On October 5, 2006, Harold Cabballeros, founder and senior pastor of El Shaddai Church in Guatemala City, spoke at the "Spirit in the World: The Dynamics of Pentecostal Growth and Experience" symposium sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation and hosted by the University of Southern California.
At approximately 13:50 into his keynote address, Caballeros stated,
"In 30 years, Guatemala has gone from 1.2 percent, Christians in the population, to 40 percent today: an amazing growth, an amazing growth curve that now puts Guatemala along the line of South Korea in the number of conversions, I mean the number of born-again believers in the world. Not only that, but 60% of those believers today are Pentecostals."
The growth of evangelical Protestant and born-again Christianity over the past several decades in Guatemala has indeed been very impressive. But most estimates would have placed the 1976 Catholic segment of the population of the country as having been in the majority, rather than 1.2 percent.
It is hard to avoid the impression that Caballeros does not consider Catholics to be Christians.
Caballeros was one of two keynote speakers for the dinner event which launched the three-day symposium. The other keynote speaker was Luis Lugo, Directer of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.
An extensive report has been posted at Truth Wins Out (TWO) on the rebranding of Exodus International, the discredited and financially strapped pray-away-the-gay organization. The report is titled "The Exodus SmokeScreen" and subtitled, "Exodus wants you to believe it has changed its ways and gone mainstream. The problem is, it's not true."
""I am offended as a mother; as the daughter of a cancer patient; as a Christian woman; as a fundraiser and donor of time and money to three organizations promoting cancer awareness, research and patient advocacy; and as a long-time patron of the skating rink."
The incident led Miller to write a letter to the Better Business Bureau, complaining about the owner's reaction.
"This isn't about breast cancer awareness," Lott said. "It's about Jesus."
The Democrats in the Delaware state House of Representatives are in full damage control mode over a tribute given back in January to C. Peter Wagner, a prominent leader of the New Apostolic Reformation. It would seem inconceivable at first glance that a legislative body owned by Dems (they have an 11-seat majority in that chamber) would give any sort of honor to one of the proponents of a fascist brand of Christianity. Nonetheless, Wagner is openly touting this as an endorsement of his efforts to raise up an army of "overcoming" Christians who, in submission to self-proclaimed "apostles" and "prophets," will take over the world and put down all resistance to it in order to bring Jesus back.
Earlier today, the state house Democratic caucus put out a statement--which I got in an email along with several others who have written about this snafu--saying that Wagner is seriously misinformed.
Under the House tribute process, each individual Representative is responsible for making a request on behalf of his or her constituency. Discretion for what constitutes an acceptable request is left to each individual Representative rather than subjecting each tribute to a review that could be interpreted as partisan or vindictive. The Speaker of the House is elected by the entire House and his signature appears on each tribute. That signature is a formality and is electronically applied.
To be clear, in no way does a tribute represent nor should it be interpreted as an endorsement by the Delaware House of Representatives. The House does not vote on tributes. They are requested and sponsored by a specific Representative or Representatives.
Unfortunately, Dr. Wagner seemingly has mischaracterized the intent of this tribute to be an endorsement by the Delaware House of Representatives. We want to be absolutely clear that the House of Representatives does not endorse Dr. Wagner or his organization.
Additionally, the Delaware House of Representatives does not endorse any religion or present one above another. It is not uncommon for individual Representatives to request tributes to honor members of the religious community much in the same way that nonprofit and civic groups are recognized. Multiple faiths have been recognized through these tributes throughout the years.
The statement puts the onus for this tribute on the state rep who requested it, Danny Short, a Republican from Seaford. However, the Dems bear a measure of responsibility for this epic fail as well. As has been made embarrassingly clear, the current process of legislative tributes opens the door for the state to be made to look foolish at best and horrible at worst. This situation is firmly a case of the latter. It's not unlike Sun Myung Moon hornswoggling several congressmen and senators into witnessing him crowning himself as Messiah.
Those of us who have watched the New Apostolic Reformation have come to expect bizarre claims. Well, today C. Peter Wagner made one of the most bizarre claims yet. He sent out an email to his supporters claiming that the city of Seaford, Delaware and the Delaware House of Representatives had actually given him commendations for his efforts to commission "apostles" in the state.
(F)or a year or more I have been in touch with apostolic leadership in the state of Delaware, the first state admitted to the union, about the possibility of organizing key apostles in the state and having their government recognized by the state. I was honored to be invited to sit with six of these leaders for an extended meeting on January 19, 2012. Preparations for this meeting had been going on for several months. Those present agreed to constitute themselves as the Delaware Council of Apostles, and they appointed one of their number to serve as Convening Apostle.
Three of the six had not yet been publicly commissioned as apostles, so a public meeting for commissioning was scheduled that evening. Much to my surprise, a good bit of field work had been done to assure the approval of the State of Delaware. As part of the ceremony, I was officially welcomed as an apostle and authorized to help commission apostles to the state. The mayor of Seaford (a committed believer) read the Commendation from his office and presented me with the key to the city. This was followed by a Tribute complete with the seal of the Sussex County Council, a Tribute with the seal of the Senate of the State of Delaware, and a Tribute from the House of Representatives of the State of Delaware read personally by the representative of the district.
The commendation was supposedly introduced by State Representative Daniel B. "Danny" Short, a Republican. There's just one problem. In all likelihood, it isn't true. A search for "Peter Wagner" on the Delaware General Assembly Website turned up absolutely nothing, and there is no reference that Short ever sponsored such legislation on the list of bills he's sponsored. And it's pretty hard to believe such legislation would have seen the light of day in any event, since the Democrats pretty much own that chamber (26 Dems, 15 Repubs).
In yet more proof that the New Apostolic Reformation is trying to make itself heard in a big way this year, late yesterday several leaders of that movement got together to announce a new "prayer effort" targeting the entertainment industry: TheCRY Hollywood. The formal launch will be a prayer rally to be held at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, followed by a two-day "This is That Conference" at Angelus Temple.
The people behind this are pretty much a who's who of the NAR/Latter Rain: Lou Engle, Stacey Campbell and James Goll among others. It's being organized by Faytene Grasseschi of Canada, who has led several "CRYs" north of the border since 2002.
The blueprint for this looks like it was lifted almost verbatim from what Engle's doing with TheCall.
TheCRY (Hollywood) is a prayer movement that gathers believers from every denomination, ethnic background and generation for a full day of prayer, fasting and abandoned worship. Those who come to TheCRYs believe in the power of prayer, fasting and speaking the love of God over a city, nation or sphere.
Prayer leaders (aka: speakers), worship leaders (aka: musicians) and artists all come at their own expense and serve freely recognizing the day is a corportate offering to the Lord as we, with one heart, pray for Him to move in entertainment media.
The leadership of TheCRY Hollywood is made up of several seasoned leaders from the Hollywood area and beyond. These leaders will lead in prayer, worship and share inspiring sound bytes throughtout the event that will direct the gathering back to prayer.
Sounds like something that anyone can get behind--but as we well know, the NAR/Latter Rain has a thing for taking perfectly laudable gestures and contorting them into something sinister.
CBS and other media outlets have pounced on a Rick Santorum claim, that America's colleges and universities are hotbeds of anti-religious "indoctrination", but Newt Gingrich has been saying that for years.
As Santorum declared in a January 25, 2011 church appearance in Naples, Florida, "If they taught Judeo-Christian principles in those colleges and universities, they would be stripped of every dollar. If they teach radical secular ideology, they get all the government support that they can possibly give them. Because you know 62 percent of children who enter college with a faith conviction leave without it."
One of the leaders of the effort to write a gay marriage ban into North Carolina's constitution is Patrick Wooden, the pastor of Upper Room Church of God in Christ in Raleigh. In the past few days, the yeomen at People for the American Way's Right Wing Watch have decided to turn the hot lights on him. What they found is cringe-worthy, even by wingnut standards.
Last week, Wooden appeared outside the Southern Poverty Law Center with several other prominent religious right leaders to protest the SPLC's designation of their organizations as hate groups for their anti-gay hankering. A few days before that event, Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth about Homosexuality invited Wooden onto his radio show on WYLL in Chicago. Wooden proceeded to prove just why the hate group label is well deserved. Besides the usual religious right spiel about gays being a danger to the very fabric of civilization, he suggested that middle-aged gays have serious health problems later in life. Hear it for yourself. Listen to the whole thing (if you can stand it) here.
Earlier this week, LaBarbera invited Wooden onto his show again, where Wooden doubled down on the ugliness and bigotry. He claimed that gays stick cell phones and other objects up their rears, and even claims to have seen a gay man die from losing his bowels. Nope, this isn't snark. Listen to the whole thing here.
As a black tongue-talker myself, even now listening to this makes me shudder. Fundies claim to love gays--just not their lifestyle. Apparently Wooden has an awfully funny definition of "love."
If Public Policy Polling's early numbers are accurate (and there's little reason to doubt they are) Newt Gingrich will likely take the lead in national polling this week. In light of this, there's something that's developed over the last month that we need to tie around Newt's neck like an anchor. Specifically, one of his most prominent endorsers, the American Family Association, is now giving succor to the outright dangerous quackery of AIDS denialism.
Earlier this month, AFA policy chief Bryan Fischer's guest on Focal Point was prominent cell biologist and AIDS denier Peter Duesberg. For those who don't know, Duesberg believes HIV doesn't AIDS, and that HIV is an elaborate hoax cooked up by researchers who want to keep their grants--claims Fischer strongly endorsed. The full interview is still available on the AFA's YouTube channel (part 1, part 2) and was featured prominently on the front page of the AFA Website. Later that week, on the Rightly Concerned blog, Fischer argued that Magic Johnson is proof positive HIV doesn't cause AIDS.
We already knew that the AFA is a prominent supporter of pseudoscience--after all, it's one of the biggest proponents of creation "science." However, the AFA's foray into AIDS denial is several times more dangerous--for the simple reason that it's actually been proven to kill people.
Anyone who's studied the religious right can't help but notice a pattern to how they've operated over the last three decades. They get a little bit of power, only to overreach and get smacked down hard. Then they slither back into the shadows and wait a few years to build back up again. Wash, rinse, repeat. Well, if a video captured by People for the American Way is any indication, the overreach is beginning in earnest.
You may remember that Cindy Jacobs is spearheading a prayer initiative for this election called Fast Forward. Well, last week at a rally to launch the event held in Washington, the Family Research Council's national prayer director, Pierre Bynum, was on hand to represent his organization, and openly called for non-Christians to be banned from holding office. Watch for yourself.
The folks at PFAW's Right Wing Watch have dug up evidence that indicates Jacobs is working hand-in-glove with the FRC on this "Fast Forward" drive. The FRC has been in a sort of informal alliance with Jacobs, Peter Wagner and other prominent dominionists for some time, and it looks like this appearance by Bynum pretty much cements it.
Late last week, New Apostolic Reformation "prophetess" Cindy Jacobs announced the yearly "Word of the Lord" from the Apostolic Council of Prophetic Elders. (h/t to PFAW's Right Wing Watch).
This "Word" makes for pretty chilling reading. Jacobs declares that this will be a year of a "world-wide shaking"--and that this country is going to get shaken as well unless it shifts hard to the right.
It was sensed from Isaiah 22:15-22 that God wants His church "shut the door" to those who will try to stand in the highest offices of the nations who do not have a father"s heart for the people. Dramatic shifts will take place in election cycles. Some politicians are in the balance and will either vote righteously or go into a deep darkness.
In the United States elections, God is going to "blow away" the covering of some people and reveal the truly righteous and conservative. We are calling for a year of prayer and fasting for the nation. The United States has one year to shift or be seriously shaken.
Without such a shift, Jacobs thinks we could go the way of Europe, which is about to "shake, shake, shake" because it thought it could "leave God out of their government." The rest of the world is in for a massive shaking as well.
We already knew that the religious right would like nothing better than to sweep away the First Amendment. Well, one of its more prominent leaders just came out and said it in terms as blunt as I've heard in a long while.
You may remember Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas, from back in October. He endorsed Rick Perry for president on the grounds that Mitt Romney's Mormon faith disqualified him from the job. He went on further and argued that if Romney gets the nomination, a large number of fundies might stay home. Well, sometime in December, Jeffress told his flock in Dallas that the First Amendment's protections on freedom of religion invite the wrath of God on this nation.
Although our Constitution grants every citizen the right to worship or not worship any god he chooses, that right in no way changes God’s attitude toward idolatry. God does not change. Any nation that chooses to publicly renounce the true God in order to embrace and elevate other gods is going to face God’s judgment. That is what the Word of God says. And I closed that editorial in the Washington Post by saying, how ironic that the Air Force, which is trying to protect our nation against terrorist attacks, how ironic that our nation is doing the very thing that is guaranteed to kindle the anger of God against us.
And ladies and gentlemen, when God chooses to judge us, remember how he did it with Israel? He used a pagan nation that worshipped pagan gods to bring his punishment on Israel. And I believe he will do the same with us, and when he chooses to do that, no military power, no matter how strong we are, will be able to protect us against the judgment of Almighty God.
Listen to the whole thing (if you can stand it) here.
Late last night, Cindy Jacobs announced the formation of a major prayer drive with the goal of influencing the election. The campaign, called "FastForward," is sponsored by her newly formed United States Reformation Prayer Network. It starts on January 2 and runs through Inauguration Day 2013--52 weeks of prayer and fasting in order to "shift this nation." Jacobs outlines her game plan to her followers here.
Jacobs makes no bones about where she wants this shift to go--hard right. If there was any doubt of that, take a look at the prayer guide she's put out for the first 21 days of the year. On January 15, she wants her flock to pray for the end of "separation of church and state." The next day, she wants them to pray for the appointment of Supreme Court justices who won't "legislate from the bench." On January 18, the new focus will be on praying "favor" for "pro-life, pro-biblical defense of marriage, pro-fiscal conservative candidates." Sounds like Jacobs wants to pick up where the Christian Coalition left off.
Having soundly been defeated at the ballot box, the Personhood initiative in Mississippi has been resurrected via the new governor of Mississippi, Phil Bryant and his allies in the state government. For the first time, Mississippi's state government is solidly republican and so the will of 58% of the voters is being ignored.
A grass-roots campaign has been started to oppose this back door legislation. Here is an excerpt from the petition site. http://signon.org/sign/no-means-no-stop-personhood?source=s.em.cp
&r_by=1329818
On November 8, the people of Mississippi voted resoundingly to reject the so-called Personhood Amendment. We--mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, daughters and sons--did not reject the initiative because we were misled. We did not reject it because we were confused, or because of scare tactics, or because of media bias. We rejected the Personhood Initiative because we believe that families--not the government--should make their own medical decisions.
Since the initiative's failure, Governor-elect Phil Bryant and the Mississippi legislature have threatened to trample the democratic will of Mississippians and pass Personhood through the legislature.
It's time for the voters of Mississippi to tell them once and for all: no means no. We are the 58%. And we vote.
It’s really ironic that the so-called Christian Religious Right (ie., AFA) are seemingly dedicated to the unnecessary bashing of Paganism when Pagans made such a well-documented historical contribution toward the rise of Christianity. For example, the Biblical story of the "virgin birth" originated with the early Pagans. The story was incorporated into the early Biblical texts, in most cases, at the insistence of prospective Pagan converts to the new Jesus religion but to the chagrin of the Jews. Also, the presently controversial "Christmas Tree" concept was borrowed by Christians from the existing Paganism of the times, not to mention many other Pagan tenets that found a second home in the new Christendom. To deny this commentary is to deny Christianity's’ early history.–AB
The War On Christmas : Hide The Baby Jesus!
By Tim King, Sojo. Net, 12-6-11, Re-posted excerpt and link by AlBratt 12-11-11
"It’s especially curious considering that the use of the fir tree around the winter solstice is commonly traced back to Germanic pagan traditions, not Christian ones."– Tim King
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