| Shedding God's light on a person or subject is always a good thing. However, in search of some experiential manifestation of that light, let us not forsake the means of that light which He has already graciously bestowed upon us." - "Evaluating Theophostic Ministry," Trinity Evangelical Divinity School Alumni Journal, Spring 2004, Bryan Maier,
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Theophostic is dangerous.
What are the dangers of Theophostic Prayer Ministry?
1) Spiritual deception:
"However, the idea that God's omnipresence resides within human memory or that God is somehow required to reveal his presence within one's memory is neither part of orthodox theology nor a concept found in scripture.Thus, Smith's contention about such personal revelation within TPM has questionable legitimacy." - David Entwistle, Shedding Light on Theophostic Ministry 2: Ethical and Legal Issues, Journal of Psychology and Theology, 2004, Vol. 32, No. 1, 35-42.
"[There are] Three risks of making woundedness the root of sinfulness: ... 1)minimizes the seriousness of sin, ... 2) minimizes the glory of forgiveness and repentance, ... 3) minimizes the power of spiritual disciplines ... on the issues of sin and healing, the question remains for Christian counselors and the evangelical community as a whole as to whether Smith's theological basis is consistent with responsible biblical doctrine. We do not think Smith has warrant to make this claim. Furthermore we think these differences are so significant that we advise great caution before engaging in this ministry -- whether as a client or as facilitator." - Bryan N. Maier, Philip G. Monroe, "A Theological Analysis of Theophostic Ministry," Trinity Journal, Fall 2003, p. 180-181,188
For more on the spiritual dangers of Theophostic, read chapter three, and chapter four, Lying Spirits.
2) A self-induced hypnotic state, which can lead to believing self-generated fantasies about one's past:
"Another key point to understand is that people are capable of hypnotizing themselves, referred to as creating a self-induced trance ... By relabelling hypnotic trance techniques 'Holy Spirit guidance,' Christian regressionists have misled clients to believe that they were not engaging in hypnosis when in fact they were." - Dr. Paul Simpson, Second Thoughts: Understanding the False Memory Crisis and How It Could Affect You," (Thomas Nelson 1996) p.70,187.
"TPM shares many features with hypnotic induction (especially its focus on connecting emotional experience to a presumed historical memory) that could well account for the creation of DID and SRA accounts as well as 'memories' of the abuse allegedly underlying these phenomena." - David Entwistle, Shedding Light on Theophostic Ministry 1: Practice Issues, Journal of Psychology and Theology, 2004, Vol. 32, No. 1, 26-34.
For more on the hypnotic dangers of Theophostic, read chapter four, Lying Spirits.
3) Risk of the loss of familial relationships:
"Based on my research and first-hand accounts I have heard since publishing my ebook, I believe there is a signficant risk of the unnecessary loss of familial love for anyone who engages in Theophostic Prayer Ministry." - Jan Fletcher, letter to the Central Kentucky News Journal.
"TPM techniques may not offer adequate safeguards to distinguish true from false memories." - attributed to David Entwistle, Charisma Magazine, August 2004 issue.
For more on the dangers of family estrangement following Theophostic sessions read chapter two, Lying Spirits.
4) Risk of falsely accusing innocent people as a result of entering into a hypnotic trance.
"Without opportunity to defend themselves, people's reputations and families have been wiped out based on the whim of a hypnotic fantasy. The injustice that we as a society have engaged in is enormous."- Dr. Paul Simpson, Second Thoughts: Understanding the False Memory Crisis and How it Could Affect You," (Thomas Nelson 1996) p.109.
"The memory is extremely faulty and easily influenced by any number of internal and external factors. Books we read, films we watch, news stories, etc. and we can incorporate those, or elements of those, into 'our story' to explain why we are the way we are. Sometimes these are simply harmless -- the one that got away fisherman type stories -- but other times they have horrible consequences to those who are falsely accused." - L.L. (Don) Veinot Jr., President Midwest Christian Outreach.
5) Divisiveness within churches.
"Smith says if the pastor doesn't agree with Theophostic Ministry, it may be time to leave and 'find a church where it is possible to minister more freely.'" - Jan Fletcher, Lying Spirits.
"A number of folks are in the trenches. They are on the front lines of this stuff. It's making inroads into the congregations. What happens is a spiritual leader in the congregation, and perhaps his wife, attract a bit of a following. Some results give them some credibility. Now there's 30 or 40 people on a crusade for this stuff. The pastor smells a foul odor to it and confronts them. Then their hair just bristles. It's time for war. The pastors I've talked to are groping in the dark on how to deal with it spiritually." - Tom Rutherford, Assemblies of God pastor quoted in Lying Spirits.
"It is divisive." - Bryan Maeir, author of "A Theological Analysis of Theophostic Ministry," quoted in Lying Spirits.
For more on the dangers of Theophostic to churches, read chapter six, Lying Spirits.
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