The Big Lie: 'Normal' Christianity

Recently, a pastor I know received a provocative Christmas gift from a man in his church. It is a book titled Normal Christianity, written by prophet Jonathan Welton--a leader in the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) movement.The message of Welton's book is that the "normal" Christian lifestyle should be characterized by the performance of miracles: walking on water, calming storms, and even raising the dead.Yet--contrary to the book's title--Welton's version of Christianity is anything but normal. Beyond promoting the supernatural phenomena we see in Scripture, he also argues that every Christian should develop magical powers that historically have been practiced by psychics, witches, and occultists.The end result is that "normal" Christianity turns out to be an unholy marriage between Christianity and the occult. Gifts of the Spirit?Welton claims that all Christians should be reclaiming the following practices from the occult as part of their normal Christian walk.

• Reading auras: The ability to see invisible energy that surrounds a person and learning information about that person based on the color or form of his or her aura
• Clairvoyance: The ability to perceive extrasensory information about an object or event from the past, present, or future
• Clairaudience: The ability to hear sounds, music, and voices sent from the spirit realm
• Clairsentience: The ability to sense smells sent from the spirit realm, along with tastes and touches
• The use of power objects: Physical objects, such as crystals and amulets, that contain supernatural powers

Welton's Misuse of ScriptureWelton attempts to offer biblical support for these practices. Yet, the few verses he cites do not support the practices. For example, to support clairsentience--that is, sensing smells from the spirit realm--he cites 2 Corinthians 2:14:

"But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him."

It is painfully obvious that the apostle Paul is not speaking, in this verse, of a real fragrance. Rather, Paul uses the image of a fragrance to convey an idea: that idea being that God uses Christians to spread knowledge about Him wherever they go.Yet, Welton misuses this verse to defend his claim that a sweet scent like perfume--sent from heaven--magically appears in many of his meetings.Well, maybe Welton has smelled something sweet in his meetings. But his interpretation of Scripture stinks.Shockingly ShamelessWelton doesn't see himself as introducing occult practices in the church. On the contrary, he sees himself as a "rogue theologian" who is reclaiming practices that New Agers and occultists stole from Christianity in the first place (Normal Christianity, page 202).Now that's brazen!Welton's unabashed attempt to bring occult practices to the church reminds me of the man and woman who were openly practicing incest in the Corinthian church (1 Corinthians 5:1-13). The apostle Paul was shocked that they would be so shameless--even boasting about--engaging in such a blatant form of sexual immorality.Jonathan Welton is not only seeking to bring occult practices to the church, but he is also audacious enough to claim that these practices represent "normal" Christianity. And, unfortunately, his is not a lone voice. A growing number of NAR apostles and prophets have begun openly pushing occult practices.The Big LieWelton's teachings may sound absurd. But that doesn't mean people won't believe them. Hitler had an infamous propaganda technique, known as the "Big Lie"--that is, if you tell a lie that is big enough then eventually people will believe it. Why? Because no one will believe that you would actually make up something so crazy.And, sadly, Welton's message has already convinced people--which can be seen by the fact that my pastor friend received a copy of his book.So, what do you think the normal Christian life should look like?