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What is a
debate?
Webster’s
dictionairy gives the following definition: “a
regulated discussion of a proposition between two
matched sides”[5]
The Britannica
Online says:
“formal,
oral confrontation between two individuals, teams, or
groups who present arguments to support opposing sides
of a question, generally according to a set form or
procedure.”[6]
The apostle
Paulus was an avid debater. There are many examples to
be found in the Bible with descriptions about him going
to philosophize and debate. For example, he had many
debates with a group we have come to know as the
Bereans.
Paulus didn’t
use some kind of “personal testimony” to explain the
message of Yesus Kristos to the Bereans. He gave them an
argumentated reasoning with the Scriptures as a
referance. Paulus also debated with Greek philosophers
and even quoted from their own material. He continually
debated. In the words of Mark Mohr, Paulus as well as
the Bereans were “able to debate doctrine for
hours and know the Bible better than you”.
A disdain for
doctrine can therefore never be a Christian reason to
deny a debate. And yet, Mark Mohr displays this disdain.
He even explains it in biblically couched terms, by
starting off with a Bible verse[7],
and finishing with his own words: “They will
know that we are Christians by our love, not
our debates or senseless arguments over superficial
issues in the public's eye..[8]”
Even though Mark
Mohr is invited for a public debate, he doesn’t seem
to understand the reason for a debate and puts it
opposite of what he calls “love”. He emphasizes the
publicity and reveals how for him the Gospel is all
about entertaining the public, giving them what they
want. And it goes even further, for what he wants to
give the public is himself!
In a debate,
it’s not about the participants and the audience. In a
debate, it’s all about love for the Truth. A debate is
about the doctrines, about the philosophies, about the
reasoning behind the Message that the gospel is.
In a debate, the
participants put themselves into a position of speaking
in defense or opposition to a statement or string of
thoughts. It is normal for someone who proposes a “New
Movement”, or a new philosophy such as “Christafarianism”
to be able to defend this philosophy. Remember, even “planting
churches” is part of the game...
So, how can it
be that someone comes in the Name of Yesus Kristos with
some new philosophy without being excited over an
opportunity to have an in-depth look at this?
Additionally,
when it comes to key issues in the doctrine of the
Gospel, there are many “superficial issues in the
public’s eye”. However, for a Christian these
things are not only key issues, but life essentials!
But Mark Mohr
prefers something he calls a personal testimony
which is all about himself, and not about the truth. He
prefers to refrain from what he calls superficial
issues in the public’s eye and is not prepared to
have his teachings checked and debated in his presence.
Privately, it is
not a whole lot better. The more I tried, the more
agressive was the response. Sometimes, he wrote back and
said something like: “Look, I am a star and you
should be happy that I answer my fan-mail anyway, and I
have not time for this”. When I approached him
with the concept text of an article I was about to
publish, he almost begged me not to publish it. By that
time, I had become a well known artist (be it NOT in any
gospel or christian industry) myself and he said: “Just
what we need, two Christian prominents in the Reggae
Industry battling each other on the public street.”
When I met him personally, in the UK, just a year before
I would publish my book, he continually avoided any of
the issues and basically let himself be shown to a food
shop for some food.
But let’s look
at all of this from a Christian perspective, and look in
the Bible for some guidance concerning doctrinal issues
and public statements. Let’s face it. When we love the
Truth, we shouldn’t be afraid for Him.
Let’s see
whether we can have a disdain for doctrine and avoid
debates because of the little entertaintment value for
“the public”, especially when we call
ourselves an Elect of God and a Pastor and a Spiritual
Leader who “preaches Gospel”.
Beloved,
believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether
they are of God: because many false prophets are gone
out into the world.
(1 John 4:1)
Let
the prophets speak two or three, and let the other
judge. (1 Corinthians 14:29)
Beware
of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's
clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
(Matthew 7:15)
Everyone who
comes in the Name of Yesus Kristos and says a thing, is
to be considered a prophet in this context. You must
check what they say, and when they are truly bringing
the words of Jah then they will have no problem in being
checked. After all, the prophets know that it is not
about them, it is not about the entertaintment value of
the public, it is about the Lord JAH.
An unwillingness
to have your teachings checked by pointing out to the
little entertaintment value and impersonal approach of
the whole concept of debate is not an attitude that goes
hand in hand with biblical teaching.
Or should I say,
teachers? After all, Mark Mohr claims that we should not
debate doctrine with him, but instead look to him as a
person and be entertained by him. He’s a teacher, so
deal with the teacher and not with the teachings...
This focus on a
person rather than on the objective Truth is a
constantly returning theme within the Christafari Cult,
as we see in this book. But it is diametrically opposed
to the teachings of Yesus Kristos.
When He was
walking on the earth, Yesus Kristos spoke out against
the Pharisees. They took places in the synagogues and
even “sat on Moses’ Seat”, as they called the
Pullpit in these days. When someone was “sitting on
Moses’ Seat”, one was simply reading from the
Scriptures which in these days contained the Old
Testament as well as some other books such as the Book
of Enoch. The scribes and pharisees were the
“Pastors” of these days. And this is what Yesus
Kristos had to say about them:
Then
spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,
Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses'
seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe,
[that] observe and do; but do not ye after their works.
(Matthew 23:1-3)
Here
Yesus Kristos says quite the opposite of what Mark Mohr
claims. Without shame, he teaches that doctrines are not
to be regarded, because of the little entertaintment
value of it. Mark Mohr claims how a focus on the person
is more important then a focus on the doctrine. But
Yesus Kristos claims how we should not look to
the person but instead check out the doctrine!
The
apostle Paulus, however, teaches us further about this
particular concept of entertaintment over Truth. He left
us with some key information when it comes to
identifying the false teachers of every day.
Interestingly, the keyword in this could very well be: entertaintment.
For the
time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine;
but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves
teachers, having itching ears; (2 Timothy 4:3)
Now
how’s that about the Bible and “superficial
issues in the public’s eye”, or ear in
this case, as a reason not to debate about doctrine?
Paulus says, that because people can not endure
doctrine, they do not want to listen to it. They do not
want to deal with it. Instead, they want to satisfy what
Paulus calls “itching ears”.
When
you create a sound that caters to the itching ears, you
might very well call it entertaintment. And when
it is done in the Name of Yesus Kristos, presented as
“bringing the Gospel”, you might very well see
Christafarianism described in the quoted Bible verse.
And
that’s not all. Because it’s not free to have your
itching ears satisfied! Because whoever says entertaintment,
says entertaintment industry.
But
there’s nothing wrong with an entertaintment industry
as such, in this context. After all, there are a lot of
people working with for example Reggae Music and they
can all be considers workers in the entertaintment
industry.
In
fact, everyone who is working is involved in some
industry. Translated back to the days in which the New
Testament was written, Paulus was involved in the
“tent industry”. After all, when he was not
preaching the gospel, he was involved in making tents
for a living. And you can bet that while he was making
tents, he didn’t keep his mouth shut either.
So
what’s the big deal when Mark Mohr and Christafari
want to cater the itching ears of those that consider
doctrinal debates to be superficial issues?
After
all, I myself am an artist too, working in the
entertaintment industry without being ashamed over what
I see and Who made me see. Am I being hypocritical here?
One false teacher blaming the other false teacher for
being a false teacher? Well, even if I was, consider me
to sit on Moses’ Seat, if you will. But please check
everything before you put the contents away.
There
is a big difference in being an artist working in some
artistic industry, and being a self proclaimed
“Pastor”, a “teacher”. The difference is in the
industry. For there is one industry that a Christian
should never be willing to work in.
And
while this particular industry may be connected with
other industries, it is really the Babylon where Jah
Children are being told to step out of.
That
industry is the Christian Industrial Complex!
You
see, the big difference between the Christian Industry
and every (almost) any other Industry is the very
product for it’s merchandize. There is the
Entertaintment Industry, where Entertaintement is the
product. There is the Food Industry, where your daily
bread is the product. Paulus worked in the “Tent
Industry”, if you will.
The
Industry creates the product where it is named after,
and subsequently uses that product as merchandize.
When
you have the Christian Industry, the product
is evidently Christianity. This very product can
come in a wide variety of items and services, ranging
from “Christian Videogames” to “Church
Services”. In practice and in theory, every aspect of
The Christian Life is being used as a way to make money.
Maybe the money is not much, but the fact is there that
the Christian Life is being used to generate economic
activity.
The
apostle Petrus didn’t have any problem in saying
exactly the same thing. He said, that the false prophets
would create a Christian Industry. And it will not
surprise those readers who know themselves to be
positively associated with the message of the movement
of Rastafari, just how Petrus choses to describe the
Christian industrial Complex.
But
there were false prophets also among the people, even as
there shall be false teachers among you, who privily
shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord
that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift
destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious
ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil
spoken of. And through covetousness[9]
shall they with feigned words make merchandise
of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth
not, and their damnation slumbereth not. (2 Peter 2:1-3)
The
Christian Industrial Complex makes merchandize out of
the very lifes of the Christians. A life, of which Yesus
Kristos has given His life for at a cross outside the
walls of Jerusalem. He has literally bought us free,
which is quite the opposite of what the Christian
Industrial Complex is now trying to do with the
Christian Lifes.
Yesus
Kristos did not come to this earth and die, so that a
Christian Industrial Complex could be created. He did
not want His sheep to get in the hands of the
mercinairies who will “Pastor” every flock for
money.
Nevertheless,
almost every aspect of The Normal Christian Life is
being used to generate economic activety. The english
Bible reads: “to make merchandize”. But when you
check out the original Greek word, it becomes even clear
how Petrus was speaking about an Industrial Complex
where the very product is the Christian Life!
The
word we speak of is “emporeuomai
{em-por-yoo'-om-ahee}”. There are four different
defenitions which can all be applied to this word. And
we can recognize the word “Empire”, too. Today we
would speak about an Industrial Complex. Here are the
definitions:
- to
go a trading, to travel for business, to traffic, trade
- of
a thing, to import for sale
- to deal in
- to
use a person or a thing for gain
When
you would use contemporary keywords to describe the
above definitions, they would have to be: generating
economic activity and applying manipulation
techniques.
It
is obvious, that Petrus speaks about slick marketeers
who use manipulation techniques to generate their
economic activety. Masters of Propaganda, masters of
Marketing. The very word “Marketing” means literally
“to make merchandize”. Today, we would say: “put
something on the market”. Or “we have a gap to
plug”.
But
it goes further. Because as soon as you “emporeuomai”
the Christian Life, then you are de facto making the
very person of the believer into a marketing object. In
other words: you put a Christian on the market. You use
Christians and Christianity to gain!
Petrus
puts it much more simple: “They will make merchandize out
of you”!
The
Christian industrial Complex, with all it’s varieties,
makes merchandize out of the Christian Life. They know
that a Christian should witness to other people about
their faith in Yesus Kristos, for example. So they sell
“Great Witness Tools”. They know that a
Christian should feed himself with bible scriptures. So
they sell “music filled with bible
scriptures”.
Let’s
take an example from the practice. Just how does
Christafari merchandize out of a Christian?
Take
this CD, containing edited audio recordings from His
Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I, sold at the Lion of
Zion marketplace as a “great witness tool”.
Take
a situation in which one believer in Kristos asks a
“Pastor” for advice concerning a spiritual matter.
Something having to do with things from the Body of
Kristos. This is exactly the situation of which Yesus
Kristos has said the following:
“I am
Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give
unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of
life freely.” (Revelation 21:6b)
“freely
ye have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8b)
Both
the CD and the situation are being connected to each
other by Christafari themselves. This mix-up, or
con-fusion, is the very sin of making merchandize out of
a Christian.
On
a section of the Christafari website where Mark Mohr is
answering questions from Christians concerning spiritual
matters, we can find the following question:
“What
is the best way to witness to a Rasta or anyone else in
a cult?”[10]
Now
many things can be said about this question. But in this
context, let’s take it like it is. It is a fact, that
those who believe in Yesus Kristos are told by Yesus, to
witness. But, as we have seen, we should not incorporate
any economic activity in this. Yesus said: “You got it
for free, you give it for free”.
But
what does “Pastor Mark” say?
“The
most useful tool that I have found in witnessing to a
Selassie worshipper is "The Teachings of His
Imperial Majesty the 1st". This is a CD sold on
http://www.lionofzion.com”
There
is the very same con-fusion or mix-up that the bible has
warned us for. It is the Babylonian Christian Industrial
Complex at work. Here is exactly where a Christian is
being used for gain.
There
is one Christian who is asking a question concerning a
spiritual matter. How should one wittness to one outside
of the Body of Kristos? When challenged to a debate
concerning the doctrine, Mark Mohr claims how there is
no entertaintment value in that and how instead a personal
testimony should be given.
Appearantly,
giving a personal testimoney is something you can do by
buying a certain product from the very same Pastor or
Shepherd that you, as a fellow sheep, are asking a
question to about the Good Shepherd!
The
answer that Mark Mohr gives, is one of a slick marketeer
who uses people’s question to market his products. A
very normal thing to do in about any industry. But it is
something which can not and should not be attempted to
be done inside of the true Church of Yesus Kristos.
Still “Pastor Mark” does it.
Christafari
have sales in mind when they are “teaching how to
witness”.
This
shows in the fact that the very same recordings which
Christafari is selling as a “Great Witness Tool” to
ignorant Christafarians who have no idea as to what the
movement of Rastafari is all about, can be downloaded
for free from the Internet[11].
This
isn’t an unkown fact to Christafari. Someone once
posted the fact on the Christafari Messageboard. But the
post was deleted. Another post adressing the deletion
issue was deleted too.
If
Christafari, who boasts having “The World’s
Largest Online Gospel Reggae Web Store”[12],
would have been interested in providing people with the
“witness tools” freely, then they would not
have done what they did.
If
Christafari would truly be “a ministry to the Body of
Kristos”, they would not have been fullfilling the
prophecies of Yesus and Peter and others concerning
false prophets who make merchandize out of the Christian
Life.
If
“Pastor Mark” would really be a Pastor, he
would be willing to have his public statements tested
like the Bereans tested Paulus.
If
“Pastor Mark” would really be a missionairy
as he claims to be, an apostle in the literal sense of
the word, he would be more than willing to debate
someone with critique. He would have seen it as a great
witness opportunity!
If
“Pastor Mark” would not be a false prophet
who, because of his covetousness, makes merchandize out
of the Christian life by catering to the Itchy Ears of
those who consider Jah’s Teachings “superficial
issues”, he would not say that “the
public’s eye” sets the agenda of the church so
that “they” (meaning: the public) will know
that “we” (meaning: the church) are “Christians”.
If
“Pastor Mark” would be preaching the Gospel
of Yesus Kristos, and if he would have some kind of
function within the Body of Kristos, he would definitely
not fullfill the prophecies concerning false teachers
and shepherds (Pastors).
But
still he does.
And
he can not do otherwise, either. For when
“Christafarianism” would be the Gospel of Yesus
Kristos, it would surely not fullfill the description of
what the Bible calls: another Gospel.
We
have allready seen how, why and where Christafari was
formed. We have seen how and where Christafarianism was
formed. We
have seen how it is a “Reggae Version” of what we
have come to know as “Sanctuaryanism”.
We
have taken a look at the other fruits of Sanctuaryanism.
We’ve even discovered the Christian Industrial
Complex. Now we’ve seen how the Christian Industrial
Complex has created Christafari and Christafarianism.
When
there is one Industry, that a Christian has to avoid
like the plague, it is the Christian industry. Because
the industry doesn’t only make merchandize out of your
life in Kristos, the “gospel” that it produces is
definitely another gospel than that of our Lord
and Saviour Yesus Kristos.
Another
gospel, another Christ. And it goes unnoticed because of
the high entertaintment value. By using words from the
Bible like “Pastor”, “Church”, “Love”,
“God”, “Gospel”, “Christian”,
“Ministry”, et cetera, to describe the methods and
products in their Christian industry, Christafari
is using the Name of Kristos in vain (Christafari)
and so their fruits can never be the fruits of the Holy
Spirit of Jah.
Throughout
the New Testament do we find warnings against the false
prophets. Thusfar we’ve quoted the Lord Yesus Kristos
and the apostles Paulus, Petrus, and John. The quotes
were about (false) prophets and we’ve seen how Mark
Mohr suggests everything the quotes warn against, and
vice versa.
The
quotes we used are not the only ones we could look for.
The Bible is literally filled with passages about the
false prophets and their false gospel. But it is
striking to see as to how we should look on the false
prophets.
Yesus
Kristos told us to look to the fruits. The fruits of
Christafarianism can
not be much better than the other branches from that
same root. When we briefly look at the fruits, we
allready smell the uncleanliness.
But
what happens if we go deeper into the fruits of
Christafari? What happens if we take a closer look at
the many projects Mark Mohr started in the name of
“Christianity”?
After all, whether he likes it or not, Mark Mohr
does claim things of which the Bible says that we have
to search the Scriptures, if they are so.
The
New Testament gives us the clear commandment concerning
false prophets to look at their fruits rather then on
their doctrine. And , (not so) surprisingly, Mark Mohr
is also asking to not really check his doctrine but
instead look at himself.
He
calls himself a missionairy, which means he “plants
churches”. But he also says that he’s not enough
well versed in the Bible to be able to defend the faith
in a meditation on the doctrine. In other words, he is
not doing what the New Testament tells us to do
concerning true prophets: debate them, if we have point
of critique.
In
the Christian Industrial Complex he is basically
considered “a leader whom all have to obey”,
because he is an “Officially Ordained Sanctuary
Pastor”. In the Christian Industrial Complex you
don’t waste any time with doctrines, you simply do
what you’re being told: having a good time while your
itchy ears are being catered and leave the doctrines to
the “debaters”.
But
Yesus spoke about checking.
Checking
the good and the bad prophets.
The
good prophets will not be focused at the public’s
approval and will definitely not have the public set any
agenda. A true prophet simply speaks the words he knows
he has to speak. And he doesn’t care whether the
public sees it as a superficial issue or not.
The
false prophets will not have their doctrines checked in
a Biblical way. They also know how they will never be
able to stand in a doctrinal debate and they even use
their lack of Scriptural knowledge as a virtue when they
present their teachings to their customers.
So
let’s spend while in the history of Christafari.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the projects Mark
Mohr and Christafari developed. After all, when the
roots are bad, and other fruits from that same roots
have proven themselves to be bad too, it will not be so
hard to simply establish how Christafari will create
exactly the same pattern as that of every project in the
Christian Industrial Complex: a pattern described in
Matthew 23, when Yesus Kristos exposed the scribes and
the pharisees.
After
all, when Christafari does not want a debate but instead
points to their “fruits”. This is what he wrote:
My
music, my doctrine, my lyrics, the fruits of this
ministry and my life in Christ over the past 15 years
reveal the truth. Consistency speaks volumes and the
fruit does reveal the root.[13]
Indeed,
the fruit reveals the root. We have allready seen some
of these “fruits”. We have seen how these fruits are
described in the Bible under the title: “Fruits of the
False Prophets”. But we haven’t seen enough, yet.
It’s time to really check the fruits.
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