For a long time, I have been intending to discuss this phenomenon. Before I begin to discuss this, I shall tell you something autobiographical. Many years ago, I became a Christian at a young age after resisting God and suffering a serious coma which forced me to investigate all the different religions. After going through the Eastern religions (particularly Hinduism, Therevada Buddhism, Taoism/Daoism), I started to look into the monotheistic religions, namely, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In my search, I discovered the beauty of the Old Testament (the Tenach as the Jews refer to it as) and realised that if the Old Testament is correct, then naturally, the New Testament, which heavily refers to the Old Testament, had to be correct also. In the process, I was able to see that any supposed similarities between Islam’s Qu’ran to the Bible was extremely superficial at best, and plagiarised and distorted at worst. Naturally, that left a hole in the heart which only God could fill, as both Holy Scripture promised in Deuteronomy 4:29 and to somewhat paraphrase the words of St. Augustine of Hippo: “Naught shall find rest in the heart save in Thee, O God.” It was during this time, that Christ found me and used some wonderful Christian people in my life to bring the Gospel to me, and thus, I believed by faith in the reality of Christ as God of both Old and New Testaments. As the years progressed, I naturally wanted to be a better Christian and to love God and resist Satan. It was already bad enough that there was modernism infecting all the churches, but just as equally, there was also a lot of anti-Jewish rhetoric in many forms. If it wasn’t blaming the Jews for the murder of Christ, it was blaming the Jews for atrocities against the Palestinians whilst ignoring their inciting to murder Jews and to also attack Christians too. Then it got worse: others were blaming Jews for all manner of conspiracy or evils in the world, no matter how ridiculous it was. Thankfully, most of that was not coming from the Catholics and Orthodox that I was encountering, although they have their fair share of this stupidity too, but from otherwise professing “Bible Believing” Evangelicals and Protestants! I was disgusted that I had to point out the Jewishness of our Faith and the Jewishness of the Prophets and the Apostles, not to mention Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary herself.
At the time when all this was happening, I was also brainwashed to hate and despise, which I did well at in the beginning, anything to do with Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. As a person who spent a good proportion of the formative years in a number of Protestant Evangelical churches, I was always told that both Catholics and Orthodox are idolaters and heretics and that somehow, the Reformers were beyond reproach. Yet, what many of them failed to tell me was that Luther, to my shock and horror, was a notorious Jew-hater. It was Luther that wrote towards the end of his life: “On the Jews and their Lies” which not only attacks the Jews and Judaism, but goes further and urges the rulers of the day to commit all manner of atrocities against the Jewish people. It was little wonder that Adolf Hitler, when he arose to power, was more than happy to have this work of Martin Luther published and distributed throughout Germany and in fact, met with very little resistance from Lutherans, if any. I was constantly told that Catholics and Orthodox were guilty of atrocities towards the Jewish people, but somehow, the guilt of Luther was overlooked and so was the collaboration of a good proportion of Lutherans to the Third Reich. Yet in my studies on Yad Vashem, I remembered that a good proportion of those who risked their lives to save Jews from the death camps of the Nazis were often Catholic priests, monks, nuns, bishops, cardinals and laymen as well as Orthodox priests, monks, nuns, bishops, archbishops, metropolitans and laymen compared to the very few notable Protestants such as the Ten Boom family in Holland. That was not all. I also discovered in the process that despite the accusations of the Concordat between the Vatican and the Third Reich, that Pope Pius XII actually issued an Encyclical against Communism, Fascism and Nazism too. In addition, in my discovery, it was Pope Pius XII that engineered rescue missions and tunnels with a number of priests, monks, nuns, bishops and cardinals, to save Jews in Rome and anywhere where the Third Reich had influence. On the side of the Orthodox, I discovered that both the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Bulgarian Orthodox Church had done a lot of work in saving Jews from the Nazi forces that occupied their nations too. This also happened in Greece under the late Archbishop Damskinos and other bishops and priests and monks too. Let us not forget Mother Maria Skobtsova who resisted the Vichy French for their evils too. And then to my shocking discovery, the famous Sugihara, the Japanese diplomat in Lithuania, was a convert to the Russian Orthodox Church. As for Evangelical Protestants, the best that we could offer was the Ten Boom family and few others, but overall, the majority of the clergy did nothing!
Time progressed further, and despite my discoveries, I was intent on being a hard core Evangelical fundamentalist. As part of this, I naturally chanced across 3 websites that shall be the subject of discussion: Refromation Online by Niall Kilkenny; Antichrist Conspiracy by Edward Hendrie; and Power of Prophecy of Texe Marrs. Whilst varying in some minor details, all constantly came to the same conclusion: the Jews are the cause of all the evils in the world and were tied into the Catholic Church. So there you have linking both the Jews to Catholicism and accusing both of being twin evils in the world behind everything. All constantly referred to Reformers as their source of accusations and also were guilty of both Holocaust denial and promotion or overlooking Islamic terrorism, especially of the Palestinian variety. This prompted me to look further and unexpectedly, I found myself in the Apostolic Church as expressed in Orthodoxy. But that is another story altogether.
Niall Kilkenny (aka Patrick Scrivener). Schizophrenic Protestant conspiracy theorist behind The Reformation Online.
If there was such a thing as a schizophrenic Protestant, then you can find it in none other than Niall Kilkenny’s Reformation online at www.reformation.org . Niall Kilkenny began first by promoting the King James Bible and then totally turned against it and in the manner that a number of Reformed people do, starting picking out all the supposed textual “errors” of the King James Bible. The irony of his hatred for the Jewish people, is that he is so insistent on using the Hebrew names for both God and Jesus, “Jehovah” and “Joshua” respectively, whilst accusing the use of “the LORD” and “Jesus” as being pagan and therefore the Roman Catholic Church is termed pagan by him! An irony of ironies indeed! This man is so anti-Jewish to the point of accusing Jews of not only being Khazars (a common theme throughout all the other sites too) but also of being both Samaritans and Canaanites too! As ridiculous as it sounds and it is ridiculous, this is being promoted by a man who is intent on promoting the Protestant Reformation and promoting the classical Protestant eschatological school of thought known as Historicism (The belief that the Antichrist in history was always the Popes even unto present day and that most of the Apocalypse/Revelation is already fulfilled in history, a quasi-cousin of the heresy of preterism). Due to Niall’s hatred of both the Jews and the Catholic Church, he accuses the Jews of being the influencers in the Catholic Church (?) and that those who subscribe to a more literal view of eschatology (whom he in classical Reformed fashion terms “futurists”), are influenced either directly or indirectly by Francisco Ribera, a Jesuit priest. The fallaciousness is obvious to anyone who is aware of the facts. To begin with, Ribera was not even a person who believed in the literal view of prophecy and in fact was an amillienalist, which is not what those who hold to a literal view of prophecy subscribe to. Secondly, Ribera never had his works approved by the Catholic Church and there was no imprimatur on it either. However, since the likes of Kilkenny is so blinded by not only their distorted Reformation thinking, they always accuse Jesuit conspiracies as well as Jewish ones and will even cite the most questionable of sources, whether it is neo-Nazi sources or David Icke or David Irving. Even the method of historical analysis there is filled with all manner of contradictions. On one hand, you have Kilkenny supposedly hating Hitler and on the other hand, claiming that the Holocaust never happened and that Hitler was aiding the Zionists! You also have some faulty claims such as claiming that Hitler survived in Argentina and lived to an old age until 1962. In fact, to get even more fanciful, Nial Kilkenny also claims that Hitler, Lenin, Stalin and Mao Zedong were agents of both the British and the Jesuits. So now we have the British being accused of all manner of evil too along with the Jews and the Catholic Church! If Kilkenny’s Reformation conspiracy thinking isn’t fanciful enough, then he resorts to accusing the Catholic Church of founding Islam, and at times, he almost whitewashes Islam. Using the discredited Alberto Rivera as the source of conspiracy (as is common in all of these anti-Catholic, anti-Jewish conspiracy sites), he not only makes such outlandish claims but also tries to accuse the Catholic Church of assassinating Abraham Lincoln. Ironically, despite his hatred of the Catholic Church, he is more than willing to term Galileo Galilei as a heretic and refute his position on the solar-centric theory of the earth, thus placing himself in the exact same position as the Catholic Church! Schizophrenia and conspiracy theories never looked so good for the Protestants until you encounter Niall Kilkenny, and you then discover, according to him, that every evil is the result of the Jews (whom he refers to as “Samaritans” and “Canaanites”) in conjunction with the Catholic Church and to a lesser extent, the British. Recently, Niall Kilkenny has taken on the nom de plum of “Patrick Scrivener”. He has revealed also that he was a disgruntled former Roman Catholic from Ireland and also that he converted to Protestantism via the Pentecostals in 1973 before going over to be a full-blown schizophrenic Hebrew Roots Calvinist. Details can be found here: http://www.reformation.org/about-patrick-scrivener.html
Edward Hendrie, another Protestant conspiracy theorist filled with the absurd and avid hater of Jews and the Catholic Church.
In my times as a hardcore Evangelical, I also came across another character that resorted to all of the above conspiracy theories, but was more centred on using Calvinistic historicism to promote not only hatred of both the Jews and the Catholic Church, but was more centred on attacking the nation of Israel for every evil on the planet, thus almost coming off as a mouthpiece for Hamas and other Islamist groups. This person was none other than Edward Hendrie. This man is supposedly a lawyer and was once according to him, a Jesuit trained person. He promoted a book, which is now being sold by Texe Marrs (more on him later) called Antichrist Conspiracy, which he turned into a website filled with all manner of anti-Jewish hatred as well as anti-Catholic hatred too. Details can be found here: http://www.antichristconspiracy.com/ . As is typical of other Evangelical conspiracy theorists, he cites Alberto Rivera for evidence and goes even further to accuse Israel for every evil under the sun as well as attack the Jewish people too using the word “Zionists” and so forth. This man has no qualms in even citing discredited leftist websites such as WhatReallyHappened.com as well as endorse Islamic terrorist organisations who are bent on not only destroying Israel and the Jewish people, but also destroying Christianity as well. In fact, not only has he resorted to Holocaust denial and hatred of Jewish people at every turn, he has even gone so far as to promote Henry Ford’s work The International Jew. Henry Ford, who was not only notorious for Jew hatred, but also for funding Adolf Hitler personally through his profits made from his cars. As a 5 point Calvinist like Niall Kilkenny, Hendrie also believes that the elect is only for “saved” people and that there is nothing one can do to even repent or believe in Christ. (Think not only Calvin, but Luther’s Bondage of the Will). Since Hendrie hates the literal interpretation of Scriptural eschatology, he also resorts to the Ribera accusation and also even stating that those who believe in the Rapture of the Church believe that God is going to “rape” the Church, a totally false accusation to make on those who believe in a pre-tribulation rapture. But that is not all. As Hendrie does not accept that God does require people to repent and believe on their own accord, he accuses other Evangelical churches that do believe in repentance and faith in Christ as being infected with the “anti-Gospel of the Jesuits”. Since Hendrie is so blinded by Reformation theology and Calvin’s 5 points, he never considers that the elect can refer to people other than the saved people. Israel is called elect, something that Hendrie cannot accept due to his hatred of the Jews combined with the faulty doctrine of Replacement Theology. (Isaiah 45:4). Angels can be called elect too. (I Timothy 5:21). Hendrie is filled with blindness and hatred courtesy of his hatred of both Catholicism and the Jewish people, that he forgot that the Church is part of the “Commonwealth of Israel” (Ephesians 2:12). A Commonwealth is never a replacement but an addition to! Since Hendrie was such an embarrassment to other King James Bible believers, which he claims to be one, even 2 King James Bible believers had to personally rebuke and refute him as found here: http://www.blessedquietness.com/journal/prophecy/hendrie.htm
Texe Marrs, another crazy Protestant conspiracy theorist and hater of Jews and the Catholic Church.
Last but not least, we must give (dis)honourable mention to Texe Marrs, the man behind “Power of Prophecy”. As a former hard core Evangelical, I used to receive Texe Marrs “Power of Prophecy” newsletters as well as have some of his books. Amongst his books, I had “Hidden Secrets of the New Age” from 20 years back, which whilst useful, still had some questionable content in there. Texe Marrs began as a Pastor that simply hated Catholicism and seemed to express sympathy towards the Jewish people but by the late 90s, he changed gears. Unlike previously, where he expressed sympathy towards Jewish people in some of his sermons, he started accusing the Jews and Israel of all manner of atrocities and conspiracy, even to the point of Holocaust denial too. Sounds like a familiar path that Martin Luther took, doesn’t it? In fact, Texe Marrs has now endorsed Martin Luther’s On the Jews and their Lies on his website now as a sale item. Texe Marrs also interviewed Hendrie on one of his radio programs and endorses Hendrie as someone who was formerly involved with the Jesuits and is “the most godly man I have ever met” (LOL!). No surprise but Texe Marrs has also sold Hendrie’s Antichrist Conspiracy Book via his website too. You only need to look at his website to see it filled with hatred and accusation of Jews, Zionism and Israel at every page. See it all at http://www.texemarrs.com . But that is not the worst of it. In a similar fashion to Martin Luther, Texe Marrs takes the Book of Esther and not only discredits it, but goes so far as to twist the contents of it to the point where he attempts to paint Haman as the hero and Esther and Mordecai as villains! I have encountered many filthy liberals and open Christ deniers in the pulpit, but none so damaging as this! Not only is it distortion but outright blasphemy! In his poor attempt to portray Esther and Mordecai as the villains and portray Haman as the hero, he states: “According to the Bible’s book of Esther, many people in the Kingdom converted to the Jews’ religion (Babylonian Talmudism) so fearful were they of the murderous and vicious spirit of the unleashed Jews. Interesting, too, is that harlot Queen Esther also maneuvered things so that her wily cousin, Mordecai, became Grand Vizier in place of the dead Haman. And so, he and Esther apparently ran things their way in the Kingdom with the stupid and drunken King Ahasuerus being figuratively led around by the nose…I have much documentation in my files that, during the celebration of Purim, the liquor flows inside the synagogues, and parties go on and on, punctuated by dancing, drinking, costumes, and unrivalled reveling. Sexual orgies are commonplace, and worse things occur. There is evidence that Gentile children are kidnapped and ritually sacrificed, this being practiced by certain, especially evil Kabbalistic Jewish sects.” Not only is blasphemy being promoted here, but also clear revival of the “Blood Libel” myth is being endorsed, a myth that has shamefully caused harm to not only Jews, but also to Christians as well! It can be said that Texe Marrs is a blasphemer and also an antichrist in promoting not only Jew hatred but also hatred of Scripture too. I remember once hearing from someone in the churches I was going to: “The Antichrist will not necessarily come out as an open liberal or amoral person. He can go around in the churches carrying a King James Bible and even preaching from it too!” Looks like we at least have one such antichrist using a King James Bible in an evil manner as has been done then. Not only does it bring great disgrace to other believers in the King James Bible, who certainly don’t subscribe to such blasphemies and stupidities, it causes Christians to be discredited to the whole world and the Faith to suffer ridicule. For those who want to see what blasphemy that wolf in sheep’s clothing stated, here it is: http://www.texemarrs.com/072005/prophecies_in_esther.htm . Luther in a similar manner also discredited the book of Esther and stated: “The book of Esther I toss into the Elbe. I am such an enemy to the book of Esther that I wish it did not exist, for it Judaizes too much and has in it a great deal of heathenish foolishness. “ (The Facts About Luther, O’Hare, TAN Books, 1987, p202). Notice that both Luther and Marrs accuse Esther of not only being a Judaizing book but also filled with paganism! This is blasphemy!
CONCLUSION: Whether it was Texe Marrs, Edward Hendrie, Niall Kilkenny or anyone else amongst the Protestants that were crazy enough to promote not only Jew-hatred and crypto-Nazism but also hatred of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches (mis)using the King James Bible or anything else, it not only showed to me the lack of credibility on the part of those discussed and those who follow after their manner (e.g Pastor Steven Anderson of Faithful Word Baptist Church), but also caused me to investigate the rottenness of the Reformation altogether, starting at the foundations. Christ not only warned about a tree is known by its fruits but also warned of false teachers too. (Matthew 7:14, 15). What a shocking discovery for such anti-Jewish conspiratists to discover that our Lord Jesus Christ stated to a Samaritan woman: “Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.” (John 4:22). What will these fools have to say at our Lord’s return when He causes the remnant of Israel to mourn for Him for their infidelity and also to repent to the point of being reinstated at the top along with the Church? This is clear in Zechariah 12:9-14; 13:1-9; 14:1-14 along with many other Scriptures. Not to mention the deliberate ignoring of both Romans Chapters 9, 10 and 11, which talk about Israel’s past, present and future, and how God intends for their total redemption. These blasphemous minded Protestants turned these chapters into being about their Calvinistic predestination when nothing could be further from the truth! It seems that these blasphemers also believe that they have measured the earth and the heavens all the way through and thus think that Israel is cast off because of it: “Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD.” (Jeremiah 31:37). Maybe I should ask them for scientific advice on astronomy then!
Pastor Steven Anderson, the pastor of Faithful Word Baptist Church, that espouses the crazy theories of Texe Marrs and others.
The more I investigated, the more I was disgusted, since many of these evil ideas and blasphemies also had their foundations in Luther and Calvin along with their followers. Whilst I sincerely believe there are genuine Christians amongst Evangelicals who despise these blasphemies and heresies as well as evil ideas as much as I do, it is not because of the Reformation but IN SPITE OF IT! God does not play favourites when it comes to standing for righteousness and truth. Unexpectedly, I ended up in going towards Orthodoxy as found in the Eastern Orthodox Churches, but with more of an edge to it. I do not wish to contend with genuine Christians amongst the Protestants, I am asking you based on my discoveries, to investigate and not accept things blindly that you were taught. You claim a high belief in Scripture, then I suggest you use it to examine Luther and the Reformers and for that matter, anyone else. I would say exactly the same things to my Orthodox brethren who have accepted things blindly too. May God bless and awaken the reader.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost. Both now and ever, and unto the ages upon ages. Amen.
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