Skip to main content

Todd Bentley vs. Home Office

While I was on holiday, this story broke in the news regarding controversial American teacher Todd Bentley. He had been planning to visit the UK but the Home Office decided to shut its doors. In their words :
"We can confirm that Mr Bentley has been excluded from the UK. The government makes no apologies for refusing people access to the UK if we believe they are not conducive to the public good. Coming here is a privilege that we refuse to extend to those who might seek to undermine our society"
As pastors who invited him moaned about the "missed opportunities" of "God's outpouring" many other local Christian groups welcomed the decision. One local  Presbyterian Church in Northern Ireland issued a supporting statement for the Home Office :"Violent activities reported as part of Mr. Bentley's faith healing technique have no part whatsoever in our understanding of a loving, caring and compassionate ministry that is sought, often by weak, frail and distressed people....". For his part, Mr Bentley currently in Norway on his "Miracles Signs and Wonders" tour, responded with a blast accusing the British government of religious discrimination :
"What about all the other celebrities, musicians and others with a more colourful past than me that are permitted into the UK for shows … Is this really about my past and fear of potential violence or Freedom of Religion and attack on Faith, God and Healing?" 
Mr Bentley is famous for many heresies, dabbling in occultic practices and other extra biblical claims. And of course the "Biker Boot" incident. He is a bit of a YouTube star as the video below illustrates. But he has a point though - much worse people have been admitted in the UK than Mr Bentley, including leaders from rogue governments and states. The Home Office certainly has a right to decide who they deem fit to breath British air but it must be sad that Christians feel the need to be protected from Mr Bentley. Real Christians have nothing to fear from his heretical teachings. 

Comments

  1. Thank you for your comments.

    The U.K. was wise to ban Todd Bentley. He was also denied entry into Australia in January 2012, and his trip to Pakistan was cancelled in September 2012.

    People would be wise to avoid Todd Bentley, as well as other false teachers within the New Apostolic Reformation.

    Bud Press
    Christian Research Service USA
    www.christianresearchservice.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bud Press,

    Many thanks for this and the link to the website. We must stay on guard indeed!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I am what I am by Gloria Gaynor

Beverly Knight closed the opening ceremony of the Paralympics with what has been dubbed the signature tune of the Paralympics. I had no idea Ms Knight is still in the singing business. And clearly going by the raving reviews she will continue to be around. One media source says her performance was so electric that "there wasn’t a dry eye to be seen as she sang the lyrics to the song and people even watching at home felt the passion in her words" . The song was Gloria Gaynor's I am what I am . Clearly not written by Gloria Gaynor but certainly musically owned and popularized by her. It opens triumphantly: I am what I am / I am my own special creation / So come take a look / Give me the hook or the ovation / It's my world that I want to have a little pride in / My world and it's not a place I have to hide in / Life's not worth a damn till you can say I am what I am The words “I am what I am” echo over ten times in the song. A bold declaration that she

The Price of Obedience

If we obey God it is going to cost other people more than it costs us, and that is where the sting comes in. If we are in love with our Lord, obedience does not cost us anything, it is a delight, but it costs those who do not love Him a good deal. If we obey God it will mean that other people’s plans are upset, and they will gibe us with it—“You call this Christianity?” We can prevent the suffering; but if we are going to obey God, we must not prevent it, we must let the cost be. - OSWALD CHAMBERS This is by far the hardest thing we are likely to struggle with as we seek to live lives that are totally surrendered to the Lord Jesus Christ. What if obeying God meant that your family members lost a well-known or well-loved circle of acquaintances? Had to move to a smaller house? Drove uglier cars? Wore older clothes? Lived by a weekly rather monthly budget?Accepting this part of obeying God is especially difficult for men or women who are the breadwinners for their families. The c

Workers for Your Joy (A Review)

Workers for your Joy (WFYJ) is about what Christ calls leaders in his church to be and do, particularly the teaching office in the church (i.e. pastor or elder).  It presents a biblical vision of leadership by going through the fifteen qualifications of elders listed 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. The central question Mathis is basically asking is – how should we pastor or lead the church in light of these qualifications? The target audience of the book seems to be those who are in the early stages of pastoral ministry. The book was part of the seminary syllabus at Bethlehem. However, the author does explicitly state that the book is also meant to be of use to church members in considering what Christ expects of leadership in the local church.   Mathis has written this book because he believes leadership has fallen on hard times. The church in the west and the society around us has become increasingly discontent with being led due to the high-profile cases that have sprung about leadership.