oops

This post was edited on May 05, 2012 02:32 PM

Oops, I hit the Submit button too quickly. Here's the entirety of what I wanted to say:

I'm not a huge Joyce Meyer fan. Then again, I can't say I'm a huge fan of any Bible teacher, male or female. Over the years since I've been a believer, I've learned from the Word of God to submit EVERY word they teach to the Bible. If it lines up, I believe it. If it doesn't, I don't.

Now this can be tricky for new believers because they don't (I didn't) usually know the Word very well. However, the Holy Spirit is imparted to every believer when that person is born again, becoming a new creature in Christ Jesus. Jesus said the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth, that He will lead us into all truth. So if a new believer spends time with the Lord, soaking up His Word as taught by the Holy Spirit, he too can be protected from false doctrine.

Terri, I didn't read both your links above; I went to the second one because the title grabbed my attention, lol. The guy makes a point of saying he used to fellowship with Charismatics (by definition, this refers to a person who believes that the gifts of the Holy Spirit have never been rescinded, are still active in believers today).

He says he is not attacking Charismatics, but, wow, he sure uses some strong language, for example:

< I am not "attacking" Charismatics, I'm "responding" to their attacks upon the body of Christ. All cults cry, "You're attacking us." Ain't so. Those who proclaim and believe damnable doctrines of demons had better get used to good Christian folks responding to their attacks upon our faith. It's not only a good defense of the faith, it's biblical! >

First of all, in his article, it appears to me that he links guilt by assocation by naming other teachers and even cults. In this, I got the distinct impression that he was comparing Joyce Meyer to them. For example, he cites other teachers who deny the triune nature of God -- but I've never heard or read of Joyce doing this. (If someone else has, and has proof, please let us know.)

The one teaching I saw addressed in his article was the teaching about Jesus going to Hell after the Crucifixion.

I was just reading that yesterday; it's in 2 Peter -- that Scripture makes it clear that Jesus did not go there as a captive of the devil, just the opposite. I do agree with the writer of that article on this issue. For one thing (and IMHO, this is of utmost importance), Jesus declared IT IS FINISHED before He died. I do believe this meant His work on the Cross was a FINISHED work; that He did everything there which is necessary to secure our salvation.

However, I did feel the writer's language was a bit strong in that article. And frankly, I am not ready to throw all of Joyce Meyer's teaching out with the bath water. I have heard and read teaching by her which is totally Biblical.

IMHO, we as believers must know the Word, must be taught of the Holy Spirit, so that we know what to receive as truth and what NOT to receive as truth.

In the book of Acts (chapter 17, I think) the Lord commended the believers at Berea because they checked out every word that PAUL preached, in the Scriptures, to see if it was so! Would believers do that today? Maybe not. By contrast, the believers at Thessalonica did NOT do this, and the Lord said they were "less noble" than those at Berea.

I've known a LOT of preachers (both IRL and on TV, radio, etc) who say they "preach the Bible". And they usually do -- at least most of it. Some of them do deny things in the Bible, though, say they are not for today, though that is not written in the Scriptures. This is a doctrine of man, not the Word of God. This is just one example; there are others.

If you've read this far, you have a lot of patience! LOL I did want to say that I have a dear friend who was severely, horribly molested throughout her childhood by a relative who went to church every Sunday and claimed to be a Christian. As a result, she developed extreme bitterness toward God and also felt horribly dirty; she believed no one could ever love her, certainly not God.

But when she read Joyce's (first, I think) book which told of her childhood which was terribly similar, she saw and understood a lot of things for the first time. God used that book to open her eyes to the truth and set her free! Because of this I cannot levy wholesale judgment on Joyce. I am willing to leave judgment to God while agreeing with her teaching which is Biblical and disagreeing with her teaching which is not. I do this with virtually every Bible teacher. Off the cuff, I cannot think of an exception.


edited for clarity

This post was edited on May 05, 2012 02:39 PM

I don't know anything about Joyce Meyers personally or spiritually, but her home is rather ostentatious. A lot of fountains and statuary in the front yard and it's not at all in keeping with the very nice but modest homes around hers. The bigger her ministry became, the fancier her front yard became.

dtrpath27, yes, it seems this is true of a number of TV preachers/teachers (and some who are not on TV). It might bother me too if I drove by it everyday (speaking of any of their homes). At the same time, I know they are accountable to God and will give account to Him of their lives (as will all of us).

A pp mentioned something which I learned a few years ago -- the Bible doesn't say that money is evil in itself, but that the LOVE of money is the root of all evil. Anyone can love money -- can see it as the answer to all their problems, can be greedy, covetous, etc. -- whether they are rich or poor or in-between. <smile>

This post was edited on May 05, 2012 03:26 PM

I tried to read the whole article linked, the one written by the person who thinks that "Charismatics" are totally wrong. First off, whoever told him that it was a good idea to have a black website with reversed text should be horsewhipped. My eyeballs hurt after a few paragraphs. 0_o

Second off, there are "charismatics" in many denominations--Southern Baptist, Methodist, Wesleyan, Catholic--as well as those which are outright pentecostal such as Assemblies of God and Four Square. Why the author thought he could win points by lumping all "charismatics" together to show their heresy is beyond me. IOW, he lost credibility with me.

I've never made it a point to listen to Joyce Meyer, nor have I tried hard not to. I'm just not one to follow people like that. However, it doesn't bother me that she has a big, ostentatious house. I've never heard of any financial scandal of any kind, so if her ministry is large enough that she can afford the big house, well, good for her. Soloman's temple was pretty ostentatious. :-)

No, it doesn't bother me one way or the other. It's just an observation.

I grew up close to that area, so for a couple years, every time I went home to visit, there would be something new in the yard/around the house. lol! It's more funny than anything. They weren't little things that you could miss, either. It was like, "Oh, where did that giant brick and wrought iron fence come from?" or "Wow, it was never that bright driving through here at night before. Where did all these floodlights come from." or "Holy moly. Are those marble statues?" (This is not an area known for its marble statues.) It's like the house on My Big Fat Greek Wedding. More comical than anything.

A friend of mine lives around the corner & down the way from her. When I ran into him a while back, he half jokingly said "Well, my property taxes have gone up again. Joyce Meyer added another fountain." lol! I just think it's funny.

I don't know what she preaches about, but someone mentioned the prosperity doctrine. I don't know anything about that, but if that's about faith bringing you money, then maybe this is her way of showing others that what she says is right. On the other hand, maybe she wishes she lived in Greece. lol!

dtrpath27, aren't you Catholic? (If not, I apologize for the error.)

I don't think ANYone in the whole wide world lives in greater ostentatiousness (is that a word? lol) than the Pope -- it seems that everything in the Vatican is gold, or at least gold-plated. The RCC is extremely wealthy, and gets many donations from poor peasants around the world.

I'm not picking on the RCC here. Just making that point.

Lol! Yes, I am Catholic. Like I said, though, was simply pointing out the irony of it all if her major talking point is prosperity. Doesn't that make you chuckle in the least? Anyway...

For what it's worth, the Pope doesn't own the Vatican. Lol! He also doesn't live in the Basilica. He has an apartment within the complex.

This post was edited on May 06, 2012 06:31 AM