William McLoughlin summarized Finney’s major contribution to revivalism by saying that, both he [Finney] and his followers believed it to be the legitimate function of a revivalist to utilize the laws of mind in order to engineer individuals and crowds into making a choice which was ostensible based upon free will. The rationale for all that Finney did during revival services was the gaining of converts. The numerical success of his methods was his vindication. As he stated in his Memoirs, “Show me the fruits of your ministry and if they so far exceed mine as to give me evidence that you have found a more excellent way, I will adopt your views.1
Charles Finney’s new measures were nothing “new” per se but can be traced to the serpent in the Garden of Eden. Finney’s approach can be reduced down to the following statement: do whatever works to achieve your goal in the service. Both the old Serpent Lucifer and Finney place the emphasis on the will of man versus having faith in God and His promises.
Finney was an unrepentant follower of Pelagius in his view of the free will of lost humanity to make a decision (hopefully) for Christ and invite Him into their hearts to be their Savior. Where his “new” measures came into play was in the methods he used and those who have followed him use in manipulating people into making the right decision. Finney and all his followers (most of today’s evangelicals, most mega-ministries and ALL televangelists) believe that people can be either emotionally or intellectually moved into becoming a Christian.
Christians cannot be “made” by force of sword (as in Islam) nor are we born-again by the will of man but by the Spirit of our God (John 3:5). They are not brought into the Kingdom on the wings of being emotionally tricked into “answering” the altar call for salvation. Yet this is exactly what Finney and his predecessors have been doing —- trying to “trick” people by various psychological means into the kingdom. Who among us would welcome into our fellowship people who had literally been hypnotized into receiving Christ, as if such a thing were possible? Would you believe their “conversions” to be valid and the work of God? I would not! Read what the great revivalist had to say about his results at the end of his life and those of one of his associates:
I was often instrumental in bringing Christians under great conviction, and into a state of temporary repentance and faith …. [But] falling short of urging them up to a point, where they would become so acquainted with Christ as to abide in Him, they would of course soon relapse into their former state [cited in B. B. Warfield, Studies in Perfectionism, 2 vols. (New York: Oxford, 1932), 2:24].2
During ten years, hundreds, and perhaps thousands, were annually reported to be converted on all hands; but now it is admitted, that real converts are comparatively few. It is declared, even by [Finney] himself, that “the great body of them are a disgrace to religion” [cited in Warfield, 2:23].3
Finney had to admit in the end that his new measures actually did not produce lasting fruit. What they did produce were (1) great publicity before and during the revival, (2) large crowds of people, many of whom would make a profession of faith for a little while (see Mark 4:19) and (3) funding to take the revival onto the next town. History records the following results of Finney’s revivalism:
Evangelical Christianity virtually disappeared from western New York in Finney’s own lifetime. Despite Finney’s accounts of glorious “revivals,” most of the vast region of New England where he held his revival campaigns fell into a permanent spiritual coldness during Finney’s lifetime and more than a hundred years later still has not emerged from that malaise. This is directly owing to the influence of Finney and others who were simultaneously promoting similar ideas. The Western half of New York became known as “the burnt-over district,” because of the negative effects of the revivalist movement that culminated in Finney’s work there. These facts are often obscured in the popular lore about Finney.4
In spite of Finney’s own admissions of failure and those of some of his co-workers and in spite of the historical record of FAILURE on Finney’s part he is still regarded today as a “great revivalist” and some consider him an excellent theologian.
The Fruits & Family of Finney
A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. Gal. 5:9
Due to Finney’s apparent immediate success his theological beliefs and methodology were received by many others and expanded by them (as leaven does when left unchecked) and today it is virtually impossible to escape some manifestation of Finney’s new measures. All of the emotional singing with loud music, handclapping, waving banners, dancing, liturgical dancers, praise bands, big screens, testimony time, altar calls, and revivals are all the gifts from Finney that keep on giving . . . false hope and broken lives.
Without burdening the reader with those who came after Finney, allow me to cite a couple examples and then move onto the specific ingredients used to manipulate God’s people today. Aimee Semple MacPherson was an early traveling evangelist, possibly one of the first radio evangelists. She used music and huge theatrical plays to try to move people into receiving Christ. She built the first
mega-church in our age of technology (from the first radio transmission to this very day) in Los Angeles, California. Her end? She committed adultery, faked her own kidnapping and later died of a drug overdose. Billy Graham certainly is the “poster-child” for Finney today. Billy held massive revival meetings, scores of decisions for Christ, famous singers moving the emotions and equally famous people giving their “testimonies.” Today? The last time I heard Mr. Graham speak on television with Larry King he pointed to his “good works” as his hope to get into heaven and not the merits of Jesus Christ on the cross for him! Space does not permit me to mention people like Billy Sunday, A.A. Allen, Jack Coe, Kathryn Khulman, William Branham and R.W. Schambach, all of whom were master manipulators of souls.
Techniques Used by the Puppet Masters
Music —
Music is a wonderful gift that can lift the soul of man and the songs we sing can express our innermost feelings. Music has great emotional power to move us in a wide variety of ways depending upon the type of music being played or the songs being sung. Psychologists have long researched the impact of music on people’s emotional state. Something I have recently learned is that Dr. Martin Luther wrote extensively about music and its role (something I do not think most charismatic song leaders know about either).
For whether one wishes to comfort the sad, to terrify the happy, to encourage the despairing, to humble the proud, to calm the passionate, or to appease those full of hate (and who could number all these masters of the human heart, that is: the emotions, inclinations and affections that move people to do evil or good); what more effective means than music could one find?5
Music also can be an effective coping strategy. We can listen to music that elicits emotions we want to feel in a given moment. If we feel lazy and unmotivated, maybe a playlist of up tempo, energetic songs would be a helpful way to change our mood. It could be interesting to create playlists based on various emotions so they’re within reach as desired.6
Because of this “power” inherent in music, whether secular or spiritual, people have long used music to direct the hearts of the hearers in the direction they (the musicians and SINisters) deem necessary for the goals they want to achieve. It is somewhat important to keep a little historical perspective too; back in Luther’s time virtually all the arts were directed towards religious purposes. People painted biblical scenes, sculpted biblical figures and wrote religious music and songs for The Church. There was “popular” music but much of that was broken down into disseminating news events, and a few ballads.
Today’s sign-gift enthusiasts have made music and singing as integral as the proclamation of the Gospel itself. Luther would have no issue with this sentence on its own, in fact he said:
For Luther, the final category of ‘natural music’ was the music of heaven, musica caelestis. Heavenly music offered humankind a glimpse of heaven in the world around them. It communicated something of God and, just as God’s Word was able to direct the human will, so musica caelestis also had the capacity to influence people profoundly. For that reason, ‘music, next to the Word of God, deserves the highest praise‘, Luther famously held.7
Sadly much has changed in the “worship” music in virtually all “evangelical” (a term coined by Luther) gatherings and Luther WOULD NOT be pleased at what he sees and hears. He knew that people would remember the songs much longer than any sermons preached —- THUS the songs people sung had to have THEOLOGICAL CONTENT that would (1) teach them God’s Word, (2) reveal who they are (sinners) and (3) point to whom God has provided as the remedy for their eternal problem(s) — Jesus Christ. Some of these hymns have 10 distinct stanzas that tell the entire story of our fall and redemption. Most early hymns are “sung sermons” contain spiritual meat whereas songs today in most congregations are at best 2% milk, 98% water.
While Tracy and I were members of Jubilee Christian Center (JCC) in Detroit, MI. under the leadership of Rhema graduate and “restored” apostle Ellis Smith we became very aware of the latest role of “music.” JCC was known in our circle (Prophetic movement {aka pathetic movement} at that point in time) for our musicians and our praise & worship.
It was during the Prophetic Movement (approx. 1986-1996) that music became more and more of a tool, a device used to literally create an almost tangible spiritual atmosphere in the services. Music became more solidly codified into two categories (1) praise and (2) worship music.
Praise Music
Praise music/songs are vibrant, declarative, foot-stomping hand-clapping tunes more or less thanking God for what He has done for us. The songs in either category are often described as having 1 or 2 lines and then 25 repetitions of a chorus such as “Abraham’s Blessings Are Mine” or “Satan We’re Going to Tear Your Kingdom Down.”
A major portion of the psychological manipulation occurs during this initial sonic assault (and it is very loud). The songs that are sung are chosen by the music SINister based on what he or she wants to accomplish, i.e. taking the people up “higher” leading them to cause a “breakthrough in the heavenlies,” etc. I’ve witnessed many a music leader make the people (1) stand, (2) clap, (3) dance, (4) shout, (5) be silent, (6) weep ALL based on the type of music being played, the songs being repetitiously sung/shouted at full volume for 45 minutes to an hour non-stop. There is a thing as a crowd
mentality as well as the natural human desire to fit-in, both of these aspects are played upon by these manipulators. After close to an hour of charismatic-calisthenics the people are suitably prepared emotionally to enter into what I’ll call Phase Two of the Psychological Operation —
Worship Music
Tones are equally important as rhythm. A “major key” music piece signifies cheerful communication to our brain, while “minor key” pieces closely mirror the sighs and soft keenings of lamentation. This all has a powerful effect on our brain, which directs our psyche to actually feel what’s being communicated to us.8
The old saying “what goes up must come down” was partially true in our services. We did not consider it “coming down” per se but going deeper in the spiritual realm. Everything changes at this point. The music goes from a loud thumping rock beat to a soft sweet sound best described as either a ‘jazz-fusion’ or ‘new age’ tonal quality. The song focus also shifted somewhat. Now we were to focus on who God is (versus as to what He has done). You might say praise music sings about God and worship music sings “to God.”
At JCC and other places, during the worship phase not only is the music lowered down in tempo and volume but the lights were also lowered down at this point, to the degree the room looked like an almost like a movie theater. The songs are just as repetitious but slower and these songs also contain no solid doctrinal content. This portion may also go on for a protracted amount of time; it really just depends on how the people respond.
During the “worship” portion is when the BIG SCREEN(s) really does its work. Virtually every charismatic group and mega church makes use of some form of television/video projection throughout its production.
The Big Screen(s)
Kudos to the sign-gift folks for being willing to make use of all the most advanced technology to spread the Gospel. I’ve heard more than a few Lutheran pastors says “the charismatics are ten years ahead of us when it comes to technology.”
They were among the first to use radio, later television, reel-to-reel, 8-track, cassettes, CD’s and DVD’s to get out their message. They were among the first to use computers to compile huge money-making mailing lists, to incorporate electric instruments in their services, to broadcast their services “live-time” via satellite (Robert Tilton was the first, I attended his “Bible School” live via satellite back in the 80’s, graduated with a 4.0 GPA in heresy, I kid you not). Charismatic congregations were the first to enable their people to “swipe” their credit cards at the offering time and/or ATM kiosks in the ‘narthex’ (naturally they make $1-2 off the fees these machines change as well, sweet deal for the money hungry). The problem is, they have great technology but what does it profit them and The Church without a solid biblical message? All they have done is export their aberrant beliefs and practices to the world via high technology.
Allow me to for a moment attempt to put ‘the best construction’ on the use of Big Screens in sanctuaries. Many congregations do not have their own property, so they set up and tear down each week. It is easier to set up some screens in a gym then it is to haul 200 hymnals (if they had such books) 2-3 times a week. It allows for instantaneous change on the part of that group, new songs, and announcements, whatever can be projected. Big Screens are what many “Americans” have come to expect in their meetings places; hymnals are seen as “religious” and or even worse “traditional” versus trendy hip and contemporary. Hymnals by their very presence seem to say “I am stolid, unchanging and boring.” Whereas Big Screens shout out “we’re cutting edge, exciting, obviously tech-savvy and somehow participatory.” Americans (because of the manipulation of advertisers) always want what is judged as new, trendy, hip and contemporary.
Now allow me to explain to you the far darker side of watching any televised images at all. From its inception “motion pictures” (they are not really moving at all, they merely appear to be) were used for propaganda purposes (one of the first movies was the 1915 “Birth of a Nation” which was originally titled “The Clansman”). The early attempts were flawed and the technology was just getting started but from the very beginning people realized the power to move large groups of people through the use of both sound and motion. Early films seen today show us the slower flicker rate making the “movie” appear to be a “flip-book” series where each still image when flipped faster “seems” to move. By 1927 the first talking film, “The Jazz Singer” was released and the flicker rate was increased to give the appearance of seamless motion. “The FCC adopted NTSC television engineering standards on May 2, 1941, calling for 525 lines of vertical resolution, 30 frames per second with interlaced scanning, 60 fields per second, and sound carried by frequency modulation.”9 This became the standard for American television.
Danger #1 Subliminal Manipulation
What scientists learned very quickly was that the human eye does not actually transmit to the conscious part of the brain everything it sees. They learned that even though we visually “take-in” everything presented before our eyes a portion of what is “seen” can be hidden from the person watching and yet the unconscious mind has received the message!
This new psychological/physiological discovery began a whole new field of endeavor in advertising and the government called “subliminal” research and programming.
A subliminal message is a signal or message embedded in another medium, designed to pass below the normal limits of the human mind’s perception. These messages are unrecognizable by the conscious mind, but in certain situations can affect the subconscious mind and importantly, the unconscious mind, and can negatively or positively influence subsequent later thoughts, behaviors, actions, attitudes, belief systems and value systems. The term subliminal means “beneath a limen” (sensory threshold). This is derived from the Latin words sub, meaning under, and limen, meaning threshold. You can see it but not notice it.10
People in control of the motion picture industry learned that they could sell more popcorn or Coca Cola during movies by simply adding in a film frame that said something like “buy a coke” or “eat more popcorn” and sales went up! The people never knew they were being manipulated. Ever since then various messages have been placed overtly, covertly and subliminally in virtually all “moving” pictures, whether it is a Hollywood movie or your local T.V. news. Various politicians, as recently as Senator McCain’s11 last run for President, have been caught placing subliminal statements in their political ads, so yes this secret manipulation is ongoing. The thing is, you and I will never see it when it is done to us. You would for example never see “give more” or “tithe” on one of Joel Osteen’s or The Potter’s House of T.D. Jakes big screens but it could be there. Subliminal messages do explain a great deal of our personal buying habits and may explain why some televangelists are so seemingly successful in fleecing the flock.
Danger #2 Flicker Rate & Hypnotic Suggestibility
Believing the best (1 Cor. 13:7) let us hope that people are not abusing the sheep of Christ’s flock via encoded messages being flashed on the Big Screens for several hours during each service. Nonetheless, psychological manipulation is still taking place. It begins as soon as the projector is turned on. With over fifty (50) years of television and closer to 100 years of motion pictures experience the social scientists and global elitists have mastered this medium. Here are just three comments by experts in this field:
Dr. Ernest Hilgard, from Stanford University’s research program in hypnosis and the author of the most widely used texts in the field, agreed that television could easily put people into a hypnotic state if they were ready for it.12
Watching television is participatory only in the way the assembly line or a hypnotist’s blinking flashlight is. Eventually, the conscious mind gives up noting the process and merges with the experience. The body vibrates with the beat and the mind gives itself over, opening up to whatever imagery is offered. — He said that, in his opinion, the condition of sitting still in a dark room, passively looking at light over a period of time, would be the prime component in the induction.13
A team of researchers headed by psychologists Merrelyn and Fred Emery at the Center for continuing Education, Australian National University at Canberra reported decades ago showed that when we watch television, our usual processes of thinking and discernment are semi-functional at best. The report says: “The evidence is that television
not only destroys the capacity of the viewer to attend, it also, by taking over a complex of direct and indirect neural pathways, decreases vigilance, the general state of arousal which prepares the organism for action should its attention be drawn to specific stimulus.14
One does not need to insert hidden messages into the messages being seen in order to manipulate the viewers. The simple act of watching the screen for just a few minutes (in our over televised society experts say it takes less than 2 minutes to become entranced) will change the actual brainwave patterns in the viewer’s physical brain from the awake “Alpha” state to the more passive and receptive “Beta” level of wave pattern in mere moments. The mechanism that causes this is the flicker rate being projected:
The light emitted from computer screens and TV’s is not steady, but has flicker. This is true for all monitors, of all types. The flicker is usually invisible, at least to the conscious mind. Flicker is invisible when it consists of pulses or waves of light that repeat one after the other so rapidly that they appear to fuse together into steady light. Our flicker fusion frequency (the frequency above which we no longer consciously see flicker) ranges from about 25 to 55 Hz (Hz means times per second)…
Optic nerve signals proportional to flicker at frequencies far above the conscious flicker fusion frequency do reach our brain from the eye (as shown by EEG and other studies)15
It does not matter what the content is (although content does help in manipulating the viewer) because the hypnotizing effect comes from the devices themselves.
Combine the well documented effects of the flicker rate with very loud music, clapping, shouting, dancing and verbal encouragement from the music leader the participant and it becomes very clear that the poor sheep is being manipulated by sensory overload on several levels simultaneously and does not even recognize the manipulation.
The level of hypnosis deepens during the worship portion of the song service as I alluded to previously. Now with the lights down the Big Screen becomes the focal point. The musicians can’t generally be seen; perhaps the song leader may have a small Klieg light on him or her. The flicker rate is still working its magic. However, the tonal quality of the music has changed, the images on the screen have changed to bucolic scenes, and even some Bible passages may be thrown up on screens.
The darkening of the room acts psychologically on the people’s minds. It helps “create” an atmosphere that is more hushed, mysterious and mystical. It was always during this worship portion of the song service that people would as a group sing in “other tongues.” This singing in the spirit could go on for a few minutes or longer, it just depended on the service that day. Whether for a long or short time speaking/singing in other tongues is an activity of the subconscious mind and it demands a shutting down of rational abilities while so engaged. This is another ingredient in the manipulation process. After close to 2 hours of singing, dancing, clapping — all while seeing/being led by the leader via the Big Screen(s) the lights slowly are brought up to a certain level [never too quickly or the trance is broken just like at the movies] and presto there would be our SINister, apostle Ellis Smith standing behind his Lucite podium with the brighter light on him (draw your own conclusion as to why). We the sheeple would be sitting there literally in a numbed state of mind, our minds vacant and open to “receive” whatever the speaker had to say.
The flickering rate of TV effects the brain in a negative way, causing brain activity to drop somewhere between the alpha and theta state (2). This change in brain activity puts the mind in a dreamlike state and thus it turns off the higher critical functions of the brain. Being in this trance state can be disempowering, because your mind can easily be manipulated into accepting any message as truth. This is why TV is so effective at manipulating your mind. (P.I. Chang)
The Bible says that “faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). The Holy Spirit did not say “faith comes by seeing.” In fact, we are told the opposite, that which we SEE is temporary (2 Cor. 4:18) and that we “live by faith and not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7). I admit that Paul did not have television in mind when this was written, but I believe it can be fairly applied to Big Screens in general.
Preaching requires only a man with a message. Televised anything requires some form of electricity (gas generators, solar, etc.), projectors, suitable screens, programming to show and vast amounts of money to pay for all of these extra devices which does not seem like a wise investment of our time or money.
Televised anything on a screen has no place in Christian worship. It is by nature a manipulative device that directly effects our mental discernment. 1 Peter 4:7 tells us to be sober-minded “But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer” so it seems antithetical to me to use a device which places you in an altered state of mind. Perhaps a screen may have some limited value in adult education (I would not use television to show the kids “videos” etc.) but it can easily become a “crutch” for the pastor. It’s easier to show a film than prepare an in-depth teaching. Truth Matters and as for me I am not into any form of deception being used in the Church and projected images on Big Screens are manipulative and deceptive.
The first effect of this is to create a passive mental attitude. Since there is no way to stop the images, one merely gives over to them. More than this, one has to clear all channels of reception to allow them in more cleanly. Thinking only gets in the way. There is a second difficulty. Television information seems to be received more in the unconscious than the conscious regions of the mind where it would be possible to think about it. The retina collects impressions emanating from dots. The picture is formed only after it is well inside your brain. The image does not exist in the world, and so cannot be observed as you would observe another person, or a car, or a fight. The images pass through your eyes in a dematerialized form, invisible. They are reconstituted only after they are already inside your head.16
The Deepest Cut of All – The Bible in Manipulating Souls
Everything written about thus far can be used by any group on any group of people. The use of sound and flickering lights, darkened rooms and emotionalism are psychological techniques that “work” on human beings regardless of their religious proclivities and beliefs. Thought control and brainwashing procedures have been honed to a high degree by non-Christian public and private entities.
Yet the “bedrock” of spiritually controlling a group of professing Christians is to use the Bible to place them in bondage. DMI receives reports on a regular basis on spiritual manipulation; here are two that became international “news.”
In a wildly unorthodox demonstration of how humans can be controlled by the Holy Spirit and eat just about anything to feed their bodies, a South African pastor made members of his church eat grass. A video of him commanding a demon out of a woman’s stomach might also give you the chills. According to a report in African Spotlight, Pastor Lesego Daniel of Rabboni Centre Ministries had his followers eating grass after explaining in a sermon that Jesus had many other disciples other than the 12 listed in the traditional Bible who were doing new things which were considered unconventional at the time as well. “There were many disciples and you don’t know others. Let God show you as they were deliberately not revealed in the Bible because God wanted someone to do them, new things. Nathanael was a disciple yet there is no book of Nathanael, what about the miracles, signs and wonders, what about how they them who were not mentioned, taught,” said the pastor.17
In the case of the SINister actually having his people go out and get on all fours and eat grass like an animal, the people all got very sick from doing this. You might wonder how is it that people can be so manipulated (take heed lest ye fall, my friends) as to be made to eat grass? Who would do such a thing? What we have is an example of the power of the Word of God in the hands of evil people who seek not to bless the people of God but to control their lives. All the leader needs to do is preach about being “obedient” to God’s anointed leader and the consequences of not obeying him/her. Consequences are usually preached from O.T. examples such as fire coming down and consuming rebel sons (Lev. 10:1), the earth opening up (Num. 16:32) or worse. A simple technique to use on people is to tell them that to NOT OBEY is THE sin against the Holy Spirit (Mark 3:29). This false shepherd might have used the example of King Nebuchadnezzar, whom God PUNISHED and made to “eat grass” like a cow until he acknowledged the God of Heaven (see Dan. 4:33) as biblical precedent. The point here to recognize is that these people were manipulated and humiliated via nothing more than a man using his usurped biblical authority and the writings of Holy Scripture.
Kenyan pastor bans females from wearing underwear to Church. According to The Kenyan Daily Post, the pastor’s reasoning was that the undergarments are “ungodly” and people need to be “free in ‘body’ and ‘spirit’ to receive Christ”. The pastor added that women who continue to wear undergarments to church will suffer “dire consequences,” and encouraged mothers attending his services to check their daughters to make sure they had obeyed the new rule. The GuardianLV.com one eyewitness who attends Njohi’s church reported that many of the women who were in attendance did obey the rule of their pastor and showed up without any undergarments on whatsoever. Many people are questioning why the women in worship need to be “free” in their body and spirit when coming to church while the men are not required to do the same.18
Next we read of a pastor who has convinced the women in his congregation to stop wearing panties and brassieres to worship! What I find interesting about this account is that (1) the men were not told to do the same and I wonder why this is and (2) that the women obeyed their shepherd and submitted to this demeaning manipulation.
Women are often the target of spiritual manipulation due to their submissive role in marriage and most cultures. A SINister can always point to mother “Eve” (Gen. 3:12) as the reason for mankind’s ills (scripture twisters capitalize on the biblically ignorant) or the prostitute/adulterous woman in the Proverbs (see Prov. 5:20; 7:5; 23:27). Naturally St. Paul telling women to “keep silent” in the church (1 Cor. 14:34) can become a real spiritual “bludgeon” in the hands of a manipulative leader. A leader can always control questioning sheep by pointing them to Romans 12 and remind them that this is a “new” understanding/practice and they need to renew their minds and submit to God’s direction through His anointed leader.
In closing this short article out we must not forget the tragic example of Jim Jones and The People Temple mass murder. Clinical studies and several books have been written about Mr. Jones and the consensus is that he was a master manipulator. He used fake sign-gifts, including speaking in other tongues, being slain in the spirit and fake healing miracles along with “charismatic” preaching using the Bible to secure his role as a pastor in the minds of the members. He also used other mind control techniques including sexual abuse of members, public humiliation, deprivation, etc. to mold the wills of his followers to his. The end was 913 people dead by suicide and outright murder (although all were brainwashed to a tremendous degree when they assumed room temperature).
Had I space I could have included some insights into NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) — which is also commonly used by mega-church and small fry’s alike; here is a quick definition:
while classical hypnosis depends on techniques for putting patients into suggestive trances (even to the point of losing consciousness on command), NLP is much less heavy-handed: it’s a technique of subtle meaning into spoken or written language so that you can implant suggestions into a person’s unconscious mind without them knowing what you’re doing.–Go to: ultraculture.org/blog/2014/01/16/nlp-10-ways-protect-mind-control/#sthash.rVQ7pc8n.dpuf.19
This is now commonly known in some circles as the “NPR radio” voice, or one might say the soft winsome “Joel Osteen” voice is a vital ingredient to those who use NLP techniques and many pastors are experts at the techniques involved. [If you have time I would advise you go online and LEARN about NLP, especially if you watch television]. Satan plays upon the Christian’s sincere desire to please their Lord and that does involve obeying those He has placed over us as His under-shepherds. The same texts can be used by godly and ungodly men. One produces life and spiritual fruitfulness in the lives of those who hear and do the Word proclaimed. The other produces bondage and human works. The first is when the Gospel is rightly taught —- liberty reigns in our hearts and lives. Yet when twisted the Gospel can quickly be turned into Legalism, an aberrant misuse of God’s holy Law.
But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall
bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many
shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. 2 Peter 2:1-3
The Bible warns us abundantly of those who would “make merchandise” of the people of God. Many preach the Gospel as simply the best way to get rich and exercise power over others:
If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. But godliness with contentment is great gain. 1Timothy 6:3-6
From the research I have just begun to do combined with our own prior sign-gift enthusiastic experiences there is no doubt in my mind that multitudes of God’s people are being manipulated spiritually and mentally by unscrupulous men and women and the results are never good. Whether they have purposefully studied mind control techniques or not remains unknown. The results are well known and easily observed. How does a Christian known whether or not they are sitting under a “controlling” and “abusive” pastor? As I have shared many of these techniques are covert and thus hidden from us and so how can we know if we are being “played” or not by our leaders? That is an issue for next month. STAY TUNED CAMPERS!
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End Notes 1.Obtained from http://www.founders.org/journal/fj09/article4.html 2. Obtained from http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/articles/finney.htm 3. Ibid. Underlining added for emphasis. 5. http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2012/06/26/how-music-impacts-helps-our-emotions/ 6. Obtained from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2012/06/26/how-music-impacts-helps-our-emotions/ 7. (WA 50: 371, 1-2: ‘Musicam esse vnam, quae post verbum Dei merito celebrari debeat’; 370, 36-38: ‘Das nach dem heiligen wort Gottes nichts nicht so billich vnd so hoch zu rhümen vnd zu loben, als eben diese Musica’.) 8. There are no real hard and fast dates to exactly when some of these sub-movements within the big tent of charismania began. Certainly William Branham was considered to be one of the first genuine restored prophets and his dates were pre-WWII barely. Until Branham Pentecostalism did not express much of a belief in restored prophets or apostles. This phase of restorationism did not really take hold until the charismatic movement (say 1950 via Episcopalian Bennet) became ecumenical and by the 1980’s many began to claim God was restoring the prophetic office, naturally after God restored prophets He had to finish up by restoring apostles. Now there is nothing left for us to do apart from swallow N follow these restored leaders directives and usher in the Kingdom and hand it over to Jesus — that is what is taught in a nutshell. 9. Obtained from http://bestbinauralbeats.org/how-music-affects-our-mood/ 10. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_television 11. Obtained from http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Definition_Subliminal_Messages.html. Bold type and underlining added for emphasis. 12. Xi http://www.innermind.com/outerlimits/info/olopen.htm http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/may2008/051308_mccain_subliminal.htm http://www.numbers1317.org/file_23_television_01.html 13. Ibid. 14. Dr. Richard Conrad SUBLIMINAL FLICKER Part I: Computer screens, TV’s and Flicker Sensitivity 15. http://www.numbers1317.org/file_23_television_04.html 18. http://ultraculture.org/blog/2014/01/16/nlp-10-ways-protect-mind-control/ |
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