Evangelism
THE JUNGLE OF CHRIST
This article is titled "The Jungle of Christ" because
there is a
labyrinth of Christian television evangelists ( Evangelist: a
person who
brings the gospel to pagan people or nonbelievers) engaged in a
massive
worldwide well planned, organized onslaught against Hindus and
Muslims
in an effort to convert them to Christianity. The purpose of this
paper
is to alert non- Christians about the people involved in this
assault on
their religions, as well as their plans and methods. At the
present time
the research I have been doing has yielded more information on
India
because the people involved feel more secure in their progress to
convert Hindus. The information of their assault on the Muslim
religion
is somewhat more secretive and guarded; however, Muslims should
not feel
complacent as the plans, methods and objectives of their assault
on
Islam are slowly surfacing.
The following a list of the organizations engaged in wholesale
evangelism ( The preaching of the gospel ) as well as the
organizations
that comprise their support systems. This list only includes
organizations referred to in this paper.
Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN): Many people believe this
network to
be the world's largest Christian network. It consists of 536
broadcasting stations around the world that are owned or
affiliated with
CBN. (
www.tbn.org/whois.htm)
This network was started in 1973 and
is presently headed by Paul and Jay Crouch. It is interesting to
note
that one of its original directors was Jim Bakker who spent five
years
in prison for fleecing his flock of $158,000,000. At the present
time
this organization grosses $100,000,000 a year. ( The Orange County
Register June 1 1999)
Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN): The Christian Broadcasting
Network
was founded in 1960 by Pat Robertson. CBN is considered to be one
of the
largest Christian broadcasting television ministries and presently
airs
programs in the U.S. and 90 foreign countries. Their mission is to
convert 5,000,000 people to Christianity by the year 2000. (
www.cbn.org/about)
Life Outreach International ( LOI): James Robiison is the founder.
Even
though this organization has relief organizations they use these
to
support evangelistic endeavors. They state that they see 1,000,000
people convert to Christianity in a year. (
www.lifetoday.org/pages106ffltr.htm)
Trinity Television (TTY): This organization was started by Willard
and
Betty Thiessen and is based in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada. They are
presently engaged in the U.S., Canada, India and plan to expand to
convert Muslims. (TTY Newsletter; Nov. 1998)
Church Of The Rock International (COTRI): This group is led by Dr.
Lawrence Kennedy. The purpose of this group is to combine
ministers,
pastors, evangelists and missionaries of different denominations
into a
coordinated group to convert people to Christianity. (COTRINewsletter;
Oct.-Dec.1999)
700 Club: This is a daily Christian television program that is
sponsored
by the Christian Broadcasting Network. This show features Pat
Robertson.
They plan to reach an audience of over 1,000,000 daily. The 700
Club is
used to raise money for CBN international operations. 700 club USA
portrays Muslim and Hindu religions as being inferior and they are
considered to be in spiritual error.
(
www.flex.com/~jai/article...rtsn.html)
AD 2000: This group is focused on increasing an intensified effort
on
world evangelism by the year 2000. (AD 2000 And Beyond Overview;
June
30, 1999)
Sat 7: This organization was started in 1995 to promote Christian
satellite television service in North Africa and The Middle East,
Iran
and Iraq. (
www.sat7.org/associate.htm).
Galileon International Films and Television Services (GIFTS): this
group
provides visual media in different languages for organizations and
people engaged in the evangelism of Hindus and Muslims.
(
www.freeyellow.com/member...index.html
)
Open Doors International: (ODI) This group have bible distribution
campaigns to distribute bibles to non-Christian countries. ( ODI;
Nov.
5, 1998)
The onslaught against Hindu and Muslim religions has a wide range
of
countries targeted by evangelist groups. Some countries such as
Indonesia, Singapore and India are considered to have governments
that
are lax in their tolerance of activities of evangelists. Countries
such
as India are considered prime targets because of the high
percentage of
Muslims and Hindus and lower levels of education among the poor.
The term 10/40 Window is used to describe the area which has the
majority of non -Christian religions. This area stretches from
Africa to
Japan. Peter, Wagner the head of the AD2000 &Beyond Movement
considers
this area the final target for world evangelism. He considers this
area
as Satan's last stronghold. ( CBN News; Oct. 1, 1999) However the
Turkic
people are considered essential as a gateway to the Muslim world
and is
more important than the 10/40 Window. This area has been given the
term
" The 35/45 Turkie Window." This area is formed by the
35 and 45 degree
latitudes and extends from Skopje, Macedonia to Urumchi, China. (
AD
2000 + Beyond Movement Overview; Aug. 18, 1999)
Christian Broadcasting Network targets consist of India which
contains
80% Hindus and 14% Muslims and Indonesia which is 87% Muslim.
Countries
in Africa include Kenya, Uganda, Burkina and Benin. CBN has 28
countries
serviced by their ministries to convert Muslims. Among those are
Cyprus,
Iraq, Sudan, Afghanistan and Egypt. (
.worldreach.org/muslim.html)
Trinity Broadcasting Network has ministries in Africa and The
Middle
East This year they have added new stations in Indonesia, India,
Ski
Lanka, Kenya and Zambia.. (TBN Newsletter; Nov. 1998 )
There are; however, smaller evangelistic organizations such as The
Church Of The Rock International which targets Asia, Africa and
The
Middle East. (
www.northchurch.org/international.htm);
Trinity
Television which targets India, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and
Kyragyzstan.
(TTY Newsletter; Nov. 1998)
Evangelists use the terms; "spread the teachings of
Jesus," " spread the
gospel," etc.; however, other people could say that this is
brainwashing
and conditioning people to convert to Christianity. They use
relief
organizations, mass media, television, distribution of tapes,
bibles,
movies tracks, etc. to start their conversion to Christianity.
These are
just tools to use in their efforts to convert people.
Life Outreach International sponsors feeding programs and other
relief
to people during disasters such as drought, typhoons, earthquakes,
etc.
However they say that their main mission is not relief but they
are
committed to evangelism. They say that they have reached 4,000,000
children and they hope that some will become preachers or
evangelists in
addition to being saved. (
www.lifetoday.org/pages106fftr.htm)
Christian Broadcasting Network distributes food ,clothing and
money
however they claim that they are winning ten times as many
converts as
they would if they were operating as only an evangelistic
organization.
In Indonesia they offer a feeding program, counseling center and a
medical outreach program. (
www.cbnworldreach.org/indonesia.html
) Church of The Rock maintains hospitals, orphanages, bible
schools and
crises centers to spread the Gospel of Jesus. ( COTR Oct. DEC.
1999) AD
2000 operations in the Middle East contain self-help projects,
childcare
centers, youth camps and bible centers. (ref)
Christian Broadcasting Network includes Muslim Ministries. Muslims
are
reached through satellite television service. Some of the programs
are
"Hayatoun Afddal" the Arabic version of "One
Cubed" which targets Muslim
teenagers.(
www.cbnworldreach.org/muslim.html.
They plan to
introduce an animation program called "He Is Risen".
This program
portrays the hope and life that comes from knowing and accepting
Jesus
Christ.(
www.cbnworldreach.org/indonesia.html
) In addition they
plan to introduce a program called "Inside Solutions" a
thirty minute
show which will be shown on a weekly basis. In The Far East they
broadcast " Super book" which is an animated series of
bible studies.
This appeals to children. They also plan to open an indigenous
production studio. In Africa they have gospel programming in
Kenya,
Uganda and Tanzania. They also broadcast news, sports and family
entertainment in Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt and Cyprus.
Sat-7 provides Christian satellite television service to people in
North
Africa, The Middle East,Iran and Turkey.They plan to reach
200,000,000
people. They plan to have daily broadcasts for two hours a week in
Arabic by the year 2000-2001. In 2002-2003 they plan to have a
daily
broadcast of three hours or more in addition a weekly broadcast in
Arabic. In 2003+ they plan to have a 24 hour a day service via
satellite. They have large expectations of conversion because of
the
unhindered ability of Christian evangelists to broadcast.
( Sat-7; Feb. 23,1998 )
Trinity Broadcasting Network has expanded to 784 foreign stations.
New
additions on cable television include: Delhi, Calcutta, Zambia and
Lesotho. In africa they have: Bophuthatswana, Kenya, Namibia,
Swaziland,
Transkei and Uganda. (
tbn.org/newsltrs/9911/991105.htm
)
Information on programs in The Far East is somewhat limited.
Another method of conditioning people is to introduce movies,
tapes etc.
to your target group. The 700 Club distributes video and
literature.
Life Outreach International produces programs, videos and audio
cassettes in almost any foreign language. In India 1,000 videos of
"The
Life Of Jesus" were circulated where the gospel is not openly
welcomed.
In addition 5,000 copies were distributed throughout Arab nations
in The
Middle East. Bibles were also made available.
(
www.lifetoday.org/pages/india/htm)
AD 2000 Organization India Reach is sending out direct mail to
people.
If they respond they are given personal visits within six weeks.
Their
goal is to reach 5,000,000 people by the year 2000.
(
www.ad2000.org/uter53.htm)
Galilean International Films & Television Services has a
cassette
discipleship program. These tapes are used to convert people who
are non
literate. Neo-literate people are given 4 cassettes and a cassette
player so they can work in different villages.
((
www.freeyellow.com/member...ndex.html)
Trinity Television is raising money to translate "Sonshiny
Day' so they
can distribute this tape to stations beaming into the former parts
of
The Union of Soviet Russia. Muslims are sent Christian literature
if
they write to the television stations. (TTY Nov. 1998) It is
interesting
to note that Trinity Television states that Muslims want morals
and
ethics put back in their government.
Miracles are another avenue to use in order to convince
non-Christians
to convert to Christianity. This can also be used to draw other
Christians into the evangelical ministry. Unfortunately, people
can be
deceived and confused by these claims. This can be a draw to
encourage
poor people who do not have medical or dental care. However this
can
also be used toward the higher class in the sense that the
evangelist is
recognized by God as a superior being. Benny Hinn, a popular
healing
evangelis, claimed that " He is a Godman." " I'm a
sample of Jesus." "
I'm a super human being."
( Praise The Lord, TBN, Dec. 6, 1990 )
According to Neil Richardson - UK + Philip Powell - NZ Benny Hinn
submitted 3 testimonies with doctor records as testimonies to the
Christian Research Institute. Dr. Preston Simpson MD
( CRI's medical consultant ) stated that the documents were
confusing
and very poor.
Direct quote from The Christian Witness Magazine.
" Case 1: Colon Cancer: A careful examination of the medical
records
supplied by Hinn reveals that the malignant tumor had been
surgically
removed ( along with the appendix and eight lymph nodes), rather
than
miraculously healed.
Case 2: Lupus and related disorders: This is a particularly
interesting
case in that lupus is well known to go in remission spontaneously
for
years at a time. This naturally makes miraculous healing difficult
to
verify. What can be verified are the effects of lupus - in this
case
damage to the sacroiliac joint - which was definitely not healed.
Case 3: Spinal tumor and various cancers: This case really has
problems. To begin with, the tapes of the CAT scan of the spine
were
erased before the bones could be evaluated. Next, the records
reveal
that the spinal tumor began shrinking some three months prior to
Hinn's
Miracle Invasion Rally. And finally, the tumor was still present-
not
healed- months after the alleged "healing."
(
www.christian-witness.org..._hinn.html
One 85 year old woman died after coming forward for a healing
touch by
Hinn after one of the zealots fell on top of her breaking her hip.
The
woman's family has a $5,000,000 lawsuit against Hinn.
(
www.christian.witness.org..._hinn.html
Hinn also appears on the Miracle Network-Tbn schedule for
Asia/India.
(
tbn.org/indiasaturdayschedule.htm
)
Teeth being filled with gold is another example of how television
evangelists claim to be recognized and rewarded by God. This
article
appeared in The National Post titled.
'TV EVANGELISTS FORCED TO RECANT CLAIMS OF GOD's DIVINE
DENTISTRY"
Willard Thiessen, who hosts a religious program on television was
wrong
in saying that God had implanted a gold tooth in his mouth, when
in fact
they had been implanted by a dentist.
Dick Dewert a religious television broadcaster stated to his CJIL-TV
audience in March that God had implanted a gold tooth in his
mouth. In fact Dr. Jack
Sherman, Mr.
Dewert's dentist stated that he had put it in about ten years
earlier.
Lindor Reynolds wrote that Willard Thiessen made a confession that
God
didn't give him a gold tooth, his brother Elmer did it. This was
after
Thiessen claimed that it was a miracle that his tooth had been
filled
and credited God with filling it. He also stated to Lindor that
his
wife Betty had two of her teeth filled while they were at a
meeting.
(Winnipeg Free Press May 12, 1999)
Sigmond Freud ( considered to be the father of western psychiatry
)
would probably say that people who considered God to be their
personal
dentistwere suffering from " delusions of grandeur)
One of the biggest moneymakers for television evangeliststs is
claiming
to have great success in converting Muslims and Hindus to
Christianity.
They often cite testimonials of people who have been converted to
encourage their flock to continue donating to their coffers.
Testimonials are common, they cannot be disapproved and are very
vague.
Sat-7 citing their success used: "Eighteen year old boy from
Syria."
"Woman from Morocco." "Grandmother of regular
viewing children" and "Man
from Morocco." ( Sat-7 News Update-september 1999 )
These organizations often cite the success of their programs.
Audry
Meisner from (TTY) made an appeal for funds from their members to
translate "Sonshiny Day" for people in Uzbekistan,
Kazakhstan. Don
Wallace, a businessman from B.C. Canada , who supplies tapes, etc.
told
Audry that "Sonshiny Day" was a big success in the Far
East.
(Trinity Television Newsletter, Nov. 1999)
At the other end of the continuum "Open Doors
International" tend to
bias their reports on anti Christian incidents. This can lead to
hate
and intolerance against non Christians. A few of the incidents
they use
are: Chad: More harassment against evangelist believers,
Indonesia: 25
Christians killed, Saudi Arabia: deported the last 2 Filipino
christians
and Sudan: the regime began procedures to confiscate church
property,
etc.
(
www.gospelcom.net/od/country.htm
)
The television evangelist does not care about the disastrous
results
that conversion can have on family interaction. Often conversion
can
turn; parents against children, children against parents. sibling
against siblings, husbands against wives and wives against
husbands.
This can also happen to Christians when members of their families
get
caught up in the evangelist abyss.
Evangelists use terms to brainwash and condition converts such as:
Lay
down your own agendas, ideas and control. " " Deal
aggressively with the
enemy." "Act in obedience to anything the Lord asks you
to do." "Wait in
silent expectancy of what the Lord tells you to do."
""We're in a real
war." " We're dealing with a real enemy."
"Confess anything He reveals
to you." " Our families, our relations, our testimonies
are his main
attack," and " Remove all hindrances and obstacles in
your quest for
Jesus." All of these can be used by unscrupulous evangelists
to put a
person under the evangelist's control and up families.
" CASE HISTORY OF A WOMAN WHO CONVERTED TO CHRISTIANITY
"
1997: Usha Chamanlal converted to Christianity.
1998, Jan. Usha made contact with Willard Thiessen of
"Trinity
Television' " Its a New Day"
1998, Sept. Usha started working for "Trinity
television"
1998, Nov. Usha stated that Betty Thiessen told her that if she
made it
harder on her husband he might become closer to God.
1998, Nov. Pastor Bob ( Willards son-in-law and Usha's counselor )
stated she should remove all indrances and obstacles in her quest
for Christ.
1998, Nov. Usha deserts her husband and abandons her eight year
old son
to live with Brent Anderson ( a cameraman at Trinity Television )
"to save
souls for Christ "
( Letters and journals 1998, Nov.) The results of converting to
Christianity can be disastrous to converts and their families. It
is
interesting to note that these people want ethics and morals put
into
Muslim governments.
The evangelist can find that breaking up families can be
economically
advantageous. Young people can contribute future earnings to the
ministry. Young women and wives can be used sexually by the
ministry. An
economic advantage is also gained by wives who leave their
husbands,
especially in North America. If a woman is articulate she can be
persuaded to go on the speakers circuit to make money for the
ministry.
( Abuse by her husband is a good topic in North America. ) In
North
America there are professional speakers who go from church to
church or
ministry raising money for the people who sponsor them. If a woman
has
talents in the martial arts she can be persuaded to make teaching
tapes
for the ministry to distribute to create extra income. In North
America
the property is divided upon divorce. The woman can be persuaded
to give
the proceeds from the property settlement to the ministry. In
Manitoba,
Canada the assets: car, home, business, pension funds, etc. are
divided
50/50 upon divorce. If the woman can be persuaded by the ministry
to
donate this money to the ministry this can be very lucrative.
Widows
alienated from their children can be asked to leave money to the
ministry in their will when they die. (Trinity Television
Newsletter
Nov. 1998) In North America a will is a legal document which
describes
who you want your money and assets to be given to when you die.
In this paper I have only touched the surface of conversion to
Christianity. If anyone wants to receive further information from
me my
email address is : dkost@mb.sympatico.ca If you have links I would
appreciate them. If you are want more of this information please
contact
me. If you have any comments on this article they would be
appreciated.
David Kostinchuk
VISIT MY WEB SITE: PEOPLE UNITED FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
www3.mb.sympatico.ca/~dkost/index.htm
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