2004 Updated 3/29/2012
Consider the women listed below who have been leaders and teachers. Perform an internet search for their names and examine to what degree any of them stood for false gospels and to what degree any of them preached the truth. Three are still leading and teaching. What does the New Testament say about women in authority in the Church and women teaching in the Church?
“Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety. This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop [elder], he desireth a good work.”
1 Timothy 2:11-3:1
“The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.”
Titus 2:3-5
As you read about some of the alleged prophecies of some of these women, consider the following verses:
“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son…”
Hebrews 1:1-2
Mary Baker Eddy – Ellen G. White – Aimee Semple McPherson Hutton – Henrietta Mears – Kathryn Kuhlman – A. Wetherell Johnson – Kay Arthur – Beth Moore – Anne Graham Lotz
1. Mary Baker Eddy (1821-1910) Founder, “Church of Christ, Scientist”
“Christian Science” is a form of paganism, not Biblical Christianity. From the official website of the “Church of Christ, Scientist”:
“The Church of Christ, Scientist, is designed to make the healing and educational system known as Christian Science available and accessible to everyone. Christian Science enables us to understand our relationship to a loving God and our relationship to each other. This understanding improves our lives, our communities and the world. The complete explanation of Christian Science, which is practiced by people of all faiths, is contained in the book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.”
2. Ellen G. White (1827-1915) Founder, Prophetess, Seventh-Day Adventism
Ellen G. White is called “the Lord’s messenger” by Seventh-Day Adventism. The following is in the statement of Fundamental Beliefs on the official website of the Seventh-day Adventist Church:
“One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is prophecy. This gift is an identifying mark of the remnant church and was manifested in the ministry of Ellen. G. White . As the Lord’s messenger, her writings are a continuing and authoritative source of truth which provide for the church comfort, guidance, instruction, and correction. They also make clear that the Bible is the standard by which all teaching and experience must be tested. (Joel 2:28, 29; Acts 2:14-21; Heb. 1:1-3; Rev. 12:17; 19:10.)”
3. Aimee Semple McPherson Hutton (1890-1944) Founder, International Church of the Foursquare Gospel (ICFG)
There are a number of people who are a part of the Foursquare denomination who I greatly love and respect. I rejoice that the real Jesus and the real Gospel are preached by many in the Foursquare assemblies.
Aimee Semple McPherson claimed to have received a vision from God which gave new meaning to Ezekiel’s vision. From the official ICFG website:
“The term “Foursquare Gospel” came about during an intense revival in the city of Oakland, California in July 1922. As thousands had gathered to hear the gospel, the evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson described a vision God had given her, taken from Ezekiel’s vision in the book of Ezekiel, chapter one.
“Ezekiel saw the revelation of a totally powerful God. He saw four faces – those of a man, a lion, an ox and an eagle. To Aimee, those four faces were like the four phases of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In the face of the man, she saw Jesus our Savior, the “man of sorrows” (Isaiah 53:3); in the face of the lion, she saw Jesus the mighty Baptizer with the Holy Spirit and fire. In the face of the ox, she saw Jesus the Great Burden-bearer, who Himself took our infirmities and carried our sicknesses. In the face of the eagle, she saw reflected the Coming King – Jesus the Bridegroom, who is returning in power for His bride, the Church. It was a perfect, complete gospel for the body, soul, spirit and eternity. It was a gospel that faces squarely in every direction: thus, the name Foursquare.”
The Foursquare “Declaration of Faith” on the ICFG website was written by Aimee Semple McPherson.
Sister Aimee, as she was sometimes called was first married to Robert Semple in 1908 who died soon after they began life on the mission field in China in 1910. She married Harold McPherson in 1912. They were divorced in 1921. Aimee married David Hutton in 1931 and they were divorced in 1934.
Much of Sister Aimee’s life was spent as an itinerant evangelist. In 1923 she built “Angelus Temple”. She was known for holding “revivals” and incorporating drama and Hollywood-style productions in her meetings of the church she served as pastor.
In 1926 Sister Aimee disappeared for 32 days. She claimed she was kidnapped. Investigative reporters claimed she was having an affair and a grand jury was convened to investigate. The district attorney eventually dropped the charges.
Aimee Semple McPherson Hutton died in 1944 of an overdose of barbiturates. Her son, Rolf K. McPherson, became leader of the Foursquare denomination for 44 years.
On June 3rd, 2004, Jack Hayford was elected president of the ICFG.
4. Henrietta Mears (1890-1963) Public school teacher & principal, Sunday School & “Christian Education”, “Fellowship of the Burning Heart”
The following is from the Gospel Light publishing company’s website:
“The Gospel Light Heritage
Henrietta C. Mears was one of the great Bible teachers of the 20th century. While Christian Education Director at First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, she built one of the largest Sunday Schools in the world and wrote curriculum that was in such high demand that to publish it she founded Gospel Light in 1933. Such notable Christian leaders as Richard C. Halverson, Luis Evans, Jr. and Bill Bright were among her students. Miss Mears developed “cradle-to-grave” age-appropriate curriculum, published a new style of Vacation Bible School, and lent her support to distributing Gospel materials around the world.
“Gospel Light has expanded into a multi-faceted publisher of fun and creative Sunday School curriculum… , exciting Vacation Bible School programs and inspiring biblical books (Regal). The mission of Gospel Light is still the same today as it was in 1933: “To know Christ and to make Him known.”
“”There is no magic in small plans. When I consider my ministry, I think of the world. Anything less than that would not be worthy of Christ nor of His will for my life. ” —Henrietta C. Mears”
The following is from Al Dager’s “Media Spotlight”articles and and his book: The World Christian Movement – A Great Delusion Leading to the Religio-Political State of the Anti-Christ
Dr. Henrietta Mears:
Director of Christian Education at Hollywood First Presbyterian Church in Hollywood, California (1928).
Founded the Forest Home Christian Conference Center in the San Bernardino Mountains of Southern California.
Founded Gospel Light Press, now Gospel Light Publishing, including Regal Books.
“Mears became famous for developing Sunday School curricula, much of which is still in use today. Among her admirers she was dubbed “Mother of Sunday School.” Her methods, revolutionary at the time, included the use of pictures to portray Bible stories, and the assignment of students into grades.”
She incorporated many public school concepts and priorities and attitudes into “Christian Education”.
“Born to wealthy parents in Fargo, North Dakota, October 23, 1890, Henrietta exhibited at an early age a remarkable intelligence and a desire to know God. At age 11 she taught her first Sunday school class to beginners at the Berean Mission in Minneapolis. She became a student of Bible, earned a degree in chemistry, and was a teacher and principle in public school systems as a young woman. Her teaching methods were used to a great extent in formulating her revolutionary approach to Sunday school.”
From Al Dager’s analysis of Henrietta Mears’ influence on Evangelicalsim, he writes: “Today we have women’s ministries to teach women the Bible, and we have Sunday school to teach the children, but little if any biblical discipleship for men.”
“Henrietta Mears was completely sold out to what she called “the Cause of Christ.” By “the Cause of Christ.” she meant winning the world to Christ and establishing Christianity as the guiding force in society through evangelization of the world.”
“Mears established the Fellowship of the Burning Heart, wherein she encouraged her students to be willing to die for “the Cause of Christ.” She laid her hands on them to receive her mantle. Thus they received within themselves a “burning heart.””
The Vision: Dr. Mears claims to have received a vision from God, that Al Dager quotes in reference to, from a biography: Dream Big: The Henrietta Mears Story by Earl Roe.
Present when the vision was given was Richard C. Halverson, Louis H. Evans, Jr., John L. Franck, and William R.(Bill) Bright.
Quoting from the biography:
“Then, the fire from heaven fell, for God answered their prayer with a very real vision. Before them, they saw the college campuses of the world, teeming with unsaved students who held in their hands the power to change the world. Yes, the college campuses-they were the key to world leadership, to world revival.”
“Theirs was a world to conquer for Christ, and the time for conquest was now!”
Al Dager, says, “Mears and her charges saw the college campuses as the key to world revival. In order to accomplish this, it would be necessary to anoint “accepted evangelists”-men and women who had Mears’s vision to “win the world to Christ.””
Some famous Evangelicals influenced by Henrietta Mears: Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ, Jim Rayburn of Young Life, Richard Halverson, Senate Chaplain, Louis Evans, Jr. of the Hollywood Group, and Billy Graham who was prayed over to receive the “mantle” of D.R. Riley, Henrietta Mears’s pastor.
5. Kathryn Kuhlman (1907-1976) Evangelist, Healer, The Kathryn Kuhlman Foundation
Kathryn Kuhlman died on February 20th, 1976. I became a follower of Jesus later that summer. As a new Christian I would hear her on the radio from time to time. I don’t remember knowing that she had already gone to be with the Lord. I remember falling in love with her as a sister in the Lord, and I was encouraged by her words.
But, in spite of that, it’s still important to evaluate what’s Biblical and what’s not. Of course the Lord uses all of us as imperfect vessels. Of course the Lord turns even bad things for good. But that is not an endorsement of everything He uses! I rejoice when Christ is preached but we still must judge things according to the Bible in these perilous times!
From the official web site of the Kathryn Kuhlman Foundation:
“It was on July 4, 1948 that the first Kathryn Kuhlman “miracle service” was held at Carnegie Hall, North Side – the first of many such services to be held regularly over the years of her ministry in Pittsburgh. Kathryn Kuhlman moved from Franklin, Pennsylvania to Pittsburgh, after the roof of Faith Temple in Sugar Creek (where she had been conducting services since l947) fell in under the weight of the greatest snowfall in area history on Thanksgiving Day, l950. And it was in l954 that she founded The Kathryn Kuhlman Foundation.
“Kathryn Kuhlman was once asked, “What do you regard as the ultimate goal of your ministry?” To which she replied: “MY PURPOSE IS THE SALVATION OF SOULS. Divine healing is secondary to the transformation of a life. Today, that is still the PURPOSE of The Kathryn Kuhlman Foundation, as we continue to minister to the needs of people in this country and abroad through the outreaches of the Foundation.
“Kathryn Kuhlman was born-again at the age of fourteen in the Methodist Church of Concordia, Missouri. In her own words, she said of that experience and her ministry: “It was the beginning of something that changed my whole life. All that I knew was the glorious new birth experience, and (as a young girl) when I went to preach to those farmers in Idaho, I could tell them nothing more than what I had experienced: that Jesus would forgive their sins. So, I preached salvation all across Idaho to every farmer, to everyone who would listen; but gradually I began to realize there was someone besides the Father and the Son – there was this Third Person of the Trinity. I felt compelled to know more regarding Him and, as I began searching and studying God’s Word, I could see that divine healing also was in the atonement.””
From the “Billy Graham Center” archives comes this portion of a biography of Kathryn Kuhlman:
“In 1937, Kuhlman met evangelist Burroughs A. Waltrip, who had been invited to preach at the Denver tabernacle. Waltrip and Kuhlman formed a professional alliance which later led to their marriage. It also resulted in the deterioration of Kuhlman’s ministry in Denver and Waltrip’s in Mason City, Iowa. The central issue was the fact that Waltrip had left his children and wife in Texas and was shortly afterward divorced by her. Gulliford resigned her post over the issue, and Kuhlman’s business manager and substitute preacher, speaking on behalf of the congregation, informed her that she would no longer be welcome in Denver. Despite the urgings of friends and the congregation, Kuhlman and Waltrip married in 1938. Shortly afterward they established their base at the Radio Chapel in Mason City, where the news of Waltrip’s divorce had not spread. Waltrip’s supporters in Mason City eventually learned of his divorce and drifted away from his ministry as well. He and Kuhlman thereafter left Mason City and traveled throughout the country, although their ministry was held at a virtual standstill by the fact that they could not contain the news about their past. Having been married six years, Kuhlman finally left Waltrip in 1944 and in 1948 Waltrip divorced Kuhlman.”
The following is from a biography of Kathryn Kuhlman on the “Marilyn Hickey Ministries” website. Is this article trying to justify Kuhlman’s divorce?
“Waltrip divorced his wife and abandoned his two young sons shortly after meeting Kathryn. He moved to Iowa, started a radio program and church, and kept his past a secret. When he and Kathryn married on October 18, 1938, she gave up her church in Denver and tried preaching at revivals around the Midwest. Her attempts to preach were thwarted, however, when church leaders discovered her past and asked her to leave.
“Kathryn’s rejections made her realize she could not preach and remain married to a scandalously divorced man. She decided to leave Waltrip in 1944. Kathryn said she died to the flesh that day and put aside the desires of her heart so she could fully serve God.”
6. A. Wetherell Johnson (1907-1984) Bible Study Fellowship
7. Kay Arthur (1933- ) Precept Ministries
8. Beth Moore – Personal Freedom Outreach Exposes – Beth Moore Simulcast
9. Anne Graham Lotz
Mary Baker Eddy – Ellen G. White – Aimee Semple McPherson Hutton – Henrietta Mears – Kathryn Kuhlman – A. Wetherell Johnson – Kay Arthur – Beth Moore – Anne Graham Lotz
Four Ways Christians Are Deceived
Lucifer, the Garden of Eden, & the Tower of Babel
Why are Homosexuality, Fornication, Harlotry, and Adultery Sin?
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