Wednesday, September 25, 2013

The Strange Attacks on Jonathan Cahn, author of The Harbinger, spelled out on Chris Rosebrough's radio show

Chris Rosebrough is a Christian discernment broadcaster with a Lutheran point of view who is interviewing Jonathan Cahn in this program , very thoroughly covering all the ways Cahn has been slandered by his critics, falsely accused of supporting Replacement Theology, Gnosticism, Dominionism, British Israelism, Mormonism, Jewish Mysticism and various other errors, all patently false accusations if you know anything about Cahn's ministry.  It's a good corrective that is much needed.

The only objection I have to this presentation is that I agree with Cahn's critics in that I think there is a real danger of appearing to condone a program host's theology in some cases so that it isn't right to claim that every program is just an opportunity to give the gospel, which is Cahn's argument, and that there is no danger involved.   This problem gets glossed over on this program, as if it's ALL just a matter of Cahn's wanting to get the gospel out however it's possible to do so, but in some cases this reasoning doesn't hold water.

It depends on the program.  If it's a purely secular program there's no problem that I can see, because nobody expects a Christian to be in agreement with the host, but if the program host purports to be a Christian or to represent a Christian point of view, as for instance Mormons do, or of course the New Apostolic Reformation representatives do, THEN there can be a problem and it's at least naïve to deny it.  Of course there is no problem if the program host IS Christian although of a different denomination or tradition, which Chris Rosebrough is, since the gospel basics are shared by both;  the problems come in only when the program backs a theologically false position but calls itself Christian. 

Although Cahn may not personally know or support a particular teacher, simply appearing in a context where that teacher is endorsed can suggest that or at least raise questions about it that do need to be addressed.  For instance, Jonathan Cahn says he does not know Rick Joyner who is a leader of the New Apostolic Reformation, which I've discussed here before, but by appearing on Sid Roth's show, It's Supernatural, and owning Roth as a friend, who is a strong supporter of Joyner and by extension the NAR, and in general a not-very-discerning supporter of all kinds of things supernatural, he does tacitly align himself with Joyner and the NAR movement, and that is very dangerous because the NAR is an apostate movement.  All you have to do is go watch a couple of Sunday "services" at Rick Joyner's "church" on You Tube to see that he's gone way over the line into a very primitive paganism, and the signs and wonders produced in that context are far from Christian in any sense of the word.

It also makes little sense for starters to claim you are appearing on shows that clearly present themselves as Christian in order to get the gospel out since they believe they themselves represent the gospel.  The only way you could credibly claim to be doing that is if you clearly and explicitly said ON THE PROGRAM ITSELF that you have a different point of view about the gospel itself and what it means to be Christian.

Same with Glenn Beck I'm afraid.  Beck talks a strong religious line of his own that distorts the Biblical record to support his Mormon belief system.  Of course it is stupid to accuse Cahn of supporting Mormonism just because Mormons like his book, but unfortunately there is a way that his appearance on Beck's show, with Beck sounding so supportive of his book, could lend a credibility to Mormonism in the minds of many in Beck's audience who know nothing about these things, despite Cahn's beliefs or intentions.

But again, that may suggest nothing more than a kind of naivete on Cahn's part and I have no OTHER objection to either his book or his teachings as far as I know them, or his appearances on various media.   

Anyone who would like to know how Cahn has been slandered and misrepresented should listen to this broadcast which aims to cover all the bases.