Bethel Church

I hate the New Age Movement.

There is nothing I have seen which separates ‘New Apostolic Reformation’ from New Age. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

New Age is all about ‘sprituality’, and ‘energy’, and ‘vibrations’ and resonating with The Cosmic Energy. All of this, of course, is done for selfish reasons. What good is it if you can’t get what you want?

I hate the NAR, as well because, (and I have said this for a long time,) the abuses in the Charismatic Churches give Christianity a bad name. All of Christianity.

There was this young girl named Olive, whose parents were a part of Bethel Church. Two year old Olive died. A horrible tragedy. Bethel Redding – a place of miracles – asked God to resurrect this child. Money poured in. Prayer meetings were held. God was being tested. He is The Great Healer. He is The Miracle Maker. He can do anything.

They ‘held off’ from burying 2 year old Olive. They ‘believed’ in a MIRACLE.

What is it about God’s Omnipotence which would have prevented him from resurrecting Olive from her burial spot?

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. The reason the burial needed to be held off was to help convince The Congregation, (as well as the grieving parents, friends and relatives,) that she would ‘pop’ back to life. However, if she was 6 feet under ground, she would just suffocate and die. AGAIN. So, Bethel didn’t bury her – – just in case God answered their resurrection prayers, but ‘forgot’ to un-bury her.

Also: The finality. How can you ‘sell’ a resurrection if you are going through the ‘motions’ of burial? In comparison, this would not be a Christ-like ‘burial’ resurrection, it would ‘merely’ be a re-animation, as it were. Makes things easier for God, doesn’t it?

Bullshit.

NAR is all about ‘do for me’. Bethel is all about selling miracles. Bill Johnson defends his actions, because he is CEO of The Miracle Church. The litany of miracles already serviced under Bill Johnson’s CEO-ship is reason enough to believe. However, in order to believe the miracles already meted out, you had to be ‘sold’ the miracles.

Bethel Church sells miracles. Despite the fact that Bill Johnson is one of the least ‘Charismatic’ preachers ever, he and his Church are in the business of selling miracles.

These miracles don’t exist outside the sales of said miracles. They aren’t verified by the medical community, ever. They are verified via testimonials of the people who believe them. NAR and its brethren will lengthen your leg. Truly, miraculously, lengthen your leg. It will be done in front of the congregation, with a multitude of witnesses. Just don’t ask your doctor to measure before and after. These measurements are sure to contradict the MIRACLE you have witnessed. After all, witnessing an attested miracle is direct testimony. A doctor is entirely unable to verify or dismiss the miracle, as long as he didn’t witness it.

Here is a really simple question: Was Olive’s resurrection request made in order to ‘serve God’? In other words, if these resurrection prayers weren’t met, could God have ‘helped Himself’ to this resurrection? Was this a resurrection which would have served God? If so, why did Bill Johnson need to direct the actions of God?

What about all the other people who have lost loved ones? If God answered this prayer, wouldn’t He be snubbing all those others? Why Olive?

Pedophiles, prey on the naive and innocent, The NAR Church preys on the lost, lonely, and despairing. People that want desperately to believe. They are victims. They are prey. I pray they don’t get victimized one minute longer.

But let’s break this down: Bethel has just proven – beyond a shadow of any doubt – that CHRISTIANITY is bullshit. If you believe in Christianity, then you believe in these types of miracles, right? But we now know that these miracles – not only don’t they happen – they aren’t possible. Christ never rose from the dead. It is all the same. It is all bullshit.

Compare this with New Age. This movement is all about controlling your environment – CHANNELLING power – for your own purposes! Why do you think it is so popular? Isn’t this what we all want? Of course it is.

This is not what Christianity is about.

Christ is not selfish. God is not selfish. Us sapiens, now we are a selfish lot. That is what we do. That is why Christ came, to save us from ourselves. Espousing ‘miracles’ in the name of Christ isn’t just blasphemy, it is heretical. It is anti-Christ-like. It is, in no uncertain terms, evil. 

With ‘New Age Spirituality’ we can love, love, love ourselves. Loving ourselves is where it all starts, isn’t it? If there is anything wrong with you, the 21st century New Age Therapist and the New Age adherents all agree: You need to love yourself more! In fact, if you aren’t engaged in narcissistic endeavors, you may be mal-adjusted, and in need of some self-love. Here comes New Age to the rescue. Here comes Bethel to serve your miracle needs! You want more? We got MORE!

There is no defending them. The whole movement is ‘in on it’. God loves The Church for sure, but if we just look at miracles, God prefers the Charismatic Churches. There are more Miracles Per Congregant found there than in any other Church!

Bethel was going to raise this 2 year old girl FROM THE DEAD! Actually, it was Jesus who failed, really. Bethel did everything they could. Jesus just failed Bethel. I don’t know why Jesus failed, but surely Jesus failed. Jesus failed. Jesus failed…

Apparently Jesus didn’t get ‘the memo’. Perhaps he wasn’t aware of the need. Either Jesus didn’t hear the prayers, or The Congregation didn’t BELIEVE properly. If these parents weren’t racked with enough guilt, they can rest assured their beliefs fell short of what was required for their ‘belief’ quota. Thanks to Bethel, Jesus is impotent. Bethel made sure that the world at large knows this, because Christ’s failure is the Bethel message.

Hasn’t Bethel demonstrated that Christ’s power doesn’t exist? His power doesn’t exist only in the confines of Bethel Church, but at any Christian Church. Every Christian Church is now subject to this standard. Christianity is proven to be a lie. They raised the BS bar for all the world to see. Bethel is no longer ‘the messenger’. They have delivered the Ultimate Christian Message: BULLSHIT!

I shy away from Bullshit. I can sense it. I can smell it. It doesn’t look good, it doesn’t smell good, and it is always self-serving.

I once attended such a Church. There were only a few of us there, as it was a mid-week service. After forming a circle, we began to pray, and I closed my eyes in prayer.

Suddenly I heard some weird noises. I opened my eyes to witness a man on the ground, flailing about. The Pastor waved at him: “Be gone. Out of him, evil spirits.” I wasn’t aware my presence had brought this ‘presence’ here. If I was to buy into it, I had seen evil spirits take a hold of a man while my eyes were closed, THEN the Pastor exorcised these demons – right in front of my eyes – until the man rose again. (I could sense and smell BS.) I was creeped out.

Afterwards My wife and I spoke to the Pastor, and relayed a story of a man falling from a bike, right in front of our car, unconscious, several years earlier. My wife laid hands on him and prayed. The Pastor said: “I was there.” Really? You were there? The odor was forming steam around The Pastor. I would never return to this Church again.

It isn’t that this resurrection miracle didn’t take place. None of the miracles do. According to The Miracle Churches, miracles are commonplace. So common, in fact, they can be expected. Once something is expected, it fails to be a miracle, by any definition.

I believe when a baby is born, just a little over a pound they can survive. When they do, surely it is a miracle. I believe people can have stage 4 cancer, and have it go into remission. Super rare. A miracle, really.

Christ rose from the dead as a miracle that needed to take place. It was a miracle because  resurrections don’t happen. When Jesus rose from the dead, all would know He was The Christ. I wouldn’t dare put Olive in this arena. So why would any Pastor?

I sincerely feel bad for her parents. They were lead astray, by leaders who knew better. I refuse to believe Bill Johnson was lead astray by his own beliefs. That isn’t how it works. That isn’t how any of this works. He knew this miracle would not come to pass. I know this, because he has directed a multitude of unverified miracles sold under his direction.

Decades ago, I prayed infrequently. When I prayed, my prayers were answered. Time and time and time again. I prayed infrequently because I thought of it somewhat like the lottery. The more I pray, the less likely my prayers will be answered. So I would ‘save them up’ for really important stuff.

I now know God was telling me He is real. I can lean on Him.

When my Mom had a heart attack, I asked God for some more time. I was already on borrowed time, so I didn’t ask for much. Just ‘a little more time’ with Mom.

Mom died a couple years later.

My father had heart surgery a couple years ago. I prayed, constantly, that he have a successful surgery, and that I am able to spend some more time with him. After he was finished, the surgeon came out to meet me, my sisters and Step-Mother. The surgeon was exhausted. It was the Doctor’s demeanor, more than his words, that frightened me. I headed back to Massachusetts from NYC, when my sister called to tell me Dad had seizures. I turned my car around and returned.

The next day, Dad was sleeping, and hallucinating. Not sure what that was about, but I know I didn’t like it. Dad stabilized, and I returned home.

For the first few months, Dad was very tired, sleeping constantly. Then he began to get better. Still, he needs consistent care. As a result of this, my sisters and I will alternate caring for him, when my Step-mom has to go away. While Dad isn’t what he once was, (no one is,) because he needs care, I am spending more time with Dad than I would if he was better. God isn’t just great, he is wildly generous.

I love God. I love my Church. I love that God is there for all who truly seek Him.

As for miracles: God listens. Without greed, that is miracle enough.