(aka “Saadahs In Our Sanctuaries”)
In some factions of Islam, there is a concept at work today where males proven to have descended directly from Muhammad are considered to be ‘of honor’ and in some cases to the point where they can issue out edicts and teachings (tariqah) to be obeyed because of their authority by birthright.
Doesn’t this appear to be very similar to what we are seeing right now in the independent Charismatic / Word of Faith churches today where the biological sons and daughters “spiritual seed” are now taking the helm, being treated ‘with honor’ and expected to be obeyed without question because of ‘anointing and authority by biological birthright’?
Of course it is, in fact when you look at the teachings of the Saadahs in the realm of Islam and the “spiritual seed” in Christianity we see some very similar veins that run throughout both movements:
(1): The need to transcend from the natural into the mystical:
In the Islamic concept of the tariqah, the normal practices of that religion (deemed as exoteric) seen in the natural is then applied in the name of unveiling and revealing the mystical (deemed as esoteric) in the final quest for ‘ultimate truth’.
What do we see especially in churches especially of the independent Charismatic / Word of Faith variety, an overemphasis on teachings that treat the Bible as normal, average, and mundane (exoteric) and as a device to attempt to unravel, demystify, and reveal the ’spirit realm’ (deemed esoteric) in order to experience the ‘direct revelation’ , ‘fresh anointing’, or ‘cutting edge”.
Basically in both realms, the gnostic is emphasized and the revelations through the gnostics are viewed at the same level as their applicable scriptures.
(2): The teachings imply some level of ‘elite spirituality’ for those to can ‘obtain and enact’ them.
In both realms, there is a mentality of ‘enlightenment’ and ‘reward’ that exists if one can come up to ‘the next level’ and experience the elite teachings. Islamic teachings emphasize obtaining the ‘ultimate truth’ while churches especially of the independent Charismatic / Word of Faith variety tend to emphasize health, wealth, prosperity, rolexes, luxury cars, mansions, and designer clothes.
(3): The way to apply the teachings to get the reward of byproduct is “Formula-matic” in nature.
Look at Islam, when a believer decides to ‘enter into’ a group of likeminded believers, they receive daily recitations that are to be repeated numerous times and to be performed in multiple sessions within the day. Some web pages state that the repetition can be as little as 99 times and can range up to repeating the recitation 1000 times a session.
What do we see especially in churches especially of the independent Charismatic / Word of Faith variety, an overemphasis on the formula either through repeated charismatch catch-phrazes such as “If you confess, then you possess” and ‘name it and claim it” or through Scripture twisting such as sending a particular evangelist $66.00 a month for 12 months to receive the Psalms 66:12
blessing in your life.
(4): The teachings are expressed extensively in three different ways: Narrative (a story that tells us a moral lession), allegory (story that expresses a meaning other than the literal meaning), and metaphor (transference of a word to a new sense where the first subject discussed is equal to a second subject in some way).
In Charismatic/Word of Faith Christianity, the narrative, allegory, and metaphor (in most cases) rise up to a level equal or above the scriptures. How many times have you heard a sermon where a Bible verse is read, a pastor tells a story with some moral teaching, but preaches from the story as his reference instead of the Scripture. How many times have we heard the death of Moses and transfer of leadership to Joshua allegorized into a “Moses Generation” of obsolete people and teachings and the “Joshua Generation” of ‘next level, cutting edge, army of God with new and fresh revelations’? How many times have we seen (especially in the third wave / riverite sects) where the natural elements of wind, rain, and fire is now metaphorically equated to the breath of God, refreshing from God, and purity from God while speaking in Christianese Metaphor-phonics of ‘Feel the Rain” and ‘Catch The Fire”?
(5):In order to be able to apply the teachings, you must be ‘ritually pure’.
You have to be perfect exactly like the way Islamics are when praying and facing towards Mecca.
In Charismatic/Word of Faith Christianity, there can not be any ’secret sin’ (disagreeing with the televangelist, not praying hard enough, not reading long enough, etc.). If you’re imperfect, you can’t experience. However, in many churches especially of the independent Charismatic / Word of Faith variety, ‘perfection’ never comes and a continuous cycle of repenting takes place all in the hope of seeing ‘revival’
(6):Both the Islamic factional group and many independent Christian fellowships can trace their ancestry, their heritage, and their lineage back to a ‘Spiritual seed” (Islam = Saddah) and use their traceback to ‘enhance’ the ‘verification’ of their ‘anointing’.
Look at Islam, there are multiple factions that can trace themselves back to a previous faction that can trace themselves back to Muhammad and use that to ‘claim’ their ‘legitimacy’ and ‘anointing’.
In Christianity, how many people and Charismatic/Word of Faith churches do you hear discuss their traceback to some famous preacher. I am a ‘Copeland-ite”, I’m a “Hagin-ite”. Why do they call the late Kenneth Hagin “Dad” and love to express their traceability to claim ‘legitimacy’ and ‘anointing’? Or among todays Faith Kids who preach with the mentality of:
“I am the biological child of (televangelist) who is the spiritual son of (more revered and idolized televangelist), therefore, I am anointed by default, future pastor by default, chief executive pastor by default, future Christian recording artist by default, and future ‘official Christian perspective’ policymaker by default”
Default, lineage, and ancestry does not mean anointing!!! Anointing is not ‘entitlement’. measured by numbers, money, or other pragmatic means.
Anointing is God touching, blessing, and imparting His power and gifts to His child because God has commissioned that ‘ordinary’ and ‘imperfect’ person to go forth and fulfill The Great Commission per the scriptures and not per a formula nor a esoterical ‘revelation’ from a contextualized portion of one Bible verse made into some denomination’s entire theological mindset.
Hey, you forgot about the incessant need for the Thrid Wave to fast and pray. Frankly, and I am half-serious about this, I am wondering if they have a lot of anorexics among them. The fast is something God calls us to, not the Third Wave leaders/prophets/apostles.
When someone asks you “Which Gift of the Spirit do you want?”, don’t answer “SPEAKING IN TONGUES” like everyone else, answer “WISDOM”. Wisdom is the command control over all the others; it tells you when to use them and (at least as important) when NOT to.
The only downside is you become very conscious of foolishness around you until you get driven up the walls.