Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

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.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; FReeper Editorial; Front Page News; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: New York; US: Texas; Your Opinion/Questions
KEYWORDS: 2016election; anticruzjihad; beck; becklies; blogpimp; bushcruztagteam; canadian; cfrcruz; concerntrolls; coronatehillary; cruz; cruz2defeat; cult; dominionism; dominionismhoax; dumptrump; election2016; elmergantryted; glennbeck; glennbeckisaliar; gopestablishment; gphscreed; hatecruz; heidicruzwallstreet; ibtz; ineligible; liberalagenda; liberalpropaganda; newyork; notnews; progressivefilth; punypuristpablum; rafaelcruz; rinopropaganda; selfserving; shouldbnbloggers4m; stupid; talkradio; tedwontwin; theocracy; trump; trumpfanboy; trumpsachump; vapid; zot
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 961-980981-1,0001,001-1,020 ... 1,121-1,122 next last
To: FourtySeven; Springfield Reformer
To me at first blush (without having watched the edited videos GPH provided or the full ones roamer did, again, as of right now hopefully I’ll have time later) but to me at first blush this doesn’t seem that significant a criticism as it seems to fall into, ironically, the kind of debates we have in the Religion forum, which reduce to basically: which brand of Christianity is best.

FourtySeven, when this subject first raised it's head (this is merely where it has finally been coalesced into a full form), I thought to drag it into the RF, where the subject matter might be dissected completely, among folks who might be more invested in the subject at hand.

One of the things I am rather worried for, is that folks here will not do the heavy lifting necessary to winnow the evidence - Folks may not be willing to sit through the sermon, not to mention the several sermons one might consider necessary to get a reasonable opinion of the man's position. Since Cruz is a traveling preacher, it isn't as easy as just pulling down the credz of a single church, or denomination, to establish his own beliefs or his credentials. I think the only way to do the man justice is to listen to him across several sermons, to see if he is in fact delivering a Christian message.

Part of the problem (and the reason this particular sermon has been selected for his destruction) is the church this particular sermon was delivered to - It's a bit of a mega-church thing, with a Pentecostal/Praise-Evangelical feel, and a Messianic bend. That alone is going to weird-out folks that are used to a more staid and orderly event. It has an altar-call, prophetic word, and laying-on of hands... Things the Spirit-Filled will take in stride, but which will feel awfully strange to your average Reformed, Lutheran, or Catholic congregant.

I can understand why church-lady types (ala Dana Carvey) might wax apoplectic. But take that sermon out of that hall, and it becomes a whole lot more benign... Which is why I would encourage listening to several arbitrary sermons delivered by Cruz, in different settings.

**Note to all: As a matter of disclosure, I myself am a Christian Messianic.

The main points that seem lost in GPH’s post, and really the only ones that could disqualify Cruz to anyone serious about his faith are: Does Cruz himself embrace this “Dominionism”? Does he (Cruz) reject the Trinity? Does he embrace any kind of “prosperity gospel”?

That is the point in fact - This is really just a rather blatant attempt to smear Cruz with his 'crazy old man'. But I think the way forward is to actually listen to the old man and see if he is in fact 'crazy' in the first place. I think that best inoculates Ted Cruz against this attack, even though it doesn't touch upon his own beliefs at all (which should in fact be the point)... And it could be said that the apple does not fall far from the tree, or the horse, if you get my drift - So intrinsically, proving Rafael inevitably credits the root that Ted grew from.

And having listened to Rafael in depth, with Ted's own faith aside, I would declare that Rafael as his father surely had a powerful impact upon his son. Bravo, Rafael.

I have listened to several of his sermons (somewhere between 10-20, I suppose), delivered in both churches and political settings... I find him somewhat repetitive, but enjoyable - One of the things that comes roaring out consistently is a deep love for this country and it's Christian foundation - A point of patriotism that is almost uncomfortable woven into a Christian message, but inevitably TRUE... And something he speaks perfectly to, coming to us from Cuba.

In that I find a rather broad form of dominionism - He does encourage American Christians to go forth and take back that which is undeniably their heritage - And a broad form of prosperity gospel - That America prospered within her Christian heritage, and can do so again. But I don't believe any American Christian would fault him on those points.

As to the rest of the screed originally posted - Much ado about nothing... I would point you to Springfield Reformer's post wrt 'Transfer', which I see as not only accurate but apparent on it's face. To include the 'almost association' with Hinn...

981 posted on 01/04/2016 1:02:52 PM PST by roamer_1 (Globalism is just Socialism in a business suit.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 956 | View Replies]

To: roamer_1

All aspects of our society have fallen under control of folks who are generally liberal and tending toward atheism. To want to recapture the institutions that we built is hardly dominionism. Politics is downstream from culture. If liberals control the culture, it’s idiotic to expect our politicians to act conservative if liberals control.

Ted Cruz gets it.

Cruz or lose. America.


982 posted on 01/04/2016 1:22:52 PM PST by sitetest (If Roe is not overturned, no unborn child will ever be protected in law.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 981 | View Replies]

To: FreeReign
Well, I didn't know Woodforest Financial (operating banks in Wall-Mart stores) was so anti-amnesty, along with Goldman Sachs, Morgan Lewis, Credit Suisse and collective Oil/Gas, Lawyers/Law firms.

That is amazing research on your part.

983 posted on 01/04/2016 2:27:03 PM PST by Lagmeister ( false prophets shall rise, and shall show signs and wonders Mark 13:22)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 960 | View Replies]

To: roamer_1; Greetings_Puny_Humans
That is the point in fact - This is really just a rather blatant attempt to smear Cruz with his 'crazy old man'. But I think the way forward is to actually listen to the old man and see if he is in fact 'crazy' in the first place.

My thinking too, just because there are some labeling Rafael crazy, heretic or whatever doesn't mean he is. And just who is it that is labeling Rafael these things and trying to smear his son Ted by doing so? We have GPH doing so and having a good idea now what GPH beliefs are (which he wants hidden) it is likely not Rafael who is the crazy one or the heretic.

If anything GPH has given me a more favorable view of Rafael, now knowing what GPH believes about Christians. I for one will be giving Rafael a honest and fair look at. It is easy to smear someone with the crazy or heretic label and sometimes it is the one doing the smearing who is the crazy one and or the heretic. At this point I lean towards GPH as the crazy heretic not Rafael. At least Rafael doesn't hide and is not ashamed of his denomination or place in Christianity. GPH is too quick to label who are heretics and who is in error and without any sound biblical evidence, and that is most often a sign of one who is not in Christ, an accuser of the brethren.

984 posted on 01/04/2016 2:47:43 PM PST by free_life (If you ask Jesus to forgive you and to save you, He will.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 981 | View Replies]

To: FourtySeven; Springfield Reformer
Problem with Springfield is that, generally, he makes assertions and skips by facts that I suspect he makes just on the fly, on faith. They're true because he "feels" they must be true, and not because he has as much knowledge as he claims. I've butted heads with him before on even very basic statements of fact. He disputes them until his face turns blue, if he does not like them anyway. For example, he states:

As for Beth Moore, she has moved on and is no longer at First Baptist of Houston

On what basis does he make this claim? What does he mean by that? That she's not a staff member? Never claimed she was. I said she "teaches" at 1st Baptist and has for at least 29 years, as my link demonstrates (they're THANKING her for TEACHING for that period! That link was from last year). Yes, she has her own separate ministry, but is still in the Houston's Baptist family. If there was any sort of cutting of ties that SR claims, it must have been quite recent, as I still see Simulcasts of Live preaching advertised on Houston's 1st Baptist website as of September, and her name is listed as of December as a "link" under their Women's Ministry page, and another link I found referenced "interdenominational Bible studies". But supposedly, according to Springfield, he must have done some research somewhere that made him suspect that she is "unwelcome". LOL.

But after basically claiming all these things, he then goes on to defend her with the "Well, she still holds scripture higher than her "revelations"! Though the fact she is giving "Thus saith the lord" revelations, and is teaching the things she is teaching, I just have to laugh at the usual, pitiful apologia and dissembling of Springfield. The links I have given on the subject, I believe, are sufficient. There's no need to go into the minutia of answering every one of SR's usual assertions.

Returning to Fourty Seven:

but to me at first blush this doesn’t seem that significant a criticism as it seems to fall into, ironically, the kind of debates we have in the Religion forum

Teaching a theology of "wealth redistribution" from the wicked to the righteous is mainstream Religion Forum fare? I don't believe it. The other claims of your post also fall to pieces under common sense!

985 posted on 01/04/2016 3:35:16 PM PST by Greetings_Puny_Humans (I mostly come out at night... mostly.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 968 | View Replies]

To: SmokingJoe

Oh a FPM fan ... here ya go!

We too, for now, seem to have a prophet. Whatever his flaws and weaknesses, Donald Trump has thrust the problems of lax immigration policies and weak enforcement of immigration laws back into the national conversation. Like Enoch Powell, politicians from both parties have tried to marginalize him. But in the age of the Internet, YouTube, and cable news, the citizens who agree with Trump can voice their approval more loudly than in Powell’s day. And they delight in the rough treatment he gives to immigration hacks like Univision’s Jorge Ramos, whom Trump tossed out of a news conference. Let’s just hope that a critical mass of people is listening, and that the Republicans embrace Trump’s warnings on illegal immigration instead of demonizing him.

(some sound advise for you there Smokie’J from a source you like too :) )

http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/259963/prophets-without-honor-europe-immigration-and-bruce-thornton

DEPORT them all and their babies, build a yuge wall and get Americans back to work! - Donald Trump in a nutshell on illegal aliens ...your spin is not working here smokie!


986 posted on 01/04/2016 3:37:00 PM PST by free_life (If you ask Jesus to forgive you and to save you, He will.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 975 | View Replies]

To: free_life

‘accuser of the brethren.’

Now the OP is Satan himself? How on earth is that a Christian attitude/judgment???


987 posted on 01/04/2016 3:38:17 PM PST by Fantasywriter (Any attempt to do forensic work using Internet artifacts is fraught with pitfalls. JoeProbono)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 984 | View Replies]

To: free_life
I for one will be giving Rafael a honest and fair look at.

Thanks, that's all I ask. Let the chips fall where they may thereafter. I object to the destruction of the man's reputation on the basis of hearsay. And I think you'll find out why he is such a sought-after speaker.

988 posted on 01/04/2016 4:09:27 PM PST by roamer_1 (Globalism is just Socialism in a business suit.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 984 | View Replies]

To: sitetest
All aspects of our society have fallen under control of folks who are generally liberal and tending toward atheism. To want to recapture the institutions that we built is hardly dominionism. Politics is downstream from culture. If liberals control the culture, it’s idiotic to expect our politicians to act conservative if liberals control.

You're preachin' to the choir, FRiend...

Ted Cruz gets it.

Yes he does. And so does his dad.

Thanks for the reply.

989 posted on 01/04/2016 4:12:40 PM PST by roamer_1 (Globalism is just Socialism in a business suit.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 982 | View Replies]

To: roamer_1

But that isn’t dominionism, even “broadly speking.” It’s recognizing that the scum stole our culture, our schools, our courts, our commerce, our politics and our country. AND WE WANT IT BACK!!


990 posted on 01/04/2016 4:19:38 PM PST by sitetest (If Roe is not overturned, no unborn child will ever be protected in law.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 989 | View Replies]

To: Fantasywriter

If not Satan, than a high-ranking minion.


991 posted on 01/04/2016 4:21:07 PM PST by sitetest (If Roe is not overturned, no unborn child will ever be protected in law.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 987 | View Replies]

To: Lagmeister

You keep saying that the US would not be in the Iran deal without a Senate vote, that the Senate gave up their right to vote on the Iran treaty when they passed Corker.

As I’ve said repeatedly: without Corker the Senate wouldn’t have had a chance to vote.


992 posted on 01/04/2016 4:21:13 PM PST by brothers4thID ("We've had way too many Republicans whose #1 virtue is "I get along great with Democrats".")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 959 | View Replies]

To: Cold Heat

You are welcome.

993 posted on 01/04/2016 4:28:47 PM PST by itsahoot (Anyone receiving a Woo! Woo! for President has never won anything after the award.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 980 | View Replies]

To: Cold Heat
That’s the entire point....a no vote would have meant nothing..

So, because everyone does it is ok with you.

994 posted on 01/04/2016 4:30:07 PM PST by itsahoot (Anyone receiving a Woo! Woo! for President has never won anything after the award.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 979 | View Replies]

To: Cold Heat

“So your guess is as good as mine, and I refuse to nickel and dime Cruz on this”

According to Cruz’s own language after he voted for the bill, it is more serious than just nickels and dimes.

Limbaugh mentioned today that the Middle East is in flames today because of Obama’s allying with Iran.


995 posted on 01/04/2016 4:35:51 PM PST by odawg
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 977 | View Replies]

To: Fantasywriter

He is accusing the brethren...what part of that are you not understanding?

satan uses people for much of what he does including accusing the brethren.


996 posted on 01/04/2016 4:43:21 PM PST by free_life (If you ask Jesus to forgive you and to save you, He will.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 987 | View Replies]

To: roamer_1; FourtySeven; Springfield Reformer
That is the point in fact - This is really just a rather blatant attempt to smear Cruz with his 'crazy old man'.

This just shows how little most of the people bothered to attend the OP. Sure, you can have a crazy dad. But Cruz met with Larry Huch with that crazy dad for the purpose of winning a Dominionist's endorsement. And then Rafael, obviously as part of Cruz's campaign, appeared at Huch's church and gave a Dominionist sermon, where the pastor spoke about Ted Cruz openly, declaring that they were, essentially, father like son. From Larry Huch via one of my links:

"You know, during the elections, and it just hit me as Rafael was up there and he was saying, this is the anointed by God - when I got a phone call, would I come to a meeting to meet Rafael Cruz and Ted Cruz, Tis and I had already received about 10 phone calls asking if we would get behind a candidate. Could we come and, could we come and speak at your church - one after another.

And when we were asked by some friends to come to this house, we said we'd not only meet Ted but we'd meet Rafael. Before I ever met Ted, I met Rafael. And I knew that if the son was like the dad, we could trust him to be our senator.

Amen"

Generally I ignore stupid posts, but this seems like a good point to reinforce.

997 posted on 01/04/2016 4:43:41 PM PST by Greetings_Puny_Humans (I mostly come out at night... mostly.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 981 | View Replies]

To: sitetest

Judgment is God’s purview. He is the only omniscient One.

But if you want to take it upon yourself to judge others, just be aware that in whatever manner you judge, you will be judged in turn by the same standards. Me, I prefer to leave the judging to God. He’s just, but He’s also merciful. That is a blessing.


998 posted on 01/04/2016 4:44:51 PM PST by Fantasywriter (Any attempt to do forensic work using Internet artifacts is fraught with pitfalls. JoeProbono)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 991 | View Replies]

To: Greetings_Puny_Humans

You have bourn false witness.

Repent.


999 posted on 01/04/2016 4:46:44 PM PST by roamer_1 (Globalism is just Socialism in a business suit.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 997 | View Replies]

To: free_life

Surely you know the Bible. It never speaks of multiple accusers of the brethren. It very specifically speaks of only *one* accuser of the brethren—singular—and he is clearly and unequivocally identified. Note: it’s not the OP.


1,000 posted on 01/04/2016 4:47:53 PM PST by Fantasywriter (Any attempt to do forensic work using Internet artifacts is fraught with pitfalls. JoeProbono)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 996 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 961-980981-1,0001,001-1,020 ... 1,121-1,122 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson