Posted in beth moore, contemplative prayer, legalism

Troubled by Beth Moore’s teaching: Part 4: Legalism

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I am working on a series of essays looking at the teachings of Beth Moore. She is currently a wildly popular Christian Bible teacher. Her books, DVDs, lessons, devotionals and tours sell like hotcakes. She regularly fills stadiums and arenas to capacity. She is sought after for speaking engagements and has a regular spot on a television show called Life Today. She teaches Sunday School in her home town of Houston when she is in town and has had that position since 1984.

In exploring whether the content of Mrs. Moore’s lessons contain solid teaching, I’ll be looking at five issues- Contemplative Prayer, Legalism, Personal Revelation, Eisegesis vs. exegesis, and outright error. This part will  look at Mrs Moore’s insidious Legalism.

Legalism

Legalism is a reference to the Law, the Law of the Old Testament designed to show us in no uncertain terms that there is nothing that we can do in our own strength that will sanctify us and provide the pathway to heaven. If we rely on the Law, we are dead. Satan’s old trick of instilling in us the notion that we have to do things to get into heaven is alive and well, and has been since the earliest New Testament days. Legalism teaches that we do is more important that what we believe. Paul dealt with the first instance of legalism, busting it out of the water: “We who are Jews by birth and not ‘Gentile sinners’ know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.” (Galatians 2:15-16)

Ecclesiastes 7:20 reminds us of legalism’s futility: “There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins.”

I’d mentioned in the last segment that Mrs. Moore has a tendency to pry apart the tightly woven tapestry of scripture and insert things you have to do, make conditions for salvation (if you do this, then you’re saved) and to teach of a certain way of doing Christianity. Some people say that it is just her style of casual teaching, friendliness and quick speech but she really means that we’re saved by faith alone. But then again, I spoke to the dangers of quick speech and casual handling of the Word. Bible teachers have to say what they mean in precision and back it up with scripture. Oftentimes, Mrs. Moore makes assertions that have no basis in scripture and adds conditions for our faith walk. Here are three examples:

I used one example of legalism at the end of Part 3. It was from her contemplative prayer quote: “[I]f we are not still before Him, we will never truly know to the depths of the marrow of our bones that He is God. There’s got to be a stillness.” So IF you aren’t still you WON’T know God. At least, not like a real Christian. It’s Pharisaical thinking, ‘I do this practice so I’m really more pious than that tax collector over there.’ (Luke 18:11). And the Pharisees were the ultimate legalists.

Here is another example. In one study, Beth Moore is speaking of ‘confidence and competence’ that Christ gives us. The study is based on Hebrews 10:19-20 but her interpretation of the verse is wrong from the beginning. I’ll address her interpretive error in the exegesis vs. eisegesis segment to come.  But once the basic interpretation is wrong it is no surprise that what follows falls into even worse error. I transcribed this- Watch carefully as she inserts conditions to salvation and even outlines the effect of not believing the extra add-ons she includes. “…but what can happen is this … If we receive Christ as our Savior but we never recognize and by faith believe Him to also be our healer and our restorer then we just stay just as cracked as when we got here.”

That’s a blasphemous, heretical statement. Let the momentousness of that statement sink in for a second.

The Gospel is now Law. We have to believe some things above and beyond what the Bible says we believe to be saved. John 6:29 says, “The work of God is to believe in the One He has sent.” We believe the Lord died to save us from our sins and rose again, and we are saved (Romans 10:9). Even better, there’s nothing anyone can ever do to change that (Romans 8:38-39). The moment you asked for your salvation it was delivered. (Matt. 7:7-8). It’s guaranteed forever (Ephesians 1:13-14, 2 Cor 1:21-22).  I certainly don’t see anything about having to believe that Jesus is our Healer and Our Restorer or else we stay cracked.

To continue:

…it [confidence] just bleeds out everywhere, we can’t keep any confidence in there. Because we have never trusted Him to put three pieces of our lives back together. Is this making any sense to anybody? We have all these cracks and all these pieces. … And we’re supposed to be effective here on earth. … Salt and light and profoundly effective, but we can’t be any of that unless we have our God-confidence.”

What she is saying is that —
1. Unless we accept Jesus as savior AND Healer AND Restorer, His work is not sufficient.
2. Unless we get some God-confidence, we are not effective.

Well…Moses wasn’t confident. “Then Moses said to the LORD, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” So the LORD said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the LORD? Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.” (Exodus 4:10-12). By any standard, Moses was effective.

Jeremiah wasn’t confident. His first worry was that he was too young for the job. ” Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.” But the LORD said to me: Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ For you shall go to all to whom I send you, And whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of their faces, For I am with you to deliver you,” says the LORD.” (Jer 1:6-8). By any standard, Jeremiah was an effective man of God.

Now as for this cracked business, the Bible does speak of being cracked: “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, The fountain of living waters, To hew for themselves cisterns, Broken cisterns That can hold no water.” (Jeremiah 2:13). The ones who forsook God were cracked- the evil ones were the cracked ones and were bleeding water out everywhere. But when Jesus saves us, we are sealed! “Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.” (2 Cor 1:21-22) There is no in-between, being saved but leaking. That is disrespectful to Him and it’s just not biblical. But it is legalism.

I’ve given two examples of Beth Moore legalism. One was from her stance on the DVD “Be Still,” about Contemplative Prayer. One was from an audio teaching about Hebrews 10:19-20. This next example is from her book, “Breaking Free: Making Liberty in Christ a Reality in Life”. It is a review of that book by Paige Britton.

Britton says, “One rather ironic element of Moore’s teaching is her definition of “legalism,” one of the roadblocks we must remove if we want to journey on to authentic freedom. According to Moore, legalism occurs whenever one studies the Word but fails to enjoy God; it is the absence of relationship, passion, engagement of the heart (pp.75, 77). This definition is fine as far as it goes, but it effectively obscures the fact that Breaking Free is all about applying new rules in order to gain what God meant for us as a gift in Christ. Since Breaking Free is also all about experiential things like peace, satisfaction, and the enjoyment of a passionate personal relationship with God, it couldn’t possibly be an example of human-centered, legalistic religion, could it?”

Of course, the answer is yes.

Sister, watch or listen or read her works carefully, carefully, with this in mind: Beth Moore tends to apply conditions for faith that are not in the Bible. She also makes sweeping claims that she does not back up with scripture. It’s worse than Joel Osteen, because there is barely any Gospel if any at all in Osteen’s speeches. In Moore’s there is a lot of Gospelese mixed in with falsity, twisted interpretations, and legalism. Study, pray, and search these things out for yourself!

Entries in this series:

Troubled by Beth Moore’s teaching: Part 1, Introduction and Casualness Beth Moore plays up the southern belle, delicate flower, Texas big hair, ultra-feminine mystique…something that I as a Yankee find mystifying. It’s a cultural thing, I know. But just because it is a women’s ministry doesn’t mean all women will understand the southern belle, delicate flower, Texas big hair persona or even understand what she’s talking about half the time. However, if the Bible is center stage, it will transcend cultural differences, wouldn’t it? Let’s see.

Troubled by Beth Moore Teaching, Part 2: Un-dignified teaching In which I look at one of the things that happens when women teach (tag-end questions and affirmation seeking), the undignified delivery of her lessons, and the problems with a rapid-fire teaching.

Troubled by Beth Moore’s Teaching, Part 3: Contemplative Prayer In which I explain what Contemplative Prayer is, why it is bad, and Beth Moore’s participation in it.

Troubled by Beth Moore Teaching, Part 4: Legalism In which I define legalism, and show three examples of Moore’s tendency toward it.

Troubled by Beth Moore’s Teaching, Part 5: Personal Revelation Beth Moore claims direct revelation from God. Is this biblical?

Troubled by Beth Moore’s Teaching, Part 6: Eisegesis, Pop Psychology, & Bad Bible Interpretations Does she interpret the Bible that badly?

Troubled By Beth Moore’s Teaching, Part 7: Conclusion It is not about Beth Moore-it is about our own proper discernment. Recommendations for discernment studies and also good women teachers

Posted in beth moore, contemplative prayer

Troubled by Beth Moore’s teaching, Part 3- Contemplative Prayer

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I am working on a series of essays looking at the teachings of Beth Moore. She is currently a wildly popular Christian Bible teacher. Her books, DVDs, lessons, devotionals and tours sell like hotcakes. She regularly fills stadiums and arenas to capacity. She is sought after for speaking engagements and has a regular spot on a television show called Life Today. She teaches Sunday School in her home town of Houston when she is in town and has had that position since 1984.

Contemplative Prayer:

In June 2011, a congregation voted to rejoin the Catholic church. They were so happy, saying, “It’s like correcting 500 years of history.” Their yearning for the ‘rigor’ and authority of the old Catholic traditions is really a disguise and a diversion for a more insidious liberal Christian drift: Catholic Mysticism. The Catholic traditions have always been rooted in what every false religion is rooted in: some Bible PLUS man’s traditions. Some of the Catholic traditions were gained from mystics and monks who claimed special revelations after having engaged in certain kinds of prayer, or other behaviors suspiciously similar to Native American spirit walks and aboriginal dream quests.

It was this problem among many others what Martin Luther rebelled against, stripping away the layers of man-built doctrines to get back to the pure Word taught directly taught to the people and available directly for the people.

Special revelations have always attracted sinful and prideful man. We want to hear from God and we want it now. Diligent searching of the scriptures and patience to wait for His illumination of it to our transforming mind is too hard. A vision will do. Why study hard when I can wait for a neon writing in the sky that I can then use to exalt myself and prove I am really, really religious.

The current drift back toward these practices should not surprise us, it has been a problem since the beginning. Contemplative prayer is a mystical kind of prayer session in which the penitent actively engages in a consciousness-altering methodology in order to better hear the Spirit speaking. As with so many of satan’s successful tactics, true contemplative prayer is a hunk of manure with a superficial layer of something that seems good on the outside. Initially, you’d think that contemplative prayer means being quiet, and pondering the Word in a reverential moment. But it’s not. It’s a practice that emphasizes emptying the mind, rather than filling it with God’s word. Contemplative prayer is the opposite of what a Christian should be engaged in.

That brings to mind this verse: “The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men–robbers, evildoers, adulterers–or even like this tax collector.” (Luke 18:11). And notice who subdued the flesh: man, not the Spirit. The Spirit subdues the flesh (1 Thess. 3:13; 1 Pet. 1:2; Rom. 8:2-4; Gal. 4:6). But in contemplative, mystical practices, man’s efforts are supreme.

Now what does Beth Moore have to do with Contemplative Prayer? In participating in a DVD called “Be Still”, about Contemplative Prayer she identifies herself with those who are part of a growing Counter-Reformation movement. The old ‘God will let me in because of what I do’ and mystical, personal revelation, experiential, vision quest approach to faith (faith by signs and not faith by belief) is becoming increasingly popular even as it has already infiltrated the more conservative shreds of what used to be a strong fundamentalist faith.

Satan got the Catholics long ago. He’s got the liberal Christians now. Who is left? Satan knows that the last bastion of people who preach the truth are the fundamentalist, conservative evangelicals huddled at the corners of places like the Southern Baptist Convention and other pockets, so he figures the best way to attract them to falsity is not by luring them back to the obvious errors of New Age, Wiccan, Buddhist etc. Those practices would turn off the conservative evangelicals, identifying it for what it is, false and wrong. Instead, he turns the prideful eyes to a near-Christian practice, embedded in our religious psyche: Catholic and Orthodox mysticism. All that unpleasantness about the Reformation happened so long ago, can’t we all just get along? And bingo, we have ‘Conservative Queen’ Beth Moore saying:

“You know, one of the things that time [of the Reformation] gives us is that it erases the lines in between people so many different sections of the people of God. Because many years later it doesn’t matter any longer that this person was of this practice in the Christian faith and this person of another. Time somehow blurs those lines and we are profoundly moved by the historical narratives of all their lives, of so great a cloud of witnesses; that we can look back on and see what kept them running the race, what kept them running toward the face of Christ at the end of that finish line.”

So, ‘all that messiness’ was so long ago it doesn’t count anymore? All the martyrs burned for daring to oppose the Catholic Church’s authority can be dismissed, while we embrace the forefathers of this perpetration of evil because we’re moved by their historical narrative? I don’t think so. Yet suddenly the lines are not blurred when she teaches on generational bondage and advises women how to extract themselves from the historical hold addictions have on them…

In the Be Still promotional writing, the producer says of the practice: “We wanted people to know that you don’t have to be a super scholar or saint to experience this type of listening prayer and intimacy with God.” It is the old, false drift to personal revelation extant of the Bible, my truth versus your truth, and experience not scholarship. This appeals to women because they are busy. Either they are at home with kids, in which case their middle name is “run-run-run”, or they are working AND raising kids which means they really have little time at all. Being told by famous Christian women that you don’t have to study and you can just tune into God’s frequency and have it all plopped down into your mind has great appeal. The danger, of course, is that what is plopped down into it may be untruth, but since women are being told they don’t have to study, how will they know?

The Be Still producer continues, “Look for times to stop and grab ‘be still’ moments. One of my favorite times is when I pull into the driveway after being out in traffic or running errands. There is a perfect silence just as I turn the car off and the door is still closed. Sometimes I will sit in the driveway with the Lord for five or 10 minutes before I go into the house. We have these moments all throughout our day, but if we don’t make time to learn to recognize them, we won’t notice them and will miss God’s little gifts of silence and peace.”

But we’re supposed to meditate on the scriptures! you say. “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.” (Joshua 1:8)

Yes we are supposed to meditate on His Word. Read Charles Spurgeon’s explanation of what that means and how to do it. I don’t see anything in there about emptying your mind, breathing deeply, and sitting in the driveway.

The ‘Buddy Jesus’ from the satirical film, Dogma

Now I want to mention that I think we have become too casual about praying in the Word. The liberal theology of past generation has instilled in us an undue focus on the Buddy Jesus and not the JUDGE ALMIGHTY. We focus on His friendship, His lovingkindness, and forgo the reverence that used to define private worship.

In Old Testament times the High Priest could only enter the Holy of Holies once per year, on the Day of Atonement.

Just because we can do this: “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body …let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith.” (Hebrews 10:19-22) doesn’t mean we should be calling quick casual prayers special intimacy with God. New Covenant access to Him doesn’t mean casualness, but that’s what intimacy with Him has become. And that is one of the issues I have with Moore. And what about the thief on the cross? I don’t think he had time to be still and quiet, so he missed out on “God’s little gifts of silence and peace”? Beware teachers who say do it my way or you’re doing it wrong.

Of contemplative prayer, Beth Moore said; “[I]f we are not still before Him [God], we will never truly know to the depths of the marrow of our bones that He is God. There’s got to be a stillness.” There is no biblical support for her statement, which seems absolute and not advisory.

And that brings us to an even greater concern of her teaching: legalism. You have to listen carefully and do a lot of note-taking because she goes so fast, or listen online and use the pause button a lot, but Beth Moore has a tendency to shape the scriptures away from pure faith and toward legalism. She splits sentences, putting a crowbar between words and inserting things you’ve ‘got‘ to do. There is a lot of ‘do this or else’. Re-read her contemplative prayer quote: “[I]f we are not still before Him, we will never truly know to the depths of the marrow of our bones that He is God. There’s got to be a stillness.” Tell that to the thief on the cross.

Entries in this series:

Troubled by Beth Moore’s teaching: Part 1, Introduction and Casualness
Beth Moore plays up the southern belle, delicate flower, Texas big hair, ultra-feminine mystique…something that I as a Yankee find mystifying. It’s a cultural thing, I know. But just because it is a women’s ministry doesn’t mean all women will understand the southern belle, delicate flower, Texas big hair persona or even understand what she’s talking about half the time. However, if the Bible is center stage, it will transcend cultural differences, wouldn’t it? Let’s see.

Troubled by Beth Moore Teaching, Part 2: Un-dignified teaching
In which I look at one of the things that happens when women teach (tag-end questions and affirmation seeking), the undignified delivery of her lessons, and the problems with a rapid-fire teaching.

Troubled by Beth Moore’s Teaching, Part 3: Contemplative Prayer
In which I explain what Contemplative Prayer is, why it is bad, and Beth Moore’s participation in it.

Troubled by Beth Moore Teaching, Part 4: Legalism
In which I define legalism, and show three examples of Moore’s tendency toward it.

Troubled by Beth Moore’s Teaching, Part 5: Personal Revelation
Beth Moore claims direct revelation from God. Is this biblical?

Troubled by Beth Moore’s Teaching, Part 6: Eisegesis, Pop Psychology, & Bad Bible Interpretations
Does she interpret the Bible that badly?

Troubled By Beth Moore’s Teaching, Part 7: Conclusion
It is not about Beth Moore-it is about our own proper discernment. Recommendations for discernment studies and also good women teachers

Posted in beth moore, bible, discernment, teaching

Troubled by Beth Moore’s teaching, Part 2

Posted on by elizabethprata
By Elizabeth Prata In part one of “Troubled by Beth Moore’s Teaching,” I outlined some of my biases, and listed one of my first concerns with her approach to Bible teaching. I’ll go on to the next concern now, a concern about her method of delivery. I’ll get into her theology in part three. In this essay I’ll explore her tendency for seeking affirmation tag-end questioning, the lack of dignity in delivery of the teaching, and her rapid-fire talk. In the next piece I’ll look at her attempts to extract biblical truth from personal experience (eisegesis) and finally, her theology. In one pet peeve that drives me crazy about females in general, as part of their gender rhetoric they ask for affirmation at the end of their sentences. The less secure a woman is, the more she will use questioning affirmations to relate to the audience, whether it is one (husband) or thousands (Beth Moore audience.) An example of Beth’s seeking affirmation at the end of sentences: “Are you with me?” “Do you understand?” She does this a lot. These are called tag-end questions and the woman’s tendency to use them as a method of establishing rapport and relationship building was observed by gender sociologist and linguist Deborah Tannen and Robin Lakoff in the mid to late 70s. People say their research has debunked the female tendency to use hedge language and tag-end questions, but anyone who has listened to a mother on the playground, restaurant, or checkout line knows this kind of speech is alive and well: You hear it in moms who don’t declare things, as in “put your toys away now,” but instead they ask the child’s permission: “Put your toys away now, OK?” It is an unfortunate tendency in women, but it is absolutely credibility-diminishing for women Bible teachers. The Bible is authoritative. Teachers delivering a teaching message from it should be authoritative! Just make declarations about its truths! You don’t have to check for understanding every five minutes. The Holy Spirit does that. He delivers its teaching. (John 14:26). The Spirit delivers the wisdom (Eph 1:17). On to my next concern with her method of teaching. I haven’t gotten to the content yet! I’m going in order of least offensive to greatest offenses. Next: She isn’t dignified. Yes, that’s what I said. Beth Moore is not dignified on her stage. She moves around a lot, quickly delivering scriptures and her interpretations in rapid-fire fashion. She will use tricks like having a wastebasket prop to “throw away” negative behaviors, she presses participants to wear bracelets that supposedly mean certain things (I read this from three blogs) and she will contort, kneel, dance, and generally cut up, sometimes while holding the Bible. Laughter is frequent.
Call me staid (Decorous? Sedate?) but I don’t think Paul hung “I AM” posters around the necks of hapless volunteers in the synagogues when he was reasoning with them…
A Bible lesson is not a comedy routine. I am all for laughter. Our pastor says some funny things sometimes and the congregation will of course laugh. I am among those who laugh loud and I’m sure even the choir can hear me from where I sit. But teaching the Bible with respect requires some gravitas. It requires some dignity. It isn’t a prop or a party trick. I shun antics as the main behavior of the teaching session. Funny sometimes, yes. Zany Bible teachers? No. Lest you think that I am too picky, let’s turn to the scriptures and see what they say about mature leaders of the church handling the word of God.  Be sober, be alert, be wise– Instructions for Ministers: “A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;” (1 Timothy 3:2-3) Instructions for wives of ministers: “Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things.” (1 Timothy 3:11) Instructions for aged men: “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.” (Titus 2:11-12) Instructions for aged women: “Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips, nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may train the younger women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be self-controlled, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.” (Titus 2:3-5) Do you get the idea that the church leaders, teachers, and elders should be dignified? I hope so. The scriptures are clear. Anyone who has seen a Beth Moore clip knows that self-control and circumspectness is less than optimal. Her bio says she ‘teaches with energy and passion.’ She even calls herself obnoxious. I call it undignified. Awww, cow patties, you might say. That is part of who she is! She’s from Texas! Well, let’s look at women leaders from Texas and see if they are fast-talking, jumping bean, let-it-all-hang-out leaders:  Laura Bush? Lady Bird Johnson? Kay Bailey Hutchinson? Hillary Clinton? (Beth Moore was raised in Arkansas). Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor? Can’t picture them being fast-talking, jumping bean, ‘energetic and passionate’ in front of a crowd in order to get an important point across? There is a reason. It’s distracting to the point you’re making. The problem with energetic and passionate delivery is that is puts the speaker at center stage when it should be the Word. I mentioned Beth Moore’s rapid-fire delivery. This next issue is a bit more problematic. She talks fast. And I mean F-A-S-T. She spits out verses, explains its interpretation like lightning, and then launches into a personal story that supposedly confirms the verse and interpretation. The Word deserves better. It takes a moment to find the address of the verse, it takes a while to absorb the truth being presented. Spitting it out fast and furious, flinging it all around the stage like fast food is not respectful to the Word and its meanings. It also makes it harder to detect error. What I want is gravitas. Beth Moore talks of Bible truths so fast and at such a high pitch, that as Chris Rosebrough of Pirate Christian Radio said, ‘she makes my ears bleed.’ Now a staunch supporter could dismiss the verses on being sober, grave, and self-controlled and put the rest down to my individual preferences. I don’t think so, but in any case, in part three I’ll take a look at some of the more troubling things about Beth Moore’s teaching: its content, her penchant for eisegesis versus exegesis, (those terms are defined here) and aberrant interpretations. Entries in the series- Troubled by Beth Moore’s teaching: Part 1, Introduction and Casualness Beth Moore plays up the southern belle, delicate flower, Texas big hair, ultra-feminine mystique…something that I as a Yankee find mystifying. It’s a cultural thing, I know. But just because it is a women’s ministry doesn’t mean all women will understand the southern belle, delicate flower, Texas big hair persona or even understand what she’s talking about half the time. However, if the Bible is center stage, it will transcend cultural differences, wouldn’t it? Let’s see. Troubled by Beth Moore Teaching, Part 2: Un-dignified teaching In which I look at one of the things that happens when women teach (tag-end questions and affirmation seeking), the undignified delivery of her lessons, and the problems with a rapid-fire teaching. Troubled by Beth Moore’s Teaching, Part 3: Contemplative Prayer In which I explain what Contemplative Prayer is, why it is bad, and Beth Moore’s participation in it. Troubled by Beth Moore Teaching, Part 4: Legalism In which I define legalism, and show three examples of Moore’s tendency toward it. Troubled by Beth Moore’s Teaching, Part 5: Personal Revelation Beth Moore claims direct revelation from God. Is this biblical? Troubled by Beth Moore’s Teaching, Part 6: Eisegesis, Pop Psychology, & Bad Bible Interpretations Does she interpret the Bible that badly? Troubled By Beth Moore’s Teaching, Part 7: Conclusion It is not about Beth Moore-it is about our own proper discernment. Recommendations for discernment studies and also good women teachers
Posted in beth moore, bible jesus, discernment

Troubled by Beth Moore’s teaching: Part 1, Introduction and Casualness

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizbeth Prata

I mentioned I was headed to a Beth Moore convention this weekend, part of the Living Proof Ministries tour. I should say right off the bat that I don’t favor gender-segregated ministries. I am not a fan in particular of woman’s ministries. I think they rely too much on emotion and not nearly enough on theology.

I should also say I’m from the North, but I live in Georgia. I’ve never gone through a Beth Moore study. Last year was actually the first time I’d heard of her. When a church friend mentioned her and I innocently asked “Who’s she?” I’ll never forget the response. She looked at me like I had two heads and gushed “BETH MOORE! You’ve GOT to go through one of her studies!!!!!!!!!” And so on. Lots of exclamation marks.

I was immediately skeptical. Because I have a discernment ministry, and knowing it is the end time and we’re to expect false doctrines, I’m always skeptical of wildly popular Christian personalities. Being wildly popular these days is almost a sign that falsity exists. People do not stand for sound doctrine, period. “The time will come when they [the people in the church] will not endure [tolerate] sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths” (2 Timothy 4:3-4). If there is a wildly popular, lucrative book, DVD, and speaking tour, sellout crowds, AND it is based on strict truth and nothing but the truth, show it to me and then knock me over with a feather.

Last, Beth Moore plays up the southern belle, delicate flower, Texas big hair, ultra-feminine mystique…something that I as a Yankee find mystifying. It’s a cultural thing, I know. But just because it is a women’s ministry doesn’t mean all women will understand the southern belle, delicate flower, Texas big hair persona or even understand what she’s talking about half the time. However, if the Bible is center stage, it will transcend cultural differences, wouldn’t it? Let’s see.

So those are my beginning positions. But none of them are important, because the only thing that is important, ultimately, is Beth Moore’s stance on the word. Does she, or does she not, teach truth? That is what I am looking into. This will be a multi-part series. Apparently, there is a lot to say…

First, let’s look at discernment. Discernment is a good characteristic, something we need: “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12) Having no discernment is bad: “Folly is joy to him who is destitute of discernment, but a man of understanding walks uprightly.” (Proverbs 15:21)

Discernment is called for especially in these end times of deception: “For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough” (2 Corinthians 11:4; and 2 Timothy 4:3 quoted above).

Discernment defined by John MacArthur is “ability to understand, interpret, and apply Truth skillfully.” Tim Challies defines discernment as “the skill of understanding and applying God’s Word with the purpose of separating truth from error and right from wrong.”

Hebrews 5:14 teaches that: “solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” Discernment is a skill that has to be exercised.

One last caveat: I’ve watched Beth Moore clips and studies. I’ve read up on her. I’ve prayed. I’ve consulted the scriptures. I have some early concerns about her approach to theology, her method of teaching and her doctrines. I’m still looking forward to the weekend, because I want to investigate these things in person. But I do have grave concerns already. I did not want to go on the trip to the convention but the Spirit prompted me to, and even made provisions for me to go. I have a feeling that a discernment ministry is the reason. If you have rebuttals to what I share here, you must do in like kind, have watched her, prayed, and most important, consulted the scriptures and share the verses that inform your opinion. ‘I love Beth Moore and you’re a silly-head” kind of comments won’t make it through moderation.

OK, to start with my concerns about Beth Moore:

The first one I came across was disappointment when I went to the Living Proof webpage to see what she would be speaking about in Charlotte. I like to prepare ahead. I read the verses, I read the context, I pray, I get a sense of the intent of the verses. I need that grounding and I like to have it. I was surprised at what I found:

“Beth’s focus will be on the Scripture that God lays on her heart for each individual Living Proof Live event — no two are the same.”

So, no verses. Aside from my personal disappointment at not having an opportunity to learn the verses, the context, and to pray for her and the women I’m attending with based on those verses, I have a qualm about this kind of approach to Bible teaching. It is too casual for me. It sounds nice, it sounds like it is being personalized, but it is not. She sold out at the Columbia Colonial Life Arena (18,600) last year and apparently the one I’m attending at Charlotte’s Time Warner Cable Arena holds about the same number and is also nearly sold out.

Simply waiting for the Spirit to ‘lay it on her heart’ and being good to go seems disrespectful and also dangerous. In the first instance, it is disrespectful to God to be unprepared. Secondly it is disrespectful to the audience. I want to know that she has spent time treating the Word rightly, preparing and double checking. Would you like it if your pastor told you Sunday morning that he waited for the verse to be laid on his heart and then he bounded up the pulpit steps and launched in? No, I wouldn’t either, and he is a seminary trained man whose systematic theology is his foundation. Beth Moore has none such. The risk of treating the word casually is too great to approach it this way.

2 Timothy 2:15 says, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

Barnes notes explains the verse:
“Study to show thyself approved unto God – Give diligence 2 Peter 2:10, or make an effort so to discharge the duties of the ministerial office as to meet the divine approbation. The object of the ministry is not to please men. Such doctrines should be preached, and such plans formed, and such a manner of life pursued, as God will approve. To do this demands study or care – for there are many temptations to the opposite course; there are many things the tendency of which is to lead a minister to seek popular favor rather than the divine approval. If any man please God, it will be as the result of deliberate intention and a careful life.”

Now, to be fair, there is a period of ten days to two weeks or so between each event, and perhaps she does study between each one as the Lord lays it on her heart. But the seeming lack of forethought doesn’t inspire confidence that that is what is happening. As a matter of fact, it inspires the opposite. If she rightly divides the word at some point the scripture explanation will be consistent, because the Holy Spirit is consistent. Last, I am not worried that “any two will be the same.” I’m not an excitement junkie. I don’t worry about repeats. Even if the scriptures used at one event are the same scriptures used another a year later, I will be a different Christian because I will have grown. I’ll absorb it differently. And what if the Spirit DOES lay the same scripture on her heart, gasp! two events in a row? Would she chuck it, fearing ‘it might be the same?” Maybe she is the excitement junkie.

Next blog entry, we’ll look at her manner of delivery. I’m going through the more superficial (but just as important) things before getting into her treatment of the Word itself.
———————–

Entries in the series-

Troubled by Beth Moore’s teaching: Part 1, Introduction and Casualness
Beth Moore plays up the southern belle, delicate flower, Texas big hair, ultra-feminine mystique…something that I as a Yankee find mystifying. It’s a cultural thing, I know. But just because it is a women’s ministry doesn’t mean all women will understand the southern belle, delicate flower, Texas big hair persona or even understand what she’s talking about half the time. However, if the Bible is center stage, it will transcend cultural differences, wouldn’t it? Let’s see.

Troubled by Beth Moore Teaching, Part 2: Un-dignified teaching
In which I look at one of the things that happens when women teach (tag-end questions and affirmation seeking), the undignified delivery of her lessons, and the problems with a rapid-fire teaching.

Troubled by Beth Moore’s Teaching, Part 3: Contemplative Prayer
In which I explain what Contemplative Prayer is, why it is bad, and Beth Moore’s participation in it.

Troubled by Beth Moore Teaching, Part 4: Legalism
In which I define legalism, and show three examples of Moore’s tendency toward it.

Troubled by Beth Moore’s Teaching, Part 5: Personal Revelation
Beth Moore claims direct revelation from God. Is this biblical?

Troubled by Beth Moore’s Teaching, Part 6: Eisegesis, Pop Psychology, & Bad Bible Interpretations
Does she interpret the Bible that badly?

Troubled By Beth Moore’s Teaching, Part 7: Conclusion
It is not about Beth Moore-it is about our own proper discernment. Recommendations for discernment studies and also good women teachers

Posted in prophecy, salvation, woman at the well

Reviewing lessons from the woman at the well

Posted on by elizabethprata

The woman at the well in John 4:1-42 is one of my favorite passages of scripture. It never fails to bring tears to my eyes, and the glory of the Word is that each time I read it I’m moved by a different part.

If you are not familiar with the event, then take a moment to read it.

The woman who came at noon to get water at the well met Jesus. He struck up a conversation with her. As the conversation progressed she realized He is the Messiah and He confirmed it. The Disciples returned and watched and listened to the conversation. She ran off back to town, excited, to tell the news. Sounds simple, eh? There are many truths to be plumbed from this passage.

Here is what struck me today:

First, she might have been marginalized because of her promiscuous reputation, but she was not ignorant. She was well aware of the scriptures. She not only knew Jacob as the previous owner of the well, she knew that Jacob was her forefather in the religion. (John 4:12). Soon she understood that Jesus was not just “Sir”, but a prophet. (John 4:19). Immediately she took the opportunity to ask Him a religious question in attempt to gain understanding on a religious debate that had been going around, regarding where the Samaritans should worship. (John 4:20). I know that she used the question as a diversionary tactic to bring the conversation away from her sins, but the fact that she asked it on the heels of her discernment that the man she was peaking with is a prophet shows she understood in His authority enough to ask it in the first place.

By verse 25 she revealed that she knew the scriptures well enough to speak of her faith and hope in the promise of the coming Messiah. (John 4:25). In verse 26 Jesus states that He is the Messiah.

They talk a bit more and then excited, she runs into town to share the Good News, bringing back with her the men of the town to see for themselves. This tells of great faith and clarity in the extraordinary moment she found herself in. I mean, her joy in learning that Messiah had come trumped everything. She ran to town to tell everyone- including her 4 ex-husbands. When was the last time you had enough joy in the Word to share with people who hated you enough to put you out? Including your ex-husband??

Now let’s look at the theological implications. Here was a woman going about her daily business. Walking to the well didn’t take extraordinary strength or talent. Drawing water was humdrum. So her mind was likely on neutral, as mine usually is when I do the dishes or vacuum. As she got to the well she encountered something unusual, a Jew, talking to her, (“for the Jews do not associate with Samaritans.” John 4:9). Rather than shrink from something unusual, she asked questions, open and curious as to what was going on. Compare that to yourself. If you were involved in a mundane task, like at the checkout line at the grocery store, and someone out of the ordinary started talking to you, what would you do? Would you continue on your way, or would you look them in the eyes and converse, curious? Too many people today are wrapped up in the daily mundane, too dulled to notice something unusual, like salvation standing in front of them.

Further, the woman knew her scripture, and applied them to her immediate situation. How many of us do that today?

Last, when the disciples returned, they saw the woman and Jesus talking, but it was expressly stated, “And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or, “Why are You talking with her?” We should take that to heart as a lesson, as well. When salvation is knocking for your friend or loved one, and the door is opening, be sensitive to the situation. Don’t squash it, or hurry it, or interfere with it.

The woman went to get water, and met with the object of her faith in the flesh! It was a momentous occasion. She had been expecting the Messiah but was sensitive enough to the open door to walk through it: “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” (John 10:9).

If you are saved, then be aware of the people that the Lord puts in your path. They’re there for a reason. If you are not saved, then be sensitive to the knock at the door of your heart. He sends people to us to draw us to Him. Listen. Don’t be in such a rush that you focus on the mundane task to the exclusion of salvation standing in front of you.
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Posted in theology

Vacation…

Posted on by elizabethprata

I’ve got two weeks left until I go back to work. The last week of July will be busy. So that essentially leaves a week. This weekend I’m going to a Beth Moore convention! Between now and then, I’d like to do a lot of reading. I’ve got stacked up on my table, John Piper’s “Think”, “The Complete Guide to Asperger’s Syndrome”, “The Centurion’s Wife, and a book about Captain Sir John Franklin’s lost expedition of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror to the Arctic in 1845 – 1848, called “The Terror.” That one is 700 pages.

I also want to revisit the BBC documentary “Atom,” narrated by physicist Jim Al-Khalili. I just got done watching part one again, “Clash of the Titans” and I am loving quantum physics more and more as I learn it.

That’s what I want to concentrate on. I won’t be staying by the computer as much so maybe I will not be posting as much. I don’t know, but I am going to attempt to kick back for a week and do some other things, including the ladies retreat at Beth Moore convention with some real people! That will be a change from my regular life here at The Hermitage.

Posted in bank of america, economy, prophecy

Too big to fail? Maybe Bank of America is not too big

Posted on by elizabethprata

I’m not posting a lot of my own stuff this week, but I wanted to point you toward Michael T. Snyder’s blog entry today:
“Too Big To Fail?: 10 Banks Own 77 Percent Of All U.S. Banking Assets“

His blog entry contains a devastating amount of information that concludes with saying the ‘too big to fail banks’ are likely to fail soon, one of which is Bank of America. And even as I finished reading the essay, the first third of which I posted below, then I read this news: “Bank of America needs 50Billion or may go bankrupt“

And of course, there was a bank run and a stocks shedding.

Here is Michael T. Snyder’s excerpt of today’s blog entry, I recommend it in its entirety.–

“Back during the financial crisis of 2008, the American people were told that the largest banks in the United States were “too big to fail” and that was why it was necessary for the federal government to step in and bail them out. The idea was that if several of our biggest banks collapsed at the same time the financial system would not be strong enough to keep things going and economic activity all across America would simply come to a standstill. Congress was told that if the “too big to fail” banks did not receive bailouts that there would be chaos in the streets and this country would plunge into another Great Depression. Since that time, however, essentially no efforts have been made to decentralize the U.S. banking system. Instead, the “too big to fail” banks just keep getting larger and larger and larger. Back in 2002, the top 10 banks controlled 55 percent of all U.S. banking assets. Today, the top 10 banks control 77 percent of all U.S. banking assets. Unfortunately, these giant banks are also colossal mountains of risk, debt and leverage. They are incredibly unstable and they could start coming apart again at any time. None of the major problems that caused the crash of 2008 have been fixed. In fact, the U.S. banking system is more centralized and more vulnerable today than it ever has been before…”
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Posted in flash eucharist mob

Flash Eucharist: Just set up a golden calf and dance naked around it, why don’t you?

Posted on by elizabethprata

Count the violations. Go on, count. How many blasphemies can you count in 3 minutes?

OK, first let’s soberly and studiously look at the meaning of the Lord’s Supper from GotQuestions.org:

“A study of the Lord’s Supper is a soul-stirring experience because of the depth of meaning it contains. It was during the age-old celebration of the Passover on the eve of His death that Jesus instituted a significant new fellowship meal that we observe to this day. It is an integral part of Christian worship. It causes us to remember our Lord’s death and resurrection and to look for His glorious return in the future.”

“The Passover was the most sacred feast of the Jewish religious year. It commemorated the final plague on Egypt when the firstborn of the Egyptians died and the Israelites were spared because of the blood of a lamb that was sprinkled on their doorposts. The lamb was then roasted and eaten with unleavened bread. God’s command was that throughout the generations to come the feast would be celebrated. The story is recorded in Exodus 12.”

“During the Last Supper—a Passover celebration—Jesus took a loaf of bread and gave thanks to God. As He broke it and gave it to His disciples, He said, “’This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you’” (Luke 22:19-21). He concluded the feast by singing a hymn (Matthew 26:30), and they went out into the night to the Mount of Olives. It was there that Jesus was betrayed, as predicted, by Judas. The following day He was crucified.”

“The accounts of the Lord’s Supper are found in the Gospels (Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:17-25; Luke 22:7-22; and John 13:21-30). The apostle Paul wrote concerning the Lord’s Supper in 1 Corinthians 11:23-29. Paul includes a statement not found in the Gospels: “Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself” (1 Corinthians 11:27-29). We may ask what it means to partake of the bread and the cup “in an unworthy manner.” It may mean to disregard the true meaning of the bread and cup and to forget the tremendous price our Savior paid for our salvation. Or it may mean to allow the ceremony to become a dead and formal ritual or to come to the Lord’s Supper with unconfessed sin. In keeping with Paul’s instruction, we should examine ourselves before eating the bread and drinking the cup.”

“The Lord’s Supper/Christian Communion is a remembrance of what Christ did for us and a celebration of what we receive as a result of His sacrifice.”

So who is qualified to oversee the Lord’s Supper?
“Christians universally agree that the Lord’s Supper was instituted by Christ and should be observed as an ordinance in the church by His followers. It was to the Corinthian church that Paul wrote instructions concerning the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). Paul later wrote to Timothy about the qualifications for church leaders, bishops/elders and deacons (1 Timothy 3:1-13). In the original language the word “deacon” comes from a verb that means “to serve,” probably in the sense of waiting on tables, but it also came to be used to signify a broad range of service in the church. Because of the connotation of table service in the word deacon and the centrality of the Lord’s Supper in the worship of the early church, there is strong indication that serving the communion elements was an important function of deacons.” [And church leaders are males].

“From this we can conclude that designated church leadership conducted the Lord’s Supper in the early church; however, there is no Scripture specifically given with “how to” instructions. Therefore, it would seem reasonable for the leadership, if there were an insufficient number of deacons present, to appoint laymen to serve.”

“More important than who serves communion is the attitude with which it is both served and received. First Corinthians 11:27 goes on to say that those who take the elements in an “unworthy manner” are guilty of sin against the body and blood of Christ. An unworthy manner can mean the taking of the elements by those who do not belong to Christ or taking them in a flippant or irreverent manner. It can also mean using the ceremony as a means to be seen before the eyes of men to be exalted by them. Verse 28 gives the criteria for both serving and participating in the Lord’s supper. We are to examine ourselves before we partake and be sure our hearts are right before the Lord. Then both the servers and the receivers can be sure of pleasing God when they participate in His communion.”

So knowing all this, with Scriptures to back it up, how many violations can you count? How patient He is to endure all this blasphemy and idolatry and perversion! How longsuffering! Soon enough, His name will at long last be recognized by one and all as the Holiest. Until then, we have righteous anger at the profaning of His spotless name and His holy ordinances … and we also have a deep love for those who know not what they do, because surely, the Lord’s anger will be unleashed on them many times over.
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Posted in israel, manasseh tribe, prophecy

"Lost" tribe of Manasseh given go-ahead for return to Israel

Posted on by elizabethprata

I’d written on June 27 about the “lost” tribe of Manasseh were captured by the Assyrians and carted off in the 8th century BC. They are now living in the far hinterlands of northeast India, near Burma, and have for 2700 years practiced the Jewish faith precisely as the original tribe did when they were captured.

For several years now, a representative has been appealing for aliyah, being allowed to return, en masse. They were making good progress until a few years ago when previous Prime Minister Ehud Barak inexplicably stopped all petitions and refused to hear them. In June of this year they had another meeting which was better received. The Rabbinical council acknowledged that this group is of the Manasseh tribe, and all that then remained was the go-ahead for the process to begin for them to return to Israel. That permission was granted this week.

Resolution to Bring Bnei Menashe Home
“The government has decided to draft a resolution to bring India’s Bnei Menashe populace home to Israel, after years of lobbying by the Shavei Israel Organization. The 2,700-year-old group, which claims its ancestry from the Lost Tribe of Menashe, has maintained many of the laws and traditions written in the Torah.The resolution, backed by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Absorption Minister Sofa Landver, is expected to go to the Cabinet by the end of this month.”

We often think of miracles of the blind suddenly seeing, cancerous tumors disappearing, tornadoes missing one particular house though devastation is all around. But this is a miracle too. It is a fact that by the second generation all displaced cultures begin assimilating. All displaced cultures absorb the culture around them. They lose their language, or it begins to be peppered with phrases from the culture in which they live. Maintaining perfect mirror-like images of the original culture, though thousands of miles away from their homeland has never occurred in all of anthropology- except the Jewish people. This is truly a miracle, a 2,700 year old miracle! If you are interested, here is an article from Haaretz newspaper from 1999, tracing the Manasseh Tribe’s winding history to the place they live in now:

Bnei Menashe in India

“Then they will know that I am the LORD their God, for though I sent them into exile among the nations, I will gather them to their own land, not leaving any behind.” (Ezekiel 39:28)

As we  read the rest of the news, particularly as it relates to Israel, please ponder the miracle that this is. His providential care is eternal. His promises from centuries ago hold in perfect truth until the day of their fulfillment. That means His promises for us, too, His church and bride, also are eternal, timeless, and perfect. He is mighty, not losing even one of His sparrows, whether they are in exile in the mountains of India for 2700 years, or are in the rolling hills of Georgia, He knows where all His children are, and He will not leave any one behind.
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