DUMPSTER FIRE: ChristAlignment Destiny Cards

Welcome to the Fighting for the Faith Dumpster Fire edition for the first week of January 2018. Today we're going to be looking at Christ Alignment Destiny cards and the whole Bethel tarot card debacle thingy.

It is a raging dumpster fire and what's really funny is the Mea Culpa that Chris Vallotton did over there at Bethel Church in Redding, California. He did a complete 180 on this whole Christ Alignment Destiny card thingy.

We're going to note that this group literally claims that they are an undercover evangelism outfit, perfectly tuned to reach out to the New Age movement. We'll take a look at how they operate, the things that they do, we'll look at some of their customer testimonials, and then note the difference between what they're doing and what scripture says regarding evangelism.

And look at how Michael Brown has weighed in on this and in true Michael Brown fashion, he just can't seem to bring himself to say anything negative about stuff that is patently obviously evil and false going on in the charismatic movement.

We'll take a look at that as well. So let's get into it. This is the, looking at the screen here, this is the ChristAlignment .org website and already you can tell just by looking at it, this looks a little bit New Agey.

This looks a little kind of like, you know, sorcery, fortune-telling, and all that kind of stuff. And the reason it looks like that is because this is fortune-telling and divination. But they claim that they're tapping into, they're tapping into, you know, the higher Christ spirit thingy.

So this is truly evangelism in their way of thinking. And we'll note that initially Bethel, through Chris Vallotton, you know, denied having anything to do with them, and now they're endorsing them, no joke.

But taking a look at the verbiage on their website, listen to this, Our cards lead the way. We almost need like New Age music in the background here. A little sitar playing in the background. You can't come into your destiny until you take responsibility for your own life.

Don't know who said it, but it's in quotes, so I mean it's important, right? Sounds really spiritual-ish. So the Christ Alignment team, they use at least five different types of cards in destiny readings.

Yeah, notice the photographs of them using their destiny cards in action. All this is, by the way, undercover evangelism. So these are not necessary for an intuitive reader, though. It's important to note that if you're really an intuitive reader, you don't really need the cards.

But listen to what they say. So as we are all hearing from the third heaven realm, but greatly, the cards greatly enhance the reading. I'm sure, you know, it's all about enhancing the experience. So we believe that they are more predictive and higher than most cards and can address a current life question that you may have.

Card readings with Christ Alignment are always followed by the reader taking the client into an encounter in the highest realm. Like, what does that even mean? Where in scripture does it talk about we could take an unbelieving pagan into an encounter in the highest realm, or even believers?

I mean, where are these encounters in the highest realm explained to us that we can somehow manufacture them as part of the evangelism or pre-evangelism task? No biblical text says this. And then they go on to say that often color is seen and it is in this realm that answers come for poignant questions that clients have and lives are changed.

See, they're changing lives with Christ Alignment. Now, when this thing first blew up, the folks over at Bethel Church in Redding, California immediately basically distanced themselves from any of this, which is really fascinating.

And here's Chris Vallotton, initial response to the news breaking about Christ Alignment. He said, some told me there is an article stating that some Christians are now using quote, Christian tarot cards, unquote, apparently called destiny cards, and that some people are associated with Bethel are doing so.

So notice, Christian tarot cards, people associated with Bethel. Watch what he does initially. This is insane. Now, I agree with his initial reaction. First of all, whoever is doing this needs to repent and stop the craziness in the name of reaching people for Christ.

See, I agree with that, but that he changes this. This ends up getting pulled out. Secondly, Bethel has graduated 10 ,000 students and has 9 ,000 people in our congregation and a couple million followers.

And for some reason, when some Christian does something crazy, the media often want to blame the church they go to or the podcast they listen to, etc. Guilt by association. Sorry, Chris, but I don't know if you've noticed this, but there's a lot of crazy that already happens during the church services there at Bethel.

It's because of your false theology, false ecclesiology, false pneumatology. I mean, the stuff that we've covered over the years on my radio program coming out of Bethel oftentimes I describe as demonic.

Yeah, because it is. There's no reason to believe that any of it's biblical. So to somehow peg this with Bethel, it's just not much of a stretch. I'm just saying that, in fact, connecting that dot, it's a small connection, a minor, minor distance to travel.

So he says, Believers are called to love the broken, so we are privileged to have them named among us. But broken people often act broken. Assigning their broken condition to the people loving on them is like blaming the doctors for their patients' sickness.

Uh-huh. So there are also people who listen to our teaching and create strange and or anti-biblical applications in our name. Yeah, actually, I would argue that those strange and anti-biblical applications done in the name of Bethel are the logical consequence of the false teaching and false doctrines and false practice of Bethel.

Just saying, you kind of get the idea. So initially, Chris Vallotton totally repudiated the concept. He ended up pulling this down off of his Facebook and posting something new the next day because the folks who run the Christ Alignment group sent him a message.

And by the way, you can find both of these over at the Museum of Idolatry. This is where this is posted. PirateChristianRadio .com forward slash Museum of Idolatry. And you can find this from December 15, 2017.

Chris Vallotton runs from his own Facebook post. But listen to what he ended up posting on his Facebook the next day. And notice the tone totally changes here. Let me read this in this nice tone. Here is a beautiful letter I received today.

Amazing people are trying to be destroyed by the fake news media. Right? As if this people pointing out, these are tarot cards. These people are doing fortune telling in the name of Jesus. That's somehow fake news.

So Ken and Jenny Hodge who lead up this Christ Alignment, here's their explanation for their actions. Hi, Chris. Thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to reply to the recent misunderstandings about our ministry and tarot cards.

My name is Jenny, the one who several websites have attacked and named us as with Bethel. The reason they said that is because we are the proud parents of Ben Fitzgerald who is part of the Bethel family.

Yep, there's a Bethel connection right there. That right there is a Bethel connection. I'm just saying. So our ministry, Christ Alignment, is a large undercover prophetic evangelism deliverance ministry based in Australia.

I mean, it's like you need like the Mission Impossible music here. Dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun. Our ministry, Christ Alignment, is a large undercover prophetic evangelism deliverance ministry based in Australia.

Our aim is to get people saved, healed, set free. Over the last six years, we've developed a very successful tested method for ministering to thousands of New Age people. The team see approximately 7 ,000 people per year going into all of the Australian New Age festivals, expos, and events.

Mm-hmm. Yeah. So you kind of get the idea here. These guys claim that they're undercover evangelists and that the stuff that they're doing, it apparently taps into the third heaven realm and they can take people into God encounters and stuff like that.

Well, we're going to take a look at the undercover evangelism ministry work of Christ Alignment. But before we do that, I would like to remind you of a few things that scripture actually does say in certain regards.

Deuteronomy 18 Condemns Divination and Fortune-Telling

Number one, Deuteronomy chapter 18, starting at verse 10, says this. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead.

Whoever does these things is an abomination to Yahweh. And because of these abominations, Yahweh your God is driving them out before you. You shall be blameless before the Lord your God for these nations which you are about to dispossess.

Listen to fortune tellers, to diviners. But as for you, Yahweh your God has not allowed you to do this. Yeah, that's pretty straightforward. You see what I'm saying here? The Bible is so clear. Now, regarding evangelism, by the way, I know a thing or two about evangelism.

Jesus on Proclaiming Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins

And evangelism is actually clearly spelled out as to how this is done in scripture. And we have no greater of an authority on this than Jesus himself. Let me read from Luke chapter 24, starting at verse 45.

Then he, Jesus, opened their minds to understand the scriptures and he said to them,. Thus it is written that the Messiah, the Christ, should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead. And listen, and that repentance and the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations beginning from Jerusalem.

You are witnesses of these things and behold I am sending the promise of my Father upon you but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high. So you get the idea here. A vital part of evangelism is proclaiming repentance and the forgiveness of sins, calling people to repent of their sins, proclaiming Christ and him crucified for our sins, that's what he was doing on the cross, raised again on the third day for our justification, and I mean that's the gospel.

First Corinthians 15 makes it clear that the gospel is the good news, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scripture, was buried and was raised again on the third day in accordance with the scripture.

All of this for our sins, for our justification so that we can be saved. In order for somebody to be converted, truly converted, they have to hear the gospel. They have to be confronted with their sinfulness, and at a New Age festival that would also require somebody to be confronted with the sin of idolatry.

Now, Jen Hodge and the folks at Christ Alignment seem to think that what needs to happen in evangelism is for these New Agers to have an encounter with the real Holy Spirit or the Christ Spirit or something like this, and that the difference between the false spirits and the Christ Spirit would cause them to want to accept Jesus.

That's their premise, but that's not how evangelism is done, either in the New Testament, throughout Christian history, or otherwise. You can't Christianize fortune-telling and divination. Now, let me give you another text also here, which I think is fascinating.

Paul Confronts a Spirit of Divination in Philippi

In Acts chapter 16, the Apostle Paul is in the town of Philippi, and here's what it says, starting at verse 16. As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling.

And listen to this. She followed Paul and us, crying out, These men are servants of the Most High God who proclaim to you the way of salvation. You're going to note that this demon-possessed girl, slave girl, in Philippi, her language is going to be eerily similar to some of the things we hear from the Bethel folks, Jen Hodge, that are part of Christ's alignment.

And so, these men are servants of the Most High God, the demonized girl said, who proclaim to you the way of salvation. And this she kept doing for many days, Paul having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, I command you in the name of Jesus to come out of her, and it came out of her that very hour.

So you're going to note that the Apostle Paul didn't sit there and go, You know, that demon girl, she really has some really good theology because she's talking about the Most High God and the fact that we're proclaiming salvation.

Maybe we can buy her from the guys who own her, and we can set up a little fortune-telling shop, and she can tell people about Jesus. You know, he cast the demon out of her. So you're going to note, Deuteronomy 18 forbids fortune-telling, interpretation of omens, practicing of divination, sorcery, mediums, necromancy, and things like that.

The Apostle Paul didn't partner with this demon girl, although she claimed that he was preaching about the Most High God and about salvation. And then Jesus himself makes it clear that evangelism requires you to proclaim repentance and the forgiveness of sins.

So when we now go and take a look at what it is the folks at Christ Alignment are up to, to see if they are really actually engaging in, you know, evangelism, we're going to be looking for them not fortune-telling, them proclaiming repentance and the forgiveness of sins, you know, maybe confronting people regarding things like idolatry and stuff like that, but that's not what we're going to see.

So the first two videos that we have here were actually pulled off of the Christ Alignment YouTube channel, and thankfully the folks over at Church Watch Central were able to download copies of them. Let's take a look at a destiny card reading.

This is evangelism in action, Christ Alignment style. Here we go.

...a release of wisdom and revelation. I'll speak a release of that.

Just invite that into your life. So she's releasing, you know, a thing of revelation.

Where is that in Scripture? So I want you now just to choose a stone that you feel led to choose.

Are you using the force for this? I mean, I feel the force leading me to choose the green stone, you know.

That just feels highlighted to you. Yeah. Okay.

He felt that stone was highlighted. Yeah, that's what he felt.

So this stone represents these three colors. I want you to just choose the color that you feel led to choose.

Which color are you feeling led to? Oh yeah, this is totally different than tarot cards. Yeah.

Right now I want you to close your eyes. So now that color, imagine you're in a room, in a kitchen. Big kitchen right there. You want me to imagine I'm in the kitchen. Okay. Am I making a sandwich? It's the color of the gift, gift paper around the gift on the table for you, right?

There's a gift on the table. Okay.

So can you imagine a gift wrapped up on the table in the kitchen? But right now I just want you to open up. Go to the gift that's wrapped in that paper, that color paper, and I want you to open up the gift.

Okay, what's the gift? Yeah, by the way, there's a term for what she's doing here. This is called guided meditation, New Age practice. A dove?

The gift is a dove. Okay, is there anything about the dove that you notice? So the gift is a dove. There's light in the eyes of the dove.

The eyes are red. The dove is a demon. Run away. Run away.

So there's light in the eyes of the dove. What else is there about the dove? The dove has a plant in its beak. What else is there? What else is there about the plant? The plant is blooming. And so what else is there about that?

Notice, no talk about Jesus crucified for our sins. No talk of what a sin is and what, you know, repentance or anything like that. No proclamation of Christ. I'm not sure what this is. But this sounds like and looks a lot like, you know, fortune telling.

What else is there about the blooming plant in the dove's beak? So the plant is growing. Yeah. What color flowers? Pink flowers in the plant of the dove. So let's just ask the spirit. What else? You're going to ask the spirit?

The spirit wants to show, tell or give you about the dove and the plant.

The spirit wants to show something about the plant? Which spirit are we talking about? Zool?

That is blooming in the mouth of the dove.

The dove represents somebody and the plant is me and you.

So the dove represents somebody and the plant is you growing.

Wow. Yeah. The dove represents somebody and I'm the growing plant. Mind blown. Yeah. Okay.

So when the dove is there like that with the plant in its mouth, how do you feel? I feel like running away. This is giving me the heebie-jeebies. You feel comforted. So what else is there about the dove?

Let's ask the spirit of truth.

So they're going to ask the spirit of truth. There's the end of the video. Let me show you another one. It kind of shows them in action here. Let me reverse the thing here. Again, formally from the Christ Alignment YouTube channel.

But they pulled these things down. I wonder why. Hi, I'm Allie. Hi, Allie. What was your name? Daryl. Hi, Daryl. Let's see. Readings. $10. 20 minutes. Henna. $10. Large. Okay. $5. Small. All right. So this reading, I'm assuming, is going to cost this fellow $10.

Just saying, you know.

Christ Alignment. So anyone that does a reading hears from the spirit realm, which exists outside of time and space.

They're hearing from the spirit realm. From the Christ Spirit.

Now, I'm going to back that up. I want you to hear it in context. Listen again. Spirit realm, which exists outside of time and space. So we're hearing from the Christ Spirit.

You're hearing from the Christ Spirit. Where in scripture does it say you can do that? Right. They don't want to tell you about future stuff. Because, I mean, you know, fortune telling. You know, stuff like that.

A higher realm, yeah. Yeah, this higher realm wants to empower your destiny. It doesn't want to control it. It's a friendly demon. So the cards are going to reveal. Okay. No, it's not like tarot cards at all.

I mean, it doesn't matter what the artwork is. I mean, this is so different. No, it's not different at all. This is fortune telling.

Yeah, don't worry. The cards are in control.

This is fortune telling. This is straight up New Age forbidden by the Bible stuff. All in the name of evangelism. This isn't evangelism. These people are hearing nothing about Jesus. Yeah. All right. All right.

So those are the two videos that Christ Alive pulled off of their YouTube. I wonder why. Yeah, they're not doing fortune telling at all. Yeah, that's totally above board. I mean, why did the Apostle Paul employ these tactics?

I mean, imagine. I mean, more people would be Christians if they had just. Yeah, the reason why. This is strictly forbidden by scripture. Now, let me show you some of their customer testimonials from their YouTube channel.

I mean, let's see if you hear anything about repentance and the forgiveness of sins. And I can't believe I was so duped by idolatry and witchcraft and stuff like that. So here are some for real customer testimonials from people who have had a destiny reading using the destiny reading cards.

Yep. So I just had a reading. She feels calm. Yeah. OK. Chamomile tea does that without the demons. You know, I'm just saying, you know.

And I feel like there's a light shining before my eyes. It's an amazing feeling.

And I would definitely do it again. She feels like there's a light shining before her eyes. She's a Christian now. There. So, yeah, boy, she can attend Bethel. I mean, become a member. I mean, she's totally been radically saved.

She's feeling lots of peace. That's just cool. Yeah. Does this sound like repentance to you? I mean, these people have been totally evangelized by this undercover. Undercover evangelism operation out there in Australia.

Let's take a listen to another customer testimonial and see if we hear anything that would signify that this person has been brought to true repentant faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins.

She had a good one. Yeah.

It was amazing. I think what really was amazing about it was it was something different for me. I've never done it before. And it really spoke to me. It spoke to her.

You know, see, she's a Christian now.

It actually gave me the messages that I didn't think I was ever going to get in a completely different way. And I really do encourage people to try something different. You just never know. Right. Yeah.

You never know. What you're going to get, honestly. And it's amazing. It really is.

And on the next installment of Paranormal Activity, this poor girl from Australia ended up having demons cast out of her body and her house. Did you check?

I did. She was amazing. And I think what was really good about it is that she's very symbolic and I'm very symbolic as well. So it was really good to have someone speak to me who's very like-minded to me.

And I think that's why I really felt that connection.

She felt a connection, you know. So, I mean, she's saved now.

How things work, how, you know, you come and just someone is just meant for you. And she really was. And I really appreciate her taking the time to speak to me. Right. Yeah.

Chalk another one up. Way to go, Jesus. You saved another pagan. This one is a little creepy and weird. Here's some more satisfied customers from Christ Alignment here. They're blissing out. They're getting a little carpet time, you know.

Yeah, that's how we look after we're finished. You having fun?

Yeah. Tell me about your experience here at the presence. Yeah, what was your experience?

It was really clarifying. Yeah, it was very clarifying, very confirming of things, of checking in where I'm on the right path.

Really? So, you're a pagan New Ager and your Christ Alignment destiny card reading confirmed you are on the right path. Oh, yeah. Yeah, this is just some really effective undercover evangelism going on right here.

Just being able to connect in with the different tools that each aspect that I have, what they mean and how they actually interconnect. And that was really great. Awesome. What about you guys? Have you had a healing?

Yeah. Can I say one word? Yeah. I am mush. I am mush. You are mush on the ground. Yeah, they mushed him.

Mushing for Jesus. It's just great. Mushlam. Mushlam means perfect. Mushlam means perfect. It means whole. He's been mushed into wholeness. He's going to be tithing next week at Bethel. Mush, mush. Hey, hi.

What about you, lovely?

How was your experience? It was amazing. Amazing experience, yes. Amazing. Just a good feeling, good friends, good vibes.

Yeah, good vibes. I mean, these pagans have been totally confirmed they're on the right path. Listen to Michael Brown's evasive way of basically saying, we can neither confirm nor deny that this is good or bad.

Michael Brown Refuses to Condemn the Practice

Yeah. Watch what Michael Brown said yesterday on this. It's unbelievable.

Here we go. Nathan, former BRSM student. Hey, man. Good to see you. Have I addressed the issue of destiny cards? Okay. I have briefly. There's this whole controversy about some folks associated with Bethel Church in California.

That's right. They are associated with Bethel Church. Let's make this clear. That association was confirmed by Chris Vallotton. So that's right. Christ Alignment is somehow for real associated with Bethel Church, and Bethel Church through Chris Vallotton has endorsed their undercover evangelism ministry and says that anybody who is hating on them on the Internet is engaging in fake news.

Right. Okay. In a ministry based in Australia, going to these new age events and using things that look like tarot cards to reach people. So I don't know anything about it other than what I read. Right.

He knows nothing about this. I mean, it took me all of 20 minutes to get the gist of what was going on. Didn't take too long to find all of the missing pieces and find examples to show you in this YouTube video what Christ Alignment was up to.

I mean, how is it that Dr. Michael Brown never seems to have enough time? He's always too busy to actually, you know, research to give you a definitive answer. That is one of the things I've noticed about him.

Maybe he's suffering from the sneaky squid spirit attacks. Yeah, I'm just saying. I think it sounds bizarre. What in the world are they doing? That's the first. Yeah, I just demonstrated they're engaging in full blown sorcery fortune telling divination and they're not actually doing anything even remotely approaching evangelism.

Response you have.

I read a long article from someone saying or several paragraphs long saying, hey, this is what we're involved with. They're not tarot cards.

Yeah. No, it doesn't matter if they're not tarot cards. It's the same methodology.

It's fortune telling. We have cards that have verses from the Bible on them.

Yeah. God's word can't be used this way.

The cards with certain imagery that these people in these new age festivals are going to see and it's going to look familiar to them. And we use those things to say, hey, would you like to get a reading?

Because that's what they're there for. And then they try to bring the gospel to them.

No, no, no. They don't try to bring the gospel to them. They want them to have an encounter with the Christ spirit. We just showed it here. So, no, they're not having an, quote, encounter with the gospel.

They're not hearing anything about repentance and the forgiveness of sins.

But for an insight to speak to the person's life. And then from there, they seek to preach the gospel and lead people out of error into the truth. It may be flaky and weird and stupid.

No, flaky is not a biblical category. This is false, idolatrous, new age, fortune telling, dressed up in Jesus drag. This is not a biblical practice at all. And this is, these are practices explicitly condemned by scripture.

So notice what he does here. I, you know, I don't, I really haven't had enough time to study. So I'm not sure, but I do know this. And, and, you know, and yeah, he's, he's not giving an honest answer.

It may be playing with, with darkness. Oh, it is. It's full blown darkness. Maybe a brilliant way to reach the lost until I can actually. No, actually it's not.

Just take a look at what they're doing. Now I'm going to back this up just a smidge. Just a smidge, because I don't want you to miss what he's saying in context.

Pray and ask the Lord for an insight to speak to the person's life. And then from there they seek to preach the gospel and lead people out of error into the truth. It may be flaky and weird and stupid.

It may be playing with, with darkness. Or maybe a brilliant way to reach the lost until I can actually see what they're doing. Okay. Yeah. Well, I just showed it.

How come you weren't able to find it?

Just condemn it. Well, I, I don't know enough to do it. Well, just endorse it. They don't need my endorsement and I don't know enough to do that. So it sounded very odd when I heard it. Then when I read the explanation, it sounded less odd.

But I would really need to see, okay, what are you actually showing people? Yeah. What are you actually doing here? Let me watch you in operation. And then I could say something one way or the other.

Well, I just showed two videos of them in operation and gave customer testimonials about their experiences. How come you weren't able to find them? You know, the Internet makes the world kind of a small place, you know.

In a particular hurry to speak about things of which I do not have all the information.

And that's pretty much all he had to say. So, you know, I can neither condemn nor condone. I just don't know. I don't have enough information until I can, you know, sit down and really watch this thing.

And I won't be on Australia anytime soon. Uh-huh. Yeah, it just, you know, over and again we've demonstrated on my radio program that Michael Brown, he can never really seem to get the gumption, the backbone up to condemn even the overtly false doctrines and practices within the charismatic movement.

And here you got full-blown Christian fortune-telling. And he can't seem to get himself just stomach the idea of saying, yeah, no, this is strictly forbidden by Deuteronomy 18 and other passages. It's just weird that way anyway.

So that's this week's installment of Dumpster Fire. Hope you found it educational, insightful, maybe a little entertaining. But, yeah, this just shows you the sad state of affairs here in Christian evangelicalism and the unwillingness to call evil evil and call out false doctrine, false teaching, false practice, false prophecies for what it is.

I mean, and as a result of it, the church is in complete disarray. People are not hearing about Jesus. Those poor New Agers that Christ's alignment has ministered to, they're still in their idolatry and sins and have not been brought to penitent faith in Christ.

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Amen. Until next time.