A large advert appeared in the Belfast Telegraph of Saturday 13th August 2011 for meetings scheduled to take place the following weekend, 19th-21st August. The headline speaker was listed as Shane Claiborne and I recognised that name from my previous research into what was called ‘The Emerging Church’.
In the light of the short time between now and the upcoming meetings I’m posting this brief article to expose some of the problems associated with ‘the ministry’ of Shane Claiborne.
It is both interesting and usually frustrating (from a Christian standpoint) to often hear people on television (usually psychologists or behavioural experts) trying to explain why people do some of the terrible things that are reported on our screens. In many cases the cause is attributed by them to some ‘deficiency’ in the person’s upbringing like poverty, a lack of parental love, poor education of some other social factor and influence. Whilst in some cases these factors could possibly have triggered bad behaviour they are (from a Christian standpoint) not the root cause of the problem, for this very simple reason, that people raised in affluent situations, who enjoyed parental love and who received a good education have often displayed the very same bad behaviour. So why is it that people do what they do?
What is behind the Arab revolutions that have been occurring throughout the Middle East? If you haven’t done so already, we suggest you read our previous article on this topic: The Arab World Explodes (But It Has Nothing to Do with Democracy), available on our website.
These revolutions truly have NOTHING to do with “democracy”! “The concept of western-style democracy in the region is laughable, and has virtually no historical precedent, except in Israel. So, when the governments of the US, UK, and EU demand democracy in Egypt, it is the ultimate in hypocrisy and a gross ignorance of history…. Even a cursory review of Middle East history – for, say, the past 2000 years – will show that democracy is a concept that is completely foreign to the Middle East (because of the mindset of the people). It will not work and has never worked there – just as it has never worked in most of Africa.”1
Any notion that God’s people are at liberty to seek to fuse together genuine worship of Him with any form of pagan worship is utterly rejected and prohibited by God in His Word. As Joshua was nearing the end of his life he addressed the people of Israel and their elders and said to them “Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right or to the left. That ye come not among these nations that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow yourselves unto them. But cleave unto the Lord your God, as ye have done unto this day” [Joshua 23:7-8]… “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity… And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve… If ye forsake the Lord and serve strange gods then he will turn and do you hurt… Now therefore put away said he the strange gods which are among you and incline your heart unto the Lord God of Israel” [Joshua 24: 1-23].
In January 2011, protests erupted in Tunisia and quickly spread to other Arab countries, and the world watched amazed as the streets of these countries’ capital cities filled with hundreds of thousands of angry, chanting, screaming protesters, calling for their governments to step down or be overthrown. And how did the liberal media report these riots? As “protests for democracy”! As “popular uprisings”! And this brazen media smokescreen has been accepted as the truth, by most of the world!
On the day that Australia is about to be hit by the huge and destructive Cyclone Yasi comes news of an equally spiritually damaging destructive force about to be unleashed upon England in April 2011. On his ‘twitter’ page Todd Bentley has posted the following.
Just Confirmed. England is on For April about 14 hours ago via Twitterrific
Excited about Our Return to England and the Uk this April. Hope we can connect with all Europeans friends and partners. about 13 hours ago via Twitterrific
This is truly horrific news for the cause of Christ in England as this totally discredited charlatan revels in the news of coming to England – something he actually had to cancel back in 2008/9 when he committed adultery and subsequently divorced his wife – in the midst of a supposed so-called Holy Ghost Revival in Florida!
To arm yourself to be able to warn others about this ungodly deceiver I will now list various articles written at the time of the goings-on in Florida and just after, and my prayer is that the Lord will reign supreme and graciously and mercifully prevent any repetition of the dishonour brought in the past to His name by Todd Bentley.
A fellow contender, Bud Press of the Christian Research Institute issued a warning letter [in various languages] at the beginning of January this year seeking to warn the people of Haiti about a planned visit there by Todd Bentley – perhaps Bud’s letter might serve as a template to be used to warn unsuspecting people or fellowships in England that may be at risk of exposure to Todd Bentley.
On Bud’s web site on you will also find links to many articles on the subject of Todd Bentley.
Cecil Andrews – ‘Take Heed’ Ministries – 2nd February 2011
Dear praying friends,
It’s Tuesday 9th November 2010 and as I sit at the computer with an open document in front of me, the reality that this will be the last edition of “News From The Front’ that I write is only now beginning to fully impact upon me. Back on 31st October 1989 I resigned from secular employment fully convinced that the Lord wished me to serve Him in a full-time capacity. Having waited on the Lord for His leading I formed ‘Take Heed’ Ministries on 1st September 1990 and the following September (1991) I issued the first 3-page letter edition of “News From The Front”. Many who received that first issue have faithfully remained with ‘Take Heed’ over the ensuing years and of course others have in the will of the Lord gone on to their eternal reward. The faithful encouragement and support by recipients of the newsletter has been immeasurable and also a great confirmation of the Lord’s will where ‘Take Heed’ was concerned – to all I say a humble and sincere ‘thank you’. It has been ‘quite a journey’ ministering in many wonderful places, meeting welcoming brothers and sisters in Christ, hosting ministry visits by a wide range of gifted Christians and personally addressing and exposing the many deceptions and errors that have assailed true Christendom over those years. I had considered listing some of the issues tackled, outreaches undertaken and appeals made and met for various needs but I have decided against that – I simply want to say that without the faithful prayers and sacrificial giving of so many over the years, who were moved by a desire to honour our God and Saviour, these various ventures would never have got off the ground.
The recent announcement of the engagement of Prince William to Kate Middleton brought great joy to most people in the United Kingdom and consequently they in turn are looking forward with eager anticipation to the Royal Wedding planned for Friday 29th April 2011 – a day that has been officially designated as a national holiday.
Although the announcement was overwhelmingly welcomed by the majority of citizens there were not unexpectedly a few dissenting and critical voices from the usual anti-monarchy sources.
However, one particular criticism was most unexpected and it really struck a sour note as was reported in The Church Times of 26 November 2010 on http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=104605 – part of that report stated –
On the web site of Maynooth College where Roman Catholic priests in Ireland are trained for their priesthood the following has appeared on this link – http://www.maynoothcollege.ie/news/JohnCalvinConference.shtml
(Cecil – this link is no longer available to access but details of the conference can be viewed on this link – http://www.catholicbishops.ie/2010/10/05/calvinand-loyola-conference-in-maynooth-on-8-and-9-october-2010/)
John Calvin Conference
Living in union with Christ in today’s world:
John Calvin and Ignatius Loyola
Friday 8th / Saturday 9th October, 2010
John Calvin, French Protestant Reformer, and Ignatius Loyola, Spanish founder of the Society of Jesus, were for a brief time contemporaries in the Collège de Montaigu of the University of Paris. St Patrick’s College, Maynooth will host a conference that will bring something of the inheritance of both these foundational figures into dialogue. Both Calvin and Loyola were Sorbonne men. Six of the founding fathers of St Patrick’s College, Maynooth, were professors of the Sorbonne.
