Tuesday, August 12, 2008

The Good News of South Florida - More Bentley Jive

imageMy good friend Luann sent me links to a couple of articles printed in the Good News of South Florida, a periodical of note (I write for them some times :)  ). To go on the record, The Good News does not "does not endorse nor condemn Todd Bentley or The Florida Healing Outpouring". But I'm a little slanted on this blog. Maybe, dear perceptive reader, you'll notice which way.

I've included some pull-quotes from Tullian Tchividjian, a South Florida pastor I knew as a lad (when he was a lad that is).

I have no problem going on record and saying this guy is a false prophet & with a capital F, says Tullian Tchividjian, grandson of Billy and Ruth Graham and pastor of New City Church in Margate, Fla. And it shouldnt surprise any of us because the Bible warns us about this from cover to cover. John Piper once said that Satan does not tempt us with poison, but with apple pie.

While Bentley frequently rouses the crowd to cry out for “more of God” in anticipation of healing, Tchividjian, who recently authored the book “Do I Know God?” says promising to heal hurting people is dangerous.

“At least from a biblical standpoint, there is no doubt that God can and does heal people. … Sometimes he chooses to do so, and sometimes he does not. …” he says. “There are many people, like my grandmother, who God chose not to heal, and that’s OK.”

Tchividjian also notes that Bentley claims to physically abuse people in order to heal them.

In one sermon recording provided by Way of the Master Radio, Bentley said the Holy Spirit told him to bang a crippled woman’s legs up and down on the stage, and then finally, “The Holy Spirit came over me … and said, ‘Kick her in the face,’” and he did.

Only then was she healed, he says.

Kicked in the face. Nice. In my B.C. days (read: Before Christ) I can recall being kicked in the face a time or two. Back then, the justification was to "heal your smart mouth".

I'm still waiting for that healing to take.

The Good News of South Florida - Local

7 comments:

Billy said...

I love setting God Tv to this joker right before I leave for work...I always get a call from kelli when at some un-announced time it switches over to this yahoo!

Josh R said...

He is coming to my home town this weekend. I can hardly wait. Ughh...

On a side note. He filed for separation from his wife this week.

Anonymous said...

Tullian has such a way with words, doesn't he?
And the comment above is true. God.tv sent out a mass email to their database this morning requesting prayer for Todd and his wife, saying they had separated.
While I am in no way gloating, I stand by the old adage: Time reveals all things ... and in this case, something appears to be off.

Kat said...

I hope some officials will look into how his kids are treated. His violence concerns me greatly. If they were students in my classroom, I'd be required by law to call child protective services.

Anonymous said...

^^My sister said the same thing. She works at a school for disabled children, and she said her coworkers had been asking her about Bentley. When she found out he kicks and "BAMS" disabled people, she was pretty sure her non-Christian coworkers would be disgusted and turned off.
I know God can use any method to heal people that He wants, but these techniques just don't sound like my Jesus.

Anonymous said...

That's sad. Abusers often try to justify their actions by putting other words to them, or by that old standby, "God told me to do it." I'm glad someone's calling him out for it, and I agree the authorities ought to check on Bentley's kids.

Anonymous said...

Uggh. Now even more has come out on this guy. His "ministry" has admitted that he had inappropriate relations with a staff member. I'm in now way happy about that...but at least it confirms what many had suspected about this dude's integrity.