Thursday, October 6, 2016

Loren Cunningham's dishonest word games

What I've transcribed here begins at the 6:00 mark.

The Bible is clear to say that all of the earth and the fullness thereof is mine, saith the Lord. He says also that the silver and the gold is mine, saith the Lord. But how does it end up in the devil's pocket? There's gotta be a reason. It's because we as Christians are not ruling in the power of Christ as we are intended to do. Now I would like to make a very clear application on this in practical terms. The Lord said “Occupy until I come”. When an occupation army comes in, what do they do? They don't run up in the hills and hide out. They take over! They take over, if necessary, in the schools, so that no philosophy will be taught that is counter to their particular position. They also take over the banks and the wealth of the nation. They take over the, if necessary, even the churches, to make sure nothing is said that will not go against what they are trying to do. They take over, of course, the military, and all the other aspects of life that they need to control. They take over. Now Jesus said “Occupy until...” And there is certainly a view that says that we, the body of Christ, are really under the hand of Satan in this world and we're going to squeak out and maybe slip out in such a way that nobody will notice because we're so weak when it happens. But I don't believe that. I believe God is wanting a glorious church, a strong church, to go out and triumph. And I like to put it in a way that maybe even in the exaggeration you'll get the impact a little better, that if we work hard enough, sure, there will be an Antichrist, because the Bible says so, but he can hold his international convention in a phone booth. You see, instead of trying to picture the greatness of the Antichrist and what Satan is going to do, let's see the greatness of Jesus through His church according to what we do in faith ruling and reigning with Christ.

There is actually some stuff before this that could be good to look at later, but this will do for now.

So, where does Jesus say "Occupy til I come"? It should be considered interesting that Cunningham gives no reference for this phrase, though it's likely not a difficult one to find.

Luke 1911 As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. 12 He said therefore, “A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. 13 Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come.’ 14 But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ 15 When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. 16 The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’ 17 And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’ 18 And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’ 19 And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ 20 Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief; 21 for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ 22 He said to him, ‘I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ 24 And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ 25 And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’ 26 ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 27 But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.’”

This is from the ESV, so the translation is a bit different, but the sentence in 13 is also translated as something like"Occupy until I come" in some other translations.

But the ESV is a good translation here, because it gives the proper sense of what the nobleman in the parable said. The word is pragmateuomai, and here is its definition.

to be occupied in anything
to carry on a business
to carry on the business of a banker or a trader

The word "occupy" isn't a bad translation, it's only shenanigans like what Cunningham engages in, taking that phrase out of context and trying to make it mean something it isn't even close to meaning, that spoils "occupy.

So, when Cunningham tries to make "Occupy until I come" mean that the church should act like an occupying army, one can have two reasonable reactions--laugh uproariously at such blatant nonsense and falsehood, because in one sense such shenanigans are worthy only of being laughed at, or feel unease when you realize that Cunningham is saying that the church really should act like a occupying army, taking over banks and schools and even churches.

The dishonesty on full display in this video is so obvious and blatant that Cunningham should lose great amounts of credibility for being either so dishonest or such a doofus. At the least, he showed himself unqualified to be a teacher of any kind by promoting such a wrong interpretation of that phrase.

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