Tag: fad

Posted in theology

A teaching on ‘Soul Ties’ has no business being in a Christian book: On Evangelical fads

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Fads exist of course in the secular world. I have seen so many ‘evangelical fads’ come and go. There are so many, and mainly they are all false. Most of them have emerged from a different religion and been adapted in some way to be made palatable to Christian ears and eyes.

Today is about one such unChristian fad I spotted in a well-known ‘Christian’ teacher’s book. When we are IN a fad, IN an era, we often do not realize it. It’s why many pastors say to ‘read the old dead guys’. We can see their foibles and emphases from the vantage point of hindsight. As they say, hindsight is 20/20.

RESOURCE: Servants of Grace, Jason Garwood, Why Christians Should Read the Dead Guys

But we can still work hard to stick with scripture which is always truth, and check against whatever might be the fad of the day is. Will it pass away as shallow, or align with scripture?

Remember Prayer of Jabez? Prayer rugs? Seeker-sensitive? Purpose driven?

A fad is defined as “style, activity, product, or interest that becomes extremely popular for a short time and then fades away quickly”

Beth Moore is a false teacher. Today I focus on a little known and rarely spoken of reason: Moore frequently jumps on evangelical fads.

This post is not solely about Beth Moore, but I’m using her as an example to warn you that your discernment should be honed to alert you to any teacher who seems to be jumping on a fad.

Beth Moore’s past jumping on fads and then leaves them when they diminish in popularity, included fads such as saying mantras, family altars, Lectio Divina, Contemplative Spirituality, blue bracelets, Enneagram, and so on.

Today I’ll show you that another evangelical fad which was popular for a while but then passed away- “soul ties”.

Many of the fads that infiltrate Christendom have roots in Mysticism. Lectio Divina did, Enneagram did, Contemplative Spirituality did. So does ‘Soul Ties’. Sadly, it’s the women Bible teachers who tend to jump on these secular or New Age fads and re-brand them into Christianity. Remember circle-making? Popular around 2012.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss in 2012 leading other female Bible teachers in a wiccan-originated circle making prayer moment: source FMI

Soul ties are allegedly some kind of tie between people that connect them at a soul level. The connection is usually based on sexual union. It is some kind of intense connection that supposedly entwines one person with another. As this article explains,

In popular usage, a soul tie is a deep emotional or spiritual connection between two individuals. It is believed to bond people on a level that transcends ordinary relationships, often persisting long after a relationship ends. What sets a soul tie apart in popular belief is its intensity, longevity, and impact. … A key point is that a soul tie isn’t always positive or healthy; it can be uplifting or toxic, reflecting the nature of the relationship bond.

In Beth Moore’s book Praying God’s Word (published 2000) on p. 277-278 Moore is discussing sexual strongholds. She used the term soul ties as one of the reasons people sin sexually. This of course is a Mystical/New Age term and has no business in any Christian book. The only soul we are tied to is Jesus after salvation, as the Holy Spirit comes to indwell us. Even the marital union is one that makes the man and the woman “one flesh,” not ‘one soul’

Here are the screen shots from Moore’s book:

Do you see how an allegedly ‘Christian’ Bible teacher takes a New Age fad and then uses scripture around it to make it a candy coated nugget of garbage? The Corinthians verse is God’s word, but soul ties are Satan’s.

Doreen Virtue was a deeply committed New Ager who blessedly was shown the true faith and she repented. She has renounced all her previous dark teachings and now focuses on the Light of Jesus and His Word. Here on Facebook she mentions ‘soul ties’. I’ll link it but if you don’t have Facebook here is what she said:

The concept of “soul ties” is a new age, not Biblical, belief. Soul ties are NOT in the Bible! Jonathan and David’s friendship and “shall become one flesh” are not about “soul ties.” I should know, because when I was a new age teacher before I was saved, I taught and wrote extensively about soul ties, twin flames, cord connections, etc. I repent and apologize for these false teachings that have now seeped into the church.”

Doreen has a 15 minute video explaining why ‘soul ties’ are not biblical, here.

Soul ties have New Age roots. In the early 1980s many New Age metaphysical books came out. They became influential and propelled ideas from New Age into the mainstream American consciousness. Shirley MacLaine’s Out on a Limb was one of these that became hugely influential, as well as Richard Bach’s metaphysical musings on soul mates in The Bridge Across Forever. From that we morphed into the notion that soul ties are cords of energy linking two people on the planet and even after death linking auras across lifetimes in the cosmos.

GotQuestions has a good essay on soul ties, which they call soul links: What is a soul link?

Fads come and go, but the word of God remains forever.

Phil Johnson, The Flaws of a fad-driven church, part 2: “But that’s how all these fads are crafted. They are deliberately dumbed down, made soft and generic and nonthreatening, so that they don’t rebuke anyone’s sin; they don’t endanger anyone’s shallowness; they don’t threaten anyone’s comfort zone; and they don’t challenge anyone’s worldliness. That’s the way both the publishers and the people want it.“

Friends, when you work in honing your discernment, pray to the Spirit to help you detect if the teacher you are following is properly presenting eternal truths, or teaching passing unbiblical fads wrapped in Christianese talk. They may even (mis)use scripture to do it. Fads are almost always from a different religion. These ideas enter in and try to pollute the faithful, alter the doctrines of God, and sway you from the path of righteousness.

As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of people, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, that is, Christ, (Ephesians 4:14-15).

Do not be misled by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited. (Hebrews 13:9)

Further Resources

Trying to Understand why Evangelicals quickly chase fads and what actually works

The Flaws of a fad-driven church, part 1

Posted in theology

Enough with the ‘Girl, you are enough’

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

“Girl, you are enough.”
“Girl, you are beautiful.”
“Girl, you’re a princess.”
“Girl, you’re fine just the way you are.”

I suppose it was inevitable. The Jesus is my boyfriend trend naturally morphs into the “I am a beautiful princess of God and I’m enough” trend. Browse Pinterest on the ‘Christian’ side of things and you’ll see plenty of soft-filtered flowery photos with mottos declaring these kind of statements.

Clipboard
Lower right by Madison K. Smith

Now, it’s true that we are daughters of the King. Galatians 3:26, John 1:12 declare we are children of God. And taking it a step further, God is King. And further, that children of a King are Princes and Princesses. All true, as far as it goes.

But wait a minute, if we literally take the metaphor stretched that far, wouldn’t men as Princes compete with THE Prince!? Yes. That’s why you almost always only see women being called Princesses and not male Christians as Princes.

Doing so manipulates women in an area where many are emotionally weak and needy, which is sad.

I am reminded of a scene in Exodus. Moses had been dwelling in the wilderness of Midian for 40 years when God called Moses to his ordained task, leading the Hebrews out of Egypt. Moses had just been instructed to remove his shoes at the Burning Bush because he was standing on holy ground. He is having a conversation with God. God told Moses he must speak to Pharaoh to let the Hebrews go.

Moses asked couple of questions which could be called legitimate. But as chapter 3 rolls into chapter 4 he crossed a line from earnest questioning to not-so-thinly disguised objections. By the time we read the conversation in chapter 4 verse 10, Moses has argued he is inadequate to the task. He is supposed to speak for God to Pharaoh but is ‘slow of speech,’ he complained.

Then Moses said to the LORD, Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue. (Exodus 4:10)

In the “Girl, you’re enough, you magnificent princess” world, we would see scripture reassuring Moses that indeed he IS enough, right? We’d see God cooing over Moses, telling him, ‘Guy, don’t you know you are enough? You’re my Prince, my love, my cherished bouquet in the garden of God.”

Moses’s objections would be met with a thousand assurances six ways to Sunday of all the good things Moses is. God would assure Moses that he was…enough. Wouldn’t He?

But that didn’t happen. What happened was, God essentially said, ‘You’re NOT enough, Moses. You’re inadequate to the task. But I AM adequate. I AM enough.’

The LORD said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? (Exodus 4:11).

The problem with the ‘you’re enough’ trend is that it downplays our weaknesses and dismisses God’s power to perfect us in our weakness.

And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Moses wasn’t enough. And God considered Him a friend, and spoke to Moses face-to-face! (Exodus 33:11). But we are NOT enough. That is as it should be. The wider the gap in our abilities for the task, the more we praise God that He fills that gap with His strength, His power, His abilities.

If we were enough, we wouldn’t need God. If we were enough, we would be God.

not enough

Posted in theology

Enough with the ‘Girl, you are enough’

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

“Girl, you are enough.”
“Girl, you are beautiful.”
“Girl, you’re a princess.”
“Girl, you’re fine just the way you are.”

I suppose it was inevitable. The Jesus is my boyfriend trend naturally morphs into the “I am a beautiful princess of God and I’m enough” trend. Browse Pinterest on the ‘Christian’ side of things and you’ll see plenty of soft-filtered flowery photos with mottos declaring these kind of statements.

Clipboard
Lower right by Madison K. Smith

Now, it’s true that we are daughters of the King. Galatians 3:26, John 1:12 declare we are children of God. And taking it a step further, God is King. And further, that children of a King are Princes and Princesses. All true, as far as it goes.

But wait a minute, if we literally take the metaphor stretched that far, wouldn’t men as Princes compete with THE Prince!? Yes. That’s why you almost always only see women being called Princesses and not male Christians as Princes.

Doing so manipulates women in an area where many are emotionally weak and needy, which is sad.

I am reminded of a scene in Exodus. Moses had been dwelling in the wilderness of Midian for 40 years when God called Moses to his ordained task, leading the Hebrews out of Egypt. Moses had just been instructed to remove his shoes at the Burning Bush because he was standing on holy ground. He is having a conversation with God. God told Moses he must speak to Pharaoh to let the Hebrews go.

Moses asked couple of questions which could be called legitimate. But as chapter 3 rolls into chapter 4 he crossed a line from earnest questioning to not-so-thinly disguised objections. By the time we read the conversation in chapter 4 verse 10, Moses has argued he is inadequate to the task. He is supposed to speak for God to Pharaoh but is ‘slow of speech,’ he complained.

Then Moses said to the LORD, Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue. (Exodus 4:10)

In the “Girl, you’re enough, you magnificent princess” world, we would see scripture reassuring Moses that indeed he IS enough, right? We’d see God cooing over Moses, telling him, ‘Guy, don’t you know you are enough? You’re my Prince, my love, my cherished bouquet in the garden of God.”

Moses’s objections would be met with a thousand assurances six ways to Sunday of all the good things Moses is. God would assure Moses that he was…enough. Wouldn’t He?

But that didn’t happen. What happened was, God essentially said, ‘You’re NOT enough, Moses. You’re inadequate to the task. But I AM adequate. I AM enough.’

The LORD said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? (Exodus 4:11).

The problem with the ‘you’re enough’ trend is that it downplays our weaknesses and dismisses God’s power to perfect us in our weakness.

And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Moses wasn’t enough. And God considered Him a friend, and spoke to Moses face-to-face! (Exodus 33:11). But we are NOT enough. That is as it should be. The wider the gap in our abilities for the task, the more we praise God that He fills that gap with His strength, His power, His abilities.

If we were enough, we would be God.

not enough