Crusades and "Festivals"
I think I'm going straight to hell for this one. Last night I made the decision to attend a local crusade held by Fresh Fire Ministries. BUt my intention wasn't for healing as their posters offered, it was for the intent to *gasp* make fun of such an event. All my fears of a Christian religion all wrapped up together in a single location. I prayed to God that we haven't turned his loving relationship with us into such a carnival and that he's not pissed off.
All was fine until the band started mellowing out the tunes, and with that a mood was ushered in with lowering lights and the stage lights (the cost of all four could likely feed a small country in Africa for a year) stopped moving rapidly and lowered with a focus on the speaker. The speaker didn't offer a single lesson on Christianity, it turned out ot be a rhetorical talk that went no where except to manipulate everyone into thinking Alberta is a very wealthy province and God will poor out the blessing of more wealth on us, and that we should share our wealth with God so his work can be done (well we should share with God, but not in a manipulated way that feeds the bellys of such a speaker and ministry that sees fit to manipulate emotions). No where in this wealth talk did the speaker mention Jesus commands to help the poor, more so to help ourselves to more wealth. Friends this was fundamentalism at it's worst. I quivered as I heard a man speak to his young kids behind me trying to cox them to sing he told them "Jesus wants to hear you sing loud, and so do I." This was a statement that stunk like something Ned Flanders would say from the Simpsons.
The main "front man" of the ministry stepped up and I was expecting him to give a profound word or two... nope the band started playing a soft, quiet verion of the hallelujah chorus and the speaker called out various illnesses and offering blessings and a feeling of heat/fire over peoples bodies. He called out random illnesses telling folks they were cured. Then had some of the "healed" come on stage and give a "testimony" of what happened (my cynical mind says this was setup) and people came forward who believe they were healed (no don't get me wrong Jesus does heal us, I have been healed...). Then comes the weird laughing and the speaker "blessing" people and they fell to the ground.
I can not deny God works through these ministries, but I fear how immature peoples faith is that they fall for alot of this and think it's an expereince of God when realyl it's no more then a manipulated show using emotions. It felt as if we've turned Jesus into a money making psychic. This event seemed far to much like XYZ televangelist crusades. Why have we allowed ourselves to make a mockery of God and his blessings and healing for his people.
All was fine until the band started mellowing out the tunes, and with that a mood was ushered in with lowering lights and the stage lights (the cost of all four could likely feed a small country in Africa for a year) stopped moving rapidly and lowered with a focus on the speaker. The speaker didn't offer a single lesson on Christianity, it turned out ot be a rhetorical talk that went no where except to manipulate everyone into thinking Alberta is a very wealthy province and God will poor out the blessing of more wealth on us, and that we should share our wealth with God so his work can be done (well we should share with God, but not in a manipulated way that feeds the bellys of such a speaker and ministry that sees fit to manipulate emotions). No where in this wealth talk did the speaker mention Jesus commands to help the poor, more so to help ourselves to more wealth. Friends this was fundamentalism at it's worst. I quivered as I heard a man speak to his young kids behind me trying to cox them to sing he told them "Jesus wants to hear you sing loud, and so do I." This was a statement that stunk like something Ned Flanders would say from the Simpsons.
The main "front man" of the ministry stepped up and I was expecting him to give a profound word or two... nope the band started playing a soft, quiet verion of the hallelujah chorus and the speaker called out various illnesses and offering blessings and a feeling of heat/fire over peoples bodies. He called out random illnesses telling folks they were cured. Then had some of the "healed" come on stage and give a "testimony" of what happened (my cynical mind says this was setup) and people came forward who believe they were healed (no don't get me wrong Jesus does heal us, I have been healed...). Then comes the weird laughing and the speaker "blessing" people and they fell to the ground.
I can not deny God works through these ministries, but I fear how immature peoples faith is that they fall for alot of this and think it's an expereince of God when realyl it's no more then a manipulated show using emotions. It felt as if we've turned Jesus into a money making psychic. This event seemed far to much like XYZ televangelist crusades. Why have we allowed ourselves to make a mockery of God and his blessings and healing for his people.
posted by The Krow at 07:57
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home