"Christian" Television

Our church has been having a conference called A Call to Discernment put on by Justin Peters.  I was a little nervous when I heard what the topic would be, exposing health, wealth, and prosperity preachers, in part because not all of the groups that believe in faith healing are the same.  Plus, if he was speaking truth without love, it would not be beneficial.  However, I have been impressed with his presentation so far, but maybe that is for a future blog.

This conference made me want to scan the "Christian" television stations last night to see what these "great men of God" were preaching (well, unfortunately, men and women).  What I saw was sickening.  One guy was teaching a prosperity gospel, and it was enough to make you want to turn him in to the Better Business Bureau, Attorney General's Office, or the IRS as a scam against the elderly and poor.  His story is titled Please Don't Repo My Car, and he tells of how he was going through financial difficulty, pledged to tithe, and things turned around.  Sometimes that does happen, and if he had stopped there, maybe it would not have been a bad lesson.  Instead, he talked about how God wants everyone to be rich, and that there is the person of Christ and the principles of Christ.  Many good Christians are living in the person of Christ, but missing out on the principles, which is that God wants all Christians to be rich.  Obviously he has not read the Bible in the way I read it.  Then he proceeds to say that you need to plant a seed like it says in the parable of the sower, and allow that seed to take root so that it will produce financial fruit.  I guess Jesus' interpretation of His own parable was incorrect.  The guy then tells you that he is a $1000 sower, God gave him that task, and so you are supposed to sow your $1000 in this guy's ministry.  Even worse, the target crowd seems to be those who are going through financial difficulty ("even if it is your last $1000").  Mind you, when he sowed his "seed," it was a $20 tithe on the $200 he was bringing in every week.  Much less than $1000.  I guess that he expects viewers to be too stupid to figure that out (and unfortunately, the ones who are sending him money are deceived).

The second guy I listened to also used the parable of the sower, and this one used Jesus' interpretation, but unfortunately, misquoted Jesus.  I guess that he was banking on the fact that viewers would not bother to look up the verse to verify whether it was quoted correctly (I had the Key study Bible handy and looked up the Greek word - he really did not expect that).  He basically was advising people that if they felt something was right in their gut, they needed to allow that thought to take root and produce fruit instead of not taking root, which would lead to giving up.  Now I have read the parable of the sower many times, and I am pretty sure that the ones who do not have roots are unbelievers instead of believers facing opposition in the church from leadership.  I am also pretty sure that Proverbs says that we are to listen to counsel instead of tuning counsel out.  I am also pretty sure that as a teacher of the Bible we are to teach the Bible instead of what Kenneth Copeland says (his source for lessons).  Apparently this guy now allows what Kenneth Copeland says to take root so that it is the fruit coming out of him and therefore God's word.

What is sad is that these guys sounded good.  It was exactly what too many people would want to hear.  They took verses here and there out of context, but the way they interpretted the verses seemed to apply.  I think that there are lessons to learn from this.  First, just because it is on Christian TV does not mean that it is Christian.  Yes, these guys were saying some good things couched in Christian terms.  Yes, there were lots of crosses and Christian music playing in the background.  Yes, the Bible was mentioned.  However, the messages being sent by the first guy was not Christian, and by the second guy was dangerous (although maybe not as heretical).  Second, people in our churches are probably watching these shows, and unfortunately, sending money to these "Christian" television stations.  Third, it is important to teach the truth in our churches, and to make sure that our people know how to read the Bible.  By knowing how to read the Bible, I mean being familiar with evaluating all Scripture in context, not just reading through a passage devotionally or because it is a good story.  Fourth, we need to warn those around us who are being deceived by this type of teaching.  If I am desperate, down to my last dollar, and hearing how to fix it from someone who is a smooth talker and receiving messages from the Holy Spirit, I may be tempted to listen to that type of message if I am not grounded in what I know to be true about the character of God.  

There is much more that can be said about this subject.  These are just two examples from watching an hour of Christian television.  I know that there are people who watch it every day of the week, every moment of the day, and I am concerned that they are being deceived.  What a sad example of attacks against God's faithful!