Cults in Cyberspace: Just a Mouse Click Away

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cults, Cyberspace, deception, discerning the spirits, exhortation, experience, false spirits, false teachers, Hypnosis, Marisa O'Connor, Mind Control, Online-Preachers, preaching, Scientology, Sri Chinmoy, Stefan Molyneux, warning

Photo Credits https://kalingatv.com/features/eye-care-tips-for-winter-by-dr-tarun-panda/

Dear reader, I am still occupied with this issue about cultic dangers. After publishing a more encouraging blog post last week, here comes another warning about the subtlest, and maybe easiest way of how Satan could try to capture our minds. This particular topic has weighed like a burden on my heart for a few days now, but I would find no time to write it all down. Let’s start with a testimony by a woman who experienced ‘something’ on the internet which seemed to be so innocent in the beginning.

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Seventeen Point Checklist for Unknown Groups

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cults, deception, discerning the spirits, exhortation, false spirits, false teachers, Michael Clark

John Hurt in “Nineteen Eighty Four”, George Orwell (Michael Radford, 1984)

I decided to publish another checklist that might be helpful to find out whether you or anyone else you know has touched on any kind of group (Christian, religious, political, esoteric etc.) that eventually turns out to be dangerous for spirit, body, and soul. Michael Clark and I translated this Seventeen Point Checklist from a checklist I would find years ago on a German website. Michael recently published a great blog article in which he described his own painful experiences in cults. The picture he attached to that post was very inspiring for me, so I also chose a photo from George Orwell’s “1984”. I recall how much I hated to read this book in high school about 36 years ago, such a dark scenery! Back to the check list: If you follow the link below, you can also see the pictures (cartoons) that go along with the German text which I changed slightly due to a, which I believe, inappropriate wording in one case. I wanted to follow the Spirit’s leading here as you might have already expected when you are familiar with my writings.

http://www.ebi-sachsen.de/sekten/checkliste.html

“What Is A Cult? Recognizing And Avoiding Unhealthy Groups” by Jayanti Tamm

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cults, deception, discerning the spirits, exhortation, false spirits, false teachers, Jayanti Tamm, leadership

Today I want to offer you a short excerpt, or more specifically, a list written by Jayanti Tamm who was born into a cult from which she could escape only 25 years later. Although her former guru, Sri Chinmoy, was not a Christian cult leader, I believe the chief features of cults she would work out in this list below are generally applicable to all sorts of unhealthy and anti-Christian groups, too. 

A Pact with the Devil

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Charles G. Finney, cults, deception, discerning the spirits, exhortation, following Jesus, Freemasonry, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Lions Clubs International, oaths, Rotary International, Satan, Sects, sin, the devil, true faith, warning

This time you might wonder at the topic I chose to write about. Like the charismatic issue that has bothered me for some time and eventually led to my last article, today I felt I should start to illustrate the possible dangers that might approach us in our every day life through people who are not necessarily Christians although they sometimes claim to believe in God. I am referring to ‘noble’, well-deemed people (mostly men) who might work as university professors, physicians, judges, notaries or bank directors. This list is anything but exhaustive. It might only serve to point you to the credibility their profession normally lends to them. What they all have in common is that they are (very) successful. Most of the times they are rich at that. Sometimes they become famous, too, sooner or later. However, they had to do something in order to get there. As German author and poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in his work “Faust” described, “The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the devil, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures.” (1)

Called to Live A Holy Life

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a holy life, Christianity, discerning the spirits, encouragement, experience, God's voice, good works, intimacy, Jesus Christ, peace, preaching, T.A. Sparks, the Bible

Happy New Year to every reader of my blog!  🙂 This post should have been published in December already, but as I was very busy and have been sick for one week, I thought I could offer it to you belatedly although these festive pictures might strike you as odd now.  😉 I just added the quote in the beginning and here we go. T. Austin Sparks put it so properly as he said,

The Christian who is truly intimate with Jesus will never draw attention to himself but will only show the evidence of a life where Jesus is completely in control.

I sometimes wonder whether we as Christians know that we are called to live a holy life, a life that is evidently different from what this world calls ‘life’. Not that I am thinking here of ‘holy’ Christians who preach the law while they tend to live licentiousness privately sooner or later. Such preachers are often characterized by a very offensive style of preaching. They only ‘feel good’ if they were able to misuse their self-assumed authority by beating the hell out of their audience (speaking spiritually here). If those who were preached to bow their heads eventually as they find themselves completely discouraged, only then such preachers feel better than others. This is a carnal way to preach the gospel, indeed, as it only serves to boost the sermonizer’s self.

Disclosing Deeds of Darkness

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being born again, Christianity, church, darkness, deception, discerning the spirits, exhortation, experience, eyes of the heart, false spirits, God's voice, Jesus Christ, light, poems, prayer, preaching, prophecy, separation from religious spirits, separation from the world, worldly spirits

Photo by Sarah Schuberth

To be honest with you, although I was hell-bent on going to bed, quite some time after midnight I felt the strong ‘nudge’ from God to re-publish an older poem of mine, maybe, even two. I do know that this is not my poetry blog and most of my readers prefer reading blog articles instead. Nonetheless, I want to emphasize here, once again, the danger of cherishing any kind of fellowship or friendship, not only with worldly people (which should be clear), but also with those people who are used to meeting on a regular basis where one ought to hear from God. As I have often made clear before, a spirit being who has been birthed from above will, like God, not be predictable in their speaking, writing and doing. We are like the wind if we listen to God’s leading only. So, if we really want to have spiritual relationships first with God and then with one another, too, we do not only need to go away from the world and its pleasures, we should also say ‘Bye bye’ to any regular and obligatory gathering, whatever form it might take (attending church, home church meeting, connecting via internet etc.). The reason for doing so is that we cannot submit to God’s unpredictable leading and to predictable tradition (like preaching or listening to a sermon every Sunday and singing hymns in determined order) at the same time! Either we obey God and cannot be figured by anyone who does not yet have His Spirit, or we submit to another spirit that can be put in a box, a spirit that can be controlled by us. It might be easier and feel better to go on attending meetings with other Christians, but if God does not show up in such a gathering because His Spirit is quenched there, who are we really looking for? 🙄

The Times We Live in or …Thoughts on Today’s Theology

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Catholicism, Christian books, Christianity, darkness, deception, discerning the spirits, dying to self, Evangelicalism, exhortation, experience, false spirits, false teachers, light, Lucifer, Protestantism, Satan, temptations

In recent weeks I got more and more aware of the fact that there has been an alarming trend in (public) Christianity to migrate from often times good beginnings as believers in God and Christ to one of three seemingly different camps of Christendom. Let me give you my observations for this assertion.

What grieves me…

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compassion, deception, discerning the spirits, divorce, exhortation, experience, eyes of the heart, God's guidance, grace, Jesus Christ, leadership, Remarriage, repentance, Satan, sin

Photo by Susanne Schuberth

God alone knows our hearts and why we do what we do. From hence, we have no right to judge others wrongly and condemn them. However, we need to know with which people we can be open and which people we should beware of. Just yesterday I had two seemingly similar, yet also different experiences.

Small things and big things or… How to meet God in everyday life

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Benedict of Nursia, Christianity, contemplation, deception, discerning the spirits, dying to self, experience, false gospel, false teachers, fame, following Jesus, Francis of Assisi, Jesus Christ, Joel Osteen, John of the Cross, Joyce Meyer, Lester Sumrall, mediation, Michael Clark, mystics, Resisting the Devil, riches, sacraments, Satan, success, Teresa of Ávila, the cross, worldly spirits, ZEN, Zig Ziglar

Photo by Susanne Schuberth

I just did a short research on the internet that left me quite frustrated, at least regarding the Christian notion of small things and big things. It has been quite obvious to me that this world is all about recognition, fame, money, fulfilling all your dreams and the pursuit of happiness through sensual pleasures. However, reading the views of famous and successful Christians (aha!), you could find several instructions and to-do lists on how to ”pray for the big things” (Joel Osteen) or the advice that ”spending time with God through prayer and His Word is a prerequisite for having a great life and fulfilling your purpose” (Joyce Meyer). The latter also said that, “I can tell you from experience that God’s help and presence in our lives is vital. He is the Author of all true success and everything that is good-without Him, we can do nothing of true value.” The problem with what these famous Christian preach and teach is that they sometimes offer a great deal of truth mixed with a tiny amount of lies. That can be really tricky at times as you might see when you read Joel Osteen’s whole quote that says, “I don’t think you should spend your life praying for things, but I do believe you should thank God for what He’s given you… but I think the scripture teaches us that we can pray for our dreams, pray for the big things… he’s not a small God; this God is incredible” (Emphasis in red is my suggestion of the little lies in these two quotes here).

Why Positive Thinking Does Not Work

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experience, following Jesus, Gloria Copeland, Joel Osteen, joy, Kenneth Copeland, peace, positive thinking, prosperity gospel, Robert H. Schuller, thought life, Victoria Osteen, Word of Faith

(Picture taken from https://florentflora.files.wordpress.com/2012/02)

Actually, the Bible gave us some good advice as to how we could stay in God’s peace continually. But oh, on our own we might find it pretty difficult to follow what Paul told the Philippians as he said,

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you. (Phil 4:6-9 KJV)

It seems to me that ‘Positive Thinkers’, esp. of the Christian kind, took part of these verses and gave them a completely new meaning they originally did not have. Just giving you a few examples in the form of quotes here.