Archive for the ‘Doctrines of Demons’ Category

Bishops and Apostolic Succession

June 18th, 2009 admin

In the 1980s a spiritually perilous trend began developing in the Neo-Pentecostal realm, which was the human appointments of certain leaders into the supposed office of "bishop" by groups claiming " Petrine apostolic succession." This vogue has become especially popular and common in an increasing number of so-called Neo-Pentecostal "networks" that have emerged since the 1980s, comprised of affiliated though purportedly autonomous churches. One prominent Neo-Pentecostal organization1 in 1982 formed what it called "The International College of Bishops," comprised of ecclesiastical leaders upon whom the organization had conferred the title of "Bishop," which they purported positioned the conferees in the bimillenial hierarchical system of bishops of the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) supposedly leading back in unbroken "succession" to the Apostle Peter, who the RCC regards as the first "Pope."

This trend has developed despite the irrefutable fact that no such "office" or "position" is established anywhere in Holy Writ (The Bible), but rather in fact is undeniably antithetical and subversive to the governmental offices God has established in His Word, namely, the Fivefold Ministry Offices (Eph. 4:11). Nowhere does Scripture establish or even vaguely support the notion of a spiritually efficacious "office" of bishop or hierarchical lineage of ecclesiastical surrogates appointed by Christ, the supreme Head of the Church. (more...)

Posted in Covering Doctrine, Discipleship Movement, Doctrines of Demons, Domination & Control, Leadership, Nicolaitanism Tags: , No Comments »

The False Doctrine of Absolute Submission

May 26th, 2009 admin

At the zenith of the Charismatic Movement in the 1970s, a pseudo-movement that came to be known as the Discipleship or Shepherding Movement emerged. That purely humanly-devised campaign was led by an alliance of five ministers who employed their influence to rapidly proliferate in the emerging Charismatic Church a collection of doctrines related to authority that were patently hyper-authoritarian. In sum, the unscriptural teachings posited and promoted a multi-tiered, pyramid-shaped system of governance that conveniently positioned these five ministers at the apex of the pyramid. Coincidentally or not, the multi-level paradigm these teachers proposed mirrored the multi-level marketing models that were exploding upon the scene across the nation at the time in the business world. (more...)

Posted in Absolute Submission, Doctrines of Demons, Domination & Control, False Teaching, Spiritual Abuse Tags: , , , 1 Comment »

Spiritual Idolatry

March 10th, 2009 admin

Though the term is a fairly familiar one within the context of the church and Christianity, few people really understand what spiritual idolatry is, meaning its true nature. In this article we are going to consider the matter of spiritual idolatry and what it is from a Biblical standpoint.

To merely call idolatry "sin," though it certainly is, somehow seems an extreme understatement, for it is the ultimate affront unto God. Yet, arguably, it is the most pervasive sin of all today among professing believers. Contributing to the prevalence of idolatry within Christendom, no doubt, is the common perception by many that idolatry is something that occurs only in underdeveloped, far-away, foreign lands, or that it is something relegated mostly to ancient civilizations of past ages, while nothing could be further from the truth. (more...)

Posted in Doctrines of Demons, False Teaching, Spiritual Abuse, Spiritual Idolatry Tags: , , , 1 Comment »

The Thin Line of Leadership (Part 2)

November 19th, 2008 admin

The main focus of the initial installment of our discussion was the matter of hyper-authoritarianism in general and how easy it is for the most principled spiritual leaders to cross over the "thin line of leadership" between leading and lording, discipling and dominating, coaching and coercing, to operate in "foul ground" without even realizing it. In this part, we begin turning our attention to some of the whys and wherefors of ecclesiastical predominance.

Of course, as was pointed out in Part 1, there is nothing new about authoritarian abuse by spiritual leaders. In any age, there is no shortage of unscrupulous religious dictators bent on self-aggrandizement facilitated through personal kingdom-building purportedly "in the name of the Lord." Nevertheless, while it is not indigenous exclusively to our time, due perhaps to the move toward organizational ecumenicism commonly referred to today as "networking," there is little doubt that it is more widespread than ever before, to the point that sadly the term, "ubiquitous," now applies. Unfortunately, today there is little difference between the ecclesiastical and the secular realm with respect to corruption. And, after no small number of years of studying this phenomenon, I have concluded that the primary cause is nothing more sophisticated than base greed fueled by the oldest and most powerful human propensity which God Himself testifies is the ROOT of ALL evil — "the love of money." (more...)

Posted in Doctrines of Demons, Domination & Control, Leadership, Personal Pastors, Spiritual Abuse Tags: , , , No Comments »

The Thin Line of Leadership (Part 1)

November 19th, 2008 admin

There is a very thin line between leading and lording, discipling and dominating, coaching and coercing. So thin is the line, it is at times and in certain scenarios nearly indistinguishable.

Indeed, church leaders commonly cross the divide without even realizing it, and are much chagrined upon discovery of their transgression. Moreover, many find themselves alternately on one side or the other of the line at different times. For the majority of sincere, upstanding, and ethical ministers, transversing — or transgressing, as it may be — the line is altogether unintentional, and when they suddenly find themselves on the wrong side, they cannot remember when, how, or even why the misstep occurred. Unfortunately there are also ministers not of this upright ilk, who intentionally and indeed unabashedly leap over the boundary line to operate in "foul territory" as their habitual modus operandi. (more...)

Posted in Doctrines of Demons, Domination & Control, Leadership, Spiritual Abuse Tags: , , , No Comments »

The Fallacy of Personal Pastors (Part 2)

November 19th, 2008 admin

The adulterated concept of "spiritual covering" itself is problematic enough. Yet, its negative effect is increased by the fact that it is the predicate for several other, related elements of error comprising the heretical Discipleship/Shepherding doctrines and practices, one of which is the matter of "personal pastors." Indeed, this element has been the basis for at least as much excess, errancy, and authoritarian abuse as the others discussed in this series of articles concerning those doctrines and practices. To those who employ these practices for sordid purposes or with less than pure motives, the perverted concept of "spiritual covering" is sanction for a most insidious kind of unauthorized personal domination and control of their subjects under the auspices of this very delusive and destructive version of "personal shepherding." (more...)

Posted in Doctrines of Demons, Domination & Control, Personal Pastors, Spiritual Abuse Tags: , , , No Comments »

The Fallacy of Personal Pastors (Part 1)

November 19th, 2008 admin

The adulterated concept of "spiritual covering" itself is problematic enough (for more on that subject, read the previous two posts). Yet, its negative effect is increased by the fact that it is the predicate for several other, related elements of error comprising the heretical Discipleship/Shepherding doctrines and practices, one of which is the matter of "personal pastors." Indeed, this element has been the basis for at least as much excess, errancy, and authoritarian abuse as the others discussed in this series of articles concerning those doctrines and practices. To those who employ these practices for sordid purposes or with less than pure motives, the perverted concept of "spiritual covering" is license for a most insidious kind of unauthorized personal domination and control of their subjects under the auspices of this very delusive and destructive version of "personal shepherding." (more...)

Posted in Doctrines of Demons, Domination & Control, Personal Pastors, Spiritual Abuse Tags: , , , No Comments »

The Myth of Spiritual Covering (Part 2)

November 15th, 2008 admin

Hyper-authoritarian doctrines and practices have become cemented into the foundation, fabric, and functions of many churches and even whole denominations and church networks. The problem has become so widespread that it is almost pandemic in Pentecostal and Neo-Pentecostal churches. Hyper-authoritarian doctrines are not Biblical and they spawn practices and cultures within churches that amount to what some call "spiritual abuse," or perhaps more aptly, authoritarian abuse. One of the undergirding premises of these Hyper-authoritarian doctrines and the exploitative practices they engender is the pseudo-concept of "spiritual covering." (more...)

Posted in Covering Doctrine, Doctrines of Demons, Domination & Control, Spiritual Abuse Tags: , , , , No Comments »

Identifying Hyper-authoritarian Doctrines and Practices

November 15th, 2008 admin

Hyper-authoritarian doctrines and practices have become cemented into the foundation, fabric, and functions of many churches and even whole denominations or networks of churches. The problem has become so widespread that it is almost pandemic in Pentecostal and Neo-Pentecostal churches. But, the reason these scripturally-condemned doctrines and practices have been able to proliferate and endure is that they have been going on so long that the present generations of church-goers in these ecclesiastical groupings have been reared in these cultures where domination and control by church leaders is the norm and are accepted as being normal. The purpose of this article is to define hyper-authoritarianism and identify the practices that are hyper-authoritarian in nature.

Hyper-authoritarianism is predominance or psychological control imposed by spiritual leaders upon their followers or congregants with respect to not only their involvements within the church or ministry, but also regarding the personal and private matters of their lives. Ministries and church-groups practicing this illegitimate domination employ various means and degrees of psychological indoctrination and coercion to compel congregants to subject and conform their personal activities, behavior, and affairs of their lives with the leadership-prescribed standards, rules, expectations, and corporate goals of the church or ministry. The purported pretext for the imposition of this scripturally-prohibited religious governance is an adulterated concept of ecclesiastical authority. Promulgators and practitioners adamantly claim that the mechanisms of manipulation they employ are a perfectly Scriptural system of "discipleship" in fulfillment of the role and responsibility of spiritual leaders to "make disciples." (more...)

Posted in Doctrines of Demons, Domination & Control, False Teaching, Spiritual Abuse Tags: , , , No Comments »
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    This site is about the premier book, Charismatic Captivation, by Steven Lambert. You'll find here a detailed description of the book, its Table of Contents, chapter synopses, sample chapters, a special word from the author, and blog articles adapted from the book.

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