Shane Idleman is at it again, mixing in unsubstantiated accusations and conspiracy in support of his NAR god.

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Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. - Romans 13:1-2 (ESV)

https://www.charismanews.com/culture/82691-spirit-filled-pastor-s-message-to-churches-open-or-die-fight-or-fade-away

There is a movement afoot in the apostate NAR led churches. It is a movement based upon politics and grievance. It has no biblical stand nor authority. It is driven by men following other men. It worships this country. It idolizes the sin this country allows under the pseudo-pious veneer of faux righteousness. It has traded in the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the expediency of a political party that uses them for their own carnal ends. For the churched, this dominionism is the sole focus of their faith. As we head closer to Election Day the political forces put the squeeze on the church leaders, who faithfully obey their masters and try to squeeze their congregations. In doing so they reduce the god they serve to a helpless being that cannot survive unless their candidate gets elected. A god that could not possibly plan for any outcome other than what they desire. This is not surprising as the NAR god serves man instead of the correct order of the universe. One of the loudest recent voices in NAR dominionism is Shane Idleman. As with some in the dominionist circle, it appears Idleman may have once preached the Gospel correctly but he simply cannot see the huge blind spot he has in the NAR. Above is linked his latest efforts to shame pastors into feeding their sheep into the COVID woodchipper. Let us reason once more beloved.

'"If you don't stay closed, we will close you." Comments like these are commonplace, especially in liberal states like mine (California). Like most American churches, we closed our doors when President Trump first issued the order early in 2020. We were very willing to submit to the governing authorities and protect our community--that is, until the political motivation of the lockdown became obvious. A clear agenda is at work, one with scores of inconsistencies. As just one example, a story of a man dying of alcoholism caught national attention because the cause of death was recorded as COVID-19. And one day government officials tell us to wear masks; the next, they tell us not to. Journalist Sharyl Attkisson, a former CBS News reporter, has exposed many other inconsistencies. Prisoners are being released, while law-abiding citizens are arrested. Numbers are being altered, and hospitals are benefiting from COVID-19 cases. Riots and protests are encouraged while church attendance is banned. We can no longer hide behind excuses like, "Staying closed is loving our neighbor." No, staying closed now is loving laziness.' - Shane Idleman

What absolute garbage. Notice however what is behind this evil spirit. Politics. When the president, who is in his political party, says to close the church doors Shane has no problem complying with Romans 13. Once that decision is extended however by the Governor of his state, who is in the other political party, Shane petulantly refuses. The bible does not work like that. We do not get to obey based upon the messenger. We do not get to decide what is motivating people, read inconsistencies as conspiracy theories, or alter science to excuse our blatant disobedience to the word of God. Is God not capable of dealing with whatever inconsistencies we think we might see? Is He still on the throne? Why does He need your help to accomplish His will for His church? The notion that hospitals are benefitting from COVID is a disgusting lie, debunked 100 time over. Sadly, Shane mischaracterizes the bottom line. Churches were not banned. Large gatherings were because they can become super-spreader events. The stale Fox News talking about protests is irrelevant. It does not change what the bible says, nor what Shane's primary job is as pastor - to shepherd.

"Recently there was quite a bit of interest over the CDC's statement that only 6% of people actually died of the coronavirus alone, putting the nationwide death rate around 0.003 percent. But many liberal organizations rushed to explain it away. This, too, clearly points to an agenda. Dr. Anthony Fauci, when speaking at Georgetown University in 2017, warned of a "surprise outbreak" during the Trump administration. Was this just a good guess? Many say that the World Health Organization, the CDC, Bill Gates and Dr. Fauci are all connected, each having vested interests in the current pandemic (as does a certain political party). And does no one find it odd that hydroxychloroquine has been safely used as a treatment option since the 1950s, but now it's under scrutiny? Suddenly a drug that has been in constant use worldwide for more than 70 years needs more testing to determine if it is safe? How many more years do the "experts" need to study it? Hydroxychloroquine is in the way of vaccine production. Too many things are not lining up." - Shane Idleman

Shane now dons the tinfoil hat and tramples his witness for Christ. He bears false witness without care or caution and he outright represents lies to further his agenda. The nationwide death rate for COVID is not 0.003. If a truck hits three people but two of them had diabetes did the truck only kill one person? This is not only a moronic way of looking at the mortality report from the CDC but is essentially spits in the face of the dead. The report in question simply lists ALL conditions at the point of death, including those caused by COVID! So some say, COVID and Pneumonia. Is Idleman really claiming that person should not be classified as dying from COVID? The sad thing is he cannot even see when he is being used, as do most of the church. This report had been released every month since February. It was only this time that political forces made sure people focused on the 6% numbers and fake Facebook memes would soon follow. A month later people like Idleman is still reporting this nonsense as fact.

Next let's deal with the deeper conspiracy theories. Fauci has no vested interest in the virus and the insinuation that the other political party does as well is yet another disgusting accusation Idleman needs to repent of. Then Shane repeats the insanity from the president about a drug that has already been disqualified through trials to have any efficacy on COVID. Now Shane needs to realize that he is not a doctor, heck at this point he is not even a pastor. The fact that hydroxychloroquine was approved for decades for lupus does not mean it is safe for everything! There is a reason why these are only obtained via prescription! Please, just once can those representing the church not be the stupidest people in the room? Do you realize the vile accusation Idleman is making here? His is accusing Dr. Anthony Fauci, Bill Gates, the WHO, the CDC, which Trump runs I might add, and the entire Democratic Party of conspiring to prevent hydroxychloroquine from being given to the people because they would rather make money from the eventual vaccine. So he is essentially accusing all of them of killing over 200,000 Americans so far for the potential payday of a vaccine. That is a spurious and disgusting accusation that has no business coming out of the mouth of someone claiming to be a pastor.

"There are numerous other stories as well, such as doctors being told to write COVID-19 as the cause of death even if it was not. The San Diego Tribune ran a story quoting Supervisor Jim Desmond as saying, "We've unfortunately had six pure, solely coronavirus deaths--six out of 3.3 million people." I'm not minimizing even one death, but there is a greater chance of dying just walking down the street than from COVID-19 in most parts of the U.S. What about the increased suicide rate, the alarming divorce rate, the surge in alcohol and drug addiction, and the fear that we are instilling into our children? Should we not take these into consideration as well?" - Shane Idleman

So as Christians we should not care about 200,000 dead people because someone might get divorced? I thought we were the "pro-life" people? I might add that Shane really misses the point here because of the purpose driven teachings he has been corrupted under. The government order deals with the hour and a half gathering they have on Sundays. There is no prohibition on pastors from shepherding their flock. Pastors can still do marriage counseling and personal intervention for example if someone is suicidal. The church can still provide outreach and addiction counseling. They just cannot gather inside with crowds of people to prevent them from getting sick.

"At What Point Does the Church Take a Stand? Thank God for people like John MacArthur, Rob McCoy, Jack Hibbs, Ken Graves and others who are fanning the flames of boldness. If some churches don't open soon, they won't open at all, especially once flu season arrives and those who have the flu will then be suspected as having COVID-19. The agenda is crystal clear to those who are looking through the right lens--a biblical lens. But what about submitting to authorities? In America, the Constitution--which our elected representatives are to defend and administer--is our governing document. The context of submitting to authorities in 1 Peter and Romans 13 is that the government would punish those who do wrong and commend those who do right, as well as uphold the Constitution (in America's case). Many of our politicians and government officials are actually doing the complete opposite--and they're defying the Constitution in many ways. "Additionally, it makes it very hard to submit to governing authorities when they do things such as legalize pedophilia here in California. What would God say about that? Are people suggesting that God wants us to submit to that type of authority?" - Shane Idleman

They are not fanning the flames of boldness. They are just being disobedient because they want their purpose driven hour and a half back on Sundays. There is nothing biblical at all in this stance. The Constitution is not the bible. God could care less about our Constitution. The other inherent flaw in his logic is that it is his opinion that the government is not punishing the right people. Again, he has a preset political opinion that he is trying to shoehorn the bible into. As for this last charge, Idleman heard this either through Fox News or Facebook memes once again. California is not legalizing pedophilia. That is absurd. They recently changed a law that allows judges to yield discretion on whether someone belongs on the sex offender registry. The way it originally was the judges had no choice. For example, if a 19-year-old had consensual sex with a 17 year old and was convicted of statutory rape, they would have to register. Now the judge can punish the crime and decide to not stigmatize the person for life. Now, maybe you disagree with this decision. You have the right to do so. The remedy in our system is the vote. We decide who represents us. Civics lessons aside, let's deal with the realities here. Once this law passed, political forces decided to trump it up into the pedophilia charge. They created memes and flooded the right-wing air waves. Lazy Christians such as Idleman assumed their sources are always right and months later he is still selling this false story as fact. This is what happens when the church is co-opted but carnal political forces.

'I have a hard time seeing how we are supposed to capitulate to reckless oversight under the banner of "submitting to governing authorities" when those authorities are in clear violation of our governing document, as well as God's Word. They are trying to silence the voice of truth. In Acts 5:29b we find that we must submit to the highest authority: "We must obey God rather than man!"' - Shane Idleman

Beloved. This is not how the bible works. We do not get to decide on our own when we will obey and when we will not. We trust that God is in charge and will use even the greatest evils to His ends. If we were to ignore Romans 13 every time we felt the government was violating God's word then we may as well tear that page out. We rely on the absolute truth of the bible specifically to avoid having to make our own determinations based upon our wickedly deceitful hearts. Just look at Shane. He sounds sincere yet he is sincerely wrong on so many points and wielding falsehood recklessly. For the sake of time, Idleman now launches into several ridiculous conspiracy theories. First he charges that the virus numbers are not real. The next is this nutcase theory that the government is secretly pushing to see how much incursion into their freedoms they are willing to tolerate. The irony is delicious of course in that it is his choice for president that is in charge now! He asks why we have shut everything down for COVID and not Swine Flu, for example. Since Shane has no idea what he is talking about let me just say that the main difference is in the ease at which COVID spreads, which was not the case with Swine Flu. Ignorantly, Shane concludes the only answer must be this nebulous global agenda. Shut up please. He did however save is must asinine conspiracy theory for last:

"Many believe this is an orchestrated attempt to destroy our economy, disrupt the November elections, initiate a global reset and, ultimately, silence the churches. Peaceful protests are infiltrated by hate groups paid by individuals with deep pockets to create confusion and chaos while governments concern themselves with policing church parking lots and making sure believers don't sing. This is beyond ridiculous!" - Shane Idleman

Yes Shane, you are beyond ridiculous. Bill Gates, Anthony Fauci and Bigfoot all conspired to fake a worldwide pandemic and apparently every country fell for it. People willingly died for it apparently. They did this to disrupt our elections, even though plenty of Pro-Trump countries are hit just as hard by COVID. They did this and played along because they wanted a global reset, whatever that means. Yet behind all of this international intrigue and subterfuge, the real motive was to silence the churches. Yes Shane, you got it! Maybe Bill Gates was tired of hearing purpose driven sermons about how this is your best life now. Perhaps Anthony Fauci was tired of hearing worship songs that only glorified man. Are you sensing the sarcasm because I am laying it on pretty thick here.

"Folks, how much more do you need to see before you wake up and take a stand? In the Bible, I don't read positive things about cowardliness, but I do read a great deal about boldness. It's actually a byproduct of being filled with the Spirit. Yes, we must be loving and gentle, but we also must be wise as serpents and bold as lions when it comes to holding the line. God commands us to expose the unfruitful works of darkness with the truth (Eph. 5:11). Truth is the only thing that stabilizes." - Shane Idleman

Just so we do not lose sight here of what Shane is still accusing people of. If you do not agree with his political stance and his political choices, then you are a coward and worst than that - you working for the darkness. This is what politics does to you. It is contrary to the bible, damages the witness for Christ and reduces you to a purveyor of disgusting accusations and wild-eyed conspiracy theories. Mercifully, Shane concludes:

"I recently saw a survey on Facebook that asked, "Do you feel that most church leaders speak up about the real issues facing us today?" The overwhelming response was a very loud and clear, "no!" Pastors, people are looking to us to lead the way, but many of you are exchanging truth for tolerance, boldness for balance and conviction for cowardliness. Many don't want to offend for fear they might lose their audience. Pastors and Christian leaders alike, we must take responsibility for the spiritual health of our nation--and make no mistake, whether we accept that responsibility or not, God Himself will hold us accountable. The pulpit inevitably sets the tone of the religious climate of the nation. A fearful church simply reflects fearful pastors. The silent pulpit is not God's pulpit. We must bend when needed but never capitulate. The Bible calls pastors "watchmen" who cry out and sound the alarm to awaken a sleeping church, not sing her lullabies. The prophet Isaiah, who doesn't mince words about lazy watchmen, says they are blind and ignorant and that they are all dumb dogs who cannot bark (raise their voices to warn). They sleep and lie down, loving to slumber (Isa. 56:9). At first glance, you may think this wording is too strong, but I can assure you that it is probably not strong enough. Backing away from speaking the truth in love is a serious offense against God. Silence about sin is rebelling against the call of God. If your sermons do not anger the world and challenge the lukewarm from time to time, you should seriously question your calling. Few Spirit-filled preachers are left, and when one rises, he is quickly dismissed as too political and labeled narrow-minded, legalistic and extreme. The so-called evangelical church in our land is on the verge of having the Lord remove our lampstand because pastors are missing this incredible opportunity to take a bold stand (Rev. 2:5). Silent shepherds are speaking volumes. Read more here." - Shane Idleman

The church is not supposed to a sounding board for the carnal world. The pulpit should be reserved for the Gospel. The problem is when you are NAR dominionist, you are focused on reviving this world. It is a serious offense to God to not speak the truth about the Gospel. The political minded preacher is certainly spirit filled but it is not the Holy Spirit. In this one article alone Shane has falsely accused a myriad of people and lied routinely. This is honoring God? All to ultimately support what? A political party that is just as evil as the other? Beloved this virus is real. The numbers are real. It is not some grand conspiracy. Let me close by telling you about Pastor Paul Van Noy from Idaho's Candlelight Christian Fellowship. He was a pastor after Shane's heart. Just the right blend of patriotic outrage and willful ignorance. He called himself a "no-masker" and prayed with his congregation against a local mask ordinance. You get that? He prayed, in his church, with his sheep, from the pulpit, against a local law about mask wearing. He preached to his sheep that there was no need to fear COVID because they were saved. Van Noy was just released from the hospital after two weeks in the critical care unit, with his lungs permanently damaged but alive after being given a 20% chance to survive. The virus does not care if you do not believe in it. Sadly, Van Noy seems unfazed and said he has nothing to repent of and nothing has changed. He says he still believes in freedom. The truly sad thing is Van Noy and Idleman are not free at all. They are slaves to the mere concept of freedom and too arrogant to see that they are slaves now to a political party that just wants to use them. If it were just contained there that would be sad enough but they are employed as pastors. That means people follow them, look up to them, and listen to them. They will answer for it too.

Reverend Anthony Wade - September 24, 2020

Authors Bio:
Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.