WOLVES IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING?
"For the time is coming when [people] will not tolerate (endure) sound and wholesome instruction, but, having ears itching [for something pleasing and gratifying], they will gather to themselves one teacher after another to a considerable number, chosen to satisfy their own liking and to foster the errors they hold."
2 Timothy 4:3 (Amplified Bible)
Is this truly God, or...something else?
Holy Laughter
Christian Voodoo?
I have attended many Charismatic church services where people would fall down backwards, supposedly being 'slain in the spirit.' However, I have also seen the same thing demonstrated at a hypnotist stage performance, with people from the audience...some who came with us and had never been there before...so I know it was not faked. In the hypnotist show, the people would fall down backwards at a mere word from the hypnotist. Sometimes the hypnotist would touch them on the forehead, like Benny Hinn and others do, and they would fall down backwards. The following four videos demonstrate the same basic principle that I suspect may be behind people such as Benny Hinn and many other televangelists and preachers that are in this movement.
Derren Brown "Instant Conversion" Part 1
Derren Brown "Instant Conversion" Part 2
Derren Brown "Instant Conversion" (explained)
Derren Brown doing one-inch punch (made popular by Bruce Lee) without touching the guy. Is this basically the same method (i.e., the power of suggestion, related to hypnotism) used by so-called 'faith healers' and those that cause Christians to fall down and be 'slain in the spirit'? OR, is could there possibly be even some demon power behind all this? In Gung Fu, they actually punch the guy when doing the one-inch punch. But with what Derren Brown is doing, he is apparently using the power of suggestion, and he seems to be a 'master' at it.
Joel Osteen
John Hagee
Fred Price
Rick Warren
Benny Hinn #1
Benny Hinn #2
Benny Hinn #3
Peter Popov
This is a long list of false teachers:
False Teachers and False Teachings
Arnold Murray, in contrast to the others shown here, is probably not even a Christian:
Arnold Murray #1
Arnold Murray #2
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
18 comments:
Derren Brown
Interesting that he states that is just in your mind.
On t.v. I have seen a hypnotist convince a man that the person standing beside the man smelled of B.O., and convince a man that he was a chicken.
There is supernatural power of course, and psychological power of suggestion in existence. I am not 100% sure either of how it all works in some forms of martial arts.
I witnessed a relative exorcised of demons as a child that spoke through the relative with his voice. The relative was not told he was a demon and it was suggested that he pray and meditate, and the demons were summoned in Jesus name. The entities were cast out in Jesus name after backhandedly admitting that they had been doing evil. Although both hypnotism and exorcism rely on an altered state of consciousness, for a hypnotist to suggest that one is a demon would not be the same as a person submitting to the prayers and wishes of an exorcist and seeking out demonic beings that are to be cast out. From a little bit of reading on the web I reason naturalists would often view all events resulting from an altered state of consciousness as strictly psychological.
Interesting about the exorcism. That is something I have never witnessed before.
I have read that tests were done where people under hypnotism would be touched by the eraser-end of a pencil and they were told that it was a cigarette and afterward they had burn marks on their skin even though it was only a pencil eraser.
I'm a little skeptical of even hypnotism. You can work yourself into a trance, and as long as you don't start making yourself think straight, I suppose you could say you're hypnotised. I don't think I'll every totally be convinced that hypnotism is such a thing unless I experience it...I don't know.
As far as all the "getting struck in the spirit" experiences, I think it's all in how the person is thinking. If you saw everyone around you getting struck in the spirit, wouldn't you feel a little left out if you weren't also having these things happen to you? I think that at a certain point, you can talk yourself into it - even to the point that you're shaking all over the stage and not even feeling like you're doing it.
I'm always going to be skeptical of anything that appears to take over your mind.
Abbey,
You made a good point. Peer pressure and the power of suggestion have a lot to do with it.
Have you ever noticed that when someone around you yawns, it makes you want to yawn too? And many times, other people will actually yawn just because one person in the room yawned first. You might say that it's 'psychologically contagious.'
Have you noticed that (and I'm sorry for being so graphic) when a person throws up, other people sometimes feel like throwing up too? Sometimes they actually will throw up, just because they saw someone else do it.
I have been at a hypnotist show, and I have seen the hypnotist perform on people that came with us, so I know it really works. However, as you suggested, I also saw (and the hypnotist also admitted this) that it doesn't work on everyone. You have to have a mindset that is willing, or at least that is not stubbornly set against the idea. The hypnotist in the show I saw used methods to weed out the 'unbelievers,' or those who were more strong-willed. First, he had the entire audience do something. Then, he called up only those from the audience who had succumbed to his previous suggestion. Then, on stage, he had them do something else. The ones that did not succumb or cooperate, he had them sit down. Finally, he had just the group that he wanted---a group that would basically succumb easily to his suggestions. And that is the group that he did all sorts of things to.
At one Charismatic church I attended, they called me up more than one to have me 'slain in the Spirit.' They touched me on the forehead, and pushed me back a little. One time that they tried it on me, I did not move. Another time that they tried it on me, I had to take a step back to keep from falling, because they pushed me. Nevertheless, I did not go down. This was basically because I did not really believe that what they were doing was of God.
Another time, the little finger of my right hand was swollen up and had a huge knot on it, from trying to break boards with my hand, many years ago. Someone in that same Charismatic church prayed over it, for it to be healed. Well, it didn't get healed, and I still have that 'bump' to this day.
I just found this. It is apparently from a secular (non-Christian) source; therefore, it naturally will bypass any possible involvement of demons or anything from the spiritual world. Nevertheless, it is an interesting article, from a naturalistic point of view. And it also unwittingly testifies to the wondrous creation of God called the human mind.
"When it comes to hypnosis, it is often the alpha state that is mentioned as playing a dominant role in the process. As we explore the different levels of the mind, you will find that there are essentially four varying levels that are considered basic. In between these levels, there are several others, but when we speak of powerful mind activity, the delta, theta, and beta varieties also accompany the alpha state.
In order to get a grasp on the material concerning hypnosis, you should gain a firm understanding on the different states of the mind. First, we will start with the alpha state, which is the most familiar piece to the hypnosis puzzle. The alpha state is considered the first level that we encounter during moments of trance.
A trance is an altered state of consciousness, which is often associated with hypnosis and deals with an altered state of awareness. In regards to hypnosis, the alpha state is regarded as one of the most useful levels to turn towards, even though it is thought to be the mildest of the bunch.
Now, before we touch upon the delta and the theta states of awareness, we will take a look at the beta state, which serves as our normal state of consciousness. During this time, we are wide-awake and aware of all that is going on around us. This is the state of the mind that we deal with on a day-in and day-out basis; it is what propels us throughout the day.
The theta state of mind is discussed when a deeper level of hypnosis is achieved. When it comes to theta brain waves, it possesses a frequency that is connected to drowsiness and hyperventilation. In regards to hypnosis, one may encounter trances, deep day dreams, lucid dreaming, as well as a light sleep through theta brain activity. It is also known to present a preconscious state that exists just before you wake from sleep and presents itself again just before you fall asleep.
Through the delta state of mind, deep levels of sleep are achieved that can be used to repair tissue, as well as aid in recovery. During the stages three and four of sleep, this level is prevalent.
All through the day and during sessions of hypnosis, these levels are experienced. To get a picture of how they affect our lives, you encounter the beta state at the start of each morning. By the end of the day, we encounter the alpha and theta levels just before we enter REM, which is considered our dream state. As we continue through REM, we reach the delta level, which precedes the state in which we become awake again. Just with the cycle of awake and sleep, these levels influence our lives. It is these same influences that make an appearance during a session of hypnotism.
Why Are the Beta, Theta, and Delta States Are Important to Hypnosis?
The beta state of mind allows individuals to evaluate and react to the things around them. Through this state of mind, we cultivate all of the positive and negative balances in life that show through a session of hypnosis. When we deal with the conscious mind, there are several barriers that exist, which calls for the use of hypnosis.
With the theta state of mind, this level of consciousness is needed to achieve deep sleep and rather deep levels of hypnosis or meditation. Some of the extraordinary accomplishments you hear ordinary people achieving have been associated with the theta state of consciousness. When people walk on coals, eat fire, or control other aspects of their body and bodily functions, it is thought that theta consciousness is behind these kinds of activity. This is why various mystics speak upon the slowing of brain wave patterns as correlating with the alteration of body vibration, which is associated with the belief that the impossible can be accomplished during this time.
Delta consciousness is the level of the mind that is most often seen in comatose states. Through the work of Oliver Sacks, the perception of this level of consciousness has changed over time. He proved that even through this state of mind, you may appear completely unconscious, but you still possess some level of awareness. He is the one who had a movie based upon him ("Awakenings"), as his work showed that he could temporarily awaken most of his patients through the use of extremely heavy doses of dopamine. Even more amazing, some of his patients were able to recall various aspects of their treatment.
Overall, the power of the mind is a grand machine that involves much more than a few states of mind. As you see, when we turn towards hypnosis to "awaken" some of the thoughts and experiences of the past and the present, we tap into the power of many different states other than the familiar alpha state.
Clifford Mee is an author, hypnotist and wilderness explorer."
from:
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/hypnosis-alpha-state.html
That article was very interesting. I think it would be interesting to research all the different states of the mind and how that has to do with how you think and reason right before you faint.
Also, in my last comment, I forgot to say something about how it's kind of strange how the "catchers" for all of Benny Hinn's victims don't fall over too. In fact, nothing ever seems to happen to them. Just the people that he pushes. Of course the people he pushes are going to fall over if he pushes them hard enough and if they don't make any effort to recover themselves.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=5lvU-DislkI
I've never been to any charismatic services/gatherings/conferences, but I also wonder if music they play has a lot to do with the affect they can have over the audience. Music really can play on your emotions - especially if you play it so loud that you can't even hear yourself think.
Also, in my last comment, I forgot to say something about how it's kind of strange how the "catchers" for all of Benny Hinn's victims don't fall over too.
Excellent point! I have been a "catcher" before, and you are exactly right.
I was cracking up, watching that video. That was hilarious. The "demonic-sounding" music, oddly enough, matched the video perfectly. If that were a video of Paul Washer, John MacArthur, John Piper, or Mark Kielar preaching, the music would make no sense, and would not fit at all. Also, when you watch a 'service' with Benny Hinn, who is getting the attention? God? It seems to me that Benny Hinn is the one getting all the attention---and even more so with Todd Bentley and Joshua Mills. Also, why does Benny Hinn have to make over-exaggerated gestures? If it were truly the power of God, would not such dramatic gestures be unnecessary?
Benny Hinn's victims
I just realized that you referred to them as "victims." LOL! I find that hilarious!
The way that they lie on the floor, or convulse like they were in an epileptic fit, sure makes them look like victims! They looked they could have been shot or poisoned! If you put one of them next to a demon-possessed person, I wonder if you could tell the difference.
Also, in my last comment, I forgot to say something about how it's kind of strange how the "catchers" for all of Benny Hinn's victims don't fall over too.
Yes, good point and I read that point on your blog as well, Abbey. I reason there is a lot of psychological suggestion going on in the hyper-charismatic movement especially.
Jeff and co: My latest: Limited atonement
Jeff and co: My latest: Limited atonement
I'll definitely have to check that out. On a Christian Forums site I belong to, they are debating Election vs. Free Will.
Here's an interesting article:
Doctrinal Distinctives of the Charismatic Movement
"Hypnosis*
Christian or Occult?
- In these days of supposed great stress and strain, hypnosis claims to offer relief for the masses. Hypnosis has become the therapeutic tool health professionals are pulling out of the bag to battle smoking and weight problems; manage anxiety, fears, and phobias; relieve pain; overcome depression; improve a person's sex life; cure maladies such as asthma and hayfever; undergo chemotherapy without nausea; prompt injuries to heal more quickly; and improve grades. Otherwise legitimate medical doctors use hypnosis as part of the healing process to reduce the side effects from drugs, to help speed patient recovery, and reduce post-operative discomfort. Dentists are using hypnotic techniques in conjunction with nitrous oxide to relax patients, minimize pain and bleeding, and control patient gas reflex during procedures.
The sad part of it all is that even some unsuspecting Christians are willing to "try it." A 1992 newspaper ad placed by a "Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist" (there is even an "American Society for Clinical Hypnosis") made some amazing statements that indicate just how unbiblical (i.e., New Age) the technique of hypnosis is:
"Hypnosis is the most effective method of changing the way you think, feel and act. When you align your subconscious mind -- your inner voice -- with your conscious mind, you erase conflicting beliefs that hold you back. You can then move forward, without sabotaging yourself. Clinical hypnotic techniques guide you to a relaxed, peaceful state of mind. You remain in total control while learning how to use the power of your full mind to create a strong desire to accomplish your goal. You can change your life."
- Hypnosis is nothing new. It has been used for thousands of years by witchdoctors, spirit mediums, shamans, Hindus, Buddhists, and yogis. But the increasing popularity of hypnosis for healing in the secular world has influenced many in the professing church to accept hypnosis as a means of treatment. Both non-Christian and professing Christian medical doctors, dentists, psychiatrists, and psychologists are recommending and using hypnosis.
Although a hypnotist may encourage only a light or medium trance, he cannot prevent a hypnotized subject from spontaneously plunging into the danger zone, which may include a sense of separation from the body, seeming clairvoyance, hallucination, mystical states similar to those described by Eastern mystics, and even what hypnotism researcher Ernest Hilgard describes as "demonic possession." We would argue that hypnosis is occultic at any trance level, but at its deeper levels, hypnosis is unmistakably occult.
- There is some controversy as to whether or not a hypnotist can cause a person to do something against his will. Many hypnotists say categorically that the will cannot be violated. However, the evidence is otherwise. Hypnosis heightens a person's suggestibility to the point that the subject will believe almost anything the hypnotist tells him -- even to the point of hallucinating at the hypnotist's suggestion. During hypnosis, a person's critical abilities are reduced in such a way as to create what has been called a "trance logic" that undiscerningly accepts what would normally seem irrational, illogical, and incompatible.
Because almost anything can be made to seem plausible to someone in the trance state, it is possible for a hypnotized person to act against his will -- to do what he would not do outside of the hypnotic state. Hypnosis bypasses the will by placing personal responsibility outside of objective, rational, critical choice. With normal evaluating abilities submerged, suggestibility heightened, and rational restraint reduced, the will is seriously hampered and is, at the very least, capable of being violated.
- One popular use of hypnosis has been that of searching the memory by "going back into childhood." Some patients even describe experiencing what they believe to be their life in the womb and subsequent birth. (This is impossible, however, because of the neurological, scientific fact that the myelin sheathing is too underdeveloped in the prenatal, natal, and early postnatal brain to store such memories.) Still others describe some sort of disembodied state and then what they identify as past lives and former identities. How much of this is created by heightened suggestibility, unrestrained imagination, trance hallucination, or demonic intervention cannot be determined. Furthermore, the Bible clearly contradicts past lives and reincarnation -- "It is appointed unto man once to die" (Heb. 9:27).
Hypnosis is not even reliable with recent recall. What is "remembered" under hypnosis has often been created, reconstructed, or enhanced during the state of heightened suggestibility. Research indicates that after hypnosis, a person is unable to distinguish between a true recollection and what he imagined or created under the heightened suggestibility. Hypnosis is just as likely to bring forth false impressions as true accounts of past events. (Individuals can and do lie under hypnosis!) Hypnosis is thus more likely to contaminate the memory than to help a person remember what really happened.
Besides past life hypnotic therapy, some practitioners are doing future life hypnotic therapy. The hypnotized person supposedly sees future events, solves murders, reveals the future fates of well-known personalities, etc. One involved in this hypnotic time travel must ask himself, "Where is the line of demarcation between the demonic and the divine, between the realm of Satan and Science? At what point does the door of darkness open and the devil gain a foothold?"
- In today's landscape of promises for self-fulfillment, self-mastery, personal well-being, and quick fixes for problems of living, one could easily find oneself in an environment conducive to hypnosis. One such environment would be the regression into childhood memories (see above). Another would be in Large Group Awareness Training. The Forum (formerly est), Life Spring, and Momentus are the names of some of the more well-known large-group training seminars that promise life-transforming results. Using many of the ideas and techniques of the encounter movement, such group sessions attempt to alter participants' present way of thinking (mind set, world view, personal faith, etc.) through intense personal and group experiences. Some have marathon meetings that last numerous hours and take advantage of fatigue working together with much repetition, group pressure, and various psychological techniques, some of which attack personal belief systems and cause mental confusion. The confusion technique, which is also a hypnotic device, may be used to disorient the subject to make him more responsive to cues. Michael Yapko says: "In the confusion technique, you give a person more information than they could possibly keep up with, you get them to question everything, you make them feel uncertain as a way of building up their motivation to attain certainty." While hypnosis may not be intended or admitted in such large group training sessions, the possibility is very strong for participants to experience hypnotic suggestion, dissociation, and impaired personal judgment. (Other activities and settings where hypnosis may occur also include: music, church services, prayer and meditation, medical offices, and self-help tapes.)
- Since some doctors and many psychologists use hypnosis, most believe that hypnosis is medical and, therefore, scientific. The label "medical" before the word hypnosis makes hypnosis seem benevolent and safe. Even some well-known professing Christians (e.g., the late Walter Martin of CRI, and Josh McDowell & John Stewart in their book Understanding the Occult) allege that hypnosis can be helpful if practiced by medical doctors whose intent is good rather than evil. However, Donald Hebb says in "Psychology Today/The State of the Science" that "hypnosis has persistently lacked satisfactory explanation." At the present time, there is no agreed-upon scientific explanation of exactly what hypnosis is. Psychiatry professor Thomas Szasz describes hypnosis as the therapy of "a fake science." We cannot call hypnosis a science, but we can say that it has been an integral part of the occult for thousands of years. (Although hypnosis has been investigated by scientific means, and there are some measurable criteria concerning the trance itself, hypnosis is not a science.)
No one knows exactly how hypnosis "works," other than the obvious "placebo effect" -- the successful use of "false feedback" in the same manner that feedback is used in the occult techniques common to acupuncture, biofeedback, and psychotherapy. But compounding the word hypnosis with the word therapy does not lift the practice from the occult to the scientific. The white coat may be a more respectable garb than feathers and face paint, but the basics are the same. Hypnosis is hypnosis, whether it is called medical hypnosis, hypnotherapy, autosuggestion, or anything else. Hypnosis in the hands of a medical doctor is as scientific as a dowsing rod in the hands of a civil engineer.
Trances brought about through medical doctors are not significantly different from occultic hypnosis. In their text on hypnosis, which is used in medical schools, two well-known researchers state categorically: "The reader should not be confused by the supposed differences between hypnosis, Zen, Yoga, and other Eastern healing methodologies. Although the rituals for each differs, they are fundamentally the same." E. Fuller Torrey, a research psychiatrist, aligns hypnotic techniques with witchcraft. He also says, "Hypnosis is one aspect of the yoga techniques of therapeutic meditation." Medical doctor William Kroger states, "The fundamental principles of Yoga are, in many respects, similar to those of hypnosis." To protect the scientific label for hypnosis he declares, "Yoga is not considered a religion, but rather a 'science' to achieve mastery of the mind and cure physical and emotional sickness." Then he makes a strange confession, "There are many systems to Yoga, but the central aim -- union with God -- is common to all of them and is the method by which it achieves cure." Obviously then, just because hypnosis is used by medical doctors does not mean that it is free of its occult nature. More and more medical practitioners are being influenced by ancient, occult medical practices. The holistic healing movement has successfully wed Western medicine to Eastern mysticism.
We then raise the following questions about the use of hypnosis by a medical doctor: How can one tell the long-range spiritual effect of even a well-meaning medical doctor's use of hypnosis on a Christian patient? Would an M.D. with an anti-Christian or occult bias in any way affect a Christian through trance treatment? How about the use of a medical hypnotherapist who belongs to the Satanist church? What about an M.D. hypnotherapist who uses past or future lives therapy as a means of mental-emotional or physical relief? These and other questions need to be answered before subjecting oneself to such treatment, even, and especially, in the hands of a medical doctor or psychologist.
- Those who might feel a bit nervous about being hypnotized by another often tend to feel safe with self-hypnosis. (Although those in a self-induced hypnotic trance may gain a certain amount of control and exercise some degree of choice, they, nevertheless, do not retain their normal means of evaluation of reality and rational restraint.) Teachers of self-hypnosis will generally try to assure people that hypnosis is simply focused attention, increased concentration, relaxation, visualization, and imagination. Yet such activities are precisely the useful means of going into the trance. Furthermore, they continue on at a different level during the trance. By imagining one is leaving his body, one may move into the trance with the kind of hallucination and trance logic of really seeming to be out of the body.
A medical doctor, teaching a class in self-hypnosis, instructed his students to go into a hypnotic trance, leave their bodies, and then go back in to explore various parts of the body. All of this was for the purpose of self-diagnosis and self-healing. Occultist Edgar Cayce also used self-hypnosis to diagnose disease and prescribe treatment. Therefore, self-hypnosis can be as occult and demonic an activity as a trance directed by a hypnotist.
- One researcher makes some interesting observations concerning why he would classify hypnosis as part of the occult (Peace, Prosperity, and the Coming Holocaust, pp. 119-120):
"One reason for calling hypnotherapy a religious ritual is the fact that it produces mysterious effects that leave any investigator who approaches it as science thoroughly puzzled: (1) under hypnosis administered by psychiatrists, persons who have never had any contact with UFOs can be stimulated to 'remember' UFO abductions that conform in detail to those described by supposed genuine abductees; (2) hypnosis also leads to spontaneous 'memories' of past and future lives, about one-fifth involving existence on other planets; (3) hypnotic trance also duplicates the experiences common under the stimulation of psychedelic drugs, TM, and other forms of Yoga and Eastern meditation; (4) hypnosis also creates spontaneous psychic powers, clairvoyance, out-of-body experiences, and the whole range of occult phenomena; and (5) the experience of so-called clinical death is also produced under hypnosis.
"Two conclusions that most investigators find very distasteful seem nevertheless to be inescapable: (1) there is a common source behind all occult phenomena, including UFOs, that seems to be intelligently and deliberately orchestrating a clever deception for its own purposes; and (2) hypnosis, or the power of suggestion, is at the very heart of this scheme"
The connection between hypnosis and Eastern mysticism is clear. At varying depths of the hypnotic trance, patients describe experiences that are identical to the cosmic consciousness and self-realization induced by yogic trance. They experience first of all a deep peace, then detachment from the body, then release from identity with one's own small self to merge with the universe, and the feeling that they are everything and have no limitation upon what they can experience or become: i.e., God-consciousness "in which time, space, and ego are supposedly transcended, leaving pure awareness of the primal nothingness from which all manifested creation comes."
- Hypnosis began as part of the occult and false religion. The Bible speaks out strongly against all practices of false religion and the occult. God desires His people to turn to Him in need, not to those who practice sorcery, divination, or enchantment. He warns His people about following after mediums, wizards, enchanters, charmers, and those who have a familiar spirit (Deut. 18:9-14). Hypnosis, as it is practiced today, may very well be the same as what is identified as "enchantment" in the Bible (Lev. 19:26 KJV).
In hypnotism, faith is shifted from God and His Word to the hypnotist and his technique. God speaks to people through the conscious, rational mind. He commands individuals as creatures who make conscious, volitional choices. He sent His Holy Spirit to indwell Christians to enable them to trust and obey Him through love and conscious choice. Hypnosis, on the other hand, operates on the basis of imagination, illusion, hallucination, and deception. Jesus warned His followers about deception. After a person has opened his mind to deception through hypnosis, he may become even more vulnerable to other forms of spiritual deception.
Hypnosis can generate Satan's counterfeits of true religious exercise. If hypnosis generates any form of faith and worship not directed toward the God of the Bible, any person who subjects himself to hypnotism may be playing the harlot in the spiritual realm. (See Lev. 19:26,31; 20:6,27; Deut. 18:9-14; 2 Ki 21:6; 2 Chron. 33:6; Isa. 47:9-13; Jer. 27:9.)
- Hypnotism is demonic at its worst and potentially dangerous at its best. At its worst, it opens an individual to psychic experiences and satanic possession. When mediums go into hypnotic trances and contact the "dead," when clairvoyants reveal information which they could not possibly know, when fortunetellers through self-hypnosis reveal the future, Satan is most certainly at work.
Are people in the church being enticed to enter the twilight zone of the occult because hypnosis is now called "science" and "medicine"? Let those who call the occult "science" tell us what the difference is between medical and occultic hypnosis. And let those Christians who call it "scientific" explain why they also recommend that it be performed only by a Christian. If hypnosis is science indeed, why the added requirement of Christianity for the practitioner? There is a scarcity of adequate long-term studies of those who have been hypnotized. And there have been none which have examined the effect on the individual's resulting faith or interest in the occult.
Before hypnotism becomes the new panacea from the pulpit, followed by a plethora of books on the subject, its claims, methods, and long-term results should be considered. Arthur Shapiro has said, "One man's religion is another man's superstition and one man's magic is another man's science." Hypnosis has become "scientific" and "medical" for some Christians with little proof of its validity, longevity of its results, or understanding of its nature. Because hypnosis has always been an integral part of the occult, because it is not a science, because of its known harmful effects, and because of its potential for spiritual deception, the wise Christian will completely avoid it, even for "medical" purposes. It is obvious that hypnosis is lethal if used for evil purposes. However, we contend that hypnosis is potentially lethal for whatever purpose it is used. The moment one surrenders himself to the doorway of the occult, even in the halls of "science" and "medicine," he is vulnerable to the powers of darkness."
from:
http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/Psychology/hypno.htm
Here's an interesting article on Benny Hinn:
Investigative Files: Benny Hinn: Healer or Hypnotist?
have you heard of Justin Peters? He does an excellent job of exposing the false teachers in the WoF movement... He spoke at our church and comes highly recommended by my pastor, Dr. John MacArthur...
To see a bit of his seminar, go to http://www.justinpeters.org...
Also, Justin was on Way of the master Radio with Todd Friel on the Lakeland thing:
filesfromtoni - http://filesfromtoni.blogspot.com/
Caron,
Thank you for dropping by and commenting!
No, I haven't heard of Justin Peters, but I will have to check him out, as you suggested. Thank you for the links.
COOL that you attend John MacArthur's church! I listened to him on the radio years ago, but I am not currently able to. He is excellent.
I also am not really able to listen to the Way of the Master radio (a friend of mine listens to it daily), but I will have to check out that link that you posted. I met Todd Friel in person, and he is a very friendly guy. My friend, who listens to Todd daily, told me last night on the phone that he considers Todd to be extremely witty, clever and humorous.
You are most welcome, brother! Yes, I do believe I am so blessed with my church and John's preaching. I used to listen to over a decade ago every day before I went to the gym and God used him to answer so many questions I had! I was going to a foursquare church at the time - Church on the Way under Jack Hayford and God, in His grace let me out of that church...
There is so much interesting stuff on hypnosis here! I was reading about it in Counterfeit Revival...
Bless you for contending for the faith!
And let me know what you think of the interview... Check out Justin's site and click on "demo." Here, he is giving a presentation to Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary on the metaphysical roots of this movement... He is considered by some to be an expert on the WoF movement...
Its also interesting bc he has cerebral palsy and has yet to be "healed." But, he concurs with the apostle Paul, "My grace is sufficient for thee."
Oh, Ingrid Scheulter (sp?) invited to be on Crosstalk, also, but I am not sure when yet...
Caron,
There is so much interesting stuff on hypnosis here!
I'm very glad you appreciate the info.
Bless you for contending for the faith!
Thank you for that encouragement. Most of my family, and some friends, are deeply in the WOF/Charismatic movement, and a couple of them adamantly defend Todd Bentley, in that current Lakeland 'Revival.' I fear that the Church is heading into the 'Great Deception' or 'Great Falling Away' as prophesied in Revelation.
And let me know what you think of the interview... Check out Justin's site and click on "demo."
I did watch a couple minutes or so of it last night, but it was getting so late that I turned it off. Tonight, when I get home from work, I may watch more of it.
He is considered by some to be an expert on the WoF movement...
Really? Cool!
Its also interesting bc he has cerebral palsy and has yet to be "healed." But, he concurs with the apostle Paul, "My grace is sufficient for thee."
I suspected that as soon as I saw him in that video. When I used to attend a Charismatic church many years ago and they were talking about healing, I raised my hand and asked, "Well, what about Joni Eareckson Tada?" After that, the Pastor didn't want to answer any more questions from me.
Oh, Ingrid Scheulter (sp?) invited to be on Crosstalk, also, but I am not sure when yet...
I don't know who that is, but I would like to find out.
Post a Comment