Health

I have great respect for Ray Comfort as a brother-in-Christ though I don’t know him personally. It therefore came as a shock to me when this piece of news came to my attention.

Ken Silva at Apprising Ministries and Ingrid Schlueter at Slice of Laodicea disagree with Ray’s practice of participating in some conferences where he will be standing shoulder-to-shoulder with health and wealth heretics on the same stage. The more surprising thing is that this is not the first time that Ray has done this.

Having observed Ray’s ministry, I can say without much doubt that I know that he will strive to preach the Gospel as it is without hesitation. However, the issue here is not whether he will preach the Gospel, but whether Ray, whose radio show has on many occasions decried the practices of such heretics and their errant doctrines, should be seen to be in league with these heretics by his participation in such conferences.

I’m of two minds on this issue, not because I respect Ray and therefore am hesitant to point out that he’s wrong, but because I think there are questions to be answered:

1. Should Ray be seen to be associated with such WoF heretics though we have faith in his motivation to preach the Gospel at such conferences?
2. Will such an approach, i.e. preaching the true Gospel in a heretical conference, be effective?
3. Or is this a case where we can bring up the fact that though Jesus dined with sinners, he didn’t partake of their sinful ways but spoke His truth to them?

What’s your take on this?

The good folks at Tominthebox.net recently learned that Benny Hinn has been granted the first official “sainthood” by Health, Wealth and Prosperity “Gospel” (HWPG) leaders like Creflo Dollar, Kenneth Copeland, Leroy Thompson, and Joel Osteen.

In a statement, Kenneth Copeland explained the rationale behind the decision to bestow the sainthood upon (Benny) Hinn:

“Well, the man has healed many,” said Kenneth Copeland. “And his ministry is worldwide, plus he’s got that cute little accent which really adds a sort of cultural flair to the whole deal. Overall though, we looked primarily at his bank account and his possessions. That man’s got a lot of stuff and that’s proof he’s got a lot of faith.”

I wonder what I might get if I revere this saint alongside the popes of the Emergent movement and the Environment (Al Gore). First things first though, I’ll have to print this out, get it laminated then stick it on my bank book!

Full story here.

HT: Team Tominthebox News Network (TBNN) via Daniel’s Place.

I came across this four-part series of videos by Justin Peters, who has credentials as a Master of Divinity (Biblical Languages), a Master of Theology (New Testament Major / Theology Minor), and is a recognized expert on the Word of Faith movement, having done his thesis on the life and ministry of Benny Hinn.

If you yourself are involved in a church that teaches this dangerous doctrine, and/or holds Benny Hinn and other false teachers in high esteem, I beseech you to watch this four-part summary and find out for yourself just how far removed such doctrines are from BIblical teachings.

And if you know anyone — loved ones, friends, etc — who are in such a church or following pastors who actively advocate the teachings of such false teachers, please show these videos to them. Better yet, order the full DVD set¹ of the series A Call For Discernment by Justin Peters.

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Please understand that I mean no offense to this brother, but I just cannot stand by and do nothing while he wallows so deeply in such lies spun by the prosperity “gospel” preachers!

I stumbled across a local Christian blog yesterday, and being pleasantly surprised since I don’t really think there are that many Christian blogs in Singapore, decided to read some of his posts.

Written by Yeap Chee Seng, the blogroll on the blog immediately set off some alarm bells in my head — on it were listed the ministry sites of people like Creflo Dollar, Joel Osteen, and Kenneth Copeland and even a book he authored containing specific verses in the Bible that address prosperity.

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The empty hallway with its closed and heavy steel doors on either side have always made you uncomfortable, but as chaplain at a high-security prison where inmates headed for execution as punishment for the heinous crimes they have committed are held, you know it’s your duty to minister to those 24 hours away from death.

You walk up to a cell where such an inmate is held in solitude. He looks up at you as you enter, sneers, then resigns himself to the moral preaching (as he calls it) he knows he has to listen to shortly before his time on earth is up.

Without a word, you press into his hands a book by a famous author in Christendom and exit the cell.

The prisoner looks down at the title, and it says “Your Best Life Now!”.

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I heard this over BBC Radio last evening and had a chuckle.

According to the scientist (I think) on the program, the reason why there are so many obese people in developed and even in developing counties is because humans have not evolved from our primal needs for food.

Where once our ancestors hunted animals for food, and therefore needed the high carbohydrates, salt and sugar levels to keep up a good level of energy to do so, we have not evolved from those dietary needs and are therefore getting fatter.

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