söndag 10 maj 2009

Charismatic Leadership.

Charismatic Leadership

Disciplines > Leadership > Leadership styles > Charismatic Leadership
Assumptions | Style | Discussion | See also

Assumptions
Charm and grace are all that is needed to create followers.
Self-belief is a fundamental need of leaders.
People follow others that they personally admire.
Style
The Charismatic Leader gathers followers through dint of personality and charm, rather than any form of external power or authority.
The searchlight of attention
It is interesting to watch a Charismatic Leader 'working the room' as they move from person to person. They pay much attention to the person they are talking to at any one moment, making that person feel like they are, for that time, the most important person in the world.
Charismatic Leaders pay a great deal of attention in scanning and reading their environment, and are good at picking up the moods and concerns of both individuals and larger audiences. They then will hone their actions and words to suit the situation.
Pulling all of the strings
Charismatic Leaders use a wide range of methods to manage their image and, if they are not naturally charismatic, may practice assiduously at developing their skills. They may engender trust through visible self-sacrifice and taking personal risks in the name of their beliefs. They will show great confidence in their followers. They are very persuasive and make very effective use of body language as well as verbal language.
Deliberate charisma is played out in a theatrical sense, where the leader is 'playing to the house' to create a desired effect. They also make effective use of storytelling, including the use of symbolism and metaphor.
Many politicians use a charismatic style, as they need to gather a large number of followers. If you want to increase your charisma, studying videos of their speeches and the way they interact with others is a great source of learning. Religious leaders, too, may well use charisma, as do cult leaders.
Leading the team
Charismatic Leaders who are building a group, whether it is a political party, a cult or a business team, will often focus strongly on making the group very clear and distinct, separating it from other groups. They will then build the image of the group, in particular in the minds of their followers, as being far superior to all others.
The Charismatic Leader will typically attach themselves firmly to the identify of the group, such that to join the group is to become one with the leader. In doing so, they create an unchallengeable position for themselves.
Alternative views
The description above is purely based on charisma and takes into account varying moral positions. Other descriptions tend to assume a more benevolent approach.
Conger & Kanungo (1998) describe five behavioral attributes of Charismatic Leaders that indicate a more transformational viewpoint:
Vision and articulation;
Sensitivity to the environment;
Sensitivity to member needs;
Personal risk taking;
Performing unconventional behaviour.
Musser (1987) notes that charismatic leaders seek to instil both commitment to ideological goals and also devotion to themselves. The extent to which either of these two goals is dominant depends on the underlying motivations and needs of the leader.
Discussion
The Charismatic Leader and the Transformational Leader can have many similarities, in that the Transformational Leader may well be charismatic. Their main difference is in their basic focus. Whereas the Transformational Leader has a basic focus of transforming the organization and, quite possibly, their followers, the Charismatic Leader may not want to change anything.
Despite their charm and apparent concern, the Charismatic Leader may well be somewhat more concerned with themselves than anyone else. A typical experience with them is that whilst you are talking with them, it is like being bathed in a warm and pleasant glow, in which they are very convincing. Yet afterwards, ask the sunbeam of their attention is moved elsewhere, you may begin to question what they said (or even whether they said anything of significance at all).
The values of the Charismatic Leader are highly significant. If they are well-intentioned towards others, they can elevate and transform an entire company. If they are selfish and Machiavellian, they can create cults and effectively rape the minds (and potentially the bodies) of the followers.
Machiavellian – Designing, Scheming, Tricky, Deceitful, Wily, Underhanded, Conniving, Sneaky, Cunning, Crafty, Sly, Straightforward, easy, basic, complicated, upfront, direct, guarded, fortified, circumspect, cagey, wary, restrained, hesitant, cautious, careful, up-front, guard, resistance, cover, attack, argument, justification, plea, apology, excuse, accusation, etc.
Their self-belief is so high, they can easily believe that they are infallible, and hence lead their followers into an abyss, even when they have received adequate warning from others. The self-belief can also lead them into psychotic narcissism, where their self-absorption or need for admiration and worship can lead to their followers questioning their leadership.
They may also be intolerant of challengers and their irreplaceability (intentional or otherwise) can mean that there are no successors when they leave.
See also
Bonding principle, Pull, Trust principle
Musser, S.J. (1987). The determination of positive and negative charismatic leadership, Grantham: PA: Messiah College

My comments:
The charismatic movement, and their leaders, (best, cream of the crop, privileged, influential, selected, select few,) is bringing destructive, corruptive, misleading, fiction, romance, saga, fable, fake, story`s, plot`s, description, sequence of events, lie, fib, untruth, rumor, story, falsehood, fabrication, gossip, away from the truth!

Make-believers, self styled, proad, arrogant, over helmed, overwhelmed, overtaken, go past, overhaul, pass, go beyond, leave behind, outdo, surpass, fall behind, take by surprise, hit, sweep over, engulf, assail, strike, overwhelm, overpower, overcome, engulf, devastate, beat, crush, capitulate, surrender, give in, give up, submit, yield, relent, give way, cede, resist, oppose, refuse to accept, refuse to go along with, defy, stand firm, accept, defend against, refuse to give in to, fight back, forbear, give in, withstand, survive, endure, weather, be proof against, keep from, avoid, refuse, refrain from, withstand, give in, besieged, snowed under, inundated, beleaguered, weighed down, plagued, beset, etc.

Those people are lead away by the occult influences, control, sway, power, pressure, authority, weight, manipulate, persuade, induce, talk into, win over, sway, effect, inspiration, impact, stimulus, encouragement, affect, change, have some bearing on, inspire, shape, have an effect on, encroach on, affect, have an impact on, have a bearing on,

Occultism -belief in the existence of secret, mysterious, or supernatural agencies. the study or practice of occult arts. The study of the supernatural. A belief in occult powers and the possibility of bringing them under human control. A certain Oriental system of theosophy. Occult art, symbols, mysticism, Satanism.

Assumptions – idea, belief, theory, conjecture, notion, best guess, hypothesis, guess, postulation, statement, supposition, report, announcement, speech, proclamation, testimonial, avowal, testimony, assertion, receipt, invoice, acceptance, proof of payment, slip, voucher, invoice, bill of lading, debit, demand payment from, send somebody a statement, send somebody a bill, etc.

Because by failing to discerning those lies, many will be, and are already snared by the deceit`s of the devil!

This misconception of believe, trust in men, magnetism, cults of person`s, movement`s, and mingled spirit`s, who’s mind are led away to put faith to lie`s of the Devil! A lying deceptive demon!

1Jh 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but prove the spirits, if they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

1Jh 4:5 *They* are of the world; for this reason they speak as of the world, and the world hears them.

Upp 16:14 for they are the spirits of demons, doing signs; which go out to the kings of the whole habitable world to gather them together to the war of that great day of God the Almighty.

Upp 17:8 The beast which thou sawest was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go into destruction: and they who dwell on the earth, whose names are not written from the founding of the world in the book of life, shall wonder, seeing the beast, that it was, and is not, and shall be present.

2Ko 11:13 for those such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ,
2Ko 11:14 and no wonder--for even the Adversary doth transform himself into a messenger of light;
2Ko 11:15 no great thing, then, if also his ministrants do transform themselves as ministrants of righteousness--whose end shall be according to their works.

Apg 13:10 said, `O full of all guile, and all profligacy, son of a Devil, enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease perverting the right ways of the Lord?

Efe 4:27 neither give place to the Devil;

Apg 5:3 But Peter said, Ananias, Why hath Satan filled thy heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land?

2Ko 2:11 that we may not be over-reached by the Adversary, for of his devices we are not ignorant.

2Th 2:1 And we ask you, brethren, in regard to the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of our gathering together unto him,
2Th 2:2 that ye be not quickly shaken in mind, nor be troubled, neither through spirit, neither through word, neither through letters as through us, as that the day of Christ hath arrived;


2Th 2:3 let not any one deceive you in any manner, because--if the falling away may not come first, and the man of sin be revealed--the son of the destruction,
2Th 2:4 who is opposing and is raising himself up above all called God or worshipped, so that he in the sanctuary of God as God hath sat down, shewing himself off that he is God-- the day doth not come .
2Th 2:5 Do ye not remember that, being yet with you, these things I said to you?
2Th 2:6 and now, what is keeping down ye have known, for his being revealed in his own time,
2Th 2:7 for the secret of the lawlessness doth already work, only he who is keeping down now will hinder --till he may be out of the way,
2Th 2:8 and then shall be revealed the Lawless One, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the manifestation of his presence,
2Th 2:9 him, whose presence is according to the working of the Adversary, in all power, and signs, and lying wonders,
2Th 2:10 and in all deceitfulness of the unrighteousness in those perishing, because the love of the truth they did not receive for their being saved,
2Th 2:11 and because of this shall God send to them a working of delusion, for their believing the lie,
2Th 2:12 that they may be judged--all who did not believe the truth, but were well pleased in the unrighteousness.


2Th 2:13 And we--we ought to give thanks to God always for you, brethren, beloved by the Lord, that God did choose you from the beginning to salvation, in sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of the truth,
2Th 2:14 to which He did call you through our good news, to the acquiring of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ;
2Th 2:15 so, then, brethren, stand ye fast, and hold the deliverances that ye were taught, whether through word, whether through our letter;
2Th 2:16 and may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and our God and Father, who did love us, and did give comfort age-during, and good hope in grace,
2Th 2:17 comfort your hearts, and establish you in every good word and work.

1Ti 5:5 Now she who is a widow indeed, and is left alone, has put her hope in God, and continues in supplications and prayers night and day.
1Ti 5:6 But she that lives in habits of self-indulgence is dead while living.
1Ti 5:7 And these things enjoin, that they may be irreproachable.
1Ti 5:8 But if any one does not provide for his own, and specially for those of his house, he has denied the faith, and is worse than the unbeliever.
1Ti 5:9 Let a widow be put upon the list, being of not less than sixty years, having been wife of one man,
1Ti 5:10 borne witness to in good works, if she have brought up children, if she have exercised hospitality, if she have washed saints' feet, if she have imparted relief to the distressed, if she have diligently followed every good work.

1Ti 5:11 But younger widows decline; for when they grow wanton against Christ, they desire to marry,
1Ti 5:12 being guilty, because they have cast off their first faith.
1Ti 5:13 And, at the same time, they learn also to be idle, going about to people's houses; and not only idle, but also gossipers and meddlers, speaking things not becoming.

1Ti 5:14 I will therefore that the younger marry, bear children, rule the house, give no occasion to the adversary in respect of reproach.
1Ti 5:15 For already some have turned aside after Satan.
1Ti 5:16 If any believing man or woman have widows, let them impart relief to them, and let not the assembly be charged, that it may impart relief to those that are widows indeed.
1Ti 5:17 Let the elders who take the lead among the saints well be esteemed worthy of double honour, specially those labouring in word and teaching;
1Ti 5:18 for the scripture says, Thou shalt not muzzle an ox that treadeth out corn, and, The workman is worthy of his hire.
1Ti 5:19 Against an elder receive not an accusation unless where there are two or three witnesses.
1Ti 5:20 Those that sin convict before all, that the rest also may have fear.
1Ti 5:21 I testify before God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, that thou keep these things without prejudice, doing nothing by favour.
1Ti 5:22 Lay hands quickly on no man, nor partake in others' sins. Keep thyself pure.
1Ti 5:23 Drink no longer only water, but use a little wine on account of thy stomach and thy frequent illnesses.

Rom 16:17 But I beseech you, brethren, to consider those who create divisions and occasions of falling, contrary to the doctrine which *ye* have learnt, and turn away from them.
Rom 16:18 For such serve not our Lord Christ, but their own belly, and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.
Rom 16:19 For your obedience has reached to all. I rejoice therefore as it regards you; but I wish you to be wise as to that which is good, and simple as to evil.
Rom 16:20 But the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Efe 6:11 put on the whole armour of God, for your being able to stand against the wiles of the Devil,

1Ti 3:6 not a new convert, lest having been puffed up he may fall to a judgment of the Devil;

2Ti 2:26 and they may awake out of the Devil`s snare, having been caught by him at his will.

Heb 2:14 Seeing, then, the children have partaken of flesh and blood, he himself also in like manner did take part of the same, that through death he might destroy him having the power of death--that is, the Devil--

Jak 4:7 be subject, then, to God; stand up against the Devil, and he will flee from you;

1Pe 5:8 Be sober, vigilant, because your opponent the Devil, as a roaring lion, doth walk about, seeking whom he may swallow up,

1Jh 3:8 he who is doing the sin, of the devil he is, because from the beginning the Devil doth sin; for this was the Son of God manifested, that he may break up the works of the devil;

1Jh 3:10 In this manifest are the children of God, and the children of the Devil; every one who is not doing righteousness, is not of God, and he who is not loving his brother,

Jud 1:9 yet Michael, the chief messenger, when, with the Devil contending, he was disputing about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring up an evil-speaking judgment, but said, `The Lord rebuke thee!'

Upp 2:10 `Be not afraid of the things that thou art about to suffer; lo, the Devil is about to cast of you to prison, that ye may be tried, and ye shall have tribulation ten days; become thou faithful unto death, and I will give to thee the crown of the life.

Upp 12:9 and the great dragon was cast forth--the old serpent, who is called `Devil,' and `the Adversary,' who is leading astray the whole world--he was cast forth to the earth, and his messengers were cast forth with him.

Upp 12:12 because of this be glad, ye heavens, and those in them who do tabernacle; woe to those inhabiting the land and the sea, because the Devil did go down unto you, having great wrath, having known that he hath little time.'

Upp 20:2 and he laid hold on the dragon, the old serpent, who is Devil and Adversary, and did bind him a thousand years,

Upp 20:10 and the Devil, who is leading them astray, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where are the beast and the false prophet, and they shall be tormented day and night--to the ages of the ages.

Occult
Crypt
1432, "grotto, cavern," from L. crypta "vault, cavern," from Gk. krypte, fem. of kryptos "hidden," from kryptein "to hide." Meaning "underground burial vault or chapel in a church" first attested 1789. Cryptic "hidden, occult" is first recorded 1638. Crypto- as a prefix meaning "concealed, secret" has been used since 1760. Cryptogram is from 1880.
Glamour
1720, "magic, enchantment" (especially in phrase to cast the glamour), a variant of Scot. gramarye "magic, enchantment, spell," alt. of Eng. grammar (q.v.) with a medieval sense of "any sort of scholarship, especially occult learning." Popularized by the writings of Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832). Sense of "magical beauty, alluring charm" first recorded 1840. Glamorous is 1882 (slang shortening glam first attested 1936); glamorize is 1936.
Grammar
1176, gramarye, from O.Fr. grammaire "learning," especially Latin and philology, from L. grammatica, from Gk. grammatike tekhne "art of letters," with a sense of both philology and literature in the broadest sense, from gramma "letter," from stem of graphein "to draw or write." Restriction to "rules of language" is a post-classical development, but as this type of study was until 16c. limited to Latin, M.E. gramarye also came to mean "learning in general, knowledge peculiar to the learned classes" (c.1320), which included astrology and magic; hence the secondary meaning of "occult knowledge" (c.1470), which evolved in Scottish into glamour (q.v.). A grammar school (1387) was originally "a school in which the learned languages are grammatically taught" [Johnson, who also has grammaticaster "a mean verbal pedant"]. In U.S. (1860) the term was put to use in the graded system for "a school between primary and secondary, where English grammar is taught."

Mystic (adj.)
1382, "spiritually allegorical, pertaining to mysteries of faith," from O.Fr. mistique, from L. mysticus, from Gk. mystikos "secret, mystic," from mystes "one who has been initiated" (see mystery (1)). Meaning "pertaining to occult practices or ancient religions" first recorded 1615. The noun meaning "exponent of mystical theology" is from 1679, from the adjective. The place name in Connecticut is deformed from Algonquian missituk "great tidal river," from missi "large" + -tuk "tidal river." Mysticism coined 1736.
Mystery (1)
c.1315, in a theological sense, "religious truth via divine revelation, mystical presence of God," from Anglo-Fr. *misterie (O.Fr. mistere), from L. mysterium, from Gk. mysterion (usually in pl. mysteria) "secret rite or doctrine," from mystes "one who has been initiated," from myein "to close, shut," perhaps referring to the lips (in secrecy) or to the eyes (only initiates were allowed to see the sacred rites). The Gk. word was used in Septuagint for "secret counsel of God," translated in Vulgate as sacramentum. Non-theological use in English, "a hidden or secret thing," is from c.1300. In ref. to the ancient rites of Greece, Egypt, etc. it is attested from 1643. Meaning "detective story" first recorded in Eng. 1908.
Mystery (2)
"handicraft, trade, art," c.1375, from M.L. misterium, alt. of L. ministerium "service, occupation, office, ministry" (see ministry), influenced in form by M.L. mysterium (see mystery (1)) and in sense by maistrie "mastery." Now only in mystery play, in ref. to the medieval performances, which often were staged by members of craft guilds. The two senses of mystery formed a common pun in (secular) Tudor theater.
Ministry
1382, "function of a priest," from L. ministerium "office, service," from minister (see minister). Began to be used 1916 as name of certain departments in British government.
Minister
1297, "one who acts upon the authority of another," from O.Fr. ministre "servant," from L. minister (gen. ministri) "servant, priest's assistant" (in M.L. "priest"), from minus, minor "less," hence "subordinate," + comp. suffix *-teros. Meaning "priest" is attested in Eng. from c.1315. Political sense of "high officer of the state" is attested from 1625, from notion of "service to the crown." The verb is from c.1300, originally "to serve (food or drink)."

Ezekiel 13 (The Message)
Ezekiel 13
People Who Love Listening to Lies

1-2 God's Message came to me: "Son of man, preach against the prophets of Israel who are making things up out of their own heads and calling it 'prophesying.'
2-6 "Preach to them the real thing. Tell them, 'Listen to God's Message!' God, the Master, pronounces doom on the empty-headed prophets who do their own thing and know nothing of what's going on! Your prophets, Israel, are like jackals scavenging through the ruins. They haven't lifted a finger to repair the defenses of the city and have risked nothing to help Israel stand on God's Day of Judgment.

All they do is fantasize comforting illusions and preach lying sermons. They say 'God says...' when God hasn't so much as breathed in their direction.

And yet they stand around thinking that something they said is going to happen.

7-9 "Haven't you fantasized sheer nonsense? Aren't your sermons tissues of lies, saying 'God says...' when I've done nothing of the kind? Therefore—and this is the Message of God, the Master, remember—I'm dead set against prophets who substitute illusions for visions and use sermons to tell lies. I'm going to ban them from the council of my people, remove them from membership in Israel, and outlaw them from the land of Israel. Then you'll realize that I am God, the Master.
10-12 "The fact is that they've lied to my people. They've said, 'No problem; everything's just fine,' when things are not at all fine. When people build a wall, they're right behind them slapping on whitewash. Tell those who are slapping on the whitewash, 'When a torrent of rain comes and the hailstones crash down and the hurricane sweeps in and the wall collapses, what's the good of the whitewash that you slapped on so liberally, making it look so good?'
13-14 "And that's exactly what will happen. I, God, the Master, say so: 'I'll let the hurricane of my wrath loose, a torrent of my hailstone-anger. I'll make that wall you've slapped with whitewash collapse. I'll level it to the ground so that only the foundation stones will be left. And in the ruin you'll all die. You'll realize then that I am God.
15-16 "'I'll dump my wrath on that wall, all of it, and on those who plastered it with whitewash. I will say to them, There is no wall, and those who did such a good job of whitewashing it wasted their time, those prophets of Israel who preached to Jerusalem and announced all their visions telling us things were just fine when they weren't at all fine. Decree of God, the Master.'
17-19 "And the women prophets—son of man, take your stand against the women prophets who make up stuff out of their own minds. Oppose them. Say 'Doom' to the women who sew magic bracelets and head scarves to suit every taste, devices to trap souls. Say, 'Will you kill the souls of my people, use living souls to make yourselves rich and popular? You have profaned me among my people just to get ahead yourselves, used me to make yourselves look good—killing souls who should never have died and coddling souls who shouldn't live. You've lied to people who love listening to lies.'
20-21 "Therefore God says, 'I am against all the devices and techniques you use to hunt down souls. I'll rip them out of your hands. I'll free the souls you're trying to catch. I'll rip your magic bracelets and scarves to shreds and deliver my people from your influence so they'll no longer be victimized by you. That's how you'll come to realize that I am God.
22-23 "'Because you've confounded and confused good people, unsuspecting and innocent people, with your lies, and because you've made it easy for others to persist in evil so that it wouldn't even dawn on them to turn to me so I could save them, as of now you're finished. No more delusion-mongering from you, no more sermonic lies. I'm going to rescue my people from your clutches. And you'll realize that I am God.'"

Fridshälsningar Leif Berg

Luther on ecumenism and papacy

History of the Papacy by J.A. Wylie: "...the Church (so-called) of Rome has no right to rank amongst Christian Churches. She is not a Church, neither is her religion the Christian religion. We are accustomed to speak of Popery as a corrupt form of Christianity. We concede too much. The Church of Rome bears the same relation to the Church of Christ which the hierarchy of Baal bore to the institute of Moses; and Popery stands related to Christianity only in the same way in which Paganism stood related to primeval Revelation. Popery is not a corruption simply, but a transformation. It may be difficult to fix the time when it passed from the one into the other; but the change is incontestible. Popery is the gospel transubstantiated into the flesh and blood of Paganism, under a few of the accidents of Christianity."

Martin Luther

Just as in the days of the Apostles, so at this day we are forced to hear from certain denominations that we (by our obstinacy to adhere to the truth) do offend against love and unity in the churches, because we reject their doctrine. It would be better (they say) that we should let it pass, especially since the doctrine in dispute is what they call non-essential, and, therefore (they say) to stir up so great a discord and contention in the church over one or two doctrines (and those not the most important ones) is unfruitful and unnecessary.

To this I reply: Cursed be that love and unity which cannot be preserved except at the peril of the word of God.

Just as in the days of the Apostles, so at this day we are forced to hear from certain denominations that we (by our obstinacy to adhere to the truth) do offend against love and unity in the churches, because we reject their doctrine. It would be better (they say) that we should let it pass, especially since the doctrine in dispute is what they call non-essential, and, therefore (they say) to stir up so great a discord and contention in the church over one or two doctrines (and those not the most important ones) is unfruitful and unnecessary.

To this I reply: Cursed be that love and unity which cannot be preserved except at the peril of the word of God.

The negotiation about doctrinal agreement displeases me altogether, for this is utterly impossible unless the pope has his papacy abolished. Therefore avoid and flee those who seek the middle of the road. Think of me after I am dead and such middle-of-the-road men arise, for nothing good will come of it. There can be no compromise. (What Luther Says, II: 1019)

Ah, my dear brother in Christ, bear with me if here or elsewhere I use such coarse language when speaking of the wretched, confronted, atrocious monster at Rome! He who knows my thoughts must say that I am much, much, much too lenient and have neither words nor thought adequately to describe the shameful, abominable blasphemy to which he subjects the Word and name of Christ, our dear Lord and Savior. There are some Christians, wicked Christians indeed, who now would gloss things over to make the pope appear against in a good light and who, after he does so and has been dragged out of the mud, would like to reinstate him on the altar. But they are wicked people, whoever they may be, who defend the pope and want me to be quiet about the means whereby he has done harm. Truly, I cannot do this. All true, pious Christians, who love Christ and His Word, should, as said, be sincerely hostile to the pope. They should persecute him and injure him…. All should do this in their several calling, to the best of their ability, with all faithfulness and diligence. (What Luther Says, II: 1072)

What kind of a church is the pope’s church? It is an uncertain, vacillating and tottering church. Indeed, it is a deceitful, lying church, doubting and unbelieving, without God’s Word. For the pope with his wrong keys teaches his church to doubt and to be uncertain. If it is a vacillating church, then it is not the church of faith, for the latter is founded upon a rock, and the gates of hell cannot prevail against it (Matt.16:18). If it is not the church of faith, then it is not the Christian church, but it must be an unchristian, anti-Christian, and faithless church which destroys and ruins the real, holy, Christian church. (Luther’s Works, vol. 40, Church and Ministry II, The Keys, p.348)

All this is to be noted carefully, so that we can treat with contempt the filthy, foolish twaddle that the popes present in their decrees about their Roman church, that is, about their devil’s synagogue (Rev.2:9), which separates itself from common Christendom and the spiritual edifice built up on this stone, and instead invents for itself a fleshly worldly, worthless, lying, blasphemous, idolatrous authority over all of Christendom. One of these two things must be true: if the Roman church is not built on this rock along with the other churches, then it is the devil’s church; but if it is built, along with all the other churches, on this rock, then it cannot be lord or head over the other churches. For Christ the cornerstone knows nothing of two unequal churches, but only of one church alone, just as the Children’s Faith, that is, the faith of all of Christendom, says, ”I believe in one holy, Christian church,” and does not say, ”I believe in one holy Roman church.” The Roman church is and should be one portion or member of the holy Christian church, not the head, which befits solely Christ the cornerstone. If not, it is not a Christian but an UN-Christian and anti-Christian church, that is, a papal school of scoundrels. (Luther’s Works, Volume 41, Church and Ministry III, Against The Roman Papacy, An Institution Of The Devil, p.311)



I believe the pope is the masked and incarnate devil because he is the Antichrist. As Christ is God incarnate, so the Antichrist is the devil incarnate. The words are really spoken of the pope when its said that hes a mixed god, an earthly god, that is , a god of the earth. Here god is understood as god of this world. Why does he call himself an earthly god, as if the one, almighty God werent also on the earth? The kingdom of the pope really signifies the terrible wrath of God, namely, the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place. (Luthers Works, vol.54, Table Talks, No.4487, p.346)


C. H. Spurgeon on Popery


"It is the bounden duty of every Christian to pray against Antichrist, and as to what Antichrist is no sane man ought to raise a question. If it be not the Popery in the Church of Rome there is nothing in the world that can be called by that name. It wounds Christ, robs Christ of His glory, puts sacramental efficacy in the place of His atonement, and lifts a piece of bread in the place of the Saviour....If we pray against it, because it is against Him, we shall love the persons though we hate their errors; we shall love their souls, though we loathe and detest their dogmas...."

-- C. H. Spurgeon


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Frälsningens väg!

Heb 11:25 Han ville hellre utstå lidande med Guds folk än för en kort tid leva i syndig njutning;
Heb 12:2 Och må vi därvid se på Jesus, trons hövding och fullkomnare, på honom, som i stället för att taga den glädje som låg framför honom, utstod korsets lidande och aktade smäleken för intet, och som nu sitter på högra sidan om Guds tron.
Heb 12:3 Ja, på honom, som har utstått så mycken gensägelse av syndare, på honom mån I tänka, så att I icke tröttnen och uppgivens i edra själar.
Heb 12:15 Och sen till, att ingen går miste om Guds nåd, och att ingen giftig rot skjuter skott och bliver till fördärv, så att menigheten därigenom bliver besmittad;
Heb 12:16 sen till, att ingen är en otuktig människa eller ohelig såsom Esau, han som för en enda maträtt sålde sin förstfödslorätt.
Heb 12:17 I veten ju att han ock sedermera blev avvisad, när han på grund av arvsrätt ville få välsignelsen; han kunde nämligen icke vinna någon ändring, fastän han med tårar sökte därefter.
Heb 10:36 I behöven nämligen ståndaktighet för att kunna göra Guds vilja och få vad utlovat är.
Heb 10:37 Ty "ännu en helt liten tid, så kommer den som skall komma, och han skall icke dröja;
Heb 10:38 och min rättfärdige skall leva av tro. Men om någon drager sig undan, så finner min själ icke behag i honom".
Heb 10:39 Dock, vi höra icke till dem som draga sig undan, sig själva till fördärv; vi höra till dem som tro och så vinna sina själar.

Ord 25:26 Såsom en grumlad källa och en fördärvad brunn, så är en rättfärdig som vacklar inför den ogudaktige.

Upp 3:16 Men nu, då du är ljum och varken varm eller kall, skall jag utspy dig ur min mun.

Se Ljum, sammanblandad, mixad, förväxlad, utbytt, utväxlad, ersatt, avlöst, efterträdd, liknöjd, likgiltig!

2Ti 4:7 Jag har kämpat den goda kampen, jag har fullbordat mitt lopp, jag har bevarat tron.
2Ti 4:8 Nu ligger rättfärdighetens segerkrans tillreds åt mig, och Herren, den rättfärdige domaren, skall giva den åt mig på "den dagen", och icke åt mig allenast, utan åt alla som hava älskat hans tillkommelse.

Jesus HATES the deeds of the Nicolaitiane, which I also hate.

Rev. 2:6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitianes, which I also hate. Nicolaitianes -To conquer the people or laity, these "deeds" had become in Pergamos a "doctrine" (Rev. 2:15)

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