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Patrick Lapp, Box #323

Dr. Kay Tronsen
Research Writing 03
Bethel: Hyper or Heretical
Worship is an integral part of the Christian life. However, worship, as described in the
Scriptures, is a broad term, and the avenue and style of worship is not spelled out in clear terms.
The greatest explanation of worship comes from Jesus, Himself, in John 4:24. He said, God is
spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth (The Holy Bible). One of the
two, truth, is pretty easy to quantify, especially for evangelical Christians. For evangelical
Christians, sola scriptura, or Scripture alone, is the standard of truth that they hold for their
worship. However, truth is not the only component for effective worship. Christians must also
worship in the Spirit. This is the dividing point between evangelicals and charismatics. The
emphasis and focus given to the Spirit by charismatics cause many hardcore fundamentalist to
squirm in their seats. For most fundamentalist, the Word of God is the only authority of God, and
that anything outside of the Word of God is to be tested and scrutinized to the highest degree by
the Word of God. Even though this doctrine of the Spirit causes division, it is often within the
recognized boundaries of the community of faith. As long as the basic tenants of the faith, such
as inerrancy of Scripture, deity of Christ, Trinitarian nature of the Godhead, and atoning death of
Jesus Christ on the cross, is upheld than we can tolerate the differences and are happy to dwell in
our own denominational camps. However, since the turn of the 21st century, there has been a
large movement towards extreme charismaticism, or hyper-charismaticism. At the forefront of
this movement is Bethel Church, located in Redding, California.

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Bethel is a very popular church, but not for its preaching and teaching, but for its worship
music. Bethel Music, Jesus Culture, and components of the two have invaded the church with
what seems to be heartfelt, spirit-filled lyrics. However, upon researching Bethel, I found a
plethora of controversies related to their doctrine and practice. Many articles I read classified
them as a cult, and accused Bill Johnson, the lead pastor, as being a false prophet. In light of the
three evidences of Bethel stepping outside of orthodoxy, mainly their theory of the atonement,
split-deity of Christ, and the work of the Holy Spirit, I conclude, by definition, that Bethel should
be considered a Christian cult.
First, an examination of the definition of Christian cults is in order. Walter Martin, a
Baptist minister and a teacher of Biblical Theology, Comparative Religion, and Apologetics,
defines a cult as such, Cultism, in short, is any major deviation from orthodox Christianity
relative to the cardinal doctrines of the Christian faith (Martin, Rise of the Cults 11-12). He also
adds to this in another work by saying, A cult, then, is a group of people polarized around
someones interpretation of the Bible (Martin, Martin Speaks Out on the Cults 17). Since
orthodoxy in and of itself is a huge subject, the focus will be on three basic tenetsthe atonement
and healing, the deity of Christ, and the work of the Holy Spirit.
Bethels beliefs are founded in their theory of the atonement and their view of Gods
goodness. In Matthew 8:17, It says, This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah:
He took our illnesses and bore our diseases (The Holy Bible). Bethels theology says that
Christ atoned not only for our sins, but also for our sicknesses. This theory is expressed clearly in
a blog written by Bill Johnson, the lead pastor at Bethel. He said, When He bore stripes in His
body He made a payment for our miracle. He already decided to heal (Johnson, Does God
Ever Cause Sickness). However, in my research, I have found three separate occasions where

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healing is needed, but does not take place. In 1 Timothy 5:23, Paul recommends Timothy drink
wine to settle his stomach, and to help with his frequent illnesses. In 2 Timothy 4:20, Paul
actually left Trophimus sick at Miletus. Finally, in 2 Corinthians 12:7, Paul says, A thorn was
given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited
(The Holy Bible). In all three of these instances, Paul had a chance to heal, but did not. In fact, 2
Corinthians 12:8 says that Paul pleaded with the Lord three times for the thorn to be taken
away (The Holy Bible). Did Paul not have enough faith? This question is monstrous because the
facts show that not everyone gets healed. Although Bill Johnson says that the lack of miracles
isnt because it is not in Gods will for us. The problem exists between our ears (Johnson,
When heaven Invades Earth 2). I had a friend in high school who got cancer when she was
barely even a teenager. Her family and the church prayed for her for many years, and even had
special services and prayer walks around her hospital. Melanie went home to be with the Lord
after a multiple year battle with cancer. Can you really say that God wanted to heal this girl, but
could not because her parents lacked faith? Also, if God never chooses not to heal, and Bill
Johnson claims this and has enough faith to heal, why are there still hospitals, funerals, and old
peoples home? The greater question is that why has not Bill Johnsons own son received
healing? Bill Johnson wrote in one of his books, My oldest son, Eric, is 85 to 90% deaf in both
ears . . . I was fasting and praying for his healing some years ago, and God spoke to me very
clearly that He was going to heal him . . .We view it as a right now word. Yet he still cant hear
without the assistance of a hearing aid (Johnson, Dreaming with God Chapter 1). Does Bill
Johnson not have enough faith to heal his son? He says that it will happen, but Jesus never took
longer than a day to heal someone. These questions are hard for us as Christians to answer, but
even harder for non-believers. People are coming to Christ, but for the wrong reasons. They are

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looking for physical healing and prosperity, but all they find are trials, persecution, and a cross. I
am not saying that God no longer heals today, but God is still sovereign. Being a sovereign God
means that He is in control, and we must conform to His will, not the other way around. Bill
Johnson said in one sermon,
One of our biggest areas of confusion in the church is concerning the sovereignty of
god we know that God is all powerful we know that He is in charge of everything, but
with that we make a mistake of thinking that the is in control of everything. There is a
difference in being in charge and being in control. If you believe that he is in control of
everything than you have to believe that Hitler was his will (Johnson, Did God Make
Hitler Happen?).
This goes against main orthodox belief, so well stated in chapter five, section one of the
Westminster Confession of Faith, which says, God, the great Creator of all things, doth uphold,
direct, dispose, and govern all creatures, actions, and things, from the greatest to the least, by his
most wise and holy providence (Leith 200).
This belief that God is our Black & Decker battery pack, empowering us to do whatever
we want, is a heresy that directly coincides with the prosperity gospel. The prosperity gospel
states God wants us to healthy, wealthy, and wise. In Matthew 11:30, Jesus does say that His
yoke is easy, and His burden is light, but He also calls us to bear our own cross in Luke
14:27 (The Holy Bible). Jesus never promised it would be easy. Dr. Gerald Vreeland made this
comment, God may not want us to be healthy, wealthy, and wise, but he does not want us sick,
poor, and stupid neither. God does love and care about us and He still performs miracles today,
but it is not always his will to heal.

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The next major doctrinal issue is of Jesus deity. In the Westminster Confession of Faith
chapter eight point two, it says, So that two whole, perfect, and distinct natures, the Godhead
and the manhood, were inseparably joined together in one person, without conversion,
composition, or confusion (Leith 203). This then is orthodoxy. However, Bill Johnson says,
While Jesus is eternally God, He emptied Himself of His divinity and became a man
(see Philippians 2:7). It is vital to note that He did all His miracles as a man, not as God.
Because He did them as a man yielded to God, I am now unsatisfied with my life, being
compelled to follow the example He has given us. Jesus is the only model for us to
follow (Johnson, Healing and the Authority of the Believer 132-133).
The title for this belief is Kenosis Christology. This idea states that the Son turned over
all of his divine duties to the Father, so that Jesus entire ministry was done not under his own
power but the power of the Spirit of God (Dorman 164-165). So because Jesus did His miracles,
through the Holy Spirit, and not through his divinity, we too can do the same miracles He did,
and as often as He did them. This argument originated in the 5th century with the Nestorian
Controversy. The accusation was made that Nestorius had created two Sons because he made a
wide distinction between the divinity of Christ and His humanity. The Council of Ephesus
decided against Nestorius in the favor of Cyril of Alexandria who said that the two natures
coincided and lived in subsistence to each other. The correct theological term is hypostasis. The
idea of hypostatic union is that Jesus was both human and divine and that these two realities
were not separate, but coexisted together (3). Just like Nestorius, Bethel also makes a distinction
saying that Christ emptied Himself of His divinity. (Healing and authority). Walter Martin, in
his book The Kingdom of the Cults, makes it clear that the cults will proclaim another Jesus
(Martin Kingdom 377). The Corinthians church is warned about this other Jesus by Paul in 2

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Corinthians 11:4. Paul accuses the church of accepting another Jesus, a different spirit, and
a different gospel (The Holy Bible). This idea of Jesus separating Himself from deity is a
heresy that creates another Jesus, one that basically was just a man who had enough faith to tap
into the fullness of Gods power.
The work of the Holy Spirit is the third major controversy. The Holy Spirit is not at our
personal disposal, but rather a real person who is a part of the eternal Godhead whom we are
called to follow (Dorman 215). Bethels own Jenn Johnson, daughter-in-law of Bill Johnson, said
that the Holy Spirit is like the genie from Aladdin. And Hes blue. And Hes funny. And Hes
sneaky (Johnson, Holy Spirit is like a Sneaky Blue Genie). Bethel sees the Holy Spirit as their
personal power source, as this movement that takes over their bodies. This taking over of their
bodies is the most hotly disputed topic of the Holy Spirit at Bethel. This manifests itself in three
ways laughing and convulsing, tongues, and being slain in the Spirit.
Many have suggested that the laughing and convulsing claimed by Bethel to be the work
of the Holy Spirit, actually resembles a pagan, Tantric practice called Kundalini. Kundalini is the
name given to the divine cosmic energy. Being awakened by psychophysical disciplines,
kundalini moves up the spine to the top of the skull. As it makes its way to the top of the skull, it
stabs every vertebrae. The person experiencing this force of energy feels the ecstasy of a uniting
with God participating in the powers of the godhead, transcending his limited self, and gaining
liberation in life. This then infers total freedom from the world (Eliade Kundalini). The effects
of kundalini, especially the feeling of ecstasy, would apply with the practice of growing drunk
and not being able to keep from laughing. Heidi Baker, who is closely associated with Bethel and
speaks their often is a prime example of this behavior. While speaking there on one occasion,
Baker was on stage laughing and in such a drunken stupor that she could hardly stand

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(Proverbs1:7Truth) Also, while on stage, Mrs. Baker is convulsing and jerking. This jerking also
is in line with the effects of kundalini. Supposedly, as the kundalini moves up the spine it is
piercing the vertebrae, this movement is the thing that causes jerking and convulsing. The
defenders of this holy laughter contend that in Acts 2, the people accused the apostles of being
drunk. The error is in the reason for this accusation. The apostles were not laughing hysterically,
convulsing, or stumbling around in a drunken stupor, but were rather speaking in other languages
so that people from at least twelve other nations could hear the gospel in their own language
(The Holy Bible Acts 2:4-11). Three thousand souls were added that day to the faith (Acts 2:41),
but where is the fruits of laughter and convulsing. The gospel is not preached, nor is there a
conviction of sin. There is only an experience. One of the fruits of the Spirit is self-control, but it
appears that this overtaking of the Holy Spirit is not controlled at all, rather it is giving up
control (Galatians 5:23). Also Peter said, The end of all things is at hand; therefore be selfcontrolled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers (1 Peter 4:7). Peter encouraged selfcontrol and soberness because the end of all things is at hand. In his sermon Weird
Manifestations, David Wilkerson asks this question referring to holy laughter, How can we
laugh when thousands are going to Hell . . . there is no alter call, no preaching of repentance?
(Suri Slaughter of the Sheep). Also, Robert Kendall, in his book Holy Fire, referred to the
revivals held by Todd Bentley, who was commissioned by Bill Johnson and others. He said,
True revival includes conviction of sin. This Florida meeting instead was all people falling
backward when the evangelist gave a word of knowledge and shouted Bam! Never once did
the evangelist say that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins that we might go to heaven
when we die (Kendall 69). There are three methods used to awaken the kundalini, and they are:
manipulation of the bodily functions (breath control), enunciation or repetition of mantras, and

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intense mental concentration (Eliade Kundalini). In my research, I have found one of these to
be physically prominent in Bethels practice of impartation enunciation or repetition of
mantras. In the process of laying on of hands, Heidi Baker repeats the word legacy eight times in
a row. She goes on to repeat other phrases and words over and over (Baker). This repeating of
phrases is the only observable method of invoking kundalini in Bethel, but it could be argued
that the others are present as well, especially in the concentration of the people.
Now those in opposition to my argument could ask the question, Which came first, the
chicken or the egg? or in other words, Did the pagans steal these practices from believers, or
did believers steal them from pagans. This argument is valid, and I would even take it a step
further. Are the practices amoral, and kundalini uses them wrongly but Bethel uses them rightly?
The answer to this question is that because there is no precedent set in Scripture, we can assume
this was not practiced in the early church. Now this is a negative inference, and Dr. Gerald
Vreeland often says that a negative inference is only as strong as the expectations surrounding it.
Meaning that since this practice seems important and that it happens quite often at Bethel, it is
expected that it would be found at least once in the description of the early church.
The next major manifestation of the Holy Spirit at Bethel is the gift of tongues.
Belonging to the Neo-Charismatic movement, Bethel would believe that all of the spiritual gifts
are in use today, including tongues, even though Bethels doctrinal statement was not very
thorough and has nothing about tongues. They do give testimonies of people speaking in tongues
and they applaud it. (Castle) There are also videos of their pastors and congregates speaking in
tongues during the service. I will not argue whether tongues are for today, or if they are a spoken
language or not. I will argue that even if you believe that tongues are for today, there are
regulations established in Scripture. In I Corinthians 14:27-28, Paul says, If any speak in a

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tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret. But if
there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to
God (The Holy Bible). At Bethel, there is often no interpreter and no order in speaking in
tongues. In verse thirty-three of the same chapter, Paul says For God is not a God of confusion
but of peace (The Holy Bible). In this context, tongues is debased to an angelic language that
is merely a manifestation of the spirit, rather than a spiritual gift.
The third manifestation of the Spirit is being knocked out, or slain in the Spirit. Kris
Vallotton, a senior leader at Bethel, wrote this in a blog, Another manifestation . . . is people
falling down . . . for no obvious reason. We call the falling down experience being slain in the
Spirit. This happens often when we lay our hands on people to pray for them (Vallotton).
Vallotton addresses a few worries. He said that there are fakers, but most are not. He also said
that if it was the devil, than the devil is doing a terrific job of getting people closer to God. He
purports that the people get up saying that they have never felt Gods love in a realer way. He
concludes that paragraph by saying that this is no stranger than things that happened to people in
the Bible (Vallotton). The thing is there are no biblical accounts of people being slain in the
Spirit do to people laying hands on them.
Now I do concede that being slain in the Spirit in some form has been around for a long
time, even before the Pentecostal movement. In the eighteenth century, John Wesley recounts
experiences while he was preaching where people were struck to the ground and lay there
groaning (Knox 472). There are certain texts from the Old and New Testament that could be
used to prove this phenomenon. The most notable of these is in John 18:1-6 where Jesus causes
the Pharisees and chief priests draw back and fall to the ground (Burgess 790). This however is
in no wise connected with the Holy Spirit in the text and conversion did not take place, since

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they continued with Jesus arrest and crucifixion. Pauls revelation on the road to Damascus is
also an example that scholars will use. However, this was not normative, which is probably why
Luke retells it twice (Burgess 790). This quote pretty much sums up the position, From an
experiential standpoint, it is unquestionable that through the centuries Christians have
experienced a psychophysical phenomenon in which people fall down. It is equally
unquestionable that there is no biblical evidence for the experience as normative in Christian
life (Burgess 790-791).
So in light of the three evidences of Bethel stepping outside of orthodoxy, mainly their
theory of the atonement, split-deity of Christ, and the work of the Holy Spirit, I conclude, by
definition, that Bethel should be considered a Christian cult. Walter Martin adds to his definition
of a Christian cult with eight other criteria, two apply directly. These are the two: promise instant
spiritual, emotional, and material help and then fail to deliver; brag of their exclusive divine
revelations and claim extra-biblical authority (Martin, Martin Speaks Out on the Cults 25).
Bethels healing conferences promise instant healing and an ecstatic encounter with Christ, but in
many cases, cause disappointment and depression. Concerning the second criterion, Bethel
claims that every believer can receive modern revelation. Bill Johnson, in an article titled How
do I receive revelation, says, The following is a list of practical suggestions for those wanting
to grow in revelation from God (Johnson, How Do I Receive Revelation?). He then goes on
to give eight things, only one of which has anything to do with Scripture, and that one involves
only meditating on Scripture.
So how does this affect our view of Bethels music? Just a clarification, I am not judging
the salvation of Bethel, or its leaders. The whole idea of a Christian cult is a movement, or group,
that has gone too far outside of orthodoxy to be welcomed as another denomination.

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The final question, whether or not to support their music, is not a question that I can answer for
you. Josh Phillips, an active Pentecostal charismatic, made the point to say that their songs do
not contain unbiblical lyrics, although their intentions may not be the same as us (Phillips). If
music is amoral, and the lyrics are what brings morality into the equation, than the music should
be accepted and sung. However, if music itself is moral than the church should reexamine the
intentions of the author and the spiritual effects that the music could have on us.
The Corinthian Church had a lot of problems. They were divisive, they were tolerating
sexual sins, they had problems of giving, they were suing each other, they were jealous of each
others gifts, and they were misusing tongues. Yet, Paul still refers to them as saints (I
Corinthians 1:2). So the church is left to decide how to deal with cults that are outside of
Christian orthodoxy.
Another consideration is that if Bethel is outside orthodoxy, than allowing their music
into our church provides a way for their doctrine to come in as well. The younger generation in
the church is loving this new movement and accepting it.

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Works Cited
Baker, Heidi. Heidi Baker in Redding, California December 30th 2012. Online Video Clip.
YouTube. YouTube, 8 Jan. 2013. Web. 9 May, 2014.
Burgess, Stanley M., and Eduard M. Van der Maas, Eds. The New International Dictionary of
Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements: Revised and Expanded Edition. 2010. Print.
Castle, Randy. Healing Rooms. Testimonies. Bethel.tv, 1 March, 2008. Web. 9 May, 2015.
Dorman, Ted M. A Faith for All Seasons: Historic Christian Belief in Its Classical Expression.
Tennessee: Broadman & Holman, 2001. Print.
Eliade, Mircea. Kundalini. The Encyclopedia of Religions 7&8. 1st ed. 1986. Print.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (ESV), Illinois: Crossway, 2011. Print
Johnson, Bill, and Randy Clark. The Essential Guide to Healing. Michigan: Baker Books, 2011.
Print.
Johnson, Bill. Did God Make Hitler Happen? Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 31 Jan.
2013. Web. 9 May, 2015.
Johnson, Bill. Does God Ever Cause Sickness? Q&A. Bethel Sites, N.d. Web. 22 April, 2015.
Johnson, Bill. Dreaming with God. Wisconsin: Treasures Media Incorporated, 2006. Print.
Johnson, Bill. How Do I Receive Revelation? Q&A. Bethel Sites, N.d. Web. 22 April, 2015.
Johnson, Bill. When Heaven Invades Earth Expanded Edition: A Practical Guide to a Life of
Miracles. Destiny Image Publishers, 2013. Print
Johnson, Jenn. Holy Spirit is like a Sneaky Blue Genie. Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube,
22 Jan. 2013. Web. 9 May, 2015.
Kendall, R. T. Holy Fire. Florida: Charisma House, 2014. Print
Knox, Ronald Arbuthnott, and John Wesley. Enthusiasm: A Chapter in the History of Religion

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With Special Reference to the XVII and XVIII Centuries. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1950.
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Leith, John H., ed. Creeds of the Churches: A Reader in Christian Doctrine, from the Bible to the
Present. Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 1982. Print.
Phillips, Josh. Personal interview. 23 April, 2015.
Proverbs1:7Truth. The Drunken Delusion of Heidi Baker. Online video clip. YouTube.
YouTube, 9 Nov. 2014. Web. 9 May, 2015.
Suri, Yasmeen. Slaughter of the Sheep. Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 7 Nov. 2012.
Web. 9 May, 2015.
Vallotton, Kris. The Good, Bad, & Ugly. Bethel Church. iBethel, 2015. Web. 9 May, 2015
Martin, Walter. Martin Speaks Out on the Cults. California: Vision House, 1983. Print.
Martin, Walter Ralston. Rise of the Cults. California: Vision House, 1980. Print