E. Bernard and Manasseh Jordan: Whose Side Are They On?

By David Kowalski

For You have abandoned Your people, the house of Jacob,
Because they are filled with influences from the east,
And they are soothsayers like the Philistines,
And they strike bargains with the children of foreigners.
Their land has also been filled with silver and gold
And there is no end to their treasures;
Their land has also been filled with horses
And there is no end to their chariots.
– Source: Isaiah 2:6-7 [1]

Sound the Trumpet

Invaders come from the East and God’s people surrender. Shield and sword are cast aside as foreign troops receive a warm welcome.

Where are the watchmen? Where are the prophets of Yahweh? Do God’s sheep have no shepherds? The soldiers have left their post. Antiochus slays his swine on the altar and no one seems to care.

New Thought/New Age guru, E. Bernard Jordan, and his progeny/protégé, Manasseh, have been exalted to places of honor in a temple where they do not belong. “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16). Strange, spiritual incense is burning in the temple and its smell is an offense. “You shall not offer any strange incense on this altar…” (Exodus 30:9).

I think, “This can’t be happening,” but it is. After decades of body blows from metaphysicians of various stripes, many Christians have dropped their hands and let down their guard.

They fall for anything that promises to make them healthy, rich, and above all, happy. After all, isn’t that what following Christ is all about? If worshipping Baal helps us get better crops, surely the Lord approves.

The Background – New Thought

How did we get to this point? The answer involves a long story that gains momentum in nineteenth century America, where religious traditions of various kinds were swirling about and mixing with others in a religious melting pot. The streams of thought that coalesced then had tributaries of their own dating back to ancient times. Primitive magic, animism, astrology, Eastern religion, idealist/pantheist philosophy, mystery religion, Swedenborgianism, Hermeticism, and Mesmerism were among the sources for these nineteenth century cults, and what was formed in the nineteenth century would mushroom in the twentieth.

One key, nineteenth century cultist was Phineas Parkhurst Quimby (1802-1866). Quimby did not read very widely, but after rejecting Christian orthodoxy, he became enamored with the theories of Franz Anton Mesmer,[2] becoming a practicing Mesmerist. In time, Quimby became convinced that the real power behind the healings he observed in this practice was the mind of the recipient as he or she engaged in a kind of self-hypnosis.

Quimby reasoned that the ultimate reality was Divine Mind and not mundane matter. Whether we are conscious of it or not, our true selves are extensions of this mind, Quimby declared. Furthermore, this Mind was, in itself, an impersonal conduit of nothing but pleasant things. All sickness and suffering was, in his teaching, disharmony with this benevolent force and this disharmony was caused by erroneous thinking. If one could master the laws of right thinking and speaking, they would be practitioners of a new kind of science — a science of Mind.[3]

Quimby’s most successful, immediate, spiritual descendants, Mary Baker Eddy [4] and Warren Felt Evans (a Swedenborgian minister) further radicalized Quimby’s teachings, introducing more Hindu-like thought into the system. All humans are deity in this mind science scheme and matter is either unreal (Eddy – echoing the Hindu doctrine of Maya) or less real than Mind (Evans).

Eddy formed a tight knit group that maintains her heritage to this day – The Church of Christ, Scientist (also known as Christian Science), and she influenced several prominent figures in the New Thought branch of Mind Science. Evans, along with similarly inclined metaphysicians such as William Walker Atkinson, Emma Curtis Hopkins, and Thomas Troward, became foundational to the less organized, New Thought branch. One of the best known of the groups that formed within this New Thought matrix was the Unity School of Christianity, founded by Charles and Myrtle Fillmore in 1889.

In 1902, William James described some of the tributaries to New Thought:

One of the doctrinal sources of Mind-cure is the four Gospels; another is Emersonianism or New England transcendentalism; another is Berkeleyan idealism; another is spiritism, with its messages of ‘law’ and ‘progress’ and ‘development’; another the optimistic popular science evolutionism of which I have recently spoken; and, finally, Hinduism has contributed a strain. [5]

He went on to say of the cult movement, “The blind have been made to see, the halt to walk; lifelong invalids have had their health restored.” [6]

New Thought incorporated Eastern religion in its mix but was at the same time distinctly Western in its disposition, with teachings on success and prosperity permeating its ranks. In his book, Prosperity, Charles Fillmore typifies the kind of thinking which prevailed in the movement: “Charge your mind with statements that express plenty…Deny that lack has any place or reality in your affairs and affirm plenty as the only appearance.” [7]

The New Thought emphasis on wealth runs through all of the movement’s expressions, and it goes contrary to the Word of God:

“But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.” (1 Timothy 6:9-11)

“An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money. (1 Timothy 3:2-3)

“Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, ‘I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,’ (Hebrews 13:5)

“Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:31-33)

“The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” (Matthew 8:20)

“You are already filled, you have already become rich, you have become kings without us; and indeed, I wish that you had become kings so that we also might reign with you. For, I think, God has exhibited us apostles last of all, as men condemned to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are prudent in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong; you are distinguished, but we are without honor. To this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and are homeless; and we toil, working with our own hands; when we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure; when we are slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now.” (1 Corinthians 4:8-13)

New Thought teachings had a measure of influence on the eclectic, New Age Movement (which incorporated more elements into their mix and thus is to be considered an entity distinct from New Thought). [8]

In the twentieth century, various New Thought practitioners, including Napoleon Hill [9] and Norman Vincent Peale, [10] created a broader market for New Thought, as they presented it in a more subtle form as a kind of self-help.

In teachings he claimed were groundbreaking, E. W. Kenyon adjusted New Thought terms slightly (for example, positive affirmation became positive confession, and the subconscious mind became the recreated, human spirit) and blended this ideology with biblical words and marginal, Christian teachings. Kenyon’s repackaged New Thought teachings were subsequently popularized in the Word-Faith Movement by Kenneth Hagin, who freely plagiarized Kenyon’s writings. [11]

In opposition to Mind Science principles, Paul insisted that he was not a master of supernatural laws and forces. He took no credit of any kind for the miracles that occurred through his ministry. The power behind the miracles was a sovereign person and not a controllable force:

“For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed, in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and round about as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.” (Romans 15:18-19)

The Background – African-American Cults

Around the time Phineas Quimby was formulating his mental science, various African-American cults were forming, and these would progress in a trajectory that would cause them to intersect with New Thought. Many African-American slaves, such as Phillis Wheatley, embraced the gospel and openly repented of what they referred to as “African paganism.”

Some slaves, however, carried memories of their tribal religions to the new world and on occasion, (as with the Voodoo practitioners in Haiti and New Orleans) they blended the old with the new. The resultant blend was a kind of unorthodox, folk religion or “folk Christianity.” Animism and magic were two parts of this African heritage, and many African-American, syncretistic cults carried forward the common tribal notion of the West African “Obeah man” – a kind of priest/prophet/healer who represented the whole of the religion in his being, becoming the very image or embodiment of that religion, and obtaining special reverence from followers. [12]

Consequently, the early Black cults often followed charismatic and highly exalted leaders. After emancipation in 1863, middle to upper class African-Americans with religious inclinations largely gravitated to segregated versions of the White churches (the origin of such things as the Black Baptist and Black Methodist churches). Some of these Black Americans joined themselves to less orthodox “Christian” religions that gathered around a deified leader.

The more impoverished African-Americans often found the Black cults’ promise of material and social empowerment to be enticing. Joseph Washington observes this phenomenon, saying, “The black sect-type is a spin-off of black and/or white church-types…But because poverty and powerlessness are felt acutely in the daily lives of their communicants, the sacraments and theology take on a less orthodox role.” [13]

Father Divine

A key figure in the progress of the Black cults is a man known as Father Divine (born around 1876-1878, died in 1965). His complete, self-given name was Reverend Major Jealous Divine, and though there is no complete certainty on the matter, most historians believe his family-given name was George Baker. Details, places, and dates regarding his life are sometimes disputed, but a reasonably accurate account can be given. [14]

In 1899, Baker came under the influence of an African-American mystic who called himself the Reverend St. John the Divine Hickerson. Christian Science had influenced George Baker’s theology to some degree and he became quite enamored with the New Thought teachings of Charles Fillmore and the Unity cult. This cult’s deification of adherents, as well as its promise of prosperity appealed to him.

In 1907 (according to some historians – the fact is not disputed but the dating and order of events is) Baker and Hickerson joined themselves to an itinerant preacher, Samuel “Father” Morris, who subsequently changed his name to Father Jehovia. Morris claimed to be God incarnate but extended a lesser, god-like status to Hickerson and Baker. These two eventually split from Morris when each decided it was they, and not the other two, who was the true, almighty God. Baker then ascribed to himself the title “Father Divine, Saviour of the Negro race and of the world at large.”

Of the three, it was Father Divine who became the iconic, deified, African-American, cult leader. Informed by New Thought concepts, Divine exalted himself as the most high God, but extended a lower form of deification to his followers. He lived in extravagant luxury in fulfillment of his role of embodiment of the cult, setting thereby an example for his spiritual descendants such as Reverend Ike and E. Bernard Jordan to follow. Father Divine claimed that through his teachings he bestowed a profound (though lesser) blessing on his followers. He ended each of his letters with the following postscript:

“Sincerely wishing that you and those with whom you are concerned might be even as I AM for I AM well, healthy, joyful, peaceful, lively, loving, successful, prosperous and happy in spirit, body and mind and in every organ, muscle, sinew, joint, limb, vein and bone and even in every atom, fibre and cell of MY bodily form” — FATHER DIVINE [15]

Scripture teaches against following false Christs such as Father Divine, who claimed to be the Christ returned to earth:

“When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they raised their voice, saying in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have become like men and have come down to us.” And they began calling Barnabas, Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds. But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their robes and rushed out into the crowd, crying out and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We are also men of the same nature as you, and preach the gospel to you that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.” (Acts 14:11-15)

“So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.” (Matthew 24:26-27)

“For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake.” (2 Corinthians 4:5)

Reverend Ike

It was left to a later Mind Science figure to make Father Divine’s style of metaphysics a bit more palatable to thinking people and thus broaden the market for this expression of New Thought. Frederick J. Eikerenkoetter, better known as “Reverend Ike,” parroted Mind Science theology in a purer fashion than Father Divine and Ike offered his followers deity equal to his own. Ike’s teaching would supposedly enable all of these gods to get their wealth and happiness now, as they would seek first riches now and take their eyes off of “pie in the sky” (in other words, the hope of heaven which Peter exhorts us to put our eyes on – “…fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” [1 Peter 1:13]).

Ike’s Mind Science begins with the standard New Thought premises that the practitioner is divine, and that his or her subconscious mind receives imprints or commands from one’s conscious thoughts and words, and subsequently brings those to pass by its divine power. [16]

Ike’s keys to obtaining health, wealth, and happiness focused on a combination of self-realization (understanding one’s own divinity), positive affirmations, and visualization of the success and pleasantries one wants. Below are some quotes from his 2008 book, Thinkonomics (all emphases in the original text) [17]

I interpret the Bible SYMBOLICALLY, not literally. (P. 5)

Right here and right now, I KNOW exactly what I want!…I BELIEVE in the good which I desire…Thank you God-in me! [the divine part of you] Remember to repeat the above affirmation out loud and with lots of emotion! There’s magic in speaking and hearing – even more so than in reading. (p. 19)

God individualized himself within you and within each man. Your True Self is your God-self, the Presence and Power of God-in-you. (p. 24)

I am an expression of God itself! (p. 26)

You are in command of the infinite God-Power within you. Decide what you want and get out of the way of the God-Power. (p. 33)

The only personality God has is in man and as man. (p. 33)

I AM one with the Infinite. And so are you, ‘one with the Infinite.’ (p. 35)

In Mind Science, in order to bring the good that you desire into existence, we teach you to visualize. (p. 45)

When God individualized himself in you, He gave you everything you need – the power to accomplish the good you desire. (p. 42)

E. Bernard Jordan

Reverend Ike’s most devoted protégé was E. Bernard Jordan. Ike was Jordan’s mentor and the two had a very close relationship. [18] Jordan said the following about Ike:

I learned much about my faith and the words of the Lord at the feet of the great Reverend Ike, who was and is as charismatic a man as ever stepped to the front of a church. Rev. Ike understood the paradox of man being god. Once, a parishioner, taken aback by what he saw as Rev. Ike’s ego, said, “Reverend Ike thinks he’s God!” And Rev. Ike turned and shouted, “No! God thinks He is me!” That’s a perfect comeback, but also a perfect message. The idea that there is any separation between you and God is patently false. You are God’s expression. He cannot exist on this plane without you. That is why you were created. As the son is the expression of the father, you are the expression of God. You are the same [emphasis his]. [19]

E. Bernard Jordan publicly identifies himself as part of the New Thought stream of religious thinking. In the introduction to The Laws of Prosperity, Jordan notes the work’s inclusion of “brilliant ideas from New Thought leaders such as John Shelby Spong and Marianne Williamson.” [20] [21] In this book, Jordan goes on to say, “Each of us is God pressed out into the physical world.” [22] On page two of The Laws of Thinking, Jordan declares the following with extra-large letters in the middle of the page: “WHEN YOU DECLARE ‘I AM,’ YOU BECOME GOD.” [23]

In The Power of Prophecy, E. Bernard Jordan says, “The prophet has the ability to go within his chemistry lab (into his temple; within himself) to the prophetic work of handling mysteries and turning thoughts into things.” [24]

E. Bernard Jordan has taken New Thought in a more New Age direction as he indulges in astrology [25] and Hindu mediation. The photos of a man engaged in Hindu, religious practices, which accompany this article, are of E. Bernard Jordan. [26]

In The Laws of Thinking, Jordan teaches readers how to perceive the seven chakras (esoteric, Hindu, energy centers) within his or her body. [27] Looking at these photos of E. Bernard, I think of William Carey, who spearheaded the modern missionary movement with his work in India. Carey wrote about his conviction of the need to evangelize those in darkness:

It must undoubtedly strike every considerate mind, what a vast proportion of the sons of Adam there are, who yet remain in the most deplorable state of heathen darkness, without any means of knowing the true God, except what are afforded them by the works of nature; and utterly destitute of the knowledge of the gospel of Christ, or of any means of obtaining it…Surely it is worth while to lay ourselves out with all our might, in promoting the cause, and kingdom of Christ. [28]

E. Bernard Jordan would have us accompany him on a trip back to Carey’s India that we might be converted to the heathen darkness Carey laid out his life to illuminate with gospel truth.

“You shall tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and burn their Asherim with fire, and you shall cut down the engraved images of their gods and obliterate their name from that place.” (Deuteronomy 12:3)

“Stand fast now in your spells
And in your many sorceries
With which you have labored from your youth;
Perhaps you will be able to profit,
Perhaps you may cause trembling.
“You are wearied with your many counsels;
Let now the astrologers,
Those who prophesy by the stars,
Those who predict by the new moons,
Stand up and save you from what will come upon you.” (Isaiah 47:12-13)

The “prophecology” of Jordan’s “Prophetic Order of Mar Elijah” [29] is a blend of various heresies and false religions, and E. Bernard Jordan has reached back to revive another, ancient tradition to mix with New Thought, astrology, and Hinduism – the tradition of the false prophet among God’s holy people.

E. Bernard highly promotes himself as a prophet who is training a company of [false] prophets. His two favorite titles seem to be “Bishop” and “The Master Prophet.” [30]

E. Bernard has emailed me numerous times with offers to sell me a personal prophecy for a “seed” of anywhere from $50 – $75. Every avenue E. Bernard provides for a seeker of a personal prophecy to reach him seems to go through the doorway of the “seed.”

I have engaged in a futile attempt to ask E. Bernard if those who cannot afford a prophecy might get one for free. If there is a way to obtain a free, personal “prophecy” from him, I have not found it.

False prophets may have supernatural abilities but they must still be rejected. [31]

“If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the Lord your God is testing you to find out if you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall follow the Lord your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has counseled rebellion against the Lord your God who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to seduce you from the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from among you.” (Deuteronomy 13:1-5)

“And the prophet who teaches falsehood is the tail.
For those who guide this people are leading them astray;
And those who are guided by them are brought to confusion.” (Isaiah 9:15-16)

“An appalling and horrible thing
Has happened in the land:
The prophets prophesy falsely,
And the priests rule on their own authority;
And My people love it so!
But what will you do at the end of it? (Jeremiah 5:30-31)

“For from the least of them even to the greatest of them,
Everyone is greedy for gain,
And from the prophet even to the priest
Everyone deals falsely.” (Jeremiah 6:13)

“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” (Matthew 7:15)

“For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. Behold, I have told you in advance.” (Matthew 24:24-25)

“But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.” (2 Peter 2:1-2)

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1)

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.'” (Matthew 7:21-23)

As they tell people to “sow to” them (give them money) in order to get pleasantries from God, New Thought practitioners such as Jordan, in effect, offer to sell God’s blessings. But when Simon offered to buy divine enablement, Peter rebuked him:

“May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!” (Acts 8:20). [32]

Manasseh Jordan

E. Bernard has groomed his son Manasseh to be a New Thought/New Age prophet like himself. Manasseh is part of E. Bernard’s “Prophetic Order of Mar Elijah.” [33] One of Manasseh’s websites (E. Bernard and Manasseh have several websites between them) declares that Manasseh “has been involved in Christian ministry all of his life,” [34] revealing that Manasseh believes the cultic beliefs and practices he was raised in constitute “Christian ministry.”

Another of his sites [35] contains multiple links to sites belonging to E. Bernard, all of which promote his cultic teachings. Manasseh has appeared on his father’s television show with a copy of E. Bernard’s The Laws of Thinking superimposed. [36] When asked if he agreed or disagreed with the New Thought metaphysics taught in the book, Manasseh gave no response. [37] He would not distance himself from his father’s cult when asked, and he has always been pleased to identify with and promote that cult in every way he can. Manasseh’s public speaking focuses almost exclusively on power, plenty, and pleasantries – a message that would find a home in many cults. [38]

Manasseh Jordan’s very thin veneer of Bible words and Pentecostal affect seem surprisingly adequate for some Christians who disregard Paul’s warning:

“But what I am doing I will continue to do, so that I may cut off opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the matter about which they are boasting. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds. Again I say, let no one think me foolish; but if you do, receive me even as foolish, so that I also may boast a little. What I am saying, I am not saying as the Lord would, but as in foolishness, in this confidence of boasting. Since many boast according to the flesh, I will boast also. For you, being so wise, tolerate the foolish gladly. For you tolerate it if anyone enslaves you, anyone devours you, anyone takes advantage of you, anyone exalts himself, anyone hits you in the face. To my shame I must say that we have been weak by comparison.” (2 Corinthians 11:12-21)

Benny Hinn

How can such blatant cultists be welcomed into the church? For the bulk of his career, E. Bernard Jordan has exploited, for the most part, people who wandered into the fringe, religious experience. His son Manasseh, however, speaks before large gatherings of supposedly Evangelical Christians. Who let the bad guys in? Benny Hinn did and he didn’t do so out of ignorance.

Benny admits to a longstanding friendship with the Jordans. Hinn says E. Bernard and he prophesied the birth of each other’s sons and Hinn says he named Manasseh. [39] Hinn cannot claim to be ignorant of the cultic nature of the Jordans’ teachings, so one must reasonably deduce that he must not care. [40] Many videos of Benny Hinn working a crowd with Manasseh Jordan have been posted on YouTube. [41]

“Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said,

‘I will dwell in them and walk among them;
And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,’ says the Lord.
‘And do not touch what is unclean;
And I will welcome you.
And I will be a father to you,
And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,’

Says the Lord Almighty. Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” (2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1)

Concluding Word

E. Bernard and Manasseh Jordan are enemies of the gospel. Their talk of prosperity, power, and prophecy ultimately points us to the Jordans themselves and to a mystical power within us. These sheep-fleecers preach and teach dark, cultic doctrines in the house of God. They would likely not have gained entry in that house, however, without the help of their good friend, Benny Hinn.

Benny Hinn has brought Satan into the sanctuary. He has defiled the Father’s house. He is a traitor to the Kingdom of God. Unless the church responds with an impassioned house cleaning, we will leave the floodgates open for more false prophets to enter.

Manasseh Jordan represents a new level of boldness in the enemy camp. The enemy has infiltrated our ranks in disguise since the days of the early Gnostics and we have seen many of these wolves in sheep’s clothing in recent decades.

The infiltration of a brazen New Thought/New Age mystic/prophet into the church wearing practically no disguise (other than his redefined use of the words “Jesus” and “salvation”) represents a devilish effort to establish an open, conscious alliance with the church. The wolf has dropped his sheep’s clothing. If we yawn in the face of such treason and treachery, what will we say to the other wolves who are emboldened by our lackadaisical response to E. Bernard Jordan, Manasseh Jordan, and Benny Hinn?

Why fuss over what three men are doing?

• First, what they do is big in principle. In his sermon “Little Sins,” Charles Spurgeon illustrates how something small in number can transgress in an especially great way: “It is not necessary to send a hundred thousand troops into a country to break a treaty. It is true the breach of the treaty may appear to be small; but if the slightest breach be allowed, the principle is gone. There is very much more in principle than men imagine.” [42] Even a very small thing can have great significance.

  Spurgeon further illustrates this point with the example of fourth century Christian leader Martin Arethusa, who refused to offer even one single grain of incense to a false god as required by law:

  They therefore exposed his body, and gave him up to the children to prick him with knives; then they smeared him with honey, and he was exposed to wasps, and stung to death. But all the while the grain of incense he would not give. He could give his body to wasps, and die in the most terrible pains, but he would not, he could not, he dared not sin against God. A noble example! [43]

  With a great principle involved, even a single grain of incense can have tremendous import worth dying for. The principles involved in corrupting the church and deceiving God’s people with cultic “influences from the east” [44] are very great ones.

• Secondly, these three men influence multitudes of followers. [45] They are but the thin end of a wedge and carry a large bulk of people behind them. 46]
• Thirdly, these three men are symptomatic of a more wide-spread infection. They are just an extreme symptom of a sickness that pervades the body in different ways. Man-centered teachings that deify men, sanctify their greed, and ascribe various, metaphysical powers to them are like flesh-eating bacteria in the church. The severity of this latest symptom shows just how bad the problem is.
• Finally, the Jordans are pioneers and if we let them blaze a trail, many other false prophets will follow. Any substitute teacher knows that when they first arrive in a new class, there will be a daring, rule-breaker who tests the waters. The rest of the class will be watching to see how the substitute handles the pioneer’s misconduct. If the teacher backs down and lets the pioneer do whatever he or she wills, others will be quick to follow suit and lawlessness will ensue. Everyone is watching the church’s response to the Jordans.

God won’t be defeated. His victory over the enemy is sure. Our own victory is only sure as we side with Him. With this in mind, we must ask, “Just whose side are the Jordans on?”

About The Author

This article was written by David Kowalski, a member of the Apologetics Index team.

David has worked as an English teacher (Abeka), high school administrator (ACE), in-school-suspension teacher (public school), Associate Pastor (two Assemblies of God churches), Senior Pastor (two Assemblies of God churches), and Bible College Professor (Global University).

He has written a number of articles, including two in the “Encyclopedia of Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity,” published by Berkshire Publishing.

Some of his articles at Apologetics Index include, Postmodernism and the Emerging Church, Interacting with Emerging Church Culture, and What to tell one of Jehovah’s Witnesses concerning the Trinity.

You can interact with David Kowalski at his Google+ page.

Copyright
© Copyright 2012, David Kowalski. All Rights Reserved. Do not republish. Published at Apologetics Index by permission.

Footnotes

1. All Scripture quotations are from the New American Standard Bible.[Back]
2. Mesmer (1734 – 1815) developed a practice of mystic healing thought to control the force of animal magnetism. He first treated this force as a natural one previously unknown to science. Mesmer also said animal magnetism was influenced by the planets. As Mesmerism developed, and as its theories were expanded on, the force behind Mesmerism’s mystic healings became increasingly viewed as occult in nature, with the esoteric power of suggestion playing a more dominant role. Anthony Campbell notes that, in Mesmerism, this power was a bigger concept than can be found in the very questionable, modern practice of hypnotherapy, which Mesmerism spawned:
   “It is generally held that Mesmer was practicing hypnotherapy, but it is probably more accurate to say that he was a shamanistic healer whose methods certainly included hypnotherapy but were not identical with it.” http://www.acampbell.org.uk/essays/altmed/mesmer.html (accessed 9-23-2012).[Back]
3. Quimby’s manuscripts are available online at http://www.sacred-texts.com/nth/qm/index.htm (accessed 9-22-2012).[Back]
4. The precise extent to which Mary Baker Eddy was influenced by the works of Quimby has been hotly debated but it seems less than truthful to suggest the influence was insignificant. [Back]
5. William James, Varieties of Religious Experience (1902), http://www.ccel.org/ccel/james/varieties.vi.htm (accessed 9-22-2012).[Back]
6. Ibid.[Back]
7. Charles Fillmore, Prosperity (Lees Summit, MO: Unity School of Christianity, 1950), 41.[Back]
8. Occultopedia summarizes the New Age Movement thusly: “New Age – A term which became popular in the 1980’s and is used to describe a nebulous, quasi-religious set of beliefs, encompassing a wide array of notions, such as spiritualism, astrology, mysticism, the occult, reincarnation, parapsychology, ecology, and planetary awareness, as well as a commitment to complimentary medicine and the pseudo-scientific applications of the ‘healing powers’ of crystals and pyramids.” http://www.occultopedia.com/n/new_age.htm (accessed 9-23-2012). This statement from Occultopedia is true in itself though it does fail to note that the New Age movement is actually an eclectic revival of ancient pagan and occult practice which often incorporates nineteenth century mind science in its thought. Philip Jenkins points out that what we call “New Age” religion was alive and well in America as early as colonial times: Philip 8Jenkins, Mystics and Messiah’s: Cults and New Religions in American History (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000); 6, 71.[Back]
9. Hill’s teaching was thoroughly New Thought in concept and his works are still cherished by New Thought mind scientists. See http://newthoughtlibrary.com/hillNapoleon/bio_hill.htm [Back]
10. Norman Vincent Peale studied and publicly approved of the works of New Thought leaders such as Ernest Holmes. He similarly endorsed and copied many of the ideas of New Thought author Florence Scovel Shinn (see http://www.pfo.org/peale-ch.htm and http://www.secretsofthesecret.com/florence_scovel_shinn.htm).[Back]
11. See D. R. McConnell, A Different Gospel: Biblical and Historical Insights into the Word of Faith Movement (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1995). The criticism sometimes given regarding this work, which says McConnell failed to discuss all of the influences on Kenyon’s theology, would be valid if the book were a biography – which it is not. McConnell traces the distinctive New Thought element in Word-Faith teaching to Kenyon and to cult figures such a Ralph Waldo Trine, whose teachings found a home in Kenyon’s heart and mind. [Back]
12. A discussion of the the varieties and complexities of the African slaves’ native religions is beyond the scope of this article. For a much fuller account of this phenomenon see Anthony B Pinn, Varieties of African American Religious Experience (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1998), 11-103.[Back]
13. Joseph R. Washington Jr., Black Sects and Cults (Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co., 1972), 7.[Back]
14. George Baker/Father Divine himself is largely responsible for this confusion. After receiving rough treatment at the hands of several authors, he refused to cooperate with researchers and historians. Jill Watts writes that Father Divine did so on the basis of his ineffable deity: “…he insisted that it was impossible and inappropriate to write his biography. ‘Man cannot define God and cannot write a true history of him,’ he told one prospective author.” Jill Watts, God, Harlem, U. S. A.: The Father Divine Story (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1992), xiii. Information surfacing at this late date through Baker’s widow, “Mother Divine,” and members of The International Peace Mission Movement may not be entirely objective (see such material at http://www.libertynet.org/fdipmm/ [accessed 9-23-2012]), but the quote used by Jill Watts is originally found in a book by Mother Divine: M. J. Divine, The Peace Mission Movement (Philadelphia: Imperial Press, 1982), 114.

    Older editions of Walter Martin’s classic, Kingdom of the Cults, include a now deleted chapter on Father Divine. See, for example, Walter Martin, Kingdom of the Cults (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 1981), 213-221. Richard Kyle includes a helpful discussion of Father Divine in The Religious Fringe: A History of Alternative Religions in America (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 171-175. [Back]

15. See http://www.libertynet.org/fdipmm/ (accessed 9-23-2012).[Back]
16. For a remarkably brazen and fully developed example of this New Thought concept as taught in the Word-Faith movement (where, in true, Kenyonite fashion, “subconscious mind” is changed to “human spirit”), see Charles Capps, Why Tragedy Happens to Christians (Tulsa, OK: Harrison House, 1980), passim. Journalist Tony Norman refers to Word-Faith preacher Creflo Dollar as “Rev. Ike’s most slavish imitator” http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/opinion/tony-norman/the-wretched-venal-life-of-rev-ike-352193/. The video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qp1iHYOyHkk captures Benny Hinn, Paul Crouch and Kenneth Copeland espousing unbiblical, New Thought teachings. Hinn has vacillated with regard to his beliefs, seeming orthodox at one moment and heretical at another – all in ways that suit his purposes. See G. Richard Fisher and M. Kurt Goedelman (with W. E. Nunnally and Stephen F. Cannon), The Confusing World of Benny Hinn (St. Louis, MO: Personal Freedom Outreach, 2002).[Back]
17. 2008, http://www.ScienceOfLivingOnline.com. One can obtain a free PDF copy of Rev. Ike’s Thinkonomics by providing his or her email address at http://www.scienceoflivingonline.com/thinkonomics.asp . More emails will follow the sending of this book, but they can be can be stopped by unsubscribing.[Back]
18. Rev. Ike and E. Bernard Jordan appeared together on television many times. For an example, see the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukk3GmvVzD0. Ike’s website says “Rev. Ike is a mentor to Bishop E. Bernard Jordan of Zoe Ministries.” http://www.revike.org/testimonies/t_jordan.asp. For whatever it is worth, the Wikipedia article about Rev. Ike says that E. Bernard Jordan was related in some way to Ike (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverend_Ike). A Huffington Post article notes that at the time of Ike’s death, Jordan was the “family spokesman” (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/30/reverend-ike-preacher-of-_n_247676.html).[Back]
19. E. Bernard Jordan, The Laws of Thinking: 20 Secrets to Using the Divine Power of Your Mind to Manifest Prosperity (Carlsbad, CA: Hay House Inc., 2006), 30. Hay House is a publisher of works of metaphysical mysticism. Their motto is “Look Within.” [Back]
20. E. Bernard Jordan, The Laws of Prosperity: Building a Divine Foundation of Success (New York: Atria Books, 2011), ix.[Back]
21. According to Marianne Williamson, “The concept of a divine, or ‘Christ’-mind, is the idea that, at our core, we are not just identical, but actually the same being” – Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love (New York: HarperCollins, 1992), 30-31. John Shelby Spong is an Episcopal cleric who strictly disbelieves the biblical narratives and rejects orthodox, Christian doctrine, as well as biblical morality. He does, however, believe New Thought doctrine which is pantheistic in nature. See John Shelby Spong, Eternal Life: A New Vision (New York: HarperCollins, 2009), passim (see especially 145-186).[Back]
22. The Laws of Prosperity, xi.[Back]
23. The Laws of Thinking, 2. Jordan reads this passage from his book at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ub7Gtb1nZXA. Jordan elaborates on the content of the Laws of Thinking at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7N3ccHZhi4 (The content on this video is unadulterated Mind Science). [Back]
24. This excerpt comes from E. Bernard Jordan’s site, http://bernardjordan.org/.[Back]
25. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mR8AYr8J4ik.[Back]
26. As of 9-24-2012, E. Bernard Jordan still has a large number of such photos from his India trip posted at http://prophecology.typepad.com/. See especially the following photos:
    http://prophecology.typepad.com/photos/india-trip-5/dscf0042.html
    http://prophecology.typepad.com/photos/india-trip-8/dscf0210.html
    http://prophecology.typepad.com/photos/india-trip-1/dscf0220.html
    http://prophecology.typepad.com/photos/india-trip-10/dscf0410.html
    http://prophecology.typepad.com/photos/india-trip-3/dscf0324.html
    http://prophecology.typepad.com/photos/india-trip-3/dscf0547.html
    rel=”nofollow”http://prophecology.typepad.com/photos/india-trip-5/dscf0062.html
    Bud Press elaborates on the meaning of the white dot seen on Jordan’s forehead in many of the photos from his India trip: http://www.christianresearchservice.com/Manasseh_Jordan3.htm (under the section titled “Dots, Marks, and Chakras”). E. Bernard can be seen receiving such a dot in a preview to a video of his India trip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a20pRW7-dn8 (foreword the video to 2:16&17). [Back]
27. The Laws of Thinking, 51.[Back]
28. William Carey, An Enquiry Into the Obligation of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathen (Leicester: Ann Ireland, 1792), 62-63, 86. This work is available in PDF format at http://www.wmcarey.edu/carey/enquiry/anenquiry.pdf. [Back]
29. http://www.bishopjordan.com/school_prophecy/pome/pome.htm [Back]
30. Apparently the Master Prophet business is too lucrative for E. Bernard to enjoy a monopoly. One of his competitors is the “Master Prophet Noel.” What Noel lacks in eloquence and charm he seemingly tries to make up for with a bit more blatant occultism:
    http://www.masterprophetnoel.com/
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pvZjzyHsRg
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WaxG_37Zq4
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkCzLNyV5V8
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zV5a8ZW-tC4
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2U5A5qrjaA [Back]
31. Orrel Steinkamp has written some insightful articles about modern, false prophets who sometimes display supernatural but not divine abilities: http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/orrel19.html http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/orrel35.pdf. I have personally witnessed such things.

    “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?'” (Matthew 7:21-22 NASB)

    “Test the spirits to see whether they are from God” (1 John 4:1 NASB).

    It would also be foolish to rule out the possibility of the slick techniques of scam artists when questioning the supposed abilities of someone like Manasseh Jordan. Peter Popoff has been exposed for using deceptive techniques that caused him to appear to have supernaturally given knowledge, which had actually been transmitted to his earpiece from his wife who had obtained the information from people as they waited to enter the meeting. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUN9FNywMVk, http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=_vkW8VYj6NA.

    In this day of social networking sites such as Facebook, this kind of scam is made much easier. See how one “psychic” used information from these sites to astound random people off of the street: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7pYHN9iC9I [Back]

32. Every TBN, Daystar and similar networks’ telethon (on which Benny Hinn has been a frequent guest) is based on this New Thought type of simony. [Back]
33. http://prophetmanassehjordan.blogspot.com/ [Back]
34. https://prophetmanasseh.com/aboutprophet#content [Back]
35. http://prophetmanassehjordan.blogspot.com/ [Back]
36. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=covUZ6mGs9M [Back]
37. http://www.christianresearchservice.com/Manasseh_Jordan3.htm [Back]
38. See, for example, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQvkUe8BCHA [Back]
39. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQvkUe8BCHA [Back]
40. I have sent correspondence to Benny Hinn Ministries, expressing my convictions to them. [Back]
41. See the following, for example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PK9akvdFygg
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UTSlQvS2yY
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkSbORdeZhg
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfiIgUjRufg
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujj3mqGh0tk [Back]
42. Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Spurgeon’s Sermons vol. 6 (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1987 reprint), 208-209. This sermon is also available at http://www.ccel.org/ccel/spurgeon/sermons05.xxv.html. [Back]
43. Ibid., 204. [Back]
44. See Isaiah 2:6 at the top of this article. [Back]
45. A quick glance at the station listings for Hinn’s programming gives an idea of the size of his influence: http://www.bennyhinn.org/television/station-listings. [Back]
46. This illustration is borrowed from the above mentioned sermon by Charles Spurgeon. [Back]