Apologetics Index - W
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Waco
Wagner, C. Peter
Please see our expanded entry on C. Peter WagnerWakasa, Takao
Walk-away
A "walk-away" is someone who left a cult on his or her own accord.
Walsch, Neale Donald
 This information has moved. See this page
War Cries and Terminology
A manifestation practiced by some adherents of certain renewal and revival movements, particularly the Toronto Blessing Movement. Said to be useful in spiritual warfare. Nowadays it is often accompanied by the "Warrior Annointing.". War themes and war terminology play an important role in the Toronto Blessing Movement. People often claim to have prophecies, dreams or visions about the American civil war ( Rick Joyner has prophesied there will be a civil war among Christians - on one side those who go along with is seen as "the current move of God", and on the other side those who oppose it.) The movie "Braveheart" has been embraced by many within the Toronto Blessing Movement as illustrative of the spiritual warfare they feel called to.
Warfare, Spiritual
The concept of "spiritual warfare" is Biblical, but nowadays some Christians teach and practice extra-Biblical and un-Biblical concepts.
The apostle Paul says:
For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
In Ephesians 6:10-20, he describes the spiritual armor, introducing it as follows:
Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
Some Christians approach this issue incorrectly, either placing too much emphasis on it, or adding extra-Biblical teachings and practices.
Many adherents of the Word-Faith Movement as well as many in certain renewal and revival movements are, for various reasons, enamored with the concept of spiritual warfare. Inspired by - and often using the terminology of - Frank Perretti's fiction, legends like King Arthur's Roundtable, and movies such as Braveheart, they "rebuke demons," "bind Satan," and "take control of cities and situations."
C. Peter Wagner, head of Global Harvest Ministries in Colorado Springs, Colo., is in the vanguard of the movement. He defines three levels of spiritual warfare: "Ground-level" involves casting demons out of individuals; "occult-level warfare" involves more organized "powers of darkness" [They target here New Age thought, Tibetan Buddhism, Freemasonry, etc.]; and "strategic-level warfare" directly "confronts 'territorial spirits' assigned by Satan to coordinate activities over a geographical area."
Increasingly, these Christians are uttering judgmental prophecies - often aimed at America. Storms, earthquakes and other acts of nature are said to be part of God's judgement. In the renewal and revival movements, where "civil war between Christians" has been prophesied, spiritual warfare also is aimed at other Christians (see the Golden Sword). As in the Word-Faith movement, this type of spiritual warfare reveals a hunger for power and authority.
War on the Saints The Jessie Penn-Lewis classic. This one truly is the unabridged edition (which, oddly enough, can not be said about some other "unabridged" editions of this book).
Warnke, Mike
Christian comic whose autobiographical book "The Satan Seller" turned out to be a fraud.
The Cornerstone series on Mike Warnke An investigation into his testimony, with feedback and rebuttal. From the magazine that exposed the fraud.
Selling Satan : The Tragic History of Mike Warnke by Mike Hertenstein, Jon Trott, Mike Hertensrein.
Warrior Anointing
Taught and promoted by John and Carol Arnott, pastors of the Toronto Christian Fellowship. The Warrior Anointing was introduced after Carol Arnott prophesied about a "Golden Sword". The anointing is said to
... bring "deliverance from your enemies." The visible effects of receiving this "anointing" include roaring, shouting and grasping the hands above the head, then swinging them up and down as if one was actually holding a sword and attacking an enemy.
This " anointing" is often manifested in renewal/revival meetings.
Now taught by many supporters and promoters of the Toronto Blessing See Renewal and Revival Movements - Modern.
NOTE: Interestingly, long before the "Golden Sword" prophecy, many in the renewal and revival movements embraced the movie "Braveheart," in which they claimed to see spiritual significance.
Washington Times
U.S. newspaper, owned by the Unification Church. Its Religion Editor, Larry Witham, is a Unificationist (Moonie).
Watchman Expositor
The Watchman Expositor is the journal of Watchman Fellowship. Each issue is a mix of doctrinal articles, news, and witnessing information concerning cults, the New Age and other non-traditional religions in America.
Many of the articles from this excellent publication, including the current issue, are available at this Watchman Fellowship web page.
Watchman Fellowship
An updated and expanded version of this entry is posted here: Watchman Fellowship
Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society
See Jehovah's Witnesses.
According to cult apologist Massiomo Introvigne, speakers for the Jehovah's Witnesses recently cancelled their scheduled appearance at a CESNUR conference due to pressure from the Watch Tower organization. He blamed an expose published by Comments from the Friends, a Christian counter-cult ministry. See CESNUR vs. Comments from the Friends.
Publications of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society Information on the Jehovah's Christian Witness site 
Watters, Randall
Randall was a Jehovah's Witness for eight years, from 1972 to 1980, and served as an elder and factory overseer at the Watchtower headquarters in Brooklyn, New York. He left the organization by way of resignation in 1980, became a Christian and served as a pastor for a number of years, most recently at the now-defunct Hope Chapel of West Manhattan. Leaving the pastorate and organizational ties to focus on cults and exit-counseling only, Randall formed Free Minds, Inc. as a non-profit educational organization in 1992, with the goal of educating the public about mind control and the danger of cults. Way International, The
Way To Happiness Foundation
"Weighed and Found Wanting"
Subtitled, "Putting the Toronto Blessing in Context"
Online book by Pastor Bill Randles. Examines the controversial aspects and/or heretical roots of some current Renewal and Revival Movements.
Weil, Dr. Andrew
Known as "the guru of alternative medicine." Popularized alternative remedies.
Examining Alternative Medicine: An Inside Look at the Benefits & Risks by Paul C. Reisser M.D., Dale Mabe D.O., Robert Velarde. Chapter 8 covers Andrew Weil
Database of archived news items on this subject
(Includes items added between Oct. 25, 1999 and Jan. 31, 2002. See about this database)
» For newer items, see Religion News Blog
DrWeil.com Andrew Weil's official site
Weirville, Victor Paul
Weldon, John
Wellspring Retreat and Resource Center
Wessinger, Catherine
Professor of the History of Religions and Women's Studies at Loyola University, New Orleans, LA. Her fields of study include History of Religions; New Religious Movements, Millennialism; Women and Religion; Religions of India, World Religions; History of Christianity.
Considered by many to be a cult apologist.
On the one hand, she encourages an objective, ethical approach to the study of 'New Religious Movements' - rejecting the controversial approaches of some scholars. On the other, her response to the Peoples Temple mass suicide was to blame former members, the media, anticult organizations, and congressman Leo Ryan (who was shot and killed by Jim Jones' men).
In response to the recent mass murder/suicide of a Ugandan cult, Scientology's hate group, the so-called "Cult Awareness Network," recommended the media contact Wessinger (along with two other cult apologists).
Marcus Wesson
Westboro Baptist Church
White, James
White Supremacy
Wicca
A religion/practice also known as Witchcraft. Neo-Pagan movement. Often, erroneously, confused with Satanism. Most witches do not believe Satan exists, and thus do not worship him. However, like Satanism, Wicca is a form of occultism.
Wilkomirski, Binjamin
aka Bruno Doessekker; Bruno Grosjean. Wrote a book called "Fragments: Memories of a Childhood, 1939-1948." in which he described a childhood in Nazi concentration camps. The book was subsequently exposed as a hoax. Interestingly, Wilkomirski also claimed to recognize hoaxster " Lauren Stratford" as a Holocaust survivor.
A best-selling memoir of a "Jewish child" who claimed to have survived the horrors of Auschwitz has been exposed as a fraud and withdrawn from bookshops. "Fragments," in which "Binjamin Wilkomirski" recalled his harrowing experiences as an orphan adrift in the death camps, won the Jewish Quarterly literary prize in Britain and several book awards in other countries before doubts were raised about the writer's real identity. In the meantime, the slim volume has become the most successful Swiss book since "Heidi," acclaimed as a "masterpiece" of Holocaust literature. Wilkomirski's German publishers, Suhrkamp Verlag, who had stoutly defended the author when questions about his bona fides were first raised, Thursday withdrew hardback copies of the 155-page book from the shelves. Their about-turn comes after Wilkomirski's own agent, plagued by nagging doubts about his client, commissioned a historian to write a confidential 100-page report on his origins. Dr. Stefan Machler found that he was not a Latvian Jewish refugee after all but German-speaking Bruno Doessekker, the adopted son of wealthy Swiss Protestants.
Holocaust survivor's memoir revealed as a hoax, Detroit News/The Guardian, Oct. 15, 1999
In a lecture at the Psychoanalytic Seminar in Zurich, held at the beginning of this year [1998] and available on tape, we meet Wilkomirski as the representative of a therapeutic method, namely "Interdisciplinary Therapy." He is able to "treat" people without an assured identity, as they bring scraps of memory to light, by attaching to those scraps the appropriate facts and locales out of actual history. In this way, the patient's own life history, including identity, can be regained.
» Database of archived news items
(Includes items added between Oct. 25, 1999 and Jan. 31, 2002. See about this database)
Williamson, Marianne
Wimber, John (1934 - 1997)
Power Healing by John Wimber, with Kevin Springer
Winter, Steve
A person who claims to espouse and promote Oneness Pentacostalism. However, his hate-filled, spiteful ramblings consist mostly of insults padded with template text files and other standard paragraphs. Mr. Winter is not representative of most United Pentacostalists, and certainly does not represent any variety of Christian behavior or doctrine.
It is highly recommended that you check the "Steve Winter FAQ" before attempting to engage Mr. Winter in a conversation. Mr. Winter, who quite possible has been removed, barred or banned from more online services than any other person, also has a nasty habit of contacting ISPs and employers of his opponents. If and when this happens, simply provide them with a copy of the Steve Winter FAQ.
A Guide to Dealing with Steve Winter of PRIME.ORG Excellent information, provided by attorney Peter Wm. Sachs, Esq. As archived by the Internet Archive.
Impsmail Mr. Winter's "[d]ocumentation of harassment by wire, computer crime, electronic stalking, cyberstalking, email harassment, blackmail threats, blatant lying, heresy, IRC harassment, threats etc. by false-christians, reprobates and generic criminal net trash.." As archived by the Internet Archive.
Rebuttals of Steve Winter's "Bible Studies" by Steve Adams
Refutation of the Steve Winter FAQ Mr. Winter's attempt at refuting an old edition of the Steve Winter FAQ. NOTE: While "decent" compared with his incoherent and abusive ramblings in Usenet groups many people will still find this refutation offensive. As archived by the Internet Archive.
Steve Winter FAQ Published by Steve Adams, Moderator of the soc.religion.christian.bible-study Usenet newsgroup
Yahoo! Directory :Usenet Legends > Steve Winter No kidding. Mr. Winter has his very own Yahoo! category.
 WISE
Witchcraft
A generic term representing only the various perspectives or traditions of contemporary neo-pagan witchcraft, which is also referred to as "the Old Religion," "the craft," "the craft of the wise," and "Wicca." Witchcraft is a nature-oriented religion whose followers are polytheists and/or pantheists and/or panentheists. While they have a number of deities, generally the primary ones are the Mother Goddess and the Horned God.
Some practitioners prefer the terms "witch," and "witchcraft" instead of "Wiccan," or "Wicca."
See also: Wicca
Witchhunt Information Page
Information about the modern version of the witch hunts: ritual (and pseudo ritual) sexual abuse trials and those who have been wrongfully imprisoned by them. Focus is on such cases in America, where these kind of witch hunts occur with great frequency.
See also Satanic Ritual Abuse False Memory Syndrome
Witness Lee
Women - in Christian Ministry
Ten Lies The Church Tells Women by J. Lee Grady, condensed from his book
What's Wrong With Gender-Neutral Bible Translations? by Wayne Grudem, President of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.
Women in Christian Perspective - A Bibliography. Part of the CounterPoint discussion on Gender-Inclusive Bible versions. This bibliography, compiled by Robert Bowman, points readers to works reflecting differing perspectives.
Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood A Response to Evangelical Feminism, by J.I. Packer
The Role of Women in Ministry Today by H. Wayne House. A review of evidence regarding the role of women in the church explains the Greek in the battlefield texts of the debate. The book also examines the woman's position in first-century society. House argues that women should participate in more areas of ministry than have traditionally been open to them, but he asserts that some governing and teaching roles in the church are reserved for men.
Ten Lies the Church Tells Women "How the Bible Has Been Misused to Keep Women in Spiritual Bondage", by J. Lee Grady
Who Said Women Can't Teach? by Charles Trombley
Women in the Church
Subtitled " A Fresh Analysis of 1 Timothy 2:9-15." This series of essays addresses the issue regarding the ministry of women in the church. The essays deal with grammatical, linguistic, exegetical, hermeneutical, and theological points and constitute one of the most comprehensive treatments to date on the subject. By Andreas J. Kostenberger (Editor), Thomas R. Schreiner (Editor), H. Scott Baldwin
Wood, Cathy
Word-Faith Movement
Also known as "Name-in-Claim-it," "Health and Wealth Gospel," "Positive Confession," "Word of Faith," etc.
Word-Faith teachers owe their ancestry to groups like Christian Science, Swedenborgianism, Theosophy, Science of Mind, and New Thought--not to classical Pentecostalism. It reveals that at their very core, Word-Faith teachings are corrupt. Their undeniable derivation is cultish, not Christian. The sad truth is that the gospel proclaimed by the Word-Faith movement is not the gospel of the New Testament. Word-Faith doctrine is a mongrel system, a blend of mysticism, dualism, and gnosticism that borrows generously from the teachings of the metaphysical cults. The Word-Faith movement may be the most dangerous false system that has grown out of the charismatic movement so far, because so many charismatics are unsure of the finality of Scripture John MacArthur, Charismatic Chaos, p. 290
There are many perculiar ideas and practices in the Faith theology, but what merits it the label of heresy are the following: 1) its deistic view of God, who must dance to men's attempts to manipulate the spiritual laws of the universe; 2) its demonic view of Christ, who was filled with "the Satanic nature" and must be "born again in hell; 3) its gnostic view of revelation, which demands denial of the physical senses and classifies Christians by their willingness to do so; and 4) its metaphysical view of salvation, which deifies man and spiritualizes the atonement, locating it in hell rather than on the cross, thereby subverting the crucial biblical belief that it is Christ's physical death and shed blood, which alone atone for sin. All four of these heresies may be accounted for by Kenyon's syncretism of methaphysical thought with traditional biblical doctrine"
Christianity In Crisis by Hank Hanegraaff. Addresses the errors of the word-faith movement.
A Different Gospel by D.R. McConnell.
The Word-Faith Controversy : Understanding the Health and Wealth Gospel by Robert Bowman. A balanced overview and thorough critique of the movement. The publisher of Apologetics Index highly recommends this book.
Robert Bowman Jr. critically examines the movement's origins and teachings, distinguishing acceptable Pentecostal practices from distorted offshoots. He insists that the word-faith movement is 'neither soundly orthodox nor thorougly heretical' and encourages charismatic believers to pursue a rich, mature, and biblical sound Pentecostalism.'' Not only does The Word-Faith Controversy examine the founders and the message of the movement, it goes beyond the health and wealth promise to uncover what have become the most controversial aspects - what the movement's teachings on faith, words, and confession imply about God, Jesus Christ, human beings, and the nature of the Christian faith.
Back Cover, The Word-Faith Controversy
Word of Faith Fellowship
Word of Faith, The (Magazine)
Published by Kenneth Hagin.
Word of Life
Scandinavia-based Word-Faith movement with an extensive, international outreach and presence. Known in Scandinavia as "Livets Ord" (Word of Life), the movement is lead by Ulf Ekman, a graduate of Kenneth Hagin's Rhema Bible Training Center.
Livets Ord Official Site
Workers
World Ahead, The
Magazine published by the Global Church of God
World Prayer Center
A spiritual warfare ministry based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Billed as a high-tech prayer center, the ministry hopes to be the nerve center for an "emerging worldwide evangelical prayer movement." The ministry's $5.5 building, situated on the property of Ted Haggard's charismatic New Life Church. Haggard envisioned the Center in 1984, and co-founded it together with church-growth specialist C. Peter Wagner - whose Global Harvest Ministries is headquartered in the building. The Center includes the latest computer technology and communications equipment, a bookstore, a "spiritual mapping" office, and private suites that can be rented for extended prayer sessions and retreats.
Rev. Joseph Thompson, Director.
It will collect and compile requests from every continent as national prayer centers report what God is doing and how His people ought to pray. Dr. Peter Wagner says, "We see our task as getting people in touch with one another to interactive, human web networks that are properly equipped to wage effective spiritual warfare."
Many Christians disagree with the notion that expensive buildings and multimullion-dollar mininistries are needed to teach the Church how to "wage effective spiritual warfare."
It should be noted that people involved with the World Prayer Center are deeply rooted in Wagner's third wave theology. Many of the names associated with the movement also adhere to the aberrant and/or heretical theological ideas promoted through today's controversial renewal and revival movements. See, for example, this Charisma News report on a so-called "corporate prophetic word" released by alleged prophets:
A great youth revival, churches so big they have to use stadiums to fit all their members and people being raised from the dead are among dramatic developments Christians have to look forward to in the new millennium, says a group of leaders widely accepted as modern-day prophets.
But there will also be more persecution of the Jews, a possible Russian invasion of Alaska, the threat of a second Great Depression and an increase in the number of natural disasters, warns the group in a "corporate prophetic word" just released after a meeting at the World Prayer Center in ColoradoSprings, Colo.
Called the Apostolic Council of Prophetic Elders, the group gathered under the leadership of C. Peter Wagner, an internationally recognized authority on prayer and spiritual warfare and one of the founders of the prayer center.
Among those present were Chuck Pierce, Dutch Sheets, Cindy Jacobs, Mike Bickle and Tommy Tenney. World Chuch of the Creator
White supremacist church run by Matthew Hale. Essentially, a hate group masquerading as a religious movement.
After having lost a lawsuit for using another group's trademarked name, the group has been renamed to ' Creativity Movement.'
» More on this group
World Message Last Warning Church
World Services
World View
Wyatt, Ron
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