5/24/2010

Glenn Beck is a False Prophet

I’ve written before about the problem I see with Evangelicals listening to and following the political vision of Glenn Beck. Glenn Beck has increasingly conflated his political views with his religious views. This causes me alarm for two reasons:

First, as someone who describes himself as an expert historian on the United States, Beck’s credibility should be questioned because he has chosen to be a Mormon, a religion that is demonstrably false historically. If he has so easily “drank the Kool-Aid” (his own words for his acceptance of the Mormon religion! -watch the video in the above link) concerning this false religion even when the historical facts are stacked against it, why should we accept his other conclusions on American history?

The second alarm is this: Increasingly, Beck is positioning himself as a cross between political commentator and religious prophet. On his FOX NEWS television show and especially on his radio program, Beck speaks as an evangelist – preaching against the evil darkness that is engulfing America that God has called him and his followers to battle. He sees himself as a modern-day prophet from God and that he is called to lead America out of this present darkness.

Beck has been promoting a new book that will be called “The Plan,” in which Beck says he will “provide specific policies, principles and, most importantly, action steps that each of us can take to play a role in" the "Refounding" of America. Beck will “unveil” The Plan “at the feet of Abraham Lincoln on the National Mall” on August 28, 2010 (the 47th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech on those same steps).

I have no qualms with anybody seeking to create peaceful political movements based on their ideological convictions. This is what makes America great.

What I have concern about is this: Beck seems convinced to be on a mission from God. And he is telling his audience that if they are not with him and “The Plan,” then they are in danger of being against God and his Prophet.

Listen to this clip from April 20th Glenn Beck Program (Premiere Radio Networks):



Let me call it as I see it: Glenn Beck is a false prophet.

He is telling people that he and his Mormon friend and co-host Pat Grey are "feeling" something – a feeling that is coming from God. (Later in the clip, Beck says that he and Pat went home to pray and to open their Bibles. We must remember that the "Bible" that Glenn Beck and Pat Grey consults is the Book of Mormon).

Beck says to Pat, “'The problem is that God is giving a plan, I think, to me, that is not really a plan.' And I stopped myself because I didn’t want to utter those things out loud, if that’s not exactly right, and it’s not.”

"It’s not" what? At first I thought Beck was saying that it’s not a plan from God, but then he kept talking about it -- “The problem is that I think the plan that the Lord would have us follow is hard for people to understand.” So, The Plan is indeed from "The Lord," and it is indeed being revealed to Glenn Beck. So what he must be saying that "it's not" right that he thinks that The Plan is "not really a plan" (whatever that means!).

But even as Beck is making no sense in that statement, he still believes that he is the Prophet from God that will reveal God’s "Plan" to us! But he is working from an inner "feeling," and he believes that The Plan will be hard to understand. And so he asks his listeners, “I beg of you to help me get this message out, and I beg of you to pray for clarity on my part."

What is "The Plan?" We don't know the details yet, but Beck does say that "The Plan that He would have me articulate, I think, to you, is ‘Get behind me.’ And I don’t mean me, I mean Him. ‘Get behind Me. Stand behind Me.’”

For evangelicals who want to be involved in the political process, I think it is time to jettison Glenn Beck. He believes that his political views are directly from God. He is claiming to be a prophet. This is something that evangelicals must not stand with; and in fact, it is something that we must publicly stand against. We saw evidence of Beck's false gospel when he recently told his audience to leave their churches if they believed their churches taught “Social Justice.”

And now,
Beck has crossed the line. He is presenting himself as a prophet from God.

He has the audacity to tell his audience to “Get on your knees! Turn to Him!” (What “Him” is Beck talking about? The false god of the Mormon faith?) and that this god is giving him “The Plan” and that the message of The Plan is "Get behind me.”

That phrase that Beck chose, I think, is telling: “Get behind me!”

There was a moment in Jesus’ ministry when one of his disciples said something really stupid, something contrary to God’s will. What did Jesus say to Peter? “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”

Amen.




I took the time to type out what he said below, so we do not miss what Glenn Beck is saying here:

…Yesterday, when I walked out of the studio, I looked at Pat and I almost said to Pat, I said, “I can feel it coming.” He said, “I know.” He said, “It’s just that, they are just, they are just strong in power and focus.” And I said, “It’s just, it’s darkness! I can just feel it coming.” And I, I started to say, I said, “The problem is, is that,” and I stopped. Because I don’t want to utter something like this without really thinking it through, but what I was about to say is, “The problem is that God is giving a plan, I think, to me, that is not really a plan.” And I stopped myself because I didn’t want to utter those things out loud, if that’s not exactly right, and it’s not. That time of reflection took me about thirty seconds as Pat stood there, going, “(inaudible) did he forget we were having a conversation?”

And I said, “The problem is that I think the plan that the Lord would have us follow is hard for people to understand. But I’m telling you, here’s what I feel with everything in me, and I... If you’ve listened to this program – oh, are they going to use this against me – if you’ve listened to this for a long time, you know who I am. And you know that many of things I’ve done and said that have put me in, you know, harm’s way one way or another, they always start at the same place, they always start at my gut or my heart, and then I figure it out as we go along. All the stuff that I feel has been important on the show has been things that I felt and didn’t understand.

I say, because of my track record with you who have been here for a long time. Because of my track record with you, I beg of you to help me get this message out, and I beg of you to pray for clarity on my part. The Plan that He would have me articulate, I think, to you, is “Get behind me.” And I don’t mean me, I mean Him. “Get behind Me. Stand behind Me.” I truly believe I have done years now of reading the Founders, their diaries, their letters, the Pilgrims, their diaries, their letters. I’ve read the first-hand letters; I’ve held them in my hand. The exchanges between the Founders, I’ve held their actual letters in my hand. I have seen it with my own eyes. And I will tell you that God was instrumental and they knew it! They knew they had very little to do with it! They just stood where they were supposed to stand! And they said the things that they were supposed to say as He directed! Some of them lost their way, some of them got it wrong, they got back and forth…they were human. But that’s what He’s asking us to do…is to stand – peacefully, quietly, with anger, quiet with anger, loudly with truth.

Faith is the answer. Get on your knees! Don’t let it take a September 11th. Please, get on your knees – I don’t care what church you go to, no church at all, I don’t care! Turn to Him!

28 comments:

The Metzes said...

Thanks for the post. Beck scares me not so much in his ideology . . . its the far-reaching impact of his ideology among my Christian brothers and sisters. Thanks sharing the radio clip . . . your accusation of false prophet is very accurate. He should be exposed. I'll be reposting this at my blog. Important stuff and difficult to discourse on.

Baus said...

Bob, it seems to me you're saying "if someone advocates bad politics and believes that God is on their side, then they are a false prophet."

Can you clarify? Is this your basic point?

All of life, including everyone's political views, are/is religious. So, --for example-- Obama is not a Christian. His political agenda is no more or less religious than Beck's. Does that mean Obama is a false prophet, if his political views are erroneous?

So what, if Obama doesn't realize that His view of God is behind his politics? That would only make him more dangerous than someone like Beck who admits his religious motivation.

Anyway, I don't think you've ever explained what you think "social justice" is. Could you give us a definition? If Beck thinks it is, essentially, Commie/Fascist Welfare statism... Do you agree with his definition, but believe that churches should teach and support such government policies?

Please clarify. Thanks.

Embers said...

Thanks for posting - those of us who have stopped taking Beck seriously are at risk of missing the non-political ramifications of his actions. Politically, I think that he can be maintained, but this religious fervor is particularly dangerous for the Church in America. Many Christians take him far too seriously, and fail to realize that his opinions are informed by the Mormon faith rather than the Christian one.
@Baus - That's not the impression that I got at all - while it's true that political ideology is very much informed by one's religious beliefs, one is only a prophet when he/she claims that their "plan" was given to them as a message from God for others, that this "plan" is God's plan, and that anyone who does not recognize and support this plan is subject to God's retribution. It seems to me that, based on the information in this posting, Glenn Beck has indeed set himself up as not only a prophet for America, but a sort of prophet/savior, which, again from my limited knowledge, is fitting with his Mormon faith.

Bob Robinson said...

Baus,
I'm sorry, but I did not say that Beck is a false prophet because he "advocates bad politics and believes that God is on his side." I said that he is a false prophet because he is claiming to hear from God a "Plan" and that we are all to "get behind God" on the plan that Beck is about to reveal. If Beck were a confessing Christian, I'd be wary of this, but I have a major issue with this because he is a confessing Mormon. The "god" of Mormonism is not the God of Christianity. Mormons are polytheists, believing in many gods, each ruling individual planets. The "god" of Mormonism is not eternal, but was once a man. And "salvation," for a Mormon, is not granted by grace by faith in the Lordship of Jesus Christ, but in our exultation into being gods ourselves.

And so, when Mormons tell us that they are getting "feelings" from their god, and that their god is going to give them "The Plan" for the "Refounding of America," we evangelicals must part with that and call it what it is. It is what John warned about in his first letter:

"Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world." (1 John 4:1-3)

Bob Robinson said...

Baus,
Thanks for asking about why I think Beck was wrong to denounce "social justice." I will post on that shortly. Suffice it to say that that phrase certainly carries some of the connotations from Communism, and thus I myself shy away from using that term (preferring instead to talk about "Social Action," "Systemic Justice," and "Shalom," or our seeking of universal flourishing in not just individual lives but in social systems). I believe in limited government, but I also believe that government has not just a negative role (to punish wrong-doers) but a positive role (to be God’s servant for the common good).

More on what Biblical "Justice" is in what I'm writing now and will post soon.

Bob Robinson said...

Embers,
Thanks for coming to my defense. You articulate my position very well.

Bob Robinson said...

Adam,
You've nailed it on the head: "Beck scares me not so much in his ideology... its the far-reaching impact of his ideology among my Christian brothers and sisters."

We can have disagreements about politics, that's fine. But when someone claims to get their political ideology straight from God, then we have a problem, especially when that "god" is not the Christian God, but the god of Mormonism. And that isn't a big deal either (Mormons have forever claimed to have American modern-day prophets). The big deal is that this non-Christian has so much influence over evangelical Christians, and is celebrated for this influence (see his recent speech at Liberty University where he received an honorary doctorate). According to "The Liberty Way, the official code for student conduct at Liberty, "It is the duty of every student to respect Liberty's Statement of Doctrine and Purpose." How can a Mormon do that? Isn't this a problem?!?

dwmitchell said...

I missed that verse, passage of Scripture that says the govt is to do good. Jesus went about doing good (Acts 10) and the church is to be busy doing good, esp. to/for our brothers and sisters but where specifically does it say that the govt is to be about doing good?

Bob Robinson said...

dwmitchell-
Romans 13:4 says that the governing authority "is God’s servant to do you good."

This phrase is often missed when people exegete Romans 13 with the presupposition that it only deals with the government being "an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer."

Neil said...

I know this is not the main issue on this page, but as an Australian christian, i am confused; on the one hand I am surprised to see such negativity and cynicism in the role of government as demonstrated by dwmitchell, and yet many American christians (as it seems to us over here)seem to believe that the USA is a christian state. Also, Bob, i am curious with your conection of social justice being related to communism; are you able to explain that? Or are you referring to socialism; i thought ideologically, communism and socialism are quite different.

dwmitchell said...

Bob, Come on. Let's not read into the text what isn't there. What the text says is that rulers are to praise what is good thereby encouraging Christians to do what is good. There is noting in the text to remotely suugest that the govt rulers are to provide food, clothing, housing, healthcare, education, etc. The text is saying the rulers are to praise those who do good and punish those who do evil.

Bob Robinson said...

dwmitchell,
What the text says is "God's servant to do you good." It's right there in black and white!

And I did not even imply that by this I think that the government is tasked to "provide food, clothing, housing, healthcare, education, etc." As a neocalvinist, I believe in Sphere Sovereignty, and thus I do not believe that govt should take over the tasks that other institutions in society.

However, this does not mean that the govt should have a completely "hands off" approach, either. I believe that "the good" is served by government created laws like which side of the road we should drive on. I also believe that there is "good" in governmental health regulations, for instance. Without the government mandating that certain standards must be met in food preparation, many people would die or become very ill. I believe that government should have stepped in passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (contrary to Rand Paul's view). I believe that government should assure the free exercise of religion.

Therefore, there seems to be a lot that is "good" that the government can, and should do.

As Paul Marshall writes in God and the Constitution: Christianity and American Politics,
"Paul added that (governments) are 'God's servants for your good' (Rom. 13:4)... One consequence of this was that political authority was understood as existing for the good of the citizenry. Political power was to be defined as servanthood. Government was called to serve those in its jurisdiction and to defend those who suffered injustice." (p. 54)

Neil said...

i am curious to know what sort of society dwmitchell would prefer if govt had no role to play? Every person for themselves resulting in anarchy?

Kyle Reed said...

You absolutely nailed it on the head.
Great thoughts and I am glad that you are calling this to attention.
I cannot tell you how many middle aged christians that I talk to who say they love glen beck and what he is doing.

Honestly, I see this as a way to sell books, and to ultimately make money. Though he critiques the "liberals" as going after religious organizations as well as social justice in a way to make money, he himself seems to be the one using his voice to make money.

Anonymous said...

Glenn is telling the truth about the government. Anyone with a brain can see that. But that's hard to find these days.

If Glenn has accepted Jesse death as payment for his sin. He is a child of God.

Anonymous said...

Dear sir, I am not certian of the fact that Glenn Beck is a false phrophet. I have my own thoughts. i must say that to judge one as a false prophet he must say something that is contrary to the word of God. (the Bible) I am in no way taking the side of G Beck, I at this point do not know what to believe about him as I am very early in my reasearch. If he is indeed a mourmon as I have read, I certianly will be on mt toes about his comments. Not to be criticall but when you post his comments please try to put the Quotation marks at the beginning and end of his total comments so that I may accuratlly weigh his comments. It would be very helpfull.I do not mean any harm, i am simpley looking for the truth. I will say that the Mourmon does not consider my savior Jesus Christ as Lord and he is the only way. Please don't consider this as an attack. I would simpley appreciate a better understanding of what he actually said. I listend to the audio but at times it is hard to keep up. I don't mean to discourage, just want to be helpfull. Thank you for your work, Joey Basco

Bob Robinson said...

Joey,
I pray that your research is fruitful! The quote from Beck is the indented section at the end, in dark blue. I took the time to type it up so that when you listen to the audio you can have the words to read.
A false prophet not only is someone who says something contrary to Scripture, but also one who claims to hear the voice of God that does not claim the one true God as their Lord. Beck, being a Mormon, denies the central claims of Christianity, and therefore when he claims to hear from God, we must say, "NO!"

Anonymous said...

It is sad how many Conservative Christiana do not know what authentic genuine Christianity teaches. Either that, or they are willing to give Glenn Beck thumps up because they agree with his Politics. Shame on them! the real Jesus must be weeping! Mormons do not have a different Jesus.

If Obama is not a Christian well Christianity also denounces Mormonism as a cult religion. It was started by Founder Joseph Smith in the 1800. Smith claimed an Angel gave him a different Gospel and wrote the book of Mormon. You will never see a cross over their Church because they reject the Cross of Christ as the way to Salvation. Below is what they believe!

God has a physical body and so does his wife.

2) No Trinity. Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are three separate gods. People can become gods.

3) Jesus was created by sexual union between God and Mary.

4) Jesus was married.

5) Jesus’ death does not atone for all sin.

6) Baptism for the dead.

7) Dark skinned people were not granted Mormon privileges until 1978.

8) Jesus and Satan were spirit brothers.

For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ.
No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light
.2nd Corinthian 11:13-14 Christian bible!

Anonymous said...

Correction Mormons have a different Jesus it is not the one in the Christian bible! Do your research Beck is a fraud!

Anonymous said...

Glenn Beck just like Oprah believes in a different god other than the one in the genuine Christian bible!
He is confusing people and leading decent Christians astray. This is ever bit as dangerous as he claims Obama to be. People are going to end of in Hell as a result. Christian Pastors will then have to answer to the real Jesus!

Tom said...

Glen Beck is a charlatan who is in it for the money. He does not represent Mormonism although a lot of Mormons have taken his bait because he is a convert to the religion and we are a rather clannish group.

Beck also preaches the same right wing BS that a number of the legislative leaders (so called) in the Utah legislature do.

The overwhelming number of Mormons are decent, honest God believing people. Unfortunately the teachings of the LDS Church have an unpleasant side effect of breeding gullibility in the members and an unrealistic trust in the "leaders". (God "calls" the leaders and God doesn't choose junk for those positions) Most Mormon citizens of Utah are not able to make the differentiation between Church leadership and political leadership and the politicians take full advantage of this. This is also the reason that Utah is the infinity fraud capital of America.

Beck is just another in a long line of scammers who have taken advantage of this phenomena. Most of the Republican "leaders" in the state do the same thing.

Anonymous said...

Stop twisting the truth just because you dont believe in the politics that follow a rightous life. Glenn never once promotes mormonism, just the belief of return to our maker as our founding fathers did. Didnt you see people of all faith behind him or did you imagine people of mormon religion only? He does not condemn your religion so why do you feel priviledged to condemn his?

Andre Benavidez said...

It comes down to this. What Would Jesus Do?

Jesus taught that we should help the needy, the poor, the sick, the people who can't help themselves. This was his greatest lesson. "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Matt. 6:21)" It's important for us not to get caught up in inflammatory rhetoric. Instead of buying gold to ensure that we'll get more in return later, we as true Christians should be joining the Peace Corps, or starting a food drive. This Free Market idea of God that rejects Jesus' teachings needs to stop. Christianity was closer to socialism than we'd like to admit.

caucazhin said...

Becks in line with David Barton and with what I would call the whole " MANIFEST DESTINY " crowd.
As if God needs aMERICA and is draped in the aMERICAN flag.
And if u really want to see what Mormons believe just take the second ( m ) out of Mormon and see what u get then watch this cartoon !!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3BqLZ8UoZk

Anonymous said...

I can confirm that Glenn Beck is an enemy to the Holy Spirit. Please read about this dream:

I began dreaming and it came to be I was watching a TV screen. Glenn Beck was on “educating” Americans on his political views and doing his thing. Then he began to do his comedy routine and the video was filled with all sorts of flash and linguistics. He was mocking himself as if he was doing a parody on himself. After some time of his so-called good humor, a wretched and truly heinous wench with a red bleeding eye in between her forehead appeared on the screen. When I looked at the ugly red eye, it began to suck me into a trance and I felt true horror. I started to shake and fight the dream as the feelings I felt were so wicked, nerving and satanic it made me sick. Then I heard a womanly voice hum the word “demon” as I felt something pull me out of the trance. Finally I awoke and I felt absolute horror.

I prayed that night to God feeling lost and unsure about what to do next. This dream came the following morning. It was clear to me; this man was a false prophet and leading people astray. He conspires hatred between the Muslim and Christian community on his blaze web site. He also uses frequently the symbol of the sun in his works. He is part of the occult and is a slippery snake. I once followed him and God has guided me away from Glenn Beck. He is not a follower of Jesus Christ. The USA is a nation involved in sin and this man preaches his method for recovery and prosperity. This is not the truth of the much needed repentance in the USA.

I hope this helps shed some light.

ZB said...

Hi, I'm ZB,
I don't think you're correctly assessing what Glenn Beck is trying to do. Glenn Beck is merely attempting to inform listeners to the alarming societal decay taking place in our nation. I listen to him regularly, he is not now, or ever (as far as I can tell) trying to indoctrinate me or anyone else into the Mormon faith. Rather, the thrust of Glenn's concerns are the threat to individual liberty and choice of faith and belief that is vehemently under attack. Should our Constitution liberties be lost, no one who names the name of Christ (Mormon or no), shall worship as they choose, and shall see persecution beyond what any of us can imagine. Glenn is not applying to pastor my church, he is pointing out legitimate threats that concern ALL of us. I heard this same type of reasoning during the last major election. "I can't vote for Romney, he's a Mormon". I have many differences and problems with Romney, but I'm not hiring him the run my church. I'm voting to hire him as the chief law inforcement officer of our nation, basically, an elevated cop. He's certainly nowhere near my ideal choice, but he's the best choice I have, So, I vote. Can a Mormon be a good policeman in our society? I would think so. Glenn is not the ideal pinnacle of the Christian faith (maybe not a Christian at all), but he is defending my right to express and practice my faith. Americans have got to learn to work together toward righteous causes whenever possible. Glenn has chosen the Mormon faith, I believe it is a false religion, he will be judged for his deeds on earth as will I. I'm counting on God's grace and Jesus substitutionary sacrifice to atone for my sin. If Glenn is not, then he is not. None of this keeps me from standing together with him against abortion, or to defend the bill of rights. Do good whenever good can be done. Please don't throw out the baby with the bath water. Glenn is no prophet, nor is he trying to be. Let's agree when we can, and for what's right. For the the things in which we cannot agree, then we shall not agree.

God Bless,

ZB

Bob Robinson said...

ZB,
I certainly affirm that a policeman, a president or a political pundit does not need to be a Christian to do their job well. I agree with you.

But that is not the thrust of this post - This post is showing EVIDENCE that Beck is purposefully positioning himself as not just a political pundit but as a religious prophet.

The point is, if Beck continues to use such rhetoric about himself and his cause, he is indeed a false prophet, for he is not hearing from the One True God. He is either lying, delusional, or led by the Evil One.

Unknown said...

I disagree. Glen is acting as a disciple of Jesus Christ. He speaks of morals values and the importance of belief in God. All that he's guilty of is loving his neighbor unliking to himself and loving his God above all. Regardless what God he worships he does a lot of good through his show. Even if he claimed to be a prophet which he never ever has the scripture say by their works you shall know them. Im betting none of you judgers raises tens of millions of dollars to help people around the world. Besides that the lds church would excomunicate and crusify him if he acted or claimed to be a prophet.
I sure hope Bob Robinson has no sins for throwing so many stones.