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| Remember this? The Laughing Revival |
Rodney Howard-Browne, the pastor of a mega-church called The River that's located in Tampa, Florida, typifies what's wrong today with Christianity in the United States and throughout much of the western world.
Browne aptly recognizes that America has a very serious moral problem: "We've got sex-trafficking. We've got abortion. We've got the resurgence of racism. We've got hatred that is abounding...three thousand babies aborted every single day in this country. We have over 300 million people; we use over 70 percent of the world's drugs."
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2014/May/Casting-a-Gospel-Net-Across-the-Nations-Heart/
But then Browne calls for the Christian Church in America to rise up against the moral decay through a great revival that he believes will be based upon supernatural phenomena.
And Browne even claims that God Himself has revealed to him that such a revival is coming to America. Browne recently said this: "There's coming a revival of signs and wonders and the lost. And He (God) said, 'Go tell the Church to get ready for the coming revival.'"
Browne calls this forthcoming revival the "Third Awakening." The two previous awakenings or revivals occurred in the 18th and 19th centuries when the young nation returned to God after falling away into sin and debauchery.
However, the America that existed in those eras was very different from the America that exists today. Americans who lived during the 18th and 19th centuries were far more God-fearing and biblically knowledgeable than Americans are today.
For example, the majority of American Christians who lived during the 18th and 19th centuries understood the difference between true biblical Christianity and Roman Catholicism. Back then, most Americans understood that the God of Islam wasn't the same as the biblical God who consists of the Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit. And most Americans believed that Jesus Christ provided the only way to salvation and eternal life. (John 14:6)
And I think that most Americans who lived during the 18th and 19th centuries also understood that true revivals began not with circus type carnival events featuring people barking like dogs; growling like bears or laughing like drunken idiots.
Rather, they recognized that revivals began when thousands of people got down on their hands and knees and asked God to forgive them of their sin and rebellion against Him.
Why did I mention people barking like dogs and laughing like drunken idiots? Remember something called the Laughing Revival that became extremely popular back in the 1990s? That was Browne's attempt at a Third Awakening 20 years ago when the charismatic preacher claimed that the presence of the Holy Spirit in the church manifested in folks being overcome by infectious, uncontrollable laughter.
Browne attributed that behavior to the beginning of a great Christian revival. We know how that revival turned out, don't we?
What Browne usually fails to mention about his Laughing Revival is that it allegedly began during one of his sermons when people suddenly started falling out of their chairs and rolling on the floor, laughing uncontrollably. The irony there is so graphic that it needs no further comment.
What's not ironic is the fact that Rodney Howard-Browne is yet another one of those false prophets that Christ warned us would appear in the end times: "At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people." (Matthew 24:10-11)
Why do charismatic hucksters such as Browne continue to thrive and stay in business despite their legion of failed prophecies? Let the apostle Paul answer that question: "For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." (2 Timothy 4:3-4)
And charismatic flimflam artists such as Rodney Howard-Browne are waiting to tickle those itching ears with their sweet prophetic nothings.
But then Browne calls for the Christian Church in America to rise up against the moral decay through a great revival that he believes will be based upon supernatural phenomena.
And Browne even claims that God Himself has revealed to him that such a revival is coming to America. Browne recently said this: "There's coming a revival of signs and wonders and the lost. And He (God) said, 'Go tell the Church to get ready for the coming revival.'"
Browne calls this forthcoming revival the "Third Awakening." The two previous awakenings or revivals occurred in the 18th and 19th centuries when the young nation returned to God after falling away into sin and debauchery.
However, the America that existed in those eras was very different from the America that exists today. Americans who lived during the 18th and 19th centuries were far more God-fearing and biblically knowledgeable than Americans are today.
For example, the majority of American Christians who lived during the 18th and 19th centuries understood the difference between true biblical Christianity and Roman Catholicism. Back then, most Americans understood that the God of Islam wasn't the same as the biblical God who consists of the Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit. And most Americans believed that Jesus Christ provided the only way to salvation and eternal life. (John 14:6)
And I think that most Americans who lived during the 18th and 19th centuries also understood that true revivals began not with circus type carnival events featuring people barking like dogs; growling like bears or laughing like drunken idiots.
Rather, they recognized that revivals began when thousands of people got down on their hands and knees and asked God to forgive them of their sin and rebellion against Him.
Why did I mention people barking like dogs and laughing like drunken idiots? Remember something called the Laughing Revival that became extremely popular back in the 1990s? That was Browne's attempt at a Third Awakening 20 years ago when the charismatic preacher claimed that the presence of the Holy Spirit in the church manifested in folks being overcome by infectious, uncontrollable laughter.
Browne attributed that behavior to the beginning of a great Christian revival. We know how that revival turned out, don't we?
What Browne usually fails to mention about his Laughing Revival is that it allegedly began during one of his sermons when people suddenly started falling out of their chairs and rolling on the floor, laughing uncontrollably. The irony there is so graphic that it needs no further comment.
What's not ironic is the fact that Rodney Howard-Browne is yet another one of those false prophets that Christ warned us would appear in the end times: "At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people." (Matthew 24:10-11)
Why do charismatic hucksters such as Browne continue to thrive and stay in business despite their legion of failed prophecies? Let the apostle Paul answer that question: "For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." (2 Timothy 4:3-4)
And charismatic flimflam artists such as Rodney Howard-Browne are waiting to tickle those itching ears with their sweet prophetic nothings.
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