Month: February 2014

I’ve never met the man, and I’m sure he’s a great guy who loves the Lord. I usually don’t mention names when I comment on the views of other Christians, but this guy is all over the Internet and speaks on Christian college campuses. His web site has no doctrinal statement so his theology isn’t public. (His web site only informs us that he loves frosted flakes and has a dog named Aslan — apparently some kind of Millennial, Gen Y credential.) I happened on a video he’s widely posted condoning Christians having tattoos. Jeff Bethke says he’s been inked, intentionally, “on purpose,” and not on a whim. He claims he did so as a result of “pursuing truth” and has no problem with Christians who tattoo. His argument centers on the very scripture that prohibits it, Leviticus 19:28: You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves; I am the Lord. Bethke’s argument is essentially that this verse can’t be taken out of context with regards to other verses in this same chapter. He claims that those who don’t approve of tattoos should also be consistent and not eat meat (v. 26). Any serious Bible student knows that there is a difference in the Old Testament between social/ceremonial law (v. 10 regarding leaving food for strangers) and moral/spiritual law. Injunctions pertaining to hygiene, agriculture, and nutrition are not in the same immutable category as spiritual law (v. 4 regarding idols). To make matters worse, Bethke quotes Revelation 19:16 (“on his thigh a name”) to claim that Jesus has a tattoo! (Lousy exegesis-the “thigh” in this case could have referred to military clothing or even a sword suspended from his thigh).

My purpose is not to personally attack Mr. Bethke, whom I’m sure is very sincere, but to make this point. DELIVERANCE MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE. (If you really want a lengthy, incisive analysis of tattoos read my book on CURSE BREAKING. To order CLICK HERE.) Doing deliverance opens one’s eyes to the empirical realities of how demonic forces operate. All I know about Bethke is what’s on his web site; I would like to meet him and discuss this matter further. I do know this — he doesn’t cast out demons! Doing real spiritual warfare teaches quickly how contemporary evil spirits operate.  I’ve lost track of the numbers of demons that use tattoos as a portal for possession. “This scripture was meant for a time and a place,” Bethke argues disingenuously, “It’s a wisdom issue, not a sin issue.”  My advice for any considering a tattoo: use some real wisdom before you ink that tramp stamp or butterfly on your breast.

It was bound to happen. One political leader after another has capitulated on the marijuana legalization issue, including our ex-pot-head President. I suppose it was only a matter of time before certain Christian leaders would follow. Some would rather not be seen as the Carrie Nation-kind, striving for what they think is a pointless Prohibition. Others decry the incarceration of too many youth, thrown into prisons for possession, only to learn how to be career criminals. Those who formerly opposed the legalization of pot, like the Republican Party have votes in mind. Some in the Tea Party are expressing Libertarian sentiments. But some Christian Leaders such as Mark DeMoss and Pat Robertson seem to be testing the waters of evangelical opinion. So, if there are any are questions about where I stand on the legalization of recreational weed, the answer is NO, NO, NO! (Legitimate medical use as a controlled substance monitored by the medical community, not pseudo-medical head shops, is another matter.)

Consumption will be directly proportional to the degree of legalization. Which drugs addicts will be deterred because their source of getting high is suddenly easier to obtain? The Centers for Disease Control calculate that excessive drinking costs the United States $223.5 billion annually and the government pays more than 60 percent of these health care costs. And we should add marijuana to that mix? Of course alcohol is a worse problem than pot, as Mr. Obama argues. THAT’S BECAUSE IT’S LEGAL! Legalize marijuana across the country and the next generation will be . . .  I don’t even want to think about it. Among cannabis users in treatment in the United States, 80.5% are not married, 90% have obtained an education of 12 years or less; 25% are unemployed (too stoned). Of the cannabis users who entered treatment services from 2000 to 2008, nearly a quarter report psychiatric problems.

I’ve dealt with the issues of weed’s physical and mental impairments before (“Obama on Pot” January 22, 2014 – to read CLICK HERE). But my point in this blog is that anyone involved in addiction rehabilitation or intervention ministry knows all too well the dangers of legalizing marijuana. Ironically, the same time that noted evangelicals are soft-peddling pot, the CVS Pharmacy chain announced that it would stop selling cigarettes by the end of the year! What kind of moral schizophrenia is gripping our country? Hardly a day goes by that I don’t deal with someone bound by demons and addictions, and the majority began down that road with the purple haze of pot. This isn’t an issue of just another culture war. This is a battle for the soul of America. Based on nearly four decades of deliverance I can tell you that Jack Daniels may or may not get you a demon, but the risk of invasion by an evil spirit is multiplied many fold with every toke taken.  We have a society on the edge of moral collapse Must we seek rationales for legalizing yet one more highway to hell?

The media buzz continues. Since the CNN story two weeks ago about Skype exorcisms, worldwide media has bombarded me wanting to know about Skype exorcisms. Under that guise, a reporter for a major online site try to prank me. He purported to donate real money toward our ministry for serious time with me to have an exorcism. His deception was pretty obvious, but I elected to consider the possibility that the plight he described of childhood sexual abuse might be legitimate. With that assumption, I ministered to him as I would anyone else who was genuine and aboveboard. Here is part of the email I sent him at the end of our time:

I want to follow up our time together. I realize that you were less than forthright about who you are and the possible intentions of your call. Several times I referred to the fact that this might be a possible ruse just to let you know that any misrepresentation on your part would invalidate the entire process. Several things that you said were dead giveaways and very transparent, but I gave you the benefit of the doubt in case you personally were in genuine need. Much of your story was inconsistent, but I chose to accept you at face value. If you lied about the facts of your life, it’s a sad commentary on any kind of journalism done with deception. If you were, by chance, being sincere about what you told me, then I will respect your privacy and not reveal details of our conversation publicly. And I will be willing to help your further for a time at no additional expense to you. On the other hand, should any part of our time together appear in any public format, we may take whatever legal action may be appropriate. I in no way consented to any recording of our conversation in any format, and the appropriate statues would apply to this.

Two thoughts: first, why would I do anything like this? Even though this man was deceptive I had no way of knowing if, in spite of his ill motives, whether or not some facts that he shared might be true.  Perhaps, what he meant for evil God could mean for good by my helping him. I’ve had people try to fool me before, and they actually ended up manifesting demons much to their surprise. But the saddest commentary on what happened is the ruse, if it was that, of claiming sexual abuse.  Molestation and sexual violence is all too common in our culture, and it’s not a funny matter.  It’s far too serious to use as some kind of trap to “expose” an exorcist. I haven’t heard back from this man. I don’t expect to until his article appears. Such attacks come with the territory of stepping outside of the box for the Lord.  For the next reporter who tries such an unscrupulous tactics, I suggest you find a different scenario rather than claiming predatory abuse. That kind of ploy is too demeaning to real victims of sexual crime.

The Chinese are coming, the Chinese are coming. The last time I was there (climbing the Great Wall on my birthday-Wow!) I was a bit overwhelmed at the pace with which the largest nation on earth is progressing. The economic powerhouse of Peking is about to become the mightiest power on the planet. With Washington in the political doldrums, China is surging past the U.S. So what’s next? American’s aren’t likely to exchange Big Macs for egg rolls or Apples for Lenovos (disclosure-I’m typing this on a Lenovo), but the behind-the-scenes ownership of American icons may eventually be communist controlled. Picture restrooms in airports with signs in Chinese characters. Wells Fargo with a dragon replacing a stagecoach. Seriously, my issue isn’t with corporate takeover but the spiritual aspects of the Chinese effect.

An article in The Economist (my personal favorite news magazine) argues of the future, “China’s power will make itself felt in every aspect of American life.” Here’s the rub. Granted, The People’s Republic of China is officially atheistic, but religion is very much alive. Missions experts have speculated that there may be more born-again Christians in China (mostly worshiping underground) than in the U.S. A. But my concern is that China is a profoundly superstitious and occult culture, filled with demonic ritualism. Some American architects, like their counterparts in Hong Kong, already consider Feng Shui when erecting an edifice. (In Hong Kong no office or residence would ever be built without consulting a Feng Shui master and appeasing the metaphysical energies of chi.) What happens if the Chinese investor in an American skyscraper insists on occult ceremonies before the ground is broken? That is just one of a thousand subtle ways that the America of the future may be overcome by Chinese culture. I’m not Xenophobic but with our country already succumbing more every day to New Age ideas, such as “holy yoga” in churches, who knows where it will lead. Conspiratorialists of another age were worried that the Antichrist was the Pope, or Hitler. Who knows, he may speak Mandarin.