A great Christian revival will soon take place.

Billy Graham is now 95 years old.  When he dies, a great revival (the greatest in history) will sweep the earth.  So says Benny Hinn. 

Supernatural Manifestations of the Power of God as Predicted by Kenneth Copeland, a modern-day Prophet

Kenneth Copeland is a well-known TV preacher.  He proclaims the importance of faith in the life of Christians.  According to him, dramatic supernatural manifestations of the power of God are occurring and will continue to occur.  In particular, Christians will experience the supernatural cancellation of their debts and supernatural transportation from one location to another.  Airplanes are thus unnecessary.  One wonders why Kenneth Copeland's organization has owned airplanes.  See
http://www.religionnewsblog.com/19870/kenneth-copeland

In the video below, Mr. Copeland transmits to his followers the actual words of God (or Jesus). One might say that Kenneth Copeland has thereby added to the Bible and some theologians would condemn such additions to the Bible as heresy.

Pat Robertson is a false prophet. Why don't other Christians condemn him?

The Bible has harsh words for false prophets.  Deuteronomy 18:20 says, "But the prophet, who shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who shall speak in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die."  Many New Testament passages condemn false prophets.  Matthew 7:15 says, " Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves."  Pat Robertson is the founder and Chairman of the Christian Broadcasting Network and is the Chancellor of Regent University.  He sought to be the Republican nominee in the 1988 Presidential election.  He is a well-known and influential Christian leader.  Pat Robertson said on TV that God had informed him that Mitt Romney would twice be elected President.  That false prophecy is on the first video below.  In the second video Pat Robertson gives his predictions for 2014.  He says that in 2014 the Republicans will take over the Senate, Iran will develop a nuclear device, there will be a credit crisis, Islam will be in retreat, and it will be the greatest year ever in the history of the Christian church.  If some or all of these prophecies are proven false, will many Christians condemn Pat Robertson as a false prophet?  I doubt it.  I don't expect them to stone Pat Robertson to death in accordance with Deuteronomy 18:20, but it would be refreshing to hear some harsh words in condemnation of Pat Robertson on Christian TV.  Given his past false predictions, you would think Pat Robertson would be humble enough to admit the error of his ways and cease making predictions.  But he is not in the least bit humble.  He thinks he is a modern-day prophet of God, a 21st century Isaiah or Jeremiah.

                                                                     

                   

Snake Handling Pastor Won't Face Criminal Prosecution

A grand jury has decided not to indict Rev. Andrew Hamblin, who has been previously discussed in this blog.  In 2013 state wildlife agents seized about 50 venomous snakes, including copperheads and rattlesnakes, from his church.  The snakes are used in religious services in accordance with Mark 16:18.  Following seizure of the snakes, church members and others rallied round the pastor and called for the snakes to be returned to the church.  http://scott.wbir.com/news/news/634102-grand-jury-decides-not-indict-snake-handling-pastor

The Religion of the Benevolent Invisible Hand

The word "religion" has no fixed meaning.  We usually think of religion in narrow terms as the worship of an all-powerful God, who has a strict moral code and blessings for the righteous. But this is just one type of religion.  An economic or political system can also be a religion when it is an object of adoration and cannot be questioned.  In this sense Adolph Hitler's ideology of Aryan superiority was the religion of the German people during the 1930s and he was their God.  Some Americans have a secular religion whose primary doctrine is our nation's superiority to all other countries.  These Americans believe that our culture, institutions, and economic system are without equal and they sometimes speak of the U.S. Constitution with the same reverence that fundamentalist Christians have towards the Bible.  They sneer at Europe because business activity in Europe is subject to a much greater degree of regulation than in the U.S. They believe on faith that unfettered free market capitalism is what makes America great and prosperous.  Their religion of free market capitalism -- with only minimal regulation by government -- can be traced back to Adam Smith, the famous 18th century economist.  He taught that society as a whole would prosper if each individual was free to pursue his own self-interest and that a free-market economy would always regulate itself, as if guided by an Invisible Hand.  Belief in the benevolent Invisible Hand and unfettered free-market capitalism is a religion.  Those who believe in this religion somehow overlook the fact that the U.S. economy has failed on numerous occasions to "regulate itself" and government has had to come to the rescue each time.  The two most obvious economic failures are the Great Depression of the 1930s and the economic catastrophe of 2008 and early 2009.  Adam Smith's notion that the pursuit of self-interest is good for society was expressed by Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) in the movie "Wall Street."  Gordon Gekko's speech is powerful.  He says, "Greed--for lack of a better word--is good.  Greed is right.  Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed in all of its forms--greed for life, for money, for love, for knowledge--has marked the upward surge of mankind.  And greed--you mark my words--will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA."  I love hearing those words and you can see his performance in the video below.

Religious Rant on the floor of the House of Representatives in October of 2013

Religious speech is usually predictable and boring.  We know what our minister is likely to say in his sermon or at a funeral.  We know what types of prayers will be uttered at prayer breakfasts, city council meetings, and Presidential inauguration ceremonies. But once in a while spontaneous and unusual religious speech occurs and it gets our attention.  One such instance took place on the floor of the House of Representatives in October of 2013.  The federal government had been shut down because the two parties could not agree on spending priorities and there was no longer any legal authority to spend tax dollars.  Eventually an agreement was reached and House members were voting on the proposed legislation.  During the voting Diane Reidy, a stenographer for the House of Representatives, interrupted the proceedings with a loud religious rant against the legislation. She walked up to the podium and angrily said things concerning the devil and freemasons.  The meaning of her rant was unclear. She said, quoting Jesus, "You cannot serve two masters [God and money]."  She was removed by Capitol Hill police and taken to a hospital for a mental health evaluation.  For more information go to http://www.mediaite.com/tv/fox-news-ids-reports-new-details-on-stenographer-who-went-on-bizarre-rant-on-house-floor/ and watch the video below.

Baptist minister and former governor Mike Huckabee explains the mass murders at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

When tragic events occur, religious people often say that God works in mysterious ways.  They don't try to explain the tragedy, but simply say that "the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord."  But pastors and theologians sometimes try to explain tragedies such as earthquakes, school shootings, and the terrorist attacks of 9/11/2001.  There was a school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012.  Adam Lanza killed 20 children and 6 adult staff members before killing himself.  The former governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee, was asked about this tragedy.  He is a Southern Baptist minister.  He said that God allowed the deaths at Sandy Hook Elementary School because "we have removed God from the schools."  In saying that "we" have removed God from the schools, Huckabee was referring to the Supreme Court Justices of the 1960s, who ruled that prayers and Bible reading in public schools are unconstitutional.  Is God still angry about Supreme Court rulings from the 1960s? Apparently so, according to Governor Huckabee.  If God were logical, he would have killed or punished the Supreme Court Justices who sinned by banning prayer and Bible reading in schools. Instead Huckabee tells us, in effect, that an irrational and angry God waited patiently for 50 years and then vented his anger at the Supreme Court of the 1960s by killing the innocent children and adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School.  Such is the "explanation" of Mike Huckabee. Some may say that Adam Lanza is responsible for the deaths, but from a Christian perspective an all-powerful God is responsible for the deaths.  An all-powerful and loving God could have intervened to protect the adults and children from Adam Lanza, just as God intervened to protect the children of Israel from the Egyptian Pharaoh.  Above is the video in which Huckabee gives his repugnant explanation of the Sandy Hook shootings.