2.06.2007

Analysis of American Christianity Today - Psychology

How many times have you sat in a meeting of some sort where the preacher repeats the same words over and over again and you end up repeating them, and by the end everyone is in a frenzy and all fired up? You walk out and think, oh what a move of God that was, and 2 hours later you are in the same sinful state as you were before the meeting. Was it a move of God? Can you encounter God personally and remain unchanged? I have been to baseball, and football games and seen frenzies induced from words on a scoreboard, "Clap clap clap... Louder Louder Louder... Charge..." and so on. Was that a move of God? Of course not, it was manipulation, and most of our preaching is much the same.

Churches are built upon this principle, create an event, stir some emotions, and then convince the people that because it happened in a church setting it is somehow a move of God. Many movement have sprung from this. Look at the promise keepers, I am not calling that group heretical, but they are deeply steeped in this psychological manipulation method. I have heard so many men come back and talk about what a move of God it was, and how they encountered God in that stadium and yet that deep passion and zeal dies a week or so later. Did God move? Was their a real encounter with God? When these men come down from that mountain top experience do they enter the congregation blazing with the holiness of God? When Moses came down from Sinai the congregation could not even look at him, he had to veil his face.

I will continue later...