Sara Groves is an award-winning CCM artist. Gaining prominence in the early 2000s, she was nominated for three Dove Awards, including New Artist of the Year in 2002, and was named one of the best Christian music artists of 2005. Her album ‘Add to the Beauty’ with songs like “When it was Over” and “It’s going to be Alright” received critical acclaim and was named Album of the Year by CCM Magazine in 2005.
Editor’s Note.* Nietzel is a gay man ‘married’ to his husband, and he is set to be a speaker at an upcoming Christian family conference at Andy Stanley’s church. Curiously, almost all the speakers are gay-affirming.
Months after claiming that ‘Signs and Wonders are Required to Preach the Gospel’ prompting ministries like ours to take him to task for his false and abusive gospel presentation, deliverance minister Isaiah Saldivar has come out swinging against discernment ministries writing negative things about him, saying they’re lying about him being a false teacher and offering all the reasons why this is.
Saldivar has quickly grown his social media empire over the last few years and is frequently platformed by Ruslan KD. He’s a 34-year-old revivalist and full-time social media influencer and content creator with 260k friends on Facebook, 480k subs on YouTube, 100k followers on Instagram, and 400k followers on TikTok, where he has 3.5 Million likes.
Isaiah says he was saved after, as an atheist, he was sitting in a pew when Jesus spoke to him in an audible voice and told him, “I am going to use you to preach the gospel to every nation.” He claims that shortly after, he had a vision of people praying at his house and concluded, “We need to pray, and people will gather.” As a result, “people began to gather, and gather, and gather. Soon enough, signs, wonders, and miracles began to occur effortlessly” until there were 500 people there.
He specializes in deliverance ministry and casting out demons, as he has a whole demonology thing going on, teaching the how and why to cast out demons, giving them all sorts of wacky names.
One of the hallmarks of this unbiblical and warped theology is his insistence that Christians can have demons inside of them that need to be exorcised, and he will teach on the need and importance for believers to cast demons out of each other, which is something he can frequently be seen doing in his videos.
He also has some bizarre ideas about so-called ‘spiritual spouses’: teaching that a person’s spouse can have a demon inside of them, claim you as their husband or wife, and then destroy your life and try to keep you from God because they are a jealous demon. He believes that demons can have sex with people- that occasionally they can rape people while they sleep, and believes in literal incubus and succubus.
Thankfully, Revealing Truth does a great job of reviewing his video and showing why Saldivar is being dishonest and false-teachery with his video, such as exposing Saldivar’s ludicrous and nonsensical stawmanning claim that :
“Every person that’s ever called me a false teacher or false prophet on this platform YouTube has been non-charismatics and non-pentecostals that don’t believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, don’t believe in deliverance and don’t believe in miracles.
And all the videos I’ve watched calling me a false teacher, they’re all not really mad at me, they’re mad I believe Jesus still casts demons out of people, Jesus still heals people, and the Holy Spirit is for today
Far-right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos has announced he no longer considers himself to be gay but rather is “sodomy-free’. In an interview with Lifesite News that many critics say is just another grift in a long line of many, he discusses the importance of conversion therapy, consecrating his life to St Joseph, why he believes he is an “ex-gay” and his place in the world as it pertains to being a deliberate troll.
Here are a few relevant portions relating to issues of faith, with the whole being worth a read. When asked how the 36 year old analyst felt being in this stage of life taking this hard turn, he explains:
When I used to kid that I only became gay to torment my mother, I wasn’t entirely joking. Of course, I was never wholly at home in the gay lifestyle — Who is? Who could be? — and only leaned heavily into it in public because it drove liberals crazy to see a handsome, charismatic, intelligent gay man riotously celebrating conservative principles.
That’s not to say I didn’t throw myself enthusiastically into degeneracy of all kinds in my private life. I suppose I felt that’s all I deserved. I’d love to say it was all an act, and I’ve been straight this whole time, but even I don’t have that kind of commitment to performance art. Talk about method acting …
Milo explains that this newfound commitment to be an ex-gay has taken a toll on his marriage to husband John Lewis, a man whom he allegedly married in 2017, saying that he has been “demoted to housemate.”
Well, the guy I live with has been demoted to housemate, which hasn’t been easy for either of us. It helps that I can still just about afford to keep him in Givenchy and a new Porsche every year. Could be worse for him, I guess.
My own life has changed dramatically, though it crept up on me while I wasn’t paying attention. I’m someone who responds to micromanagement and accountability, so I’ve found counting days an effective bulwark against sin. In the last 250 daysI’ve only slipped once, which is a lot better than I predicted I would do…
The best metaphor I know is that of a flower blooming – “Whatever is loving in man and whatever is lovable in man is Christ in man.” I take this to mean that the more love and the less lust in us, the more we cease to obscure Christ and instead reveal Him, in whose image we are made.
I don’t mean to suggest it’s been easy, just simple: Our Lord endured worse than any of us and promised us that we have to take up a heavy cross each day. Ronald Knox says the Via Crucis shows us the 3 ways we can carry our cross: With bitterness, like the unrepentant thief; with grim resignation, like the repentant thief who said it was what he deserved; or with love, like the Lord, who never minimized suffering but said it would, in God’s time, redeem us.
Secretly, I feel I’ve done enough good in this life to excuse me from earthly penance for past sins. Your readers will no doubt respond, rightly, that this statement demonstrates how far I have to go. The best advice I can give others in my situation is: Check your pride, not your privilege. So often it’s vanity or conceit or self-satisfaction that gets in the way of accepting Christ. Learn to catch it before it takes root, and difficult things suddenly don’t seem so difficult.
Yiannopoulos seems to have landed in the damnable Roman Catholic stream of belief, explaining why he chose to consecrate his life to St. Joseph.
Secular attempts at recovery from sin are either temporary or completely ineffective. Salvation can only be achieved through devotion to Christ and the works of the Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. St. Joseph is the spiritual father figure of the Holy Family. In this time of gender madness, devoting myself to the male protector of the infant Jesus is an act of faith in God’s Holy Patriarch, and a rejection of the Terror of transsexuals. Trannies are demonic: They are the Galli, the castrated priests of Cybele, the Magna mater, whom Augustine saw dancing in the streets of Carthage dressed like women.
Don’t even get me started on Drag Queen Story Hour. I only have to see those four words to be overwhelmed by the urge to buy rope.
He concludes by describing what sanctification and repentance look like, showing an enormous confusion over what his posture over his forgiveness and God’s grace ought to be.
I have enjoyed a lifelong affection for the absurd and the outrageous, so part of me gleefully anticipates the day I can seize the moral high ground, however briefly, to denounce others for failures of piety and sobriety. I hope people will support and pray for me, if for no other reason than they share my delight at the prospect of Milo Yiannopoulos furiously and indignantly railing against homosexuals for sins of the flesh.…
I’ve always considered abortion to be the pre-eminent moral horror of human history. I’ll keep saying so — even more loudly than before.
They say if you let one sin in, others will follow, and now I truly know what that means: As I’ve begun to resist sinful sexual urges, I’ve found myself drinking less, smoking less … you name it. I confess my weakness for designer shoes and handbags is yet to dissipate. But I am coming to realize, however slowly, that lust — per Augustine — is disordered desire for all sorts of things, not just NFL players.
Though this may be more trollery, we pray that it’s not, and that conviction is happening in his life. Pray for Milo.
Legendary Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh passed away Wednesday, with his death being announced on-air by his wife Kathryn, who said:
I, like you, very much wish Rush was behind this golden microphone now, welcoming you to another exceptional 3 hours of broadcasting. It is with profound sadness I must share with you directly that our beloved Rush, my wonderful husband, passed away this morning due to complications from lung cancer.
Describing himself as a “lover of mankind,” the “doctor of democracy,” a “harmless, lovable little fuzz ball,” and an “all-around good guy,” he was notable for his constant assertion that he had “talent on loan from God,” a gift he will ostensibly now have to give back.
Rush took to the air several months ago and cited his faith as a comfort to him as his health began to decline, explaining:
I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It is of immense value, strength, confidence. That’s why I’m able to remain fully committed to the idea that what is supposed to happen will happen when it’s meant to.
The 70-year old political commentator shared last February that he has been diagnosed with Stage-4 lung cancer, a sickness which had a grim prognosis and which treatment focuses on slowing the progression of the disease, seeking to maintain quality of life, and minimizing symptoms wherever possible rather than curing it. [Editor’s note: This is known as “palliative care.”]
Limbaugh said back in October, speaking to 20 million listeners:
I feel more and more blessed hearing from you, knowing that you’re out there praying and everything else you’re doing. That is a blessing. It’s just a series of blessings. And I’m grateful to be able to come here to the studio and tell you about it and really maintain as much normalcy as I can…the only thing that any of us are certain of is right now, today. That’s why I thank God every morning when I wake up. I thank God that I did. I try to make it the best day that I can…I try to remain as committed to the idea that what’s supposed to happen will happen when it’s meant to.
I mentioned at the outset of this, on the first day I told you, that I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It is of immense value, strength, confidence, and that’s why I’m able to remain fully committed to the idea of what is supposed to happen will happen when it’s meant to. There’s some comfort in knowing that some things are not in our hands. There’s a lot of fear associated with that too, but there is some comfort. It’s helpful to be able to trust and to believe in a higher plan.
While Rush had long spoken of his belief in God, it had always been in more generic types of reference, eschewing talk of repentance and faith in Christ with more broad terms and phrases such as, “This country needs to understand the importance of religion,” and “I believe in God.”
Even during the initial cancer revelation back in February, he said, “I told the staff today that I have a deeply personal relationship with God that I do not proselytize about, but I do, and I have been working that relationship tremendously.”
The fact that Rush was giving specific reference to Jesus and having a “personal relationship” with Christ was a new development for Limbaugh, and a sign that ought to give hope that we will see him in heaven one day.
Rush’s Brother, David, a well-known political commentator in his own right, is a professing evangelical Christian, and we can only pray that he ministered to Rush as the end grew near, helping him truly understand the gift of faith and everlasting life. David has so far not indicated any comments as to Rush’s spiritual state when he passed, writing only that “I’m not ready to speak yet but I’m so proud of my amazing, loving brother. Thousands of you have shared how much he meant to you. My brother was the real deal. I can’t describe how sad I am but also how proud I am of my big brother. I love and adore you Rush. Thank you all.”
Editor’s note. Portions of this article were previously published.
Chris Blackeby, an itinerant Australian former youth pastor who peddles himself as one who “demystifies the mystic,” travels with the more fringe charismatics, and has been known to frequent a Charisma podcast a time or two, posted this wonderful gem on his Facebook page, recycling some of the “we are little gods” theology from hucksters of yesteryear.
Blackeby, who heads up the one-man show that is As He Is Ministries seems to specialize in proselytizing two abiding principles. One is an extreme form of “I don’t want religion, I want a relationship,” where he describes religion not as the scripture does in James 1:27, but rather as “cruel” and “poisonous” rule-keeping that has “Satan as its’ father.”
The second is some sort of interpretation of a hyper-theosis, believing that we are “the expression of Christ,” that we are sons of God, and that the “s” in “sons” should probably be capitalized in some way.
By way of background, he once was a youth pastor at a large church that might rhyme with “Billsong” who became extremely became ill in his early thirties. This prognosis rocked his whole world, explaining “I found out that either Christianity’s not true, or the bible’s not true, or God’s not true, or I fundamentally misunderstood something.” [Editor’s note: Bet on the last option to win. There is nothing wrong with God or His created religion seen in the Scriptures.]
Allegedly given 6 months to live, he decided to travel during this time, going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it, receiving revelation from Jesus and emerging healed of his sickness and armed with the message that “the gospel is not what we were told.”
Fast forward to a few years later, and Blackeby has recently appeared on Liz Wright’s Live your Best Life Podcast, which is part of the Charisma Podcast Network. He joins Michael Brown, Stephen Strange, Shawn Bolz, and a host of other theological misfits who have the words “prophetic” and “kingdom” in their names.
While Liz listens in rapt attention, he shares the following teaching, much to her joy and amazement:
You can try to be a good Christian, which is something that we’ve made up, but Jesus wasn’t a Christian. Jesus wasn’t a Christian. We’re like him. He was a son of God. He was the Son of God. The unique Son of God, and he’s made us the unique Son of God, the (unintelligible).
We are Him. You are the beloved Son. I’m the beloved Son. We are the beloved Son of God. We are him, and we have his standing immediately….
People say what’s your prayer life like? I literally wake up and walk out the front door, and I walk around and I pretend I’m God. (Liz comments, “right – because you’re one with him…”).
If a giraffe has a baby giraffe, it’s all giraffe. If God has a son, it’s all God. Like I am of Him. I’m not Yahweh that made me, I’m of his substance, and I have His nature. So the sermon on the mount is not a list of things to attain to, it describes me.”
You can see then why posting his “In Christ, I’m Christ” message should be taken as more than mere misguided theosis, but rather as the abject blasphemy it is.
We reached out to Charisma for comment but they did not respond at the time of this article.
