Of Joseph Prince and “His” defenders

When The Blind Lead The Blind, Shall They Not Fall Into The Ditch?

You may also like to read:

• Joseph Prince Double-speak lies about Holy Spirit
• Caution: "Destined to Reign" by Joseph Prince 
• Joseph Prince of This World 
• Honest Review of "Destined to Reign" 

Do you know why I had put “His” above in a capital letter?  Well, it does look like he is a god and idol to his believers. They will struggle to defend him with drilled-in clichés, and statements.  I see exactly the same behavior in the Jehovah Witnesses and Mormons who come to my door.  It is always something like this,

" Noo! you do not seem to understand what he is saying ..." or  "Ohh! you must listen to the complete sermon first". And when you say you have done so, they counter,  "Have you finished listening to the whole series?"

Sounds familiar? That is a standard cult respond technique!  Try talking to any Jehovah Witness and you will know.

I have often been asked about Joseph Prince.  Sandy just did so, too last Thursday.  “What do you think about Joseph Prince”?  And I will usually reply in these terms, “He’s a false teacher.  Be careful.  He mixes truths with untruths, confuses you by saying contradictory things on the same topic in different ways so that you will believe both positions without questioning further”.

Anyway, today while googling for “Ananias” and “Saphira” for information, I came across this blog, Daniel's Place, with this article “Joseph Prince vs the Bible”, which speaks out against his ( small h because Daniel is not his believer ); and this one, A Review Of A Book Review (Destined To Reign), His believer who wrote a well-written doting review of a horrible book.

These are the things that dawned on me about the doting believers in their god:

1)     They do not know how to catch those contradictory positions, because Joseph Prince is a good speaker and masterful with words

2)     They have blinkered understanding of scriptures, their understanding having been confined to what their god has said

3)     They also possess the canned definition of biblical terms and phrases, drilled into their heads by false teachers – not being of the Holy Spirit.

Ananias and Saphira and the Joseph Prince Boo-boo

Let’s talk about Ananias and Saphira ( Acts 5) and see how the defenders defend their mighty god.  On page 57 of his book Destined to Reign ( please don’t buy, just borrow a copy from one of the unfortunate souls who did ), Joseph Prince – an international pulpit speaker with a following of tens of thousands had this to say to the question in italics:

    “But Pastor Prince, didn’t God punish King David for his sin and he lost his child?”

    Don’t forget that David, like Elijah, lived before the cross of Jesus. You will never find an example of God punishing a believer for his sins in the new covenant.  Let’s study the scriptures for ourselves and not just go by what other people are saying.

The above is reproduced without errors and omissions.

Well, he obviously does not read the bible and did not know about Ananias and Saphira episode.  What?? An international preacher who does not read the bible?  Cari makan ma!  (just earning a living ) What a boo-boo for an international bible “teacher”.  Maybe someone has pointed it out to him by now and he is desperately trying, or has given up trying to find a way to properly explain that boo-boo.  Why, even many of the new believers I asked can immediately answer that God did punish Ananias and Saphira under the new covenant.

KingDavid Blog Tries To Rescue His god

Well, Joseph Prince does not have to worry.  His doting believers will come to his rescue!  So here's the idiot well-writen bad review of his god’s book that goes: 

Malcolm has written a good post comparing Ananias of Acts 5 and Ananias of Acts 9, see here.  From the Bible, the Ananias of Acts 9 was descibed as “there was a disciple named Ananias” but the Ananias of Acts 5 was descibed as “But there was a certain man named Ananias who,”  Comparing it side-by-side, the subtle difference is as night & day; a disciple verse a certain man. In addition, notice also the But in Acts 5; that will mean that it is contrasting to a previous subject. So let’s go back to Acts 4, and we see this: For instance, there was Joseph, the one the apostles nicknamed Barnabas (which means “Son of Encouragement”). He was from the tribe of Levi and came from the island of Cyprus. He sold a field he owned and brought the money to the apostles. Acts 4:36-37   The apostles had apparently endorsed this Joseph, thus, I am very certain that Ananias and Sapphira were not true believers. ( Emphasis are mine )

If the above logic is correct, then we must also conclude that when the bible says “there was a certain man”, it is means that he subsequently changed his sex, or that Joseph was Joseph only for a time!  See the semantic inconsistency?  Acrobatics with words. That’s what blind believers and false teachers do.  Idol worshipers argue for the sake of defending their god and idol, not on truth and logic.  The error he made is so bad that his disciple must now twist the scripture to say that Ananias and Saphira are not believers!  How desperate!

KingDavid Blog Makes Another Vain Defence

In the passage immediately following the above, the writer continues, ( in his effort to defend his god’s doctrine of superabundant grace ):

Although a common ideology, I cannot find it anywhere in the Bible that says the Holy Spirit convicts believers of their sin ( emphasis mine ). What I found is this: because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. 1 Thessalonians 1:4 (NIV)  but when I checked the other translation, I like it better: For when we brought you the Good News, it was not only with words but also with power, for the Holy Spirit gave you full assurance that what we said was true.  1 Thessalonians 1:4 (NLT)  The conviction here is actually of comforting assurance, how lovely.

The false teacher does not know, and his believer naturally does not know. And further you marvel at the comments of the readers of KingDavid blog, with their doting comments.  Jesus said, “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch?”.

Why did the author of the blog need to make such a fool of himself?  It is because his god wrote in page 134 of that horrible book, Destined to Reign, these words:

The bottom line is the Holy Spirit never convicts you of your sins. He NEVER comes to point out your faults.  I challenge you to find a scripture in the bible that the Holy Spirit has come to convict you of your sins.  You won’t find any.  (Emboldened and CAPITALISED in the original )

Okay-lah then, I meet your challenge-lah!   It is in Joh 16:8-lah, bodoh!:

And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

That is what happens when Christians become followers of man and not God.  Observe that the above review writer is a scripture-quoting Christian who also has an excellent command of the English language.  This is why I say that Joseph Prince is so smooth with his words that he can encourage you to sin on the one hand without you feeling convicted if you agree, then at the same time preach that a true believer will live a holy life.  This is what a false preacher is good at, and fools will come to his defense.

What about LLC

Like others, this fellow is a sincere believer of Jesus, and a Joseph Prince fan.  He struggles to sort out his confused state of understanding, gropes for words to defend his idol and expresses some frustration, demands the writer Daniel refrain from saying certain things,  but finally he came to terms somewhat with the stand of Daniel against false teachings.  I think he able to come to that stage because he has not been mesmerized too much, not being a member of the church of that false teacher.

As for the other defenders of their god, like that guy Phil, I leave you to read his efforts at defending his god for yourself.  He just cannot see through the double-speak preaching of Joseph Prince, slippery and 2-edged.

But Daniel has got it right about Joseph Prince.

A good church is not measured by the size of its membership, the charisma of its pastor, much less the beauty, completeness of facilities and comfort of its building.  It is measured by the truth that it preaches, that does not lead you to stray away from the Lord even as you think you are following Him.  For surely, 

Mat 7:13  Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

Your choice.

Jesus says in John 8:32, "And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free."

Rick Warren - The Gay Movement Supporter

Read also :

Rick Warren - The Self-confessed Worshiper of Muslim god

Rick Warren's Ecumenical Idolatry
Rick Warren Graces Chrislam
'Chrislam' - The Spirit of Anti-Christ
Chrislam Heresy Sweeping Churches

Rick Warren does not read the bible.  He does not know that God clearly condemns the perverted act of sodomy, as seen in the record of Lot, Sodom and Gomorrah, or these verses:

• 1Co 6:9  Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites,
  1Co 6:10  nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.

But it also appears the entire institutionalized church system has been so compromised by the "judge not" preaching, that few are willing to speak out against false teachers and church preachers like him, whose public stand against scripturally-condemned sins can at best be called ambivalent.  Many churches are in fact still in the blur, like the Chinese language service of the Full Gospel Assembly which I attend.  The Chinese Church still promotes the books of Rick Warren on the projector screen week in week out!  That goes to show that the church leaders and pastors are "blur blur".

Should we promote the books of a man who does not dare to speak out against homosexuality?             

We can be sure that Rick Warren is not ignorant of these bible verses.

• Gal 5:19  Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,  Gal 5:20  Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,Gal 5:21  Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 
•  Eph 5:5  For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Eph 5:6  Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience
• Rev 21:8  But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. 

It is just too inconvenient for him to stand by them.  He is afraid of being condemned by his own "politically-correct" congregation, and fears losing members! You see, in USA and the West, church and Christianity is not about being saved and living a holy life for God after that.  It is a membership business.

Has Malaysian churches also caught on with the "membership numbers first" game?  Has Malaysia become so politically-correct about sexual perversion as well?  For a fact, we are surely moving in that direction, for Malaysians are of "everything USA do must be correct, so we follow" mindset ( just look at how we ape the TV programs, fashionwear etc ).  But for now, we should still be some distance off from USA on this matter, so why can't Malaysian churches stand up for God's standards as these Ugandan pastors?  Are Malaysian churches all sleeping, or too compromised with false teachings and being politcally-correct to dare to speak out, like people in glass houses do not throw stones?  Here, read this for yourself.  I had circulated it to my home cell members some time ago:

Mon, Dec. 21 2009 03:15 PM EDT

Uganda Pastors Chide Rick Warren; Defend Anti-Gay Bill

Pastors in Uganda recently chided evangelical pastor Rick Warren after he urged them to speak out against the country's Anti-Homosexuality bill.

Related :

·          Christians Urged to Speak Out Against Uganda's Anti-Gay Bill

·         Uganda's Anti-Gay Bill Draws Evangelical Opposition

·         Anglican Head Pressed to Stand Against Uganda's Anti-Gay Bill

A group of 20 denominational heads recently formed the Uganda National Pastors Task Force Against Homosexuality and demanded that Warren "biblically issue an apology for having wronged us."

"Your letter has caused great distress and the pastors are demanding that you issue a formal apology for insulting the people of Africa by your very inapropriate (sic) bully use of your church and purpose driven pulpits to coerse us into the 'evil' of Sodomy and Gaymorrah (sic)," the pastors, which include Martin Ssempa, state in a letter emailed to Warren.

They also note, "As you yourself have said, '..the Bible says evil has to be opposed. Evil has to be stopped. The Bible does not say negotiate with evil. It says stop it. Stop evil'. (12/2007) Since homosexuality is evil, you cannot possibly be against a law that seeks to stop it unless you have misunderstood it."

Warren, who works with pastors in Uganda on the "Purpose Driven" campaign and P.E.A.C.E. Plan, had addressed Ugandan pastors in a video earlier this month. He condemned the criminalization of homosexuality, particularly the death penalty as proposed in Uganda's proposed legislation, and called it unjust and un-Christian.

The Purpose Driven pastor was among a number of U.S. religious leaders who expressed opposition and concern over the bill.

But Ugandan pastors state in their letter to Warren that the bill has been "greatly misrepresented by some homosexual activists causing hysteria."

They stress that the proposed death penalty applies only in special cases termed "aggravated homosexuality," which include those convicted of unlawful homosexual rape of a child or handicapped invalid.

"This is a conviction of paedophilles!" they exclaim, noting that the country has for 15 years had a death penalty in place for those who sexually abuse a girl under the age of 18 years. The proposed measure simply extends the protection to boys, they say.

Attempting to clarify what they believe is misinformation regarding the Anti-Homosexuality bill, the pastors task force says the proposed requirement that people report offenses of homosexuality was included because of high levels of unreported heterosexual/homosexual rape and harassment especially in single-sex schools. School officials and some police officers "maintain a conspiracy of silence" and ignore the pleas of the children and victims who report such crimes, the task force points out.

Many, including Warren, had criticized the bill for placing "everybody" at risk – including parents, teachers, landlords, doctors, media and religious leaders who provide counseling to someone struggling with their sexuality, work with those infected with HIV/AIDS, or do not report an offense within 24 hours of knowledge.

Warren believes it would hurt the church ministry of caring for people with HIV/AIDS. Out of fear of being reported, those infected would be reluctant to seek care or comfort from churches, the southern California pastor pointed out.

Homosexuality is already illegal in Uganda and can be punished with life imprisonment. But the anti-homosexuality legislation was designed to "fill the gaps" in the provisions of existing laws and "strengthen the nation's capacity to deal with emerging internal and external threats to the traditional heterosexual family."

And so the Lord says in John 8:32 " And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free"