a serious reason for concern about "The Bible" miniseries

While I haven't been able to watch the miniseries myself, some people that I trust have, and they don't speak very highly of it. But my concern isn't directly about anything in the series itself, though I can't help but think that it may well have effected the contents. It's about one of the main people behind it.

A gift from Heaven! Roma Downey returns to TV after five-year absence

For now, when she’s not shuttling the kids to their school–a 40-minute commute in each direction that’s earned her the carpooling crown–Roma continues broadening her horizons. She’s returned to painting, and is partway through a Masters program in “spiritual psychology“ from the University of Santa Monica. And yes, the fact that the university’s name contains “Monica” makes her smile.


Taking classes has been an eye-opening experience. “It’s like the peeling of an onion, layer upon layer of behavior, and learning why we do what we do and how we can potentially change our negative patterning,” she says.

So, a master's degree in "spiritual psychology"? Not sure how anyone has learned about how the minds of spirits work, but...

Ok, bad attempt at humor now over.

In reality, this "spiritual psychology" thing is hardly a laughing matter, especially when one is talking about someone who's behind something like this miniseries. Here are some excerpts from the school's site about this degree program.

M.A. in Spiritual Psychology

Experiencing enhanced spiritual awareness through knowing yourself as a Divine Being having a human experience.

Individual Evolution - Learning to relate to yourself with greater Compassion and Awareness of yourself as a Divine Being having a human experience.

Self-Counseling - Learning, through the process of Self-Counseling, to connect with your Inner Counselor, a source of Wisdom, Unconditional Loving, and Compassion that resides at the level of the Authentic Self.

  There's some other kinda mushy mystical language used on that page that may cause some alarms in one's mind, but these are the biggest, so I thought. How unbiblical can it be to think of oneself as "a Divine Being", basically that one is God? And how New-Agey can it be to try to "connect with your "Inner Counselor"?  

I suppose it could be said that it's unfair to bring this up; after all, I've heard nothing about the miniseries that says that these kinds of ideas are in it. So far as I know, no Old Testament person portrayed in the miniseries has told the people of Israel that they needed to know themselves as Divine Beings.  

Maybe, but can we say that a person who has been taught these things is someone whose views of theology are going to basically sound?  

Maybe Downey doesn't believe these things. Maybe she doesn't think that she is a Divne Being having a human experience. One could wonder how she hopes to finish her degree is she doesn't buy into those ideas, and why she would continue to pursue a degree that taught those things.  

But maybe someone should be asking her about what she's being taught.  

I know that many Christians in the media are all gung-ho over this miniseries, supporting it and telling others to watch it. Maybe they should be the ones asking the questions of Downey, to find out what she really believes, and make sure that what they are promoting isn't really theological poison.

be sure to have the right kinds of prayer stakes

Ok, so, you're in a city. Not just any city, but a capital city. And not just any capital city, but a "major capital of the world"! Sorry, but your little podunk county seat is just not so important.

So, let's assume that you, for whatever reason, want to leave a prayer stake somewhere in that city. I'm not sure why you would, as the Bible says nothing about prayer stakes, and it certainly seems like a rather bizarre practice, but...whatever, you want to.

But do you have a special capital city prayer stake?

Revival Run_27,000 Paryer Stakes Later

Finally …the big one .
3) To see every major capital of the world experience a Revival Run and be prayer staked. In total there are 196, that’s 196 opportunities for people to literally be the adventure and pray for a global move of God…C’mon.
We are making special capital city prayer stakes to give to anyone who is going to those places….it would be amazing.
This may not happen in a year but it could be amazing!

So, you'd best not be leaving any little prayer stake that you would leave in any little backroads city in your travels. No, you'd better use a special capital city prayer stake for those capital cities. God may listen to you if you use a puny old common prayer stake, but using a special stake will push your prayers to the front of the line.

Or...not.

when satire starts to become reality

I suppose that, at it's best, satire is at least reality-based. On the other hand, one does hope that reality would stop somewhere short of the satire.

In "Rigor", the hero finds himself making a brief stop in a Mega. After the "service", he has this little chat with one of the people at the Mega.

"I thought the live make-out session was really powerful."

Chase was almost too afraid to ask. "How?"

"Because it so raw, so real, so...relevant. There was no doubt that the couples making out were really into the experience."

"Yeah. I'll...agree with that." Rather too much into it, Chase thought.

“And the pole dancers during worship. That was incredible.”

“Sure.” Chase had tried to focus on the bulletin while that was going on.
(Kindle Locations 584-587).

Sadly, my satire seems to be becoming something like reality.

Ohio Pastor Puts Stripper Pole Next to Pulpit to Talk Sex

With a bed and a stripper pole placed next to his pulpit, a pastor in Ohio is all set to begin a series of sermons on sex and relationships beginning Sunday.

Ready to start a new sermon series called "Battle of the Sexes," Pastor Mike Scruggs at the Light of Word Ministries in White Oak, Ohio, has put a stripper pole, video games and sports equipment on one side of the pulpit, representing what men desire. On the other side, he has set up a bed with candies, teddy bears, roses and a bottle of wine to depict what women want.

On all Sundays in April, Scruggs will share about best practices in bedroom, keeping intimacy alive and the need to build and maintain trust. "Right now we're having single people having too much sex and married people not having enough sex," he told Fox19.