Sunday, January 18, 2009

According to Mark Duke, If You Know Someone Is Off, Tell Them... Matt Skelton - You're OFF!!

In the audio clip on this post, House of God cult and Freedom Foundation member, Matt Skelton, is affirming and teaching Mark Duke's and the House of God's warped view of Jesus Christ.

The short audio clip (one minute, nineteen seconds) contains so much Scripture twisting that it was almost hard to know where to begin. I’m sure you can imagine how much blasphemy and error is contained in the nearly 2-hour lesson. Skelton is really “off.”

First: Skelton claims that "you really don't know where you're at until the test comes, and that goes for everybody, including me… it even included Jesus."

Wrong. Jesus knew exactly why he had come to the world, and his purpose was not to be "tested" by God the Father, but rather to give His life as a sacrifice for the sins of humankind, so that anyone who believes in Him (as God), admits that they are a sinner and accepts Him as Savior can have eternal life with Him (John 3:16).

Second: Skelton makes the statement that Jesus did not “overcome” sin because He was God, but rather that He had God's Word.

Wrong. Jesus didn't "have" God's Word, He is God's Word (John 1:1). That Jesus needed to overcome [His] sin is completely counter to any reasonable understanding of biblical Christian belief. On the cross, Jesus became sin and through His resurrection completely conquered it for our benefit. We can overcome sin only through Jesus Christ's shed blood.

Third: Skelton claims that we can overcome sin just like Jesus, and that’s the difference – the difference in true Christian doctrine and the House of God’s error filled doctrine – “and that’s the power, that’s the thing that we need.”

Wrong. We don’t need to know that we can overcome just like Jesus. That’s NOT the power that we have as Christians. The way that humans overcome sin is to properly relate to God the way that He told us to - through Himself as the Lord Jesus Christ. Only through a saving relationship with Jesus Christ can we be forgiven of our sins.

Fourth: Skelton states that some Churches or doctrines “they’ll try to make it where Jesus was God, and then that justifies our sin, because He was God, only he could be pure, only He could go without sinning...” (emphsis added to express Skelton's sarcastic tone)

Wrong. There is no recognized Christian Church, denomination or doctrine that says, or even implies for that matter, that Jesus Christ is God as an excuse to sin, and to suggest it to bolster Duke’s warped dogma is just plain absurd.

That we can be pure like Jesus as is implied by Skelton’s teaching means that Jesus is not who He said He is. His clear words to us in 1 John Chapter 1, verses 8-10 put some bright and particular light on this part of Skelton’s false teaching:

1 John 1:8-10 (KJV)
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.


From a biblical viewpoint, Jesus “forgives” our sin, He doesn’t give us power to “overcome” it in the sense that the House of God falsely teaches.


Fifth: Skelton quotes part of Titus 2:12: "we should live soberly, righteous and Godly in this present world," and claims that this is their standard. In other words, if fully achieved, this will be salvation.

Wrong. While Chapter 2 of the book of Titus certainly speaks of salvation – in fact it identifies Jesus Christ AS salvation – the portion of verse 12 that Skelton quotes IS NOT a requirement for salvation, but rather an indication of how we should live because we have salvation.

I will give him credit though, he says that they are not there yet – and he’s right, not by billions upon billions upon billions of country miles.

Titus 2:11-15 (KJV)
11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
15 These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.


Note verse 13 – could it be any clearer that Scripture is identifying Jesus as God?

Please know that the “and” between the words great God and Jesus Christ is not suggesting two separate beings (or that Jesus is God the Father). Contemporary translations (such as the New American standard Bible – NASB, more properly show the end of verse 13 as reading our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.

For reference, here are verses 11-15 of Titus Chapter 2 from the NASB:

Titus 2:11-15 (NASB)
11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men,
12 instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age,
13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus;
14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.
15 These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you.


One thing is for sure, Matt Skelton’s long-time association with and discipleship by Mark Duke is evident. He can take one small part of Scripture completely out of context and twist it to suit the error filled doctrine of Duke and the House of God.

Matt Skelton’s connection with Mark Duke is long, all the way back to his teen years. Duke even says that if “I ever had to go to war with somebody, I’d go with Matt.” That Duke does view his spiritual rights movement as a war, and perhaps not just spiritual in nature – is very important to understand. Duke even claims that the House of God and the Freedom Foundation (the integral parts of the spiritual rights movements) “may have to give their blood on the bridge again.”

People in Selma who read this blog will probably recognize Matt Skelton’s name. He is one of the two Selma police officers spoken of in the article Outside Agitators recently published in the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Report (available in print and online). According to sources in Selma, a third member of the Freedom Foundation was recently hired and sworn in by the Selma Police Department. The SPLC article also talks about Duke’s connection with an "influential local judge.” (emphasis mine).

Perhaps this is why so many of the people in the Selma area are afraid to use their real names on internet forums (such as Topix) related to the House of God and the Freedom Foundation.

Check back soon for more information on Duke’s and the Freedom Foundation’s apparent influence with a local judge and other political leaders in Selma in and Dallas County, Alabama.

As a closing, Christians, when it comes to Skelton’s, Duke's and the House of God's teaching about Jesus and salvation, we should take God’s instruction from verse 15 of Titus Chapter 2 seriously, and do exactly what it says.

These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man (including Mark Duke and his cohorts) despise (or disregard) thee. Stand for Truth.


Click the Play Button above to hear House of God and Freedom Foundation member Matt Skelton, speaking about Jesus "overcoming" and not being God.


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Friday, January 16, 2009

Hot & Cold - Lukewarm - More MLK Trash Talk

Hot and Cold - Mark Duke talks about his disdain for Martin Luther King.

To be fair, in this clip from a sermon preached by Mark Duke to the Dukites, he does say he had "so admired Dr. King as a civil rights leader." But, Duke couldn't stop there - no, he has to point out just how bad Dr. King was. Duke went on to preach that he "so disrespected him as a Baptist minister."

Duke claims again that Dr. King wasn't preaching spiritual rights because King wasn't living it. And in Duke's and the Dukite's eyes that is vital because spiritual rights are so important - "we don't need a civil rights movement, we need a spiritual rights movement." is what Duke preaches.

Since Duke and the Dukites put such stock in their spiritual rights movement and it is Duke who has been called by God to restore the Church and bring the spiritual rights movement - even to the point of giving their "blood on the bridge again," why would the House of God and the Freedom Foundation be honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.?

Seems to me that would be offensive to God. What blatant hypocisy!

There are some other little tidbits in this clip...

Duke makes the statement "either it's the whole truth or not, you can't compromise on one thing and be strong in another..." Sounds good, but to borrow a dukism; they ain't living it!

Duke seems especially fond of using Jeremiah 23, or at least some derivation of it. (Jer 23:11 Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD.(KJV)) In my opinion he ought to find a mirror and keep reading - particularly verses 12-15.

The end is best - but he says it wrong... it should be, they've been DUKED, that's what the Devil did, he DUKED them!


Click the Play Button above to listen



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Thursday, January 15, 2009

Mark Duke Ain't Got No Trailer Park White Trash?

"We're Not Trailer Park White Trash!"

At least that's what Mark Duke says about his followers (Dukites)at the House of God, and remember according to Duke these people don't have to live with the poor because it would lower their standards.

Here is another outrageous audio clip where Duke tells you who the Dukites are - "we got doctors, engineers, we've got intellectuals who can argue doctrine, we're not just a bunch of people who are brainless who will follow anybody."

Mark Duke is right in one respect, the Dukites are not just brainless people who will follow anybody. They are just normal folks who are following a false teacher, preacher and prophet - him.

The ending is best - "Chapter 3, thus enters a seperation of God's people from God..."

Duke of course is referring to Chapter 3 of the Book of Genesis when sin enters the world, which for Duke is very appropriate. You gotta know that Duke is not really preaching anything new - it's the same old lie. FOLLOW ME AND YOU WILL BECOME LIKE GOD! He has convinced his followers that Jesus isn't God - he's just a man and we can be just like Jesus.

He then goes further to say "We see the seperation occuring over and over and over."

Could the seperation we see over and over and over be the families that have been torn apart by Duke's warped views and Scripture twisting?


Click the Play Button above to listen



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Friday, January 9, 2009

If You Know Someone Is Off, Tell Them... Mark Duke - You're OFF!!

“The ministry would not be an offense – did you hear that? That the ministry would not be an offense – did you hear that? The standard is that the ministry would not be an offense and when you’re ministering to somebody, you’ve got to live it! Its offensive to God, Paul said let there be no hypocrisy among you…”

So starts seven minutes of some extremely offensive and very eye-opening preaching to the House of God by the reverend Mark Duke.

Duke’s words here are very instructive, and he should heed them himself – the sermon from which this clip was taken again shows, among other things, Duke’s disdain for the way Martin Luther King “wasn’t living it,” in essence not practicing what he preached. Why weren’t they preaching what Malcolm X was preaching – because Martin Luther King and them (other civilrights leaders?) "weren’t living it?”

Duke wonders out loud why he didn’t learn what he should have in seminary. He comes to the conclusion that he wasn't taught it because “nobody was living it.”

Then there is the outright attack on the son of a well-known and respected civil rights leader who according to Duke “He has that lust runnin!” Of course Duke preached to him and “separated him out.”

If he has it right, this man must have been been pretty impressed with Duke; because according to Duke’s wife (Becky) who was in the congregation, the man called Duke "16 FRIGGIN TIMES!"

Maybe Mark Duke’s preaching to this man really did separate him out, because according to Duke’s spiritual partner (Shawn) who was also in the congregation said he didn't call after Duke seperated him out. Listen closely to this part of the clip; you’ll hear the congregation laughing at Duke’s tale of correction. This begs the question: why would these people find this funny?

While Duke's words in this clip show an utter lack of respect for other people, particularly the gentleman whom he names from the pulipit; it also shows an almost complete misunderstanding of Scripture - all in a short six minutes and forty-nine seconds! The full sermon is a real doozy!

Listen very closely to the end of the clip where he tells one of his followers that she can’t communicate with her old friends and family: “You cannot, you CANNOT communion with the old. You cannot communion, I want God to talk to you about that. In the old system (everybody but Duke’s religion) we’re gonna hang out with old relatives and old friends and they’re enemies – they’re enemies. You need to see clear that’s that old system you’re in. And I can see that clearly."

NOTICE CAREFULLY THE MANIPULATIVE WORDS HERE: Mark Duke wants God to talk with her about what Mark Duke is teaching.

This is very subtle, but very powerful.

Again, the sermon that this comes from is full of words teaching his followers that they need to separate themselves from those who don’t follow the reverend Duke and the House of God.

The sermon is also full of Duke's and the House of God's blatant hypocrisy. How about Duke going on and on about someone supposedly kissing and hugging on someone in Church, and then turning to his wife (to whom God told him to stay legally married) to ask a question, and then turning immediately to his live-in spiritual partner (yeah, God told him to do that too) to ask another! Wow, Wow, Wow! There will be more coming on Duke's disregard of God's word on marriage - come back soon.

When you listen to this clip, be patient with the pauses. I just pull them out of the sermon as is, I don't edit them.


Click the Play Button above to listen




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Is Jesus God - results of the recent poll

92 people responded to the poll Question: Is Jesus God?

Here are the results -

ANSWER 1: No. Jesus was a great man. (3 votes)
ANSWER 2: No. Jesus was only a good prophet. (3 votes)
ANSWER 3: No Jesus was married to Mary Magdelene. (1 vote)
ANSWER 4: Yes, Jesus was a God, but not a man. (1 vote)
ANSWER 5: No, Jesus was not a great man or a great prophet, He was just like us. (1 vote)
ANSWER 6: Yes, Jesus is God the Father. (14 votes)
ANSWER 7: Yes, Jesus is God and He is a man too. A child born of a virgin like no other. (69 votes)

Of course, we don't determine who Jesus is based on a poll, but rather on the Holy Scriptures, the Bible - the most reliable documents of all time.

That Jesus of Nazareth is a real historical person is beyond dispute, but what people believe about Jesus being God in the flesh is a different matter. From shortly after the era of the apostles and disciples there were some people who were writing books that said that Jesus was a man but not God. There were some who said that Jesus was God and not a man.

But what does the New Testament – the most reliable historical documents, especially on this subject, say about Jesus of Nazareth. This is where we need to look for the truth, and the New Testament speaks undeniably and clearly – Jesus is God AND Jesus is man!

The world today is able to verify these claims and to see from the history of the true Church that it has always believed that Jesus Christ is God and man.

Following is my input on each of the answers to the poll questions:

ANSWERS 1 & 2: The responses to these answers are similar: Jesus could not have been a good man. Good men do not claim to be God when they are not, and Jesus did claim to be God. Likewise, Jesus could not have been a good prophet. Good prophets cannot lie, and Jesus would fall into the category of a liar since He claimed to be God.

For those who say that Jesus was only a good man; let me propose a scenario for you:

You are sitting on your porch watching your children play in the yard when a man comes down the street. You know who the man is and you have seen him in your town before. This man comes up to your children and tells them that he is God, and unless they follow him, they will spend eternity in hell. You know that this man is not God and that he is lying to your children.

Question: would you get off your porch and go tell the man how good he is, or would you be running to protect your children from this liar? Obviously, you would do what you could to protect your children because this is certainly not a "good" man. Why would you look at Jesus any differently?

So you know, this is exactly what Mark Duke and the House of God are preaching - Jesus is not God, merely a good man, who was “on” and could overcome sin, and we can be just like him and be totally sin free. This is error. Through a proper relationship with Jesus Christ, we can be free of the sins we commit, we cannot however be free from our sin nature.

Get off the porch to protect your community from false teachers.

ANSWER 3: There is no reliable evidence that Jesus Christ was married to Mary Magdalene, or any other woman for that matter.

ANSWER 4: Scripture is very clear about this. Jesus was God and man. While Christianity is the only religion that has as its main theme the humiliation and torture and death of its God, it is the only religion who's God truly understands the struggles of humanity. Christianity is truly God’s religion.

As I said above, that Jesus of Nazareth was a real, historical person is beyond dispute. For those who believe that Jesus was only God, I offer these verses of Scripture that are clear and straight forward.

1 John 4:1-21: Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: (KJV)

John 1:14: And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (KJV)


II Jn 1:7: For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. (KJV)

ANSWER 5: The testimony of the early Church and other reliable sources outside of the Church verify that the fact that Jesus was different than any other man who had come into the world.

ANSWER 6: Jesus is not God the Father. Following is a brief teaching about this issue from Robert M. Bowman’s 8-part outline study series on the Biblical Basis for the Trinity. Rob is the Executive Director of the Institute for Religious Research, and has been ministry friend of mine for many years. No one has helped me understand the important and core Christian doctrine of the Trinity better than Rob. I am currently using his book (co-authored by Ed Komoszewski) Putting Jesus in His Place: The Case for the Deity of Christ, in 7-week course I am teaching in Birmingham, AL. This is a book that you should buy, read and pass on to others.

Jesus is not God the Father *
1. Is. 9:6: “Father of eternity” means eternal; compare other names formed with word “father”: Abialbon, “father of strength” = strong (2 Sam. 23:31); Abiasaph, “father of gathering” = gatherer (Ex. 6:24); Abigail, a woman’s name (!), “father of exultation” = exulting (1 Chron. 2:16).
2. John 10:30
a. Jesus did not say, “I am the Father,” nor did he say, “the Son and the Father are one person.”
b. The first person plural esmen (“we are”) implies two persons.
c. The neuter word for “one” (hen) is used, implying essential unity but not personal unity.
d. John 10:30 in context is a strong affirmation of Christ’s deity, but does not mean that he is the Father.
3. John 5:43: Jesus’ coming in his Father’s name means not that he was the Father because he had the Father’s name, but that, while others come in their own name (or their own authority), Jesus does not; he comes in his Father’s name (on his Father’s authority).
4. John 8:19; 16:3: Ignorance of Jesus is indeed ignorance of the Father, but that does not prove that Jesus is the one he calls “My Father.”
5. John 14:6-11
a. Jesus and the Father are one being, not one person.
b. Jesus said, “I am in the Father,” not “I am the Father.”
c. The statement, “the Father is in me,” does not mean Jesus is the Father; compare John 14:20; 17:21-23.
6. John 14:18: An older adult brother can care for his younger siblings, thus preventing them from being “orphans,” without being their father.
7. Colossians 2:9: Does not mean that Jesus is the Father, or that Jesus is an incarnation of the Father; rather, since “Godhead” (theotês) means Deity, the state of being God, the nature of God, Jesus is fully God, but not the only person who is God. “The Godhead” here does not = the Father (note that Jesus is in the Father, John 10:38; 14:10, 11; 17:21), but the nature of the Father. See II.B.3.(see link below
8. The Father and the Son are both involved in various activities: raising Jesus (Gal. 1:1; John 2:19-22), raising the dead (John 5:21); 6:39-40, 44, 54, 1 Cor. 6:14), answering prayer (John 14:13-14; 15:16; 16:23), sending the Holy Spirit (John 14:16; 15:26; 16:7), drawing people to Jesus (John 6:44; 12:32), etc. These common works do prove that the two persons are both God, but not that Jesus is the Father.

To view the full 8-part series, The Biblical Basis of the Doctrine of the Trinity by Rob Bowman, CLICK HERE

ANSWER 7: You got it right!


*© Copyright 2008 by the Institute for Religious Research, all rights reserved.

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Thursday, January 8, 2009

COMMENTS TURNED ON

I have set the blog to now accept comments:

I may or may not read your comment. If there is something that you think that I absolutely need to see, please send an email instead to: wewillfindthetruth@gmail.com.

Please be polite and logical.

I don't care if you use your real name or not. I reserve the right to delete a comment.

Any message that can be considered illegal, such as threats of violence directed at any person or group WILL IMMEDIATELY BE REPORTED TO THE APPROPRIATE AUTHORITIES.

You may leave a comment, or read comments left by others by clicking the comment link at the end of each post.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

The Ark of Mark - This Boat Won't Float!

In the audio clip provided below, Mark Duke is talking about God telling him that He was going to build the ark in Colorado and gather the people together before judgement and destruction came (the ark, likened to a church - Duke's House of God). He was going to build "a place where the people should be doing great and could be safe, a place where you shouldn't have to worry about the the child molester, a place where you shouldn't have to be worried about the child molester being your leader! "

Okay, I'll agree with Duke on the child molester part, but he loses me with says next....

"I always said, I asked John Lewis one day, You all knew that Martin Luther King was sleeping around, why didn't anybody say it? Corretta King knew it, why didn't Corretta stand up?"

Wow! How does Mark Duke make the leap from God building an ark in Colorado; a place where you don't have to worry about child molesters, a place where you don't have to worry about child molesters being your leader, to making the outrageous claim that he asked John Lewis about Martin Luther King sleeping around, and then suggesting that his wife knew about it but didn't take a stand.

I wonder how John Lewis answered Duke's question?

There is more where this came from - check back soon......


Click the Play Button above to listen


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Shhhh - Selma's Not Supposed To Know!

“It is an honor to host this tribute to Dr. King and to honor his vision. We have worked hard to bring a variety of people from the community together to be a part of the program. We want to provide a special night for the entire community to celebrate, recognize and appreciate the work that Dr. King did during his life, as well as the work that continues in our community today,” said Mark Duke, Freedom Foundation President. *

It's very interesting, but not very surprising that the Freedom Foundation has tributes to Martin Luther King, Jr.

It's not very surprising because there are many groups all over the world that want to be associated with and use Dr. King's good name - especially when it can provide good fund raising possibilities. For the Freedom Foundation it could provide "huge fundraising on a national level." At least that's what Mark Duke said about the Freedom Foundation wanting to name his Tepper's Building after MLK - but this is not information that he wanted Selma to know.

It's very interesting because Duke is constantly telling his followers to avoid everything in the old system (Churches, families, and individuals who don't accept his "pure gospel"). There's much, much more that Duke has said about this issue - check back soon to hear what they really think about the late Dr. King.

Have a listen Selma.....


Click the Play Button above to listen




* From the Freedom Foundations website, © copyright 2009 by the Freedom Foundation. (http://www.freedomfoundation.org/FF2_Featured.html)


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Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Real Lives, Real Hurt

Following is part of a message that I received today from a mom with a daughter involved in the House of God and the Freedom Foundation.

I have edited this dear lady's message to remove her daughters names. The members of the House of God and Freedom Foundation who see this will know exactly who is being spoken of. Please pray with me that the daughter who is being spoken of will realize that her mom and sisters are heartbroken without her in their lives, and that no one has forgotten her:


My heart is crying today, this is harder than I had imagined, I had to go through her things that the girls did not toss out. Oh that hurts every time.

Then there are the picture albums, all of the other’s wedding photos, and the list goes on and on... my heart hurts, please pray for me, and for the others that suffer the same loss as they look at pictures, and have an end to the memories.

One of her sister’s got so angry one day, she said it is worse than her being dead, if she were dead we would have memories; this way she has taken our memories away and stolen those that we could have. Alas it is so! This was after one of my other daughters wrote to her sister and said it is as if you were dead, but we cannot grieve your loss for you are still out there somewhere; she gave NO response.

When her first baby was born, the other five girls had gone away together; all six of them had been putting money into a savings account for years to be able to go away together.

When they could not handle it, they came home. One of them called me to come get her, she could not take it anymore, and she was so hurting. The rest were staying, sticking it out, I had the babies. I got home with the one daughter who called me and a few short hours later the other four were on the doorstep crying - none of them could handle it. Their sister had a baby and they weren't allowed to be involved. How do you hurt for yourself and your kids?

I am not the only one, there are so many out there in the same boat, not all in House of God or the Freedom Foundation, they were in Peoples Temple and countless others, I have to speak out about all of this then don't I, especially if it keeps ONE family together?

Oh the hard places that the Lord calls us to follow. Woe is me, he said, I am undone. I don't think Isaiah quite meant it the way that I feel at this moment, but I say it the same...


Lord, how long wilt thou look on? rescue my soul from their destructions, my darling from the lions. Psalm 35:17 (KJV)

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Will The Poor Lower Your Standards?

1 My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. 2 For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; 3 And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: 4 Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? 5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? 6 But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? 7 Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called? James 2:1-7 (KJV)

Mark Duke says sometimes we feel better if we live with the poor people, then he turns right around and tells his followers that it actually lowers their standard to live with the poor people.

Of what standard is Duke speaking?

According to a recent story in the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Report [winter 2008]. Duke "...owns one of the grandest mansions in Old Town, a neighborhood where 13 historic homes have been purchased and occupied in recent months by members of the Freedom Foundation." The area of Colorado where the Freedom Foundation started as an outreach of the House of God is one of the more affluent areas of the country. Duke recently had a home in Castle Rock, CO (an extremely affluent suburb of Denver) listed on the real estate market for more than a million dollars. Does Mark Duke consider himself above the poor because they can't meet his standard?

The answer to God's question in James 2:7 is YES; Mark Duke and the House of God do blaspheme that worthy name by which we (the rich and the poor) are called.

The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness. (Proverbs 15:2).

Click the play button to hear it pour forth....


Click the Play Button above to listen

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Monday, January 5, 2009

It's Bob! No, It's Edna! What Does It Matter? It's All A Lie!

According to a story told to the "sisters" by Mark Duke, God changed his life in one night. God changed the course of his life in one meeting. It was a meeting in the slums of Atlanta, where this white guy went to a black meeting. It was where he got the gospel.

When he got ready to leave, he said he was scared to death; he got his coat, and right when he got his hand on the doorknob, this lady – “thank God for a sister” – said “oh brother Mark it was a pleasure to have you with us tonight, and we would like to know, would you like to say something before you leave tonight, because we were honored to have you here.”

Among other things that Mark Duke said in response were the words “I want what you got, and I need what you got.”

In essence, this was the introduction of Mark Duke to the “Spiritual Rights Movement,” which supposedly began under the leadership of Bob and Edna Stewart of Atlanta, Georgia. It was the moment that led to Duke’s founding of the House of God.

Sounds good so far, but there is one teensy-weensy little problem (actually, it’s a huge insurmountable problem) – It doesn’t match the story that Duke had already told his followers about this seminal moment in his spiritual transformation!

The “Sister’s Rally” where Duke weaves his story about Edna Stewart took place in June 2006.

When the House of God was officially founded in November 2002, it issued a Declaration of a New Covenant, and that document (click here to view it) says that it was Bob Stewart, not Edna Stewart who asked Duke if he had anything to say.

I know that this seems like a small knit-picking insignificant point, but this is huge – it’s the most important moment in the history of the world – it’s the point where God is calling Mark Duke to restore the Church, to get the pure gospel to the people, to bring forth a new thing that will reconcile them to God – and he can’t get the story right???

So you know, Edna Stewart was, according to Duke and the House of God, a prophetess that prophesied about Mark Duke being the one would restore the Church. If she did prophesy this about Mark Duke, she was a false prophet in every sense. A true prophet would never claim that a man who doesn't believe that Jesus is God was called to restore His Church.


Click the Play Button above to listen


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I've Been Like A God To You!

During one of The House of God's "Sisters Rallies" Mark Duke made the incredible claim that "I've been like a God to you"!

I know there are some that would say that I took that little snippet out of a full sermon and it's out of context, but what context would make something like this acceptable? The only way it would be correct is if Mark Duke said it and then turned right around and told the sisters that it was wrong to say it.

I've heard House of God and Freedom Foundation members claim that their movement is not about one man (Mark Duke), but throughout every sermon I have heard Mark Duke preach it's Mark, Mark, Mark and and more of Mark.

Mark Duke's incredible claim of being like a God to his followers is very subtle, and in my mind very dangerous.

Have a listen for yourself....


Click the Play Button above to listen

Here is a quote from Deborah Layton's book Seductive Poison* (page 286 - she is talking about her experience of testifying before a congressional hearing arranged by Congressman Leo Ryan):

I could see from their furtive glances that many of them were dubious. I imagined they were relieved that their daughters would never get themselves into such a ludicrous situation. I caught someone’s eye and smiled. But I felt defensive. I wanted to scream that it could happen to anyone’s child.

Please join me in praying that the one and only God of Scripture will open the eyes of the "daughters" - young and old - who are involved in Mark Duke's false spirituality.

*An Anchor Book published by Doubleday a division of Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing, New York, New York. (c) Copyright 1998 by Deborah Layton


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An Epilogue - People Do Not knowingly Join Cults

I have had several people ask me about the book Seductive Poison by Deborah Layton and the audio clip from one of my earlier posts (A Cult? Are you sure? Yes - it's a Different Jesus and a Different Gospel and Ohh So Much More....12/28/2008).

The audio clip of Ms. Layton from the PBS Documentary DVD, Jonestown The Life and Death of Peoples Temple is part of the epilogue of her courageous and insightful book.

I recommend the PBS DVD, but know that there is some very adult language and the subject matter is of course gruesome - you will hear the voice of Jim Jones encouraging mothers to kill their own children. It is horrific.

Printed below is the opening of the epilogue of the book. If you haven't read this book, you need to now. If your local library doesn't have this book it, beg them to get it.

Seductive Poison is available inexpensively as a paperback. You can order it from Amazon.com using this link: CLICK HERE

The audio clip is also provided below.


Click the Play Button above to hear Deborah Layton - "Nobody Joins a Cult" audio clip from the PBS Documentary DVD - Jonestown: Life and Death of Peoples Temple
(c) copyright 2007 WGBH Educational Foundation and Firelight Media

From the Book Seductive Poison: A Jonestown Survivor's Story of Life and Death in the Peoples Temple, by Deborah Layton*:

Epilogue

Looking back, there a few things I have come to learn. People do not knowingly join “cults” that will ultimately destroy and kill them. People join self-help groups, churches, political movements, college campus dinner socials, and the like, in an effort to be a part of something larger than themselves. It is mostly the innocent and the naïve who find themselves entrapped. In their openhearted endeavor to find meaning in their lives, they walk blindly into the promise of ultimate answers and a higher purpose. It is usually only gradually that a group turns into or reveals itself as a cult, becomes malignant, but by then it is often too late.

I hope my book will give my daughter some answers about how I got caught and how the Jonestown tragedy happened. I hope it will provide clues about the workings of a cult and shed light on the darkness of deceit. There are essential warning signs early on. Our alarm signals ought to go off as soon as someone tells us their way is the only right way.

When our own thoughts are forbidden, when our questions are not allowed and our doubts are punished, when contacts and friendships outside of the organization are censored, we are being abused for an end that never justifies its means. When our heart aches knowing we have made friendships and secret attachments that will be forever forbidden if we leave, we are in danger. When we consider staying in a group because we cannot bear the loss, disappointment, and sorrow our leaving will cause for ourselves and those we have come to love, we are in a cult.

If there is any lesson to be learned it is that an ideal can never be brought about by fear, abuse, and the threat of retribution. When family and friends are used as a weapon in order to force us to stay in an organization, something has gone terribly wrong. If I, as a young woman, had had someone explain to me that cults are and how indoctrination works, my story might not have been the same.
*An Anchor Book published by Doubleday a division of Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing, New York, New York. (c) Copyright 1998 by Deborah Layton


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Friday, January 2, 2009

Let It Run Rev. Let It Run - More on Selma's Suckers

"Let It Crawl Rev. Let it Crawl" - More of the Reverend Mark Duke's interesting words about Selma's Suckers!

Without stopping to take a breath, Mark Duke twists his favorite Flip Wilson joke about the Black Church that needs money into a severe scolding of a Selma Church for preaching the gospel gain and that they are getting fat off the people!

There are many things wrong in this portion of the Reverend Duke's sermon - listen carefully.....

listen how Mark Duke believes that the Devil "comes in and brings that measurement, that judgement of the world that gets things outta order in the Church."

Listen how Mark Duke twists the Flip Wilson joke about the black Baptist Church into his disdain for a black Church in Selma and its pastor - the most progressive preacher in Selma, Alabama - a preacher who wears $300 tailored suits! Mark Duke supposedly heard that from the African-American lady of whom he is speaking - but it's him that is preaching it with fire from the pulpit of the House of God and the Freedom Foundation.

Listen to the disgust in his voice as he preaches from his pulpit about the people who are going to Brown Chapel - the middle to upper class African-Americans "while their community is going to hell around them."

Mark Duke tells his followers that nobody is telling the Flip Wilson joke from the pulpit! And for good reason; the joke is old, and so are it's racist connotations! Why would any sensible pastor, black or white, be preaching that old tired stereotype and racist trash from the pulpit. But that's not what the Reverend Duke thinks - he says "nobody is telling that joke from the pulpit, what they're telling from the pulpit is get your money out, get your credit card out, God loves ya and He's gonna bless ya - they're preaching the gospel gain and they're gettin fat off the people is what their doin - and they're a bunch of suckers, they're a bunch of suckers!"

To give the Mark Duke his due, he did mention a Church outside of Selma in this clip - Heritage Christian Center, a large multi-cultural Church in the Denver area.

I'm not sure that I completely understand what Mark Duke is talking about at the beginning of the clip, but that the Devil "comes in and brings that measurement, that judgment of the world that gets things outa order in the Church" seems pretty telling to me....


Click the Play Button above to hear more of Mark Duke outrageous preachings to The House of God and the Freedom Foundation about Selma's Suckers. From sermon recorded 9/24/2006.


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Thursday, January 1, 2009

Selma's Suckers - The Blacks Have The Same Crappy Gospel As The Whites!

Listen to the Reverend Mark Duke as he claims that the people of Selma, and African-American Churches in particular, have "never ever never ever never never heard anyone preaching what he's preaching."

If that were the case, Selma would be blessed!

But sadly, it's not true, from the very start of the Christian Church, its people have heard the false Jesus' and the false gospels that Mark Duke and others of his ilk have preached.

Did you know that every book of the New Testament with the exception of one - Philemon - warns of false messiahs, false prophets and false teachers?

God is not surprised by the false teachings and blasphemy of preachers like Mark Duke, and he has prepared a way for us to counter their false spiritual claims - read your Bible and know the Truth. Prepare yourself, and do not be afraid to Speak the Truth in Love!

Listen closely to the clip and you will soon realize that Mark Duke is talking about black people in Selma as being "suckers who get wet and get stuck." In context, at the start of the clip, where he says "We talked and it all adds up," he is preaching about a conversation he had with an African- American lady in Selma regarding her Church and its pastor.

Mark Duke also tells his followers who their biggest enemy is going to be - the Church and its ministers! Why would Mark Duke tell his followers that their biggest enemy would be the Church and its ministers? Perhaps it would be a self-fulfilling prophecy.
What Mark Duke and the House of God are preaching is exactly what the Church is supposed to stand against.
The Church should be the biggest enemy of Mark Duke's false Jesus and gospel!


Click the Play Button above to hear Mark Duke preaching to The House of God and the freedom Foundation about Selma's Suckers. From sermon recorded 9/24/2006.


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