Maleficent: Textbook Postmodern Deconstructionism

Natalina’s review of the film Maleficent: Sympathy for the Devil: Review of Disney’s “Maleficent” went viral attracting the scorn of atheists and lots of nice kudos as well. I’ll commend the reader to read it and just add a few technical points.  Make no bones about it, this is a postmodern deconstruction of Sleeping Beauty. Those big words are important and I will quote from some real pros in order to explain them to you.  Recall that the original tale “Sleeping Beauty” had clear moral categories and children could easily identify the hero and the villain. That moral clarity is the target of subversion. Postmodernism questions any claim to moral truth and asserts relativism as its only absolute albeit it is hanging in midair. Screenwriter Brian Godawa explains:

hollywood_worldviews

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Postmodernists focus on “deconstructing” a belief by uncovering the various hidden or unconscious cultural prejudices that shaped it, rather than determining the verity of a truth claim. After all, if there is no transcendent truth or objective reality, then no belief or worldview about reality can be verified. Propositions about reality are reducible to personal agendas or biases, so all debate or inquiry reduces to the uncovering of these biases. Postmoderns will even go so far as to say that personal identity is also an illusion, because we are constructed by our society.  (Brian Godawa. Hollywood Worldviews: Watching Films with Wisdom & Discernment, Kindle Locations 1269-1273).

When one has a working knowledge of these techniques, it makes it simple to see what the movie producers are attempting to do: subvert objective moral categories. This goes much further than entertainment and plays out in religion and politics. New Testament scholar Peter Jones has done a masterful job exposing how this has transformed Western culture. Please consider how this is playing out in terms of spirituality:

one or two

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Postmodern deconstructionists said there is no metanarrative (overarching worldview), but religious pagans didn’t seem to hear them and are busy constructing a new one to explain everything. In other words, we are seeing not a breakdown of law and order, but a redefinition of it; not unrestrained immoral behavior, but a justification of it; not a laxity about sexual perversion, but a legalization of it; not a materialistic rejection of God, but a spiritual redefinition of God that turns Him into the goddess. Intellectual Neopagans dismissed the term “New Age” as narcissistic, focusing only on personal bliss and freedom. Today’s spiritualists are “progressive” or “integral,” eager for a coherent worldview to save the planet. The new systematized paganism includes:

  • a powerful spiritual experience, based on the subconscious, that provides an exit from rationalism;
  • a resolution of the conflict between science and religion;
  • an end to religious strife;
  • a compelling analysis of Western philosophy and a critique of rationalism, materialism and consumerism that is as sharp as some Christian versions;
  • an enchanted, passionate, environmentally-informed view of nature;
  • an all-encompassing geopolitical vision of planetary harmony; a destruction of the illogical church/state wall of separation and the spiritualization of life in the public square;
  • a theory of planetary economics;
  • an all-inclusive, cradle-to-grave, spiritually inspired educational policy;
  • a powerful, therapeutic psychology that delivers from anger and greed and proposes an experience of rebirth;
  • a liberating redefinition of ethics, namely eco-ethics;
  • a radical liberation from narrow heterosexuality into the pleasant paths of pansexuality;
  • and an evolutionary account of history and human significance.

Thousands of progressives in academics, the media and politics, along with liberal church leaders are joining to produce a pagan cosmology to repair our deconstructed world. Such a worldview, proposed as “timeless perennial truth,” is full of exuberant, infinite possibilities.

People are attracted to the new cosmology not only because it proposes progressive ideas and behavior, but because it explains and justifies them, so that they can be adopted in good conscience. Having absorbed the worldview makeover, which appeals to freedom, civil rights and progress, people respond: “Oh, I get it. Why not? Makes sense to me.” (Peter Jones. One or Two: Seeing a World of Difference. Kindle Locations 614-636).

I hope it is becoming clear that Maleficent is much more than a revamping of an old fairy tale. The writers certainly do have an agenda and they can propagate it worldwide through an entertainment medium and most people do not even realize they are being manipulated. Pantheistic monism, what Jones calls oneism is the overarching pagan spirituality of our time.

One-ism believes that “all is one” and shares the same essential nature. Theologians use the term “consubstantiality.” As you probably know, “con” means “with” in Latin, and you know what “substantial” means—“substance” or “essence.” In One-ism, everything shares the same essence. In a word, everything is a piece of the divine. (One or Two,151–157.)

In contrast biblical theism proposes a transcendent creator God. Paul draws this distinction within the context of Roman paganism: “because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.”(Romans 1:25). In Disney’s world there is no creator God, magic serves in the role of an impersonal divine force from within nature.  It is a oneist cosmology in which evil becomes good and good becomes evil and there really is no distinction – all is one. Jones explains:

In the make-believe world of One-ism, distinctions are anathema. All distinctions, like true and false, right and wrong, good and evil, Creator and creature, Christ and Anti-Christ, are considered relative, meaningless notions. The goal of the mature spiritual person is to “join the opposites,” to create unity out of difference and so to take control of life. True spirituality means creating your own reality by making an amalgam of your dark and light sides. (Jones, One or Two: Kindle Locations 2084-2087).

Of course the above describes exactly what happened in the film. In the end, the hero and the villain are the same person: Maleficent. It’s textbook postmodern deconstruction designed to subvert objective morality, replace it with postmodern relativism and promote the new pagan spirituality.

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Chuck Missler Quote 22

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Response to ‘Apostle Paul Antichrist’: Time Travel is Not Research

The following review of Apostle Paul Antichrist was a collaborative effort between Cris Putnam (logosapologia.org) and Natalina (extraordinaryintelligence.com).

“Did the Apostle Paul and Nero twist the Jesus message into a control matrix of their own making?  Jeffrey Daugherty uses Biblical and secular history to advance the notion that the New Testament was the battle ground for an epic clash between the ideals of the original followers of Christ and Paul’s attempts to hijack them.“[1] 

Thus reads the description of the new book by Jeffrey Daugherty titled, Apostle Paul AntichristJeffrey Daugherty arrogantly boasts that his book is “the most important book about Christianity since the Bible”[2] and asserts that he is building “The Largest Spiritual Network on the Planet.” These extravagant claims are not supported by facts. If any of this were so, why is Daugherty still so obscure? Interestingly, his website claims:

“Jeff is now founder and leader of New Cosmic Knowledge, an expanding body of practical spiritual technologies, with the core being the teaching of Jesus that “The Kingdom of Heaven is within you.”  NCK is dedicated to showing people that they are not born sinners but rather have the seed of divinity within.”[3]

This “seed of divinity within” message is nothing new but simply rehashed pantheistic monism or oneism. It’s a tired cliché reeking of the Pelagian heresy, named after Pelagius (354 420). He also claims that “NCK began as New Covenant Kabbalah.” [4] However, Kabbalah is a complex system of Jewish esotericism based on the Torah in its original language; so it’s doubtful that Daugherty is fluent enough in Hebrew to actually understand it. If he means the later Christianized syncretism, we similarly doubt his competence in Koine Greek. More likely, the term Kabbala has no substantive meaning but is employed for its “woo” factor because it sounds numinous and esoteric. NCK fails to impress as does the book Apostle Paul Antichrist.

Apostle Paul AntichristDaugherty’s central message (and beef with Paul) is “that we are not born sinners but rather with the seed of divinity within us.”[5] According to Daugherty, Jesus did not teach that humans are fallen and sinful, that was a later perversion resulting from an alleged conspiracy between Paul and Emperor Nero. While that is utter nonsense, Daugherty’s mistakes are largely due to his basic ignorance concerning the background and context of the New Testament. Items a first year seminary student should know.

In the Gospels, Jesus spoke to a mostly Jewish audience who possessed a great deal of knowledge about the Old Testament and the law. Accordingly, Jesus did not need to teach original sin because it was taught in the Old Testament. It was simply assumed in his own teaching. He takes it for granted that the people he is speaking to are evil. “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”(Mattew 7:11). Mankind’s fallen nature is a basic fact that was simply assumed by Jesus and his Jewish audience; it was not an item of contention and needed no elaboration in that context.  But even a surface reading of an English translation makes it very clear that Jesus believed humans are born sinners.

The teaching of Jesus in the Gospel of John is especially clear and comprehensive. Because mankind is inherently sinful one must be “born again.” “This is why Jesus told Nicodemus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God”(Jn 3:3). Why must one be reborn?  Jesus said, “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil” (Jn 3:19). Thus, apart from Christ, humanity lives in the sphere of darkness.  Furthermore, the natural man loves darkness and will not come into the light because his deeds are evil. Daugherty is disingenuous when he claims Jesus did not teach that man was a sinner!

Furthermore, Jesus taught that sinful man cannot come to Christ apart from the drawing of the Father: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” (John 6:44a). Man is blind and in need of true sight, and what little he sees is only worthy of judgment (John 9:39). Mankind possesses a thirst and hunger which only Christ can satisfy but can do no truly good thing on his own (John 15:5). It is abundantly clear that Jesus taught humans are fallen and sinful and can only be born again (John 3:5), sanctified (John 17:17), and brought to glory by the intercession of Christ. Daugherty claims to follow Jesus but it is clear he does not understand even His most basic teachings.  Thus, it’s not surprising that he fails to understand Paul.

Paul, on the other hand, ministered to a mostly Gentile audience who had little knowledge of the Old Testament or the law, and so he often explains human sinfulness in much greater detail. However, in so doing he cites the Hebrew Bible, affirmed by Jesus, extensively. For example, Romans 3:9–18 (ESV):

What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, 10 as it is written:
n“None is righteous, no, not one;
11 no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
13 o“Their throat is pan open grave;
they use their tongues to deceive.”
q“The venom of asps is under their lips.”
14 r“Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
15 s“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 in their paths are ruin and misery,
17 and tthe way of peace they have not known.”
18 u“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
 

Paul based this on the Hebrew Bible, not a conspiracy with Nero. Notice from the lettered references in the ESV Bible that Paul is citing Psalms, Jeremiah, Proverbs and Isaiah in this poetic description of the sin nature. The prophets taught: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”(Je 17:9).  Even King David wrote in Psalms, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Ps 51:5). Daugherty is simply uninformed concerning rudimentary biblical anthropology.

New Testament Time Traveler

Without footnotes or any discernable research into Biblical history on Daugherty’s part, one must ask how the author can claim that his narrative is historically accurate.  Certainly, it has been proven that the Bible refutes Daugherty’s claims, historical records refute his assertions, and eyewitness accounts of the events Daugherty describes obliterate the bulk of his thesis.  Where does Daugherty get the nerve to continue to assert his claims of truth and accuracy?

In his public appearances, Mr. Daugherty suggests that his information has been gleaned through two decades of in depth research; but the reality is that there is a far more dubious method by which he says he came to his truth claims.

In a short video on Daugherty’s You Tube page, he cites feedback he’s received about his book, wherein readers claim that Jeffrey’s narrative is so vivid, that it almost seems as if he was there as the events were unfolding.  Daugherty’s response to this praise is to say, “There is a reason why it seems like I was there, and that is because I WAS there.”

time travel BibleJeffrey Daugherty is a self-proclaimed time traveler.  He does not mean this in a figurative sense.  He makes it very clear that he believes he was able to spiritually travel back in time to personally witness the events that he details in his book.  He says he witnessed it as if he were “a fly on the wall… a fly on the head of the horse of Alexander the Great or, a fly in the temple..”

He claims he was able to “see and record in exacting detail every single bit of what was going on.”  He explains, “I was not going there physically, but I was going there… and being able to see and relive and understand and report on seeing with great vividness and great accuracy… and of course that is why I feel like the book Apostle Paul Antichrist is so accurate.  Because, I was there.”

In the ten-minute video[6], Daugherty goes to great lengths to justify his time traveling claims.  He cites a convoluted “test” that he did to make sure he was indeed traveling through time.  He determined that if he could travel back in time, surely he should be able to travel forward in time, thus he tried to visualize upcoming NFL scores, and was able to predict the winners with 76% accuracy.  He only shared this info with a handful of people at the time, so we do have to take his word for it. Nonetheless, he supplies this as his evidence that he has been gifted with the ability to travel through time, thus enabling him to literally convey to the reader of Apostle Paul Antichrist the exact words and deeds of the apostles and other significant historical figures.

This all seems laughable, and indeed it is a remarkable claim that Jeffrey Daugherty makes, but it is a useful inclusion here because it demonstrates the level of disconnection from reliable source material with regard to the work Daugherty presents as factually accurate.  Unless you consider time travel to be a legitimate footnote, in which case you will be disappointed to learn that the author did not see fit to mention this inside of the book.

Divine Spark Within?

Daugherty’s principle claim is that Paul perverted Jesus true message of human divinity.  Thus, “NCK is dedicated to showing people that they are not born sinners but rather have the seed of divinity within.”[7] In support he cites “For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”(Lk 17:21, NKJV) But Daugherty is dependent on a single verse from a rather poor English translation to justify his pantheism—the divine spark is within. The ESV reads “…for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”(Lk 17:21, ESV).  Other versions are similar:

Text Comparison – Luke 17:21

NIV NASB95 NRSV
Lk 17:21 nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.” Lk 17:21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.” Lk 17:21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.”

Let’s do a little exegesis of the Greek text:

Βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ ἐντὸς ὑμῶν ἐστιν
Kingdom noun, nominative, singular, feminine of article, genitive, singular, masculine God noun, genitive, singular, masculine among preposition you pronoun, personal, second person, genitive, plural is Verb, present, active, indicative, third person, singular

The Greek word entos can mean within, among:—inside, midst.[8] It is best determined by context. If the pronoun hymon rendered “you” had been singular, Daugherty would have a better case. But the “you” in this passage is plural which speaks to a group and Jesus is speaking to a group of listeners in this context. Thus, rendering it “among you” or “in the midst of you” makes more sense than “within you.” Moreover, the “kingdom of God” refers to the rule of God, not a pantheistic “spark .” The point is that the kingdom of God had arrived (Mark 1:15) because it was among them, the group, because Jesus (God incarnate) was standing right next to them.

Another central claim by Daugherty is that Paul used the word “repent” differently than Jesus:

When Jesus said “Repent” he meant change your mind. He meant realize that the kingdom is within you. When Paul said “Repent” James was hearing a return to the old you are a sinner mentality.[9]

The term rendered “repent” is metanoeo in the original Greek MS and a scholarly lexicon denotes its semantic range in the relevant passage:

41.52 μετανοέω; μετάνοια, ας f: to change one’s way of life as the result of a complete change of thought and attitude with regard to sin and righteousness—‘to repent, to change one’s way, repentance.’[10]

Ask yourself if this makes sense: “From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Change your mind and realize that the divine spark is within you”(Mt 4:17). It does not work in Jesus context. Jesus knew that men were inherently sinful not divine. John wrote: “But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man”(Jn 2:24–25).  Borchert explains:

He understood the nature of human frailty, and he did not require instruction (testimony) concerning human inconsistency. We as humans often experience the frustration of learning time and again that those humans we think we can count on are in fact not very dependable. But the Son of God did not need any lessons in the results of human sin. Human sin was the reason why the Son of God came to the world, and the Paschal Lamb had to die to take away that sin (1:29).[11]

While metanoeo (repent) can mean “change your mind” and entos (in the midst) can sometimes mean “within” the meaning must serve the overall context of the text itself rather than the preconceptions of the interpreter. Daugherty’s ignores the context and picks the meaning that fits his abberant theology. His spin works nicely within the context pantheistic monism and Pelagianism but not with the message of Jesus of Nazareth. The author’s blundering eisegesis is revealed by Jesus’ use of the term in other more clear contexts:

Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. (Mt 11:20–22)

Does the context of the above lend itself to Jesus saying that if Chorazin and Bethsaida,“would  change their minds and realize their inner divinity” then they would not be judged? Of course not!  Jesus was obviously preaching repentance from sin.

Daugherty is also woefully inconsistent because his “divine spark within” theology depends on one verse from Luke’s Gospel (Luke 17:21).  However, according to Luke (author of the relevant Gospel and the book of Acts) Jesus chose and commissioned Saul to become Paul the greatest evangelist of the burgeoning Christian movement (Acts 9:4-9; 26:12-19).  If Daugherty is willing to base his entire movement on a marginal rendering from Luke’s gospel, then on what basis can he dismiss Luke’s account of Paul’s commissioning by Jesus?  Paul and Luke were close friends (Colossians 4:14; 2 Timothy 4:1; Philemon 24). Furthermore, if he accepts the Gospel of Mark—which is Peter’s account of Jesus ministry—then he should accept Peter’s assertions about Paul:

And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures..(2 Pe 3:15–16)

Peter seems to have seen Daugherty coming.

Daugherty does attempt to tie up the Luke conundrum by relating how Luke had been Paul’s friend, scribe, and confidant.  He details how Paul confided all of his dastardly deeds and plans to Luke, who ended up being a double agent, eventually betraying his friend and confessing all that Paul had revealed to him to the other apostles.

And now Luke had betrayed him.

I should have smothered him in his sleep.

 Paul laughed out loud.  That would have been hard to do.

I don’t think I was ever awake when he wasn’t.

The loss had hit him hard, though he wouldn’t admit it, not even to himself.  Luke had been the closest thing Paul had to a friend.[12]

Pseudo-History

Apostle Paul Antichrist belongs to the genre of “pseudo-history” because it is a type of historical revisionism that purports to be history but is inconsistent with established facts and common sense. It makes grandiose sensational claims but makes no substantive argument, reveals no new findings, and contains no documentation for its outlandish assertions. The entire book is presented in a narrative story-line format that reads (appropriately) like fiction. There is not a single academic or historical source cited and not a single footnote.  Trading on ignorance, it’s all fanciful speculation based on poor scholarship and historical revisionism.

Daugherty invents a fantasy world (allegedly based on time travel) in which the emperor Nero courts the young Saul of Tarsus since his childhood as part of a grand conspiracy to insure Roman control over Judea. Daugherty claims Paul was used by Nero to discredit Jesus’ message that we are not sinners because he was fearful that the message of the inner divine spark would lead to the overthrow of the Roman Empire. Seriously? Reality check: The Buddhists have been teaching the “divine within” for centuries and the People’s Republic of China seems far more worried about biblical (Pauline) Christianity than Buddhism.

The allegation is that Nero thought the populace would be much easier to control if they believed that they were sinners in need of a savior.  Thus, Nero wanted Paul to start the Roman Church. I’m not kidding… as absurd and divorced from actual history as it is, he really asserts that Nero started the church through his covert agent Paul. In the real world, Nero is famous for feeding Christians who refused to worship him as a god to lions. The real apostle Paul was imprisoned in Rome and the captivity epistles preserve his laudable intentions. Paul cherished the opportunity of declaring “the mystery of Christ”, the sake for which he was in chains, and was anxious that his friends would pray that he would “declare it boldly” (Colossians 4:3; Ephesians 6:19). Anyone who bothers to read Paul can see through Daugherty’s absurd claims, but he trades (and depends) on ignorance. It only gets worse from here.

In a supremely satanic twist, Daugherty claims that Paul murdered James the brother of Jesus. This is simply fiction:

Paul looked back down at James. He looked dead. Paul moved to make sure. Paul raised a club with both hands. When it was fully overhead, he saw the eye of James open. It looked right at him. James gurgled through blood, “Father, forgive him—” Paul’s crashing club cut off the rest of the sentence.[13]

This has absolutely no basis in history and worse yet Daughety provides no reasoned argumentation for why anyone should accept it. That is, unless you find his time travel claims convincing. The book is written like any other fictional narrative (which it is). It is neither research nor scholarship but mere speculation. Josephus a Jewish historian under Roman employ wrote of James:

Festus was now dead, and Albinus was but upon the road; so he assembled the sanhedrin of judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some others, [or, some of his companions]; and when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned;[14]

According to Josephus, the death of James was at the order of the high priest Ananus and was by stoning.  Hegesippus, an early Christian writer quoted by the third-century Christian historian Eusebius, who wrote that James was cast down from the temple tower and stoned by the Pharisees.[15] James was martyred in AD 68 if Hegesippus was correct.[16] Scholars widely agree that James was killed (circa AD 66-69) after Paul (AD 62- 64) [17] a fact which is overlooked by Daugherty.[18] Paul could not have killed James unless he also time traveled into the future. Daugherty conveniently side steps Paul’s death and ends the book with this canard:

He remembered Luke quoting Jesus as saying, “See this great building? There will not be one stone left upon another that will not be thrown down.” If his arm could have reached, he would have patted himself on the back. So he told the girl to do it. Paul chuckled as she gingerly patted him. Imagine. The man that will be Caesar quoting Jesus himself in his instructions on how to destroy the Temple. All at my behest. Paul spoke out loud to a man not even there. “You see my dear Jesus? I told you and your Movement would die.” He smiled and continued. “Who can deny I am a prophet now?” He looked back at the girl and winked his awkward wink. “I win.” She smiled a bewildered smile. Paul rolled over and allowed the drape across his lap to fall to the stone floor. “Okay girl. Time to finish up.” As the girl knelt… …the Temple was burning.[19]

This is impossible because Temple was burned in AD 70 by Titus Vespasian, most likely a full six years after Paul’s execution![20] Furthermore, the idea that Nero was conspiring to promote Pauline Christianity is laughable. He hated the Christians because they refused to worship him. Nero is famous for burning Rome the night of July 18/19 in AD 64 and blaming it on the Christians. This is when most scholars believe Paul was executed. Biblical scholar F.F. Bruce states, “That Paul’s life was brought to an end in Rome by the executioner’s sword may be confidently accepted, but tradition associates his execution with the persecution of Christians in Rome which followed the great fire of A.D. 64”[21] Nero started a fire in Rome, blamed the Christians and had Paul executed, hardly consistent with Daugherty’s alleged conspiracy. A few folks suspected Nero gained from the fire. Tacitus, who is our most reliable authority for these events, wrote:

Therefore, to scotch the rumour, Nero substituted as culprits, and punished with the utmost refinements of cruelty, a class of men, loathed for their vices, whom the crowd styled Christians. Christus, from whom they got their name, had been executed by sentence of the procurator Pontius Pilate when Tiberius was emperor; and the pernicious superstition was checked for a short time, only to break out afresh, not only in Judaea, the home of the plague, but in Rome itself, where all the horrible and shameful things in the world collect and find a home.

First of all, those who confessed were arrested; then, on their information, a huge multitude was convicted, not so much on the ground of incendiarism as for hatred of the human race. Their execution was made a matter of sport: some were sewn up in the skins of wild beasts and savaged to death by dogs; others were fastened to crosses as living torches, to serve as lights when daylight failed. Nero made his gardens available for the show and held games in the Circus, mingling with the crowd or standing in his chariot in charioteer’s uniform. Hence, although the victims were criminals deserving the severest punishment, pity began to be felt for them because it seemed that they were being sacrificed to gratify one man’s lust for cruelty rather than for the public weal.[22]

The same events are briefly described by Suetonius in his Life of Nero: “Punishment was inflicted on the Christians, a class of men addicted to a novel and mischievous superstition.”[23] Clearly, Nero horrifically persecuted the early church. Time travel aside, Daugherty is wrong.

As one might expect, the earliest writings of the Church fathers also contradict Daugherty’s ridiculous nightmare revisionism.  Polycarp, a disciple of John the Apostle, wrote of Paul:

2For neither am I, nor is any other like unto me, able to follow the wisdom of the blessed and glorious Paul, who when he came among you taught face to face with the men of that day the word which concerneth truth carefully and surely; who also, when he was absent, wrote a letter unto you, into the which if ye look diligently, ye shall be able to be builded up unto the faith given to you, 3which is the mother of us all, while hope followeth after and love goeth before—love toward God and Christ and toward our neighbour. For if any man be occupied with these, he hath fulfilled the commandment of righteousness; for he that hath love is far from all sin (Polycarp Phil 3.2– 4).[24]

Clement of Rome mentions Paul as a hero:

5By reason of jealousy and strife Paul by his example pointed out the prize of patient endurance. 6After that he had been seven times in bonds, had been driven into exile, had been stoned, had preached in the East and in the West, he won the noble renown which was the reward of his faith, 7having taught righteousness unto the whole world and having reached the farthest bounds of the West; and when he had borne his testimony before the rulers, so he departed from the world and went unto the holy place, having been found a notable pattern of patient endurance. (1Cl 5.5–13)[25]

Ignatius also considered Paul an apostle and a hero writing: “I do not, as Peter and Paul, issue commandments unto you. They were apostles of Jesus Christ, but I am the very least [of believers]: they were free.”[26] Actually, there is not a single contemporary source document from the early church that lends any credence to this absurd conspiracy theory.  It’s easy to make fanciful assertions as Daugherty has done, it’s another matter entirely to support them with credible evidence and provide logical arguments for why one should believe them. Daugherty did not even try.  Sorry Jeff but time travel delusions do not count as research.

Revising Scripture

As previously mentioned, Daugherty believes that he is forming the “Largest Spiritual Network on the Planet.”  He boasts that NCK is a movement, and that his written work is the most important to Christianity since the Bible.  For that reason, it is vital to examine not only the content of his current work, but also the work he has planned for the future.  He has already announced a sequel to Apostle Paul Antichrist, which he is calling The Other Jesus.   Presumably, this book will pick up where the last leaves off, continuing the saga of Paul and Nero, and delving further into what he perceives to be the corruption of the true message that Jesus put forth.

Not content to simply re-write history, Daugherty also is endeavoring to re-write the Bible itself.  In a forthcoming book he’s calling The Testament of Jesus and His Apostles, Daugherty is presenting his own version of the New Testament in which he “compiled a literal English rendering of what is commonly refered to as the New Testament writings, presented in chronological order of date written.”  Not satisfied with a simple re-wording, Daugherty is also removing all references to Paul and the Pauline writings.

Upon reaching out to Jeffrey Daugherty for more information, he supplied us with a copy of his reworking of the Book of James, which contained a disturbing introduction to the book at large.  In that intro, the author states he is:

OMITTING ALL PAULINE WRITINGS because the compiler’s study has convinced him that Saul of Tarsus, aka The Apostle Paul, hijacked the original teachings of Jesus and His Apostles to formulate his own theology.

AND THOSE SUPPORTING BLOOD SACRIFCE as the compiler’s study has convinced him that Jesus was opposed to the practice.[27]

When I asked Daugherty whether his removal of “blood sacrifice” is a reference to events such as The Last Supper and the Crucifixion, he replied, “That is what I mean.  I will be speaking more about this later.  I am following the advice of Thomas Jefferson and the leading of God, I believe.”[28]

Plainly, this means that Jeffrey Daugherty is literally removing all reference to Christ’s sacrifice.  His citation of Thomas Jefferson is telling, because Jefferson himself penned his own version of the New Testament titled The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, in which all references to Christ’s miracles as well as the resurrection were omitted.[29]

In a letter to William Short, penned in 1820, Jefferson wrote:

Of this band of dupes and impostors, Paul was the great Coryphaeus, and first corrupter of the doctrines of Jesus. These palpable interpolations and falsifications of his doctrines led me to try to sift them apart. [30]

For this reason, it is not surprising that Daugherty cites Jefferson as inspiration for his omissions. Of course, if there is no crucifixion, there is no resurrection.  This works just fine for Daugherty’s thesis because he doesn’t believe in sin or redemption.  Thus there is no need for the cross, as we have no need for a savior. According to Jeffrey, sin and the forgiveness thereof is the brainchild of Paul, not Jesus.  It is bad enough to write a fallacious narrative about Paul the Apostle.  Far worse, however, is to rewrite and revise scripture itself. “..and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.”  (Rev. 22:19)

thomas jefferson christianity quote

Daugherty is not a biblical scholar. His credentials consist of a ministry certification from Berean School of the Bible, an internet school which concedes “BSB courses do not earn college credit.”[31] He also claims a degree from Blue Mountain College but he does not specify how his studies are relevant to biblical exegesis and historical theology. It seems he lacks even the most basic graduate level course work in exegesis and hermeneutics that most pastors are required to complete in accredited programs, much less coursework in the original languages.  However, his lack of education or applicable research does not stop him from making grandiose claims based on his travels back in time.

Daugherty’s dubious affiliations do not stop with his New Cosmic Knowledge movement.  He also promotes the book, The Holy Virus:  Identifying the Holy Virus within the Holy Bible by Lional Parkinson, which is no doubt where Daugherty’s blood sacrifice claims originate.  On the website for Parkinson’s book[32] it says that the author:

…claims that Bible chapters and verses were corrupted by Babylonian conquerors, modified long before King James gave his stamp of approval. Will his findings prove more sound than others?

Parkinson thoroughly discounts Bible apologists as being completely taking in by a theology, or what he calls a virus, that was foisted on the unsuspecting centuries ago. For this he has titled his book The Holy Virus.

Daugherty is also affiliated with Scott Alan (Scotty) Roberts, author and founder/publisher of Intrepid Mag.  Scotty Roberts is listed as the Illustrator of Apostle Paul Antichrist, and is quoted in various places on Daugherty’s websites. Roberts claims to be a Biblical scholar himself, having written books about the Nephilim and the Exodus story.  He has appeared as an “expert” on the History Channel’s Ancient Aliens series, and Roberts like Daugherty questions the veracity of the Bible.  Although he claims to be a Christian, he too believes that Paul hijacked Christianity.  In fact, in a recent interview on Daugherty’s talk radio show[33], Roberts says, “How do you know any of it is true? You can find some things that are historical, and we can back those up and we can believe that Jesus was a historical person that’s obvious. He was historically a real person, he was there in the history records BUT, is he the son of God? I don’t know anymore.  Are Paul’s writings inspired by Jesus himself? I don’t know anymore. I used to believe that. And now I don’t so much anymore.”

Scotty Roberts also claims to have psychic abilities, is an expert in tarot card readings, has done multiple interviews with Askyourguide and sells Ouija boards. What disturbs me most about Roberts is that there are some people in the Christian worldview realm that view him as a legitimate researcher.  Make no mistake. Roberts said, in his own words, that he doubts that Jesus is the son of God. Period.

To those with a firm grasp on Christian theology, it may seem like an exercise in the obvious to form a rebuttal against Jeffrey Daugherty’s claims.  However, his recent appearance on popular late night radio show Coast to Coast Am[34], along with the endorsement of radio host George Noory (who wrote the forward to Daugherty’s book), has brought international attention to Daugherty’s self proclaimed spiritual movement, and no doubt has caused confusion amongst those less grounded in scripture.

Throughout the Coast to Coast Am interview, and on Jeffrey’s website, much fanfare is made about Noory’s written foreword. However, the actual text of the foreword is woefully short and lacking in inspiration, leading one to question if Noory had even read the book prior to adding his praise.  The foreword is only 102 words long, and lauds Jeffrey’s use of “ancient and biblical facts”.[35]  One can only presume he wasn’t privy to the detail about time travel.

Nevertheless, Noory’s endorsement provides legitimacy to Daugherty’s claims in the eyes of many, thus refuting this book and movement at large becomes necessary.

This book is nothing but disingenuous pseudohistorical fluff ignorantly maligning the character of one of the greatest Godly men in history. Daugherty ought to be ashamed.


[4]Jeffrey Daugherty, Apostle Paul Antichrist, Kindle Edition. (NCK Press, 2014).Kindle Locations 38-39.

[5] Ibid.

n  ver. 10–12, cited from Ps. 14:1–3; 53:1–3

o  Cited from Ps. 5:9

p  Jer. 5:16

q  Cited from Ps. 140:3

r  Cited from Ps. 10:7 (Gk.)

s  Cited from Prov. 1:16; ver. 15–17, cited from Isa. 59:7, 8

t  Luke 1:79

u  Cited from Ps. 36:1

[7] http://www.apostlepaulantichrist.com/#!ministries/c1jxp

[8] Robert L. Thomas, New American Standard Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek Dictionaries : Updated Edition (Anaheim: Foundation Publications, Inc., 1998).

[9]   Apostle Paul Antichrist. Kindle Locations 2465-2467.

[10] Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 509.

[11] Gerald L. Borchert, John 1–11, vol. 25A, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996), 168.

[12] Jeffrey Daugherty, Apostle Paul Antichrist, Kindle Edition. (NCK Press, 2014).Kindle Location 364.

[13]  Apostle Paul Antichrist, Kindle Locations 4004-4009.

[14] Flavius Josephus and William Whiston, The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1987).

[15] http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/hegesippus.html

[16] Viktor Roudkovski, “James, Brother of Jesus,” ed. John D. Barry and Lazarus Wentz, The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012).

[17] Anthony Le Donne, “Paul the Apostle,” ed. John D. Barry and Lazarus Wentz, The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012).

[18] Joseph E. Glaze, “James,” ed. Chad Brand et al., Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2003), 867.

 [19] Kindle Locations 5102-5132

[20] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Jerusalem_%2870%29

[21]F. F. Bruce, Paul, Apostle of the Heart Set Free, (Milton Keynes, UK: Paternoster, 1977), 441.

[22] Tacitus, Annals xv. 44. 3–8.

[23] Suetonius, Life of Nero 16. 2.

[24] Joseph Barber Lightfoot and J. R. Harmer, The Apostolic Fathers (London: Macmillan and Co., 1891), 178.

[25] Joseph Barber Lightfoot and J. R. Harmer, The Apostolic Fathers (London: Macmillan and Co., 1891), 59.

[26] Ignatius of Antioch, “The Epistle of Ignatius to the Romans,” in The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, ed. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe, vol. 1, The Ante-Nicene Fathers (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company, 1885), 75.

[27] Jeffrey Daugherty, Testament of Jesus and His Apostles. PDF Document. Page 1.

[28] Personal email date 5-01-2014

[35] Jeffrey Daugherty, Apostle Paul Antichrist, Kindle Edition. (NCK Press, 2014).Kindle Location 7.

Response to ‘Apostle Paul Antichrist‘: Time Travel is Not Research – by Cris Putnam and Natalina.

apostle paul antichrist cover featured

Glen Beck’s Mormon Apologetics at Liberty University

As if cowtowing to Mormon bishop Mitt Romney during the last election wasn’t bad enough, Liberty University invited Glen Beck speak at its annual convocation ceremony.  Beck disingenuously said “I share your faith” calling Mormonism a “different denomination” of Christianity and referred to Joseph Smith as a “martyr” . These statements are far from the truth. Beck does not “share the faith” of  the Baptist student body. Mormonism is not a different denomination but a different religion. Islam is closer to Christian theology than polytheistic Mormonism. The canard that Mormonism is a Christian denomination is patently absurd. The god of Mormons is not the God of the Old and New Testaments but an exalted man. Joseph Smith was not a martyr for his faith. He was in jail for treason against the state of Illinois and destroying the printing press of a newspaper that criticized his polygamy. When an angry mob stormed the jail, Smith died in a shoot out in which he killed two men. The LDS website preserves the  eyewitness testimony of John Taylor:

“I shall never forget the deep feeling of sympathy and regard manifested in the countenance of Brother Joseph as he drew nigh to Hyrum, and, leaning over him, exclaimed, ‘Oh! my poor, dear brother Hyrum!’ He, however, instantly arose, and with a firm, quick step, and a determined expression of countenance, approached the door, and pulling the six-shooter left by Brother Wheelock from his pocket, opened the door slightly, and snapped the pistol six successive times. ….”  (two men were killed by Smith)

LDS.org

No one participating in a gun fight in which they kill some of their opponents is considered “martyred.” Why is Liberty allowing Glen Beck to mislead their students about Mormonism and the false prophet Smith? Liberty is treading the Gospel under foot for political expediency. Liberty University’s status as an evangelical University should be questioned by parents and students. Apparently, Liberty now prefers to be categorized as politically conservative but religiously pluralist institution.

But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.(2 Corinthians 11:3–4)

Phantasmic Post Mortem Miracles Count? Seriously Rome?

pope-john-paul-iiPope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII were both made “saints” last Sunday in Rome. One of the requirements is to have performed two miracles which are verified and documented by official church investigators. However in these cases, it seems the standards have been dramatically relaxed. The so called miracles were not actually performed by the men but rather their ghosts.

According to news reports John Paul’s first miracle occured in 2005 shortly after his death. A nun, Sister Marie Simon-Pierre, prayed to the deceased pontiff soon after his death and then recovered from Parkinson’s disease.  Obviously a nun, like Simon-Pierre, devoted to John Paul II was predisposed to credit him for her healing no matter how it occurred.  It’s hardly convincing. His second “miracle” is similarly dubious. Floribeth Mora Diaz claimed the papal apparition appeared to her on the day he was beatified and healed her of an inoperable brain aneurysm. How it was verified that the papal phantasm accomplished either healing is not explained.

Pope Francis by passed the standard qualifications and approved John XXIII’s sainthood with only one so called miracle.  It also allegedly occurred after the Pope’s death.  An Italian nun, Sister Caterina Capitani, prayed to the pope in 1996, who had died three years earlier, and later recovered from a stomach tumor.  Of course, this is again less than impressive.

Such conditions go into remission all the time and there is simply no way to prove that the ghost of either pope is responsible.  Worse yet this is idolatrous sin of the worst kind. Prayer is an act of worship. Praying to deceased humans is idolatrous and necromantic. It is called an abomination in scripture (Deuteronomy 18:11).  In my new book The Supernatural Worldview, I explain in detail why it is not wise to attempt such ill-advised communication with dead, despite the anti-biblical proclamations of Rome.