Smoke, Mirrors and Popoff

Just to let you know, I'm not actually going to waste an entire post on Peter Popoff (believe me, the guy ain't worth it), but moreso to address the spirit in which people like Peter Popoff are operating.

Its funny how much applicable truth you can find in the Bible if you look just a little bit. Some of you who know me may have noticed that I can get a little bit caught up in being frustrated over all of the irrationally blind things that people do because they are deceived to the truth that a lot of Christians (including myself, apparently) take for granted.

The latest big thing, of course, was my pseudo-political rant about the whole Danish/Moslem cartoon thing (the violence continues to escalate, I might add), which, though I still find it entirely unbelievable, I am well aware that the existance of religious double-standards should come as no surprise - the spirits run deep in this kind of thing, and the world can't help but be deceived. I guess that is sort of the definition of "the world" in a lot of ways. And it doesn't come as a surprise, but like many things, it irks me. Yes it does, and its not alone.

Something that has mystified, infuriated and frustrated me in equal parts since time immemorial is the existance and apparent power of the charlatan: the psychics, the mediums and the phony faith healers. All are operating under the same premise and power, namely the devil. All depend upon the fragile emotions of hurting people to add digits to their bank accounts and worst yet, all of these pervert and twist the character of God, preventing their victims from ever knowing the REAL father, and from knowing true freedom. For those who see through these sheisters, they are often lumped together with real believers and thus the gap is widened between the skeptics and the truth.

I think the worst of these, in my mind, are the phony faith healers (ala Peter Popoff). Deceitful men (and women - Peter Popoff's wife is a key player in his deceptions) who call upon the name of Jesus to "heal" people, while gluing their hands firmly into the pockets of their followers. And yet there are circumstances in which they demonstrate the power to produce the signs, wonders and in some cases miracles to back up their lies. Why? How can these deceivers have the power to do such things? This is a question that has always bothered me. I was always under the impression that only Christ could empower people to do things like that, and it bugged me.

Funny how, after reading a mere 7 chapters into the gospels that this, like a great many of the irksome things that go on in the world, that this very thing is so directly addressed by Jesus. Check this out (I love the way the NLT puts this):

21"Not all people who sound religious are really godly. They may refer to me as `Lord,' but they still won't enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The decisive issue is whether they obey my Father in heaven. 22On judgment day many will tell me, `Lord, Lord, we prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.' 23But I will reply, `I never knew you. Go away; the things you did were unauthorized.' " Matt 7:21-23

I love that - "the things you did were unauthorized". That just sums it up so perfectly for me. So, to sum it up - Peter Popoff, Reverend Moon, Miss Chloe, Ramtha and all the rest of the devil-powered miracle workers in the world may be able to do some genuinely amazing things, but without the authorization that comes from Christ for such things, all they really have is a lot of smoke and mirrors.