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Barack Obama In His Own Words Explains That He Is NOT A Christian

I have repeatedly said that Barack Obama’s real religious faith and/or his lack of it, does not disqualify him from being a good political candidate [unless he were a dominionist or theocrat of any ilk, including a Christian theocrat, which in my view would  make him dangerous]. If Obama is a bad president then this is decided on other issues than his religion, such as character, integrity, righteousness, wisdom, and politics. I have discussed this and my reasoning behind it in far more detail here: http://endtimespropheticwords.wordpress.com/2008/11/18/kansas-preacher-pushes-obama-muslim-message/  

However, that all said, as Obama’s religion is  interesting, and as this is a religious blog with an interest in religion, here follows an interesting article by ‘Lavrai’ from here on Obama’s professed Christianity. Thank you Lavrai.

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I really don’t like posting about this man so often, but he appears to be everywhere and, like I do with other prominent individuals, including our current president, I am often compelled to point out their lies and our errors when it comes to my faith in Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the Only Begotten Son of the Living GOD, our only means of salvation.

Barack Obama states that he is a Christian. Political experts and various theologians and prominent Christian figures also repeat Mr. Obama’s claim — that he is a Christian. Even in my church, people repeat the same lie — ignorantly, of course.

I am quite sick of it. Unless Mr. Obama has never been properly taught what Salvation through Jesus Christ is and what a saved individual believes, how they live and the choices they make — then he’s lying, purposefully deceiving us. I am not even addressing his stance on abortion. This is about a man who insists the he’s a Christian, that he knows Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

I will be looking at two articles concerning Mr. Obama’s faith — interviews with his own words and explanations. One article was published in 2004, the other in 2008. Draw your own conclusions based on Mr. Obama’s words and the only source we have on Christianity — the Holy Bible.

But before I go forward, he are some basic definitions.

According to The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition via Dictionary.com:

Definition of A ChristianA follower or disciple of Jesus; someone who believes Jesus is the Christ or Messiah.

Definition of Christianity – The religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, sent by God. They believe that Jesus, by dying and rising from the dead, made up for the sin of Adam and thus redeemed the world, allowing all who believe in him to enter heaven. Christians rely on the Bible as the inspired word of God.

Definition of Holy Bible – The book sacred to Christians, which they consider to be the inspired word of God. The Bible includes the Old Testament, which contains the sacred books of the Jews, and the New Testament, which begins with the birth of Jesus.

Review: A Christian is one whose faith is Salvation in Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the Messiah and Only Begotten Son of the LIVING GOD. Christians believe the Holy Bible is the undeniable, totally true Word of GOD.

Facts about Christianity based on the only source on Christianity, the Holy Bible:

1. Christianity is based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

2. The life and teachings of Jesus Christ of Nazareth are revealed in the Holy Bible.

3. The Holy Bible was “written” by GOD at the hand of chosen men.

Questions:

What does the Holy Bible say about Jesus Christ of Nazareth?Hebrews 1:1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

Review: Jesus is the Son of GOD; Jesus is above all and everyone; Jesus is the source of Creation; Jesus is the express image of GOD; Jesus makes atonement for all sins; Jesus sits at GOD’s right hand in Heaven.

What does the Holy Bible say about Salvation?Acts 4:12 … “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Review: Jesus Christ of Nazaretha the Only Begotten Son of the Living GOD, is the only means of Salvation; we can’t make it to Heaven, have Eternal Life, enter paradise, etc. without believing and confessing that Jesus Christ is LORD.

How does a Christian govern his/her life?Ephesians 4:17 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; 19 who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. 20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

Review: Once we become a Christian, we put away the old things, thoughts and habits that separate mankind from GOD; Christians seek to live daily in righteousness and holiness, which is possible through GOD, the HEAD of our lives.

So, I believe I have explained the basics of Christianity and a Christian (and I mean basic). Now, we can go forward in examining what Barack Obama says about his so-called Christian faith and see whether it lines up with what we know and understand Christianity to be.

Let’s start with the excerpts from the most recent article, published June 12, 2008, on Newsweek:

Finding His Faith
So much has been made about Barack Obama’s religion. But what does he believe, and how did he arrive at those beliefs?

1. Always drawn to life’s Big Questions, Obama embarked on a spiritual quest in which he tried to reconcile his rational side with his yearning for transcendence. He found Christ-but that hasn’t stopped him from asking questions. “I’m on my own faith journey and I’m searching,” he says. “I leave open the possibility that I’m entirely wrong.” [That doesn't sound like faith in Jesus Christ of Nazareth; if one doubts, he certainly doesn't believe and if he doesn't believe, he certainly doesn't know Jesus Christ of Nazareth].

When Franklin Graham asked Obama recently how, as a Christian, he could reconcile New Testament claims that salvation was attainable only through Christ with a campaign that embraces pluralism and diversity, Obama tells NEWSWEEK he said: “It is a precept of my Christian faith that my redemption comes through Christ, but I am also a big believer in the Golden Rule, which I think is an essential pillar not only of my faith but of my values and my ideals and my experience here on Earth. I’ve said this before, and I know this raises questions in the minds of some evangelicals. I do not believe that my mother, who never formally embraced Christianity as far as I know … I do not believe she went to hell.” Graham, he said, was very gracious in reply. Should Obama beat John McCain, he has history on his side. Presidents such as Lincoln and Jefferson were unorthodox Christians; and, according to a Pew Forum survey, 70 percent of Americans agree with the statement that “many religions can lead to eternal life.” “My particular set of beliefs,” Obama says, “may not be perfectly consistent with the beliefs of other Christians.”

This man has a way with words. — Do you notice that he appears to not believe what Jesus Christ says about Salvation and how one attains Eternal Life? Obama makes Christianity sound like an option, that works great for him, but may not necessarily work well for others — “It is a precept of my Christian faith that my redemption comes through Christ…” If you know Jesus Christ of Nazareth, you know that Salvation through HIM is not an option — it is the only way to be saved from GOD’s judgment — and that’s what the Holy Bible says in various passages. What book is Mr. Obama reading if not the Holy Bible?

In the article, Mr. Obama says he doesn’t believe his mother, who never formally embraced Christianity as far as he knows, went to hell. It would be a hard thing to confess about a loved one, but this is what Mr. Obama says about his mother earlier in the article:

Did Ann believe in God? Obama calls his mother “an agnostic.” “I think she believed in a higher power,” he says. “She believed in the fundamental order and goodness of the universe. She would have been very comfortable with Einstein’s idea that God doesn’t play dice. But I think she was very suspicious of the notion that one particular organized religion offered one truth.”

Based on this 2008 article, we read that Obama is not sure if Jesus Christ is the way and that agnostics, perhaps because they are “good,” have a place in GOD’s Kingdom.

Here are excerpts from a reposted 2004 interview by a writer for the Chicago Sun Times on Obama and his faith:

[CATHLEEN] FALSANI:
What do you believe?

OBAMA:
I am a Christian.

So, I have a deep faith. So I draw from the Christian faith.

… So, I’m rooted in the Christian tradition. I believe that there are many paths to the same place, and that is a belief that there is a higher power, a belief that we are connected as a people. That there are values that transcend race or culture, that move us forward, and there’s an obligation for all of us individually as well as collectively to take responsibility to make those values lived.

FALSANI:
Have you always been a Christian?
OBAMA:
I was raised more by my mother and my mother was Christian. [This is interesting... 4 years later he says his mother was agnostic and didn't formerly embrace Christianity as far as he knows].

FALSANI:
So you got yourself born again?

OBAMA:
Yeah, although I don’t, I retain from my childhood and my experiences growing up a suspicion of dogma. And I’m not somebody who is always comfortable with language that implies I’ve got a monopoly on the truth, or that my faith is automatically transferable to others.

I’m a big believer in tolerance. I think that religion at it’s best comes with a big dose of doubt. I’m suspicious of too much certainty in the pursuit of understanding just because I think people are limited in their understanding.

I think that, particularly as somebody who’s now in the public realm and is a student of what brings people together and what drives them apart, there’s an enormous amount of damage done around the world in the name of religion and certainty.

FALSANI:
Do you pray often?

OBAMA:
Uh, yeah, I guess I do.

Its’ not formal, me getting on my knees. I think I have an ongoing conversation with God. I think throughout the day, I’m constantly asking myself questions about what I’m doing, why am I doing it.

FALSANI:
Who’s Jesus to you?

(He laughs nervously)

OBAMA:
Right.

Jesus is an historical figure for me, and he’s also a bridge between God and man, in the Christian faith, and one that I think is powerful precisely because he serves as that means of us reaching something higher.

And he’s also a wonderful teacher. I think it’s important for all of us, of whatever faith, to have teachers in the flesh and also teachers in history. [Wow... so Jesus is a "wonderful teacher," a "historical figure" ... yet Christianity says Jesus Christ is very much more than that -- HE IS GOD.]

FALSANI:
Is Jesus someone who you feel you have a regular connection with now, a personal connection with in your life?

OBAMA:
Yeah. Yes. I think some of the things I talked about earlier are addressed through, are channeled through my Christian faith and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

FALSANI:
Do you think it’s wrong for people to want to know about a civic leader’s spirituality?

OBAMA:
I don’t’ think it’s wrong. I think that political leaders are subject to all sorts of vetting by the public, and this can be a component of that.

I think that I am disturbed by, let me put it this way: I think there is an enormous danger on the part of public figures to rationalize or justify their actions by claiming God’s mandate.

I think there is this tendency that I don’t think is healthy for public figures to wear religion on their sleeve as a means to insulate themselves from criticism, or dialogue with people who disagree with them.

FALSANI:
The conversation stopper, when you say you’re a Christian and leave it at that.

OBAMA:
Where do you move forward with that?

This is something that I’m sure I’d have serious debates with my fellow Christians about. I think that the difficult thing about any religion, including Christianity, is that at some level there is a call to evangelize and prostelytize. There’s the belief, certainly in some quarters, that people haven’t embraced Jesus Christ as their personal savior that they’re going to hell. [Um... that's what the Word of GOD says, that's what Jesus explained to his disciples, that's what the apostles wrote under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.]

FALSANI:
You don’t believe that?

OBAMA:
I find it hard to believe that my God would consign four-fifths of the world to hell.

I can’t imagine that my God would allow some little Hindu kid in India who never interacts with the Christian faith to somehow burn for all eternity.

That’s just not part of my religious makeup.

Part of the reason I think it’s always difficult for public figures to talk about this is that the nature of politics is that you want to have everybody like you and project the best possible traits onto you. Oftentimes that’s by being as vague as possible, or appealing to the lowest common denominators. The more specific and detailed you are on issues as personal and fundamental as your faith, the more potentially dangerous it is. [So, he's saying he purposefully waters everything down so as not to offend anyone; but he also expresses again, that he does not know GOD, who indeed does have a place of eternal damnation for those who reject HIS Son Jesus Christ of Nazareth.]

FALSANI:
Do you believe in heaven?

OBAMA:
Do I believe in the harps and clouds and wings?

FALSANI:
A place spiritually you go to after you die?

OBAMA:
What I believe in is that if I live my life as well as I can, that I will be rewarded. I don’t presume to have knowledge of what happens after I die. But I feel very strongly that whether the reward is in the here and now or in the hereafter, the aligning myself to my faith and my values is a good thing.

When I tuck in my daughters at night and I feel like I’ve been a good father to them, and I see in them that I am transferring values that I got from my mother and that they’re kind people and that they’re honest people, and they’re curious people, that’s a little piece of heaven. [Mr. Obama expresses that he knows nothing about heaven... although Jesus Christ of Nazareth explains the after life for those who believe in HIM and those who reject HIM in the Holy Bible].

FALSANI:
Do you believe in sin?

OBAMA:
Yes.

FALSANI:
What is sin?

OBAMA:
Being out of alignment with my values.

FALSANI:
What happens if you have sin in your life?

OBAMA:
I think it’s the same thing as the question about heaven. In the same way that if I’m true to myself and my faith that that is its own reward, when I’m not true to it, it’s its own punishment.

Review: Based on these two interviews, one from 2004 and one from just this year, Mr. Barack Obama is NOT a Christian. He denies that Jesus Christ is LORD; according to Obama, Jesus Christ was a “wonderful teacher” and a “historical figure.” He doesn’t believe that Jesus Christ is the only means of Salvation. Obama doesn’t believe that those who reject Jesus Christ go to hell. Mr. Obama expresses salvation through works and being “good” — the Holy Bible says we cannot earn Salvation, although we are rewarded for our works. But we cannot be considered a nominee, a candidate, if you will, for any kind of reward if we don’t attain the prerequisite — belief in Jesus Christ as LORD.

Mr. Obama may be a good person, a nice person — but he is most certainly not a follower, believer in or friend of the LORD Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

Matthew 10:32 “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.

Jude 1:16 These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage. 17 But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: 18 how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. 19 These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit. 20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. 22 And on some have compassion, making a distinction; 23 but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire,[e] hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.”

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See also http://endtimespropheticwords.wordpress.com/2008/09/11/barack-obama-many-paths-lead-to-god-embracing-divine-within/

http://endtimespropheticwords.wordpress.com/2008/07/21/barack-obama-john-mccain-and-their-lucky-charms/

http://endtimespropheticwords.wordpress.com/2008/09/09/barack-obama-my-muslim-faith-err-i-mean-my-christian-faith/

http://endtimespropheticwords.wordpress.com/2008/11/08/barack-obama-and-left-behinds-antichrist-president-nicolae-carpathia/

http://endtimespropheticwords.wordpress.com/2008/08/26/barack-obama-is-likely-not-the-antichrist-say-left-behind-authors-tim-lahaye-and-jerry-jenkins/

November 20, 2008 Posted by endtimespropheticwords | Barack Obama, False Prophets and Teachers, News, Politics | , , , | 48 Comments

Christian Mystics Brainwashing at the OCS Order of Christ Sophia

Article from here, 19 Nov 2008

“Cult or Church – Woman questions Order of Christ Sophia

New Haven (WTNH) – Is there a cult climate around one church in New Haven? One woman fears her mother has been lost to a cult in the Elm City.

Theresa Biagiarelli has boxes and boxes of photos her mother took of her. And that’s not all.

“My little photo album. Her photo album her father made for her. All our family things. And all of her clothes.”

She has them, because her mother Julia got rid of them.

“She brought it to my aunts house and just left it there,” she said.

“It made me feel terrible to know my mother didn’t want to have any pictures of me as a baby anymore.”
“Did you question ‘what did I do?’”
“At that point it was more like what did they do.”

They are the Order of Christ~Sophia or the Center of Light. The group has chapters across the U.S. including New Haven at an unassuming building on Grand Avenue, where some members, including Theresa’s mother Julia, live.

Reverend Michael runs the group locally and says no one, including Theresa’s mother, is a prisoner here.

“People are free to come and go. Julia has an apartment here in the building as I do,” Reverend Michael said.

They call themselves Christian Mystics, but some experts on mind control like Steve Hassan, call them “a destructive mind control cult where dependence and obedience is demanded.”

The fact is the founder of the group, Peter Bowes, doesn’t shy away from the term “cult”. He even talks about it on a YouTube posting.

“A cult is a new religion that people hate,” he says on the video. “I think we can say we are one then.”

Peter Bowes’ was a psychologist in Wisconsin until he surrendered his license. Is there sometimes strain between members and their families? Yes, he says.

“We don’t take people away from their parents, but sometimes the relationship is so bruised,” Bowes said.

“What he was doing and saying about being honest reminds me of Chinese Communist brain washing techniques of the 1950’s when people would have to be honest and refute their families,” Hassan said.

“Do you ever wonder what kind of faith would result in you becoming disassociated with the dearest people to you?”

“Well, everything I have ever learned about Christian values shows you you should become closer to your family,” Theresa said.

Theresa’s mother, a teacher, wouldn’t talk to News Channel 8, but her picture is right on the group’s New Haven web site. That web site also shows members working booths at community events, with face painting for kids or selling smoothies. The group often leaves fliers in area coffee houses.

“We teach meditation and we have classes on the bible,” Reverend Michael said.

But Theresa asks where in the bible does it say leave those you love behind? “What it seems to me is that they are being taught to judge the people closest to them who have known them for years, and they are being taught to take in these new people as almost a replacement for the family that they used to have.”

Steve Hassan says a lot of people who belong to these groups are able to hold down regular 9-5 jobs. One we’re told is a doctor at a local hospital.”

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From  WCVB-TV, June 28, 2004 -

Parents Say Group Turns Family Members Into Strangers

BOSTON — A religious group with roots in Needham, Mass., is raising concern among some families who believe the order uses cult-like methods.

Over the last few months, NewsCenter 5 has heard from a number of former members and families of members who say the Order of Christ Sophia strips people of their past and turns them into strangers.

NewsCenter 5’s Liz Brunner reported that the order is small but has centers in nine cities.

They call themselves a mystical Christian order, devoted to meditation and prayer. But former member Nancy Wainer said that the order of Christ Sophia is a dangerous cult that breaks up families.

They use deception, mind control, hypnosis, all kinds of devious tactics to get you to follow them blindly. It continued to get more uncomfortable,” Wainer said.

By the time Wainer left the group, her adult daughter was already immersed in it. Like all order members, Andrea was given a new name: Michelle. She moved to Oakland, Calif., where the group’s leader and self-ordained cleric, the Rev. Peter Bowes, runs a center.

“They’ve taught my daughter that I’m a terrible person. My daughter doesn’t have any memories anymore of the loving relationship we have,” Wainer said.

Andrea no longer talks to her mother and barely talks to her father.

“There are times I can talk to Andrea, but then Michelle takes over, and when she is in control, she is in control,” Andrea’s father, Paul Cohen, said.

Her mother said it’s the result of relentless mind control the order calls “spiritual guidance’.

“She was instructed to take everything, every article of clothing, every stuffed animal, every memento. You’d walk into her room and it’s like a ghost place where no one lived there named Andrea,” Wainer said.

Steve Holcumb told the same story. His daughter, Jennifer, is known in the order as Joelle.

“Important things to her that I’ve discovered in the garbage and that we’ve managed to save for the day when hopefully she’s out of this. How is it that this transformation could be occurring with someone who has been so loving and caring and now isn’t?” Holcumb said.

Jennifer has cut off her parents and many friends, including her best friend, whose wedding she refused to attend.

“The change is so negative, so destructive and so un-Christian. that it is absolutely shattering,” Holcumb said.

But, one couple said that they freely devoted themselves to the order, and it’s graced their lives. “I feel balanced, centered and feel my life has a purpose,” the Rev. John Tomasic said.

NewsCenter 5 interviewed the co-founder of the order, Mother Claire Watts, during a recent visit to Boston.

“The things they call brainwashing is visualizing yourself in a bubble of light, letting go of negative energy. I feel sorry for their sons and daughters who parents get on TV to say how stupid they are,” Watts said.

“The path she is now taking is not a path that she is taking by herself,” Holcumb said.

A few years ago, Bowes was forced to surrender his license to practice psychology in Wisconsin, after three patients filed complaints that Bowes used his position to recruit them into the Order.

Nancy Wainer said that she first got involved in the group when Watts trained her to be a midwife. Wainer said that some mothers of the babies Watts delivered were recruited.

“She’s Mother Claire Watts, self appointed Mother Claire Watts, and I feel betrayed. I look back and realize I recruited for them. I actually recruited for them,” Wainer said. “I don’t really care what they think anymore. We love our daughter. We love our daughter.”

“They have got what we now don’t have. I’ll always love her, and I think about her every day,” Holcumb said.

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here

… OCS has made people upset. “This is a very, very dangerous group,” says Nancy Wainer, a Newton midwife and former member of the order. “They’re swallowing people up across the country.” Cult expert Rick Ross, who dedicates a section of his Web site to OCS, also has misgivings. “This group is personality-driven,” Ross says. “Bowes has alluded to the fact that he is essentially a spokesman or vehicle for God. He’s even hinted that he has connections to aliens from outer space, these grandiose claims.” Okay, a bit kooky maybe, but dangerous?

“They’re not stockpiling weapons, there’s no talk about group suicide,” Ross says. “But what we have here is isolation and control through these houses he sets up. I was retained by a family to do an intervention, a young woman in Boston. There was extreme psychological and emotional abuse. I’ve had complaints from several families who received, essentially, termination letters stating they will not be seen anymore by their adult children. The rhetoric in the letters was identical. Basically, Bowes does not want his members to have normal relationships with their families.”

Wainer, whose 24-year-old daughter has been a member of OCS for five years, tells a similar story. “I love my daughter like you wouldn’t believe,” she says, “but they’ve turned her against me. She won’t speak to me. They use hypnotism and exhaustion, all of the techniques, a lot of sleep deprivation. My daughter pushed all of her friends away. She hasn’t spoken to her grandmothers. I’ve spoken to 15 or 20 families across the US. This is not just Nancy Wainer. Families are being destroyed by this cult.”

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From http://www.rickross.com/reference/bowes/bowes2.html

As a former member of The Order of Christ/Sophia, I feel compelled to share with others what my experience within this group entailed.

It is my opinion, having been a member for quite some time, that The Order of Christ/Sophia is a destructive cult.

While the organization appears to be harmless to newcomers, the further involved people become, the more likely they are to experience a great amount of stress psychologically and physically.

The Order of Christ/Sophia describes itself as a “mystical school” offering classes and individual counseling to those who choose to become a “student.”

However, it is my observation that members did not really just simply choose to become students, but were instead manipulated into taking classes and becoming deeply involved.

This manipulation often comes in the form of guilt, shame and other coercive persuasion techniques, such as group pressure and trance induction through “meditation.”

Retreats, workshops and classes also appear to utilize classic thought reform techniques to break down the potential member.

For example, at almost any given lecture there are “blessing groups,” which is really another label for a process more frequently called “the hot seat.”

Those attending the lecture are each placed in a group with a trained facilitator, addressed as “master teacher,” “priest” or “deacon.” The facilitator instructs each individual to sit in the designated chair and share something about their personal life. The facilitator then attempts to draw out of the individual personal information, which makes that person vulnerable and more open to suggestions from an authority figure.

The “blessing group” environment seems happy and loving. However, it can easily be seen as a method of breaking down and taking control over those involved.

Probably one of the more disturbing features of The Order of Christ/Sophia is that those in its hierarchy, such as master teachers, priests and deacons, all claim that they hear God in an audible voice. They also claim they can bring you face-to-face with God.

These claims can be seen as a device, which enables leaders to put themselves in positions of control that cannot be questioned and makes their disciples increasingly dependent.

As a student you are asked for total obedience.

Leaders then typically break you down psychologically, encouraging you to “tell God everything.” They claim that if you do not tell your teacher, who represents God, then you are not allowing God in to love you and help you.

This is yet another example of how the group manipulates people and pressures them into confessing their “sins” in order to gain greater control.

Members are often drained physically from the hierarchy on down.

Priests are always working hard to gain greater influence over their disciples. And disciples are constantly being encouraged to keep a daily journal, attend as many classes and services as possible, participate in extra activities and volunteer to help The Order in any way possible.

Every student is given an “exercise” to complete daily and then report to their personal teacher. Students who do not do their exercise everyday are reprimanded. The daily schedule is rigorous and many individuals are sleep deprived.

The Order of Christ/Sophia consists of highly intelligent people who present very well to the “outside” world. Many are well educated and/or in school and most have the best of intentions.

Group members truly believe that they are doing God’s will.

However, in my experience it seems they are really doing the will of the group’s leader Peter Bowes.

Peter presents himself as a Christ-like figure who knows all things. I recall being told by one of the priests that I should take Peter’s word as God’s word.

Bowes second-in-command Clare Watts is called “Mother Clare” and she likens herself to Mother Mary, telling disciples that she has direct revelations from The Virgin Mary.

These are only some examples of the destructive nature of The Order of Christ/Sophia. I have not mentioned other features in any depth, such as intense manipulative psychotherapy sessions and encouragement to emotionally detach from family and friends.

The list could go on and on.

My intention is to give those interested and/or concerned a glimpse into how the group operates and manipulates good-natured individuals who are seeking a way to bring more love into this world.

Perhaps it is hard to understand or believe everything I say. Anyone interested in The Order of Christ/Sophia should do as much research as possible before becoming involved.

If there is one thing I have learned from being involved with this group, which I now consider a “cult,” it is to always make informed decisions.

People concerned about this group will hopefully become as informed as possible about “cults” generally and The Order of Christ/Sophia specifically.

Personally, based upon my own experience, I would not recommend The Order of Christ/Sophia to anyone under any circumstances.

{endtimes note – the above sounds very similar to the Shakers in practice and theology.]

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Other articles on OCS Order of Christ Sophia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Order_of_Christ_Sophia

http://www2.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=307267

http://www.rickross.com/groups/bowes.html

November 20, 2008 Posted by endtimespropheticwords | Abusive Churches - Spiritual Abuse, Catholic Charismatic, Cults, False Prophets and Teachers, Heavy shepherding, Mind control, Order of Christ Sophia, Peter Bowes, Shakers | , , , | 9 Comments

WCC World Council of Churches Call for New International Financial Architecture

Article from WCC website here, dated 14th November 2008 -

“A call for a new international financial architecture

The World Council of Churches and the overall ecumenical family are deeply concerned with the current global financial system which has continued to generate poverty and create massive unemployment. On November 15 the leaders of 20 nations and the major multilateral financial institutions will gather behind closed doors in Washington, D.C. to attempt to fix the current crisis by remaking the rules of global finance. This group includes many of the people, governments and institutions whose policies are responsible for the current financial meltdown. It has been dubbed “Bretton Woods II”. The WCC is concerned about the effectiveness of such a meeting limited to a small portion of the world’s countries, when the issue involves drawing up a new financial architecture in the 21st century.

The crises that accentuate the current global financial system (debt crisis, sub-prime mortgage crisis, currency crisis, banking crisis and capital market crashes) have now been particularly severe in industrial countries while their effect is spreading rapidly to developing countries. The US economy contracted by 0.3 percent between July and September, the biggest drop in GDP since 2001. For the first time in 16 years, the UK’s gross domestic product sank by 0.5 percent during the same period. Germany is now officially in recession and the rest of the Euro-zone countries and Japan are thought to be already in recession.

Consumer spending in major economies is down sharply, while unemployment is up. The US shed 760,000 jobs in the first nine months of the year, while 164,000 people lost their jobs in the UK between June and August. These figures are expected to rise, and many other OECD countries are also bracing for significant job losses. According to the UN general secretary, this crisis is threatening the achievement of the Millennium development goals that calls for 16 billion US dollars. Efforts to avert climate change and financing for development are now in danger of reduced financing. This global crisis demands participation of all, not only a few, governments.

This problem has resulted into a variety of inconclusive debates on how to bring about an international financial reform. The industrial countries continued to define austerity measures as a panacea for poor countries instead of addressing the failure of the whole system. This was a time when the industrial countries remained stable and prosperous. The time has come now to address this issue seriously. Economists differ regarding the causes but it is a fact that history is punctuated by financial crises while the evolution of the international regulatory framework has not kept pace with the globalization of financial markets. In other words, the fact that the industrial countries were secure should neither deter efforts for drawing a global regulatory framework nor give an impression that industrial countries will regain their prosperity and be secure with mere cosmetic short term reforms while global financial inequality is ignored and left to be solved by markets alone.

The ambition of the upcoming G20 meeting is rather low. With the host of the meeting leaving the White House in January, a divergence of perspectives on what should be done to fix the financial crisis, and the lack of solid and inspiring proposals on how to reform the financial system, a 5-hour meeting could at best be a crisis management summit. It is therefore unlikely that the G20 meeting will effectively address the questions; it is more likely that the meeting will result in further inadequate actions by financial institutions that fail to deal with financial volatility, nor will they succeed in designing guidelines for just and stable system for all countries and peoples.  The WCC has always called for the need for a financial architecture which will qualitatively regulate the growth in massive movements of capital. To achieve this change, a solid process that takes on board all global actors and civil society is imperative. Civil society groups and many governments have called for a process that is much more inclusive of other nations and the peoples of those nations. 

The Need for a New International Financial Architecture 

The global financial meltdown – with the U.S economy at its epicentre – has, more than anything else, debunked the neo-liberal economic myth that deregulated financial markets are “efficient”. In 2005, the WCC background document on Alternative Globalization Addressing People and Earth (AGAPE) observed: “No international financial institution…is able or willing to control the USD 1.9 trillion worth of currencies that are traded everyday. Financial speculation dominates trade in goods and services, diverting resources from long-term productive investments and areas of greatest need. Financial markets are also increasingly unstable, with speculative bubbles and financial crises.” The problems of external debt and capital flight as well as the recent bail out of troubled banks and insurance institutions in the US and Europe- an amount exceeding that needed to eradicate poverty around the world, make exceedingly clear that the prevailing international financial system is one based on injustice: it is a system wherein the global poor are essentially subsidizing the rich. It also imperils previous international pledges of financial support for addressing the food crisis and climate change mitigation and adaptation in poor countries. It is therefore patent that nothing less than a paradigm shift [endtimes noe: new age term]   is needed.

Our churches and the wider ecumenical family are called to intensify their advocacy work at various levels calling their governments to push for a new international financial architecture. Such a process should be inclusive observing the following proposals:

  • Debates on new financial architecture should include representatives of all developing countries and members from the civil society including religious communities;   
  • Deter excessive, destabilizing currency speculation by strengthening regulatory institutions;   
  • Give national and regional central banks more control over monetary policy;   
  • Develop a multilateral approach on common standards to define the tax base to minimize tax avoidance opportunities for both transnational corporations (TNCs) and international investors;   
  • Establish a multilateral agreement to allow states to tax TNCs on a global unitary basis, with appropriate mechanisms to allocate tax revenues internationally;   
  • Support for the proposal for an International Convention to facilitate the recovery and repatriation of funds illegally appropriated from national treasury of poor countries;   
  • Creatively, with the civil society and faith communities, work out an innovative system in which justice can be central in all global financial transactions.   
  • Create, within the auspices of the UN an arbitration mechanism to resolve problems of debt.   
  • Apply a Currency Transaction Tax to curb short-term volatility of capital movements and exchange rates.   
  • Set a process of democratizing all global finance and trade institutions.  

The search for international solutions for the unjust financial system could be complemented by national efforts to control financial markets. It is necessary to take seriously the danger of foreign financial dependence. During the earlier period of dramatic financial volatility, when banking crashes, Foreign World Debt defaults and stock market collapses were common, John Maynard Keynes responded:

I sympathize with those who would minimize, rather than those who would maximize, economic entanglement among nations. Ideas, knowledge, science, hospitality, travel-these are things which should of their nature be international. But let goods be homespun whenever it is reasonably and conveniently possible and above all, let finance be primarily national.

Keynes, the leading economist of the 20th century, was not merely advocating nation-state control of finance because of concerns over volatility. At stake was nothing less than economic policy sovereignty. Implied in his statement was that the whole management of the domestic economy depends upon being free to have the appropriate interest rate without reference to the rate prevailing in the rest of the world. Capital controls is a corollary to this. These insights apply equally to lower and middle income countries today, as to Britain during the 1930s. De-globalization of finance therefore represents a serious and laudable financial situation, as opposed to chaotic, destructive and self-contradictory international financial flows, in part by restoring national sovereignty via capital controls. Realistically, there must be a dramatic change in how domestic finances are raised, lent and spent which requires envisaging how international financial power relations can be radically and feasibly overhauled-simply so as to open the space for the reclamation of national financial sovereignty.

Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, WCC general secretary”

November 20, 2008 Posted by endtimespropheticwords | Economy, False Prophets and Teachers, Interfaith and Ecumenical, New World Order, News, Politics, Samuel Kobia, World Council of Churches | , , | 3 Comments

Archbishop of Canterbury’s New Age Inner Light Diwali Message

Article from here, 28th October 2008. The bold emphasis is mine – this is really shocking apostasy and overtly New Age.

“The Archbishop of Canterbury today sent his annual message to Hindu communities for the festival of Diwali. In his message he expresses his hope for ’reconciliation where there has been division and hurt’, for ‘peace and the rejection of all resort to violence’ and the appreciation and enjoyment of each other’s festivals ‘as a common sign to the world of our commitment to mutual goodwill and faith in each other. 

In his message the Archbishop refers to his forthcoming visit to the Shri Venkateswara (Balaji) temple near Walsall. Dr Williams has accepted the trustees’ invitation to visit the temple as a sign of the ‘celebration of friendship and the facing of challenges with hope’ which was the theme of the Lambeth Inter Faith lecture given in April by the prominent Hindu scholar Professor Anantanand Rambachan.

“To friends and co workers for peace in the Hindu communities -

As the progress of the year brings you once again to the festival of Diwali, I offer you my greetings and my warm wishes that this will be again a time of celebration and of renewal of goodwill and faith.

[Endtimes note - This is the opposite of preaching the gospel! Instead Anglican Rowan Williams celebrates that the Hindus 'renew their faith' by staying Hindus for another year.]

“In both Christianity and Hinduism, we dedicate times of the year to the renewal of our lives and of our faith. We seek to reflect on what has gone before and to reconnect with the light which lies within us and which is at the heart of all that is.

{Endtimes note  – this is classic humanism and new age nonsense linked to the godhood within lie. I do not seek to reconnect to the light that lies within all men of all faiths, for there is no such light at heart, but rather darkness – evil, sin and separation from God! Upon conversion – becoming born again through repentence and confession of sin through the cross of Jesus Christ - I connected for the first time with the Light of the World, Jesus, who was then outside of me, but came to live within me. He is not part of me, He dwells within me  – and that by the grace of God, for there is nothing I could do, no light that I or any man could generate that would ever make me worthy of this honour. Connection with Him, who is God, is the heart of the gospel. And the way has been opened for this connection by Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone. Not connecting with our own inner lights, but connecting with the Father by believing in His Son who is the true light of the world who came into darkness.

This apostate archibishop’s message about connecting to the inner light within completely denies the gospel, the cross, repentence and crucially Christ. It contradicts the Bible in its entirity, and affirms pretty much anything and everything but the Christian faith – especially Hinduism whom he pays homage to. If all we need to do is connect with the light within all men, whatever religion we be or not be, then there is no need for Christ, let alone the cross. And no man is lost but all are saved. And God and His prophets lie and Christ’s death was in vain for there is no judgment, no hell, no damnation. Rowan Williams is not just a deceiver but a blasphemer.

Connecting to the light within makes no sense as far as Christianity is concerned, but makes perfect sense as far as Hinduism [and the New Age] is concerned. According to Wikipedia, “most Hindus believe that the spirit or soul — the true “self” of every person, called the ātman — is eternal. According to the monistic/pantheistic theologies of Hinduism (such as Advaita Vedanta school), this Atman is ultimately indistinct from Brahman, the supreme spirit. Hence, these schools are called non-dualist. The goal of life, according to the Advaita school, is to realize that one’s ātman is identical to Brahman, the supreme soul. The Upanishads state that whoever becomes fully aware of the ātman as the innermost core of one’s own self realizes an identity with Brahman and thereby reaches moksha (liberation or freedom).”

So Rowan Williams pays homage to the god within, atman, and thereby to the Supreme Spirit, Brahman, but not to Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. It is not even as if they are equally honored which would be bad enough.]

“Christians know this as the Light of Light

{endtimes note – I guess Rowan Williams has forgotten the name ‘Jesus’, he is so used to paying homage to foreign gods. Also he denies the Light of Light is Jesus, to instead being a light within all men whether they are regenerate or not which is not Christianity’s knowledge or message!] 

“and can appreciate and share in the ways in which at Diwali you celebrate your awareness of the inner light.

{endtimes note – all religions are right [except Christianity]. The key moves from requiring faith in Jesus and thereby repentence, to introspective naval gazing and glorying in self and one’s own divine light reflected in humanistic behaviour.  Hindus do not believe in Jesus, but even if they did, their ‘awareness’ of Him would not save them from hell, they would instead need to do something with this ‘awareness’ and repent – as all men do of whatever faith.

Rowan William’s behaviour is disgraceful and he should be sacked. But it has to be asked, how can he justify his position within the ‘church’, even using his own perverted logic? What on earth is the point in having any church at all, by this kind of logic – even if it be apostate? Why should we have an archbishop, ministers, churches or scripture or even theology? We could all just do our own thing and be nice to one another as we glory in our own lights and theology of our own making. No need for him either way we look at it!]

“Together, and through the celebration of our festivals, we can increase our consciousness

{Classic new age terminology]

of the ways in which light can triumph over darkness and good over evil.

{This is distorted from JESUS triumphing over darkness, to us/our own light/own inherent goodness triumphing over darkness.]

We can recommit ourselves to be light in the world.

{Ditto, another distortion of the Christian message. How can Hindus be the kind of lights in the world Jesus of spoke as they do not reflect His message and they are, according to scripture, still in darkness?!]

“It was in this spirit that Professor Anatanand Rambachan spoke profoundly to Hindu and Christian leadership about ‘Celebrating friendship and facing challenges with hope’ in his Lambeth Inter Faith Lecture in May this year; and it was also in this spirit that Hindu leaders joined the bishops of the Lambeth Conference in witnessing to our common commitment to the Millennium Development Goals. How important it is in this Diwali and for Christians in the coming Advent and Christmas season, that we hold to this vision of justice and transformation for all, especially for the poor and excluded, in face of the present economic crisis in which the temptation is to fall back upon ourselves and our own interests at their expense.

It is in this spirit that I shall be visiting the Shri Venkateswara (Balaji) Temple next month. I warmly welcome the invitation by the Trustees of the Temple, and at this time of year my visit will carry particular significance and many hopes for the year ahead.

My hope for this year ahead is that in this spirit of looking to the light, we shall be able to find reconciliation where there has been division and hurt; to work for peace and the rejection of all resort to violence; and that together we may appreciate and enjoy each other’s festivals as a common sign to the world of our commitment to mutual goodwill and faith in each other.

Notes to editors:

The Archbishop’s visit to the Shri Venkateswara (Balaji) temple is part of a wider visit to Birmingham Diocese and will include the opening of a new Children’s Centre, preaching in Birmingham Cathedral as well as a meeting with the Birmingham Faith Leaders Group. Further details about this visit will be released in due course.

The Balaji temple complex is built in a traditional Indian Dravidian architectural style, and was opened as a place of worship in 1999, is open to the general public for prayer, meditation, spiritual, cultural and educational activities including full participation in inter faith work for promoting mutual understanding and respect between Faiths.

{Endtimes note – mutual understanding means more than ‘understanding’ another person’s religion. It is more about coming into agreement – that kind of ’understanding’ -  that all people have the light within them anyway, whatever faith they are, and there is no need of Christ or the cross. All gathered around an interfaith Baal pole if you like, and certainly not the cross.]

The Archbishop will be welcomed in the traditional Thirupathi manner with a garland and will be shown around the interior of the temple where he will have the opportunity of meeting with members of the temple community. In the course of his visit, the Archbishop will unveil a plaque commemorating his visit and friendship between Christian and Hindu communities in the United Kingdom. His Excellency Mr. Shiv Kumar Mukherjee, High Commissioner of India will be amongst the distinguished guests, who will also include representatives from major Faiths in the United Kingdom

The full text of the Lambeth Inter Faith lecture given in April by Professor Anantanand Rambachan can be found at the following link: http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/1748

November 20, 2008 Posted by endtimespropheticwords | Anglican, False Prophets and Teachers, Hinduism, Interfaith and Ecumenical, New Age, New World Order, News, One World Religion, Rowan Williams (Archbishop of Canterbury) | , , , , , | 1 Comment