The following article is being posted on my blog for these reasons:
1) I have known about this false “prophet” for some time now and every Christian should know the dangers that he and those like him present.
2) My dad is in the hospital and I have been with him a few days now. I think he’s going to be OK. Just because one gets a flu shot doesn’t insure that the flu isn’t going to happen. When it and complications from it happen to an 88 year old, all kinds of strange things can happen. Anyways, I was talking to one of the nurses who happened to mention to me that his brother had gone to California for Bible School. Always interested in topics like these, I asked: “Which Bible School did he go to?” The young man thought for a moment and I almost said, “Is he at Biola?” Instead, for some reason unknown to myself, I asked, “Did he go to Bethel Bible in Redding?” The young man’s eyes brightened with a look of recognition. “Yes,” he said. “That’s where he is.” So, a young man traveled half way across the country to attend one of the most deceptive “training centers” one could choose. I admired the young man’s willingness to seek God’s will for his life. I was deeply saddened about the place he chose. I asked this young nurse who obviously loves his brother to search for information about Bill Johnson on the internet. And then I told him a bit of what I knew and told him not to listen to me but to research it himself. The long arm of Bethel has reached farther than Arkansas to bring youth from all over the world to its campus and “church” with its warped view of God and its serious wrong beliefs. It and the many “ministries” like it must be exposed for what they are…ungodly heretical doctrine.
3) That a place like Bethel can have such a following demonstrates the lack of simple Bible knowledge among the masses in our world today. Things that were once common knowledge have become lost in the new age, emergent, mystic, post-modern mess that comprises much of the “church” today. People need to be warned.
4) I did what I recommended to the young nurse. I simply did an internet search for Bill Johnson. This is one of the first articles that popped up, it is easy to read, and it clearly points out a few of the main problems at Bethel. Here is the article I found:
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WARNING – BILL JOHNSON and BETHEL CHURCH by Andrew Strom
I am really hoping to make this the last of this type of article for awhile. Some people think I “love” putting out this stuff. But I honestly wish it would all go away, so we could get on with the ‘real’ work of building the kingdom.
However, Bill Johnson is doing such damage to the Body of Christ around the world that I simply cannot stay silent. In New Zealand (where I am currently) he holds a huge Conference once a year called “Manifest Presence”. This is amost certainly the biggest and most influential Christian conference in the whole country. And likewise in other nations, such as UK, Australia, Singapore, and many others. His influence is enormous.
Bill Johnson is a very charming man. He also emphasizes a number of things that I heartily agree with – such as street evangelism using the gifts of the Spirit, prophecy and healing on the streets, etc. But the problem is that he endorses and promotes an “anointing” exactly identical to the one that Todd Bentley promotes. The “drunken glory”, fire-tunnel, laughing, jerking, gold-dust, “Angel-mania”-type anointing that has done such damage to the Charismatic movement around the world – and in many cases reduced it to a shocking travesty of what it once was. What would Derek Prince or Keith Green think of the things these men are into – spiritual drunkenness, “portals”, ‘visualization’, spirit-travel, fire-tunnels, angel-orbs and the like? (Found all the way through the New Age movement, but not in the Bible).
Bill Johnson was one of the biggest supporters of the Lakeland revival led by Todd Bentley. And even after the fiasco that it became, he publicly endorsed Todd Bentley’s ministry again in 2011. But Bill does it all with such “down-to-earth” charm and wise-sounding words – “how could this be deception?” That is what makes him so dangerous.
His wife Beni is co-pastor with Bill of Bethel church in Redding, California. And interestingly she is even more open about the bizarre things that they are into. She even puts it in writing on the Internet, for all the world to see.
For example, in her “Life and Wellness” blog on July 6 this year, here is what she wrote in an entry called ‘Love Shack Time’: “I was talking with Ray Hughes the other day and was telling him about using a 528 HZ tuning fork as a prophetic act. Someone told me that this tuning fork is called the tuning fork of LOVE…” (Please note that crystals and tuning forks are used in NEW AGE therapy – and have nothing to do with Christianity in any way).
Beni continued: “Recently I got up to speak at a meeting and walked up to the song “Love Shack” by the B52’s. I was calling people to more love. It was so fun.”
I guess we are now beginning to get a sense of the strange spiritual world that these people inhabit. Another blog post that Beni wrote about ‘WAKING UP ANGELS’ in March 2009 was also very revealing:
“In the last couple of months, I personally have become more aware of the angelic activity in this realm. One of those times was when we were on a prayer trip to Arizona… One morning as we were driving up over Tehachapi Pass and coming down into the Mojave Desert, I began to feel angels. The closer we got, the stronger the impression felt. I could see them everywhere!.. I announced this to the group and said, “We have got to stop! We have to stop somewhere…” As we drove around a corner I said, “I think that we are going to wake up some angels here…”
“We knew we were to turn around, get out of the RV and wake up the angels. I wish I could convey to you the energy and the quickness of how God was working. We jumped out of the RV, I blew the shofar and rang the bell, and we yelled “WAKEY WAKEY.” We got back into the RV and drove off. As we drove off, hilarious laughter broke out! We were stunned at the speed at which this all took place and were spinning from the adventure and the angelic activity. What in the world had just happened?! Heaven collided with earth. Woo hoo!!
“Since that time, there has been a stirring in me to awaken the angels for use in this Kingdom reign that is upon us here on earth. I have shared these two stories in other places and have done a prophetic act of waking up the angels: having everybody cry out, “WAKEY WAKEY!” I know it is strange but it is very effective… One of our gals who enjoys God’s angels… gets pretty wacked when they are around…”
The reference that Beni makes here to “Heaven colliding with earth” is of course directly tied to Bill Johnson’s most famous teaching on “When Heaven Invades Earth”. Clearly, this is the kind of thing they mean when they use that phrase. So if we get with their program so-to-speak, we too can go around “waking up angels” and getting “pretty wacked” when these ‘angels’ are around.
I guess the obvious question is whether they are “serious” about all this. Sadly, the answer is “Yes.” When you get so completely deceived that you think “drunken glory” and ‘tuning forks’ and getting “wacked” are normal Christian behaviour, you are open to anything. Tragically, if we look at all that these people have said and done now for years and years, we have to conclude that one of Christendom’s biggest leaders (Bill Johnson) inhabits the most bizarre quasi-spiritual universe that you can imagine. And he is spreading this deceived foolishness in the Body of Christ on a mass scale. It might seem almost “funny” if it wasn’t so ‘New Age’ serious.
One young lady named Johanna who had been a student for many months at Bill Johnson’s ‘Bethel’ school wrote to me the following:
“In August 2008 I moved to Redding, California to attend Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry (BSSM). I graduated in May 2009… Almost right away I began to question the bizarre behavior that is so normal there.
“At Bethel, there are many sayings that are tossed around daily… “God only has nice things to say,” “There´s no high like the Most High.” There would be all kinds of distracting behavior (random shouting, laughing, etc.) during school sessions and church services. When any guest speaker came to school, students would flock to the front to get as close to the speaker as possible. We were taught that any anointing we wanted could be received by simply “claiming it” for ourselves. Students would rush the stage and the front of the sanctuary so the speakers could lay hands on them.
“Among the guest speakers were Bob Jones, Heidi Baker, Georgian and Winnie Banov, Randy Clark, John and Carol Arnott… We also had regular sessions with Bill Johnson, Beni Johnson… and other Bethel pastors. The drunken behavior and questionable teachings from some, if not all, of these speakers was shocking at times. I can safely say that I never heard the word “repentance” once in any teaching.
“I remember when the Banovs came, the whole place was complete chaos. When they touched someone, that person would jerk violently or stumble around as if they were drunk. The Banovs minister to people in trash dumps around the world… What I remember them talking about was love, joy, bliss, and the new wine.
“Angels were often talked about. I remember Beni Johnson actually took an RV across Arizona and New Mexico to wake up angels that were supposedly sleeping. (Another one of the common phrases, “Wakey wakey”). I would always hear people talking about their encounters with angels and how they visited heaven. One young woman I knew said she could see angels everywhere, she talked to them all the time, and she would help her friends to do the same… God becomes like Santa Claus. Without the preaching of the true gospel, the fear of the Lord is lost.”
ANDREW AGAIN: As you can see from all these reports, the ministry of Bill Johnson is highly suspect. Sadly, because the deception is not as “obvious” as Todd Bentley, people are charmed into thinking he’s “fine”. Charismatic leaders around the world flock to his meetings and openly endorse his teachings. For this reason I believe he is far more dangerous than Todd Bentley ever was. The Bible says that in the last days will come false teachers and “lying signs and wonders” to deceive if possible the “very elect.” And what do we see today? New Age practices and spirits are flooding the church. And it is men like Bill Johnson that have become the “acceptable face” of this invasion. Please, friends, steer well clear.
Please forward this email to anyone you feel may be in danger from this deception. And please comment below-
God bless you all. – Andrew Strom.
Posted in Articles by Andrew on June 26th, 2012 at 7:32 pm.
I saw this on Dan’s “The Battle Cry” blog. The Gospel is an unpopular message in a world that has a sinful nature. I think this sums up Biblical teaching that separates by eons the God of the Bible from any other “god.” I’m not sure why they used the setting they did but I thought that it was significant. The “Church” appears to be falling apart in our day but it is not the case. The true Church of Jesus Christ will be saved by the mercy and grace of God alone. The great work has already been done on the cross at Calvary. I don’t know that it is the best presentation of the Gospel ever but I do think you should click on “view original post” below.
I saw this on Ingrid Schlueter’s The Hope Blog today.
I had to share it because it reminds me so much of the unmerited grace that God has had on me. There is pain, there is sadness, yet there is hope and joy.
To Norway from Iraq. Here, her 5 children are taken away
“Forgive them, because they don’t know what they do.”
I peek into the hallway of the woman who lost all her kids to the Norwegian Child Protection Service, called “Barnevernet”, just before our National Day, 17th of May last year. Their shoes are still there, labels with their names ironed on the inside. “She probably can’t bear to remove them,” I’m thinking. Silently I ask myself how much too small those shoes will be, when – or if – the children are allowed to come home.
One after one, the children have stood alone in court, court case after court case, and asked to come home. This mother is the last trace of family they’ve got here, as she is a widow who has escaped from Iraq. All of the siblings, except two, were put in different locations. All the time since they were removed, they have cried and pled. They have offered Barnevernet money. They have drawn faces covered with tears. Barnevernet reports that the children are “crying, but mostly when they see their mother.”
And the mother loves her children. That is even confirmed by Barnevernet, and by the judges in court. However, they express doubt whether she is able to give her children “emotional support,” a professional term which is accepted without question by the judges, and which bends them towards their tragic conclusion: the mother is not fit. Nobody seems to think that “love” and “emotional support” are related in some way. Love is obviously not given much credit.
Norwegian Standard, abbreviated NS
There’s a new documentary about Barnevernet in the making, called Norwegian Standard. The abbreviation is NS – which was also the name that the Norwegian Nazi party during the war, “Nasjonal Samling”, went under. So I’m tempted to search for similarities between the Norwegian system and the Nazi regime. What I find is the lack of love. Love means nothing. Intellectual and professional constructions legitimize brutal violations by the bureaucrats, who are merely “doing their job.” Is it unpleasant to remove children from their families? Sure. At least until you get used to it.
“I understand that you miss your children,” the employee from Barnevernet purrs to the devastated mother, “but the children are very well taken care of. Two of them are living together in a huge, modern house. They are successful at school. Their new parents are not working, so they can take care of the children all the time.”
What a poor relief to the mother, that the new parents don’t need to work for a living, and that they have such a nice, big house.
Barnevernet seems to have a preference for people with high socio-economic status when it comes to choosing who are suited as parents for the children of the Norwegian state. This mother, like so many others, has been accused of being too poor.
Another alternative favoured by Barnevernet is to select foster parents for whom they create good economic conditions by paying them rather generously. To aspiring foster parents, Barnevernet is a most lucrative opportunity. In several cases, foster parents have been paid for their new “needs” such as an extra car, or renovation of their house, with the new child as leverage. They’re also granted the use of extra, temporary step-in foster parents, who take care of the child during holidays.
More tempting still is the offer of the equivalent of a full salary, so that one foster parent can stay home and ensure good care of the child.
The economic advantages of being a foster parent are heavily advertised by the state, regardless of the fact that it may attract people with other motives than to love a child like their own. The state is in desperate need of foster homes. On average, the state removes 5 children from their parents every day – in one of the smallest countries in the world.
The Norwegian professor Tove Stang-Dahl has done research on the history of Barnevernet. Her conclusion is this: “In an uninterrupted line from the end of the 18th century and right until this day, the explicit goal of Barnevernet has been to weaken the power and freedom of the family. The premise has been the same the whole time: to exert social control over the groups in society who are, at any point in time, seen as a threat against social order.”
The dark depths of our human mind
Last year, the mother had hoped to celebrate Christmas with her children. Barnevernet refused, and told her to deliver her gifts at their office, for professional distribution to each child. This Christmas, she has lost any hope of seeing her children. Barnevernet won’t give her more than what the judges said: 4 times a year, 1.5 hour each time, supervised. That means there has to be an observer from Barnevernet, who can’t leave the mother and child alone at any moment – not even in the bathroom. An interpreter is also there, to translate everything they say to each other.
To the victims, it may seem like Barnevernet, with its unlimited power to destroy the lives of individuals, experiences a subtle joy in doing exactly that. Unfortunately, I believe it’s a human trait. The famous Stanford experiment illustrates this. 21 mentally healthy persons were randomly given roles as “prisoners” or “guards,” and placed in a prison-like locale. The guards were instructed to “keep order,” nothing else – and psychologists were to observe what happened. The experiment was meant to last 2 weeks, but had to be stopped after 6 days, because of how the guards abused the prisoners, harassing them psychologically and forcing them to do humiliating things. By the end of the 6 days, a third of the guards were believed to have developed sadistic traits.
In our human minds, the same psychological mechanisms are latent. And they will flourish if the power structure allows them to.
Norwegian law on children – breeding ground for abuse
It heads the wrong way. Before, the law said that children should live with their biological parents, if possible. In 2012, this law was reformulated. Now, they have the “right” to grow up with people who can provide the best conditions materially and mentally. The children are to be “good and productive citizens, for the nation’s best,” the law says. This sentence reminds me of Nazi perfectionism. It can justify almost any abduction from parents with lower socio-economic status. We have to ask which values are the most important: the love of the parents, or the development of “productive citizens?”
A Christmas Wish
“Forgive them, for they don’t know what they do.”
I’m writing Christmas cards. Thinking of my friends, and my enemies, and of the ones whom it might be time to forgive. And I think of my new friend from abroad, who’s sticking to me as if clutching at a straw. Because I’m Norwegian, probably. But who am I against Barnevernet? The people there have developed a very thick shell. In a system where cruel decisions are a part of their everyday job, they will not bend to any appeal for empathy. They don’t listen to anybody – not even doctors, nurses, or psychologists who sometimes very openly disagree with their decisions to separate a family, based on their own observations of that family. I’m really nothing more than a straw in this field, a field ravaged by storms of prejudices and by a past most of us are ignorant of.
Can one really forgive, without the other party admitting and changing anything? It seems that for politicians and for Barnevernet it is difficult to admit that something has gone wrong. They seldom talk about the pain inflicted upon children and parents. I’ve rarely seen anything coming close to a real debate, without all the justifications for Barnevernet being brought up again and again. When in reality, no one disagrees that in some serious cases, children should be taken away and be given another home.
This is being used to overshadow all those children who maybe needed some help, but absolutely not of that kind. Now, they’re being traumatized for life – for absolutely no other good reason than to protect the one who made the wrong decision in the first place. What about all their calls and crying for their true home and parents, without anybody paying attention to it? The brutality of these acts – and the numbers of them – are rarely mentioned. Some lawyers have estimated those cases to represent around 80% of all the children being forcibly displaced.
So, I’m not ready to forgive Barnevernet yet. The snow that fell last year, is still falling down – and nothing seems to change things, as long as we have a trust-based system where the employees from Barnevernet can do what they want. They can command the police to take a child any time. Even if they make a wrong decision, it still can take months and years before the children are returned to their family – if ever.
Instead of forgiveness, I have a Christmas wish. I wish that people would open their eyes to what’s happening. The actions of the Norwegian Barnevernet will forever be remembered by the rest of the world, as our acts, my acts. Every Norwegian should understand how easily one can lose a child to the Norwegian state – and try to care a little bit about how they want this country to be.
This is my Christmas wish, so that I might regain some pride in my country. All the time since the 17th of May celebration last year, I have only been ashamed. During the celebration at our school, my daughter told me the news about the girl in her class being removed. I went to look for the mother in the crowd, while two girls talked in the microphone of how lucky we are in Norway. “Not many countries have as fair and humane laws as Norway,” they said. But I know of no country where the mother has less of a right to express love and to care for what comes from her own womb.
I have a life which the immigrant woman would have done anything to get: I’ll celebrate Christmas, happy to be with my children. As it is for any other parent, there have been incidents or errors that could have separated us forever, had they been judged by the wrong person.
But my red-coloured tablecloth, delicious food, my decorations and Christmas-red curtains can’t match the memory of the pale red shoes in the home of a woman who is not taking part in our celebration. The red shoes will always be lying there, in my consciousness, empty of children’s feet.
Editor commentary and request:
I would like to thank Ragna Heffermehl for sharing this important story with the world. I would also like to thank Professor Marianne H. Skånland for supporting Ragna’s efforts to have this excellent piece shared with as many people as possible. When I think of the great gift of salvation that God has gifted to man this Christmas, I will think of how His Holy Spirit uses people. I will think of Norwegians like Ragna and Marianne.
I think that Professor Skånland has a wonderful thought: “If any of your readers would like to send a Christmas greeting to this Iraqi lady, they could send it to you and you could forward it to Ragna, who will print it out and give it to this mother.”
Is there a better gift than words of encouragement and offers of prayer for a mother who has had all of her children taken from her? I rarely ask for comments and I am making an exception in this post. Please comment here and share your thoughts with this mother who will, once again, be spending Christmas alone. I will make sure they get forwarded along.
It is, once again, time to share information about worldwide human rights abuses. Back in April, I shared this video featuring children wearing shirts naming real abused Norwegian children. The song was written and performed by Cristian Cazacu. He explains the purpose of the song in a video below.
A modern worldwide movement has begun. The epicenter is the country of Norway.
Norway’s CPS, called the Barnevernet, has such an atrocious record when it comes to separating children from biological parents for little or no reason that cities all over the world held demonstrations earlier this year. Hot Springs, Arkansas was one of those cities. The demonstrations in Norway continue and the issue has made many aware of similar problems in other countries. There has been good news and bad news in Norway since this video was made.
The Good News
A few high profile cases have been won in court, not a common thing in Norway. The people of Norway are becoming more aware of the internal problems and, despite a great amount of pressure, the numbers of protesters is growing.
The Bad News
It appears that new laws are being discussed that will increase the powers of an already frightening and disastrous system. Norwegians continue to be intimidated and scared by a government “Child Protection” service that appears to fear nothing, even condemnation by international human rights groups.
**
Recently, a local state legislator whom I know discovered a similar problem with Arkansas’ DCFS. Evidence has surfaced in a local case that information was “covered up.” Unlike Norwegian politicians, my local State Senator is confronting the issue.
In a recent FB post, my State Senator wrote:
“The legislature passed laws dictating that DCFS and juvenile courts first try to place children with relatives before foster care. Some DCFS employees and some judges are reluctant to follow that law. They fear that a relative that has not been vetted “might” harm the child. That is a legitimate fear. But why is that more of a fear than that a foster parent may hurt a child? And how about the proven trauma to children when they are completely separated from their entire family and support network?”
He also pointed out how a mother from Los Angeles, California won $3,000,000 in a lawsuit and that similar lawsuits will be started in Arkansas if necessary. The Californian mother’s child had been taken for no good reason like so many cases in Norway.
The Norwegian Barnevernet seldom tries to place children with relatives. In cases that I am aware of, children are split up and never see their siblings again until they are 18 or older. The Barnevernet is not afraid of lawsuits because it has abused its power in many cases over many years without repercussion.
What can be done?
Like my State Senator, Norwegian politicians have to become concerned. My State Senator became concerned because of his Christian convictions and his decency as a human being. Norwegian politicians must know of this problem as their country has become the focus of worldwide attention.
I have tried to remember to contact the Norwegian Prime Minister every so often via her Facebook page. I will try and do this every other day, expressing my concerns, from this day forward. Her name is Ms. Erna Solberg and you can get to her facebook page by clicking HERE.
A Facebook friend of mine has created an excellent blog site with information about how you can contact important authorities in Norway. If enough of us make comments, along with pressure from within Norway, maybe Norwegian leaders will see that a change cannot be avoided.
Here is the website and a big thank you to Mike Snow who has rightly pointed out that, “A few people contacting politicians are only looked at as a nuisance. A thousand people posting and emailing information to them would feel like a Tsunami!”
“An Armenian- Russian painter captured waves on his canvases like none other. These depictions of powerful, translucent waves are beautiful and terrifying at the same time, and the ships in distress add poignancy to the paintings of Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky. See some of them here at MyModernMet.com
“The ships caught in the terrible storms the artist depicted reminded me of the Navy hymn, Eternal Father Strong to Save. What a metaphor these scenes are for our country right now, and how appropriate the hymn. We are in deep peril. America, a country that has been a rich recipient of grace and favor from Divine hands, has mocked God for too long. The results all around us, as we can see, are catastrophic. Those who put their trust in God alone will find refuge from the storm. There is no other safe place.”
-Ingrid Schlueter
Psalm 46.
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah. There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.
God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolations he hath made in the earth.9 He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.
Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge
This is a wonderful compilation by Ingrid Schlueter at a time in our history when Christians need these powerful words from Psalm 46. What a blessing it is to know that He is our refuge and strength!
Today, a lengthy article about Nadia and Caspian appeared in a Norwegian media source named the Dagbladet. I have translated the article from Norwegian to English and a good amount of the information in the article can be found in updates here. It is a good article about Nadia’s case and it appears that most of my Norwegian friends agree. It contains information that I find very concerning, however. My understanding is that articles that appear “neutral” are very outnumbered by pro-Barnevernet articles in Norwegian news sources. Here are few quotes from today’s article and my take:
“In early May this year, the 27-year-old mother told of mothers home, where she lived along with her son, that she would be deprived of her baby. In fear and panic she contacted a child critical network she came across on social media.”
Horne: – “I was not aware that such networks exists. The danger is that innocent children suffer.”
“The network uses a first chauffeur who drove the mother and son ‘from A to B’. They were then handled of the couple in western Norway as the kk live with indefinitely.”
For some reason, I have ended up in a position where certain people trust me to keep information private. It is a great compliment. Because of this trust, I have learned things. If I have been left in the dark about some secret “network,” so be it. As far as I’m aware, there is no “network” as the word is used here. This “talk” of a “network” makes it sound like there is an underground railroad of sorts. If there were this type of “network,” the people I know are clever enough to make it work. Norwegian children identified as those in danger of being stolen by the Barnevernet of Norway would be ushered out of the country just like Harriet Tubman helped the slaves find freedom during the American Civil War. The only “network” I am aware of is a group of people who know human rights abuses when they see them and wish to help in some legal way. The obvious paranoia of Norwegian officials with the terminology of a “network” where “innocent children suffer” has a reason: GUILT! The only network I have seen in Norway that comes close to this definition is the Barnevernet itself.
No “network,” as used in the context in the article, worth its salt would keep a child inside of Norway. That’s a given. Nadia and Caspian were helped by friends and strangers who did the right thing. To say that Margaret Hennum is part of this kind of “network” is fanatical. Margaret Hennum is a kind person who saw someone in trouble and helped her. Let’s use the correct term for Margaret’s family. They are not “networkers” in the sense that Ms. Horne used the term; they are Good Samaritans.
Margaret has commented about today’s publication: “…the article in Dagbladet shows that CPS and police have broken laws.”
Margaret also made this comment to me: “I am extremely happy for the Dagbladet report…! It was really a good one, and the journalist will write more!”
If Margaret is satisfied, it must be a good article. It will be interesting to see what the journalist writes next.
Back to the article:
“Neither child mother, the driver or the couple who helped her are prosecuted for their actions because none of them have committed a criminal offense in this case. When mother and baby left the maternal home on 5 May, she stood free to go there with their children. She was there on a voluntary stay, and CPS had no decision was issued about her children. Therefore, suffer not the mother of the Criminal Code provisions on care evasion. The driver and couple in western Norway cannot be punished for their participation.”
Nadia’s lawyer Harold Grape is noted and quoted at length.
“Grape believes police comprehensive action, with house searches with driver and telephone tracking of mother and supporters, is contrary to law.”
“The lawyer claims that the child welfare service must have submitted false reporting to police. – In this case, the child welfare crossed the line, and the government has acted as a guardianship State.”
Then there is this:
“After the new Penal Code came into force on 1 October 2015, risking parents increasingly becoming prosecuted if they escape from child welfare with their children.”
This is how the article ends.
“A Supreme Court ruling on 22 January 2013 stated that a mother who had run from an emergency decision with their two children could not be kept in prison, when an urgent decision does not mean that CPS has taken over the care of the child.
“Under the new Penal Code, it is a criminal offense to escape from an emergency decisions.”
I have only shared a small portion of the article. You can use Google Translate to see the rest yourself. THE ARTICLE CAN BE FOUND HERE.
It seems that the Barnevernet made a mistake in Nadia’s case and Nadia’s lawyer was able to use that to help Nadia get her own child back. Mr. Grape noted that the child welfare service must have submitted false reporting to the police.
Thus, here is my understanding and I would like anyone to correct me if I am wrong:
As long as the Barnevernet finds a reason to declare an emergency decision in a case, it is a criminal offense to escape from it. In other words, the child welfare services of Norway need only do as it sees fit and as long as they make no “mistakes” there will not be another case like Nadia’s.
My hope is that litigation over what constitutes an “emergency decision” becomes the norm if nothing has changed as I fear. It seems that there continues to be little question from politicians and media sources about individual BV cases in Norway. This is why the Barnevernet has gotten away with “stealing” for years until they have became so brazen that they tried to steal five children from Ruth and Marius Bodnariu. Not only did they try to steal them, they wanted to split them from one another as they have done with so many other families. Most are of the opinion that if it hadn’t been for worldwide outrage the Barnevernet would have been successful in destroying another wonderful family.
There are those who feel the Barnevernet has gotten in trouble over its mishandling of Nadia’s case. I hope this is so. At the same time, I see no admittance of any wrong doing. Everyone is relieved, as they should be, that a mother has her beloved child back. My concern is that there will be even fewer articles about people like Nadia written in the Norwegian media. I think the Barnevernet will only be more careful that it follows its own protocols, protocols that are unquestioned by those who have the power to do something about human rights offences.
“He’s picking on Norway again.” I know someone reading this will have that thought. Many Americans think they are better than Norwegians and I’ve heard that many Norwegians think they are better than Americans. In my opinion, there is no “better.” Comparing these two countries is like watching a race to the bottom. One of America’s presidential candidates has no problem with a horrific procedure which kills a child. I cannot take humanity out of the equation, but if I could, “What kind of society kills its most valuable ‘asset’ before it is born?” It is an insane society. What kind of society kills a young child by any means? It is an insane society. Now, the latest from one of the most “educated” countries on the planet and I am sick of it….cr
“Norway’s health authorities have ruled that foreign women pregnant with twins should be allowed to abort one fetus in Norwegian hospitals, even if it is perfectly healthy.
The ruling, made by Norway’s Ministry of Health, is expected to open the way for women from neighboring Sweden and Denmark, where the procedure of ‘selective reduction’ is not permitted in the same way.
‘All women, regardless of whether they are Norwegian or foreign women residing in Norway have the same right to abortion and fetal reduction,’ Torunn Janbu from Norway’s Directorate of Health told NRK.
The hospitals are not required to ask for a fixed address, opening up the way for a new form of abortion tourism.”
Demonstrators get outside help – and the child protection Minister becomes paralyzed!
By Olav Sylte, lawyer
They demonstrate in front of the Norwegian Parliament and are heatedly active on the internet, their common denominator being that they think the justice system is not working at all. At least not when it comes to Norwegian child protection (CPS) – Barnevernet. Now they may have found acceptance for being at least partially right.
Norway is in fact no longer considered to be typically best in class, at least not in an honest way, and this apparently also applies to child protection and the legal system.
The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)
The question I am raising here is not that of exploitation of natural resources, pollution or the use of dope in sports, but the basic issue of whether Barnevernet’s intervention in families and homes has been “necessary” interference in these families in the human rights sense.
The alternative is that it may have been grave transgression of human rights.
Article 8-2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is the rule that states the requirement of “necessity”, and this is what has been subject to debate lately.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)
My reason for taking this up now is that the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has set in motion this year something resembring a unique, grand action against our child protection and justice system.
In a European context, it is rare that something like this happens. So it does not really surprise me that our Minister of Children and Equality had to give a rather sensational statement to the daily news on October 18.
The action started with the ECtHR admitting a Norwegian child protection case about forced adoption, to be considered under the possibility of violation of ECHR Article 8 last year. Human rights jurist Marius Reikerås was the one to submit the case and according to the media, he has had to move abroad as a result of his activity.
This case has probably, in conjunction with extensive demonstrations and criticism of the Norwegian child protection system over the past year, opened a fertile ground for other cases to get through the narrow needle’s eye which the ECtHR usually keeps.
The action revolves around the investigation of, so far, 7 Norwegian cases, several of them about adoption, and the question of whether ECHR article 8, including the requirement of “necessity”, has been violated.
(About the action: “Angriper barnevernet – Storoffensiv mot Norge: Menneskerettsdomstolen skal granske sju norske barnevernsaker” (Attacks Barnevernet – Grand offensive against Norway: The ECtHR is to investigate 7 Norwegian child protection cases) )
Even the fact that so many cases on the same issue have been admitted for proceedings, justifies the assertion that child welfare critics have already achieved a resounding win over Norwegian Barnevernet and the legal system that we have.
No self-criticism on the part of Barnevernet
Norwegian child protection gives the impression that the opposite has happened, and pretends that they do not even know of the ECtHR’s recent activity.
To illustrate this, I can mention a case on adoption in which I represented the parents before a County Board a few days ago.
In this case the municipality’s lawyer held that the human rights provision is not even applicable in matters of adoption, even though adoption is the most intrusive and serious intervention which the authorities can use against parents who do not agree to having their child adopted away.
The municipal lawyer claimed not to have heard anything about the ECtHR being involved in any proceedings regarding forced adoption, and had absolutely no knowledge of any activity of the ECtHR this year.
Certainly the central child protection authorities do not seem to have issued any instruction to curtail anything.
The Attorney General
Even the Attorney General, who has a habit of supporting the practice of the authorities, has recently stated that he is aware that the Norwegian child protection system may have got “out of control”.
This was in the summer. Subsequently, two more Norwegian cases were admitted to the ECtHR for consideration in the Court (the number of cases thus being increased from 5 to now 7).
( His statement: “Det norske barnevernet under lupen” (Norwegian Barnevernet under close scrutiny) )
Paralyzed Minister
The headline in the newspaper Dagbladet said that the Minister of Children and Equality, too, does not rule out the possibility that Norwegian Barnevernet and the justice system may systematically have violated human rights, like the critics have over several years claimed they do. This at least is my interpretation, based on the newspaper report, of what the Minister said.
I hope somebody will as soon as possible explain to Minister Horne that she is in fact responsible and can issue instructions as she sees fit.
The responsible Minister is expected to immediately have her Ministry instruct all Barnevern offices in the country to change tack before it is too late.
The correction may come from outside
The assertion and the lack of information about the media image shown by the municipal lawyer I mentioned above, may serve as an illustration of the Norwegian child protection system and the zealous legal system that we have.
We have a system which does not dare to admit that it may have made terrible errors, in matters of basic human rights and dignity. That is actually what ECHR Article 8 really is about.
When even the Minister does not manage to take action before it is too late, but just concludes that something may be wrong, there is perhaps only one option left, and that is that the correction must come from outside.
I assume that if this is the case, what happens might be somehat more brutal. Only time will tell and the minister still has a few months to clean house.
Further limitation of the freedom of expression of the involved parties
I have written about this subject for many years. I have also been reported to the Bar Association’s disciplinary unit for it. This is the side of Minister Horne which I have seen, besides the article in Dagbladet.
( More here: “Bufdir til klagesak mot advokat” (The directorate for child protection makes complaint against lawyer) )
Furthermore, a year ago I wrote the following:
“If someone is to be criticized besides the psychologist in the current case, it is above all the Norwegian courts with the Supreme Court in the lead. This because the threshold for intervention in private homes may have been set too low in general, and probably all too often in violation of ECHR Article 8. I have yet to see someone criticize, with similar campaigns, the Norwegian courts for this.”
I believe this claim is just as relevant today – but this is of scant help for those who have already lost their children. They can, however, expect to be invited by Horne to seminars, in the election campaign of the Progress Party which has started.
• • • Olav Sylte is a Norwegian lawyer who has represented the families in many child protection cases, and who is also active writing articles about such issues in e.g. periodicals, newspapers and on his website Rett og urett (Justice and injustice). The Norwegian original of this article, “Brakseier for ‘barnevernsdemonstrantene’!”, was published on October 19, 2016. This English version is published here with the author’s kind consent. • • •
Thank you to Professor Marianne Haslev Skånland for making me aware of this article and for obtaining permission for me to print it here. I have found Professor Skanland to be one of the most knowledgeable Norwegians on this tragic subject.
Posted by Chris 
WARNING – BILL JOHNSON and BETHEL CHURCH
March 7, 2017The following article is being posted on my blog for these reasons:
1) I have known about this false “prophet” for some time now and every Christian should know the dangers that he and those like him present.
2) My dad is in the hospital and I have been with him a few days now. I think he’s going to be OK. Just because one gets a flu shot doesn’t insure that the flu isn’t going to happen. When it and complications from it happen to an 88 year old, all kinds of strange things can happen.
Anyways, I was talking to one of the nurses who happened to mention to me that his brother had gone to California for Bible School. Always interested in topics like these, I asked: “Which Bible School did he go to?” The young man thought for a moment and I almost said, “Is he at Biola?” Instead, for some reason unknown to myself, I asked, “Did he go to Bethel Bible in Redding?” The young man’s eyes brightened with a look of recognition. “Yes,” he said. “That’s where he is.”
So, a young man traveled half way across the country to attend one of the most deceptive “training centers” one could choose. I admired the young man’s willingness to seek God’s will for his life. I was deeply saddened about the place he chose. I asked this young nurse who obviously loves his brother to search for information about Bill Johnson on the internet. And then I told him a bit of what I knew and told him not to listen to me but to research it himself.
The long arm of Bethel has reached farther than Arkansas to bring youth from all over the world to its campus and “church” with its warped view of God and its serious wrong beliefs. It and the many “ministries” like it must be exposed for what they are…ungodly heretical doctrine.
3) That a place like Bethel can have such a following demonstrates the lack of simple Bible knowledge among the masses in our world today. Things that were once common knowledge have become lost in the new age, emergent, mystic, post-modern mess that comprises much of the “church” today. People need to be warned.
4) I did what I recommended to the young nurse. I simply did an internet search for Bill Johnson. This is one of the first articles that popped up, it is easy to read, and it clearly points out a few of the main problems at Bethel. Here is the article I found:
cr
WARNING – BILL JOHNSON and BETHEL CHURCH
by Andrew Strom
I am really hoping to make this the last of this type of article for awhile. Some people think I “love” putting out this stuff. But I honestly wish it would all go away, so we could get on with the ‘real’ work of building the kingdom.
However, Bill Johnson is doing such damage to the Body of Christ
around the world that I simply cannot stay silent. In New Zealand
(where I am currently) he holds a huge Conference once a year
called “Manifest Presence”. This is amost certainly the biggest
and most influential Christian conference in the whole country.
And likewise in other nations, such as UK, Australia, Singapore,
and many others. His influence is enormous.
Bill Johnson is a very charming man. He also emphasizes a
number of things that I heartily agree with – such as street
evangelism using the gifts of the Spirit, prophecy and healing
on the streets, etc. But the problem is that he endorses and
promotes an “anointing” exactly identical to the one that Todd
Bentley promotes. The “drunken glory”, fire-tunnel, laughing,
jerking, gold-dust, “Angel-mania”-type anointing that has done
such damage to the Charismatic movement around the world –
and in many cases reduced it to a shocking travesty of what it
once was. What would Derek Prince or Keith Green think of the
things these men are into – spiritual drunkenness, “portals”,
‘visualization’, spirit-travel, fire-tunnels, angel-orbs and the like?
(Found all the way through the New Age movement, but not in
the Bible).
Bill Johnson was one of the biggest supporters of the Lakeland
revival led by Todd Bentley. And even after the fiasco that it
became, he publicly endorsed Todd Bentley’s ministry again in
2011. But Bill does it all with such “down-to-earth” charm and
wise-sounding words – “how could this be deception?” That is
what makes him so dangerous.
His wife Beni is co-pastor with Bill of Bethel church in Redding,
California. And interestingly she is even more open about the
bizarre things that they are into. She even puts it in writing on
the Internet, for all the world to see.
For example, in her “Life and Wellness” blog on July 6 this year,
here is what she wrote in an entry called ‘Love Shack Time’:
“I was talking with Ray Hughes the other day and was telling him
about using a 528 HZ tuning fork as a prophetic act. Someone
told me that this tuning fork is called the tuning fork of LOVE…”
(Please note that crystals and tuning forks are used in NEW AGE
therapy – and have nothing to do with Christianity in any way).
Beni continued: “Recently I got up to speak at a meeting and
walked up to the song “Love Shack” by the B52’s. I was calling
people to more love. It was so fun.”
I guess we are now beginning to get a sense of the strange
spiritual world that these people inhabit. Another blog post that
Beni wrote about ‘WAKING UP ANGELS’ in March 2009 was
also very revealing:
“In the last couple of months, I personally have become more
aware of the angelic activity in this realm. One of those times
was when we were on a prayer trip to Arizona… One morning as
we were driving up over Tehachapi Pass and coming down into
the Mojave Desert, I began to feel angels. The closer we got,
the stronger the impression felt. I could see them everywhere!..
I announced this to the group and said, “We have got to stop!
We have to stop somewhere…” As we drove around a corner I
said, “I think that we are going to wake up some angels here…”
“We knew we were to turn around, get out of the RV and wake
up the angels. I wish I could convey to you the energy and the
quickness of how God was working. We jumped out of the RV,
I blew the shofar and rang the bell, and we yelled “WAKEY
WAKEY.” We got back into the RV and drove off. As we drove
off, hilarious laughter broke out! We were stunned at the speed
at which this all took place and were spinning from the adventure
and the angelic activity. What in the world had just happened?!
Heaven collided with earth. Woo hoo!!
“Since that time, there has been a stirring in me to awaken the
angels for use in this Kingdom reign that is upon us here on earth.
I have shared these two stories in other places and have done a
prophetic act of waking up the angels: having everybody cry out,
“WAKEY WAKEY!” I know it is strange but it is very effective…
One of our gals who enjoys God’s angels… gets pretty wacked
when they are around…”
The reference that Beni makes here to “Heaven colliding with
earth” is of course directly tied to Bill Johnson’s most famous
teaching on “When Heaven Invades Earth”. Clearly, this is the
kind of thing they mean when they use that phrase. So if we
get with their program so-to-speak, we too can go around
“waking up angels” and getting “pretty wacked” when these
‘angels’ are around.
I guess the obvious question is whether they are “serious” about
all this. Sadly, the answer is “Yes.” When you get so completely
deceived that you think “drunken glory” and ‘tuning forks’ and
getting “wacked” are normal Christian behaviour, you are open
to anything. Tragically, if we look at all that these people have
said and done now for years and years, we have to conclude that
one of Christendom’s biggest leaders (Bill Johnson) inhabits the
most bizarre quasi-spiritual universe that you can imagine. And
he is spreading this deceived foolishness in the Body of Christ
on a mass scale. It might seem almost “funny” if it wasn’t so
‘New Age’ serious.
One young lady named Johanna who had been a student for many
months at Bill Johnson’s ‘Bethel’ school wrote to me the following:
“In August 2008 I moved to Redding, California to attend Bethel
School of Supernatural Ministry (BSSM). I graduated in May
2009… Almost right away I began to question the bizarre behavior
that is so normal there.
“At Bethel, there are many sayings that are tossed around daily…
“God only has nice things to say,” “There´s no high like the Most
High.” There would be all kinds of distracting behavior (random
shouting, laughing, etc.) during school sessions and church
services. When any guest speaker came to school, students
would flock to the front to get as close to the speaker as possible.
We were taught that any anointing we wanted could be received
by simply “claiming it” for ourselves. Students would rush the
stage and the front of the sanctuary so the speakers could lay
hands on them.
“Among the guest speakers were Bob Jones, Heidi Baker,
Georgian and Winnie Banov, Randy Clark, John and Carol Arnott…
We also had regular sessions with Bill Johnson, Beni Johnson…
and other Bethel pastors. The drunken behavior and questionable
teachings from some, if not all, of these speakers was shocking
at times. I can safely say that I never heard the word “repentance”
once in any teaching.
“I remember when the Banovs came, the whole place was complete
chaos. When they touched someone, that person would jerk
violently or stumble around as if they were drunk. The Banovs
minister to people in trash dumps around the world… What I
remember them talking about was love, joy, bliss, and the new wine.
“Angels were often talked about. I remember Beni Johnson actually
took an RV across Arizona and New Mexico to wake up angels
that were supposedly sleeping. (Another one of the common
phrases, “Wakey wakey”). I would always hear people talking
about their encounters with angels and how they visited heaven.
One young woman I knew said she could see angels everywhere,
she talked to them all the time, and she would help her friends to
do the same… God becomes like Santa Claus. Without the
preaching of the true gospel, the fear of the Lord is lost.”
ANDREW AGAIN: As you can see from all these reports, the
ministry of Bill Johnson is highly suspect. Sadly, because the
deception is not as “obvious” as Todd Bentley, people are
charmed into thinking he’s “fine”. Charismatic leaders around
the world flock to his meetings and openly endorse his teachings.
For this reason I believe he is far more dangerous than Todd
Bentley ever was. The Bible says that in the last days will come
false teachers and “lying signs and wonders” to deceive if
possible the “very elect.” And what do we see today? New Age
practices and spirits are flooding the church. And it is men like
Bill Johnson that have become the “acceptable face” of this
invasion. Please, friends, steer well clear.
Please forward this email to anyone you feel may be in danger
from this deception. And please comment below-
God bless you all. – Andrew Strom.
Posted in Articles by Andrew on June 26th, 2012 at 7:32 pm.
SOURCE
——————————————
It is now November 3rd, 2021. Today, a friend’s blog had an “Interview with Jesse, a Former Charismatic and Bethel Grad.” It is an interesting testimony of one person’s experience at Bethel. HERE IS THE LINK IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN READING IT.
-CR
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