Fearmongering (Boston, MA)

Fearmongering

I see it almost everyday on so-called Christian TV channels fearmongering. Dictators Cult leaders some so-called Preachers Criminals and Abusers all use fear to control their victims. Fear of retribution or bodily harm fear of being alone or losing self without their presence fear of the outside fear that they are right and all else is wrong. Fear that without them you are nothing. Fear is the most powerful driving force known to man right next to love. It is no surprise then that it s the best tool of the enemy of your soul. Knowing it has this power men and women who use it are then evil and workers of iniquity either by purpose or ignorance the result is the same.Someone told me once You don t know what will happen to me if I stop going to XYZ church . That person is completely abused and being controlled by a fearmongering so-called preacher. They have come to believe that they will become wicked without the building the man and the system. How I suggested to this person Go and try another church and the response was I can t none of them are good enough or teach the same thing. My response was Praise God That s a good thing they teach something different. Without seeing it you ve been completely duped. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1 7 There are many words in the Bible used for spirit and the common definition of it is a gust of air a breeze or a blast a force. This can be in conjunction with the Holy Spirit but there is something interesting to note when reading 2 Timothy 1 7 and it is found in the commentary of another verse using the word. (check out the word spirit in a Strongs Exhaustive Concordance)Beloved believe not every spirit but try the spirits whether they are of God because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 1 John 4 1 In John Wesley s commentary of 1 John 4 1 he notates one of the possible meanings to the spirit which proves very insightful here. Believe not every spirit Whereby any teacher is actuated. But try the spirits .The actuator is the force that causes something to happen and in the sense of these two scriptures it can be thought of as motivation or purpose. Thus we could say For God hath not given us the actuator or motivation of fear or Beloved believe not every motivation but test their purpose [teachers preachers] whether they are of God How do we Test the Actuator This is going to take some discernment knowing your Bible through personal study prayer and seeking counsel from mature true Christians. For instance I probably couldn t count the times I heard the preacher say As long as I m in the Book you listen to what I have to say. If I get out of the book then you find yourself another preacher And then that preacher would go on to teach things not in the Book and then claim license to expound on the Word and don t you dare question him Likewise preachers who don t like questioning don t have an answer for their false teachings and thus don t want to be exposed which causes them to use fear and the threat of God s retribution for your questioning spirit. They will use stories such as the men who challenged Moses that God destroyed. This is a tragic use of God s Word.Jeremiah 23 1 Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture saith the LORD. (false teachers).But here are some suggested ways to try the spirit of what is being taught in your church or group. Ask (If you can) Pastor you ve been teaching XYZ and there is no Biblical reference principle or standard for that that I can find. Can you explain to me how we ve come to that conclusion without Bible Support The response here is crucial. If you ever hear things like I don t like someone with a questioning spirit or You have a rebellious spirit then you just got your answer. That man woman is out of the Book for 1 John 4 1 told you to ask. Their actuator motivation spirit is wrong if they don t welcome questions. Questions provide a cause for an answer and their answer could strengthen your faith. So why wouldn t they like that Seek Counsel Take what you have been taught to men or women (mature true Christians) outside of your local congregation and ask them for an honest Scripturally based understanding. People that use the terms I don t think or I don t feel are not standing on Scripture. If you are going to stand on God s Word you have to do just that in these cases. Some may criticize this and say it s unethical you should only talk to the pastor who is preaching. That is cover talk for abusive systems. In my old church our pastor(s) routinely admonished the church not to listen to other preachers (be fed by other shepherds they wanted to control you keep you in bondage) or follow other ministers on social media or visit other churches. They would even say things such as You may see some people from XYZ church and they do things a little different. Don t pay attention to that just try to get what good you can from them. P.s. To the Pentecostals the phrase and they do things a little different was all about dress standards. That XYZ church might allow short sleeve shirts or facial hair or wedding rings etc. If you are under a system that strongly discourages you from talking to people outside of their circle or tells you to be careful what books you read this is a Spiritual trap and it s abusive. Check out the definition of cult also. Study to show thyself approved unto God (2 Timothy 2 15 KJV) It is a sad day when a human being trying to walk in the Faith of an almighty God a faith that was delivered by the almighty God is crushed under the weight of needing man s approval. This concept is never taught in Scripture and only false teachers will use fear to force you into believing you need them. For instance any preacher that uses this line to make you believe you have to submit to them without question is a Pharisee For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ yet have ye not many fathers I Corinthians 4 15a This is a man trying to claim Spiritual Authority over you by taking the role of a father. Yet Jesus said to call NO man Father on this earth. If you understand the Word you will understand both the role of a shepherd and honor the shepherd and you will know when that shepherd is out of bounds. 3 is the most important step here but 2 should come first. In a controlling religious structure 1 isn t really feasible. Pastors that use fear to control you will only counsel you with the intent to either change your way of thinking to align with theirs or to boot you from their circle. Your questions are threats and it marks you as a rebel and they won t want you spreading that in their flock. Intelligence is often shunned in these types of systems. For instance my old church nearly forbade members from going to College and only on rare occasions did they allow it. As if they had any authority over that area of your life But intellect and knowledge of anything but what they teach is a direct threat to their control.Thus any time you feel fear in church you need to stop pray and ask God Is this fear because what man is causing me to believe or is there something in my life contrary to God s Word that is giving me fear or convicting me This is a very fair and right question to ask yourself. If the fear caused by a man can t be completely illustrated in God s Word it is fearmongering and should cause you to find another place of refuge for your faith. 1Peter 4 17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God and if it first begin at us what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God (Judgment is near and it begins with God s household. We are all equal in God s eyes when doing His work. Just think what lies ahead for those who ignore the Word of God especially for those in the ministry who teach false doctrines and traditions of men and try to control their congregations. Judgment begins at the pulpit Woe to false preachers and those that spread false doctrines that cause fear and confusion). All verses used are from a KJV Bible. How to Recognize a Cult Absolute authoritarianism without accountability. (They won t accept anything less than total compliance to them they want to control you completely [scientology ]). Zero tolerance for criticism or questions. (Sadly some pastors try this remember where judgment begins). Lack of meaningful financial disclosure regarding budget. Unreasonable fears about the outside world that often involve evil conspiracies and persecutions. (Using fear to control some).