More New Age stuff disguised as ...

[Mary]

I came across Ezekiel 34 this morning:

And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.
The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.
And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.
My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.
Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;
As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock;
Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;

I thought it was applicable to this approach that Alan Hirsch has taken in teaching "leadership" and the philosophies expressed in the quotes he makes from his own books. I cannot go so far as to claim that he has "ruled with force and cruelty", but the subtle dishonesty of his teachings, especially in terms of "redefining" (people's) reality, and the self-aggrandizement that I can see in his communications, may be a first step in that direction.

Is it worth it to go up against someone like this? James 5 says: 19 - 20: Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;
Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

I don't know that anyone would be converted from this erroneous teaching through my efforts - like a lot of false teaching, there is enough truth to capture the unwary, and enough spiritual fervour and bonhomie amongst the followers to attract and motivate them to "belong" - only God will know.

[sheep wrecked]

(05-17-2010 07:33 AM)Mary Wrote:  I came across Ezekiel 34 this morning:

And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.
The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.
And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.
My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.
Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;
As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock;
Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;

I thought it was applicable to this approach that Alan Hirsch has taken in teaching "leadership" and the philosophies expressed in the quotes he makes from his own books. I cannot go so far as to claim that he has "ruled with force and cruelty", but the subtle dishonesty of his teachings, especially in terms of "redefining" (people's) reality, and the self-aggrandizement that I can see in his communications, may be a first step in that direction.

Is it worth it to go up against someone like this? James 5 says: 19 - 20: Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;
Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

I don't know that anyone would be converted from this erroneous teaching through my efforts - like a lot of false teaching, there is enough truth to capture the unwary, and enough spiritual fervour and bonhomie amongst the followers to attract and motivate them to "belong" - only God will know.

I think that each of us is given the motivation by God to do different things. Some expose false teachers and teachings, others are not comfortable with that. For me, I just "know" when God wants me to "bother" exposing someone. There are so many false teachers out there now, that is it a flood of junk that is consuming people by the droves.

Is it worth it to spend the time exposing someone or even going to them personally? Probably not, from our perspective, if we don't see results or are rebuffed. However; our responsibility, when God calls us to do that, is to expose even if there seems to be a lack of response. It is the Holy Spirit that removes the blinders, we just present the truth.

Often times, in my desire to reach out to people with the truth I find that those I appear to be most helpful to are those who have family or friends caught in these webs of deceit and I can share the wealth of information and Scripture that God has given me so freely and abundantly. There is immense satisfaction in that. But even if I don't have that, and just expose the "works of darkness", I fully trust God to use it, even if I see nothing this side of glory.

Going to the teacher or leader is very difficult - they tend to not listen because they have already crossed the line of being unteachable. Teachers are pretty much consumed with their own importance or they wouldn't be doing it in the first place. Which is why leadership is so dangerous and so powerful. If you are good at it you can lead people like the pied piper off the bridge and no one is the wiser until it is too late.


All that said, God will direct you in what you need to do, regardless of the outcome. Just trust Him to use your efforts to His glory - even if your efforts are rebuffed.

[Mary]

Thanks Sheep - I appreciate the encouragement. I did feel that God wanted me to
'expose" Alan Hirsch. The verses I used came to me after praying about how to answer the people who picked up the points of discussion. It's scary to see that nearly 3000 people can just leap gaily into his bandwagon, lapping up his morsels of intellectualism, feeling good about themselves, as they head away from God. I feel like they're speeding ahead and I'm standing here watching, able to move in slow motion only. I will go back to Alan Hirsch' s page, and if God wants me to say anything further, I trust Him to help me say it, and I trust Him to use it for His purposes. God Bless you Sheep. Thanks again.