The Confused World
Of
Paul And
Jan Crouch
by Joseph Chambers
If there is one thing certain about Paul and Jan Crouch, it is that nothing is certain. Whether the guest of Trinity Broadcast Network is a religious leader that is fairly fundamental in doctrine or a way out person that says almost nothing that makes sense, they both are welcomed and applauded as great. For one hour of the "Praise The Lord" show you may hear someone trusted by much of the church world and then the next hour hear the babble of Kim Clement. Theology or truth is just not important. It is religious entertainment.
In fact, Paul Crouch calls theology "doo-doo". On a Praise The Lord telecast he shouted, "Let Him (God) sort out all this doctrinal doo-doo, I don’t care about it." He apparently hates no one worse than those he calls "heresy hunters". On another occasion he spoke to his worldwide audience by stating, "Heretic hunters, those guys who spend their lives straightening us all out doctrinally, they are going to go straight to hell." (You could hear Jan laughing approvingly on the set.) Here are a man and woman that controls the message about the Word of God and the airing of the messages of the most noted televangelists to the greatest single audience in the world and they hate correction and biblical reproof. It is a formula for spiritual disaster and that is what is already occurring.
Here are three additional statements that show Paul’s disdain for anyone that dares to question the messages of his guests on Trinity Broadcast Network.
Transcribed From Trinity Broadcasting Network’s Praise The Lord Show:
"I refuse to argue any longer with any of you out there. Don’t even call me if you want to argue doctrine, if you want to straighten somebody out over here, if you want to criticize Kenneth Copeland for his preaching on faith of Dad Hagin, get out of my life. I don’t ever want to talk to you or hear, I don’t want to see your ugly face.""I think they are damned and on their way to hell and I don’t think there is any redemption for them. I say, ‘to hell with you’."
"I say, ‘Get out of God’s way, quit blocking God’s bridges (Apparently, he defines God’s bridges as the One World Church and ecumenism.); or God is going to shoot you if I don’t.’"
What Does Paul And Jan Really Believe?Either they do not know what they believe or they do not care. Their guests represent some of the wildest possible heresy that can be exposed. Two of their newest stars/idols are Phil Munsey and Kim Clement. The mainstays of the last five to twenty years are well-known televangelists that continually teach questionable doctrines that have already destroyed a multitude of believers. I want to simply give you quotes from TBN telecasts and their guests and then show those quotes in the light of clear biblical truth. The picture that will emerge will represent some of the absolute darkest heresy available in the church world. The problem is that these people, whose actual words you will read, are not called cultic. They operate in the supposedly sane world of true Christianity. You must let God’s Word help you decide. Your spiritual life is absolutely at stake.
The "Force Of Faith" Vs. The "Faith Of Our Fathers"
Nothing we discuss in this article is more important than this definition of faith. God is either the Sovereign and Eternal God that has revealed Himself in His book of faith (The Holy Bible) or He is a pagan god that operates much like Kenneth Hagin, Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn, Paul Crouch, etc. Listen carefully to this explanation of faith.
Transcribed From Trinity Broadcasting Network’s Praise The Lord Show:
Kenneth Copeland: "The force of faith is in the spiritual realm a great deal like certain forces in the natural realm. It is a spiritual force, like gravity is a natural force, and electricity is a natural force of power."
Paul Crouch: "A measurable natural force."
Kenneth Copeland: "It’s a measurable force, it’s conductible, it’s perceptible to the touch . . . Faith is a spiritual force, it’s perceptible, . . . it is a tangible force, it’s an invisible force, so is gravity, but it is there."
Paul Crouch: "So is electricity . . . Does God use faith?"
Kenneth Copeland: "Surely."
Paul Crouch: ". . . See, here is the sore spot. There are those who say . . ."
Jan Crouch: "Not with him." (speaking of Copeland)
Paul Crouch: "Not with you." (lots of laughter follows)
Jan Crouch: "Not with God."
Kenneth Copeland: ". . . the fact. No, I’m not sore at God at all and I don’t think He’s sore at me . . . I haven’t done anything to Him."
Paul Crouch: ". . . The critics say God is God, He doesn’t have to have faith; He doesn’t exercise faith. He doesn’t use faith. He’s God. He’s the object of faith."
Kenneth Copeland: " . . . Wait a minute, what does that mean? Object of faith. I don’t know what that means."
Jan Crouch: "I don’t either."
What Does The Bible Say About Faith?
The definition of biblical faith has no kinship to this "Force of Faith" espoused by Copeland, and apparently Paul and Jan Crouch. In the above statement by Kenneth Copeland, God is said to use faith just like Copeland uses faith. Faith ceases to be the lofty and eternal truth forever settled in the Heavens and established by an eternal God that is Himself the object of our faith. It becomes a formula or a New Age force that is a pagan idea, clearly kin to the many teachings of the occult.
The new religion of the Antichrist is said to be a religion of "forces". Daniel prophesied this clear warning, "But in his estate shall he honor the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honor with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things." (Daniel 11:38)
To even suggest faith as a "force" is to deny God as an eternal being to whom we turn in truth and faith for all our sufficiency. It actually reduces God to the level of man. Real faith is clearly seen in Apostle Paul’s beautiful description to the Hebrews. Listen to his biblical statement of faith, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear." "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." (Hebrews 11:1,3,6). In true faith God becomes the "Absolute, the Eternal Sovereign God" in whom we rest all our hopes.
The Biggest Failure In The Bible
When you join together the idea of faith as a "force" with a God that became the biggest failure in the universe, you are laying the foundation for a "pagan cult" or a "paranormal religion". Here is another example of a TBN telecast where biblical doctrines are cast to the wind.
Transcribed From Trinity Broadcasting Network’s Praise The Lord Show:
Kenneth Copeland: "I was shocked when I found out who the biggest failure in the Bible actually is."
Paul Crouch: "Okay."
Kenneth Copeland: "You know everybody you ask, you say, ‘Who’s the biggest failure?’ They say, ‘Judas.’ Somebody else will say, ‘No, I believe it was Adam.’ Well, how about the devil?"
Paul Crouch: (Sound of amazement.)
Kenneth Copeland: "He’s the most consistent failure . . . but he’s not the biggest in terms of material failure and so forth. The biggest in the whole Bible is God. . . . Wait, wait. Don’t you turn that set off. You listen to us. I told you. . . . Now, you sit still a minute. You know me well enough to know I wouldn’t tell something I can’t prove by the Bible.
"He lost His top ranking of most anointed angel, the first man He ever created, the first woman He ever created, the whole earth and all the fullness therein, a third of the angels at least. That’s a big loss, man! I mean you figure up all of that, that’s a lot of real estate, gone down the drain.
"Now, the reason you don’t think of God as a failure, He never said He’s a failure. (Paul Crouch and others laughing on the set.) And you are not a failure until you say you are one."
Does The Bible Suggest That God Was A Failure?
Our Sovereign God created us in His image that we might bring honor and glory to Him and have eternal fellowship together. He desires our love and He wanted that love to be our choice. He wanted our obedience, but He wanted that obedience to be our choice. To suggest that God was a failure because Adam and Even made a sinful choice is ridiculous. It completely alters the entire biblical account of man’s fall, Satan’s fall, and the results that occurred. Our world would certainly be a different place if man had not sinned, but not for one moment was God ever a failure. The only failure was found in those that sinned. He never ceased to be the God of His universe or of the spiritual world where His will is forever being done.
The biblical account of the years that have transpired since the fall are filled with His story and the revelations that have never ceased to unfold. David made it clear who rules this Universe and it has never been the devil. His words speak volumes. "The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods. Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah." (Psalm 24:1-10)
You have the choice of believing Copeland and the Crouches or God and His true prophets. Reducing God is a constant theme of these diluted pundits (self-proclaimed authorities), but His majesty is undefeatable. The foolishness of this crowd gets worse.
The Deity Of The Son Of God In Question
Always error is on a downward spiral. Truth ascends and gets richer and sweeter, but error descends and becomes more and more absurd. That is clearly the direction of Paul and Jan Crouch. We will see other evidence of that in some of the new stars of TBN, but already the deity of Jesus Christ is under attack. Read carefully the following conversation:
Transcribed From Trinity Broadcasting Network’s Praise The Lord Show:
Kenneth Copeland: "We are still questioning what was said about that prophecy. That prophecy never mentioned the Son of God. Never said anything about the Son of God."
Paul Crouch: "What did it say?"
Kenneth Copeland: "It said I did not claim to be God."
Jan Crouch: (Unintelligible sounds.)
Kenneth Copeland: "That’s all it said."
Paul Crouch: "In other words, in so many words, you’re right, no where in the New Testament did he literally get up . . ."
Kenneth Copeland: ". . . preach and claim that He was God . . ."
Paul Crouch: ". . . and say, ‘I am God.’ Did He? I stand corrected."
Here is the apparent prophecy that was being discussed by Copeland and Crouch. It is an example of the new revelations as being claimed throughout the "New Wave" so-called revival. Christ supposedly told Copeland the following:
"Don’t be disturbed when people put you down and speak harshly and roughly of you. They spoke that way of Me, should they not speak that way of you? The more you get to be like Me, the more they’re going to think that way of you. They crucified Me for claiming that I was God. But I didn’t claim I was God; I just claimed I walked with Him and He was in Me. Hallelujah." (Kenneth Copeland, "Take Time To Pray," Believer’s Voice Of Victory 15, 2 (February 1987): 9.)
Here is an additonal quote by Copeland, which confirms his belief that Jesus was not God as He appeared on earth.
"What [why] does God have to pay the price for this thing? He has to have a man that is like that first one. It’s got to be a man. He’s got to be all man. He cannot be a God and come storming in here with attributes and dignities that are not common to man. He can’t do that. It’s not legal." (Kenneth Copeland, "Question & Answer," Believer’s Voice Of Victory 16, 8 (August 1988):8, emphasis in original.)
Let’s read the words of another guest that was also bold enough to deny the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Transcribed From Trinity Broadcasting Network’s Praise The Lord Show:
Joseph Good: "Yeshua (Jesus), we do not see as being God when He walked here on earth. We see Him as a man."
Guest: "A man anointed by God."
Joseph Good: "A man anointed by God, sent by God to perform a function. Now, in his resurrection . . ."
Guest: "He’s not God."
Joseph Good: "We do not see Him as God. We see Him as a man anointed by God. And that has been restored. There is nothing in the statements of Yeshua, in the statements of the disciples that would cause one to believe that they were proclaiming that He was deity."
Was Jesus Christ The Eternal Son Of God?
The Copeland, Hagin, Hinn, and Crouch, etc. theology plainly teaches that Jesus was only human in His earthly visit. Paul Crouch makes a statement that Jesus was reincarnated as the Divine Son when He was "born again" in hell. Let’s listen to Kenneth Copeland say that God was not the Father of Jesus Christ, that He was an "emaciated (poured out) little wormy spirit . . . down in the bottom of that thing (the pit of hell)." Then, we hear Benny Hinn say how Jesus was born again with Paul Crouch adding, "that is when His divinity returned."
Transcribed From A Message Given By Kenneth Copeland:
"How did Jesus then on the cross say, ‘My God.’ Because God was not His Father any more. He took upon Himself the nature of Satan. And I’m telling you Jesus is in the middle of that pit. He’s suffering all that there is to suffer, there is no suffering left . . . apart from Him. His emaciated, little wormy spirit is down in the bottom of that thing and the devil thinks He’s got Him destroyed. But, all of a sudden God started talking."
Transcribed From Trinity Broadcasting Network’s Praise The Lord Show:
Benny Hinn: "Jesus Christ destroyed the power of Satan on earth, but destroyed Satan in the under world, the Holy Ghost wasn’t there. Think about that."
Paul Crouch: "That’s when His divinity returned."
Does The Bible Deny That Jesus Was The Eternal, Divine Son Of God?
The answer is simple. To deny His divinity, to suggest that God wasn’t His Eternal Father, or to even consider that the Son of God had to be reincarnated as divine is total heresy. It flies in the face of the established truth of the eternal deity of Jesus Christ. The great Apostle John settled this in his gospel and other revelations.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." (John 1:1-5).
"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." (John 1:14).
"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ." (1 John 1:1-3).
"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty." (Revelation 1:8).
The Lord Jesus was eternal God and never ceased to be divine. Yes, He took on the "form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men", but that does not even remotely suggest that He ceased to be God. God forbid that we suggest it did. Listen to this passage of truth, "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." (Philippians 2:6-8).
The divine nature, by its very essence, cannot be discarded and then reincarnated. This fallacy alone shows the total biblical collapse of the entire "Faith Movement."
The Diety Of Man And The Teaching That We Are "Little Gods"
Let’s go straight to several statements by Paul Crouch, Benny Hinn, and Kenneth Copeland on this crucial subject. After seeing the denial of Jesus Christ’s eternal divinity, it is amazing to hear their elevation of man unto a "god" status.
Transcribed From Trinity Broadcasting Network’s Praise The Lord Show:
Paul Crouch: "He doesn’t ever draw a distinction between himself." (Jan Crouch agrees in the background.)
Kenneth Copeland: "Never, never. You never can do that in a covenant relationship."
Paul Crouch: "You know what else that settles then tonight. This hue and cry and controversy that has been spawned by the devil to try and bring dissent within the body of Christ that we are gods. I am a little god."
Kenneth Copeland: "Yes, yes!"
Paul Crouch: "I have His name. I’m one with Him. I’m in a covenant relationship. I am a little god."
Kenneth Copeland: "Critic, you are anything that He is."
Paul Crouch (heard under the words of Kenneth Copeland): "Critic, be gone."
Paul Crouch: "Yes!"
Transcribed From Trinity Broadcasting Network’s Praise The Lord Show:
Benny Hinn: "Adam was a superbeing when God created Him. I don’t know whether people even know this, but he was the first superman that ever lived. (Jan Crouch is heard laughing on the set.) First of all, the Scriptures declare clearly that he had dominion over the fowls of the air, the fish of the sea, which means he used to fly."
Jan Crouch: "Wow!"
Benny Hinn: "Of course, how can you have dominion over the birds and not be able to do what they do?"
Jan Crouch: "Whoa, I mean, wait a minute. Benny, wait a minute."
Benny Hinn: "I’ll prove it to you. The word dominion in the Hebrew clearly declares that, if you have dominion over a subject, you can do everything that subject does. In other words, that subject, if it does something that you cannot do, you don’t have dominion over it. I’ll prove it further. Adam not only flew, he flew to space. He used to be . . . He, He, He, He, He, He . . . with one thought He’d be on the moon."
Transcribed From A Message Given By Kenneth Copeland:
"God’s reason for creating Adam was His desire to reproduce Himself and in the Garden of Eden, He did that. He was not a little like God, He was not almost like God, he was subordinate to God, even. And Adam was as much like God as you can get . . . And I want you to know something. Adam in the Garden of Eden was God manifested in the flesh."
Does The Scripture Teach The "Little God" Concept?
The answer is obviously, "No!" There are many great truths of Scripture that show our humanity and the hope of a future glorification.
- Presently, We Are Tempted - "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience." (James 1:2-3).
- Our Outward Man Perisheth - "For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward [man] is renewed day by day." (II Corinthians 4:16).
- Our Hope Is At The Completion Of Our Earthly Journey - "Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 1:13).
It is certainly clear that this entire concept is a cheap path to riches and earthly glory. To look for some spiritual benefit in this false doctrine is a waste of time. The purpose of the teaching is to create a whole class of "swinging saints living the good life", something akin to the "Beverly Hillbillies". You would think this crowd has been watching too much television. When you look at the real Jesus of Scripture, the prophets and apostles in their suffering and sacrifice and then return to see Paul and Jan and their fellow travelers in their glory, it all becomes a fantasy world of deception.
God Is Both Male And Female?
The pagan roots of this whole deception is manifest as they create a God that becomes more like Zeus or the pantheon of ancient gods. I have been aware for some time that this entire theological confusion was headed back to its pagan roots. These men and women are clever, but they will eventually become so deluded that the error will show through. Listen as Kenneth Copeland clearly states that God is both male and female. Next, listen to Benny Hinn state that women were first created to bear children out of their side. Then, he somehow compares this to Jesus and the spear print in His side.
Transcribed From A Message Given By Kenneth Copeland:
"Then, he created Eve out of Adam. Now, actually God didn’t name her Eve, Adam named her Eve later. That wasn’t her name, her name was Adam . . . Adam. When God said Adam, they both came. Their authority was one and the same together. They did everything together. They had always been together. Even when she was still part of him, he was as much female as he was male, LIKE GOD IS. And God separated the female part of him and then put them back together. And she was Adam, they were Adam. He was the man, she was the woman. She was the man with the womb."
Transcribed From A Message Given By Benny Hinn:
"Holy Spirit said something to me and I had to go like a mad man and looking in the Word. He says, ‘God’s original plan is that the woman was to bring forth children out of her side.’ What? You know that there is nowhere in the Bible but where God gives birth out of His side. Jesus gives birth to the church out of His side. Adam gives birth to his wife out of his side. It was sin that turned the thing around. And it was sin that transformed her flesh and her body."
Such an idea is certainly blasphemous. It is exactly the same foolishness that elevates Mary, the mother of Jesus, to the state of "The Mother of God." Many writers are beginning to suggest as Copeland that God has a dual nature of male and female. The entire new headquarters of Trinity Broadcasting Network is feminine in design. There are female angels guarding the entrance to the television studio. The ceilings are filled with frollicking, mostly nude children. Two pictures of the mother/child deception and one of a feminine face, with two nude young bodies hovering above, line the short hallway leading past the female angels to the studio. The appearance is mythological and pagan.
The Bible is absolutely clear that God is our Heavenly Father. His nature is divine and eternal and sexual distinctions are non-existent. He created man in His image and then created woman in the image of man. There are no female angels because the angelic host were created in the image of God before women were created. Women are a unique creation out of man to supply him a helpmeet and has absolutely nothing to do with the nature and appearance of God. This false concept of God being both male and female is clear decension into paganism.
God As Mother Nature
As we move to the concept of a dual nature, both male and female, manifest in the Heavenly Father, the results can only lead to more disgusting ideas. The new additional studio of Trinity Broadcasting Network in Hendersonville, TN, is the scene of the following quotes. Jan Crouch appears to be the host of these events, with preachers like Phil Munsey and Kim Clement. On one occasion Phil is preaching and appears to be speaking more from "fertility rites of ancient paganism" than the Bible itself. He states:
Transcribed From Trinity Broadcasting Network, Hendersonville, Tennessee:
Phil Munsey: "There is going to be a paradigm shift in philosophies of men. Mother Earth is groaning in travail, labouring pain, ready to give birth to something big and something mighty and wonderful . . . God is moving, connect with Him."
As he preaches, he mentions the Buddhists and directs his remarks to them. "Buddhists, I love you much, I’m honored that you are willing to get out of yourself and take a risk and go for something that people used to laugh at. I’m honored that you have enough passion for God to try to connect with something."
Phil Munsey: "In the Throne Zone, time past, present, and future cease to exist. We move into a frame without the limitation of humanity in the natural."
In the course of these several nights of so-called revival, he apparently tried to show that people in the heathen world have learned how to connect with the principles of God without being Christians. I presume this is why he spoke so kindly of the Buddhist. Listen:
Phil Munsey: "People learn how to work the principles of God, they learn how to operate in the charisma of God without the character of God and that makes good people mad."
Phil Munsey: "Get your ears to hear what the Spirit says now, Get your ears to hear what the Spirit says now. (Supposedly, the Spirit is speaking through him.) I tell you that the kingdom of God is so due and overdue. I tell you that Mother Nature and I don’t mind using that word . . . It is now time for the New Jerusalem to come down out of heaven and kiss the earth until all that God is shall be made known and His glory fills the earth . . . I tell you what God is going to, has to do. He’s either going to shut some mouths up that are aborting the purpose of God and bring some marriages . . . If you are a virgin and you are telling people you are pregnant, you could get stoned."
Phil Munsey: "God is looking for a womb to bring forth His Rhenna upon the earth. The Bible says in Isaiah, chapter 34:16, and I love the Amplified Version, that everything in nature has a mate of which they bring forth from their seed . . . Every Word of God has a mate . . ."
Can Truth Of Scripture Be Blended With Pagan Doctrines?
The answer is obviously a resounding, "No!" When God the Father becomes "mother god" as much as "father god", anything becomes possible in the pulpit. The term Mother Earth, as used by Munsey on these TBN Broadcasts suggests that the paradigm shift has reached an intense level of change. These doctrines will be preached very carefully for a while and then the speakers will grow blatant and arrogant.
Notice that Munsey says that the Spirit was saying, "the kingdom of God is so due and overdue." Is God ever late? Does He have to apologize for the failure of His plan? Copeland has already answered that on an earlier Praise The Lord telecast. "God," says Copeland, "was the biggest failure ever in history." Paganism has arrived at the pulpits of many churches.
Stand On The Word Of God
My dear friends, get back to the truth of God’s Eternal Word with all of your heart. Truth will set you free. Do not allow these "New Wave" preachers to force you to deny the beautiful ministry of the Holy Ghost in your life. The Holy Spirit was sent by the Father as the Spirit of Truth. His living presence in the church will cause the Word of God to come alive. My heart is set on a reformation in the Body of Christ. The church world has a multitude of sincere believers who love the eternal Son of God and many of them have been influenced by these pagan ideas. Pray earnestly for the "Word of God to prevail." Let’s be sure that each one of us gets back into total truth and believes for a revival of New Testament Christianity.
- Pray earnestly for the Crouches and others that truth will prevail in their lives. Millions are being led into deeper and deeper error and everyone of us has an obligation to help them learn the truth. Share this information with everybody in your sphere of influence.
- [Source: Paw Creek Ministries - 5110 Tuckaseegee Road - Charlotte, NC 28208 - (704) 391-0588 - http://www.pawcreek.org/mainpage.htm