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Ted Cruz, Glenn Beck, and Cult-Like Religion
Freeper Editorial | 1/03/2015 | GPH

Posted on 01/03/2016 5:07:32 AM PST by Greetings_Puny_Humans

Sundance at The Conservative Tree House has written posts commenting on Ted Cruz's proselytizing as an electoral campaign strategy. Freepers have seen at least a couple of examples of this strategy recently, with threads being posted about Cruz calling on supporters to "don the full armor of God" to resist "incoming attacks" (presumably from dark forces!), or that the "Body of Christ" must be energized to gain the victory.

This type of rhetoric is also heavily prominent in his campaign fund raising. One of the more epic and cringe inducing examples comes from an apparent leak by the Cruz campaign of hours and hours of videos to Youtube, apparently done to get by laws that forbid cooperation between SuperPacs and the campaigns they support.

In these examples here and here, we get to see the Cruz family do multiple takes to get the candid-camera family prayer just right, and we also get to see his mother cringe after Cruz states that she spends "hours" praying for him every day.

It's entirely incomprehensible to me why a campaign would allow such uncomfortable and damaging footage to ever see the light of day, but it does help me illustrate just why the Cruz campaign is so vulnerable outside of the primary season. No, it's not because the general electorate is anti-Christian. It's that most normal people, including Christians, recognize at first glance that praying in public-- or implying that God supports your campaign as you beg for more money-- is extremely artificial and painfully obvious pandering.

On top of that, besides the pandering, which is bad enough in and of itself, the type of so-called "Christianity" he associates with isn't exactly the religion of Charles Spurgeon or Jonathon Edwards. Nope, it is the lowest of the low of New Age/Eastern Mysticism and Dominionist theology that is, unfortunately, invading huge swathes of Christendom today. And Cruz's deep connections with these types of people are extensive, beginning with none other than his own father, Rafael Cruz.

Rafael Cruz, Larry Huch & 7 Mountains Theology (Dominionism.Kingdom Now)

First, a brief explanation of what Dominionism/Kingdom Now theology even is. It is a very theologically diverse movement. It is not a denomination. It started from the weirdo confines of the New Apostolic Reformation, where self-proclaimed "Apostles" and "Prophets" declared a latter rain revival/revolution. However, there are Baptist "Dominionists," there are Roman Catholic "Dominionists," there are leftist "Dominionists," and people who are greatly influenced by their teachings but differ in some ways, or perhaps are not as extreme in their Charismatic "spiritual gifts" and "health and wealth" Gospel as other Dominionists are. In general, Dominionists believe that a great end times army of super Christians will take Dominion over the Earth and bring about the Kingdom of Christ, no longer a Kingdom "not of this world," as the Gospel teaches, but one which begins here on Earth and must precede the coming of Christ in order for Him to arrive. Total physical unity of "Christians" is necessary, which is why a large number of Dominionists are also heavily involved in the ecumenical movement. Some of these people are more covert in their beliefs than others, but generally they all work together for the same goals.

As time has passed, this very diverse Dominionist movement has become increasingly mainstream among Evangelical or conservative circles (I highly recommend you read that link in its entirety), so much so that many people probably don't even notice when 7 Mountains theology gets slipped in or the weirdos of the New Apostolic Reformation trot on out. The problem is so bad, in fact, that I call the unnoticed infiltration of Dominionists into GOP/Conservative politics the "dirty little secret" of our movement, and one which should be recognized and dealt with. These "Dominionists" have managed to get into prayer meetings or religious events all over, meeting with members of the GOP and pretending to represent mainstream Christendom, including with candidates like Newt Gingrich, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Rick Perry, Huckabee, Trump (in one meeting with the odious Copeland, among others) and on and on and on, who have all received hands on prayer by Dominionists and other errant pastors. However, no other candidate in this election has the ties Cruz has with the Dominionist movement.

Sometime in 2012 the Cruz campaign was apparently soliciting the endorsement of the megachurch Dominionist pastor, Larry Huch. Besides being a Dominionist, Huch is the kind of guy who sells CD Collections explaining how Christ's blood won back our "willpower... prosperity... health... Dominion over the things we touch...[and] Dominion over the places we walk." In other words, this is typical prosperity gospel and Dominionist materialism.

Huch remarked, during a sermon he was preaching along side Rafael Cruz, that he had received a phone call from the Cruz campaign to meet with them to see if he would be willing to "get behind" Cruz's run. Evidently the meeting bore fruit for the Cruz campaign, as it not only won an endorsement from Huch, but Rafael Cruz also came and preached at his church.

As you will see in this link, (in the link I provided just before this one, there is a transcript of this same event. I provided this second link because the commentary surrounding the video is useful) Rafael Cruz taught the congregants about how God has anointed two types of Christians: Kings and Priests. It is the job of the Kings to take control over the "market place" in order to bring the wealth back to the priests. According to Rafael, the "wealth of the wicked" belongs to the church, and God has anointed the "Kings" of the Christian church to go forth and initiate the great transfer of wealth from the "wicked" to the "righteous" as part of the end-times establishment of the kingdom. (Notice how heavily materialistic all of this is.)

Keep in mind, this wasn't Rafael Cruz just showing up at random at some church. Rafael is here operating as part of the Cruz campaign, selling to the congregation that Cruz believes the same things they do.

The Shady Background of Rafael Cruz

It is worth noting at this point just how shady Cruz's father is. Virtually every part of his biography has been disputed based on the facts.

For example, the True the Vote Summit website listed Rafael Cruz as "Director of Purifying Fire Ministries, ministering in the U.S., Mexico and Central America. He is also a professor of Bible and Theology, and the president of Kingdom Translation Services." This is a common bio you will find provided on many websites or speaking events Rafael has attended, though sometimes differing in details, such as in spelling or names. Sometimes he is a "pastor" of a Dallas church, other times that is not mentioned.

First:

There was no Purifying Fire Ministries that he was "director" of. It does not exist anywhere. There is no location for it anywhere. There are no remnants of a website somewhere. There is the Purifying Fire Ministries that was operated by Suzanne Hinn (the ex-wife of Charismaniac Benny Hinn), but the Cruz campaign has denied any connection with them, claiming that he "only used the name" for a little while before dropping it. Keep in mind, this "dropping" would have to have been pretty recent, because Rafael Cruz was being identified as "Director" of Purifying Fire Ministries as recently as January of this year.

Bizarrely, the Suzanne Hinn affiliated website was actually identified as belonging to Rafael Cruz in this speech he gave, despite the denials of any connection with the Purifying Fires franchise. That same website actually came down sometime after February of 2015, possibly in May (I see dates listed in May on the wayback machine, but cannot view them), and you can only view the about page mentioning Suzanne Hinn via the way back machine.

Of course, Rafael Cruz has no church in Dallas either. He is a "one-man" pastor, which the campaign admits.

We find similar problems when we examine his "Presidency" at Kingdom Translation Services. It is a real business, it seems, where he is listed as both Director and President, (I'd have gone with Supreme Chancellor and Senate) and, in the past 3 years since it was founded, has only put out an audio bible of Rafael Cruz reading the Bible in Spanish. The address associated with this business takes you to a residential address--- which all leads me to believe that Rafael Cruz is the Director and President of a business with probably just one employee, himself, a sort of Trinity at least. The writer of this blog claims that it is indeed a one-man show, but I wasn't able to verify that independently, only deduce it.

Moving on: Rafael Cruz's claim of being a Professor of Bible theology. Well...(from the same link as above):

"He's also claimed to be President of Kingdom Translation Services (another one-man gig that he started a year ago), and a "professor of Bible and Theology", first at Advance Institute, then Advanced Bible Institute, neither of which can be found... anywhere..."

All of this is just the tip of the iceberg. Cruz's immigration story (he might either have broken immigration law or embellished his story), his life in Cuba, his "fire bombing" for Castro, of having witnessed certain revolutionaries die (when they were on the other side of Cuba), and so many other details, are all contradicted.

See here and here for examples.

Glenn Beck & the Dominionist Axis-Power

Ted Cruz's ties with Dominionism do not end with his dad or this pastor. Cruz is also supported by David Barton who leads Cruz's Keep the Promise SuperPac. Barton is also a Lecturer for Beck's "online university," is the Chairman of Beck's Mercury One charity, and his work is featured heavily by Beck's program. It is also reported that Beck has raised millions for Keep the Promise via Barton. Like Ted Cruz himself, Barton is heavily promoted by Glenn Beck, though Beck performs virtually no vetting of this man whatsoever.

As an example, Barton's historical work tracking the Christian roots of the nation are apparently plagued by exaggeration and poor scholarship. I didn't have time to do a full scale study on the issue of the accuracy of Barton's historical claims, but there are enough examples of misquotes available that makes you doubt Glenn Beck's assertion that Barton is the "Library of Congress in shoes." Ted Cruz has said something similar, describing Barton as a "good friend" and a fantastic scholar.

The blogger at Fanatic for Jesus blogspot describes Barton, as of 2011, as tending "to keep his ties to the Dominionists under wraps, and no one has heard him explicitly advocate Seven Mountains Dominionism ... until yesterday on his radio program (4/4/11)." The blogger then goes on to quote him thusly:

"Barton: That's right. Christians got to get involved. And there's a Scripture they used that came out of Isiah 2:2 and it says "Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on the top of the mountains," so this is now called the Seven Mountain Prophecy, there's a book out by that name. It says the Lord's house is going to be established on top of the mountains and these are the seven mountains. If you're going to establish God's kingdom, you've got to have these seven mountains and again that's family, religion, education, media, entertainment, business and government. Now that's what we believed all along is you got to get involved in this stuff. Jesus said "you occupy 'til I come." We don't care when he comes, that's up to him. What we're supposed to do is take the culture in the meantime and you got to get involved in these seven areas."

This is a pretty clear declaration of Dominionist teaching. The book he mentions is by Johnny Enlow, a Dominionist author who has called for "superimposing" a "virtual theocracy" onto the United States government. Interestingly, Enlow describes himself as a "social reformer," a red flag for a social just warrior, and on his website he rails against Donald Trump's appeal to "White man's pride." Here's a larger quote:

"I believe we are witnessing a phenomenon in the present political landscape, as Donald Trump is directly appealing, to what I sense God is presently judging in America- white male pride... what I sense from the Lord is that He is actually confronting and judging our white male pride (WMP). This is a kind of pride that blinds you from realizing that it is God Himself that has drawn a line in the sand and determined to bring a necessary correction. You can be a white female and also be affected by this pride, but I believe it’s primarily something that a significant portion of white males deal with... Donald Trump has stirred and blown a trumpet that is awakening WMP on a mass scale. His political platform has been horribly divisive and polarizing..."

As I said, Dominionism is a strange world where many different people with different visions of what a Christian nation should look like can all meet together under one tent.

Even Glenn Beck is not an unwelcome member of the Dominionist movement. David Barton defends Glenn Beck's Mormon faith (the LDS is polytheistic and pelagian in nature, thoroughly heretical) as being Christian, though this probably also has something to do with Dominionism's Ecumenical efforts.

Barton's ties with other Dominionists are also quite extensive, including with Kenneth Copeland, who, besides his Dominionism, pushes New Age/Eastern mysticism. He also says things like this:

"You're all God. You don't have a God living in you; you are one! ... When I read in the Bible where God tells Moses, 'I AM,' I say, 'Yah, I am too!'" ("The Force of Love," Tape BBC-56).

This same Kenneth Copeland managed to land a 3 hour meeting with the Pope due to the sheer level of his popularity, which, perhaps, is less a condemnation of the Pope not vetting him, but more a problem with the American Evangelical movement that really does give more honor to guys like Copeland than is deserved.

Rafael Cruz has also echoed concepts repeated by David Barton, such as the concept of a "black robe regiment" of Christian pastors.

Moving on: Glenn Beck himself, not surprisingly, also brings up the "7 Mountains" of society, mouthing the same talking points that first originated with hardcore Dominionists years ago.

In case you think that maybe Glenn Beck doesn't know the full implications of what he's saying, Chuck Pierce, a radical Dominionist and self-proclaimed prophet of the crazy New Apostolic Reformation, gave Glenn Beck a holy "mantle of the future". To help you understand that, think of the Roman Catholic concept of Apostolic succession, then insert lunacy, mix it up, and drink till you pass out. The New Apostolic Reformation believes they are the restored Apostles and Prophets of God, basically like the return of saint Paul or saint John, and they have all the authority implied therein, though they use it mostly to rake in donations from the faithful.

The blogger at Spirit of Error noted that the timing of Chuck Pierce's granting of the prophetic mantle to Mormon Glenn Beck was interesting. He writes:

"With the presidential election around the corner, the timing of Pierce's mantle-giving is no coincidence. Beck didn't just happen to stop by Pierce's church last Sunday morning. Pierce didn't just happen to present Beck with a mantle–out of courtesy for his high-profile visitor. This event was orchestrated. Think about it. Pierce gives a mantle to Beck–and, as a result, people in the NAR movement will now listen to Beck when he speaks in support of a presidential candidate. Who will he speak in support of? He's thrown his support to Ted Cruz, who, just yesterday, announced that he’ll run for the Republican Party nomination for 2016.

Ted Cruz's ties with Glenn Beck should be well known to all at this point, but is worth summarizing with a few bits of new information. Cruz, of course, joined up with Beck to hand out Teddy bears to illegal alien children awhile back. He is a frequent topic on Beck's programs and appears often. He has praised both Barton and Beck as good friends and patriots. Through David Barton, Beck also is involved with Ted Cruz's superPAC Keep the Promise, and Beck's support for Cruz is blatant. Beck in November declared he is currently working on a documentary about Ted Cruz (I do not know if he's finished it and has already aired it on his irrelevant internet TV show), and has declared that Ted Cruz has been "supernaturally" raised to lead the country. (Cruz has been implying the same thing over the past month, which makes me wonder whether this is a combined effort to create a "Savior" narrative.)

Cruz's Church

Currently, Cruz attends Houston’s First Baptist Church. The senior pastor is Gregg Matte. He was one of the pastors associated with Rick Perry's controversial prayer meeting with prominent "Evangelical" leaders. Here is Martha West explaining the problem:

"In my article series "The Religious Right uniting with Religious Renegades" I expressed alarm over some or our Christian leader's decision to attend Gov. Rick Perry's The Response: A call to prayer. Many evangelicals were distressed that respected leaders would be standing shoulder to shoulder with folks who are associated with fringe groups such as the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), the International House of Prayer (IHOP) and the Word of Faith (WoF). These groups hold many of the same unbiblical beliefs such as "positive confession."

Evidently these warnings went unheeded, and Gregg Matte was among those standing side by side the weirdest weirdos of the Dominionist movement. Gregg Matte has also had David Barton as a guest speaker at his church, as seen here. Beyond this, Barton's sermons that I have seen were bland enough that I didn't notice any problems, except, perhaps, for a hint that he believes God speaks to men audibly, but not clear enough for me to be sure. There was no other information on him. I suspect it's because he just isn't that famous.

Beth Moore, on the other hand, is a different matter. She has taught at Houston's First Baptist Church for more than two decades, producing Bible studies and giving sermons. She believes that God speaks audibly to her, in "full sentences," and that, while writing her book, she had supernatural experiences accompanying it. She has also taught "contemplative prayer" and is close to the Osteen family. Besides this, she is also tied to Dominionists like Joyce Meyer, with whom she has done work promoting Ecumenicalism. According to Beth, she has had supernatural visions where Roman Catholics are also members of the body of Christ (controversial for the average Baptist, but a regular theme with most Dominionists).

Joyce Meyer, as mentioned, is a Dominionist, and also gives to her congregations pretty little gems like this:

"The Lord recently showed me that we can bless or curse the financial seed we sow. We can speak positively about our financial future, or we can say things like, 'I can't afford it' . .. 'Every time I turn around something happens to take my money'. . . . We should water our giving with the water of His word and expect an abundant harvest. Sow your seed and speak prosperity scriptures over your finances" (Joyce Meyer, "Your Mouth is a Weapon," Life in the Word March 1997, p. 4.)

And as an explanation of why this sort of doctrine is so popular:

"While Meyer's previous salary is unknown, a recent series of investigative articles in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch revealed Meyer's ministry purchased for Joyce and Dave a $2 million home, a $10 million private jet, and houses worth another $2 million for the couple's children, who also work for the ministry. The articles also outlined Meyer's recent personal purchases, including a $500,000 vacation home. Meyer, 60, lives in Fenton, Missouri, near St. Louis." (1/1/2004, http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2004/januaryweb-only/1-19-13.0.html)

Is it any wonder why con men are so drawn to the "Christian" Evangelical/Charismatic scene? It is insanely profitable, provided you have the right message. That is probably part of the reason for Beck's downward spiral into Dominionist theology-- it's to get at the money while his original audience shrinks into nothingness. At the same time, however, Beck really does seem to think he has some kind of Messianic mission. You see this in the way he talks and how he seems to be having "prophetic" inspiration when he declares Cruz to be supernaturally-sent. The fact he's working on a documentary for Ted Cruz was also quite a bizarre revelation for me. There's not exactly that much to talk about.

Returning to Moore, the blogger at "The King's Dale" did an extensive study on her (he read all three of her books), concluding, among other things, that she preaches a "false Gospel of pragmatism, self-improvement and prosperity." Or, in other words, the usual "believe it and claim it" materialistic pablum that is omnipresent among these people. Beth Moore has also preached sermons with common New Apostolic Reformation themes, such as this one at James Robison's church. Robison himself is a hyper-Charismatic who has featured Dominionists like John Wimber, and has done ecumenical work. Also note this from the same link:

"In the November/December 1986 issue of Day of Restoration, James Robison wrote that the miracle of Christmas is "that Christ is formed in you;" that "our actual purpose in this world: receiving and expressing the fullness of the life of Jesus." He goes on to say that "God wants us to see Jesus as merely the big brother in a huge family of brothers and sisters like Him." Further, he states that II Corinthians 5:17 means that we "have the divine nature, the eternal life of God." Still Christ must be "formed in you." He goes on to say that Jesus was a pattern; that "Jesus Himself pioneered the process He is putting us through." He claims that "God reveals that Christ had to be formed even in Jesus. ... That same Jesus also will be formed in you -- in anyone who will receive the light of this truth."

For those of you familiar with Mormon doctrine, you'll notice that a lot of Dominionist thinking has a strong Mormonic flavor. The LDS believes that men are gods in seed form. If they perform all the duties of a Mormon, they will graduate to full fledged Godhood in the Celestial Kingdom. It makes sense then why a lot of Dominionists, such as those in the NAR, are willing to declare him to be a prophet. Though, they probably like the prospect of money, publicity and power as well.

So there you have it folks. Here are Ted Cruz's ugly ties with cult-like religion, as well as Beck's descent into Dominionist madness. I could keep going, and there is much more research to be done. However, this is as much as you'll get for now.


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To: sitetest

I see by your outfit, that you’re a “dominionist”...


1,021 posted on 01/04/2016 6:44:46 PM PST by ROCKLOBSTER (Celebrate "Republicans Freed the Slaves Month")
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To: roamer_1; FourtySeven; Greetings_Puny_Humans

Yet the sleight of hand here is that, as you have already pointed out, Roamer, “anointing” in a charismatic context is just a common way of speaking about God expressing His will concerning someone, and does not tell us at all what Ted believes about the specifics of hard core dominionism.

As for Ted being like his dad, I hope he is, in every way that is good. You may recall, GPH, that I told you before, my own dad and I had theological differences till he died. But he still loved and supported me. And many who knew both of us would argue we have a lot in common, much to my benefit.

Bottom line, you are still unable to get past your lack of real data about Ted himself. Sorry. :)

Peace,

SR


1,022 posted on 01/04/2016 6:45:28 PM PST by Springfield Reformer (Winston Churchill: No Peace Till Victory!)
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To: Greetings_Puny_Humans; roamer_1; FourtySeven
As for my Beth Moore information, let me suggest that GPH has not read my posts with sufficient care.  That First Baptist of Houston and Beth Moore have parted ways is a matter of public record that anyone with access to Google could have figured out for themselves, if they were open to asking the right questions.  Besides being cited in this Wikipedia article:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beth_Moore

... the fact that she was once a Sunday school teacher for First Baptist but now has a women's ministry at Bayou City Fellowship can be found in a number of other places.  GPH should also note that I did not claim there was a falling out, only that I suspected that was a possibility, and that I was attempting to contact someone at First Baptist who could give me details. Generally, when you want to know what is going on in a complex social environment like a church, your best information is going to come from people who are there.  It's not that hard to do a little basic research. Just sayin ...

As for the question of revelation, the Scriptures do not say "silence the spirits," but "test the spirits."  We test everything against the measure of God's unquestionable word.  But we do not pretend that God no longer speaks.  For myself, I am not one who claims any of the usual charismatic gifts. But there is no Scriptural case for strict cessation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Does that justify everything Beth Moore teaches? Of course not. And in case you are tempted to overlook it, let me repeat, I am not in any way justifying her teaching.  Her teaching, like the teaching of any mortal, is subject to the word of God, as she herself has professed.  

But even if after a complete accounting of the facts we were to agree that her teaching is flawed, jumping from that to the unfounded conclusion that Ted Cruz is some wild-eyed heretic with secret plans for theocratic world conquest is completely irrational, completely disconnected from reality.  Yet some will find it convincing, because guilt by association is an effective tool of psychological manipulation.

BTW, GPH, who said this?
Yet civil government has as its appointed end, so long as we live among men, to cherish and protect the outward worship of God, to defend sound doctrine of piety and the position of the church, to adjust our life to the society of men, to form our social behavior to civil righteousness, to reconcile us with one another, and to promote general peace and tranquility
Sounds a bit dominionist, don't you think?  Civil government is there to protect the outward worship of God and defend sound doctrine of piety and the position of the church? Civil righteousness? Yikes! Like trying to get moms to stop killing their unborn babies?  Or pushing for heterosexual marriage? Could that man be an early dominionist? Know any denominations influenced by this shady character?

Peace,

SR



  
1,023 posted on 01/04/2016 6:45:36 PM PST by Springfield Reformer (Winston Churchill: No Peace Till Victory!)
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To: ROCKLOBSTER

I’m not sure what my “outfit” is.


1,024 posted on 01/04/2016 6:46:03 PM PST by sitetest (If Roe is not overturned, no unborn child will ever be protected in law.)
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To: free_life

To say one person is accusing another of something is legitimate. People accuse one another of things every day.

However, the Biblical term “ accuser of the brethren,” is very specific and well defined. It does not refer to the OP.


1,025 posted on 01/04/2016 6:51:33 PM PST by Fantasywriter (Any attempt to do forensic work using Internet artifacts is fraught with pitfalls. JoeProbono)
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To: free_life
God brings us the truth through the "Holy Spirit" and Satan immediately comes in with the counterfeit - Satan deceives us through false belief. The book of Job shows us clearly the role of Satan.

The basic evil by men in this world is original sin, not every instance of evil proves that Satan is involved. Surely Satan would be involved in counterfeit churches where they used to burn women accused of witchcraft.

Criticism of someone prophesying Christianity may be wrong-headed, but it doesn't mean it comes from Satan.

Besides, we are supposed to question - consider Gideon questioning the Arch Angel (Judges 6:13), "If the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of..."

1,026 posted on 01/04/2016 6:51:41 PM PST by Lagmeister ( false prophets shall rise, and shall show signs and wonders Mark 13:22)
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To: sitetest

Probably not a cowboy outfit.


1,027 posted on 01/04/2016 6:52:58 PM PST by ROCKLOBSTER (Celebrate "Republicans Freed the Slaves Month")
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To: sitetest

Pointing out the a dictionary defines the word ‘minion,’ does not make the concept of “Satan’s minions” Biblical. Only the Bible can make a teaching Biblical.


1,028 posted on 01/04/2016 6:54:50 PM PST by Fantasywriter (Any attempt to do forensic work using Internet artifacts is fraught with pitfalls. JoeProbono)
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To: Fantasywriter; sitetest

The best example is of course Peter. Jesus called him Satan when he tried to talk Jesus out of His mission in Jerusalem. Yet we know Peter was elect of God, chosen to receive revelation from the Father that Jesus was the Christ, and so definitely not ultimately subject to eternal damnation. In general, believers do fall into occasional sin, and any sin is, at least momentarily, submission to evil. It is why Jesus died for us of course, so that our errors, which do put us in temporary alignment with evil, do NOT result in our eternal damnation, thank God!

Peace,

SR


1,029 posted on 01/04/2016 6:55:14 PM PST by Springfield Reformer (Winston Churchill: No Peace Till Victory!)
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To: Springfield Reformer; roamer_1; FourtySeven
That First Baptist of Houston and Beth Moore have parted ways is a matter of public record

Your own Wikipedia link says:

"Additionally, Moore writes books and produces video resources based on the Bible studies that she conducts at the Living Proof Live conferences and at Houston's First Baptist Church"

That is easily verifiable from a quick look at Houston's First Baptist website, which hosts many of these video series, simul-cast sermons, etc.

Also you ignored the distinction between "being a staff member" and "teaching," which is what she still does at that church. Note that she started preaching at Bayou City Fellowship in 2012, but last year, as in my link, Houston's 1st Baptist was thanking her for 29 years of teaching at their church.

Typical Springfield sophistry can't rescue him here.

1,030 posted on 01/04/2016 6:55:58 PM PST by Greetings_Puny_Humans (I mostly come out at night... mostly.)
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To: Fantasywriter

But the dictionary can accurately define the meaning of a word. I’m not a liberal. Words have objective meanings.


1,031 posted on 01/04/2016 7:01:18 PM PST by sitetest (If Roe is not overturned, no unborn child will ever be protected in law.)
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To: Springfield Reformer

Well said.


1,032 posted on 01/04/2016 7:01:46 PM PST by sitetest (If Roe is not overturned, no unborn child will ever be protected in law.)
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To: Lagmeister

‘Criticism of someone prophesying Christianity may be wrong-headed, but it doesn’t mean it comes from Satan.’

That is a very good point. People do become misguided at times, but it doesn’t mean they’re in direct league with Satan. Sometimes people are just in a learning process. Paul didn’t say everyone doing wrong was a child of Satan. He said this:

Galatians 6:1

‘Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.’


1,033 posted on 01/04/2016 7:03:04 PM PST by Fantasywriter (Any attempt to do forensic work using Internet artifacts is fraught with pitfalls. JoeProbono)
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To: Springfield Reformer

A person was called a “minion of Satan.” I’m trying to learn more about this concept, but not from a dictionary. From the Bible.


1,034 posted on 01/04/2016 7:05:11 PM PST by Fantasywriter (Any attempt to do forensic work using Internet artifacts is fraught with pitfalls. JoeProbono)
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To: Springfield Reformer
"For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book." Revelation 22:18

I always assumed that prophesy was over until the last seven years, the "End Times." Until then we have the Bible and should be praying that God's will be done.

I would run like mad from anyone claiming a special gift of vision from God unless it fit the full description of the last seven years.

1,035 posted on 01/04/2016 7:11:51 PM PST by Lagmeister ( false prophets shall rise, and shall show signs and wonders Mark 13:22)
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To: Springfield Reformer; roamer_1; FourtySeven
Yet the sleight of hand here is that, as you have already pointed out, Roamer, “anointing” in a charismatic context is just a common way of speaking about God expressing His will concerning someone, and does not tell us at all what Ted believes about the specifics of hard core dominionism.

That is precisely right. A declared anointing has to be pretty specific to a person and a subject before it would be an 'anointing' in the sense that old school Protestant branches define (not that they'd know what to do with it). And in my experience among charismatics, that is seldom seen.

Another lump in the loaf, is how far does one have to go to be free of the accusation of Dominionism? As I showed upthread, the Christian Right as a whole is said to be practicing Dominionism. Once smeared with it in a derogatory fashion, how does one *not* be a dominionist without ceding all political ground entirely?

I don't know about you, but I kinda like having the Christian Right around.

And I don't know about anyone else, but my faith not only informs my vote at every level of government, but it also informs my associations, my business dealings, my children's education, Just about every faction of my life. If there's a dogcatcher who is a Christian vs. one that is not, who do you suppose would be likely to get my vote? So gee, I guess I am a dominionist too.

As for Ted being like his dad, I hope he is, in every way that is good.

Hear, Hear! And that is to be celebrated!

1,036 posted on 01/04/2016 7:19:53 PM PST by roamer_1 (Globalism is just Socialism in a business suit.)
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To: Lagmeister

.
You’re hopeless.

To change your mind would require a mind to change.

Since you’ve never read Corker, it is impossible to bring you up to speed without posting the text to the thread, which would probably be pointless if you refuse to be enlightened.

I guess you will just continue to troll.


1,037 posted on 01/04/2016 7:24:37 PM PST by editor-surveyor (Freepers: Not as smart as I'd hoped they'd be)
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To: ROCKLOBSTER; sitetest
Probably not a cowboy outfit.

I see by your outfit that you are a cowboy,
I see by your outfit you are a cowboy too...
We see by our outfits that we are both cowboys.
If you get an outfit you can be a cowboy too!
Sorry... Smothers Brothers moment.

1,038 posted on 01/04/2016 7:25:00 PM PST by roamer_1 (Globalism is just Socialism in a business suit.)
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To: roamer_1
As I showed upthread, the Christian Right as a whole is said to be practicing Dominionism.

But consider the fallacy of this statement: That "The Christian Right as a whole is [falsely] accused of practicing Dominionism; thus, the issues raised by this thread are not valid."

Obviously, whether the whole is falsely accused or not makes no difference as to whether Dominionism exists, and it does, obviously, and is very influential and powerful in GOP circles.

1,039 posted on 01/04/2016 7:25:06 PM PST by Greetings_Puny_Humans (I mostly come out at night... mostly.)
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To: Lagmeister
"Isn't this against forum rules?"

Are your delicate sensibilities offended? If so, why don't you run and complain.

If you have a problem with that bottom-feeder being called what he is, I really don't care.

1,040 posted on 01/04/2016 7:27:19 PM PST by CatherineofAragon (("A real conservative will bear the scars...will have been in the trenches fighting."--- Ted Cruz))
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