Do Religious Con-Artists pose a THREAT to real Christians?
Unfortunately in this day and age, far too many Christians trust their eyes and feelings over and above what the Bible actually says. AND any time you are using what you saw and felt as the yardstick to measure TRUTH, you have taken your eyes on Jesus, the Author and perfecter of our Faith. So sadly I must admit, that there are many Christians who can be fooled by Religious Con-Artists. The Biblical way to guard against the trickery of a Religious Con-Artist, is to FIRST of all, make absolutely sure that you have come through the narrow gate of surrendering and receiving Jesus Christ as LORD, meaning Master, establishing a GENUINE personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The SECOND most important thing that all Christians must KEEP doing, is Search the Scriptures to discern TRUTH, instead of just trusting what we saw and felt.
Hebrews 12:2 (NIV)
[SUP]2 [/SUP] Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. {The Greek word for FIX, is a much stronger word than the English word FIX. If we substituted, "superglue our eyes on Jesus", then we would be very close to the original meaning."
2 Corinthians 5:7 (HCSB)
[SUP]7 [/SUP] For we walk by faith, not by sight,
Psalm 119:15-16 (ESV)
[SUP]15 [/SUP] I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.
[SUP]16 [/SUP] I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.
Acts 17:11 (NIV)
[SUP]11 [/SUP] Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
One of the more famous Religious Con-Artists that fooled many into believing his Word of Knowledge gift, with his fake trickery is Peter Popoff. His victims were Christians, and they were FOOLED into believing his trickery was of GOD, and they sent him their money, LOTS OF IT. They were all trusting what they saw, heard, and were convinced because of the excited feelings that they felt; thus they were all victims of a Con-Artist. This information on Peter Popoff came from a research on from Wikipedia:
And that is the damage done by just one Religious Con-Artist that was exposed. How many more are there, yet to be exposed?
So where did the Religious Con-Artist con game originate?
Ecclesiastes 1:9-10 (ESV)
[SUP]9 [/SUP] What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.
[SUP]10 [/SUP] Is there a thing of which it is said, “See, this is new”? It has been already in the ages before us.
I would guess that LITERALLY all of the of the ancient Pagan Religions used trickery in one form or another to con their congregations into giving more money. I ran across a documentary, that exposed the trickery, and the actual mechanical machines used by the Greek Mystery Religions, to fake miracles, so that their followers would be hooked into believing those statues were gods, and thus give more money.
[video=youtube;GPuQQJ4oB2o]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPuQQJ4oB2o[/video]
Now that video makes it much more understandable, how SO MANY PEOPLE fell for those Mystery Religions.
So what kind of Computer tricks, and electronic devices are being used to DECEIVE PEOPLE TODAY?
AND if people so easily trust what they saw, heard, and felt;
HOW ARE THEY NOT GOING TO FALL FOR THE ANTICHRIST,
WHO CAN DO REAL MIRACLES?
Unfortunately in this day and age, far too many Christians trust their eyes and feelings over and above what the Bible actually says. AND any time you are using what you saw and felt as the yardstick to measure TRUTH, you have taken your eyes on Jesus, the Author and perfecter of our Faith. So sadly I must admit, that there are many Christians who can be fooled by Religious Con-Artists. The Biblical way to guard against the trickery of a Religious Con-Artist, is to FIRST of all, make absolutely sure that you have come through the narrow gate of surrendering and receiving Jesus Christ as LORD, meaning Master, establishing a GENUINE personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The SECOND most important thing that all Christians must KEEP doing, is Search the Scriptures to discern TRUTH, instead of just trusting what we saw and felt.
Hebrews 12:2 (NIV)
[SUP]2 [/SUP] Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. {The Greek word for FIX, is a much stronger word than the English word FIX. If we substituted, "superglue our eyes on Jesus", then we would be very close to the original meaning."
2 Corinthians 5:7 (HCSB)
[SUP]7 [/SUP] For we walk by faith, not by sight,
Psalm 119:15-16 (ESV)
[SUP]15 [/SUP] I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.
[SUP]16 [/SUP] I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.
Acts 17:11 (NIV)
[SUP]11 [/SUP] Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
One of the more famous Religious Con-Artists that fooled many into believing his Word of Knowledge gift, with his fake trickery is Peter Popoff. His victims were Christians, and they were FOOLED into believing his trickery was of GOD, and they sent him their money, LOTS OF IT. They were all trusting what they saw, heard, and were convinced because of the excited feelings that they felt; thus they were all victims of a Con-Artist. This information on Peter Popoff came from a research on from Wikipedia:
Peter Popoff (born July 2, 1946) is a German American televangelist, and self-proclaimed prophet and faith healer. He conductsrevival meetings and has a national television program. He initially rose to prominence in the 1980s. In 1986, skeptics James Randiand Alexander (Alec) Jason exposed his method of receiving information about revival attendees from his wife via an in-ear receiver.
. . .
In 1985, Popoff came to national attention when he began campaigning for money to help smuggle bibles into the Soviet Union. He claimed the bibles would be tied to helium-filled balloons and sent wafting above the Iron Curtain. When he had to account for the money being spent, Popoff staged a burglary at his own headquarters. On subsequent broadcasts of his show, he would tearfully beg for more money to help repair the damage.
. . .
During his appearances at church conventions in the 1980s, Popoff routinely and accurately stated the home addresses and specific illnesses of his audience members, a feat many believed was due to divine revelation and "God-given ability". In 1986 when members of CSICOP reported that Popoff was using a radio to receive messages, Popoff denied it and said the messages came from God. At the time of his popularity, skeptic groups across the United States printed and handed out pamphlets explaining how Popoff's feats could be done. Popoff would tell his audience that the pamphlets were "tools of the devil".
Popoff's earlier claims were debunked in 1986 when noted skeptic James Randi and his assistant Steve Shaw researched Popoff by attending revival meetings across the country for months. Randi asked crime scene analyst and electronics expert Alexander Jason for technical assistance and he was able to use a computerized scanner during a Popoff appearance in San Francisco. Jason intercepted and identified the radio transmissions that were being sent by Popoff's wife Elizabeth Popoff who was backstage reading information which she and her aides (Reeford Lee Sherrell and Pamela Sherrell) had gathered from earlier conversations with members of the audience. Popoff would listen to these promptings with an in-ear receiver and repeat what he heard to the crowd.
Randi then went on to plant accomplices in the audience, including a man dressed as a woman pretending to have uterine cancer, of which "she" was "cured". Jason produced video segments showing several Popoff "healings" which included the previously secret audio. After these were shown on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Popoff's popularity and viewing audiences declined sharply. In September 1987, sixteen months after the Carson airing, Popoff declared bankruptcy, with more than 790 creditors having claims against him.
. . .
Peter Popoff - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
. . .
In 1985, Popoff came to national attention when he began campaigning for money to help smuggle bibles into the Soviet Union. He claimed the bibles would be tied to helium-filled balloons and sent wafting above the Iron Curtain. When he had to account for the money being spent, Popoff staged a burglary at his own headquarters. On subsequent broadcasts of his show, he would tearfully beg for more money to help repair the damage.
. . .
During his appearances at church conventions in the 1980s, Popoff routinely and accurately stated the home addresses and specific illnesses of his audience members, a feat many believed was due to divine revelation and "God-given ability". In 1986 when members of CSICOP reported that Popoff was using a radio to receive messages, Popoff denied it and said the messages came from God. At the time of his popularity, skeptic groups across the United States printed and handed out pamphlets explaining how Popoff's feats could be done. Popoff would tell his audience that the pamphlets were "tools of the devil".
Popoff's earlier claims were debunked in 1986 when noted skeptic James Randi and his assistant Steve Shaw researched Popoff by attending revival meetings across the country for months. Randi asked crime scene analyst and electronics expert Alexander Jason for technical assistance and he was able to use a computerized scanner during a Popoff appearance in San Francisco. Jason intercepted and identified the radio transmissions that were being sent by Popoff's wife Elizabeth Popoff who was backstage reading information which she and her aides (Reeford Lee Sherrell and Pamela Sherrell) had gathered from earlier conversations with members of the audience. Popoff would listen to these promptings with an in-ear receiver and repeat what he heard to the crowd.
Randi then went on to plant accomplices in the audience, including a man dressed as a woman pretending to have uterine cancer, of which "she" was "cured". Jason produced video segments showing several Popoff "healings" which included the previously secret audio. After these were shown on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Popoff's popularity and viewing audiences declined sharply. In September 1987, sixteen months after the Carson airing, Popoff declared bankruptcy, with more than 790 creditors having claims against him.
. . .
Peter Popoff - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
And that is the damage done by just one Religious Con-Artist that was exposed. How many more are there, yet to be exposed?
So where did the Religious Con-Artist con game originate?
Ecclesiastes 1:9-10 (ESV)
[SUP]9 [/SUP] What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.
[SUP]10 [/SUP] Is there a thing of which it is said, “See, this is new”? It has been already in the ages before us.
I would guess that LITERALLY all of the of the ancient Pagan Religions used trickery in one form or another to con their congregations into giving more money. I ran across a documentary, that exposed the trickery, and the actual mechanical machines used by the Greek Mystery Religions, to fake miracles, so that their followers would be hooked into believing those statues were gods, and thus give more money.
[video=youtube;GPuQQJ4oB2o]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPuQQJ4oB2o[/video]
Now that video makes it much more understandable, how SO MANY PEOPLE fell for those Mystery Religions.
So what kind of Computer tricks, and electronic devices are being used to DECEIVE PEOPLE TODAY?
AND if people so easily trust what they saw, heard, and felt;
HOW ARE THEY NOT GOING TO FALL FOR THE ANTICHRIST,
WHO CAN DO REAL MIRACLES?
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