We who preach the gospel must not think of ourselves as public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to big business, the press, the world of sports or modern education. We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum. A.W. Tozer
Therefore let God-inspired Scripture decide between us; and on whichever side be found doctrines in harmony with the word of God, in favor of that side will be cast the vote of truth. --Basil of Caesarea
Once you learn to discern, there's no going back. You will begin to spot the lie everywhere it appears.

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service. 1 Timothy 1:12

Thursday, October 12, 2017

Beware of Joseph Farrah and Joe Kovacs


Over the past few years there has been an individual providing me information about Joseph Farrah and Joe Kovacs and the Armstrongism heresy.  I get lots of bits and pieces, but collecting it all and making a cohesive article would take too much time since I have no real background knowledge.  I asked the individual if he would consider writing a guest article with all the information he has, and he said he would consider it sometime.  I know he’s busy so I don’t expect anything anytime soon!  At any rate, today’s weekly email from Don Veinot of Midwest Christian Outreach included the item below, which I think gives enough information about these guys to be able to mark and avoid them.  Oh, and I dropped WND as a news source years ago because I found them to have too much sensationalism.

Shocked by WND’s Heresy?

Joseph Farrah of WorldNetDaily (WND) represents himself to be a Christian, and to be honest I have no idea whether he is or not.  The attempts to contact him in the past to discuss concerns went unanswered but it appears that he is fine promoting and endorsing heresy if it nets him a financial profit.  Farrah’s Executive News Editor is Joe Kovacs, who also writes religious columns as well as books such s Shocked by the Bible and Shocked by the Bible 2 which WND promotes and sells.  Kovacs’ views are firmly in the camp of Armstrongism.  In a recent “WND Exclusive: Shocking Bible secret hidden in ‘Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory,’” which talks about Shocked by the Bible 2 he claims that films like Willy Wonka are being used to convey biblical truth. Willy Wonka is a Christ figure and:

The children in “Willie Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” are being tested by the maker of the goodies, just as the potential children of God in real life are being tested by the Maker of all things good, says author Joe Kovacs in “Shocked by the Bible 2.”

“This is exactly how Jesus operates, examining the hearts and minds of His own children and studying their actions to determine who is worthy of the astonishing reward of eternal life as members of God’s very own family,” writes Kovacs in “Shocked 2.”

Notice how clearly he states that salvation is something that is earned.  It is a reward given to those who are found “worthy of the astonishing reward of eternal life.”  There is very little in these books which would be recognizable s sound biblical teaching of the historic faith delivered once for all to the saints, but will no doubt net a fair profit for Joe Kovacs and Joseph Farrah.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for this insight. I get suspicious when authors make claims of mysteries of the Bible revealed! The link to Armstrongism was helpful. Blessings.

kupton52 said...

Joe Kovac's new book Reaching God Speed is one to avoid. His interpretation of what the Beast, the Mark of the Beast, and the number of the Beast means is, in my opinion, anti-Biblical and non-sensical. He takes all the evil out of these terms and leaves an unspiritual definition. I have subscribed to WND for some time but after receiving the email touting this book I am unsubscribing immediately. Don't take my word for it...read what WND says about the book and check https://reachinggodspeed.com. See if the Holy Spirit within you agrees with this.

Glenn E. Chatfield said...

Kupton52,

Thanks for that additional informaton about Kovac and WND. Good warning!!!