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Tag Archives: gospel

Houston denies teaching prosperity gospel by teaching prosperity gospel (Part 1)

21 Thursday Aug 2014

Posted by Nailed Truth in Brian Houston's Beliefs

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Brian Houston, eternity, eternity magazine, eternity news, eternity paper, gospel, Hillsong, press conference, prosperity gospel

PEDDLING PROSPERITY AT PRESS CONFERENCE?

Is Brian Houston using Christian Press conferences to peddle the prosperity gospel while in the same breath denying it?

We will be doing a series of articles on the below news clip. In this article we will be looking at one statement Brian Houston makes. The remaining articles will focus on how Brian Houston of Hillsong Church uses the prosperity gospel to prove he doesn’t preach a prosperity gospel.

BRIAN HOUSTON HAS NEVER BELIEVED IN A PROSPERITY GOSPEL?

Eternity magazine had an article on Brian Houston this August, 2014.

Houston_EternityMagazine_17-08-2014

Brian Houston was reported saying the following at a press conference,

“Brian Houston has never believed in a “prosperity gospel”, he told Eternity at a press conference marking the start of this year’s Hillsong Conference.”

Brian Houston has never believed in a “prosperity gospel”?

Really Brian? Then how on earth do people reconcile your statement to this?

Why did the ABC’s ‘Chaser War on Everything’ do this skit on your prosperity gospel? (Even the Chaser team knows what the prosperity gospel is. And for someone who gets paid $300,000 annually as a pastor motivational speaker, you don’t know?)

Even your ex-members will tell you Brian that you are a “peddler” of the prosperity gospel.

Even you Brian have been caught by the media preaching the prosperity gospel. They even have other Hillsong teachers and members repeating your false gospel in their report.

So you still don’t know what it is?

Eternity reports,

Brian Houston has never believed in a “prosperity gospel”, he told Eternity at a press conference marking the start of this year’s Hillsong Conference.

The leader of the family of Hillsong Churches that stretches across the globe says “There’s a huge difference between living rich and living blessed” using the Laodicean Church of Revelation 3 as an example of a church that was rich but not receiving God’s Blessing.

“The prosperity gospel is… not a term I’ve ever heard used in our church in any context whatsoever,” he says referring to Hillsong Church, suggesting the term has been invented by critics.

“There’s really only one gospel: it’s the gospel of Jesus, the gospel of grace.”

“Do I believe God wants to bless his people? 100 per cent. Do I believe he’s come to give us life and give it to us in abundance? 100 per cent. Do I believe he wants us to just get really, really, really rich and spend all and whatever blessing comes our way on ourselves? Absolutely not,” Houston told the press conference.

According to Houston, there’s no denying that Hillsong is a blessed church, though he says that’s relates to more than just finances.

“Financially, we’ll always have more vision than resource.” But he says the church, just like individual Christians, have a choice with what to do with the many blessings of God: use it for ourselves, or use it for others.

“Do we spend all that blessing on ourselves and become introspective and introverted with it? Because I think that’s the way to lose the blessing on your life.

And so, when it comes to personal blessing, I see it the same way. God blesses you to be a blessing… that’s the essence of what we are all about.”

Source: John Sandeman, Blessing and riches different, Eternity, Number 50, ISSN 1837-8447, August 2014.

Hillsong embracing Roman Catholicism and the false social gospel (Part 2)

08 Sunday Jun 2014

Posted by Nailed Truth in Associations, Brian Houston's Beliefs, Hillsong Fascism, News Headlines

≈ 37 Comments

Tags

bono, Catholic Church, Catholic cult, Darlene Zschech, gospel, Hillsong, hillsong conference, Pope Francis, RCC, Roman Catholic, Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholicism, Rome, social gospel, socialism, World Youth Day, World Youth Day 08, World Youth Day 2008, WYD08, Zschech

Ecumenism: A doctrine that attempts to find common ground with all faiths and beliefs systems, applying pressure on individuals or religious groups to unite together for the “greater good” at the expense of watering down the core foundations of the Christian faith.

The Christian Post reports,

Hillsong Conference Kicks Off with Over 24,000

Internationally-known Hillsong Church kicked off its annual conference Monday, drawing over 24,000 Christians from all around the world to Sydney, Australia.

While the charismatic megachurch is most well known for its music ministry, its annual conferences focus on providing practical tools to churches and leaders to more effectively make a positive difference in their local community and the world.

And that is true for this year’s conference “more than ever before,” according to Hillsong Senior Pastor Brian Houston.

“There is great strength in the Church coming together, and it makes a powerful statement to our city and nation that the Church of Jesus Christ is alive and strong!” Houston exclaimed prior to the July 7-11 gathering, according to U.K.-based Christian Today.

This year’s conference is Hillsong’s 22nd and has drawn Christians from 21 denominations around Australia and 70 other countries.

And like last year’s conference, Hillsong is again highlighting the biblical call for social justice.

In welcoming the conference delegates, Tim Costello, chief executive of World Vision Australia, praised U2 frontman and anti-poverty campaigner Bono as a prophet of the movement to eliminate global poverty.

“Bono understands we cannot make poverty history unless the church rises up,” he said, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. In addition his music, the Irish rock star is known for often using his star power to get people aware of HIV and poverty in the world, especially in Africa.

Hillsong’s Houston said the word justice and the responsibility it implied was a key message of the conference.

In the opening session Monday night, Pastor Robert Barriger called Christians to action. “What matters is we are just the church and the church is the salt of the earth and we can make the world better. Just because we are the church.”

Barriger leads a church called Camino de Vida in Lima, Peru, where he has been a missionary for 25 years. His rapidly-growing church is involved in a range of social justice projects across the nation, including child health initiatives and the distribution of more than 40,000 wheelchairs to the physically challenged.

In addition to the call to justice, several other themes overarch the conference including uniting “the generations” and building strong local churches that are helping to bring answers, hope and a sense of community for people.

“This conference is not for the weak or fainthearted, yet it will encourage and raise those who are to ‘be strong and of exceptional courage,” the Hillsong team expressed in a statement to potential attendees. “For over 20 years the testimony of this gathering, has been churches, teams and individuals whose ‘rising’ has radically changed the world they influence.”

It’s a gathering of “[m]en, women and youth, whose passion is to make known and famous the God of their Salvation, and effectively communicate His Gospel to a searching, lost and dying humanity,” they added.

The event is also serving as a warm-up act to World Youth Day, which is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of Catholic youth from Australia and around the world next week. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the Catholic Church is borrowing Hillsong’s headline act for World Youth Day in its own attempt at mass youth evangelism. Hillsong’s worship pastor, Darlene Zschech, and her band will perform at a concert held after the Stations of the Cross on Friday, July 18.

Catholic World Youth Day events will take place July 15-20, ending with a papal mass that is expected to draw up to half a million people.

Source: By Joshua Hall, Hillsong Conference Kicks Off with Over 24,000, Christian Post, http://www.christianpost.com/news/hillsong-conference-kicks-off-with-over-24-000-33175/, 8:08 am 08/07/2008. (Accessed 30/05/2014.)

Symphony of Scripture writes,

Hillsong Says: Reformers Fought for Nothing

But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough. (2 Corinthians 11:3-4)

For many years now, Christians throughout the world have spoken out against the unbiblical gospel that is presented by Australia’s Hillsong church. However, time and time again, the popular organization has refused to reform their ways. Their apathy for truth and right doctrine has lead many to suspect that the leadership of Hillsong know very little of biblical doctrine and the historic faith. Well, it is now safe to say our suspicions have, unfortunately, been confirmed.

Hillsong church are promoting and uniting with the gospel of the Roman Catholic religion. On a poster advertising World Youth Day, Hillsong worship leader Darlene Zschech says:

“We see WYD08 as a great opportunity to serve the Catholic Church in its vision to present the gospel and reach out to our city, our nation and our world in unity.” (Source)

The gospel, Darlene? Which gospel would that be?

But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.
(Galatians 1:8-10)

Source: By Symphony of Scripture, Hillsong Says: Reformers Fought for Nothing, Symphony of Scripture, 01/07/2008. (Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20120326134319/http://www.symphonyofscripture.com/?p=1023#comments)

And if you don’t think that Hillsong endorses the Roman Catholic Cult today, hear is their approval of Pope Francis through their beloved Darlene Zschech.

“@crouchydon: God bless Pope Francis 1 .. May he lead the Catholic Church into her finest days yet…good news of the Gospel be experienced”

— Darlene Zschech (@DarleneZschech) March 13, 2013

 

Related articles:

Hillsong embracing Roman Catholicism and the false social gospel (Part 1)

Hillsong grooming its members to embrace Gay Christianity (Part 1)

Hillsong grooming its members to embrace Queerstianity (Part 2)

Hillsong grooming its members to embrace Queerstianity (Part 3)

Hillsong grooming its members to embrace Queerstianity? (Part 4)

Brian Houston: “the Muslim and you, we actually serve the same God”

What Is The Gospel These Days? (Part 1 & 2)

27 Thursday Jun 2013

Posted by Nailed Truth in Uncategorized

≈ Comments Off on What Is The Gospel These Days? (Part 1 & 2)

Tags

believe, Brian Houston, false gospel, gospel, Hillsong, what the gospel is

There is no question that Hillsong preaches a false gospel known as the Prosperity Gospel. The peddler of this dangerous gospel is Brian Houston.

Brian Houston’s Gospel

When the gospel is not defended, erosion takes it’s course. Generally speaking people are starting to lose the basic understanding of the gospel in our ever increasing secular culture. This is why we think it is important that our readers get a solid grasp on what the gospel is and why it should be believed.

The White Horse Inn has done a fantastic job tackling this subject. We hope all our readers can grow in discernment, testing what Hillsong says in the name of God to the Word of God. For every article on this topic, we will be publishing two of their articles on their ‘What The Gospel Is…’ series.

The White Horse Inn writes,

What The Gospel Is & Why We Should Believe It, Part 1

There seems to be a lot of confusion today about what the gospel is. There are the obviously crass examples on display at Christian and secular bookstores everywhere, encouraging us all to have our “best life now” or, more recently, to Have a New You by Friday.

But there are also others in our time who point to the ongoing work of social rather than personal transformation. They tell us that we should partner with God in his redemptive mission to change the world through the pursuit of social justice. Now I’m not saying that these aren’t worthy goals. The pursuit of justice either for an individual or for a society is a noble calling, and I would encourage most of the readers of this blog to become better versions of you. But the question is whether these things actually provide a good description of what the gospel is.

Alexis De Tocqueville was a Frenchman who came to America in the early 1800s and was fascinated by differences between America and Europe. He published his observations in a book titled Democracy in America. In that book he focused primarily on politics but also made some fascinating observations about religion in this country. He writes,

Priests in the Middle Ages spoke of nothing but the other life; they hardly took any trouble to prove that a sincere Christian might be happy here below. But preachers in America are continually coming down to earth. Indeed they find it difficult to take their eyes off it. The better to touch their hearers, they are forever pointing out how religious beliefs favor freedom and public order, and it is often difficult to be sure when listening to them whether the main object of religion is to procure eternal felicity in the next world or prosperity in this.

That emphasis is certainly still with us today. Churches, we are told, need to be relevant, down to earth, practical. They need to meet people where they are. But what if where we are is in a world of consumerism, entertainment, and narcissistic hedonism? In such a time a gospel about me, my prosperity, or my worship experience will always be relevant. But churches that focus on something outside of ourselves, something rooted in an ancient and unfamiliar culture – explained and unpacked with big and unfamiliar words like propitiation, justification, and predestination – will always appear to us as irrelevant if we fail to challenge the world’s way of thinking.

Paul helps us in 1 Corinthians 15 by giving us a very good definition of what the gospel is. But before we dive into that definition, here is a little historical background. Paul’s letters to the Corinthians are among the earliest writings of the New Testament, a fact is undisputed in our day even by the most liberal scholars. This is a wonderful concession because it means that historians everywhere must explain how by 53-55 AD (which is the generally accepted date of the Corinthian epistles) we find a monotheistic Jewish Pharisee professing faith in the divinity of one of his fellow Rabbis who had gotten himself crucified just a couple decades earlier. It’s a fascinating historical drama in and of itself, especially when you add the fact that before he became a Christian leader and evangelist, Paul was a fierce opponent of this strange Jewish sect, persecuting other believers even unto death. Of course the way the story is usually told is that Jesus was a nice groovy teacher who preached peace, love, and harmony until he unfortunately got himself crucified . The story continues like a good fish story: tales about this Jesus evolved over time so that by the late first century, when the story was finally written down, this teacher is pictured with a halo, walking on water and performing miracles. In other words, the man was turned into a God over time by the believing community.

But if that’s really what happened, how do we explain Paul’s conversion in the early 30s AD? How do we explain the various documents that he left behind, some written in the late 40s (ie. his epistles to the Galatians and Thessalonians)? It’s one thing to get a Greek or Roman pagan to believe in the divinity of one of his neighbors (you might recall the story of when Paul and Barnabas were mistaken for incarnations of Zeus and Hermes in Lystra). But Jews were different. Pharisees in particular were very strict monotheists. So how do we get a man like this to profess the divinity of one of his fellow rabbis at such an early date? This question is totally ignored by most liberal scholars as well as by a popularizer such as Dan Brown in his book the Da Vinci Code. In that story, the teacher Jesus wasn’t declared to be divine until a decree by Constantine in 325 AD. It made for interesting fiction, but it is far from the complexity of actual historical events.

The great thing about Paul is that we don’t have to speculate. We have his writings and no one disputes the early dates of their composition. So the best way to find out what made Paul tick would be to go back to the original sources. And this text for 1 Corinthians 15 is one of the most important such sources.

In the next installment of this blog series, we’ll start walking through Paul’s arguments from this text in order to get a better understanding of what the gospel is and why we should believe it!

Source: Shane Rosenthal, What The Gospel Is & Why We Should Believe It, Part 1http://www.whitehorseinn.org/blog/category/blog-series/what-is-the-gospel-blog-series/#sthash.Ke2wLr9L.dpuf, 31/05/2013. (Accessed 27/06/2013.)

Shane Rosenthal continues with this article:

What The Gospel Is & Why We Should Believe It, Part 2

1 Cor. 15:1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you – unless you believed in vain.

In this amazing text, Paul starts out by reminding his disciples in Corinth of the basic components of the Christian gospel. Since he’s reminding them of what they had already received, a good question to ask would be, “When did Paul first preach this message to them?” This letter was written while Paul was in Ephesus sometime between 53-55 AD. Here he is reminding them of the basic gospel message which he probably first delivered to them around 51 AD.

1 Cor. 15:3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received.

I’d like to draw your attention to the particular words “of first importance.” The Bible is the word of God, yet this book contains some things that are more important than others. Jesus himself makes this same point to the Pharisees when he tells them that they have neglected the “weightier matters of the law, such as justice, mercy, and faithfulness.” Tithing wasn’t unimportant, but it was less important, he argued, than the incredibly significant issues of justice and mercy. Likewise, everything we find in the New Testament is important and inspired. But here Paul is reminding the Corinthians about the issue of first importance. He has already said in verse 1 that he’s reminding them of the gospel. So essentially Paul is saying that the gospel is the most important thing, the thing of first importance that we need to focus on and never lose sight of.

1 Cor. 15:3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received.

Now pay attention to that last word: received. This gospel message is something that he himself received? But from whom? Paul is arguing here that this is not merely something he came up with when he first delivered this message to them in 51 AD. In his letter to the Galatians (written in 48 AD), Paul provides a brief sketch of his own conversion. Paul’s conversion is generally fixed at around 32 AD, two years after the crucifixion. In Galatians 1:18 Paul says that “after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas,” which would mean he visited Peter around 35 AD.

This incredibly early timeline that I am presenting here is not disputed by even the most radical liberal scholars. According to John Dominic Crossan, one of the pioneers of the infamous Jesus Seminar: “Paul wrote to the Corinthians from Ephesus in the early 50s. But he says in 1 Corinthians 15:3 that ‘I handed on to you as of first importance that which I in turn received.’ The most likely source and time for his reception of that tradition would have been Jerusalem in the early 30s when, according to Galatians 1:18, he ‘went up to Jerusalem to visit Peter” (from his book Excavating Jesus, 2002, p. 298).

It’s interesting to note the actual word Paul uses when he went to visit Peter in Gal 1:18. The word translated in this text as “visit” is actually the word historesai, which is the root of our English word “history.” So the sense is not merely that Paul is going to visit a friend, but rather to inquire of Peter and possibly even to write down his story.

We would do well here to recall that Luke is one of Paul’s companions, as we discover in his letters to Philemon, Timothy, and the Colossians. We’re not sure when Luke began to be associated with Paul, but he certainly outlines this same approach in the beginning of his gospel, saying that he compiled his narrative by interviewing the eyewitnesses.

In the next installment of this blog series, we’ll continue our survey of 1 Corinthians 15 as we start to walk through the substance of Paul’s gospel message.

Source: By Shane Rosenthal, What The Gospel Is & Why We Should Believe It, Part 2, http://www.whitehorseinn.org/blog/category/blog-series/what-is-the-gospel-blog-series/#sthash.Ke2wLr9L.dpuf, 03/06/2013. (Accessed 27/06/2013.)

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