Signs and wonders. A trademark of Pentecostals and charismatics. A self-confident religious community, believing that they are filled with the Holy Spirit and can therefore speak languages and, above all, heal. The only prerequisites for reaching this “earthly Omega point” are to switch off your mind and turn your feelings up to full blast. This is how madness can take its course.
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A growing community
Among the extraordinary oddities of the activities known today as Christianity are miracles and healings performed by pastors of various evangelical congregations. This can be observed primarily in the United States in the so-called mega-churches. Community centers are regularly packed with people who want to attend a Sunday show of signs and wonders. The “spirit” of the charismatics is about to conquer the world. In Germany, too, the congregations of the emotional wanderers are growing steadily.
Pentecostals started
The beginnings of the charismatics were marked by the Pentecostal churches that first emerged at the beginning of the 20th century. They certainly had charismatic traits. Every Pentecostal today is a charismatic, although a charismatic does not automatically have to be a member of the Pentecostal church. When studying the gospel, if it is still practiced at all, these religious groups place much less importance on reason than on feelings. In short: “brain switched off, feelings turned up to full blast.”
With the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council in December 1965, many churches experienced a “new spiritual awakening.” A Pentecostal renaissance and the starting signal for emotional outbursts behind pulpits and on stages, instead of preaching the word of God. The idea cherished by the Church of Rome is ecumenism. Catholic dogmas and Protestant views are fundamentally incompatible.
Since its foundation, the Church of Rome has never had to deal with the truth of the Gospel, and the Word of God in its pure form has not led to the goal it set. Hence the basic idea of emphasizing people’s feelings as the measure of faith. This is very similar to the philosophy of Ignatius of Loyola and his spiritual exercises, or the “complementary meditations” in many former Protestant churches.
Welcome to ecumenism
You can feel the Holy Spirit within yourself, according to the teaching based on emotions. This applies to Catholics as well as Evangelicals. If the Catholic can feel the Holy Spirit within themselves and the Evangelical can too, then everything is fine. They are thus on the same level, believe in the same “God” and are also blessed by the same “Holy Spirit”. Nothing better could happen to ecumenism. A big step closer to the “unity of Christianity”.
As the proper name suggests, the Pentecostal churches are based on the biblical event of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the apostles of Jesus Christ. The day of Pentecost. The apostles were given special gifts by God to provide strong support for the spread of the gospel. These included the power to heal and also the ability to speak in foreign languages (speaking in tongues).
Filled with “a spirit”
Those Pentecostals and charismatics therefore see it as proof of being filled with the Holy Spirit when they can suddenly “speak in tongues”. However, they do not care that this chatter is just meaningless chatter that has nothing to do with “speaking in tongues” according to the Gospel. Because this would require the use of reason. But this is completely out of action in favor of good feelings. (Info).
The same applies to the way the healing powers received are handled. Many of the “services” of these charismatics resemble a freak show. Trembling, blind, paralyzed and other obviously impaired people are dragged onto the stage so that the pastor can take a break from his shouting and perform his “healing miracle” by means of spoken, babbling words and the laying on of hands. There is often a special offer for the enthusiastic audience, where the “Holy Spirit” can be purchased at a bargain price after swiping a credit card through the reader.
Many people who are striving for the truth have become entangled in such charismatic circles in their search. Such show performances look good, are dramatic and simply feel good. But at the same time, this also reveals the half-heartedness of the search for truth, because believing in such blatant nonsense would cost a person with a reasonably functioning mind a lot of courage.
The most popular representatives of this “guild” include Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn, Joel Osteen and the German Reinhard Bonnke.
The love that redeems everything
In this way, such misled people try to make a subtle impression in public. They believe themselves to be heralds of the “love of God” in the sphere of charismatically colored ecumenism. Law, justice, sin? Oh, what! God loves all people, accepts them all and will inevitably save them through his grace. You just need to listen to your inner heart, because that is where the “Holy Spirit” speaks. Just open it, smell it, feel it, taste it, hear it, and wait until the “Holy Spirit” noticeably immerses itself (…and switch off your mind).
A philosophy that has long since found its way into the “normal” Protestant churches.
Self-righteous self-promoters
Many charismatics with such a touch also run their own video channels on social media to share their personal experiences and feelings and, above all, to praise their good deeds “filled with the Holy Spirit”. There is even talk of “seeing through the eyes of Jesus” and “looking at the world from God’s perspective”. The ability to heal due to the visible filling of the “Holy Spirit” is also emphasized here. They see themselves as having no alternative but to be saved.
One wonders where the common sense has gone with such pronounced self-righteousness. It is almost scary how blind and deluded people can be.
The above example of such a self-confident charismatic, a member of a Baptist church, is real. The daily greeting of the audience is a “cheerful shalom”, and this with the spirit of a bowl of pretzel crackers in the middle of the salt desert in the US federal state of Utah. All that was missing was a small breath, a moment of loss of the remaining self-control, for this self-promoter of “fulfilled perfection” to call himself the “messenger of God”, the “anointed one”.
The fatal thing: He describes any bad conscience about this attitude as an inspiration from Satan that must be fended off.
Whether as a pure “leisure charismatic” or as a professional within the framework of a very lucrative business idea, one question remains unanswered. Why perform the healing powers in the “name of Jesus” on stage in front of a paying audience and not visit the surrounding hospitals in all selflessness and charity to heal the actually sick there? As always, the mind no longer plays a role. It just has to feel great.
Just an exclusively small group
As if the Holy Spirit was poured out of a watering can on all people who could not climb trees by the count of three, the charismatics and Pentecostal churches act in the same way. You “feel” the “Holy Spirit” and you are one of the miracle healers chosen by God. Even this simple aspect is not biblical, because the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost did not take place on all the streets of Jerusalem, but only on the heads of the selected apostles.
The Bible clearly indicates in some places that the special gifts, with the exception of Stephen and Philip, were only for the apostles. Here are some examples, which should of course be read in context when you look through the book.
Acts 4:29-30:
“And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.“
Als Jesus Christus noch in dieser Welt bei Seinen Jüngern war, kündigte Er an, dass der Heilige Geist kommen werde. Als quasi Ersatz für Jesus Christus, aber mit einem noch viel größeren Einzugsbereich als es Jesus Christus als Mensch innerhalb Seines lokal eingeengtem Raum möglich war.
Acts 5:12:
“And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch.“
Acts 5:15:
“Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.“
Acts 6:6:
“Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.“
Acts 8:18:
“And when Simon [Magus, the magician] saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,”
Simon Magus saw the miracles performed by Simon Peter. As a “magician” he wanted to be able to perform these healings as well. Simon Magus offered Peter money so that he would sell him the abilities of the Holy Spirit. There were no credit cards at the time, but the parallels to the charismatics are unmistakable. Naturally, the deal didn’t work out – how could it? Simon Magus spent his later life as a house and court magician for Emperor Nero. The first great and particularly cruel persecutor of the first Christian communities.
A “spirit” like that of Simon Magus can be rediscovered today in the Roman Catholic Church.
Acts 19:11-12:
“And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.“
1 Corinthians 12:28-31:
“And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret? But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.“
This passage makes it clear that the gifts distributed by God are not distributed indiscriminately. God knows his people better than they know themselves. He knows exactly which gift can best be developed in which person.
2 Corinthians 12:12 – Ephesians 4:11:
“Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds.“
“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;“
Here again the emphasis is on the “signs of an apostle” and not the miracles and signs of every charismatic “Edward, Dylan, Frederick, Jesse and Ralph”.
For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.
Mark 13:22
Bible verses from King James Version
