Bartholomew's Notes

The Christian Broadcasting Network has caved in to scoffers and mockers and scrubbed a blog post which explained the dangers of Halloween:

During this period demons are assigned against those who participate in the rituals and festivities. These demons are automatically drawn to the fetishes that open doors for them to come into the lives of human beings. For example, most of the candy sold during this season has been dedicated and prayed over by witches.

…Mother earth is highly celebrated during the fall demonic harvest. Witches praise mother earth by bringing her fruits, nuts and herbs. Demons are loosed during these acts of worship. When nice church folk lay out their pumpkins on the church lawn, fill their baskets with nuts and herbs, and fire up their bonfires, the demons get busy. They have no respect for the church grounds. They respect only the sacrifice and do not care if it comes from believers or non-believers.

… The danger of Halloween is not in the scary things we see but in the secret, wicked, cruel activities that go on behind the scenes. These activities include:

• Sex with demons
• Orgies between animals and humans
• Animal and human sacrifices
• Sacrificing babies to shed innocent blood
• Rape and molestation of adults, children and babies
• Revel nights
• Conjuring of demons and casting of spells
• Release of “time-released” curses against the innocent and the ignorant.

Another abomination that goes on behind the scenes of Halloween is necromancy, or communication with the dead. Séances and contacting spirit guides are very popular on Halloween, so there is a lot of darkness lurking in the air.

The post was by Kimberly Daniels and taken from Charisma magazine, although much of sceptical reaction has been at the expense of CBN’s president, Pat Robertson. Regarding Halloween as demonic is common among Charismatic and neo-Pentecostal churches (and Evangelicals in general are not very keen on the celebration), and it is no surprise to read that she has links with C. Peter Wager. It is interesting, though, to see elements of conspiracy theory, harking back to do the debunked “Satanic panics” of the 1980s.

Daniels has her own ministry, Kimberly Daniels Ministry International, where there is a profile. We are told:

Kimberly Daniels was the fastest female sprinter in junior college in the nation and in the military around the world. Later, she was spiraled into a lifestyle of prostitution and drugs. Since the miraculous intervention of Jesus in her life, she shares her testimony globally. She is a graduate of Florida State University where she obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminology.  Kim’s educational efforts have also blessed her with a Master’s Degree in Christian Education and a Doctorate in Christian Counseling…Kim currently spearheads a coalition of over 20,000 intercessors called Commanders of the Morning. She and her husband, Ardell, have six children. They travel internationally with the commitment to bring apostolic truth to the body of Christ.

She seems to be on the up; only 8,000 “Commanders” are mentioned in an advert for a conference here, where she will be speaking alongside some characters we’ve met before: Chuck Pierce and Dutch Sheets.

A 2002 Charisma profile has further background:

With her team of “demon busters,” Daniels is “stomping on the devil” and enjoying every minute of it. Once a drug addict herself, Daniels travels the globe teaching on spiritual warfare…As raw as the inner city where she grew up, Daniels, 40, spends most of her year traveling across the United States in a 30-foot recreational vehicle dubbed the Demon Buster Mobile.

Daniels began her career after attending a meeting given by Prosperity Gospel patriarch Kenneth Hagin:

At a prayer meeting in her hotel with other attendees, Daniels says someone prophesied, “An unclean spirit is among us.” Believing this word was for her, Daniels stepped forward to receive prayer. When the meeting was over, she says she was free from demonic oppression, had been baptized in the Holy Spirit and was speaking in tongues.

The article continues:

…In 1996, Daniels and her husband founded Spoken Word church with a handful of faithful… When young people involved in the African religion Yoruba [sic – author means the traditional religion of the Yoruba people -RB] sought her out for deliverance, they introduced themselves by naming the strongmen over their heads, telling her that in order to help them, she’d have to deal with these demonic forces.

…Not easily intimidated, Daniels confronts demons boldly, often calling them “sissy, punk gods” before casting them out. Though unconventional, her method has produced much fruit.

Lavette Peoples, 29, was a practicing witch when she first visited Spoken Word Ministries (SWM). “I participated in spells, blood and animal sacrifices, astral projection and conjured up demons,” says Peoples, now an intercessor at SWM. “I was crying out for help, and nobody in the city recognized I was full of demons. But when I went to Kim’s church, I received deliverance…”

In 2000, Daniels was ordained through apostle John Eckhardt’s Impact Ministries. Eckhardt, pastor of Crusaders Church in Chicago, says he recognized an apostolic gift in Daniels and believes God will use her to encourage other women called to walk in similar kinds of ministries.

Eckhardt has a website here; one of his sermons deals with “how cities are affected by demonic forces residing in the water”.

UPDATE: A reader notes that Daniels’ autobiography has a foreword by John Hagee‘s wife Diana Hagee.

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