Remember the video in which Becky Fischer of Jesus Camp fame told a group of children in Singapore that they could raise the dead? New Apostolic Reformation preacher Cindy Jacobs recently made a similar claim.
On the August 6th edition of God Knows, Mike and Cindy Jacobs of Generals International talked about the power of spiritual devotion. The episode featured the usual New Apostolic Reformation rhetoric about "powers and principalities," spiritual warfare against Satan, and God's power. Amusingly, at the 22:54 mark, Cindy Jacobs attempted to raise a dead child from afar.
(Hat tip to Right Wing Watch. To watch the episode in question, visit vimeo[dot]com/channels/godknows#/channels/godknows/47041074)
On the August 6th edition of God Knows, Mike and Cindy Jacobs of Generals International talked about the power of spiritual devotion. The episode featured the usual New Apostolic Reformation rhetoric about "powers and principalities," spiritual warfare against Satan, and God's power. Amusingly, at the 22:54 mark, Cindy Jacobs attempted to raise a dead child from afar.
"The Bible says the same power is in us that raised Christ Jesus from the death. I see someone, you literally have had a child that just died. And I speak to the spirit of death in that child in the name of Jesus, and I command you to leave that child. I speak to the spirit of infirmity that caused the child's death and I say, live in Jesus name! LIVE! And I see a child coughing, waking up, oh! We saw that in Pakistan. We saw a little boy raised from the dead just like that. God is on the move."At this point, I've heard so much kooky rhetoric from New Apostolic Reformation leaders that nothing shocks me anymore. I don't know if this statement was intended to stir the emotions of vulnerable listeners who had lost loved ones, or was just another example of the delusional thinking characteristic of the New Apostolic Reformation. Either way, it's unhealthy.
(Hat tip to Right Wing Watch. To watch the episode in question, visit vimeo[dot]com/channels/godknows#/channels/godknows/47041074)
Is she lying or is she delusional? I vote for lying.
ReplyDeletePeter -- Welcome! I vote kooky, either way.
DeleteI think charismatic preachers are used to speaking bullshit. They know their naive followers won't take issue with anything they say.
ReplyDeleteExfundy -- You're probably right. This seems to be common.
DeleteIt's amazing how people who have no integrity get paid to spew utter nonsense. What's more amazing is how many other people believe the nonsense.
ReplyDeleteBuffy -- It stuns me that people like Jacobs have enough of a following to make a living from this.
DeleteI vote that she is lying and not delusional. What is really sad is the fact that everybody did not laugh at this nonsense and walk out. It is depressing to realize that so many people do not use their brains and buy into this kind of garbage today.
ReplyDeleteReason Being -- I can't begin to imagine the mental gymnastics that people have to perform to believe this superstitious nonsense. Yes, it's very depressing.
DeleteI think lying, but possibly delusional as well in thinking that God wants her to lie. :-)
DeleteI use to read her books. Delusional? You know, in looking back I do reserve the right to call myself delusional. Not big on other people calling me that though. :-)
ReplyDeleteI think she believes it. I don't think delusional people knowingly lie. Their delusional. The only lie to them is the lie that everyone else but them believes.
Zoe -- You could be right. Someone seeped in that kind of thinking (like Jacobs) might well believe it after a while. I wish I knew for sure what goes on inside her head.
DeleteThey feed off of one another's belief system. That what is going on in the world truly is about the forces in the unseen places. Principalities and powers. Spiritual warfare. A verse in Ephesians describes it nicely. (I'm not looking it up.) :-)
DeleteThey truly believe they can bend those evil powers and in some cases eliminate them by the power of Jesus' name. They, like all Christians can back up their belief with scripture.
I use to believe it, as I said, on the edges of it all. What I note about people like Cindy is, she is in the public eye. Her following grows. She in fact builds on her own gifting and sees it as truly given by God and that alone gives her great power in her mind. She not only believes in God's power but her own through Jesus. The adrenalin rush from such control and power cuts a convincing path through her brain which in turns fuels further involvment. Think about the high the woman gets from raising the dead. Can't get any better then that, right? Never mind that some of us are sitting there thinking, Well good grief Cindy, only one? There are countless children dead at this one moment. Why not raise a few more? In Jesus name of course.
After that, because of her public persona/ministry she is a magnet for those looking for this demenonstration of God's power through a human vessel made of clay. The sheep begin to folow, the adoration begins, she's almost worshipped. Ths feeds the loop of self-importance in God's plan for these last days. Even if there were doubts inside her, her fear of sinning against God by acknowledging them would keep them silent.
Why didn't someone like me end up in this mess full-on? Probably because I had half a chance in it all. There was a point in time when the evidence did not support a verdict that she was right and that anything she had to do with her spiritual warfare made a bit of difference anywhere in the world.