Why the Old Testament is Vital in Countering the Occult

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

Gnostic/occult.motifs were already present in the age of the Apostles. Early church tradition traces the rise of Gnosticism to Simon Magus, briefly mentioned in Acts 8:9-24. Remember he attempted to purchase the Holy Spirit. Peter was not pleased and it seems from the text that Simon repented, at least superficially. Later tradition says that Simon went to Rome and started a gnostic group, and competed with Peter for converts...he actually arrived in Rome before Peter did according to tradition.Justin Martyr, an early Christian apologist, stated that Simon was teaching that he was the Messiah--God! I don't do this often but I want to include here an extended quote from Harold Brown's 'Heresies'..

"Simon and his followers are charged by their Christian opponents with practicing magic(k) and occult arts.  This was natural enough; to the extent that they were impressed by his ability to work apparent miracles, the early Christians had no choice but to attribute them to the power of evil. MANY OTHER GNOSTIC FIGURES WERE ACCUSED OF NECROMANCY,A NOT UNLIKELY CHARGE IN VIEW OF
THEIR EMPHASIS ON THEIR ACCESS TO HIDDEN, OCCULT, KNOWLEDGE AND POWER.

Simon's system involved a number of points that will also characterize later heretical movements: 1.a syncretistic blending of biblical ideas with themes drawn from other, pagan, Near Eastern sources;2.a dualistic interpretation of the material world as hopelessly estranged, by nature, from the purely spiritual Father;3. the teaching that a personal Savior has appeared on earth; 4.a rejection of the Jewish Scriptures as frauulent or malicious;5.an interest in not only secret lore, but in magic and the occult.The fact that Gnosticism, like certain later movements, ties rejection of the Hebrew Old Testament to fresh superstitions and an interest in the occult helps us to see the cardinal importance of the Old Testament for Christian orthodoxy.

The major doctrines of Christianity are indeed drawn from the New Testament, and superficially it might appear as though the Old Testament is of interest cheifly as background. As a matter of fact, however, it is the Old Testament that guarantees the rootedness of Christ, His Person, and His work in real history. Whenever the Old Testament is ignored or reduced to mere Jewish religious thought, Christians readily fall prey to various mythologies and occults. With the loss of confidence in the reliability in the Old Testament, brought about by, among other things, nineteenth-century liberal Bible criticism, some nominally Christian leaders developed an enthusiasm for pagan mythology...(Pg. 51)"

There is a confluence of forces that has caused the occult in general, and necromancy in particular, to explode. But according to Dr Brown (now deceased), a loss of confidence in the reliability of the Old Testament has been high on the list of causes.If he is correct, and I think he is, then we have a serious problem on our hands. Of those you reading this, how many of you have taken an Old Testament course which basically undercut the reliability of the Old Testament? Many of you, I am sure. When I was in college, it broke my heart to see the vicious spiritual wounds being inflicted in these classes, and the high number of student casualties. Students in these classes, as with the teaching of macro-evolution, were not made aware of brilliant scholars who differed with their professors anti-supernaturalistic presuppositions.Hence, we were made to believe that any thinking person MUST believe in macro-evolution and that the Old Testament was a mythical book which was riddled with errors and contradictions. Tragic....

The Old Testament is not full of myths, errors or contradictions. It is God's inerrant Word which is on a collision with the worldview which has become dominant today. The infinite/personal God created the heavens and earth....the biblical God is eternal, not energy. It is in the Old Testament where we have the most explicit denunciations of occultism...psychics/mediums, and necromancy.The biblical worldview is stated clearly in the Old Testament, especially in the first three chapters of Genesis. In fact, every major New Testament motif can be found in germinal form in Genesis 1-3.

In high school, and especially college/university, both the content and teaching methodology is uniformly anti-Christian. Not to mention graduate school, where even bible believing Christians are falling prey to the monolithic consensus amongst the faculty to develop methodologies foreign to the bible.And so we have seminary trained folks going on paranormal investigations and attempting to do what the bible abominates--attempting to speak to the dead. This is a call to re-capture a high view of the Old Testament, and to read it. Due to the darkening spiritual landscape, we MUST humble ourselves before God's revelation in the Old Testament--without it, we are historically rootless. May I close with a practical suggestion? Many Christians get fired up about reading the bible but give up after a few months, due to a lack of a reading plan.For the last 40 years, I have followed this plan on a daily basis. This has enabled me to read every word of the bible nearly 40 times. Here is a plan that has worked well for me...

Day one-read Genesis 1, and Matthew 1
Day two-read Genesis 2, and Matthew 2...and so on. If you wish to read through the bible quicker, just read 2-3 chapters instead.

I feel strongly about reading from BOTH testaments during each devotional, for this reason. It is absolutely amazing to see the unity of the bible over 1,500 years. (from Moses to NT)Very often what you read in the Old Testament, you will come across again in your New Testament reading....extremely enriching!! Reading from both enables you to see the continuities and dis-continuities between the OT and NT. Leviticus is usually the book that most Christians give up on. But that is unfortunate, because reading about the various OT sacrifices in Leviticus, illumines the many faceted nature of sacrificial death of Christ.And it helps to drive home the necessity of Christ's once, for all sacrifice.

Reading the bible is for nothing if we do not apply it. First, ask what does the bible passage teach...especially about God? (not what you get out of it), then ask how it applies to your relationship with God (how you think, act, feel) and your life circumstances. Much more could be said, but I will stop there....

"Seeing Ghosts through God's Eyes" (also in a Kindle edition)...please consider purchasing my book which uses science, logic, and the bible to analyze the true source of power behind paranormal activity.

Save Your Money on Paranormal Conventions & Events

By Chris Baricko

As I am sure many of have noticed we have been getting flooded in the paranormal world with conventions and events. I will point out a few things. Firstly, the economy sucks, most of the people are either unemployed or underpaid. They are paycheck to paycheck yet the money they charge is outrageous. Here is why I do not think they are worth over $20.00. Now remember they say they are on TV and you're paying for there time. Really. Then should you not get what you pay for?

Let's start with Amy Bruni from Ghost Hunters. She stated in an interview that either Ghost Hunters or people in general started investigating the paranormal in 1848. (I am not sure what one she meant.) But either way she is wrong. TAPS started in 1990, (142 years later) or when the first people started in England in 1880's. 32 years later. In the nineteenth century. (Not the eighteenth century). Really? And you're paying to learn from her? I would save my money.  (Read below)

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Then we have Adam Berry from Ghost Hunters who (cough cough ) won the TAPS academy. I am sure it had nothing to do with the fact he was a performer in acting and theater before they chose him. Even though in my opinion Vera was way better. Remember when Adam suggested were they have base camp and Vera was the leader? Then when she did not say Adam suggested it he went to Jay and Grant and said was not fair was his Idea. So now remember he claimed to be a team player. But I guess that means throwing others under the bus to get ahead.  So tell me that show was not a set up for ratings and who they knew they were going to pick? The actor. (Read below)

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Events. They charge from $125.00 to $245.00 for 7 hours depending on the event. So at $125.00 that's about $18.00 an hour you're paying. At $245.00 you're paying $35.00 a hour are you kidding me? So what you're paying for is to walk in and say hi. Maybe get a photo and an autograph. Then investigate with 50 to 60 other people at the same location. Right at the bottom of the page it states in big letters NO REFUNDS. So I will offer my advice as someone who has been in the field for over 25 years. Ask questions before paying and make sure you get the answers in writing.

1 - How many people are going to be at the event?

2 - Ask how will the groups investigating be broken up?

3 - How many people will be in each group? If over 3-5 forget about doing any EVP's as they will be so contaminated you won't be able to tell what is and is not a person whispering. Photos. You can get some of the location but again forget convincing anyone it's paranormal when so many others there that can cause it.

I also wrote to a few of the paranormal celebrities to ask if they would be willing to donate their time or sign something for a little girl here in Connecticut who was in ICU because her school bus crashed into a tree. The only ones who showed any support and replied to me within a day are: John Zaffis, Brian Cano, Chris Fleming, and Shannon Sylvia. Of course Amy never answered but makes sure she lets you know she is selling her tee shirts. And a few others are just as bad. Their true colors showed. Now why support them when they don't support others? 

Now I do not want to hear the excuses they can't reply to every email or message they get. That's a load of crap. If they have the time to Tweet and post they have time to answer the fans. Remember--without the fans there are no shows. No shows mean they have to live in the real world. Maybe that would open their eyes and show the fans the respect they deserve. They make sure to post when they're going to be at an event to sell something. Tell them to answer your messages first. Again NO FANS MEANS NO MONEY.   

Don't let the event promoters strong arm you or tell you what you want to hear. Remember they are there to make money. Why do you think they put NO REFUNDS as part of the terms? That's basically saying if you have a emergency you can go pound sand.

I personally have never went to an event for the simple reason I've been around long enough to know I do not want to be cramped up with a large group of people trying to see if I can get any evidence or findings when I know full well it is just about impossible. And I also refuse to work my ass off to give my money to people who don't give a crap about us, only that we pay.

Are the events worth it? In my opinion not if it is anything over $20.00. Do the math. The event is say $245.00 now add in your travel and lodging and let's not forget food. You're around $500.00 for only 7 hours.

For that kind of money you can rent a cabin in the woods for a week, Go to a theme park for the day. Have a great family night out. For most people that is a week's pay. For them, I'm sure they are making much more than that for only 7 hours. Think about it…

Issue 152 – Ryan Buell Digs for Gold/Chip Coffey Gets the Shaft!

By Kirby Robinson

Back in 2008 when the big social media site was MySpace, I warned Mr. Coffey that at some point Mr. Buell would use him just as he had used the clients featured on his program, Paranormal State. In response, he laughed his head off, claiming that it would never happen. Unfortunately for Mr. Coffey, it has.

I'd like to share these two videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-dX3yFkLVE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guC_PawD2Gs

You see folks, Ryan and his team have done this in the past…they sell tickets for an event but there either is no event and no refund is ever issued because it's not canceled but postponed indefinitely. Let's not forget that Chip refuses to do anything unless some green [and in most cases lots of green] is part of the deal.

On April 17, Ryan, or somebody that works for him, posted this on Facebook:

If you haven't already heard, Chip Coffey and I are teaming up for our first major appearance in almost 5 YEARS. And man, do we have a show for you! After some serious consideration, I've decided to open up about certain encounters that I found too terrifying and/or personal to share. Plus, we are going to share with you what really happened during some of our most famous "Paranormal State" cases, in greater detail than ever before. This isn't an advertising gimmick nor is this just another lecture. This will be our most intimate and intense appearance to date. For those of you attending, you'll understand! TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW. GOLD & SILVER VIP PASSES ARE NEARLY SOLD OUT! Cities are: DALLAS, BOSTON, CHICAGO, SEATTLE, SAN DIEGO and PHOENIX! Help us spread the word! See you there:

Talk about living in the past! Is Paranormal State the only thing that Ryan and crew can talk about? I bet the old cow of Paranormal State cries out, "Please don't milk me again, my tits are too sore and dried up!"

Seems like the brain dead fans of Ryan, those who buy into his lies, refuse to wise up and see the truth. Chip doesn't care because he wants mo' money.

However, something took place between April 17 and April 22 because Chip posted this on his page:

It is with huge regret that I must announce that due to circumstances completely beyond my control, I will not be a part of the Conversations with the Dead tour that was slated to begin on April 25.

Please be advised that I have not collected any money, had access to any money and will not receive any money from Conversations With the Dead ticket sales. PRS is managing this tour. If you have any questions or concerns, you may reach out to PRS by contacting them at events@parafieldtrip.com .

I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience or problems that may arise from my withdrawal from the tour.

What we've been told is that no green was flowing Chip's way. No expense money—nothing. Pretty odd when PRS claims that the tour is almost sold out.!

This leaves Chip's fans holding the bag, as they can't get a refund unless the event is canceled and PRS has already spent their money. Anyone affiliated with PRS can't tell the truth as this was posted on Ryan's page:

Hey everyone,

As some of you may have heard, Chip Coffey announced that he is unable to attend the Conversations With The Dead tour at this time. We love Chip and hope to do something special with him in the future. In the meantime, we will be emailing attendees with details on how the tour will continue.

Tomorrow, we will be announcing new speakers who will team up with us to deliver the best tour possible. We are happy to announce that Michelle Belanger will co-host some of the dates with yours truly. We are also in talks with other special cast members of "Paranormal State" who will reunite with us for some of the other locations.

Updates will be sent tomorrow and our staff will make themselves available to handle any questions or concerns you may have. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and we will do everything in our power to make this worthwhile for all those who wish to attend!

Thank you for your patience and talk soon!
Ryan Buell

According to the private forums and sites that fans of PRS with IQ's of less than 50 gather to spew hatred towards anyone who is anti-Ryan/PRS, the tone is less than kind. They claim that PRS has informed them that it's all Chip's fault and the things they are saying about Chip and his personal life are very shocking indeed.

Guess the adage is right—if you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas. 

Here is a copy of the fourth comment posted on  this entry. It's added here so that you don't have to scroll down:
"I paid $150 to join the PRS Coummnity..I only have borrow time and going to Dallas was a Bucket List for me..One Gold ticket two Silver money is gone ...my best friend flew from NJ to Louisiana....the day we are leaving for Texas...2:00am we receive a message the tour cancel...All I can say is Shame on you Ryan...your Judgement will be with God!"

Keep current and follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/eyeonparanormal

EARN EXTRA MONEY! If you have a website, forum or blog you can set up an Amazon Associates Affiliate Program link and sell the Kindle version of our books. "Is the Long Island Medium the Real Deal?" [Now in Paperback!], "Never Mock God: An Unauthorized Investigation into Paranormal State's 'I Am Six' Case" [also in paperback!], "Investigating Paranormal State," "Paranormal State Exposed" and "Paranormal Teachings: The Best of Shedding Some Light" and earn money. You can also sell other books and products that Amazon offers. Here's the link: https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/

Bring Quality Back into Buddhist Pursuits

In his speech to a large crowd of Tibetans from Tibet given on Mar 27, 2006 at the end of his Monlam teaching in Dharamsala, the Dalai Lama spoke passionately about several issues, one of which was about the need for the concerned Tibetans and Buddhists to bring primary focus on quality when it comes to religious education, discoursing, or practice. The following are relevant excerpts, as translated by the editor.

Most of us Tibetans are poor when it comes to standards of knowledge. Speaking from the religious point of view, there are in our society of six million Tibetans people with astonishing degree of genuine faith in Buddhism. Buddhism is profound, became widespread and has been propagated from generation to generation and has therefore progressed and flourished. As a result, today too, the Snowland of Tibet is almost the only place where on the world stage the entirety of the Mahayana, Hinayana and Tantric teachings of Buddhism could be fully preserved, and where in this world the religious heritage of the Great Nalanda University could be fully kept, defended and spread without a whiff of contamination. In particular, in terms of keeping, defending and spreading the teaching and practice of Buddhism in an integrated manner, Tibet has the most profound tradition and curriculum. Taking the Tibetan society as a whole, the Snowland of Tibet has, through generations over a millennium, been a race of people who preserved Buddhism by keeping, defending and spreading it. Nevertheless, among the general public, it is obvious that knowledge of Buddhism is extremely poor.

In terms of the religious activities in our ecumenical monasteries in Tibet, the main consideration should not be given to the numerical strength of the monks and nuns in them; what is more relevant is that it is extremely important to ensure good qualities of training and discipline in them. Otherwise, if the standards of study and training are poor and the state of discipline too is nothing to talk about, large populations of monks and nuns would only mean too large numbers of such monks and nuns, which is of no help. Good quality is extremely important.

I some times see in the Tibetan community big efforts being seemingly made to enlarge the numbers of monks and nuns. I do not see this as particularly important. To speak bluntly, we do raise protests over the existing dangers of Tibetans becoming a minority in our own land. The danger is real. We also have considerable international support on this. In a period of such great change, when the Tibetan population is dangerously small, we ourselves would seem to be contributing further to the declining number by raising the population of monks and nuns to the point that there would be too many of them. Therefore, if despite the fact that the Tibetan population is already too small, the number of monks and nuns is raised further, the result will surely be a further decline of our population.

We also need to think about the situation in places like Ladakh. It is a failure resulting from extreme short-sightedness that there is an impression that in the ecumenical monasteries both in and outside Tibet great attention is being paid to an imperative to raise the number of monks and nuns, with seeming shortage of focus on the training and discipline of the monks and nuns.

Therefore, unless we think by paying attention to all aspects of the situation today, this is definitely not an era of progress for us. We all should think on the basis of having looked in all directions in our back and front, and to our left and right. It is certainly not a period in which we can make decisions solely on the basis of what we actually see before us. In any case, it is extremely important to uphold the quality of training and discipline as more important than the number of monks and nuns.

Like I said recently, when teaching on Choejug (Bodhisattva Way of Life), being familiar with the Sutra and Tantra texts alone won't do. Ritualistically beating drums, striking cymbals and performing cham (religious dance) in supposed displays of religious practice, but remaining unable to recognize the Three Jewels (The Buddha, Dharma and Sangha) in reality would put us in danger of performing self-blessings. We must be very cautious about it. Buddhism is not revealed merely by beating drums and striking cymbals, and there is no way such rituals can enhance devotion. On the other hand, there is a danger of it becoming a system of ideas without foundation.

So, it is extremely important for everyone not to lose touch with his or her roots. Within the Tibetan community one can see many instances everywhere of people who had lost their roots and go about clinging to branches. To sum up, the noble tradition of the learning of the Tibetan Buddhist philosophy extant in the time of our ancestors should primarily be maintained by our monasteries. On that basis, the monks and the nuns in the monasteries should ensure high quality of study and training as well as discipline and thereby must be able to maintain the faith in both teaching and practice. Everyone needs to make efforts to bring progress within the general public in terms of modern knowledge, and, on that basis, enable people to gain in-depth understanding of Buddhism and thereby find devotion in it. This is one of the important points on which I routinely make appeals.

Over many decades in China, especially during the Cultural Revolution, when the Four Olds were being destroyed, there was a lot of persecution, with opposition to religion and culture being total. But human nature is such that it needs a source of faith and hope, and, as a result, the number of followers of the Christian faith is witnessing high growth. The number of people practising the Buddhist faith, too, is growing likewise. Especially, in the recent period, many people have been turning their attention to Tibetan Buddhism. Over the last two decades, there have been many Chinese people paying attention to Tibetan Buddhism and receiving teachings from Tibetan Lamas, Geshes, etc. Today, this number is increasing ever more.

Take the case of the seat set up by Khen Rinpoche Jigme Phuntsog. Not only were there a large number of ethnic Chinese disciples there, but it also had a flourishing academy.  But it suffered unimaginable decline recently and, ultimately, even the great abbot himself passed away. This was an immensely sad development. But, still, not only are there so many ethnic Chinese taking interest in and following Tibetan Buddhism, but they are also receiving teachings from Tibetan Lamas, Geshes, etc. These are highly positive developments and I greatly appreciate them.

The Lamas and Geshes of Tibet, and other teachers and propagators of Buddhism must all bear in mind that in this period one very important consideration to be borne in mind is that it would be a grave error to propagate and teach Buddhism for the purpose of monetary or material gains or for the purpose of living a life of luxury. Not only that, when looked at from the point of view of the karmas of merit and sin, this would amount to merchandizing religion. Practitioners of religion would not act like that. In any case, concerned persons from all sides need to exercise caution.

It is possible that some times Lamas and religious masters will feel a sense of being important and develop an inflated ego on the basis of very strong faith and hope reposed in them by believers as they make offerings and pay obeisance. Such developments are not at all good. As Drom Toenpa has said: Even if one were held in the highest esteem by everyone/ It is better to hold oneself in subdued humility. One should never forget this. In my own case too, I have constantly been keeping this in mind. Whenever people show great obeisance to me by addressing me as His Holiness, I always humble myself by earnestly recalling thus: Wherever and whomsoever I go to for whatever purpose,/ by holding myself the humblest of all,/ may I hold others, in all sincerity,/ to the highest level. I do this at all times without any relaxation of effort. You too should think by doing likewise.

To speak to you about a sad aspect in our situation today, recently, in many countries such as Taiwan, America, Europe, Russia and Mongolia, there have been cases of fake Tibetan lamas and religious masters doing irreligious things. In China too, reports have been emerging about fake Tibetan religious masters coming from Tibet. All this is an extremely tragic development.

What one witnesses is of well endowed and capable religious masters remaining in meek withdrawal while there are out there fake religious masters who, devoid of all sense of shame, and brimming with greed and talking naked falsehood, wear the mask of religion with great audacity, carry out irreligious activities and thereby bring disrepute to the Buddhist religion and faith. In view of this, everyone should exercise utmost care to gain purposive determination. It is especially important that the well-endowed religious masters should assume the responsibility to serve the religion and humanity.

original link: http://www.dalailama.com/messages/buddhism/buddhist-pursuits

Demonic Strongholds

What is a stronghold ?

Hello my parabeauties. I hope you have had a fantastic weekend and free from bad weather. Many across the world are suffering so lets be sure to keep them all in prayer. I'd like to add that my blogs are simply my humble opinion and in no way am I claiming fact. I thought this goes without saying but apparently not. It's all based on biblical laws and scripture.

Demonic Strongholds Leading To Possession Or Oppression

"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through god to the pulling down of strongholds;" -2 Corinthians 10:4

A Legal Right is how the devil gets in, and a stronghold is how the devil stays in. A Stronghold is something that you have to attack and go after and remove or "pull down". In Most cases, A Legal Right- you renounce through some declarative process - you say, "this is something I want to be free from."

A Legal Right, for example, being involved in the occult, or committing a willful and deliberate sin, is something that gives the devil a Legal Right to attack your life. So, If you've done this (involvement in the occult or willful sin), you have to repent, you have to renounce, and that is how you get free of the Legal Right.

But, what the devil does with the Stronghold is much more subtle. For The Record, what the devil actually does is three-fold :

(1) he gets a Legal Right
(2) he establishes a stronghold
(3) he declares dominion in every area of your life

The Strongholds And Principalities

The principalities waging war on earth have gained footholds by pagan worship. The sons of light have battled these principality's by overcoming the peoples that worship these entity. That's why God commanded the Israelite's to:-
(Numbers 33:52 KJV)

Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places:

Depending on the obedience of the sons of light the stronghold is held or lost. Islam and its demonic principalities are fighting back and in fact will win for a while and triumph temporarily over the sons of light.
(Revelations 11:7 KJV) And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

Iran and Iraq have been the major strongholds of the principalities of demons. And guess where that hatred is directed..Israel and the "Christianised".

(Ephesians 6:12 KJV) For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Identifying Strongholds And How They Enter

Our thoughts influence our emotions and our physical reactions. A thought may seem harmless, but it can become physically, emotionally or spiritually dangerous.  Satan will bring evil thoughts into our minds. We cannot entertain these thoughts. Doing so will give way to the enemy. We need to rebuke the evil thoughts from our minds immediately.   For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. (Romans 8:5 NKJV) Our way of thinking determines the way we feel. As we entertain our thoughts, our emotions become involved.  Negative thoughts will bring about negative emotions. But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. (Matthew 15:18-19 NKJV)

Giving in to our emotions eventually leads to taking some sort of action. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. (James 1:14-15 NKJV) This is very evident in the life of Amnon and his lustful desires for Tamar (2 Samuel 13). His lustful desires for his sister led him to rape her. Absalom was so angry at Amnon for raping their sister that he plotted to kill his brother Amnon in revenge. Anger, unforgiveness, pride, etc. If there is sin in your life that you are unable to break away from, you need to be set free from the demonic stronghold that keeps you bound. The demons controlling the stronghold need to be rebuked from your life, old habits need to be broken, and your thoughts and emotions need t need to come under the control of the Holy Spirit. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:2 NKJV)

This subject can go on and on and on. Feel free to research this yourself and compare it to what the Bible says. It's hard to really have a proper ending to this. This was a request so I hope I am ble to answer a few questions and clear up what the Bible says regarding this subject.

Written By Jennifer L Auld

Feed My Starving Children

Pastor Stephen... Our local church participated with this program April 9 - 12, 2014, and as a church we collected (above tithing/giving) $84,000. Which is $7,000 more than we budgeted. Last year, we prepared 350,000 meals, and this year we topped that at 381,024. Our budget was to feed 959 children, and this year we prepared enough meals for 1,045 children :-) Can I get an Amen? AMEN †

I am so proud of our churches Pastor's, Staff, congregation and the family and friends that came to participate too. I almost forgot. We had a 7th grade class from one of the local schools show up and prepared meals as a class project. Bureaucrats want God out of the schools? Then let's bring the schools to the churches. AMEN †

One bag contains 13.6 oz. and there are six servings per bag. Many of the top food scientists and food manufacturers, have participated to come up with a meal, that has the highest grade of protein, vitamins and minerals combined to make the healthiest meals available for children around the globe. Amen to them as well AMEN †

This is one fun awesome mission for churches each year. Even if you can't host an event, you still can contribute to them directly with your $ gifts. Watch that video at the top and see the pictures of the boy that was starving starving and in six months brought to full health. God did, does, and will continue to Bless us and show that miracles can happen in today's world too. Please, if you don't do anything else, share this particular page with your friends and family. You too can and will cause a change in someone's life †

Feed My Starving Children is a non-profit Christian organization committed to nourishing God’s children hungry in body and spirit. The approach is simple: children and adult's hand-pack meals specifically formulated for malnourished children, and we ship these meals to nearly 70 countries around the world. Click here the following link to learn more about how you can become involved http://www.fmsc.org/aboutus/statement-of-beliefs

May God shine his light through you
Pastor Stephen Piersall
God's Preservation Ministry Soul Care, http://www.gpmsc.org/
https://www.facebook.com/GodsPreservationMinistry

The Dead Files Q & A and Other Miscellaneous Musings

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

"For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ." (2 Corinthians 10:3-6)

"....so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his schemes." (2 Corinthians 2:11)

"...for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light." (2 Corinthians 11:14)

Last Friday night there was a special Dead Files in which Steve (ex homicide detective in NYC) and Amy (physical medium) met with the producer and answered fan questions. It was enlightening. The reason I reference the Dead Files so much is because, in my opinion, they have raised the bar on how effective demonic collusion has become in deceiving people. Amongst some Christians, I have noticed an across-the-board dismissal of paranormal TV shows. I dislike the para-celeb nonsense as much as anybody, but I remember vividly how much I struggled in the beginning with how to deal with the attention to historical detail, and how it lined up with current apparitional appearances in certain locations. It was only when I stumbled upon the reality of demonic collusion, that I was able to find cognitive rest in my biblical beliefs. PLEASE, let us never, forget how horribly persuasive this deception is, and our need to address it. So, this blog is miscellaneous musings re: popular culture and the demonic.

1. Amy mentioned that a particularly difficult case involved a man named Moses, who is currently incarcerated for murdering a man on the premises that Amy and Steve investigated. While he was in prison, she was giving a description of Moses to a sketch artist, but Amy nervously said Moses was in the room with them--threatening them. We talked about soul fragmentation, before and after death, last time. Well, here is a man who literally was in two places at the same time! (in prison and in the room with her and the sketch artist) How in the world can this occur? Does 50% of his soul remain in prison, while the other 50% fragments off and flies to this other location? Make no mistake, Amy said he was REALLY THERE....so much so, that she was extremely frightened. I ask: is it not so much simpler to say that a demon was present in the room with her and mimicking his (Moses) identity?  It certainly is more plausible than what she said was occurring. And the bible sees the soul as being indivisible--incapable of being "spliced and diced", due to God's protection. (the soul is not intrinsically immortal, as the Greeks thought) However, this is why I am so insistent on the importance of worldview presuppositions, because, given her mistaken view of ultimate reality, then Moses' dual, fragmented presence makes sense to her, and millions of others viewing reality through distorted worldview glasses.

2. I rarely do this, but please seriously consider reading my book because I go into considerable detail re what a worldview presupposition is, how worldviews are formed, and how comprehensively they drive how we think, act, and feel. Like an iceberg where most of the mass lies hidden beneath the water line, so also our worldviews are beneath the water line of our conscious thought, but they have a profound effect on how we view the paranormal, and all of reality. One rarely gets past first base when discussing the evidence alone because we do not realize how different worldview "glasses" will radically effect how one sees the data.

3. This clearly shows that the most psychically "advanced" are often the most deceived. Starting with the wrong presupposition, will get you further from reality the longer you pursue it. But this is an obvious example of soul fragmentation belief, which is being watched by millions, and shaping their worldviews.

What I think has happened is that a template of psychiatric pathology (e.g. Schizophrenia) has been applied to paranormal phenomenon.

4. I found it tragic to hear Amy say that most physical mediums die young, (and this is crucial) "because of their having the dead constantly entering inside them." They are dying young, but it is because of having pure evil (demons) enter them frequently. For some reason the heart is usually targeted. Being indwelt by such horrendous darkness and filth is going to pollute and damage the heart (physical and non-physical), as well as causing all kinds of other diseases and illnesses. To be fair, many legitimate exorcists, have made the same claim re their health (see "Hostage to the Devil" by Malachi Martin).

Along those lines, one of my concerns is that we become jaded to the true horror that is occurring on the TV screen. For example, last week was the first time (I think) that Amy had to leave a location because of being "jumped". That is the term she uses when, as a physical medium, she allows a "dead person" to enter her so she can see and feel how things "went down" when this person died. And when she is done or finished with their "tour", then Amy will oust them. However, on this occasion. Amy said it would not leave until some six hours later after they had driven home. My point is this--millions of folks are watching a woman being possessed, partially or otherwise, for a period of time. Of course, having the "dead person" enter the physical medium is precisely what they are all about. But, God forbid that we ever become numbed to seeing a person being demonically indwelt. By the way, this is one reason I ALWAYS pray for protection before and during my viewing of paranormal shows/movies. You should too.....ALWAYS.. It deeply disturbs me in two ways: first, the person being possessed is being indwelt by pure evil, and will quite likely not live to see forty (unless they are fakes).. Second, to watch Amy gesticulate or writhe in pain is hardly something a Christian should find entertaining....she is unwittingly being duped and partially possessed by diabolical entities, who would just as soon kill her.. Do not let your cynicism due to widespread fakery, blind you to instances of when demonic forces show up for prime time. Would you expect anything less of them in their lust for power and expansion of the kingdom of darkness? For Satan to not use TV as a means of wowing folks with demonic signs and wonders would be stupid of him (strategically speaking)....and Satan is many things, but he is not stupid. The weakest, most feeble-minded demon can run circles around the strongest and most intelligent human, operating in the flesh. Cynicism will cause one to assume any psychic/medium is guilty until proven otherwise. Real demonic activity will be dismissed as fakery, which does not help anyone. 

Discernment is one thing (and very much needed these days), but cynicism causes us to become myopic--it is a fine line, isn't it?

While on the subject of debunking, just because we can show an alternate explanation for why an alleged claim took place, it does not follow that we have debunked it. I fear that much, real demonic activity is being dismissed simply due to being able to visualize how it MIGHT have occurred naturally.

5. Which leads me to my next point: is it proper for Christians to research the occult?  Many say no, and I understand their concerns. One person said that it was akin to watching pornography. I believe this is an inappropriate analogy and will argue that SOME folks must keep abreast of cutting edge developments in the occult/paranormal. The pornography analogy seems persuasive because we know that looking at pornographic material is harmful and wrong. My problem with this analogy is that viewing porn is a visual sin--just looking at a centerfold is defiling of the mind and sinful. But watching a TV show or reading occultic primary sources is not necessarily defiling. It can be (i.e. defiling), but not necessarily, as pornography is necessarily defiling. Jesus tells us that we are to be in the world, but not of the world. Biblical writers show considerable knowledge of their cultures and there are numerous quotes from pagan sources in the bible.

My question to those who would prohibit any study of the occult is this: how can we effectively refute that which we do not understand? Does not Paul's assertion that we are to destroy strongholds and arguments (2 Corinthians 10:3-6) imply a prior knowledge of that which we systematically dismantle? Did not Paul have to study and understand an aberrant belief/argument in order to competently "destroy" it? One could say that it is a matter of compassion when we care enough about others that we take the time and effort to carefully study what they believe. If we have a friend who is a witch, will she not be rightly upset with us if assume she is a Satanist, or even that all witches are Wiccans (which they definitely are not)? Moreover, such ignorance insures the triumph of evil because we will have no way to oppose it.

The great apologists of the early church (first 4 centuries)--Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Iranaues, Augustine, etc, were used of God to destroy numerous heresies that threatened the very existence of the church. In fact, Gnosticism was rampant, inside and outside the church, but was so effectively challenged by Iranaeus and others that it withered away....UNTIL 1,500 years later it oddly re-emerged 30 years ago. However, (and this is key), one of the main reasons these early apologists were so effective is that they thoroughly studied that which they attacked. It is through their writings that we get most of our understanding of what the great heretics believed. And so down through the centuries, God has protected His Bride from doctrines of demons by raising up men who studied the primary sources (no doubt, prayerfully) For the glory of God, and out of compassion for the lost, some of us must focus on this task. Certainly, all Christians should be able to defend their faith and give a reason for the hope that we have. (1 Peter 3:15).

Let me hasten to add, in-depth study of heretical beliefs is a call from God for a few That is where my calling lies, and my seminary training has been invaluable. And so I intend on joining the Rhine Institute so that I can read all the material from decades of parapsychology research. I find deep satisfaction in this.....and that is a sign that we are tapping into God's call for us.

It also needs to be said that every Christian must pray before and during exposure to occultic studies. In addition, if a person is spiritually sensitive, or if they have a history of demonic oppression/possession, then they likely need to avoid watching or reading anything occult related. As an alcoholic needs to avoid that which others have liberty to use appropriately, if they wish, so also those addicted to the paranormal (many are very obsessive re evidence analysis), will need to abstain. However, God has sovereingly used folks formerly in cults/occult to have ministries to folks who are enslaved to these same beliefs. Bottom line, it is person-specific, but we do need to err on the side of caution. We who do study the occult must keep our guards up, and walk humbly before our God.

"Seeing Ghosts through God's Eyes" (also in a Kindle edition)...please consider purchasing my book which uses science, logic, and the bible to analyze the true source of power behind paranormal activity.