ECT Comments from an ex-charismatic preacher

[Grosnick Marowbe]

WLJ, I appreciate your posts and continue to give you "Thanks." You deserve them.

 

[Grosnick Marowbe]

They call themselves Pentecostals. Well, the tongues of Pentecost were not even babble, rather real, known languages, the miracle they were being spoken to foreigners standing around by Galilaeans who did not know the native languages of those foreigners, and speaking of things they understood, of the wonderful works of God, in their native tongues:

Acts 2

4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
7 And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?
8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?
9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.
12 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?

No phony babbling, that sounds like you'd have to conclude infants in diapers are filled with the Spirit, until, what, they're backslidden enough to learn intelligible speech? And it would never occur to these people that you can stick a parrot in a room, keep saying, "Polly want a cracker?", and the parrot will, eventually, be, likewise, saying, "Polly want a cracker." It's not the Holy Spirit come over the parrot.

There's a classic book about the history of the delusions of crowds and its madness. You get some emotional hysteria going in the room, and it's monkey see, monkey do, proven by the absurdities of "holy laughter" and dog barking, the whole room worked into a frenzy of behavior that's sheer stupidity, beyond comprehension of being even the behavior of any intelligent human being, and claiming it's the Spirit, but the whole room going at it, in what amounts to a shameful and embarrassing spectacle of nothing more than disorderly behavior, void of anything spiritual. As you point out, there are recordings of it all on YouTube, just ghastly stuff of no spiritual edification, rather even bringing the faith into ridicule, proof to the everybody in the world, of half a brain, that Christians are idiots and crazy. It doesn't even take spiritual discernment to see the phoniness of it all. And it has nothing to do with Christianity.

You're 100% correct. I've watched hours of these shenanigans on U-tube. It reminds me of a place called, "Bedlam."

 

[Grosnick Marowbe]

There's a fella named "John Scotland" who seems to make a living off of acting like Foster Brooks at his church visitations. He makes a mockery out of the Bible. He'll be reading a passage then suddenly crow like a chicken/rooster. He never gets to the sermon, he's too busy making animal noises and stumbling around acting like a stupefied drunkard.

 

[WonderfulLordJesus]

You have these "types" pegged, my friend.

It's really just human behavior, the carnal man, if you've ever studied a little psychology. Cults appeal to vanity, those who need to see themselves better than other people, be an insider, be a controller of others, etc. In other words, they appeal to the worst of us we are born with. Notice the delusional power trip, the threats they use against those they perceive as lower beings? Cults tickle the ears and scratch the itch of ego. Cult leaders suck them in, because they know how to massage that inflated self image. In their innermost beings, it's all about me, not about Thee. A lot of cultists are also very fearful people, find comfort in belonging to a crowd, aren't very repentant, often, as this is an admission of one's inadequacy and utter helplessness before God, which is the truth, but a truth too scary for them. They would rather follow some man, who provides them any old doctrine that keeps them from having to confront scary truths and admit, as people, they're not really all that and just like everybody else. It's the carnal nature, and the nature of the world, still at the wheel.

 

[Grosnick Marowbe]

People are entertained but not fed by the word. He claims his nonsense comes from the Holy Spirit.

 

[WonderfulLordJesus]

WLJ, I appreciate your posts and continue to give you "Thanks." You deserve them.

No, thank you! I'm more on a rant these days, sorry, as some of this stuff just irks me, as it is so not of the faith of Christ and a very bad witness.

 

[Grosnick Marowbe]

It's really just human behavior, the carnal man, if you've ever studied a little psychology. Cults appeal to vanity, those who need to see themselves better than other people, be an insider, be a controller of others, etc. In other words, they appeal to the worst of us we are born with. Notice the delusional power trip, the threats they use against those they perceive as lower beings? Cults tickle the ears and scratch the itch of ego. Cult leaders suck them in, because they know how to massage that inflated self image. In their innermost beings, it's all about me, not about Thee. A lot of cultists are also very fearful people, find comfort in belonging to a crowd, aren't very repentant, often, as this is an admission of one's inadequacy and utter helplessness before God, which is the truth, but a truth too scary for them. They would rather follow some man, who provides them any old doctrine that keeps them from having to confront scary truths and admit, as people, they're not really all that and just like everybody else. It's the carnal nature, and the nature of the world, still at the wheel.

You have a healthy portion of Spiritual discernment.

 

[Grosnick Marowbe]

No, thank you! I'm more on a rant these days, sorry, as some of this stuff just irks me, as it is so not of the faith of Christ and a very bad witness.

Yep. I too am annoyed by this "trickery."

 

[patrick jane]

Yep. I too am annoyed by this "trickery."

Have you gotten your 50 posts per day in yet today ?

 

[WonderfulLordJesus]

You're 100% correct. I've watched hours of these shenanigans on U-tube. It reminds me of a place called, "Bedlam."

It is so surreal, just bonkers, people acting in ways more disorderly than animals. I've seen some of that stuff I'd never caught when it was on the tube, not watching those guys, as a rule, and I had no idea it could even get so bad, that humans could go so low. One "service" they were barking like dogs and actually walking a man with a dog leash on the church floor, on all fours. Just despicable.

Then you get the charismatic who says that's not them, when what they're doing isn't in the Bible, either. What more grounds do they have than the dog barkers, then? Why aren't the dog barkers the true ones? The dog barkers one imagines would claim they're the real thing, right, better than congregations that don't bark?

Then there's the elephant in the room, the big question. Why isn't the likes of babbling universal in all fundamentalist Christian churches, of those of the Spirit? It's like the Adventists, Armstrongites or any of them, claiming everybody else got it wrong the past couple thousand years, one must presume even the Lord and the apostles, since their cults aren't in the Bible, either. God was, what, better late than never?

 

[Grosnick Marowbe]

The prosperity "preachers" are in the mix as well. They're usually Pentecostals, as well. One or more of them seems to believe that by not tithing, a person is "stealing from God?" Jan Crouch was on U-tube saying: "There are some nice little housewives out there that have some grocery money they could send." This was taped years ago.

 

[Grosnick Marowbe]

Have you gotten your 50 posts per day in yet today ?

You're beginning to annoy old GM. Are you aware of that? Is it done on purpose?

 

[Grosnick Marowbe]

It is so surreal, just bonkers, people acting in ways more disorderly than animals. I've seen some of that stuff I'd never caught when it was on the tube, not watching those guys, as a rule, and I had no idea it could even get so bad, that humans could go so low. One "service" they were barking like dogs and actually walking a man with a dog leash on the church floor, on all fours. Just despicable.

Then you get the charismatic who says that's not them, when what they're doing isn't in the Bible, either. What more grounds do they have than the dog barkers, then? Why aren't the dog barkers the true ones? The dog barkers one imagines would claim they're the real thing, right, better than congregations that don't bark?

Then there's the elephant in the room, the big question. Why isn't the likes of babbling universal in all fundamentalist Christian churches, of those of the Spirit? It's like the Adventists, Armstrongites or any of them, claiming everybody else got it wrong the past couple thousand years, one must presume even the Lord and the apostles, since their junk isn't in the Bible, either.

Benny Hinn waves his coat in the air like he has possession of Dracula's cape and knocks people over like bowling pins.

 

[patrick jane]

You're beginning to annoy old GM. Are you aware of that? Is it done on purpose?

Just playin' around, sorry

 

[Grosnick Marowbe]

Just playin' around, sorry

I hope you're being serious here?

 

[WonderfulLordJesus]

You have a healthy portion of Spiritual discernment.

I do have spiritual discernment, that we all of the Spirit have, by the way: He is part of our eyes and ears. (Which you also have, therefore.) But, Columbo, a lot of it with me is just studying human behavior, including an interest in criminal behavior, the mental disorders involved, etc. Much of what the Bible would classify as vanity and the flesh is also well spelled out in narcissistic behavioral types that motivate aberrant human behaviors. It's pretty well documented what's behind self will, various disorders and human traits cults cleverly tap into, and a fascinating subject.

 

[Grosnick Marowbe]

I do have spiritual discernment, that we all of the Spirit have, by the way: He is part of our eyes and ears. (Which you also have, therefore.) But, Columbo, a lot of it with me is just studying human behavior, including an interest in criminal behavior, the mental disorders involved, etc. Much of what the Bible would classify as vanity and the flesh is also well spelled out in narcissistic behavioral types that motivate aberrant human behaviors. It's pretty well documented what's behind self will, various disorders and human traits cults cleverly tap into, and a fascinating subject.

I'm also interested in Psychology.

 

[WonderfulLordJesus]

I'm also interested in Psychology.

Me, too, reading some psychiatric information and about borderline personality disorders, even catching some of the true crime shows on TV, not for the violence, but as a study of what drives these criminals, and to observe their behavioral patterns. I think it's a good thing, to be aware of the types out there and tricks of the world. The common thread in all of it is narcissism, Biblical vanity, the flesh, and this is the tune a lot of cults are dancing to, religion pleasing to the flesh. As you mention, a lot of the charismatic or Pentecostal stuff is just entertainment value, getting an emotional buzz on that makes them also believe they're the cat's meow and holier than thou.

 

[Grosnick Marowbe]

Me, too, reading some psychiatric information and about borderline personality disorders, even catching some of the true crime shows on TV, not for the violence, but as a study of what drives these criminals, and to observe their behavioral patterns. I think it's a good thing, to be aware of the types out there and tricks of the world. The common thread in all of it is narcissism, Biblical vanity, the flesh, and this is the tune a lot of cults are dancing to, religion pleasing to the flesh. As you mention, a lot of the charismatic or Pentecostal stuff is just entertainment value, getting an emotional buzz on that makes them also believe they're the cat's meow and holier than thou.

Those who are attracted to signs and wonders would be bored stiff with a run of the mill sermon. They NEED excitement to go along with it.

 

[WonderfulLordJesus]

There's a fella named "John Scotland" who seems to make a living off of acting like Foster Brooks at his church visitations. He makes a mockery out of the Bible. He'll be reading a passage then suddenly crow like a chicken/rooster. He never gets to the sermon, he's too busy making animal noises and stumbling around acting like a stupefied drunkard.

People are entertained but not fed by the word. He claims his nonsense comes from the Holy Spirit.

I would not even want to be around, to see some of these people stand before the Lord and account for what they've made of the Holy Spirit, and of the faith of Christ. I believe the charlatans are mainly atheists, turning a buck off religion, and what a rude awakening they're going to be in for!