessing the Word of God over your life is essential for every believer of Christ”
AND
“New Age religion like many other religions & systems take principles & teachings from the Bible then put their spin on it.”
……. like I requested. So I think it is safe to say the WoF paradigm is not backed by scripture but by imposing WoF (really occultic) preconceptions onto the bible. You may not be adding but all WoF teachers certainly do. The whole WoF distinctive of Power of Words/ Confession teaching is that faith is redefined as a force or spiritual law – as opposed to simple trust – thus adding to scripture. Every major name WoF teachers you can bring up – including Joyce Meyer and Joel Osteen – can be easily proven to teaching that very thing.
In one sence you, Hinn, Copeland and Crouch are right. Satan and his minions do try to copy God. But there are limts to that. And with the WoF it is not a matter of Satan copying what God does but getting Gods children to copy what he – Satan – tries to copy from God. See God is God and only His words (or confession if you must) have power because He is the Lord God, The Creator of heaven and earth and all things. He needs no faith, no force and no spiritual law to tap into to create. The idea that there is power in things like spiritual laws and forces IS the very very essence of the occult. To get his people to try to copy God Satan throws at his children these laws and redefinition of faith at them and tells them they don’t need God because they are little gods (Most WoF teachers teaching this common WoF presupposition too).
Because I was once Charismatic and almost became a WoFer except I had already had to study the occult because my Uncle is a Mormon bishop and Mormonisms founder Joseph Smith was a freemason – so I already had a big big Clue in advance that the WoF stuff is really occultism and witchcraft veiled in Christian terms.
But we can go back and forth all day. How about we look at the Scriptures you have posted. Like with the 15-20 verses that Church of Christ’ers use to say you have to be baptized to be saved, I have looked intently at the 20 -30 scriptures WoF teachers use out of context to teach their aberrant and heretical non-Christian occult based doctrine that has a distinct historical line of being brought into Christianity through EW Kenyon and popularized Kennth Haggin.
In your first paragraph here you list 7-8 scriptures. Lets deal with those first, if you’re up to it. Please expound on the verses you used here and tell us why they mean what the WoF teaching says they mean.
“Words have the ability to encourage, hurt, impact, curse, or began destruction. See Eph 4:29, Matt. 12:36-37, & Prov. 18:20-21. Throughout the Bible we are instructed to be careful w/ what we say, how we say it, to tame our tongue, & informed of the power & dangers of spoken words. See Lk 6:45, Jm 1:26, Jm. 3:2-21 & Prov. 15:28.”
damon(Quote)
Confuse not manifestation with channeling, just as regeneration is confused with reincarnation
Like when God talks He creates His words into the mind & to this there is no medium, where as man as also the devil requires a medium, to the words “The Prince of the power of Air—-” Unto people like Moses specifically God put His word into his mouth & hence were Living words to the specific tasks, in contrast to saying “Using the word of god which is nothing but trying to Channel the word from god through misinterpretations, last but not the least, If anyone were to stand in front of Him in His Glory, such thoughts would not even cross ones mind. For even the god of this world standing before Him does not speak unless spoken to.. Finally confuse Him not as a man sitting crossed legged in the OM’s & Avum’s to chanting “Love & Fresh air”. to all those stalwarts saying god told me this & god told me that.
abey(Quote)
Joel Osteen is the Pastor of Lakewood Church, the biggest congregation in America for a reason. His preaching of the Bible is simple and gets right to the heart of his christian followers all over the world . Joel Olsteen always mentions God & Jesus in all that he preaches, just read his books. I have
)))))
He says that all these positive affirmations take effect when you live in faith……. faith in God and Jesus. Words are very powerful and when spoken, they go out into the spiritual world of which Jesus is the master, Jesus is our saviour, redeemer and miracle worker. Joel Olsteen is not a false prophet as is suggested above.
raffaella librandi(Quote)
The name Jesus can be said in the Spirit as well as in the flesh, but when said in the Flesh is to the corruptions of the mind, when Jesus becomes another Jesus & the Gospel becomes another Gospel, which is but saying the truth is to the world ,conforms to the ways of the world when actually Jesus said just the opposite “My kingdom is not of this world, so is the peace”. To the likes of Joel’s, preaching the prosperity & the well being, fine as it seems, to large gatherings except to the millions of poor & suffering, who have no cause to live in this world, but still do for the one reason which is the Hope, these people cannot equate with these prosperity & feel good preachings & feel alienated, taking away their only thread to life The Hope, a great crime these preachers in the gatherings of the itching ears do. But to Know God who is said to be long suffering Himself equates with these poor & sufferings ones, through the sufferings, & this is what the Son of God himself did to his way., quiet contrary to these half preaching “Elitists”, confirming with the Bible Prophecies to the false preachers., for they disregard that the purpose off this life even in all the poverty & suffering, is to the salvation.
abey(Quote)
I am….forgiven by the blood of Jesus Christ! I am saved by grace through faith IN Jesus Christ, Son of God, Returning King of Kings, Rider on the White horse!! I am….washed in the blood of Jesus, NOT my own way of thinking!
Sean McCarty(Quote)
Amen!
Beginning and End(Quote)
Great article once again. Thanks B@E.
A friend I know used to have a high opinion of Kim Clement. He’s quite into this law of attraction as well.
Gabriel(Quote)
Joel Osteen, Oprah, Wayne Dyer, Deepok Chopra, Gary Zukav, and many others are on the right path!
If you would just read their books you would know. They go by the teachings of Jesus Christ, Buddah, Dali Lama, or whatever good and loving “SOURCE” you believe in. I am in total peace since I have found these people. They teach unconditional love for all people. That’s what Jesus wanted. They also teach not to judge others because we do not know what path they follow. Life is physical lessons here that our spirit must learn before returning to God or Source. They are teaching us to have faith. What is wrong with that?
Hali Starr(Quote)
They are wolf’s in sheep’s clothing. I remember a few years ago Joel Osteen was on Larry King and when asked if Jesus was the only way to heaven and he said there were many ways to heaven if I remember right. It’s beyond me how people can’t see this man is obviously a phony and an actor.
Scott(Quote)
You are correct Scott, he REFUSED to say Jesus was the only way. These two are doing all this for money. When you take you eye off GOD…it never goes well!! You know you are living in the last days when you see FALSE teachings!!
janet(Quote)
There are many different ways people believe, but we all believe in the same “GOD”, we just believe in the way we feel is right….what we have been taught by our parents. God understands us all and loves us all unconditionally…..do you understand what that means??? Jesus died on the cross for us. Let’s appreciate that gift. If you have to condemn others, you are not happy with yourself. Please do what Jesus said….”LOVE ONE ANOTHER AS I HAVE LOVED YOU.’
Hali Starr(Quote)
Hali, you have done well to quote Jesus, you just stopped short. Consider these words of Jesus:
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
(John 3:18 ESV)
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. John 14:16
Hali, those who reject Christ, who don’t take Him at His word, are SELF-condemned. We need not fear the condemnation of man: “But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!” Luke 12:5
David(Quote)
Exactly David. Jesus Christ is indeed the only way to salvation.
Beginning and End(Quote)
You are correct Scott, he REFUSED to say Jesus was the only way. These two are doing all this for money. When you take you eye off GOD…it never goes well!! You know you are living in the last days when you see FALSE teachings!!
janet(Quote)
These two are leading GOD’S people astray….the ONLY I AM there is …is GOD HIMSELF. Read your bible…cuz these two certainly are NOT!
janet(Quote)
Amen Janet. Thank you for recognizing the subtle use of The Lord’s name in the Bible by the New Age movement. God is The I AM. And we are to worship Him and Him alone. God bless you abundantly.
Beginning and End(Quote)
This very same thing came to my mind when I saw the “I AM” segment… There is only *one* “I Am,” and that is the great and holy I Am, Yahweh, Jehovah, Adonai.
Laura(Quote)
Joel and Oprah have brought more good to this world than anybody else today. Why fight against good?
We are all part of God, therefore we are all a part of ” I AM” Get it? I know you mean well, but study what they really mean, you will be inspired. Send love only, not negativity.
halistarr(Quote)
We are not all part of God. That is pure New Age thinking, or pantheism, whichever way you want to look at it. We all COME FROM God, but we are not PART OF God.
Laura(Quote)
How hard is it to just tell people that Jesus loves them and wants to take on himself the burden of their sin? It is as hard as changing lifestyle from being filthy rich to average or even poor all in the name of Jesus Christ.
David Nyanga(Quote)
I grew up in the Houston area, and used to listen sometimes to Osteen’s father before he died. If I’m not mistaken, the father preached the gospel we all know. Don’t know what happened to Joel. He took his fathers church in another direction!
Sparrow(Quote)
anyone who makes false claims cponfuses and aids disorder. while people should be aware of fals eteacherrs if you present it wmixed witth false hood it only serves to confuse. the bible clearly says .
Prov 18:21 KJV) “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” god in the begining called things into existance whenhe created the wolorld. when jeus came he has called us to do the same. if you say unto the moutnian be thou removed and doubt not in your heart it hslal be removed. the devil only copys god and has to work within the laws of the universe that are in existance.God with using moses as a medium wrote the pentuach the 5 books of moses penta as in 5 like penta gram. oftne in ocult they use 5 pooined star does this make the pentuach evil? no. the established laws of th universe by god have it that death and life are in the power of the ttongue [law of attraction] now you like moses or Jesus or the apostels can speak and cause a thing and beritesous if you do it in hs name and for his glory or you can use tthe law of attraction for greed lust yourselfand the devil death. death or life in the power of the tongue this includes all you say every act is a magickal act say those in occult god says what you speak happens by many bibnlical verse like proverbs 18;21 and others. so if you speak ourt negitiivty you wil get it if you were to listen to a sermon like tamming the tongue by pastor matthew hagge you might see a lot of similarities between it and ‘the secret’ the differnce is in pastor hagees sermon will be full of bible verse and biblical application but the method is the same cause the laws of the universe created by god are the same. get your facts stragiht caus eit will further your cause you have a lot of good info on this sight but wrong facts will trun those whom you wish tosave away. and daeth and life are oi the tongue jesus said ‘judge not lest ye be judged’ so be careful not to judge presentt facts and be clear andcross check them.
Prov 4:21 KJV) “Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.”
(Prov 6:2 KJV) “Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.”
(Prov 12:18 KJV) “There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health.”
(Prov 15:4 KJV) “A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.”
(Prov 17:20 KJV) “He that hath a froward heart findeth no good: and he that hath a perverse tongue falleth into mischief
Authority is released through words:
(Mark 11:23 KJV) “For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.”
(Mark 11:24 KJV) “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”
(John 14:13 KJV) “And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”
(John 14:14 KJV) “If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.”
You receive what you believe…(Prov 6:2 KJV) “Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.”
The tongue… oh how powerful
todd(Quote)
HI Todd, I read your comments and felt lead to respond to you. But my response turned out way too way long to post here in this comment section. So I had to copy your first comment to my blog and respond there. I spent about 5 hours writing and proof-reading my response, so would you please go to my site and read it. If not then please read the two articles below the first link below. If you would like to respond, please do so here or on my blog. Thanks brother!!!
PROVERBS 18:21 – Are There Really Life and Death In The Power Of Words? (dedicated to Kenneth Shoebrook)
http://thewordonthewordoffaithinfoblog.com/2013/03/02/proverbs-1821-are-there-really-life-and-death-in-the-power-of-words/
The Power of the Spoken Word – Biblical or Occult Law? PART 1
http://thewordonthewordoffaithinfoblog.com/2010/04/18/the-power-of-the-spoken-word-%e2%80%93-biblical-or-occult-law-part-1/
The Power of the Spoken Word – Biblical or Occult Law? PART 2
http://thewordonthewordoffaithinfoblog.com/2010/04/18/the-power-of-the-spoken-word-%e2%80%93-biblical-or-occult-law-part-2/
damon(Quote)
ps . to all those who commented in support of oprah . thelast days apostasy is written clearly in the bible and the bible saysActs 4:12
Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved
mixing of other Gods and relgions is clarly agsint what the bible teaches
Galatians 1:8-9
But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.
2 Peter 2:20-22
For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.”
2 Chronicles 15:13
But that whoever would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, should be put to death, whether young or old, man or woman.
Deuteronomy 13:6-11
“If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or your daughter or the wife you embrace or your friend who is as your own soul entices you secretly, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ which neither you nor your fathers have known, some of the gods of the peoples who are around you, whether near you or far off from you, from the one end of the earth to the other, you shall not yield to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him, nor shall you conceal him. But you shall kill him. Your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. You shall stone him to death with stones, because he sought to draw you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. …
1 Timothy 4:1
Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons,
2 Peter 3:17
You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability.
2 Thessalonians 2:3
Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,
Luke 8:13
And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away.
Matthew 24:10
And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another.
Hebrews 6:4-8
For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.
Matthew 24:12
And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.
2 Timothy 3:1-9
But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. …
Hebrews 10:26-29
For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?
2 Timothy 4:4
And will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths
todd(Quote)
hey don’t you think this article is quite a stretch. i read the book “The Secret” and laws of attraction and no where in the book does it mention any witchcraft or new age thinking. This article was a waste of space and a attack on two other Christians that think or believe differently than you ” no matter if its right or wrong” in fact they are giving you pretty good advice. spend time in prayer and meditate on the words of God first thing in the morning, no tv, no blackberry, no phone . just some worship music and some good alone time. i wouldn’t have wated my time writing about what was wrong with this article but having known people that were into the occult and studying the word of God and listening to other people witchcraft and occultic practices are on a totally different level then the book “the secret”. why don’t you write about the real devils in the suits Mike Murdoch and Benny Hinn
thomakat77(Quote)
I agree!
Hali Starr(Quote)
Hi Thomkat,
Thanks for your response. Since you have read The Secret (I have read it as well), what are your thoughts on this passage:
“You are God in a physical body. You are Spirit in the flesh. You are Eternal Life expressing itself as you.” (The Secret, p. 164).
How do you reconcile this with the Bible where God says: “I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me..”- Isaiah 45:5.
Beginning and End(Quote)
The greatest feat the devil ever accomplished was convincing the world he doesn’t exist… If he were trying to deceive the world, he wouldn’t necessarily come right out and say it is witchcraft. Deception comes in many forms, often in pretty packages. Unfortunately, Oprah and Joel Osteen use those pretty packages to deceive the world into thinking that Christianity is this self-serving, feel good religion that is solely focused on benefiting us for our *earthly* good, not our spiritual or eternal good.
Laura(Quote)
I’ve noticed when Joel was on the View and when he was interviewed on Oprah’s Next Chapter the question of homosexuality came up and he always dances around the question he never gave a clear answer. It’s like he says what people want to hear and as a pastor you can’t do that. I don’t know maybe it’s me but I always get skeptical of a pastor when they become commercially successful it’s like they lose sight of what they’re really suppose to do. Anyway, I always feel refreshed whenever I get on this site. It’s really helping me. Thank you!!
Stylishly Yours(Quote)
Just as the true “Arc of the Covenant” which is to the Mercy of God to its fulfillment in the Fulness of Christ Jesus which is to the salvation of man by the faith, . likewise is the Egyptian one, not to save but to corrupt & destroy. & is described in Zechariah Ch 5 to the wickedness in an Ephah to its work carried out by two women with the wings of a Stork, in uncleaness. This wickedness in the container is the rebellion, the sin of witchcraft.- the source of Oprah Winfrey beliefs is to this in the Sorcery & it seems Joel Osteen follows in her footsteps., to become birds of a same flock to that condemned Ancient Egyptian Mystery of wickedness
abey(Quote)
OK. Why do religions always bash each other? That’s what confuses most people who are not religious, and why a lot of people stay away from it. Come on, there can’t be so many different interpretations of the bible(different bible-based religions), and only one of them is right. So religious people need to stop hating each other just because they don’t share the same beliefs. Yes, there are many televangelists who take advantage of people for money, and I don’t particularly like Oprah and the method she has used to make her billions. But, I came across the Joel Osteen books at the library when I was struggling with some major depression, and they really did help me feel better and helped me pull myself back up. Of all the televangelists out there, he’s the only one I’ve seen on TV that DOESN’T ask for money on his show. The ones that do constantly ask for money(which is nearly all of the other ones) are the ones to worry about.
T(Quote)
Hi T,
i think it should be noted here and very strongly emphasized that disagreement does not equate to personal hate or bashing. Let me ask you, because you disagree with us, does that mean you hate us and are bashing us because we do not believe as you do that “there can’t be so many different interpretations of the bible (different bible-based religions), and only one of them is right”? One can disagree with another and not hate them personally but rather hate opposing philosophies and beliefs and it has nothing to do with personal hate. If not then you’re just as much a hater as anyone else for disagreeing with us. I hope you can see this.
damon(Quote)
All of these so called ministers are nothing more than motivational speakers, as is satan, seducing people into feeling more about themselves than they should. Seeking so called self esteem.
Luk 18:10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
Luk 18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men [are], extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
Luk 18:12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
Luk 18:13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as [his] eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
Luk 18:14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified [rather] than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
yhwhzson(Quote)
Lets us look to the Bible to find the answers! If it does not align with th Bible than it is wrong…
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue and those who love it will eat it fruits.” Proverbs 18:21
And Jesus said that to them “Have faith in God, truly I say to you whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ And if he does not doubt it in his heart but believes that what he said will come to pass it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you whatever you ask in prayer believe that you haved received it and it will be yours.” Matthew 11:22-24
“Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believe and so I spoke,” we also believe and so we speak… ”
2 Corinthians 2:14
“Whatever you ask in prayer you will receive if you have faith.” Matthew 21:22
“So shall my word that comes out of my mouth, it shall not return to me empty but it shall accomplish that which I purpose and it shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11
Missy(Quote)
HI Missy, just like with any book if you take small parts of the Bible out of context you can make it say just about anything you want it to. So let us add the context back to the verses you and Word of Faith teachers like Joel Osteen take out of context.
***“Death and life are in the power of the tongue and those who love it will eat it fruits.” Proverbs 18:21
Pslams 18: 18 The lot causeth contentions to cease, and parteth between the mighty. 19 A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle. 20 A man’s belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled. 21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. 22 Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the Lord. 23 The poor useth intreaties; but the rich answereth roughly. 24 A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.
Please ask yourself what is the meaning of verse 21 according to the context?
***And Jesus said that to them “Have faith in God, truly I say to you whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ And if he does not doubt it in his heart but believes that what he said will come to pass it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you whatever you ask in prayer believe that you haved received it and it will be yours.” Matthew 11:22-24
Missy, you can test this passage to see if your interpreting and applying it rightly by looking at the previous verse Mar 11:21 “And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.” Please go find a fig tree and curse it and see if it withers. And also cast the nearest mountain into the sea. These verses are part of a prophecy, to see what the prophecy means please see the following post.
Some Commentary[ies] on Mark 11:23-24 (An Often Mis-Interpreted Verse By Word of Faithers)
http://thewordonthewordoffaithinfoblog.com/2010/02/05/some-commentaryies-on-mark-1123-24-an-often-mis-interpreted-verse-by-word-of-faithers/
***Sorry Missy, you must have quoted 2 Cor. 2:14 wrong as it says nothing close to what you quoted and even the verse you did quote talks only about believing and speaking and says nothing about receiving what is believed and spoken.
***“Whatever you ask in prayer you will receive if you have faith.” Matthew 21:22
Let me ask you Missy, how do you balance that with (1 John 5:14-15 KJV) “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing ***according to his will***, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him”. Please note vs. 14 says ACCORDING HIS WILL. How do you balance that so these scriptures do not contradict each other? Do we get “whatsoever we ask” or whatsoever we ask “according to his will”?
***“So shall my word that comes out of my mouth, it shall not return to me empty but it shall accomplish that which I purpose and it shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11
Missy, when this verse says “So shall **my** word” and “that which **I** purpose”,, who is the “my” and the “I” spoken of in this verse? If you will look at the context of this verse it is the Lord himself talking. The “my” and “I’ is not you or anyone else, it is the Lord Himself.
Please read B&E’s article and reconsider your interpretations and applications. Thanks.
damon(Quote)
Amen Damon. Thank you for such an excellent, Biblical response.
Beginning and End(Quote)