April 9, 2004
Confusion
Today I had a good talk with one of my sisters-in-law. She made a decision for Christ some time ago, but is not living a life consistent with her faith. I began to question her, and the more I did, the more horrified I became at the spiritual "training" she received from her church. She told me (with a straight face) how her pastor came one day and cast out a demon from the family cat! She also had demons cast out of her, as well as her mother. Everything that went wrong in her life was because of a demon. She also expressed the belief that it was necessary to be baptized to be saved.
I was able to explain many things to her from the Scriptures, but I have the strong impression that anything I said to her will be lost in the cacaphony of pseudo-Christian teaching she is getting from her church.
This has served to irritate me even more when I hear people say that we should seek to evangelize where there is no Gospel witness--with the implication that this part of Brazil is already saturated with the Gospel. I am here to say that the teaching my sister-in-law is getting has nothing to do with the Gospel. It is salvation by works, with a charasmatic sound track.
Last night I went for a walk in Parque Vitória, the neighborhood where my wife's family lives. I passed a Universal Church (charismatic, money laundering opperation), a National Baptist Church (gospel of works, connected to the hyper-charismatic G12 movement), an Assembly of God church (preaches you can lose your salvation, not saved unless you have the gift of tongues, etc), a Catholic church (by far the nicest building), and a Kingdom Hall of the Jehovah's Witnesses. The one church in this neighborhood that does preach the unadulterated Gospel is part of an association that has gone largely charasmatic and/or liberal. I have to leave Brazil on the 17th to continue raising support in the US. Who is going to spread the light and straighten out the confusion in this neighborhood?
I just got done with a meeting with Pastor Fransisco, pastor of one of our churches here in São Luís. He shared with me the many opportunities that exist in this area of Brazil. Never have I been so tempted to miss a flight!
There is much to be done, and I will not be able to do it in one lifetime. The only way it will be done is if God raises up others to help us.
Posted by Andrew on April 9, 2004 5:14 PM.
Comments
Posted by: nikkiana at April 11, 2004 6:03 PM
Nikkiana,
Thanks for the comment. I liked your site. Very nice!
It is quite difficult to "argue" with those of the charismatic persuasion, because theirs is a religion of feelings and experiences. Where revelation (the Bible) differs from what they feel or have "experienced", they go with their feelings.
The only way I have found is to gently ask what they think about certain passages of Scripture that directly contradict what they are saying. Then ask them if they believe the Bible is the Word of God. Always be sure never to come off like you are making fun of their experiences.
Also, it is important to distinguish between doctrinal differences (speaking in toungs, losing you salvation, direct revelation, etc...) and liturgical differences (dancing, clapping of hands, lively music, etc..). Many times we concentrate on the externals, and ignore the internals.
Posted by: Andrew at April 11, 2004 10:49 PM
Subscribe via
Dealing with the false teachings of Charismatic movements has probably been one of the hardest struggles I've had with my faith thus far... I haven't been a Christian for all that long (2 and a half years), and I'm not nearly as good at recognizing false doctrine as I should be.
My boyfriend's mother belongs to a Charismatic church and pretty much everything she says and does reflects that. I find having a simple conversation with her to be extremely taxing on me emotionally and spiritually because I'm always on the lookout for false doctrine... and because I don't necessarily realize it when she says things, I'm generally not in a position to correct her either. (Her son will correct her gently when he finds she's off base, but it's generally recieved negatively).
I went to a confrence that her church put on with her because I kinda felt bad that Matt (her son) and I constantly turn her down when she invites us to her church... and while it was highly educating to find out what her church believed, some of the things I heard and saw were just appauling because they were so far off Biblically.
But anyway, sorry to bombard you with my life's troubles. Your sister and your missions work to Brasil will be in my prayers. God bless!