Todd Bentley’s divorce and ministry: Who is responsible?
Further to my previous post concerning the fall of Todd Bentley, I watched these four clips (1, 2, 3, 4) on YouTube, of Bentley's so-called commissioning. The so-called "apostles" commissioning him pointed out to him that they were old enough to be his Dad, and his Grandfather. And they told him, among other wildly extravagant things, that once his ministry emerged, Moses (whose face shone with glory) would no longer be thought the pinnacle of revelation of the glory of God.
Now I'm no fan of ministers who begin to believe in their own publicity, and as I've made plain here and here before I was no fan of Bentley's bizzarre ministry either. But I have been in the company of similar "apostles" and proclaimers of prophecy before now - similar, I mean, to those who commissioned Bentley - and I've seen how quickly they will abandon their proteges and conveniently forget their grand words of prophecy when they don't cash out. And although it's true that people like Bentley are responsible for their own actions, it's also true that in this case a whole crowd of older people, in whom a great deal of authority and respect is invested, took part in commissioning a young and obviously vulnerable man. I don't know where they are now. But in the midst of the current web-trashing of Mr Bentley, I hope that the "Apostles" who commissioned him are repenting their extravagant words, and taking genuinely good care of him and – more especially – of his wife and kids.
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Maggi has kept a blog since September 2003, writing about theology and faith, the arts and literature, and a little about life and random nonsense...
In an increasingly secularised society few people have a good working knowledge of the Bible. Yet a great deal of our culture is built on stories or ideas that come from the Bible. Literature, art, music, language and even the fabric of our society - such as our justice system - are built on Christian concepts and biblical references. The Writing on the Wall provides a fascinating introduction to the Bible's best-known, and most influential, stories. Each chapter gives some background to the text of the Bible, and shows how the stories have become enmeshed in Western culture. Adam and Eve, the ten plagues of Egypt, The Prodigal Son and Mary Magdalene all feature - along with how the Bible has influenced everyone from Shakespeare to Monty Python, and Caravaggio to Banksy. 
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