Category: Pentecostal | Page 3 | Spiritual Abuse Blogs

Woman ‘in the Spirit’ on a Jamaican Flight

There is a partially false story being rapidly spread on Facebook (and probably elsewhere) that a woman aboard a flight to Jamaica saved the plane from crashing by being ‘in the Spirit’ before take-off. The plane was at Owen Roberts International Airport in the Cayman Islands. While the woman caused a disturbance by jumping around, clapping and yelling ‘Jesus’ in the aisle, the part about there being a major problem with the plane that would have caused it to crash is untrue.

Here is what is being shared, taken from a post made on November 25 by a female pastor who is touted as an apostle, prophet, and prophetic voice: “A woman got in the spirit of the Holy Ghost this morning when she boarded a flight to Jamaica causing the flight to be delayed for 2hrs. They had to remove her from the plane. Soon after, the Airport authorities realised that something was gravely wrong with the plane engine & that if they had taken off 2 hours earlier, the plane would definitely have crashed!!! Thank you Lord! The lives of your children are precious to you & you know when their work on earth is done. God saved all the passengers and crew, because of the obedience of one woman! HALLELUJAH! OUR GOD is truly the Chief Pilot of our lives!” (Note: The video itself initially was shared on the day of the event as can be seen here (this has since been removed). The inaccurate portrayal of events goes back to October when people started saying things like, “This Lady was in spirit on the plane to Jamaica and because of the delay they found that there was a problem with one of the engines.”)

A few days later the story grew to an even taller tale when one man wrote (this has since been removed) in part, “This woman felt the Holy Spirit just before a plane flight to Jamaica yesterday. She told them God informed her that the flight would go down. It took a while to get things situated and eventually throw her off the plane, so the flight was delayed for 2hrs. Soon after, the Airport authorities realized that something was gravely wrong with the plane engine. If they had taken off 2 hours earlier, the plane would definitely have crashed!!!”

On the date of the incident, Caymanmarload.com wrote about it. They stated that, “Apparently something happened with the one of the engines and after taxing off and they had to return to the gate” and said that a passenger stated a man started praying, which seemed to prompt the actions of the woman in question. That is when she got out of her seat and was jumping and shouting. Their website is the only one where I found the mention of engine trouble or that the plane had taxied out and then returned to the gate. I have never been able to verify there was any engine trouble.

The official statement from Cayman Airways was that the video of the incident which had been circulated did happen on flight KX-620 on October 23, 2017. In their statement, there is no mention of any major malfunction with the plane and certainly not that the woman’s actions caused them to discover it or that the plane would have crashed. Here is part of what they said: “The aircraft was at the gate with passengers boarded, but with the main cabin door still open while a minor maintenance issue was being resolved before departure. Shortly after the Captain announced that the maintenance work was completed and that the aircraft would soon be on its way, a female passenger left her seat and began shouting and jumping as can be seen in the video.” There was only a delay of an hour and 13 minutes as the woman was removed from the plane and her luggage retrieved.

So there are only three basic statements from the November 25th post which are accurate:
1) it was a morning flight to Jamaica
2) the woman was removed from the plane
3) the woman ‘got in the spirit’ (which I won’t attempt to address in this article)

It is NOT true that:
1) the woman’s actions caused them to discover a problem with the plane
2) there was a two hour delay
2) there was something gravely wrong with the engine
3) the plane would have crashed
4) the woman’s actions saved the lives of the people on board

It is so important to fact check stories before spreading them across social media and elsewhere. One should not embellish a story, especially not in order to promote or prove their beliefs. Doing so causes others to shake their head in disbelief as thousands of people rapidly share a false story that could have been easily fact checked in a few minutes time.

You may use this if you see this story being spread.

What is even more problematic is when people are shown the report is untrue and they attempt to discredit the airline’s statement, insinuating or outright stating that they wouldn’t tell the truth. Please look at the facts and use discernment. There was only a 73 minute delay in the flight and some of that was taken in evicting the woman from the plane and retrieving her luggage. Had there been a major problem with the engine, enough that it would have crashed, is it reasonable to believe that it could be repaired in just over one hour or that they would have taken the chance on using the plane after such a discovery?

In the short time it took me to write this, the post I linked to was shared an additional 2,068 times. Most of the comments are praising and believing the report. As of my update to this article on November 29, it had almost two million views, was shared 50,412 times and commented on by 25,000 people. Added July 13, 2018: For some reason in July 2018, the story went viral again. People had never stopped commenting, liking and sharing what was posted by the above mentioned female pastor. As of this update, the post has been viewed 7.2 million times, liked by 123,000, commented on 68,000 times and shared 137,176 times. It is quite disheartening to see so many Christians sharing this tale and never once questioning its veracity or checking first to see if it happened as stated and then berating people who question it. Within twelve hours of this update, it had been viewed another .6 million times, commented on 6,000 more times and shared another 13,000 times. That people are so quick to believe and pass on this report is sad.

December 1, 2017 Update: Cayman Marl Road reported on October 27, “Our sources have informed us that as of yesterday the passenger, identified as Ms. Barbara Cecile Bryan, remains on islands. Apparently she was removed from the flight that day and had her ticket cancelled for travel for the following morning. We understand that Cayman Airways/CIAA are in talks as to whether or not she should be banned from traveling on the airline and for how long.” If the name is accurate, she was granted Caymanian status on December 31, 2003 according to an official report.

On their Facebook page, they reported on October 25 that this woman had been hospitalized in the mental health ward after being removed from the flight. Another person shared that the woman “was out in the street where she was staying doing the same thing two days before boarding the plane.” Yet another commented, “Sadly, there were Haitians on that flight who are heading home via Jamaica after being here for almost 3 months. Recovering Open heart surgery patients who became very scared. Their translator who is also a born again Christian said he’d never seen anything like this before and they are all relieved the lady was removed from the flight.” In a separate Facebook discussion, (this has since been removed) one woman claiming to have been on the flight shared similar thoughts, “i was on the flight sitting across from her it was scary for my kids too.”

On November 29, buried amidst hundreds of comments on another Facebook post (this has since been removed) that was spreading this false report, a woman named Lori made the following comment that was ignored by others praising the story, “I was the flight attendant on that flight and your information is wrong. We had discovered a minor mechanical issue before this happened and went back to the gate to have it corrected. We were about to close the door when this occurred. She was removed and we departed safely to Kingston. I repeat this happened AFTER the problem was corrected.”

There is a news article on the incident: https://cayman27.ky/2017/10/passenger-removed-from-cayman-airways-flight/

This is the Facebook discussion about the above mentioned news article (this has since been removed): https://www.facebook.com/cayman27/posts/a-woman-was-removed-from/10154976577427452/

Here is the video with commentary from KevOnStage, made October 24.

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What happened to Abiding in Christ? The Legalists Reformation

There are many plain messages in Scripture that reflect the attitude we are to have towards God, but one that is a foreign to an ex or current legalist, above all, is abiding in Christ. The Apostle John told us “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you:”

John goes on to say, “and even as it [the anointing] hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.” You shall abide in Him, Christ! Not man, not works, not ritual and tradition, but Him!

So, minor confession. If you haven’t figured this out yet, much of my writing, and my purpose is to come against spiritual abuse, legalism, and cults, because they scar the soul every bit as much as sin does. I myself was a judgmental, legalist, a Oneness Pentecostal for fifteen years fully believing I had the only truth you lacked, before the realization that I was bowing down to man and not God. I lost the joy of my salvation, and I had replaced Jesus with my pastor.

I had deified man, and I worshiped man. I counted it the highlight of my church experience to sit near my pastor, or to gain his approval. I never thought ‘what if Jesus knew what I just did…’, it was always, ‘What if pastor knew about what I just did…’

But, like every cult, and every spiritually abusive, legalistic structure, the initial focus was Jesus Christ as a front for the true purpose of the system. His name is used to promote the system, but in the end, your obedience was to the man at the top, and that obedience was tantamount to salvation. We abided in our structure, and works, in our holiness (dress standards), in our obedience to a man (fervent and unwavering obedience they openly demanded), etc.

So what happened to Abiding in Christ?

Joh 15:1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
Joh 15:2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
Joh 15:3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
Joh 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

My largest argument with legalistic systems is that they remove the connection between God, His Son Jesus Christ and the commune of the Holy Spirit, and they (men who command control over others) replace it with with obedience to themselves, which is becoming a priest of the Old Testament in New Testament Shepherd’s Clothes.

Remember, that when Christ died, part of the ending of the Law and Old Testament structure was that the veil of the temple was rent in two. In other words, the separation between Man and God (the Holy of Holies) was removed. In olden days, only the Priest could enter into God’s presence and intervene on man’s behalf. With the death, burial and resurrection (Gospel) of Jesus Christ, we now have direct communion with God!

As for you, the anointing you received from him[Christ] remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his[Christ’] anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him. – 1 John 2:27, AMP

Modern legalists are the roadblock that stands between the Saint and God. We, as seekers of truth always seek out a teacher of Truth, and he stands before us, blocking the view of God. The problem is we accept flawed man, who says anything he wants in the name of Christ, as the teacher of Truth instead of the true vine Jesus Christ!

As a matter of example, my previous church/cult just celebrated 41 years in business, but in all that time, they have not sent forth a single preacher, evangelist, missionary, or sent sums of money to charitable organizations feeding the hungry.

Yes, I said business. It’s a for profit business. Pay your tithes, pray, obey and stay in the words of one of my favorite commentators. What is the significance?

You cannot abide in Christ, you abide in the Pastor. I was absolutely called by Christ to preach his Gospel. The four days of sleepless dreams, quickening and inspiration was nothing but a touch of God. I knew it, I prayed it, cried it, talked it to my wife, claimed my worthlessness before God, experienced excitement and dread and everything in between. When I told my Pastor?

If it was real (the calling) God would have told ME.

Thus ends abiding in Christ. How many Scriptures can we find defining that His calling, His Word, and His Spirit would come to us directly? Too many to list here.

But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. James 1:5

Teach me to do Your will, For You are my God; Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground. – Psalm 143:10

“But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. – John 16:13

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. – Galatians 5:18

Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. – Psalm 119:105

One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. – Romans 14:5

You must abide in Christ alone!

The word abide according to modern dictionaries means to accept or act in accordance with. Or, in this sense, to live your live in faith to Christ!

In the Greek dictionary, the word has a similar and strong suggestion;

men’-o
A primary verb; to stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy): – abide, continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, tarry (for), X thine own.

To abide in Christ is to stay in Christ. Remain in Him, hold fast to Faith, believing Him and His Word. Not other men, (not even me!) or their standards, traditions or teachings. We must have Faith in Christ alone, for He alone is savior!

So abide in Christ, friends and brethren. Do not abide in the false religion of man but the truth of God!

To see more of my original work, please visit here.

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Questioning Teachings: Is There Any Biblical Precedence?

In unhealthy churches, people are often told things and given no biblical support to back them up. For instance, I recall being told by a United Pentecostal Church pastor about either having non-confessed sin in my life or a lack of faith as to the reason I hadn’t spoken in tongues while ‘tarrying’ during a visit to his church for a special service. He shared nothing from the Bible to support his claims.

Let’s lay aside the basic question of speaking in tongues and instead simply examine whether the Bible gives support to things many of us have seen or heard taught. The same could be applied to other church practices and teachings.

Do we read where Peter or Paul, or anyone else, admonishing people that they didn’t speak in tongues because they had non-confessed sin in their life or anything else which gets stated in Pentecostal/Apostolic churches? Do we see people ‘tarrying’ for God’s Spirit- day after day, week after week, month after month- like happens at some churches today?

Do we see other believers crowding around new believers, trying to ‘help’ them receive God’s Spirit? Do we see believers grabbing people’s mouths or chins, trying to shake their tongues loose? Do we see them telling people to “hang on” or “let go?” Do we see believers being forced to hold their hands up in the air for long periods of time? Do we see anyone being told to keep saying “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus” or “Hallelujah?” The list could go on…

Here is where many do not stop to fully look into these matters. We didn’t check the practices we were introduced to with scripture, to see if we found them or anything similar there. Instead, we went by what we saw and were taught and thought it must be the way it should be. Many of us simply repeated what we witnessed others do in services because it was all new to us.

Take some time to really think about this. Why are people being taught and encouraged to do such things when we can find no similar practices in scripture?

Informational post on speaking in tongues #11

This is just a little ‘did you know’ informational post on the subject of speaking in tongues, shared as some food for thought. Those reading may also be interested in looking at another article which also partially addresses the subject.

With the emphasis and push for speaking in tongues in Pentecostal churches, my personal experience is that rarely was it pointed out, if ever, something which Paul told those who spoke in tongues to do. Do you know what it is?

At the end of 1 Corinthians 12, Paul admonishes those at Corinth to “covet earnestly the best gifts” and then picks this thought up again two chapters later. In verse 1 of chapter 14, Paul states, “Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy.”

Surprised? When was the last time you heard a Pentecostal preacher teach that you should desire to prophesy? It is interesting how little this is taught and emphasized. The emphasis is usually placed on speaking in tongues. Yet the apostle Paul taught otherwise. Why was this?

When we look at this chapter, Paul very clearly explains why he would rather have them prophesy than speak in tongues. Paul wanted everyone to be edified when believers gathered together. Speaking in tongues never accomplishes this unless they are interpreted or unless someone present knows the language being spoken. With no interpretation, the speaker was in a way being selfish, only edifying himself. (Remember Paul shared that the believers in Corinth were carnal.) Yet if they prophesied, all in attendance would gain something. Paul was so convinced of the difference between these gifts that he proclaimed that “greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues.” So why is it that in Pentecostal type churches the same is not taught? Why instead are many speaking in tongues during services with no interpretation and it is often encouraged by leadership?

Surely this is something to ponder and question. Below are some of the points Paul made in 1 Corinthians 14:

Desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy.
He that prophesies speaks unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.
I would …rather that ye prophesied.
Greater is he that prophesies than he that speaks with tongues.
As you are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church.
He that prophesies edifies the church.
Prophesying serves for them which believe.
For you may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted.
Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy.

Parents

When I lived at home, my parents insisted on taking me to a church that my sister and I both strongly disliked. There was no youth group. There was one class for all the kids, combined. Mom taught it, and it was just basic Bible stories. There was no real doctrine taught, and no challenge at all for me, the oldest in the class (of 3-5 kids). But Mom thought the church was like the one she was raised in. One with THE Truth… as she knew it.

I wanted more than that. I wanted to go to a church where there were others my age, where I could learn, where there were activities and where others wanted to go, not just went because it was the thing to do on Sunday morning. Even my parents disliked going. Many Sundays we went to Sunday School and then went home rather than going to service. Dad skipped even Sunday School more times than I can count… and one Sunday while I was sick I discovered he preferred Tarzan to church. Or maybe he just thought his sick little girl would prefer that to cartoons.

When I got my license I was excited. I thought I might go somewhere else. Mom told me I would not be driving, that we would go to church as a family. To the church she chose. When I moved away to college, at the end of the day she handed me a phone book and told me they weren’t leaving until I chose a church to attend on Sunday. There was no discussion about trying out a few churches. Nothing about the possibility of going to chapel at the college. Just, “Here’s the phone book. We aren’t leaving till you choose a church.” And something about so many college kids quitting church entirely.

I had no intention of quitting, but I did want a better option than what I’d had growing up. A friend had told me about a visit to her grandmother’s Pentecostal church… and when I opened the phone book that day and saw that there was a Pentecostal church in town, I knew where I wanted to go.

Mom flipped. Suddenly I was informed that I needed to try several churches. It was clear they didn’t like my choice, but it was the end of the day and they had to go.

I visited one other church in town. None of the others appeared to be options for me at the time. And though I liked the other church, Pentecostal had my full attention from the first day I visited. There were others near my age. People wanted to be at church. They actually opened their Bibles at church. They could quote scripture rather than (as at my former church) taping the most familiar, like the Lord’s prayer, to the pulpit. There was an excitement there. So that’s where I chose to go.

My parents strongly disliked my decision. They came to visit. Dad brought me a copy of a book about why tongues were wrong. Mom argued. She told me she thought I had damned my soul by being re-baptized (a misinterpretation of “crucify the son of God afresh”). Dad tried to force me to wear pants to go to church when I was home (too cold for a skirt, looking out for my interests: “You will not leave this house!”). Dad threw fits about my new boyfriend, throwing some of the worst fits I had ever had directed at me. They argued and challenged… and everything they did only spurred me to continue going and solidified in my mind that I was right.

The fights have never stopped completely, sadly. I left two and a half years ago, but Dad still presses for where I go to church, what kind of church, and so forth. And if I ever told him it wasn’t Pentecostal? There would just be more that he would pressure me to do in that case, I’m fairly certain. Because if I’m not Pentecostal I should dress like he wants me to dress, marry who he wants me to marry, talk like he wants me to talk, do what he wants me to do. Sound familiar? Sure. Pastors insisted that I would do those things, and for years I didn’t question what they were doing, because Dad had always done the same thing. And Mom backed him, even on things that were wrong, harsh, and extremely disrespectful. “Honor thy father and mother” was quoted at me, but they never realized that ‘honor’ doesn’t mean ‘do everything they ask without question.’

We had another fight nearly a week ago. I haven’t called them since. We usually talk several times a week. But this time, with Dad blaming church and a request from the college for parents to stay away for awhile or rarely coming to visit, and then pressing and pressing- question after question: “Where do you go to church?” “What church?” “What’s the name of it?” “Where?” “What church?” “Where are you going to church at?!” I finally had enough. I really don’t know what I’m going to do now. I wish they would respect me for who I am (or who they know me to be) because I don’t feel any desire to let them know who I’ve become when they continually refuse to accept who I’ve been.

They don’t even go to church themselves. Not even for the major holidays usually. Dad just within the last two years figured out that the priests who are mentioned in the New Testament weren’t Catholic priests, and that the Catholics weren’t the ones who wanted to kill Jesus. And then there’s the number of times that Dad has said that Pentecostal preachers are wrong for telling people what to wear (and do and so forth) while doing the same thing himself.

I’m conflicted. I’d like to just be myself. But no matter who I am, they have never been satisfied. At least this battle is familiar. Or was until last week. Now I’m not so certain. If I choose to stay in a hotel when I go home and not call them as much, it will hurt them. I love them and I don’t want to hurt them. But sometimes people are hurt because their own choices drive others to make decisions they won’t like. My parents may very well have done that.