Imagine driving down the road and passing by a beautiful old Christian church. Now imagine that church has a huge painting of a bare breasted women/goddess on it for all to see. Not only that, the mural also includes an eight armed goddess named Kali. Kali is a Hindu goddess. Hard to conceive of, but that is what you will find beginning this November if you drive passed the ELCA's Ebenezer Lutheran Church (also know as herchurch) in San Francisco, CA. The church plans on placing this mural on their church tower for everyone to see.
The ELCA church's website tells us about the mural saying,
“The Goddess mural will rise 64 feet high with four basic symbolic representations of the divine feminine: The Earth Mother, the Black Madonna, the Christ-Sophia, and an androgynous Kali-Kundalini figure whose chakras merge with the phases of the moon and the universe. They will be surrounded by colorful and playful animals, birds, plants and earth’s elements.” (see here)
Here is a link that shows what the mural will look like (on the left hand side of the page).
A fundraising page for herchurch's project has this to say about the mural, “Ebenezer/herchurch Lutheran (herchurch) refers to the Divine Presence through many names and metaphors. More than 50,000 years ago the sacred one was called mother. Breaking recent tradtion from male diety, this mural aims to herald the return of the feminine divine in modern Christian, interfaith and feminist spirituality.” (see here)
Ebenezer/herchurch Lutheran has been worshiping pagan gods for quite a while now, with the full knowledge and approval of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. I say this because it is a fact that ELCA leadership know what is being taught and what goes on at this church, and they allow it to continue. (see here, here and here) They have the power, authority and responsibility to stop it and they do not. A church leader from the ELCA Office of the Presiding Bishop even spoke at a herchurch feminism conference showing the audience pictures of a female Jesus. (see here)
The fundraising page goes on to say the painting will be, “Attached via panels to the East face of the purple herchurch tower, this mural promises to be a focal point in the world famous San Francisco mural collection. . .The dream is to share the beauty to all who pass and prophetically envision our mission of rebirthing the divine feminine in ourselves, the church and the world.”
A Hindu goddess (as well as the other pagan gods) lifted up and worshiped by a Christian church is pure wickedness. They are blatantly breaking the commandment set by God, "You shall have no other gods before me." (Exodus 20:3) It is offensive, sinful, blasphemous and evil. ELCA members, know this: your leadership allows it!
What kind of God-honoring Christian denomination would do that? And what about the huge painting of a topless woman/goddess being placed on the church tower? Children will see it. Yet, many of you will still support the ELCA.
Think about it. Is this the kind of denomination you want to be part of? Sure it's no fun to leave your ELCA church, the one you have been going to for so long, the one that has so many of your friends attending. But remember, your church is part of the ELCA which allows goddess worship and openly stands against God's Word in so many areas. This is a denomination that has taught YOUR pastor.
So what is more important to you, going to your comfortable church or going to a church that believes the Bible and worships the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and His Son Jesus Christ? One day you may need to justify your decision to God Almighty.
You are an animal, so says the leadership of the ELCA. This belief results from the rejection of the historical account of creation told in the Bible. Instead they believe in and teach the theory of evolution as truth. The February 2013 edition of the official magazine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, The Lutheran, contains an article where we are told that:
“the scientific evidence for evolution inspires some Christians to celebrate God's ongoing and oft-surprising creativity, but it deeply offends others.”
“For centuries humans regarded themselves to be distinct and above other animals and the material world. But evolution indicates full embedded-ness in nature. Unless one hears and believes that God is faithfully with us in our created, embedded state, one could sense that we might be abandoned animals cruelly subject to capricious forces.”
“When we waste our belief on other things besides God, it is what the Bible called idolatry, and Jesus also called foolishness. Likewise, disbelief of some things that are not God can be foolish and even idolatrous, on par with misdirected belief. . .one's 'disbelief' of evolution can mask resistance to the humility inherent in being a created, finite animal.” (read here)
This was written by ELCA seminary professor Gilson A.C. Waldkoenig of Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg (Pa.) and published by the leadership of the denomination in their official magazine.
So lets review what they are saying. We are animals. If you believe the Bible and not evolution, you are foolish, lacking in humility, and idolatrous. That seems backward (and evil) to me, and it should to anyone else whose eyes are not blinded by the enemy.
ELCA leaders worship the god of Muslims. At least that is the logical conclusion most would come to when they look into what ELCA leaders are saying.
The magazine of The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, The Lutheran, ran an article in the January 2013 issue about Muslims. The article was another attempt by ELCA leadership to indoctrinate its members into believing a heretical, blasphemous idea. The article included an argument supporting the claim that the God we Christians worship is the same god Muslims worship. Liberal heretics have been saying this for awhile now, and we will address this lie shortly, but lets first look at what The Lutheran had to say.
The magazine presented this statement to two ELCA experts: “Some people say 'Allah' is the name of a pagan moon god and isn't the same as the 'God' of the Bible.”
David D. Grafton, ELCA missionary serving as the coordinator for graduate studies at the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo, Egypt replied: “This is a very old claim. It's similar to an old Christian argument about the 'God of the Old Testament' being distinct from the 'God of the New.' That, of course, was declared a heresy long ago.”
Michael Shelley, dean and vice president for academic affairs at the ELCA's Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, answered by saying that “Allah” was one of many gods in Arabia, before the Koran was written, and was considered “the creator.” Prof. Shelley then says, “Are Allah and the God of the Bible the same? Certainly the Quran contends they are. It says to Jews and Christians, 'Our God and your God is one' (Quran 29:46) . . . we are likely to have a more constructive conversation with our Muslim neighbors if we proceed on the assumption that we are talking about the same divine being.” (see here)
So The Lutheran tells its readers that we worship the same god as the Muslims. The ELCA's Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson has said the same thing in a letter to Muslims saying “(t)he one God whom we worship is a God not only of judgment, but of mercy and peace." (see here)
There are a number of reasons the ELCA does this. One reason, I believe, is because of the ELCA's acceptance of universal salvation, that all people will go to heaven no matter what they believe, who they worship or if they've placed their faith in Christ. The ELCA has walked away from leading people to a saving relationship with Christ which makes “working together” with “all people” the focus of why the ELCA exists.
Now there are a number of reasons we can say with confidence that the God of the Bible and the Muslim god are not the same god. I will give you three:
- Muslims claim the teachings of their most holy book, the Koran, came from an angel. The Koran denies Jesus is the son of God. In Galatians 1 it indicates that gospels other than the gospel of the Bible are not from (our) God even if “an angel from heaven” preaches it.
- The Bible and the Koran contradict each other on major theological issues. If they were the same god there would not be these huge contradictions.
- The Bible and the Koran also portray very different and contradictory attributes of God. This again is a strong evidence that they are not the same God. (see here)
The ELCA's thinking and teaching is evil, and it blasphemes God. It is a teaching that comes from the pit of hell. I don't know how much longer God will allow the ELCA to mock Him.
If you haven't read my blog “The ELCA is No Longer a Christian Denomination” you should. It could just as easily been titled “The God of the Bible and the God of the ELCA are not the same.”
For Halloween, Concordia College (ELCA) in Moorhead, MN hosted a haunted house. The haunted house was put on by two resident hall councils. Part of the festivities for the night was offering students the chance to use an Ouija board.
An article by the school paper said, “A Ouija board (a board with letters, numbers, and ‘yes’ and ‘no’ that is often used in scary movies) was placed outside the entrance for students to try to get in touch with spirits if they chose to do so.” (see here)
For those of you that may not know, Ouija boards are occultic, and a form of sorcery and divination. Those type of things are “forbidden by Scripture for Christians to participate in. . .” (See Can a Christian use an Ouija board?)
An Ouija board “is a portal that leads straight into the dark side where Satan and his demons roam. . .this device will literally, and I mean literally, open up a door and invite in some of the nastiest, foulest, and meanest demons that are in Satan’s kingdom.” This is real and it is not something to “play around” with. You should read this article if you doubt the danger involved with Ouija boards - The Extreme Dangers of the Ouija Board.
The article in the Concordia College paper included a picture which shows students using the Ouija board. The caption under the picture says, “Residents Matthew Burian and Alexander Hagen try out the Ouija board provided in Livedalen’s haunted maze.” (Another picture included in the article shows a male student holding a knife to a bloodied female’s neck.)
This story is a prime piece of evidence that ELCA colleges, even though they love to advertise themselves as Christian colleges to financial contributing Lutheran church goers, often walk in opposition to Christian teaching, principles and practice. In this instance, Concordia College is placing the spiritual well being of their students at risk, opening their lives up to spiritual darkness, demons and the devil. This is pure evil. Yet, Joe Dlugos, hall director of Livedalen is quoted as saying in the haunted house article, “Hall council is happy to offer a variety of activities and events to our residents.”
The ELCA has a well documented history of siding with the Palestinians and Muslims when it comes to issues concerning Israel. (see here) They try to cloak it with “politically correct” verbiage, but it is obvious, to anyone paying attention, where the ELCA stands. Every once in a while, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America can not help itself and does or says something that clearly reveals, with out a doubt, their anti-Semitism and the reality that they’re siding with God’s enemy.
One of these incidents happened three years ago when the Presiding Bishop of the ELCA, along with 39 other ELCA bishops, went to Israel. (see here)
During the trip the ELCA delegation stopped at the tomb of noted notorious terrorist Yasser Arafat to honor and show respect for him by placing a wreath at his tomb. This was revealed by the ELCA’s official website. (see here) Just six years earlier, ELCA Bishop Mark Hanson and other ELCA leaders had a personal meeting with Yasser Arafat. (see here)
For those readers who may not know, let me tell you about Yasser Arafat. “Arafat is known to many as the ‘father of modern terrorism.’” “In order to report on Arafat's history objectively, one must include his decades-long involvement in terror, his goal of destroying Israel, and his siphoning of hundreds of millions of dollars from money donated to help the Palestinian people that went instead into his own private accounts.” (see here)
Arafat was the leader of a number of terrorist organizations. “(G)roups under Arafat's direct or indirect command – including Fatah, Black September, Tanzim and Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade – were responsible for hundreds of bombings, hijackings, assassinations and other attacks, including the 1972 murder of 11 of Israel's Olympic athletes in Munich, the 1973 murder of the American ambassador to Sudan, Cleo Noel, and the 1985 hijacking of the Achille Lauro cruiseship (resulting in the murder of wheelchair-bound Leon Klinghoffer).” (see here)
So the ELCA honors a man who destroyed the lives of thousands of men, women and children. (see long list here) Showing respect to this man is tantamount to laying flowers at Hitler’s grave. Yet the ELCA did it.
What kind of “Christian” leaders would do such a thing? People who dislike Israel so much that they will side with the devil. The fact that they did this must make everyone question the ELCA’s policy and view of what should happen in the Middle East.
The question every ELCA member should ask is, why would you follow and trust leaders like this?
-----Here are some quotes from Yasser Arafat, the man the ELCA honored:
"'When we stopped the Intifada we did not stop the Jihad [Islamic holy war] to establish Palestine with Jerusalem as our capital.... We know only one word: Jihad, Jihad, Jihad.... We are in a conflict with the Zionist movement, the Balfour Declaration, and all imperialist activity....'
--- Yasser Arafat, in a speech at the Dehaishe refugee camp near Bethlehem, 22 October 1996 (Yediot Aharonot, 23 October 1996). The Balfour Declaration was Britain's 1917 statement of support for a Jewish national home in the land of Israel." (see here)
"'Yes, we are proud of the Palestinian girl, the Palestinian woman and the Palestinian child who fulfilled these miracles. The Palestinian woman participated in the Palestinian revolution. The Palestinian girl participated in the Palestinian revolution. Abir al-Wahidi, commander of the central region [al-Wahidi participated in the murder of Israeli Zvi Klein in December 1991] and Dalal al-Maghrabi, Martyr of Palestine [al-Maghrabi took part in the Coastal Road Massacre in March 1978, in which 37 Israelis were killed]. I bow in respect and admiration to the Palestinian woman who receives her martyred son with joyful cheering. The soul and blood for you, O Palestine!' --- P.L.O. Chairman Yasser Arafat, in a speech given on 3 September 1995 at the al-Fatah girls school in Gaza to mark the opening of the school year (Israel Channel Two Television, 19 September 1995)" (see here)
"'The commitment still stands and the oath is still valid: that we will continue this long jihad, this difficult jihad... via deaths, via sacrifices.'
--- P.L.O. Chairman Yasser Arafat, in a speech given at Al-Azhar University in Gaza on 19 June 1995 (The Jerusalem Post, 3 August 1995)"
"'All of us are willing to be martyrs along the way, until our flag flies over Jerusalem, the capital of Palestine. Let no one think they can scare us with weapons, for we have mightier weapons - the weapon of faith, the weapon of martyrdom, the weapon of jihad.'
--- P.L.O. Chairman Yasser Arafat, in a speech given to Palestinian laborers in Gaza in January 1995 (Parade Magazine, New York Newsday, 25 June 1995)" (see here)
The ELCA’s The Lutheran magazine published a story recently called “Finding a common word: Virginia dialogue pairs Lutherans and Muslims” (see here).
In the article we learn of a group composed of mostly Lutherans and Muslims who gather for dialog. The group meets twice-a-month on Saturday mornings and begin their dialogue “with ‘Al Fatiha,’ the opening prayer of the Quran” and end the meeting with the Lord's Prayer.
Not only that, we are also told, “Group leader Dan Jungkuntz is a pastoral counselor and ELCA pastor. ‘I am so touched by what I have learned about Islam,’ he said. Each week, he now joins the Muslims' Friday prayer at a local mosque.”
What are ELCA leaders doing? Why is praying to a god that is not the Father, Son and Holy Spirit okay? Has the ELCA leadership decided that the 1st Commandment, “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3), is not to be followed anymore? And it is down right evil for the ELCA to publish and promote what this pastor is doing. They know they are influencing their members to do the same and to be accepting of it, something that is in complete opposition to what God tells us in Scripture.
New video by Exposing the ELCA
Please share this with those you know.
There has been a lot of talk and publicity on the idolatry and goddess worship happening at the ELCA church, Ebenezer Lutheran, in San Francisco (otherwise known as “herchurch”). If you haven't seen it yet please check out what is happening at their November conference (see here and here). Of great importance is the fact that the ELCA Office of the Presiding Bishop is being represented at the conference and that person will be speaking. Since this is an important topic, I thought I would share with you some more information about this conference and the ELCA pastor responsible for it.
First, I came across a blog discussing “herchurch’s” 2009 conference. This comes from the perspective of one of the conference speakers. She says:
“I was very, very surprised at the feeling of singing words of love and praise to the Sacred Feminine in hymn tunes which were already familiar.”
“A rich and wonderful conference such as this with the title ‘Marys, Madonnas, Goddess-with-Us’ wouldn’t be complete without small group workshops for integrating sacred feminine spirituality through creative artwork or conversations with presenters, or more meditation and chanting. . . I kept seeing people walking around with Goddess dolls, wands really, that were magical and potent and strong in color and feeling. It turned out they were from a workshop given by the artist Linda Roberts. They were personal creations that each creator seemed to be in love with, and I’m sure they will grace many home altars.”
“Once we understand that Mary Magdalene is the voice of the Goddess Herself in Christianity, it becomes very interesting to learn her symbolic language so we can hear her better in our own dreamworld and artwork.”
“It was a very full weekend; full of love, full of respect for Rev. Stacy Boorn and her courage within Christianity, and full of secret hopes for the religious changes we need to support ‘the New Creation’ we all want.” (see here)
Now let’s hear from the woman who is responsible for this yearly conference, “herchurch” pastor Stacy Boorn (ELCA).
Toward the beginning of the interview Pastor Boorn talked about the people’s reaction to her church’s name, “herchurch”:
“. . . when we posted that on the front of the church, people would drive by and then identified the congregation as “herchurch,” knowing what we meant the deity was “her.”
The interviewer, soon after, asked about referring to goddess as “holy other.” Rev. Boorn, in her response said, “ . . . but ‘holy other’ also gives a sense of tie, I think with many religions’ traditions.”
Here are some more statements made by Rev. Boorn from that interview:
“. . . but way beyond the writing of those scriptures (the Bible) the wonderful work that we’ve tied into was Maria (inadible) Buddhist and others who showed us that for tens, and tens, and tens of thousands of years that there have been women leading societies, and goddess the head of that, and they produced peace communities . . .”
“For example, you know we have a Wednesday evening goddess rosary which is a ritual that we’ve developed . . . in a very similar way to a ritual of the Anglican or the Roman Catholic prayer beads but with a more intentional liberation connectiveness to the holy mother, goddess of us all. And so for some, people will pray prayers envisioning an actual in the womb or the Earth as the body of the 'holy other' or the cosmos as the mother so it is wide open and I think that is the important part of it. On this journey with ‘she who is,’ there are many voices in the feminist religious world who have various takes, and I think it is important in what we do in this ritual community is to listen and use them all for our richness.”
“. . . we have in our communion at the goddess rosary, some persons who, when we talk about ‘mother, maiden, crone,” as a symbol or metaphor for the 'holy other,' there will be some in our community who will actually name three goddess, Isis and others . . .”
“The day is coming, I hope, when the patriarchal religious traditions are totally dismantled and something new comes forth and I think the feminists are going to make that happen.”
“Hopefully our congregation will not be just one but one of many. And when we can be a model for others we are grateful to do that.” (listen here)
This goddess worshipping church, supported by the ELCA leadership wants to be a model for other churches. Their pastor wants to see feminist goddess worship dismantle and replace historical Christianity worldwide.
We cannot say “well this is just one church.” Not when this church has been supported and protected for years by the ELCA leadership. Not when the ELCA Office of the Presiding Bishop is represented at their goddess worshipping conference. The ELCA leadership is moving the denomination in this same direction. I know I do not want to be part of a denomination that encourages the worship of demons and pagan gods.
Fellow members of the ELCA, don’t miss this.
Next month, an ELCA church in San Francisco, CA, will be hosting its annual heretical conference called “The 5th Annual Faith and Feminism – Womanist – Mujerista Conference.” The ELCA church hosting this conference is called Ebenezer Lutheran, otherwise known as “herchurch.” Ebenezer Lutheran is the church of Rev. Megan Rohrer, the first openly transgender minister ordained by the ELCA.
This year’s conference has many non-Christian events on the schedule, (see here), but I would like to highlight a few of the conference speakers.
On Friday night of the conference, at 10 p.m., you can participate in guided meditations with Lady Lorean of Isis Oasis. I looked up “Lady Lorean of Isis Oasis,” and I found that she is high priestess and proprietor of a Temple and mystical center dedicated to the goddess Isis. For those who may not know, Isis is the “ancient Egyptian goddess of fertility.” (see here)
Why is this person being brought in to speak at a conference conducted by an ELCA church? And why is the ELCA churchwide allowing it? Good questions to ask as we attempt to understand more about Lady Lorean. Her website says:- “If you are called by the Goddess, the Temple of Isis is the largest active Iseum in the world today. The Temple has initiated over a thousand priestesses in it’s thirty year history.” (see here)
- “You are invited to visit our mystical center dedicated to the Goddess Isis.” (see here)
- “THE STAFF . . . provides massage therapy, tarot, past life and astrology readings by appointment.” (see here)
Lady Lorean’s website also says that each week they offer "prayers at the altar of the great goddess Isis." (see here)
A poem on the website says, "I am Isis the goddess, and I am the lady of words of power. Isis, the goddess and great enchantress at the head of the gods." (see here)
Elsewhere, on Lady Lorean’s website, we read, “We are hoping to create a spiritual community of like-minded people who can live by the Laws of Maat, the ancient Egyptian Goddess of Truth.” (see here)
Again, the website makes it clear, “The Temple practices magic using rituals of ancient Egypt which are taught in our gatherings on Sunday afternoons. These have amazing properties of manifestation . . . (w)e worship nature, and observe all the gifts bestowed on the planet.” (see here)
You can’t make this stuff up!
Also speaking at the conference is Cea T. Hearth, “Priestess and Shamana” (see here) “What is a Shamana/Shaman” you may ask? “The word ‘shaman’ is often used to refer to a person in a particular community who is chosen by the spirit world to be a spiritual healer (a soul doctor) for the group and its members. . . The shaman is one who is able to communicate with the spirits, enter trance at will and inspire ecstatic healing in others. These abilities come from the spirit world, but they are honed by the shamanic initiate through practice.” (see here)
Not to be left out is “Isis Priestess Katie Ketchum” who is also conducting a conference workshop. (see here)
God tells us in Exodus 20:3 “You shall have no other gods before me.” Yet this ELCA church brings followers of other gods in to speak and teach at their conference!
The ELCA churchwide has known about the anti-Christian happenings at “herchurch” for years, yet they allow the church to remain in the ELCA. Not only do they know about the practices of this congregation, but would you believe that, a key note speaker of the conference comes straight from the Office of the Presiding Bishop, Director of Justice for Women for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Mary Streufert. (see here)If that isn't a big stamp of approval, I do not know what is.
See more information about this ELCA sanctioned church. (here and here)
You may like Glenn Beck or you may not, but he hits the nail on the head in this video segment. Please check it out and forward the video on to all your friends; the ELCA is part of the problem of which he speaks.
It gives me no pleasure to say, but the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has taken the side of those that are against truth and against Israel. The ELCA has chosen the path of hate. They are part of this evil that Mr. Beck so clearly points out.
The ELCA has sided against Israel continually (see here). Our denomination is actively seeking a boycott of Israeli goods and of USA companies which do business with Israel. (see here) One of the leading theologians in the Lutheran church, Carl Braaten said the ELCA is anti-Semitic. (read here) The ELCA calls Israel “occupiers.” They use all kinds of bias rhetoric against Israel. The ELCA condemns Israel at every turn, yet they say nothing about the atrocities committed against the Jews. The ELCA website even says that Christians who support Israel are following heresy and these Christians “are actually anti-Semitic.” (see here)
David Housholder, former ELCA pastor and current blogger on an official ELCA website, just recently wrote questioning whether the people in Israel are really Biblical Jews. Later he says “(t)he Bible is ambiguous as to whether Israel is a physical or a spiritual nation.” (see here and here)
So why is our denomination taking the opinions and talking points put out by anti-Semitic terrorists as its own? The ELCA is taking it in and regurgitating this anti-Semitic propaganda. Its wrong! Stand up to it, denounce it and reject it.
In a time when hate towards Israel grows every day, we need to stand for the truth. I agree with Mr. Beck. I will stand with Israel.
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