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Seventh Day Grace Trojan Horse Virus / Cult Website Triggers Malware Alert

2012-11-01T21:47:00.000-07:00

Seventh Day Grace, like any other cult, has some really questionable offerings. And the lure? Grace. Lots and lots of grace.

A HARMONIC WEALTH OF GRACE

Mr. James Arthur Ray "is a well-known author and TV personality. James Ray is a New York Times best selling author who has made appearances on Oprah and Larry King Live." (Family of woman killed at Sedona sweat lodge speaks out, ABC 15.com, 13 Oct 2009)

He's on a mission to help people "create harmonic wealth in all areas of your life". And the way?

Glad you asked. You just need to spend money on DVDs or a Harmonic Health Weekend.

1.	Harmonic Wealth® Weekend
2.	Quantum Creations (DVD)
3.	The Secret (DVD)

Or even better, a Spiritual Warrior seminar.

SERIOUS MONEY - FOR THE SPIRIT

In October of 2009, Mr. Ray had rented the Angel Valley Retreat Center in Sedona, Arizona, for this special event. Which was not free: "The "Spiritual Warrior" event is arguably the most physical of Ray's events, and participants paid between $9,000 and $10,000 to attend." (Felicia Fonseca, 3rd person dies in Ariz. sweat lodge; suit planned, AP, 18 Oct 2009) And you can easily spend that much on "grace" at the Seventh Day Grace cult.

LOW-COST PRODUCTION MODEL

So the food was really good? Maybe, but there was not too much of it. The warriors "engaged in a 36-hour fast during a "vision quest" in the nearby wilderness and were served a breakfast buffet before entering the sweat lodge". (Fonseca, supra) That was for a two-hour "sweat lodge ceremony" to crown the event. (Fonseca, supra)

BUT REALLY, REALLY EXPENSIVE WHEN IT COSTS YOUR LIFE

The warriors had been in training for about 5 days, but some were still too weak in the spirit: "Liz Neuman, 49, of Prior Lake suffered multiple organ damage and was in a coma before she died Saturday at a Flagstaff hospital. She was among dozens crowded into the sweat lodge on Oct. 8". (Fonseca, supra)

In fact, out of the "55 and 65 people were in the makeshift sweat lodge over a two-hour period", there were many who failed the test of endurance: "Twenty-one people were taken to area hospitals with illnesses ranging from dehydration to kidney failure. Kirby Brown, 38, of Westtown, N.Y., and James Shore, 40, of Milwaukee, died upon arrival at a hospital." (Fonseca, supra)

WARNING SIGNS

The problem was simple -- too much sweating, and too little drinking. "Avoiding dehydration is simple: drink frequently so the water can be gradually absorbed and used." http://tkdtutor.com/11Training/Dehydration/Dehydration02.htm

But it looks like the participants in this sweat lodge ceremony were under the control of someone else, and so they didn't leave the lodge, didn't drink enough, and so many paid the price. And for three of the participants, that price was their lives.

As in the sweat lodge, so in the world of computing: "In computers, a Trojan horse is a program in which malicious or harmful code is contained inside apparently harmless programming or data in such a way that it can get control and do its chosen form of damage, such as ruining the file allocation table on your hard disk. In one celebrated case, a Trojan horse was a program that was supposed to find and destroy computer viruses. A Trojan horse may be widely redistributed as part of a computer virus.

The term comes from Greek mythology about the Trojan War, as told in the Aeneid by Virgil and mentioned in the Odyssey by Homer. According to legend, the Greeks presented the citizens of Troy with a large wooden horse in which they had secretly hidden their warriors. During the night, the warriors emerged from the wooden horse and overran the city." (Trojan horse, SearchSecurity.com)

Do we see some "apparently harmless programming or data" (as per Trojan horse, SearchSecurity.com)? "A Contemporary Christian Fellowship". "Come just as you are to worship".

That sounds harmless, doesn't it?

A little bit like a sweat lodge ceremony to top off the spiritual warrior camp.

But when I did the simple google search at left, I got a malware warning about the Seventh Day Grace cult website.

Without even clicking on the cult's link.

Well, that's a warning. A little bit like a price tag of $10,000 for "a three-day fast and various spiritual exercises". All topped off with "sweat lodge cleanse ... to achieve "an out of body experience."" (Family of woman killed at Sedona sweat lodge speaks out, ABC 15.com, 13 Oct 2009)

"a Trojan horse is a program in which malicious or harmful code is contained" (Trojan horse, SearchSecurity.com). This apparent software trojan horse is just a small part of what lies in store at this cult:

"For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality" (Jude 1:4, NIV, Holy Bible)

Sure they talk grace, but when I was just eight years old I was on the receiving end of some of that "changed grace" (per Jude 1:4, NIV, Holy Bible) which felt a lot more like "a license for immorality" (per Jude 1:4, NIV, Holy Bible).

And if you ignore the warning signals and end up trapped in this cult, be prepared to part with a lot of money:

"A sweat lodge is a small shelter where water is poured over hot rocks, emitting steam and warming the inside. They are used in traditional Indian ceremonies to cleanse the mind, body and soul.

PUTTING A PRICE TAG ON IT

"It also represents the womb of the mother earth for many tribes, and once you put a price on that, we call it prostitution," said Black Wolf." (Family of woman killed at Sedona sweat lodge speaks out, ABC 15.com, 13 Oct 2009)

In the name of grace.

Ben Regensburg - Passion for Christ or Passion for Gangs?

2011-08-24T11:48:00.000-07:00

Dear Tineka Jawana,

Seventh Day Grace Youth Pastor Ben Regensburg has been stacking gang signs.

Does this mean that he's a gangsta too?

Carly

TINEKA JAWANA TELLS IT LIKE IT IS

Dear Carly,

BIBLE PROPHECY FULFILLED IN OUR DAY

In the last days of prophetic time, “Difficult Times Will Come”:

“1 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. 2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control,

brutal, haters of good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,” (2 Timothy 3 NASB, Holy Bible)

The Word doesn’t say “maybe”. This is real-deal Bible prophecy – which always comes into fulfillment.

And these dissolute, selfish “lovers of pleasure rather lovers of God” (2 Timothy 3:4 NASB, Holy Bible) spend their time agonizing in prayer for victory over sin?

Not quite.

A merry band of “lovers of money” (per 2 Timothy 3:2 NASB, Holy Bible) got together, and decided business would easier if they set up a charitable front – a church!!

“A FORM OF GODLINESS”

“holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power;” (2 Timothy 3:5 NASB, Holy Bible)

So are we talking changed lives?

Of course not (see above video). This crowd has denied the power of true godliness (per 2 Timothy 3:5 NASB, Holy Bible): "Come Just as You are to Worship" http://www.seventhdaygrace.org/, and stay that way!!!

No need for repentance or expensive restitution. (per 2 Timothy 3:3,4 NASB, Holy Bible)

So what should Christians do when they see an outfit like this?

“Avoid such men as these.” (2 Timothy 3:5 NASB, Holy Bible)

DISREGARDING THE GOSPEL FOR THE LOVE OF MONEY

But say you're just a young minister starting out in the field. You don’t have a lot of work, and those bills keep coming. Wouldn’t it be OK to disregard 2 Timothy 3:5 just this once?

“TO SEEK AND TO SAVE THE LOST”

Or, again and again, over years, but, hey, these “lovers of self” (2 Timothy 3:2 NASB, Holy Bible) “really need my ministry”?

And so it was a marriage of convenience:

“3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths” (2 Timothy 4:3,4 NIV, Holy Bible)

A "great number"? Make that 12, for a congregation of 35.

"A gang is a group of people who, through the organization, formation, and establishment of an assemblage, share a common identity. In current usage it typically denotes a criminal organization or else a criminal affiliation." (Gang, Wikipedia)

And we have some photographic evidence that gang activities are going on using religion as a front?

Pastor Regensburg’s story is that he’s a Christian minister, being "the founder of Passion for Christ Ministries." (Ben Regensburg, About Us, http://www.pfcministries.net/aboutus.html)

The signs he stacks tell a different story:

""Throwing up" a gang sign (e.g., "Stacking," "walk") with the hands is one of the most known and obvious forms of "claiming." It is used in many situations where other identifiers may not be possible or appropriate, and it can also show that a gang member is in the area to "do business" as opposed to just passing through." (Gang signal, Wikipedia)(pictured at left)

And so he roams from church to church, and youth retreat to youth retreat http://www.pfcministries.net/aboutus.html, putting out identifiers that he’s "in the area to "do business"". (per Gang signal, Wikipedia)(as illustrated at right)

SETTING A BAD EXAMPLE FOR THE YOUTH

His ministry has not been without effect, as more and more teens follow his example in "claiming". (see video below)

Admittedly, Pastor Regensburg is very cool. And, as you can see from the video, many teens stack exactly the same gang signs as the Pastor does.

Pastor Regensburg will probably claim that he doesn't actually belong to a gang, but just stacks the gang signs to be cool. We recall that a gang "typically denotes a criminal organization or else a criminal affiliation." (Gang, Wikipedia)

Can Pastor Regensburg just give the appearance of evil "to be cool" and get along well with the youth?

In the first place, his wrongful activity is contrary to scripture:

"Abstain from all appearance of evil." (1 Thessalonians 5:22, Holy Bible)

Which brings us to the next question, Is this really just the "appearance" of evil, and not the substance?

"O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." (Matthew 12:34, Holy Bible)

Or, phrased in the language of our times, "for out of the abundance of the heart the hand stacketh". (per Matthew 12:34, Holy Bible)

Pastor Regensburg will probably admit that, but claim that "everybody does it". And it must be conceded that there are a lot of gangs out there.

But does that make it right?

"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." (Romans 12:2, Holy Bible)

Things have gone so far that "He spends every free second hanging with the teens and doing whatever it is they enjoy doing." (Dan Weatherbee, Lifebridge Church cited at http://www.pfcministries.net/buzz.html) And this is true!!

Pastor Regensburg stacks gang signs!! (as pictured at right) So do the homies pictured at left!!

SO MUCH IN COMMON

Well, just what do Baltimore-area teens “enjoy doing”? (per Dan Weatherbee, Lifebridge Church cited at http://www.pfcministries.net/buzz.html)

"Police have arrested a suspected ringleader of a brazen teen-age car theft gang and charged him with the attempted murder of two Baltimore County detectives last month." (Suspected ringleader of car theft gang arrested, Baltimore Sun, 18 Jan 1995)

"ONE OF THE CROWD"

Pastor Regensburg "spends every free second hanging with the teens and doing whatever it is they enjoy doing." (Dan Weatherbee, Lifebridge Church cited at http://www.pfcministries.net/buzz.html)

Aside from teenage hijinks, what else do teens really enjoy doing? "Howard County police have charged 22 youths with underage drinking, saying officers caught them with alcohol at a Glenelg residence after a high school homecoming dance." (22 at party charged with underage drinking, The Baltimore Sun, 20 October 1999)

And, according to Pastor Regensburg's own website, "He spends every free second hanging with the teens and doing whatever it is they enjoy doing." (Dan Weatherbee, Lifebridge Church cited at http://www.pfcministries.net/buzz.html)

You get the drift.

You could, if you really stretched things, say that he is "holding to a form of godliness" (per 2 Timothy 3:5 NASB, Holy Bible), but no one should be fooled by what this man actually practices -- utter contempt for, among others, these Bible verses: Romans 12:2, Matthew 12:34, and 1 Thessalonians 5:22. Not to mention the chapter Exodus 20.

Pastor Regensburg is a featured speaker at the Winter Meltdown "Weekend Christian Youth Retreat". http://www.rivervalleyranch.com/dynamic/DynCon.aspx?cid=132&fs=retreats The theory is that this is a fun place for Bible study and prayer, but:

"Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?" (Matthew 7:16, Holy Bible)

In this case, fruits documented on the Winter Meltdown webpage http://www.rivervalleyranch.com/dynamic/DynCon.aspx?cid=132&fs=retreats -- girls stacking gang signs. (as pictured at right, see also above video "White Chicks and Gang Signs")

"And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck." (Mark 9:42 NIV, Holy Bible)

RELATED READING:

Seventh Day Grace Trojan Horse Virus / Cultic Website Triggers Malware Alert

"Easy-Listening" Sermons

Seventh Day Grace Brothers Taste Freedom (and "more") at exAdventist Gathering

2011-05-25T12:07:00.000-07:00

Dear Tineka Jawana,

Get over it.

I mean, you've had your rough patches in life. So have we.

LOVED THE CHURCH

We used to be Seventh-day Adventists.

Such wonderful truths, and the delicious potluck meals.

AND LOVED ONE ANOTHER

But there was that lingering stench of condemnation when we attended the church Valentine's banquet.

I mean, why should we pay tithes to support intolerance??

There were plenty of gay mens' Christian fellowships out there. But none of them respected the Sabbath of the Lord.

"SEEK AND YE SHALL FIND"

So we did what anyone else does these days -- checked the web, and found a theology that was music to our ears: "let them eat meat". (as per Interview With an Ex-Adventist: Sondra, http://letthemeatmeat.com/post/698054451/interview-with-an-ex-adventist-sondra)

Sondra had gone before us. Sure she tried to refrain from eating meat. Well, "I found the vegan diet very unsatisfying and didn’t have the self-control to stay on it." (Sondra cited in Interview With an Ex-Adventist: Sondra, http://letthemeatmeat.com/post/698054451/interview-with-an-ex-adventist-sondra)

We knew what she was talking about, having tried to "go vegan" ourselves back when we were still racked with guilt about our lifestyle choices. We couldn't stay on that diet either!

A SABBATH-KEEPING OASIS IN A DESERT OF INTOLERANCE

But then we heard about Seventh Day Grace, a sweet fellowship where worshippers "come as they are" -- and stay that way!

When we showed up, we were amazed at how friendly everyone was.

The greeter had also had his struggles. He started out stealing change from his mother's purse, and worked himself up to stealing equipment from schools he attended. This grace brother maxed out in college, when he stole the pay phones from his Adventist college. Grace Brother used a crowbar to pry these babies off the walls, and kept them as trophies.

His exploits snowballed over the years.

Well, one day the Adventist pastor was preaching a sermon on repentance and restitution. It was Biblical, but very offensive to the ears of Grace Brother. If he had to give back everything he's stolen, he'd be in the poorhouse. So he walked out, and hasn't come back since.

He's had his struggles with guilt, but decided the battle just wasn't worth it.

And that's why he came to Seventh Day Grace.

There's a darling praise band, the sermons are short (and avoid any uncomfortable Bible texts), and then there's a lovely potluck meal.

We strongly recommend Seventh Day Grace to all Sabbath-keeping Christians who are tired of guilt.

Jeffrey & Luke

p.s. Lord willing, we will go to San Francisco to start a Seventh Day Grace fellowship in Castro!

TINEKA JAWANA TELLS IT LIKE IT IS

Dear Grace Brothers,

The SDG motto: "Come Just as You are to Worship" http://www.seventhdaygrace.org/ has attracted thieves.

Now they might just rest on the Sabbath.

And then again, they might not.

So watch your pocketbooks!!

Joel Gilbert's Crusade against Unholy Lust / Pastor on an important mission

2011-01-09T14:30:00.000-08:00

Pastor Joel Gilbert is a man of considerable experience, who knows what its likes to wander in the world of sin. (Pastor Joel Gilbert, The New Birth Part 2 (1 of 3), http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbIMBe6mgLA)

But then he started reading books like Ephesians (Pastor Joel Gilbert, The New Birth Part 2 (1 of 3), http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbIMBe6mgLA), announced that he was born again, and has taken up with preaching.

There are temptations out there, and “it just looks so good”. (Pastor Joel Gilbert, The New Birth Part 2 (1 of 3), http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbIMBe6mgLA, minute 2)

Well, what kind of temptations are we talking about?

THE LUSTS OF THE FLESH

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. 1 John 2:16-17

Specifically, “God did not give me eyeballs to stare lustfully at somebody other than my own wife.” (Pastor Joel Gilbert, The New Birth Part 2 (1 of 3), http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbIMBe6mgLA, minute 9)

PORN

And where was this “somebody”?

“God did not give me hands to turn pages in magazines to see things that I should not look at!” (Pastor Joel Gilbert, The New Birth Part 2 (1 of 3), http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbIMBe6mgLA, minute 9)

VICTORY

“I don't desire those things anymore.” (Pastor Joel Gilbert, The New Birth Part 2 (1 of 3), http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbIMBe6mgLA, minute 2)

But there are plenty of people who still do:

The pornography industry generated more than $97 billion in revenue in 2006. http://familysafemedia.com/pornography_statistics.html#anchor1

WHEN NOMINAL CHURCHGOERS ARE IN BONDAGE TO THE DEVIL

And not all of these “slaves to sin” (per Pastor Joel Gilbert, The New Birth Part 2 (1 of 3), http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbIMBe6mgLA, minute 0) are unchurched.

“Sons and daughters of God are in bondage to the devil”. (Pastor Joel Gilbert, The New Birth Part 2 (1 of 3), http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbIMBe6mgLA, minute 5)

SOME OF THEM WOULD LIKE TO BREAK FREE

Some of them don’t like it:

This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. (Galatians 5:16,17, Holy Bible)

WHILE OTHERS MAKE MONEY OFF IT

But there are also some churchgoers who have made a comfortable arrangement with the lusts of the flesh. Who are, in fact, making money off this sort of thing:

“For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality”. (Jude 1:4, Holy Bible)

HYPOCRISY

Sure like they to talk grace. They even groove to the tunes of “contemporary Christian praise music.”

While stacking up a fortune from the sale of sex toys and porn videos and magazines.

How better to “deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord”? (Jude 1:4, Holy Bible)

MINISTERING WHERE THE NEED IS GREATEST

Pastor Gilbert knows all about this. That’s why he’s expanded his ministry to some area churches where these “Sons and daughters of God are in bondage to the devil”. (Pastor Joel Gilbert, The New Birth Part 2 (1 of 3), http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbIMBe6mgLA, minute 5)

We wish him luck in “liberating people from the captivity of the devil”. (Pastor Joel Gilbert, The New Birth Part 2 (1 of 3), http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbIMBe6mgLA, minute 6)

INSIDE REPORT from Perverted "Grace" Cult

2009-10-27T14:28:00.000-07:00

Dear Tineka Jawana,

You have an interesting website. But I thought, Wait a minute. Can this really be true?

We live about 30 minutes away from the cult, so decided to check it out.

The cult leader, a slimy old pervert, was literally drooling over my daughter Carla.

His "wife" was hovering around, and tried to pick my pocket.

We left, and said, Never again!

Harry

TINEKA TELLS IT LIKE IT IS

Dear Harry,

That's what unbridled greed leads to:

9But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 1 Timothy 6:9

There isn't much that these people wouldn't do to get their hands on money.

This boundless greed has led directly to "many" lusts. Flesh magazines, clubs, you name it.

But doesn't all that cost money? How can they get rich off these things?

Easy. Sell it.

And they call this stuff Christian?

And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. Galatians 5:24

So, if the cult members aren't Christ's, just who do they belong to?

¹⁸ The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people,

YOU WON'T HEAR MUCH TRUTH AT THIS CULT

who suppress the truth by their wickedness, ¹⁹ since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.

THEY KNEW BETTER, BUT WALK IN DARKNESS

²¹ For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²² Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools Romans 1

All the while claiming to have so much grace.

And celebrating that "grace" all Sabbath long.

Seventh Day Grace TESTIMONIAL: Adult-film Insider Loves the Fellowship

2009-04-26T11:53:00.000-07:00

Dear Tineka Jawana,

I worship at the L.A. chapter of Seventh Day Grace.

On Sabbath, I dress up and worship with my fellow grace lovers. During the week, I work camera in the adult-film industry.

USED TO ATTEND ADVENTIST CHURCH

At the Seventh-day Adventist church, they talk about morality. After a while, I got tired of hearing sermons condemning the way I make my living.

Why should I pay tithe to support hate speech?

SEVENTH DAY GRACE: SO MUCH IN COMMON

The first time I visited the Maryland chapter of SDG, I was amazed at how friendly the people were. There's an excellent fellowship meal after the 12 noon service (plenty of time to sleep in).

I sat at a table with a guy who really understands me. He got his start drooling over lingerie adverts in the J.C. Penney catalog. As he got older, Grace Brother started stealing Playboys from stores to indulge his appetites.

Over the years, Grace Brother became a real-deal connoisseur.

PROFITING FROM PERVERSION

Being a clever young man, he decided to make money off his passion -- and started selling videos, mags, and sex toys.

Business prospered, and Grace Brother was able to bank some profits. Which belonged 50% to his partner in the business.

Grace Brother experienced some temptation in his heart to make it 100%.

There was some conflict, but Grace Brother gave in, cleaned out the joint bank account, and blew town.

All this time, Grace Brother was showing up at the Adventist church -- on such Sabbaths as he was able to get out of bed on time for the Divine Service.

LEGALISM

Well, one day the Adventist preacher laid it on the line: "Pornography is wrong".

Needless to say, Grace Brother hasn't been back since. After all, why does he need the Law of God when he's well supplied with flesh mags?

Wow!!

He even had one of the movies I had worked on -- and thought the photography was excellent!

PLEASING THEOLOGY

I never heard anything like this before in my life -- keep the Sabbath, but do as you please during the week.

Needless to say, I was an instant convert.

I highly recommend Seventh Day Grace to all those brothers who have struggled with addictions to flesh mags and flicks, and have decided that struggle just isn't worth it.

Dick

TINEKA JAWANA TELLS IT LIKE IT IS

Dear Dick,

You think you can have your cake and eat it too.

So many people with backgrounds like yours have found their way into this cult.

Keep the Sabbath holy, and make money from filth during the week.

You all claim this is covered by grace, but you've got a hot surprise coming down the line.

¹⁴ “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. ¹⁵ Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. Revelation 22 NIV