Corruption of the Christian Church and their ideals has been a hot button topic for quite some time. One of those ideals was not to engage in activity that would be considered occultism or practicing divination or witchcraft. However, Bethel Church in California has done just that.
Working with a group called Christ Alignment, this church been utilizing such occult practices such as tarot reading and ‘fortune telling’.
These practices are the latest in a string of scandals to hit the non-denominational churches. And this is one that certainly rings the loudest. Over the past few years scandals, including the sexual misconduct charges against the late Eddie Long and CJ Mahaney, were acts of sin, but unlike the actions of Bethel Church, they were not disguised as an activity that honors the tenets of a Bible that spoke numerous times about not partaking in such behaviors.
This is part of a greater wave of issues within the church these types of actions are called apostasy. Along with the Bethel Church situation in California, in Houston, there is a pastor who addresses herself as Christ Lisbet. The title is one she adopted one from her original first name Elizabeth along with the title of Christ, she believes she’s the current living incarnation of Christ and the true Second Coming she was married to Jose Luis Miranda a man who passed away in 2013, who was the pastor of a church who declared himself both to be the New Messiah and the Antichrist at the same time. Elizabeth Miranda, or Christ Lisbet, had divorced Mr. Miranda and now is continuing her own church modifying the same doctrines and beliefs that he had set forth, as well as creating several of her own. Her doctrines include various pagan points of view, such as goddess worship coupled with Christian concepts to weave her own doctrines.
These actions such as the one taken by Bethel church and Christ conscious with other cards and fortune-telling, the Indulgence of pastors at churches in both financial and cardinal sins, as well as individuals as clearing themselves to be the Incarnation of Christ, are all parts of the greater corruption at the heart of the modern Church. We have seen since the 80s with the Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart scandals that as the Bible says pride comes before a fall. We have seen the destruction that these kinds of belief systems can that have on their followers.
With the behaviors and actions of Bethel Church, some of the current mega-churches, and behaviors of those well-known followers of Christ people must be wise in the faith and activities they follow.
For believers and non-believers alike look at the morals and ethics followed by different leaders and how they interpret their faith. For believers truly understand where the heart of God in the heart of Christ would be in such Endeavors. For non-believers, if you feel your Christian friends are getting into something that shouldn’t or fixing something seems a little off speak to them in kindness and honesty, because at times you may have wisdom that they might need.