Saturday 13 February 2010

The Interview With God: Inspirational, but not Biblical

The Interview With God is a popular screensaver, which, along with Pathways to Peace, comprise the first two of the Angel Network’s inspirational messages. According to TIWG's home page:

The Interview With God, its popularity propelled by millions of visitors from all parts of the world, has become a spiritual phenomenon.

The online presentation has spread like wildfire, and has touched hearts all around the world. People of all walks of life and of all faiths are fully embracing it. The subtle reminder of a caring and active God has become the focus of countless emails to loved ones, and conversations everywhere. To date, the beautiful message has reached millions.

A remarkable number of e-mails and letters come from those that have expressed how God has touched them and personally spoken to them through The Interview With God. Aching hearts healed, families touched, lives being blessed. The spirit of God's love truly brings meaning and hope -- what our world needs, and now receives with open arms.

Under "about us," Angel Network LLC is described by the following:

about us

who we are

The Interview With God is part of the breakthrough Angel Network LLC series which includes Pathways to Peace. Our goal is to create beautiful, inspiring presentations that make a positive difference in the lives of millions of people around the world.

Created in 2001, The Interview With God website is operated by Angel Network LLC, a California Corporation located in San Diego. Gregory Writer is the founder and C.E.O. of the company.

Together with his team of in-house employees, and outsourced graphics, printing, and distribution professionals, Greg is pleased to be building an inspirational publishing company that does very well by doing good.

our vision

Inspiring the world, one soul at a time.

our mission

In a world of uncertain times, we strive to be a gentle reminder that we are not alone. Our mission is to make a positive contribution to the well-being of our world, and to be a major and measurable force for good on the World Wide Web, by creating experiences of inspiration that warm the heart and touch the soul.

TIWG is a compilation of homespun philosophy of the kind that you might find in Reader’s Digest, most of which anyone can agree with. Both the message and the presentation are nice and visually beautiful, in a way that will appeal mainly to women. However, the message comes short of presenting the gospel of Jesus Christ. For example, there’s this passage, supposedly spoken by God:

"To learn that it is not enough that they
forgive one another, but they must also forgive themselves."

This isn’t a message that’s found in the Bible. What is found in the Bible, and what’s absent from TIWG, is any mention of needing and obtaining forgiveness first and foremost from God. That forgiveness comes only through the shed blood of Jesus Christ upon the cross:

And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. Hebrews 9:22

In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; Ephesians 1:7

In view of the absence of such a message, I conclude that The Interview With God is not an interview with the God of the Bible.

Pathways to Peace starts with Matthew 5:9:

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God."

However, the presentation goes on to present human philosophy, and while there are quotes that anyone can agree with, none of them mention the only "Pathway to Peace" with God. That peace is available only through Jesus Christ, whose death on the cross for our sins satisfied His Father’s conditions for the payment of the penalty for our sins, enabling us to have peace with Him.

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: Romans 5:1

HT: Tipp Temkasarp

1 comment:

  1. Thank you for this article. My Aunt sent me this on November 23, 2011 and I had never heard of this before. I sent her the following reply.

    Dear Aunt Frances,

    I watched the whole thing. The pictures were beautiful and the comments true from an experiential human perspective. I would like to gently point out that this presentation does not line up with the one true God as revealed in Scripture because there was not a hint of the Gospel nor even the mention of the name above all names Jesus Christ.

    "Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It is knowing the difference between right and almost right." – C.H. Spurgeon

    I love you and thank you for thinking of me and I hope you will understand why I have replied the way I have.


    Have a wonderful Thanksgiving,
    Love,
    Valerie

    Here was her reply:

    Well Valerie, Once again you didn't disappoint. I knew that it would not be "perfect" and that you would find fault. Must you always be "judge & jury" ??? I love you too and I hope you will understand why I responded this way to you.........

    She claims to be a Christian, but you cannot be a true Christian unless you believe and defend the exclusivity of the Gospel message of Faith in Jesus Christ.

    1 Cor 15:3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep;

    Acts 17:30 “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, 31 because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”

    If you deny me before men, I will deny you before the Father.( Matthew 10:32-33)

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