WisteriaDrapedWishingwells

What jumps to mind initially is Shrek, "That's harsh, it's only a wee donkey."

Hmmm, Rodney Howard-Browne, Evangelist, Thief, Fraudster, Liar "That's a bit harsh he's only a wee preacher."

Rodney Howard-Brown is a white supremist in theology, and the following shows some of the ideaology of this man.

(John Davies) -'Few had heard of Rodney Howard-Browne before he led a series of revival meetings in Lakeland, Florida in 1993. A lot has happened since then; some of it is commendable, and some of it is reprehensible. In theory Browne came to America from South Africa to "revive" a largely sleeping church. He quickly got labeled as a Holy Ghost "bartender" because of the manifestations of "holy laughter" dominating his ministry. In his meetings he taught that not only was it the pastor's job to fleece the sheep but only God was to judge pastors, not the (dumb) sheep! He also taught that thieves were to be blessed and rewarded, not judged for this is what Jesus would want them to do! He also taught that it was more important to give than to receive and spent a lot of time receiving offerings that he spent on himself and family members. Rodney learned about nepotism from his good friend Senior Pastor Karl Strader of Carpenter's Home Church, Lakeland, Florida, for the bible stated:

1TM 5:8 But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

The scripture above is what RHB uses to justify the idea of fleecing the flock.

Unlike Jesus who owned nothing, RHB owns luxury homes and his earnings for any given financial year, although to this day remanin undisclosed, are said to be astoundingly obscene.

Even Presidents Clinton and Bush disclosed/disclose their total earnings (and personal income tax details) for any given financial year, so makes you wonder what RHB thinks he needs to hide from the poor people filling his coffers on any given day of the week that he cannot make his earnings public knowledge. If the president of the country deems it permissable to lead by example, one would think that a Godly man would most certainly deem it necessary to do the same, it is called accountability, but I guess it entirely depends on which god you are serving, The Son of God or the Son of Perdition. In RHB's case I believe it is the latter. "That's harsh, it's only a wee donkey," (Shrek) Even his credentials as a minister are shonky at best, in his standard biography he claims to have once served as an associate Pastor at Rhema. However, according to the Rhema official contacted at Rhema, Kelmeyer, RHB was never an associate pastor, nor did he ever hold any kind of pastoral role. He was a lecturer (at Rhema Bible College) and a minister ordained by the state. Howard-Browne also said he had a "doctorate of ministry degree" from an obscure San Jacinto, California correspondence institution called "The School of Bible Theology." A state Department of Education employee contacted likened the tiny school, (which bills itself as "The Seminary to the World" and has no faculty,) to a "diploma mill." Following is a list of their illustrious alumni:

Dr. Rodney Howard-Browne
Doctor of Divinity
Doctor of Theology

Dr. Joyce Meyer
Doctor of Philosophy in Theology

Dr. Kenneth Copeland
Doctor of Philosophy in Theology

Dr. Benny Hinn
Doctor of Philosophy in Theology

Interesting, worrying, and yet the plot just continues to thicken from here on in...BUT..."That's harsh, it's only a wee donkey." (Shrek)

"And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many" (Matthew 24:11). (the scripture is basically saying, "Oh dear, huge car wreck up ahead, proceed with catuion)

"For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light." 2 Corinthians 11:13, 14. (the scripture here is basically saying not to be surprised at their cunning and ability to perform the diabolical, look at their master and see what he did and it is not some great fete, merely a cheap trick...and yet many have fallen for the cheap trick seeing these men to be of grand stature in the eyes of God...how fooled...how sad)

"But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." Galatians 1:8. (I think the scripture above is self-explanatory..but just incase you missed it, woe betides anyone who dares to preach anything but what the word of God espouses.)

Matthew 7.21,22 stated clearly that false prophets would come and perform miracles, signs and wonders...that these are clearly to be part of the false prophet's carni-sideshow....many are deceived by these things making them the benchmark of their judgement between good and bad, right and wrong...

...and yet miracles, signs, wonders and conversions are not in any way a testament as to whether a prophet is of God or batting for the other team. Nor is their income, funnily enough, just because they appear to have many blessings in the moolah department, it is not testament to their blessings in God, it is, more often than not, a testament to their ability to rob you blind. Remember, JESUS OWNED NOTHING! Now I am not espousing that poverty is fun, and Jesus definitley was NOT impoverished in that he had clothing, he had a place to lay his head, friends, and food to eat. BUT he did NOT scoot around Galilee on the Black Stallion 2000 ed, mostly he walked or rode donkeys. BUT he was NOT impoverished...my definition of impoverished is; 'no food, no clothing, no water, no friends, no hope, no shelter.' Jesus did not build up mountains of gold 'just in case' or for any other reason, he trusted his father to provide what he needed and he did as he was required thus his needs were met as he met the needs of others...there is a HUGE difference between your needs being met and building up mountains of gold...yet try telling THAT to RHB.

The Bible is full of verses which describe these great deceivers who will come into the church secretly with false doctrines. Please read carefully the following- Jude, 1 John 4:1, 2 Peter 2:1-22, Titus 1:11, 2 Timothy 3:1-9, 1 Timothy 4:1, 6:3-5, Matthew 24:4-5, 11, 23-26. .

RHB's words betray him when he constantly speaks of money and equates monetary gain with godliness (Matthew 6:21, 1 Timothy 6:6, 9, 10). The Lord said "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh" . They reveal what is actually in their heart by the words they speak. As you can hear in the sermons he preaches and the ideals and ideas he espouses, RHB openly blasphemes the Holy Spirit of God and does it to the extent of calling himself the 'Holy Ghost Barman/Bar-tender' who pours out the Holy Spirit upon people to the point of drunkeness...most cannot string together two coherent words once made 'spiritually drunk' and more often than not, most cannot even walk nor drive home after the service and some remain in this state for DAYS! Well let's see what God has to say about this phenonmenon, and what God says is in direct contrast, one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit's presence is SELF-CONTROL (Galatians 5:22-23), so by that measure, (AND REMEMBER... ALL TRUTHS CAN BE ACCURATELY MEASURED IN LINE WITH GOD'S WORD) one can only draw the conclusion that this absolutel pandemonium and bedlam has absolutely NOTHING TO DO WITH GOD!

I say it is a gross perversion to espouse that anything so sinister and out of control has anything to do with God whatsoever! "What fellowship has Christ with Belial?" - 2 Corinthians 6:15
The bible is VERY clear about what we should and should not do as far as these kind of seriously perverted practices go...."And we henceforth be no children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; ...(Ephesians 4:14)

In order that we undertsand RHB we need to see where his 'roots sprouted from' and RHB is actually the hidden force behind the Toronto Blessing....what WAS the Toronto Blessing I hear you ask...quick version is that there would be a huge revival...and YET this revival flies in the face of the biblical truth that stated that in the end days that there would be a GREAT FALLING AWAY....I believe that their REVIVAL IS THE FULFILMENT OF THE BIBLICALLY FORECASTED GREAT FALLING AWAY....because if you take a good look at where this revival is occuring, it is happening in the churches of people such as Rodney Howard-Browne...(Benny Hinn, Joyce Meyer, Kenneth Copeland, Brian Tamaki and co) I rest my case...sort of...I still have MUCH to say.

"Many people lie on the floor giggling, sometimes for hours after RHB has zapped them on the forehead. Some of them stumble out of their church hours later, as if drunk ."

Does the above not strike a warning chord in your heart and mind? If it doesn't you are in serious peril, if it does...LISTEN TO IT AND GET OUT!

And to futher worry you, one night RHB was preaching a sermon on hell at the Oral Robert's University and as opposed to people being solemnly sobered by such a sermon they all burst out in uncontrolled laughter. HELL IS NO LAUGHING MATTER...whatever you understand hell to be, the one thing it is NOT is FUNNY! Remember, Satan would laugh at hell, he thinks it is a hoot to take as many with him as he can, nowhere do I recollect EVER reading about Jesus laughing about hell. To laugh about the serious message of spiritual and eternal death, to my mind, is to MOCK something that should be very gravely contemplated by all. One person admitted that during the same service laughter broke out during the Eucharist (when we remember the body of Christ broken, and his blood shed), this is scary when you consider that this is normally the most solemn part of the service, people are usually VERY reverntly guarded in their behaviour and their thinking processes. So is this kind of behaviour really the kind of example you would expect from a man who is filled with the Spirit? I say he is filled with A spirit and that it has absolutely nothing to do with God...that he could allow the mocking laughter during such a solemn time.

(Howard-Browne)..."You can't understand what God is doing in these meetings with an analytical mind," he says. "The only way you're going to understand what God is doing is with your heart." "Words have become meaningless in our society," he says, "Signs and wonders are what must capture our attention."

AGAIN for those of you who missed it...

Matthew 7.21,22 stated clearly that false prophets would come and perform miracles, signs and wonders...that these are clearly to be part of the false prophet's carni-sideshow....many are deceived by these things making them the benchmark of their judgement between good and bad, right and wrong... further to this, Rodney Howard-Browne has said that signs and wonders must capture our attention and that the word of God is meaningless...(look above AGAIN...he did NOT directly say the Word of God, but he implies it by virtue of saying it)...this CLEALRY FLIES IN THE FACE OF BIBLICAL TRUTH!

"Howard-Browne is happy to identify with people who rely on extra-biblical revelations, and distort the plain teaching of Scripture. For example, Oral Roberts has, according to Duin's article, "proclaimed that Howard-Browne's ministry signalled the arrival of "another level in the Holy Spirit." (p.24). One has to ask where in Scripture are we taught that there are "levels" in the Holy Spirit?" (Stephen Sizer) Rodney Howard-Browne-A Critical Examination

"Howard-Browne then began to work on the whole audience, rhythmically pacing up and down in front of the stage, using a strange tongue which was never interpreted. This gradually became a mantra which climaxed in a piercing high-pitched sound which he held for a long time. Watching the video with me was an African pastor and a former missionary. Both immediately said they recognised this as identical with the voodoo call used by witch doctors in summoning up the demons." (Clifford Hill PWM Team Ministries Newsletter, 28 November 1994) .

"The video shows classic manipulation of the audience, just as at Nuremberg....The audience is repeatedly urged to suspend critical faculties and be open and receptive to a "blessing" . Meanwhile the audience itself is shouting and laughing and crying out for more. This is epidemic hysteria....This can be explained in purely psychological terms. There is no need to invoke the supernatural....The leaders are wicked men to abuse power in this way. The clearest signs of drunkenness in these meetings are that the leaders are drunk with power. There is no sign or care or concern for the people.....At HTB (Holy Trinity, Brompton) I saw individuals with a "pill rolling" action of their hands and others with serious psychological problems. These people were not being helped...They had come with real needs, but were just being manipulated." (pp.13-15) Dr Gaius Davies King's College Hospital, London.

As Shrek said, "That's harsh, it's just a wee donkey,"...BUT...WHAT IF IT'S NOT?

More info for your perusal...

In an article entitled "The 'Toronto Blessing'or 'the New Wave of Holy Laughter,'" Rev. Fred Grigg of Australia's Mandate Ministries writes:

"Worth noting is how one pastor, currently promoting 'holy laughter' throughout Australia, in a recent two-page magazine article described the experience in the following way, he said,

'...one minister, after shaking for about 45 minutes, screamed at the top of his voice, "Don't touch me, you'll get electrocuted!" Others were on the floor rolling or laughing or shaking under the power of God.' Of another pastor's experience, with whom this pastor said he had prayed for one morning, without any 'powerful manifestations' at that time, he said, '...When he tried to start the meeting (in his own church) that night he was struck dumb and, then, all he could do was laugh!' The response of this same pastor, in answering the question, 'How is it possible that people can be changed by lying on the floor, rolling, or laughing or shaking,' is very intriguing. He responds, 'Well, if the power of God touches you, it's like 20,000 volts (of electricity) trying to go through a piece of fuse wire something has to give!'" (The Gospel Truth, Vol. 13 No. 1, January 1996; emphasis in original).

Rodney Howard-Browne relates an incident in his booklet... ‘Manifesting the Holy Ghost’:

"Holy Ghost Glue. When this happened I noticed a woman on the floor who was laughing uncontrollably. Then she started weeping and speaking in other tongues. She was lying on her back under the power of God with her hands lying back above her head. She was stuck to the floor. ... The Mack truck of God's power is coming! She was lying there from noon until 1:30 drunk in the Spirit. At 1:30 she tried to get up. She wanted to get up. She couldn't. All she could do was flap her hands. So she was there flapping away flap, flap, flap, flap. She said 'I can't get up. I'm stuck to the floor.' I was walking up and down. It was 2:30, 3:30, 4:30. She was still stuck and I was still walking. Sometimes, as in her case, we close the meeting, but the Holy Spirit is still there. ... At 4:30 the woman was still saying, 'I can't get up. I'm stuck to the floor.' I turned to the Pastor and said, 'Look I haven't had either breakfast or lunch. It's 4:30. I'm not stuck and you're not stuck. These people are going to stay here with her, so let's go have a meal before the night service.' The ushers told us later that at 6 o'clock the woman finally peeled herself off the carpet. Then it took her an hour to crawl from the center of the church auditorium to the side wall. She had been stuck to the floor for 6 hours! ... So I said, "Bring on the fire God! Do whatever you want to do in my meetings. Stick the people to the floor, to the roof, to the wall whatever" (pp. 25, 26, 27, 29; cited in "The Strange Views of Rodney Howard-Browne," by G. Richard Fisher).

Excuse me if I seem a little vague or are missing something critical to my understanding here, but to what end would the holy spirit of God do this? What's the point?

Exactly, it is NOT anything to do with God!

I love this saying, "If it walks like a duck, if it sounds like a duck, if it even looks remotely like a duck, then there's a high percentage of probability that it IS a duck."

Shakti Pat or Divine Touch Robert Walker described what takes place in Kundalini yoga: 'Few Christians realise that for thousands of years gurus have operated with gifts of healing, miracles, gifts of knowledge, and intense displays of spiritual consciousness as they stretch out and connect with a cosmic power which, though demonic in origin, is very real. The meetings which mystic Hindu gurus hold are called 'Darshan'. At these meetings devotees go forward to receive spiritual experience from a touch by the open palm of the hand, often to the forehead, by the guru in what is known as the Shakti Pat or divine touch. The raising of the spiritual experience is called raising Kundalini. The practice is quite intricate but is brought on by Shakti Pat in conjunction with the repetition of mantras or religious phrases and by holding physical positions for a long time. After a period when the devotee has reached a certain spiritual elevation they begin to shake, jerk, or hop or squirm uncontrollably, sometimes breaking into uncontrolled animal noises or laughter as they reach an ecstatic high. These manifestations are called 'Kriyas'. Devotees sometimes roar like lions and show all kinds of physical signs during this period. Often devotees move on to higher states of spiritual consciousness and become inert physically and appear to slip into an unconsciousness when they lose sense of what is happening around them. This state is called 'samadhi' and it leads to a deeper spiritual experience.'

Aren't the liknesses between Kundalini and the manifestations of Rodney Howard-Browne's version of a touch from the holy spirit eerily similar? I propose that they are one in the same.

Oh no, it IS a duck! PROOF?

What are the signs of an awakened kundalini?

Briefly, according to classical literature the signs of an awakened kundalini can be grouped into: mental signs, vocal signs and physical signs. Mental signs can include visions that range from ecstatically blissful to terrifyingly frightful. Vocal signs can include spontaneous vocal expressions that range from singing or reciting mantras to make various animals sounds such as growling or chirping. Physical signs include trembling, shaking and spontaneously performing hatha yoga postures and pranayamas.

Toronto Manifestations.

Inspired singing in the spirit, other inspired utterances. It is conceivable that while yogis recite mantras, the Christians manifest something more typical to them. Animal sounds. Strange (or prophetical) postures in general; Compulsory movements. Inward joy, laughter, trembling, shaking, , prophetical glimpses; reception of inward understanding of spiritual issues. Weeping. Crying. Anxiety because of the childhood traumas now being healed. Feeling of heat or cold.

singing, reciting mantras, animal sounds, trembling, shaking, yoga postures, waves of bliss, elation, altered consciousness, aches, anxiety, and feeling of heat flashes.

The above are what is curious to both. So what is to be said for coincidence? I wondered how many peculiarities had to occur between two supposedly very different things before they are moved from the realm of coincidence and into the realm of familiarity?

Let's find some definitions of the word 'coincidence'

The state or fact of occupying the same relative position or area in space.
A sequence of events that although accidental seems to have been planned or arranged.
the quality of occupying the same position or area in space; "he waited for the coincidence of the target and the cross hairs"
the temporal property of two things happening at the same time; "the interval determining the coincidence gate is adjustable"
Let's find some definitions of 'familiarity'

1. considerable acquaintance with

2. close acquaintance with something

Okay so we are getting warm, but it is really not bringing me any closer to the cross over from coincidence to familiarity, although I believe you cannot argue that there is not a familiarity between Kundalini and the Toronto blessing manifestations.

Okay so in terms of definition, I think coincidence and familiarity do not completely satisfy my search for answers, perhaps a definition of 'irony' will bring me closer? Let's find some definitions for 'irony'

1. Greek etymology of the word irony, (eironeia), means feigned ignorance (a technique often used by the Greek philosopher Socrates.

2. Socratic irony involves a profession of ignorance that disguises a skeptical, non-committed attitude towards some dogma or universal opinion that lacks a basis in reason or in logic.

3. Roman irony was used in public speaking and rhetoric, in which the words used were opposite their meaning or intent.

4. Verbal irony is traditionally defined as the use of words to convey something other than, and especially the opposite of the literal meaning of the words

Now, okay I admit it, my original question was not answered, when does coincidence move into familiarity? But hey, these definitions of irony smack of a certain truth in regard to what Rodney Howard-Browne proposes as truth, as good sound doctrinal truths...

...consider the following:

Television journalist Louis Theroux is someone who has demonstrated expert use of Socratic irony to his audience, by interviewing a number of diverse individuals with an air of relaxed naivety and appreciative curiosity. This has led to his subjects becoming less guarded and more open in answering questions than they would have been in a more adversarial dialogue, while more often than not also granting Theroux subtle control of the interview.

What Louis Theroux did was not far away from what Rodney Howard-Browne does, I mean he stands on stage pretending not to know what his version of the holy spirit is going to do/is doing or why, and yet he seems remarkably unabashed when claiming these terrible manifestations as that of the holy spirit. Perhaps Rodney is using a form of Socratic irony upon his unsuspecting audience? Perhaps that, combined with the teachings of Stanley Milgram make for a force of unsurpassable (in human terms, [God can surpass any trick of mind or psychology with the bat of His eye I am sure]) psychological power?

Perhaps it is too terrible to contemplate that Rodney Howard-Browne knows exactly what he is doing and where this holy laughter and drunkeness comes from? But is it the practise of socratic irony that allows him so much leeway to perform the abominable?

I mean, I do not know, beyond the fact that it is definitely NOT of God. But really, how could a reportedly highly educated man not see or never hear about the similarities of Kundalini and the Toronto Blessing? And if he did, how could he continue down the path? Socratic irony makes sense to my little mind, and admittedly I ain't the smartest cookie who ever lived nor am I the sharpest knife in the draw there ever was. BUT I do enjoy exercising my little brain and trying to find answers, reasons, explanations for things that really do not make much sense at all.

Piczo