False Prophets and Isolationist Propaganda

I am a refugee from the modern “apostles and prophets” movement where men claimed the authority of God for their own words.  The system was abusive and controlling, and it attacked  the freedom of the gospel. Now, within the conservative ranks,  I am witnessing the same defective usurping of God’s authority by false prophets. These self-proclaimed theological police promote isolationist propaganda and declare that certain websites are not holy enough for their words. Here is what I propose: the practice of promoting isolationist propaganda and declaring certain websites off limits for Christian writers to preach the gospel is an attack on the gospel itself—Christians must oppose the practice.

In the Old Testament God imposed food laws and ceremonial laws on His people to keep them separate from all the peoples of the world.  The only way for individuals to come to God was to join themselves to God’s people by being circumcised and joining in observing these laws.  With the advent of the gospel of life—the message that God sent His son to become man and die as man, shedding His blood on our behalf – this changed.  This message was now to be proclaimed across all the world in the highways and the byways.  Paul preached it to Jews in their synagogues and to pagans before their temples.  In Acts 15 we see a specific example where the Old Testament laws that forced separation were removed so that the gospel could be proclaimed to all people.  To the Greek, Paul became as Greek and preached to their philosophers on Mars Hill.  To the Jew, Paul became as a Jew and shaved his head to visit the temple and proclaim the message there.  In all things, except idol worship and immorality the true apostles proclaimed freedom for all who followed the message of Christ. The gospel met people where they were—but it was still the gospel.

Even at this time, however, false prophets who claimed to speak for God emerged and demanded that Christians adhere to additional rules and practice separation; all of which was an attack on the gospel.  Some wanted to add new commands or wrongly apply them. In Corinth, Christians incorrectly attempted to impose these few mandates from Acts 15 on society as whole instead of within the church and Paul responded in 1 Cor 5,

“I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one.”

Paul fought for the liberty of the gospel and offered it, as part of the gospel, to Christians.   Paul expected those he had taught to be in the world and share this message to the pagans and others they came in contact with.  Christians who claimed that their group could be “more pure” by adding to the rules of Acts 15 were declared to be false because they demanded something that God had not mandated.  These people were to be opposed and contended with as their words and actions were an attack on the gospel that Paul loved and preached.

Now, some former contributors to this website are guilty of adding commands to scripture. I have seen criticisms leveled at current columnists by columnists who used to regularly publish on this site—criticisms calling all who write here “hypocrites.”  These former submitters claim that God is not pleased by the actions of those who continue to write here and they even go so far as to attempt to threaten those who do not obey their words with God’s disapproval and even His wrath.  To this I say “Bunk.”  This is the claim of false prophets; it is just a different flavor of the same abusive system that I left.  These spiritual isolationists attempt to usurp God’s authority into their words as did those that Paul fought against in his epistles.  He told his friends in Acts 20, “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.”  These pseudos, in similar fashion, are attempting to lead us after themselves.  I claim that this is the action of a wolf, perhaps a well-intentioned wolf, but a wolf none the less.

No command or mandate in scripture limits me or prohibits me from sharing the gospel whenever and wherever I so desire.  If you review each of my articles, the gospel message of the incarnation, the death and resurrection of Christ is clearly proclaimed.  God died for us and was raised again and commanded us to preach this message to all and I am obedient and faithful to Him in proclaiming it here.  Anyone who states otherwise is a sinning pseudo and needs to repent and embrace the authority of scripture.  The Reformation and Sola Scriptura means that these people do not speak for God any more than one of the modern false prophets or emergent church leaders that they claim to oppose.

I oppose this “holier-than-thou” effort to censor and control and I declare that it to be an attack on the gospel.  These spiritual isolationists have no authority or power to limit my preaching the gospel.  I have posted on many “offensive” sites and contended for the message that God died to give us on infidels.org and skeptics.org.  How dare someone claiming to be Christian call me a hypocrite simply because I don’t preach the gospel on the websites that they declare “clean” and “worthy.”  Luther and the reformation left all Christians a legacy battling the popes who claimed that they spoke for God.  I ask those of this site to also oppose the new mini-popes that would seek to oppose the preaching of the gospel here.

By K. Jentoft Click here for bio and archived articles