By Daniel out of the Lion’s Den ~
A fter a period of turmoil in my marriage, my believing wife and I have reached a point where we can accept that the other does not hold the same beliefs regarding religion or the cosmos. In order to help her to not feel alone at church, I decided to attend the Sunday worship services with her. I do not, however, attend the Adult Bible Fellowship, Wednesday Bible Study, Sunday Evening Home Group, or any other activity meant to keep a Christian mind from straying. I tell myself that I can sit through one sermon a week, and that it’s a good place to work on material, keeping my mind sharp as I mentally challenge everything the pastor says. And I have rarely been disappointed.
The mega church has multiple facilities. One satellite building in particular was built three years ago. Before a certain area was carpeted, church members took Sharpie pens and wrote names of people they would like to bring to Christ on the subflooring. This past Sunday, the pastor said that one member’s targeted convert came to Christ, and the member was able to peel up the carpeting to show the convert how their name was written on the floor several years ago, covered up and prayed over. Never passing up a photo-op, a picture was taken of the member, the convert, and his inscribed name.
Many thoughts ran through my head:
I didn’t have any problem finding similar voodoo practices on the Internet which include writing a person’s name, performing an action and saying some words – nearly identical in process to what the pastor was advocating. In fact, voodoo in Haiti (that’s like Catholicism in Rome or Christianity in Texas) actually affirms elements of Christianity, such as the virgin birth, and the crucifixion, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. There are many indications that voodoo evolved from or became combined with Catholicism, and there is an overlap of Catholics who practice voodoo. Voodoo has blood rituals, similar to Christianity’s communion. And who can fault them after what Christianity’s figurehead proclaims:
The mega-church pastor wanted the same mystical experience on the main campus. But there were no building projects underway. The solution? Let’s re-floor the coffee shop! So they are ripping up the cafe floor, providing Sharpie pens for members to write the names of their unsuspecting prey on the subflooring, then will re-carpet… until such a future time when they can take photographic evidence that Voodoo works.
The mega church has multiple facilities. One satellite building in particular was built three years ago. Before a certain area was carpeted, church members took Sharpie pens and wrote names of people they would like to bring to Christ on the subflooring. This past Sunday, the pastor said that one member’s targeted convert came to Christ, and the member was able to peel up the carpeting to show the convert how their name was written on the floor several years ago, covered up and prayed over. Never passing up a photo-op, a picture was taken of the member, the convert, and his inscribed name.
Many thoughts ran through my head:
- That’s kind of creepy.
- Statistically, a certain percentage of the hundreds of people who were being targeted by member were bound to convert.
- What kind of psychological damage would this do to the convert if they ever decide to leave the faith?
- The whole thing sounds like witchcraft or voodoo.
I didn’t have any problem finding similar voodoo practices on the Internet which include writing a person’s name, performing an action and saying some words – nearly identical in process to what the pastor was advocating. In fact, voodoo in Haiti (that’s like Catholicism in Rome or Christianity in Texas) actually affirms elements of Christianity, such as the virgin birth, and the crucifixion, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. There are many indications that voodoo evolved from or became combined with Catholicism, and there is an overlap of Catholics who practice voodoo. Voodoo has blood rituals, similar to Christianity’s communion. And who can fault them after what Christianity’s figurehead proclaims:
So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves.” John 6:53 (NASB)
The mega-church pastor wanted the same mystical experience on the main campus. But there were no building projects underway. The solution? Let’s re-floor the coffee shop! So they are ripping up the cafe floor, providing Sharpie pens for members to write the names of their unsuspecting prey on the subflooring, then will re-carpet… until such a future time when they can take photographic evidence that Voodoo works.
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