I want to pick up here on one of the challenges with critiquing Bethel’s teaching. It’s the challenge of being able to say with certainty what their position is on a number of points. I don’t think it is impossible but it can be tricky at times. Here I’m going to pick up on two… Continue reading The Bethel enigma: How ambiguity leads to confusion
Posts
Calling out the gold
One of the themes in Bethel’s approach to pastoral care is that you don’t so much respond to someone’s sin because that doesn’t truly reflect their identity. Instead you should seek to honour and name correctly who they are now, their new identity. This is sometimes referred to as “calling out the gold”. This very… Continue reading Calling out the gold
Prosperity, success, world changers and the dominion factor
Banning Liebscher opens his book, “Rooted” with this claim: “Deep inside every follower of Jesus is a desire to have a visible, lasting impact in the world.[1] Is this true? There are two parts to this. First, is that what everyone really wants, and second is it what we should want. Your first reaction might… Continue reading Prosperity, success, world changers and the dominion factor
Rumpelstiltskin: Bethel and Prosperity
I would like to pick up on a quote I shared from Danny Silk’s book, the Culture of Honour, in a previous article. “Success is built through the value we maintain for the prophetic voices in our environment, because our prosperity comes through our agreements with Heaven’s culture, and the prophets clarify the reality of… Continue reading Rumpelstiltskin: Bethel and Prosperity
Who is winning the war?
This is a question that I asked at our Life Group yesterday. I was referring to three wars. The first was the war in Ukraine and the second the Iran war. It’s tempting to assume that it’s Russia that is winning in Ukraine, they’ve seized significant territory and cause horrendous damage. In Iran it looks… Continue reading Who is winning the war?
Bethel prophets
I’m continuing to look at Danny Silk’s book “Culture of Honour”. Last time, we looked specifically at Danny (and Bethel’s) understanding of who apostles are. Here, I want to have a look at what he says about prophets. Silk writes: The next vital piece in the government of a revival culture is the role of… Continue reading Bethel prophets
A brief response to Tim Dieppe (Christian Concern) on the Government’s working definition of anti Muslim hatred
Some while back, the proposed definition of “Islamophobia” was leaked. There were numerous responses and I particularly engaged with Tim Dieppe of Christian Concern at the time. The definition has now been officially published and Tim has written for Evangelicals Now again here. Because I’ve already given a detailed response, I don’t think there is… Continue reading A brief response to Tim Dieppe (Christian Concern) on the Government’s working definition of anti Muslim hatred
Bethel, culture of honour and apostles
One of the big ideas we are picking up on as we do this deep dive into Bethel theology is the idea of “a culture of honour”. The key person behind this is one of the main, Bethel leadership team, Danny Silk who has written a book by that name. Now, we might have an… Continue reading Bethel, culture of honour and apostles
Proxies and war
Supplying arms for free is not generally considered an act of war. It’s this consensus that Western powers rely on when supplying weapons to Ukraine. However, one might observe that Russia doesn’t accept that. Of course Putin isn’t that concerned by the niceties of International Law, though even he will seek a veneer of legal… Continue reading Proxies and war
Just calling something illegal does not make it illegal
You will notice that since the Iraq War, it has been common place to insert the word “illegal” as an adjective to describe any war that is opposed. As it happens, I am waiting for a court ruling to determine that war to have been unlawful (which is probably the better term as “illegal”… Continue reading Just calling something illegal does not make it illegal
