Heaven is For Real – This Story is Not
Heaven is for Real – This Story is Definitely Not
Today I will give a review of “Heaven is for Real – A little boys astounding story of his trip to heaven and back”. I went to a local Christian book store called CUM Books stores here in South Africa to find hundreds of copies of this book stacked under the ‘Best Selling’ section. I picked one up and thought to myself, “Satan’s smart, he is now using little kids to sell his story.”
To give a brief summary of the story, little Colton aged 4, complains of stomach pains and runs a high fever. His parents, Todd and Sonja Burpo take him to a hospital where the doctor fails to diagnose the problem. The little boy is now deteriorating to such an extent that they remove him out of the hospital and take him to another one where he is diagnosed for a burst appendix. Rushed into surgery, little Colton while on the surgery table experiences something many people never do. He apparently goes to Heaven and meets Jesus. After he is home he starts to recount his story to his parents, as best as a 4 year old can, of his trip to Heaven and back.
There have been many books written by many people on their supposed trips of Heaven where they meet a ‘Jesus’ type person. One being Choo Thomas’ “Heaven is so Real” and then Don Piper’s “90 Minutes in Heaven”, who just happens to endorse Heaven is For Real. In the front of the book on the ‘Praise for Heaven is For Real’ pages, there are praises from 12 different people telling you why you should by this book, all reasoning as to why Colton’s story is just as good as that of the bible, and why you should “allow a little child to lead you.” — Don Piper, Speaker and Author, 90 Minutes in Heaven
Todd Burpo is a pastor at a Wesleyan church. This helps to cement the trap. First we the reader would surmise that a 4 year old child would never lie like (Alex Malarkey “The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven”), and to top things off the father of the child is a pastor – Satan would never go after a 4 year old child of a pastor, would he? Especially if the pastor is biblical sound in his doctrine, or is he? Throughout the book Heaven is for Real Todd Burpo points to scripture to try and back up his sons ‘visions’ but with terrible inaccuracy. For anyone not knowing scripture, they would agree with Todd, being non the wiser. After all he is a pastor, he should not be telling untruths to his church, let alone the whole world.
Heaven is for Real and it’s problematic areas:
I am now going to take you through the book Heaven is for Real, looking at all the problematic areas. We are going to deal with this book biblically which includes being logical. God gave us a brain to use – let’s use it.
False visions from Colton:
1) On page xix of Heaven is for Real,when Colton first tells his parents about his trip to Heaven he states that the angels sang to him. He says, “Dad, Jesus had the angels sing to me because I was so scared. They made me feel better” ..at the time… “I was sitting on Jesus lap”. Now Colton was scared because he was having surgery. Immediately we have a problem with this statement. If you are sitting on Jesus Christ’s lap, surely you will not be scared? But yet Colton is scared and this Jesus figure has to get the angels to sing to him in order to make him feel better. The bible tells us:
John 14:27 “27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
Philippians 4:7 “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
2) Colton tells his father about Jesus’ horse, he says; “Hey dad, did you know Jesus has a horse?”….”Yeah a rainbow horse, I got to pet him. There’s lots of colors”. pg. 63
In Heaven is for Real, Jesus has a horse that resembles that of a My Little Pony? And we as Christians are supposed to believe this? Rainbows are also very significant in New Age teaching.–(This we will discuss in more detail later). Todd tries to justify his son’s vision by telling us about scripture of “the rainbow colours described in the book of Revelation” pg. 66
3) Colton also tells his father that this Jesus figure had a crown; “Yeah a crown, and it had this… this diamond thing in the middle of it and it was kind of pink…” pg.66
In Heaven is for Real, it would appear that the Jesus of Colton’s vision not only has a My Litte Pony but appears ‘plastic’ as well. A pink like stone in his crown? Who are we kidding here! The Jesus that appeared to Colton certainly does not look anything Jesus Christ the Son of God as spoken about in the book of Revelation – visions given to John. Now this vision we can believe because it’s in the bible:
Revelation 1:12-16 “I turned to see whose voice it was that was speaking to me and when I had turned I saw seven golden lamp stands, and among these lampstands I saw someone ‘like a Son of Man’. He was dressed in a long robe with a golden girdle around his breast; his head and his hair were white as snow-white wool, his eyes blazed like fire, and his feet shone as the finest bronze glows in the furnace. His voice had the sound of a great waterfall, and I saw that in his right hand he held seven stars. A sharp two-edged sword came out of his mouth, and his face was ablaze like the sun at its height.“
The Purple Sash
4) Colton also says his Jesus wore white with a purple sash in his book Heaven is for Real he says, “Jesus was the only one in heaven who had purple on, Dad Did you know that? pg 65
Todd then tries to confuse the reader of Heaven is for Real by saying the following, “In scripture, purple is the color of kings. A verse from the gospel of Mark flashed through my mind: “His clothes became dassling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them” pg 65.
If we look at this scripture what Todd is referring too, it says nothing of purple. This is when Jesus was transfigured (Mark 9:3). The only time Jesus had purple on was just before he was going to be crucified. Note, he was being clothed as a human King – Jesus Christ is now King of all Kings. He is not Colton’s description of a Jesus figure, which is more like a fairy-tale Jesus.
Mark 15:17 “And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head”
Mark 15:20 “And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him.”
Later on in the article we will have a look at what Colton’s Jesus actually looks like – yes we have a picture.
5) Something that stuns Colton’s father into submission is the fact that Colton’s Jesus showed him his hands and feet and Colton says, “Jesus has markers” pg 65
Todd does not understand that this Jesus in Heaven is for Real is not the real Jesus Christ of the Bible; a vision and the reality of Jesus Christ really returning to earth are completely two different things. Yes when Jesus Christ returns we will see the marks of where he was nailed to the cross, but this vision of Colton’s is a vision and another Jesus. Satan can mimic anything he wants too.
6) Todd asks Colton what everyone looks like in heaven and Colton replies, “Everybody’s got wings.” pg 72 informing his father that everyone sort of looks like angels.
This is absolutely incorrect. We know from scripture that we will most probably look the same as we did on earth, but we will be perfect in every sense of the word. We also know from scripture that the resurrection of believers’ physical bodies has yet to take place, anyone who dies and is destined for Heaven, their form now in Heaven must lack physical attributes. Just to note: Some people were raised from the dead and transformed at the time of Jesus Christ’s resurrection. Matthew 27:52 says that their “bodies…were raised.” But do they have wings? No they do not. Philippians 3:21 says that Jesus “will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body.” Does Jesus have wings? No he does not. We are made in the image of God according to Genesis 1:27, does God have wings? No He does not. Is Colton’s Jesus pulling this child’s leg and everyone else who believes him? Yes he is.
7) Another strange addition to our bodies in Heaven is for Real is that in heaven is a halo. Colton tells his father that, “All people have a light above their head”. pg 73 To try and persuade the reader that dear little Colton is telling the truth Todd goes on to tell us about angels in the bible and “when angels show up, they’re sometimes dazzlingly bright, blinding almost”. pg 73 He also tells us about Stephen who’s “face became as bright as an angel’s” pg 73 not long after he was stoned to death.
Hmm, and what has that got to do with people in heaven having “lights about their heads?” Nothing. Again Todd’s examples from scripture to try prove his point are ridiculous to say the least. Interestingly enough Todd does say that he actually can’t “…remember angels having lights over their heads specifically-or halos, as some would call them.” pg 74 But never the less chooses to believe his sons story as being true and goes on to tell the rest of the world a lie.
8) In Heaven is for Real, Colton meets his grandfather and his little sister in heaven. It would appear that everyone goes to Heaven because his little sister tells Colton that she can’t wait to meet her parents (Todd and Sonja) one day in heaven. What would happen if either Todd or Sonja were to reject the Gospel? Would the little sister’s hope be crushed?
Colton’s little long lost sister tells him that God (who is called Jesus’ dad) – adopts all babies that have died. Now this story of God adopting children will pull at the heartstrings of a billion mothers who have lost children through miscarriage and other tragedies. The pain of losing a child is unlike anything a parent should face. But now we have the story Heaven is for Real by the Burpo’s, tapping into the heartache of millions of women (like it did with Sonja Burpo) and blinding them into believing that the vision Colton experienced was true; that he was indeed in Heaven and that the Jesus he met was indeed the true Biblical Jesus, when we know, based on all the evidence that Colton’s experience was demonic.
Who’s on the left side?
9) Colton explains to his father that Jesus sits on the right hand side of his ‘dad’. Todd then asks who sits on the left side and Colton replies, “Oh, that’s easy, Dad, That’s where the angel Gabriel is, He is really nice”. pg 101 This is another lie. No where in the bible does it tell us who sits on the left side of God because there is no left side, only a right side.
“In (Ephesians 1:19-21) here we see God exalting Jesus above all others by seating Him at the right hand of the Father.”
“The term “God’s right hand” in prophecy also refers to the Messiah to whom is given the power and authority to subdue His enemies (Psalm 110:1; Psalm 118:16)”
The fact that Jesus Christ is at the “right hand of God” was a sign to the disciples that Jesus had indeed gone to heaven. In John 16:7-15, Jesus told the disciples that He had to go away and He would send the Holy Spirit. So the coming of the Holy Spirit in the upper room on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-13) was positive proof that Jesus was indeed in heaven seated at the right hand of God. This is confirmed in Romans 8:34 where the Apostle Paul writes that Christ is sitting at God’s right hand making intercession for us.
Therefore, what we can say that “God’s right hand” refers to the Messiah, the LORD Jesus Christ and He is of equal position, honor, power and authority with God (John 1:1-5). The fact that Christ is “sitting” refers to the fact that His work of redemption is done and when the fullness of the gentiles is brought in (Romans 11:25), Christ’s enemies will be made His footstool as the end of the age comes, all prophecy is completed, and time is no more.” –http://www.gotquestions.org/right-hand-God.html
The Holy Spirit
10) But it get’s worse, Colton tells his father that he sat with the Holy Spirit and it was kinda hard to describe him, other than “he’s kinda blue”. Colton was sitting by the Holy Spirit (in Heaven) praying for his father because as Colton said to his dad, “You needed the Holy Spirit, so I prayed for you”. pg 102 This is a very telling statement. The bible tells us that when you become a Christian the Holy Spirit comes to abide in you.
John 14:16-18 16 “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you”
Romans 8:9-11 “9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
1 Corinthians 3:16-17 “16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.
1 Corinthians 6:19 “19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?”
Todd is supposed to be a Pastor, and Todd is a professing Christian yet according to Colton’s Jesus, he does not have the Holy Spirit in him. This means that the following verses and many more applies to Todd Burpo:
Matthew 7:21-23 “21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied [preached] in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!
11) To make matters even worse Colton says that the Holy Spirit shoots down power to his dad when he is preaching in church, “It’s the Holy Spirit, “I watched him, He showed me”… ” He shoots down power for you when you are talking in church.” pg 126 This is totally unscriptural. Because we have proved above that the Holy Spirit abides in born again believers here on earth. The Holy Spirit does not give you power either. This Holy Spirit that Colton speaks of is false, along with it’s Jesus.
John 16:7-15 “7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. 8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. 12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.“
Rainbows in Heaven is for Real
12) Colton becomes obsessed with rainbows. Even to the point that he prays for a rainbow and one supposedly appears in the sky the following day. Todd Burbo uses the one and only scripture of Revelation 4:3 to try and backup his sons visions. “And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.”
Because we know from everything else that we have read that there is something seriously demonic regarding Colton’s visions, therefore it’s only obvious to look at New Age teaching regarding Rainbows to see what they have to say. I did an article here on the 7 Colours of the Rainbow and the 7 Chakras, please read.
This is what New Ager’s have to say about the Rainbow:
“The experience of seeing the colours of the rainbow, when the sun is shining and it has been raining, is one we all can share. The experience often has a magical quality to it as though it is stirring some deep inner response. Such is the wonder of the light that forms the colours of the rainbow.The heavenly principle is to GIVE AS WE RECEIVE. We are not intended to absorb the light of the rainbow, enlightenment, joy and happiness, rather we are intended to transmit it; and in doing so to unfold its meaning for others, and for ourselves too.” —http://www.spiritualwisdom.org.uk/colours-of-the-rainbow.htm
“The rainbow represents the regenerate spiritual person – one who has lived out the path of enlightenment, whose potential has opened out like the lotus flower of the east, each stage represented by a new colour developing out of the one before.
The main seven colours symbolise wholeness or holiness. There are a variety of rainbows sometimes seen around those in the spiritual realms – the rainbow of the ‘aura’, as it is sometimes called, picturing the spiritual state of the person.
Yoga teaches that there are seven centers or chakras in the human body. These are spiritual centers – you will not find them described in a materialistic medical book.” — http://www.spiritualwisdom.org.uk/colours-of-the-rainbow2.htm
Akiane and Colton Burpo’s Christ
13) In the book, Heaven is for Real, The Burpo’s were themselves totally obsessed with finding out what Colton’s Jesus looked like “…as pastor, I wound up spending a lot of time at hospitals, in Christian bookstores, and at other churches–all places where there are lots of drawings and paintings of Christ….When we came across a picture of Jesus we’d ask Colton, “What about this one? Is that what Jesus looks like?’ pg 93. Finally Todd came across information of a girl by the the name of Akiane Kramarik who too had began having visions at the age of four. And as it turns out her descriptions of Heaven appear to be the same as Colton’s – so they say. Akiane is a Prodigy and paints the most beautiful paintings, “she states that God has given her the visions and abilities to create her artwork” –– http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akiane_Kramarik. One of her paintings is that of the Christ of her visions, she calls him her ‘Prince of Peace’. Colton, turned to his dad when he saw Akiane’s Jesus and said, “Dad, that one’s right.” pg 145.
What does the bible tell us:
Exodus 20:4-5 4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image-any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
That applies to images of Jesus too, be it statues, or any other religious paintings, even the movies. It leads to idolatry, breeds superstition and leads to occultism. If Jesus wanted us to know what he looked like there would be a full description of Him in the bible, but He has not because we are to believe by FAITH.
Corinthians 5:7 “7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.”
1 Peter 1:8 “8 whom having not seenyou love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory”
John 20:29 “29 Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Therefore all and I mean all representations of Jesus are false and have no backing by scripture.
Akiane is now 16 years old, this is what she has to say about Jesus,
“Jesus shared with us: ‘I am the way, the truth and the light. No one comes to my Father, but through me.’ I feel that he invited us to participate in the divinity. Each of us is one of kind [ sic ] original path to the way of truth and light, and without our individual love and effort we cannot understand and reach God” [Emphasis added] — http://akiane.com/blog/?tag=akiane.
She rejects Jesus as being the only way for mankind to be reconciled to God. She opposes what Jesus Christ taught in favor of Satan’s promise of divinity to Eve in Genesis:3:5. Akiane has clearly met another Jesus and if Colton’s Jesus looks the same as Akiane’s then we can be certain that Colton’s Jesus is anti-Christ too.
14) Besides all the other unbiblical nonsense that Colton saw in his ‘trip to Heaven’ that was penned down in his book Heaven is for Real, the one that will bring fear into people the most is the one where he speaks of the coming war. “There’s going to be a war, and it’s going to destroy this world. Jesus and the angels and the good people are going to fight against Satan and the monsters and the bad people. I saw it”. pg 136 Colton tells his father that he saw his father fighting in the war too, fighting for Jesus who wins the war in the end. The problem with this eschatological view (the study of the end times) is that it’s wrong. The Body of Christ (Church) are ‘raptured’ to Heaven before the Tribulation starts. The ‘church’ that remains is but the false church of the antiChrist – the Roman Catholic church who have it as their mission to take over Jerusalem for themselves. The time of the 7 year tribulation is for Israel – and everything will happen in Israel. God turns back to Israel as he seals 144,000 Jewish witness to do the preaching instead of gentiles along with the 2 witnesses mentioned in the Book of Revelation. Anyone who professes Jesus Christ as their saviour will be beheaded. The time of the Tribulation is for God’s Wrath upon the earth. God deals with mankind and the anti-Christ very severely – but will mankind repent? No. If Todd Burpo is still going to be on earth during the Tribulation according to Colton’s vision he has then missed the ‘Blessed Hope’. (Titus 2:13)
See all these articles on the rapture here: Rapture, Caught Up, The First Resurrection
Colton is the new Jesus.
15) Colton’s babysitter, Ali, one night hears Colton’s story regarding his sister in heaven and that he missed her terribly. Ali, shocked at his story ends up crying her heart out. She is deeply touched. Ali had grown up in a Christian home but had entertained doubts regarding her faith, for e.g., not knowing if all religions lead to the same God or not. “But Colton’s story about his sister strengthened her Christian faith” pg 130
So Colton’s story is more impressive than anything the Bible could offer. Even though the Bible is TRUE and Colton’s story is not. Satan loves to use emotions to tug at the heartstrings of unsuspecting victims. And he is bargaining on you not going to the Bible to check to see if what he is telling you is true or not. And the longer you refrain from testing these evil spirits, the deeper and deeper you are pulled into deception through more false teaching, until you are completely swallowed up with no where to go.
Paul’s Rapture, John’s Prophecies and Lazarus and the Rich Man:
16) On page 80 of Heaven is for Real, Todd tells us about the Apostle Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth in 2 Corinthians 12 about a man he knew personally (obviously, Paul himself) who was caught up to Heaven. And Todd also tells us about the Apostle John who had an angel appear to him and he penned a number of prophecies and described Heaven in great detail. Todd then quotes scripture from the Book of Revelation
Revelation 4:1-3 “1 After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.” 2 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. 3 And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald.”
Basically Todd is trying to convince the reader that Colton’s vision is equal to that of Paul and John, but if Todd was a genuine Christian Pastor he would know the following:
“If I told you that I had recently visited there and only communicated what I knew was recorded in the Bible about it, you couldn’t object to what I said on the basis of my being biblically inaccurate. Accuracy, however, is not the only criterion for biblical discernment. There are many other instructions and examples that we must take into consideration. For example, the Apostle Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 12 of a “man in Christ” (no doubt Paul himself) who was caught up to Heaven. He didn’t know at the time whether it was an experience in which his spirit had left his body, or a vision while his spirit remained in his body. Nevertheless, he states that what he saw and heard in paradise was not lawful for a man to utter. Paul’s experience was followed by a humbling infirmity, which he states that God allowed him to suffer “lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me. And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations…“ (2 Corinthians:12:6-7)
That isn’t always the case in Scripture. The Apostle John obviously was given permission to declare what he witnessed in Heaven in the Book of Revelation. This would seemingly apply as well to the writer of the Book of Job.
But can we be sure that the visions and personal experiences of these writers are true? Absolutely–because their words are found in the Scriptures . Of the Word of God, the psalmist writes, “Thy word is true from the beginning…,” and Jesus said, “Thy word is truth” (Psalm:119:160; John:17:17). That is the ultimate verification that the experiences of those men of God indeed took place as they described. Furthermore, since the canon of Scripture was closed in the first century A.D., no one since that time can have his vision of-or his alleged visit to–Heaven validated in the same way.
Jesus gave us another insight to help our discernment when He told of Lazarus and the rich man. The rich man, who had died, was in a place where he was tormented and suffering remorse. Yet he begged Abraham to send someone to warn his brothers so that they would not end up with him in “this place of torment.” Abraham’s response was: “They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.” And again, “If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead“ (Luke:16:19-31) [Emphasis added] — http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/search-the-scriptures-daily/read/articles/is-heaven-is-for-real-for-real-an-exercise-in-discernment-13365.html
Todd Burpo’s deceptive faith:
17) On page 62, Todd Burpo was still trying to come to terms with Colton’s story, he said, “If Colton really had a supernatural encounter, I certainly didn’t want to ask him leading questions. We had taught Colton about our faith all his life. But if he really had seen Jesus and the angels, I wanted to become the student, not the teacher!”
Todd himself would appear to be duped and does not approve in proper biblical testing as per 1 John 4:1-6. He instead says that we must “be willing to accept reality and to call things what they are even when it is hard”. pg 75 So even though Colton’s story might be a bit hard to swallow, just believe it with childlike faith.
Todd also wanted to become a student of a 4 year old child instead of taking instruction from Jesus Christ (The Word of God). Is a 4 year old child now more truthful than the Word of God? The Bible says:
2 Timothy 3:15-17 “17 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work”
Proverbs 30:5 (Amp) “5Every word of God is tried and purified; He is a shield to those who trust and take refuge in Him.”
18) On page 82 of Heaven is for Real, we are told that “Roman Catholics practice confession as a sacrament, sharing their sins and shortcomings with a priest. Protestants practice confession too, though a little less formally, often confiding in God without an intermediary.” When I started reading this book I kept my eyes peeled for the Roman Catholic connection and was not really surprised when it showed up.
1) Catholics practice confession, genuine Christians do no not practice confession. Christians ask Jesus Christ for forgiveness of their sin. 2) Confession and asking for forgiveness (repenting) is two different things. 3) The statement by Todd that he confides to “God without an intermediary” is very concerning for the bible says,
1 Tim 2:5 “5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus“
Todd prays to the Holy Spirit.
19) He says, “I breathed a ‘prayer of thanks’ to the Holy Spirit, who had clearly “shot down power,” giving me an answer for this grieving woman…” pg 146 Well we know that Todd lacks Jesus Christ as an intermediary, so he needs a new substitute; the holy spirit (lower case because it’s a false spirit)
No where in the bible are we told to pray to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will always point you to Jesus Christ the Son of God.
John 14:26 “26But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”
John 16:14 “14 Jesus speaking of the Holy Spirit said, “He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you“
The bible does tell us the following about the Holy Spirit regarding prayer:
Romans 8:26 “26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”
Jude 1:20 “…build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit.”
Scripture suggests that we pray “in the Holy Spirit”, which means we permit the Holy Spirit to guide our prayers and give us the right words to say, and during times when we don’t know what to say, the Holy Spirit automatically prays on our behalf with words that cannot be uttered, because He knows exactly what we need. This new idea that we pray to the Holy Spirit is a New Age concept – The false New Age holy spirit represents the 6th Chakra or the Third Eye.
When we pray, we can pray to God our Heavenly Father – Psalm 5:2 “Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray”. To the Lord Jesus Christ, we pray as to the Father because they are equal. Or you can pray to our Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ – it does not matter, what ever makes you happy. Prayer to one member of the Trinity is prayer to all, because all three are One. Stephen, when he was being martyred, prayed – Acts 7:59 “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” . We are also to pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Paul said, that we are always give – Ephesians 5:20 “thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” . There is no fixed rule, to add a rule on how to address God is wrong.
Jesus Christ’s crucifixion
20) On page 149 in Heaven is for Real, Todd makes the most unbelievable statement regarding Jesus Christ’s crucifixion, he says, “The scripture says that as Jesus gave up his spirit, as he sagged there, lifeless on that Roman cross, God the Father turn his back. I am convinced that he did that because if he had kept on watching, he couldn’t have gone through with it” This kind of thinking is very similar to a man by the name of John Dominic Crossan’s (Jesus Seminar), who has had a great influence the Emergent church:
“If we are to believe that God deliberately sent his only son into the world to be brutally tortured and crucified, then I take that to be transcendental child abuse, and I will not have it.” — John Dominic Crossan, Speech at Duke University Conference on “Jesus in Context: Who Was He?”, February 19-21, 1998
For the undiscerning reader reading this book and does not understand the crucifixion, let me please explain so that you may know the truth and nothing but the truth, because you are not going to get it from Todd Burpo.
Isaiah 53:10 “10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul an offering for sin,
He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,
And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. “
“And about the ninth hour Jesus “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Matthew 27:46. This cry is a fulfillment of Psalm 22:1.
Isaiah 53:4-5 tells us that Jesus “bore our griefs and carried our sorrows; that he was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities; that the chastisement of our peace was laid upon him; that by his stripes we are healed” and Galatians 3:13 tells us “He redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us”.
In those awful moments on the cross, Jesus was expressing His feelings of abandonment as God placed the sins of the world on Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21 “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” and 1 John 2:2 “2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” – and because of that God had to “turn away” from Jesus. As Jesus was feeling that weight of sin, He was experiencing separation from God for the only time in all of eternity. Jesus became sin for us, so He felt the loneliness and abandonment that sin always produces, except that in His case, it was not His sin – it was ours.
But then Jesus cried out from the cross, when Jesus uttered those words, John 19:30 “It is Finished” He was declaring the debt by mankind (the debt of sin) owed to His Father was wiped away completely and forever.
The Catholic connection.
21) One of the biggest warning signs today for a genuine Christian is to note any Roman Catholic connection. Todd says on page 152 in Heaven is for Real, “A lot of our Catholic friends have asked whether Colton saw Mary, the mother of Jesus. The answer to that is also yes. He saw Mary kneeling before the throne of God and at times, standing besides Jesus. “She still loves him like a mom”. The Roman Catholic Church is spoken off in the book of Revelation as:
Revelation 17:4-6 “4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. 5 And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 6 I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.”
The Catholic Mary (Queen of Heaven) is non other than a demonic goddess posing as Jesus’ mother. “The Queen of Heaven in the bible is a Babylonian goddess whom people worshiped. She has been incarnated to Roman Catholicism under the name ‘Mary’, Mary-Queen of Heaven. Many Catholics would deny that Mary worship is part of Catholicism but unfortunately this is not true as she holds a special place in the hearts of many.” — Please read more on Mary Queen of Heaven – Whore of Babylon
Jeremiah 7:18 (Amp) “18 The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead the dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke Me to anger!
Conclusion:
As you can see from the heaps of evidence above that was taken directly from Heaven is for Real that the ‘altered states of consciousness’ that Colton experienced was not genuine. Why? Is is due to his fathers sin of following after false doctrines. Have the Burpo’s delved into things, i.e, contemplative spirituality, that they should have not been delving into. Is this story even a lie? What ever it is, one thing is very clear, the story is not true, and if you choose to follow after this false Jesus with a pink stone in his crown and a pink pony, you will be following after a New Age Jesus. The bible says:
2 Timothy 4:1-5 “1 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: 2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. 5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”
One of the very worst parts of the book is the direct attack on the resurrection. Colton asked his father where Pop-Pop was buried and he told him in Kansas City. Then, in the following chapter, Colton tells his dad that Pop-Pop has a new body. Impossible nonsense, unless his grave in Kansas city is now broken up and the coffin emptied of its bones, meaning everyone else of us has missed it. Paul calls teachings that the resurrection has past gangrene. That’s about what this book amounts to.
I emailed Todd Burpo asking him about this last July (not wanting to get into everything else in the book). Of course, no response.
Stan
I have been wanting to read this book for over a year, I had heard from everyone that it was a great book. It took about two pages for me realize that this book was obviously fictional. The story teller uses so many descriptive words that are clearly meant to put an image in your head of the story playing out. This book is proof of the idol worship going on in the church today, of how an “image” of God is created rather than making an effort to seek the Truth. It is frustrating that this book will influence so many people.
THE NUMBER ONE THING THAT IS BEING LEFT OUT FROM ALL OF THIS IS THAT COLTON IS A CHILD, THE WAY THINGS ARE EXPLAINED AND SAID BY A CHILD ARE DIFFERENT FROM AN ADULT. CHILDREN SAY IT HOW THEY SEE IT WITHOUT TRYING TO BE SPECIFIC, EXAGERATTED OR DETAILED IN ANY WAY. JUST BECAUSE THEY ARE SPOKEN DIFFERENTLY OUTSIDE “BIBLE CONTEXT” DOES NOT MAKE IT FALSE. SORRY BUT A 4 YEAR OLD IS NOT GOING TO SPEAK IN KING JAMES VERSION LANGUAGE. SOME PEOPLE JUST TAKE THINGS WAY OUT OF CONTEXT AND OVER ANALYZE MISSING THE REAL MESSAGE. THERES A VERSE IN THE BIBLE IM NOT SURE WHERE IT MIGHT BE CORINTHIANS (SORRY IM NOT SPECIFIC) WHERE IT STATES THAT IN THE END OF DAYS YOUNG PEOPLE WILL HAVE DREAMS CHILDREN WILL HAVE VISIONS AND SO ON… SOMEWHERE ALONG THOSE LINES AND ALSO IT IS TRUE IF WE DONT BECOME LIKE CHILDREN AND STOP OVER ANALYZING JESUS WE MAY NEVER ENTER HEAVEN, WE ARE MISSING THE BIG PICTURE BECAUSE WE ARE TO BUSY CRITIZING THE COLOR DETAIL! GET IT! ENJOY JESUS, GET STARTED ON YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM NOT A CAREER OUT OF HIS WORD TO SLAM OTHERS WHICH IM SURE HE DID NOT WANT. ANOTHER THING THE BIBLE MENTIONS WHAT GOOD IS KNOWLEDGE IF IS BEING MISUSED OR NOT USED AT ALL. kNOWLEDGE WONT GET YOU TO HEAVEN….
SCARLETTE NESTOR
>> THE NUMBER ONE THING THAT IS BEING LEFT OUT FROM ALL OF THIS IS THAT COLTON IS A CHILD, THE WAY THINGS ARE EXPLAINED AND SAID BY A CHILD ARE DIFFERENT FROM AN ADULT. CHILDREN SAY IT HOW THEY SEE IT WITHOUT TRYING TO BE SPECIFIC, EXAGERATTED OR DETAILED IN ANY WAY. JUST BECAUSE THEY ARE SPOKEN DIFFERENTLY OUTSIDE “BIBLE CONTEXT” DOES NOT MAKE IT FALSE.
Of course it makes it FALSE, my goodness what planet do you hail from? The one where children can’t be used by Satan??
The CATCH is that Satan is using a CHILD to catch people like you into thinking that a child could not be used by Satan to serve his own purposes.
Thanks Martin, I too hope that many people find this site, read it and it SINKS IN because the Holy Spirit is speaking to them, warning them to get out of the nonsense they are involved in.
Amal
>> You people don’t seem to have much knowledge in the prophetic
You are right, we don’t follow after satanic prophetic utterances and visions like you do.
“We watch them on TBN, Daystar, GOD TV, u name it, shocking most of the times to hear what is being preached as truth”
yeah, totally! Preaching religion and bible as truth is shocking not only for you. Praise be His Noodliness, Ramen!
Comment moved from here: 10 Kingdoms – The Abolition of Sovereignty
From Betty Harmon
Hi Deborah and I’d like to comment on the book Heaven Is For Real. I hate to comment on this but I really don’t accept all of this story. I just had a bad negative feeling about some of the interviews that I saw. Something didn’t add up and I really couldn’t put my finger on it – just a bad feeling. Now on the other hand, the book 90 Minutes In Heaven, I really believe that Don Piper had an experience that is worth sharing with the world. He is just too REAL for me. Sometimes in life all that we have is our gut feeling when all is said and done.
I just your site and LOVE IT! We saved a baby mourning dove in our backyard last June and we never dreamed how loving a bird could be such a blessing. She pretty much rules this place of ours along with our 2 cats. I love your BIRD and what a neat site!! I can’t wait to read more…..
B. Harmon from Abilene, Texas here and we’ll get back with you later!!!
Keep lifting people up – GOD BLESS US!
B. Harmon
Hi Betty
Just a note, we don’t go by our feelings or emotions as to what is real and what is not, we go according to what the Word of God says. You believe Don Piper had a heaven experience, where the Word of God tells us he most definitely didn’t and the proof is in the pudding based on what doctrine he follows, he follows the New Order of the Latter Rain. Read in my article what Don Piper says about Heaven is for Real. He says it’s a legitimate book, so much so that we should follow this child’s message (instead of Jesus Christ). Now we have a problem here, either you or he is wrong. If Don Piper had a legitimate experience in heaven don’t you think he would be promoting biblical books and not unbiblical ones?
Jesus does not leave His children in the lurch to fend for themselves when trying to find the truth, no no, He gave us The Holy Spirit who is out helper, counselor, and will always guide us and lead us into ALL TRUTH. (John 16:12) So if Don is now promoting a book of lies, where is the Holy Spirit in his life?
God gave us a brain to use Betty, and I say this to everyone, including myself sometimes. We gotta use it, think a little. lol.
Just another website filled with people who hate anyone who doesn’t believe exactly like they do. I don’t believe in compromising the truth in the name of tolerance, but try teaching the truth instead of teaching what is wrong with everyone else. You come acrossed as hateful and not very God like. You don’t eminate God’s love and peace.
Susie
No you come across as hateful. And yes you are COMPROMISING THE TRUTH – stop lying.
Is it possible to place a header of discussion topic with the comment in the side panel?
Vincent
I know what you mean, and I have thought of that one myself… but alas not yet. There is no space to put an entire Article heading. BUT What you can do is move your mouse over the blue DATE and TIME at the end of each comment and a little popup will tell you what TOPIC the comment falls under. 🙂
I cannot listen to Burpo testimony something about it makes me cringe. It could be their surname for a start.Awful-
John 4 21 Jesus declard “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth”
If these books are so devilish how come it warns people not to go to hell and to repent of their sins. What do you really want to say about his sister and grandfather he saw, which remember he did not knew about? Was it two demons acting as his sister and grandfather – really???! We are not Catholics but born again God fearing people and we also believe in sin confession and restitution and it is the best thing any Christian can do regularly to get that pure heart we all need to enter Heaven. I my be wrong but you just sound so much like a Jehova Witness or Seven day Adventis or one of those other dead churches type of person that all sinners wants to flee from before they ever will desire to become like you!
I don’t agree. God is doing supernatural things in our time. Be careful to not miss God working, because you think you see satan everywhere. We have to be careful of deception, but not to the point that the pharisees went. Their knowledge puffed them up to the stage where they saw Jesus, but told him that He was doing miracles through satan’s power. I know the Bible and I love reading it and praying to God, but I also know someone who has been taken to heaven by God and I believe that person’s testimony. God can and will do whatever He wants.
I find that a lot of what your claiming doesn’t make much sense. Please note that this is my opinion, I don’t claim to know everything about the Bible or God’s ways. You should also admit that, unless you are guilty of pride.
Whether or not this kid did visit Heaven, I don’t see how it can be satanic like you are so quick to claim. If something isn’t clearly explained in the Bible do you automatically claim it to be satanic? If so, many things would be satanic. I don’t see any mention of websites in the bible, does that make your site satanic?
A story like this could point many people to the true gospel. The boys babysitter had her faith renewed because of his story of her little sister. And you say that is satanic. How and why would Satan do anything that would potentially lead even one person to faith in Jesus Christ? That is outside of his nature.
I think a site like this could be much more damaging to people’s faith than anything you write against. What if someone believed this boys story, and was led to Christ and became born again. They then come to your site and read your article in which you attack the thing that led them to faith. They could end up seeing it was all nonsense and throw away their faith. Sure, they may have had weak faith, but you led them away. How would you feel if that happened? You constantly point a finger and attack in a seemingly unloving manner. Divisions and disagreements like this are what has torn the church apart. Yes, the Bible tells us to rebuke and correct, but carefully out of respect.
Also, I can not find any scriptural evidence for a pre-trib rapture.
Read 2 Thess 2:1-3 “..with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him (the rapture), let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.”
Acts 24:15 “There shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked together”
Rev 20:4 “And I saw the souls of those who had been be-headed because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the Word of God. They had not worshipped the beast or his image and had not received his marks on their foreheads or their hands.”
It is clear from scripture that believers will remain on earth through the great tribulation. At the end, those who are dead will rise and those alive will have changed bodies and meet in the sky with Jesus. Together with Jesus they will rid the world of evil and the New Jerusalem will be established.
Continue to read and study His word and you will learn more and more everyday
The Holy Spirt said, “No, it’s a lie.” When I saw this book on the shelf. I’ve never read it and I won’t. I hope and pray people start asking God questions and listening to His answers. Why do so many people write books about what the Bible says? I see people reading new book after new book after new book but they never read the Bible. I know why, distraction. Satan works hard to keep people as far away from the Way the Truth and the Life as he can. Oh, Jesus please come soon and throw this fool into prison.
Tim
I find that a lot of what your claiming doesn’t make much sense. Please note that this is my opinion, I don’t claim to know everything about the Bible or God’s ways. You should also admit that, unless you are guilty of pride.
>> You don’t understand the bible? Why not Tim? It is not pride to admit one knows scripture because one is being taught and guided by the Holy Spirit! All Christians should know the scriptures Tim! God commands us to show ourselves approved. 2Tim 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. And I am not ashamed Tim. You are trying to uses satanic tactics against me that it is prideful to know the Bible. Shame on you.
Whether or not this kid did visit Heaven, I don’t see how it can be satanic like you are so quick to claim. If something isn’t clearly explained in the Bible do you automatically claim it to be satanic? If so, many things would be satanic. I don’t see any mention of websites in the bible, does that make your site satanic?
>> The bible tells us to TEST the Spirits (1 John 4:1-6) if it can’t be backed up by scripture and it’s of a spiritual nature then yes Tim, it’s not of God, and if it’s not of God then it’s Satanic.
A story like this could point many people to the true gospel. The boys babysitter had her faith renewed because of his story of her little sister. And you say that is satanic. How and why would Satan do anything that would potentially lead even one person to faith in Jesus Christ? That is outside of his nature.
>> No Tim, the BIBLE points people to the True Gospel. End of Story.
I think a site like this could be much more damaging to people’s faith than anything you write against.
>> No Tim, my site helps people stay away from unbiblical books like this and tells them to read their BIBLE INSTEAD.
What if someone believed this boys story, and was led to Christ and became born again. They then come to your site and read your article in which you attack the thing that led them to faith. They could end up seeing it was all nonsense and throw away their faith. Sure, they may have had weak faith, but you led them away. How would you feel if that happened? You constantly point a finger and attack in a seemingly unloving manner. Divisions and disagreements like this are what has torn the church apart. Yes, the Bible tells us to rebuke and correct, but carefully out of respect.
>> No Tim, because the Jesus in this story is not the Jesus Christ the only begotten Son of God in the Bible. As you can see above in the article the Jesus the boy saw is a New Age Jesus.
Also, I can not find any scriptural evidence for a pre-trib rapture.
Read 2 Thess 2:1-3 “..with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him (the rapture), let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.”
Acts 24:15 “There shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked together”
Rev 20:4 “And I saw the souls of those who had been be-headed because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the Word of God. They had not worshipped the beast or his image and had not received his marks on their foreheads or their hands.”
It is clear from scripture that believers will remain on earth through the great tribulation. At the end, those who are dead will rise and those alive will have changed bodies and meet in the sky with Jesus. Together with Jesus they will rid the world of evil and the New Jerusalem will be established.
>> Tim, if you can’t spot that this book is false, after all the PROOF I PROVIDED, I seriously doubt you will be looking for Jesus Christ, The Blessed Hope, that we the church are to escape God’s WRATH during the tribulation. Luke 21:36
>>Secondly how can you tell me that there wont be a rapture – as you have already stated from the very beginning that you do not know the bible.
Continue to read and study His word and you will learn more and more everyday
>> I think you should start.
Manda
So you DON’T AGREE with the Bible is that what you are saying?
Deborah,
Thanks for the review of this book. I read it, and the whole time I was reading it I knew something was “off.” The same with “90 Minutes in Heaven.” So many Christian friends hail these books, and similar ones, and Joyce Meyer, and … oh, it’s so overwhelming and discouraging sometimes. We are all at such a great risk of falling if we don’t know the truth, what’s in the Bible. I’m always the first to doubt myself, and think that I must be the one in the wrong, because after all, “who am I?”. But it’s nice to find support here, and encouragement in my beliefs… Thank you.
P.S. I also read “The Shack.” Told myself it was just “entertainment” but felt kinda sick about even giving it the time of day. I’ve gotta stop doing that!
…. and I hope Todd Burpo and family read this whole blog about their book. Wouldn’t that be interesting for them. Maybe eye-opening even.
Teresa
I hope so too, that would be fantastic.
This book is meant to be a $moneymaker$, and also to lure souls into the New Age soon-coming one world religion. The most abominable part is that a “pastor” is using his own son as the BAIT! People for the most part do NOT want to believe the truth. They want to believe the lie, and 2Thessalonians 2:2-7 shows us that these same “lie believers” will be sealed up under the strong delusion that God sends to such as these because they rejected His Son, Jesus Christ, Who IS The Truth, The Way, and The Life.
Right now, every human being has a short window of opportunity to make their choice: Love The Truth, Jesus Christ, or believe the lie. All we who love Jesus Christ and His Word are just watching a small “preview” of what will come after the rapture. The vast majority of humanity will gobble this garbage up and follow after the Whore, Mystery, Babylon. It is what it is.
As for me and my house, we have thrown out all the “books”, “teaching tapes”, etc…and stick with The Word of God, asking His Holy Spirit to lead us only into His Truth. Do not expect the eyes of the deceived, like the Burpos, to be opened, because they have deliberately chosen their path of deception. But please DO keep warning true Christians to STAY AWAY from garbage like this! Thank you Deb for the “Heads up”, and the discerning in Christ Jesus will heed it.
Sherry, you are absolutely right. There are many “pastors” who are misleading their flocks or are remaining silent and not alerting them to the dangers of the day, the traps and snares that are all around, even in the so-called “Christian” bookstores. They are not a ministry, they are a business. They carry merchandise and that merchandise has to please the eyes of the readers, not challenge them to live a sacrificial life for Christ.
The Shack, The Harbinger, The Message, The Chronicles of Narnia, it goes on and on.
My rule of thumb is that the author or expositor has to be home in heaven before I consider their works. They are what they were and there are many treasures out there just waiting to be found. But one has to search for them.
My favorites are H.A. Ironside and Clarence Larkin who believed with all their hearts in the Blessed Hope. I have been inspired by their commentaries as a companion to my Bible. Ironside has a couple of little devotional books that are just chock full of gems. I do not elevate them to pedestals, but I do believe they were Spirit-led and that the Lord intended for their works to help us in our Christian walk.
In case you are interested, I put the link here because it is rather difficult to find.
Their prices are quite reasonable for hardcover books.
Thank you, Redeemed! H.A, Ironside is on my “Good” list, because he was a true Christian, and he relied on God’s Holy Word and His Holy Spirit! I will check out the link.
The reason I’m so cautious is because the very first pastor I sat under, who is famous, and I will not name here, was wonderful for most of the years of his life. A few weeks ago, I went to the website of all his sermons, and was reading his commentary on the book of Revelation, which he gave in 1990. When he started quoting C.S. Lewis, and then talked about some New Age theoried in regard to time, dimensions, and space- I almost threw up! He passed away in 1992, and while I had moved away from the church geographically in 1977, I always had this wonderful regard for his preaching. I pray he was sufferring dementia, and had not turned from the true faith. Now I am HYPER vigilant as a Berean, and when I spot “garbage”, I call it out for what it is.
He obviously started allowing leaven with quoting that counterfeit christian, C.S. Lewis, so revered by a huge % of the Christian populace. And his children’s books that are filled with the occult and disgusting symbolism. Calling Aslon the lion a type of Christ! Blasphemous!!!
I think I might know the person you are speaking of, maybe A.R.? If that is the case, I think his programs are still airing on TBN.
We have to be SO careful not to elevate any human above scrutiny, don’t we? And we can never let down our guard. Even with my favorite “dead guys” I lean upon the Holy Spirit and if my Spirit does not bear witness, that is a red flag.
Thank you for your comments – and your exhortations. Much appreciated!
When I was first told about this book by someone who had bought it as true, and was told some of the details, I immediately knew that it was all a lie. The reason I concluded this was based, at that time, on only one fact: God forbids contact with the dead. It is therefore impossible that God Himself would bring anyone, including a little boy, into contact with the dead. The ridiculous details of that contact are simply verification of this lie. Personally, I believe the boy had some kind of experience. But then I believe that the father realized it could be a money maker. I suppose everyone realizes that there is going to be a follow-up expanded book, a study guide, and now, a MOVIE. Right. I’m sure that all of this glorifies God.
I know what you mean, David. It screams “false” to any biblically literate person.
Some pseudo-Christian writers are a lot more subtle, though. They are really good (from a negative side) at blending Scripture with falsehood. Then we have to really think hard and start seriously comparing Scripture with what’s been written. If Christians fall for this blatant money-spinner, I worry for them when it comes to the subtle stuff.
I myself fell for “The Prayer of Jabez,” simply because Jabez’s prayer is in the Bible.
Some of C.S. Lewis’ stuff is pretty impressive too because he was also a great logician and, I’m fairly certain, a genuine person.
In the past, I didn’t bother too much with his fantasy as I felt it was being used for satirical reasons–like Swift’s “Gulliver’s Travels”–so not meant to be taken literally. Lewis’ “The Great Divorce” is exceptional in its imagery and symbolism. And, I have to admit, he made some excellent points with the symbolism. I accepted that the view of hell in the book was not meant to be taken literally. He shows that by ending on the fact that it was all a dream.
But I’ve had to re-evaluate Lewis’ writings too. It all comes back to 1 Thess 5:21 and 1 John 4:1. We must always be on our guard. We are not immune from deception.
I avoid C.S Lewis, as he was basically a catholic man. Catholics have nothing to teach me on spiritual matters.